Love Was Not an Option

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

“We have a big problem,” Kasper said, as soon as Niko answered his phone. Niko figured it had to be, for the simple reason that Kasper almost never initiated contact by phone unless it was a real emergency.

“I’ll be right over,” Niko replied.

He was, asking the moment he saw another person was seated on the sofa in the Kasper’s study with him, “Who’s your friend?”

“My name is Caitlin,” the young woman replied before Kasper could introduce her. Niko estimated she couldn’t be more than twenty, if that.

Niko smiled briefly as he took a seat across from them. “I’m presuming you’re not the problem Kasper mentioned.”

“No. My stepfather is, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Explain, please.”

“He’s not one of us.” She circled her hand to take in the three of them. “Mother is, but she kept it a secret from him.”

“Not easy, in a personal relationship,” Niko commented.

“No, but she managed it until very recently. Then something happened.”

“If you say ‘a slip of the tongue’,” Niko replied, glancing wryly at Kasper.

“Oh, no. Nothing that simple. They’ve only been married for three years, right before I graduated high school. My stepfather is totally head-over-heels for her, to the point of insisting she spend every possible moment with him when he wasn’t at work. Unfortunately, as you know, that’s not always possible. There are things she has to do, and only at night. Things he can’t be witness to.”

“To the average person, that would sound as if she’s whoring on the side,” Niko said with a brief grin.

“Niko,” Kasper cautioned when Caitlin scowled.

“Sorry, Caitlin,” Niko said. “But you have to admit it does.”

She nodded. “My stepfather didn’t take it to that extreme. Instead, he decided she was having an affair, so he began following her when she left the house at night.”

“How did she explain that to him?”

“Girls’ night out,” Caitlin replied. “He bought it at first, but only a couple of times before his jealousy took over.”

“I take it he saw something he shouldn’t have.”

“Yeah.” Caitlin sighed deeply. “The thing of it is, he didn’t let her know. Instead, he decided to do something about it. He did his research and then—” she swallowed hard, “—he killed her.”

“f**k. You’re certain of this?”

“Yes. He came by my place right afterward to tell me. I’d just moved into a small apartment in a building next to the college campus.” She rolled her eyes. “They finally decided I was old enough to move out of the house and live on my own. That’s beside the point, though. He would have killed me, too, because I’m her daughter so he was sure I was exactly like her.”

“Obviously he didn’t succeed,” Niko replied dryly.

“No, but not for want of trying. I managed to escape, but in doing so I proved he was right.”

“Where is he now, and as a corollary to that, why didn’t you kill him?”

“I was in shock,” Caitlin said. “He admitted murdering her, he knows about us, now, and he had a gun pointed at my heart. All I could think was to get the hell out of there and then deal with him later.” She looked directly at Niko. “But I can’t find him. Neither can Kasper and his people. It’s like he’s vanished off the face of the earth.”

“Meaning he hasn’t gone public with what he knows,” Kasper pointed out. “Not that anyone would believe him if he did.”

“So we keep telling ourselves, every time someone finds out, but none of us is willing to take the chance. That’s why you call me in,” Niko said.

“You, specifically, because of your special abilities,” Kasper replied.

Caitlin c****d her head, gazing at Niko. “Special abilities?”

“Kasper should have kept his mouth shut,” Niko said. “Let’s just say I’m not your average…enforcer, for lack of a better word.”

Something in his tone of voice must have convinced Caitlin not to press the issue. Instead, she asked, “Do you think you can find my stepfather?”

“For damned sure I’m going to try, before he does decide to do something to put us at risk.” Niko frowned pensively. “I wonder why he hasn’t already. How long has it been since he found out?”

“Three days,” Kasper replied. “Caitlin got in touch with a friend after what happened, who sent her directly to me. As she said, I’ve had my people searching for him, with no luck.”

“Caitlin,” Niko said, turning to her. “I need to know everything about him. Every habit, every place he spends his time, everyone he knows.”

“She’s already—”

“I need to hear it directly from her,” Niko said before Kasper could finish. “Give me the list, I presume you have one, then she and I will talk.”

“Imperious man,” Kasper grumbled as he went to his desk get the information.

Niko laughed. “That I am, and I know it. It pays to be, all things considered.”

“Even with your employees?” Kasper asked, handing Niko a sheaf of papers.

“When necessary, although I try not to be.” He leaned back, quickly reading through the information. Then he began quizzing Caitlin on each piece of it, pulling out more things that she said she had forgotten until he’d asked.

“All right, I have a starting place, or places,” Niko said an hour later. From the drained look on Caitlin’s face, he knew she was feeling the results of his interrogation. “Go home and try to get some sleep,” he suggested. “And for the love of all that’s holy, make sure you lock your doors and windows. You don’t want him getting in to try to kill you—again.”

She smiled wanly as she got up. “Believe me, I’ve been doing that. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t been anywhere around.”

Kasper escorted her to the front door then came back to the study. “Do you think you’ll be able to find him in time?”

“Yes,” Niko replied succinctly. “Even though he hasn’t turned up at any of the places on your list, he might be at one of the ones Caitlin remembered tonight. Or with one of the people she mentioned.”

Niko had the distinct feeling he knew which one. I’m betting, even though he was jealous when it came to his wife, he was no saint himself. He glanced at the notes he’d added to the original list. One name popped out. A woman Caitlin had recalled seeing him with one afternoon when she’d stopped by where he worked. “I wouldn’t have though anything about it, if it hadn’t been for how she was looking at him. Even at that, I put it down to her being infatuated with him because he’s a very good-looking man. He introduced her as Meredith Gatschet.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve taken care of the problem,” Niko told Kasper before leaving his house. The moment he got back to his own place, he did an online search for Ms. Gatschet. At least it’s an uncommon last name. Paired with Meredith…He found her home address.