Chapter Fifteen
Kate called Sean to ask if the team was at the house. The answer was yes and Sean was there too.
When Kate walked through the front door with Megan, Sean asked, “When are you going to get some real locks? The guy got past these using a credit card. You and Megan need to come to my house and stay until we catch this guy.”
Kate asked, “Don’t you think he knows where you live too.”
Their captain was with the crew investigating whether their perpetrator left anything of value behind. The captain faced Kate and asked, “What did you do to provoke this guy? I didn’t think he ever met you except for the trail at the park. What were you trying to do?”
Kate responded, “I sat outside of his house, a block away and watched the house. He was never home.”
The captain responded, “Apparently he was around and saw you there. He didn’t even complete his attack on you. You would have kicked his ass and everyone knows it. He didn’t have a clue who he was messing with.”
Kate looked straight at the captain and said, “I think he knew very well who he was messing with. His name is on the contact list of my murder victim. It wasn’t a random attack, it was planned, he knew very well who I was.”
The captain was momentarily stunned and had no reply.
Kate continued, “I came back to the station to interview dear Walter after I found his name on my victim’s contact list. I thought it was too much of a coincidence. But when I got there I found out some bleeding heart judge let him out on bail, and then guess what happens, the son of a bitch jumps bail and breaks into my house.”
The captain stammered and said, “I think your involvement in this case has gotten too personal.”
Kate replied, “Oh do you think? How personal is it if he was to break into YOUR house? I don’t know what this guy is capable of, but I am pretty sure he intended to take me out in the attack. Maybe I should have just let him attack me and then perhaps you would have found some evidence when you did my autopsy.”
Kate turned to Sean who was trying his best to stay out of the incident and said, “I am taking Megan somewhere safe, I will be back as soon as I can.”
Megan had been defiant until she saw the performance her mom just put on. She was quiet and cooperative when her mom led her to their car.
Megan asked, “Is it true that man singled you out to kill you?”
Kate answered, “It appears that way.”
Megan said, “I don’t understand why he wanted to kill you.”
Kate replied, “He knew I was investigating the homicide and his name was on my victim’s contact list. It is pretty clear he knew something about the homicide.”
Kate wasted no time going to Logan International airport, she didn’t even know if she could get on a plane. Kate was lucky, there weren't a lot of people trying to go to Nebraska, where her parents lived. Kate did manage to get a flight out. She checked in with airport security and showed her police identification. She was allowed to put her weapon in her luggage but not carry it on her.
Kate had called her parents before they boarded the plane and they were waiting for her and Megan when they arrived. She simply told them Megan wasn’t safe at home at the moment. Kate’s parents felt a little like they did when she was serving in Afghanistan. They knew Kate was tough and that kept them calmer than most would have been.
Kate’s mother said, “I have a room ready for you and Megan.”
Kate replied, “We just need one for Megan, I have to go back. I just needed to get her safe. I have purposely not talked much about my childhood in case something like this happened.”
Kate’s family had settled in O’Neil Nebraska in a predominantly Irish community. They were farmers and Kate grew up in the small farming town until she went off to serve in the military. When Kate checked with the airport she couldn’t get a flight back to Boston until the next morning. She told her mother she just needed a blanket and an empty couch.
Megan was polite to her grandparents even as she was still resistant to her mother. Nothing much was said the next morning while Megan’s grandmother worked on breakfast before Kate left to fly back.
Kate held Megan in a hug, although the hug given back from Megan had no power in it. It was empty and only meant for show. Kate was back in Boston that afternoon. She called Sean when she was on her way to the station. He told her that Walter was still missing. She wanted to get to work and solve this case.
Sean was waiting for her when she walked through the door. He said, “I had the lab guys compare the handwriting on the note left on your mirror and the ‘meet me’ note. It was inconclusive. They said the note on the mirror was such a different material you couldn’t compare the two.”
Kate was shocked and didn’t quite know what this meant. She knew her would-be attacker was on her victim’s contact list and she assumed he had planned her attack, but they didn’t know if he wrote the note. Perhaps the things Kate had discovered were not related at all. She may have to look for a new narrative.
Kate shook her head in disbelief and said, “I need a drink.”
Sean replied, “I am there with you. Hey that West on Centre place serves drinks and they are just a couple of blocks from here, we could even walk.”
Kate responded, “I’m driving, my luggage is still in the trunk.”
Sean put up no argument and climbed into the passenger seat and Kate drove the two blocks to one of the places they had on their list as being within visual range of where they found the body.
The hostess greeted them when they entered and Kate asked to be seated at the bar. The hostess told them to just go pick out a seat. Kate and Sean found an isolated spot away from any crowd of people. Sean knew they were about to have some heavy discussions about the case. He called his wife and told her they were following a lead and not to wait for dinner with him.
When he hung up, Kate said, “I think I can see some reasons why your marriage is a bit rocky.”
Sean responded, “She seems to be happier when I am away, now we will both be happier.”
Kate knew that Sean was often overly dramatic but she also knew what most policemen and women had to face with their families. Their jobs were demanding and not your usual eight to five. Kate knew that even though they were here at a bar drinking, they were going to be working.
After their drinks arrived, Sean started the list count down.
He said, “Okay, we got a victim strangled and left behind a hair salon.”
Sean continued, “She is from a wealthy family and husband has an iron clad alibi.”
Kate added, “In her personal effects at the gym there is a note that says meet me and a key to a safety deposit box we can’t get access to.”
Sean said, “We have a lead detective in the case that had an attempted attack by a man who is on the contact list of our victim.”
Kate said, “I don’t know where that takes us. Do any of those items have anything in common.”
Sean spoke up, “We haven’t really looked at the home of the victim, she has been murdered so we have some grounds to examine her personal effects. I think we could actually get a warrant for that.”
Getting a warrant was the first thing on their list for the next day. They suspected they would have better luck if they were sober when they applied for the warrant, even though the judge had been known to show up at some of their drinking establishments.
Sean asked, “Did you have any luck finding people on the contact list who owned an SUV?”
Kate replied, “Yes, actually there were several who owned an SUV. Strangely enough our perp, Walter Sims, does not own an SUV.”
Sean said, “So the only thing we have on Walter, is that he jumped bail and attempted an attack on you. What does Walter do for a living?”
Kate said, “The background we have on him is that he does something in the fashion world.”
Sean said, “Maybe we should ask the husband how his wife knows Walter Sims.”
Kate made a note to do just that. They ordered another round of drinks. Sean thought Kate was the toughest woman he had ever met. On top of being a great cop she was an amazing friend. They kept adding to their notes and ordering another round.
Kate asked, “Are you going to get into trouble coming home like this?”
Sean replied, “I can get away with it by simply not going home.”
Kate said, “Maybe I should go home before the double vision sets in. Can you make it home okay?”
Sean replied, “To be honest, I am pretty messed up.”
Kate said, “Your car is still at the station parking lot. Ride with me and sleep it off on my couch.”
Sean replied, “Okay, I really didn’t want you staying by yourself anyway while our perp is still loose.”
When they got to Kate’s house, Sean stood by waiting for Kate to unlock the door. Kate was far from sober herself and Sean took the key and said, “Let me try.” Sean was finally successful and they made it inside. Kate was thanking Sean for staying and protecting her and Sean was thanking Kate for being a good friend. Their faces were so close together and when Sean pulled Kate to his lips she kissed him back.
She felt his hands working on her buttons and the tingles she felt through her body were real, then she put her hand on his hand and held it away from her buttons.
Kate said, “Sean, we can’t do this, we both know that. It is wrong and when we get sober we will both regret it.”
Sean dropped his head down and said, “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
Kate handed him a blanket and said, “Get some sleep.”