Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (77 page)

“He was singing my name the moment they cuffed him, asking to talk to me before they book him. They brought him in and I sat down with him. Lo and behold, Terrence suddenly remembered that Little Man shot Lashon Hall, just like we thought. We have Little Man sitting in a cell and we’ll get him for this one, what with two witness statements and all. I promised to drop the accessory charge on Terrence in exchange for his testimony.”

“Well done, Fitz. Thank you.”

“It gets better. The homeless guy, God rest his soul, died on the way to the hospital. Central has the gun Terrence was carrying when they picked him up. If the ballistics match, we finally have Terrence dead to rights for murder.”

Taylor pumped her arm in the air. “Yes! Get both those thugs off the street in one fell swoop.” She got up and gave him a huge hug.

He hugged her back. “Ah, it was nothing. Anything for you, love. There’s one more thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“Your dad’s in the lobby.”

Sixty-Eight

Taylor rolled her eyes and sank back in her chair. “What the hell does he want?”

“I don’t know, honey, but you’d better get out there and find out so we can go arrest Gabriel Lucas.”

Taylor sat for a moment, trying to gather herself. Of all the times to come barging into her life. How dare he?

“Fine. Fine, I’ll go talk to him. But you’re coming with me.”

Fitz hesitated for a moment. “I think you’d—”

“I’m pulling rank. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the hallway. They walked the hallway down to the lobby door. Taking a deep breath, Taylor flung the door open and strode purposefully into the lobby.

She saw Win immediately, his back turned to her as he laughed it up with the desk clerk. Typical.

“Win,” she said quietly. He wheeled around and broke into a huge grin.

“Ah, my little girl! How are you, sweetheart?” He rushed to her and enveloped her in a hug. She stood stiffly with her arms at her sides until he got the hint.

“Still pissed at your old man, I see.”

“Win, what do you want? This isn’t the best time.”

“Well, I’ve been trying to reach you for days. Come on, sugar, cut an old man a break.” He noticed Fitz standing behind Taylor.

“Why, I’ll be damned. Pete Fitzgerald. You’re a sight for sore eyes.” He reached out to shake Fitz’s hand, but Taylor cut him off.

“Win, we’re really tied up at the moment. Just say what you came to say, and let us get back to work.”

“Jeez, Taylor, just trying to say hello to an old friend.”

Fitz rolled his eyes. “An old friend who put your sorry ass in jail. What do you want, Win?”

“Ah, Fitz, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. What’s it like working for my little girl?” The remark was meant to sting, but Fitz laughed instead.

Taylor was getting more frustrated by the minute. “Spit it out, Win. Now!”

He quickly became serious. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m engaged.”

Taylor felt like a rock had hit her in the chest. “What? To who? Does Mom know?”

Win was grinning like a jackal. “You remember Lori Westerson?”

Taylor felt her head spinning. “Lori Westerson that I graduated from Father Ryan with? Are you kidding me?”

“No honey, I’m not. We’ve been together for a while, now. She’s the most wonderful woman. I just wanted you to hear it from me, sweetheart. I know this is hard to hear, but I’m so happy, and I want you to be happy for me.” He reached out as if he was going to hug her again, but Taylor took a step back.

“I’m thrilled for you, Win. Now, I have to go back to work. Congratulations.” She turned on her heel and walked back to the lobby door.

“Taylor, wait. Please, honey, can we just get together for dinner and talk about this? Talk about anything? Please. I’m still your father.”

His pleading only made her heart tighten and her throat constrict. “Win, I can’t deal with this right now. Maybe later. I’ll call you.” She swiped her card and disappeared through the door.

Fitz watched her slam through the door. He turned back to Win, whose smile was gone. He looked a bit ashen, almost as if he were going to be sick. Fitz felt a moment of pity for the man. He quickly shoved it away. Taylor was like a daughter to him, and he knew the pain Win’s antics had caused her over the years. Taylor was a woman who dealt with the world in black and white, and Win Jackson got off exploiting all the shades of gray he could find. Fitz knew it tore her to pieces, having a father who was dishonest, a criminal.

“Listen, Win, I think you’d best leave now. We’re real busy, you know?”

Win hung his head. “Yeah, I know. Just tell her…tell her I love her. Will you do that for me?”

“Yeah. When the time’s right. See ya, Win.”

Taylor didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The absurdity of the whole situation, her father marrying one of her old classmates, was so sick it was almost funny. Lincoln and Marcus were eyeing her, but she assiduously avoided their looks. She saw Fitz come back into the squad room. She knew he wasn’t going to let her fall apart, or dwell, or worry. That’s what she loved about him.

He came over to her, put an arm around her and bellowed, “So, are we gonna arrest this guy or what?”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Damn straight.”

“So, let’s do this.” He yelled into Price’s office. “Captain, where we at?”

Price slammed the phone down and came out of his office. “Okay, I just called us in some backup. Here’s how this is going to go. Taylor, I want you and Fitz to take the Hillsboro address. Take Officer Wills and Officer Miller with you. The pharmacy and the school both list it as his address, so it may be the best shot for finding him, and they’ll have your backs.

“I want Baldwin at the Granny White address with Marcus. Lincoln and I will take West End. I’ll get four officers to back the rest of us up at the Granny White and West End addresses. Keep your radios on channel twenty. I don’t want the media picking up on this before we get there and putting ghetto birds in the air. Full suit and everything, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt. You hear me?”

He was talking to all of them, but he was looking directly at Taylor. She squirmed in her chair but nodded dutifully. She was glad Baldwin hadn’t heard the remark. It seemed like Price was saying, ‘Hey guys, be really careful. You’re heading out into a dangerous situation with two cops that have gotten four people shot between them, so be sure to watch your asses.’

She felt her chest tighten but shook it off.
Not now. Please not now
. She knew in her heart that Price didn’t mean a thing by his comment; it was a standard warning. But the self-recriminations were building up on her. She hadn’t gone into a situation knowing she would have to draw her weapon since that awful night that she had shot and killed David, and she had to admit to herself, she was a little scared.

She got up and went into the ladies’ room. She splashed cold water on her face and toweled it off. Her chest was still tight, but she was breathing easier. She had it under control. She looked in the mirror and was surprised at what she saw. There was no little girl with scared eyes staring back at her. The woman standing in the mirror was strong and her jaw was determined. The panic was gone, her breathing was calm, and she realized that she was back. Taylor was back. And she would have Baldwin in her life, no matter what happened. 

She gave herself a smile and looked at her watch. Six o’clock. It would be getting dark soon. The streets of Nashville would fill with people heading home to their other lives, students making their way to their favorite watering holes.

She walked back into the squad room, saying a small prayer under her breath. 
Please, God
,
let us find her. Let us find Jill alive and catch this guy
. She stopped herself short of promising to go to church on Sunday if they did. She knew enough not to make promises she wouldn’t keep.

Baldwin came bounding back into the office with a book in his hand.

“What do you have there?” Taylor wandered over to him and stood close, happy to have him back near her.

“King James Bible.”

“Are you going to start preaching to us now?”

“Naw, it’ll wait. I’ll tell you about it in the car. Are we ready to rock?”

“Actually, I’m heading to Hillsboro and you’re headed to Granny White with Marcus. Can you call me on the cell and tell me about it while we ride over?”

“No problem.”

Taylor looked at Price, who gave them a thumbs up, then addressed the entire squad.

“Keep in touch, and I mean really keep in touch. No heroics here today, kids. If you find the Gates girl, call everyone in to that location. If she’s alive, we can go from there. You find this Gabriel Lucas, and you get him whatever way you have to. Am I clear?”

Taylor was surprised, but tried not to show it. “We have clearance to use deadly force if necessary?”

“Yes. Now, let’s go. Lincoln, you ready?”

“Sure thing.” He gathered up his vest. “LT? Be good, girl!” He gave her a brief hug. There were back slaps and high fives. They all knew the case was going down tonight.

The excitement was building in her chest. She was getting pumped, ready to roll, ready to save Jill Gates. She just hoped Jill was at one of the three addresses.

“Okay guys, let’s go catch us a bad guy.”

They made their way into the parking lots. Patrol cars paraded like ants along Third Avenue. Taylor got in her car and rolled down the window as Fitz climbed into the passenger seat.

Baldwin leaned in her window for a brief moment. He looked her straight in the eyes. “Just so we’re clear? No worries, okay. I’m up for this.”

Taylor felt her body melt. “Baldwin, I wouldn’t let you go out if I didn’t think you were. Now get in that car with Marcus, watch his back, and call me on the cell. I want to hear your theory.”

She leaned out the window, kissed him full on the mouth, and heard cheers and honks from the cars around her. She just smiled, put the car in gear, shot them the bird out her window and peeled out of the lot. Man, it felt good to be back.

Sixty-Nine

Taylor was trying not to kill any of Nashville’s finest citizens as she drove toward Green Hills. She concentrated on the road, had her cell phone on speaker, listening to Baldwin explain why he’d rushed off in search of a Bible.

“It was something that jerk-off Royce at Vanderbilt said. Lucas told him he’d had a revelation. It got me thinking about the prayer breakfast Lucas had gone to, the one where Father Xavier spoke? I called over there and asked what the topic was. Get this. It was basically a modern day interpretation of the Apocalypse. All of the problems the world is having. The war on terror, the religious fanaticism driving suicide bombers…he was sermonizing that if we all came back into the church it would all end.”

“Yeah, like that’s going to happen. I know it sounds naive, but I’ve never been able to understand why we all can’t just get along.” She smiled at him through the darkness. “Really, I don’t get it. All religions have a God. Buddha, Krishna, Mohammad, Christ. Everyone is praying to something they think has control or worships a word that represents what they believe in. Can’t they see that everyone, regardless of what religion they call themselves, is looking for that spiritual meaning? Does it really have to be so complicated? We all want to think that something is out there giving us strength and guidance. Who cares what you call Him? Sorry, I don’t mean to get on my soapbox. It’s only all the things I see, everyday, could be wiped out entirely if we’d only accept people’s differences, instead of attacking them for it.”

“No problem, preach away. I’d love to discuss it further, because you make an excellent point. But let’s get back to the Apocalypse.”

“Yes, let’s. So the world is going to end in a fiery crash, huh?”

“Perhaps. This sounds crazy, this is what I think Lucas is up to. Shelby Kincaid. Jordan Blake. Mary Margaret de Rossi. Father Francis Xavier. Tammy Boxer, known as Mona Lisa. These are our victims, right?”

“Right. Don’t forget Jill.”

“I’m not, I just don’t think she’s dead. I think she’s holding the key to all of this.”

Taylor turned onto Hillsboro Road. “You better hurry it up, I’m going to be at the address in less than ten minutes.”

“Okay, let me back up. The Dean at Vandy said Lucas kept telling him that he’d had a ‘revelation.’”

“I’m not following you, Baldwin.”

“The Book of Revelation. It’s about the Apocalypse. Look at the aconite. All the victims were given aconite. We agreed that they were being sacrificed, right? He was giving them the aconite to purify them, to allow them passage into the next world in preparation for his apocalypse. Follow?”

Fitz’s cell phone rang, and she asked Baldwin to hold on a minute while he answered so she could hear the news. “Fitz here. Hey, Sam. Really? Okay, I’ll tell her. Yeah, we will.” He hung up the phone and picked up the police radio.

“What did she say?”

“That the DNA isn’t back, but they’ve matched the blood type from Lucas’ tissue sample to the semen from Shelby. It’s gotta be him, Taylor, it’s gotta be Lucas.”

As she relayed the information to Baldwin, Fitz called in on the radio. He squelched the button. “Gentlemen? We have a positive ID, repeat, positive match.”

Voices filtered back through the static, excited 10-4’s raiding the airways.

Taylor went back to her cell phone. “Okay, Baldwin, we’re still about five minutes out. I follow you so far. Finish your explanation.”

“Okay. The pregnancies are the key. He’s been date raping Shelby, tying to get her pregnant against her will. She threatens to go to the police. He doesn’t want to kill her, but he can’t be found out, so he gives her aconite and a symbolic burial, one full of love. He thought Jordan was pregnant with his child, but she tells him it’s not his and he kills her in a fit of rage. Jill is pregnant and he’s probably just trying to get her somewhere safe so nothing will happen to this child. He wants this baby, Taylor.”