The Legacy: A Kimberly & Sykes Mystery Novel (16 page)

Sykes felt a cold compress across his forehead and the touch of a hand gently stroking his cheek. “I think he is coming to,” he heard Lauren say. Her voice was muffled, as though she was in a tunnel. Or maybe he was in the tunnel…but wouldn’t they both be in the tunnel?

He tried to sit up and open his eyes but the minute he lifted his head, a wave of nausea enveloped him. With a groan, he sank back down.

“Slowly Sykes, slowly,” Lauren said. Sykes felt as though his head was encased in a metal cap with metal bolts pushing through his brain. Words formed on his lips but his vocal cords wouldn’t cooperate. His lips were dry but when he tried to wet them with his tongue, it too, was dry. His lips seemed to crack under the jagged surface of his tongue and Sykes tasted blood. ‘Sandpaper. My tongue has turned to sandpaper’. Opening his eyelids was not easy, they were too heavy and refused to respond to his command.

“Take your time Sykes. You’ve had quite the wallop,” a male voice announced. Sykes tried to open his eyes again, this time squinting through two tiny slits. Lauren’s face loomed over him.

“Hi,” he croaked before scanning the room. He was in a hospital. A large man sat in a chair in the corner. Detective Harrigan. ‘Why am I in a hospital room and what is Detective Harrigan doing here,’ he thought before resting back against the pillow and closing his eyes against the bright light. He tried to remember what had happened.

“Hi,"

Sykes didn’t trust himself to speak and squeezed Lauren’s hand. The nausea hit him again, and he fought the urge to vomit. Trying again, he managed to open his eyes, and keep them open. The light didn’t seem so bright and he wondered if Harrigan had hit the dimmer switch, but Harrigan was still sitting quietly in the corner, looking at him with a blank expression on his face.

Lauren’s tear-filled eyes were holding his gaze. Sykes tried to smile but his face hurt. He lifted his hand and stroked Lauren’s cheek with his fingertips, noticing her bruising as his eyes focussed.

Lauren looked far worse than he felt. Her right eye was black and swollen and she had a row of sutures embedded in the bruising on her cheek bone. A thin film of salve covered her red, inflamed lips. Lauren lifted a finger and spread the salve in small circular motions. “Duct tape,” she said with a quivering voice.

When Sykes opened his arms and, Lauren fell into his embrace. He held her to his chest and stroked the back of her head as she sobbed on his hospital pyjamas leaving big wet patches. Eventually, Lauren’s stopped crying and stayed in his arms with her head resting awkwardly on his chest.

“Daniels. What happed to Daniels?”

Harrigan cleared this throat. “You broke his nose. He’s been treated and discharged and is downtown.”

Lauren pushed herself off Sykes’ chest and sat upright keeping firm hold of his hand. Sykes smiled. “Who, or what, hit me?”

“It was the chef. He whacked you across the head with a frying pan.” She smiled and tenderly touched the back of his head feeling for damage as Sykes scrunched his face in pain.

“It didn’t break any skin, but it was enough to knock you out. You and Daniels were both out cold. I was in the bedroom but I couldn’t shout because my mouth was taped and my arms and legs were tied. I rolled off the bed, and they came running in when they heard the noise. They nearly had heart attacks when they saw me.”

“Did Daniels do that?” Sykes said indicating Lauren’s face.

“No. I did it when I rolled off the bed. I hit the floor face first.”

“Ouch!” Sykes grimaced. “And your mouth? That was those guys yanking off the duct tape?”

Lauren nodded. “They freaked out when they saw me and just tore it off and took a layer of skin with it.”

“Are you ready to answer some questions Sykes?” Detective Harrigan asked.

Sykes nodded his head gently and let Lauren help him sit up.

“I’m glad you woke up, I was getting a bit worried. I just finished telling Ms. Kimberly about Frank Daniels’ release. He is at the precinct. He’s a talkative man. I imagine he doesn’t want to run into you again.” Harrigan smiled and looked at his notebook. “As Ms. Kimberly just informed you, the kitchen staff heard the commotion and called 911 before making their way up the back stairs. They had no idea what was going on but saw you knock Daniels out with a head-butt and so knocked you out with a frying pan. That’s when they heard Ms. Kimberly tumble on to the floor in the bedroom and untied her just as our first officers arrived. Daniels regained consciousness at the same time, screaming in pain with his nose broken and a good number of bruises. Other than his broken nose, you didn’t cause too much damage. If it hadn’t been for the frying pan you would have been fine.” Harrigan raised an eyebrow and dipped his head to the side. “Under the circumstances we don’t have anything to charge the chef and his staff with. They thought they were stopping a burglar assaulting one of the club members.”

“Understandable. I wouldn’t want them charged anyway.”

“That’s as much as I can tell you right now. My colleagues are still questioning Daniels. Ms. Kimberly has given us a lot to work with, but, there are still lots of gaps. Are you up to filling them in?”

“Get me a couple of painkillers and I will take you through the whole story.”

Two Months Later

Lauren had been nervous about seeing Sykes. On his release from the hospital Maxwell Hart had insisted he enter a specialized post-concussion rehabilitation program. When he returned he dived into a major security overhaul at the labs and, though they had talked on the phone a few times, it had been awkward and stilted, as though they were strangers.

Sykes’ dinner invitation was unexpected, but welcome….when she didn’t feel so nervous about it. She had mixed feelings about seeing him. On the one hand, she wanted to see him, on the other she wondered if maybe he didn’t want to see her but felt obliged to stay in touch after what they had been through.

Lauren planned to arrive a few minutes late. Better to be a few minutes late, than arrive early and sit waiting for him, she reasoned. The best-laid plans never worked out and such was the case this evening. Lauren’s cab had arrived early, and the traffic was lighter than normal.

When Lauren walked into the restaurant, a small smile played on her lips as she saw Sykes sitting at a window table. He looked good. He stood and kissed her cheek before letting the Maître’d seat her. Lauren felt the heat creep up from her neck and knew she would be sporting a blush. She let out a small chuckle. “Humm, I haven’t seen your charming side before. I wonder why?”

“We didn’t meet under the best of circumstances,” Sykes responded with a twinkle in his eyes. “Tonight you’ll see my better side.” He raised his wine glass to her and gave his head a bow. Lauren laughed and raised her glass in return.

The food was fabulous and Lauren indulged in Lobster Thermidor served with a crisp green salad, followed by a wonderfully light crème
brûlée
.
Sykes enjoyed Steak Tartar with his salad and opted for a brandy instead of dessert. The conversation flowed smoothly, for the first time in weeks, Lauren felt herself relax.

Sitting back in her seat, she dabbed her lips with her linen napkin. “This has been wonderful, but I have the feeling you wanted to meet me for something more than a fantastic meal.”

Sykes smile disappeared and his mouth tightened. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, crossing his fingers he tapped his two thumbs together.

“It’s been good to see you, too,” Sykes said lifting up his brandy glass. He held Lauren’s eyes with his, opening his mouth to speak…and then closing it without uttering a word. He put his glass down.

“Now you’re making me nervous. What’s going on?”

“Lauren, I know Detective Harrigan has talked to you about your father’s murder. The guys are in custody…but I’m afraid that Daniels is going to walk.”

“I don’t understand. He didn’t kill my father, but he was involved in it…how can he walk away after he stole twenty five million dollars in diamonds and kidnapped me?”

“Daniels refused to talk unless he got immunity. Of course, the police laughed at first but when Daniels told them that he could prove your father was murdered, they started listening. It seems Daniels owed the Russian Mafia over five million dollars. A guy by the name of Volkov bought Daniels’ gambling debt. Daniels though he could get Volkov off his back by telling him about the analyzer.” Sykes paused sipped the brandy.

“They have had Volkov under lock and key for a few days. Murder, extortion, money laundering, kidnapping, identity theft: you name it, he’s been organizing it. He’s playing ball, hoping to be deported back to Russia. Volkov was very interested in the analyzer and decided it was worth more than the money Daniels owed him. He sent his men over to your father’s.”

Sykes reached over and took Lauren’s hand.

“Your dad told them that the analyzer was your legacy and he wouldn’t give it up for anything. They forced scotch on him, but even drunk and sick, he still wouldn’t tell them where it was. So they drugged him. Daniels found him dead when he went to drop off the diamonds and decided to put it to his advantage. He thought Mike had a heart attack. Anyway, he found the analyzer. The Russian’s didn’t have a clue what they were looking for, so they missed it. Daniels gave it to them.”

“My God! I can’t stop thinking about my father and how scared he must have been. Why did Daniels’ stick around when he had the diamonds?”

“He was playing with us. He needed time to convert some of the diamonds into cold hard cash, and Volkov needed time to get the analyzer working before the theft was discovered. Daniels’ knew all along and sent us on a wild goose chase.”

Lauren’s brow was creased in a frown. She cocked her head to the side, thinking. “But, why did he kidnap me? What purpose did that serve him?”

“Kidnapping you was an act of desperation. He needed more time to get his escape plans in order. He knew we wouldn’t go to the police because of the risk of exposure. The analyzer was a billion dollar investment that would be guarded at all costs.”

Lauren slid her hand from Sykes’ and sat back.

“Even of my life?”

“I wouldn’t have let that happen.”

Lauren looked at him for a few minutes and let it pass. She was alive, and that was all that mattered.

“I still don’t understand why they are not charging him with something… anything. Doesn’t kidnapping me count for anything? What about the diamonds he stole from the lab?”

“The police, FBI, IRS, and a variety of other agencies have been after Ivan Volkov for years. With the information Daniels’ gave them, they were able to close down his whole operation. Volkov, and the Russian Mafia in California, are finished. The police were able to get all the diamonds back and close down the Japanese Yakuza organization involved in money laundering and arming terrorists abroad. We found the saboteur as well – Daniels’ was working with one of the janitors, a guy he met at the casino last year. The company have fired him but don’t want to bring charges. It’s bad for business and the investors. As for Daniels, he gets to be in the witness protection program.”

Lauren had taken the news better than he expected. She was sitting with a far-away look on her face, lost in thought. He had dumped a lot of information on her and she would need time to process it.

“May the Karma Goddess smote him and may I live to hear all about it.”

“I’ll drink to that,” he said clinking glasses with her.

They sat quietly for a while in companionable silence.

“I have some news to share too, unless you already know about it?”

“I have told you all the news I know. I hope it’s better news than I gave you.”

“It is. I had a meeting with Maxwell Hart this morning. The analyzer is already producing results far beyond anything they expected. They want to go into full production and sell them to the mining industry. Under the terms of my father’s contract, he shared the patent rights 50/50. Hart offered me thirty-five million dollars to buy out my interests.”

Sykes eyes flew open. “Wow. Wow!”

Lauren’s smile stretched across her cheeks. Unable to contain herself, she threw her head back and let out a loud laugh, to the annoyance of an older couple at a nearby table. Lauren hunched her shoulders and leaned across the table, getting closer to Sykes.

“I wanted to hear what you had to say first,” she said in a hushed voice, “I thought this was what you wanted to meet about, so that you could celebrate with me.”

Sykes beamed at Lauren. “What will you do? I assume you will quit your job.”

“I already have,” she laughed. “I have no idea what I will do. I need to figure it out, get a financial advisor, think about what my father would want, get a new headstone for my parents’ grave…. and then, I don’t know.”

“That sounds like a good start. You don’t have to make any major decisions straight away. Why not start with the headstone and take it one day at a time. Take a break, go somewhere exotic.”

Lauren laughed. “A vacation is definitely in the cards. I just need to find a travelling companion.”

Sykes settled back in his chair and smiled. “Surely that can’t be too difficult.”

****

Thank you for reading The Legacy, my first book. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, and would like to leave a review on Amazon I would appreciate it. Your review can assist another reader in their buying choices.

This is the first book featuring Kimberly & Sykes and there are many more to come. If you would like to find out more about Kimberly & Sykes, and read excerpts from upcoming books, head over to my FaceBook page. 
https://www.facebook.com/kaseymulliganauthor/

This book has been through a few edits by different individuals, as well as run through editing software. Nevertheless, typos can still slip through the cracks. I have tried to make sure I used American spellings throughout but my native British English may have sneaked past the international editors. If you find a typo or spelling error please drop me an email and I will make the correction immediately. You can contact me at
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You can also find me at:
https://www.facebook.com/kaseymulliganauthor/