FOUR
Ava stared at him for a good three seconds before giving a nod. “Fine. I’ll meet you at my place. Lakeside Apartments on Wellington. Apartment 1102A. First building, first floor, just off the parking lot when you turn in.” She climbed into her car.
Caden moved quickly to his own vehicle and followed her out of the parking lot. Funny. He’d never been to her place. He’d always just met her at the care facility, since that’s where she spent most of her time.
As he kept her taillights in view, he pondered the way she’d defended herself—and him—against her attacker. He’d always thought Ava to be quiet and unassuming. Definitely smart, probably even genius-level intelligent, but . . . reserved and a little shy. And maybe she was all that, but she’d also had some training, which had served her well today.
How had he not noticed this side of her before?
Of course, he’d known her since she was a kid when she and Sarah were inseparable, but he hadn’t really been around her that much after he left for school, then Quantico.
Sarah had told him her group of friends had convinced her to move closer to them in order for her to have help with her mother, so Caden had only started to get to know the adult Ava. And he was thoroughly enjoying doing so. Even wanted to ask her out on a date. Unfortunately, he felt like he’d hit a wall with her.
And now he had to ask her how she was involved in the murder of the Fields family. His phone rang and he hit the car’s Bluetooth button to run the call through the speakers. “Zane? How are you doing?”
“The same.”
“Ouch. You sound rough.”
“Yeah. So, let me talk while I have a voice. Daria just called and said she tracked the teen’s phone to the backyard. Officers found it, so it’s not going to give us anything on his present location, obviously. But they’re working on getting into it to get a picture of his movements, names of friends he might be with, et cetera.”
“Excellent.”
“Also, I’ve been talking to neighbors. Mickey spent the night with a buddy of his, Evan West. Evan said they hung out and went to bed at a decent hour because Mickey had to be at the dojo at 9:00 a.m. for a karate competition thing. Mickey left Evan’s house around 8:15 to run home and grab his gi, but everything was still in his room, so we know he didn’t make it up there.”
“No, just inside the front door to confront the man killing his family,” Caden said. “It’s Sunday and a beautiful spring day. Lots of people outside. No one’s said anything about seeing him walking home. But finding his phone in the backyard says he made it there.” He paused. “What if they fought, Mickey managed to get away, and then ran out of the back door, losing his phone in the process?”
“Sounds feasible.”
“If by some chance he’s alive, we need to find him.”
“We’ve got a BOLO out,” Zane said. “I’ll let you know if anything pops up.”
“Thanks. Go home, Zane. Take some medicine and sleep.”
“I’m planning on it. Soon.”
“I’m almost to Ava’s place, getting ready to talk to her. I’ll let you know what I know when I know it.”
“Good. I got clearance for her from the SAC. Her high level of security with the Navy let him fast-track everything so you can talk to her about the case. She’s considered a contract consultant at this point. He said he had a feeling we were going to need her help to figure this out—especially the part her father plays in all of this.”
“Well, that’ll make things easier. Thanks.”
“Sure thing. Talk to you later.”
Caden hung up and pulled into Ava’s apartment complex, found a visitor’s parking spot, then joined her at the door just as she unlocked it.
Once they were inside, he shut the door behind him and looked around. “Nice place.”
“Thanks. I was relieved to find something near Mom that I would be happy living in. Temporarily anyway. I’d love to get a small house somewhere so I could plant a little garden and some flowers. Maybe get a dog.” She shrugged. “All in good time.”
The front door opened into the kitchen area. To the right, she had a round table that seated four. A puzzle in progress took up most of the surface. He walked over to study it. They’d done a few puzzles while he sat with her at the nursing facility. “You always have one going, don’t you?”
She smiled. “Of course. That was my dad’s thing that quickly became my thing too. Something we could share when he was around. He got me addicted when I was around three years old. Between puzzles and his silly scavenger hunts, I was never bored. I tried to pass that on to Nate, but he wasn’t interested. Science experiments that blew up and spewed something everywhere? Yes. Snakes and bugs and everything ‘ew’? Also, yes. Puzzles? No, they were too tame.”
He laughed. “I remember that about him.” To the left was the kitchen with a bar area and two more chairs. The living area was straight ahead.
She gestured to the couch. “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
“Water or coffee would be great.”
She made a left into the kitchen, started the coffeepot, then grabbed the waters and joined him on the couch with a long sigh. “Coffee will be ready in a few minutes.” She swiped strands of dark hair from her eyes and sipped the water. “I have to admit I’m glad I didn’t have to walk into an empty apartment by myself. Thank you for being here.”
Her soft words reached him and he shifted toward her. “I’m thankful I showed up when I did.”
“So am I. You had perfect timing. As usual.” She took a deep breath. “Now, tell me what’s going on. You said something about a murder.”
“Yes, it’s a highly sensitive case, but I have permission to read you in on it.”
Her brows rose. “Okay.”
“Do you know a man by the name of Michael Fields? He was Army.”
She frowned. “No. I’ve never heard of him. Why?”
“He and his wife had three kids. Staff Sergeant Fields and his wife and their two younger children were shot and killed this morning. A neighbor found their bodies shortly after it happened. Their teen son, Mickey, is nowhere to be found right now. We’re still looking for him. And the killer. That’s why I was late coming to the nursing home.”
She gaped. “Children?”
He nodded and tightened his jaw on the tears that wanted to rise. “Yes.” He cleared his throat.
“Caden, I’m so sorry. That’s . . . awful. Beyond awful, really, but . . . and you still came intending to sit with me? I don’t know what to say.”
He shrugged. “Unfortunately, I had another reason for coming, but I’ll get to that in a minute.” He paused. “Although I will say that every other time besides tonight, coming to sit with you has been more selfish than anything.”
“How so?”
He laughed. A sound without much humor. “This is probably going to come across pathetic, but I needed the routine of it. The normalcy of doing something that . . .” A sigh slipped out and he shook his head. “I don’t know how to explain it.”