Seeking justice, p.1
Seeking Justice, page 1
SEEKING JUSTICE
A CHRISTIAN ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
FINNEGAN FIRST RESPONDERS
LAURA SCOTT
Copyright © 2022 by Laura Iding
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Dear Reader
Protection Detail
CHAPTER ONE
Huddled in her knee-length, down-filled winter coat, Joy Munson stamped her feet to ward off the numbness as she waited outside Paulie’s Pub for Detective Tarin Finnegan. She’d learned Paulie’s was a cop hangout and had come several nights in a row after work to see if Tarin showed. Tonight, he’d come in with another guy, maybe his partner. She’d noticed Tarin didn’t drink anything but club soda, and when he’d finished, she’d quickly headed outside, expecting him to leave shortly thereafter.
Fifteen minutes later, she was still waiting. She hadn’t wanted to confront the detective in front of his partner or any of the other officers inside, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to hang around in the icy February wind either. She stayed close to the wall to avoid the worst of the wind. When her teeth started to chatter, she jumped up and down in a vain attempt to warm up.
Just as she was about to go back inside, she noticed Tarin heading for the door—his red hair made it easier to spot him. Now that the moment was upon her, she was nervous about approaching him.
He stepped outside and turned toward her.
“Detective Finnegan?” She stepped forward, pasting a smile on her face. “I don’t know if you remember me . . .”
“Joy Munson.” He gave her a brief nod. “I remember. How are you?”
Oddly, she was surprised he’d remembered her since she hadn’t seen him in five years. “I need a moment of your time, may I walk with you?”
He eyed her warily but shrugged. “You can walk where you want, but I’m not sure I can help you.”
You’re the only one who can, she thought wearily.
She fell into step beside him. The small parking lot was down and around the corner, so she didn’t have much time. “I need detailed information on my brother’s case.”
“Why?” Tarin asked bluntly. “His death was ruled a suicide.”
“I told you five years ago, Ken didn’t kill himself!” She didn’t bother to hide her anger. “He would never do that. And he certainly didn’t take drugs. As far as the suicide note, it was either faked or he was forced to write it.”
Tarin didn’t say anything as he continued walking.
Gritting her teeth, she tried again. “Listen, I recently learned something new. The doctor who’d prescribed those narcotics Ken supposedly overdosed on was arrested for overprescribing pain pills. And get this, once they looked into his practices, the authorities found several million dollars hidden in offshore accounts. Ken was a pharmacy resident at the time, less than a year from becoming a full-fledged pharmacist, and I think he stumbled upon the ruse that was being done by the doc and maybe even the pharmacist Ken was working for.” She stopped and put a hand on Tarin’s arm, stopping his progress and forcing him to face her. “My brother was murdered, and I intend to prove it.”
His gaze clung to hers, and despite the darkness, she could see she’d caught his attention. “The doc was arrested?”
“Yes. You can search on Dr. Eli Lewis for yourself. Apparently, he’d gone on the run but was found in Mexico after six months of hiding from the feds.”
Tarin stared at her for a long moment. “New evidence might be enough to reopen the case, although it won’t be easy. Five years have passed, which means the case is colder than ice. And there’s also the fact that the medical examiner already ruled your brother’s death a suicide. The doctor’s arrest alone isn’t enough. We’d need proof that your brother uncovered something incriminating against Lewis as a motive for murder.”
And that was exactly why she was here tonight. “Detective Finnegan, please, I really need your help.” She tried not to show the extent of her desperation. “I know you may not be able to officially reopen Ken’s case, but I would still like to see the original police reports, the interviews, et cetera. Maybe looking at things with a new eye and knowing Lewis has been arrested will help us find that connection.”
“Us?” He frowned. “If I remember correctly, you’re an accountant not a cop.”
Again, she was surprised he’d remembered that much about her. “True, but being an accountant has taught me to be meticulous about details.” A trait that had come in handy in her role of doing internal audits. “If I can just look at the information . . .”
“I’ll look at it, but I won’t make any promises. I seriously doubt anything will come of it.” He turned away, but she wasn’t letting him go that easily.
“Detective, I want to be involved.” She quickly caught up to him. “Can’t you understand? I need to do something.”
“Ms. Munson, I can’t share police information with you.” He sounded annoyed now, which hadn’t been her intent. “I appreciate how you feel, but it’s best if you leave the police work to me. I’ll be in touch if I learn anything new.”
She blew out a frustrated breath, sensing she wouldn’t get anything more from Detective Finnegan. “Fine. But please, call me Joy.” She turned away so quickly her foot slipped on the icy sidewalk. She lost her balance, flailing her arms to catch herself before she hit the ground.
At the exact same time, a gunshot echoed through the night.
“Get down!” Tarin pulled his weapon and rushed over to pull her toward the closest building. Then he stood in front of her, covering her with his body.
At first, she was confused until she realized he believed the gunfire was intended for her specifically rather than a random event. But that was impossible. She hadn’t told anyone about her intent to pursue an investigation into her brother’s death.
Besides, Dr. Eli Lewis was in jail. Who would bother to come after her now?
The crime rate in the city of Milwaukee had been growing worse each year. Not as bad as Chicago but gunfire was not an unusual occurrence. She was certain the gunfire was related to something else, not her.
“This is Detective Finnegan reporting gunfire at the corner of Bayside Street and Calvin. Requesting backup!”
“What’s going on?” She tried to peek around him, but he used one arm to tuck her behind his back.
“Don’t move.” She knew from her interaction with him after her brother’s death that Detective Finnegan was a man of few words. His head turned from side to side as he scanned the area. “Who knows you came to ask me about your brother’s death?”
“No one. I didn’t say a word to anyone about reopening my brother’s case.”
Wailing sirens reverberated through the night, and she relaxed knowing help was on the way. Tarin didn’t budge, though, until two squads, their red and blue lights flashing, pulled up in front of them.
“Finnegan? Is that you?” one of the officers called. “Anyone hurt?”
“We’re fine. I’m here with a civilian, Joy Munson.” He finally stepped forward to meet up with the officers. “I believe the gunfire came from the north. I’d like at least two officers to head that way to search for evidence.”
Deciding it was best to stay close, she joined the officers.
“Will do.” Three of the four turned away and split up to do the search. One officer stayed behind, eyeing her curiously before turning to Tarin. “What happened?”
“Someone took a shot at Ms. Munson. Thankfully, she wasn’t hit, maybe because she slipped on the ice.” He turned to scan behind them. “Unfortunately, the slug could be anywhere. I didn’t hear it hit anything.”
“We’ll take a look,” the officer said. “Ms. Munson, any idea why you might be a target?”
“None.” She wondered if she should mention her brother’s death, but then another thought occurred to her. “I am working on an internal audit of a large bank. It’s a big project, and I’ve already found some irregularities. Just yesterday my boss advised me to dig deeper.”
Tarin turned to look at her in surprise. “Which bank?”
She hesitated. “I’m not really supposed to talk about it.”
“This is a police investigation,” Tarin said with a frown. “You need to tell us who has a motive to kill you.”
“Kill me?” She paled. “There’s no reason for someone to do something so drastic over an audit. If I was gone, they’d just hire another accountant to take over.” When Tarin continued to stare at her, she sighed, and added, “Okay, fine. Trustworthy Bank. But if you want any more information, I’ll need to call my boss.” It wasn’t lost on her that she’d asked Tarin to provide information to her about her brother’s death when she couldn’t return the favor now. It was a difficult situation to be in the middle of.
Easy to understand his reticence.
The officer scribbled the information into a notebook. She wondered if Tarin would mention her brother’s death, but he didn’t.
Because he didn’t believe the information to be relevant? She hadn’t been lying about not saying anything to anyone about her intent to dig into her brother’s death.
She shivered. Hopefully, the evidence would prove the gunfire was related to something else entirely.
Because it was difficult to believe her boring life as an accountant had catapulted her into danger.
After a quick internal debate over whether he should confide in the officer about the reason Joy Munson had sought him out, Tarin had decided against it. Even if Joy had mentioned her intent to dig into her brother’s death to a friend, it wasn’t likely that information would result in gunfire this fast.
Especially since the investigation had been closed for five years. Joy’s talking to him didn’t mean anything. Asking for help was hardly a threat.
No, the more he thought about it, the more he leaned toward her job as an internal auditor as the reason she was targeted. He wanted to know exactly what sort of irregularities she’d uncovered. Something serious enough to kill for? Granted, she’d made a good point about someone else being assigned to the case if she was injured or worse, dead, but for all he knew, the shot was nothing more than a warning.
One he intended to take very seriously. Not that this was his case. In fact, quite the opposite. Since he’d been on scene and involved as a witness, he knew full well the case would be handed over to another detective.
The thought made him scowl. Being here when the incident happened had made it personal. He wanted to see it through.
Joy was shivering in the cold, so he gestured for Officer Nelson to come over. “Would you mind allowing Ms. Munson to wait in the squad?”
“Of course. This way, Ms. Munson.” Nelson gestured toward the vehicle.
“I—I’d r-rather stay h-here.” Her teeth were chattering now too.
He swallowed a sigh. “You’re freezing. Do you have a car here? I can escort you to your vehicle if you’d prefer. We’ll let you know if we find anything.”
She shook her head but jogged in place to warm up. “I—walked from work. My c-car is in the sh-op, so I’ve been riding the b-bus.”
Tarin didn’t like the idea of Joy riding the bus at night, especially after being used as target practice. As much as he wanted to stick around, he knew the officers didn’t need his help. He glanced at Nelson, who shrugged. “We’re good if you want to head home.”
Leaving went against his instincts, but watching Joy shiver bothered him. As the second oldest of nine kids, he couldn’t stand to see her suffer. If his sister was there, he’d insist on taking her home. “Okay, let’s go, then. I’ll drive you home.”
She hesitated as if sensing he didn’t want to leave, then nodded. “Th-thank you.”
“It’s not a problem.” He took her arm and steered her down the sidewalk and around the corner to the small lot where he’d parked his SUV. The hour wasn’t late, only seven o’clock in the evening, but he was hungry. And based on the way Joy, er, Ms. Munson had mentioned not having a car, he figured she hadn’t eaten anything either.
And why he was concerned with her welfare, he had no idea. She was an accountant for Pete’s sake; they must pay her well. Probably better than I earn as a detective, he thought wryly. No one went to work in the police force looking for big bucks. It was a calling, a dedication to protecting and serving the public. To be a first responder, running toward danger rather than away.
His parents had been amazing role models. Losing them ten years ago, when he had only been twenty-five, had been incredibly difficult. His older brother Rhyland had instantly moved back home to step in as head of the family. Tarin hadn’t hesitated to help his brother keep their siblings together, although he hadn’t been thrilled with the need to move back to the Finnegan homestead.
Tarin’s second brush with death had been when he’d lost his partner, Caroline. He and Caroline had just started seeing each other on a personal level, although they’d been partners for a full year by then. He hadn’t even introduced her to the family, partially because he knew Rhyland would make a big deal out of Tarin dating his partner. And now he understood why.
He and Caroline had responded to a scene that was supposed to have been cleared, but more gunfire had erupted, hitting and killing Caroline on the spot. He remembered screaming until he was hoarse about an officer being down, but even as he scrambled toward her, he’d known it was too late to save her.
He wondered now if losing Caroline so close to being assigned Ken Munson’s case had hindered him more than he’d realized. Was it possible he’d missed some key piece of evidence that might have led him down the path of viewing the case as a homicide? Failure was a bitter pill to swallow, but it wouldn’t be the first time.
He’d failed to keep Caroline safe that night five years ago. That fact only reinforced his need to keep Joy safe.
“Detective?” Joy’s voice drew him from his troublesome thoughts. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.” He realized he’d been standing near his SUV without moving. He pulled out his key fob and unlocked the car. He reached for the passenger door handle. “You may as well call me Tarin.”
She nodded and slid into the passenger seat. “If you’ll call me Joy.”
“It’s a deal, Joy.” He closed her door and jogged around to get in behind the wheel. He turned on the car engine and gave it a few minutes to warm up. Soon, heat was blasting through the vents, and the seat warmers were activated. He told himself it was easier to be on a first-name basis; all this Detective and Ms. Munson stuff would get wearisome.
It didn’t mean anything. Granted, Joy was beautiful, with her wavy blond hair framing her face and her bright hazel eyes, but she was off-limits.
The way Caroline had been.
This time, he silently vowed, he would not make the mistake of becoming personally involved. He’d learned his lesson.
“Where do you live?” he asked as he drove through the parking lot.
“I have a condo in Brookland.” She sighed and relaxed against the seat. “Thanks for the ride. I was cold.”
“Yeah, your chattering teeth was a big clue,” he said wryly. He was surprised she lived in the same Milwaukee suburb as the Finnegan homestead, but he didn’t mention it. He didn’t live there, he lived in Oakdale.
“Detec—er, Tarin, I hope the events tonight don’t distract you from looking into my brother’s case.”
What? He turned to stare at her for a moment, before turning his attention to the road. “Don’t you think being targeted by gunfire is more important than the possibility of reopening a cold case?”
Joy lifted her chin. “There’s no evidence that I was targeted tonight on purpose. For all we know, there was some drug thing going on nearby. You’re a detective, you know better than anyone that the crime rate has gotten worse over the past few years. Why do you think I moved to Brookland?”
“There’s crime in Brookland too,” he protested, although she was right about the worsening crime rate in Milwaukee. His and Dave’s caseload was already overwhelming, without adding the additional time he’d need to investigate Ken Munson’s death.
“I know, but it’s not the same.” She sighed, then added, “I know you must be super busy, but I was hoping you would still look into my brother’s case.”
“I said I would.” He wasn’t perfect, had made mistakes, but he was a man of his word. “But considering what transpired tonight, you may want to keep this conversation with me a secret.”
“I will. As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t told anyone my plans to ask you to look at Ken’s case.”
“Not even your closest friend?”
“No, Sarah and her husband, Luke, got married last year, and they bought a house, so she hasn’t had time to get together.” She honestly missed her best friend but completely understood that Sarah’s husband had to come first.
