Monster In The Closet (The Baltimore Series Book 5) by Karen Rose
‘I have to try to help Jazzie,’ she said softly.
‘I know.’
‘I’m not foolish. I’ll do what Fitzpatrick tells me to do. I won’t take chances.’
‘No,’ he murmured. ‘You won’t. I’m going with you.’
‘But Jazzie—’
He cut her protest off by gently covering her mouth as she’d done his. ‘I know I can’t be in the room with you two. I know she’s scared of men. But I will be there. I have to be there.’
She gently pulled his head down for one more kiss, this one sweet. ‘I get it. Promise me you won’t hit Fitzpatrick. I don’t want to have to bring you a cake with a file in it.’
He snorted a laugh. ‘Okay.’
And just that fast, they were. Okay. She smiled up at him. ‘Ready to go into the house and watch Clay yell at Fitzpatrick?’
His grin was quick and wicked. ‘Yes, but not just yet. I can’t . . . I don’t want your father to see me like this. Just give me a minute to think deflating thoughts.’
Her cheeks heated and he laughed softly, kissing her, first one cheek then the other. He took a step back and walked around the small office, picking up tools and books until he drew a somewhat normal breath. ‘Okay. Let’s go to the house.’
Sixteen
Hunt Valley, Maryland,
Sunday 23 August, 11.00 A.M.
Clay was sitting at the table when Stevie came back from her ride, his throat still thick. And he was still chuckling. Pop. As if.
But if that was what his daughter wanted to call him, he’d take it. Except that he could hear Cordelia picking it up. And then the new one would, too.
Their new baby, his and Stevie’s. No way was his baby calling him Pop.
‘What are you grinning about?’ Stevie asked, dropping into the chair next to him, then rubbing her behind with a pained expression. ‘Ouch.’
‘Been a while since you were in the old saddle, huh?’
‘Shut it, Maynard,’ Stevie said mildly. ‘Cordelia and Maggie have already both laughed and lectured me for letting too much time pass between my rides.’ She reached over and ran a finger over his lips. ‘Seriously, you were grinning like crazy in here. What gives?’
Pop. Not. ‘I was thinking about you-know-who,’ he said, reaching over to give her stomach a gentle poke. ‘And what he will call us.’
Stevie blinked at him. ‘Mommy and Daddy?’
‘That’s much better.’
One of her dark brows arched. ‘Than?’
‘Than nothing,’ he lied smoothly, and her lips twitched.
‘You keep your secrets, Daddy. It’s okay with me.’ She took his hand when he offered it and let him pull her onto his lap. ‘You were in here with Taylor for a while. Did she see the rest of the pictures?’
‘Not all of them yet. We had a chat about Tanner. It seemed to help both of us.’
‘Good.’ She kissed his jaw. ‘I talked to JD a little bit ago, by the way. He’ll be taking you and Taylor to the meet with the little girl. Jazzie.’
That Stevie and JD Fitzpatrick had already talked this morning came as no surprise to Clay. The two had been friends for years, back when both were married to their respective spouses. They’d supported each other emotionally when those spouses died, and later were teamed up as partners in the homicide department.
JD was Cordelia’s godfather and Stevie was godmother to JD’s toddler, Jeremiah. Clay didn’t think a day had gone by since Stevie’s retirement that she and JD didn’t talk at least once, and it was usually about the job. JD was one of Stevie’s best resources when it came to the cases she investigated for their business.
‘What did he say about the investigation into Jazzie’s mother’s murder?’
‘He thinks Jazzie knows who killed her mother. He’s also nervous that there’s a leak in the department. That’s why he’s suppressed some of the evidence from the filed reports.’
Clay frowned. ‘What makes him think that?’
‘The estranged drug-addict husband’s alibi is . . . convenient. The husband – Gage Jarvis – was a shark defense lawyer with a slick firm downtown and the husband’s brother Denny is a defense attorney in the Legal Aid office.’
Clay’s knee-jerk reaction was to hate defense attorneys, but he knew at least one who was decent, so he shrugged. ‘Doesn’t mean they’re dirty, just deluded.’
‘Husband’s alibi came unsolicited from a deputy sheriff in Texas, less than a day after JD noted that husband was a suspect. This morning, JD went through Denny’s old court cases. The deputy sheriff’s wife has a cousin who escaped a lengthy jail sentence. He was repped by Denny Jarvis.’
‘Okay,’ Clay conceded. ‘The alibi does seem convenient. But I’m still not getting the need to suppress evidence or the logic for a leak in the department.’
‘Denny Jarvis’s wife works in the prosecutor’s office as a clerk. For Daphne.’
‘Fuck.’ The wife had access to case details before they ever ended up in a final BPD report.
‘Exactly. Denny’s wife knew about Daphne’s therapy program and begged her to take Jazzie and Janie. The program is filled to capacity. Maggie squeezed the girls in.’
‘Does JD think Denny’s wife is involved?’
‘He doesn’t know. Daphne doesn’t think so, but she’s taking no chances. Everyone was hoping the program would help shake Jazzie’s secrets free so that they could put out a BOLO and pull Gage’s ass in for questioning.’
‘Where’s Gage Jarvis now?’
‘He hadn’t been seen since the day of the murder, when he was allegedly in Texas, but as of yesterday, he’s back in Baltimore.’
Clay frowned, troubled. ‘If the husband did it, he won’t want to leave a witness.’
Perched on his knee, Stevie looked him in the eye. ‘If you’re asking if anyone else suspects that Jazzie saw him, the answer is “I don’t know”. If you’re asking if JD is worried that Jazzie’s father will hurt her, the answer is “he’s arranged for Jazzie to meet Taylor in the private room at Giuseppe’s”.’
Clay felt the color drain from his face. Giuseppe’s restaurant was a secure place that the Feds and BPD used when they wanted to control every aspect of a meet. The place was wired for sound and video and had hiding places for half a dozen cops.
This had abruptly escalated way past a casual chat with a little girl over ice cream.
He shook his head adamantly. ‘No. No way. Taylor’s not doing this. She didn’t know how serious this was when she agreed to meet Jazzie.’
‘Yes, Clay, she did. Maggie told her. So did JD. JD told her everything I just told you.’
‘When did JD talk to Taylor?’ Without me?
‘We discussed it in Maggie’s office. Just now.’ Stevie rested her forehead against his. ‘For what it’s worth, Ford’s more upset than you are.’
Clay shook his head. ‘Whatever. That’s not even the point here. Taylor is not getting involved in JD’s investigation. No ifs, ands, or buts. She’s—’
‘Stop right there.’ Stevie gave him a quelling look. ‘If you’re planning on saying that she’s too young to know her own mind or – God help you – that she’s too delicate or too much of a girl to do this, you’d better rethink.’
His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he tried to find words that wouldn’t piss off his wife. ‘She’s been sheltered, Stevie.’
‘Yes and no. It’s true that she grew up isolated from other kids, but she also grew up looking over her shoulder and expecting a monster to jump from the bushes.’
He winced. ‘Dammit, Stevie.’
‘Dammit, Stevie, nothing. She is hyper-aware of her surroundings. And if you’re worried she can’t defend herself, ask Ford. Did you see the bruise on his jaw?’
‘Yeah. Fi
‘No.’ Stevie grinned. ‘He approached your daughter from behind yesterday and didn’t announce himself. She spun around and decked him. Ford says she’s got a sneaky right hook. She knocked him on his ass.’
Clay sat back in his chair, stunned. And totally proud. ‘Really?’ Taylor was no petite violet, but Ford had six inches and at least seventy pounds on her.
‘Really. And she knows how to shoot, too. Dawson taught her. She and Maggie went shooting last weekend. Maggie said she can hit the bullseye at a hundred yards.’
Clay’s pride bloomed so big that he didn’t know if his chest could contain it. But not enough to change his mind. ‘No. She’s not putting herself in jeopardy.’
‘What jeopardy? You’ll be there. So will JD. And I’m thinking you’ll have to chain Ford to the barn wall to keep him from tagging along with you.’
‘We both know these things can hit the crapper in a blink.’
‘We do,’ she said calmly. ‘But we also know that Jazzie is suffering. She needs to talk to someone and, like it or not, she’s picked Taylor.’
‘Not,’ he snarled.
Stevie took a breath and slowly released it. ‘What if it were Cordelia? Would you want her walking around with this secret on her chest? With no one to help unburden her?’
His lungs emptied in a hard whoosh. ‘Dammit, Stevie.’
Her lips curved sympathetically. ‘I get your fear, Clay. I really do. But I trust JD with my life. I trust him with Cordelia’s life. If he says this is safe, it’ll be safe. It’s just ice cream. This little girl has started to open up to your daughter. According to Maggie, Taylor has a certain something around the kids. She’s rock-steady and sweet. They love her.’
He closed his eyes. ‘I have no right to feel this proud. I didn’t contribute anything to her growing up. That was Dawson.’
‘You can still feel proud, Clay. Don’t make her defy you on this, because I have a feeling that she will. She feels strongly about helping this child get past her fear.’
Clay shook his head, desperation making his heart beat harder. ‘And what if this child does spill her guts? Jazzie and Taylor will be wearing giant targets for a drug-addicted murderer.’
‘Who JD will then catch,’ Stevie said calmly.
Clay went completely still as understanding abruptly dawned, followed by fury that roared through him like a goddamned freight train. ‘They’re bait? Are you fucking kidding me, Stevie? Are you trying to tell me JD is using my daughter as fucking bait?’
She continued to sit on his knee, cool as a cucumber, which just made him angrier. Carefully, very carefully, he scooped her up and set her back on her own chair, then straightened his spine. She still watched him, almost expressionless.
Except for her eyes. They flickered and flashed with emotions that he was too angry to parse. ‘When did you know JD wanted to use Taylor as bait?’ he asked quietly.
‘About three minutes before I walked through that door.’ She pointed to her cane. ‘Took me that long to hobble in here from the barn.’
His shoulders relaxed a fraction. She’d come to tell him right away. Actually, she’d come to brief him right away, letting him come to his own conclusions. That way she was loyal to both him and JD.
JD. That motherfucking bastard. How dare he put Taylor in danger like this?
Stevie still watched him, her eyes a little less intense now. She was clearly waiting for him to decide what he wanted to do about the situation.
‘My gut instinct is telling me to go out there and break JD’s neck,’ he admitted.
‘Understandable,’ she said evenly. ‘But not advisable.’ One eyebrow rose. ‘I already told him that you’d rip his head off and use it as a soccer ball, but I don’t think you really could. He’s younger than you are. You might break him, but he’d damage you first, and I happen to like you just the way you are.’
More tension flowed out of him. Okay. She was pissed, too. But she wasn’t freaking out and threatening to castrate JD, so she obviously agreed with at least some part of her former partner’s plan. ‘What do you think about this?’
‘I think you’re giving me a crick in my neck. Sit down, Clay.’ She switched her tone to one that was light and teasing. ‘Breathe, baby,’ she said. ‘Breathing is good.’
He did what she asked, lowering his body into the chair. That tone was the same one he used on her when he was stretching her out after one of her physical therapy sessions. It had been a year and a half since she’d been shot in the leg in the line of duty, but she still required regular therapy and exercises. She complied with a lot of bitching and complaining, because it was still painful, but he was usually able to make her feel better afterward by stretching her and applying pressure to the muscles she’d punished.
Then they made each other feel better in other, much more pleasurable ways.
She was his partner, in business and in life. She had his back. And she was less emotional than he was at the moment. Cooler heads prevail, his dad had always said.
‘What do you think about this?’ he asked again, more calmly this time.
She smiled at him then, a smile of love and pride. Clay was glad he was already sitting down, because that smile made him feel as weak as a kitten.
‘First of all,’ she said, ‘I think that this whole thing sucks. But I also think that JD has turned over every damn rock he can find looking for Gage Jarvis and he’s getting desperate.’
‘Which one is getting desperate – JD or Jarvis?’
‘Both.’ She hesitated. ‘Gage Jarvis framed someone else for his wife’s murder a month ago – a homeless addict. That addict was found dead yesterday morning.’ She drew a breath. ‘Along with two other people. One of them was a cop.’
Clay hadn’t thought he could be any more terrified, but he found that he could. ‘He’s escalating.’
‘Yes. And JD knows that if Jazzie’s father was the one who killed her mother, it’s only a matter of time before Daddy Dearest becomes twitchy about leaving a witness alive. Besides, Jazzie can’t keep carrying this around inside her. It’s eating that little girl alive from the inside out.’
Clay dragged his palms down his face. An hour ago his daughter had kissed him on the cheek. Now she was walking into possible danger. Not if I can help it.
‘Tell me more about the husband, his brother, the victim and the crime,’ he said.
Stevie gave him a nod of approval. ‘The victim, Valerie Jarvis, was beaten to death. Her killer used his fists. He then stole some of the contents of her jewelry box. A few items have been recovered, but nothing was worth any money. Apparently she’d sold off all her expensive jewelry to help pay her bills after her husband disappeared. His former boss said he left voluntarily, but JD thinks the guy was covering his ass, that Jarvis was fired after his wife filed domestic assault charges, which she later dropped. There was drug use also – coke. According to the victim’s sister, the drug use was major and the domestic assault had happened frequently. Jarvis’s mother says his drug use wasn’t that bad and the assault never happened, that the victim was a liar.’
The kitchen door opened and JD came through, his expression wary. ‘You gonna hit me, Clay?’
‘Thinkin’ about it,’ Clay told him honestly. ‘Sit your ass down, JD, and convince me that the daughter I just found after twenty-three fucking years won’t be a pawn in a clusterfuck.’
JD obeyed, folding his arms over his chest, his biceps straining the sleeves of his suit coat. Hell, Clay thought with a wince. Stevie was right. I might be able to get in one good punch, but he’d clean my damn clock. Except, if it came to that, Clay would be fucking furious and that gave a man strength.
‘I was wrong,’ Stevie murmured. ‘Even odds. But don’t let it come to that.’
‘Even od
Clay shook his head. ‘Never mind. Do you think Denny’s wife is using her access in Daphne’s office to feed her brother-in-law information?’
‘No. But Denny might be using her access.’
‘Has Denny had any contact with Gage?’ Clay asked.
‘Not that I’ve seen, but I wasn’t tailing him twenty-four seven.’ JD grimaced. ‘Plus, there’s all the red tape with going for any kind of warrant against an attorney. And don’t even think of requesting a wire tap, not with all that legal confidentiality shit.’
Legal confidentiality shit that won’t stop me. Clay’s IT assistant, Alec, had hacked into phone records on several previous occasions. Not that Clay was about to admit that to JD, even though JD was well aware. ‘So you haven’t checked Denny’s phone records?’
JD gave him a placid look. ‘Nope. Not yet. But if I did, this is the number I’d be looking at.’ He slid his own phone across the table. On the screen were his case notes. Highlighted and bolded was a phone number.
Clay keyed it into a text message addressed to Alec, followed by a second text. Run this as fast as you can. However you must. He hit SEND, then looked up. ‘What else?’
‘Tell him about Grandma, JD,’ Stevie said quietly. ‘I was just getting to her.’
JD sighed. ‘Gage’s mother, Eunice, lives with the girls and their aunt Lilah, who is their mother’s older sister. Eunice lived with the girls and their mother, Valerie, before the murder. She’d moved in with Valerie because she’d mortgaged her house to the hilt to send Gage to rehab – which he never finished – and the bank foreclosed. I interviewed Eunice as part of my investigation and she’s . . . well, calling her an enabler is an understatement. She had only good things to say about Gage, even though he bankrupted her.’
‘What about her other son?’ Clay asked. ‘Denny, the Legal Aid guy?’
‘Eunice treats Denny like a failure.’ JD shrugged. ‘Says he works for Legal Aid because it was the only job he could get after barely graduating law school and barely passing the bar. None of which is true. Denny graduated high in his class. He was with the public defender’s office for years and was well-respected there. He’s well-respected at Legal Aid now. Denny is definitely Eunice’s second choice, but he is a doting son. Gives her pocket money to spend and pays her share of the expenses at Lilah’s place, plus groceries for the two girls.’