Page 9 of Having HIs Back
“I can ask them,” Kerry answered. “But I don’t think so. I don’t know how much they’re going to know. Caroline told me that lately she hadn’t been dating much, and when she did, she did her best to keep them away from the boys. She didn’t want them to like someone and then have them leave if things didn’t work out. So even if she was seeing someone, the boys may not have known about it.”
“Who would babysit them?” Brian asked.
“Karen from next door. She is really involved in the boys’ lives. That’s why I suspect she had them yesterday. The boys knew that they were to go to Karen if they couldn’t find their mom. She has been in the neighborhood for many years. She and Caroline became friends shortly after my sister moved in. I can only imagine how worried those boys must have been when they got up and couldn’t find their mom. I know I would have been frantic as a kid.”
“I guess I would have too,” Brian said. “I did speak with her, and she wasn’t aware of anyone that your sister was seeing. I just keep hoping that something from your sister’s past or her current life will present itself. There has to be some connection, especially with what you told me.”
“I’ll ask the boys and see if they can tell us anything, but I don’t expect Henry to be much help. He’s too withdrawn and in his own head right now. I’d like to plan the funeral, and I’m hoping that the boys being able to say goodbye to her will help. Maybe then Henry will feel more like talking. He’s a six-year-old boy who lost his mother, and if he did see anything or knows anything, it’s locked behind a wall of worry, pain, and lack of words. Henry is super smart, we know that, and ideas run around his head like little bits of corn in a popper, bouncing here and there. The thing is, we don’t know how much control he has over all of it and how organized it is. Whatever he saw could be running around that popper amid a ton of confusion.”
“Then how do we get to it? There has to be a way.”
Kerry nodded. “There is. But it isn’t going to happen right now. Everything is too confused and scary. It’s going to take some time and patience. I can eventually ask the boys about a boyfriend or someone in their mom’s life, but I can’t do it right now. I have to bring things up with them when the time is right. It needs to be quiet and when they can focus, otherwise all I’ll get are blank looks.” He placed his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “I get why you need the information, but we can’t rely on the boys as the sole source of information. That’s putting all our eggs in one basket… with a hole in it.”
Brian’s attention zeroed in on where Kerry touched him, and his mind slipped a groove for a second. “I do understand, and if I were in your shoes, I’d probably do the exact same thing.” He checked the time. “I should get going. See if I can dig up any more leads.” They got the seats inside the house, and Brian closed the garage door. Then he locked it and went through the house, saying goodbye to the boys before heading out to his car.
Without thinking, he looked to the east. The sky was cloudy and overcast, so the mountain wasn’t out. It was funny. He had grown up here, and Mount Rainier was tall enough that it made its own weather. Most days it was shrouded, and even when it was sunny otherwise, the mountain held on to the clouds. Yet even so, he still looked for it. Rainier was magnificent, and whenit was out, it was something to see, even if he had seen it a hundred times.
Turning away, he got into his car and headed back to the station. There was something he was missing, and Brian needed to take some time to incorporate what Kerry had told him into everything else that they knew. It was clear now that whoever had gone after Kerry’s sister had lured her out there, which suggested premeditation and forethought. He braked, bringing the car to a stop. Spur-of-the-moment killings were one thing, but this was looking more and more as though someone had put thought into it, and they went to Caroline’s home to kill her. What he needed to do was figure out why… and hopefully the rest would follow.
“Are yougetting anywhere?” Smyth Barnes asked when Brian returned to the station downtown to get some files. The guy was a real douche, at least as far as Brian was concerned. Smyth was one of those people who always weighed everything against how it made him look or what someone or something could do for him. So, the success of the other officers was always a threat, and their setbacks were something he tried to leverage.
“I am, actually,” Brian told him with a smile meant to keep him off guard. Smyth had wanted the call as soon as it came in, but Brian had been assigned, so now he wanted Brian to fail. The guy was a real pain in the ass. “I found out a number of things that I need to fit in with the rest of the pieces I have. Thanks for asking.” Kill the jerk with kindness—at least that was less messy than punching the asshole in the throat, and it involved a whole lot less paperwork. Brian headed to his desk and plopped down in his chair.
“Is he being his usual self?” Janine asked. She had the office across from his. They had formed a friendship of sorts. She hadjust joined the force six months ago, relocating from Medford, Oregon, so she and her ex-husband could co-parent their kids. She hadn’t volunteered a lot of information, and Brian wasn’t going to pry.
“Yup…,” he told her. “I found some things out.”
She wheeled her chair over. “Spill.”
“Well, I spoke with the victim’s brother. He says that if the victim had been going out anywhere, she would have been dressed for it. Caroline was particular about her appearance. So, the fact that we found her in….”
“Night clothes and stuff…?”
“He thinks she was lured out there, and I agree.”
Janine nodded, her dark eyes lighting up a little. “Me too. So that means premeditation. At least in getting her out there. This guy came with a purpose.” She grew quiet. “My money is on an ex. Hands down. How many does she have?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. The neighbor told me about a couple of them. Then there are the fathers of the two boys. One of them I was able to rule out. The other I can’t get enough information on. Kerry, her brother, didn’t have much to do with him, and he hasn’t been in the picture in some time.”
“Let me check with child services. Maybe she tried to get him to pay child support. If she did, there would be a claim of some kind, and maybe we can get the details there.”
Brian smiled. “Great idea. That would be a big help. The brother also said that he saw someone watching the house. I don’t know if it’s related. He said he would keep an eye out. But I’m worried there could be more to this. So I think we need to make our presence known in the neighborhood.”
Janine rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe in coincidence any more than you do. I’ll alert patrol to put that street as a priority.”
“Thank you,” Brian said, Janine watching him closely.
“You don’t think it’s going to be enough?” Janine asked. “Let me guess, you want to give this particular area more personal attention.” Her gaze was laser focused, and Brian looked down at the papers on his desk, picking up the ones on the top, pretending he was reading. Sometimes, Janine saw way too damned much for her own good. “What is that blush about?”
“I am not….” He glared at her, and she rolled her eyes. “Just make your phone calls.” He knew he shouldn’t have been having thoughts about a certain man with intense brown eyes, hair the color of rich chocolate, and a body just made for hot…. He shook his head, because he was doing it again, and he didn’t dare even look at Janine, or she was going to know exactly what was going on inside his head. Brian cleared his throat and forced his attention on the papers in front of him.
Janine snickered and picked up the phone.
ChapterFive
For thepast four days, all Kerry had done was try to keep things together for the boys. They developed a routine of their own… of sorts. They got up and went to bed at the same time, walked to the park, and went to the store to choose something for dinner. And Kerry answered questions, patiently, over and over again.
Caroline’s body had been released, so he was able to schedule the funeral. He hadn’t been sure if he should go ahead with immediate cremation or not, but the funeral director had assured him that everything would be fine for an open casket, and he had been right. The more he thought about it, the more he figured the boys needed chance to see her and say goodbye.
