Cold Case Cop (15 page)

He downshifted his car and rounded the corner near Roxie’s. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to make amends to her. But he’d think of something. Tara was too important to him to lose.

The pieces fell together for Tara as she stared at Mrs. Reston’s gun. It was pointed at her heart now. “You killed them all, didn’t you?”

Mrs. Reston flicked the edge of the gun toward one of the booths. “Sit down.”

Tara held up her hands as she held her ground. It took all her self-control to keep her voice calm. “We don’t need guns, Mrs. Reston.”

The older woman shook her head. “I tried to ask nicely. I tried to pay you off. But you refused. You should have taken the money.”

Tara’s heart hammered in her chest. “Why do you care so much about an article?”

“Because Pierce cannot endure any more scandal. His heart won’t take it. He was foolish to talk to you today. I begged him not to but he wouldn’t listen. He doesn’t quite understand that your story will stir up everything again and we will have to endure months if not years of questions and innuendo. We’ve only just gotten our lives back to normal.”

Tara noted the tension and worry in the woman’s voice. “
We
. You keep saying
we
.”

“That’s right,
we.
Pierce and I have been together for twenty-five years. I’ve seen him through bad marriages, ungrateful children and the worst problem of them all—Kit Westgate.”

Tara’s gaze flickered again to the barrel of the gun. She had no doubt that Mrs. Reston would kill her. There was a manic energy in the woman’s eyes that suggested she’d gone over the edge. “I can drop the story if it’s that upsetting to you. I didn’t realize that what I was doing was so hurtful.”

Mrs. Reston’s lips curled into a smile that looked more like a snarl. “No, it’s too late for that. If you’d shown a little greed earlier then I might,
might
have been able to work with you. Now you’re going to have to die.”

“Mrs. Reston, if you kill me people will look to you as a suspect sooner or later. They might even blame Mr. Landover.”

“Pierce won’t be implicated and neither will I. No one is going to find your body.”

Tara tried to stay calm.
Keep her talking
. “I promise—I swear—that I will not run that article.”

Mrs. Reston backed up. “Stop talking. You’re starting to irritate me. Tell me, does Roxie’s have gas or electric stoves?”

She swallowed her panic. “Detective Kirkland knows I’ve written this story. He will come after you.”

“He’s going to think you died in a fire. He’s not going to realize you’ve been murdered.”

“What?”

“Fires start all the time, Ms. Mackey.” She smiled sadly. “Sometimes bad things happen to good people.”

Tara swallowed. “At least tell me how you found out about Kit.” She’d play to her ego. Criminals often believed they were smarter than the rest. “You found out something even the police couldn’t figure out. At least give me the satisfaction of knowing how you figured it all out.”

Mrs. Reston stared at her and then shrugged. “Why not? I have a moment.”

Tara almost sighed with relief. The more time she bought the better her chances of getting away. “How did you find out about Kit’s past?”

“Believe it or not it was foolish luck. I guess I can be grateful that there is no honor among thieves.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It was just a week ago. I’d convinced Pierce to let me start clearing out Kit’s room. I reasoned she’d been gone a year and wasn’t coming back. It was time to give her clothes to charity where they’d do someone some good.”

“You really thought she was dead?”

“Honestly, I did. And I was thrilled when all that blood was found. I hated that woman.”

Millions in gems, and Tara now realized that passion, not greed, had been behind Kit’s death.

Mrs. Reston stood a little straighter. “I assumed one of the men Kit liked to flirt with had killed her. She loved to play with men’s affections.” She smoothed her hand over her hair. “Be that as it may, she was gone and life was returning to the way it had been before she arrived. As I said, I was cleaning out her room and packing up her clothes. I always check pockets before I send clothes out to clean and so I was checking hers. I found a note in one of her jacket pockets.”

“A note? What did it say?”

“It was a letter from some shopgirl in New York. She was demanding hush money from Kit or she’d show Pierce
Brenda’s
rap sheet.” She shook her head. “Apparently the woman had seen Kit in New York when she’d been there shopping with friends. The woman had worked the streets with Brenda in New York.”

“So you realized then that Kit had been a fraud.”

“Yes. I just knew she was too good to be true. I knew she had fooled Pierce.” She moistened her lips. “I had a private investigator look into Brenda’s past. That’s when I realized Borelli was her brother.” Her eyes narrowed. “I began to wonder if Kit was dead. She’d disappeared once, so why not do it a second time with millions in gems?”

“Did you tell Pierce?”

“Yes. He was furious
with me.
He told me he was aware of his wife’s past.” She shook her head in disbelief. “He knew she’d been a whore. And he believed she would never fake her death and leave him.” Her mouth flattened and tears glistened in her eyes. “He told me to pack my things and get out of his house. He fired me.”

A part of Tara almost felt sorry for Mrs. Reston. “You love him very much, don’t you?”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “Yes. And I knew I needed to find Kit to make him believe that his precious wife had left him. He needed to realize I was the only one he could trust.”

The pieces were falling together. “So you sent Brenda’s rapsheet to me.”

“You’d been by the house that very morning asking questions. It felt like providence to me. I knew you’d find Kit if you had a little help. You’re tenacious.”

“Did you run me off the road?”

She shook her head. “No. It was Borelli. I started following him. Your visit scared him.” She smiled. “And he did exactly what I’d hoped he’d do. He panicked.”

Tara wagered a guess. “He killed Robinson.”

“Yes. He went to Robinson demanding the gems. The three had conspired all along to steal them together. Robinson’s job was to cut the stones and remove the laser marks. Borelli realized that Robinson had already sold the gems to a private dealer in the Mid East. Borelli shot the jeweler and took all the gems in the store.” She smiled. “And then he went running to his sister.”

“And you followed him and killed them both.”

“She was easy to kill. I shot her in the living room seconds after she opened her door. I must say the look of shock on her face was priceless.” Her smile turned hard. “Borelli was harder. He started to run. I chased him to the cliff and shot him. And then he fell.”

Tara glanced around the tavern room looking for something she could use to defend herself. “Why do you care if I run this article? It will totally discredit Kit.”

“When the police told Pierce last night about finding her body, Pierce came to me and apologized. He begged my forgiveness. He was sorry for all the things he said. He wept in my arms. And I forgave him. I knew I couldn’t let this article come out. The poor man had suffered enough. I needed to protect him.”

Tara knew if she sat quietly by, Mrs. Reston was going to kill her. She needed to do something. Rising, Tara said, “I won’t run the article. I give you my word.”

The woman sneered. “Stop repeating yourself. You sound like a fool.” She waved her gun. “Now get on the floor and put your hands behind your head.”

Tara fisted her fingers. “No.”

Mrs. Reston fired her gun.

Alex heard the shot as he approached the tavern. He pulled his weapon. His heart pounding, he crouched and moved toward the picture window. Through the glass he saw Mrs. Reston standing over Tara, who lay on the floor, bleeding. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought he was too late. And then he raised his gun, rushed to the door and kicked it open.

Mrs. Reston whirled around with her gun pointed. He didn’t hesitate. He fired, hitting her in the shoulder and knocking her flat.

He ran the distance to Mrs. Reston and kicked the gun far from her reach. He called dispatch, reported the shot and requested an ambulance. As he cuffed Mrs. Reston, distant police sirens wailed.

Alex holstered his weapon and went to Tara. He rolled her on her back. The blood he’d seen was coming from her arm. She was alive.

His voice broke when he spoke. “Tara, can you hear me?”

Her eyes opened. “Where is Mrs. Reston?”

“She’s down.” He shrugged off his jacket, balled it up and pressed it into Tara’s bleeding shoulder.

Tara moistened her lips. “She killed Kit and her brother.”

“Okay. Okay.” Emotion tightened his chest and he thought for a moment he’d break. “I thought you were dead.”

She smiled up at him, wincing as she tried to sit up. “That was the idea. I wanted her to come close enough so I could grab her. How’d you know she was here?”

“I didn’t come for her, Tara. I came for you. I came to tell you I want this to work between us.”

A tear ran down her cheek. “I want it to work, too.”

Saturday, October 18, 3:00 p.m.

T
he leaves had turned from green to an array of oranges, browns and yellows and the air had lost its warmth and turned very cool. Winter wasn’t far behind.

Three months had passed since Tara’s story on Kit had hit the papers. The story had garnered her more attention than she’d imagined and she and her boss, Miriam, had made appearances on network television shows to discuss the case. Miriam was even writing her own book.

The bullet wound in Tara’s arm had healed completely and there was no lasting damage.

Mrs. Reston’s murder trial was set to begin in early January and Tara had already been assigned to cover it. Pierce had left Boston and secluded himself in his Boca Raton home. He’d refused all interviews.

Tara believed the entire incident had broken the man. For all his faults, Pierce had loved Kit. He’d wanted to build a new life with her, and to discover that she’d only been using him had been too much.

The elevator doors to the homicide floor dinged open. The room still smelled of burnt coffee and the walls remained a dull gray. But catcalls no longer greeted her when she arrived. All the cops knew she and Alex were dating and out of respect for their commander, the detectives kept most whistles to themselves. She still went toe-to-toe with some of the detectives about her headlines, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Tara glanced into Alex’s office and could see that he faced away from the squad room. He wore a dark turtleneck, which accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. A gun holster hung from his faded jeans. His gaze was dark, pensive.

Her heart swelled. Lord, but she loved that man. She never got tired of looking at him or touching him. Emotion tightened her throat and she had to clear it to regain a sense of composure.

Gertie had been thrilled with their relationship, but his parents and brother were a different matter. To say they were happy would have been an exaggeration. When they’d returned from Europe, Alex had introduced her to them. Everyone was polite, but there was tension. She wasn’t their idea of wife material.

But she and Alex were committed to sticking together, no matter what. He’d assured her again and again that she was his family now. And he predicted his parents and brother would come around in time.

Tara knocked on his door and he turned. Immediately, the stern face faded and he smiled as he waved her in. She opened and closed the door softly and stood in front of his desk.

Alex nodded as he listened to his caller. “Great. When you have the forensics report, call me immediately.” He hung up the phone, rose and came around to her. There was no hint of a limp anymore and the doctors had said he’d recovered fully.

“Another murder,” she said.

“Those fires in the North End weren’t set by the guy we arrested. He was cleared.”

She frowned. “That’s not good.”

He shook his head as he helped her with her overcoat. “I don’t want to talk about work.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Us.” He kissed her on the lips. “I thought you’d never get here.”

She moistened her lips. Her heart thumped in her chest when he touched her. “You said it was important, Detective.”

Alex rested his hands on her shoulders. The gesture was casual and intimate, as well. “What are you doing on Christmas Eve?”

She shrugged. “Roxie closes early that day and we usually go to church. Why? Want to join us?”

He grinned as if he knew a big secret. “Church sounds good.”

Her eyes narrowed. He was up to something. “You didn’t bring me all the way down here to ask me to church, did you?”

“No.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. “This came from the jeweler’s this morning. I was going to wait until we saw each other tonight but I just couldn’t. That’s why I called you.”

Tara’s breath hitched in her throat as she stared at the small box. “Alex, what have you done?”

Alex looked a little nervous. “Open the box.”

Excitement and fear churned inside her. She cracked open the box. Inside was an antique two-carat diamond solitaire set in white gold. “Wow.”

“Will you marry me, Tara Mackey?”

The gem caught the light, twisting it into a rainbow of colors. The detail work on the sides was stunningly intricate. “Wow.”

“The ring was Gertie’s. My grandfather gave it to her fifty years ago. She offered it to me a couple of weeks ago. She thought it would look good on your hand. I agreed.”

Tara opened her mouth to speak but didn’t know what to say. The ring was worth more than she earned in a decade. “Wow.”

He pulled the ring out of the box and slid it on her ring finger. “Is that a yes?”

Emotion burned in her throat and for a moment she couldn’t speak without crying. A tear ran down her cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

He hugged her hard against him. “That’s a definite yes?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

From the squad room came a round of cheers. She turned and realized all the detectives had stopped what they were doing and were staring. Each wore a sloppy grin.

“And Christmas Eve works for you?” Alex said.

“Well, yeah, but I don’t know anything about planning a wedding. Alex, I’m a disaster when it comes to that kind of thing.”

“My mom has agreed to help.”

That shocked her. “Your mother has agreed to help? The lady who cringes when I talk a little too loud or speak too candidly about my work—that woman wants to plan the wedding?”

Alex’s gaze reflected his own surprise. “The one and the same. It’s her way of saying she accepts you.”

Tara glanced down at her ring to remind herself that this was real. “She can sure help Roxie.” She laughed. “Roxie has started collecting bridal magazines lately.

Alex laughed. “Well that should be interesting. My mother and Roxie planning a wedding.”

She grimaced. “They might as well get used to each other.”

“As long as you and I get married, that’s all I care about.”

Smiling, she leaned forward and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and relaxed into the kiss.