Page 12 of Risk It All
“Why? What’d he do?” Molly jumped up and circled the table so she could peer over Norah’s shoulder. Her horrified expression soon matched her sister’s. “Cara Evelyn Pax!”
“I know!” Cara dropped her head onto her folded arms so she didn’t have to meet the accusation in their eyes. “It wasn’t the best plan, but I just gathered research and watched him from a safe distance. I didn’t try to bring him in.” She was careful not to mention breaking into his motel room and the face-to-face encounter that followed. “I realized that I’d bitten off more than I could chew—plus I’m pretty sure he didn’t actually commit those murders—so I switched to the tax evader.”
Molly’s face was skeptical, and Cara mentally cursed her inability to lie—or even hide the truth—well. “How’d he become your source if you stayed at this ‘safe distance’?”
“When I was at Dutch’s, I went to sit at a back-corner booth where I could watch without too many people noticing me, but Kavenski was already sitting there. He let me sit with him and actually gave me some good information.”
“The skip you were following just happened to be at Dutch’s the one and only time you’ve ever gone in there, sitting in the very same booth that you wanted?” Molly asked, her disbelief obvious.
“When you put it like that, it does seem unlikely,” Cara admitted.
“Do you think he’s setting her up?” Norah asked, her still-horrified gaze lifting to focus on Molly.
“No,” Cara answered before her sister could. “He wasn’t happy that I was there and kept warning me away from Abbott.” She started to say that Kavenski had saved her life, but then stopped, not wanting to freak out her sisters any more than she already had. If she told them about her near-death experience, they really would have anxiety-induced aneurysms. “Oh, and he ran out into traffic to save a dog a few days ago. He’s really not that bad.”
“He saved a dog? Wait… Warning you?” Molly repeated sharply, returning to her seat. She plopped down heavily, as if the weight of the world was sitting on her shoulders. “Did he threaten you?”
“Oh no. Nothing like that.” Cara waved a hand, brushing away that idea. “He just told me that Abbott was mixed up in some things besides tax evasion. There was a woman at Dutch’s who Abbott talked to—Layla. I didn’t get her last name. I did get the impression that she’s involved in some shady things.” Which also meant that Kavenski wasn’t totally in the clear, even if he hadn’t committed the Mason murders. After all, his meeting with Layla had been extremely suspicious.
“Well, if she was at Dutch’s, that’s likely,” Molly muttered. Although she still looked unhappy, her initial shock and fury seemed to have passed. “I don’t like you going after this Abbott, especially without getting more information on him.”
“I did a full background check.” Cara was a little offended that her researching abilities were being questioned. Even though she was new to the actual chasing and tackling part of the business, she was confident in her behind-the-scenes skills. “Nothing suspicious popped up. He looked like a straight arrow—except for the tax evasion. Well, and he’s one of Barney’s skips.”
“Ugh.” To Cara’s surprise, Molly simply made a face at the mention of Barney. A month ago, that would’ve gotten a much more serious reaction, but Cara figured they’d all dealt with so much since Jane disappeared that taking a case from Barney didn’t qualify as shocking anymore. Molly absently scratched Warrant behind the ears as her gaze turned thoughtful. “Sometimes a squeaky-clean background is as suspicious as a dirty one.”
Cara raised her eyebrows, happy that it seemed the worst was over, but unable to let the seemingly pointed comment go. “There are some of us who just don’t like to get into trouble. We do exist.”
Molly grinned at her, and Cara knew for sure that she’d been forgiven. “Youexist, sure, but I think you’re the exception more than the rule…at least until recently.”
Before Cara could retort, Norah stood abruptly, drawing both of her sisters’ attention. “I’m trying to do a search for open warrants on anyone with the first name of Layla, but I need my laptop for this.” She hurried toward the stairs, and Warrant, whose ears had perked up at the sound of his name, followed her.
Molly madegimmegestures with her hands. “Let me see the files on the tax evader and Kavenski. Think we can bring both of them in, make this a twofer?”
“No!” Cara clamped her lips together, but the protest had already escaped, and Molly was looking at her much too curiously. There was no chance her sister would let that go. Focusing too intently on digging Abbott’s file out of her backpack, Cara tried again, less vehemently this time. “I don’t think he’s guilty, honestly. He’s been really helpful, and I’d like to keep him as a source. Plus, he’s a huge guy, so he’d be tough to bring in.”
“You doubt my tackling capabilities?” Molly asked, but her voice was teasing. “That’s fine. I won’t go after him. We’ll stick with Abbott. From what you said, he’s mixed up with some criminal sorts, so we’ll probably trip over another skip or two as we track him down.”
“Thanks.” It was only when Cara’s shoulders relaxed that she realized how tightly she’d been holding them. “Do you want me back in research mode, then?”
Molly studied her, all traces of amusement gone from her expression. “That depends. Do youwantto work in the field?”
“I thought the idea of me going after skips upset you,” Cara said, a little confused by Molly’s calm question.
“The idea of you going after themaloneis what freaked me out. I’m happy to train you to take a more hands-on role in bringing in skips, but you need to have backup and support and a clue about what you’re doing out there.” Molly’s voice was getting more and more high-pitched, as if all her fears of what could’ve happened to Cara were running through her mind again. Taking an obvious deep breath, Molly steadily met her eyes. “If you want to learn, I’ll teach you, but if you want to stick to research, that’s just as valuable as having more bodies chasing and tackling.”
A surge of relief took Cara by surprise. Until now, she hadn’t realized just how much she hated fieldwork. She’d been determined to help, which allowed her to push through her fear, but the moments in Kavenski’s motel room had been terrifying, and she didn’t even want to think about almost getting run down. She didn’t even like scary movies, so real-life fear didn’t give her an enjoyable adrenaline rush. It just left her shaking and queasy. Now her sister was offering her a return to her comfortable role as team researcher, and she really wanted to accept it.
But…
“With Fifi and Charlie chasing after Mom, especially since John’s gone, you need help,” Cara said, trying to tamp down the voice inside her that was screaming to quit arguing and leave the fieldwork to people who actually enjoyed doing it. “You didn’t like it when I went out without backup, but what about you? You can’t do it alone.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Ihaveasked you to be my backup. A lot. Sometimes in really dangerous situations. Have you already forgotten the warehouse with the guns and the bombs and the really super-annoying booby traps? If I need someone to watch my back, I’m not going to hesitate to ask. Even if I don’t think I’m doing anything especially risky, you always know where I am, just in case.”
As the truth of what her sister said sank in, Cara felt a rush of guilt for running around in secret. If she’d been hurt in Kavenski’s motel room or at Dutch’s, her sisters would’ve had no idea where she was or even that they should be worried. “I’m sorry, Molly. I wanted to help, but I went about it in a stupid way.”
“You did, and I know you feel terrible, which is why I’m going to bring this whole thing up in order to get my way foryears.” She laughed, and Cara couldn’t help but join in. Molly gave her a stern look, but the effect was diminished by her lingering smile. “So what’s it going to be? Tackling skips or research?”
“Research.” As Cara answered, about a thousand pounds lifted from her shoulders, leaving her feeling lighter than she had for weeks—since her mom had stolen that necklace, actually. “Backup when you need it, of course, but otherwise, I’ll stick to research.”
