Searching for Secrets (17 page)

Within a few seconds, the slow trainee was free. "Hi, Joyce," Christa said as she walked up. "Looks like you're remembering everybody today."

The young woman regarded Christa with a confused expression, then seemed to realize that she could have dealt with her previously. "Each day is a little better, ma'am."

Christa handed her the deposit slip, and Joyce keyed in the account number and amount. When she finished, she solemnly handed Christa her receipt. Christa turned it over and held her pen poised over it. "Could you tell me the amounts of my last two deposits?" she asked. "I forgot to write them in my check register."

"Surely," Joyce said. She rekeyed the account number and studied the screen.

Christa watched her expression grow more serious as she pondered the screen. With a deft motion, Christa turned the video screen so that she could see it. She glanced at the top of the screen. "Syndicated Computer Associates of the Midwest." The name meant nothing to her. It was the number that stood out -- $400,000 had been deposited on October 27.

"Miss. Excuse me." The voice of the supervisor was firm and ice cold.

Christa flashed her an engaging smile. "I never seem to remember to write down my deposits. At least I do get the checks in order."

The woman grasped the edge of the video monitor and tugged it back so that Christa could not see it. "Only bank staff read the information on these screens. Is there something else we can help you with?"

"No." Christa gave her a broad smile. "I have everything I need." She winked at the ever-more-nervous Joyce Bronson. "Keep up the good work."

CHAPTER TWELVE

KIRK TRIED TO QUELL HIS RISING PANIC. The bell captain had said that when Christa left the hotel she walked toward Iowa Avenue. There were several cafes or bakeries along that route; maybe she decided to eat breakfast away from the hotel. But that didn't make sense. She was the one who wanted to eat dinner in their rooms last night to avoid being seen.

He noted the time on the digital clock on the Heartland National Bank building at the end of the street. Eight-forty-five. Kirk had looked for her for half an hour, and called Buckingham Elementary to see if she had gone there. He would wait until 9 a.m., and then enlist Hadley's help.

He returned to the hotel, fearing the worst. She would have left him a note if she had gone willingly. As he turned the key in the door of his room Kirk thought he heard someone in the adjoining room. He entered quickly, and eased the door shut. He slid his service revolver out of his shoulder holster and approached the door that connected his room with Christa's. There was definitely someone in there.

The door had been unlocked when he left. His only hope for surprise would come if whoever was now in the room had left it unbolted. He reached for the door with his left hand and swung it open, right hand pointing the revolver at whomever was in there.

Christa had the city phone book in her hand as she swung around. She started to scream, but stifled it as she saw who held the gun bearing down on her. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"What am I doing?" Kirk felt his rage mount with every word. "Where have you been? Do you know how long I've been looking for you?" He stuffed the gun back in the holster as he walked toward her.

He stared at her, speechless for a moment. Was it only last night that he had held this woman in his arms, felt her thrust her body into his with the same intensity he felt? Clearly, it meant nothing to cold Christa Heckertt. "Until we're done with this game of cat and mouse with Freddy, I need to know where you are at all times."

"Are you willing to make that a reciprocal arrangement?" She eyed him coolly before returning her gaze to the directory.

"I told you when I was going out." Kirk took two steps closer and yanked the phone book from her. "Would you have the courtesy to look at me when we're talking?"

Her eyes flashed with anger. "I don't suppose you'd want to tell me where you were last night?"

So, that's it. "I was on police business."

"I don't believe you." She reached for the phone book. "I was looking at that phone book." Kirk held it just out of her reach.

"There will be times when I can't tell you exactly what I'm doing. There are confidential aspects to some of my..."

"I'll bet." She jumped up and grabbed the directory. "Did you steal Frances' toys when you were little?"

This petulant schoolgirl attitude was a side of Christa he had never seen. Would not have believed existed. "What has gotten into you? We have to work together to solve this."

"I agree." Her tone was icy as she again opened the directory. "Would you like to know what I was working on this morning?"

"If you've decided to share your toy, yes."

She ignored his barb and continued. "That account is in the name of Syndicated Computer Associates of the Midwest. Ever hear of them?"

"No. How do you know that?"

There was defiance in her eyes, and Kirk knew he wasn't going to like what she said. "I looked on the computer screen at the bank this morning and..."

"I told you we couldn't get the information that way. It could taint the evidence." He was furious. She had ruined everything. How could he have even considered working with an amateur? And a stubborn one at that.

"We have less than 24 hours. We're at a dead end. I got some new information." Christa spoke more firmly. "Now we need to use it to find whoever is supposed to make this delivery."

"Don't you get it? Any case built on illegally obtained evidence will get thrown out!" Kirk turned and started for the door.

"Every time you get mad you storm out of a room." Christa threw the phone book on the bed. "Did it ever occur to you that if you stuck with something even if you're angry that you might get somewhere?"

Kirk could feel the blood rush to his face. His heart pounded as hard as if he had run up three flights of steps. "I can spot an only child from a mile away. Did it ever occur to you that you plow ahead as if no one else was involved? I actually know what I'm talking about when it comes to things like rules of evidence. It wouldn't hurt to listen."

Kirk sat on the edge of the bed. He stared, unseeing at the dresser in front of him, then slowly raised his eyes to Christa's. "That's too much money."

"They do," Kirk said, grimly. "But it's also relatively inexpensive. No need to import a controlled substance, just purchase chemicals, cook them up, and presto. A cheap, addictive substance. That's why so many of these kids get hooked. They can afford it."

"At first, anyway," Christa said.

Kirk studied the auburn hair that framed her face, and his eyes met hers. He reminded himself that this was good to know, but it didn't lessen his dark mood. "Look if this were a mystery book, sneaking information from the bank could be a good idea. But if a suspect can prove I got the tip illegally, the district attorney can't win a conviction." He stood up and walked to the window. He had told himself she was a logical ally because he wanted to be close to her. It had been a mistake to work with her, to work with any citizen.

He turned to face her. "This just isn't working. And I'm putting you at too much risk."

"That's not what you really want to say. You think I blew your case." One hand on a hip, she regarded him coolly. "I didn't. I got us a name--Syndicated Computer Associates of the Midwest. The drug dealers, or whoever they are, gave us the account number..."

"I don't recall any of those masked hoodlums handing you a bank statement."

"The information was on the computer's hard drive, which was in my classroom. If somebody had thought to check the drive more carefully when it was seized in the drug raid, they would have found the extra file and come up with the cipher to solve the code.

She pushed her hair behind her left ear and Kirk stared at her. What in the hell had caused her attitude? "Okay, so maybe I do paint too bleak a picture. It doesn't change the fact that it was foolish of me to involve you. I..."

"You didn't bring me into this." Christa's eyes flashed in anger as she continued. "Fast Freddy, or whoever invaded my classroom, issued the invitation. And as far as I can tell, they're going to keep me in this game. Or get rid of me permanently. I'm involved until we solve this."

Kirk hated battles of wills. No one ever won, and this would be no exception. He couldn't convince Christa to back off, and yet in her newly cold state of mind, he didn't think it would do any good to work with her.

He met Christa's gaze, and was rewarded with a solid glare. "Look, if we're going to work together, we need to keep each other advised of what we're doing."

"I'm all for that," she said. "I'm going to the library. What are you working on next?"

Kirk eyed her in mild amusement. She wasn't about to let him get the upper hand. "I'm going to get a rental car downstairs in the hotel and swing by the station to see if there were any prints on your kitchen table. And I want to check some things in Chas Johnson's file."

"Why don't you meet me in the library after you do that?"

Kirk saw the coldness in her eyes, in her entire demeanor, and decided he didn't know the woman in front of him. Should never have tried to get close to her. But, he was responsible for her safety, at least for now, whether she liked it or not. "It would be better if you came with me." He held up a hand as she started to object. "We'll go to the library after I get what I need at the station. Unless," he added with a look as hard as her own, "you especially want to be an unarmed target for these thugs."

Christa had opened her mouth to argue with him, but he was glad to see she thought better of it. "Let's get moving," was her only response.

They walked out of the hotel in silence. The rental car Kirk had ordered the night before was ready, and he opened the passenger door for Christa before he got in and turned the key to the ignition.

"Anything's possible. Right now, Fast Freddy is the only living link we have." He paused as he negotiated the turn into the police station parking lot. "We're supposed to only be here to fill out the rest of the report on whoever broke into your apartment and slashed your tires. But I'm going to try to get another look at Chas' file. Maybe I missed something."

"Gee," Christa said, "you're always so thorough."

Kirk jammed the transmission into park as he finished parking. "If you can't be civil, do me a favor and talk to someone else."

"When I have that option, I will," she said, still not looking at him.

Kirk slammed the car door and didn't turn around as he walked into the station. "I'll meet you in the main lobby in a couple of minutes."

CHRISTA LET HERSELF OUT of the car and walked slowly toward the entrance to the police station. She glanced over her shoulder. I'll be so glad when I don't have to worry about who's behind me. She was angry that she had to fear for her life and angry at Kirk Reynolds for walking into it. He ought to show at least some remorse for abandoning her last night, but none was apparent.

She pushed the door open with new resolve. She would simply put him out of her mind. The only reason she needed to think about Kirk Reynolds was so they could work together to figure out who would make the delivery that would give them access to the $400,000 in Heartland National Bank. Once those people were behind bars, she could get back to Buckingham Elementary School and all other aspects of her quiet, sane life.

And, she had to talk to him more civilly. Christa nodded to the desk sergeant as she took a seat in the small lobby. Part of her was ashamed of the petulant tone she had adopted with Kirk, but another part congratulated herself for sticking up for herself. The worst part, she fumed to herself, was that he seemed so oblivious to his deceit. To go from her arms to those of the young student in the space of two hours; no decent man would even think of such behavior.

The sight of Mark Hadley coming through the door interrupted her contemplation. She smiled as she spoke. "How's the Hadley taxi service?"

Hadley stopped abruptly. "I'm thinking of raising the rates." He looked around the room and his gaze came back to Christa. "Where's Kirk? Or did he leave you here for the morning?"

"He might like to. He went back to get some more information on fingerprints or something. He's probably looking for you."

Before Christa could finish, Hadley had pushed the buttons on the security keypad to let him into the secure section of the station. "I'll catch you in a minute," was his only response.

Christa looked after him as he walked quickly down the hallway. He wasn't usually so short with her, but he was, after all, on duty. Perhaps he had learned something that would help Kirk. She glanced at the Halloween skeleton on the door Hadley had just passed through. It was still shaking, dancing an eerie jig.

She walked toward the information counter to see if the sergeant would buzz Kirk for her when Kirk came through the door Hadley had gone through half a minute earlier. Kirk was talking to an older man who had on a perfectly tailored suit. Kirk held his left arm tight against the side of his lightweight jacket, and she wondered if he was feeling delayed pain from yesterday's roll on the roof of a car. The two men shook hands, Kirk still with his left arm held against his side, and Kirk pushed the buzzer to unlock the glass security door.