She Who Watches (6 page)

“I don't think so.” Dana's gaze latched on to Russ's, and for a minute, Mac thought she might be interested in him too. He dismissed the thought, however. Dana wasn't about to get into a relationship with a cop. She'd made herself very clear on that point. If she changed her mind, he intended to be first in line.

Or did he? A month ago, he might have jumped at the chance. But things were changing. He and Kristen were closer, and he enjoyed being with her and her little boy. Mac didn't really want that relationship to end. In fact, he would be heading over there after work tonight for one of Kristen's gourmet dinners. If, that is, neither of them had to work late.

Russ cleared his throat. “Strange. The articles were pretty adamant about a link between the kidnapping and some threatening letters to Senator Wilde.”

“Pure speculation on the reporter's part,” Mac said. “At least, that's what the feds told us. Some of it was true, though. Senator Wilde is publicly opposed to the Confederated Tribes building a casino out near Hood River. There was some mention of threatening letters, but those allegations never panned out.”

“What did the senator have to say about them?” “Except for that first day, right after Sara disappeared, Dana and I never got a chance to speak with the senator. Only the feds had interviews with him, and I understand he was always with his aide and a room full of attorneys.”

“That always makes it nice,” Russ said. “So where did the paper get this thing about a tribal member supposedly kidnapping Senator Wilde's niece?”

“We'd like to know that too.” Dana sighed. “But the paper wouldn't reveal their source.”

“Humph.” Russ shook his head. “I bet the source was a greedy editor who wanted to sell papers and had the writers fabricate the story.”

Mac nodded, sharing Russ's distrust for the press. Practical experience had taught them that news publishers often used the police and the victims as pawns to sell papers or gain ratings.

“Is Kevin coming in today?” Russ asked.

“I'm already here.” Sergeant Bledsoe stepped into Dana's old cubicle. “Did you need to see me, Russ?”

“Yeah. Philly and I are heading to Scappoose again this morning to follow up on that hit-and-run incident you sent us out on last night. We've got the crime lab on the scene and want to take a look at it in daylight.”

“Good idea. Let me know what you find out. Where's Philly, by the way?”

“Ah, at home. I'm picking him up there. We were out pretty late last night.” Mac noticed Russ's attempt to protect his partner.

“And Philly needed his beauty sleep,” Kevin said, leveling his gaze on Russ.

Russ looked embarrassed. “Yeah. Um—Sarge, if you have a few minutes, there's something I need to talk to you about in private.”

“Sure, Russ. Go on into my office. I'll be with you in a sec.” Turning back to Mac and Dana, Kevin asked, “How are those reports coming?”

Mac shrugged. “Getting close.”When he wasn't working on the Watson case, he was supposed to get the sex offender registration files up-to-date, and today was the deadline. “Did you know that thirty percent of those guys are out of compliance? They're not coming in for their yearly registration or making address notifications.”

Dana frowned. “I knew they were pretty bad off, but how do they expect us to chase after these jokers if they keep cutting our positions?”

“Not only that, there's more of them all the time,” Mac said. “You gotta wonder where these perverts are coming from.”

“You don't want to get me started on that,” Kevin said. “My philosophy is that while we've always had our share of sex offenders, it's these perverted internet sites and the porn that multiplies them. What's worse is the media attention they're getting. You can't turn on the news anymore without hearing about some sexual predator.”

Mac had to agree. It seemed like they were always arresting sex offenders with a history of deviant activities. “Yeah, it's pretty bad when half the newscast is dedicated to those guys.”

“How's your job coming, Dana?” Kevin asked.

Dana had been plagued with interviewing local sex offenders who lived or worked in the vicinity of Sara's home and place of business. Mac didn't like the idea of her dealing with this kind of stuff, but Dana would deck him if he said anything. Being a cop meant doing the job—whether you were male or female.

“Another day should do it for me. I wish this Sara Watson case could be put to bed. I'd like to get onto something else. I'm not finding any connections to Sara with any of the local sex offenders. And I'll tell you, I hate interviewing these creeps.”

“I know, and I'm sorry to put you through this detail, but it has to be done. We may have to cold case the investigation on Sara if something doesn't break soon. You two are up for the next investigation.”

Dana nodded. “I wish we were lead on the case. Maybe we'd get somewhere.”

Kevin gave them an imperceptible nod. Though he wouldn't outwardly agree, Mac suspected that he, too, thought his detectives might do a better job than the feds seemed to be doing. However, they still had a missing persons case, not a murder.

“I'd better get in and see what Russ needs.”

When Kevin had gone, Mac followed Dana into her office. He looked around the small space, trying to tell himself that he hadn't really wanted it anyway. He liked his cubicle with its window and view. “What do you suppose Russ wants to talk to Kevin about?”

“I don't know, but whatever it is, he seemed concerned. Do you think it has something to do with Philly?”

“That would be my guess.” Mac rubbed his chin, wondering whether or not to mention Russ's apparent interest in her.

“Did you need something else? I really have to get back to this stuff.”

“No, just . . .”

“What?” She was getting annoyed.

“Maybe it's nothing, but I've noticed Russ looking at you a lot lately. I think he has a thing for you.”

“Oh, come on, Mac.You're just jealous. He does not have a thing for me.”

“Whatever you say. Maybe I am a little jealous, but I'm not mentioning it for that reason. I've noticed the way he looks at you and the way he's always going out of his way to talk to you.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Russ likes anything in skirts. I know better than to take him seriously.”

Mac poked his tongue in his cheek. “OK. Just an observation.”

“Anyway, what do you care? I thought you and Kristen were an item.”

“I guess. Sort of.”

“Well, just for the record, I'm seeing someone too.”

“Really? Who?”

“That, my friend, is none of your business.” She grinned at Mac.

“I'll tell you when I'm ready. Now get out of here so I can get these reports finished.”

Mac shrugged and went back to his cubicle and back to the project he wished he could pawn off onto someone else. Unfortunately, paperwork was part of the job, and he had to do his share. Though for the past few weeks, he felt like he and Dana had done more than their share of paper pushing.

Two hours later, Mac aimed his Crown Vic toward his favorite medical examiner's house. He'd finished his project and felt like celebrating.

Pulling up in front of Kristen's place brought a wave of disappointment. Her silver Volvo wasn't parked in its usual spot. Mac got out of his own vehicle anyway and jogged up the walk. He rang the doorbell and knocked. No one answered. Mac dialed her number on the way back to his car.

When she didn't answer her cell phone, Mac called the morgue direct.

“Hey, Mac.” The receptionist sounded entirely too cheerful for someone working in a morgue. “Dr. Thorpe had an emergency situation out of town. I'll have her call you when she checks in.”

“Any idea when that will be?”

“No, sorry.”

“OK, just tell her I called.”

“Will do.”

Mac wondered what Kristen had been called out on and checked with dispatch. They didn't have a record of her going to a crime scene. Annoyed that she hadn't called him, Mac headed home. On the way, he called his favorite Chinese restaurant for takeout, which was ready when he arrived. Back home, he fed his dog, Lucy, before gobbling down his dinner during the evening news. After the news, he changed into jeans and a sweater and settled into his recliner to watch reruns.

Mac didn't hear from Kristen until after seven. “Hi, Mac. Celia said you'd called earlier. What's up?”

“What's up?” Mac tried to keep the irritation out of his voice. “We had a dinner date tonight.”

“Oops. I totally forgot about that. Listen, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you. But not for a while. I'm in Florida, and . . .”

“Florida? What are you doing in Florida? Why didn't you call me?”

“I did—I mean, I am right now. You're mad at me, aren't you?”

“Yeah. I was really looking forward to seeing you.”

“Oh, Mac.”

He heard voices in the background. “What's going on?”

“Um—Brian, my ex-husband . . .”

“Wait,” Mac interrupted. “What's he doing in Florida? You said that he lives in England.”

“He does. . . . I mean, he did. . . .” Kristen stumbled over her words. “Look, apparently Brian has been living with his parents in Florida the past few months. And now he's been in a serious accident, so his parents called me. . . . It's a long story, and I really can't talk right now. But I'll explain everything later, I promise. In the meantime, say a prayer for Brian. The doctor says he may not live through the night.”

“Sure.” Mac hung up. A mixture of anger, disappointment, and jealousy stumbled around inside him.
What the heck is she doing with her ex-husband? And why would I pray for the guy?
According to Kristen, he was a loser. He'd left his wife and kid and hadn't come back. But maybe Brian meant more to Kristen than she let on. Obviously, if she'd drop everything and fly all the way to Florida to be with him, he meant something.

Mac dropped into his recliner and absently patted Lucy's head.

Had Kristen taken Andrew along? Mac had fallen for the little guy in a big way.

He'd even imagined himself as the kid's dad from time to time.

What a fantasy that was. Andrew already had a father. And what about Kristen? He had to admit that being with her and Andrew had gotten him thinking about a wife and kids. They both wanted to take things slow; she didn't want commitment, and neither did he. Had she secretly been hoping to have Brian back in their lives?

Mac thought about calling Kristen's mother, who took care of Andrew when Kristen worked, but he couldn't remember her last name.

Kristen had asked him to pray, and he'd said he would. Rubbing his forehead, he lowered his head. “God, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here, but it would probably be a good thing if you saved this guy's life. Kevin says you know better than we do what we should pray for, so I'm just asking you to help Kristen and Andrew and do what's best for them.”

His cell phone rang, and he frowned at it. Lucy sat at attention and cocked her head. Mac picked up.

“We have a body dump along the White River,” Kevin said, sounding almost as gruff as their former sergeant. “I want you and Dana to head out there. Call dispatch on the way for details.”

“Sure thing. Have you called Dana?”

“Not yet. Do you want to do the honors?”

“Be glad to.”

Kevin thanked him and hung up. Mac phoned his partner and offered to pick her up, and she agreed.
Hallelujah!
When they'd first become partners, Dana wanted to make certain no one got the wrong idea about them, and refused to let him pick her up—even when it would have been more convenient. Now that she felt more secure in her job, she was loosening up a bit. She'd even come over to his place awhile back to watch a game with him and Kristen.

“Thanks for the lift,” Dana said as she scooted into the passenger seat. “My work car is in the shop, and I've had to drive my POV for the last couple of days.”

“I should have everything we'll need. Do you have your weapon?” Mac reached for his right pant leg. He pulled a small semiautomatic and ankle holster from its hiding spot. “Take my backup.” Mac held out the weapon to Dana.

“Thanks, but I have my own.” She patted her purse. “Never leave home without it.”

He put his own weapon back. “If you need anything else, I can stop by the office.

“I'm good,” Dana said. “You seem kind of moody today. Having PMS or something?”

Mac rolled his eyes. “I am not moody.”

“Well, something's wrong.”

He told her about his brief conversation with Kristen. “Doesn't it seem odd to you that she'd drop everything and rush to Florida to be by her ex's side?”

“Not really. She may not be in love with him anymore, but they were married once and that makes them family. And he is Andrew's dad. Maybe Brian wanted to see them.”

“Humph.” Mac didn't think much of the explanation.

“I'd better call dispatch.” Dana picked up the phone, hitting the speed-dial button to the Oregon State Police regional communications center in Salem. She placed the phone back on the hands-free stand so they could both listen to the conversation on the car's speaker.

“State Police dispatch, is this an emergency?”

“Nope,” Dana answered, accustomed to the question.

“Please hold,” the call taker responded. Moments later, the male voice came back on the line. “Thanks for holding. How may I help you?”

“This is Detective Bennett out of station eleven; may I speak with the supervisor?”

“Sure, just a second.”

The call was transferred to the floor supervisor, who held the call information for the more serious investigative crimes while the dispatchers on the floor dispatched the lower-priority calls to the uniformed contingent of the agency. Most detective calls were handled by phone, to avoid alerting the media or the general public who monitored police airwaves with their personal scanners.