Lynette Eason - A Silent Fury

Tracy had been killed, and Kelly had disappeared. Why?

What did Tracy know that was worth killing for? Had Kelly been at the scene? Had she witnessed the murder and fled? Was she hiding out? Or had she witnessed it and been taken against her will? And why hadn’t the killer just killed her, too? Or had he and they just hadn’t found her body yet?

Sighing, Joseph waited until Catelyn hung up from a second call before swinging his long frame from the car. “Who was that? It sounded official.”

“Victor.”

“What did he want?”

“An arrest.”

“Don’t we all? I vote for arresting the right person, though.”

“I know.” She pulled at her lower lip with her two top teeth as she thought. Joseph cut his eyes and swallowed hard. He clearly remembered kissing those lips and wanted to do it again. He blinked and focused back in on what she was saying. “I still think Dylan’s up to his eyeballs in this thing and knows a lot more than he’s telling.”

“Possibly. It’s just that when he protested his innocence so profusely, I believed him. I didn’t see anything that made me think he was covering up a murder.”

Catelyn rolled her eyes at him. “Trust me. Kids like that learn how to lie so convincingly they probably even believe what they’re saying. But they’re liars all the same.”

“Kids like that?” Joseph raised a brow. Why was she so cynical? He didn’t remember seeing this side of her before. Wary about a romantic relationship? Yes. A tough street cop? Yes. But where had her compassion gone? What had happened to change that part of her?

She must have read something in his face because she asked, “I sound harsh, don’t I?”

“Yeah, you do.”

She chewed her lip again. Then pulled her jacket off and rolled up her sleeve. He sucked in a deep breath. A thin five-inch jagged scar made its way from the inside of her elbow to the center of her arm just falling short of her wrist.

He reached out and pulled it toward him for a closer look. Angry, puckered and red, yet healing. “Compliments of one of those kids?”

“Yeah.”

“So, you learned your lesson, is that what you’re saying? And every kid is guilty until proven innocent?”

She flushed and yanked out of his light grasp. “Something like that.”

He let her go. “When did that happen?”

“About six months ago.”

He winced. “Ouch.”

Shutters came down over her eyes. “Yep.”

“You want to tell me about it?” She used to tell him everything. His heart hurt at the memories. He’d missed her. Her laugh, her beauty, her spunk, the way she made him feel when she let him see the pride she felt for him when he collared a criminal. The way she melted into his arms for a snuggle on the couch. Her kisses…

“Nothing much to tell. I had the kid cornered, he acted like he wasn’t going to give me any trouble, just blubbering about how he’d been set up. I believed him, let my guard down and he pulled a knife from somewhere. And before you ask, yes, I’d already patted him down. I made a stupid mistake and missed it. It was a little thing, but it hurt. So, no more trusting crying teens protesting their innocence.” Subject closed. “Let’s go see what we can find out about the DNA. I hope this isn’t a wasted trip.”

He smiled and let it drop even though he wanted to pursue the fact that just because she had one bad experience with one kid didn’t mean they were all the same. But he knew when she got that look on her face, attempting to push the subject more wouldn’t get him anywhere. So he said, “The personal touch is never wasted. A phone call might have sufficed, but when you’re face-to-face, it’s harder for them to put you off…or hang up on you.”

She gave a rare grin, one he remembered, but hadn’t seen since he’d been back. “Very true.”

Why had she bothered to explain about that scar? Catelyn decided having Joseph around could be addictive. Somehow, she was going to have to figure out how to keep her mouth shut around him. Spilling her guts about everything that bothered her was no longer an option. She’d moved on, and he’d just plain moved…

“Sandy, how are you?” Catelyn spotted the criminalist and waved her down. A pretty, petite woman in her late thirties, she was part of a team that did their job well. She’d also been one of the people covering Tracy’s murder.

The woman’s brows arched under her shaggy bangs. “Catelyn? What are you doing here?”

“Trying to solve a murder and find a missing girl. This is my partner, Joseph Santino. He’s working on the case with me.” Joseph and Sandy shook hands, then Catelyn said, “We need to know if anything’s come back on the blood found on the ring.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure. We had that murder-suicide on the other side of town and things have been a little crazier than usual around here.”

Great. “I hate to be pushy, but do you mind putting a rush on it? There’s a killer out there and a missing girl.”

Concern flickered across the woman’s face. “I heard. I know Greg was working with the ring. Come on and let’s see if he’s in the lab.”

The three marched down the hall and Catelyn couldn’t help feeling the thrill, the excitement that came with her job. Sure, she hated the deaths, the psychos out there who caused such pain and misery to others, but she knew she was right where she was supposed to be.

She was born to be a cop. A detective. Her mission in life was to put the bad guys away. She didn’t have time for romance or a family—or Joseph.

Right, God? God had been strangely quiet with the answer to that question lately and she wondered if the pang she felt in the vicinity of her heart meant she wasn’t exactly on the right track. Lord?

She looked at Joseph, his rugged profile so familiar; one she’d never tired of looking at during the time they’d dated. Pain seared her. The loss of his presence in her life left a gaping hole she realized she’d never completely filled.

It was too bad he’d never understood that part of her personality, the cop part; it grieved her that he couldn’t accept she’d never be the traditional happy homemaker he envisioned when he pictured his wife.

Unfortunately, she knew this all too well. After all, it’s what had broken them up two years ago. Joseph Santino had wanted her to stop being a cop, stay home and be his wife. A mother to his children. Part of her regretted that it wasn’t enough; she grieved the loss of his companionship, her best friend.

But there was no way she’d ever give up her career. Not even for the man she loved.

Just wasn’t going to happen.

Joseph watched Catelyn in action. She loved her job, that was obvious. He saw her disappointment when Sandy returned with no news. “But I promise to let you know as soon as it’s processed. I’ve got your cell number, and I’ll call you myself.”

Catelyn agreed and then she and Joseph were headed back out. He asked, “Where to now? Billy Franklin?”

“Yes. Esterman High School.”

He climbed behind the wheel again without asking. He knew she preferred to ride rather drive. He was falling comfortably into old routines.

As they drove through the streets, Catelyn looked out the window. He decided to touch on the past a little. “How’s your mom?”

If he’d zapped her with a Taser, he wouldn’t have gotten more response. Her head whipped around and she seared him with her gaze. “What?”

“Your mother. How is she?”

“In a nursing home. Dying.”

Oops. He hadn’t expected that one. He should have done his homework before venturing into uncharted territory. “Aw, Catie, I’m sorry.”

She looked back out the window. “You didn’t know. Did you let the school know we were coming?”