The Hangman (The Forgotten Files 3)

Novak released a breath. “Sure. We can talk later.”

Julia was frustrated. A critical piece of the puzzle had just danced inches from their reach. “You were a big help, Ken. Thanks. We’ll come back another time.”

“I must have some notes on her in my files,” Ken said, clenching his fists. “I know the answers are there.”

Julia patted him on the shoulder. “And we’ll get at them. Just not today. Not now.”

She and Novak showed themselves out. The sun was higher in the cloudless sky, but a wind added to the chill as it cut through her light jacket.

“He became agitated,” Julia said.

“Yes, he did.”

“Like he thought Jim might have been involved in Rita’s death?” Julia pulled up her collar to guard against the wind.

“Next time, I’ll talk to him alone without you or Wendy.” No hint of hesitation. He was telling her what was going to happen.

“What happened to team?”

“If I were cutting you out, I wouldn’t be telling you what I was going to do.”

“Ken is family.”

“I understand that. But I still need to talk to him. He’ll be more candid with me and less embarrassed if we’re alone. I’m a fellow cop. He thinks of you like a daughter and doesn’t want to hurt you.”

She understood the logic and what needed to be done. But she didn’t like it. She checked her watch. “I’m calling Neil Rogers.”

“We’ll talk to the guy together.” He adjusted his cuffs. “Foolish to double up efforts.”

She could have used distance from Novak right now, but he was right. Territorial cops weren’t as effective. “You’re annoyingly logical.”

The edges of his lips lifted as he fished keys from his pocket. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”

She slid into the front seat of Novak’s car. He had a relaxed confidence that she admired. Sure, she was confident, but not calm or tranquil. He wasn’t rattled easily, and she was a little jealous of that.

Novak called Neil Rogers and explained the situation. “Great. We’ll be by in a half hour. Thanks.”

When he hung up, she settled back into her seat.

Novak’s phone rang. “Hey, kiddo,” he said. His face and demeanor softened when he spoke.

Julia guessed it was his daughter. Feeling awkward, as if she were now intruding on a family conversation, she looked out her passenger-side window.

“You made it back without any issues?” he asked.

Julia didn’t want to be curious, but she was.

“All right,” he said. “Do you ever get instant messages for parties?” He frowned. “Do me a favor and watch out for any from the Hangman. He’s very bad news. Yeah, I know I’ve said it before. Just be careful. Okay. Have a good time this weekend. And remember . . .”

She could hear Bella groan like she imagined a teenager would when talking to a protective father.

“But I enjoy hearing you run through the safety rules all the time. Run ’em again,” he said. And then, “Love you.”

He hung up and clipped his phone back in its holster. “My kid,” he said. He scowled as he drove. “Why did you become a cop?”

No challenge, but genuine curiosity was enough to make her answer. “My mother always said I was like my father. She said some people are wired for this kind of work. Like me, you, and maybe Bella.” When he frowned, she said, “Cheer up. Bella might not be suited for police work. One thing to say you want the job, but it’s another to do it.”

“She’s a lot like me.”

“Tell you what. If she still has an interest, she can shadow me for a few days over the holiday break. I’ll take her to an overnight stakeout on the coldest night. I fill her up with sludgy coffee and stale candy bars.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“What, you don’t trust me with your kid?”

“I don’t know you that well, Julia.”

It was a fair statement. “You mean, am I too much like my old man?”

“You hold a lot of feelings in tightly. Sounds like he did the same, and it cost him in the end.”

“It’s never crossed my mind to do what he did.”

He shot her a glare as if she’d hit a nerve.

“I’m not Jim. Not your late wife.”

“You could open up more.”

“Look, part of the reason I can do what I do is because I can keep my feelings in check. You’re the same. You’d have to be to do the job.”

He stared ahead, silent.

“If Bella wants to see what being a cop is like, I’m a great resource. And I would never put her in danger.”

“No offense intended, but you take chances.”

“And you don’t?”

“Calculated risks.”

“They’re the same in my book.”

“No, not really.”

Ah, they’d come full circle back to what happened in Virginia Beach. “You don’t want me around your kid because you think I’ll encourage her to be reckless, and one day a drug dealer will treat your kid like a punching bag, is that it?”

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel.

“Look, I appreciate that you’re protective of your daughter. It’s really damn charming. But let’s face it, she’s one example of the many reasons we could not go the distance.” She took his silence as acceptance, and though it bothered her more than it should that they weren’t couple material, she couldn’t blame the guy. “I don’t fault you for caring about Bella. In fact, I used to dream that if Jim hadn’t shot himself, he would have settled down and been a great father to me. You know, the kind that cheers on the sidelines at soccer practices and threatens your prom date if he doesn’t bring you home by midnight.”

“Have you ever gotten pushback for your father’s suicide?”

“Not outright, no. But some instructors at the academy recognized the name. And my captain at the beach brought it up in a debrief.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. Her captain had meant well. He’d wanted her in counseling, and when he found out she only attended two of the four scheduled sessions, he pressed buttons. She finally agreed to complete the counseling sessions. “He was afraid I’d go off the rails like Jim did. He wouldn’t be the first to wonder if I’d go a little nuts.”

“I know you were pretty battered.” His brow knotted. “Is the other part true?”

Her heart stilled, and her breathing slowed. She didn’t answer.

“Did Benny rape you?” Each syllable sounded gnawed on and spit out.

For a long moment she didn’t respond. “Who’s saying that?”

“Riggs said you refused the rape kit.”

“Maybe I needed to be left alone. Maybe the X-rays and the twenty-five stitches the nurse put in my arm were enough of an intrusion for one day. Maybe the noise of the emergency room was too much.”

“You’re deflecting.”

No one other than her captain had had the balls to voice the question directly to her face, let alone push for an answer. “It’s going to have to do. Like you said, you don’t know me, Novak, and I sure don’t know you.”

“That’s why I’m asking. I want to know.”

She stared out the window, thinking. It would be so easy to open up and talk to Novak. And she nearly did before reason stopped her. She sidestepped back to Bella. “I remember how my aunt tried to talk me out of the academy. She hated the idea. At the time, I didn’t understand her fear. I understand it now. I can talk to Bella about the job and what it’s like for a woman. I can warn her and share war stories, but none of us really knows until we put on the uniform. But at nineteen, we all think we’re bulletproof.”

He accepted the conversation shift, not pressing about Benny’s attack. “The goal is to get her to twenty-five, and then she can make any kind of decision she likes.”

Laughter rumbled in her chest. “Have you picked out the convent she’ll live in until then??

??

“Not funny.”

“Do you see me laughing?”

He sighed. “Bella’s a good kid. Her mother wasn’t easygoing, but she is.”

“Lucky for you. I was a terror.”

That tweaked a smile. “I can’t imagine you being difficult.”

“Let Bella figure her own life out, Novak. If her head is screwed on straight, she’ll make good decisions.”

He didn’t speak for a couple of miles.

“You see the world as black-and-white,” she said. “I see lots of grays.”