Sweet Arrest (13 page)

"Of course, detective. Right away."

Connor questioned more people than he cared to in the next few hours. The person he most wanted to talk to was the woman in charge of the patients when they worked in the kitchen. Unfortunately, she was out sick. Worried, Connor inquired about her symptoms but was told she'd had foot surgery. That was unrelated. He would just have to visit her home later.

As he strolled along a hall behind a nurse who was to lead him to Selena's room, he paused to listen to and watch a young man working with a patient in a living area. If he didn't miss his guess, the woman was attracted to the man, and he knew it. Each time he flipped his hair back from his forehead, the patient swallowed, as if the act alone cut off her breath. Connor smirked and moved on. Probably an intern.

He searched Selena's room, but there was nothing to be found, no markings on the wall, no secret compartments. As he stooped examining the floor and wondering about his next move, a knock sounded on the open door. He glanced up. The same nurse stood in the doorway, a smile aimed to allure spread across her pretty face. Connor was happy to find even while she did fit his profile of a desirable woman, he didn't want her. A'isha was everything he needed.

"Yes?” He stood and strolled toward her, his expression letting her know he wasn't interested.

With a disappointed frown, she extended a sheet of paper out to him. “This is the visitor's list for Selena Goode. I hope you'll find it useful.” She turned to go, but Connor stopped her with a light touch to her arm. He drew back as if burned. She reddened. “I'm not poisonous,” she muttered, which he considered to be a poor choice of words.

"I might need you to identify anyone on the list.” He perused it quickly and pointed to a name. “Any idea who Ida Wellington is or Joel Stevens?"

The nurse shook her head. “I don't know who Ida Wellington is, but Joel is our intern."

"Why would your intern visit Selena?"

She waved her hand. “Oh, Joel is a good kid. The ladies love him, even the really off ones.” She rolled her eyes. Connor didn't find it funny, and she dropped the humor. “He probably had to sign in on the guest list since he wasn't working that particular day, and he's not a full time employee."

He let her go after that. His best bet was to head back to the front and question the woman at the front desk for a description of Ida Wellington. He bet anything it was a false name. As for the intern, he planned to question him right now.

"Joel?” he called when he reached the living area again. Blue eyes met his and immediately became wary. His instincts were still functional. Something was up with this guy. Connor could feel it. “Detective Pierce. I need to talk to you for a few moments."

Joel came, if reluctantly. Inside a private sitting room, Connor cut to the chase. “What was your relationship with Selena Goode?"

"What?” Various emotions flitted over Joel's face, from anger to acceptance, and back again. Finally, he spoke the truth, which Connor didn't expect without a battle of wits. “We were lovers."

"Come again?"

"We were lovers. You know.” He shrugged. “It's easier than you think in here. The nurses battle patients who want to fight or who try to skip their meds all day. So when I offer to look after this one or that calm one, they leave me alone. Selena is ... well, she's beautiful for a head case. She came onto me, not the other way around."

"As if that matters? What else do you want to tell me?” Connor had been about to inform Joel that he had broken the law, but hesitated. There was more here than just sex. He was sure of it.

He paced to the door and looked out through the window in the center. As much as he tried to appear calm, Connor saw the tension, the fear tightening his muscles. With a little pressure, Joel would snap and tell him all. From Selena's records, she was thirty-five years old and had been in the hospital for about nineteen years. Poor woman had spent all of her adult life locked up.

"I don't have anything else to add. That's it. Selena is a consenting adult, and so am I. So what?"

"Selena has been deemed incompetent to make choices for her life. Therefore, you had no right to do anything with her. Now, I
am
going to find out what else you've been up to, Joel.” Connor was sure to tower over the intern, to be his most intimidating. “And when I do, if I find you haven't told me everything, I will use my influence to charge you to the fullest extent of the law."

"It was Katherine!” he blurted.

"Who?” Connor stopped with his hand on the doorknob to leave the room.

"Katherine Jacks, the nurse on 2D. Selena said Katherine and she were good friends, that Katherine brought her things from the outside as Selena put it.” He looked guilty. “She used to tell me things when we were ... you know."

Now Connor swung to face him fully. “What other things did she tell you?"

The intern's eyes jerked left and right, anywhere but focusing on Connor's face. “Nothing you'd be interested in."

"Try me."

"She used to say that I'm the only one that wants her. She said the world threw her away, and that's why she'll get her revenge."

Connor ran his hands through his hair. All he wanted to do was beat all of the truth out this ... boy! Why the hell couldn't he just spit it all out? Why did he give him pieces? If he had his badge, he would have arrested him by now, but as it was he'd gotten in purely from Carl's phone call vouching for him. His gut told him this was coming to a head. Somehow he needed to put the pieces together and fast.

His cell rang. He yanked it out and pointed a finger at Joel to wait. His heartbeat picked up seeing it was A'isha. A vision of her chocolate beauty slipped into his mind, teasing him. The moment he finished things here, he'd rush back and get himself another long and unhurried taste of her.

"Baby? Everything okay?” he breathed into the phone.

"Connor."

He heard the relief in her voice.

"I just wanted to be sure you were okay. It'll be dark in another hour. Will you be finished soon and headed back?"

"I will. Don't worry. Soon I'll be there all over you, and you'll wish I'd give you a break.” He laughed, hoping she wouldn't feel that way.

"Don't be stupid, man.” She laughed. “I can't wait to get me some of you. But truthfully, I'm scared. I don't like you out there. She threatened to hurt you. If anything happens to you..."

"It won't. I'm safe. I promise.” He glanced up in time to find Joel trying to sneak away. Connor caught him by the back of his shirt. “Listen, A'isha, I have to question a couple more people, and then I'll be headed back. I already asked Carl to get a guy to sit out front when the sun goes down, and Jill is a master in Tai Kwan Do if you can believe it."

"Really?"

"Really. I'll be there soon.” He clicked his phone closed before he could say anything more. Truth was, he wanted to tell her he loved her, but didn't want to scare her. They hadn't been seeing each other long. He prayed she could get past the fact that he couldn't make children, and that they could have a future together.

"Your girl?” Joel asked when Connor focused on him again.

"Not your business.” Connor tightened his hold. “What else did Selena say? Who did she plan to get revenge on?"

Joel shrugged. “I don't know. She didn't tell me that. Mostly, she hinted around at things, like I said, the revenge and the world turning its back. She said that stuff regularly, like she had some deep down hurts."

"Who is Ida Wellington?"

"Don't know."

With a grumble, Connor released him. “Go. If I have any more questions, I know where to find you!"

Soon Connor was headed up to 2D where Joel said he could find Katherine Jacks. Hopefully, she would have all the information he would need to identify this Ida Wellington and be able to tell him what Selena's plans might have been. If not, he might just call it a day and come back tomorrow. From the looks of things so far, this crap for a mental institution was not a tightly run ship.

Katherine Jacks sat with a straight back at her desk. Connor, standing in the doorway watching her, would bet she had no idea what she was reading. She was expecting him. “Ms. Jacks?"

"Yes."

"I'm Detective Connor Pierce. I'm investigating Selena Goode's connection with a recent murder."

"Murder?” The woman swayed. He heard the scrape of her trashcan when she pulled it over to her and emptied the contents of her stomach into it. “I didn't know. No ... I did. I was stupid. I did it, because I love her.” She cried noisily. Connor ignored the male instinct to comfort her, to tell her it was okay, because it wasn't okay. Whatever involvement she had in helping Selena was serious.

"You want to tell me everything?” he offered.

"Yes."

He tugged his phone out of his pocket and dialed Carl. Even if Selena was not the same person as the one on the cookbook, he needed to be here for what Ms. Jacks shared. “Carl, I need you down at the City Hospital now."

He hated having to wait for his partner to arrive, but he had no choice. This whole thing needed to be official if Katherine Jacks had broken the law. And he didn't doubt she had.

"Ms. Jacks, so we're straight for when my partner comes, what is it that you did for Selena Goode?"

"I got the antimony for her."

He ran a hand over his face. “Ms. Jacks, call your lawyer. He needs to be here when my partner arrives, or he can meet us down at the station."

[Back to Table of Contents]

"Is he out there?” Jill asked A'isha.

A'isha drew back the curtain. The policeman was there in his car. She sighed in relief that he was, but was still tense that she couldn't reach Connor. She'd called three times, and he didn't answer. “Yes, he's there, but where is Connor? He said he'd be back soon."

"You love my brother.” It wasn't a question but a statement. A'isha pretended she didn't hear. Jill had been kind, but she couldn't be sure how the woman felt about her brother dating a black woman. “A'isha?” Jill touched her shoulder. She took a deep breath and turned around.

"Yes, I love him.” A'isha moved away and flopped on the couch with her arms crossed. She stared at the phone on the coffee table, willing it to ring, but it remained stubbornly silent.
I will not panic. I will
not
panic.

Jill joined her. “I think it's wonderful that my little brother has found someone. I can tell the way he looks at you that he feels the same. I'm not sure I've ever seen him look at anyone like that—like his next breath depended on you.” She laughed. “That sounds corny, huh? I read trashy romance novels, the kind with the damsel in distress. Ah, my favorite."

A'isha shook her head. “I never would have pegged you as the type. Earlier when I spoke to Connor, he said you are a master at Tai Kwon Do. Is that true?"

She nodded. “You better believe it. Yeah, in real life, I'm seriously independent, or I am for the most part. I like to fantasize about a guy who sweeps me off my feet, and I thought I found that in my husband. For a while, I didn't even need the books. But then..."

A'isha covered her hand. “It's okay, you don't have to go into it. I can see how much it hurts. If you feel you need a woman to talk to I'm here, even if we talk about ... I don't know ... Island Spice Cake."

"Huh?"

A'isha blushed. “I make desserts for a living."

Jill's eyes grew wide. She sat forward. “Really? Because I
eat
desserts!"

The two of them burst out laughing, A'isha relaxing, realizing Jill wouldn't judge her for the color of her skin. She seemed genuinely happy to be back in Connor's life and that he and A'isha were seeing each other.

"Great, I'm happy to have someone to test new recipes on. I have closed my shop and will be selling it. I've decided I'm going to publish my mother's old recipes, or try at least."

Jill patted her knee. “Good for you, and bring on the desserts. I figure I'll be in town for a while.” Her expression grew serious. “What's happening with you and Connor? He didn't tell me much, but I get the feeling you're in a lot of trouble."

A'isha explained everything to her they had discovered and experienced up unto then. “So, you see, I'm so worried about Connor. I just feel like if we had these papers or at least knew the connection she has with me and my family, then we could end this."

The phone rang.

A'isha sprang up off the couch to snatch it up. “Connor?"

"Guess again,” the snide voice teased. “Hello, A'isha. Enjoying your time with the detective's sister?"

"H-How do you know about that?” She didn't want to show her fear but couldn't help it. “What do you want?"

"You already know that. I want the papers, A'isha. Bring them to me at the shop, or Connor dies."

A'isha lost all strength in her body and crashed down on top of the coffee table. She barely noticed when she hit her chin and her teeth clacked together. She couldn't have him. Connor was at the hospital, and there were too many people there for her to grab him. “You're just trying to get me of the house, away from the policeman,” she whispered with little conviction.

"I'm trying to get you to save your boyfriend. But if you don't love him..."

"You know nothing of love!” she screamed.

"I know a hell of a lot more than your lying mother, that's for sure!"

A'isha blew out a breath, trying to calm herself. She glanced up at Jill who was riveted to her side of the conversation. Focusing on the caller, she tried a different tactic. “Selena. That's your name, isn't it? I saw your name on my mother's cookbook. She knew you."

The woman's laughter was devoid of emotion, hard and cruel. “You're not as dumb as you look. Go on."

Selena wasn't going to make this easy on her. A'isha would have to feel her way, step-by-step and hope anything she said wouldn't set the woman off. Getting information out of her that might help Connor's investigation would be difficult. Somehow, she got the impression that Selena did not have Connor, or she would have boasted about it to terrify A'isha all the more.

"Okay,” A'isha continued. “You had some type of relationship with my mother. Were you an old partner? Did she cheat you of some profit or credit for something?"