Terminated (28 page)

As he went over Amanda’s reports, he thought about his injured investigator. He wondered whether Amanda’s accident was really an accident. It seemed like it, but with the twists and turns this investigation had taken, he was having his doubts.

He dragged his now cold takeout food over. He tried eating, but it tasted like ashes. Food wouldn’t taste good until he’d gotten to the bottom of Gwen’s case. He pushed the food away and returned to the case files.

Removing Tarbell from the equation, the string of calamities to strike Gwen and her family pushed the limits of bad luck. Paul’s near-fatal beating pushed it one step too far. He wasn’t convinced of Tarbell’s involvement, but he needed to know whether the incident belonged in the world of coincidence or something more sinister. He called a contact in the Fremont Police Department for information. His contact told him that until Paul came out of his coma, they had no active leads.

It was midnight by the
time he’d gone through the case file, and his brain had turned to pudding. He needed some air. He pushed his chair out from the conference table, rode the elevator to the lobby, and told the security guards on the front desk that he’d be back in ten.

The night air felt good on his skin. With the exception of a handful of homeless guys bedded down in shadowy corners, the financial district was deserted at this time of night. Walking the blocks surrounding his building, he pinned his tentative theory together. Gwen Farris had a falling out with Stephen Tarbell, and he retaliated. Ingram decided that he believed her about the incident in the parking lot and the rock thrown through her window. That left the break-in and lights-out chase at the office. For those incidents, Tarbell had an alibi, thanks to his nighttime surveillance guy.

He kicked around the accomplice theory again. It seemed reasonable, but one thing punched holes in it. Try as they might, his investigators had discovered no signs of Tarbell working with anyone. Yet the only way Tarbell could have had a hand in all the incidents was with an accomplice. There had to be one.

He turned around and returned to his office. He pored through the surveillance reports looking for a crack in the investigation to support the accomplice theory. He listed down the time of all the attacks on Gwen, hoping for some commonality or linkage. He examined his list. It wasn’t much, but he saw something he hadn’t noticed before, and he didn’t like it.

Everything had happened at night. That wasn’t uncommon in itself. It would be hard to go after Gwen during the day, especially when she was at the office with so many witnesses around. But at night was when Tarbell’s alibi was at its weakest. The man was a shut-in with no friends or social life. His alibi only worked because someone from Ingram’s surveillance had said he was at home.

Ingram’s thoughts snagged on a fact. PSI, his own people, had provided Tarbell with his alibi. But that wasn’t strictly true. Only one person had covered Tarbell during
the night. He removed all the surveillance reports for all the attacks. Every one of them had Tom Petersen’s name at the top. The possibility of an accomplice stopped being just a possibility.

“K
irsten, don’t be a pain this morning,” Gwen said, fighting to put her daughter’s sweater on her.

“I don’t want to go.”

Gwen pulled the sweater off Kirsten for
the second time. “I know you don’t want to. I don’t want to either, but it’s something I have to do.”

“Then don’t do it.”

It was that simple to a three-year-old. Gwen wished the whole world operated with the same simplicity. She knelt down in front of her daughter.

“I won’t be gone long. Just a couple of days.”

The significance of what she’d said hit her hard. If all went right, she’d be back in a couple of days. If it didn’t, then…. She pushed the idea from her mind before it bedded in.

“But why?” Kirsten moaned.

“I have to go away. Daddy’s still in the hospital, so you need to stay with someone.”

“Can’t I come?”

“No, babe. Lynette is going to look after you. She’s nice. You’ll like her. She has a dog.”

That caught Kirsten’s attention.

“It’s a big, black Lab.”

Gwen held out Kirsten’s sweater again. This time, she put
it on without trouble.

She packed an overnight bag, then bundled Kirsten into the car and drove her over to Lynette Petersen’s home.

Lynette came out while Gwen was lifting Kirsten from the car. Kirsten went quiet at the sight of the unfamiliar, older woman but warmed to her when she greeted her by name. They went inside the house, Lynette carrying Kirsten’s backpack filled with clothes.

“You have a dog?”

“Yes, J. Edgar. He’s in the yard.”

Kirsten looked to Gwen, and she nodded. Kirsten went scampering off in the direction of the yard.

“We can talk now,” Lynette said.

She took Gwen into the kitchen. From there they could see Kirsten playing with the big dog. Lynnette poured Gwen coffee she didn’t want and they sat at the table. Hanging on the wall was a picture of Tom Petersen holding a marlin as big as he was.

What happened to you, Tom
? Gwen thought. The likely answer scared her.

“You’re going through with it,” Lynette said.

Gwen brought out Parker’s second payment and held it out to Lynette. “Should anything go wrong, I need you to get this to a man called Desmond Parker. All his information is in the envelope.”

Lynette pushed Gwen’s hand away. “You have to think positively. You can’t have failure in your mind. You need to kill this man, and that’s what you’re going to do.”

Gwen put the money away but held out the second envelope with the notes she’d written for Lynette. “The risks are too high for me not to take precautions, Lynette. If it goes wrong, I need you to get Kirsten to my sister in New York. These papers will tell you how to contact her.”

Lynette smiled. “I promise to take care of it. But it won’t come to that. You are going to succeed, and Kirsten will be waiting for you when you return. You have to believe that. OK?”

Gwen wasn’t sure she shared Lynette’s confidence, but could tell she had to respond. “OK.”

“Good.”

Lynette was strong. Gwen
didn’t know how she did it. She guessed it had something to do with having a husband who had spent his life in law enforcement. She’d spent decades living with the idea that one night he might not come home.

“I have a request, Gwen.”

“Anything.”

“If you can, get him to tell you what he did to Tom.”

“I will.” It was a tough promise, but she’d keep it if she could.

Kirsten, squealing with delight from making J. Edgar bark, drew their attention. They went out in the yard and played with Kirsten and the dog. Gwen waited until Kirsten seemed comfortable with Lynette before she knelt down and said good-bye, holding back her own tears. Gwen left her daughter in the backyard with the dog. Lynette walked her out, but before they reached the door, Lynette guided her into a home office. This time, it was impossible to avoid reminders of Petersen. This was his office. It was a cop’s room, filled with statutes and codes and too many mementos.

“I want you to take this.”

She slid back a closet door and removed a metal cashbox. The key was in the lock. She twisted the key and removed a heavy-looking, short-barreled revolver, as well as a small box of ammunition.

“Tom told me guns weren’t the answer.”

“That was when you were under his protection. You’re not now. No one is protecting you. You need this.”

Gwen didn’t argue and reached for the weapon, but Lynette maintained her grip on it. “You have to follow through now. Don’t give him a second chance. Got that?”

“Yes.”

Gwen left with the gun and got behind the wheel of her Subaru. She started the engine, but she couldn’t leave, not without doing one more thing. She had to see Paul
before she left. Despite Lynette telling her to think positively, she knew this could be the last time she’d see her husband. She couldn’t leave without saying good-bye.

At the hospital, she checked in with Dr. Korn. He escorted her to Paul’s room. Somehow, he saw improvement under the layers of trauma. She just hoped he was right.

“Trust me, things are getting better,” he said before leaving.

The second she was alone with Paul, she broke down. This was her fault, yet at the same time it wasn’t. It tore her in two. She’d set Tarbell off; she was guilty of that, but Tarbell’s skewed view of the world and cruelty were really to blame. All she was guilty of was doing her job. It never should have come to this, but that didn’t matter. It was hers to finish now.

She picked up Paul’s hand and held it close to her face. A clip covered his thumb and registered his pulse on a monitor.

“I’m going to get Tarbell now,” she said. As she talked to him, she hoped the words would penetrate the deep sleep he was lost in. She liked to think her plan would go her way. It was two against one after all, but she wasn’t confident. Tarbell was unstoppable. He’d dismantled her life piece by piece. He said he was going to kill Kirsten, and she believed him. Anything he set his mind to he achieved.

At the same time, Parker was an animal. Her hope was that he’d cancel Tarbell out, and she’d be there to tip the balance. In theory, it could work. Yet while she could succeed, she could also fail. Then Tarbell would win and win big at the expense of her family.

“Someone is looking after Kirsten while I’m gone,” she said, still holding her husband’s hand. “Should anything happen, she’ll get in contact with my sister. I know Lucy will take Kirsten until you’re back on your feet. Kirsten will be totally safe. Tarbell might think he can get to her, but he can’t. He won’t. I’ve made sure of it.”

She squeezed Paul’s hand in the hope he would squeeze back, but it remained limp in her grasp. She didn’t let it depress her. The doctors had made her feel confident
that he would grip her hand again. Whether she would be in any condition to hold his was another question entirely.

“I don’t want to think negatively, but we both know it’s a possibility that he’ll win. He seems to get stronger every day. But I want you to know that I did my best for us and Kirsten.” She laughed. “God, I’m glad you’re not conscious. You’d be so pissed at me right now. You’d be telling me how crazy I am, then grabbing my hand and insisting to come along. No wonder I love you, you’re a demonstration in contradictions.”

Tears were streaming down her face. She palmed them away. “I’m going now, and if all goes well, I’ll be back. Just don’t be too angry at me, OK?”

She kissed his cheek and left.

Ingram drove over to Petersen’s home unannounced. Frustration had set in. He’d left three voice mails on Petersen’s cell, and he hadn’t called back. He didn’t like to think his investigator had been guilty of any impropriety. Petersen had always been a sharp investigator with a wealth of experience from his law enforcement career. Still, Ingram couldn’t ignore what he’d unearthed in black and white.

He drew up in front of Petersen’s home. He didn’t care if Petersen saw him. He wanted answers. If he had to spook the ex-cop to find out the truth, so be it.

Lynette Petersen opened the door to him.

“Can I speak to Tom?”

“He’s not here.”

He should have known. Ingram’s voice mails had sent him running. It was a dumb move on his part. He should have just confronted Petersen. “When will he be back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where has he gone? I need to get in contact with him.”

“I don’t know.”

He went to say, “How can you not know?” but stopped himself. He’d been in so much of a hurry to confront
Petersen, he’d missed the obvious. He didn’t know Lynette Petersen well, but every time they’d met she’d been warm and friendly. That wasn’t true on this occasion. She was cold and uninviting. Pushing her wasn’t the way to go.

“Can I come in for a moment? It’s important.”

Lynette paused for a second before letting him in. She ushered him into the family room and closed the door.

He didn’t like the feeling he was getting and waited for Lynette to sit before sitting next to her.

“Lynette, I’m worried about Tom. He hasn’t been himself recently. Is everything OK?”

“He’s fine. What makes you say that?”

“The work we do is stressful, and it gets to the best of us.” He smiled. “That’s all.”

“He’s fine.”

Lynette’s tone was way too defensive. She was protecting Petersen, but Ingram nodded like he understood.

“So everything’s good?” he said smiling.

She smiled back. There was a waver to it. “Yes. Everything’s good.”

“It’s odd that he’s gone away and you don’t know where he is or when he’s coming back.”

Her smile crumbled and fell away. She stammered out a protest, but he bulldozed over her.

“Did you know he resigned?”

Her expression said his question was a news flash. He wondered what else was news to her. It was clear she didn’t know what her husband had gotten involved in.

“Lynette, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

She was silent. He pressed the
silence by not speaking. He wouldn’t speak until she spoke the truth. He’d let the silence do the work until it became an uncomfortable wedge that forced her to open her up.

The everyday quiet noises of the average family room became loud. The tick, tick ticking of a wall clock. The roar of a passing car. The hum of the DVD player underneath the TV. These sounds were momentarily drowned out by the barking of a dog and the delighted squeals from a child from outside the house that followed. Lynette’s eyes widened as the pounding of a child’s feet and the noise of a dog’s scrabbling paws echoed through the house. Ingram looked at Lynette, and she looked away.

He went to the door and opened it. Kirsten Farris stood on the other side of the door, hugging Tom Petersen’s black Lab.

“Kirsten?”

“Hello,” Kirsten said, tucking her chin into her shoulder and looking shy.

Ingram was lost for words. He’d thought he’d prepared himself for any eventuality, but he was wrong. He turned to Lynette. “You need to tell me what’s going on. Now.”