22. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Evan
W atching Calista walk out the door, it feels like my heart is going with her. Hopefully, I can make this right because I’d never ask her to pick her best friend over me. At the same time, I’m not ready to walk away from my job either. But I have always believed in doing what is right, and unless they uncovered something big they are keeping from me, it’s not right to list Kaylee as a suspect.
“What the fuck is going on?” Cody asks as he helps me get back to the couch, not that I need his help.
“Let me call Rick first, then we can talk,” I say, pulling out my phone.
“I was waiting for your call,” Rick answers.
“What the fuck is going on?” I echo Cody's question. “You really think Kaylee is a suspect?”
Cody’s head snaps up at that and looks at me. I can see on the questions on his face, but he keeps quiet.
“Listen, I don’t know what to think. My gut says no, but Calvin flipped on her. He told us where in her house to find the drugs, and when we looked, they were there. Also, he says she knew and was even getting a cut of the money,” Rick says.
“Did you subpoena her bank account?” I ask.
“Yes, no unexplained deposits. She still owes on her car, credit cards, plus she has a student loan. Normally, that’s the stuff that gets paid off when they get money. It’s doesn’t add up, and we didn’t find any extra cash at her place either,” Rick says.
“You don’t think Calvin planted that stuff for exactly this moment?” I ask.
“I don’t think he’s smart enough, but I think whoever he is working for told him to do it and they had this plan in place before he was ever caught,” Rick says.
“We just can’t prove it,” I sigh. “Why didn’t the drug-sniffing dogs find the drugs when they were in the house?”
“They were placed in a frozen TV dinner box at the back of the freezer with meat stacked on top of it.”
“He had drugs stored in the freezer?”
“Yeah, that’s a new one for me, too. They brought her in for questioning and she wouldn’t answer anything. Didn’t ask for a lawyer, but just kept saying she knows better than to answer that question,” he says, making me smile.
She is smart, and that right there might have saved her ass.
“Listen, there are a lot of coincidences in this case. They conveniently broke up days before the raid, and all this happened while she was at work. But that day, she was at home. Then you’re wounded, and her story of not feeling good is forgotten as she was at Calista’s side all day,” he says.
“Well, she is meeting with Jack now. He’s going to call you for the details and also going to ream your asses for keeping her out of the house this long. This isn’t a murder case. Anything past two days is excessive, and that could botch this whole thing. With how long you’ve kept from her house, and then drugs show up, can you prove they weren’t planted?” I say.
“Fuck, whose side are you on?” Rick grumbles. “Most everyone headed to the hospital when you were shot, and we have been buried under paperwork and petty crime call-ins, and we are down. Another guy’s mom died across the country and is on leave.”
“I don’t know what is going on there, but the department is fucking this one up and is about to look really bad. Get your shit together and stop letting those young bucks walk all over you,” I say, hanging up.
Leaning my head back on the couch, I close my eyes.
“Calvin is trying to say Kaylee knew about the drugs and was even getting a cut of the money. They are still holding her place as a crime scene, which is not normal under the circumstances. Then, conveniently they found drugs where Calvin said they would be. But on the days this happened, we had dogs in there to clear it, so it’s not adding up. I don’t have a good feeling. I’m on leave, but still being kept in the loop on the case. Honestly, something is off, I can feel it in my gut.”
I won’t admit it out loud, but I wonder if someone at the station is involved with Calvin. Though I have no way to prove it right now. Nor will I throw any of my guys under the bus without a load of proof. Yet my gut is screaming and I’ve always trusted it.
The argument I heard before we burst in was full of pain and anger, not the kind someone can fake. Plus, let’s be honest. I’ve seen Kaylee's acting skills, and she is horrible and stiff. You can tell she is reciting lines. My gut says she is innocent. Her best friend was in a panic mode because of me, so of course, she pushed through not feeling good.
“When you brought in Kaylee after I was shot, how was she feeling?” I ask Cody.
He stops to think before he answers.
“She was pale, and wanted nothing to eat. She stayed in the waiting room with us and fell asleep with her head on Calista’s lap at one point while we waited to hear about you. When she woke up, her color was back and she ate a bit. Whatever it was, she needs to sleep it off,” he says.
“Was there anyone from the station there?” I ask.
“No, they had asked Calista to update them. Rick showed up right before we were able to see you, but Kaylee was awake by then. Why?”
“I’m just trying to think of everything they are using against her. Would you testify to that if needed?” I ask.
“For Kaylee? Hell yeah, I would. How bad is this?” Cody asks.
I don’t miss how protective he is of Kaylee and I wonder if it’s because she is his sister’s best friend or if it’s more.
“I shouldn’t say anything, but something isn’t adding up, and I think Kaylee is being set up to take the fall.”
Cody's face fills with anger, but I keep talking before he can go off.
“Calista was heading to take her to Jack with instructions to call Rick. If anyone can get to the bottom of this, it’s Jack. She is in good hands, especially since I can only do so much without getting in trouble at work,” I sigh.
“Spill it,” Cody says, knowing me well enough to know there was more behind that sigh.
“Skye has been having nightmares about me getting hurt. It was always there, the risk with my job. But now, I’m facing it head-on and need to make a decision. I don’t want her scared every time I go to work. I love my job, but I’m not sure that I want to continue making my daughter worry that I’m not coming home. There’s also the fact, I don’t want to put my life on the line again. We are too short-staffed to try to get a desk-only job, so that leaves me with a choice that has been running through my head since I’ve been home,” I tell him honestly.
“Well, you have time to work it out because you won’t be back on the streets anytime soon. Don’t make a rushed decision, and you know we will support you whatever you decide,” he says.
I believe him. The problem is I have more than just Skye to consider now. I want to take Calista into account, but I can’t tell him that. There is this part of my life I can’t talk to my best friend about just yet, and it’s killing me.
“So, distract me. What is going on at the distillery?”