Lawman-In-Charge Read online

  Another long pause. “No, I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything about his leave. However, if you want to send me the information on what crimes you’re investigating, I’d be happy to review the details to see if there is any possible overlap to what is going on here.”

  “All right,” he agreed slowly. He couldn’t really afford not to follow up on a potential link, even though he’d rather be the one reviewing the details instead of the other way around. He rattled off his fax number for the report on the car crash and then took the Chicago PD fax number down as well.

  True to the chief’s word, the report on Feeney’s car crash came through the fax in less than five minutes.

  He quickly scanned the information. Jake Feeney had been found to be at fault and had been issued several tickets. No wonder he was in trouble at work, considering the seriousness of the offenses.

  One ticket was issued for failing to yield to the right of way. One for driving under the influence. And one for reckless endangerment. According to the police report, the victim in the other car had been taken to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries. Luke had to assume that the victim hadn’t died, or Feeney would be up for reckless homicide instead.

  Definitely trouble. And several good reasons to be on paid leave. He was surprised Feeney’s license hadn’t been revoked. Hadn’t the case gone to court yet?

  No, the court date was still pending. And as he looked closer, he realized the date of the accident was just two weeks ago, not a month. Feeney had lied about the time frame.

  Interesting. What else had he lied about?

  Megan opened the binder of transcripts with trepidation. She could do this.

  She had to do this.

  The killer had targeted her for a reason. Luke might think Jake Feeney was involved, but she didn’t.

  No, the answer was likely buried here in the past. The similarities of the murders meant they were connected somehow. She was the link.

  The idea was chilling.

  Megan tried to concentrate, but as she began to read, her eyes burned with fatigue and unshed tears.

  Reading the cold hard facts surrounding her sister’s murderer was more difficult than she’d imagined. She’d blocked so much out of her mind from sheer necessity.

  When tears kept trickling down her cheeks, she wiped them away with an impatient hand. She tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling of the tiny office. Okay, at this rate she’d never get through any of the transcripts to be of any help.

  Maybe she needed to focus her efforts on Paul Sherman himself. Hadn’t Luke suggested that very thing? Sherman was the most logical person to hold a grudge against her. Especially the way he kept claiming he was innocent.

  Her DNA testing had proved otherwise. And a jury of his peers had found him guilty. During her testimony, his cold stare had never wavered. Yes, she could certainly imagine Paul Sherman holding a deep grudge against her. Which meant that someone close to him might be seeking revenge.

  She took several deep breaths, struggling to get a grip on her emotions. Katie was gone and nothing was going to bring her sister back. But she could help Liza’s family. Her parents deserved closure too.

  With renewed determination, she opened the binder and searched for the personal information on Paul Sherman. She remembered how the prosecuting attorney had poked into the guy’s past.

  She skimmed the documents till she found what she was looking for. Paul Sherman was an only child. His mother had left him when he was six and Paul grew up with his abusive father. Paul had demonstrated violent tendencies at an early age, no doubt learned from his father, as evidenced by the fights he’d gotten into as a teenager. He’d spent time in a juvenile facility for aggravated assault at sixteen. At the time of the murders, he was twenty-eight years old and seemed to be putting his life back together, taking night classes at the local university.

  The same university her sister, Katie, had attended.

  She took another deep breath, shying away from thoughts about Katie. Paul’s abusive father was dead. There was no evidence Paul had fathered any children, and even if he had, the child wouldn’t have been old enough to avenge Paul by committing copycat murders. Paul had a cousin on his father’s side, a man two years younger, by the name of Kyle Sherman. Megan flagged that name as a possibility, although there wasn’t any indication that Kyle and Paul had ever been close.

  As she sat there, she found herself wondering about Paul’s mother. Reaching over to the computer, she booted up the device and waited for the ancient equipment to load. She tested the internet access and discovered the computer was connected to the sheriff’s department network. The other applications were password protected, but she could access the internet without needing a password.

  After nearly an hour of digging, she discovered Paul Sherman’s mother had remarried and had another son. Everett Dobrowski was Paul Sherman’s half-brother, and he’d just turned twenty-one.

  She added Everett Dobrowski’s name to the list next to Kyle Sherman’s name. Both remote possibilities, all things considered, but at least they were leads to follow up on.

  Excited to have something to show to Luke, she took the information she’d found and headed back down the hall to the main office area.

  Luke was sitting behind his desk, his expression intent, and for a moment she simply stared at him, her heart skipping a beat.

  She’d only known him for a few days—why was she so hyper-aware of him? She tried to tell herself it was just because they were working so closely together on this case.

  But she couldn’t really make herself believe it.

  He glanced up then, as if sensing her presence. She flushed, hoping he hadn’t realized she was standing there staring at him.

  “Hi. I found two distant relatives to Sherman who might be carrying out a grudge against me.” She walked in and set the information on his desk. “They’re remote possibilities, since there is no evidence that Sherman might be close to either of them, but it’s worth a shot.”

  “Great work,” Luke told her. “Any other close friends?”

  “Nothing yet, but I’ll keep looking.”

  Luke nodded. “And here’s what I found out about your former boyfriend.”

  She took the report he offered, scanning the information quickly. When she read about the three citations, her stomach knotted. “I had no idea,” she murmured.

  “He’s in trouble, that’s for sure. But the chief of police isn’t going to give me any more information.”

  She wasn’t sure what to say. Jake hadn’t overindulged much while they were together, but maybe something else had happened. “He did a lot of work in the south side, where gang violence was running rampant. Maybe the stress of everything had gotten to him?”

  Luke’s gaze bored into hers. “Megan, do you still have feelings for Jake Feeney?”

  She blushed but shook her head. “No. Not the way you’re thinking.”

  “Then do you mind telling me why you keep jumping to his defense? You were the one who told me that someone wearing a ball cap has been following you. Jake is here in a rental car and has a ball cap. Not only that, but he shows up without warning, two days before making contact with you.” There was a flash of annoyance in his eyes. “I just don’t understand why you’re defending him.”

  She could understand Luke’s frustration. “I don’t know, exactly. I guess deep down, I don’t want to believe the guy I once dated is capable of murder.”

  “He claims you were engaged to be married.”

  She could tell by his terse tone that he wasn’t happy to have found out from Jake. “He gave me a ring, and I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to say,” she explained. “I did agree to marry him, honestly thinking that there was plenty of time to change my mind, but it didn’t matter because our engagement only lasted a week. My sister was murdered and that pretty much ended our relationship.”

  “I see.” Luke sighed. “Okay, so we have more suspects no
w than we had a few hours ago. That’s progress.”

  “Boss?” Megan turned to see Abby standing in the doorway. “I’m leaving now, but Mayor Ganzer is here to see you.”

  “Send him in. Stay,” he said, when Megan edged toward the door. “We’re going to discuss the need for police protection for you.”

  She nodded, and stood awkwardly near the door as the mayor, a tall, round man with a ruddy complexion, walked into the room. The mayor was dressed formally for a Sunday, wearing a pair of dress pants and a short-sleeved dress shirt and a loud tie. “Sheriff? You’ve put in a request for more overtime? What’s going on? Has there been a break in the case?”

  Luke stood and quickly introduced her to the mayor. “Yes. Liza’s killer is targeting Megan,” Luke said. He quickly summarized the events surrounding the break-in at the motel. “She’s also being followed. It’s clear Megan is in danger.”

  Mayor Ed Ganzer’s red face darkened and his gaze narrowed. “She’s a crime scene investigator, right?”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to correct him. Former crime scene investigator.

  “Yes,” Luke acknowledged.

  “That means she’s trained to defend herself. And you pointed out that the killer broke into her room to leave evidence, nothing more. He had the chance to hurt her and he didn’t.”

  This time, Luke didn’t respond.

  “We don’t have the department funds to approve overtime to have someone watch over her,” the mayor continued in a firm tone. “Our budget is strained at the seams the way it is.”

  Luke’s expression turned grim. “Are you denying my request?”

  “Yes.” She wasn’t surprised when the mayor avoided her gaze, focusing on Luke instead as if she weren’t standing right next to him in the room. “There’s no evidence that she’s in mortal danger, and she’s trained to defend herself. I’m sorry, but at this point, she’s on her own.”

  SEVEN

  Megan slipped out of Luke’s office while he was still arguing with Mayor Ganzer. She was so exhausted that the meaning of what had just happened sank into her numb brain slowly.

  No police protection would be approved.

  She was on her own.

  She gave her head a little shake to help clear out the cobwebs. Okay, so being on her own was nothing new; she’d taken care of her sister after their parents had died. She was strong and independent. But somehow she’d let down her guard with Luke. And she’d begun to believe he’d always protect her. Or at least be there for her.

  Disconcerting to think that maybe she wasn’t as strong and independent as she thought.

  Instead of going back down the hall to the tiny office, she headed outside, needing some fresh air. The sun was out, and even at nine in the morning, the temperature was rising. Standing outside of the sheriff’s department headquarters, where the rest of the world went about their normal daily activities, she told herself the mayor was probably right. She didn’t need 24/7 police protection.

  Although someone to watch over her at night would have been nice, considering that was when the killer tended to strike.

  Desperate for a break from the murder case, she walked across the parking lot to the road. She heard the melodic sound of church bells and saw a white church steeple towering above the trees, not far down the highway.

  Instinctively, she headed that way, even though she hadn’t been inside a church in well over a year. Since Katie’s murder. Since she’d felt as if God had stopped listening.

  Since she’d stopped praying altogether.

  It dawned on her as she approached the church, where she could see people calling out greetings to each other as they went inside, that the reason the mayor was dressed nicely was likely because he’d planned on attending services. She glanced down at her jeans with a grimace. Too bad she wasn’t. Refusing to let that stop her, she ducked inside the church.

  She quickly slid into a seat in the very back corner, hoping no one would notice her jeans and tennis shoes. She clasped her hands in her lap and bowed her head.

  Almost immediately, a sense of peace settled over her.

  Why had she waited so long to come here? Why hadn’t she understood that maybe she’d been the one to give up on God, not the other way around? She thought of Katie’s death and tears pricked her eyes.

  She’d been so angry at God for so long. And suddenly, she didn’t have the energy to hang on to that anger any longer. She still missed Katie desperately, but maybe she needed to consider what their pastor had told her. How Katie might be in a better place.

  A sense of peace washed through her entire body, and she knew she’d made the right choice in coming here today.

  Just before the pastor began his service, Luke slid into the church pew beside her. She glanced up at him in surprise. He smiled, covered her hand briefly with his, and then turned his attention to the pastor as he began to speak.

  With Luke beside her, all her senses went on high alert. Sitting beside him made her feel strangely as if they were a couple. Maybe because she’d never attended church with a man. Jake hadn’t been one to attend services.

  As the pastor spoke, his words resonated deep inside. Especially the quote from Psalms 27:1, The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?

  He didn’t preach so much as he had a conversation with them. When the service was over, she found she was strangely reluctant to leave. She slowly rose to her feet and filed out of the building with the other parishioners. Luke surprised her by staying right beside her.

  When he headed back toward the sheriff’s headquarters, she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I’m not ready to go back just yet. Would you mind if we took a short walk? Or if you’re too busy, I’ll just go on my own.”

  “No, I’m not too busy for a walk.” He veered off to the right, leading her down a path through some trees. “I think after everything you’ve been through, you definitely deserve a break.”

  “Not just me,” she corrected. “We both deserve a break.” Luke had been putting in many hours on the investigation, she knew. And he had Sam to deal with. She’d tried not to listen early this morning as Luke and his son had talked, but it was clear that Luke had his hands full with Sam.

  They strolled at an easy pace, side by side, their fingers occasionally brushing. She was keenly aware of the slightest touch. They didn’t talk much, but the silence wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable.

  So different from the times she’d spent with Jake. Why was it so easy now to see how wrong she and Jake were for each other? Being with Luke like this felt right.

  “Do you attend church services often?” she asked, breaking the companionable silence.

  “Yes, at least I have been for the past two years. After my wife died, I tried to drown my sorrows in a bottle of whiskey, but of course that only made things worse.”

  She winced, thinking of what he now faced with Sam’s underage drinking. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she murmured.

  He flashed a lopsided smile. “Thank you. Those were some dark days, and I obviously lost sight of my faith. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom, nearly losing my job and my son to social services, that I managed to pull myself together.”

  She sucked in a harsh breath. He’d almost lost his son? She couldn’t imagine. “Oh, Luke.”

  He stared forward, seemingly lost in memories of the past. “My faith helped ground me in reality. Except that once I got my life back on track, I discovered Sam was running with a bad group of kids, gang member wannabe’s.”

  Oh, no. Her heart squeezed in her chest. Poor Sam. And poor Luke.

  “When he got arrested for armed robbery after holding up a clerk at knifepoint, I decided to move away from Milwaukee and to come here, to Crystal Lake.”

  She was humbled by the way he’d managed to pull himself together after his wife died, and felt a sense of shame at how she couldn’t seem to get past her sister’
s death. Although attending church this morning had provided a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in a long time. “That was a good decision on your part,” she said.

  “Was it?” Luke grimaced and shook his head. “I wish I could be so sure. You can probably tell by now how my relationship with Sam has suffered. And his drinking scares me. Yet if we’d stayed in Milwaukee, I truly believe things would be worse. Much worse.” He let out his breath in a heavy sigh. “All I can do at this point is to keep trying to connect with Sam and pray for the Lord to watch over him.”

  She was startled to hear him say that he prayed. Not so much that he did pray, but that he wasn’t shy about talking about it.

  “God never abandons us, you know,” Luke said softly. “We’re the ones that sometimes abandon Him. Don’t give up on your faith, Megan.”

  Since she’d come to that realization herself, she couldn’t argue. “I’m trying not to,” she admitted.

  “Good. I keep hoping Sam will realize the same thing.” Luke’s smile was sad.

  She and Katie had attended church while growing up, and even after their parents had died, they had continued to attend services when they could. But how many times had she truly opened herself up to God? She knew attending services wasn’t enough. Maybe she needed to reestablish her relationship with God through prayer.

  “I’m sure he’ll come around,” she said, shaking off her thoughts and belatedly picking up the thread of the conversation. “Teenagers can be difficult.”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  “Deep down, Sam loves you.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. Sometimes I think he hates me.” Luke was quiet for a moment before he changed the subject. “About what happened back in my office, I wanted to let you know that the mayor and I reached a compromise. You can stay in the small office, sleeping on the cot at night. There’s always a few deputies coming and going and the dispatcher is there as well, so you won’t ever be alone. That way, we can keep an eye on you, even without overtime.”