The Reckoning (21 page)

Mike stood; renewed hope flowed through his body.
Elizabeth
had told him that his sisters had done the same thing to find
Lydia
. His sisters were smart when it came to finding out what they wanted. He never would have doubted their plan, even if they had shared it with him. There was one man he trusted with that doing a thorough job of going through the tapes. The person he’d counted on to help save his sisters lives countless times. Now all he had to do was get the information Thompson and the FBI had and get it into Ted’s capable hands.

Mike walked over to Thompson and patted him on the back. “Walk with me.”

Thompson lifted his brow, his look half anticipation and half dread; it was Mike’s turn to smile now. This was just what he needed. Whatever information Ted turned up, Mike be sure to have access to also.

Mike paused with his hand on the doorknob of the forensic lab. He glanced at Thompson. “Trust me on this.”

He pushed the door open to find the lab devoid of employees except for the one man he had come to find. Ted was in the back of the room sitting in front of monitors that would make Jake envious. The setup of computers so elaborate, Mike was afraid to touch anything.  Mike stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Ted, just the man I wanted to see,” Mike announced.

Ted swirled around in his office chair. A frown marred on his face. “Why the frown, Ted?”

“There was another overdose on the blue stuff.” Ted sighed. “Which sister is it this time that needs my help, or is it the lovely
Elizabeth
?”

Mike didn’t let his smile falter. Ted could rib him all he wanted; the truth of the matter was they all needed his help, including the FBI. If the man’s head wasn’t big enough already, it was going to explode after hearing what he needed.

Mike perched himself on the top of a desk behind the young genius. “The Bennett family, the town of
Southall
, and the FBI need your help. Are you game? How would you like to help solve a twenty-year-old case that even the FBI can’t solve?”

The gleam in Ted’s eyes told Mike all he needed to know. There was no way Ted could say no to helping so many people at once. Ted rubbed his hands together and cracked his knuckles as he glanced from Mike to Thompson before replying, “I’m in. What do you need?”

Mike grinned. “What I need is seemingly impossible and could take days, if not months, for experts to get done, and I need it in less than twenty-four hours.

Ted lifted his chin and squared his shoulders. “Are you, of all people, doubting my awesomeness?”

Mike shook his head. “Nope, I know you’ve got skills. The FBI could take days, and unfortunately my sisters’ lives, and
Elizabeth
’s, can’t wait that long.”

Mike glanced over at Thompson, who shrugged, knowing the red tape would just slow them down.

Ted grabbed a note pad and a pen. “Tell me what I need to know.”

Mike and Thompson spent the next hour going over everything that Thompson knew; meeting times and places Ted would need to start his own investigation. The excitement was rolling off the little IT guy with every piece of information they provided. Mike could almost see the wheels turning in Ted’s head, trying to determine where he was going to start first. “I need it by Claire’s party.”

Ted’s excitement faltered. “Isn’t that tomorrow?”

Mike stood. “Yep, I sure hope your awesomeness can handle it because just about everyone in the town of
Southall
will be there. The FBI seems to think with the information they’ve gathered, that he is on staff at the hospital. Can you narrow your search down to those employees?”

Ted gave a lopsided grin. “Sure, no pressure.”

“Call me when you’ve got something. I’ll be at the party, waiting for the identification to take this bastard down.”

Thompson shook his head. “Nope, not gonna happen, Bennett. You said you’d stay out of it.”

Mike threw his hands up, palms out. “I promised Claire I would be there, and besides, you need me to at least locate who it is on the security monitors, so you can move in for the takedown.”

Mike turned to stroll out of the room with an extra spring in his step. Not only were they going to catch the man that had killed his father, they were taking a drug dealer off the streets. If he could only keep his sisters and their pigheadedness out of the picture, he might actually get to keep his wits about him. Tonight at dinner he was in for a fight he couldn’t afford to lose.

Mike arrived right on time at
Elizabeth
’s house. He lifted his knuckles to knock, and the door swung open. He’d expected to see
Elizabeth
’s smiling face looking back at him, but he wasn’t so lucky. The general stood in the doorway, his face masked without emotion. “Come on in, Bennett.”

The general turned on his heel and walked into the living room. Meeting and dealing with a father was bad enough. Knowing that this man knew more ways to kill and hide a body than he did set his teeth grinding together.

“Sir, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I thought you went back home.”

The general gestured to the couch. “Have a seat. It seems like we’ve got some things to talk about.”

Mike glanced toward the hall, hoping beyond reason that
Elizabeth
would appear. This man had been his mentor, the one man who had helped to keep him alive during his time in the service. He trusted him with his life, but this man could potentially stand in the way of what mattered most.

“
Elizabeth
is in her room getting ready. She’ll be out in just a minute.” The lines of concentration deepened around the general’s eyes. “Don’t worry son; this will be painless.”

Mike tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. He felt like a teenager meeting his girlfriend’s father for the first time. All the confidence he’d had about his ability to do his job and keep
Elizabeth
safe went flying out the window. He respected this man’s opinion, like a father’s. If the general had a problem with him and Elizabeth seeing each other, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Mike started to speak but clamped his mouth shut when the general raised his hand.

“I owe you for keeping my little Lizzy safe.”

Mike nodded and let out a breath.

“I also know that you’re dating my little girl.”

The relief that Mike had just felt slowly died. This was going to be one of those talks. One that he’d managed to avoid his entire life. Mike nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. My little Lizzy needs someone strong that can take care of her, not like that sniveling doctor that keeps asking her out.”

Elizabeth
walked into the room wearing a black cotton dress and heels that emphasized her long, lean legs. Mike was ready to drop to his knees and run his hands up their length.
Elizabeth
cleared her throat, drawing Mike’s gaze back to her face. She put her hands on her hips. “Daddy, how did you know about that?”

The general stood. “I know all when it concerns you.”

Elizabeth
narrowed her eyes. “Did you know about Gracie and what she was doing with the professor?”

The general lowered his eyes and let his head fall forward. “No. I haven’t been as vigilant where Gracie is concerned. She’s always ignored my authority, but that stops now.”

Elizabeth
walked over to Mike and stood on her tiptoes, planting a light kiss on his cheek. “You ready to go?”

Mike held out his hand to the general. “It was good to see you again, sir. Will you be staying in town?”

The friendly contact brought a vision to his mind of the general on the phone saying
Lydia
’s name. Mike pulled his hand back.
What the hell is going on? 

The general grinned. “This isn’t just a personal call this time; I’m here on official government business.”

Elizabeth
bit her lip and pointed at her father. “You and I will talk later. It seems you’re keeping your own little secrets from me.”

The general winked at his daughter and turned to Mike. “Bennett, we’ve got some unfinished business we need to discuss.”

Mike nodded. The general didn’t know about his gift, or what he’d seen in his head. The thought of yet another sister in trouble and
Lydia
wanted by the government was just another thing to add to his worries. Mike let out a sigh. “Yes, sir.”

Mike escorted
Elizabeth
to his SUV, his head spinning with the vision he’d seen. How the general would even know about
Lydia
was something he couldn’t fathom. One or both of them were hiding something from him that he couldn’t see, and that wasn’t acceptable. Then it hit him, he was here because of the damn picture.  

Elizabeth
reached over and laced her fingers through his on the drive to Claire’s house. “Why the frown, Bennett?”

Mike shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned toward
Elizabeth
unable to hid the frown he knew was on his face. There wasn’t going to be any way to hide this from her. There wouldn’t be any secrets between them. She deserved that.

“I’m worried.”

She nodded her understanding. “About Winters?”

“Yes and no.” Mike shook his head. “Yes, I’m worried about Winters, and I’ll explain when everyone shows up, but something else isn’t making any sense.”

Elizabeth
squeezed his hand. “Tell me. Maybe I can help.”

Mike felt his lips turn up at the corners. He pulled into Claire’s drive and cut the ignition. Leaning over he whispered, “Like you did with keeping my secret about
Lydia
?”

Mike pressed his lips to hers. He knew she hadn’t meant to spill his secret. Mike pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m just teasing, baby.”

Elizabeth
brushed her lips against his. “Please let me help you.”

Mike leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes before he turned to her. “You know what my gift is and how it works, right?”

Elizabeth
nodded with a serious expression. “Yeah.”

“When I shook your dad’s hand, I saw him on the phone, and he mentioned
Lydia
’s name. What do you think that means?”

Elizabeth
chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t know, but maybe I can help you find out.”

Mike lifted their clasped hands, pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, and nodded. “By the way, you look beautiful tonight.” He raised and lowered his eyebrows. “I can’t wait to take that dress off of you.”

Elizabeth
chuckled, pulled per hand from his, and slid out of the car. “Save it for later, Detective. I’m sure Emma wouldn’t like it if we make out in her driveway.”
Elizabeth
ran her fingers down her dress, smoothing the lines, and closed the door.

Mike sauntered to the front of the SUV and held out his arm.
Elizabeth
ran her hand underneath his arm and clasped him in the crook of his elbow. They walked up the wide stairs onto the wrap around porch. Mike didn’t even raise his hand to knock. He pushed the door open and called out, “We’re here.”

Mike followed his nose toward the kitchen where he knew he’d find his family. The aroma of a Thanksgiving meal drifted to his nose.
Turkey
and dressing made his mouth water. The quick sandwich he’d inhaled after dropping
Elizabeth
at her place had burned off an hour after he’d arrived at work. Food had been the furthest thing from his mind today. The ritual that they had started years ago still stood in place, food and problem solving. His sisters weren’t going to like what he was going to suggest, but he knew he could get their husbands on his side. 

Mike pushed the swinging door open into the kitchen. He found just what he’d expected. His sisters were milling around cooking, and the guys were in the backyard. What he hadn’t expected to find was
Lydia
chopping up stuff for the salad and Thompson sitting with Mike’s brothers-in-law around the patio table. He hadn’t recalled inviting Thompson and hadn’t been informed about
Lydia
either. He’d wanted to have this conversation about Winters with just his sisters and their husbands. Thompson and
Lydia
would be the wild cards when he got around to explaining his plan.

   Mike rubbed Abby’s hair when passing. “I’m starved. When are we eating?”

Elizabeth
lightly slapped Mike’s arm. “Why don’t you go outside with the guys, and I’ll see what I can do to help.”

Mike placed a quick peck on
Elizabeth
’s cheek and tapped her on the butt while winking. “Stay out of trouble, Doc.”