COLLATERAL CASUALTIES (The Kate Huntington mystery series) (25 page)

            “Next stop, Chestertown then,” Rose said. “Lilly and I’ll bring up the rear and watch for tails.”

            Skip and Kate climbed into his truck. “Did the snail-mail version get dispatched okay?” he asked as they headed out of the parking lot.

            She pulled a latex glove from her pocket and waved it at him. “Yes, and never touched by human hands. Dropped it in the drive-by mailbox at the Towson post office.”

            Skip nodded.

            After a few minutes of silence, Kate snuck a peek at her husband. His eyes were on the road, his mouth set in a grim line. “How’re you doing?”

            “I’m okay.” His tight jaw said otherwise.

            Her own chest ached at the thought of Janice. She knew he had to be hurting too. But she let it go. He was focused on keeping them safe. Grief would have to wait.

            In the shopping center parking lot in Chestertown, they climbed out of their respective vehicles and gathered in a huddle. The bodyguards surrounded them, facing outward and scanning the parking lot for anyone who looked like they could be trouble. But the people coming and going from their cars to the stores were ignoring the strangers.

            “We need an internet connection,” Dolph said.

            “I’ll go find out where there’s wireless around here,” his wife volunteered.

            Both Skip and Rose nodded their approval. Sue Randolph was as nondescript as they come. Short brown hair, pleasant but not particularly pretty face, average height, slightly plump with middle-aged spread. No one was likely to remember talking to her five minutes after the conversation ended.

            “This place looks like it’ll have a lot of what we need,” Kate said, tilting her head toward the sign on the brick storefront that read, ironically,
Rose’s Discount Department Store
. She dug some cash out of her wallet. “There’s an Acme down there. Can somebody get us some groceries?”

            Rose gestured toward Lilly, who took the money from Kate.

            Sue walked briskly back in their direction. “Both the public library and a coffee shop downtown have wireless. I think people are ignoring us because they get a lot of tourists here on the weekends.”

            “The coffee shop. Tourists would be more likely to go there than the library,” Dolph said. “Did you get directions?”

            “Of course.”

            “I’ll ride over to the coffee shop with Manny,” Rose said. “Rob, shopping or coffee shop?”

            “Coffee shop.”

            They scattered, some returning to their vehicles, others heading for the stores.

            Inside the department store, Kate made a beeline for the cleaning supplies and paper products. This wasn’t a time for leisurely shopping. She figured the sooner they got done and got out to the shack, the safer they’d be.

            “Grab one of those big coolers from over there,” she said to Skip. “And get a couple shirts for Rob. He doesn’t have any spare clothes with him.”

            By the time Skip returned with a second cart, she had loaded towels, sheets and blankets into hers and was staring at a shelf piled high with boxes of air mattresses. The sign said $10. “How can they sell these so cheap?”

            Skip shrugged. “The sign did say
discount
department store.”

            They filled the rest of Skip’s cart with mattresses and an air pump. Kate gingerly turned her own top-heavy load toward the front of the store.

            “This is gonna stick out in the clerk’s mind,” Skip whispered as they neared the cash registers.

            That had already occurred to her. “Got it covered. If I ask you a question, just grunt.” She headed for the youngest cashier, who was snapping her gum and looking bored.

            Kate started dumping stuff onto the counter. “Just moved into a new place. Boy, what a mess. The previous tenants were total slobs.”

            “Where’s your new place?” the clerk asked the obligatory question in a flat voice, without looking at them.

            “Oh, I keep forgetting the address. Where is it, honey?”

            Skip grunted.

            “That’s right. It’s kinda small but it’ll be real cute by the time I get it fixed up. You all have such good prices here. I’m gonna bring the kids in to get some school clothes.”

            The clerk’s eyes were glazing over. “One hundred, sixty-nine, twelve,” she said in a bored voice.

            Kate handed over a fistful of twenties. “Once we get the place cleaned up, I’ll be back for some curtains and rugs.”

            “Ten, eighty-eight’s your change.” The clerk dumped the money into her hand.

            “Have a nice day,” Kate trilled as she pushed her cart full of bags toward the door. Skip followed with the second cart.

            “You too,” the clerk mumbled, already turning toward the next customer in line.

            As they neared the Expedition, Skip started to snicker. Then he burst out laughing.

            Kate grinned at him as relief washed through her. His sense of humor was returning. “Come on, you’re blowing it, sweetheart. People are going to remember the giant laughing his ass off in the parking lot.”

            “That was some performance, darlin’.” Skip was still chuckling as he unlocked the back of the truck. They started stuffing their purchases inside.

            Lilly arrived with a cart full of grocery bags. Kate helped her load them into the back of her pick-up while Skip called Rose.

            “She said to go on out,” he told Kate after disconnecting. “The wireless keeps crapping out on them, but they should be done soon.”

~~~~~~~

            It was almost an hour before Rose and Rob arrived at the shack. By then Kate had scrubbed all the floors, wiped down the cots and had found several hooks on the walls that had been buried in cobwebs. The groceries were stacked in the kitchen area, the perishables iced down in the cooler. The cots had been dragged out into the front room and Skip was blowing up the air beds.

            He came out of the backroom. “It’s wall-to-wall bed in there now.”

            “We finally got the damn e-mail sent,” Rose said. “Dolph went through several steps I didn’t quite understand but he swears it can’t be tracked back to his laptop by the Secret Service or hackers.”

            “Great,” Kate said. “Now grab some blankets and start making up beds.”

            “Never knew she could be this bossy,” Rose said to her partner, her tone teasing.

            “She’s on a roll. You should’ve seen her in the store. She was a speed-shoppin’ demon. Filled two carts to overflowing in less than fifteen minutes.”

            Rose frowned. “Clerk’s gonna remember that big an order.”

            “Nope.” Skip told the story of Kate’s Sally Mae Homemaker routine, with only a few small embellishments. They were all chuckling when the door opened.

            The smiles faded as each person saw Dolph’s face, gray and drawn. Sue stood beside him, biting her lower lip, tear tracks on her cheeks.

            Kate’s heart was in her throat, terrified that something had happened to the kids.

            “I brought my police band radio along. Turned it on while we were coming out here,” Dolph said. “There’s a BOLO out on you, son.”

            “Say what?” Skip said.

            “Wanted for questioning regarding a homicide. I didn’t put it together at first, with the call a few minutes before about a homicide in Towson. I called a buddy on the force. Your stolen gun. It was found next to the body.”

            Dolph swallowed hard. “ The boy’s dead, Skip. Jamal’s the homicide victim.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

            The room was silent. No one moved. Kate looked from Skip’s pale face to the distress on Dolph’s. She had no idea who Jamal was but this couldn’t be good.

            “No,” Skip whispered. Then he roared, “No!”

            He turned and slammed his hand against the partition between the rooms. The flimsy wallboard cracked. Before anyone could react, he had gone into the backroom. The whole building started shaking as he pounded on the walls.

            “What’s a BOLO?” Kate asked in a choked voice.

            “Be on the look out,” Rose answered. “Who’s Jamal?”

            “Kid who delivered the wine bottle to Janice,” Dolph said. “We talked to him this morning. Good kid. Hustling for odd jobs to make money for coll...” His voice broke.

            Sue wrapped her arms around her husband. Rob swore under his breath.

            “Everybody stay out here, please,” Kate said unnecessarily, heading for the backroom.

            Skip was curled up on the air mattress in the furthest corner facing the wall. The hand she could see was clenched in a fist, the knuckles raw and bleeding. Her heart ached for him.

            She gave up on walking the narrow paths between the mattresses and crawled over them instead. Wrapping herself around her husband’s back, she laid her cheek on his.

            She couldn’t think of a thing to say. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to push words past the tightness in her throat anyway. So she just held him.

            Eventually Skip sat up, cross-legged on the wobbly air mattress.

            “Come on out. Let your friends help,” she said softly.

            “I’ll be out in a minute.” His voice was gruff, just barely above a whisper.

            She kissed his cheek, then edged off the mattress and walked the narrow path to the open doorway.

            The others were scattered around the front room. Rose sat on one of the cots. Rob was at the table. The Randolphs were sitting on the other cot, Sue’s arm around Dolph’s shoulders. He was staring into space.

            Kate sank down on one of the chairs at the table. “You guys didn’t cause this,” she said to Dolph.

            He nodded. “I know. That kid was doomed the minute he wrapped his hand around that bottle.”

            “I’m having trouble believing Janice’s husband would do this,” Kate said. “I can see him trying to poison her, but kill an innocent kid? And he definitely wouldn’t have the nerve to break into our house and steal Skip’s gun.”

            Dolph rubbed his hand over his face. “Boy said the guy was white, with a tan. A little shorter than me, dark hair. Kinda old, which probably covers anyone over thirty-five.”

            “That describes Richard,” Kate said.

            Skip appeared in the doorway, clothing disheveled, hair sticking up. No one spoke as he moved across the room and sat in the remaining chair at the table.

            “Kid’s description would fit Delgado too,” Rose said. “He doesn’t match the Hispanic stereotype. Taller and not all that dark-skinned.”

            “Did we draw them to him, Dolph?” Skip’s voice was raw.

            “No, son. They were already hanging around Janice’s building, watching for the kid. We just gave them a bonus attraction when we showed up.”

            Skip didn’t say anything. He stared at the older man.

            “Skip, if the kid hadn’t run, we could’ve saved him. We didn’t kill him. Delgado’s boys did. They’re ruthless.”

            “They would view Jamal as a worthless peasant kid,” Rose spat out.

            “The BOLO?” Skip said, shaking his head. “The cops want to talk to me?”

            “Your stolen gun was found beside the kid. They’re assuming it’s the murder weapon.”

            “I’m a suspect? But I reported the gun stolen days ago.”

            “They got a witness says he saw you chasing Jamal down the alley,” Dolph said.

            “I should go in. Get it sorted out.”

            Rose was vigorously shaking her head as Dolph said, “You can’t be in a cell, son, even for a little while. Delgado will send somebody in to kill you.”

            Kate felt the blood drain from her face. She must have looked as close to fainting as she felt because the next thing she knew Rob was kneeling beside her chair.

            He gently pushed her head down into her lap. “Deep breaths, sweetheart.”

            “Great, just great.” Skip said. “Innocent people are getting killed all around me, and now I’m a fugitive from the law.”

            Kate raised her head. “You didn’t cause this. This all started with
my
client, remember?” She got up and moved around the table to his chair. He pulled her down onto his lap and buried his face in her hair.

            “None of us caused this,” Rose said quietly. “We’re just trying to deal with it.” She stood up abruptly, grabbed the bag of blankets and headed for the backroom.

            Kate laid her cheek against Skip’s chest. She could hear his heart beating erratically. Again she tried to think of something comforting to say, and failed.

            She caught movement in her peripheral vision and glanced up.

            Rose was dragging an air mattress on its side through the doorway into the front room. Dolph and Rob got up to help her.

            Kate felt tears pooling in her eyes. She knew what they were doing even before Rose tapped her on the shoulder and softly said, “Backroom’s all yours.”

            “Thank you,” Kate whispered, then stood to pull her husband to his feet and lead him to bed.

            Rose had tucked a blanket around the two remaining air mattresses in an attempt to create a full-sized bed. Skip stretched out on it and stared at the ceiling. Kate carefully lay down beside him, aware that a wrong move might cause the air mattresses to part company and dump them on the floor.

            She stroked her hand down his shirt front, then rested it on his stubbled cheek. He didn’t move.

            Gentle tugging on his shirt finally got a response. He turned on his side to face her and wrapped his arms around her. She slipped an arm under his to stroke his back, the way she would Edie’s or Billy’s at bedtime.