Playing With Fire (13 page)

“But, Chief, what about being ‘innocent until proven
guilty?’”

Chief Halloran’s frown deepened further, his bushy grey
eyebrows forming a single line across his brow.

“That’s the problem, Erin. You are guilty. Of a major
infraction. You had important information about a critical case this department
is intimately involved in and you did not come forward. For that alone, I
should fire you.”

Erin gasped. Her stomach churned. She didn’t know how much
more she could take today. She closed her eyes against the harsh reality she
faced. When she opened them she saw that the Chief was looking at her, his
craggy face softening somewhat.

“There are two reasons I am putting you on leave rather than
summarily firing you. The first is that Connor supports you 100 percent. I
value his judgment more than any lieutenant it’s been my privilege to work
with. This whippersnapper will be Chief someday. Mark my words.”

He waved his hand dismissively when Connor objected.

“No, Connor, you know that is true and I will be your
biggest supporter. As for you Erin, you have something else in your favor. I
trust my own judgment. I’ve known since I first met you that there was more to
you than met the eye — and not in a good way. You were running from something.
I didn’t get to be as old as I am without knowing when someone has had trouble
in their life. Of course, I never imagined that we would be dealing with
something this serious. So I am going to trust my gut and Connor’s, and believe
in you. That’s why I am putting you on leave, but with full pay.”

Erin bit her lip hard to keep from crying. She was grateful
and at the same time embarrassed. She knew the criticism the Chief would
receive for not firing her. In her heart she knew the critics would be right.
She deserved to be fired.

“Thank… you. I… don’t really don’t… know how to thank you….”

Her voice trailed off. The lump in her throat was too big to
swallow around much less allow her to talk.

The Chief’s expression was stern.

“You don’t need to thank me, Erin. You have earned my
respect and belief that something terribly wrong must have kept you from coming
forward. I don’t expect you to ‘come clean’ with me. But you do need to confide
in someone, Erin. My sense is that you have been relying on yourself for too
long. Connor told me about your car and your house. How they were vandalized.
And yet you never told me or Connor that. That won’t do Erin. You are in
serious trouble. The only way any of us can help you is if you let us. Do you
understand?”

Erin nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

The Chief stood, making it clear the conversation was
finished.

“I don’t expect you to turn to me, although I am available
if you wish to speak with me. I know you and Connor have a special bond. I
recommend you take advantage of that and start relying on people who are trying
to help you. Am I making myself clear?”

Erin whispered, “Yes, Sir.”

The Chief walked her to the door, with Connor following
behind them.

“Good. Now go home, take a bath or whatever you women do
when you get all weepy. And for God’s sake, get something to eat. If you’re
going to be any good to us on this team, you have to be strong.”

Erin attempted a watery smile.

“Yes, Sir. And thank you, Sir.”

~~~

“Erin, I owe you an apology. I acted badly today. I
apologize. I’m afraid I embarrassed you and embarrassed myself. I hope you will
forgive me.”

Erin reluctantly answered Blake’s call. She didn’t want to
talk to anyone but she promised him before she left the police station that
they could talk later.

“It’s okay, Blake. We were all under a lot of pressure. I
appreciate that you came to the station to support me. Thank you.”

“Of course I came. I’m just glad I stopped by the firehouse
to see if you wanted to have lunch or I never would have known where you were.
And then to find out from Connor that you were being questioned by that gorilla
about the murder victims. God, Erin, I’m sorry but I almost went crazy. The
thought of you in that interrogation room all by yourself with that bully was
more than I could take.”

Just the reminder of that awful room made Erin shudder. The
lights, the smell, the hard chair had frightened her. But it was Nate glaring
at her, his eyes dark with anger that had been the most terrifying. The horror
of knowing that he thought she could have killed Dylan and that woman was too
painful to believe. And, oh God. Those pictures. The ones Nate made her look
at. She’d almost forgotten what Dylan looked like. She’d tried so hard to erase
him from her memory. And that beautiful woman. So like the women that Dylan
surrounded himself with. So unlike Erin. Then the pictures of the bodies. Since
she had received the notice under her door, and learned that it was Dylan who
had died in the fire, she hadn’t slept for more than a few hours at a time. The
nightmares were too intense, too real. She’d seen flashes of Dylan, flames
eating at his flesh. Seeing his photograph today and that woman — the one they
called Camilla — made the visions more real. Just the thought of going to sleep
terrified her. She moaned, wondering if she ever would.

“Erin. Erin? Erin, can you hear me? Are you all right? Erin,
speak to me.”

She struggled to understand who was talking to her and then
remembered the phone in her hand. Hearing Blake’s frantic entreaties, she
forced herself to speak, to sound coherent.

“I… I’m sorry, Blake. I think I must have drifted… I—”

“Erin, I’m coming over to your house, now. You shouldn’t be
there alone.”

“No! No, Blake. Please. I’m sorry. I don’t want to be with
anyone. Please understand.”

“Erin, listen to me. I’m concerned about you. You… you sound
as though you may be breaking under the strain. God knows you have every reason
to, but you shouldn’t be alone. I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

“No, Blake.” Erin made her voice as firm as she could. She
could not bear the thought of seeing him tonight. Of seeing anyone.

“Please, Blake, understand. I have to try to make sense out
of what happened today. I need to be alone to do that. If you are my friend,
and I know you are, you’ll understand.”

She heard his loud sigh.

“Of course I am your friend, and I will respect your wishes.
But I don’t like it. Erin, I don’t want to frighten you. But you are facing
serious issues. Serious legal issues. I want to help you. Will you let me help
you?”

Given that this was the second time she had heard that
today, make that the third time given Connor’s long-standing request, that she
let him help her, Erin conceded.

“Yes. Yes Blake, I will. And the best way you can help me
tonight is to understand that I need to be alone.”

There was a long pause, then he spoke firmly.

“I will reluctantly agree, Erin, but only reluctantly. And I
insist: I will pick you up tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock for breakfast. No,
don’t argue, Erin. We will have a nice breakfast and discuss these issues. I
need you to understand what you are up against. And, Erin, I hope you will
confide in me. I know how independent you are, but sometimes you need to depend
on other people. How about it? Nine o’clock? Breakfast?”

Erin hesitated then gave in. She knew Blake well enough now
to know that he didn’t give up easily, and that he truly cared. Remembering the
hideous scene at the police station, she decided maybe it would help to talk to
an attorney.

For the moment though, she knew she needed to run. Either
that or slit her wrists. She couldn’t sleep and she couldn’t stay in this awful
place another minute. She put on her running shoes and headed out down the dark
street toward the park. She prayed that the sound of her pounding footsteps
would drown out the images of the blond woman and her former husband covered
with flames.

“While it would be helpful if I was licensed in Minnesota,
it isn’t necessary unless I am filing a motion with the court or need to appear
in court. I have several attorney friends here who can help us out if that
becomes necessary. The main point, Erin, is that I am a lawyer and a damn good
one. If you will let me, I can be an invaluable adviser. You need to understand
the process. The police want to pin these murders on someone. They need to
solve the crime. And believe me, as high profile as this crime is, they want to
solve it quickly. Do you understand?”

Erin nodded. Even though she would rather be running, she
was glad she’d agreed to have breakfast with Blake. His sharply creased
trousers, open-necked silk shirt, and casual tweed jacket were comforting. He
looked professional, competent. Everything about him was ‘put together’ such a
contrast to the way she felt — and, she was sure, the way she looked. It had
been an effort to get dressed this morning, much less figure out which one of
her five outfits she should wear. Her grey sweatpants or her black ones? Her
white tank or her blue one?

Someday, she promised herself for the hundredth time, she
would have a closet full of clothes to choose from. Remembering her multiple
closets in Dylan’s house, she shuddered and closed her eyes to block out the
image. No, she would rather be poor and have no clothes than ever live like
that again. The memories triggered her nightmare visions of Dylan. Even after
her middle of the night fifteen-mile run through the park, she was only able to
sleep for an hour or two. The nightmares were too graphic, too frightening.
With a start, she realized that Blake was staring at her, his concern apparent.

“I… I’m sorry. Did I zone out again? I… I’m having a hard
time sleeping, Blake. It makes me feel woozy, dizzy in the daytime.”

“Erin, I’m a lawyer, not a doctor. But you are under
enormous stress. Have you considered seeing someone, perhaps getting a
prescription for something to help you sleep?”

Erin shook her head vigorously.

“No, absolutely not! I… I don’t do doctors. I don’t believe
in them. I don’t trust them.”

Blake looked down at the table but not before she saw his
frown. Oh God, he must think she was a total loon. But she knew what doctors
did and why. Every time Dylan beat her, they’d tried to give her pills. They
pretended that her injuries were caused by her carelessness, not by her
husband. Their deceit convinced her that like every other segment of powerful
men, doctors couldn’t be couldn’t be trusted either.

At that moment her cell phone buzzed, startling them both.
She took a deep breath and answered it. The voice on the other end was deep,
familiar.

“Erin, this is Officer Coulter. We met yesterday at the
police station.”

Erin nodded, then remembered that he couldn’t see her.

“Yes, I remember you, Officer.”

Blake jerked to attention and held up his hands, a
cautionary movement.

“We hoped that you would be available to come down to the
station. This morning, if possible? Detective Stryker has some questions he
wants to ask you. Maybe clear up a few things after yesterday.”

Hearing Nate’s name sent a rush of sensation to the pit of
her stomach. Oh God, how could she do this? Even thinking about him compromised
her. Blake reached out and put his hand over the phone.

“Who is it, Erin? What does he want?”

She tried to swallow but couldn’t get enough spit. When she
spoke her voice was a ragged whisper.

“It’s Officer Coulter. He wants me to come to the station to
answer questions.”

“When?”

She shrugged. “Sometime this morning.”

Blake took hold of her hand.

“You don’t have to do this unless you think you are up to it.
But if you avoid them, they may think you have something to hide.”

Erin looked hopefully at Blake.

“Will you come with me?”

“Of course. Tell the officer we’ll both be there in what? An
hour?”

Erin breathed a sigh of relief, glad that her voice was
firmer.

“I can be there at 10:30 if that works, Officer Coulter. And
Mr. Richards will be with me.”

“Good. See you at 10:30. I’ll let the guard know we’re
meeting in the conference room.”

Erin tucked the phone in her pocket and reached for her tea.
She almost dropped the cup, her hand shook so hard.

Blake stood and moved around the table to her side of the
booth.

“Scoot over, Erin.”

He plunked down beside her and put his arm around her
shoulders. His voice was firm.

“I repeat. You don’t have to go to the police station if you
don’t want to, Erin.”

Erin tried to quiet the tremors in her hands that threatened
to take over the rest of her body.

“But you said it would look bad if I didn’t go.”

Blake sighed. “It’s always better if you can meet them on
their turf and confront them. The problem is that the person in charge of their
turf is that big Neanderthal, Stryker.”

Erin gave an involuntary shudder.

Blake agreed as if she’d spoken.

“You’re right to be afraid of him, Erin. He has a lot of
power. Especially in this case. You need to be careful when you answer his
questions. It helps to know that he’s convinced you committed the crimes.”

Erin’s heart tripped. She still couldn’t believe that Nate
thought that. How could he? She dug her fingernails into her palms so hard she
almost broke the skin.

Realizing that Blake was still talking, advising her, she
turned her attention to him.

“Watch for my clues, Erin. I won’t be obvious but if I see
him setting a trap for you I will signal you.”

“What… what kind of a trap?”

“Erin, this is what the guy does. I’ve checked him out. He’s
got a 100% success record. There isn’t a murder that landed in his jurisdiction
that he didn’t solve. That’s the reason they tolerate his outrageous posturing.
But don’t let that backwoods lumberjack persona fool you. He’s smart as the
devil — and just as devious. On top of that he’s some kind of a local hero. The
whole damn department thinks he walks on water.”