Dead Wrong (15 page)

SIXTEEN

M
itch walked Kat to the door of her town house. He didn’t like the idea of her staying home alone, but with Granby behind bars, she was safe. Finally, safe.

She slipped her key into the lock, and he tried to come up with a reason not to leave. He had no logical reason to stay, but he just plain didn’t like the idea of her not needing him anymore.

Even worse, he didn’t like the idea of her needing him in the future and failing to be there for her. This afternoon’s lineup reminded him of how easily she could be hurt, perhaps killed. He hadn’t been there for her the night a man had beaten her. Tried to kill her. The odds of that happening again were slim, but it could happen again. Especially working for the agency.

She pushed open the door and turned to him. “Thank you for bringing me home. And for everything you’ve done the past few days. I couldn’t have gotten through it without you.”

He felt the sincerity in her words, but he couldn’t look in her eyes without blurting out something he wasn’t ready to admit to himself, much less to her, so he peered over her shoulder, searching for a reason to stay. He may not be ready to commit to anything with her, but he still didn’t want to leave her alone.

He saw the mess left behind when the F.E.D. team processed her place for fingerprints and other forensic evidence. He tipped his head toward the disarray. “How about you put on a pot of coffee, and I’ll help you clean up from F.E.D.?”

She turned and looked at her room, not speaking, not moving. He had no idea what was racing through her very complicated mind, but he wouldn’t wait for her to say no. With a gentle hand on her shoulder, he urged her inside.

“Do you want me to make the coffee?” he asked while helping her out of her jacket.

She peered up at him. She looked lost and adrift, but she gave a firm shake of her head. “I can do it.”

“I’ll get started cleaning up the fingerprint powder if you tell me where you keep your vacuum.”

“In the laundry room in the hall.” She went to the kitchen, and he settled their jackets over a chair, then went to retrieve the vacuum.

She seemed distant, almost robotic, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. So he waited until he heard the coffee grinder come alive before firing up the vacuum. He mounted the hose on the body and after figuring out how to change the settings, he circled the room sucking up the powdery substance.

Expecting Kat to join him, he kept glancing at the kitchen. When he was certain the coffee had to be done, he flipped off the switch and went to the kitchen. She stood, her back to him, her forehead resting against a stainless refrigerator. Her shoulders shook, and his heart plummeted to his feet.

He went to her and gently drew her away from the refrigerator and into his arms.

“Shh, Kat. It’s okay.” Her soft crying turned heavy, her body heaving as he stroked her back and urged her to calm down. “Everything’s okay,” he kept whispering until her sobbing slowed.

He rested his chin on her head and held it against his chest where he was certain it belonged. Not just now, but whenever she needed him. He wanted to be there for her.

Always.

Forever.

The startling thought jerked his head up. She must have sensed the change in him as she pushed back, freeing herself from his arms.

She grabbed a tissue from her purse on the counter. “Sorry about that.” She dabbed at her eyes. “I’ve been holding it all in since Nancy died and the dam finally burst.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I bet you wished you’d left me at the door.”

He didn’t wish that at all, but something inside kept him from answering. From letting her know how he felt. He nodded at the coffeepot. “Mind if I have a cup while I clean?”

She took a step back as if he’d physically wounded her and then forced a smile.

“Help yourself.” She squatted down by the cabinet under the sink and pulled out cleaning supplies while he poured his coffee.

They were back to polite strangers. What he wanted, right? So why did he feel so empty inside?

* * *

In the spare bedroom, Kat waited for Mitch to turn off the vacuum. They’d shared a tender moment in the kitchen, and she was certain a strong bond existed between them that could take them beyond tonight. She’d tried to broach the subject several times. He’d shut her down by firing up the vacuum and turning away, but this was too important to give up on.

So she’d try one more time.

He flipped the switch and hit the button to retract the cord. “Well, that’s it then. All clean.”

“Mitch,” she said and walked over to him.

He looked at his watch. “Wow, look how late it’s getting. You need some rest.” He lifted the vacuum and didn’t make eye contact. “I’ll just put this in the closet and be on my way.”

She followed him downstairs, her anger at his behavior mounting with each step. But why was she surprised at how he was acting? This was exactly what she’d feared, wasn’t it?

Mitch in control. Deciding how and what they would do. Deciding if she could speak to him or not. Cold and withdrawn. Calling all the shots. Still too hampered by his fear of losing Lori to risk a new relationship.

He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and looked her in the eye for the first time since they’d left the kitchen. “Make sure you lock up after me,” he said, and she saw his sincere concern for her well-being in his gaze, softening her anger a bit.

“I will,” she answered and joined him at the door.

He opened it and stood for a moment, looking down on her. The concern changed to longing but just as fast vanished leaving the hard resolve she’d seen years ago when he’d rejected her. She couldn’t look at him so she stared at his chest.

“I’ll let you know when the DNA results are back.” With a gentle finger, he tipped her chin up and planted a kiss on her forehead. Chaste and brotherly. Not at all what she was feeling.

He stepped outside and closed the door. She looked around the room. Spotless thanks to him and she suddenly couldn’t be alone so she called Dani.

When her sister answered, tears starting flowing and she could hardly get out her request for company.

“I’m just down the street,” Dani said. “I’ll be there in three minutes flat.”

Kat leaned against the door and waited. If Dani said three minutes, she meant it. No one was as prompt as her sister. Kat soon heard the gentle clip of Dani’s feet coming up the walk so she pulled open the door.

Dani shoved a container of cookies into Kat’s hands. “I was on my way to take these to Cole, but you need them more.”

Kat opened the container and inhaled the warm chocolate scent. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Dani slipped out her jacket and went to the sofa. “So tell me all about it.”

“Let me get some coffee to go with these first.” Kat set the cookies on the table and went to pour what remained of the pot she’d made for Mitch.

Kat handed a cup to Dani, then settled next to her and described what had just transpired with Mitch. When she finished, she took a cookie, raised it in salute, then chomped into it, savoring the way the chocolate was still warm and gooey.

She moaned and chased the bite with a sip of coffee. “I’m feeling better already.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “You can’t keep ignoring this thing with Mitch by eating cookies.”

“Agreed, but what else can I do? He made it clear that he didn’t want to talk about us. Hah! Us. There is no ‘us.’ Just wishful thinking on my part.”

“Do you really believe that?” Dani looked at her over the rim of her cup.

Did she?

“I mean, you’re a smart woman,” Dani went on. “If you think there’s something between the two of you then there is.”

“So what if there is?” Kat sighed. “This just isn’t the right time for either of us.”

Dani snorted. “Puh-lease. It’s not about timing and you know it. We all agree he’s into you.”

“What?” Kat said, nearly choking on her cookie. “You guys talked about us?”

Dani rolled her eyes again. “There’s nothing off-limits in our family and you know it.”

“I know, but sometimes I’d rather forget it.”

Dani swatted Kat’s knee. “Quit trying to get us off track. Your solution is really simple. Mitch is holding back and once you figure out why, your problem is solved.”

It wasn’t as simple as Dani made out. Kat knew why he was holding back. Knew it well, but wouldn’t share something so personal with Dani. Plus there was no point in really talking about his fear of failing the woman he loved because there was nothing she could do about it. Only God could work on Mitch’s heart and that thought made Kat sadder than she’d been in a long while.

* * *

Two days later, Mitch sat back and glanced around the nearly deserted homicide division. In the three hours he’d bent over his desk looking at paperwork for a new case, his fellow detectives had called it a day. So should he. But he’d phoned the lab to check on Granby’s DNA and was told the report would be on his desk that day. So when Tommy asked him if he wanted to grab a bite for dinner, Mitch made up an excuse to hang around the office and wait for the report.

Not because he really thought it would hold anything surprising, but having the results in hand would give him a reason to go see Kat after two days of trying to come up with a legitimate reason to talk to her.

The door opened and Cole Justice strode in. Surprising. Not just because it was Cole, but because they worked in a secured area and Cole would have had to jump through hoops to get in here.

“Working kind of late, aren’t you, Elliot?” He stopped in front of Mitch’s desk.

Mitch leaned all the way back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. Though Cole had called once a day to ask about the DNA, Mitch hadn’t seen him or any of the Justices in two days. And the scowl on Cole’s face said he wasn’t here for a social visit.

“What can I do for you, Cole?” Mitch asked warily.

Cole raised a brow, probably from Mitch’s testy tone. “Just checking in to see if that DNA report has come in yet.”

“You could’ve just called again,” Mitch said wryly.

“I could’ve.” Cole dropped onto the chair next to Mitch’s desk.

“So why’re you really here?” Mitch asked.

Cole leaned forward, his expression unreadable. “Haven’t seen you around the past few days.”

Great. Could they dance around things or what? “With Granby’s arrest, I haven’t had a reason to be around.”

Cole fixed a stare on Mitch. “Why’re you avoiding Kat?”

If Mitch wasn’t a confident man, he’d wilt under Cole’s scrutiny, but this was none of Cole’s business so Mitch didn’t respond.

“I’m pretty sure I told you what I’d do if you hurt her.” Cole sat up his back ramrod straight, and his eyes narrowed.

Mitch wanted to deny hurting her, but he knew he had. Their last night together, she’d repeatedly tried to talk to him, to get him to open up, and he’d shut her down every time. Then, she’d walked him to the door, and he’d left her with such aching pain in her eyes. It was all he could think about for the past two days.

“Fine,” Cole said. “You don’t need to explain it to me. But you do need to talk to Kat. Anything else is unacceptable.” Cole held Mitch’s gaze.

Cole was right. Mitch did need to have a conversation with Kat. For her and for him. Officially ending what hadn’t yet begun was the only way he was going to get her out of his mind. “I’ll give her a call and set something up.”

“See that you do.” Cole leveled that firm gaze on him again.

Not wanting to feel even more like a cad for not talking with Kat, Mitch looked away and caught sight of the door opening again. He watched a tall man dressed in a pricey suit enter the room and look around before approaching them.

“Is one of you Elliot?” he asked, his voice deep and rumbling.

“Who’s asking?” Mitch’s response came out testy from his conversation with Cole.

“Special Agent Larry Reed.” The man held out an official-looking ID.

Mitch confirmed it was a legitimate FBI credential, then turned to Cole. “If you’ll excuse us.”

Cole rose, and Reed offered him an apologetic look. “Sorry to stop by this late in the day, but I was hoping to close out a case involving Nancy Bodig.”

“What about Nancy Bodig?” Cole asked before Mitch could say anything.

Reed raised a brow. “You working the Bodig case, too?”

“Yes,” Cole answered.

Mitch didn’t want to go into a lengthy explanation of Cole’s involvement, so he asked Reed, “Nancy Bodig?”

“Right,” Reed answered. “We’ve been investigating money laundering at a local business and her name came up today.”

Money laundering?
Mitch didn’t believe it. If she was involved, they would’ve found something in her bank records or in her spending habits. “We fully vetted her and there was nothing to suggest money laundering.”

Reed stared at Mitch. “Perhaps you’d like to hear me out before dismissing this so quickly.”

“I definitely want to hear it.” Cole plopped back down and crossed massive arms across his chest.

Mitch glared at him, but knew nothing short of physically throwing Cole out would get him to leave, so Mitch grabbed the side chair by Tommy’s desk for Reed before sitting behind his own desk. The agent turned the chair around and straddled it. Mitch recognized this for a Mr. Tough Guy routine feds often pulled to prove they were in charge, but there was no point in saying anything about it.

“Norton Construction has been under suspicion for years for their ties to local drug dealers,” Reed finally said. “But we could never get anything on them. Today, the receptionist, an Alisha Walters, told us that the owner Jesse Norton was keeping two sets of books.”

“What made Walters turn on him?” Mitch asked.

Reed shifted in the chair. “When Walters first worked for the company she didn’t know what Norton was up to. Then she got involved with him, started hanging around more and noticed his illegal activities. She claims when she discovered what he was up to she wanted to break things off, but with all she knew about Norton’s activities, he’d come after her. So she waited for a way out. When she discovered she was pregnant she had to get out before Norton found out about the kid.”