You Can't Hide (19 page)

Aidan downed a glass of milk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Out of hand, how?”

“Never mind. The important thing is I didn’t join in.” She lifted her sleeve and sniffed.

“Although it sure smells like I did.”

Aidan leaned in, sniffed, then leaned back with a frown. “Beer and pot? Rachel, who are these kids? And where were Marie’s parents?”

Rachel sat down on one of his garage sale kitchen chairs. “They weren’t home.” She held up her hand when he would have scolded. “Just don’t. I should have left right away, but for the first two hours it was just me and Marie and we did study.” Her eyes implored. “I swear, Aidan.”

“I believe you, Rachel.” He sat down next to her. “What happened, honey?” Then he was startled when her blue eyes filled with tears. “Rachel?”

“I’m all right,” she said and wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands. “It got scary there. A bunch of boys came and…” She shuddered. “I slipped out the back door.”

His heart was skipping every other beat, able to visualize all the possible outcomes only too well. “Why didn’t you call Mom and Dad?”

She shook her head. “One of the guys spilled beer on me and I… I didn’t want them to think I’d lied to them. So I walked here.”

“You
walked
?”

She nodded. “Three miles.” The smile she managed was pathetic. “So no more cracks about video games making me soft. I wasn’t going to stay here. I just needed a place to hang and get this smell out of my clothes. But Dol y was begging to be walked, then I sat down to rest for just a minute and fell asleep on the couch.”

“You should have called me, Rach. I would have taken care of things.”

She rol ed her eyes. “Sure, my big cop brother rushing in to save the day. Aidan, I don’t go to keggers, but I would like to retain
some
portion of my social life.” Her face fell. “So don’t tell Mom and Dad, please?”

He considered it. Abe and Sean had covered for him plenty of times when they were younger.

“Is the party still going on?”

“No. Marie’s parents were due home by twelve, so everybody’s long gone by now.”

“You promise to not see Marie anymore?”

71

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

She shuddered again. “Oh, yeah.”

“Then we have a deal. Go take a shower. I’l find you some sweats and we’l see if we can get the beer out of those clothes.” He shot her a grin. “I’ve got beer clothes to wash, too, so we can save water.”

Her brows lifted. “You been partying, Aidan?”

“Nope. Bar fight.”

Her lips twitched. “You win?”

“Honey, I always win.” He touched her nose with his fingertip and both their gazes fell on his bandaged hand.
Well, not always,
he thought. Not when it came to one Michigan Avenue doctor who was out of his price range. Even though she’d been interested. Very interested. Rachel sniffed, then brought his hand to her face. “Forevermore.”

“Excuse me?”

“The fragrance on your hands. It’s called ‘Forevermore.’ It’s also mega-expensive.” Her eyes went sly. “You
have
been partying. So dish, Aidan.”

He laughed, oddly embarrassed. “Go take your shower, squirt.”

She got up, but paused at the doorway, a sober, old look in her eyes. “Thanks, Aidan. I didn’t know where else to go tonight.”

His heart turned over in his chest. His baby sister had been his parents’ late-life surprise and they all had spoiled her rotten. But she was a good kid. A really good kid. He hated the thought of her seeing the uglier side of life so soon. “You can always come here, Rachel. Just don’t sneak up on me again, okay?”

“Okay.”

Tuesday, March 14, 8:09 A.M.

Aidan slid into the chair next to Murphy, avoiding Spinnel i’s annoyed glare.

“You’re late, Aidan.”

“I’m sorry.” He’d gotten caught up in the drop-off traffic in front of Rachel’s school after sneaking into his parents’ house to get his sister some clean clothes. The beer on her clothes was gone, but the pot lingered.

Jack slid a half-empty box of doughnuts across the table. “You snooze, you lose. Murphy and I ate all the jellies.” He eyed Aidan speculatively. “You get her client list?”

“Nope.” Aidan picked out a glazed crul er and licked his fingers. “She refused, very politely. But she did get threatening letters after Green. They’re in here.” With his clean hand he pushed the envelope across the table. The envelope that smelled like Forevermore. He’d felt ridiculous, sniffing an envelope, but somehow he hadn’t been able to resist. “And she confirmed she’d been on Soma. Again, after Green. She didn’t have any of the bottles anymore and couldn’t remember if she’d thrown them away or not.” He looked at Spinnelli. “She’s coming in this morning to give a voice sample and to sign a wiretap release for her home phone.”

Spinnelli sighed. “She’s cooperating, as best she can. If she gives over her patient files, she’l lose her license.”

“The licensing people already are on her back. They visited her yesterday.” Aidan glanced at Murphy. “That lady at the Health Department squealed.”

Murphy winced. “Damn. It just keeps getting better.”

“Did you find out anything in Records?”

Murphy looked at Spinnelli who nodded soberly. “Go ahead, Todd.”

“Both the Adams and Winslow files were checked out three months ago.” He blew out a breath. “By Preston Tyler.”

Aidan shook his head, stunned. “No way. He’s-”
Dead.
But of course they all knew that. He’d been killed by Harold Green’s bare hands. Which was a hell of a lot more merciful than the bastard had been to the three little girls. Aidan’s teeth clenched as he fought to stem the rage that threatened to consume him every time he thought about that little girl’s mangled body.

72

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

And that fact that Harold Green had escaped justice. Thanks to Tess Ciccotelli.
Who had put
away thirty-one other very dangerous men.
He made himself remember that. Made himself remember the agony in her eyes as she looked at Avery Winslow’s body, that behind the cool facade was a woman who cared. Because she was human. And being human she’d made a mistake. A terrible, tragic mistake.

He realized everyone was silently watching him and hissed out a breath. “Who would allow anyone to sign out a report using Preston Tyler’s name?”

“A new clerk. She didn’t know, Aidan,” Murphy said. “I had her in here this morning and she said it was a cop and that he had ID. She also said the report didn’t even leave the counter, but the cop came back on her next shift to look at it again.”

“Internal Affairs has her now,” Spinnelli said grimly, “taking her through photos.”

Jack’s expression hardened. “And if she can’t or chooses not to make an ID?”

“It’s a possibility,” Spinnelli admitted. “But IA has their ways.”

“Security videos?” Aidan asked.

Murphy shrugged. “Conveniently missing.”

“So much for Records keeping records,” Jack muttered.

“IA’s looking into that, too.” Spinnelli looked weary. “There’l be a probe.”

“You’re right, Murphy,” Aidan said. “It does just get better and better. Any good news from Rick?”

Jack shook his head. “He worked it all night, but our guy is smart. Transmissions are practically routed to Mars. But I do have some other news. One of my guys found black fibers on some of the lilies. They’re nylon. We found what look like the same fibers on the dol from Winslow’s place, but the heat of the oven had melted the nylon fiber into the dol ’s plastic skin, so we can’t separate them for a certain analysis.”

“A bag maybe?” Murphy asked. “Something somebody used to carry them in?”

Jack nodded. “That’s what we thought. It’s not going to lead you to the bag, necessarily, but if you find the bag, you’l probably find pol en from the lilies inside.”

Aidan remembered the sheer number of lilies that littered Adams’s floor. “Somebody would have had to make a lot of trips if the lilies were in just one bag. We can canvass Adams’s building with a picture of the woman at the mailbox store, see if anybody saw her. Maybe while we’re there we can find Joanna Carmichael and see if there are any more photos of the Adams scene. She wasn’t there yesterday afternoon.”

“Sounds good,” Spinnelli said. “Anything else?”

Murphy munched on his doughnut thoughtfully. “We have Adams’s safe-deposit box key.”

“And a list of the five convictions Tess thought her testimony clinched.” Aidan caught Murphy’s look of surprise. “She gave it to me last night. But all five are still in jail.”
Because no
parole board had either fucked up or messed up,
he thought, remembering the way her cheeks flushed at her near slip. Murphy was still looking at him. “What?”

Murphy looked away. “Nothing. Who’s going to subpoena her patient list, Marc?

Spinnelli’s mustache bent down. “I’l tell Patrick to go ahead ASAP.”

“Have him get a warrant for Adams’s safe-deposit box, too,” Murphy said. Spinnelli wrote it down. “Anybody else have an order before the kitchen closes?” he asked sardonically. “Aidan, when’s Tess coming in?”

“Sometime this morning. I’l call you when she gets here.”

Jack stood up. “I’l get everything ready in the sound booth.”

Spinnelli watched him go, still frowning. “We have too many possibilities. Go narrow them down.”

Murphy stopped at the door. “We all know IA’s not going to tell us who the Records clerk IDs, Marc.”

“Go do your job, Murphy.” Spinnelli’s voice was sharp. “I’ll deal with IA.”

Murphy was shaking his head as they headed back to their desks. “Better him than us. You okay?”

73

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

Aidan frowned at him. “I’m fine, why?”

“Your knuckles are a mess.”

And she bandaged them
was all he could think. Then forced himself to focus. “Morris’s pal decided to be a hero last night. Now he’s cooling his jets in lockup. I still have to finish the paperwork. Resisting arrest and striking a cop.”

Murphy studied him as they walked. “Your face is still pretty. Where’d he hit you?”

Aidan grimaced. “Got one in the gut. Man has one hell of a left jab.”

“You’ll live.”

Exactly what she’d said.

Murphy sat behind his desk, still studying him and the scrutiny made Aidan want to squirm so he turned his attention to finding an empty wiretap release form. A minute later he looked up with a snarl. Murphy was still looking at him.
“What?”

“You called her ‘Tess.’”

Aidan opened his mouth to deny it, but Murphy was right. “So?”

“So she’s growing on you, too.”

Aidan thought about the dream that had waked him just before dawn. She’d been in his bed, the dark waves of her hair spread across his stomach as she kissed her way down his body. All those curves, and that busy mouth… The phone on his desk rang, saving him a reply. “It was the desk downstairs,” he said curtly. “Dr. Ciccotelli is here.”

A corner of Murphy’s mouth lifted. “Then by all means escort Dr. Ciccotelli up. I’ll call Jack and let him know we’re coming.”

Tess sat in the lobby of the police station, vividly aware of every cop eye watching her every move. Before, there had been hatred and contempt. Now, she had to wonder if anyone wearing a badge was aiming for a more personal revenge. The thought had kept her awake most of the night. As had the speculation on which of her patients might be next. One part of her had desperately wanted to give Reagan the patient list he’d requested last night so that they could be protected. So that she wouldn’t have to look into the dead eyes of another patient. But it wasn’t ethical. Reagan had known it. The privacy of the patient must be protected. There was a stigma associated with seeing a psychiatrist. Many of her patients believed their lives would be ruined if anyone knew they needed help. She prayed their lives wouldn’t be ended instead. She couldn’t give Reagan their names, but she could call each one herself. This she would do once she’d met her obligations here. One release to tap her phone and one voice sample.

The elevator door slid open and Reagan stepped out. Predictably her pulse kicked up a notch. He was an incredible-looking man. She could admit that now. He walked with a kind of coiled power that said he was a force to be reckoned with. She was sure he would be. He scanned the room as he approached, met her eyes. He was assessing, as was she. Then his eyes dropped to the scarf around her neck and her mood flattened. He knew. And it bothered her that he did.

“Dr. Ciccotel i,” he said, his voice smooth. “Thanks for coming down.”

“I said I would.” She gathered up her things. “I do what I say.” She fol owed him, her stomach quailing when he stopped at the elevator. “I missed my run this morning.” She grimaced.

“Reporters all over. Do you mind if we take the stairs?”

He looked down, his brows slightly furrowed. “It’s four floors to the technology division where you’ll be giving your voice sample.”

“That’s okay.”

His eyes softened. “Then let’s take the stairs.”

“Did you call your attorney?” he asked when they’d cleared the first flight. That he cared so much that she kept her promise was enlightening. “I did.” Amy had been waiting up for her call and had apologized more than once. But the conversation had been awkward and neither of them brought up reinstating their attorney-client relationship. Perhaps it was better this way. She and Amy had been through so much together. Their friendship had

74

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

taken a battering and was ultimately too precious to risk. There were other defense attorneys if she ended up needing one after all. “I called her after I chased that
Bulletin
reporter away.”

Reagan shot her a surprised look. “Cyrus Bremin went to your apartment?”

“Nobody so famous. Her name was Joanna Carmichael.”

“Ah. The photographer. Can I carry your briefcase?”

She shook her head. “No thanks. You mean you know Carmichael?”

“Not yet. We checked her out when we saw the article in the paper yesterday morning. We went by her place trying to see if there were any other pictures of Adams’s jump.” He hesitated, then shrugged. “She lives in Cynthia Adams’s building.”