The Negotiator (26 page)

Dave got to his feet. “Come on, Kate, let’s go see Henry.”

Kate leaned against the one-way glass as she watched Henry Lott. They had decided it was best if Graham did the interview. Henry still looked angry, bitter, much as he had at the bank. Kate was grateful she didn’t have to hide what she was thinking and pretend to like him at the moment.

“Henry, we know the explosives that brought down the plane came from Wilshire Construction. We know you worked security the three nights when they were taken. Do you really want to be an accessory to 214 murders? Who was around the site those nights, Henry?” Graham’s voice sounded slightly hollow through the audio feed.

“He told me to look the other way. Paid me a grand. Cash.”

“Who, Henry? Who told you to look the other way?”

“Ashcroft.”

“Blame a dead guy. That’s real smart, Henry.”

“I’m telling you the truth. Ashcroft shows up, tells me to look the other way, mind my own business, and he pays me a grand to do it. I don’t want the grand, but I don’t want the trouble either. He’s a mean one, Ashcroft. So I looked the other way.”

“Just like you used to do in the old days, huh, Henry? Turn your head and mind your own business? Is that how you knew they were moving drug money back before Ashcroft went to jail?”

Kate glanced at Dave. It was enough. “Ashcroft taking the explosives puts him deeply involved.”

“He’s still dead, Kate.”

They had enough for a warrant to search Ashcroft’s home. Kate didn’t know what she hoped to find. Evidence being used to blackmail Tony, something to suggest where it was.

What they found was an apartment of a man who had thought he was traveling to New York for a few days. The place was neat, orderly. The draperies had been closed; the refrigerator had been emptied of perishables and the trash taken out.

The answering machine flashed several times showing messages.

A dead man’s home always felt slightly…wrong.

She played the answering machine messages, found nothing there, and then played the introduction message, hoping to find she recognized Ashcroft’s voice. To her profound disappointment, there was no introduction message recorded, just the recorder beep.

She followed Dave through the rooms as they decided where to begin.

Within an hour, Kate stopped expecting they would find anything. Ashcroft didn’t keep even general financial records such as cable bills, magazine subscriptions, and ATM slips. There was no trace of a safe-deposit box key, anything to indicate other places he might store records.

There were no address or appointment books, no calendars. It was possible they had been with him on the plane, but Kate figured it was more likely Ashcroft’s habit to write nothing down.

“Anything?”

She looked up from the last drawer in the desk. “No. You?” Dave had begun in the living room, then moved to the bedroom.

“No.”

Kate sighed and looked around the room for anything she might have missed. “We’ve got another dead end.”

“The press will show up here soon; we should go. The guys from downtown can finish this.”

She nodded, knowing Dave was right. She walked back with him to the car. “This is getting depressing.”

“We know a little more. Ashcroft was expecting to go to New York for a few days.”

“It’s as good an alibi as any. If Nathan had gotten on his private jet carrying that briefcase, he, his wife, and Devlon would have been killed, and we would have naturally been looking at Ashcroft, only to find we had him on security tapes sitting at the MetroAir gate.”

“Exactly. I’m sorry, but none of this really helps Tony.”

“I know.” She sighed. “We’ve got to explain what happened without Tony being part of the story. I really do think it’s there. I just don’t see it.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. “You’re trying, Kate. That’s what matters. I’m proud of you.”

She really hated the fact she blushed. “Really?”

“You’re acting on the hope he’s innocent. That can’t be easy given how much the evidence suggests otherwise.”

“He’s family, Dave. Not the kind of relative I would have chosen, but he’s family. He’s going to get every benefit of the doubt I can give him.”

“Jennifer, if you’re going to prune my roses for me, at least cut yourself a couple bouquets to take inside. You’re embarrassing me.” Dave handed her a glass of ice tea as he joined her.

Jennifer smiled. “They are so beautiful. I’m just enjoying the chance to work with them. This is pure therapy. Where’s Kate?”

“I hope she’s taking a nap, but I somehow doubt it. She’s probably back in the files again. I wish I had something to offer her, but I’m just as stumped as she is.”

“She’s like this when something about a case is bugging her. Don’t worry about it. She can conserve energy better than anyone I have ever met.”

Dave cut her one of the American Beauty roses. “I’m glad you agreed to stay here. Kate needs the diversion. She literally lit up when she saw you arrive.”

“I’m the favorite of all the O’Malleys, didn’t you know that?”

He laughed at her tongue-in-cheek reply. “I think you might be, if only because they’re relieved you are the youngest, not them.”

“Do you have any idea what it was like to have six guardians?”

“Stephen wouldn’t be so bad. And having Kate for a roommate had to be an adventure. But Marcus? How did you ever get a date past him?”

“Put them all together and they were pretty intimidating.” Jennifer smiled and turned her attention to the white roses. “Could I tag along with you to church in the morning?”

“Sure. Services are at ten o’clock.”

“Thanks.”

Dave crouched down beside her to gather up the cuttings. “How do you think Kate will react if I invite her to come?” It was a casual question, but one he carefully weighed asking. He was aware Jennifer paused, studying him a moment before answering.

“She’s the type who will invite herself if she’s interested. But I’m planning to ask her.”

“I don’t mean to ask behind her back, but is she interested in Jesus, Jennifer? Or has the bombing pushed away that interest?”

Jennifer rocked back on her heels. “Dave, she has to get to the point she can trust Him. She’s not there yet. It’s not just the confusing realities such as why God allowed the plane to be bombed, or the difficulty in following commands like ‘love your enemies.’ Those are there, but ultimately, with Kate, it’s personal. She has rarely heard ‘I love you’ where it was meant without strings. Give her some time to realize Jesus means it.”

“Her childhood.”

“Exactly. It was pretty rough.”

“I’ve been figuring that out.”

“There’s hope for her. The Lord won’t change what He means with ‘I love you.’ Kate’s the type that will keep testing it until she figures that out.”

“I had figured it would be understanding justice, mercy, and the rest.”

Jennifer chuckled. “Oh, she’ll challenge you for answers and explanations on all kinds of tough questions. She’s nothing if not logical, and she expects to find out answers to questions or at least understand the theological knot. Giving her a simplistic answer is the worst thing you can do. But the bottom line with Kate is whether someone really is who he presents himself to be.”

“I’m sorry God used something so difficult as your cancer to push Kate to look at the gospel.”

“You noticed that, too? I didn’t mention it to her.”

“I noticed. What do you want me to pray for, Jennifer?”

“That God gives me enough time to complete this mission.”

He understood it, what would be closest to her heart. “To lead all the O’Malleys to Jesus.”

“Yes. Kate’s the first nick in the wall. When she comes around, there will be two of us to convince the third. When the third believes, the fourth becomes easier to convince.”

Dave chuckled. “And here I thought Kate was the plotter.”

“I’m the youngest one in the family, remember? I know how to get things done.”

“Here you two are. I wondered where you had disappeared.”

Dave turned to see Kate crossing the patio. “Come convince Jennifer to cut herself a bouquet of flowers.”

“How about a bouquet of pink ones, Jen? They would look great in the living room.”

Jennifer nodded and began to cut the bouquet. “They would.”

“Sara and Adam are planning to come over for lunch tomorrow. Anything in particular you two would like fixed on the grill? Ribs? Pork chops?”

“You’re brave enough to fix ribs?” Jennifer asked, glancing up.

“Sure. Think Marcus and rest of the family would be willing to join us?”

“Jack and Stephen are off duty; Lisa would be the only question mark,” Jennifer said.

“I’ll ask them,” Kate offered.

Dave heard the pager. It startled him, and he tensed as he realized it was Kate’s pager going off.

She reached down and shut it off, reading the number as she reached for her cellular phone. She dialed. “Yes, Jim.”

Dave watched her eyes shadow. “Of course. I’m on my way.”

She closed the phone and studied it for a moment before looking up at him. “Can I borrow your car?”

“About this case?”

“No. It’s unrelated. They’ve got a standoff, and I’m the closest.” She looked at him quietly, waiting.

She couldn’t tell him details; he knew that from dozens of his own cases. He wasn’t ready for this, but he had to be. She was going back into danger because it was her job to do so. It was a test, not one she had asked to create, but one that was suddenly there between them. “Can you duck the press?”

“Jim said he would make sure my name stays off the radio.”

He reached in his pocket, found the keys, and handed them to her. “Switch the radio to your department frequency. It’s set to ours. Be careful.”

“I will. I may be late for dinner.”

He watched her leave and wanted to swear at her for making her last words such a casual comment. If something happened to her…

Jennifer slipped her hand into his. “Relax. She doesn’t take unnecessary chances.”

“Jennifer, she’d step in front of a bullet if it were necessary, the same way she would step in front of someone going for a basket and take the charge. She would never think about the risk to herself; she’d just act.”

“You’re in love with her.”

His frustration over the situation was intense. “And it’s the most miserable reality of my life. My hands are tied.”

“She’ll believe, Dave. She has to.”

“I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.” He sighed. “She’s going to be annoyed, but it will be easier to wait where she is than here. Would you like to come along?”

Jennifer smiled. “No. I’ve got more practice at this than you have. But call me when you know something, please?”

“I will.”

Kate leaned her head back to catch the breeze coming along the side of the brick apartment building, tired but content after two hours spent settling a violent quarrel that had begun over the simple reality of melted ice cream. She wondered how many cases this made that she had resolved peacefully. It was an idle thought since she only counted the ones that had failed. A win was simply to be enjoyed.

Dave sat down beside her on the metal stairs of the fire escape. She was too tired to be surprised that he had found her. She gratefully took the water jug he offered her, drinking half the quart of ice water before pausing. “It was hot up there.” She looked over at him. “Any word on Tony?” He shook his head. “No.”

She nodded. “It would have been too good to hope for.” “You settled this one peacefully?” “Yes.”

She finished the ice water. He handed her an apple. She smiled. “I prefer junk food. This is marginally healthy.” She took a big bite anyway and wiped away juice running down her chin with the back of her hand. “Natural sugar. You’ll get used to it.” Her smile broadened. “You’re trying to change me.” “If I didn’t meddle, you wouldn’t have anything to complain about.” She grinned and toasted him with the apple. “True.” Her shoulders were stiff, and she rubbed the right one, hoping to relax.

“Let me.”

He started to work out the kinks. “Lower to the left.” She relaxed. “Right there.”

“What were you leaning against? You’ve got a rust streak down your back.”

“Do I look like a skunk?” She tried to twist and see, finding the idea amusing.

“Maybe a red one.” He dumped some water on a towel and wiped off the worst of it. “Would you like to go chase the sunset?”

She was working on the apple and wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. “Do what?”

“The sunset is beautiful from the plane. And the weather is perfect. The case investigation won’t slow down if you take a couple hours off. It would do you some good to get away from it for a while.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. We can catch it if we hurry.”

“I thought we needed to stay away from O’Hare.”

“Sara and Adam took the jet to New York. I had them route it back to Milwaukee. It’s not too far a drive.”

She was ready for a nap, but she could sleep anytime. She looked at him, trying to decide if it was love or just affection that made his face so endearing to her. “What about Jennifer?”

“Lisa came over. They were making brownies and talking about Fourth of July plans when I called.”

Kate nodded. Jennifer was in good hands. “I need to change.”

“I’ll buy you a tourist T-shirt at the airport.”

“I could use something for the baseball game.” She saw the question in his look.

“The O’Malleys have a game on the Fourth, and my lucky shirt died last year.”

“Really?”

“I did this slide into home, and Marcus didn’t move out of my way. I need a better shirt.”

Dave grinned at the image. “Something that will make him move?”

“Exactly.” She tossed the apple core into the trashcan by the house. “Can you afford me?”

“Probably.” He held out his hands. “Come on, let’s go.”

Twenty-two

C
ompared to the complexity of O’Hare, the Milwaukee airport was a breeze. They parked in the lot across from the terminal, then browsed in the tourist shops. They passed through security and walked out to the private hangars.

“There she is.” Dave pointed to a plane by the third hangar.

Kate stopped, stunned. The plane was a gleaming, midnight blue Eagle I V. “It’s beautiful.”

“She. This lady has her own personality.”

The pride in Dave’s voice was obvious. Kate looked at the jet, then back at him. “This is what you fly for fun?”

“Yes. Though I do use it frequently for work. It makes it easier for the team to get around. Come on; let’s get you settled inside. My flight plan is already filed. Give me twenty minutes to complete the preflight, and we’ll be ready to get in the air.”

She reached up to slide her hand across the smooth, gleaming metal of the wing. “It’s such a sleek, beautiful plane.” Not small either. It would take some walking to circle this plane.

“One of the best.” He brought down the stairs and offered her a hand.

“Oh, my.” Kate had expected nice, but this was
really
nice. No crammed together seats or lack of legroom here. It had been configured with plush leather seats and mahogany side tables, and honest-to-goodness wallpaper and blue carpet. There were even two sketches carefully mounted on the cabin wall. “This is great.”

“The cockpit has windows that come all the way down to your elbows. You’ll see what I mean about a great view.”

“I can join you up front?”

“I can even teach you to fly it if you would like.”

“Don’t you have to be certified to instruct?”

He smiled. “Yes. I’m a good teacher, too. Care to find out?”

She let that settle in. He wasn’t joking. “I’ll think about it.”

He ruffled her hair. “Do. Dan said he would stock the refrigerator for us. Make yourself at home. The walk around won’t take long.” He stepped into the cockpit, came back with a flight log and checklist, and disappeared back down the stairs.

Kate picked up her bag and moved to the back of the plane. She was going to have a hard time flying on a commercial aircraft after seeing this luxury. The lavatory was full cabin width, with marble counters and matching hand towels. In the drawer she found a sewing kit and small scissors and cut the tag off her new T-shirt.

The evidence that the plane was someone’s home in the air began to be apparent as she took Dave at his word and looked around. In the cupboard next to the refrigerator was someone’s idea of snacks. Not a small bag of peanuts, but a full can of cashews, half a package of pecans and hazel nuts still in their shell waiting to be cracked. They were bracketed by a bag of Oreos and peanut M&Ms.

A sketchpad was tucked in with the magazines, well-worn playing cards in the pocket beside the table, and three paperbacks beside a stack of CDs. There were feather pillows and blankets, even a teddy bear in the back closet. Kate smiled at the whimsical bear before closing the door. They were touches of people’s lives. Neat, orderly, but personal. Touches of Sara by the look of them.

Kate laughed when she stumbled upon the stash of sports equipment. Besides the golf clubs, there were very well broken in baseball gloves, a couple scuffed baseballs, a Frisbee, even a Chinese box kite. She could just see Dave taking off for a weekend and flying somewhere to join friends for a game of golf. With this plane, it could easily become commonplace.

“Been up to see the cockpit yet?”

She turned and smiled. “Not yet.”

“Grab us a couple cold sodas and come join me. You’ll enjoy it.”

The electronics were not what she had expected to see based on the movies she could remember. Like the plane itself, the electronics were sleek, modern, well designed, and colorful. “Where did all the knobs and dials go?”

Dave smiled. “I know. The dash looks like a nice piece of sound equipment, doesn’t it?”

“Built in radar?”

“Yes. Come on; buckle into the copilot seat. You won’t disturb anything.”

She slid into the seat carefully, not sure she was ready to have pedals at her feet and a wheel in front of her. You could fly the plane from this seat, and it was intimidating. She carefully put her soda into a holder, fastened on the spill guard top, and quietly watched Dave methodically check settings and work down the checklist on his knee. She recognized comfortable movements that came from thousands of repetitions.

“There are headphones behind you on the right.”

She looked around and found them. He showed her the toggle for voice.

She heard him speak briefly with someone over the radio, and a crewman appeared before them on the tarmac. On the signal all was clear, Dave touched one red button, then another, and the two jet engines came to life with smooth, steady power.

He finished working down the preflight checklist, then turned the brace board on his knee and held up his hand to the crewman. He got a smile and wave toward the taxi line with the batons. “We’re all set to travel.”

She listened as he slipped easily into the tower radio traffic. She wasn’t able to understand what was said even though she heard the words, recognized his repeat of the instructions and his acknowledgment. The plane began to roll. Fascinated, she watched him handle it with ease, his hands light on the wheel, and his feet in motion. He took it directly down the centerline of the taxiway and into the queue behind two other planes waiting to turn onto the runway and into the wind for takeoff.

“You use your feet as well as your hands?”

“Rudder and brakes are at your feet. Use the brakes right, and you can turn this plane on a dime.”

Minutes later he got clearance for the runway.

It was everything she had hoped for and yet so much more. The plane had much better speed than Kate expected, and Dave handled her with finesse, bringing the nose up and guiding the plane smoothly into a climb.

“I filed a flight plan for us to cruise at thirty thousand feet. Airlines don’t usually fly at that altitude. We’ll head west toward Denver and be traveling with the sunset for almost an hour, depending on the cloud cover.”

He spoke briefly with the tower and moments later reached down and retracted the landing gear. Noise inside the airplane diminished. They traveled through the first cloud bank, coming out above it. The sun was shining on the top of the clouds. “One more cloud bank, and then we’ll be leveling off.”

Kate yawned to clear her ears as she watched the display climb through twenty-eight thousand feet.

Dave reached down and adjusted the trim, eased forward the nose, then leveled off at thirty thousand feet. “And that’s how this baby cruises.”

The beauty entranced her. She was looking close up at the top of clouds, not through the scratched Plexiglas windows on a commercial plane. “I can see why you love it.”

The top of the clouds came up toward them looking like billowing cotton balls, the high altitude winds tugging wisps of white. She watched new clouds build ahead of them, exploding into the clear air as growing mushroom clouds. “What’s it like when these are thunderstorm clouds?”

“If you’re high enough to be above the storms, they are a spectacular display. Most of the lightning actually happens up in the cloud, and it will light up like a Christmas tree. The clouds will form very rapidly, shooting thousands of feet into the sky.”

“This is already spectacular.”

“Just wait. It gets better.”

When the sun slipped to the right angle, the clouds suddenly became a blanket of pink below them. “Wow. Have you ever taken a picture of this?”

“A few. But even film can’t do the breathtaking color justice.”

“How long will this last?”

“We’ll be able to stay in this zone of color for probably half an hour. You’ll see it paint the canopy of clouds high above us here in a few minutes.”

Kate saw the colors of the sky in all their brilliance, from the blanket of pink, to the deep caps of red, and then the deep streaks of blue and gray as the sun slipped lower on the horizon. Dave banked them south, showing her the color gradients appearing. “If we were closer to the Rockies, you would see the snow-covered mountaintops being touched with the color as well.”

“Has Sara ever tried to capture it on canvas?”

Dave smiled. “A few times.”

“Thank you for showing me this.”

“It was my pleasure.” He brought the plane back around on a return heading.

“Would you like to fly her? Now’s a perfect time and place for a lesson.”

“What would I have to do?”

“Just put your feet lightly on the pedals and your hands on the wheel. You’ll barely have to touch either to keep her on this heading. There’s no major crosswind to deal with.”

“Are you sure you trust me with your toy?”

Dave chuckled. “I won’t let you fall out of the sky.”

Tentatively she reached forward to take it.

“Good. Relax your grip a little more on the wheel; hold it like a feather you don’t want to crush.”

It was as easy as he had described to keep it level; the plane barely seemed to move even though the readout showed them doing over three hundred knots.

“Try a gentle turn, say about ten degrees to the right.”

Beginning to anticipate the responsiveness, she brought the plane into a bank to the right, coming out at exactly ten degrees and holding it there.

He chuckled. “I already see a budding perfectionist. Good. Level it out and we’ll try a climb.”

Kate grinned and smoothly came back level. The fact his hands were comfortably folded across his chest said he either had confidence or strong nerves. Either way, she appreciated the compliment. “I think I could get to love this.”

“Hang around, and we’ll be dancing around the sky frequently. Bring the nose up in a climb and watch how it changes your airspeed.”

She did and easily saw the correlation. “Is this how they do a hammerhead? Go into a pure vertical climb and stall out their airspeed?”

“Yes.”

Growing more comfortable by the minute with the fact she was playing with a multimillion-dollar toy, Kate smiled over at him. “Show me how the rudders are used.”

Dave grinned, scanned the skies and the radar, then took the controls and slipped the plane left. “Feel how I’m moving them?”

She could, and she memorized the sensation. It was the same light touch as with the turns. “Yes.”

“Try it.”

The lessons continued until the light was totally gone, and then Dave took over, flying by instruments the remaining distance into the airport. When the plane set down with a smooth, rolling flair, Kate was already regretting they were on the ground. “That was really fun.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll get a second invitation.”

He taxied from the runway back to the hangar, following the directions given by the crewman with the glowing red batons. When the engines shut down, the still quietness of the night reclaimed them.

In the glow of the one interior light turned on, Dave completed the flight logbook and slipped it back in the map case.

Kate unbuckled her seat belt, loath to call it a day. Dave stopped her move to slide from the seat with a gentle hand on her arm. “Kate.” She looked over at him and saw the smile. “You’ll make a great pilot. You really should keep taking lessons.”

“You’re a good teacher.”

“I’m also willing to work for free. How about it? Want to hire me?”

His hesitation, so rare in him, made her smile. “You’re hired.” She wasn’t going to let an offer like that pass by.

She watched as Dave completed his walk around the plane, speaking with the crewman. He stepped back on board for a moment, then came off carrying something white. He joined her as the crewman moved the plane into the hangar.

“What’s this?” She was amused to realize he was carrying a pillow.

“You’re getting some sleep on the trip back.”

“I can’t stay up and talk?”

He caught her hand in his. “Not tonight.”

They walked together to the car. Kate settled with the pillow, reclining her seat back, turning so she could look at Dave. Would this be the norm for days spent with him if they did try to make a relationship work? Frustrating moments when a case had no apparent solution, tense moments when her pager went off, quiet moments ultimately relaxing together? The idea was getting easier to accept. It was hard to imagine not being with Dave in the middle of a day.

“What are you thinking about?” Dave asked.

“Today.”

He glanced over and smiled. “I heard a yawn under that word.”

“My eyes are tired.” She snuggled into the pillow. “It was a nice evening.”

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Sleep, Kate.”

Her eyes were already sliding closed. “If I don’t remember to say good night later, consider it said.”

He chuckled lightly and brushed his hand along her cheek. “Sweet dreams.”