Raven: A political thriller (8 page)

Chapter 13

The day didn’t end soon enough for Don and Fred. Wanting to go out for
a drink didn’t sit well with him either. Don had wished he took that stance
last night and then maybe he would not feel like crap this evening. But he held
his ground, and once the clock hit six o’clock he was history.

Don sat at the kitchen table with a plate of food in front of him. He
moved the pieces of meat with his fork but didn’t have the stomach to eat.
Maggie was going out to her bridge club so she was not eating that night. She
was busy at the sink starting to clean up the dishes so she could leave soon.

Don held up a fork but it was not to eat the morsel of meat. He teased
Bear, who was sitting on his hind legs begging Don for the piece of meat.

Maggie, hearing Don coaxing the dog, turned to the two quickly. All
she did was point an accusing finger at Don as she stared at him for the
longest time.

“Don’t you dare give him food from your plate,” she snapped.

Don took the piece of pork chop off his fork and tossed it to Bear and
then smiled up at Maggie.

“He’s hungry.”

“He’d eat his dog food if he couldn’t count on you giving him table
scraps.”

“I’m not really hungry anyway,” Don said.

Maggie walked up to Don and tapped him lightly on the back of his
head. Don winced in pain. He had all but forgotten the injury he sustained
earlier in the day.

“That didn’t hurt,” Maggie mocked.

“It’s not that. I got hit in the head earlier today,” he said.

Maggie suddenly showed concern. She ran her hand across the back of
Don’s head and felt the goose egg that was there. Then she quickly got closer
and examined the wound.

“Oh my God, you’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Did you have it checked out?”

Don pushed her hand aside. “It wasn’t that bad.”

Maggie didn’t want to argue with him just then. She walked back to the
sink, shaking her head. “I don’t even know why I bother,” she snapped. “You
don’t talk to me, half the time you don’t eat the food I cook, and you wonder
why Jackie kicked you out?”

“It’s not your food, Ma. And leave Jackie out of it.”

“I’m just saying,” Maggie said and then Don cut her off.

“It’s this case I’m on. Nothing is adding up, and it’s only getting
worse with the body count growing.”

“Your father always managed to keep the work at the station house.”

“He had a desk job the last five years on the force.”

Don thought about his father. He may have had a desk job the last five
years, but he was still killed in the line of duty when a drugged up gang
banger got a 'hold of an officer’s gun at the station house and opened fire,
killing Don’s father point blank.

Don slowly got up and took his plate to the sink. He put his arm
around Maggie and then took the bone off the plate.

Maggie turned to him with a look that told him she was serious. “Don’t
you dare give him that bone. I don’t want grease all over the carpeting.”

Don stopped what he was about to do and then tossed the bone in the
wastebasket under the sink.

“I love you, you know that,” Don said turning to her.

“Maybe if you talked.”

“Nothing to talk about.”

“When your father was on the streets he always shared his cases with
me. You’d be surprised how much insight I can add.”

Don looked at Maggie and laughed. He remembered those years when his
father was alive. Don would sit upstairs near the register and listen to them
talk downstairs in their bedroom. He missed those times. And, most of all, he
missed his father. Even though he wasn’t home much during Don’s growing-up
years, when he was home he was the best father a boy could have. Family was
important to him, but his time with the family was limited because of his job
and all the crime in a big city.

* * *

Maggie sat on the couch with Bear’s head snuggled onto her lap. She
stroked his bristly hair as the dog seemingly moaned in pleasure. Don just
shrugged and laughed to himself, thinking he should have gotten Maggie a dog a
long time ago. He took out his notes on the case so far and then looked over at
Maggie.

Rather than her reading them, he interpreted them from what happened
last night when they viewed the Mustang to going to Raven’s house to all the
interviews today. Specifically, the interview with the VanBurens. When all was
said and done, Don finally turned to Maggie.

“So, what are your thoughts so far? he asked.

“And what you’re saying is, you don’t think her parents are showing
enough remorse over her death?” Maggie looked up at Don as she stopped petting
Bear and then looked puzzled for a moment.

“You put it that way, I feel like a real heel for thinking it.”

“From what you said about the mother’s phone messages, you’d expect
she would be hysterical over her death, unless...” Maggie stopped talking and
just thought for a moment.

“You’re not thinking what I’m thinking.” A bit of excitement entered
Don’s voice.

Maggie just smiled. “I’m a mother. We have this sense when things
aren’t right.”

Don remembered his youth. He always had a hard time hiding the truth
from his mother. Whenever he got into trouble, she seemed to have a sixth sense
about it and knew in advance. Don attributed it to everyone in the neighborhood
having their sights on him. They kept him on the straight and narrow because no
sooner than he would get home after one of his little escapades, his mother was
hauling him out on the carpet and reading him the riot act.

“I thought the neighbors had a lot to do with that.”

“Never you mind how I was always on top of things. The fact remained,
I could always tell when things weren’t right, when you were in trouble.”

“You ever going to fess up on who always squealed on me?” Don asked.

Maggie motioned for him to be silent a moment and then she shoved Bear
off her lap and stood up and started pacing the floor. She finally stopped and
turned to Don.

“This is a mother talking—who knows nothing, mind you,” she said as
she pointed at Don as a warning not to make a comeback remark.

“If something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be presentable for
weeks, let alone talk to the police without breaking down the day after your
death. Look how I was when your dad died.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. You had me worried for weeks.”

“What does Fred think about all of this?”

“He thinks I’m crazy.”

“Can you talk to her parents, get them to trust you?”

“No. They trust their daughter. Whoever shot Senator Maxfield means
business.”

Don glanced at his mother. It was late, and he was looking forward to
retiring early for the night, but for some reason he knew sleep would elude him
until he was able to put this to rest. He turned to Maggie with a look of
determination.

“Don’t wait up for me. I’m going to stake out her place.”

“What if Fred calls?”

“Tell him I went to Jackie’s. That should keep him off my back for a
while?”

“And what if Jackie calls?”

“Trust me, that’s the last person who’ll be looking for me tonight.”

Don walked over to Maggie and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”

Maggie just pointed a finger at him as he walked out of the room. “You
be careful,” she said.

Don waved his right hand as he walked out the door and didn’t say
another word. It was still fairly early. What Maggie said made sense. He only
hoped he wasn’t wasting his efforts. Time would tell, and if nothing happened
by midnight he could always head for home and still catch some shut-eye. But at
least he would have made the effort to put an end to this.

Chapter 14

It took a good hour’s drive to get to Raven’s house in Falls Church.
The neighborhood was basically shut down for the night. There were only a few
houses who had a light on in a back room. Don guessed there were a few diehard
late-night news junkies. He pulled up to Raven’s house, but didn’t pull into
her driveway. Instead he pulled up to the house next door, careful to turn off
his lights first so as not to wake anyone up. The full moon was an asset for
him, as it was easy to make his way across the lawn back to Raven’s house.

Once he got to her porch he lifted up the mat and was thankful he’d
put the key back before the crime lab came in to dust the place. As he opened
the front door he didn’t have to turn on any of the lights as moonbeams seemed
to dance across the floor from the tree outside the front window. The dog
barking in the distance didn’t trouble him at first as he settled into the
living room and stared up at the portrait above the mantel. Even in the dark of
night he could make out her silhouette and the lines of her face. He knew she
was watching him even in the dark of night. He didn’t know if it was truly the
case that drew him to this house or being able to look at the portrait once
more.

When Don heard movement on the front porch he was brought back to the
here and now. The hair on the back of his neck bristled when the noise appeared
to get close and his cop instinct kicked into high gear. Don got goose bumps on
his arms as he quickly knelt down off the couch, unholstering his gun in one
swift motion.

Once he got his bearings and listened for what seemed like an eternity
he heard the key in the front door turn. Quickly, he tiptoed to the front hall
and stood directly behind the front door. With the peephole window he couldn’t
look out without alerting the person on the other side.

Slowly the door opened, as the person entered the hall, Don snapped
the door shut and had the person spread-eagled on the opposite wall. The scent
of Jasmine filled his nostrils as he brushed up against her hair.

“What the f---,” the woman yelled as Don quickly flipped her around,
and as he did he caught his breath as he came face-to-face with Raven VanBuren.
In that swift movement the air was sucked out of his lungs. It took him a
moment to regain his composure.

“Who in the hell are you?” Raven snapped as she struggled to free
herself from Don’s grip, but he held her firmly.

“Me first. Where have you been, and who was that in your car?” Don
asked, staring into Raven’s eyes.

Raven struggled to free herself, and when Don finally loosened his
grip on her arm, she rubbed it to make the pain less noticeable. Then she
turned to Don.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped.

“Oh yes, you do. Your father must have told you by now.”

Raven stared at Don for the longest time before speaking. “Leave him
out of it.”

“Then start leveling with me. Otherwise, the whole lot of you are
going to be hauled in for obstructing justice.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Oh yes I can!” Don snapped as he paused to catch his breath.

Don tried focusing his eyes. He couldn’t believe she was there
standing in front of him. Deep down he had wanted to believe she was alive, but
the reality of the situation was always there. Slowly he reached over and
touched her arm. A tingle went up his spine when he touched her warm flesh.

“We have a dead female body in your burnt-out car that has to be
explained.”

Raven stared up at Don for longest time. She knew he was serious, and
she could tell even in the darkness of the night that his anger was building.
But too much had happened for her to trust just anybody. She now feared for her
life, given how they came after Willie a second time. And after talking to her
father earlier, Raven knew that she was also a target.

“Are you sure she’s dead?” Raven asked.

“Trust me, those charred remains are definitely dead,” Don snapped
making the words sound callous.

“Cathy?” Raven asked.

“You tell me,” Don snapped. “What’s her last name?”

“Monroe,” Raven said and then took a deep breath as she paused for a
moment. Raven put her hand up to her forehead and rubbed her temple as if to
massage away a headache that was taking hold. “She’s dead. I can’t believe it?”

“I’ve seen plenty of dead bodies in my day, and this one was dead,
trust me.”

By then Don had released his hold on Raven and reholstered his gun. He
leaned up against the opposite wall and stared at her as she still leaned up
against the wall just staring back at him. Raven slowly started to breathe
normally again and just moved forward and walked into the living room followed
closely by Don. She sat down on the couch while Don reached over and tuned on a
lamp, no longer concerned that one of the neighbors would report a light on in
the house.

Raven’s eye darted around the room. It was clear it was the first real
glimpse she’d had of the destruction someone caused. The crime lab boys didn’t
clean up anything, there were paths where they walked, but the mess was still
there. Raven was clearly upset that someone had violated her personal domain.
All her little treasures lay broken and discarded. It made the last week even
worse than it was. All she could do was just shake her head because there was
no reason for this senseless destruction of her life.

Don didn’t know what to say or do. He was watching her closely for a
hint at how deeply she was involved in all of this. He still had a murder
investigation that he had to solve. Granted, the missing Senator wasn’t his
case, but he knew the two were intertwined.

Raven’s face was void of color as she digested her ruined life and
what Don had said earlier. “Please turn off the light. I don’t want them to
know I’m here.”

Don stared at her and then reached over and turned the lamp off.
“You’re spooked?” he asked.

Raven nervously fidgeted with her fingers. Don sat on the couch across
from her. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and stared at Raven.
He just took in her beauty and couldn’t stop staring at her. Raven was even
more magnificent than the portrait that hung in back of him.

“What’s your problem?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I guess I really wasn’t expecting you to walk in the
front door like that.”

“It is my house.”

“You got that right. But there’s been a lot of crap
that’s gone down lately.”

“Daddy said Willie is in the hospital.”

Don shook his head and then quickly added, “Yeah, he
survived surgery. Now we wait and see.”

Raven covered her eyes, and even in the dark Don
could tell there were tears running down her cheeks. He wasn’t sure yet of her
relationship with the Senator. In his life, just because Raven was a friend of
Senator Maxfield’s wife didn’t make the husband off-limits. Don just didn’t
know what to make of Raven, and he didn’t want to get sucked into a false sense
of security thinking she was this sweet, innocent girl caught up in something
beyond her control. But the fact that when they were at Diamond Lake they used
separate bedrooms was definitely something in Raven’s favor. He was glad now
that he and Fred went out there because it seemed to put credence on the
Senator and Raven being friends, along with their professional life being above
board.

Raven glanced up at Don with a look of concern as
she wiped away the tears. “When Willie didn’t come out of the men’s room, I
sent a young teenager in to check on him,” she said as she choked up. “When I
heard the scream, I ran back to the car.”

“You didn’t see anybody?” Don asked.

Raven shook her head. “No,” was all she could muster
up to say.

“Why did he disappear?”

“Willie convinced me his life was in danger. He said
the only way to keep Ellen and the kids safe was for him to disappear until he
figured it all out,” Raven said as she took a deep breath and looked at Don to
see his reaction to what she said so far. Then she continued, “Last weekend
they caught up to him.”

“That explains the blood,” Don said, raising his eyebrows
while shaking his head.

“You know about that?”

“We found the bloody towels in the laundry chute in
the basement.”

Raven just put her hands to her head. “It’s all
getting out of control,” she snapped.

“Did he ever figure it out?” Don asked.

“He was close. He needed to go over the information
in his briefcase yet.”

“I have it now,” Don said.

“You?” she asked, somewhat surprised as she looked
up at him. “But how?”

“I talked to his wife this afternoon. It seemed odd
that her husband wanted to meet her for lunch, but then blew her off and sent
her home with the briefcase. My guess is, his only reason for her meeting him
was to give her the briefcase.”

“Yes,” Raven said and then rubbed her temple.

“Are you okay?” Don asked.

“Yeah, I was just thinking it was a good thing he
gave it to Ellen because when the attack came that was what they were after.”

“Didn’t he need it?”

“Willie was working on other aspects of the
investigation. He knew all along what was on the flash drive. He only needed it
for evidence.

“When we got word that people thought I was killed
last night, he felt it was time to surface.”

Raven looked over at Don. “Do you think he will be
okay? Ellen will be devastated if she loses him.”

Don shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Raven just shook her head as tears flowed again. “I
just panicked.”

Don glanced up at the portrait. He realized then
that it didn’t do the real person justice. There was a warmth to Raven’s eyes
that wasn’t captured in the image on the mantel. And given the way she talked
about Mrs. Maxfield and the Senator, it was more out of concern for her friend
not a lover.

“Getting back to your car, why did your friend Cathy
have it?” Don asked.

“Willie wanted me to drive up to Diamond Lake. There
was a strange noise in the engine. I didn’t really think it was anything
serious, but I didn’t want to drive it. I already had an appointment, and I
didn’t want to miss it. So Cathy volunteered to switch cars with me, and she
kept the appointment for me.”

“That explains the telephone message.”

Raven did a double take and stared at Don for the
longest time before speaking. “You listened to my messages?”

“You were supposed to be dead. I’m investigating
your murder,” he said and then smiled. “Tad called from the Hilton. He’s in
town for the weekend.”

Raven just shook her head in anger. Her eyes
narrowed, her jaw muscles tensed. “Really,” she said with sarcasm in her voice.

“Why you mad at me?” Don asked.

“You had no right!”

“There was a voice on the tape I want you to listen
to.”

Raven glanced at him and snapped. “What did they
want?”

“For you to leave someone alone.”

Raven looked genuinely surprised by what he just
said, and then he continued.

“It was your answering machine,” he said in his
defense.

“What did they say?” Raven asked, puzzled why anyone
would leave that kind of message.

“I don’t have the tape here,” Don said, looking
sheepish now. “Something about leaving him alone. The last message was “I
warned you.”

Raven shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what
that’s all about.”

“Maybe one of your friends is married.” Don added.

Raven laughed with a mocking tone in her voice. “My
social calendar has been barren lately. It must be a mistake.”

Don just raised his eyebrow. “There were two
messages from the same woman. She left you a note in your mail also,” he said
and could tell Raven was clearly puzzled by this revelation. He quickly
continued, “She also called your employer. Does that sound like a mistake?” he
asked.

Raven’s eyes narrowed while staring at Don. “You
talked to Mrs. Winslow?”

Don just smiled.

“Don’t look so smug,” Raven snapped. “I thought I
cleared that up with her before I left on Monday. It had to be a prank. I’m not
seeing anyone.” Raven shrugged her shoulders and seemed somewhat indifferent
about the whole thing.

“I think she accepted your answer.”

Don got up and walked over to the mantel. He glanced
up and stared up at the portrait for the longest time.

“What’s with you anyway?” she asked.

“I find it hard to believe,” he said and then
stopped and stared at Raven for the longest time.

“About what?” she asked.

“Your social calendar!”

“Working with Willie hasn’t been easy. He keeps me
busy with not much time for a social life,” Raven said, staring at Don.

It puzzled her that Don should even care about her
social life, or lack thereof. She shrugged and then continued, “I’m not
complaining. I love the work, but times like this when I’m alone at home I miss
the companionship that a more active social life would give.

“I know what you mean,” Don said and then smiled.

“No, you don’t,” Raven said. There was a softness to
her voice that wasn’t there before.

Don turned to look at her. “What am I, chopped
liver?”

“You’re a cop on a case. And I happen to be your
case. I’d hardly think you’d be here otherwise.”

“Would I have a shot?” Don whispered.

Raven was startled by the remark. It was the noise
outside that caused both to turn and stare and each other. Don motioned for
Raven to get down while he quickly walked over to the window and looked out.
Don noticed movement near the bushes outside. He motioned to Raven.