Trail of Secrets(54)
She nodded. “I’ll tell him, and tell your wife thank-you for checking on my uncle. Maybe we’ll see you soon.”
Callie managed to hold on to her smile until the elevator door closed behind Brad. Then she slumped against the back of the bench and let the tears stream down her cheeks.
Two men in different places had said the same thing to her today. Seth would make a wonderful father.
She clenched her fists and pounded her knees. Why did she have to keep being reminded of something that she knew to be true? Seth would make a wonderful father, and she’d given him the chance to do that when she’d refused his marriage proposal.
The thing that bothered her, though, was that he didn’t seem to be moving on like she’d thought he would. Several times he’d hinted that he still didn’t understand why she had said no. Maybe it would be better if she told him the real reason, but she wasn’t sure how he would react to the truth.
She sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes. Better to leave things as they were. In time he would find a woman he could love. Then he’d be able to have the family he deserved. Even if it still hurt at times to think about him married to someone else, she had to admit it was better than having him come to hate her because he was saddled with a wife who could never give him children.
* * *
Seth sat in the chair facing Abby Dalton’s desk and thought of Callie waiting in the hall for him. He’d been surprised when she’d volunteered to wait outside, but she’d been right. Abby might not have opened up if someone who wasn’t involved in law enforcement had been present.
He settled in his seat, propped his elbows on the chair arms and clasped his hands in front of him. “Thanks for seeing me.”
“No problem. Is there something I can help you with about one of your cold cases?”
“It involves one of my cold cases that may be linked to an investigation right now. I’m looking into how Judge Lattimer’s attack may be related to a cold case that happened twenty-five years ago.”
“Twenty-five years ago? I was only a child then, so I don’t know that I’ll have any information for you about a case that old.” She frowned. “Why would the attempts on Judge Lattimer’s life have anything to do with something that happened so long ago?”
For the next few minutes Seth explained the case involving the murder victim Dan had called Hope and how he believed the attacks in the car and at the hospital were attempts at silencing him. He told her about a street informant who had identified Carlos Allen as the hit man and how Carlos had been killed at Sam’s Bar and Grill.
When he finished, she pulled off her glasses and laid them on her desk. “I heard about the shooting of Carlos. I hated that. I’d hoped he was getting away from the criminal lifestyle after his last run-in with the law.”
“That’s something I don’t understand,” Seth said. “Carlos has a long rap sheet. He seemed to be in court time after time, but he never went to jail. He was always given community service hours. Do you know why?”
She shrugged. “It’s simple, Detective. Our jails are crowded, and the courts are hesitant to keep sending offenders there unless we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they’re a threat to society.”
Seth’s eyebrows arched. “And you thought Carlos wasn’t a threat? The man died in a shootout with police. He pulled a gun on me in a bar and was about to start shooting without any thought of innocent bystanders. I’d say he was a grave threat to society.”