Intentions (Carpenter/Harding Book 6) Read online

  Intentions

  (Carpenter/Harding #6)

  Barbara Winkes

  Copyright © 2017 by Barbara Winkes

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales are purely coincidental.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For D.

  Chapter One

  Life was good. Nothing to worry about. With a sharp focus, Jordan took aim at the target and pulled the trigger, three times, four, five, hitting the mark each time. She had needed the practice, and it was good to see she hadn’t lost her touch. That was all there was to her visit to the shooting range. It had nothing to do with the appearance of Darby’s lawyer, or the news he’d brought.

  Or the letter.

  Jordan wasn’t interested in what Darby had to say to her. Based on her experience, she could tell without reading the letter that he’d try to get under her skin one more time, make her doubt herself. He wouldn’t succeed.

  She was letting go of the house he’d sold her. The case was long closed, and the letter didn’t contain information to magically solve others, she was certain. Darby had nothing to give to her, because he knew she wouldn’t offer him anything in return.

  Truth be told, she was angry. Not at his last attempt at manipulating her—Jordan wasn’t surprised at that. He was supposed to spend the rest of his life behind bars, years and decades to come, but the end of that time was coming sooner than they’d all expected. Too easy on him, after the terror he’d inflicted on his victims. Too quick.

  Another round. Jordan suppressed a sigh. Practice, right. She didn’t need a shrink to tell her that with the parameters having changed once again, she needed to feel in control—the last step to closure. She didn’t know if he had weeks or months. She didn’t want to know.

  She’d met with a realtor named Andrea Cox earlier today to discuss the sale of her house. The woman was also in charge of finding Jordan and Ellie a new home. She was moving on.

  Darby couldn’t go anywhere. There was solace in that, for her, for the other survivors, the victims’ loved ones.

  Time to go home.

  She had some cleaning up to do. The realtor had assured her that the house was in good shape and almost ready for an open house. She had to consult with Ellie regarding dates for viewings of their own. She had barely seen her this week as Ellie was working nights at the moment.

  She was also waiting for the test results of the detective’s exam she’d taken.

  Jordan was excited for her, though she had no doubt Ellie had aced the exam, because she’d tackled it like everything else in life. Frankly, she was more focused on the future living arrangements, mostly thrilled about the prospect, a small part of her still terrified. Those were voices of the past, though, her former self. Just because she’d messed up once—okay, a few times—it didn’t mean she’d to it again.

  This was different. Ellie was different.

  “That was pretty impressive.” Back at the front door, she turned around at the sound of a familiar voice.

  “I didn’t know you were here,” she said, surprised.

  Derek Henderson, her partner, shrugged. “Nothing better to do on a Friday evening, I guess. What’s your excuse?”

  That didn’t sound good. Jordan wasn’t sure Ellie had managed to talk to Kate yet, Derek’s girlfriend with whom she was sharing an apartment at the moment.

  “Ellie is working nights. I’m stalling getting my house cleaned up. Want to have dinner?”

  “Sure, why not? There’s this new burger joint on Madison. Max’s?”

  “I’ve heard about it. Sounds good. I’ll meet you there.”

  The moment she sat in her car, Jordan wondered if she might regret her offer. There were a few elephants in the room to maneuver around, and they mostly had to do with Kate.

  Jordan and Ellie had decided that it was the right time for the two of them to move in together, but Ellie also wanted to give Kate a fair warning. Their community had been shaken by the death of a fellow officer who had been Kate’s fiancé. In the aftermath, Kate and Derek had gotten close, and she and Ellie had become roommates. Recently, Kate made the decision to leave the force. More major changes were coming, and she wasn’t sure if tonight was the right time to discuss them all.

  A couple of red lights slowed her down, so when she arrived, Derek had already ordered a beer. The waitress brought it before she could consider her own choice.

  “That looks good. I’ll go with the same,” Jordan told her, then she and Derek both went back to studying the menu.

  “Kate broke up with me.”

  The statement came without warning, and it took her a moment to react properly.

  “Damn. I’m so sorry.” Jordan laid down the menu.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” he added quickly. “I wasn’t going to complain to you. I just wanted to tell you before it goes around, and I don’t know if she talked to Ellie.”

  “I didn’t know, I swear. I’m really—”

  “Yeah, thanks. We can move on to something else now.”

  For Jordan, that wasn’t going quite as quick. There were so many implications in this, Kate being apparently hell-bent on ending her career as a cop, now her relationship with Derek, what would that mean for Jordan and Ellie’s plans? She chided herself for being selfish. The truth was Kate was still grieving. She probably needed to feel in control as well, even though it was questionable whether all those breaks would help. Then again, Jordan could only speak for herself. The recent challenges, some of them traumatic, had made her priorities even clearer—being a cop, being with Ellie.

  “Sure. Ellie should have her results any day now.”

  They’d spent a lot of time together lately, her and Derek, Ellie and Kate. Those changes would take some time to get used to for all of them.

  “She’s not worried? She’s been getting ready for this from the first day out of the academy.”

  “I’m not worried. She’s…cautious,” Jordan phrased her words carefully, unable to keep the smile off her face. She was happy these days, proud of the woman she loved…maybe she wasn’t the best company for Derek tonight.

  “So you read the letter Donovan gave you? Anything new, or was it the same old crap you expected?”

  “No, I didn’t read it, for exactly that reason. I already knew it would be the same old crap.” She didn’t know what to make of his expression. “Anyway, you saw me throw it out after he left. I’m good, I swear. I think Darby gets an easy way out, but there’s nothing anyone can do about it now.”

  “Ellie took it. She probably thinks you might change your mind at some point, so you’ll still have the chance.”

  “Okay. I see.”

  “Don’t be mad at her. She means well.”

  “I have no doubt. Wow. This is…unexpected.” If she was honest, Jordan would have liked not to know, because she was sure Ellie wouldn’t bring up the subject unless Jordan did—so, preferably, never. “I’m not going to be mad, come on, we’re adults. Why are you telling me this now?”

  He shrugged. “That’s actually a good question. I thought you should know. Maybe I’m a bit jealous of people who have a handle on their relationships. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay. I’m sure Kate just needs more time—and your assessment is debatable…but yeah, things are finally good. That’s the reason why I don’t bother with Darby’s games.”

  “You’re not curious at all?”

  �
��No. I already know all there is to him.” Derek stayed silent at that. “He’s not going to give up more victims. Did he kill more than we know about? Maybe, but he knows he’s not getting anything from us. This will be the end of it. I don’t mind if Ellie wants to know what’s in the letter, if she gets some closure from it, but I don’t need that.”

  “However you want to handle it. You know I’ll have your back.”

  “Thank you. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, how about the weather now?”

  They both laughed, intent on postponing any dire subjects for a little while longer.

  Chapter Two

  Ellie had made several half-hearted attempts at bringing up the living arrangements earlier during roll call, but then Kate was assigned with Casey Lyons, and she hadn’t seen her since. She had wanted to talk some more about Kate’s career plans as well, but Kate informed her that she’d already turned in her resignation. She’d be gone by the end of the month. She didn’t share any other plans.

  Ellie wanted to be a friend to her. She also needed to take some chances. In the past few days, she’d been focusing on the test before anything else, but now that it was done, it was time.

  No more stalling. After tonight’s shift, she had to find Kate and talk to her.

  The future was looking bright.

  Even though Jordan had only mentioned it offhandedly once, there was the chance that a colleague of hers, Detective Waters, might retire soon, and that would mean an opening in Homicide. This had always been Ellie’s goal, right from the start, and it seemed within reach. So was finally sharing a home with Jordan. She couldn’t have been happier.

  Okay, there was the letter still burning a hole in her pocket, but she’d try her best not to make too much of it. If Jordan ever mentioned being curious about it…she could offer. If not, they never had to mention it again.

  She was distracted from her various planning when she saw a person on the sidewalk waving to her, obviously trying to catch her attention.

  “Officer! We need some help here!”

  Ellie parked the car and got out, joining the small group, two woman and a men, all in their late forties to early fifties.

  “What happened? Do you need an ambulance?”

  One of the women shook her head, exasperated. “I don’t think so, but if you can get him to stop yelling, that would be great. We were having guests over, and that’s not the entertainment we were looking for.”

  Ellie quickly understood what she was looking at when the man in question, a few feet away, started shouting again.

  “I hate the bitch! She was a bad mother to you. Hate her!”

  The obviously drunk individual was in his late twenties maybe, wearing jeans and a tank top. He was walking farther down the street, but then made a sharp turn, coming back.

  “We were discussing whether to call the police,” the other woman said, “but then we saw you. Maybe you could just talk to him?”

  “Bitch!” the man yelled. Ellie saw he was carrying a cat on his shoulder that, unlike the neighbors, seemed pretty much used to his antics. It looked fairly comfortable.

  “Of course. Sir. Could I talk to you for a moment?” she asked, walking towards him. He made a step, stumbled slightly, but managed to stay upright and hold on to the cat. “Are you okay?”

  “Bitch,” he said again, obviously having trouble focusing. “Left me. She’s not going to get the cat. Did the bitch call you?”

  Ellie winced. Aside from screaming every single word, the man had obviously been drinking all night—she could smell it on his breath.

  “No, but the people on this street have had quite enough of your yelling. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?”

  “Why don’t you LEAVE ME ALONE?”

  It’s the full moon, Ellie thought, suppressing the impulse to shake her head. Just this one more night shift, and she could spend some time at Jordan’s, sleep, breakfast, sex. She could do one more night, especially since she’d probably know the test results next week. A whole new life would begin soon.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but you’re bothering the neighbors. If you could just keep it down…”

  It would have been too much to ask for.

  He pushed her—not hard, he didn’t have the coordination left to do that—and then ran. Stumbled, was more like it, while the cat was still comfortably curled up on his shoulder.

  “Hey! Stop!”

  Of course, he didn’t. Ellie caught up with him just before he was about to walk right into traffic.

  “Fuck you,” he spat at her, teetering on his feet before he passed out. The cat saved itself with a quick jump and then hurried back into the direction the man had come from.

  Ellie kneeled beside him to check for his pulse and then got out her phone.

  “I guess we need that ambulance after all,” she said to no one. Her call was almost drowned out by a driver revving up his engine, mistaking the street for a race track.

  That kind of night.

  Thank God the new life was just around the corner.

  * * * *

  When Jordan moved into the house, she had been in a hurry to get out of the apartment she’d then shared with Bethany. She’d taken her personal belongings and left most of the furniture. She realized that it would be the same when she left her current home. Maybe the new owner would be willing to factor some of it into the price of the house.

  Jordan went to her bedroom, opened closets and closed them again. A well organized household. She’d always made sure that everything was in place in case she had to leave abruptly, and it had served her—confirmation or self-fulfilling prophecy?

  It was time for something permanent. She wasn’t living with a couple of unfit parents or a girlfriend she didn’t know how to leave. This was her choice.

  Still, she’d have to talk to Ellie about the letter, thank you, but no, I don’t care what’s in it.

  She hadn’t told anyone, because she didn’t want her friends and family to think she considered this house a mistake in the first place—it had been a good idea at the time—now, she couldn’t wait to leave.

  * * * *

  Ellie had hardly ever been so happy to leave the station. She envisioned a hot shower and maybe a couple of hours of sleep at Jordan’s after finally figuring out with the help of various services how to best deal with Yelling Man. He had come to before the ambulance arrived, and hadn’t slowed down since.

  “Bitch stole my cat! Arrest her!” was one of the nicer things he’d hurled at Ellie.

  He couldn’t go home, because he claimed his ex, the cat’s “mom” had locked him out. Finally, they came to an agreement that he would stay at the station overnight to sober up, and that there would be a follow-up with the hospital to determine if he was a threat to anyone, including himself.

  The address he’d named was indeed close to the street where neighbors had asked Ellie to talk to him, and when she stepped onto the small porch of the house, a soft meow made her turn around.

  “You’re home, aren’t you?” she said, reaching out to pet the tabby cat, then picked it up at the same time the woman opened the door.

  “Oh, Minnie, you’re back! Thank you so much, Officer. Wait. You’re not here because of Minnie.” She sighed heavily. “It’s Kevin, right? He went on a binge again.”

  “Your ex-boyfriend?” Ellie asked, and the woman’s eyes widened.

  “He told you that? I gave him soup once. He really liked Minnie.”

  Ellie had a suspicion, which after a few minutes’ worth of conversation was confirmed. Kevin, who lived by himself in an apartment down the street, was an example for how people would fall through the cracks of society, when at the same time, their behavior was indulged and never analyzed all the way to the roots. For sure, he had his problems. He might or might not become dangerous at some point to a female neighbor who’d once been nice to him, because he felt entitled, to her affection and maybe more.

  Ellie took out a card and wro
te her cell phone number on the bottom.

  “He’s probably going to be okay once he sobers up, but if you need anything, please call.”

  She didn’t think she’d ever hear from her again, but it was the least she could do.

  Half an hour later, she parked in front of Jordan’s house and let herself in, heading straight to the shower, assuming that Jordan was still asleep.

  Clad in only a towel, she walked into the bedroom and got underneath the sheets with her, deciding that breakfast could wait a little while longer.

  “Hey,” Jordan murmured, reaching for her. “You want breakfast in bed?”

  “Just bed will be okay for a while.

  She was asleep within minutes, only later woken by the scent of coffee and bacon. Ellie got dressed in her own panties and Jordan’s shirt, and combed her hands through her hair. Jordan acknowledged her appearance with an amused smile.

  “Long night?”

  “Oh yeah. Sometimes it makes you wonder if we can ever do enough for people. It seems like everyone’s only thinking about what happens after the fact, never about prevention.”

  “It feels like that sometimes,” Jordan said, but didn’t deepen the subject.

  “It does.” Ellie poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, gazing out of the window. The view of the trees and mountains in the distance was nice, but not nice enough to overlook the connection to Darby with this property. They had evaded the subject of him successfully for some time now, but the recent past had brought triggers, like the last case that led not only to a woman-hating cult being shut down, but a serial murderer brought to justice. Joseph’s trial would begin soon.

  She wondered how Ariel was doing. The young girl had grown up in the cult and was now a material witness. They had promised to keep in touch, but it would be easier after her testimony. They didn’t want anyone to allege they might be influencing her—too much depended on her, and Ariel knew that. The last time they’d talked, Ariel had moved from her temporary placement into a group home for young teens.