Alaskan Courage: Silenced Part 15

"And what if we don't?"

"Don't solve the case?"

"Yeah. What if we never find the truth or the killer?" she asked.

It was a cop's worst nightmare, not to mention the victim's family. Unfortunately he'd experienced that as both a cop and a husband.

14.

A thrill sifted through Kayden as they reentered Brody's gym with a warrant in hand. She couldn't wait to see Brody's smug face settle when they served it to him. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was a bully.

Brody caught sight of them. "You two again? What do I have to do?" He moved at a clipped pace toward them. "Toss you out of here?"

Jake squared his shoulders "I'd like to see you try."

Brody stiffened, only a handful of inches remaining between the men.

Jake didn't budge, didn't flinch.

"We've got the warrant, Brody," Kayden said, trying to diffuse the tension before the two men came to blows, not that she'd mind seeing Jake knock Brody on his behind, not after his relentless intimidation tactics.

Brody's jaw tightened, and a curse slipped out. Anger flared crimson in his cheeks as everyone in the gym paused to look on.

"This could have all been avoided if you'd just cooperated," she said, not intending to embarra.s.s the man in front of his clientele.

"Or if you'd minded your own business." He tossed the logbook across the desk.

Jake quickly scanned the contents, then handed the book to Kayden with his finger pointing at Conrad's signature.

Conrad Humphries had signed in to the gym at three forty-five the day before his murder.

So he'd climbed first and then purchased his chalk, which narrowed the suspect pool significantly. Conrad hadn't left his chalk in his cubby for someone to doctor with Dodecanol, because he hadn't purchased the chalk yet.

"Are we done here?" Brody c.o.c.ked his head.

Jake handed him the book. "For now."

"That felt good," Kayden said upon leaving Brody's gym.

Man, she had a gorgeous smile-it lit her entire face.

The afternoon was warm, nearly seventy and sunny. Kayden wore the same outfit she had yesterday, because of their circ.u.mstances, but it looked just as good today as it had the day before.

She'd left her hair down, and Jake fought the urge to run his fingers through the auburn lengths-so shiny and smelling of apricots.

He'd balked at the fruity scent of the hotel shampoo, but on her it was intoxicating. He let the case ease from his mind momentarily and simply enjoyed walking beside her to Conrad's office.

It felt good to finally get a solid piece of the puzzle locked in place. Their timeline was beginning to come together. Now they needed to speak with Conrad's secretary to confirm when he left work that day and when he returned that night.

As they entered the plush office, a woman he a.s.sumed was Amber Smith, Conrad's secretary, was sitting at the first desk. An open printer-paper box sat in the center of the large mahogany desk, and the woman tearfully slipped items inside.

"Miss Smith?" Jake said.

She looked up from her task and swiped at her eyes. "Yes?"

"Deputy Cavanagh, and this is Kayden McKenna. We're here to ask you some questions about Conrad Humphries."

Her hand stilled on a gla.s.s paperweight-a duck. "What kind of questions?"

"We're trying to determine how Mr. Humphries spent his last day prior to the climb."

"I see." She placed the gla.s.s duck in the box and reached for the stapler. "Conrad came in to work at eight o'clock, as usual, but he left early, around three thirty, to go climbing."

"And did he return to the office later that evening?"

"No."

"I mean later that night. Around nine?"

"No."

"You sound certain."

"I'm positive."

"How can you be positive?" Vivienne had claimed that Amber was always in the office when Conrad was working, but who could say he hadn't gone in without calling her back in.

"He would have made me come in if he was going to be working here-it's just his thing. But he didn't have to, because I was here until ten that night."

"Why so late?" Kayden asked.

She dropped the stapler in the box and reached for the tape dispenser. "Conrad's business hasn't been doing so well lately. He hit a slump. It's happened before, and he always got through it, so I always stuck it out, but this time he had to fire Kim."

"Who's Kim?"

"Conrad's bookkeeper."

Jake looked at Kayden. Perhaps a woman scorned? "Why'd he fire Kim and keep you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I've been with Conrad longer, and I don't think she would have been willing to pick up the a.s.sistant duties. I'm good with most of the bookkeeping tasks, but sometimes I had to work late to get things finished." She set the tape dispenser in the box and glanced around the now empty desk with what appeared to be longing. She really liked her job or her boss.

"Was Kim upset?" Jake asked.

"Of course, but she understood."

"What kind of terms would you say they parted under? Good, bad, neutral?"

"Neutral. Like I said, she was upset, but what was Conrad to do?"

"When did he let her go?"

"Last month. So I've been staying late a couple nights a week to cover the load, and the night before Conrad's death happened to be one of them. I wanted to get caught up before the weekend."

"And you're positive Conrad never came by?"

"Positive." She shifted. "Why do you think he did?"

"His wife told us he left the house at nine for an hour, supposedly for the office."

"Oh." Amber bit her bottom lip.

Jake took a stab. "You think he was visiting Patty Tate?"

She swallowed. "You know about her?"

Jake nodded, intrigued by Amber's condescending tone when mentioning Patty. A little jealousy brewing there, perhaps?

"Then, yes, with Patty would be my guess, but wherever Conrad was, it wasn't here."

"Well, thank you for your a.s.sistance, Amber. Have a good afternoon."

"So his business wasn't doing well," Kayden said as they stepped out of the chilly office and back into the sunshine.

"Perhaps Vivienne found out and decided to cash in on his life-insurance policy."

"How do you know Conrad had a life-insurance policy?"

Jake slid his sungla.s.ses on. "Men in Conrad Humphries' position always have a life-insurance policy. I'll put a call in to Landon and have him look into it."

"Sounds good. And Kim?"

"We'll have to see if she really left under decent terms."

Kayden nodded and they made the short walk back to Brody's gym to retrieve their rental car for the ride over to Vivienne's.

Kayden hitched at the sight of the white envelope stashed under the wiper blades. She looked at Jake. "A nasty note from Brody?"

He grabbed it, pulled out the note, and his jaw tightened.

He crumpled it, threw it down, and headed straight for Brody's door.

Kayden retrieved the paper and smoothed it out.

I see the way you look at her. Oh, the pain you'll feel when I inflict it on her.

Brody was a lunatic. She shoved the note in her pocket, knowing Landon would want it for evidence, and followed Jake back inside.

He had Brody by the throat, and Jason Gellar was leaping across the desk to try to intervene.

"You lay so much as a finger on her and I'll see you behind bars." Jake clutched harder.

Jason grabbed his shoulder, and Jake released one hand from Brody, keeping the other firmly grasped on his neck. Taking Jason's arm, he executed a move that had Jason on his knees with his arm pinned behind his back and his hand poised to break if Jake pulled.

"Cavanagh." Deputy Franklin, the man Sheriff Marshall had put on Brody, rushed forward. "What are you doing?"

"He threatened Kayden again."

"I . . . did . . . not . . ." Brody wheezed out.

"When?" Franklin asked, confused. "I've had eyes on him all day."

Kayden pulled the note from her pocket. "He left this on our car."

Brody sputtered.

"Jake." She tilted her head at Brody, who was turning a deep shade of red.

With a firm glare, Jake released his hold.

Brody clasped his throat, coughing. "Are you . . . insane?"

"When do you think he left it on your car?" Franklin asked as Jake released his hold on Jason.

Jason slowly rose from the floor, staring at Jake with a mixture of anger and admiration.

"It had to be while we were at Conrad's office."

Franklin glanced at his watch. "You've been gone less than an hour, and I've had Brody in my sights the whole time. He didn't leave the gym once or hand a note off to anybody. He's not your guy."

"I told you," Brody grunted.

A shiver snaked up Kayden's spine, just as it had with the spray-painted message. Brody trying to intimidate them was one thing, but if someone else was leaving the messages . . . were they serious threats? Was the killer really after her and Jake? Trying to silence them before they were caught? She looked at Jake. How much danger were they in?

Jake knocked on Vivienne's door, adrenaline still burning through his veins. Whoever sent that message wasn't bluffing. He felt it in his gut. They had to catch the killer before he or she got to them.

The door opened and Vivienne's housekeeper, Amelia, greeted them with a smile. "Detective Cavanagh." She looked to Kayden. "Miss McKenna. Nice to see you again."

"Thank you, Amelia. Is Mrs. Humphries in?"

"No. I'm afraid not. She and Mr. Anderson flew to Kodiak."

"Really?" To get away from the sorrow? The investigation?