Steele, p.10
Steele, page 10
“To get close to you, of course,” Perkins said.
She stared at Perkins and decided she didn’t like him. He was being a jerk for no good reason. “Is that all? Or do you have other questions for me?”
“We’d like to search your apartment.” Steve Banner offered a sympathetic smile. “With your permission of course.”
“Go ahead.” Her response was immediate. “You won’t find anything.”
“Keep in mind, Brock and I were there when someone tried to kidnap Harper,” Steele said, seeming to come to her defense for the first time since this interview started. “She also had a tracking device on her car, her shoe, and maybe even in her purse. It’s not a stretch to believe they planted someone at the church to get close to her.”
“Okay, but why go to all that trouble?” Perkins asked. “What’s the motive behind tracking her and trying to kill her?” His gaze cut to her. “Unless she’s involved, and they’re afraid she’ll talk to save herself.”
“If she was involved, she’d already be dead,” Steele said. “You know that as well as I do.”
“Maybe.” Perkins shrugged. “I’m not ready to concede to anything yet.”
She’d had enough of this. “I’d like to be there when you search my apartment. I wouldn’t mind getting some personal items too. Like toiletries.”
The two ATF agents exchanged a long look. Finally, Banner nodded. “That’s fine. But you can’t take anything until after we’re finished with the search.”
“I understand.” She rose to her feet, praying for strength. She refused to fall apart in front of these guys. She didn’t really care what they thought about her.
But she did care about Steele’s opinion. Far more than she should.
“We’ll meet you at the apartment,” Steele said. He rested his hand in the small of her back. It was ridiculous to be comforted by the gesture.
She left the room, leaving the guys to follow. She spied a bathroom and, desperate for a few minutes alone, quickly veered toward it.
Steele let her go, no doubt taking the time to discuss the interview with the ATF. Alone in the restroom, she leaned against the wall and buried her face in her hands. Discovering Jake was a criminal wasn’t as humiliating as that interview was. Especially when they’d shown her the photograph they’d taken without her knowledge.
How could they believe she was involved? It didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t like she was spending a bunch of money or hiding large sums of cash. She lived paycheck to paycheck; there was a laughable amount of money in her checking account.
Her pathetic financial situation helped calm her nerves. Okay, they’d caught her talking to one of Jake’s employees. Big deal. It didn’t mean anything. As far as she could remember, that was the only time she’d spoken to Glenn, or Dillweed, or whoever he was.
Once they’d finished searching her apartment, she’d be exonerated. Of course, the fact that she’d been the victim of an attempted kidnapping and the target of gunfire should have already done that.
A harsh laugh escaped her tight throat. She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, reminding herself for the millionth time that stress wasn’t good for the baby.
After using the facilities and washing her face and hands, she felt better. When she emerged from the restroom, Steele straightened, his gaze searching hers. “Are you okay?”
“Peachy.” She pasted a smile onto her features. “Let’s go. I want to be there when they search.”
“Harper . . .”
“No.” She cut him off. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s clear they suspect me of being involved in Jake’s business. I’ve already told you, and them, that I’m not. Believe what you want.”
“I believe you’re innocent,” Steele said in a low voice.
“Really?” She scoffed. “That’s now how it came across to me.”
“Harper, listen.” He caught her hand. “I admit I was caught off guard seeing that photograph of you talking to Dillweed. But I know you’re not involved in this. I know you’re innocent.”
She wanted so badly to believe him. To have him believe in her. But it wasn’t easy. Especially after that grueling interview. “I am innocent.”
“I know.” He searched her gaze for a moment, then surprised her by bringing her hand up to kiss it. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll continue to protect you until we get to the bottom of this mess.”
The icy wall she’d built around her heart melted just a bit. “Thank you.” She rested her free hand on her belly. “I appreciate that.”
He stepped closer, as if to pull her into his arms, but a voice called out, “Delaney?”
“What’s up, Brock?” He turned to face his colleague.
“I heard about the search.” Brock actually looked concerned for her welfare. “Do you want company?”
“No thanks, we have Rhy’s SUV.” Steele shrugged. “They’re just covering all bases.”
“Yeah.” Brock’s expression still looked troubled. “If you’re okay, then I’ll head back to the American Lodge. I’d like to search the place again in the daylight. Make sure we didn’t miss anything.”
“Sounds good,” Steele agreed. “Keep me updated on your progress.”
“Will do.” Brock nodded at her, then headed for the side door.
“Wait up,” Steele called. “Let’s cover Harper as we leave.”
Being in a police station should be safe enough, but she didn’t protest as the two men protected her until she was situated in the passenger seat of Rhy’s SUV. Steele said something briefly to Brock, then slid in behind the wheel.
The ride to her apartment was unusually silent. She looked out the window, searching for the brown SUV, until she remembered it had been found abandoned not far from the American Lodge.
Steele hadn’t mentioned recovering evidence from the vehicle. Maybe it was too soon to expect that. This wasn’t TV. DNA and other testing took time.
Time she might not have.
The sobering thought hit hard. She pushed the fear away, focusing on deep breathing and other relaxation techniques. Maybe there wasn’t anything she could do to change the minds of the ATF agents about her innocence, but she could do a better job of caring for her baby.
When Steele drove up to the front of her brick apartment building, she was struck by how run-down it looked. The peeling paint and occasional missing brick hadn’t bothered her before. She’d been grateful to find a place she could afford.
Yet she did her best to ignore the shabby structure. When Steele shifted the gear shift into park, she reached for the door handle.
“Wait for me,” he said. “I’ll cover you.”
She could see there were two men standing just inside the front door. Steele came around, opened her door, and covered her as she slid out. Then he scanned the area as they headed up the sidewalk.
Steve Banner opened the door for her. She managed a smile. “Thank you.”
Perkins headed up the stairs to the second floor first, leaving her and the others to follow. She’d left her purse at Steele’s house, so she didn’t have a key. But somehow, Perkins had one and unlocked the door.
“Your manager,” he said by way of explanation as he crossed the threshold.
She vaguely wondered if this was how Tommy Grotto’s men had gotten inside to plant the tracking devices. Security obviously wasn’t a high priority.
“Please stay out of the way,” Banner said.
“She needs to sit in a chair,” Steele said. He stepped into the kitchen, grabbed one, and brought it over to the small entryway near the cheap table she’d used to display the blue vase Ellis had given her. The plastic flowers she’d placed in the vase drooped to one side.
She sat, mostly because her knees felt weak. She’d never expected to be in a situation like this.
Watching the ATF agents go through her cupboards and drawers made her feel sick to her stomach. They searched methodically, obviously used to it. They flipped her sofa cushions on the floor, rifled through the small stack of library books on her end table, then went as far as to lift the sofa up on one end to look underneath.
When they moved into her bedroom, she closed her eyes, not wanting to imagine them going through her personal things. Her underwear, her bathroom toiletries. Nothing would be off limits.
“Delaney?” Steve Banner called. “You’re going to want to see this.”
See what? She shot to her feet, following Steele into her bedroom. Her cheeks flushed as she saw her underwear tossed to the floor in a haphazard pile.
Her blood ran cold when she saw the gun sitting beside her lacy bra. No, it couldn’t be. She didn’t own a gun. Had never even touched one.
Yet as Perkins’s accusing gaze locked on hers, she knew protesting would be useless. Whoever had come into her apartment to place those tracking devices had also planted this gun.
She swallowed hard, wondering if she was destined to have her baby in prison.
“It’s a SIG Sauer,” Banner said, as if he couldn’t figure that out for himself.
Steele scowled. “Using her underwear drawer is predictable, don’t you think? Grotto’s men could have stashed it here when they planted those trackers.”
“Maybe,” Banner agreed. “Then again, maybe not.”
He didn’t for one second believe that weapon was Harper’s. But he was careful to maintain a professional demeanor in front of the ATF agents. “I’m only pointing out the obvious, exactly the way a good defense attorney would.”
Perkins carefully placed the weapon in an evidence bag. “That theory won’t fly if her prints are found on the gun.”
Her prints could be planted there, too, but he held back from stating the obvious. The SIG Sauer was used by plenty of military and law enforcement personnel. And it was also the likely weapon used in these recent shootings. Yet if a woman like Harper wanted a gun for self-defense, she’d likely pick something smaller.
“We’ll get this tested ASAP,” Banner said.
“Go ahead. It’s not my gun.” Harper turned and left the room. He wanted to follow but forced himself to stand there while the ATF agents finished searching the room.
When they didn’t find anything else, he eyed them warily. “You know that gun was planted.”
“We don’t know that,” Perkins shot back.
“I assume you’ve gone over Harper’s financial records.” He kept his voice even, even though he wanted nothing more than to plant his fist in Perkins’s face. “Find anything suspicious there?”
“No, but she could have a secret account we don’t know about.” Perkins seemed intent on believing the worst. “Maybe she convinced Dillweed to hide money for her.”
“Yeah, and how does that work now that he’s dead?” When he realized he’d curled his fingers into fists, he forced himself to relax. “I’m anxious to see what the lab will come up with when they test the weapon.”
“Even if it’s clean, it could be one of Grotto’s guns,” Banner said.
Yeah, that was likely true. Of course, Grotto would have one of his men stash a hot gun in Harper’s apartment.
But again, the motive for this was fuzzy. If Grotto and his men were truly trying to set her up to take the fall, why bother shooting at her? Or trying to kidnap her? They could have easily used an anonymous tip to get them to this point. The same way a tip had led to her ex-husband’s arrest.
It didn’t make any sense.
“Are you planning to arrest her?” Steele forced himself to sound matter of fact.
“No,” Banner said. Perkins simply scowled. “As you pointed out, there are too many unanswered questions here.” Banner shrugged. “We’ll wait for ballistics and fingerprint testing to be completed.”
Small comfort, but he nodded. “Then I’m going to take her someplace safe.”
“Hold on, Delaney,” Perkins protested. “Who died and made you the woman’s protector?”
“I picked the short straw.” That wasn’t true, but he was tired of Perkins’s attitude. “Why does it matter who protects her? She’s been targeted by gunfire nonstop over the past few days. It’s only by God’s grace that she’s still alive.”
Perkins shrugged. “Seems Grotto is worried she’s going to spill the beans.”
“A valid point if she had any information to give.” He shifted to look at Banner. “Think about this logically. She’s pregnant. Don’t you think she’d drop the dime on these guys in a heartbeat to protect her baby?”
“Yeah, I do,” Banner admitted.
“Maybe” was all Perkins would say. “Or this is all an elaborate ruse to send us off track.”
He wasn’t sure what Perkins’s problem was, and he didn’t care. The guy was being obstinate about his theory that Harper was holding back key information. The ATF guys hadn’t spent the last two days with her the way he had.
Swallowing a sigh, he turned and headed back to the living area. He found Harper sitting on the chair near the door, her head bowed and her hands clasped on her rounded belly. It took him a moment to realize she was praying.
He stood for a moment, watching and waiting for her to finish. When she lifted her head, he saw the flash of pure anguish in her eyes.
His heart squeezed in his chest. The setup was obvious to him, but he couldn’t prevent the ATF agents from considering all angles.
“Am I going to have my baby in jail?” Her question made him wince.
“No.” He crossed over to kneel beside her.
“Don’t patronize me,” she warned. “I deserve honesty.”
She did. “You’re not under arrest, Harper. But I don’t control the ATF either. They’re sending the weapon for testing. Those results will determine their next steps.”
She didn’t say anything right away. “Am I free to gather some of my personal items? Toiletries and such?”
“I’ll ask.” He hesitated, then said, “Harper, you might want to call your boss, Trent Gibson. Do you think he’ll represent you pro bono?”
“Are you seriously asking me that?” Her temper flared, and she shot to her feet, shoving him out of her way. “I’m getting my things.”
“Wait.” He caught her hand, then let go when she shot him a narrow look. “Harper, listen to me. You wanted honesty. I’m giving it to you. I don’t want you to talk to the ATF agents any more without your lawyer present. Do you understand?”
“What about you? Shouldn’t I have my lawyer present when we’re talking?”
It was a good point. “The illegal gun trafficking falls into the jurisdiction of the ATF. And since I’ve been with you the past few days, they’d have to recuse me from the case anyway. I would end up being a witness in your defense.”
“You can leave anytime.” She held his gaze. “Pawn me off on someone else if you’d like.”
“I’m not interested in leaving you, Harper.” That was true on many levels, he realized grimly. Not that this was the time or place to discuss it. “Get your personal things together and we’ll hit the road.”
She turned away and went back to her room. He followed, watching from the doorway. Perkins and Banner stepped back, giving her space.
She pulled a small backpack from her closet and turned to her dresser. Revulsion crossed her features as she bent to replace the underwear the ATF agents had tossed onto the floor. She stuffed a few items into her bag, then left the bedroom to grab a few items from the bathroom. Then in the kitchen, she tossed in another container of prenatal vitamins.
Less than five minutes later, she was back at the chair by the doorway. “I’m ready.”
His heart ached for her. The stoic expression on his face didn’t fool him. She was devastated by this. And he didn’t blame her for being upset.
For a split second, he wondered if Perkins had planted the gun there. Then he quickly shoved that thought aside. No, that was too obvious. If Perkins had planted a gun, he wouldn’t want to be the cop that found it.
Besides, he didn’t believe the ATF agents were involved in the gunrunning operation. They’d been active participants in the shoot-out at the warehouse, same as their tactical team. Banner had saved Flynn’s life when he was wounded.
Buying into the planted gun was lazy investigating. And that irked him. He made a mental note to check in with Rhy when they were back at the City Central Hotel. Rhy would need to brief Assistant Chief Michaels on this latest twist in the case.
And he really needed to convince Harper to talk to her boss. At the very least to put Trent Gibson on notice that she might need his legal services.
“I’m ready to go,” Harper repeated.
“Okay.” He reached for the bag, but she didn’t hand it over. “I’ll carry that for you.”
“I have it.” She wouldn’t look him directly in the eye. “Just get me out of here, okay? I don’t feel well.”
He didn’t think she was referring to her pregnancy. He nodded and opened the apartment door for her. After checking the hallway, he stepped out. “Stay behind me.”
She didn’t answer, but he felt her grab the back of his shirt to stay close.
He wasn’t sure if the ATF agents would follow them out or not. He glanced back over his shoulder but didn’t see them. Most likely they were discussing their next steps without him or Harper there to listen in.
Fine. He needed time to figure out his next steps too. Leading the way down the stairs to the first-floor landing, he moved slowly so that Harper could keep up. At the main door, he scanned the area before opening it.
He shielded her with his body as much as possible as they took the sidewalk down to Rhy’s SUV. They were halfway there when he caught a hint of movement in his peripheral vision.
“Down!” He wrenched Harper down to the cold ground as the crack of gunfire echoed around them. He drew his weapon and returned fire, covering Harper as best as he could considering he had no idea how many bad guys were out there.
And where were the ATF agents?
