Katarina polished off half the slice before opening her eyes to find the two other occupants both sitting at the table now, acting a little more relaxed, like her obvious hunger had eased their overactive nerves. Good. She had too much to do to afford getting tackled by Carrot Top and Sushi Girl.
Bodyguard man, though, looked like he would spring at her at any second.
After plopping another piece on her plate, Katarina zeroed in on Ellie. “Where’s my daughter?”
“That’s what I’d like to know too.”
“You’re telling me you’ve got nothing yet?” Katarina scoffed. “So much for Charleston PD going all out when needed or appointing the best and brightest.”
Ellie stopped sipping her water and smacked the bottom of the glass on the table. “I’m about two seconds away from putting that criticism to test by calling your presence in. Which is exactly what I should have done the moment I saw you outside my front door.”
Uh oh, she’d hit a nerve with that one. Usually, nothing would give Katarina more delight than ruffling the redhead’s feathers, but for now, she needed the detective’s aid. She lifted both hands as a peace offering. “Hey, it’s not like I’m doing anything illegal by being here. Sure, I left AMA, but I wasn’t under arrest.”
Ellie’s eyes narrowed. “Leaving a hospital against medical advice isn’t a crime, but the last time I checked, breaking and entering a locked building was absolutely illegal. How’d you get in? Wait, never mind, I can guess. The same way you got past Shane over there,” she gestured toward the grumpy bodyguard, “with your mom disguise.”
Katarina only shrugged. Turned out, a new mommy outfit was almost as good as having a key to the door. Katarina had remained hidden from view until one of Ellie’s female neighbors approached the building. She’d fallen in beside her long before the bodyguard ever glanced in their direction.
With the baby carrier, outfit, and blanket conveniently covering her bloody shoulder, no one had come close to second-guessing her ruse. By the time they’d reached the locked door, Katarina had sold the woman on her frazzled new mom act. The middle-aged brunette had expressed nothing but sympathy when Katarina shared that she was visiting her cousin Ellie’s apartment, but silly, sleep-deprived her had locked her keys inside.
If Ellie were a friend, Katarina would recommend that she hire less gullible bodyguards, but since the detective was more of a necessary evil, Little Miss Perfect could figure that out on her own. “Look, once we find Bethany, I promise I’ll be a good little patient and let you trot me straight back to the psych ward on a leash if that floats your boat.”
The blonde roommate muttered something along the lines of, “I’d like to float your boat right out to sea,” but Katarina kept her eyes locked on Ellie.
“I’m the best chance we have of finding Bethany, and you know it.” Katarina swallowed, working her jaw to force the next part out. “Our chances are even better if we work together.”
Asking for help made her insides squirm. She’d learned as a kid that the only person you could rely on was yourself. In her world, team players were the losers who couldn’t cut it on their own.
The idea of working with anyone, and especially Ellie, clashed with Katarina’s every last instinct, but if there was another avenue that led to saving Bethany in time, Katarina couldn’t find it. She was a psych hospital fugitive. Low on resources. Ellie didn’t face either of those stumbling blocks. So, she’d grit her teeth and put up with these two for as long as was necessary to rescue her baby girl.
Ellie sighed but didn’t argue with Katarina’s logic. Katarina took that as a win. As the detective scooped a pizza slice onto her plate, something nudged Katarina’s thigh.
“Well, hello there.”
The black dog whined before plopping its head into Katarina’s lap. She stroked the velvety ears before raising her eyebrows at the other two women. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this dog is a terrible judge of character.”
The blonde roommate snickered. “You’re not wrong.”
Ellie kept chewing a bite, but a faint smile eased the tension from her face. Her roommate finally relaxed her death grip on the gun long enough to grab her own slice of pizza.
Saved by a mutt. Katarina gave the dog an extra head scratch. If this all works out, buddy, I promise to send you a giant bone.
As if the canine understood her silent promise, the dog thumped its tail twice on the floor.
Emboldened by the doggy’s support, Katarina sucked in a breath and got the discussion rolling. “So, any speculation at all on where Kingsley is right now?”
Jillian jumped in first. “My guess is that he grabbed Bethany and took off somewhere to lay low. Someplace too far away for people to hunt or even guess, like the Bahamas or Barbados.”
Katarina was about to shoot that idea down when Ellie beat her to the punch.
“I don’t think so. Kingsley is arrogant as hell and has a superiority complex a mile long. He’d chafe at the notion of running away.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “I think that’s why he always comes back. If he’d planned on running away, why risk coming to the police department? He thinks he’s too smart to get caught, and he delights in rubbing that in our faces, far too much to leave. Do you agree?”
The detective directed the question at Katarina, and she nodded. “I do. The only time I can remember him ever being out of the country for an extended period of time was when he needed plastic surgery. His roots are here. He used to talk about living in this area specifically when he was a kid.”
“I remember. We were just at
