You Can't Hide (50 page)

Her hands still shaking, Joanna skimmed her notepad until she found the name that had come up as part of what she now termed her “flypaper research.” “Dr. Chin. Thank you for returning my call. I’m researching a story and I’m hoping you can help.”

Friday, March 17, 7:30 A.M.

Aidan had dropped Tess off at her parents’ hotel room door twenty minutes before-just in time to see her interview with Lynne Pope. Her father sat very still when Pope’s piece ended. Her mother sat next to him, holding his hand. Vito paced. Tess sighed.

“They aren’t lying when they say the camera adds ten pounds,” she said lightly and cringed when three pairs of furious eyes turned on her.

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Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

“Are you sure that was wise, Tess?” her mother asked. “Baiting him like that?”

“Of course it wasn’t wise,” Vito exploded. “Where the hel was Reagan when this interview was taking place?”

“Pacing, just like you’re doing now. Last night they found another body. Vito, do you remember the young girl that flirted with you in the shoe store?”

Vito’s face drained of color. “She’s dead? That was what last night was about? You didn’t even know her. He’s killing perfect strangers now?”

Tess nodded. “I have to make sure nobody else is caught unaware. I thought that Lynne Pope did a sensitive job with the interview.”

Her father stood, his skin gray. “Who have you made so angry that they’d do this? My God. They killed a perfect stranger.”

Tess bit back the annoyance at his choice of words. “I don’t know, Dad. The police have thoroughly checked patients who I evaluated for the court.”

“Have you given them a list of patients from your practice?”

“They have the list, yes. Honestly, I doubt any of my patients could conceive of such a convoluted scheme, or be organized enough to carry it out if they did. This is a personality type I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. Dad, lie down. You look terrible.”

He sat on the bed. “I don’t feel well,” he admitted. “Gina, can you get my pills?”

Tess gently pushed him to his back, lifting his feet to the bed. “Rest. I’m being careful, Dad. I promise.” She and Vito went into Vito’s adjoining room and she let her shoulders sag. “He needs to be home.”

“He won’t go until you do,” Vito muttered. “Tess, please just come home. At least until this is over. At home, on my turf I can protect you.”

Tess shook her head. “You still don’t get it, Vito. This is all about me. If I went to Philly, so would he. Then we’d just be moving the problem to a different city. Aidan and Murphy have some leads. I trust them.” She rubbed his arm. “Don’t you?”

He sank into a chair. “I feel so helpless. I’ve got to go back to work soon. They’ve been cool about the leave, but I’ve been gone three days now.”

Tess laid her cheek on his head. “It has to end soon, Vito. Before anybody else dies.” Within her pocket her cell rang and dread chilled. “I don’t want to answer that.”

“It might be Reagan. Answer it.”

Tess pul ed the phone from her pocket. It was Amy. “Hey.”

“Tess? It’s Amy. Where are you?”

The chill became ice at the tone of Amy’s voice. “With Vito at the hotel. Why?”

“It’s the
Eye
. They’re accusing you of doing the videos voluntarily.” Amy hesitated. “You’re on the front page, Tess.”

Denise.
Goddamn her to hell. “Denise sold the story,” she bit out. “I swear to God I want to…”

She drew a breath. “How bad is it?”

“Bad. Real bad. They… They have a picture on page two. It’s the one that came on the blackmail note, Tess. I’m sorry.”

Bile rose to choke her and blindly Tess handed the phone to Vito and sank onto the bed, her eyes unfocused on her hands. She heard Vito demand an explanation, heard his hissed curse. Then he was kneeling before her, clasping her hands in his.

“What can I do?” he asked, his voice low and miserable.

Tess sat for a long moment considering her response. “I could ask you to kill the bitch. But that would be illegal.” She made a decision, and once made, stood up resolutely. “You can drive me to the courthouse. There’s a lawyer I want to see.”

Friday, March 17, 7:30 A.M.

So, she’s gone on the offensive. I didn’t think she’d have the nerve.
Every eye in the coffee shop was fixed on the broadcast and sympathy for Ciccotelli ran high. But every person murmured

188

Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

that if they saw her they’d cross to the other side of the street. It would be harder to take out even strangers now. Perhaps the cat-and-mouse had played itself out. The remaining loose end had been effectively snipped.

It was time for the coup de grвce. And then… ultimate satisfaction. The waitress walked over with a ful pot of coffee. “Refill?”

“Please. And then the check…”

Friday, March 17, 8:15 A.M.

Blaine Connell looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His union rep was by his side at Spinnelli’s conference room table, looking arrogant and confrontational. Spinnelli and Patrick stood to one side while Aidan and Murphy took the chairs at the table. The black suit from IA lurked in the corner, wary and watchful.

Murphy slid the photo of Connell accepting money from Lawe across the table and Connell stiffened. “We’ve been through this,” the union rep inserted. “Officer Connell says he doesn’t know that man. This photograph is a clear fabrication.”

“We know his name is Destin Lawe,” Murphy said levelly. “He’s a PI. He’s dead.”

Aidan watched Connell’s shoulders relax slightly. “He threatened you, Blaine?” Connell’s eyes flickered. He had a family, Aidan knew. “Sandra or the boys?”

Again the flicker, stronger this time and Aidan sighed. “Blaine, you were a good cop. You can still be a good man. Ten people are dead. If Lawe was threatening your family, he can’t hurt them anymore. Help us, Blaine. Tell us where you met him. We’ve got to find a connection between Lawe and this killer or more people will die.”

Connell whispered in the union rep’s ear. “He wants immunity,” the rep said. Patrick frowned. “It depends on what he’s done. I can’t give blanket immunity.”

The union rep stood up. “Then we’re done here. Come on, Blaine.”

Aidan began to line up the pictures of the dead. “Arness. Hooper. Hughes. Malcolm and Gwen Seward. Winslow. Adams.” Connell flinched, but sat, his lips firm. The union rep tugged on his shoulder. “Let’s go, Blaine.”

Aidan kept going. “They were the innocents. Look at the accomplices. Our boy doesn’t like loose ends. David Bacon. Nicole Rivera. Destin Lawe.” Connell blanched at Lawe’s charred corpse.

“None of them came to us. To our knowledge they remained faithful till the bitter end. Do you think you’re exempt? If you thought Lawe was the biggest threat to your wife and kids, think again. You are a loose end, Blaine.”

“Let’s go, Blaine.”

Connell pul ed away. “He came to me. Said he needed a favor, a few crime scene photos. Said it would bring down the shrink that set Preston’s killer free.”

“Dr. Ciccotel i,” Murphy said and Connell jerked a bitter nod.

“She’s the one. Bitch has ice in her veins.”

Aidan remembered her anguish the night before, her wrenching sobs. He should feel anger on her behalf. But instead he just felt sad. “No, she doesn’t,” he said. Connell’s lips thinned. “You’re sleeping with her, Reagan, so you’re hardly an authority on the subject. She’d better be a ten on technique, because that’s what you traded your reputation for.” He sneered. “The
Eye
had a teaser shot at the top of page two. I guess we can all see what’s flushed your conscience down the fucking toilet.”

Now Aidan’s temper boiled. Feeling Murphy tense beside him, Aidan stared at the table, then when he was calm again, he looked back up at Connell. “How did Lawe contact you?”

Connell looked away. “He caught me coming out of the courthouse, then later he called from a pay phone to set up the drop. Down by the warehouses on the lake.”

“Do you remember the days?” Murphy asked.

“December fourteenth outside the courthouse. The seventeenth for the drop.”

“You sound certain of those dates,” Murphy said. “Why?”

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Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

Connell looked away. “I just remember them, that’s all.”

Aidan stood up. “Maybe because that’s the day you flushed your conscience down the fucking toilet,” he said tightly. Murphy rose and touched his shoulder.

“It’s not worth it, Aidan,” Murphy murmured and Aidan drew a breath.

“I know.” He said nothing more until the four of them had reached his and Murphy’s desks and Aidan sank in his chair. “I wanted to smash that sneer off his damn face.”

“But you didn’t,” Spinnelli said. “Good job.”

“What will you do next?” Patrick asked.

“Fol ow up on those dates,” Murphy answered. “See if anything pops.”

“And we’l pay a visit to Tess’s ex-fiancй, Dr. Phillip Parks.” Aidan checked his watch. “He should be getting into his office in the next half hour.”

“What will you do with Connell?” Spinnelli asked.

Patrick looked troubled. “It’s evidence tampering. I’m going to push for his termination. No pension. Beyond that, I’l let you know.” He went back into the conference room where Connell, his union rep and IA waited.

“I saw Tess’s segment on
Good Morning, Chicago,
” Spinnelli said. “She looked confident and sympathetic. Hopeful y when this is over Pope will bring her back on. Then the public won’t cross the street every time she passes. Don’t worry about the tabloid, Aidan. These things blow over in a matter of days.”

Spinnelli closed himself in his office and Murphy sat down at his desk. “He’s right about the
Eye,
Aidan. It seems bad now, but it will blow over.”

Aidan’s teeth clenched. “Did you see it?”

Murphy hesitated. “Yeah. The picture is cropped so it doesn’t really show anything, but the story is packed with innuendo. I would have told you but I thought you’d seen it.”

Aidan shook his head. “I don’t want to. I guess that makes me a coward.”

“It makes you human, Aidan. So how’s Rachel this morning?”

“Staying home from school today.”

Murphy winced. “Stitches sore?”

Aidan chuckled, thinking about her desperate phone call at 6:00 A.M. “Actually it was her hair. All that bravado about it being ‘just hair’ kind of disappeared when she woke up and looked in the mirror. Tess is supposed to take her to that hairdresser friend of hers this afternoon so by tonight she’l be chic and sassy again.”

He dropped his eyes to the records that one of the clerks had left on his desk, determined not to let the
Eye
derail his focus. Lawe was listed as president of Brewer, Inc., his apartment rented in the corporation’s name, as were his utilities, his car, even his credit cards. He had three different banks in town. Probably had money offshore as well. All three local banks showed safedeposit boxes, which they’d check after visiting Dr. Damn-him-to-hell. He’d wondered if he’d be able to hold his temper with Dr. Damn, but his confrontation with Blaine Connell left no doubt. If he could refrain from punching Connell’s lights out after that crack about Tess, he could handle anything.

Aidan frowned to himself. So the
Eye
had a picture of her. It had to have come from Masterson. And that
was
illegal. He’d make sure little Denise did some time. He hadn’t known about the picture until it slithered out of Connell’s mouth. Aidan wondered if Tess had seen it. If she was all right. She’d been frank with Lynne Pope the night before, stating on camera that she had been photographed against her knowledge. So the
Eye
’s little bomb had either considerably less sizzle for being scooped, or would have record sales because of the publicity. Either way, she was strong enough to deal with this.
So I will be, too
.

“So, is she?” Murphy asked out of the blue and Aidan looked up. Murphy’s eyes were fixed assiduously on his own desk, his pen scratching on his notepad.

“Is who what?”

“Tess. A ten.”

Aidan blinked, then a slow grin spread up his face. “She’s not even on the chart.”

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Karen Rose

[Suspense 5]

You Can't Hide

“That’s kind of what I thought.”

Murphy’s rueful acceptance had him chuckling. “So, Murphy, are you ready to visit Dr. Damnhim-to-hel ?”

“What the hell? Let’s go.”

Chapter 21

Friday, March 17, 9:30 A.M.

Kristen’s smile lit up her face when Tess peeked in her office. “Come in. Sit.”

“I won’t stay long.” Tess’s smile was wry. “
You
still have a career.”

Kristen’s smile dimmed. “You will, too, when this is all over.”

“Maybe not. Have you seen this?” She held out the
Eye
and watched as Kristen’s eyes narrowed and her cheeks grew red.

“Son of a bitch,” she bit out. “Where did they get this?”

“From my secretary.” Tess looked up at the ceiling. “I’m having a hard time with my professional confidence right now. This woman despised me and I never saw it.”

“I do know how you feel. I ate dinner every night with a killer and never knew. Sometimes people only let you see the face they want you to see. Even psychiatrists.”

“All I know is that I’m damned tired of being worried, which is why I’m here. Last night I started taking my life back with that interview.” And with what went on afterward. Just thinking about how Aidan responded in bed made her heart race. Thinking about how he’d respond to the picture in the
Eye
was making her ill. “I’m pressing charges against my secretary and the newspaper. I need you to recommend a lawyer.”

“Good for you, Tess. But why not Amy Miller? You’ve been friends for a long time.”

“That’s why. When I thought I needed her for criminal defense we had a big argument because we didn’t agree on my cooperation with the police. I hurt her and she hurt me and I don’t want to risk that friendship. Oh, and the attorney will need to defend me in civil court, too. I’m being sued by my former clients. Pain and suffering.”