In the Shadow of the Shield (Secret Lives Series Book 2) (14 page)

His eyes opened wide, and he mouthed the words
are you sure
? She nodded. The men passed in front of them on the other side of the hedge. Diana held her breath, praying the intruders wouldn’t find the three of them crouched there. Even Louie seemed to quit breathing for a second or two.

“Place seems secure. What time we moving out tonight?”

“I’m borrowing my cousin’s truck around ten. So, meet back here, say, ten thirty?”

“You give Schmidt the time?”

“All arranged. Like I said, he’s got the key to the storage locker.”

“
That’s
your big plan? A storage locker? Those places are crawling with cameras!”

“At least I have a plan. What did you want us to do?”

“I don’t know. I thought you had something better.”

“Let’s get the hell outta here, before a neighbor sees us.”

They heard a rustle on the other side of the hedges as the two men left. Not one of them moved until they heard the sounds of engines turning over.

“Aw, man! Aw, did you
hear
that? They are moving this stuff
tonight
!” Louie was so excited, he was practically jumping up and down.

“Will you relax, Louie?” Carter demanded. “I was standing right here. I heard everything you did.” Carter pulled out his wallet and removed a hundred dollar bill. “Here, go get a room with room service tonight. You did good, Louie.”

“No way in hell! I want in on things tonight. I deserve it! I got you here. I want to see it to the end.”

“Louie.” Carter’s voice held a warning. “These are not the kind of guys you want to mess with. They are fire—they will burn you. And enjoy doing it.”

“I just want to help.”

“Maybe we should let him come along,” Diana said.

“What?” Louie and Carter tuned to look at her, disbelief mirrored on their faces.

“He’s the only one that has seen all three of them. Maybe he will be—I don’t know—useful somehow.”

“Yeah. I can be useful. I won’t get in the way, I promise.”

“You want this money or not?” Carter dangled the cash in front of Louie. Louie was a junkie. Of course he wanted the money.

“Yes.” He grabbed for it, but Carter yanked it away. “Then get the hell out of here, and don’t come back.”

“Man! I got you the goods, and now you doin’ me wrong.” Louie grabbed the bill, stuffed the crumpled money in his pocket, and took off down the street. She doubted he would use it for the motel room, but maybe he would get a big pizza after he got good and high. And a Snickers and a Mountain Dew, of course.

“Why did you send him away?” she asked.

“He’s a liability. The guys said they saw him hanging around. I don’t want them to connect Louie with us, or he is a sitting duck.”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I need to think.”

Carter took her hand and started making his way back to the street. They cut through several backyards, and emerged down the block at the intersection where Carter had left his truck. Once they were in the truck, Diana hugged herself. “Damn, it sure is cold today. What happened to beach weather?”

The truck roared to life when Carter turned the key. Even the vehicle was protesting the cold. “That’s the most common misconception. People think if you live by the ocean, there is no way it ever gets cold. The ocean has nothing to do with it. It’s proximity to the equator.”

“So sorry, Professor Ryan. I had no idea.” Diana giggled as a shiver overtook her entire body.

“You really are cold,” Carter stated with some surprise. “Come here.” She slid across the seat and let Carter wrap his arms around her. “I’ll share some of my body heat until the truck warms up.”

“I can work with that.” She snuggled in close, loving the feel of his strength as much as his warmth. “So, what do we do now?”

“Well, I mean, it’s a little cold in here, but if you want…”

She slugged him with an icy fist. “I didn’t mean
that
!”

He laughed. “I know
you
didn’t. I’m feeling a little cheated today, that’s all. Your boy walked in at the wrong time last night.”

“He has a real penchant for doing that, doesn’t he?”

Carter shrugged. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not, because I really liked where things were going, but I would rather wait for the right time than rush through one single moment with you.”

That was about the sweetest thing any man had ever said to her, including Donnie. Her first time with her husband had been in the bed of an old Ford Explorer, during half time at a high school football game. A little romance this time around had a certain appeal. There was just one thing she needed to clear up first.

“Does this mean my job doesn’t bother you?”

“Well, now, I didn’t say that. But, I did realize at some point that maybe the issue is more mine than with your job. I’m still holding out hope that you will fall head over heels for me at some point, and spend all your time talking dirty only to me.”

Diana couldn’t help but laugh at the hopeful look he gave her. Did that mean he was falling for her? She wasn’t sure how to quantitate her own feelings, let alone his, but she really wanted to explore them all. “I’m great at multi-tasking, you know.” She toyed with the zipper on his coat. “I don’t see why I can’t have my cake, and eat it too.”

“You want cake? I can give you cake.” His lips took hers before she had the chance to respond. In seconds, she was ready to give him whatever he wanted, even quit her job, if it meant he would kiss her like that every single day for the rest of her life. When he pulled back, she actually whimpered a little at the instant sense of loss. He smiled and touched her cheek with one fingertip. “Not here, Diana. It’s broad daylight, and I do still have a badge to respect.”

She slid back over to her side of the truck. “You need to stop doing that to me then.”

“Do you mean that?” he asked as he turned the heat on full blast. The cab was instantly bathed in toasty air.

“You know I don’t.”

“Yeah, I know. But I thought I’d ask anyway. I’m a little insecure, you know.”

Diana lost it then. She laughed so hard, she nearly cried. “Insecure? You’ve been nothing but cocky and confident since we met!”

He reached over and took her hand as he steered the truck onto the road with the other. “It only looks that way, Diana. It only looks that way.”

They were quiet the rest of the way back to her side of town. About a mile from her neighborhood, Diana’s stomach let out a loud growl. “I think I’m hungry.”

“Me too.” Carter did a u-turn in the center of the street. “How about we hit the diner up again? They have great open-faced roast beef sandwiches.”

“Mmm…sounds good.”

“Hold on to your hat, kid. One hot roast beef sandwich coming your way.”

Chapter Thirteen

Ten minutes later, they were sitting in the same corner booth they had been in the last time they were there together. She caught sight of their reflection in the glass of the door, and couldn’t help but think they looked good together. Her face had healed nicely. What was left of the bruising she had covered with make-up so that it was hardly noticeable anymore.

Carter ordered lunch for both of them, and the waitress poured her a cup of hot water for tea. Diana shivered as she clasped the warm mug, waiting for the tea bag to work its magic. “I miss summer.”

“Yeah, me too. It would make it a lot easier to do a stakeout tonight.”

“Stakeout?”

He smiled. “You up for it? Gonna be a cold one.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. So, what’s the plan?”

“Still working out the details.”

The waitress brought their meals. Diana breathed in the smell of the rich brown gravy. Steam rose from the plate, and she held her fingers over it, absorbing the warmth. “I haven’t had this in so long. It’s got to be so unhealthy.”

“I didn’t take you for a health nut,” Carter said around a big mouthful of gravy and beef.

“I’m not, really. A girl’s gotta watch her figure, though. Especially a single gal like me.” She helped herself to a healthy bite and moaned. It tasted so good.

“I think your figure is perfect the way it is.” He winked and smiled. “Don’t much care for bony women myself.”

“Bony, I’m not. Believe me. This food is so good. I can’t believe I’ve never had this here before.” She took another big forkful and moaned again.

“Should I leave you two alone?” Carter asked with a teasing grin.

“I don’t know. Maybe you should.” She ate a little more, rolled her eyes, and threw her head back in mock ecstasy.

Carter burst out in laughter. “Diana!” he managed to say between guffaws. “Massey didn’t do you justice. He made you out to be pretty great, but you are plain amazing.”

“What can I say? You bring out the best in me.”

“It’s about time I had that effect on a woman. My ex was, well, she didn’t have much of a sense of humor. Might be part of where our marriage went wrong. There’s no way to relax with someone if you have to constantly be on your guard.”

“I can’t even imagine living like that. Donnie and I were always comfortable with each other. Ever since we were sixteen years old.”

“Geez, you were just babies when you met.”

“I know, and I never expected it to last beyond high school. He was a good man.”

“One of the best,” Carter agreed. “I will have a tough act to follow, trying to win you over.”

“Maybe. You keep kissing me the way you do, and I think you will do fine,” she said with a smile she hoped was at least a little sexy.

He turned a nice shade of pink—a good sign.

“Hopefully we will figure all this stuff out with Massey and the drugs soon. Then we can spend some time really getting to know each other.”

“I’d like that. I would also really like to know the truth about Donnie’s death. I know my husband would never screw anything up so badly without good reason. Are you going to call in back-up?”

“I don’t know if I should. I’m not sure who to trust right now. I’m thinking maybe we will sit on the guys tonight, do a little recon, and see where they move their stash. I’d like to know if it’s only the three of them. The bleach smell has also bothered me, and Louie said he smelled blood and heard a man screaming,” Carter said.

“Oh, right. I forgot about that. Do you think they killed someone?”

“I’d like to say no, but, at this point, I’m not sure what to believe anymore. If these guys are involved in cooking and selling meth, and they somehow arranged for Massey’s death, then there is no telling what they’re capable of.”

“I still can’t figure out why they would want to kill Donnie. I know he wasn’t involved.”

“Definitely not. I think he figured out something was going on, and they caught on to him. Did Massey keep notebooks or cards or anything of the cases he worked on?” Carter asked.

“There’s a file cabinet out in the garage, but I honestly have no idea what he kept in it. I didn’t get involved in his work stuff. I liked to subscribe to the ‘innocence is bliss’ theory. It’s how I managed what little sleep I got when he was at work at night.”

Carter nodded as he ate the last bit of hot roast beef from his plate. “Yeah, I can understand that. Would you mind if I took a look in that cabinet? See if there is anything that might help us?”

“I guess it would be okay. After we finish up here, we can head back to the house, if you want.”

“If you don’t mind. Knowing Massey, I doubt he wrote much down, but you never know. I don’t expect he would have had a very high tolerance for dirty cops.”

“I can tell you right now, he hated them. Said it made everyone who wore the uniform look bad.”

“It can be a tough gig. Low pay, crappy hours, and hard to maintain any semblance of a normal relationship, but when you choose the job, you get into it knowing these things.”

“Then there is the constant worry that someone will target your family. Donnie always worried about having us ‘living in the shadow of his shield,’ as he put it,” Diana replied.

“I can’t imagine raising a family on this job. He did it well.”

“Thank you. Donnie was really a great father and husband. I am sure you would be too, had your wife given you the chance.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I didn’t exactly have an excellent role model for what a father or husband should be.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Carter. You are every bit as good a man as Donnie was. He trained you, so I know you’re a good cop.”

“I hope that training allows me to find him justice.”

“Me too.”

The waitress brought the check, and Carter insisted on paying the bill. She waited while he ran to the restroom, and then they headed back to her house. Secretly pleased that Jackson wasn’t home, she breathed a tiny sigh of relief. It’s not that she felt she had to explain herself to her son—it was simply easier not to.

Diana unlocked the front door and they entered the house. “Let me get your jacket, I’ll hang it up.”

Carter took off his coat and handed it to her. “I’m going to grab a glass of water in the kitchen.”

“No problem. The glasses are in the cabinet to the left of the sink.”

“I remember.” Carter headed off to the kitchen while she tended to their jackets. There was no denying how much she enjoyed doing mundane tasks, like hanging up a man’s jacket. She met Carter in the kitchen, where he was placing a dirty glass in the dishwasher.

“Everything in your house is so homey and comfortable.” Carter draped an arm across her shoulders and hugged her. “Jackson is lucky. I would have loved growing up in a place like this.”

“Thank you. He is a good boy, but there are days I am not so sure he appreciates the good life that he has been given.”

“Typical for any teenage boy.”

“I guess.” She shrugged. “Are you ready to go out to the garage?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Diana led the way to where Donnie stored all of his important papers. Digging the key out of its hiding place in a toolbox, she opened the cabinet and pulled out the top drawer. Neatly labeled folders hung inside, a different month and year written on each one in Donnie’s square print. Moisture wet her eyelashes as she ran a finger over one of the file folders.

“Are you okay?” Carter asked softly from behind her.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stepped to the side. “Go ahead. See if there is anything in here that will help.”

Carter stepped forward and began shuffling through folders. “Massey was very organized. These are all of the court cases he attended, summonses, and tickets he wrote, and pretty much every legal document to pass through his hands—all in chronological order. Impressive. I’m lucky if I have the week’s cases in front of me.”

“Yeah, he was real organized when it came to work. Just not so much with anything else.” She motioned to the cluttered garage. Carter closed the top drawer and moved to the one below it. After inspecting each folder, he switched to the third drawer, with no luck. Finally, he dropped to a knee and pulled open the bottom drawer. Inside was a handgun she had never seen before, an ankle holster, and a large manila envelope.

“What is all that?” she asked.

“You’ve never been in this drawer?”

“Never had reason to. I have no idea where or when he got that gun.”

Carter pulled out the manila envelope and peeked inside.

“What is it?” Diana asked.

“A notebook.” He pulled out a small, leather-bound book and placed the envelope back in the drawer. He opened the book and started flipping through the pages.

“What’s in it?”

“Dates, times, and initials. Here, look.”

Diana moved next to Carter and looked at the page he held open. At the top of the page it said:

January
2/13. 2300 hours. A.S.L.W.

“A.S.L.W.? What is that supposed to mean?”

“I am not completely sure,” Carter replied.

The rest of the page had similar entries, as did several pages after that one. As best as she could tell, the dates spanned almost a year, ending a week before Donnie died. “Carter. Look at that last date.”

“I know. It’s a week before Massey’s death.”

“What are we looking at? Was he stalking someone?”

Carter chuckled. “It’s not called stalking when you’re a cop. It’s surveillance. And, yes, I think he was watching someone. Or several someones. Look, here, at these letters. What were the names we heard today?”

“Um, Schmidt, and Wilkins.”

“A.S. is Adam Schmidt, and L.W. could be Luke Wilkins.”

“Oh, no,” she whispered. “They
are
dirty, and he was onto them. Now Donnie is dead, and they are about to make a ton of money off of their dirty laundry.”

“I’m afraid so. This little book is a record of their whereabouts for nearly a year. I bet he sat on that house nearly every night.”

“And here I thought he was working.”

“He was. That house is in Donnie’s old patrol area. Easy enough for him to make several passes a night.”

“And no one would notice, except the bad guys who were supposed to be the good guys. Donnie must have been absolutely furious when he discovered what they were up to,” Diana said.

“They set him up, I’m sure of it now. We just need to prove it. I wish I knew who I could trust.”

“So, you think there are more officers involved?” Diana asked.

“I think we should go tonight, and see what we can find out, before I let anyone at the precinct know what’s going on. The more I have to back me, the more likely I will be able to convince someone to believe me. Cops are very protective over their own.”

“Obviously not that protective. Who was watching out for my husband?”

Carter reached over and patted her hand. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how you must feel, knowing that your husband was likely murdered by one of his brothers in blue.”

“Now I want to bring them down even more. Let’s go get those bastards.”

“Now, hold on there, Di. We are going to get them; it just might take a little bit of time. We have to do things the right way,” Carter said.

Diana reached into the drawer and pulled out the ankle holster and handgun. “I wonder why he kept this gun out here?”

“Most cops have a few different firearms. Maybe there is something you don’t remember?”

“I’d remember, if he had told me about it.”

Diana pushed the door closed, locked the cabinet, and led the way out of the garage to the kitchen. “What time should we head out?”

“I want to be there by nine. Maybe we can poke around the house again before they get there.”

Diana glanced at the clock on the microwave. “It’s only five now. What should we do to pass the time?”

“I’d love to pass it with you, but I have a couple of errands to run before we set up our stakeout.”

“Okay. If you must.” She tried to hide her disappointment with a smile.

“I must. But I will be back here to pick you up at eight. I promise.” He reached out and pulled her close, planting a kiss to the top of her head. “We are going to get these guys. That’s another promise.”

His words had so much passion, she knew she could believe him. “I just want this to be over.”

“Me too. I’m ready to move on to other things.” He gave her another quick kiss, and then strode toward the front door. He pulled his jacket from the coat closet, put it on, and left.

Diana watched through the window as he pulled out of the driveway, then headed upstairs for a nap. They were going to be out late, and she didn’t want to fall asleep and miss anything.