Detective Partners (9 page)

"Your son," Nicole said.

Mrs. Seaton's eyes grew cold. "I have nothing to say." She started to close the door.

Galen's hand shot out and stopped the door from shutting. "It is important that we speak with you, ma'am. We can do it here or at the police station. The choice is yours."

Mrs. Seaton opened the door wider and moved aside. "Come in."

"Thank you," Galen said as he and Nicole stepped into the foyer. "We'll try not to take up too much of your time."

"Mrs. Seaton," Nicole said once they sat down in the living room. "We need to know where your son is."

"Why?" she asked, clasping her hands in her lap.

Galen glanced at her hands and saw they were white from strain and
were
shaking. It was clear she was nervous about something. Either she was nervous about having strangers in her home asking her questions, or she knew what her son had done and where he was hiding. Galen wasn't afraid to bet it was the latter. He looked at her face intently. "I think you know why, ma'am."

"He's wanted for the murder of Marsha Proctor and her unborn child," Nicole stated. "Early this morning, he shot her and-"

"My son did no such thing," Mrs. Seaton snapped. "Jeremy is a good boy. He could never hurt anyone."

"I've been informed otherwise. From what I understand your son was physically abusing Ms. Proctor." Galen watched as her lips thinned. "Did you know about the abuse?"

"I would hardly call a few bruises abuse," she said, adjusting her shawl.

Galen felt Nicole stiffen up. He turned his head and stared at her. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes were full of anger. "Relax," he breathed. "Mrs. Seaton." He gave the older woman his attention. "When a man puts his hands on a woman in anger
it's
abuse and it is never - never all right. Ms. Proctor could have slapped your son or called him a name and it would not have given him the right to hurt her. Nothing justifies abuse.
Now if you would please tell us where he is."

"I don't know where he is," she declared, averting her eyes.

"Lying to an officer is against the law," Nicole said coolly, her eyes flashing. "You would do well to remember that. By
with holding
information from us you are keeping us from doing our job. That is obstruction of justice and we can arrest you for that. I suggest-"

"I want you both to leave." Mrs. Seaton stood. "You've wasted enough of my time. I don't know anything and I refuse to be harassed another second."

"We will find your son," Galen vowed, "and he will be held accountable for his actions. We'll see ourselves out." He and Nicole got up from the couch, walked through the living room and into the foyer. Opening the door, he ushered her out onto the porch. He followed her, closing the door behind him. "If looks could kill, Goodwin, Mrs. Seaton would be dead right now. What's-"

"We should turn around, go back into the house, and arrest her," Nicole sneered.

Galen took her by the elbow and steered her toward the car. "We could, but it wouldn't do any good. She's determined to protect her son and nothing we do is going to get her to talk. Strauss said if she refuses to cooperate he'll tap her phone and put a round the clock surveillance on her. We'll get the information we need. It's just going to take a while." He opened the passenger side door for her. "Patience, Goodwin."

Nicole leaned her head back and gazed up at him. "Thank you," she uttered softly.

He arched an eyebrow.
"For what?"

"For what you said to her."
She lowered her head. "For telling her that nothing justifies abuse and that it's not all right."

Galen reached out and grasped her chin gently in his hand. He tilted her head back and looked into her eyes. Lurking in the depths of her beautiful blue eyes was an apprehension she wasn't even aware of. He quickly released her chin, ignoring how soft her skin was. "I won't tolerate
abuse of any kind. It makes me sick just thinking about it. If I could-" He broke off, taking a deep breath. "It's just wrong and I wish it never happened."

"So do
I
," she whispered.

The urge to know if
anyone
if her father had ever abused her coursed through him.
He opened his mouth and quickly shut it again. Now was not the right time for questions of that nature. Later he would ask her. "We should go."

"Yes, we should," Nicole croaked.

Reluctantly, Galen walked around to the driver
’
s side and got in.

Chapter  8

Galen rubbed his tired eyes and let out a weary sigh. He hated stakeouts. Spending hours sitting in a car with nothing to do but watch and wait was tedious. He turned his head and looked at Nicole. Her head was back against the headrest and her eyes were closed. His gaze roamed over her face and her body. There was no doubt about it. His new partner was easy on the eyes. Sighing once more, he returned his attention to Mrs. Seaton's house.

"What time is it?" Nicole asked groggily as she opened her eyes, a few minutes later.

Galen pressed a button on the side of his watch, lighting up the dial. "It's two-thirty."

"If you want to get some sleep go ahead." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'll keep watch now."

"The last time I slept in the car I woke up with a crick in my neck," he said. "It hurt like hell. I don't want to go through that again. Thank you, but there won't be any sleep for me." He shifted slightly. "I've gotten by without sleep plenty of times. I'll be fine."

"If you say so."
Nicole reached into the back seat for her jacket. With some careful maneuvering, she put it on.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"Just a little chilly," she told him.
"Nothing a jacket can't fix."

They lapsed into silence. Both were unsure of what to say next. Galen tried to think of something to talk about. He wanted to ask her questions about herself, but knew the minute he did she would throw up those damn walls of hers and then the silence would become uncomfortable. That was the last thing he wanted. He cleared his dry throat. Maybe it would be best if they didn't talk.

"How long were you and Kyle partners?" Nicole asked, breaking the silence.

"Seven years," Galen answered. "We both moved up to homicide at the same time and were placed together. I remember our first case. A single mother shot her two children. When the police officer arrived on the scene, he found the children dead in the living room and the mother sitting in the corner, rocking back and forth. She still had the gun in her hand. When she finally talked to us, she said the voices in her head told her to do it. We later learned she had multiple personality disorder and had stopped taking her medication."

"Those poor babies," she muttered sadly. "What happened to the mother?"

"She spent some time in a mental hospital," he said.
"Where she is now I don't know.
You told me that you knew Kyle for twenty-five years. How did you two meet?"

"It was in high school.
First day of freshman year.
I was leaving the library with an arm full of books." Her pale cheeks took on a rosy hue. "I have to admit I was a bit of a klutz back then. I bumped into him. Books went flying. Lucky for me, he caught me before I fell down."

"You're close to the ground, Goodwin," Galen said, his eyes lit with amusement. "If you had fallen I don't think you would've hurt yourself."

"Funny, Maxwell." She glared at him. "Anyway, he helped me pick up my books; we made small talk for a few minutes, and then went our separate ways. We met up again and became close after we ended up taking the same class."

"When you say close do you mean friends or boyfriend and girlfriend?" he inquired.

"We started out as friends," she replied, "but
some where
along the way things changed between us and we became more."

A pang of jealousy shot through Galen at the thought of his old partner with Nicole. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "When did you break up?"

"After graduation."
Nicole picked up the bottle of water from the console between the seats, removed the lid, and took a drink. "Breaking up was a mutual decision. With high school over, we would be going to different colleges in different states. A long distance relationship just wouldn't work. Besides, we wanted to concentrate on our careers. We stayed good friends though." She put the lid back on the bottle and returned it to the console. "The last time I saw him was a few days before his death. He came over to my house for dinner." She sighed. "If I had known it would be the last time I would be with him, I-" She broke off.

"You miss him, don't you?" Galen uttered quietly.

"Yes." She turned her head and gazed at him. "I know you miss him too, and I know you would rather have him here with you now instead of me."

He opened his mouth and quickly shut it again. There was no point in denying it. She had spoken the truth. If he could have his way, he would have Kyle sitting next to him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't apologize." Nicole smiled weakly. "You didn't hurt my feelings. I would be surprised if you didn't feel that way. Maybe someday-" She paused as a car drove past. The vehicle pulled up to the curb in front of the Seaton residence and a man got out. He hurried up the driveway.

"There are binoculars in the glove compartment," Galen told her. "Grab them for me."

"All right."
She opened the glove compartment and grabbed the binoculars. She passed them to him and then searched her pockets for her notepad and ink pen.

"Get ready," he said, pressing the binoculars to his eyes. "I want you to write down what I tell you."

"I'm ready," Nicole said, pen poised above paper.

Galen adjusted the focus on the binoculars, zooming in on the license plate.
"ADS."

"ADS," she repeated, writing it down.

"739L."

"739L," she murmured, adding it to the letters. She handed him the notepad.