Rausch & Donlon - Can Be Murder 01 - Headaches Can Be Murder (11 page)

Lucinda had no idea what he meant and could have cared less. The two were dressed like farm workers, but she sensed there was something strange about them. As one lifted his can of beer, his denim jacket sleeve fell back to reveal some serious bling, and she noted his hair … not cut at a Iowa barbershop, she bet. Not giving it too much more thought, she planned her exit line.

Hal moved his chair closer and began to focus his blurry eyes on her boobs. Lucinda downed her drink and brusquely excused herself. “Sorry, big boy, you’re too green for me. Ciao.” She flipped her hair, put on her sunglasses and wiggled her hips as she left the Bend.

Chapter Twelve

Brain Freeze

Two Harbors, Minnesota

Dr. John Goodman and Jo drove to the condo in silence, each lost in private thoughts. Once, when he glanced at Jo, he saw the headlights of a car reflecting off the tears on her cheeks. Caddy snored softly in the back seat, exhausted by the day’s events.

They arrived back at the condo at three in the morning. Jo muttered good night and wandered into her bedroom, closing the door with a soft
snick
behind her.

For the first time in a long time, John was at a loss for what to do. Too wound up to sleep, he settled himself on the leather couch and propped his feet on the coffee table. Caddy lay stretched out next to him, her head resting on his lap. He rubbed her ears absently, thinking about the last twenty-four hours.

He was tempted to knock on Jo’s door. He told himself it was to make sure she was okay, but he knew he was kidding himself. Holding her in his arms again was what he really wanted to do. To comfort her. To feel the length of her against him.

At one point, he had even padded over to her room in his stocking feet, and lifted a hand to rap on her door. But his hand hung in the air. In the end, he walked back to the couch. He rubbed his palm down his face, hearing the rasp of the stubble on his cheeks and chin. Caddy wiggled, breaking into his thoughts.

“Poor old girl. Hey, you must be hungry by now. C’mon. Let’s go check out that overpriced bag of dog kibble we picked up at the Gasmart.” John walked to the kitchen, the golden retriever following on his heels. Flipping on the light switch, he squinted in the harsh fluorescent glow. He rooted around the cabinets until he located a casserole dish for her food and another for water. Setting the dishes on the floor, he watched Caddy pick at the food.

“Not too hungry, huh? Got a lot on your mind? Me too.” He picked up a chunk of the food and held it out to her. She gingerly licked it from his palm. He picked up another piece and offered it to her once more. “What do you think I should do about her?” John indicated Jo’s bedroom with his thumb.

Caddy evidently decided she was hungry after all and buried her muzzle in the food bowl, crunching loudly. John chuckled softly. “You’re a big help. I come to you for advice and you ignore me.” He sighed and walked back to the living room.

John turned at a sound. The room was dark, except for the kitchen light in the next room and the faint glow of the security light outside the condo. Jo stood in the doorway of her room, wearing a long t-shirt. She said nothing, just stood there, studying him. The outline of her legs was clearly visible. His mouth went dry and lust warred with concern.

He swallowed. “Jo, are you doing okay? You should, um, get some sleep. It’s been a long, rough day for you.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about Sid.”

Her voice sounded like gravel. “He helped me out when my dad died. Sometimes, I can’t make sense of things. You know?” Her voice broke.

He took a cautious step towards her, afraid of scaring her away. “Yes. I do know. This was a savage thing. A wasteful thing.” He took another step.

She walked the last few feet between them and threw herself in his arms. She began to sob. At first, he stood still, worried that no matter what he did, it would be the wrong thing. They had known each other for such a short amount of time, but he already knew her pride, her reserve. John respected that about her. Still, he longed to bring her comfort. He was startled to realize that he hadn’t ever felt that way before. About anyone.
I’ve known her for less than twenty-four hours.

He wrapped his arms tight around her slim body, his chin resting on the top of her head. She fit perfectly. He closed his eyes and felt her shoulders shake, felt the dampness of her tears soaking into his shirt. Closing his eyes, he whispered, “Shh. It’ll be all right. We’ll figure this out.” He stroked her hair, loving the way the curls wrapped around his fingers.

Her shuddering slowly subsided, and he felt her relax into him. They stood together for several minutes, not moving. He was aware of her warm softness against his chest. His heart pounded a rapid staccato.
Let me do the right thing here.

John gently pushed her away from him. “I think maybe we’d better get some sleep. Tomorrow—I mean today—is going to be a crazy day.” He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head to look into her eyes. “Are you going to be all right?”

She stared into his eyes for a moment and then nodded. “Thanks. I’m not usually like this. So … so weepy.” She crinkled her nose. “So girly.”

“Your secret is safe with me. You’ve been through a big shock today. I’m glad I was here. Now get some sleep. That’s an order, Special Agent Schwann.” She smiled at his light teasing and saluted him.

He watched her walk back to her room. Running a hand through his hair, he let out the breath he’d been holding. He whistled softly. “Caddy, here girl. Let’s get some sleep too.”

When Jo stumbled out of bed the next morning, she was surprised by the smell of coffee. She wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a cup for herself. Taking a cautious sip, she closed her eyes in gratitude. The bitterness of the coffee was just what she needed to get going this morning.

She felt well rested, considering she’d only slept five hours. Actually, it was the best night’s sleep she had had in quite some time.

A note was propped up next to the coffee maker. In neatly printed block letters, it read:
Doing a few laps at the pool. Join me? J.

Jo smiled. Carrying the coffee cup with her, she walked into the living room. Pulling her legs up under her she turned on the television remote. She flipped through the channels until she found a local news program.

There was Detective Frisco, giving a summary of the basic facts, looking red-faced and angry. He closed his speech, “This crime was carried out by cowards.” He pointed at the camera. “We’re gonna find you. Make no mistake about that.” Cameras flashed as he walked away from the podium.
Glad he’s on my side.
The more she worked with Detective Frisco, the more she respected him. He would work as hard as she in bringing Sid’s killers to justice.

Jo clicked off the television. She returned her coffee cup to the kitchen sink and leaned into the cabinet, thinking. Her thoughts kept straying to the smear of Sid’s blood she had seen on the floor of his lab. Jo shook her head, clearing away the image. “I have to focus. Can’t help Sid if I can’t get his killers.”

Sitting down at the kitchen table, she pulled a tablet of paper to her and began making notes. Jo possessed an organized mind and it helped to map out a course of action in writing. Starting with the end result of putting those responsible in jail, she backed into every step she would need to take in order to get them there.

After sketching out the process and rearranging the sequence of events, she was satisfied that she had put together an actionable plan. She snatched her cell phone off the counter and called into the Bureau’s offices in Minneapolis.

An hour later, Jo turned her head when she heard the key card in the door. John walked in, a t-shirt clinging to his torso and a towel wrapped around his waist. Caddy padded behind him. Jo blushed as she noticed his broad shoulders and flat stomach through the damp shirt. Memories of being held against him last night came rushing back, and she felt a heat rise up in her belly.

“For God’s sake, it can’t be more than ten degrees outside. What on earth … ?” She couldn’t seem to form any more words.

“Wonderful morning for a swim. The hotel’s got a great pool. I put in a few laps and then jumped into the hot tub afterwards. Warmed me up enough to run back to the condo. Caddy’s been keeping me company.” He reached down to pet the top of her head. She barked once and thumped her wet tail against Jo’s leg.

Jo raised an eyebrow. “So yesterday you couldn’t warm up, and today you’re traipsing around the snow like a winter hare. Go figure.”

He grinned broadly. “I adapt to my surroundings. Hey, let’s go grab some breakfast. I’m starving.”

“Are you always this annoyingly perky in the morning?”

“Once I’ve had my morning swim, oh, yeah.” He turned on his heel and strode into his bedroom. She heard the shower running.

Jo looked down at Caddy, who had stayed for a morning ear scratch. “Caddy? Tell me the truth, am I in trouble here?”

After a hearty breakfast at a mom-and-pop log cabin restaurant on the way to Gooseberry Falls, they drove back to the condo. Just as Jo put the Toyota in park, her phone buzzed. “Hey Frisco. Saw you on the news this morning. Any new developments?” She listened for a bit, and nodded her head occasionally.

“Yes, I’m sure I want to do this. Let me know when it’s set up, will you?” She flipped the phone shut.

When Jo didn’t say anything for a moment, John asked, “Anything new?”

Jo shook her head. “No, not really. He had a thought about getting me into NeuroDynamics’s headquarters, though.” She stared through the windshield for a moment and then turned in her seat to face John. “Just might work. His wife’s cousin has the cleaning contract for the building. He’s going to try to get me into the three-to-eleven shift. Not exactly what I originally had in mind, but I’d be as good as invisible. The best part is that I’ll have access to the building after hours.”

John nodded. “I’ll hang out here and do some more research on microchip technology and get an idea of what we’ll need to prove our case. Then you’ll know what to look for.” He fidgeted with the zipper of his jacket. “Uh, Jo. Aren’t you worried about the legality of any information we find this way? I mean, will it hold up in court?”

“While you were hanging out in the hot tub, I obtained what’s commonly referred to as a ‘Sneak and Peek’ warrant. They’re more often used in investigations into the illegal manufacturing of controlled substances, where officers want to confirm the presence of chemicals and to assess the stability of the labs without divulging the investigation. However, it should suit our purposes quite well.”

John rubbed the back of his neck. “How does it differ from regular warrants?”

“It gives us a great deal of flexibility, since we don’t have to notify NeuroDynamics that we’re searching their facilities for seven days. Hence the ‘sneak’ in the name of the warrant.

“And the ‘peek’ part?”

“It means we can take a look around and come up with probable cause for a regular warrant. We’re going to have to be careful, though. We’re not allowed to disturb or physically seize anything while we’re checking things out. We’ll have some leeway, but there have been a lot of challenges in the courts to these types of warrants, as you can imagine.”

John nodded. “And the last thing we want is for these guys to get off on a technicality.”

“You got that right. Also, we’ll have to watch the clock; if we even come close to the seven-day deadline, we’ll file for an extension. It should give us the time we need to find something more solid.” She reached for the door handle.

“Sounds like you have this all figured out.”

“We’re going to nail the bastards.” Jo’s green eyes narrowed. “Every one of them.”

Chapter Thirteen

Turners Bend

Early December

Chip re-read his last chapter of
Brain Freeze
. The discovery of the “Sneak and Peek” warrant had been a plot saver. Now he could get Jo into NeuroDynamics and add more suspense. Feeling smug, he liked the way his story was progressing. He was starting to believe in himself as a writer.

He sat back and turned his musings to the town of Turners Bend. It had started to feel like his own, a place unlike Baltimore, and yet so like home. People on the street and in stores greeted him by name. Everyone asked about his past and seemed genuinely interested about where he came from or why he was there. He was included in conversations in the Bun and the Bend, and residents shared their thoughts and opinions with him as if he were a long-time friend.

Population 932, or so read the sign at the entrance to town. Chip had heard residents debate whether the sign had the count from the 1990 census or the 2000 census. They also debated whether that number had increased or decreased over the past few years. That wasn’t the only point of contention he had observed in the sleepy farm community. Yet, when an emergency came up or a neighbor needed help, the town pulled together. Volunteer firefighters and first responders dropped everything and came running from their homes or fields or businesses when their pagers beckoned. Turners Bend took care of its own and yesterday had been an example of just that.

Chip replayed in his head the events that followed his contract meeting with Lucinda.

Ingrid sprinted down the street from the Bend to her mother’s clinic and Chip huffed along behind her. Jane was on the phone.

“Chief, Jane here, I got the first responder page and talked with Doc Schultz. I think the best place to land a medi-vac helicopter given the snow is the south parking lot of AgriDynamics. I’ll meet you over at Doc’s. We’ve got to get Mabel to the Mayo Clinic ASAP.”