Icy Betrayal (20 page)

“Sí, comprendo.”

As they drove down the streets of Puerto Peñasco, the sounds and smells wafted through Roberto’s old truck. The little town was colorful and vibrant and Lisa was taken by its charm. Her first order of business was the dress shop. Sarah was still there.

“Hey, you’re back! I’ve got your things up front.”

“Okay, great. I felt like such a dope this morning, but I saw this place… Well, let’s just say I have a real weakness for cute clothes, and your place is full of them.”

Sarah chuckled as she tallied the bill.

“That’ll be $279.45 US dollars.”

Lisa paid with three crisp, new $100 bills.

“So, where are you staying in town?”

“In a condo on the beach a couple of miles north of here. It’s a friend’s place.”

“Sounds nice. Hey listen, I’ve got some friends, co-workers really, and we’re having a little party tomorrow night. Just casual, nothing too serious, probably be 15-20 of us. It’s a nice group of people. If you’re not doing anything, it would be great to have you come by. Just stop in for a drink or whatever…”

The question caught Lisa off guard.

“Um, you know, that sounds great. How nice of you to invite me.”

“Here, I’ll jot down the address. It should be close to where you’re staying. Hope to see you tomorrow night, then.”

“How fun, I’m looking forward to it. Thanks again for everything.”

After leaving Summer Fling, she and Roberto made a quick stop at a local market to pick up some groceries. As luck would have it, the little market also had a translation book.

Mia and Keller shuffled into Mick’s office after spending most of the day chasing down tips in and around Rosebud.

“We ran down every legit sighting we had, Captain,” Mia said.

“All for shit,” added Keller.

“Have a seat,” Mick said.

The two investigators fell into the chairs, exhausted.

“Serrano has managed to put together a nice profile of our suspect’s comings and goings,” Keller said.

Mia went from her notes. “It’s your typical serial criminal profile,” she said sarcastically. “She gets a non-fat latte with one sweetener at a coffee place on Ashford in Rosebud just about every weekday, gets her nursing uniforms dry-cleaned at the QuikClean, which is next to the SaveCo where she buys her groceries. She takes an occasional yoga class at Rosebud Fitness but isn’t a regular and doesn’t bring her own mat.”

“Great,” said the Captain, “just more of nothing.”

“Yeah, I figured we’d hold off on the FBI profiler,” added Keller.

“We were able to talk with a couple nurses she worked with at the hospital. And we found the gal she was with when she met Scott Lennox.”

“And?” asked Mick.

“Zoe Lieto, RN. They’re not that close, they just like the same music. Zoe vaguely remembers some guys behind them at the concert and a beer being spilled but doesn’t recall Scott Lennox because…”

“This should be good,” Mick replied.

“She was drunk, ‘totally wasted,’ in her words, as she was most nights back then, due to a messy divorce, her family history of alcoholism, and a million other reasons she went on and on about.”

“The good news, Captain,” Keller interjected. “Is that Zoe’s now in a twelve-step program.”

“Well, I’m so glad to hear that,” Mick replied sarcastically. “But it leaves us with nothing to hold Scott Lennox with. I just got off the phone with Baxter, and we’re going to have to cut him loose.”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Keller said.

“Me, too,” added Mia.

“We’ll take a hit from his high-priced mouthpiece, but Lennox could get sloppy if he thinks he’s in the clear. I want to keep a close eye on him.”

Jack Keller’s apartment was sparsely decorated but served him well. Just after 5 o’clock, the voice of a cable news anchor echoed in the living room as Jack scraped the last remnants of mashed potato from a microwavable tray. He wished he was in Mexico watching the sunset with Lisa and reached for the burner phone.

“Hey, how’s the Mexican sunset?”

“Absolutely beautiful.”

“It always is. And how was your first full day in Puerto Peñasco?”

“It’s been nice. I took a long walk on the beach this morning, bought some new clothes, picked up some groceries, and now Roberto and I are back at the condo getting stuff put away.”

“Wow, you’ve been productive.”

“Yeah, I’m getting settled in. Oh, and I chose a new name for myself.”

“Really? Tell me about it.”

“I found this really cute dress shop today, and it just struck me. The name of the shop is Summer Fling, so that’s my new last name, Summers.”

“And how about a first name?”

“I’m now Natalie. Natalie Summers.”

“Natalie, huh? I like it… Oh, wait a minute, I think I get it,” he responded, chuckling out loud.

“Oh really? What do you get?”

“Why you picked Natalie.”

“Okay, tell me then.”

“You were born on Christmas day. Natalie is the English form of the Italian word for Christmas, like Buon Natale.”

“I’m impressed, Investigator Keller! It seemed the right thing to do—go back to the day of my birth when you were in my life. And now you’ve made my new life happen.”

“Thanks, Natalie. That’s very sweet.”

“Wow, that sounds weird. It’ll take some time to get used to a new name.”

“Well, you will. Just use Natalie for everything from now on, get in the habit so there are no slip-ups. I’ll call you Natalie as well. And tell Roberto, too.”

“Okay, what else does Roberto need to get my ID and passports made up?”

“Just give Roberto the name and he’ll take care of the rest. When the passport comes, memorize everything on it.”

“So, what’s going on with the case?” asked Natalie, shifting subjects.

“Well, it doesn’t appear anyone saw you leaving town, which is good. It’s a great mystery around here how you could have just vanished into thin air. We’ve had some typical bogus calls; one had you working as a waitress at Denny’s in Lone Tree.”

“How about Scott? What’s going on there?”

“Well, I told you yesterday he lawyered up. Tomorrow we hit the 72-hour mark, so he’ll either have to be charged with Lombard’s murder or be released.”

“Any chance he’ll be charged?”

“Nope. The only way it can work for the DA right now is with your testimony and that’s not going to happen. So he’ll walk out of jail tomorrow. But that doesn’t mean he’s totally free; it just means that he’s free to go for now. He can be rearrested and recharged at any time, assuming there’s sufficient evidence. But like I said, without your testimony, I don’t see that happening. They really thought you and Scott would meet at the coffee place the other day, and they’d arrest you both together. But even then they’d only have a case if you agreed to testify.”

“So, in essence, Scott is a free man because of me. Because I ran he can go back to his wife.”

“Yeah, pretty much. But you need to look forward. It’s pointless to worry about the past. Believe me, it does no good,” Jack said as he thought about his own past. Natalie went silent.

“You still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here. It’s just really hard, that’s all.”

“I know it is.”

“So when will I get to see you?”

“Depends on when things cool off up here. But pretty soon I think.”

“Okay, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too, Natalie, me too.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

T
he turbo-prop private plane landed just after eleven the next morning at an airport outside Castle Springs. Two SUV limousines were parked there, ready to take Branch Kramer and his entourage directly to the steps of the RCSO jail. He had timed his arrival to coincide with Scott Lennox’s release, which was conveniently scheduled for when several Denver television stations were in the middle of their live, midday newscasts. He was prepared to claim another Branch Kramer victory for another “innocent client.”

Archer, Keller, and Mia met up with Mick in his office to watch it play out on the news. Welcome to the Branch Kramer Show, Part Two,” Mick told them.

“He’ll hit us pretty hard, but this will be it,” Archer explained. “So we take our medicine and move on.”

“Okay, here we go,” Mick said, turning up the volume.

“…Brian Banks is live at the scene. Brian, what can you tell us?”

“Tiffany, we’re expecting the arrival of Branch Kramer at any moment now. Kramer has returned to Colorado today to coordinate the release of his client, Castle Springs businessman Scott Lennox, arrested over the weekend in connection with the murder of his business partner, George Lombard. Sources say RCSO investigators were unable to gather enough evidence to formally charge Lennox within the 72 hours the law allows.”

The camera began to jostle and people behind the reporter were moving about quickly.

“Okay, Branch Kramer has arrived and is now headed up the steps to say a few words.”

The scene was rapidly deteriorating into the circus-like environment that many in the news business call a “media gang bang.”

“Okay, it looks like he’s going to be a little bit out of our frame, so bear with me—this is live TV. We need to move to get him back in our shot. Jim, bring the camera around to the other side if you will… Bear with us, folks, as we maneuver a bit to bring you the best possible coverage.”

As an eager Brian Banks and his videographer moved quickly towards Branch Kramer, other news crews also began jostling for position. There was a lot of shoving, which prompted a rival Denver reporter to give Banks’ cameraman a hard elbow to the ribs. The cameraman lurched forward, bringing his camera down hard and fast into Branch Kramer’s mouth. The impact knocked out both of Kramer’s front teeth and sent a stream of bright red blood from his mouth onto his crisp $300 white shirt.

“There appears to be a scuffle of some sort, uhh…,” the anchorwoman said as the chaotic scene unfolded on live TV.

A bloody Branch Kramer lashed out at the cameraman, “You fucking idiot!”

“Uh, oh my, we apologize for that,” muttered the helpless anchor as the scene continued to play out. The cameraman was able to regain the shot, though drops of blood on the lens marred the view. Branch Kramer quickly descended the steps with a handkerchief to his mouth, climbed back into the limo and, like a secret service detail whisking away a president, was gone in seconds.

Howls of laughter filled Mick’s office. “You know, you don’t hear ‘fucking idiot’ enough on live TV,” mused Keller.

“It was more like ‘futhing idiot,’ really. You just don’t realize how important those front teeth are until you lose them,” Mia added.

They sat in the captain’s office and enjoyed the moment again and again, thanks to the DVR.

The scene would also play out thousands of times on TV and social media. The story of Scott Lennox’s release took a back seat to Branch Kramer’s bloody mouth. As did any mention of the search for Lisa Sullivan.

Lisa, now Natalie, wasn’t much of a TV viewer back in Rosebud but decided to check out what the cable lineup had to offer at the condo. As she flipped through the channels, she found CNN and was startled when she saw Branch Kramer’s picture on the screen. Her stomach turned sour.

“Famed defense attorney Branch Kramer is recovering tonight after suffering injuries he sustained during a live news conference in the town of Castle Springs, Colorado. The Dallas based attorney, known for his bigger than life persona, was in Colorado securing the release of a client from the local jail when reporters apparently got a little carried away. This is how the scene played out on live TV.”

Natalie gasped in disbelief. The story was about Scott’s release from jail but instead focused on his lawyer and his bloody encounter with the media. She braced herself, fearing she’d see her picture, but it never appeared.

After several days of drama and stress, Mia readily agreed to Mick’s dinner invitation. He would buy and she would cook at his place.

By 6:30, Mia was at work at the stove and Mick was digging around in the cabinet.

“I think we could use one of these,” he said, holding up a bottle of Pinot Noir.

“You read my mind.”

Mia opened the refrigerator. “How old are these green beans?”

“I don’t know, a month maybe.”

“Eww, green on top, fuzzy gray on the bottom. That’s disgusting. You bought steaks and potatoes but no vegetables? You need vegetables to be big and strong, Mick.”

“I think there’s broccoli in the freezer.”

“Ah, you mean the box of melted cheese with three pieces of green stuff?”

“Tastes better that way.”

“I give up. Cheesy broccoli it is,” she said as Mick surprised her with a kiss and handed over a glass of pinot.

“Mmm. That’s a nice pairing. Especially after the last three days.”

They were interrupted by Mick’s cell phone. The DA was calling.

“Hey, Dave. You see the show Kramer put on today?”

“You bet I did. Made my week. That little accident took away his chance to crucify us on live television.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Mick said.

“I don’t want to ruin the moment, but the media will get back on track before long.”

“I know.”

“That’s what I called about. Mick, I don’t think I need to remind you how important it is we have a good outcome on this case. I’m up for re-election, and the word on the street is that you are running for sheriff. Let me know what I can do to help when the time comes for you to declare.”

“I will do that, and I certainly appreciate your support. It means a lot.”

“Now, do you need anything at all from my office to help in the search for the woman? If it’s a staffing issue, I can provide you with some of my investigators.”

“No, I think we’re good for right now, but I appreciate it.”

“We can offer her a deal for her testimony, but only if we find her. I’m not trying to beat a dead horse here; I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. We both have a lot to gain and a lot to lose.”

“We’re on the same page, and we’ll find her. I appreciate your support, and I’ll keep you posted on Sullivan and my candidacy.”

“Very good. I don’t know about you, but I’m planning on fixing myself a drink and watching the clip of Kramer losing his teeth again. They tell me it’s already got 300,000 hits on YouTube.”

“I’m with you, Dave. Thanks.”

Mick hung up, turned to Mia, and offered a toast.

“Actually, I’m way ahead you.”

The ‘beep, beep, beep,’ of the microwave echoed through Keller’s duplex. Armed with an old potholder, Jack dropped the tray on the kitchen table.

Jack didn’t say grace out loud before meals at restaurants or at work, but he always did at home. He made the sign of the cross and whispered “Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

That night’s bountiful gifts included, as they did most nights Keller ate at home, a Salisbury steak patty, some corn, and mashed potatoes. He peeled back the plastic and watched the steam billow from the tray. For a good sized man, it wasn’t much of a meal, but Jack had a dozen more if he was still hungry.

As the Salisbury steak cooled, he popped open his personal laptop and studied a map. It showed Castle Springs on the top right and Puerto Peñasco at the bottom left. Keller couldn’t wait to cover the distance and see his daughter again. He was confident that Natalie was safe for the time being, but he knew the search for his daughter wouldn’t end anytime soon, and as a wanted suspect, she’d never be out of danger.

Jack’s worries took away his appetite. He dumped the rest of the Salisbury steak in the trash and reached for his burner phone. He wanted to fill her in on the bloody drama outside the courthouse, unaware she’d already seen it. Mostly, he just wanted to hear her voice. But she didn’t pick up, so Keller left a message.

“I miss you,” he said as he ended the call.

Jack stretched out on the sofa and quickly faded off to sleep.

“Wow, you’re amazing. How do you cook these steaks perfectly, every time?” Mick asked Mia.

“Sheer brilliance.”

After dinner, they agreed not to talk about work and just relax in front of the TV. The plan was a good one, but proved impossible. During every commercial break, teasers for the ten o’clock news showed video clips of a bloody Branch Kramer battling with reporters. It was like zoo animals turning on their keeper, they joked.

Finally, Mick suggested they go to bed.

“To sleep?” Mia asked playfully.

Mick answered quickly, “I’m open to suggestions.”

Mick followed Mia up the stairs, one step behind but with his hand placed protectively at the base of her spine. As they arrived at the top, she turned and kissed him passionately. Unwilling to let go, they moved toward the bedroom until Mick finally scooped her up and carried Mia to the bed. Their lips met again, and they quickly undressed each other. Before long he lowered his body onto hers, and they began to move, in rhythm, as one.