Checkmate (Caitlin Calloway Mystery Book 2) (54 page)

CC wove her long fingers in the fabric of Jamie’s waistband. The thin blue material was quickly yanked down to her knees. CC suckled harder, taunting and teasing Jamie’s nipples. Her fingers brushed against the thin material of Jamie’s panties.

“Now?” Jamie desperately groaned.

CC abandoned her lover’s breasts and moved her lips slowly higher. She enjoyed the taste of Jamie’s flesh and captured her wife in a searing kiss. Her tongue darted between her quivering lips, while her fingers slipped inside Jamie’s underwear. With her kiss, she taunted and teased her wife while her fingers dipped inside her wetness. Slowly she explored her swollen lips and brushed against her clit. Jamie rocked insistently against her; CC’s demanding kiss prevented her from speaking.

In the back of her mind, CC knew that time was running out. She tried to savor the feel of Jamie’s body riding against her own in a steady rhythm. She was forced to suppress her need for tenderness and plunged two fingers deep inside of her wife. She felt Jamie’s body tighten against her touch.

CC moved urgently, stroking Jamie’s engorged clit each time she plunged in and out of her. Jamie shuddered beneath her as CC took her harder. CC leaned back and watched Jamie quiver as she guided her closer to the edge. After all these years, it still amazed CC as Jamie’s body exploded. The sight of her lover falling captive to her touch was sheer beauty. CC smiled, watching Jamie convulse, her words lost in a haze of pure bliss. While Jamie recovered, CC simply enjoyed the sense of peace that filled her.

“What?” Jamie asked when she reached for her wife only to have her advances brushed aside.

“We’ll have to finish this later.”

“Brat.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. You’re still a brat.” Jamie climbed to her feet. “Get me all hot and flustered then call it a night. Now I have to find an empty room and grab a shower. Be forewarned, when I get you alone you’re mine.”

“Anytime.”

They exchanged quick kisses and promised to finish expressing their love later that day. Silently CC was worried that the moment would never happen.

*   *  *

With her heart still beating rapidly, CC quickly cleaned up in the ladies’ room and headed upstairs, hoping to catch Max awake. She was buzzed in, despite the fact that it wasn’t even close to visiting hours. Much to her surprise, she found her partner wide awake and cussing at the television.

“What did it do?”

“There’s nothing on,” he groused and waved for her to join him. “What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?”

“Too much to do and nothing to do.”

“Hit the wall did you?”

“Something like that. You know me. I fly off the handle with a crazy idea, then I’m shocked when it doesn’t add up.”

“It will. You have a way of pulling things out of your ass.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“Still no word on my gun?”

“No.”

“Not the way I wanted to end my career.”

“It won’t be,” she said. “I’ll be pulling something out my ass anytime now. How are you feeling?”

“Better. The headaches and gaps have subsided. Just wish I had gotten a look at the scumbag that popped me.”

“You remember not seeing the perp. That’s good.”

“How is that good?”

“You’re remembering. I hate to admit it, but you really had me worried.”

“I don’t remember that much. I pulled up to the restaurant or what’s left of it. I wasn’t that late, but it was already dark. The only things I could see clearly were the sagging buildings and a big old backhoe parked in the middle of everything. I heard a beep. I had to shield my eyes from a pair of high beams. I thought I heard gravel grating against the ground. Next thing I know, I’m in pain and everything is spinning. I smelled something burning. Must have been me, getting zapped. That’s it, except in my haze I could swear someone was singing, well not really singing.”

“Your attacker gave you a concert? Who hit you, Lady Gaga?” CC tried to joke, hoping it would help ease Max’s frustration. “What were they singing?” she asked when her joke fell flat.

“
Humpty Dumpty
. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. You know the rest. I heard humming in between the lyrics, and I could feel gravel or rocks scraping against my back. That’s it.”

“
Humpty Dumpty?”

“Yeah, like being blindsided wasn’t embarrassing enough, this bozo had to add insult to injury.”

CC sat there for a long agonizing moment. Something Max had just said made her skin prickle. She felt as if she were trying to answer one of those annoying word puzzles. When the answer was just within reach…
It can’t be that simple
! The truth was suddenly clear as day.

“Max, you are a genius!” she said gleefully.

“What did I say?”

“You, my friend, just solved the case. I’d kiss you if you weren’t so butt ugly.”

Max lay back and looked at her as if she had lost her mind. She smiled and jumped to her feet. In one brief moment, everything fell into place and she couldn’t waste time. She waved goodbye to Max and sped off towards the nearest elevator. She grabbed her cell phone and began dialing what she hoped was Wayne’s number. The answer was so simple, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t accepted it before. Each member of the team had mentioned the possibility more than once. It just seemed ridiculous. Now it seemed obvious.

She was still fumbling with her phone when she reached her car in the parking garage. Frustrated by the wonder phone, she gave up on Wayne. She decided to try to call Deputy Brown and Leigh. She wanted to talk to all of them at the same time. She knew her phone was capable. She, on the other hand, was confused by it. Blaming her gloves for her inability to complete the simple task, she started banging on the screen. Convinced she had failed, she conceded defeat and slid the phone into the holder on her belt.

Embarrassed by her inability to successfully make a phone call, she muttered a string of obscenities under her breath. She dug her keys out of her pocket and remotely unlocked her car. Once she had the car heated up, she’d try again to make her calls.

“Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posy.”

She had almost reached her car when she heard the song begin. Instinctively she reached for her gun, but she was a moment too late. Her fingertips brushed against the leather snap just as she felt a searing pain. It was the last clear thought she had.

*   *  *

CC awoke blindfolded and tried to move, but her hands and feet were bound. She was in a moving car and knew by the feel of her hip and ankle that she had been stripped of her weapons. She tried to call out, but her mouth was taped shut. Feeling nauseous, she shivered from the cold. The only thing she knew for certain was she was in a car headed towards a very uncertain future.

Her stomach clenched when the car come to an abrupt stop. She held her breath. Was it just a traffic light or her final destination? The answer came quickly as she was jerked from the back of her own car. The soft fabric that had covered her eyes was torn from her face. It took a moment for her vision to clear. She wasn’t surprised when her captor was revealed to her.

CC’s mind raced in an effort to formulate a plan that would ensure her escape. She never had the opportunity to make an attempt; the stun gun fired against her chest halted any possible action. Rendered helpless and squirming with pain, she was dragged through the woods. Another jolt of electricity left her lying on the ground, only capable of groaning. Her restraints were removed along with her long winter coat.

Left on a pile of dirt, her body twitching in agonizing pain, she had no concept of how long she laid there curled up. Eventually, she did manage to uncurl her body and roll into a kneeling position. Her abductor remained silent while she struggled to move her body. Finally able to stand, although she teetered, she was impressed that she was on her feet. Her captor sat a good seven feet away pointing a gun at her. Once again CC tried to formulate a plan. She spotted a small camping shovel. Eunice Cockburn had made herself comfortable on a fallen tree. She cocked the gun and aimed it directly at CC’s heart.

That can’t be good.

“Start digging.”

Chapter 42

While she dug, CC summarized her version of events, skimming over a few details that she didn’t feel Cockburn needed to know. One detail was that the lawyer should have taken CC’s phone when she took her guns. When she began digging, she noticed not only was the phone still resting on her belt loop, but it appeared to be recording. Anyway, CC hoped it was doing that.

“The keys were unavoidable,” Eunice said with a wistful sigh. “I needed to get into Dr. Temple’s apartment to frame the hooker. I couldn’t risk going back to the beach just in case someone had already stumbled upon him. I dumped the keys in the trash at the subway station. In hindsight, I should have left the vodka bottle on the beach. I thought someone might snag it. I thought I needed it in plain sight, making it obvious that he had been drinking. Then again, if I had known my friendly little hooker was locked up, I would have handled things differently. The good doctor himself made my job easy. All I had to do was hang out at the bandstand looking forlorn and lost. I spun my woeful tale of how my marriage broke up. He listened and sympathized with my plight. How could he not? It was so similar to what was happening with his own marriage. I offered to share my vodka, which just happened to be his favorite.”

“You certainly do your homework.”

“Success stems from looking for the small details. Don’t you agree? As for the bees, that was perfect.”

CC couldn’t help correcting her. “You used too much bee venom. It tipped off the medical examiner. Although, everyone was impressed that you managed to tamper with the EpiPen. From what I understand, it isn’t easy.”

“It was a bitch. But we needed Simon’s daddy out of the way to free up his money. He was more than eager to have his father whacked. There just might have been some animosity between those two.”

“You think?”

“The others proved to be just as easy. Little Billy Ryan, for example. All that took was a smile and the promise of drugs. Your partner was a snap as well. Seriously, did he really think he could score a boat like that for fifty grand? After I set up the meeting, I boosted a car from the lot across the street. Flashed the lights with the remote and tossed good old Max’s fat ass down the staircase. I returned the car before I took off with his.”

“You dumped it at the racetrack.”

“And hopped on the Blue Line right back to my cozy room at the Hilton.”

“Conveniently located at the airport.”

“Comfortable and easy.”

“I can’t believe you know how to hot-wire a car.”

“I don’t.” Eunice waved her hand in a dismissive manner. Unfortunately for CC, it wasn’t the hand that held her gun. “I broke into the sales office and simply took the set of keys I needed. The most important thing I needed was a car with a keyless start. I needed to shine the lights in Sampson’s eyes.”

“Very methodical.” CC felt queasy, not seeing a way out. The only good sign was that her captor was still talking.

“I do apologize. This wasn’t supposed to be your final resting place. Originally, I had planned on dumping good old Albert here.”

“Oh, yes, my distraction. Must have pissed you off when we caught him.”

“Good help is hard to find.”

“After all your hard work, that had to irk you. You busted your butt flying all over the country. All Bert had to do was follow a few simple instructions.”

“I’m inclined to agree. I took out Professor Harden without breaking a sweat. I simply tracked him down. The guy’s security system was crap. Rigging the flue to malfunction was easy enough. I just had to hide in the basement with a gas mask and wait for the carbon monoxide to do its job. I posed him and walked out the front door. Fernandez was another walk in the park. You’d think someone who works in corrections would be more safety conscious. I had everything perfectly timed, and that idiot Beaumont couldn’t show up on the right street corner at the right time. How hard can it be? I flew all the way to San Diego, slashed little Bitsy’s throat, drove her beamer all the way up to LA, dumped it in downtown hell, and was back in my office before the sun set.”

“Although you did make mistakes.”

“Keys, bees, you wouldn’t have gotten me on just those. What else did you find? Might as well tell me.”

“It was all I needed,” CC lied. She couldn’t let this lunatic know that Max was alive and well.

“So you say.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, what were you planning for me?”

“I had something devilishly clever in mind for you.” Eunice almost cackled.

CC couldn’t help wondering who was the most bat-shit crazy, Simon or his lawyer?

“I was going to kill Beaumont and dump him here. My theory was that you wouldn’t stop looking for him after he disappeared. There was a good chance he wouldn’t be found. If he was discovered, it wouldn’t reflect well on the late Detective Sampson or you.”

“Because?”

“I was going to kill him with this gun.”

“My gun?”

“No, dear heart, this isn’t one of your guns. This is your late partner’s gun. Originally, I had planned on putting you in storage. There are some dandy storage units along McGrath highway that are climate controlled. When the time came to frame your wife for your murder, I’d thaw you out and dump your body where it would be discovered. Complete with a bullet from one of your guns and drugs in your pocket.”

“You’re not planning on killing Jamie?” CC was filled with a sense of relief.

“My client is still under the delusion that he and the good doctor are meant to be together. My job is to simply frame her. You should thank me for that. In the beginning, Fisher couldn’t decide which one of you I should kill first. I convinced him that you were a much better candidate. He loved the idea of her being left on her own and vulnerable.”