Shades of Passion

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

THE NEXT DAY, SIMON brought Nina back to work with him only to escort her, along with several files she’d picked up from her office at the hospital, to an empty room. There, she planned on preparing a formal proposal for the MHIT program, which she would eventually present to Commander Stevens and the other higher-ups. “It makes sense for me to construct the proposal,” she said, “even though I won’t actually be conducting any of the training or even heading up the program.”

“What do you mean?” he responded with a frown. He leaned against a wall in the small office, arms crossed.

“My boss, Karen? This is really her project.” Nina separated file folders, making several neat stacks. “She asked for my help to get things started, but once the proposal is approved, there will no longer be any reason for me to be involved.”

“But don’t you want to be involved?” he asked, unsettled by the feeling of distress that was suddenly rising inside him.

He’d assumed once the MHIT training began, Nina would be a critical part of it, and he’d see her, if not often, at least occasionally. Logically, a relationship between them wouldn’t work, but that knowledge had been tempered somewhat by his belief she’d still be close by. Now? To realize that she never planned on coming back? It made him want to howl with rage, take her in his arms and refuse to let her go.

Instead, he simply waited for her to respond to his question.

Nina looked away and shrugged. “So long as the program is implemented, that’s all that matters to me. I miss my geriatric patients. It’s time I get back to them.”

“You work solely with older patients?” he asked. “Like the one that gave you that skin flick? Do you ever work with younger people?”

“Not really. Not anymore. I’ve carved out a specialty at the hospital and it’s been enough for me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m really looking forward to getting started on these papers. And I’m sure you have plenty to take care of yourself,” she said with a bright, patently false smile.

He had a shitload of work to do, in fact. As such, he murmured a polite farewell and left. However, he did so begrudgingly, on the inside if not the outside.

He didn’t like her shooing him out of the room simply because he’d been asking her personal questions, even if they’d been personal questions about her job at the hospital. It made him realize how very little of herself she’d actually revealed to him over the past week. She’d revealed some things, sure, but not a whole lot, and only when she was pushed.

To prove his point, Simon summarized what he did know about Nina and how he’d found out about it.

She’d worked with an older woman with a fondness for porn, but she’d only told him that after her purse had spilled and given him a glimpse of that porn DVD.

She’d told him about Davenport’s cards and letter only after he’d confronted her about being scared.

She’d informed him that she’d inherited her house from her grandmother, but only because he’d commented that it wasn’t what he’d thought a psychiatrist would own.

She hadn’t told him about her sister—he’d found that out on his own. And although he knew her physically—how her body responded to his, how soft her skin was, how tight she fit around him, how heavenly her arms and scent were when they wrapped around him—he’d discovered all those things on his own, too, by touching her, tasting her, exploring her. Sure, she’d let him, of course, and she’d explored his body, too, to amazing result. But even in his arms, she’d kept herself apart from him.

Funny. Until now, he’d felt like he knew everything there was to know about her. But, man, he’d been wrong.

He didn’t know the most basic things about her as a woman—her favorite color, what she liked to eat, what kind of music or movies she liked... They’d jumped right past the getting to know you stage and straight into bed, and while that was great in many ways, it also made him feel a deep sense of loss at the thought that he wouldn’t be given the time to explore all of Nina’s small intricacies in great detail.

He couldn’t help wondering if her decision to work with geriatric patients was a result of what had happened to her sister. And to Beth. Had she decided not to work with teenagers or young people anymore because doing so brought back bad memories? It made sense.

It also made him wonder if she was truly fulfilled with her work or if playing it safe made her feel less passionate about what she did for a living.

In the end, he could wonder all he wanted. She obviously wasn’t going to volunteer the information and, really, he had no right to push her for it. Not if he wasn’t planning on sticking around.

With a sigh, Simon started work by checking up on Davenport’s recent credit card charges. Over the course of several days, he’d left a trail of credit card transactions for gas and food across the country. As such, the records supported his claim that he’d only recently arrived in California. “He must have hired someone to do the other things,” Simon murmured to himself. “It’s the only explanation.” And that seemed especially true after he got a preliminary report from forensics.

The muddy footprints found in Nina’s home weren’t a match for Davenport, who had smaller feet and had been wearing shoes with a different tread.

Again, that didn’t prove Davenport was innocent of any of the crimes Simon suspected he’d committed. After all, Simon had caught him fleeing from Nina’s vandalized home and he didn’t need Davenport’s footprints to verify that. To the contrary, a prosecutor could easily argue the muddy footprints belonged to Davenport’s accomplice, who’d left before Simon had gotten there. The presence of an accomplice would explain how someone could have left Nina a threatening letter or killed her cat even before Davenport had arrived in California.

But Simon needed additional proof of an accomplice’s existence before Davenport could be convicted. He doubted Davenport would be any help on that matter. No matter how hard Simon had pushed him, Davenport hadn’t been swayed from his fervent denials of working with an accomplice. According to him, he’d been alone when he’d entered Nina’s home, and the house had already been unlocked. He also claimed the house had already been open and trashed by someone else. And when Simon had told him about the bear left in Nina’s room, Davenport had looked genuinely shocked. Horrified. Even scared.

As Simon had already told Nina, part of him had believed Davenport’s denials. Now, the credit card records and the shoe prints seemed to support them, at least in part. Simon had to consider two possibilities: Davenport was either the best actor Simon had ever met, or he was telling the truth about working alone and being lured to California by someone pretending to be a reporter. If he was telling the truth, then a murderer was still on the loose. And that murderer was someone who had targeted Nina.

At that point, however, the question would be why? And what significance the initials BD would have for anyone other than Davenport. Was it possible someone else—someone other than her father—might want revenge against Nina because of what had happened to Beth Davenport?

She’d had a boyfriend, Nina said. One who had given her that bear with the ribbon in the first place. He rose, intending to go to Nina and get the name of Beth’s boyfriend, but just as he did so, DeMarco walked up to his desk.

“Simon,” his friend said, his voice and countenance grim.

Simon narrowed his eyes and assessed his friend. The other man looked beyond tired and beyond stressed. He looked run-down. Agitated. At the end of his rope. How the hell had that happened so quickly?

“I need to talk to you about something, Simon. Can we get that drink now?”

“Sure. But I was just going to run something by Nina. Something about who else, besides Davenport, might be responsible for carving the initials BD into our victims. Give me a second to do that and I’ll be—”

DeMarco shook his head. “I need to talk to you now, Simon. And you’ll want to hear what I have to say. Because I might know the answer to the very question you’re asking.”

* * *

SIMON AND DEMARCO WENT to the SIG break room and talked over coffee. Simon listened as DeMarco explained about a horrible incident he’d gone through in New Orleans six years ago, when he’d been forced to shoot a street kid named Billy Dahl.

“Man, I’m sorry. That had to be tough.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Given the kid’s initials, I can see why you’d want to tell me about this, but there’s really no reason to think what happened six years ago is motivating these crimes. Nina’s the key, and we’ll confirm this, but I doubt she knew Billy Dahl.”

“You’re assuming the murders are connected to Nina because of the initials on her cat, the cards, the letters...But what if the murders aren’t connected to her at all? You have to consider them in isolation. And if you do that, you have to consider the possibility that they might be connected to Billy Dahl. Especially because of what Rita Taylor told you about someone wanting to falsely blame the murders on the police.”

“Okay, let’s assume you’re right. Let’s look at the murders independently. You think someone in Billy Dahl’s family is here in San Francisco, sending you a message? But why? It’s been six years. Why come after you now?”

“Because even though I shot Billy six years ago, he didn’t actually die from that injury until last year.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Do you remember last year when I had a family emergency? Right when Jase and Carrie were in the middle of The Embalmer case?”

“Yeah. I asked you about it, but—”

“But I blew you off. I blew everyone off who asked me about it. Well, it wasn’t really a family emergency. At least, not my family emergency. I went down to New Orleans because Billy Dahl’s family was pulling him off life support. He’d been in a coma since the night I shot him and they’d hoped he’d come back to them. But he didn’t and they’d decided to finally let him go.”

“And they called you and told you that?”

“His sister called and told me. For some reason, she thought I deserved to know. That I’d want to know. And she was right. I—I needed to see him before they pulled the plug.”

“And the rest of his family let you?”

“Yeah. They did. But not out of the kindness of their hearts. Because they wanted me to see exactly what Billy had become. Because they blamed me for what had happened to him. At least, his mother did.”

“And you think his mother is the one that killed Cann and Hastings.”

“No, damn it. But Dahl had brothers. Brothers with criminal records. I don’t know where they live now, but it’s possible...”

“Yeah, it’s possible. Anything’s possible. Too many things are possible. We have so many possibilities at work here that this investigation has turned into a circus. But we have to be practical. Your theory about Billy Dahl might be a possibility, but the best possibility is still the connection to Beth Davenport. Her father. And, like I said, given the footprints found in Nina house, maybe even her boyfriend.”

“So that’s what you’re going to check into next?”

“Yeah.”

DeMarco sighed. “Okay. But you’re going to have to pursue that lead without my help.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been having troubles. I have been for a while now. I thought I was handling it but things have been getting worse. I’m starting to hear things. Dream things. My memory is shot. I’m afraid...”

After a prolonged moment of silence, Simon urged, “What?”

“I’m afraid I’m losing my mind. Hell, I’ve even considered the possibility that I might somehow be responsible for the murders.”

Simon couldn’t help it. He snorted. “What? Like blacking out and committing murder in your spare time? Right.”

“Don’t dismiss it so easily, Simon. Didn’t you say there were a host of possibilities in this case? Okay, so I don’t think it’s really true. I don’t have huge memory blanks or periods of time I can’t account for. But the fact that I’d even consider it scares me. I need to take some time off. Get my head together. I’m sorry to bail on you just when this case is getting more complicated, but I think it’s best.”

It was best that DeMarco take an extended leave from work? The situation was definitely serious, then. Simon felt nothing but concern for his friend; that and a fair amount of guilt that he hadn’t realized his friend was suffering so much. He sought to reassure him now. “I understand, DeMarco. Don’t worry about the case. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself and know that I’m here for you. I don’t buy for one second that you’re involved in these murders. And as for Billy Dahl? You did exactly what you needed to do. I’d have done the same thing. So would have Jase. And Carrie. And Mac. And any other good cop. Unless you’d blame one of us for what happened, don’t blame yourself.”

“I’ll work on that, Simon. Until I get back, take care of yourself. And take care of your woman.”

“My woman?” Of course, Simon knew immediately he was talking about Nina, and having her characterized as his felt right. Too right. “Nina’s not my woman. She’s just—she’s just—”

DeMarco shot him a chiding look. “Please. I know I just told you I’m on the edge, but I haven’t completely gone over the bend, Simon. She’s your woman and you’re damn lucky to have her, for however long it lasts. Just like she’s damn lucky to have you. She’s not Lana. No, there are never any guarantees in life, but you’ve got your second chance at happiness with her. Don’t blow it because you’re scared.”

* * *

AFTER TALKING TO DEMARCO, Simon continued going over the evidence in the homeless murders, trying to find the chain that would link Davenport, or even the boyfriend, Leo, to them. Just like before, he came up empty. Turned out, Leo was studying overseas in Italy. Simon called and spoke to the guy himself.

After that, he followed up on what DeMarco had told him about Billy Dahl. Not because he actually believed Billy Dahl’s death was connected to the homeless murders, but because no matter what he might believe, he didn’t leave anything to chance. He got hold of the reports on the shooting, and did some checking on Dahl’s immediate family, as well. Three of his six brothers had long criminal records, and two were in prison, one in California’s San Quentin Prison. But there was absolutely nothing to suggest they’d gone on a killing spree the past week.

In other words? Dead ends all around.

But what was worse than that?

When he wasn’t agonizing about how little progress he was making on the case, he was agonizing about his feelings for Nina and what he was going to do about them.

Nina had gotten bored working in the small office by herself and had decided to work at one of the empty desks across the room from Simon. At several points, he’d watched her when she hadn’t known he’d been doing so, and a secretive smile had played on her lips, as if she was recalling the passion they’d shared the night before. It had made his body ache to touch her. Kiss her. Make love to her over and over again. Several times, he’d wanted to go to her, but he’d held back, wanting to prove that he could focus on the job and not her.

Now, Simon gave in to the twitchy feeling in his stomach, left his desk, headed over to where Nina sat and hitched a hip on the desk. He checked around, confirmed that they were the only two in the room and leaned in close. She looked up from the papers she was scribbling notes on and focused her gaze on him.

“Don’t tell me this is one of those ‘about last night’ moments, is it?” she asked, an edge to her voice.

He let out a laugh and fought back the desire to cover her mouth with his, the way he had just hours before.

“Technically, it was this morning, but no, that’s not why I’m here. I—I was hoping I could talk to you about something. But it would have to be off the record. Just between the two of us.”

She watched him carefully. Considered what he was asking. Then nodded. “What is it?”

He struggled with his conscience. Normally, he’d never share what DeMarco had told him with another person, but Nina wasn’t just anyone. She was a doctor. She’d know what he was going through. And maybe, just maybe, she’d know of a way Simon could help his friend.

Briefly, he explained what DeMarco had told him about the shooting in New Orleans. Then said, “I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight into what he’s going through personally. He mentioned nightmares. That he was hearing things. That things started to go south after Billy Dahl was taken off life support.”

Nina nodded. “It sounds like delayed PTSD. He’s probably been dealing with the aftermath for six years, but because there was still hope—however slim—that Billy Dahl might make it, he was able to keep it out of his head. After Billy died...”

Yeah, after Billy died, DeMarco had been buried by guilt.

Cops often had a case where everything went wrong. Where innocents died. Often the wrongs happened because lieutenants or captains or commanders made a bad call, something that had weighed on Simon’s mind when he’d gotten his promotion. But other times, a simple traffic stop could result in a huge mess, leaving a cop scarred for life.

“I wish he’d shared more with me,” Simon said. “Maybe then I could have made him realize he had nothing to feel guilty about.”

“Have you shared your feelings about Lana? Not that I’m saying you blame yourself for her death,” she said quickly, “but I imagine it would be hard for DeMarco to share something so personal with you if you didn’t do the same.”

“Shit.” Simon sighed. “You’re right. I never shared my feelings with him. I’ve kept them to myself, just like he was doing. But I’ve been handling Lana’s death. He hasn’t.” When she said nothing, he frowned. “I’m sensing you’re not saying anything for a reason.”

“I think unless you’re willing to talk about something, you can’t really know whether you’re handling it or not. Have you ever talked to someone, really talked to someone about Lana’s death?”

“I talked to your friend Dr. Shepard.”

“You did that because you were told to. And I’m sure you didn’t truly open up to Kyle about how you felt. Am I right?”

“Probably.”

Nina nodded.

“So...you think I should talk to someone?”

“It might help.”

“Someone like you maybe?”

“I didn’t say that. But at the very least, talk to someone who cares about you. A friend.” She blushed. “I mean, I care about you. And I consider you a friend. But I know you probably wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing such personal thoughts with me.”

“Actually,” he said, “I think I’d feel most comfortable sharing personal thoughts with you.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh. Well, thank you. And of course, anytime you want to talk to me, about anything, I’m here for you. As a friend.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Will you do the same thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, who do you have to confide in? About Beth? About your sister? About anything else that troubles you?”

He saw her practically shut down. “I’ve talked to you about Beth. And my sister isn’t an issue. That was a long time ago.”

“You haven’t talked to me about how you feel about Beth. And come on, Nina. I don’t care how long ago it was. Your sister’s death still weighs on you.”

“To some extent, yes. I loved her. Of course I miss her. But I’m handling it.”

“I thought you just said that if you’re not willing to talk about something, you can’t know you’re handling it.”

“Touché.” She sighed.

“Does that mean you’ll tell me about it—tell me about Rachel—someday?”

She looked uncertain, was clearly struggling with an answer, and ultimately all she said was, “I’m hungry. Do you want to grab lunch?”

No, he didn’t want to grab lunch. He wanted to push her, to beg her to trust him. Instead, he said, “Sure.”

They gathered their stuff and were almost to the lobby when they heard a loud commotion. “Damn it, I’m looking for Nina Whitaker. I was told she was working with one of your detectives. I want to talk to her. Now.”

Automatically, Simon positioned his body in front of Nina’s, every nerve in his body alive and aware. A man who was speaking to the receptionist glanced up and saw Nina.

“You!” the man shouted. “You’re the one who wouldn’t let the cop interrogate that bastard who stole Becca. You’re the reason my child can’t sleep at night. The reason Becca’s asthma’s so bad she’s been back in the E.R. three times.”

Great, Simon thought, so this was Mr. Hyatt, Rebecca Hyatt’s father. Just what they needed.

“Back off,” Simon said. “Now.”

Hyatt’s gaze flew to Simon. “Are you the detective that let her hold you back? You shouldn’t have let her get in the way. You should have gone after the guy who had Becca Dee.”

Becca Dee? BD. The implications of what the man said rocked him. Simon strode toward him. “Your daughter—Rebecca Hyatt—you call her Becca Dee?”

“Yes! And it’s her fault—”

Suddenly, Commander Stevens was there, striding toward them, breathing heavy as if he’d run all the way down to the lobby, which was probably the case. Accompanying him was Gil Archer, who stepped slightly to the side. “Mr. Hyatt,” Stevens said. “Please don’t do this. What happened to Rebecca was not Dr. Whitaker’s fault. In fact, Dr. Whitaker was instrumental in finding your daughter. Without her...”

As Stevens handled the agitated father, he did so with considerable civility, which alerted Simon instantly. The guy was someone important—politically important—otherwise Stevens would be coming down on the guy more. He’d still be civil, of course, but he wouldn’t condone a man who walked into SIG headquarters and started screaming at the receptionist and a civilian.

Simon’s speculation was confirmed when Archer said, “Kevin, this isn’t the way to handle things. Your grandfather is a friend of mine. I told you we’d bring your concerns to Stevens. That I’d set up a meeting...”

Sensing Nina shift beside him again, Simon looked at her. Damn it, she’d gone pale again. He was getting far too used to seeing that look on her face—the one where she was trying to hold things together despite getting thrown one curveball after another.

Suddenly he remembered what she’d told him the first time she’d visited him at SIG. How Rebecca Hyatt’s father had focused his anger at his daughter’s predicament on her. Simon reached a hand down low, out of eyesight of Rebecca’s father, and grabbed Nina’s fingers. Her hand trembled, but she squeezed his hand back and laced her fingers with his. Brave woman, he thought.

“No,” Kevin Hyatt shouted, his face florid and filled with rage, “that other cop, Officer Rieger, said he almost had a confession out of that nut job. But this stupid shrink here decided to go all politically correct on everybody and shut down the interrogation.”

Shrink. The word sounded obscene coming from Hyatt’s mouth.

How many times had Simon used that word to describe what Nina did for a living? Ten? Twenty?

Had it sounded as disrespectful when he’d said it as it did now coming from this man? And hadn’t that been the whole point?

How much pain had his own thoughtlessness caused Nina over the past few days? Too much, he realized.

“I understand you are upset,” Stevens said. “Even enraged, and I know every father wants to protect his daughter, but this isn’t the way to do it.” He glanced at Simon, silently indicating he should get Nina out of here. That wasn’t going to happen. Not until he made sure Stevens understood the implications this man posed given his daughter’s nickname.

“I tried the regular channels. Filed a complaint, got a lawyer, but he said I could do nothing. But screw that. I’m going to the press and telling them everything I know. That you—” he pointed directly at Nina “—you did this to my daughter. Because of you, Becca Dee was out in the cold, locked in a frickin’ basement for hours. She had asthma. She could have died. Don’t think for a minute I’ll let you get away with this.”

Stevens placed his large body in front of the man, stopping his forward progression. His eyes narrowed in understanding. “Your daughter’s name is Becca Dee?” he asked quietly.

His gaze met Simon’s, who nodded. Then they met Archer’s.

Archer sucked in a breath. “You think—” he whispered, which told Simon that Stevens had talked with his friend about the initials...and probably Nina’s connection to the whole thing.

Was Archer the one who had urged Stevens to explore what Nina knew about the murders? If so, Simon had the strong urge to tell the man whose daughter he’d once dated to mind his own business.

“I need you to calm down,” Stevens said to Hyatt, cutting Archer off. “And I need you to come with me. I’d like to ask you some questions. About your daughter and your grievances against Dr. Whitaker. Can we do that?”

Hyatt stared at Stevens, glared at Nina over his shoulder, then nodded. “About damn time,” he muttered.

To Archer, Stevens said, “I’ll have to catch up with you another time.”

Archer nodded, then glanced at Nina and Simon, his gaze landing on their linked hands. Although his eyes widened in surprise, Simon didn’t let go.