The Silent, page 5
part #4 of L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Series
“No, why?”
“You seem edgy all of a sudden.”
What could she say…that she was continually on watch in case someone discovered what Cait knew and came after her? She forced a smile. “I get nervous watching Caitlin go so high on the swings. I know I shouldn’t worry so much, but I do.”
His expression was hard to read, but he seemed to believe her.
“She appears to be a very capable child. I doubt you have much to worry about.”
“You’re probably right,” Laura said, relaxing against the bench. She liked being with him, which was silly because he was there on business. But at least she knew she was still capable of feeling something. “Okay. What questions didn’t you ask?”
She thought he’d be happy she was willing to talk, but his expression turned serious and his gaze pierced right through her. Steady and searching, almost as if he could read her mind. Well, if he could, he’d know she was having thoughts that might embarrass both of them—thoughts that at once unnerved and excited her. Lord.
“So far, you’re the only person I’ve talked to who knew Anna Kolnikov, or at least the only person willing to admit to it.”
She tensed, clasped her hands tighter. If there was something she could tell him that would help him find Anna’s killer, she’d do it in a microsecond. But she didn’t know anything. Still, if she answered a few of his questions, maybe that would be the end of it.
“Did you know Kolnikov was a prostitute?”
Briefly, Laura closed her eyes. “I’d heard the rumor.”
“From your husband?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve been on the streets for the shelter since before we married. I talk to people. Word gets around.”
He nodded. “It’s a tough life out there for kids with no place to call home. Really tough.”
“Even worse when they want help and can’t get it. At the shelter, far too many times we discover the parents want nothing to do with their own flesh and blood. I had one of those today. It was heartbreaking.”
“Rejection stings. I don’t know why people have children when they don’t want them.” People like his biological mother, Jordan thought. But that was beside the point. He was here to get information.
“Laura—” he purposely used her first name to set her at ease “—the girls you’ve taken in over the years…do you know if any of them ever worked for Kolnikov?”
She frowned. “The shelter’s information is confidential.”
“I know. You’ll find I ask a lot of questions I shouldn’t ask.” He smiled amiably. “But it never hurts to try.”
She shifted her position on the bench, obviously uncomfortable now.
“Okay, getting back to the case…you mentioned that while your husband was in college he’d worked for his uncle.”
She nodded. “Before we were together.”
“Do you know if he collected money from Kolnikov?”
She wiped her hands on the thighs of her faded jeans—jeans he couldn’t help noticing showed off her soft curves. The red turtleneck sweater she wore complemented her fair skin and deep auburn hair. Luke was right. Stunning was the best word to describe her. And he was noticing too much for his own damned good.
“He was in real estate when we met. I don’t know the details of what he did for his uncle.”
“How did you meet?”
She took a moment, as if weighing her response. Jordan had a knack for reading people, and Ms. Gianni wasn’t very good at hiding her reactions.
“Is that important?”
“Probably not. But when I’m piecing things together, sometimes the information that seems the least important makes everything fall into place.”
“Eddie and I met at the university, but we didn’t date until after we graduated. I’d applied for some grants to run the shelter and had started looking for a piece of property. I discovered Eddie had gone into real estate. He helped me find Victory House. We got married a year later.”
Her gaze shifted to her daughter several times during the conversation. She was still tense. She said she was concerned about her child on the gym equipment, but the look he saw in her eyes was more than concern. “When did you first meet Ms. Kolni—”
Laura bolted to her feet and took off running toward the swings. He jumped up, scanning first the playground and then the peripheral area. The same black sedan was on the other side of the park now, the darkened windows rolled down just enough to see the top of someone’s blond hair. Or was it gray?
As Laura sprinted toward her daughter, Jordan jogged toward the car, keeping a low profile as he moved. The guy could be a father looking for his kid, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He’d get a plate number and call it in.
But before he could make out the numbers, the car sped away. He strode across the grass to where Laura stood talking to her daughter. “I’m sorry, Detective,” Laura said. “We’re leaving now.”
She held her daughter’s hand in a vise grip, but when she took a step to leave, the child didn’t budge.
“Mo-om. We just got here. I don’t want to go yet. And you’re hurting my hand.”
Laura released her hold. “I’m sorry, Caiti. I…I just think it’s best if we go now.”
“Can’t I play for a few minutes more? Please, please, please.”
Jordan glanced at Laura, then at the kid. “I was going to try out the swings, myself,” he said. “It’s been a long time.”
“Pleeease, Mom.”
Laura’s gaze darted to the street and back again. “Ten minutes. No more.”
Jordan felt a small hand latch onto his. “C’mon, Jordan. Let’s go.”
He caught Laura’s attention. “It’ll be okay.”
She nodded.
At that, Caitlin all but dragged him to the swings. “Can you push me way high?” She slipped onto a smooth canvas seat.
“Sure, but you have to hold on tight.”
“You’re really nice,” the child said, and the appreciative smile on her face warmed him. Just then, the other child, Jenny, asked to be pushed, too. But after only a few minutes, the girls jumped off and sprinted toward the monkey bars.
“Hey, I’m too big for those,” he told Caitlin. “I’ll just watch.”
As the girls played, Laura stood beside him, arms crossed. “Thank you for being so kind to Caitlin.”
“She’s a great kid. And it was fun.” He couldn’t suppress a big grin.
A half smile parted her lips, but he still read worry in her eyes. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It…it’s just time to go.”
He placed a hand on her arm to keep her there. “Laura, I saw the car. Is that what upset you?”
She pulled her arm away.
“I’m an officer of the law. Remember? I wouldn’t let anyone get near the kids. Have you seen the car before?”
The fear he saw in her eyes made him feel like a jerk for pushing her, making her answer questions she didn’t want to answer. But he wasn’t much of a detective if he didn’t ask questions.
And he couldn’t let this sudden sympathy for her affect what he had to do. “If you’ve seen the car here before, have you reported it? The department has a list of offenders in the area—”
“It…it’s not that.”
“What then? An old boyfriend? A pimp angry at you for taking one of his girls off the streets? I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.” If he was too blunt, he couldn’t help that, either. She was terrified of something and he wanted to know what it was.
“If you have any other questions you want to ask, do it now, because—” she looked at her watch “—because in two minutes I’m out of here, and I’ll be through answering questions.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight.
Damn, she was a stubborn woman. “Okay. When did you first meet Anna Kolnikov?”
She frowned. “Detective, I fail to see how this can help your case.”
“Everything anyone knows about a victim is important. Most violent deaths among women are perpetrated by someone they know. A family member, husband, a boyfriend. The more I know about the victim, the greater my chances of solving the crime.”
With her eyes riveted on her daughter, Gianni flipped her long hair behind her shoulders. “I’m sorry. Working with the girls as I do, I’m very aware of the statistics. I—I just have a lot of things on my mind at the moment and I’m not thinking clearly. She came to the wedding with Eddie’s uncle.”
Which meant DeMatta and Kolnikov still had a personal relationship at that time.
“Eddie also sold her some real estate. He was a good salesman.”
Real estate? For another whorehouse? Realizing he’d been remiss, he took out a notepad and, turning away from the playground so Caitlin didn’t see what he was doing, scribbled down what Laura had said. “What did you think of her as a person?”
Her frown lines softened. “That’s an odd question.”
“I don’t think so. Like I said—”
“Yes, I know.” This time she really smiled as she said, “I liked her. She…was kind and friendly, easy to talk to. Nice.”
Nice. Kind. She’d said that before, and the words lay like a rock in his gut. “Nice and kind hardly seems an apt description for someone who prostituted herself and pimped other women.”
Laura stood straighter. “You asked my opinion and I gave it to you.”
“Right.” And he had no business injecting his personal opinions into an investigation. “Maybe you can explain?” Because it also sounded as if Laura knew the woman better than she wanted to admit.
“Eddie told me she had a tough time of it when she was young.”
Jordan felt a muscle twitch in his cheek. “Your ex must’ve been close to her to know that.”
“Like I said, Eddie was in real estate. It was his business to collect information about people. But I still don’t see how any of this is going to help you.”
“It helps. One way or another. When you saw Kolnikov with DeMatta at your wedding, did they seem happy together?”
Her expression instantly switched from helpful to annoyed. “For God’s sake, Detective. I didn’t take notes.”
“Call me Jordan, please.” He smiled again, but it didn’t help.
“I was getting married at the time. I was preoccupied with other things. I’m sure you can understand. I’m also sure you can understand it’s time for me to take my daughter home for dinner.”
She called out, “Come on, Cait. We’re going now.” Walking over, she took the child’s hand and together they headed toward the parking area.
Jordan pressed his lips together. Yeah, he understood. He understood she knew a lot more than she was saying.
CHAPTER FIVE
CAITLIN SLAMMED THE DOOR behind them and headed directly to her room. “Get washed up for dinner,” Laura called after her, unwilling to respond negatively to her daughter’s passive aggressive behavior and acting out because they’d left the park so soon. That would be exactly what the child wanted. Ignoring the behavior always seemed to work best with Cait and within an hour or so she’d be back to normal.
But Laura wasn’t sure she would be. Her nerves felt as tight as harp strings. A few minutes alone to clear her head was all she needed. Her decision to talk to the detective had backfired. He kept probing deeper and deeper about Eddie and Frank DeMatta. Whose murder was he investigating, anyway?
At the window of the sunroom, she leaned one knee on the love seat and pulled the lace curtains aside. Nothing. Still, her heart raced. Just seeing the car circling the park was an ugly reminder of what could happen. She pushed away from the window and paced from one side of the small room to the other.
“Hey, what’s up?” Phoebe came in and dropped lazily into a chair.
Laura stopped pacing. “Nothing.”
“Nothing? So how come you’re prowling the room like a cat in heat?”
“Let me rephrase. Nothing I want to talk about.”
The hurt in Phoebe’s eyes took Laura by surprise. Phoebe never let anything bother her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that like it sounded. I just meant that I have a lot of things on my mind and I need to sort them out—by myself.” She tried to smile, but it was a lousy attempt.
Even so, Phoebe nodded her understanding. “Yeah. I know what’s wrong.” She glanced to make sure none of the girls were within earshot. “You need someone to help you get rid of all your pent-up frustration.”
Laura sat in the chair next to her friend. Phoebe’s solution to every problem began with a man. “I wish that’s all I needed.”
“What about Detective St. James? He’s hot. Sizzling, as a matter of fact.” Phoebe sucked air through her teeth and shook her hands as if she’d been burned.
Laura grinned. He was all that. “You’re absolutely right. And getting too close to a guy like him is a good way to get burned.” But the words belied the emotions stirring inside her. Despite her discomfort with the detective’s questioning, the heat of his hand on her arm had gone directly to her core. His touch was gentle, yet firm, and the understanding in his eyes almost undid her.
Most officers who came to the shelter were all business or on some kind of power trip. While St. James was focused, there was something different about him, a sensitivity, genuine caring. And those qualities seemed to draw her to him like the proverbial moth to a flame—a perilous proposition for the moth. She couldn’t for one minute let herself forget how dangerous it would be to get involved with him. A man of the law. Yet he was exactly the kind of man she’d want.
If she wanted to be with someone.
If she even had the choice.
“So this thinking you need to do,” Phoebe said, getting serious. “You want to bounce something off me?”
Laura knew her friend would do anything for her, but there were some things that couldn’t be shared. “Thanks, Pheebs. But no. I just need a little time alone.” She pushed to her feet. “But now it’s time to make dinner. The rest of the girls will be back soon.”
They went into the kitchen together and checked the menu posted on the refrigerator. “It’s my night,” Laura said.
“You up for it?”
“I’m always up for food.”
“Which is another thing I can’t figure out. If I ate as much as you do, I’d be rolling across the room instead of walking.”
Laura couldn’t help but laugh. Phoebe was good at raising her spirits. Thank heaven.
“As it is, I’m a chub.”
“You’re just right for you. Self-respect, remember. You teach it to the girls all the time.”
“Yeah, I have self-respect—but it doesn’t mean I’m not fat.”
“Okay, have it your way. Now, let me get to work on this.” She glanced up at the other woman. “Alone.”
“All right. I’m outta here, anyway. I need to do some paperwork I didn’t get done earlier.”
As Phoebe left, Caitlin pranced into the room and out of the blue she said, “Do you like that man?”
“What man?”
“The one at the park. Jordan.”
Laura’s stomach lurched.
“I like him. And I think he likes you.” There was no uncertainty in Cait’s voice.
Laura took a package of chicken out of the fridge and brought it to the sink while Caitlin boosted herself up on a stool at the center island—really an old wood chopping block.
Cait eyed Laura. “So, do you like him?”
Um. “I think he’s nice.”
Laura tore off the plastic wrapping, took the chicken to the sink and ran some water over it, rubbing the cold slippery meat with her fingers. Junk-food junkie that she was, she’d rather have a cheeseburger. It was hell having to keep up a healthy diet for the girls, Cait included.
“If you think he’s nice, then you should go out with him.”
The thought appealed to her—if only circumstances were different. “Well, it’s not so easy. When he’s talking to me, he’s working. And you shouldn’t go out with people you work with.” Though that wasn’t the case with some, it was as good an excuse as any.
“Do you want to go out with him?”
Laura put the chicken on a plate, brought it back to the island and blotted it dry with a paper towel. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out with anyone.” And it didn’t matter what she wanted. The other person had to want it, too.
“Jenny’s getting a new dad and I don’t even remember my daddy.”
A change of subject was most welcome, but not this change. With any mention of her father, Laura heard the need in Caitlin’s voice…almost a plea. Laura’s heart squeezed. She knew that need, felt it every day as a child. Like Cait, she’d longed to have a normal family like other kids. But nothing in Laura’s childhood had been normal.
“I know, sweetie. But in your heart, you’ll always remember how much he loved you.” Laura hadn’t even had that much.
“I don’t want him in my heart. I want a real dad, and you could get me one if you really wanted to.”
Laura sighed, picked up a piece of chicken and dipped it in flour. “It’s not easy, honey. I’d have to find someone I really liked, who liked me and who would also be a good father to you. That’s a tough act.” The hopeless trinity.
Caitlin became quiet.
“Sweetie, can you get me the big skillet from the bottom cabinet. Please.” Laura held up a sticky hand full of flour.
“Yuck.” The child scooted off the barstool. Handing the pan to her mom, she said, “I saw the other man at the park before.”
Laura’s swung around. “The other man?”
“The one in the car. I saw him yesterday in front of the house. Remember?”
***
“I can’t make it, Dad.” Rain drummed on the roof of Jordan’s Pathfinder. Holding the cell phone between his ear and his shoulder, he squinted to make out street signs through the sheets of water his wipers slapped off the windshield.
“Your mother will be disappointed.”
“Harry will be there.”
“It’s not the same.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m on a job. I can’t leave.” When his father didn’t answer, Jordan added, “You wouldn’t leave a company business meeting for a social event, would you?”
