Chapter 42 Proper Vigilance
DETECTIVE ROURKE'S POV
I sat in my car two blocks away from the coffee shop watching Caitlyn Hayes walk back toward the mall. She was carrying shopping bags and moving at a normal pace but I could see the tension in her shoulders. She was scared but she was doing it anyway.
That took guts.
My phone rang and it was my partner Jenkins. "How did the meeting go?
"She agreed to help," I said. "Gave her the secure phone and went over the protocols."
"You think she can handle this?" Jenkins asked. "She seems pretty fragile."
"She is stronger than she looks," I said. "She has been living with Collin Hayes for months now. Surviving his abuse and playing his games. That takes a different kind of strength.
"Or desperation," Jenkins pointed out.
"Maybe both," I admitted.
I watched as Caitlyn got into the car with Hayes's security guy and they drove away. She had pulled off the meeting without being caught. That was good. But I was worried about what I had seen in her eyes during our conversation.
When I mentioned the files about her parents something had changed in her expression. It was not just sadness or grief. It was something colder and harder. Like a switch had been flipped inside her.
"Are you still there?" Jenkins asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Listen, I need you to run a deep background check on Caitlyn Hayes. Maiden name Vale. I want to know everything about her."
"Why?" Jenkins asked. "You think she is hiding something?"
"I do not know," I said honestly. "But there was something in her eyes today. Something that made me think she is not just doing this to survive. She wants revenge."
"Can you blame her?" Jenkins said. "Hayes killed her parents and has been abusing her for months. Of course, she wants revenge."
"That is what worries me," I said. "Revenge makes people reckless. Makes them take unnecessary risks. I need her to focus on gathering evidence, not on getting payback."
"So what are you going to do?" Jenkins asked.
"Keep a closer eye on her," I said. "Make sure she does not do anything stupid."
I hung up and started driving back to the station. I had been investigating Collin Hayes for three years now and I was finally close to taking him down. But I needed Caitlyn's help to do it. She had access to places and information that I could never get on my own.
The question was could I trust her to do this the right way? Or was she going to let her anger cloud her judgment?
When I got back to the station I pulled up everything we had on Caitlyn Vale Hayes. Her background was clean, she grew up in a religious household. Her father was a priest, she was a homemaker. She went to college and became a teacher and she got Collin Hayes six months ago.
On paper she was exactly what she appeared to be. A nice girl from a good family who married the wrong man.
But I had learned over the years that people were rarely what they appeared to be on paper. Everyone had secrets. Everyone had a dark side they kept hidden.
What was Caitlyn's dark side?
I thought about the way she had described finding the files in Collin's study. She said she was scared but her voice had not sounded scared. It sounded cold and calculating. Like she was already planning her next move.
"Rourke you got a minute?" another detective asked from the doorway.
"What is it?" I asked.
"We got a tip about Jason Cross," he said. "Someone thinks they saw him at a warehouse on the east side."
I felt my stomach drop. Jason Cross was another problem I needed to deal with, he had been hitting Hayes's operations for months now and I knew it was only a matter of time before things escalated.
"When?" I asked.
"Two hours ago," the detective said. "We sent a unit to check it out but he was already gone."
"Keep looking," I said. "And let me know the second you get another sighting."
The detective left and I went back to thinking about Caitlyn. I needed her to focus on the mission. Focused on gathering evidence against Hayes but if she was distracted by thoughts of revenge then she was going to make mistakes.
And mistakes in a situation like this got people killed.
I pulled out my secure phone and sent her a text.
"Remember the plan, slow and steady. Do not take unnecessary risks."
A few minutes later she replied. "I understand. Will be careful."
But would she? That was the question. Would she be able to control her anger long enough to do this right? Or was she going to do something reckless that would blow the whole operation?
I thought about her father Gregory. He had come to me wanting to testify against Hayes, wanting to make things right. But in the end, his desire for redemption had gotten him killed.
Was Caitlyn going to make the same mistake? Was her desire for revenge going to get her killed too?
I hoped not, because I needed her alive. Not just for the case but because she deserved better than to end up another victim of Collin Hayes.
My phone rang again. This time it was an unknown number. I answered carefully. "Rourke."
"It is Cross," Jason's voice said. "We need to talk."
"Where are you?" I asked.
"Somewhere safe," Jason said. "But I need to know what is going on with the Hayes investigation. I heard you have someone on the inside now."
"How did you hear that?" I demanded.
"I have my sources," Jason said. "Is it true? Do you have someone feeding you information?"
I did not answer right away. Jason Cross was not someone I fully trusted. He was a criminal even if he was going after Hayes for the right reasons. Telling him about Caitlyn could put her in danger.
"I cannot discuss an ongoing investigation," I finally said.
"Come on Rourke," Jason said. "We both want the same thing. We both want Hayes behind bars. Why can we not work together?"
"Because you are a wanted criminal," I pointed out. "You run a gang. You deal in stolen goods and drugs, walking with you officially would compromise everything."
"So work with me unofficially," Jason said. "Use me. I can get information you cannot get. I can go places you cannot go. Let me help."
I thought about it. Jason did have resources I did not have and he had been getting closer to Hayes than anyone else. But trusting him was risky.
"Let me think about it," I said. "Do not do anything stupid in the meantime."
"Define stupid," Jason said.
"Anything that gets you or my informant killed," I said.
There was silence on the other end. "Your informant is Caitlyn isn't it?"
I did not answer.
"I knew it," Jason said. "She is the only one who would have access to what you need, but Rourke, you need to be careful with her. She is not as innocent as she seems."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean she has her own agenda," Jason said. "And I do not think it is just about taking down Hayes. There is something else going on with her. Something she is not telling anyone."
"Like what?" I pressed.
"I do not know yet," Jason admitted. "But I have been watching her and there is something off about the way she acts, like she is playing a
role. Like she is hiding something big."
That matched what I had been sensing. Caitlyn was hiding something. But what?