Insinuations Read online

  “It’s not like I was never going to see her again. She’s friends with Jensen Baker’s family. I’m all right. I need you to stop second guessing that. Instead, let’s discuss some ideas on how to find a ghost, because apparently, very few people have even seen him. I want to take another look at Mara’s history, see if we can pinpoint where and when she met him. That might give us an idea about his movements and who he pissed off.”

  “Always good to know,” Derek agreed.

  His cell phone rang, and Jordan could tell from his expression changing in the course of the brief conversation that the news wasn’t good.

  “Apparently, he made some enemies here as well. Remember Tyler Yates? He was just found killed, the same way as Lyman, only a block away from Lyman’s apartment building. That’s not a coincidence.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  At this point, Jordan was grateful for lunch being cancelled. She had arrested Yates five years ago. He was out on parole, Jordan had been vaguely aware, but apparently got back into the trade soon, and got in the way of a new dealer in town.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The crime scene was almost a replica of Mara Lyman’s, the message clear: Ryder was warning the players in town not to mess with him. Jordan noticed Detective Doss’s slightly disappointed expression when she realized Derek had not come alone. Jordan couldn’t blame her. She preferred working with Derek too.

  If Doss had other motives though, she might be the one colleague of theirs who was blessedly unaware of all the rumors that had been surrounding Jordan for a while. She’d never minded them—at least, having a reputation meant that someone cared. Lately, she wasn’t so sure anymore, the idea that her family history and theories might be discussed behind closed doors made her sick.

  She was probably paranoid. Her friends didn’t think of her in terms of her connection to Pratt. She had to believe that.

  If that was at all possible, they got even less out of the neighbors than with Mara’s murder. People didn’t trust the police much, but that wasn’t all there was to the story, Jordan reflected after curt interactions, and doors almost slammed in their faces.

  Darla called when Jordan was getting ready to update the night shift on the day’s findings.

  “I’m not sure if it’s something, but I ran into an old friend of mine who had something interesting to say.”

  “That’s great. Go ahead.” She was thrilled they finally had an angle with Pratt, not so much about the fact that it had taken another death. The sooner they could wrap this up, the better.

  “Um…not so fast? You owe me.”

  “Well, I’ve got to know what it’s worth. You said you’re not sure if it’s anything.”

  Darla gave an exaggerated sigh. “Can’t you meet me? I could use something sweet. I thought you guys always have donuts around?”

  This had been a bit of a running gag between them for a while, but at the moment, her reference made Jordan’s stomach growl. Hours had passed since the cancelled lunch. “You know what, food is a good idea. Let me wrap up here, and I can meet you in an hour or so, the usual place. I’ll see you then—and keep your head down.”

  Darla laughed. “Always. See you later.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  Jordan headed downstairs for the roll call, but stopped when she saw Ellie at her desk, talking to Kate McCarthy. She walked over to greet them, hoping she could have a semi-private moment with Ellie and apologize for abandoning her earlier.

  “McCarthy,” she said. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Thanks. I figured being here would be more helpful than sitting around at home. Libby feels the same. She’ll be back next week.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Can you excuse us for a moment?”

  “Sure.”

  The smile she gave Ellie didn’t go unnoticed by Jordan. As soon as Kate was out of sight, Jordan perched on the edge of Ellie’s desk and snatched a piece of her sandwich. “I’m sorry. I had to skip lunch thanks to the Yates case, now I can barely control myself around food anymore.”

  Ellie couldn’t stifle the smile. “I’d say barely is a euphemism since you’re already having my dinner.”

  “I’ll make it up to you. As you know, I still have a fridge full of breakfast food.”

  “Oh. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to—”

  “I don’t have a lot of time,” Jordan said quickly. “I’m sorry for leaving you this morning.”

  “I understand. I heard there’s been a lot going on today.”

  “Yeah. There’s something else though. We couldn’t trace the phone from which those texts were sent.”

  Ellie looked thoughtful. “I guess that’s it, then. I haven’t had any messages all day. Maybe he’s giving up. Whoever that jerk is, he doesn’t scare me.”

  Maybe that’s because you’re braver than me. “I’m not leaving that to chance,” Jordan said.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “We’ll see.”

  Obviously, that wasn’t vague enough for Ellie, who shook her head. “If it involves anything about Darby, let it rest. I’ll get a new phone, and that’ll be the end of it. He’s safely locked away. That’s all I need to know.”

  Yes, but what if it’s not enough for me?

  “I need to go,” Jordan said. “I’m meeting my CI later. She might have something. You’ll be out with Kate tonight?”

  “Yes. Casey has the night off. Jordan, please, promise me you won’t do anything that could cause you problems, not on my behalf. Those were stupid pranks. There are other cases.”

  “Stop it. It makes me look bad when your approach is the more logical.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.” Jordan used the rare moment of few witnesses around them to reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind Ellie’s ear. “I look forward to breakfast.”

  “Me too,” Ellie murmured. “Don’t forget what I said.”

  She wouldn’t like it. Derek wouldn’t like it, and they probably had a point, but this was for her own peace of mind. Backing down from the idea would make her feel like a coward, and that was the kind of low Jordan never wanted to experience again.

  * * * *

  “I want you to keep eyes and ears open, not only for Pratt, but for Ryder,” Jordan told her attentive audience at roll call. “He might go by Carl or Bud, very few people have seen him, but he’s already made some friends and enemies. How he’s dealing with the latter, well, we saw that already with Lyman and Yates. Let’s find this guy.”

  Kate and Ellie sat together at a table. Behind them, another uniformed cop raised his hand. “What about Kathryn Larson? She seemed to know all of these men pretty well.” He made quotation marks with his fingers.

  For a moment, Jordan was perplexed to find that she could worry about the disrespect towards a woman who owed her so much. This, however, wasn’t about Kathryn being a failed parent, but about her being a woman. For a moment, she felt nauseated to think that she would have fit Darby’s victim profile to a ‘t’, a woman who didn’t bother with the rules of convention. If it had been just this one misstep, Jordan would have been in a bad place to judge her. Jim Larson was far from the idea of an ideal partner.

  As it was, Jordan felt quite comfortable judging her, not for cheating on her husband, but for having a child when she had no intention whatsoever to take care of her.

  “Yes, but at this point, she’s not a person of interest. She came forward to give the police information about Hobbs’s whereabouts, and we have him in custody. We don’t believe she knows anything else that could be relevant to this case.”

  The young man nodded, obviously satisfied with her answer. Jordan took a deep breath, avoiding Ellie’s gaze. Ellie always did her homework and read up on cases as much as she could—even if it weren’t for their relationship, this question would have never come from her.

  “Be careful. Ryder is responsible for the shootings during Hobbs’s escape
, but also the safe house, Mara Lyman and probably Yates. Any sighting of him, you call for backup immediately.”

  “Thanks, Detective Carpenter,” Bristol said to her. “I have nothing to add to that.”

  One by one, the uniformed cops filed out of the room until she and the sergeant were by themselves.

  “We’re much closer now,” Jordan said to him as they left together. “We get Ryder, and Pratt is going down right with him.”

  “Can’t be soon enough.” Bristol’s expression was grim, probably thinking of the young officer who had lost his life to Pratt and Ryder’s rampage.

  “I agree. I’m hoping for some results tonight.”

  It was some sort of backup plan…If she got a lead on those two men tonight, maybe she wouldn’t think less of herself if she bailed on that other idea.

  In her car, on the way to meet Darla, Jordan realized it didn’t make a difference what anyone thought, of her, or Kathryn. She was the one who had to put the basement behind her, the laughter, the violence, always on the edge of turning into something more horrible. Not only had Darby targeted her for her less than moral ways, he also had the idea he could somehow turn her, flirting with her even before the mask fell.

  Guess what, I read that stupid apology when you held a gun to my head, but I’m with the person I want to be with anyway.

  “You let him into your head in order to survive,” the department shrink had said. “Now it’s time to kick him out.” Yes, and with him the Larsons, and Pratt.

  She should reschedule the dinner with her real parents, Jack and Pauline, sometime soon, bring Ellie to finally meet them. With all the dramatic developments of the past weeks, Jordan couldn’t even understand why she’d been so hesitant to reconnect with people who had always stood by her.

  If McCarthy could come back from her fiancé being murdered, and Marshall from witnessing the brutal act, Jordan would be able to handle a short conversation with the devil. She’d already been through hell.

  * * * *

  Jordan had a soup, black coffee and blueberry cheesecake—there was no way she could restrain herself any longer in the presence of Darla and her appetite. Fortunately, food wasn’t the only thing worth paying for tonight.

  “I really needed to see you in person for this, because it’s good.”

  “You told me you weren’t sure,” Jordan reminded her.

  “Can’t make it too easy on you, can I? Then again…That guy goes around killing people just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “It’s pretty scary. I ran into an old friend of mine, and found out she got friendly with that guy.” Darla shuddered.

  “Bud Ryder?”

  “If that’s his last name, you know more than I do. Anyway. Serena, that’s her name, she hangs out with him.”

  “Which is where?”

  “I don’t know,” Darla said.

  Jordan groaned. “All right, what else did she say?”

  “Well, she might be able to meet you, but she’s scared. Everyone knows about the safe house, so they’re thinking if Bud could do this, the promises from the police that you can protect us aren’t worth all that much.” Darla shrugged. “Just passing it on.”

  “Can you get her to meet me? This is important, Darla. The body count’s already too high.”

  “Well, yeah, I don’t want to be added to it, okay? I need to be careful with her.”

  “Tell me where I can find her,” Jordan insisted. “We’ll take care of the rest, and your name never even needs to be mentioned. We can go right now.”

  Darla shook her head. “No. I can’t do that. Tomorrow night maybe.”

  “Okay. I get it. This can break the case. I promise you I appreciate your contribution.” Jordan laid the bills out in front of her, a hundred instead of her usual twenty. “If this pans out, I’ll double it. Now where can I find Serena?”

  “Nope, it doesn’t work that way.” Darla got to her feet even though she hadn’t finished her plate of pancakes, took a twenty. “You have to let me work at my own pace. You of all people should know what’s at stake.”

  Jordan picked up the rest of the money, left enough to pay for their food, cursing just another interrupted meal. “Darla, wait. I know exactly what’s at stake,” she said as she hurried after a stubborn Darla. “I don’t want you to take too high a risk, but I need a break. If you can get it for me, I swear, I can help you more than buying you pastry every once in a while.”

  Darla turned around, giving her a wry look. “Thank you for that, but in order to enjoy that new life you’re talking about, I need to be alive. I’ll bring you Serena when she’s ready.”

  “Don’t make me regret this,” Jordan warned.

  “Did I ever lie to you?”

  Jordan relented, realizing she’d have to accept the delay. One more reprieve, a couple of hours spent with Ellie, and she’d find out how far she’d really come in her efforts to move on. She drove home to the bright light of the full moon, the clear night surprising after all the rain lately.

  At home, she called Derek to confer briefly and make sure she was still on par with the course of events. There was a woman’s voice in the background she easily identified as Detective Maria Doss.

  Jordan disconnected the call, amused. This was the problem with their profession—it was hard to meet someone outside of it, and the moment you started dating, somebody always found out. She opened the door to her fridge, thinking that one of these days, she should learn to cook. She hadn’t completely gotten used to the fact that distance from the city also meant distance from all its comforts. At least she’d stock up on frozen dinners the next time, because she only had a few of those left.

  She opened a beer for herself and put a frozen Chicken Tikka Masala into the microwave, reflecting on her day while she waited. A stalling tactic to delay having to deal with tomorrow’s appointment. She had to make it quick, control the structure of the conversation, keep a handle on her emotions. He’d be watching for any signs of weakness, looking to exploit them—make no mistake, he’d be thrilled to see her.

  This wasn’t about giving him the satisfaction—it was all about her, and Ellie, of course. The beep of the microwave made her jump.

  One way or another, the horror would end. It had for Lori Gleason and Judy Lawrence who had banded together to raise money for victims of violent crimes.

  It would end for Jordan too. Starting tomorrow.

  * * * *

  After her late dinner, there was still too much time to fill, so she decided to go for a walk. She had found a home in what Bethany would call a cookie cutter neighborhood. It felt safe and cozy, a much needed contrast to almost everything else in her life right now. Maybe one day, she’d even get a dog. That was as far as Jordan could plan ahead. In the early days with Bethany, she had sometimes thought about having children, but then their relationship started to deteriorate. Besides, with her own history, it might be kinder to give up the thought altogether.

  Jordan wasn’t sure she was ready to do that. Lately, she’d been confronted with the meaning of parenting a lot—Jim and Kathryn certainly hadn’t set the bar too high. She almost laughed when she imagined bringing the subject up with Ellie sometime soon. No, it was better to wait with that. This thing between them had started out as a last resort, and while they were carefully building a foundation, they still had to see where this was going.

  Jordan realized they hadn’t spoken about Ellie’s plans to take the detective’s exam in a while. Maybe that was a good start to gauge the temperature. She had thrived on Ellie’s initial hero worship more than she cared to admit.

  Jordan was still afraid that Ellie might change her mind, sometime along the way, when she realized that Jordan wasn’t so heroic after all.

  She pushed that thought aside, focusing on more practical matters. She had to remember to take the garbage out tonight. One of the neighbors far down the street had done some renovating, the smell of paint and something else wafting in the cool night air, and all
of a sudden, she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, desperately clinging to the present. For long, terrifying moments, she couldn’t move, trapped and strung up by heavy chains. He might return and kill her at any moment.

  He might never come back and leave her here to die.

  Jordan was back in the present, feeling slightly disoriented when the neighbor spoke to her.

  “Ma’am, are you okay? Mrs. Carpenter it is, right?”

  If he knew her name, it was only because of the newspaper, not because Jordan had made time and effort to socialize. To his credit, he seemed more genuinely concerned than curious.

  “Detective,” she said. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you.”

  “Have a good night.”

  “You too.” Jordan walked on, spooked by the flashback. They had been more frequent in the beginning, manifesting themselves more in nightmares than daytime incidents. She couldn’t afford any of this tomorrow—or ever. Maybe she had skipped the gym a few times too often. There was comfort in habits, or else it wouldn’t have taken her this long to say goodbye to Bethany.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The morning air was frigid. On her way, Ellie had entertained herself with fantasies of a hot shower she might share with Jordan, and a lovemaking session as quick or slow as Jordan’s schedule would allow.

  She wasn’t going to bring up the texts again. They had stopped, so whoever had sent them obviously lost interest. In any case, she didn’t want Jordan to give them too much importance though she could understand that any possible connection to Darby had to raise red flags for her. It did that for Ellie too, but now it was over, no reason to dwell on it any longer. She planned to distract Jordan best she could.

  It turned out Jordan didn’t have time to be distracted this morning. She had, however, a delicious breakfast ready, almost enough to console Ellie. What did the trick was her work outfit of today, a dark blue suit that was different from her usual wear. Ellie had a hard time keeping herself from staring.