Kate’s Dilemma (Kate's Case Files Book 3) Read online

  Brian’s phone dinged, and he pulled it out. The next moment Kate’s did the same. She looked down. It was a message from Kim. It seemed that they might have a lead. She looked up at Brian and found he was looking at her. He gave her a slight nod of his head. He had received the same message. If they had a lead, that meant the case might be over soon and she could move on with her life. She could discover a new normal away from her family and this team.

  “What’s his latest clue?”

  She stared at Brian. For a moment, she had no idea what he was talking about. She realized he was speaking of Guitar Gus and she flipped to her Twitter app. Gus had given a clue not that long ago.

  @WhereisGuitarGus: Water. #whereisguitargus #CharlestonSC

  As she watched, he posted another.

  @WhereisGuitarGus: Water you waiting for? #whereisguitargus #CharlestonSC

  Kate looked up at Brian as they passed the old slave market. “I think he made a mistake.”

  “What do you mean?” Brian asked, moving to sit beside her. She held up her phone for his inspection.

  “That isn’t a typo.” He pulled out his phone and showed her the banner for the Charleston aquarium. Their slogan was in big letters: Water Are You Waiting For?

  She smiled. “So he’s at the aquarium?”

  “We haven’t been there yet. Come on, we probably won’t spend much longer in Charleston.” He popped the last fry into his mouth.

  Kate nodded, and the carriage ride soon came to an end. They walked the few blocks to the modern-looking aquarium. It didn’t take long for them to get tickets and to move into the air-conditioned building. Kate was grateful for the coolness and was quickly impressed with the aquarium.

  “I wish my kids could be here,” Brian said.

  She glanced over at him and saw that he looked sad. She turned her attention upward; the tunnel they were standing in went through a tank and a shark passed above her. Brian was their comic relief, the one that kept them smiling. She had never seen him this sad. Serious, yes, but not sad. It bothered her.

  “Do you miss them?”

  “Every day I’m away from them.”

  “Why do you work the job you do then? You’re away from them so often, and it can be dangerous.”

  Brian’s eyes looked into the deep recesses of the tank. “The last couple of cases may not have been the norm, but there is always a chance of danger. There is even a chance of not coming back.”

  Kate winced. “How can you leave your wife and kids when you know you might not see them again? How can you work a job that’s so risky?”

  “There is a risk in everything, Kathrine. There are people who die on their way to work. There are kids that are snatched from their streets and never seen again. There are students that make one foolish mistake that ends their lives. No job, no life, is safe. When crime is allowed to run rampant, there’s a greater chance that kids will be snatched, our next generation will be taken, and innocent people will be hurt. It may sound cliché, but I wanted to give my children a better future. We can’t stop evil—only Christ will do that on the final day—but I wanted to be one of the good guys that held it in check.”

  Kate looked as a stingray drifted by at eye level, the tangy scent of saltwater in the air. It was beautiful and yet, her heart wasn’t in the scene. She swallowed back the emotion she felt. “But what if something happened to you? What if you…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, couldn’t say the word.

  “I’m not afraid to die. Do I want to leave my kids? No. Do I want to leave Jamie? Never! But I know that whether it is tomorrow, a year from now, or a hundred years from now, I will die. This body won’t last forever, but when I do, I know I’ll go to a better place. My spirit will live forever with God. That’s our great hope, Kate, our great secret to joy as Christians. The worst thing this world threatens us with, death, is not something that we need to fear.”

  She swallowed. Images flooded her mind before she could push them out. Her breathing grew rapid, and she felt Brian’s hands rest on her shoulder.

  “Kate?”

  Kate lifted her gaze to meet his. “How can you not fear death? It can be painful, it can…”

  “The process is scary because it is unknown to us. Except for some very rare exceptions, none of us die twice. Personally, I don’t put much stock in many of those ‘I died and came back’ stories. But death is the result of sin; what comes after that moment of horror that tears our spirit away from our body is something we don’t have to fear because God, in His mercy, has told us things we can expect. I don’t want to leave my family, but I know the One who loves them more than I ever could. If something ever happens to me, He will care for them.”

  “What happens if something happens to me?” Kate whispered.

  Brian blinked and took a step back. “What?”

  “What happens to me? As far as my family knows, I’m in some exclusive program traveling abroad to study and am out of contact most of the time. If something happens to me, what will they be told?”

  “They’ll be informed if that’s what you are worried about. They won’t be left thinking you just disappeared while traveling as a student.”

  Kate shivered as more images of long ago assaulted her. She covered her eyes as her breathing grew rapid. No! This hadn’t happened in a while. She thought she was over this. She wanted to scream at Brian. She focused on the fish tank in front of her and controlling her breathing. This was the team’s fault. They pried too much, unburied things that she had long ago entombed. They were messing with her brain and heart. If she stayed longer, would she deal with this all the time? Would the dreams return every night?

  “Kate?” He put his arms on her shoulders, and she turned to him. He looked at her with something that reminded her of a couple tender moments she had shared with her father. The next moment, she found herself swallowed in a bear hug. It was tight and reminiscent of the few times her brothers had laid aside their man card long enough to express their feelings.

  “You have so much pain you haven’t dealt with, and it’s eating you. I know you want to run, I know you want to find reasons not to stay, but I want you to know something: there’s grace in this team.” He pulled back from her.

  Kate blinked rapidly against the sudden burning in her eyes. Brian had moisture in his eyes and looked at her with something she hadn’t seen from the men in her life; it wasn’t pity, it wasn’t desire, and it wasn’t affection. She got the feeling it was a deep caring that one didn’t find very often.

  “I know what it’s like to have pain that you carry around with you constantly. I know what it is like to feel that no one can understand. I know what it is like to have nightmares and panic attacks. I’m going to tell you what I found: despite what every psychologist, psychiatrist, and therapist I worked with said, the key to healing is not medication; it isn’t by expressing all those pent-up emotions; it isn’t by skirting around and finding a way to cope. It’s by turning and facing the pain head on and dragging it out into God’s light. That is when the healing begins.”

  For the first time since she had said goodbye to her Army unit, she truly believed that someone understood, at least in part, what she was feeling. She heard guitar strumming in the distance, but she ignored it.

  “Are you going to tell me talking about it with the team members will help me?”

  Brian’s smile returned, but the seriousness didn’t leave his eyes. “I can’t force you to share, and it will take time before you are ready to share even if you decide that’s what you want to do. You have to test the waters to see for yourself that we’re trustworthy. You have to know that some will understand, some won’t. Some will see what is haunting you as something horrifying, some will question its validity. That’s why you have to take it to Jesus first.”

  Kate chewed on her lip and stared at the tank. “I guess I’ll have to think about it. I don’t know if I am ready.”

  “You don’t have to be ready, just don’t run.”
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  She nodded, and the two of them stared at the fish together. What would it be like to stay in one place with people who had seen her at her most vulnerable? What would it be like to, instead of running, get her own apartment and try to work things out with Logan and Kim? She would have to at least think of the possibility.

  We’ll Look Into It

  Friday, June 19 11:00AM

  Patrick looked at his watch. He didn’t have a long time to wait for Logan. After all, he had a class this afternoon.

  “I’m not sure about this.” The girl he had met the day before, Sandy, sat on a chair, nervously twisting an empty water bottle in her hands.

  “Not sure about what? You already identified the officer in the files; now we’ll talk with the police chief and tell him what you saw.”

  Sandy shifted. “I don’t want to get in trouble, you know. I don’t want that guy coming after me.”

  Patrick didn’t blame her. The officer was a burly guy that would intimidate just about anyone.

  “Why do I have to talk to the police chief? You have the information.”

  Patrick stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against a wall. “Because I didn’t see what you saw. Police tend to want to talk to the person who saw the event, not hear about it second-hand.”

  The door burst open, and Logan entered, her hair flying behind her. “I’m so sorry,” she huffed. “I know I’m late, but I forgot one of the things Kim asked me to bring that I needed, so I had to turn around and go back for it.”

  Patrick pushed himself off the wall and reached out in time to keep one of Logan’s folders from sliding to the floor. “That’s fine. The police chief hasn’t come out to tell us he’s ready for us.”

  “I still don’t see why I’m here,” Sandy piped up. Patrick turned to respond, but at that moment the police chief’s executive assistant approached them. “He’s ready for you now.”

  “I’ll wait here until, you know, he wants me,” Sandy declared.

  Patrick sighed but decided not to argue. With Sandy out here, they could quickly identify themselves to the chief and give him an update on the case. Sandy’s story would be better received after that.

  They were led into an office. The police chief stood and greeted them. “Hello, I was told you were waiting to speak with me?”

  Logan held up her badge while discreetly passing Patrick his. He held it out for inspection.

  “I thought you looked like part of the FBI team Thomas showed me.” He gave them a friendly smile. “He didn’t want us to arrest some of the good guys if things got messy.”

  Patrick gave him a smile. “We do appreciate that.”

  “What can I help you with?”

  Logan stepped forward and handed him the folder of information she and Kim had collected. “We wanted you to see the progress we were making on all fronts.”

  “We also have a concern,” Patrick interjected.

  The police chief lifted his eyes from the folder to Patrick.

  “What’s that?”

  “I’ve been undercover at the campus. I met a student who is waiting outside. She says one of your officers threatened her to keep silent about some things she saw.”

  The chief’s brow furrowed. “What did she see?”

  Patrick explained what Sandy had told him.

  “We took the liberty of showing her pictures of all the officers, plus some officers from surrounding areas just in case she was lying. She selected Officer Matthews,” Logan said. “Was he one of the ones sent to investigate the student’s death?”

  The chief sat in his chair. “Yes, he was. I remember because he was part of the handpicked team I sent out. Please have a seat.”

  They sat down. Patrick watched Logan pull out a ball and rub it between her palms.

  “This bothers me,” the chief says. “Matthews has been on the force for a long time. He has regularly had the college as part of his patrol. Is the witness here?”

  Patrick nodded. “I brought her here, as I thought you might want to talk with her.”

  The chief sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’ll investigate this thoroughly. I probably will call in some outside help. I don’t want anyone on this force giving any doubt that we are here to protect, not to suppress.”

  “We thought you would feel that way,” Logan said.

  “How is the investigation going?” the chief asked, picking up the folder. “It looks like you have been busy.”

  Patrick shrugged. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot to show for the time we have spent on this case. We seemed to keep finding roadblocks.”

  Logan nodded. “As you will see, that sheet shows the information that Thomas has been able to glean on the drug dealers. He hasn’t been able to make it very deep into the organization. He feels like they are blocking him. We’ve cleared Gus from being involved. After doing some research into his background and surveillance, we’re sure he’s not involved or receiving a kickback from the drugs and pirated CDs.”

  “It’s a shame we even have to look into possibilities like that. People think it’s cool to have a double life. They make it look so harmless in the movies, and all these kids want to try it.” The chief sighed. “I see we have a file here about Sharleen Adams, one of the students that died.”

  “Yes,” Patrick said, a whisper of guilt rising at the name. “I’m posing as a student at the College of Charleston. I was assigned to see if Sharleen knew anything. Because of some things she said, I’m pretty sure she knew her brother was into dealing drugs. It was hard to get much out of her. She has…had a protective boyfriend named Jasper. We’re looking into him as a possible connection to the drugs, but we have nothing definite.”

  “We’re sorry the progress isn’t more rapid,” Logan said. “Sometimes things take time. We’re discussing new strategies.”

  The door opened, and another officer walked in. “I have that report on…excuse me, sir. I should have knocked first.”

  The chief stood. “No, Mac, come right in. Mac, please meet Patrick and Logan; Patrick and Logan, this is my assistant police chief, Mac Huntly.”

  Patrick stood and shook the man’s hand, and Logan followed suit.

  “It is nice to meet you. Please forgive me for walking in on you.”

  “These are part of the FBI team I told you about,” the chief said.

  Mac smiled. “We sure appreciate you people helping out. Goodness knows we need it. These people have us stumped.”

  “Us too,” Patrick said. “But we’ll catch them. We’re in this to win.”

  “Well, I’ll come back later.” Mac backed out and left them.

  “What’s your new strategy?” the chief asked, picking up where they had left off.

  “Well, of course, we can’t divulge that, but we will keep you apprised of any major developments.”

  “And don’t worry,” the chief said, “I’ll put Officer Matthews on leave pending a hearing into his conduct. I’ll also see if he has any reason that he was trying to suppress such information. You can send in the witness as you leave.”

  “Thank you for your time,” Logan said, reaching over the desk and shaking his hand.

  They stepped outside the office, the scent of coffee filling the air. Patrick let out a relieved breath when he saw Sandy was still there. He had expected to come and find her gone.

  The police chief followed them out, and Patrick introduced him to Sandy. The chief asked for the executive assistant to join him and then reentered his office, Sandy following behind.

  Logan tossed her ball in the air. “Well, we might not have solved everything, but at least that girl will probably sleep better tonight.”

  Patrick sighed. “I just wish we could make more progress in this case. It’s so frustrating to be spending so much time on something and not feel like you are any closer to a solution.”

  She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hasn’t anyone told you? The FBI always gets their man…person…criminal…whatever.�
�� She tossed her ball into the air and caught it again.

  “Which is why Ingrid is still at large?” Patrick said, lifting his eyebrows.

  “How about almost always?”

  Patrick handed her his badge. “Make sure that gets safely back to Kim. I have to get back to class.”

  Logan nodded, and they parted ways.

  Patrick entered his apartment and lay down on the bed. He was ready for an hour of TV and then bed. He might even skip the TV and go straight to sleep. He hadn’t been able to enjoy the science class, which was one of his favorites.

  His phone started ringing, and he groaned. He pulled it out and sighed when he saw it was Thomas. He picked up.

  “Yeah?”

  “Listen, I don’t have much time, but our cover has been blown.”

  Patrick sat straight up. “What?”

  “I have no idea what happened, but they know who all of us are. I overheard them talking. Get the word out to the team to pull in and get off the street. Bye.”

  The line went dead, and for a moment, Patrick stared at the screen. How had their cover been blown? Was Thomas in danger?

  He shook himself and pulled up the secure communication app, and typed out a quick message that he knew the team would understand.

  Head for home.

  Patrick turned and grabbed his duffel bag and threw his Bible into it and headed for the door. They didn’t have any time to waste as far as he was concerned.

  His phone dinged as he moved toward the parking garage.

  I’m making dinner.

  That was from Kim. She had made sure there were secure rooms ready for them. They would head to the hotel and be safe there.

  He threw his duffel bag into the back seat of his car and started driving.

  Warning

  Friday, June 19 12:00PM

  The last time they had been at the old slave market, they hadn’t spent much time. Besides, this morning Brian had taken her to the museum, so she had more of a feel of what it would have been like before the Civil War. Kate shivered as she thought about what the slaves would have gone through. How horrible this building must have appeared to so many.