“You’re related to that…that…cop, aren’t you?”
She managed to make the word cop sound like bastard or son of a bitch.
“Don’t try to deny it. You’ve got the same eyes, the same drop-dead looks and the same cocky-as-hell attitude. Tell him if he doesn’t release me right now, I’m going to have him brought up on charges of police brutality. And I mean it.”
This had to be the caterer, Kit thought. And Nik had handcuffed her to a radiator? Interesting. Beyond her, he could see into a larger room where a crime-scene cop was snapping photos of a body on the floor. That had to be the “bruiser with the Glock” Nik had described to him. The one man who’d been shot and killed in the church that night. Returning his glance to the redhead, Kit flashed his dimples.
She waggled her finger at him. “Not going to work. He tried a smile, too. I may do more than have him brought up on charges. I may strangle him.”
In spite of her warning, Kit kept his smile in place. “Just a piece of advice. I wouldn’t say that in front of the other cops. They tend to take threats to their colleagues poorly. I’m Kit Angelis, Nik’s brother. And you must be the caterer?”
“J. C. Riley.”
“It’s a pleasure, Ms. Riley. You mind telling me why Nik handcuffed you?”
She thought for a minute. When she finally spoke, Kit was sure he was getting the edited version. “Some mumbo jumbo about me being a material witness and he didn’t want me bolting or mucking up his crime scene. As if I would. Seriously—” she rattled the handcuffs “—could you talk some sense into him?”
“I can try. But I’m his youngest brother. He doesn’t pay much attention to me. I understand you saw Father Mike get shot.”
Some of J.C.’s bravado faded. “Yes. And I saw the man who did it.”
“Earlier you overheard an argument?”
She nodded. “I didn’t catch the words, but Roman Oliver was involved in it. I heard the other guy call him by name. They were angry, and then the shooting began.” She jerked her head toward the adjacent room. “They’re digging bullets out of the wall right now.”
“You heard more gunfire after Father Mike was shot, from up in the choir loft. Do you know who was up there? Or who else was invited to the wedding?”
She studied him for a minute. “Who are you—the good cop come in to grill me after I ticked off the bad cop?”
No wonder Nik had described her as a pip. She was definitely that. Kit raised both hands. “I’m not a cop. Roman Oliver is my best friend so I have a personal interest.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Is he all right? Your brother won’t tell me anything.”
“He’s been taken to the hospital. Can you tell me who was invited to the wedding?”
“No. I never even met the bride or the groom. When Father Mike hired me, he said it would be just the wedding couple, the maid of honor, the best man and him. That’s it.”
“He mentioned a maid of honor and a best man?”
“Yes. I prepared a wedding cake and champagne for five, including Father Mike, of course.”
“You can’t make a lot of money on a small wedding like that.”
“Father Mike recommends me all the time. So I take the small and the big. Good PR.”
Instinct told him she was telling the truth. And a sudden intense tingling at the back of his neck told him that he’d better get back to Drew. “Nik says you saw a blonde come in with the bride.” He thought of Sadie’s purse. “You didn’t by any chance see a tall brunette arrive?”
“No.”
“Thanks. You’ve been a help.”
“Hey!” J.C. called after him, “tell the bad cop to come back here and take these cuffs off.”
“SORRY, I COULDN’T FIND any doughnuts, ma’am,” the cop said.
“Me, too.” Drew had somehow managed to get to her knees, and she was doing her best to help him budge Ari. The dog wasn’t having it.
She had a lie all ready. She couldn’t think why she hadn’t come up with it sooner. She’d spilled a whole glass of wine on her suit. Surely he’d buy that. The only problem now was Ari. She shifted into a squat and tugged. “C’mon, boy.”
“They’re with me, Jerry.”
At the sound of Kit’s voice, the cop straightened and turned. Then Ari shot to his feet and barked a welcome. Drew felt her balance waver, then completely disintegrate. She would have toppled backward onto the pavement if Kit hadn’t grasped her upper arms firmly. Then in one continuous movement, he shifted so that Jerry’s view of the front of her suit was completely blocked.
“Did you find Nik?” Jerry asked.
“Yeah, thanks. He told me to make tracks once Commissioner Galvin and Captain Parker arrived.”
“First time I’ve ever seen the commissioner come to a crime scene. Excuse me a minute.” A van was approaching. Jerry ducked under the tape and waved the driver away. As soon as the van had done a three-point turn and headed back up the street, Jerry turned back and lowered his voice. “Nik give you any idea what went down in there?”
“No. I know about as much as you do.” While he spoke, Kit lifted the crime tape, and Drew ducked her head to get under it. Once they were on the other side and out of the pool of light, Kit spoke to Jerry again. “As soon as Nik fills them in, I’m sure Captain Parker will brief all of you.”
Drew waited until they had walked half a block and were out of hearing range before she spoke. “You must have found out something. You were in the church close to twenty minutes.”
“I thought we agreed that you would stay in the car and let me do the investigating.”
“I didn’t have a choice. Ari had to relieve himself. And once I let him out, he dragged me to the nearest police car. What did you find out? Why is the commissioner here?”
Kit glanced down at the dog. “He dragged you to the nearest police car?”
“Yes. Then he lifted his leg and peed on it. Your friend Jerry didn’t see him or he probably would have arrested me. And now that I’ve updated you on Ari’s deplorable manners, will you please tell me what you found out.”
Instead of looking apologetic about the dog’s behavior or at least answering her questions, Kit grinned down at the dog. “Good boy.”
Drew stopped short. “Good boy? You’re praising him for peeing on a police car?”
Kit chuckled. “Roman and Theo and I trained him to do that when Nik was assigned to his first patrol car a few years back. It’s good to know that Ari hasn’t forgotten.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed. “The three of you trained him to pee on your brother’s car.”
“Yeah. He caught on real quick.” Kit patted the dog’s head.
She caught something in Kit’s expression that had her reaching out to take his hand. “You found out something bad about your friend Roman, didn’t you? How badly is he hurt?” Her earlier suspicion returned. “Is he the man I shot? Is he dead?”
“No.” Kit met her eyes steadily. “Roman wasn’t shot. He took a bad fall and he’s at St. Jude’s Trauma Center. I have to go there.”
“Of course you do.” Keeping his hand in hers, she quickened her step toward the car. Then, because she wasn’t sure what else to say, she asked, “Why did you train your dog to pee on your brother’s car?”
“Older brothers can be a pain—they’re bossy, arrogant. They think they know it all.”
“And your friend Roman helped you with this project because…”
Kit’s lips curved. “Probably because he was over at the house and restaurant so often that Nik had taken to bossing him, too. And as I recall, the three of us had had a few beers when the inspiration had struck.” Lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck, Kit stopped to scan the street.
“What?” Drew asked.
“I just have a feeling…damn!”
“What is it?”
“That van up at the corner. It’s the same one that Jerry just waved away from the church.”
Following the direction of his gaze, Drew spotted the dark colored van parked near a Stop sign at an intersection about a hundred yards beyond Kit’s car. For a moment, neither of them spoke, and in the brief span of silence, she caught the sound of a motor running.
“You think it’s waiting for us?” Her stomach clenched.
“The tingling at the back of my neck is telling me it’s waiting for you. And they’ve got us between a rock and a hard place,” Kit mused. “If we go back to the church, the woman who was catering the wedding may recognize you. Hell, she may have already described you to Nik.”
Drew momentarily forgot the van. “You did find something out. Whose wedding was it? Tell me.”
“All in good time.” Taking her arm, he urged her forward. “First, we’re going to execute Plan A—which is to get the hell out of here. I don’t think whoever’s in that van will try to do anything here. There are a lot of cops around. But we’re going to take it nice and easy, pretend we haven’t noticed them. No point in making them panic.”