A Killer Among Us Page 19

  And dozed off.

  Now she held still.

  Listening.

  Waiting.

  The television, still on mute, flickered.

  What had awakened her?

  The phone?

  No.

  A soft noise.

  There!

  A subtle rustling near her front door.

  Adrenaline surged and she groped for the gun she’d placed on the end table. Instant comfort suffused her as the butt of the gun slid against her palm.

  Shrugging off the blanket, she considered her options. Lowering the footrest of the recliner would make noise, so she placed a foot on either side of it and stood.

  Another noise reached her ears.

  A scrape.

  A curse?

  Her heart thudded. She reached for her phone and called Noah’s number as she moved on socked feet across her hardwood floor.

  Noah answered, his voice raspy with sleep. “Kit? What’s wrong?”

  “Get over to my house,” she whispered.

  “Do I need to call for backup?”

  “Yes.”

  She could hear him moving, then seconds later she heard a car start. “Are you still there?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” And so was whoever was outside her door.

  She paused at the edge of the kitchen and looked at the clock.

  2:06.

  Barking sounded from next door.

  Roscoe.

  Great. He was going to scare the guy off. And bring Alena to the door to see what was going on.

  Which meant Kit had to move now.

  The blood rushed triple time through her veins. Kit gripped her gun with her right hand and the doorknob with her left.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she twisted and threw open the door. “Freeze!”

  The figure darted toward the parked car he’d left just down the street. Kit hollered again. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

  This time the fleeing man stopped and put his hands over his head.

  Kit moved forward and her foot snagged on something in her path. Stepping over it, she squinted. “Turn around, and if you have a weapon, you’d better drop it and keep your hands where I can see them.”

  The man’s shoulders drooped and she thought he looked vaguely familiar even before he turned around and faced her.

  “Brian!”

  He stepped toward her just as Noah’s car screeched to a halt in front of her house. He shot out of the car, weapon ready.

  A groan escaped Brian as he moved into the light coming from her open front door. An embarrassed smile crossed his face. “You caught me.”

  “What are you doing?” she nearly screeched. “Do you know what time it is?”

  Noah shoved his gun into his holster and watched the scene with a frown. He made a quick call to cancel backup.

  Brian swallowed. “Can I put my hands down now?”

  Kit lowered her weapon almost as an afterthought. “Yes, of course.”

  She looked around at the neighboring houses and saw porch lights on and curtains moving in the windows. Shaking her head, she said, “Come in. We’re making a spectacle of ourselves in front of everyone.”

  As she moved to let them in, she kicked the object at the base of her door again.

  “What . . .” Leaning down, she looked at the rectangular box and hesitated. Did she need a bomb squad? After all she’d been through lately, she wasn’t sure she wanted to take any chances.

  “It won’t bite you,” Brian said.

  She looked up at him. “It’s from you?”

  A guilty flush reddened his features. “Yeah.”

  She picked up the box and looked at her partner. “I think I can handle it from here. Thanks for rushing over.”

  Noah didn’t look like he was in any hurry to leave, but she needed to have a serious conversation with Brian and she wasn’t going to do it in front of Noah. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow—er, today. Later.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Noah gave them one last glance, then headed for his car. Her heart warmed at his willingness to jump to her defense. Not that she necessarily needed him to.

  But she had to admit—it was nice. Very nice.

  Brian shuffled behind her, pulling her attention from Noah’s departure.

  She shut the door and handed the box to Brian. “Flowers?”

  He dropped his head. “Dumb idea, huh?”

  Kit sighed and motioned him into her den. “No, Brian, it’s not dumb. It’s very sweet. Strange to do it at 2:00 in the morning, but,” she shrugged, “sweet. I guess.”

  Instead of sitting, he walked over to her mantel and leaned against it, studying the pictures she had there. “You have a beautiful family.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Cute baby too.”

  This brought a smile. “Yeah, he’s great. That’s Andy, Connor and Samantha’s little boy.”

  “I’ve seen them around the station.”

  Okay, time to focus. “Look, Brian, you’re a great guy.”

  “But I’m not the guy for you,” he interrupted her. “I get it now. Noah’s arrival pretty much cemented what’s going on.”

  She couldn’t help the flush. “He’s my partner.”

  Brian just gave her a knowing look. “Right.” Rubbing a hand through his hair, he sighed. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’ve just admired you for a long time and thought I’d better do something about it before you got snatched up.” He gave a rueful smile. “I guess I waited too long.”

  Kit held up a hand. “I’m sorry . . . I . . .”

  “No, it’s okay. I’ll leave you alone.” Brian walked toward the door. “See you around.”

  “You’ll find someone, Brian. Someone just right for you.”

  His eyes hardened for a brief moment, then he nodded his head. “I know.”

  And then he was gone, and thanks to the adrenaline ebb, Kit felt like her knees wanted to give out.

  She made it to her bed and crashed on top of it. Sleep finally crept in.

  26

  Kit rolled over and snatched the phone from the hook. “Hello?”

  It was Brig. According to Brig, her mother had come out of surgery and was recovering nicely. Kit planned to return to see her sometime in the following week. Right now, she had to focus on this case.

  Deep down, she was afraid if she stayed near her mother, she might lose the small hold she still had on her anger. Anger that she was beginning to realize was serving no purpose except to make her look—and feel—petty and childish. She needed to move on. But how?

  The phone rang again. Apparently, she wasn’t destined to sleep in this morning.

  “Hello?”

  “Kit? It’s Jamie.”

  Clearing her throat, Kit blinked and rubbed more sleep from her eyes. “Hey there, what’s up?”

  “Not you, obviously. Sorry for the wake-up call.”

  “It’s all right. Brig actually woke me up to tell me my—um—mother was doing better. And I need to get up anyway and go for my run if I’m going to do it. I’ve got a very unpleasant task ahead of me either this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning.” Questioning the DA as to why he was buying expensive jewelry for a girl half his age was not on her list of fun things to do.

  Unfortunately, she had a feeling she already knew the answer. They were just waiting to hear back from the captain about whether or not he wanted to be in on the questioning. They’d received word that he’d taken the day off to go hiking in the mountains with his son and grandson. She had a feeling cell coverage wasn’t very good. But as soon as he got the message, he’d be all over it. And so would the higher-ups. This thing would be handled with kid gloves.

  She focused back in on what Jamie was saying. “Sam and I are going over to Mom and Dad’s after church for lunch. You want to join us?”

  For a minute, Kit didn’t respond. She’d been so caught up in the case, she hadn’t had
time to breathe, eat, or sleep. She had pushed all thoughts of her personal life aside—except for the brief visit with her mother—while the window of opportunity to catch a killer was open wide.

  Unfortunately, that window narrowed with each passing hour. But lunch with her sisters, biological mother, and sweet little nephew . . .

  “Um, sure. At least until I hear back from my captain, which means I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay. Uh . . . what day is it?”

  Jamie laughed. “Sunday, silly. Church day, remember? And you can stay as long or as short as you need to.”

  “Right. So you want me to meet you at the house or what?”

  “That’d be great. Or I can swing by and pick you up.” A pause, then a hopeful, “Or you can come to church and ride with me.”

  “Not today, thanks.” She heard the silence on the other end, could feel the disappointment. But she wouldn’t go to church to make someone happy. If she went, it would be because she wanted to. “So, I’ll meet you there. I’d better have my car anyway in case something comes up with the case.”

  “Sure. Sounds good.”

  Two minutes later, she’d pulled her hair up in a ponytail, noticing her arm felt only slightly sore. Her head didn’t hurt until she scraped it with the brush. She paused. Should she go running? Maybe just a walk. She donned her running clothes and shoes. And then it occurred to her that she still hadn’t asked Alena if she’d known Walter.

  Making a fast decision, she stepped outside and knocked on the door to Alena’s part of the duplex. The last two times she’d tried to get her, the girl had been out.

  Roscoe gave three deep barks before Alena opened the door. Surprise flickered in her eyes.

  Kit asked, “Hey, I noticed you don’t go to church on Sunday mornings. You want to go for a run this morning?” She touched her head. “Or maybe just a walk?”

  “Sure. Let me grab my shoes and Roscoe’s leash.”

  A minute later, the pair made their way down the street at a clip that wasn’t a jog but more of a fast walk, Roscoe trotting happily between them.

  “I grew up going to church,” Alena finally said.

  “So why don’t you go now?”

  “No reason, really. I guess I just kind of got out of the habit.” She laughed. “That was my mother you saw the other night. Sorry I didn’t introduce you.”

  “That’s all right. There really wasn’t a good time.”

  “She was visiting.”

  “How did that go?”

  “It went. She goes out of her way to come see me about once a month. And every time she does, she brings God into the conversation.” Alena blew out a breath and pulled in a deep one in order to keep talking. Kit gave her a few beats. “She always says, ‘Alena, God made you for a purpose. Are you messing that up?’ ”

  Kit listened to the pounding of their tennis shoes. Then she asked, “What do you think about God?”

  Alena breathed a small laugh. “I think he exists. I don’t know that I believe he’s all that interested in my day-to-day life. Seems like he’d have more important things to do. He sure wasn’t around when my dad was beating on me. I survived that alone. Why would I need him now that I’m out of that situation?”

  Kit thought about that. She didn’t think she totally agreed with the statement that God wasn’t interested. Not after watching Noah in action. But what could she say? The girl felt the way she did for a reason.

  More pounding and they rounded the curve.

  Alena asked, “Don’t you have a killer to catch?”

  “Yeah.” Kit’s ponytail slapped her back, keeping rhythm with her feet. “That’s one thing I wanted to talk to you about. You’re a law student at the same college these victims went to. You need to watch your back.”

  The girl frowned as her feet ate up the asphalt. “I know. I’ve been taking extra precautions.” A few more yards and Alena asked, “Have you got any leads?”

  “Not much. Which brings me to a question I’ve been wanting to ask you. Did you know Walter Davis or Bonnie Gray?”

  “Walter? Yes, I think so. Kind of a cocky dude with bad hair. Bonnie? I don’t remember her name. I might recognize her if I saw a picture of her.”

  “You don’t watch the news?”

  “No way. Too depressing.” Alena shot her a brief smile, then frowned. “It’s awful what’s happening. Somebody killing law students off. Scary.”

  “I know. You really need to be careful.”

  “Trust me. I am.” She paused as they rounded the next corner, then picked back up the conversation. Her words came in spurts, between pacing the run and her breathing. “I know Walter was going to graduate in a couple of weeks. This is my first year, so it’s not like we had any classes together. I didn’t know him very well, just recognize his name. I sat in on the jury of a mock trial as an alternate, so I met a lot of the graduating seniors. Not to mention someone really special.” She gave Kit another little grin.

  “Who?”

  “Corey.”

  “Nice?”

  Alena gave a breathless laugh. “Oh yeah. He was in Iraq. Now, he’s thinking about going back to school to get his law degree. Anyway, the last mock trial is set for next week. It’s part of the graduating seniors’ final exam. I’ll probably go watch that one too. You can learn so much from them because the judge actually takes the time to explain what each person is doing right or wrong. It’s really cool.”

  Kit’s feet kept the rhythm she’d started out with. Her nerves tingled and she couldn’t help but watch the surrounding houses. Specifically their roofs. She watched for movement, for anything that seemed out of place. She hated that this guy who had taken two shots at her already had made her so on edge. More so than usual. Cops generally stayed hyperalert, but now . . .

  Nothing caught her attention, nothing seemed out of place. Relaxing a little, she asked, “What about Susan Chalmers?”

  “No, she was ahead of me, also. I think I met her once or twice, but . . .” She shrugged. They’d made it around the block once and were on their second lap, pacing themselves so they could talk.

  “Walter was nice, though. Like I said, he was a little full of himself, but from what I understand, he would have been a brilliant lawyer. It’s a real shame.” Taking a water bottle from the fanny pack strapped to her side, Alena took a swig. She jammed it back and then they quit talking as they picked up the pace for the next thirty minutes.

  Back at the house, Kit wiped the sweat from her cheek with her shirtsleeve and said, “Just watch yourself, Alena. Be careful who you hang around with, who you’re alone with. This guy seems to be someone his victims know and trust.” She placed a hand on Alena’s arm. “All law students.”

  The girl shuddered and nodded. “I know. But I’ll be careful.” She patted the dog’s head. “And I have Roscoe.”

  Kit smiled. “Talk to you soon. Maybe we can run again in the morning.”

  “Depending on your schedule.” Alena grinned. “I know. You know where to find me.”

  Kit saluted. “Right.”

  Back in her side of the duplex, she showered and dressed in jeans and a green short-sleeved shirt. A glance at the clock told her it was time to get going to her biological parents’ house.

  Excitement thrummed through her. She’d moved here specifically to get to know her birth family better. And then this case had been dropped in her lap and she’d been so busy with it, she hadn’t spent nearly as much time with her family as she’d planned.

  She grabbed her keys and opened the door. Samantha would be there with little Andy, and of course, Jamie would be waiting. Her twin.

  Unbelievable. She had a twin. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

  27

  The fifteen-minute drive to her parents’ house went by fast. She had only a few minutes to ponder the case and was still coming up empty when she pulled into the drive.

  Samantha showed up right behind her.

  Kit got out of the car and
smiled. “Hey there.”

  “Hey. Andy’s asleep. Wonder how long he’ll stay that way?”

  Laughing, Kit peeked over her sister’s shoulder and looked down at the peaceful tot. “He’s so cute.”

  “Yeah, well, he wasn’t so cute this morning at two o’clock.”

  “I thought he was sleeping through the night now.”

  “Most nights. Something woke him up last night and it took forever to get him back to sleep.”

  “Then maybe you need to take a little nap while you’ve got some babysitters around today.”

  Sam grinned. “I might just take you up on that.” Reaching in, she grasped the baby carrier and, with a grunt, pulled it gently from the base. “I thought I had pretty strong arms until I had to lug one of these around on a regular basis.”

  “Hey,” Jamie called from the porch, “you guys going to stand in the drive and talk all day or come eat some of Mom’s famous chicken casserole and corn bread?”

  Kit’s stomach sent up its vote in a very vocal way. Sam raised a brow and they burst into laughter. “Coming!”

  Inside the house, Kit breathed in the scent of roasting chicken, vegetables, and corn bread. Her stomach growled again and she couldn’t wait to dig in.

  A pang grabbed her heart and she thought about her mom. She really should call and check on her.

  But not from here. That would be like rubbing her face in the fact that Kit was here—with her birth mother—while her adoptive mother was in the hospital with only her friend to rely on.

  She felt her throat clog and cleared it with an effort.

  Andy still snored gently in his carrier, so Sam set him in front of the fireplace.

  Jamie walked over and stared down at him, then whispered a sigh. “He’s beautiful, Sam.”

  An amused smile curled her sister’s lips. “You say that every time you see him.”

  “I know. I guess I’m just amazed that you could produce something that adorable.”

  Kit laughed as Sam tossed a pillow at her younger sibling. Then her birth mother entered the room wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Hello, girls.” Tears came to her eyes as they often did when she saw all three of them together. But she blinked them away and motioned them into the kitchen. “Let’s eat before we’re out of time and Sam has to eat while holding a baby.” She took a deep breath. “Charles had a golf game set up so he left about thirty minutes ago.” She hugged Kit as they walked inside. “Then I want to show you something, Kit.”