Kristen’s stomach churned. She knew what the P.S. meant now. She grabbed the letter on the table and showed it to Mclntyre. „Do you recognize this number, Officer?“
Mclntyre nodded. „That’s the car that hit you. It had been stolen earlier that day.“
Kristen set the letter on the table, her hands surprisingly steady. „I thought so.“
Jack hissed a curse. „He was there.“
Abe chuckled mirthlessly. „I was probably close enough to touch him. Do you remember what he looked like, Mclntyre?“
Mclntyre shook his head. „He had on one of those hats with the earflaps. Covered up most of his face. It was so cold that night, I didn’t think anything about it. He was very polite, I remember that.“
„Age?“ Mia asked sharply.
Mclntyre shrugged helplessly. „I don’t know. Maybe forty? He didn’t say much of anything, just nodded when I asked him to move along. I just figured he was embarrassed to be caught staring.“
Nobody said anything for a long moment, then Jack stood up. „I’ve got to call my team to the spot on this map. And I’ll call Julia to meet us there. You guys coming?“
„Wouldn’t miss it,“ Abe said grimly. „Let’s go.“
Kristen started to follow, but Abe stopped her. „Stay here. Please.“
„I want to be there,“ she said in a low voice, conscious of the others watching.
Abe looked at Jack, Mia, and Mclntyre. „Give us a minute, okay?“
Mclntyre bowed out instantly. „Got to get back on watch.“
Mia raised her brows, eyeing them with open curiosity. „Okay.“
Kristen felt her cheeks burn. „Reagan, please.“
Jack gave her a hard look. „He’s right. You’ve already had one accident this weekend. I don’t want to see you get hurt.“ Then he followed Mia from the kitchen, leaving them alone.
Abe looked down at her with conviction. „Stay here.“
Kristen felt frustration simmer. „Don’t shut me out. Please. I need to be there.“
His hands rose to cover her shoulders, kneading convulsively. „Do you know what will happen when Jacob Conti finds out his son has been murdered?“ His blue eyes flashed. „Do you, Kristen? If you’re at the site and the press shows up, your face will be all over the news, especially if it comes out that Angelo was killed because he verbally attacked you. Conti will strike out at you, and he isn’t someone you want after you. Please, stay here for me.“
His eyes were compelling, but in the end it was the emotion in his voice that won her acquiescence. „All right. I’ll stay here.“
His relief tangible, his hands loosened their grip. „I’ll be back to get you for dinner.“
„At four.“
He leaned down and covered her lips with his in a hard kiss that left her mind reeling. „Call me if you need me.“
Kristen sighed at the sound of her front door slamming. She’d become accustomed to doing just that. Calling him when she needed him. And in a flash of clarity his sister-in-law’s words made sense. Ruth said Abe needed to take care of her. It didn’t take a psychiatrist to pull the pieces together. Abe Reagan had watched his wife shot and had been able to do nothing. He, a man paid to keep the public safe, had not been able to keep his own wife alive.
Now he’s keeping me safe. And even as the thought brought comfort, she wondered what would happen when this whole nightmare was over and she no longer needed to be kept safe any more. She pressed her fingertips to her mouth, still tender from his hard kiss.
I’ll take what I can get and be grateful while it lasts. But for right now, there was a pile of half-sewn curtains she needed to finish.
Sunday, February 22,
11:30 a.m.
The spot that „x“ marked was a patch of ground fifty yards from the spot Angelo Conti’s car had struck Paula Garcia’s. Appropriate. They found a marble marker inscribed with the names of Paula Garcia and her unborn son. Abe’s eyes stung as he looked at the names, feeling an empathy for Thomas Garcia mat the others couldn’t possibly understand. Heavy silence hung over the grave, broken only by the clang of shovels and an occasional word from one of Jack’s men.
„Ugh.“ Mia’s face twisted in disgust as Jack’s team brushed the dirt away from Conti’s face. What was left of it, anyway.
Julia grimaced. „Your boy lost it this time.“
The body was brought out of the shallow hole with care. Abe turned it gently, displaying a pattern of bruises across the lower back. „Tire iron?“
Julia knelt beside him. „Probably. I’ll have a better idea once I’ve cleaned him up.“
„Conti used a tire iron on Garcia,“ Mia said. „That part wasn’t made public.“
„More insider information,“ Abe muttered. „Wonderful.“
Julia was looking over the body, her brow furrowed in concern. „He went off on Conti, Abe. I haven’t seen a beating like this in a long time. Is he still watching Kristen?“
Abe’s lips thinned. „Yeah. And we still have nothing.“
Julia shrugged, her sigh vaporizing in the cold air. „Look on the bright side. He lost control. Maybe he wasn’t so careful about physical evidence he left behind.“ She gave a nod to her assistant who efficiently loaded the body into a bag and zipped it closed. „I finished the autopsy on Skinner last night. I found blood in his lungs.“
Mia huffed in frustration. „So it was like we thought.“
Julia nodded. „I got pictures of the depressions in Skinner’s skull to Jack this morning. He’s trying to match them up with the particular model of the vise. Skinner’s knees were shattered just like King’s, and the bullet hole to the head was postmortem.“ She pulled off her rubber gloves and pulled on warm leather ones. „Oh, and I was able to make a plaster cast of the ligature marks on Ramey’s throat. Jack’s got that, too.“
„Good work, Julia,“ Abe praised.
„Thanks. Just find this guy before he can send me any more business. I’ve got a date tonight with a three-year-old who doesn’t understand why Mommy has to cancel to cut up dead people.“ With a little wave she headed off.
Abe turned to Mia. „She’s got a kid?“
„A real cutie. Her husband left and she’s been a struggling single mom ever since.“
„That’s tough.“ Abe looked over at Jack, who was watching Julia giving instructions to her assistants as they loaded the body bag into the ME’s van. „And how does Jack factor in?“
„He doesn’t.“ Mia rolled her eyes. „It’s totally onesided.“ Her expression went sly. „Although I can’t say the same for someone else.“
To his own consternation, Abe felt his cheeks burn. „That’s enough, Mia. Let’s get some pictures of this scene. I – “
He was interrupted by a cry of alarm and spun around to see Julia being shoved against her car by a man with silver hair. „Shit,“ he hissed, taking off at a run. „It’s Jacob Conti.“
Jack was faster and was pulling Conti off Julia as Abe reached the car, Mia at his heels. „Get your hands off her,“ Jack snarled and Abe stepped between them.
„Cool it, Jack,“ Abe muttered and Jack stepped back, rage still making him shake. Abe turned to Conti, who stared at him with wild eyes. „This is a crime scene, Mr. Conti. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to step back.“
„It’s his son, dammit.“ Another man stepped up, large and menacing.
Mia pulled out her notepad. „And you are, sir?“
„Drake Edwards. I’m Mr. Conti’s head of security. We want to see Angelo.“
Mia drew a breath. „We planned to inform you of your son’s death under other circumstances, Mr. Conti. Right now, I think it’s best that you don’t see him.“
Conti closed his eyes, his body sagging, and Drake Edwards put an arm around his shoulders for support. „Then it’s true?“ Edwards murmured. „It is Angelo?“