Christmas Cover-up

He carried the phone into the other room. “Go on.”

“First off,” Danny said, “I want to thank you for taking care of Rue. She’s a great kid.”

Not exactly. Rue was a grown woman who didn’t need or want her former stepfather hovering over her. “Is there something else you wanted to tell me, Danny?”

“The chief of police has been keeping me informed on their investigation. There’s something you should know.”

“Yes, sir?”

“After Bob was shot, the killer dropped his weapon. He just left it there for us to find.”

Cody had no idea why Danny was telling him this. He wasn’t an investigator and he didn’t handle murder cases. He practiced corporate law. In his negotiations, the only blood that was spilled was symbolic.

Danny continued, “The forensic people have run ballistics tests on the gun.”

“Already?”

“Top-priority case.”

Of course, it would be. Danny Mason was the newly elected mayor of Denver. Cody waited for him to continue.

“The gun,” Danny said. “It was the same weapon used twenty years ago to murder your father.”

Chapter Four

In spite of the top-of-the-line appliances, Rue didn’t find much in Cody’s kitchen that could be turned into an actual meal. A couple of eggs, some dairy creamer and butter. Flour and sugar. Frozen veggies but nothing fresh. Canned soups.

She assembled ingredients and glanced across the granite counter toward the front room where Cody stood at the window, staring down at the city lights. Slowly, he lowered the telephone receiver from his ear. He looked good from the back; his tailored suit coat tapered from his shoulders to his lean torso.

Had she really kissed him? Even though she could still feel the tingling rush of pheromones, she couldn’t believe she’d been so impetuous. Could she blame her lack of inhibition on the vodka? Not really. She’d only had a couple of sips. Maybe she wasn’t thinking rationally because she hadn’t eaten since two o’clock, and it was almost ten.

Instead of joining her in the kitchen, he left the living room and disappeared down the hall. A little rude, but guys didn’t usually announce their trips to the bathroom.

Using a whisk, she whipped up a thin batter for crepes. The process of cooking relaxed her. The smells, flavors and textures of food allowed her to set aside the horrifying events of the day and concentrate on something normal and comforting. She took a healthy swig of her vodka and orange juice. Cooking was something she did well. Not like relationships.

In her life so far, there had only been one serious attachment. She’d lived with one guy—an archeology major—for three months before he left for a dig site in Peru. They’d intended to get back together, but it didn’t work out. And she hadn’t been heartbroken. They were compatible but lacked fire.

In her brief kiss with Cody, she’d felt more passion than in her whole time in that other relationship. The intensity was a little bit scary…and a little bit wonderful. She needed to be careful not to get carried away, not to expect too much.

When he returned to the kitchen, he’d changed from his suit to jeans and a faded red University of Denver sweatshirt. The clothes were casual, but he was tense. He took a seat on the opposite side of the granite counter between the kitchen and the living room. His expression dark and brooding, he drained most of his vodka and orange juice in one long gulp.

“Bad phone call?” she asked.

“It was Danny.”

And he didn’t ask to talk to her? He must be aware that she was staying here. She’d told the lead homicide detective where she could be reached, and he’d certainly report back to her former stepfather. “What did he say?”

“They’ve already done ballistics on the gun from the crime scene.”

“Wow, that was fast.”

“Danny has a lot of pull. The murder of Bob Lindahl is the number-one case for the Denver PD.”

“Well, that’s good news, isn’t it?” She found a copper-bottom skillet in a lower cabinet and fired up the gas burner. “The quicker they investigate, the more likely they’ll solve the crime. Right?”

“True. My father’s body wasn’t found for sixteen hours. He lay dead on the concrete floor of a warehouse while the killer covered his tracks.”

She heard the bitterness in his voice. “He was an assistant district attorney. I’m sure the police investigated thoroughly.”

“Not good enough.”

She flipped a smidgen of butter into the skillet and watched it melt. The secret to perfect crepes was having exactly the right heat. “How old were you?”

“Twelve.”

The oldest of five children. “It must have been hard on you.”

“It was worse for my mother. My parents were one of those couples who were best friends as well as lovers. Always laughing. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Embarrassing for us kids. But in a good way.”

She poured a stream of batter into the skillet. “Did she ever remarry?”

“Didn’t even date. She used to say that she’d already had the one true love of her life. Nobody else could live up to her memories of my father.”

She wondered if the same was true for Cody. He spoke of his parents’ relationship with such reverence. Could it be that he wanted the same thing and wasn’t willing to settle for less? That might explain why this very eligible bachelor wasn’t married.

Carefully, Rue flipped the crepe. Lightly browned but not crispy. Perfect. She transferred the thin pancake to a plate and poured another. “How hungry are you? Do you want two or three?”

“Don’t you want to hear about the ballistics?”

“I doubt it’ll mean anything to me. I don’t pay much attention to the news, don’t even know the names of the current bad guys. Or gangs. Or whatever.”

“At one time, you did,” he said. “While Danny was your stepfather.”

She pulled off another perfect crepe. “He did a lot of work with gangs when I was a kid. That’s where I first met Jerome Samuels, his campaign manager. Jerome’s father was a gang leader.”

“I wasn’t aware of that.”

“You must be the only one.” She poured more batter. “Jerome loves to tell his story. How he was a thug, a gangsta, a juvenile delinquent. Then he pulled himself out of his life of crime, went to college and became a big, fat success.”

“Is it true?”

“Mostly,” she admitted. “I was just a kid at the time when Danny was involved in gang negotiations, and I resented the attention he gave to anybody else, including Jerome.”

“The gang project,” Cody said. “That turned into a career move for Danny. His place in those negotiations launched him into politics.”

Another endeavor that had taken his focus away from Rue. Even worse, her mother had gotten involved. When Leticia jumped into the political arena and took up networking, she no longer had time for Rue’s school plays and field trips. Her mother couldn’t wait to make the transition from cop’s wife to the spouse of a respected legislator.

As it turned out, the joke was on her. Their marriage disintegrated shortly after Danny was elected as a state representative.