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“Then don’t take all the blame. Talk to her, honey.”
“I will. When this is over and I can take some time off. For now, Elijah is my responsibility.”
“And I appreciate that, more than you can ever know. But I think that Burke can take over for a few hours. I...” Trailing off, he frowned as though considering his words. “I’m not a big believer in fate, Val. Things happen randomly in life. People come into your life and sometimes they have to leave. Sometimes they get sick and sometimes they die and it’s no one’s fault. It’s not... predestined. But we can make the most of opportunities as they’re presented to us. This thing with the Gates brothers—whatever it turns out to be—gave me the gift of more time with you. What if it can give you the gift of a repaired relationship with your sister?”
She stilled, letting his words sink in. He was right. If there was a chance at having a relationship with her surviving sibling, she’d be wrong not to grab onto it with both hands.
“I’ll ask Burke if he can take over for a little while this afternoon so that I can see Sandra in jail, then I’ll go to Sylvi’s flower shop. It doesn’t close until seven on Thursday nights.”
And that she knew that fact off the top of her head was telling.
“I can’t see Sandra with you since I’m recused from Aaron’s case and she’s connected to it,” he said. “I’ll have to wait outside. But I can go with you to Sylvi’s.”
“I’d appreciate it. I don’t think it will be an easy conversation.”
“I know you can do it.” Gripping her chin lightly, he kissed her lips sweetly. It was what she’d needed. “I’ll make some calls and get the visit set up.”
She slid off his lap. “Molly’s got to be tired. I need to get back on duty and let her go home to sleep.” She paused at the door. “Thank you, Kaj.”
He smiled at her and it filled her chest with warmth. “You’re welcome.”
Mid-City, New Orleans, Louisiana
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 9:45 A.M.
Kaj Skyped his boss as soon as Val left his office. “Good morning, Reuben.”
“Good morning, J.P.,” Reuben said, and Kaj was caught off guard.
He’d been surrounded by people calling him Kaj for days. It sounded weird to hear “J.P.”
“What can I do for you?” Reuben asked, a little warily. His wariness was, again, fair. Their conversation last night had been a hodgepodge of Bella Butler, Corey Gates, and the online Bella-haters who’d turned their attention to Elijah.
“I wanted an update. Did you talk to Noni—”
Loud hammering interrupted him and Reuben scowled. “What the hell, Cardozo?”
Kaj winced at the noise. “I’m having some work done on my house.”
“I can hear that. Is it prudent to have people in your house right now?”
“I’m having a safe room installed,” Kaj said. “For Elijah. Give me a second.” He hurried to the door and stuck his head out. “Hey, Phin? I’m on a call. Can you give me twenty minutes before you start hammering?”
Phin stuck his head out of Elijah’s doorway. “Sure thing. Let me know when I can get going. I’ll take a break. I think I hear MaryBeth downstairs. She always brings food.”
“Thank you,” Kaj said, then closed his door and returned to his laptop. “We’ll have quiet for a little while.”
Reuben looked dismayed. “Dammit, J.P. I wish your son had never been brought into any of this. Has NOPD tracked down any of the online crazies to see if they’re still a threat?”
“Not yet,” Kaj said, although Antoine had identified at least one of them, a man living just over the Texas border. Burke had given the man’s photo to André, who’d passed it on to all the officers watching his neighborhood. “But they put my home address online and I’m not taking any chances with Elijah’s safety. There’s still Corey Gates as well—that note he taped onto Rick’s chest. Until I know for sure that Corey’s threat against Elijah is an empty one, I’m protecting my son, any way that I can.”
“Unfortunately, all that makes sense. So what were you going to ask me?”
“Have you brought in Noni Feldman, the reporter who warned Bella Butler?”
“NOPD did. Captain Holmes specifically. Feldman would only admit that she’d gotten an anonymous call from her source. She wouldn’t tell NOPD who that was.”
“How many people in NOPD know about the threat to Bella Butler?”
