Love on Ice

Chapter 37

"Rodgers." Her captain came out of his office. "You two as well." While Kate had been added to their team, of late the captain had begun to think of it as Kate's team.

Since the white board was still in place and empty – he had to admit that it was working better than the old cork board – he used it. "Jimmy and Lily Ming." He put up pictures of two little kids about Alexis's age which already had Kate thinking of her.

"We weren't invited to the party since it was a kidnapping," the captain said.

"It's not any longer," one of her team noted.

"Correct. The kidnappers asked for C$700K or both children would be killed. The Mings own a string of Chinese restaurants, three of which are located here in Vancouver. They paid the ransom but never saw their children again. Neither had anyone else until this morning. They were found strangled, dismembered completely, and left in garage bags along the Squamish Highway," the captain informed them.

Kate pressed her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. Looking at the little girl in the picture she could easily replace it with one of Alexis.

"Our first thought is that Chinese gangs are involved. This one will not be easy on you. The Chinese gangs do not play nice. I want the three of you armed 24/7. I know that when you go home you probably lock up your weapon but from now on I want you to wear it. What you do when you go to bed is up to you. You can expect resistance from the Chinese. Take an interpreter with you and watch your backs on this one. The children are still in the morgue for now. Get started." He retreated to his office.

"This is going to make the wife happy." He wasn't looking forward to what she was going to say to him about being armed all the time that he was home.

Kate was still staring at the picture of the little girl. "I'll take the morgue. You two find out all you can about the Mings. Phone records, financials, the works. I'll contact the Mounted Police after I'm done at the morgue." Much like in the States where the FBI had jurisdiction over kidnappings, here it was the Mounted Police.

"Put what you learn on the board and we'll go over it before we interview the Mings. And find us an interpreter." Kate was betting they spoke English fluently, but it was better to be prepared.

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Kate wasn't looking forward to this but she had the doctor show her the bodies. She had seen dead bodies before. The doctor warned her first then showed her.

Kate didn't throw up but she was disgusted by what she saw. The captain wasn't joking about them being dismembered. She had been thinking just their heads had been cut off. But no, each child was in six different pieces.

"Whoever did it didn't know anything about surgical procedures," the doctor mentioned.

"They were hacked off." Kate was thinking several swings from something like a machete.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. The girl was cut just once for each limb. The boy, though, was a little more of a hack job. It doesn't fit the Chinese but think Japanese Samurai sword for the girl."

That made Kate feel only slightly better. "Pre or post-mortem?" Kate inquired.

"In each case the head came off pre-mortem. The rest came off post-mortem."

Kate turned her back on the bodies and closed her eyes. It gave the doctor time to cover up what was left of the children and close the door. Kate could just imagine each child seeing the blade coming.

"It was fast; they likely felt almost nothing." It was the only silver lining he could give her.

"Except they each probably saw it coming." Kate could just imagine standing there or whatever and watching a man with a big knife swinging for your head. To know that they were about to die. They were both old enough to know what death was.

"Most likely yes. …Do me a favor, Inspector. Catch this animal. This is not how you treat innocent children."

It was enough for Kate to set her resolve and take the picture of Alexis out of her head.

"Count on it!" Kate growled. It wasn't personal except she had a daughter about her age so it was hitting a little close to home. Kate strode out of the morgue and took out her cell phone. It was time to have a nice long talk with the Mounted Police that had been assigned to the Mings.

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It was late. He had long ago put Alexis to bed and even said goodnight to Maria as he got himself a glass of wine and sat down to wait for Kate. The TV was in a different room so he was listening to his favorite music as he waited.

The Kate that he saw walk in from the garage was a woman he hadn't ever seen before. She looked partially broken and hard as steel. It was a look he wasn't used to. He watched as she walked toward him; he held out his glass of wine to her and wondered if what she really needed was something harder.

Kate took the glass, sat down that felt more like falling down, and drank his glass empty. She hung onto her glass and spent the next few seconds looking at it.

"Where's Alexis?" Kate asked softly and almost didn't recognize her own voice.

"In bed sleeping." She handed over his empty glass and disappeared down toward the bedrooms. Rick got up and went into the kitchen.

Kate meanwhile stared at a sleeping Alexis, then knelt down at her bed, watching her sleep. The picture of that little girl that had been dismembered was now foremost in her mind. She saw Alexis with her head missing and didn't see or feel the tears that had begun to fall.

Kate pushed some long hair away and Alexis stirred for a moment but continued to sleep. Kate had no trouble realizing that she loved Alexis fiercely. Rick and Alexis had made it past all her walls if she even had any walls left.

No one was going to get to her daughter. If they did it was over her dead body.

Her orders were to stay armed so she left Alexis's room and went looking for Rick. She found him in the kitchen and he held out a small glass. She took, sipped it, and realized it was full of vodka. She downed half of it quickly.

"Bad day?" Rick wasn't really questioning since it was obvious.

"The worst. We got a case about two children that had been kidnapped for ransom. The parents paid the ransom but killed the kids anyway. They…" Kate drank the rest of her vodka first. "God, Rick. They hacked off their head and limbs, bagged them, and dumped them on the side of a highway." She had no doubt that they would be in the local news soon.

"Jeez!" Rick had killed a lot of people in his books, but he'd never had anyone do something like that. "Do they know who might have kidnapped them?" Did she even have a lead?

"We're guessing Chinese gangs."

"Triad? Those guys don't play nice." Rick wasn't stupid. All gangs could be dangerous. It was just that some were more organized than others and one Chinese gang was above all the others.

"I don't know yet. The captain has ordered us to be armed at all times." It was why she was still armed.

"We'll think of something to tell Alexis," Rick said. "We're going to have to tell Maria everything, though. She's home all day with her."

"It was ugly." The image of those two kids was forever burned into her memory. Instantly she found Rick holding her and Kate melted into his arms. Being in his arms felt really good and she soaked up his strength. "I saw Alexis lying there in pieces." Her voice broke and she felt tears well up. Her love of Alexis really was fierce.

"She's fine, love. Sleeping in her bed with Snow right next to her," Rick reassured her.

"I know. It didn't stop me though." Kate buried her face in his chest. She loved being held by him. She felt safe and really needed that right now.

They didn't make love to each other that night. Kate woke up the next morning right where she wanted to be, naked and as close to him as she could get. She still felt safe and loved.

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Kate was staring at her board three days later when her cell phone rang. "Rodgers." She was hoping it was something new on her case. Right now all she had was dead ends.

"Hi, I'm heading out to court to join our lawyer. Wish us luck." Rick was actually walking to the garage and his car leaving Alexis with Maria.

Kate took a second to get her mind on Meredith since it was presently on her case. "Come home with good news. I'm not handing my daughter over to anyone and that includes her." Kate knew she wouldn't actually shoot Meredith but it certainly sounded good.

"I'll let you know as soon as I can. Good luck with your case." Rick ended the call. He had noticed that all this time Kate never put her weapon away until they went to bed. It was her job so he didn't ask.

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Rick chose to sit behind his lawyer as they waited for the judge to show up and open court. He did notice that the place was pretty much empty. There were a couple of people way in the back but that was about all.

Eventually the judge showed up, asked for both parties, and his lawyer stood up to represent him. However, no one stood up to represent Meredith. The judge effectively told everyone to come back in an hour. Presumably to give Meredith time to show up.

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Kate was late coming home yet again. She was still working hard to find out who had killed those two kids. She walked in and found Rick waiting for her. "Still nothing?" Rick queried, knowing that if she had caught them she would be home earlier than this. Kate simply shook her head. All this getting up early and going into work earlier than usual and getting home so late was getting to her and wearing her down. She was tired and she had a headache to top it all off.

Rick was ready and handed her a glass of vodka and ice for her to drink. "Thanks, babe." She'd been living on coffee for days. Maria had caught on to her leaving earlier and earlier so she had breakfast ready for her. Kate then skipped lunch and would be eating a really late dinner again.

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Kate was eating slowly since just lifting her arm to eat was tiring. Then a thought hit her. "Meredith! What did the judge say or do I get to shoot her?" She was tired and stopped eating, waiting on Rick to say something.

"At first Meredith and her lawyer didn't even show up so the judge gave her an hour." Rick listened to Kate growl out her displeasure at the judge's decision. "You want the short version or the long version?"

"Short so I know if I have to shoot her or not." Kate dropped her fork on her plate and looked at Rick.

"Short version it is. He decided that since Meredith wasn't a Canadian citizen, had signed her rights away immediately after birth, and Alexis had a legally recognized Canadian mother, the case was in Canada and had jurisdiction." Rick paused so he could get Kate all rattled. "He dismissed her case and that was that." Rick raised his arms high above his head in celebration.

"Thank God!" Kate would have let her head rest on the table but her plate of food was in front of her. "Short version of the longer version?" Kate might ask him about the longer version when she was more awake.

"You missed Meredith screaming at the judge, at me, at our lawyer, and at her lawyer. Then the judge fined her and she screamed even louder. She's presently spending the night in the tender care of the city of Vancouver." Rick saw the questioning look on her face. "The judge arrested her and she's spending the night in jail," Rick told her and listened to Kate burst out laughing.

"I hope she loves the food." Kate kept on laughing.

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Kate was curled up next to Rick, grateful that she had him. "She really screamed at the judge?" So far as Kate knew that was the stupidest thing Meredith could have done. You don't disrespect a judge. He could do things to you that you weren't going to like.

Rick amended his description. "Well, screeching might be more accurate given her voice."

"When I'm more awake remind me to ask you why you ever got involved with her in the first place." Kate closed her eyes, breathed in Rick's scent, and was asleep an instant later.

"It wasn't all bad. It gave me Alexis." Rick looked down and saw she was asleep. "I love you."

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Days later and Kate was at work, Rick was writing, Alexis was in preschool that would be ending soon for summer break. And Maria? Well Maria was somewhere doing something.

Unbeknownst to any of them there were three men outside of their home. They'd arrived by air a few days ago. It had taken them a little time to obtain the weapons that they wanted. One of them did that while the other two followed the movements of Kate, Rick, and Alexis.

The third finally showed up but without the weapons. That would happen tomorrow. "And?" he asked the other two.

"They don't have much of a pattern. The bitch goes into work at various hours and leaves work at all hours. She's armed in either case. He almost never leaves unless it's to take the kid to preschool," one of them replied.

"You're correct, she's a Canadian homicide detective. Takes her thirty to forty-five minutes each way depending on traffic. She drives a little SUV Mercedes. His is a BMW convertible," the other said.

"He is or was a hockey player. Information states that he quit playing. Speculation on why varies. He was a defenseman who was considered an enforcer. When there was a fight on the ice he inserted himself into the fight. He always won." the first one added.

"Where are they now?" the leader asked the other two.

"The bitch is at work and the male's in the house while the girl's at preschool. Tomorrow's Thursday so everything should stay the same," the first one answered.

"We're paid to get information. We need to find out what they know about our employer, so we wait for tomorrow night. Make sure you're dressed for it. You…," he pointed at the first one, "you'll shoot out the transformer while you…," he pointed at the other one, "will make sure the telephone lines are cut."

The first one pointed out an obvious flaw. "They'll have cell phones."

"Can't be helped. While you two are busy I'll find and disable the security system if they have one. You each know your entrance locations. Be quick and be silent. We want them alive long enough to talk. Questions?" He didn't expect any since they were hired idiots.

"Use a car to block the driveway?" the second one inquired.

The ringleader considered it. "No, we want everything to look normal. One busybody old lady could ruin everything. It'll take them hours to replace the transformer and restore power. It'll keep everyone indoors. Any other questions?" He tried to make it plain that he didn't want another one.

Both shook their heads. "Shoot to maim, not kill. Our employer will be pissed if we screw this up," he warned them. They would be hunted down and killed if they didn't do this right.

"I need a drink," the second one muttered.

"No alcohol until after this is over. You end up drunk and you'll regret it. I'll kill you myself. And believe me, it will hurt." Both of them backed down.

"What's good to eat in this stinking country?" The third was starving. He was very far outside of New York City and he hated it. It was so far out that they'd been forced to fly instead of drive. As a result they had to scare up weapons and silencers locally. It also meant they had been forced to bring a weekend bag with them.

What was worse was that he had to share a hotel room with this asshole.

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Kate had been sent home early the next day and she was furious.

"I've seen that face before," Rick commented as Kate entered the kitchen.

"IT'S MOMMY!" Alexis was happy to see her. She hadn't seen her mommy in days. She was always working.

Kate picked her up and softened a bit as Alexis wrapped her arms around her neck and hugged her tight.

"What went wrong?" Rick asked her.

"We have no new leads on the Ming case so we've been assigned to a new one. It isn't officially a cold case yet, but it might end up being one." Kate hated that. She wanted these animals and she wanted them badly.

Rick shook his head. "The perfect murder."

"There's no such thing. I just need one good lead is all."

"There will be if I write it." Rick hadn't thought up one yet, but he considered it a challenge so maybe there would be one eventually. Kate simply glared at him.

"So how was school? School's almost over," Kate asked Alexis who was still wrapped around her. Not like she had a choice now since Kate was holding her in place.

"Nice. No school?" Alexis didn't like that. School was where all her friends were. If there was no school she wouldn't see them or get to play with them.

"Miss Alexis has friends," Maria reminded Kate.

"Well, maybe a play day or a sleepover," Kate suggested. "I used to have sleepovers when I was a little girl."

"I'm a big girl," Alexis insisted and skipped right past the sleepover part.

"My mistake." Kate kissed her cheek and continued to hug her. She wasn't nearly as pissed off about the Ming case now.