Chapter Eight #2
Beside her, Sam tensed, just as he did every time he thought of her being hurt.
“Yes,” she said. “That’s true, too. It started when a woman called my sister, claiming to have known her mother.”
Burroughs’s brows lifted. “Your sister’s mother. Not your mother, too?”
“No. We’re adopted. We both grew up in the system. My sister never knew her mother and was curious, so we visited the woman who called, only to find she’d been murdered very recently. Like, an hour before our arrival.”
“Which was when you were shot,” Burroughs said. “Get to the point, Detective McKittrick. Why are you here?”
“Because we don’t know who the woman is to my sister. My sister studied karate with Mr. Ito for many years, and they are very close. We came to make sure he knew what was going on.”
Neither detective looked convinced in the slightest. “You came all this way,” Burroughs said, “to update him.”
“And to see if he knew the victim. The woman’s daughters also studied karate in Mr. Ito’s dojo in San Diego.”
“And to ask who she was to your sister?” Desoto asked.
Kit nodded once. “I hoped he’d know. But when we got here, we found him beaten and unconscious.”
“He didn’t tell you anything?”
Tell her I’m sorry. But that was for Akiko’s ears. Until she knew what was going on, she was keeping that to herself.
She shook her head. “No.”
Desoto frowned. “And this other guy who showed up. This…” He checked his notes. “Riccardo Nicchi. Who’s he?”
“He said he was Mr. Ito’s son,” Baz said.
Burroughs’s brows went up again. “We got his photo from the DMV database. He does not look like Mr. Ito’s son.”
“Well, my sister Akiko doesn’t look like me, either,” Kit said, annoyed.
Sam cleared his throat. “He seemed very upset when he arrived. He behaved like a son seeing a parent injured.”
Kit calmed herself. She’d allowed the detective to get under her skin, something she rarely did. But this was personal. Navarro had a point, she supposed. She was grateful to Sam for redirecting Burroughs’s attention to himself, giving Kit a moment to breathe.
“Dr. Sam Reeves,” Desoto said. “You’re their shrink.”
Sam nodded. “I am. I don’t know if Mr. Nicchi is Mr. Ito’s legal son or if their relationship is more informal, but his reaction seemed genuine.”
Burroughs turned back to Kit. “You didn’t know Ito had a son?”
“No, I didn’t,” she answered truthfully. “I’ve only known Mr. Ito through my sister. My exposure to him has been limited to the times I’ve visited the dojo, like when she got a belt promotion. I wasn’t aware that Mr. Ito had children. But I have no reason to doubt Mr. Nicchi’s word.”
No reason other than that the man had blatantly lied about knowing Akiko, but again, she kept that to herself. There were too many things she didn’t know.
“Did you see anyone leaving the building as you came in?” Desoto asked.
All three of them shook their heads.
“And the camera was broken when we arrived,” Baz added, pointing up at the busted device.
“So is the camera at the front door,” Desoto said. “Good thing the camera in the building across the street was functional.”
Kit’s gaze abruptly lifted to meet Desoto’s. “Did you see who did this?”
“We got an image, yeah.” Desoto regarded her for a long moment. “Who would you guess did this, if you had to guess?”
Kit felt like they were dancing around each other.
“From what I’ve been told about the case, the main suspect is a man wearing a hoodie.
Approximately five-seven and maybe a hundred thirty pounds.
He was seen leaving the murder victim’s house on Saturday.
Whether he was seen yesterday when I was shot at again would need to be verified with SDPD.
” Because she wasn’t supposed to know that.
Keeping her story straight was becoming exhausting. I could never be a criminal. Too many secrets to juggle.
Desoto studied her for a long moment and Kit fought not to squirm.
“Are you investigating the murder?” he asked directly.
“I’m not allowed to be,” Kit said simply.
Burroughs rolled his eyes. “That’s not an answer, Detective.”
“It’s the best one I can give you. If I told you that I didn’t want to catch Mary Sherman’s killer, I’d be lying. But I’m also here on behalf of my sister. She needs to know who the victim was to her. If you didn’t grow up in foster care, never knowing your parents, you wouldn’t understand.”
“That’s fair,” Desoto murmured. “We have to report your presence to your lieutenant.”
“I know.” Kit knew procedure. “Can you tell me if SDPD’s suspect was seen leaving this building?”
Burroughs and Desoto shared a long glance. Burroughs shrugged.
Desoto nodded. “Surveillance video shows an individual who matches your description leaving the premises.”
“Okay. I don’t know why he came here,” she said honestly. “I don’t know what Mr. Ito has to do with any of this, other than being a sensei to my sister and the victim’s daughters. That’s the truth.”
“You staying in LA?” Burroughs asked.
“We’d planned to wait at the hospital,” Sam said. “Detective McKittrick has called her sister to inform her of Mr. Ito’s injuries. She’s on her way from San Diego.”
Kit had actually told her father. She wasn’t sure she could talk to Akiko at the moment. Her sister would want answers that Kit couldn’t provide—yet.
“Are we free to go?” she asked, keeping her tone respectful.
Burroughs jerked a nod. “Let us know when you head back home, okay?”
“Of course.” Kit took a final look at Ito’s broken door, at the mess left behind by whoever had tossed his condo. “Someone was searching for something. They also searched Mary Sherman’s house, but tried to hide that they had. If you find what they were looking for, can you let SDPD know?”
“Of course, Detective,” Desoto said. “Give us your number so we can call with questions.”
Kit gave him her card. “We’ll be at the hospital.”
Los Angeles, California
Monday, January 30, 10:40 p.m.
“Kitty-Cat?”
Kit jerked awake at the sound of her father’s voice. He and Akiko had finally arrived at the hospital waiting room. Akiko was pale and trembling. Harlan had his arm around her, holding her up.
Kit struggled to her feet, sucking in a breath when a pain shot up her arm. She kept forgetting not to put weight on the damn thing. She kept it quiet, though, trying not to wake Sam. Baz was nowhere to be seen.
Neither was Nicchi, which was a good bit more concerning. He’d apparently left the hospital three hours before, after giving the intake nurse Ito’s insurance information. He’d been gone by the time they’d arrived.
“Baz went to get coffee,” Harlan said. “He’s been watching over you so that you could sleep. Said now that I was here, he was getting a caffeine fix.”
Kit had to smile at that. “Not a surprise.” Then she opened her arms to Akiko, who fell into her embrace, holding Kit so close that she had trouble breathing.
But she could breathe later. Akiko needed her now.
“He was still in surgery before I fell asleep,” Kit murmured. “That was a half hour ago. But there’s no next of kin here right now, so we may not be able to get information.”
“I’m an emergency contact,” Akiko said.
Kit reared back and stared. “You are?”
Akiko nodded. “I have been for years.”
“Why?” Kit asked, trying not to sound unkind. She knew they were close, but she hadn’t realized they were that close.
“Hanshi’s been my sensei for most of my life, Kit. He was my father figure before Pop came along. Hanshi still considers me to be a daughter. I was there for him when he got sick a long time ago. He gave me medical power of attorney. I scanned a copy of the document and I have it on my phone.”
Kit glanced at her father over Akiko’s shoulder. He seemed as surprised as Kit was.
“When did he sign the paper?” Kit asked, wondering if she knew that Nicchi also had power of attorney.
“When I turned twenty-one. You have some explaining to do, Kit. How did Hanshi get hurt? Did he fall? And why are you, Sam, and Baz here? How does this connect to the case?”
Because all Kit had told Harlan was that Ito was severely injured and that Akiko needed to come to LA immediately. Akiko had called her, begging for more information, but Kit had stood firm. They’d discuss it in person.
Mainly because Kit had hoped to have gotten answers from Nicchi but the bastard had probably skipped town. Now Kit had to tell the story without his answers.
Either way, Akiko was going to be devastated. And confused.
“I know you need answers. I’ll tell you what I know, but can we wait until Baz comes back with coffee?” Because every minute she could delay was a minute that Nicchi might come back.
Akiko frowned but nodded. “Okay. Pop, are you okay?”
Because Harlan was looking around the room as if expecting an attack.
He might not be wrong, Kit thought grimly.
Harlan kissed the top of Akiko’s head. “I’m fine. Just…twitchy. This feels wrong.”
Because it is. Kit couldn’t dispute her father’s words, so she sat next to Sam, gently jostling his shoulder. “Sam?”
He woke with a jerk and a gasp, looking around much like Harlan had.
This couldn’t go on. Her family was afraid.
“Pop, who’s staying with Mom and the girls?” she asked. Not that she knew if they were in immediate danger. But she didn’t not know that, either.
“Anson,” Harlan said. “He said he could stay overnight. When we leave here, we can crash at his house. I have a key. It’s only about forty-five minutes away.”
“I remember. I haven’t been to Anson’s house in years. Does he still have that mean cat?” she added lightly, hoping to get Akiko to smile.
“That cat isn’t mean,” Akiko said. “She’s sensitive.”
“She’s mean,” Kit told Sam. “Hisses at everyone.”
“She hisses at Kit and only Kit,” Akiko said then exhaled. “I need to show my power of attorney form to the nurse. I’ll be back.”
“Not alone,” Kit said, moving too quickly, which sent another jolt of pain through her arm. “Dammit.”