Chapter 13 #2
“What did he actually do?” Martinelli shrugged. “His lawyer, if he’s good, is going to argue that twice you saw him talking to somebody, and that you were the one who attacked him, not the other way around.”
Luca lifted his hands. “Maybe don’t arrest me.”
Martinelli said, “Maybe don’t tackle anyone else before they commit a crime.”
Luca shot him a look.
“As entertaining as this comedy routine is, I need to get back to the lab so the techs can look at this phone.” Ethan shook the evidence bag in front of him. “If anything happens, give me a holler.” He walked away.
Luca turned to Martinelli. “Did you really have to say that?”
Mike snorted. “What are you going to do now? Hammer is watching out for Francisco.”
“I’m feeling the need to tear apart Dr. Torres’s life and find out what he’s hiding.”
“Hang on one second, Jordan.” Kira pulled her car into Destiny’s neighborhood just two days after the gala—the night Destiny’s husband had died—and was waved through by the guard in the small structure at the entrance. “Okay, you’re good.”
She hadn’t wanted Jordan to say anything potentially sensitive or for their relationship to be exposed, even if it was only in front of the neighborhood security guard.
Jordan’s voice came through the car speakers. “So Luca just ditched you?”
“He had to take a business call.” She slowed her speed to match the neighborhood restrictions. “And I got the chance to speak with some of the hospital’s biggest donors. I didn’t have a problem with it.”
“Hmm.” Apparently Jordan didn’t agree. “But he came back to tell you that he’d detained someone and found out there was going to be a hit at the hospital?”
“I missed all the fun.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing. I thought you enjoyed your quiet life,” Jordan said. “That was the point of you moving back to Renegade. So you could get some peace and perspective.”
Kira looked at the giant houses, set back from the street behind expansive front lawns.
Talk about perspective. All of the landscaping was mature and perfectly manicured by someone the homeowner paid to take care of it.
Staring out at someone else’s hard work wasn’t the kind of perspective she was interested in—or what Jordan was talking about.
Did she miss the excitement of her former extracurricular activities?
She’d never been officially employed as a covert agent. Just a contractor on top of her duties as a doctor.
“I don’t miss it. I like my life here.” It even sounded like she believed it this time.
“And it wasn’t the patient that someone tried to kill, it was another guy who died?” Jordan knew the name of the man the Marshals were protecting. But for the sake of security, it was better not to mention his name over the phone.
“Apparently the hit was for Ralph Rousseau. How that connects back to his and Destiny’s son, I have no idea, and we wouldn’t have known they were connected if Luca hadn’t seen them talking.
Maybe Luca and Detective Martinelli figured it out.
It could be that this Roger guy knew nothing about it, considering all he did was talk to the man.
It was only after the guy went outside that Luca heard him talking about it on the phone. ”
She turned the corner onto Destiny’s street and saw that cars lined both sides of the road.
“If he’s behind it, that’s a pretty spectacular alibi.”
Kira said, “I was as surprised as anyone that Ralph was the target. We really thought the patient was in danger.”
“Could be he was killed as a test, all so they could ascertain what kind of security surrounds the patient.”
“You really think they killed a guy across the other side of the hospital just to find out our response time?”
Jordan said, “It’s possible.”
“Only because we don’t have enough information. At this point, anything is possible.”
“Maybe you can find out at this memorial service you’re going to,” Jordan said. “Why is Destiny having it so quickly after her husband died? His body isn’t even cold yet.”
“Actually, she already had him cremated, so temperature isn’t really a factor.”
“Are you serious? Who gets that done so fast?”
The first open parking space Kira found was way down the street from the house. “Maybe she was following his wishes. Or she just wanted to do it quickly so it didn’t drag out.”
“Seems suspicious to me, that’s all I’m saying.”
“People don’t always do things that make sense when they’re grieving.”
“I suppose.”
Kira said, “Hang on a second. I’m going to turn off my car, so the phone will disconnect from Bluetooth.
” She shut it off and lifted her phone to her ear, gathering up her purse and climbing out of the car.
Her body clock was so far off, she wouldn’t have been able to say what the time was without looking at a clock. The dreary cloud cover wasn’t helping.
Kira had taken a nap this afternoon that lasted a few hours, and woke up confused about where she was—or who she was—until it came rushing back. She figured she’d slept hard and rested well.
“I’m sure Destiny is just trying to get things done so she doesn’t have to worry about any of it.” Kira closed the car door. “Then she can take some time and grieve in private.”
It’s what Kira would do. But she didn’t have anyone in her life except for Jordan that she felt that deeply about. Sure, she had hoped that by now she would be married and have kids. But life never seemed to work out the way she planned.
Meeting Luca again after all this time had sparked something in her. It had made her realize that he might be the person she needed. The one God had brought here for her—a blessing she was grateful for and hadn’t been expecting.
Jordan said, “How is the patient?”
“The doctor conducted the procedure this morning, and he’s been stable since then.
All of his levels are coming up to normal.
” Kira stepped onto the sidewalk and headed toward Destiny’s house, feeling awkward in this black dress she rarely wore.
“It’s really a remarkable thing he’s come up with.
If everything works out, it will open up plenty of research into all kinds of lifesaving measures for the disorder we’re dealing with. ”
“I’ve been looking into him and his background a little more,” Jordan said.
“This Dr. Torres has a few thriving businesses in Renegade. On top of his research, he seems to have his fingers in a lot of pies.” Jordan was quiet for a moment, then said, “Nothing has happened that makes you believe he’s part of this shadow syndicate, right? ”
“I think he knows more than he’s saying.” Kira spotted a couple on the side of the house, as if the party had spilled from the yard all the way to the front. “But it’s going to take time to get him to trust me with all of that, whether he is part of it or just knows who is.”
“Are you going to keep pushing it?”
“We won’t be with the patient at the same time. Not for the most part,” Kira said. “And if we are, the patient is going to overhear everything we say.”
“Once the job is done, maybe you could keep things going with Torres. Build up a professional relationship.”
“If I can find out anything, it will probably help Luca’s investigation.”
Jordan said, “Just as long as it doesn’t put you in any danger, it might at least scratch the itch you still have to do some of that work.”
Her friend sounded frustrated, probably because of the lack of information she’d found on the syndicate.
Plus, she probably had real CIA work to do.
There was no way for Jordan to discern if Torres was connected to the Shadow Syndicate on paper, even if she could connect the doctor to Rousseau’s legitimate businesses.
Things would be too clean. This was something that needed to be discovered in person.
Kira said, “How do you know that I miss it?”
“Why else would you be hanging out with Luca Saxon? He isn’t your type.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.”
“Oh, come on. A guy like that? You’d never be able to keep your secrets from him.”
At a certain point, she’d always assumed that there would be no secrets between her and whoever she ended up in a long-term relationship with. “He could be the guy I don’t keep any secrets from.”
“Not a good idea,” Jordan said. “There aren’t many people who would actually understand your history. All of it. Probably better to keep your business private, like I do.”
Kira needed to think about that. “I should go. I’m outside the front door.”
“I know. I can see you on my screen,” Jordan said. “Be careful. Do what you need to do to keep yourself safe.”
Jordan hung up. Kira stowed the phone in her purse and stepped inside, trying to wrestle with the idea of not being honest with Luca.
That probably wasn’t what Jordan meant. She was just looking out for Kira and not wanting any guy to toss her aside after she told him the truth about her family or the things that’d happened before she quit.
But what bearing did her father’s criminal activity have on her?
Kira didn’t want to deceive Luca. Which was the one thing that actually told her how serious her feelings were. Otherwise, she would have no problem withholding the truth from a guy.
Luca was the one who deserved her honesty.
He was a good man who did the right thing and worked tirelessly to make Renegade a better place to live for the people he loved.
If she told him the truth and he ended things between them, then he wasn’t the man she thought she knew.
And the fact that she’d been burned by her expectations before when it came to that man was another thing that told her how serious her feelings were.
She wasn’t putting him on a pedestal, this warrior hero.
She was choosing instead to have a more take-it-or-leave-it approach.
Did she want to open up and spill all of her secrets? No, she would rather hide from the fear of being rejected and say nothing. But that didn’t seem like the thing the Lord wanted her to do.
Perfect love casts out fear.
Barbara quoted that verse all the time, and she was right to keep it at the front of her mind.
Kira needed more of God’s love in her heart to banish the fear.
She needed to give and receive that kind of love every day to keep it at bay.
All so she didn’t get swallowed up by the things trying to press in on her all the time.
As the door eased shut behind her, Destiny appeared in the entryway. Kira had been here before a few times and was always in awe of the massive chandelier that hung down over the two-story entryway.
The stairs swept up in an arc, starting from the left side and rising over to the right at the top of the stairs, where a wall of bookshelves stared down. Inviting her to go up and peruse the titles on the shelves.
“Destiny.” Kira opened her arms. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
The other woman swallowed back a sob. “It’s all been so very difficult.”
They embraced and Destiny stepped back. Despite the circumstances, her makeup remained perfect.
Whatever products she bought had to be waterproof—and she reapplied frequently.
There was no way Kira would be this put-together if her husband had just died.
But she would likely have the same red eyes of a grieving widow.
Kira needed to stop trying to look for reasons to distrust this woman when God had put them in each other’s lives as acquaintances they could rely on. There was no reason to believe anything underhanded had happened, especially not originating from Destiny.
Kira had taken a look at the medical chart and spoken with the doctor in charge of Ralph Rousseau’s care.
She had no reason to believe that this was a hit or murder.
All the information in the chart indicated that Ralph had simply taken a turn for the worse after he was administered medication, and the weak state of his body meant that he hadn’t been able to recover from it. He’d simply had no fight left.
If there had been poison or the dosage had been too high, the coroner should be able to discern as much from an autopsy. But the results of that could take days or even weeks, and there would need to be an investigation within the hospital.
“Whatever you need,” Kira said. “I’m here for you.”
“Thank you so much,” Destiny said. “There is something. Could you check for Roger in his room? He’s supposed to be down here helping me with the guests and everything, but he seems to have disappeared.”
“Of course.” She squeezed Destiny’s arm.
“His room is the second door on the left. I’ll be on the patio with the rest of the guests.”
Kira nodded and headed for the stairs, where her shoes made no sound on the carpet. At the top, she could see all the way down the upstairs hall, doors on either side and a set of double doors at the end that likely led to the main bedroom.
She approached the second door and heard muffled voices.
Kira knocked. “Roger, are you in there? Your mother sent me to check that you’re all right.” She eased the door open, her senses on alert. Not just from everything that had happened recently but also because of her own experiences.
Someone grabbed the door from her grip and pulled it all the way open, but didn’t grab her. She wobbled on her heels.
Luca stood there holding the door. Roger sat beyond him in a chair, his face red and the beginning of a bruise on his cheekbone. Luca had clearly been questioning him, and Roger didn’t want to answer.
On the day of his father’s memorial? Talk about insensitive. This wasn’t the time or the place to question a man’s involvement in the incident that killed his father.
She looked at Luca. “What are you doing?”