Cold Fury, page 27
part #1 of Cold Justice® - Most Wanted Series
“So we have a better chance of spotting him.” Which hadn’t happened so far. “Did my weekly missive from Maximum Security arrive yet?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen it.”
“I’ll remind Colin. We’ve been pretty busy with the trial, plus he’s cramming for the bar.” She checked her watch. “I better go. I want to head into the office before court.”
Aaron frowned. “You think the trial will continue as scheduled?”
Hope nodded. “The judge wants to get the jury sworn in so people can get on with their lives. As sad as it is”—and it was sad for his family—“Jeff Beasley was only the mouthpiece of that crew, and now that he’s dead, I suspect the firm will give less weight to Jason Swann’s case. Jeff took the case either for spite or at least to get the same airtime as I did while his more famous client was unaccounted for.”
“Would Beasley have knowingly met with Leech, do you think?”
“Oh, yeah.” Hope nodded. “He wasn’t scared of Julius. He was contemptuous of the man.” He was contemptuous of everyone. And now he was dead.
“He could easily have underestimated the danger.” Aaron crossed his arms.
She began to unconsciously mimic Aaron’s stance and forced herself to stop.
“You saw him. He was a braggart and a bully.” Hope did not like to speak ill of someone who’d died less than three hours ago. “I need to send a card to the family and see if there is anything I can do.”
“That’s more than Beasley would have ever done for you.”
“Oh.” She stretched her neck to the side. “I’m sure his assistant sent a card.”
“Did you read them? The cards?” Frazer raised a brow.
Hope blinked and looked away. “I honestly don’t remember.”
Frazer’s expression seemed to say “exactly,” but it wasn’t the point.
“I’ll send one of the team to pick up a card.” Aaron yawned.
She suspected he’d been up all night, too, probably to counteract the guilt he’d feel for breaking FBI rules.
“Are you coming with us to the DA’s office?” Aaron addressed Frazer.
“Yes, but I’ll drive myself.” The senior agent shot a glance between her and Aaron. “You two are getting along a lot better than you were a few days ago. I haven’t heard a single argument this morning.”
Hope narrowed her eyes at the man. “It’s early yet.”
“Hmm.” His expression turned thoughtful.
Hope ignored him and the heat that started to climb her cheeks. She was a grown woman and didn’t need anyone judging her—but since when had that stopped people? She strode out of the kitchen and grabbed her coat, hat, and boots, feeling a little like a gladiator preparing for battle.
38
Leech paced the confines of his new prison. Ironic that freedom had turned into a bit of a drag. The New England winter was cold and dank, and he wanted to be away from it, feel the sun on his flesh, sand between his toes. He had one more score to settle, and he wouldn’t rest until he’d taken care of the woman who had lied about him, disparaged and insulted him, both on and off the stand.
Who said he didn’t know how to follow through?
He’d taken a risk last night, but it had been worth it in the end, especially when he’d seen her face in the back of that SUV. He’d also known it had been time to run when her eyes had widened as they’d locked onto him. He’d enjoyed sprinting through that alley, heart pounding at the thought of her bodyguards in pursuit. Then he’d driven calmly away without anyone spotting him.
He’d felt alive! Which was one thing he never felt in prison.
He didn’t like being betrayed by people he thought he could trust. Nor did he like being called names or labeled by people who only wanted him for his money. He wasn’t that scared little boy hiding in the closet anymore. He was the monster under the bed.
He picked up the hunter’s knife he’d found in the drawer. Ran his thumb over the tip and felt the sting of the edge. A droplet of blood bloomed, ruby rich.
He sucked his thumb. He imagined Hope’s silky blonde hair spread out on a pillow. He imagined a single drop of blood marring the white satin. Eyes, the color of a frozen moon, staring sightlessly up at him.
He did want to see Hope suffer. To regret. To repent and to beg his forgiveness. And then he’d slide this blade right into her heart.
Right into her goddamned soul.
39
Aaron was once again sitting in the hallway of the court building where he’d spent most of the past week, currently reading the files on the Monroe death investigation. The main thing that struck him as off about the whole situation was the fact the email had been typo free when the man had been sailing three sheets to the wind. The explanation was probably that Monroe had written and even scheduled the letter to be sent before he’d drunk all the whiskey. And the whiskey had been a way of lowering the barriers and dulling the pain of what he’d planned.
Monroe would have lost his job for sure if he confessed to perjury, but he wasn’t that far from retirement. He might have been forced to do some prison time, but a guy like that—thirty-five years of service and not a single blot on his record? On a charge like that? His lawyer would have gotten him off with diminished responsibility and community service.
Why kill himself? Especially when the guy had been a devout Catholic.
It didn’t sit right.
Aaron spotted Detective Lewis Janelli. Monroe’s partner at the time of his death loitering in the hallway.
Aaron slid the file back into his pack and shouldered it. Then he headed for the detective.
“What can I do for you, Agent…?” The guy looked Aaron up and down with a slight sneer to his upper lip.
“Nash.” Aaron introduced himself. “Detective Janelli, right?”
“That’s right.” The detective’s eyes danced all over the place, not meeting his. “You’re on Hope Harper’s security team. Right?”
“That’s right.”
“They found any sign of that asshole Leech yet?”
“You think I’d be sitting here if they had?”
The guy laughed. “I guess not.”
“Why’re you here? Testifying?”
Janelli jerked his chin in a non-answer.
“I was reading the files about Paul Monroe’s death.”
Janelli’s eyes widened at that. “Oh, yeah?”
Aaron watched the detective’s expression tighten. “He didn’t seem like the kind to kill himself.”
Janelli clenched his jaw and then looked away. “I never figured he did that to himself.”
“You found him?”
“What was left of him.”
“Must have been rough.”
“Yeah.” Janelli stared down at the tiles and scraped his shoe over the worn surface. “He was late for his shift. I went over there because he’d been hitting the bottle pretty hard.” He rolled his shoulder. “Never expected to be scraping him off the walls.” He shot a look at Hope’s courtroom.
Bitterness twisted his features. “It was all that bitch’s fault.”
“Harper?” Aaron frowned and settled in. “She was just doing her job, right?”
“Huh.” Janelli threw back his head and sneered. “Sure, if you believe her bullshit.”
Aaron had read the trial transcripts. And media reports. She’d done her job.
“She went after Pauly like he was the goddamned serial killer. Tripped him up. Made him doubt himself.”
Aaron flashed his eyebrows. “He never wavered from his story on the stand.”
“Because it wasn’t a goddamned story. It was the truth!”
A sheriff’s officer looked over at them and frowned. Aaron sent him an apologetic nod.
“You’re saying Monroe didn’t lie on the stand? He didn’t plant that evidence?”
Janelli’s cheeks flamed red. But he looked uncertain suddenly. “I don’t know. Not anymore. I thought I did… What I do know is no way Pauly Monroe blew his own brains out, and no fucking way would he have copied that bitch on the email where he confessed all. He hated her.” Those dark brown eyes glared at the door again. “I hate her.”
“Easy, Detective.”
“Ah, don’t worry. I won’t do anything to hurt her. Brendan would never forgive me. He’s got a thing for his former sister-in-law, although he’d never admit it.”
Aaron thought so too. Hope seemed oblivious. “You and Brendan Harper are partners now?”
“Yeah. He’s a good guy, despite his family relations. A good detective. Knows how to get results.” Janelli scuffed his shoe against the smooth floor again. A nervous tic? “He was with me the morning we found Pauly. He’d been on a stakeout all night, and I bumped into him when I was mouthing off that Pauly was late again. He’s the one who said we should take a drive over. Sober Pauly up enough to ride a desk for the day or get him to call in sick. Keep the captain off his back. The trial had done a number on the guy.”
“Do you think Monroe truly believed Julius Leech killed those six people?”
“Oh, he knew Leech was the right guy.” Janelli’s lips pinched into a bloodless line.
“You think Monroe decided the ends justified the means to get a conviction?”
“Maybe. He probably figured he could confess to Father Jamieson and say a few Hail Marys and all would be forgiven. Anything to get the guy off the street because we all knew he was guilty.” Janelli glared as if sensing Aaron wasn’t as sympathetic as he appeared. “I mean, what happened the minute Leech was cut loose? What happened the minute Leech escaped from prison?”
People died.
Aaron nodded. “I don’t think anyone regrets Leech’s release more than Hope Harper.”
“Whose fault was that?” Janelli sneered again and patted the butt of his gun. “Maybe she’ll get a little extra this time around too.”
Aaron had Janelli up against the wall and was relieving him of his service weapon when the security guard raced up.
“The detective threatened ADA Harper, and I want him out of here. Unless he’s taking the stand, I want him banned from the courthouse.”
Janelli was shouting now, vibrating with rage. Aaron let the sheriff cuff him while he removed the magazine and the bullet in the chamber from the guy’s gun and handed it back to Janelli. He didn’t have the authority to confiscate the weapon or arrest the detective. Not without proof the guy had intent to act on those threats, but he could sure as hell draw attention to his attitude, and he wasn’t about to pretend it was cool.
He gave the guard the bullets. And wished he could have hit the bastard but needed a little moral superiority. Plus, he couldn’t afford to be thrown out alongside Janelli.
He watched Janelli get escorted down the corridor. The detective was yelling, his hatred of Hope palpable. Aaron had no doubt he’d have happily smeared blood all over Hope’s family’s headstone and reminded himself to checkup on where the evidence from that was.
He texted Cowboy, who was sitting inside the courtroom—and Aaron had definitely done that deliberately, so Ryan had less time to run his mouth to the rest of the team. Told him to watch out for the little prick. Then he got a call from Frazer to inform him they had the warrant in hand to search the Fairchild mansion and did Aaron want to join them.
He thought about it for exactly two seconds and told the guy to pick him up. He needed to move, and he wanted to see exactly what Eloisa Fairchild was hiding.
40
Hope spent a boring day going between the DA’s office and the courthouse. As she suspected, the judge made a statement about how upsetting the news about Jeff Beasley’s death was, but also impressed on the lone lawyer sitting at the defense table that it was time to get the jury seated.
The young attorney was a junior associate with minimal trial experience.
Aisha kept her promise to help get Hope the best jury she could wish for.
When it was finally over, Aisha whispered, “I would high-five you if I didn’t think the judge might disapprove.”
Hope smiled. Ella had insisted on coming in today and it was good she had the chance to see them having a good day in court. Hope knew she was worried about Jeff’s murder and how it might affect things. But now they could move on from the bullshit and get on with trying the meat of the case.
“Do you want a ride home, Ella?” asked Hope.
Ella flashed a look across to where Jason Swann was staring sullenly at his lawyer, who was pretending not to notice. She bit her lip. “I wanted to visit a bookstore. Buy something for my mom’s birthday next week so I can mail it.”
Hope opened her mouth to say they could do that first when she heard Ryan Sullivan clear his throat behind them.
She glanced at him and saw something in his eyes that expressed disapproval of the idea.
But she was in charge here—
“I can take you,” Colin said cheerfully. “And then see you get back to your place.”
Hope exhaled. “Excellent idea. Remember, you don’t need to be here every day, but it would probably help as often as you can.” She didn’t expect it to take more than a few days because Jason Swann was not a nice guy. Hope surreptitiously opened her wallet inside her purse and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. She pressed it into Colin’s hand without Ella seeing. “Take a cab.”
At least this way the DA wouldn’t find out she was babying her client.
She shot Ryan a look, and he nodded curtly. He hadn’t been cracking jokes today. In fact, he was strangely quiet. Did he know about her and Aaron? Was that why she was getting the silent treatment? Was it disapproval that furrowed his brow?
The others started to pull on jackets and coats ready to leave, but she leaned over. “Are you okay? Or is something the matter?”
He blinked at her in surprise. The smile he sent her seemed genuine if a little worn around the edges. “Concerned about one of my coworkers. She’s burying her father today. I texted this morning but didn’t hear anything back.”
“I’m sorry.”
He nodded and looked away. “She’d tell me to butt out of her business, but losing a parent is hard.”
Hope nodded. “Mine passed very close together. I felt anchor-less for a long time after. Still do.”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah. My dad was larger than life and my mother a force of nature.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “You never expect to lose them, and then one day they’re just gone.”
She knew he’d lost his wife to cancer, so there wasn’t much she could teach this man about grief.
“Did you text her again?”
Ryan pulled a face. “Nah.”
“Why not?” Her eyes widened.
“Don’t want to interfere. Today of all days.”
“You like her.”
Ryan’s face lost its humor, and his jaw firmed. “I work with her. She’s off-limits.”
You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.
The guy was irritated she’d figured it out. “I won’t tell anyone.”
One brow arched slyly. “Not even Nash?”
So he did know what she and Aaron had done last night.
The others had stood and moved away, milling, and waiting to say their goodbyes.
She leaned closer to Ryan. “Please don’t say anything to anyone. It won’t affect me but—”
“You like him.” He sounded surprised.
“No.” She looked away, not the only liar in the room. “I don’t want to screw with his career, not when I was the one to drag him into my bedroom last night.”
Ryan’s gaze was intent on her features, eyes full of unspoken thoughts. Finally, he stood and casually leaned forward. “Don’t break his heart.”
“It was sex.” Her low tone was sharp. “Trust me, I’m not the lovable type.” She shook her head, admitted, “Even the thought of falling in love is…”
“Scarier than any serial killer.” His expression changed then. “Other people don’t get it.” He stared into space. “The idea makes me want to puke.”
He looked lonely rather than liberated though.
Hope didn’t want to think about the future. Not right now with Leech on the loose and her world turned upside down again. She had enough to deal with, and she didn’t even know if she and Aaron would get the opportunity to spend another night together, let alone anything else.
She didn’t want anything else. Remember?
“You should text this work friend of yours again. Make sure she’s okay.”
His eyes went hooded then, and he shook his head. “Nah. She’s with her family. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
41
Lincoln Frazer felt a buzz run through him as he led agents from the local field office up the steps to the front door of Eloisa Fairchild’s mansion, Aaron Nash at his side. He rang the bell and could almost write the script of what came next.
Eloisa opened the door and eyed the crowd of feds on her doorstep. “What is the meaning of this?”
Her prim outrage pierced the cold quiet of the morning, but the surprise sounded staged. She knew this was coming. She was expecting them.
One of the local agents moved past him to present the warrant.
“Think she got rid of everything incriminating?” Aaron said out of the side of his mouth.
Frazer grunted.
That was the trouble with waiting on the law, but he didn’t have the luxury of any covert B&E activity with his two best go-to people busy on other things. He could probably have requested TacOps, but that would have made it official and then he’d have still needed the warrant.
“Let’s see what she missed.”
