FATAL FORTY-EIGHT: A Kate Huntington Mystery (The Kate Huntington Mysteries Book 7) by Kassandra Lamb
Authors: Kassandra Lamb
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investigators, and if they solved the case, they’d steal her thunder.
He should probably leave her alone, but something about her, perhaps the insecurity itself, tugged at his heart. He felt bad for her.
Pulling over to the curb, he shifted into park.
She looked around, reached for her door handle.
“We’re not there yet.”
“Then why are you stopping?” Her tone implied just like an amateur.
Skip turned partway toward her and rested his broad shoulders against the side window. “I was the runt of the litter, and not all that popular, until I was seventeen and I shot up. When I was about thirteen, I was bullyin’ this kid who was even littler and more of an outcast than I was. Teacher caught me at it. She sent a note home.”
“And this adorable little story has to do with what?”
“I’m gettin’ there.” He intentionally let more of his native Texas creep into his voice. “I was scared plum outta my mind ’cause I knew my daddy was gonna be furious with me. But he sat me down and shook his head, all sad-like. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘when ya put others down to try to build yerself up, well ya end up doin’ the exact opposite. Ya may think yer big and strong at the time, but yer really showin’ the world just how small ya really are.’”
“Cute story. Now will you take me to the trauma center’s building?”
“Not until we come to an understanding here. You see, I’ve been where you are, fairly new at the job and unsure of myself. You can try to cover up for that by being obnoxious, but it just makes you look, well, obnoxious, not experienced or good at the job. Or you can be respectful toward those who are more experienced and then they’ll want to help you, show you the ropes.”
She snorted. “Some ropes. Your great big lead led us exactly nowhere.”
“Did it? We know now that this guy was trying to rent an apartment three weeks ago. One that had to have a special layout so he no doubt planned to hide his victim there. Now he’s kidnapped a victim which says to me he’s found an apartment that suited him.”
SA Wallace sat up straighter in her seat. “So we look for people who rented apartments in this area in the last three weeks.” She pulled a smart phone out of her purse and punched a number.
“Who you calling?”
“Our tech people. This is SA Wallace. Give me Jane Broderick, please. She’s already been working this case with my partner.” She drummed the fingers of one hand on her thigh as she waited.
Skip grinned at her. “Not bad for a civilian, huh?”
“Jane, can you find out who has rented an apartment in the Towson area in the last three weeks? Wait, hang on.” She turned to Skip. “What perimeter should she use?”
“Hmm, tell her to start with Charles Street to Goucher Boulevard, and the Beltway south to Stevenson Lane.”
She gave the coordinates to the tech.
“Suggest she start with requests to credit bureaus from apartment owners or managers.”
“But would this guy rent under his own name?” Wallace asked.
“Maybe, or he may have developed a fake identity and established credit under that name. But most of Towson is middle class enough that few landlords are likely to rent to him without checking out his credit first.”
She nodded and returned her attention to the phone. She passed along Skip’s suggestion, then disconnected. “Jane’s working on a request from Tim at the moment, for similar cases. She’s gonna call me back when she has something for us.”
Skip put the truck back in gear. “Now then, Special Agent Wallace, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” He softened his words with a smile. “It’s called working together .”
Somewhat begrudgingly, she gave him a half smile back.
A good start , Skip thought.
~~~~~~~~
The odor of burnt coffee, mixed with a whiff of stale sweat, assailed Kate’s nostrils as she and Tim Cornelius entered the detectives’ bullpen.
She spotted Charles Tolliver sitting in an empty cubicle. As
He should probably leave her alone, but something about her, perhaps the insecurity itself, tugged at his heart. He felt bad for her.
Pulling over to the curb, he shifted into park.
She looked around, reached for her door handle.
“We’re not there yet.”
“Then why are you stopping?” Her tone implied just like an amateur.
Skip turned partway toward her and rested his broad shoulders against the side window. “I was the runt of the litter, and not all that popular, until I was seventeen and I shot up. When I was about thirteen, I was bullyin’ this kid who was even littler and more of an outcast than I was. Teacher caught me at it. She sent a note home.”
“And this adorable little story has to do with what?”
“I’m gettin’ there.” He intentionally let more of his native Texas creep into his voice. “I was scared plum outta my mind ’cause I knew my daddy was gonna be furious with me. But he sat me down and shook his head, all sad-like. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘when ya put others down to try to build yerself up, well ya end up doin’ the exact opposite. Ya may think yer big and strong at the time, but yer really showin’ the world just how small ya really are.’”
“Cute story. Now will you take me to the trauma center’s building?”
“Not until we come to an understanding here. You see, I’ve been where you are, fairly new at the job and unsure of myself. You can try to cover up for that by being obnoxious, but it just makes you look, well, obnoxious, not experienced or good at the job. Or you can be respectful toward those who are more experienced and then they’ll want to help you, show you the ropes.”
She snorted. “Some ropes. Your great big lead led us exactly nowhere.”
“Did it? We know now that this guy was trying to rent an apartment three weeks ago. One that had to have a special layout so he no doubt planned to hide his victim there. Now he’s kidnapped a victim which says to me he’s found an apartment that suited him.”
SA Wallace sat up straighter in her seat. “So we look for people who rented apartments in this area in the last three weeks.” She pulled a smart phone out of her purse and punched a number.
“Who you calling?”
“Our tech people. This is SA Wallace. Give me Jane Broderick, please. She’s already been working this case with my partner.” She drummed the fingers of one hand on her thigh as she waited.
Skip grinned at her. “Not bad for a civilian, huh?”
“Jane, can you find out who has rented an apartment in the Towson area in the last three weeks? Wait, hang on.” She turned to Skip. “What perimeter should she use?”
“Hmm, tell her to start with Charles Street to Goucher Boulevard, and the Beltway south to Stevenson Lane.”
She gave the coordinates to the tech.
“Suggest she start with requests to credit bureaus from apartment owners or managers.”
“But would this guy rent under his own name?” Wallace asked.
“Maybe, or he may have developed a fake identity and established credit under that name. But most of Towson is middle class enough that few landlords are likely to rent to him without checking out his credit first.”
She nodded and returned her attention to the phone. She passed along Skip’s suggestion, then disconnected. “Jane’s working on a request from Tim at the moment, for similar cases. She’s gonna call me back when she has something for us.”
Skip put the truck back in gear. “Now then, Special Agent Wallace, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” He softened his words with a smile. “It’s called working together .”
Somewhat begrudgingly, she gave him a half smile back.
A good start , Skip thought.
~~~~~~~~
The odor of burnt coffee, mixed with a whiff of stale sweat, assailed Kate’s nostrils as she and Tim Cornelius entered the detectives’ bullpen.
She spotted Charles Tolliver sitting in an empty cubicle. As
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