Christmas Cover-Up. Lynette Eason

“All right, you ask her. I’ve got to get down to the station and question our intruder.”

      Mariah shuddered. “I can’t believe someone would break into a cop’s house.”

      Katie shrugged. “I don’t think he knew I was a cop.” She frowned. “I can’t help thinking this isn’t a random break-in.”

      Mariah fished in her large shoulder bag and produced her phone. “I’ll throw some things in a bag and call Grandma Jean and tell her we’re coming.”

      Katie looked at Jordan. “Guess I’ll do the same, then we can go. I’ll take my car and you can ride with me if you want. Mariah’s grandmother only lives about a mile from here, so I can bring you back here to get your car before I go over there for the night.”

      “That sounds good.”

      Katie smiled then walked into her destroyed bedroom. The smile slipped away and anger swept over her, hot and swift even as she gave thanks that Mariah hadn’t been here when the intruder broke in. She grabbed an overnight bag and threw some items in it, including work clothes for the next day. She then examined every inch of her bedroom even though she knew Wray hadn’t taken anything. Her jewelry box lay open, but nothing was missing.

      A shudder of revulsion went through her. She dealt with criminals every day. But she’d never had one in her house. Her bedroom. It made her skin crawl.

      Katie spun toward the door, anxious to get out of the room, and ran into Mariah coming from her bedroom. Her friend said, “We’re all set. Grandma Jean’s excited to have company tonight.”

      “I’ll call someone to come clean this up, and we’ll put better locks on the doors.” She paused. “And maybe an alarm system.”

      “All right. I’ll see you later tonight, then.”

      Katie nodded and joined Jordan, who waited patiently in the den. “I’m ready.”

      He followed her outside and stopped at her vehicle. She opened her door and looked at him. He placed a hand over hers. The heat of his palm seeped through the back of her hand, warming her. “What is it?” When he hesitated, she took a deep breath. His spicy cologne filled the air. Katie told herself she had to ignore the fact that she found him attractive and focus on doing what they needed to do so they could part company. “Jordan?”

      He said, “I know my parents blame you for Neil’s death, but I didn’t realize—”

      She tensed. “What?”

      “You blame yourself for my brother’s death, too, don’t you?”

      TWO

      She climbed into the car and shut the door. Jordan walked around and did the same, wondering if she was going to answer him. Then she bit her lip and nodded. “Yes. He was just a kid.” She cranked the car and backed out of the drive.

      “You were doing your job.”

      “I know that,” she snapped. Then took a deep breath. “Sorry.”

      “It’s okay. Neil was at a party and he’d been drinking. He decided to drive home rather than be smart and call someone to pick him up.”

      “What male is smart at the age of twenty?”

      A short, humorless laugh barked from him. “None. Not a single one.”

      “But he shouldn’t have died because he was just stupid.”

      “No, he shouldn’t have.”

      She drew in a deep breath. “I didn’t know what would happen. I let him make a phone call and put him in the holding cell. Then I went to do the paperwork and about an hour later—”

      “I know.”

      “There were so many arrests that night,” she whispered. “It was crazy.”

      “It was New Year’s Eve. It’s always like that.”

      “There was no choice but to fill the holding cells up.”

      “Katie, you don’t have to justify that night to me. I’ve worked law enforcement. I know what it’s like.” He swallowed hard and sighed. “You had no idea a meth head would kill two people with his bare hands before someone could get in there. You can’t predict what’s going to happen in those cells. Most of the time nothing does.” His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed. “The fact is, if my brother hadn’t chosen to be stupid, he’d still be alive.”

      His anger vibrated between them. He was still furious with Neil. But not with her. Not anymore. He looked at her and felt frustration swamp him when he couldn’t read her expression. “So do you want me to quit looking into your sister’s kidnapping or not?”

      Katie bit her lip and glanced at him. “I don’t know, but knowing you don’t hold me responsible for Neil’s death helps.”

      “I don’t, but I’ll be honest, my parents do and I’m afraid I’ll never convince them otherwise.”

      She flinched and nodded.

      He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You came to us.”

      “I know that.”

      He thought about all the work he’d already done, the people he’d questioned, the answers that produced more questions. “I can’t do my job without your cooperation. Your sister’s been missing for fourteen years. Do you want me to keep working on trying to find out what happened to her or not?” Trying to find a person missing for the past fourteen years was hard enough, but trying to find one without the cooperation of the one who’d hired him would be impossible.

      “Yes. No.” She hissed out a breath and tightened her fingers around the wheel. After she made a left turn, she said, “It’s harder than I thought it would be.”

      “Why?”

      “Because every time I look at you, I think of Neil. I think of your father in the morgue and his—” She bit her lip and looked away.

      His phone rang and he snagged it, deciding to take the call and give her a bit of breathing room. “Hello?”

      “Jordan. This is Erica.”

      “What can I do for you?”

      “Have you had a chance to talk to Katie?” He and Erica had discussed Katie’s reluctance to have him lead the investigation into her sister’s disappearance.

      “In the process now.”

      “Sorry, didn’t mean to rush you. I’m just concerned.”

      “I know. I’ll give you an update soon.” He hung up and turned back to Katie. “That was Erica.”

      “Why did she assign my case to you?” Katie asked.

      “Because I had just finished up with one and had the time to take it.” He paused. “Did you tell her anything about our background?”

      Katie shook her head.

      “So she didn’t know.” He sighed. “Look. If you don’t want me working it, I’ll tell Erica. But you should know everyone is slammed right now. When Erica finally found Molly after three years and brought her home, those front-page headlines had people coming out of the woodwork. There are so many cold-case disappearances with desperate family members thinking Finding the Lost is their only hope. If you back off of Lucy’s case now, it might be a while before someone else can pick it back up.”

      She drove without speaking until they were almost to the station. “I don’t know if I can work with you. You’re a constant reminder that I caused someone’s death. How can you work with me day in and day out and not think about him? Not remember? Not feel some kind of anger toward me?” Her low voice reverberated with pain that echoed his own.

      His heart hurt when he thought