Colby Brass

Which was dumb in Von’s opinion. Christmas was a waste of energy and resources.

A young guy, younger than her twenty-eight, rolled a float stacked high with boxes onto the aisle where Von waited. Depending on how long he’d been stocking these shelves he may have witnessed the confrontation between Larkin and her ex.

Half a dozen steps and she stood right behind the store clerk. “Excuse me.”

He didn’t turn around or acknowledge her presence.

She tapped him on the shoulder.

He jumped.

Then she saw the reason he hadn’t heard her. His shoulder-length hair hid the wire extending from his ear to his MP3 player.

He snatched the earbud free and jammed it into his apron pocket. “Can I help you?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, sorry.” He forced a smile. “How may I help you, ma’am?”

The distinct flicker of worry in his eyes warned that he’d committed this transgression before and wanted no part of that kind of trouble again.

“Have you been stocking on this aisle all afternoon?” Might as well get straight to the point.

He glanced past her, then searched her face a moment as if attempting to determine if she was a spy for management. “Since about one.”

She hitched a thumb toward the front window. “My best friend had a big fight right outside with her ex. Did you see it happen?”

He stiffened. “I already talked to the police. I told ‘em everything I know.”

Von produced a trembling smile. “I can’t get the police to tell me anything and I’m really worried. She’s at the hospital and her ex took her little girl.” Von shrugged. “I really want to find that bastard before he does something even more stupid.”

The clerk licked his lips, checked both directions of the aisle. “I wish I could help you.” He shrugged. “I really do. But I really did tell the cops all I know.” He gestured to the floor to ceiling, wall to wall window. “I could see them arguing but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. The dude grabbed the kid’s hand and walked off. The woman ran after him. Looked like she was yelling but I couldn’t hear what she was saying.”

“Which way did they go?”

He pointed left and shrugged again. “That’s all I know.”

Von gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

The police would continue questioning employees until they were certain no one had seen or heard anything. Von had other plans.

If the violent part of the confrontation hadn’t happened in front of the store, then it had to have occurred after the ex walked away with the kid in tow. Von moved out the front entrance and turned left.

Concentrating on the snowy sidewalk, she passed a restaurant, a bookstore and a pharmacy. When she reached the end of the block she turned around and retraced her steps.

No blood. Just the slush of snow beaten down by foot traffic.

How far had Larkin and her ex gone before the physical confrontation occurred? The Colby Agency was five blocks away. A street over and four blocks down. The woman had been bleeding profusely. Wherever she was attacked, presumably with a knife, there would be blood close by. If not on the sidewalk near the toy store … if not in front of witnesses who surely would have called the police—It had to be in a more secluded place. Some place no one would look on a busy afternoon only a few shopping days from Christmas.

Von checked the wide alley between the pharmacy and the bookstore. Some trash, a few empty boxes and a Dumpster but no blood. Double-checking as she retraced her steps, she returned to the sidewalk and moved on to the next possibility.

Between the restaurant and the toy store was another alley, this one too narrow for the city’s garbage truck. Again there were empty boxes. A couple of garbage cans and not much else.

“Damn it.” Had Wanda Larkin gotten disoriented and confused the location of the confrontation? Maybe she’d followed the jerk a considerable distance from the toy store.

Von ventured deeper into the alley. As she neared the end where the alley gave way to another sidewalk and street, her gaze snagged on a dark spot. Not mud or other grime. This was distinctly rusty in color. The snow was a slushy mess from the foot traffic but there was something …

She touched the spot, assessed the smudge on her fingertip.

Definitely blood.

Her heart rate accelerated as anticipation fired in her veins.

At the intersection of the alley and the parallel street that ran behind the toy store another stack of boxes were overturned and scattered.

More blood.

Von dragged box after box aside … a woman’s coat had been wadded into a ball and tossed to the side. Von cautiously unrolled the coat. The lining was bloodstained. Fur-lined ankle boots were hidden behind more boxes … and socks—all bloodstained.

Judging by the amount of blood on the ground, Von estimated that Wanda Larkin had been immobile and hemorrhaging heavily for several minutes. Lying on the frigid ground with no coat and no shoes.

Fury roared through Von as she pieced together the story the elements of the scene revealed.

The ex had meant for Wanda to die.

Von sat back on her haunches and surveyed the scene once more. Larkin had stabbed his ex-wife or slashed at her with the knife. Von inspected the coat, noted the hole in the garment. Not an extended tear in the fabric, a distinct hole. No slash. He’d stabbed her. He’d hit her or pushed her hard enough to knock her unconscious or stun her, at least for a few minutes. Then he’d stripped off her coat and boots, tried to camouflage her body and walked away.

Leaving her to die.

Exposure to the extreme cold would have hastened the outcome.

“Bastard.” Von pushed to her feet and double-timed it back to the toy store. She tracked down the guy she’d questioned before. “Do me a favor.” The clerk didn’t look too gung-ho, but Von went on, “Tell the police there’s blood in the alley between this store and the restaurant next door.”

The guy’s eyes rounded. “Blood?”

“Tell them!” Von ordered as she backed down the aisle toward the exit. “Tell them now.”

She didn’t wait around to get caught up in questioning. Her SUV was in the parking garage down the block and across the street. On the way, she put in a call to Victoria and explained what she’d discovered near the toy store.

“Von, I want you to rendezvous with Jim and Trinity,” Victoria instructed. “They’re en route to Rogers Park. The ex-husband reportedly lives or spends time in the area.”

“Do we have his name or a description?” Von asked, pushing aside the automatic reaction that had nothing to do with this case.

“His name is Kobi Larkin. Research is sending a DMV photo to your phones now. Also, Trinity obtained a photo of the child at the mother’s apartment. He’ll forward that to you as well.” Victoria hesitated. “And, Von, tread cautiously,” she warned. “Keep me posted. I’ll follow up with Chicago PD.”

“On my way,” Von assured the chief of the Colby Agency as she sprinted to her SUV. Her mind raced ahead of her … to Rogers Park.

To him.

Trinity Barrett.

Living in the same city with him wasn’t the end of the world. Not at all. Chicago was plenty big enough that running into each other wasn’t exactly that big of an issue. He’d worked in the high-class section of the city; she’d worked on the fringes. Hadn’t been a problem … until this year.

From the moment Jim Colby had told her the Equalizers were merging with the Colby Agency, Von had known this moment might come.

But she’d hoped.

She’d even prayed.

Well, sort of.

Now the nightmare she’d wished to avoid was becoming reality.

She would be forced to work with Trinity Barrett, her ex-husband.

After hitting the key fob and climbing into the driver’s seat of her SUV, she jammed the key into the ignition and started the engine. She took a slow, deep breath and relaxed to the degree possible.

She could do this.

It wasn’t the end of the world, Von reminded herself. Not really. Yes, it would be awkward and annoying and damned frustrating working with him. But there was every reason to anticipate that she would certainly survive the challenge.

He, however, might not.

Chapter Four

Rogers Park, 4:30 p.m. (3 hours missing)

Trinity waited at the corner of the block, the rendezvous point.

She was almost here.

Evonne Cassidy. Von. His ex-wife.

Trinity hiked his shoulders in an effort to relieve some of the stress. He should have resigned ten months ago when Victoria announced that the Equalizers were merging with the Colby Agency. But Trinity loved his work at the Colby Agency. He’d hoped that Von would do the right thing and decide not to come onboard at the agency.

But she’d done exactly the opposite.

Five years ago they had made the decision to end their volatile relationship. Problem was, neither of them had been willing to leave Chicago. Determined to make a fresh start Trinity had, in time, signed on with the Colby Agency. A couple years later he’d heard through mutual friends that Von had taken a position at another PI type firm, but he hadn’t known until a few days later that it was Victoria Colby’s son’s firm.

That fact hadn’t been a problem until this year.

Until then, Trinity and Von hadn’t spoken since the divorce finalized, not for any reason. Shortly after the announced merger earlier this year, they’d had a face-to-face meeting in neutral territory. A decision to keep their history private had been reached. There had been no need to drag their tumultuous shared past into the present. They would be cordial to each other at work and if they were lucky, a mutual assignment wouldn’t come up.

So much for luck.

He watched her SUV roll to a stop at the curb. This was it. No turning back.

They were professionals. They were both dedicated to their work. There was no time to deal with personal issues under the circumstances.

A child was in danger.

Von slid from behind the wheel, shoved the door shut with her hip and hit the key fob to initiate the vehicle’s security system. Her trendy slacks and matching coat were signature Von. She liked being comfortable, but she never sacrificed fashion to make it happen. Somehow she always looked like she’d just stepped off a runway in the most casual of clothes.

Trinity swallowed hard as she marched toward him. He’d seen her every single weekday this year at the office. No matter, each time his internal reaction was the same—uncertainty, yearning … frustration.

Fool he was, even five years hadn’t changed the way just watching her move made him feel. One thing was an absolute certainty, he would take that particular secret with him to his grave.

Giving her the satisfaction of knowing that she had the upper hand on his heart was one humiliation he had no desire to experience.

“Just received word from Simon that there are two possible addresses where Larkin has been known to hang out,” she announced as she strode toward Trinity’s position on the sidewalk.

Simon Ruhl was one of Victoria and Jim’s seconds in command. Possessing deep connections within the FBI, Simon could generally reach out to his contacts for swift and relevant information.

“Excellent,” Trinity acknowledged the news. It was a starting point. Rogers Park had more than its share of less than savory characters and locations. Wasting time sifting through them all was less than optimum under the circumstances.

Glancing past Trinity, then in the other direction, Von asked, “Where’s Jim?”

Jim Colby was the former head of the Equalizers. It had taken time, but the crew who’d come onboard from the Equalizers and the staff at the Colby Agency had learned to consider both Jim and Victoria “the boss.” Trinity doubted Von’s question about Jim had anything to do with her considering him her actual boss. Most likely she had hoped a third party would be around to provide a buffer between the two of them. Trinity had hoped for the same. Just another example of how luck had deserted him completely today.

“He’s on the phone with Chicago PD.” Trinity pulled the collar of his coat up around his neck. “They’re not too happy that we got the jump on their investigation. Larkin’s neighbor mentioned we’d been in the apartment. Jim’s doing damage control.”

Von made a disapproving face. “That’s ridiculous. Who cares who got the jump? Finding the kid is the goal here.”

Her lack of patience with the rules was a leftover of Equalizer methodology. That tactic had slowly but surely been overcome in recent months. Von, like the others, had learned the Colby way of conducting an investigation. Granted, this situation called for swift, decisive action, still some amount of interfacing was necessary when boundaries were breached.

Enemies were easy to make. Allies were far more difficult to attain and even harder to keep. The Colby Agency prided itself on cultivating and maintaining strong allies.

“Where to first?” she prompted.

Trinity kicked aside the distractions and gestured to the apartment building to their right. “Kobi Larkin has a sister who lives on the second floor. The sister, according to neighbors, has refused to speak to him since he and Wanda divorced. We’re hoping she can point us in the right direction.”

“Larkin may be scum,” Von commented as they crossed the street, “but he’s still the woman’s brother.” She shook her head as she surveyed both ends of the block once more. “In my experience a perp’s family is rarely any real help so I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

Trinity couldn’t cite any recent examples to dispute her assertion. But they had to try every avenue, no matter how remote.

Like the building where Wanda Larkin lived, this one was rundown and dingy. Despite the cold, four teenage males loitered on the steps leading to the front entrance. Von ignored their lewd comments. Trinity stared from one to the other, long enough to make them squirm. The door closed behind Von who hadn’t hung around to watch his protective maneuver.

He caught up with her on the stairs leading to the second floor. She didn’t bother glancing back. Von Cassidy could take care of herself and she didn’t like anyone indicating otherwise—in word or deed.

Fixing his gaze someplace besides on her swaying hips was a task. Trinity was glad when they reached the second-floor corridor.

“Two-fifteen,” he said as he led the way along the cluttered hall. Apparently tomorrow was trash pickup day. Most of the doors were flanked by bags of what had the look and smell of household garbage.

At apartment 215, he stopped and rapped on the door, careful to keep to the left in the event whoever was inside opted to take a shot at whoever had dared to knock. Von waited on the other side of the door.

“Who is it?”

The voice inside was female and distinctly unfriendly.

“Maggie Clemmons,” Trinity began, “my name is Trinity Barrett. I’m an investigator looking into the disappearance of your brother, Kobi Larkin, and I have a few questions for you. I’d appreciate it if you’d open the door and cooperate.”

Von arrowed him a look of approval. Nothing he’d said had been a flat-out lie, but he’d left out some relevant info like the fact that he wasn’t a cop.

“I don’t know anything about him or his friends,” the woman claimed. “I haven’t heard from that no-account bum in months.”

“Ma’am,” Trinity pressed, “just a few moments of your time will be greatly appreciated. This is a matter of the utmost importance.”

Silence.

Von raised her eyebrows in question at Trinity.

He wasn’t giving up just yet. “Ma’am?”

“I told you I don’t know anything,” came through the door.

“He took Lily,” Trinity added since the concept that her brother was missing hadn’t done the trick.

Trinity’s gaze locked with Von’s. If the child being in danger didn’t get through to the woman … likely nothing would. Maybe Von had been right in her assessment. Blood was thicker than water.

Grinding metal echoed from turning locks, pro- viding the response they had hoped for. Relief flared in Trinity’s chest.

The door opened and a woman who’d obviously just saturated her hair with a color treatment looked from Trinity to Von and back. “He wouldn’t have taken Lily.” She shook her head adamantly as if that would make her words so. “No way.”

“May we come in, ma’am?” Trinity didn’t want to have this conversation in the corridor. Not with several doors cracked open just enough for nosy neighbors to see and hear too much already.

With a swipe to her brow with the towel dangling around her neck, the woman opened the door wider. “There’s got to be a mistake.”

Once Trinity and Von were inside, she closed the door. “Did Wanda say Kobi took Lily?”

“Ms. Clemmons, have you heard from your brother today?” Von asked.

Clemmons glared at Von, then blinked repeatedly. Apparently the pungent smell of the chemical hair treatment was getting to her. “I told you I haven’t heard from Kobi in months.” She blinked twice more. “Where’s Wanda? Why didn’t she come if what you’re saying is so? She wouldn’t just send somebody around saying such things.”

“Wanda is at Mercy General,” Trinity explained. “According to an update I received from my superior just a few minutes ago, she survived surgery and is currently in guarded condition.” Victoria had called just before Von arrived. He probably should have mentioned that to her as well. But he’d been too busy worrying about how they would manage to work together without killing each other.

The woman hugged her arms around her waist. “He swore to me that he didn’t hurt her. Is Wanda gonna be all right?”

So much for telling the truth.

“If Wanda pulls through with no permanent damage,” Von answered the question, “she’ll be very lucky. Kobi stabbed her, stripped her coat and boots off and left her to die in the snow beneath a stack of empty boxes in an alley where no one would find her.”

“Dear God,” Clemmons murmured.

“When did you speak to Kobi?” Trinity pressed, hoping to get the truth before Clemmons had time to rethink her position.

“About two o’clock, I guess.” She dabbed at her forehead with the towel again. “He said they’d had a big fight, but that everything was gonna be okay. He said he was going away for a while. To get himself together.” She turned her palms up in an earnest manner. “That’s why he called. After all this time, he just wanted to say bye before he left.” Her head wagged side to side. “He’s pushed her around from time to time but he never hurt her … like this.”

Not so according to the neighbor, but Trinity wasn’t arguing the point. He needed this woman to keep talking.

“Did he give you any idea where he might be planning to go? “ Von demanded before Trinity could, keeping the pressure on.

Maggie Clemmons shrugged. “He just said he was owed some money and he was gonna use it to do the right thing … finally.”

“Do you have reason to believe he planned to, as you say, get himself together?” Trinity hoped the man had perhaps gone into hiding with his child and meant no harm to her. Finding a scumbag like him wouldn’t be that difficult. So far, he hadn’t proven that smart. “To do the right thing?”

Clemmons heaved a weary sigh. “No. He’s said that before. He probably took the money and got more drugs. That’s what he usually does.” She divided her attention between Trinity and Von. “That’s why I know he wouldn’t have taken Lily with him. He don’t care about much but he does want her to have a better life. He’s always said she deserves better than he or Wanda could give her.”

“The fact of the matter is,” Trinity said somberly, “he did take Lily, after leaving Wanda for dead. It doesn’t sound like he has Lily’s best interests at heart just now.”

“We have to find him,” Von added. “Before he allows any harm to come to the child … before the police find him. If you care about your brother you need to help us. You know what they do to people who hurt children.”

Silence screamed in the room for two beats. Trinity hoped Von’s strategy worked. A plea from woman to woman—one that included hope for the brother.

“Charlie Jones,” Clemmons said with a confirming nod. “I don’t know where he is. But Charlie knows Kobi better than anyone. He’ll know how to find him.”

“How do we find Charlie?” Trinity asked. “We have to hurry. There’s no time for tracking him down. Not if you can give us that information.”

Clemmons hurried over to the end table next to her sofa. She scribbled something on a pad of paper, then ripped the page free and brought it to Trinity. “This is his address. I don’t know his phone number. But you’ll find him here. If anyone knows where Kobi is, it’s Charlie.”

While Von thanked Ms. Clemmons, Trinity made his way into the corridor and put through a call to Simon Ruhl. By the time they reached the stairwell, Trinity had relayed the name and address to Simon for intelligence gathering. Any info available from any and all sources could prove useful in their approach.

Trinity dropped his cell phone into his jacket pocket. “Simon will call us if he finds anything.” Since the address was only fifteen or so minutes away the preliminary info might be minimal, but they couldn’t wait around for additional details.

Von put her hand out to push through the door of the building’s front exit. “If we’re—”

She abruptly whirled around. Shoved Trinity against the wall. And kissed him.

His fingers tightened in her coat with the intention of pushing her away … but they relaxed instantly as the reality that Von was kissing him sank into his brain. His eyes closed as the feel of her hot mouth moving over his trumped all other senses.

Vaguely he was aware that the door opened and people entered the building. He heard the shuffling of boots, the hushed exchange of male voices. Trinity wanted to open his eyes and assess the new arrivals but her tongue slid along his and all other thought vanished.

Her arms went around his neck and he promptly forgot the past five years … the hurt … the arguments … the loneliness he’d felt so many, many nights along with anyone or anything else he should have been thinking about just now.

“Get a room,” a male voice grunted.

Male laughter faded along with the heavy footfalls tromping up the stairs.

Von suddenly drew away. “Let’s go.”

Trinity blinked. Grappled with the concept of what had just happened.

Von pushed out the door.

He swiped his still burning mouth with the back of his hand. “What the hell?” With a bewildered glance up the stairs, he shuffled out the door to catch up with her.

“You mind explaining what that was about?” he demanded when he caught up with her hurried stride.

She jerked her head toward the street and the dark sedan illegally parked in a red zone. “Cops.”

Trinity stopped. He stared at the sedan then back at the apartment building.

“Come on,” Von called back. “We’re wasting time.”

Since Trinity had arrived in the neighborhood with Jim Colby, he didn’t have much choice but to go wherever he went from here with Von.

He climbed into the passenger seat of her SUV.

His lips still tingled from the unexpected kiss.

It hadn’t meant anything, he reminded that truly stupid part of himself that wanted to be psyched about the fact that she had kissed him for any reason.

Von would do whatever it took to get the job done.

Even kissing a guy she disliked … her ex-husband.

Trinity’s cell phone vibrated. He pulled it from his pocket to check the screen. A text from Simon.

Proceed with extreme caution.

Target is dangerous.

More details to come.

Trinity confirmed that he had received the information. He slid his phone back into his jacket pocket and checked the weapon at his waist.