Dancing with Detective Danger (4 page)

Sterling nodded appreciatively, but her thoughts refocused to the case. There would be an explanation for why Pamela Witt had written the Aegar Investigations phone number on her business card and maybe given it to Jerry, and she couldn’t wait to discover it. Meanwhile, she’d had enough of ruminating and pacing. Time to get to work.

“I’m going to the bank to see what Jerry’s secretary has to say.” Sterling grabbed her coat and coffee and headed toward the door.

“Do you want me to come with?” Lacey tilted her head in question but seemed pretty content where she sat.

“No. We don’t want to seem like we’re storming the castle and put the woman on the defense, but thanks. You man the fort and enjoy your coffee.”

Sterling stepped out into the spring day and breathed out a deep sigh. The bank where Jerry worked was only a few blocks away from her office. A brisk walk with the promise of a productive destination would put her thoughts where they belonged — on the case.

Reaching the bank’s heavy glass doors, Sterling swung them open, marched through, and glanced around for a directory. With the office number in her head, she strode to the elevator, the sound of her heels striking the stone floor in the large lobby. She entered the elevator, pushed the button for the eighth floor, and focused her thoughts. Moments later, as she stepped out of the elevator, her breath caught. Ben.

“Sterling. You following me?” He gave her a lopsided grin.

“Of course not.” A little unnerved, she shot him a dismissive glance as she attempted to brush past him, but his eyes pinned her gaze and slowed her steps.

“Good luck with the secretary. There’s not much information there, though.” His eyes gleamed disarmingly as he entered the elevator.

“Just doing my job,” she tossed over her shoulder and retrained her sight on Jerry’s office. When she heard the elevator door swoosh closed she dared a backward glance. Geez, stars were aligned or planets were colliding, she thought, her shoulders tightening. Ben’s inexplicable persistent appearance in her life troubled her. She didn’t need the added distraction.

The young, attractive woman at the desk in Jerry’s outer office flashed a composed, glossy smile at Sterling. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Jerry Rutherford. Is he in?” It didn’t hurt to start with the most obvious question.

The woman’s smile wilted a bit. “No, I’m sorry, Mr. Rutherford is out of town. Did you have an appointment? I’m sorry it wasn’t rescheduled.”

“When do you expect him back?”

“Umm, well, I’m not sure,” she stammered. “He left unexpectedly. What did you say your name is?”

“Sterling Aegar. What’s yours?” Sterling had noted the absence of a nameplate when she’d approached the secretary’s desk.

“Janice Martin. I’m Mr. Rutherford’s secretary, and as I said, he’s not here. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

The smile was still there, so Sterling pressed on. “I’m sorry to bother you but I have a few questions. I’m working on behalf of Mr. Rutherford’s wife.”

The young woman’s eyes widened and the smile dropped. “What does that mean, you’re working on behalf of Mrs. Rutherford?”

“I’m a private detective. As you can understand, Mrs. Rutherford is concerned and it’s her understanding that Mr. Rutherford is missing. That’s all she’s been told, can you believe it?”

“Poor woman.”

The young woman pursed her lips in dismay. This was what Sterling had hoped for. “I’m sure it’s just some kind of simple misunderstanding, but, Janice, if you could tell me when was the last time you spoke with him, I’m sure we can clear it up pretty quickly.”

“I’ve already talked to a detective this afternoon. I’ll tell you what I told him. If you want any information you’ll have to talk to public relations.” The woman rose abruptly and looked like she was searching for a quick and quiet escape.

“I’m sorry to trouble you, Janice. I don’t want you to reveal anything that would get you in trouble.” Sterling glanced over her left shoulder, her right shoulder, then leaned close. “I’ve heard a nasty rumor and I would like to spare Mrs. Rutherford and you and everyone else at the bank the embarrassment of it.”

The woman’s shoulders slumped and she sighed heavily. “It is already that. It has been such an embarrassment for some time,” she said in low tones, shaking her head. “And I’ve kept it quiet because, well, I didn’t know quite what to do. Mrs. Rutherford deserves better. Better than what Mr. Rutherford has given her.”

“By that you mean the other woman?” Bait and wait seemed to be working, Sterling thought, getting slightly giddy inside.

“Of course. The two of them kept it pretty low key in the office, but it wasn’t much of a secret that Mr. Rutherford was spending lunches, shall we say, with Pamela. So clichéd.”

“Clichéd? How so?”

“The young ambitious bank executive and the older man. Pamela had him wrapped around her finger.” The woman’s voice fell to a stage whisper. “But the worst of it is the strange bookkeeping.”

Sterling’s heart skipped. “Really? How awful.”

Her eyes darted warily, but the young woman continued. “I don’t know anything about it but I overheard some executives discussing the problem with the account information in Mr. Rutherford’s computer files and they’re trying to keep it quiet. I’m sure you can understand. If this got out, well, it wouldn’t be good for our top-tiered customers, which would be bad for us all.”

“So you haven’t had a chance to talk with Mr. Rutherford today?”

The young woman bit her lip nervously. “He left me a voicemail this morning. He said he had a business trip to Chicago and he would be in touch later. That’s all I know. Although there is some rumor that his lady friend is missing too, so maybe they ran off together. I hate to speculate. But I do feel, as I said, that Mrs. Rutherford deserves better. That’s why I told her on the phone that Mr. Rutherford is not where he’s expected.”

Sterling believed the woman didn’t know anything more, and didn’t even know Pamela had been killed. Apparently the bank’s executives hadn’t had time or concern enough to give all the employees the news. Hopefully they’d be told about the death before they heard it on the evening news. “Well, you’ve been very helpful, Janice, and I appreciate your concern about discretion.” Sterling handed her a business card and smiled. “If you have anything you’d like to talk about, please don’t hesitate to call me or stop by my office.”

Janice nodded and sat back down, letting her attention fall to her paperwork on her desk.

On her way back to her office, Sterling called her sister to let her know what she’d learned about Jerry, but she got her voicemail. She left a message just to keep her sister up to speed on what she’d learned at the bank. She glanced at the time and realized Lacey would have left to be home when her son got off school. It wouldn’t hurt for her to take off early herself, Sterling thought. She had files at home she could work on, but a good run before the day ended would help settle the nerves rattled by her day. She didn’t even bother to go upstairs to her office when she reached the parking lot and her car. With all that had happened, Sterling was struggling to stay present in one place.

She climbed in behind the wheel and leaned back against the seat. Emotions stirred inside her heart and she closed her eyes to focus her breath. But her strength ebbed and Sterling couldn’t muster the will to hold back the memories that always sat just outside of view, demanding attention she refused to give. In the quiet and growing darkness, Sterling gave up the struggle and was back there again, the day she said goodbye to her dad.

She’d stood in a slight drizzle crying around her and the crisp air. The cold dampness and the bleakness of it all seemed appropriate to her at twelve years old. Cold and bleak. That’s how she felt. She stood under the tent with her mother and sister, staring at her father’s casket, and struggled with her impulse to scream out in protest.
This is all wrong.
Her father coached her softball team, ran in marathons, and loved to dance. He couldn’t be cold and silent.

Her mother’s sobs pierced the memories raging inside Sterling’s head, and again she faced the stark reality —
Dad is gone
.

Sterling thought of the night the shift sergeant and county coroner sat in her living room explaining how her dad, Joshua Aegar, had gotten shot during a drug bust.

“Your husband was taken by surprise, Mrs. Aegar. He was conducting a routine procedure. Unfortunately, someone must have been tipped off and was waiting for him. He was wearing a protective vest, but the shot went to his head. There was nothing we could do. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

That explained how her dad died, but it didn’t settle the question looming large in her mind —
why?
There was no just and fair reason to explain why her father’s life had been taken.

When she’d first gotten hired at the department, she’d attempted to find an answer and tried to open her dad’s cold case investigation. Sterling’s stomach clenched, remembering the first leads she’d gotten, stuff that didn’t look good for the department because it pointed to an inside leak. She’d shared what she’d found with the chain of command, but mysteriously the fruits of her work had disappeared. No evidence, no case.

Tears streamed down Sterling’s cheeks as the memories cycled through her. She felt exhaustion take over and she grabbed for the anger that always saved her from the depths — unless she lost control, she thought, and angrily brushed away her tears. She turned the key in the ignition and directed her attention to getting home. A good run and a hot shower would do her wonders.

• • •

After an evening of playing games with Tyler and reading bedtime stories, Lacey stood at the kitchen sink, dreading the long hours of the night ahead.

It seemed no matter how she filled her evenings — sitcom drivel, miles on the treadmill, hot chamomile tea — she always ended up staring into the darkness. Sleep would not grant her release from the terrible aloneness that lay like pale, cold frost on her heart.

Lacey finished washing the dishes, switched off the kitchen light, and headed back to Tyler’s bedroom.

A gentle glow shining from a nightlight warmed the darkness and lit her son’s sleeping face as Lacey placed a kiss on his cheek and snugged up the blankets. Even at six, her son was the spitting image of his father.

Nearly two years had passed and still Tyler’s grief over his father’s death conjured up all too frequent nightmares calling for Lacey’s soothing in the night.

It’s not fair he should suffer so. It’s not fair that my son’s foundation, his father and idol, should be taken away as though it means nothing.

But right now she was grateful Tyler looked peaceful, and she tiptoed out, quietly closing the bedroom door and padding into her room.

The clock on the mantle in the living room struck twelve midnight, echoing hollowly down the hall. If only sleep would come easy for once, she thought, as she climbed into the left side of the bed and pulled up the blankets. Two years and still she couldn’t remove Nick’s pillow, her only comfort from the empty spot beside her where he used to lie.

“Two years tomorrow, Nicholas, since you went away,” Lacey breathed out loud, as if somehow he could hear her. “I miss you so much.”

The scent of apple blossoms began to swirl hypnotically inside her head. It caught her breath as her whole body recognized the fragrance of Nick’s favorite flower. Without thought, she eased into it, allowing the idea of Nicholas to take shape for just a moment.

But it’s not real.

Lacey closed her eyes to the stinging tears, thoughts of Nicholas winding their way up from her heart and swathing her in a cloud of deep blue, timeless peace.

“I miss you too, honey. Go to sleep, Lacey. I’m here now.”

It’s no use, Sterling fumed. Her brain refused to work. She sorted through the case files at her office, willing her emotions to stop tormenting her as she recuperated from a long, sleepless night. The benign sounds of Michelle keyboarding in the outer office did little to interrupt the mindless emotional turmoil of last night’s restlessness.

In the darkness, thoughts of Ben and how it used to be, what she’d done to him, replayed unrestricted by the distractions of daylight. And now, in the light of day, the thoughts, haughty and determined, challenged her sanity, coaxing her to give them room to do their work.

It troubled her that the warning flags were up again. What were they trying to say? Were they warning her of a big problem with the case? Or were they trying to tell her to beware of involvement with Ben? It could lead to more pain, and she knew it.

Two years ago she’d told him it was over. Loving him had been so easy, but then the fear welled too greatly inside of her. With Nicholas’s death, she’d realized more than ever that a heart open to love was also a heart vulnerable to excruciating pain and insurmountable loss.

Silly girl. You’d actually believed in a happily ever after.

The breakup had been difficult, but she’d only done what she needed to survive. And even when Ben had finally accepted that they weren’t going to be together, endorsing her decision to quit police work was quite another matter, something he’d railed against with all his usual unrestrained gusto.

But Sterling knew in time she’d get over Ben. And fortunately she didn’t need his permission to make a life as a private investigator. He didn’t even have to like it.

To make sure no one would get close enough to leave her hurt and broken like her mother, she’d made a life for herself invested in independence. She’d dated a few times, but quickly questioned, what was the point? She had friends and companionship, and she didn’t want anything more. Lacey liked to point out that Sterling’s single-minded devotion to her profession was her own way of building walls against the world. Maybe so. Maybe no one would get in. Especially not Ben Kirby. It didn’t have to make sense to be right for her.

Sterling dropped her forehead into the heels of her hands. If only life hadn’t cruelly smashed them up against each other again. If only Ben would stop forcing her into a corner where she questioned her decisions.