Animal Instinct by Rosenfelt, David (novels for students TXT) 📕

“Then people were screaming and running in all directions. I ran back into the restaurant with some other people; I wasn’t even sure why. Then somebody said they were gunshots.

“All of a sudden the police were there and they questioned all of us about what we saw. All this time I didn’t even think about Lisa; I had no idea that she was … that she was … one of the victims. I called her when I got home to tell her what happened.

“She didn’t answer, so I started to get worried. Then I turned on the news and I found out.… I still can’t believe it. It seems surreal.”

“Did she act normally during your dinner?” I ask. “Did she seem concerned about anything, or even afraid?”

Una seems surprised by the question. “Why? You don’t think she was the target, that they were after her, do you?”

“We’re investigating all possibilities,” Laurie asks.

“Okay, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt Lisa.”

“How did she act during the dinner?”

Una thinks about it for a few moments. “Well, I guess she seemed a little distant. When I asked her about it, she mentioned some problems at work. I used to work there and she usually shared stuff about the office with me, but this time she didn’t want to.”

“Do you know Gerald Kline?” Laurie asks. I would have asked the same question, but my mouth is full with the second scone.

Una frowns. “I do.”

“You don’t like him?”

“I didn’t like the way he treated her. He controlled her; he thinks he controls everything.”

It’s the same way that Lisa’s sister described Kline and his relationship with Lisa. “Why didn’t she break it off with him?” I ask.

Una looks surprised again. “What do you mean? She did, like six weeks ago. I don’t know what took her so long.”

“They split up?” Laurie asks, and Una nods in response.

“Did she say anything about it? Maybe describe why, or what happened?” I ask.

“Not really. Just that it was over, and that she was glad about it. She said it was time to move on, to make major changes in her life.” Then, “She never got that chance.”

“She didn’t express a fear of him? That he might hurt her?”

Una looks around, as if someone might be listening in. “I shouldn’t be saying this; she asked me never to talk about it. But I guess circumstances have changed.”

“What is it?” Laurie asks.

“He hit her, once. She told me about it when it happened. She said the police came to the house, but she denied it. She made up a story. I told her she had to get rid of that guy, that if it happened once, it would happen again. But it never did, or if it did, she never told me about it. And she would tell me everything.”

“The police didn’t do anything?” I ask, unfortunately knowing the answer, and I’m not sure why I need to hear it reinforced. Laurie frowns at the question; she probably doesn’t know why I continue to beat myself up. I’m not sure myself.

Una shakes her head. “No. Lisa said the officer just asked some questions and left.”

ALL that Gerald Kline did with this particular cell phone was answer it when it rang.

They had given it to him only to answer their calls. He was not to make outgoing calls, except to one person, and was not to text or do anything else with it. He had his own phone for all of that.

Only one person ever called him. He referred to himself as Carlos, but Kline did not know if that was his real name. The people Carlos represented, and perhaps Carlos himself, were brilliant. Kline had never been associated with anyone like them; they knew everything and could do everything. And they paid him well … very, very well.

The call came when Kline was at home. The phone had a distinctive ring, and since it rang so infrequently, it never failed to jar him. These calls were always important, never casual, and they made Kline nervous.

Carlos never bothered with “hello”; he considered it a waste of time. “Someone is watching you, checking you out.”

The statement caught Kline by surprise. “Who?”

“At this point we don’t know. They are very good at what they do and so far are successfully concealing their identity.”

If Carlos said they were good, Kline knew, then they were damn good. “What are they looking for?”

“Everything. Your history. Your finances. Everything. Who would be doing this?”

“I have no idea.”

“That is not an acceptable response. You must have triggered something with your activities.”

“I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary. I swear.”

“Think about it; there is something. I want to hear from you soon.”

Click.

Kline got off the phone worried. Not about the people who were checking on him, but about Carlos and his people. Kline did not want to do anything to annoy them; this was not a job he could afford to lose.

The money was too damn good.

“I hate to say this, but we just may be spinning our wheels,” Laurie says.

I know what she means. Lisa seems to have been fairly tight-lipped about her relationship with Kline, which means we are unlikely to get any incriminating information about him from Lisa’s family and friends. While they did not like him, they didn’t discuss it much with Lisa.

That means our only hope is to tie Kline to the actual shooter.

“You have any suggestions?”

Laurie nods. “Just one. We go straight at Kline; we tell him that we’re onto him and that we’re going to nail him. Then we watch him, monitor his calls, and see how he reacts. Maybe we’ll get nothing from it, but we might scare him. That in itself would be some satisfaction, wouldn’t it?”

“It would. I think it’s a good idea.”

“Good. I’ll get Marcus on it. He can figure out the best way to go at him. And I’ll get Sam on the phone stuff.”

I know what she means about “phone stuff.” Sam will break