Find My Baby (13 page)

“I love you, too, and take care of yourself.”

****

Luke motioned Terry out of the attorney’s office and into the hall. “I’m going to check in at headquarters, then keep an eye on Kayla the rest of the day. When you get free, shadow Marcie again. There has to be a connection we’re missing. She might lead us to it.”

“Good idea,” Terry agreed. “I shouldn’t be here too long.”

Just the thought that Kayla was on the killer’s list made Luke’s heart stand still. He had to convince the captain to allow him enough time to give Kayla the protection she needed. With the baby her sole concern, she was heedless of her own safety. And he’d seen little of the patrol cars HPD had promised to keep an eye on her.

Since Kayla was determined to do things her way, whether it put her in harm’s way or not, it was up to him to keep her safe. She was so focused on her search she couldn’t see the danger. Earlier, when he’d seen her on TV pleading for the return of her son, he’d been furious, then frightened. True, she’d worn a wig, one that made her look more like herself before the blonde dye job. But every time she called attention to herself, she waved a red flag in front of whoever wanted her dead. Thinking about it now made him weak in the knees. There were simply too many bodies piling up to allow her to run around town without protection.

The sudden realization that she meant more to him than just another case hit him in the gut. He cared for her. More than cared. No matter what he was doing, she was in his thoughts. No other case and no other woman had ever done that. He shook his head. Was he becoming so emotionally involved that it was clouding his detective skills? He didn’t think so. Still, he felt consumed by her case in a way that frightened him. Even her face was imprinted on his brain.

He did know the caring went deeper than it should.

He’d looked at the sketch she’d drawn of Sam so many times, that given half a chance, he’d recognize him. And he realized he wanted to meet the little guy.

But was there any chance at all of finding him?

He needed a plan. Something the captain would go along with that would keep Kayla safe and expand the search. He also needed to find out where the FBI was in all of this.

Though there was more than one case now that seemed interlocked, the reasons were yet to be found. If Marcie Tanner had wanted her husband dead for the insurance money, how did that connect to Kayla and her son? And how did any of them relate to the attorney?

Thirty minutes later, he knocked on the door of the captain’s small office.

Looking up from his desk, he saw Luke and waved him in. “About time you checked in.”

“Busy day.”

“Sit. And give me a report. If I hear we have another murder that mirrors the last two, I’m kicking ass.”

Luke chuckled. He liked the captain. They’d always gotten along. He was a fair man who judged his people with a discerning eye. His men respected his decisions and did their best to do the job required of them.

Sinking gratefully in the straight-backed chair, Luke said, “Then you’d better start kicking. If I’m not mistaken, the lawyer was killed by the same person as Tanner and the kidnappers, Bowen and Oberon.”

The captain groaned. “Did you retrieve a bullet?”

“They will at autopsy.”

“For all the good it’ll do. Damned lab still can’t find the missing bullets from the Bowen-Oberon murders.” He slammed an impatient hand on his desk. Papers scattered.

“What’s the story about that anyway?” Luke was well aware of the police department’s crime lab and its poor reputation. Over the last few months they’d gotten new personnel, implemented new rules. Evidently it made little difference.

“We may never know,” the captain said, trying to shuffle papers back in order. “They’ve probably lost our case for us. The chain of evidence is contaminated now. You can’t get that back.”

“We may not need it.”

“Spill it.” He looked up from the mess on his desk; his penetrating gaze boring into Luke.

Luke picked a pen off the desk before he answered. “Did you a get search warrant for the jeweler’s?”

“I sent someone over to pick it up. Should be back any minute. Do you think we’ll find the stolen jewels?”

Luke shrugged. “It’s as good a lead as any. And if it is the jewelry Marcie Tanner described as being stolen, we’ve got her.”

“Okay. Lay it out for me. Just what do we have?”

Luke leaned closer. “First we have the Tanner murder. Shot in the back of the head with a thirty-eight. We still have that bullet, right?” At the captain’s nod, he continued. “Maguire and I have consistently followed Tanner’s wife and in the process saw her pass a package to a courier who took it directly to the jeweler’s. We have pictures to back this up.”

The captain made notes on a yellow note pad. “Go on.”

“At the jeweler’s, the name of the attorney was brought up which could mean a connection to the Tanner murder. Then we have Kayla Hunter, who was kidnapped over a month ago, gave birth and had her child stolen before she escaped.” He paused a minute. “Did you find shells in the woods where Kayla was shot at?”

“We did.”

“What about the house? Any DNA?”

“Some. Just as she said, it had been wiped clean. But luminal brought out traces of blood on the boards at the window.”

“And?”

Captain Jensen leaned back, crossed his arms. “The bullets we found in the woods match those from Tanner’s and the kidnappers’ killing. The blood in the room where she was held prisoner is Ms. Hunter’s blood type. DNA will prove it. Her story is confirmed.”

Luke’s mouth went dry. “Holy shit!” He’d known all along her story would check out. But now, with the evidence staring them in the face, he realized Kayla could be in more danger than he thought. Three murders so far. Was she the link that tied them all together? He had to get to her. Protect her.

“Finish the story,” the captain ordered.

Luke’s fingers tightened on the pen. “The day the sketch of the kidnapper aired, Frances Bowen was murdered, along with Jack Oberon. Both fit Kayla’s description of her kidnappers.”

“And?”

“They were killed with gunshot wounds to the base of the skull, and, according to the lab using the same gun as in Tanner’s murder. Did they have a rap sheet?”

Captain Jensen shook his head. “Nothing. Could mean they just haven’t been caught yet.”

“Figures. Now we have an attorney killed in the same manner whose name was mentioned in the jewelry store. Which means there could be a connection between the attorney and the Tanner case. Everything we have so far leads to the same person committing the murders.” Luke took a deep breath. Every time he spelled it out, the more bizarre it sounded.

Luke watched the captain scratch out his notes. “I think when Kayla went on TV yesterday, she invited the killer to come after her.”

Captain Jensen’s head popped up. “You think?”

“I do.”

“Could be,” a deep voice said from the doorway.

Luke swung around, dropped the pen. Two men walked in.

“Long time, Captain.” The man said.

Luke watched the captain’s face freeze into a scowl before he came out of his chair. “What are you doing here, Richards? I thought you hated this place.”

Luke recognized the FBI agent. But he didn’t think the choice of agents would work in this case. Not when the agent was a long-time adversary of the boss. The story was that years ago when they were both in the Police Academy, they’d dated the same woman. Each man asked her to marry him. Each thought he had the inside track. Neither won. She left them both to marry a lawyer. They blamed each other. Much to everyone’s relief, Clint Richards left HPD and went to the FBI. No one had been happier than Mark Jensen, who eventually became captain.

“Thought we’d check in,” Richards said.

The man was an imposing figure. He sported a trim six-foot frame. His smile showed even, white teeth and his hair was still brown. Luke wondered if he touched it up. And he wondered how different he was now from twenty years earlier. The story around the precinct was that Clint Richards had tried some dirty tricks to take the captain out of competition over the woman.

“Keith,” Richards said, turning to his partner, “This is an old friend, Captain Mark Jensen, and his detective, Luke Garrett. This is my partner, Keith Sloan.”

Luke shook hands with Sloan, nodded at Richards. Sloan was the opposite of his partner. Shorter, carried more weight, and had a not-so-polished appearance.

“Anything on the baby?” Luke asked.

“Nothing. We put out an Amber alert immediately, sent his sketch to every FBI office in the country. Still nothing. However, with this third murder, we’re able to connect a lot of dots.”

“And that means?” Jensen asked.

Richards chuckled. “I’ll need your files on the Tanner murder, the Hunter kidnapping, the Oberon—Bowen one, as well as George Graham’s. We’re taking them off your hands.”

“I’ve got a few more. Want them too?” Captain Jensen snarled.

“Don’t get testy, Mark. We’ve had our eye on this for quite a while now.”

“I expected the FBI to cooperate, not take the cases and run.”

Richards’ mouth turned into a sneer. “We’ve been watching Graham. Now that there’s a connection to Tanner, we’ll take it from here.”

“So what’s the plan?” Captain Jensen asked.

“All I need from you are the files,” the FBI agent said firmly.

“We’re glad to help the FBI in any way we can,” the captain said stiffly. “But since we’ve been on the Tanner case from the beginning, we’d like to keep our hand in. The kidnapping is another story. We need the FBI’s network to find that baby.”

“If he can be found, we’ll find him,” Richards promised. “But your involvement in the Tanner case is unnecessary. We’re taking over.”

“Are you going to protect the mother? There’s been one attempt on her life already. If the killer finds her, he’ll try again,” Luke asked.

Richards acknowledged Luke with a nod. “You can be sure we’re on top of it. We know where she’s staying and where she works. We have someone watching her.”

“I haven’t seen anyone.”

“They’re good.”

“Or they simply check on her a few times a day. She needs round-the-clock protection.”

“If we think it necessary, she’ll get it,” Richards answered.

Luke didn’t like his answer. A quick look at the captain told him Jensen didn’t either. Surely they wouldn’t play games with Kayla’s life. Besides, Luke didn’t want off the case. How could he help her if he wasn’t involved professionally? Kayla was in danger, he was sure of it. And he didn’t trust anyone to protect her except himself.

More than anything, he wanted to be with her.

“How long have you been involved?” the captain asked.

“We’ve been investigating George Graham for weeks. Once we get all the facts we’ll know more.”

“That’s it? You’ll know more?” Luke vented. “What’s wrong with this picture? Ms. Hunter’s baby has been kidnapped. I don’t see that any effort on your part to find him has paid off. She’s in danger herself.” Luke was on a roll and wouldn’t be stopped by the look his captain shot his way. “Four people have been shot, tying together three murder scenes, a kidnapping and God only knows what else. And all you can do is tell us you’ll make more headway than HPD? Evidently, you’ve made little so far. And if you had the lawyer staked out as you claim, why didn’t you stop his murder?”

“Investigating,” Richards emphasized. “Not staked out.”

“We need to stay on the case,” Luke added, struggling to regain control.

“Do I have to remind you,” Richards said, “That we have access to information and resources HPD can’t begin to compete with.”

“Are you going to protect Ms. Hunter?” Luke persisted.

“This is an ongoing FBI investigation. As such, we control everything concerning the case. And that includes protecting witnesses, following leads and arresting suspects.”

“Are there any suspects?” the captain asked.

Richards avoided the question. “I’ll need your files.”

“We have several leads to follow,” the captain argued.

The captain had no choice. The FBI was taking over, and that was that. “Can I see you a minute?” Luke asked the captain.

They stepped into the hallway. “You can’t let them take everything and walk. I don’t trust them to protect Kayla.”

“Are you involved with her?” he asked, his eyes boring into Luke’s.

“Kayla has one thing on her mind and it isn’t me,” Luke snapped. Wishing with everything in him it wasn’t true. But it was. Kayla wanted her son back. That was all she wanted.

“Don’t be so grumpy, I was just asking.” Seeing the frustration building in his detective, the captain added, “Let me handle it.”

They went back inside. “Give me an hour to gather everything together. You can pick up the files then.”

“Fair enough,” Richards nodded.

“I think it would be to the FBI’s advantage to have at least one of our men on your team,” the captain suggested.

“Not at this time.” Richards didn’t argue, simply stated how things were going to be.

“You can’t do that,” Luke said.

“We can and we have,” Richards answered. “We’ve been building a case for over a year now. We were getting close when it blew up. Now it’s close again. We don’t want anything to interfere.”

At the crisp, know-it-all attitude of his former rival, the captain’s blood pressure had to be hitting two hundred and rising.

“Will the FBI protect Kayla Hunter?” the captain asked.

Richards gave him an insolent look. “If it’s necessary.”

Once the door shut, the captain slammed a hand on his desk. “Son-of-a-bitch. He’s still the same arrogant bastard he was twenty years ago.” He turned to Luke. “You’re still on the case. Do what you have to do.”

“Captain, I don’t think they’ll give Kayla the protection she needs.”

Captain Jensen let out a weary sigh. “They didn’t give me a choice. As much as I dislike Clint Richards, the FBI knows their job. Give them a chance. They’re better equipped to find the baby than we are. And, trust me, they have some kind of surveillance on her.”

“From what they said, I’m not sure. If I’m going to stay on the case, does that mean I can do anything I need to do to keep Kayla safe?”