Beholden (33 page)

The firelight danced off the pendant as it swung slowly. Terry truly wanted to help these men, to give them more to work with
in order to catch all the criminals who’d been involved in killing Don and Lynn. She narrowed her gaze, her eyes following
the gentle movement.

After several moments, Dr. Ward spoke again. “Now, start counting, Terry. Backwards from a hundred. Speak slowly, softly.
One hundred, ninety-nine…”

“Ninety-eight, ninety-seven, ninety-six…”

Terry opened her eyes and saw Dr. Ward’s round face first thing. She blinked in the shadowed room. The last thing she remembered
was counting and that seemed just seconds ago. She didn’t even recall closing her eyes. “I guess I don’t hypnotize. Sorry.”

Dr. Ward smiled. “You did fine, my dear.” He pocketed the gold pendant, then turned to Jones. “You ready to take over.”

“You bet.”

Luke went to Terry as she sat up, joining her on the couch. “How do you feel?”

“As if I missed something.” She ran a hand through her
hair, and straightened her blouse. “Apparently I went under. What did I say?”

Bob sat on the stool that the doctor had vacated and took over. “Terry, how well do you know the officers at Central Precinct,
the men your father used to work under?”

“Some I know fairly well because they used to come over often. My folks are Irish and they have this big old house off Central
Avenue. Almost every weekend, there were family gatherings or some kind of holiday celebration. Mac, for instance, was there
a lot. Even Captain Marino came for Dad’s retirement party.”

“So if I described a couple of the men to you, you’d be able to put a name to the description?”

“A physical description, you mean, or a psychological profile?”

Jones thought that over a moment. “Let’s start with the physical.”

“That one’s easier. Sure, if I know them, I probably could come up with a name.”

“All right.” Jones had a thick file on every officer at Central and had spent time interviewing most of them. “This man’s
in his fifties, tall, on the thin side, with very little hair that he can’t seem to stop stroking. He always looks a little
rumpled. He gives the impression of being unsure of himself.”

Halfway through the recitation, Terry began smiling. “That sounds like Earl Bates. I believe he’s a detective now.” A thought
struck her and she frowned. “Don’t tell me Earl’s involved in all this?”

“Don’t second-guess me. Let’s try another one. This man’s in his forties, good-looking, divorced with no children. He’s got
sandy hair barely beginning to gray, but it’s styled and he never
looks
like he needs a haircut. His clothes are well tailored, conservative, spiffy enough to be on a magazine cover.”

Terry nodded. “Stop right there. There’s only one man at
Central that fits that description. Lieutenant Remington. The men always talk about how he looks like someone out of
GQ
, behind his back, of course.”

“Did he ever come around to your father’s house?”

She thought back a moment. “Not regularly. Probably at the retirement party, but I don’t remember seeing him much, except
occasionally when I’d drop by the station to meet Dad.”

“Can you tell me anything specific about Phil Remington, about his manner, his wardrobe?”

“I’ve only had a couple of conversations with him over the years, though I’ve seen him at least a dozen times. His manner
is very professional, very competent, but he’s not a warm man. You mentioned his clothes. He has excellent taste. His ex-wife’s
family has pots of money and I guess Phil got used to buying quality things.” Something came to her and she smiled. “He gets
kidded a lot about these imported Italian wing tip shoes he wears, but it doesn’t faze him. He keeps on wearing them.” She
saw Bob raise his eyes to Luke. A knowing look passed between them. “What?” she asked, looking from one to the other. “What
did I say?”

Jones braced his elbows on his knees, his eyes on her. “When you were under hypnosis, you said you couldn’t remember much
about the fourth man in the car except that he had a razor-sharp crease in his pants, wore wing tip shoes, and had a briefcase
on the floor by his feet. The initials in gold were P.R.”

Terry’s hand went to her mouth as she gasped. “Oh, no. Not the lieutenant, too.”

Walking over to gaze into the smoldering fire, Jones looked lost in thought. This revelation of Terry’s had far-reaching ramifications
as Remington had been acting chief since the captain was out on sick leave. If the man currently in charge was arrested for
participating, or even being present, during a cold-blooded murder, subsequent cover-up,
and endangerment of the only witness, there was a great deal more at stake here than they’d originally suspected.

Stooping to shore up the fire, Luke glanced up at his superior officer. “Think her testimony under hypnosis is enough to arrest
Remington?”

Bob scrubbed a hand over his face. “Doubtful. But if we can verify that Remington was out that day at that hour, if he can’t
prove his whereabouts, if we ask around and get lucky, finding someone who saw him returning or stepping out of that gray
sedan. Then if we question the lieutenant and he sweats a lot or gives us vague answers, we’ll talk him into a lie detector
test. If he flunks that, we’ll play the tape for a judge. We’re looking at more than one murder here and police corruption
at a very high level. I think a judge will give us some leeway.”

“More than one murder?” Terry questioned.

Jones turned to her. “More like four, most probably. Lynn Hartley, certainly, since we have proof that your car was tampered
with. And we strongly suspect that the deaths of Officer Jerry Foster and his partner, Neil Manning, are directly related.
We just can’t prove it all yet.”

Lynn’s smiling face floated into Terry’s mind, and she swallowed hard. “I hope you can prove the case, that you can put them
all away.”

Luke captured her gaze, saw the sadness in her eyes. “We will, Terry.”

“Yes,” Bob agreed, “with your help, we will.” He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly three. He picked up the tape
recorder and looked over at Dr. Ward. “I think we’d better get going, Rufus. We have a plane to catch and quite a drive to
the airport ahead of us.”

Luke went to get their coats. He returned wearing his shoes and jacket. “I’ll walk out with you,” he said, handing each man
their outerwear.

“It was good meeting you, Miss Ryan,” Dr. Ward said as he buttoned his coat and opened the front door.

“The same here, Doctor.” She watched him step outside, then glanced at Luke, obviously waiting for Bob by the door.

“I’ll join you in a minute,” Jones told Luke. He waited until the door closed behind both men, then turned to Terry. “Thank
you for helping us, Terry.” He searched her face, searched for the right words. “Is there anything you need, anything you
want to talk about?”

She knew what he was getting at, but decided to let him ask. “Naturally, I’d like this to be over, to at least have a court
date set soon. I don’t suppose you have any idea how much longer?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t just waltz in with this new evidence and get an indictment. I have to build the case. This takes time.”

“I understand. Otherwise, I can’t think of a thing, thank you. I have everything I need, under the circumstances.”

Hands in his coat pockets, Bob studied her. She seemed to be handling things with a calmness that surprised him, considering
all she’d been through. And it wasn’t over yet. If Luke had given her that sense of security, what would happen to her when
he took it away, which Bob firmly believed he would?

He glanced toward the master bedroom door pointedly, then back to meet her steady gaze. “You and Luke are… ”

“Close friends, yes.” She saw no reason to fence with him. Her chin came up a notch. She had nothing to be ashamed of. They
were both free, unmarried. “I take it you don’t approve.”

“It’s not for me to approve or disapprove, except as it affects your safety and the resolution of this case.” His loyalty
to his friend and his heartfelt duty to warn this young woman warred with one another. “Have you thought about what will happen
when this is all over?”

Folding her arms over her chest, Terry strolled to the fire, needing some distance. “At first, I took everything one day at
a time, surviving being uppermost on my mind. But later,
of course I’ve spent many hours wondering about the future.”

Bob was well aware they weren’t discussing the case, and knew she was, too. “You’re in love with him,” he stated, wondering
if she’d deny it.

Terry turned back to face Chief Jones. “Yes, but I’m not naive or stupid. I’m not sure Luke’s ready to trust someone completely.”
A sad smile came and went. “But you see, I can’t just turn off my feelings, even if I wanted to.”

She’d made her point and Bob could see it cost her. She wasn’t the sort to talk about such deep feelings with veritable strangers.
“I can see that he’s told you some about his background.” He drew in a thoughtful breath. “It isn’t that Luke’s incapable
of caring or trusting. I happen to feel that he’s got a great many emotions stored up inside. But, because of things that
happened to him years ago, he’s unwilling to let himself care too much for fear that person will walk away, as others have
in his past.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Under other circumstances, I’d urge you to bide your time, that eventually he’ll come around. But you two have been thrown
together under stressful circumstances, and it may get worse. That has to play a part in all this. I worry about your safety
if Luke’s concentration is impaired.”

She knew that Jones had the power to replace Luke. She didn’t want that, couldn’t imagine adjusting to a new agent until the
trial. And she didn’t want what little time she might have left with Luke to be shortened. “His concentration’s as keen as
ever. We were outside in the snow before you came. He had me inside and safe in less than a minute after hearing the sound
of your engine, long before your car came into sight. I trust him. I know he won’t let anything happen to me.”

Love had definitely colored her judgment. However, she’d run once and if he replaced Luke now, she might take off again. Terry
Ryan wasn’t your average frightened witness.
She was spirited, stubborn, smart. He needed her cooperation in order to get her testimony. Then he could stand back and let
her work out her problems with Luke. “All right, Terry. I’ll call as soon as we know something positive.”

Outside, Luke was stewing. He doubted if he was going to get off scot-free without a lecture from Jones. Pulling up his collar
against a chill wind, he squinted up at a cloudy gray sky. “Looks like we may get more snow,” he commented casually to the
doctor, who was shivering by the Explorer.

“Get in, Rufus,” Bob said, coming out and walking over to where Luke stood. “I’ll join you in a minute.” When he heard the
car door close, he turned to Luke. “How’s Terry been acting since you found her? Any signs she may bolt again?”

Luke thought he’d give a lot to know what had been said inside. “Not a one. As I mentioned, she took off because of the surgery
suggestion.”

“The two scars on her face aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.”

Luke scuffed the toe of his shoe at the hard-packed snow where they’d rolled the snowman’s body. “She says when this is all
over, she’ll have those taken care of on her own.”

Bob supposed there was no good way to say what was uppermost on his mind. No matter the approach, Luke was bound to get defensive.
Since he’d heard Terry’s version, he wanted now to hear Luke’s. “Do you know what you’re doing?” he began.

Luke wasn’t going to insult his old friend by pretending he didn’t understand. “I think so.”

“I imagine you remember Jill?”

A muscle in Luke’s jaw twitched. “This is different. I was young then, and inexperienced.”

“True, but did you learn your lesson?”

Luke turned away, his anger rising even though he knew Bob had every right to call him down. Jones missed nothing.
Even if the bedroom arrangement hadn’t been obvious, the intimacy between him and Terry was something a green rookie could
have spotted. The surprise visit had caught him off guard, with no time to brief her. “The cardinal rule, never fall for the
witness you’re protecting,” he recited, then swiveled back, his expression inscrutable. “You’re wrong. I’m not in love with
her.”

“Maybe not, but she’s in love with you.” If ever a man needed a woman in his life who cared deeply, it was Luke Tanner. But
not this woman, not at this time.

“I’ve made her no promises, told her no lies. She looks young, but she’s a big girl. She knows this is a… an interlude. That
when it ends, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“Does she?” Bob Jones rarely lost his temper, seldom raised his voice. He was about to do both now. “Damn it, Luke, you can’t
see the forest for the trees. What if this case gets messed up because our only witness is too emotionally involved with her
protector? I don’t want to see that girl get hurt.”

“That won’t happen. Terry’s stronger than she looks. She’ll testify and I’ll keep her in one piece until she does. Nothing
else is relevant.”

Jones decided to push just a little harder. “I can take you off the case, replace you.”

Luke’s eyes were flinty as he looked at his chief. “Yeah, you can. But you won’t. You have my word. There’ll be no screwup.
If something goes wrong, you won’t have to remove me. I’ll personally turn in my badge to you.”

“By then, it may be too late.” Bob studied Luke’s stony silent reaction for another few seconds, then nodded. “All right.
Don’t let me down. This is too important. We’ve got a great deal riding on this, several lives, hundreds of man-hours, lots
of money.” He opened the driver’s door.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Luke asked quietly.

“When a woman becomes all-important to a man, very often his good judgment flies out the window. I’d hate to see
you blow your career.” He got behind the wheel, then looked up before pulling the door closed. “You never should have touched
her, Luke.”