Cincinnati, Ohio
Sunday, December 20, 10:20 p.m.
Adam met Deacon as his cousin came through the ER’s double doors. “You needed to see me?” Deacon asked.
Adam motioned to an empty exam room. “In here.” He met Deacon’s worried eyes when he closed the door behind them.
“Hey, you okay?” Deacon asked.
“Yeah. Just . . . I think we might be looking for a cop.”
Deacon’s unique eyes, each half-brown, half-blue, popped wide open. “Well. Not what I was expecting. Why?”
Adam told him what Mallory had revealed about her attacker today and Deacon slowly sat in a chair.
“Holy God,” he murmured, running his hand through his spiky white hair. “Do Meredith and Kate know?”
“Meredith does. She was with me when Mallory told us. I haven’t seen Kate yet. I thought we could talk to her together. Dani says she’s blaming herself.”
“Because that’s Kate,” Deacon said with a sigh. “Any of us would do the same.”
“True enough. What’s going on outside? Any sightings of the shooter?” The first responders had put out a BOLO on the shooter, who’d escaped on foot from the hospital parking lot. Adam was so relieved that he hadn’t confronted Kate in his terror-driven anger. She’d really done an amazing job under the circumstances. “What about the car he stole?”
The car’s owner had run into a convenience store “for just a second,” leaving the car parked with the motor running. “He ditched it already. We haven’t had any reports of more thefts, so he’s either on foot or he hot-wired or jacked another car. As for the scene outside, CSU is doing their thing. There’s a lot of blood, which you already saw. Quincy got there a few minutes after you came inside. He’s like a field marshal out there. ‘Do this, do that, get out of our way.’ I like him and he’s good at his job. He can be brusque, though. Anyway, he’s sent the rifle Kate found in the SUV to the lab. The serial number’s been filed away, but he thinks they can raise it.”
“Excellent. What about the SUV?”
“He’s having it transported to the garage so he can go over it with a fine-toothed comb.” Deacon raked a hand through his hair again, clearly agitated. It had been his habit from the time they were small boys. “A fucking cop?” He sucked in a breath. “As in maybe the cop that raped her years ago? The one we thought was just posing as a cop?”
“She said he was the cop’s friend. It makes sense that they’d want her gone if they think she can identify one or both of them. She was targeted the very first day she left Mariposa House. Up until then she was safe in the mansion.”
“With either Parrish Colby or Kendra Cullen there most of the time.”
Adam nodded. “A Fed and a cop as bodyguards would be a deterrent. Plus all of us volunteering. And Diesel installed a kick-ass security system. Nobody’s getting in there.”
“So he waited until she was out of Mariposa House.”
Adam nodded again. “So I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to figure how they found out that Mallory was going to be out that day and how they knew she’d be at that restaurant. Trip’s talked to all the girls at the house and they all swear they didn’t even know where Meredith was taking Mallory, much less tell anyone outside. Wendi gave Trip access to the house’s landline call logs. Nothing out of the ordinary there. A few of the girls have cell phones. We can look at those.”
“I hate to do that,” Deacon admitted. “Each of the girls at Mariposa has had her privacy stolen by her abuser. I hate to violate their privacy, too, but we will if we have to. Did Meredith tell anyone where she was taking Mallory?”
“Her friends. Wendi knew. I overheard her talking about it to Kendra when I was doing a repair at Mariposa last week. Someone could have overheard her making the reservation or have access to her calendar. She may remember something today that she was too rattled to tell us yesterday.”
Deacon’s laugh was mirthless. “And she’s not rattled today?”
Adam thought about that moment between them, right before Mallory had dropped her bombshell. They’d been cocooned together, gazes locked, her holding their joined hands to her cheek. She’d been . . . at peace.
“I think she’ll be able to think more clearly about it now that she knows that she isn’t the target,” he murmured.
Deacon gave him a look that was smugly satisfied. “Took you fucking long enough.”
Adam raised his brows. “Excuse me?”
“You two have been dancing around each other for a year. More than a year. God. I’ve been wanting to smack you upside the head and say just get the fuck on with it! Faith kept saying it was none of my business, which is ridiculous.”
Adam stared at him. I guess I wasn’t so discreet after all. “Um . . . I’m sorry?”
Deacon snorted, then sobered. “Let’s ask her again. Maybe she’ll remember a detail that didn’t seem important before.”
Adam’s phone started blasting “Dead Man’s Party.” It was Carrie Washington, the ME. He hit ACCEPT. “I’m with Deacon. Can I put you on speaker?” When she agreed, he put his phone down on the table. “What can you tell us about Voss?”
“Cause of death, heroin overdose. What was left in the syringe was a potent concentration. He was a long-time user. He may have simply built a tolerance to his old dose and took too much trying to reach the same high. Time of death is three a.m. Sunday, plus or minus four hours. That was harder to pinpoint, with the heat turned up and the fireplace going.”
Adam did the math. “He died after the cops arrived to guard the outside.”
“So it would seem,” she said. “I may have more by morning. The full set of tox results will be ready by then, plus this is just my preliminary exam.”
“Thanks, Carrie.” Disconnecting, Adam rubbed his temples. “I need to talk to Quincy, to find out what he got from Voss’s house.”
“I already talked to him—while he was driving here from Voss’s. He’d found nothing so far. In fact, so much nothing that it might be something. At first glance, all Voss’s computers are wiped clean. Factory resets.”
“Shit,” Adam murmured. He wondered what time Diesel Kennedy had broken into the man’s system, because it hadn’t been wiped then. “I know there was data on Voss’s hard drives at nine p.m. last night.”
Deacon raised his brows. “Because your confidential informant told you so?”
“Yes. The computers were wiped clean later. We could be talking murder.”
Deacon nodded. “Yes, we could. Except that somebody would have had to murder Voss and wipe all of his data, all while CPD sits outside both the front and back gates. How’d that happen?”
“I don’t know,” Adam said grimly. “But we’re sure as hell going to find out.”
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sunday, December 20, 10:40 p.m.
The knock on the door had Meredith looking up as she sat next to Kate’s bed in the ER. “Kate?” she asked. “Should I see who it is?”
Staring at the opposite wall, Kate shrugged. “I don’t care.”
Meredith sighed. Kate was blaming herself big-time. Wouldn’t look at any of them. Normally Meredith would have been compassionate and patient, but she was tired and irritable and her own head still hurt. “Stop it,” she snapped in a quiet voice. “No one is to blame here, except the asshole who tried to grab Mallory.” The light knock on the door had been a welcome relief from Kate’s silence.
Meredith peeked out, then opened the door wider for Deacon and Adam. “Come on in. Did you get my message?” she asked Adam.
He smiled at her and she had to remind herself that things were bleak, because her heart soared. “That Wendi and Colby came for Mallory?” he asked. “Yes, Colby found us. They’re waiting with Mallory in one of the consultation rooms until we sort out getting her protection placement.”
Th
at took Meredith a second, but then she blinked. “Oh. I guess they can’t take her back to Mariposa House.” Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. “That was stupid of me. I just assumed they’d take her home, but that would put the other girls at risk.”
Adam tipped her chin up. “It was not stupid of you. That old house is about as safe as they come. It’s solid rock. But we have to figure out how the shooter knew where you two were going to be yesterday before we can be sure it’s safe there for Mallory.”
That should have occurred to her, too. “Because he had to know where we’d be. I don’t remember telling anyone except for my friends. I’ve been wracking my brain.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Regardless of where we place Mallory, I want you to stay at the condo until this is settled. Okay? You may not be a target now, but I still want you safe. Your house isn’t secure.”
She wanted to ask if he would stay at the condo with her, but was completely conscious of Deacon standing right next to them. “I’m not going to fight you on it. Besides, my things are there.”
“‘Things’ meaning guns?” Deacon asked. He was studying Kate, who lay on the bed, her arm in a sling, her eyes closed.
“Among other things,” Meredith allowed.
Deacon glanced at them, his arched brow a commentary on the way she and Adam were holding each other, then turned back to his former partner, who hadn’t stirred. “How is she?”
“Awake,” Meredith said pointedly, so Kate could hear her. “Even though she’s pretending to be asleep. She’s ornery. Feeling guilty. Maybe you two can shake her out of it, because she’s not listening to me.”
Adam gestured for Deacon to take the lead. Deacon and Kate had been friends and colleagues for years. None of their group knew Kate as well as Deacon Novak.
Deacon approached the bed, frowning. “Eighteen stitches? That’s all? And you’re lying here like a lump?”
“Fuck off, Deacon,” Kate said, very quietly.
“I’d much rather be home doing exactly that with Faith, but that’s not the hand we were dealt today.” He took the chair nearest the bed. “Stop this. You brought an injured person into a hospital. You believed you had backup. And you know what? If you hadn’t, we’d all still think that Meredith was the target and Mallory would be walking around unprotected because she wouldn’t know the truth. Now we know. Now we know we might be looking for a fucking cop. Now we need your help.”
Kate blinked at that. “What?”
Adam glanced at Meredith. “You didn’t tell her?”
Meredith shrugged. “I tried. She told me she’d knit me a ball gag if I didn’t shut up.”
Adam swallowed a startled laugh. “O-kay.”
“I did not,” Kate snapped, then sighed. “All right. I might have. But the doctor gave me drugs.”
“Not that many drugs,” Meredith said. “Or not enough.”
Kate glared over her shoulder, then back at Adam and Deacon. “What’s this about a cop?” she demanded, then her face went slack as comprehension dawned. “Oh God. The cop she was afraid of. The one who raped her.” She struggled to sit up, then fell back against the pillows, eyes clenched, mouth tight with pain. “We should have looked for him.”
“We did look,” Deacon said firmly.
“We should have looked harder,” Kate said, teeth clenched.
“We investigated, Kate,” Deacon insisted patiently. “She couldn’t describe him except to say he had a birthmark. And there was no record of a police visit to the house where she was being held. We had no leads, Kate. Now we do.”
“A cop,” Kate whispered thinly. “All this was a cop?”
Deacon gripped her uninjured hand. “At a minimum, a friend of a cop. I know you’ve had a helluva night, but we need some information. We know you went looking for Mallory. We know that when the dust settled, we had three injured Feds—you and Agents Helder and Carroll out in the van. We know you got the shooter’s gun, his rifle, his knife, and his SUV. We know about the eighteen stitches and”—he peered at her head more closely—“a really bad bruise on your forehead. But there are a few pages missing in the middle.”
Kate sighed. “I heard Meredith yelling at the shooter, so I doubled back. Mallory was in the SUV, the gunman was standing there, his gun pointed at Meredith, and Meredith was trying to trade herself.” She glanced at Meredith. “Goddamn idiot,” she said without heat.
“That’s been established,” Meredith said dryly. “Tell us what we don’t know.”
“I came up behind the guy, ID’d myself as FBI, had him drop to his knees and drop his gun. I kicked the gun away, Meredith got Mallory out of the van, they started walking. I’d called in for backup and kept hoping it would get there. I didn’t know what had happened to Helder and Carroll. What did?”
“One’s serious, the other critical,” Deacon told her. “But they’re both alive. So if you had him on his knees and he dropped his gun, how’d he get the upper hand?”
“I’d leaned in to cuff him and he reared back and head-butted my face. Honestly, my attention was split. I was watching Meredith and Mallory out of the corner of my eye because I was afraid he had an accomplice. But it was just him. He had a knife up his sleeve and”—she pointed to her arm—“he got me with it. I kicked it out of his hand, but he was already going for my gun. We fought for it and I shot him in the chest, but he was wearing a vest. Still had to have hurt him. It was point-blank. He got me by the throat, shoved me into the SUV, backward, then face-first. I . . . I was a bit dizzy.”
“You were curled up on the damn ground,” Meredith challenged. “I thought . . .” Tears rose in her throat. “God, Kate, I thought you were dead.”
Kate shrugged. “I might have been if I hadn’t been wearing the wig. He went for the gun again and grabbed at my hair to hold me down. The wig came off, which surprised him so much that he staggered a little. I shoved at him but I was . . . dizzy, so I sat down.”
“Fell down,” Meredith muttered, pushing the tears back.
Kate gave her a dirty look. “Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I could keep the gun away from him. I couldn’t get up to run away at that point, so I ejected the clip and threw it as hard as I could, then tossed the gun under the SUV. His was already under there from when I kicked it. He tried to get at both guns, cursed a lot, hit me a few more times, then went running after Meredith. She’d stashed Mallory by this point. She came out with a gun, shot the guy in the chest. He must have been on something because he didn’t stop. I mean, yeah, he had on a vest, but that was two direct hits to the chest and he didn’t even act like he felt it. She shot his leg and he retreated. I’d gotten to my knees at this point, but I couldn’t reach my gun or his. But, hey, it was a black SUV, just like at the restaurant. I figured he might have a rifle in there, since he used it to shoot at Adam and Troy earlier.”
“That was good work, Kate,” Deacon said. “Where did you find it?”
“Under the driver’s seat. I heard four more shots, got close enough to hear Meredith tell him that he’d have to kill her first, that she wouldn’t let him have Mallory. Idiot.”
Meredith rolled her eyes, but her voice was soft and nonaccusatory when she asked, “Why did you shoot his arm? Why not his head?”
“You’re the best shot of any of us, Kate,” Adam said quietly. “What happened?”
Kate grimaced. “I was aiming for his head. My vision was a little blurry.”
Meredith’s heart stuttered. Now she understood. This wasn’t all Kate being guilty. This was also fear. Kate’s head had been hit harder than she wanted to admit and she was scared. Oh honey, Meredith wanted to say, but she held the words back, holding Kate’s hand instead. Kate tightened her grip, affirmation of just how terrified she was.
Adam let out a quiet breath. “Is it still blurry?”
“Not as much. They’re going to keep me here tonight.??
? She forced a smile. “Along with Clarke. Ironic that we brought Mer in for a head injury but we’re the ones who have to sleep over. Maybe we can watch movies. Or listen to them. The light kind of hurts my eyes.”
Adam immediately dimmed the overhead light. “Better?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
“Why didn’t you say something to me?” Meredith asked.
“I didn’t want to scare you any more than you already were.”
Meredith scoffed. “Doofus.”
Kate’s lips curved faintly. “Knitted ball gag threat still in effect.” She sighed. “Then I shot the SUV’s tires. I didn’t want him to have an easy getaway. But he got away anyway.”
“We’ve got half the city out looking for him,” Deacon assured her. “Where’s Cap?”
“One of the hospital volunteers is keeping him right now. I’ll have to find someone to keep him until Decker gets home.” Kate swallowed hard. “He’s booked on the first flight out tomorrow.”
“I’ll keep Cap,” Meredith said. “Or, depending on which safe house Mallory’s going to, maybe she can keep him. He seems to bring her peace. Or the idea of him does, at least.”
“I’d forgotten about that,” Kate said softly. “Please, make sure she can pet him.”
Meredith lightly kissed Kate’s temple. “We’ll take care of it. I’m going to see Papa for a while, but I’ll be back before I have to go. You try to rest.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sunday, December 20, 11:15 p.m.
“This is a clusterfuck, Adam,” Hanson grumbled as he took a seat at the table in Isenberg’s briefing room. He’d made a point of being one of the first ones there.
They were all running on fumes. Especially Quincy, Adam thought, who’d been hopping from scene to scene since yesterday afternoon. Quincy had left other forensic techs at each scene to continue the work, but had continued to revisit each one.