Kate Summers 04-Behind Her Mind 4

  LEVI

  FULLER

  A Suspense Mystery Thriller

  Behind Her Mind

  4

  ALSO BY LEVI FULLER

  ALMA NOVELS

  Sound of Fear

  Eye of Fear

  Vision of Fear

  Taste of Fear

  Game of Fear

  ISLE OF BUTE NOVELLAS

  The Scent of Bones

  The Secret of Bones

  The Unburied Bones

  The Missing Bone

  Hide The Bones

  LUKE PENBER NOVELLAS

  Bend The Law 1

  Bend The Law 2

  Bend The Law 3

  Bend The Law 4

  Bend The Law 5

  NANTAHALA RIVER

  The Reticence 1

  The Reticence 2

  The Reticence 3

  The Reticence 4

  The Reticence 5

  TURQUOISE VALLEY

  The Kay Sister 1

  The Kay Sister 2

  The Kay Sister 3

  The Kay Sister 4

  The Kay Sister 5

  KATE SUMMERS

  Behind Her Mind 1

  Behind Her Mind 2

  Behind Her Mind 3

  Behind Her Mind 4

  Behind Her Mind 5

  AUDIO BOOK

  Sound of Fear

  Eye of Fear

  Copyright ©2021 by Blue Scallop Digital LLC. – All rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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  Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

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  1

  The funhouse mirrors were designed to distort reality. Changing, bending, and twisting one’s reflection until it became unrecognizable. It was as if you could step into the funhouse mirror maze a person, and slowly morph into a monster, hidden in the shadows and warped reflections.

  Why did I come in here? What was I trying to prove? I shouldn’t be here.

  Kate Summers felt her panic begin to rise. They had come here in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure building. Their investigation had suffered a major setback, and the fair had seemed like a good place to spend some hours destressing. Kate hadn’t been in the best frame of mind when Kyle and Jack had invited her here. Now, looking around, she wished she had refused. She should never have entered this damned maze. Her reflections were everywhere, all twisted in some different way. Short and fat, impossibly tall and skinny, giant nosed, hammer jawed, but in all of them, one thing seemed to have avoided the transformation. Her eyes. Their brown depths were as expected, as they had always been, watching her with a quiet challenge and power that made a shiver chase down her spine.

  Kate swiveled her eyes to the floor, unwilling to look, unwilling to give the stranger’s voice in her head more power. She had to get out of this maze. She needed to find Kyle and Jack.

  And then what? The voice taunted.

  Kate squared her shoulders. She could hear Jack laughing as Kyle made some ribald comment. Concentrating only on those sounds, she began to move, ignoring the corresponding movements from the mirrors.

  ****

  Eight days earlier.

  Kate stalked towards Olsen’s desk, her reflection in his glass wall moving with her. She kept her voice level, her eyes dismissive of his threats. They were all hot air, all pointless—she was the champion here today. He held no power, and as she slapped down the folder containing evidence of all his misdeeds, she watched that knowledge slowly dawn on his face.

  “Are you going to sit there all day, or order Kyle’s release?” she asked, after the first moment of shock became a twenty-minute long perusal of every paper in the folder.

  Olsen looked up, his expression radiating anger, but his voice came out unexpectedly free of rage. The calm notes, however, were more worrying than if he had simply shouted. “As you have made a very delicate play, Dr. Summers, you must allow your opponent time to consider their move.”

  “We’re not playing chess, Olsen. You broke the law to take your petty revenge out on Kyle. I found out, now free him, or I’ll see you behind bars and him freed anyway.”

  Olsen’s lips curled in a smile. “Ah, but you see, I know that this information was not obtained legally. You’d really go down with me, just to get him out of jail? He belongs there. He’s just as much responsible for Becky’s death as Brenner.”

  Something in the way Olsen said Becky’s name made her smile. “So that’s why.” He arched an eyebrow in question and she continued, “I had wondered why you hated Kyle so much. After all, it isn’t his fault that others chose to idolize him and compare you to him. Now I understand. You loved Becky too, but she chose him. You blame him for her death because you believe that if she’d chosen you, she would still be alive.”

  Olsen’s eyes hardened, but his verbal confirmation was unnecessary. His face had said it all. Kate bit her tongue as he returned to examining the documents, with nothing more than a grunt towards the nearest chair.

  She wanted to stay standing, but given the glass walls of the office and, thus, the possible watching eyes, it was better if she sat. It would give an indication that their meeting was likely to be a long one and hopefully deter any interruptions.

  She sat and looked Olsen over as he read, his face showing minuscule traces of annoyance, defeat, and even grudging awe at some of the finds. She couldn’t take credit, but neither would she rat out Matt or his contact. She tried to still her impatience, as Olsen moved with painful slowness over every sheet. It was likely just another ploy on Olsen’s part, thinking that if he dragged things out enough, she’d eventually get so frustrated she’d make an error.

  Kate took a deep breath and felt a cold calm settle over her mind. You can’t beat me, Olsen.

  He reached out for his coffee and she froze, eyes glued on the jacket hanging over the back of his chair. The black coat was mostly unremarkable, except for the red-and-yellow brand logo emblazoned on the forearm. She’d seen that logo the same day that Kyle was arrested, on the mystery person Landers had been speaking to.

  She opened her mouth to ask the obvious question and then snapped it shut again. It would be completely within Olsen’s character to use that information as leverage to ease her hold over him. In all likelihood, Landers had shown up because both Kate and Dr. Adams, head of Asheville’s forensic unit, had been looking for him. It was just a stroke of bad luck that he’d encountered Olsen first. Olsen probably didn’t even know the man’s significance and had turned him away because both she and Adams had a scene to get to. Although why Olsen had come in pers
on to give the call out to a scene was a mystery. He must have had some other business.

  “As amusing as it is, watching your face display the emotions linked to whatever thoughts are chasing through your head, I’d like to have this resolved today.”

  Kate fought down a blush of equal parts embarrassment and resentment and stood. “Yes. I imagine undoing all your hard work will take some time.”

  Olsen stood and held out the folder. “You misunderstand. I will not be bullied by the likes of you.”

  Kate felt a flash of genuine surprise but took the folder with a steady hand. “I hope you enjoy prison then.”

  “You won’t file any of that.”

  “Oh?” she said, looking up in challenge. “And what makes you say that?”

  “Because I’ll take you down with me. I have worked the beat long enough to be certain none of that was legally obtained. Even if you spout enough doubt to have it legally looked into and, thus, cause my ultimate fall, you’d go down too. And that would mean no more working on the cases you did your best to get into. You wouldn’t be around to solve things for your aunt and uncle, or clear your mother’s name.”

  Kate felt all her muscles tense but kept her voice level. This was a line of attack she had been expecting. “You’re right. It would cost me what I want most, but you see, I kind of owe Kyle that much. And besides, while I would be locked away, I trust Dr. Adams, Kyle, and Jack to see that my family has their justice. I have found a lot of good things for them to investigate.” She stepped back to the desk and leaned her hands on it, not breaking eye contact. “And besides, the public opinion of me will be mostly positive. I’ll have broken the law because I could see no other way to bring down the corrupt commissioner. You, on the other hand, will never be free of the hate that will follow you. They trust you to lead them; they all know of your petty squabbles; they’ll never forgive such an abuse of power. And most importantly, you will be proving them all right. Every naysayer who said you were bad for the job, every idiot who has praised Kyle for things he never did will be smiling.”

  She kept her face as impassive as her voice, only her eyes sparked with the knowledge that she had hit the nail firmly on the head. She held his gaze and waited, feeling her own grow more intense at every tiny slip in his.

  Olsen abruptly turned away, fear being the last emotion she had caught. He spoke to the far wall, “Fine, you win. Leave the folder. I’ll take that and clean it so that enough gets through to get Kyle released, but not enough to lead anywhere else. It will take at least a week.”

  “Three days should be more than enough. Preferably two.”

  Olsen cut her a sidelong glance, then sighed, nodding. He placed a hand on his coat, his brows dipped in thought, then slowly turned back to her. “Fine. Enjoy this victory while you can, it is likely to be your last.”

  Kate arched an eyebrow, knowing that there was nothing he could do. If he took her down because of this information, he’d go down too. And as far as her work here, it was all beyond the slightest reproach.

  Kate grinned in challenge. “I’ll expect Kyle home in two days then. Have a good day, Commissioner.”

  2

  “I still don’t know why you won’t tell me,” Jack said, as they parked outside the prison.

  Kate gave him a long look. She began to realize that Jack’s expression when he watched her was different from before. She wasn’t an acquaintance that turned stranger who returned home. From the look in his green eyes now, she was sure she wasn’t just a friend either. Kate stifled a sigh. “I already told you, it’s for your own safety if Olsen decides to do a U-turn. Besides, what does it matter how I got Kyle out, as long as he is out?”

  Jack nodded. “I suppose you are right, I just hope you didn’t get yourself into any trouble for him.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be his friend?”

  Jack flashed her an annoyed look. “I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see him clearly. You actually think he’d ever break the law for you?”

  “Who says I broke the law?”

  Jack rolled his eyes, but her remark earned the smile she had hoped. She didn’t want to be a sore spot for either of these men. She needed Kyle and Jack, the best ace-detective team in the state, as friends and as colleagues, but when this was all over, and she’d caught the killer who took her whole family from her, she’d be heading back to New York, to her fatherlike Commissioner Kirk and to be the lead forensic doctor, with her handpicked team.

  Jack placed his hand over hers, startling her from thoughts of home. “Kate, I just want you to know that I am here for you, okay? Even if that means I have to get into a little trouble.”

  Kate managed a small smile and slid her hand away. “Thanks. You two have been kinder than I had any right to expect,” she said, deliberately lumping him in together with Kyle. “You’re good friends, and I promise to do better when all this is over. I won’t ignore your calls, and I’ll make time for any big occasions, no matter how busy New York’s crime rate is keeping me.”

  Kate finished her sentence and turned to look at the doors to the detention center as if scanning the few people coming and going for a sign of Kyle. She was just giving Jack time to take the blow, correct his automatic reaction to the one he’d want her to see and then they could both move on, clear about the lack of future here.

  “There he is,” she said, after a few minutes, her voice more relieved than it should have been, thanks to Jack’s continued silence and strange expression. She turned to open her door when Jack finally spoke.

  “Are you still in love with him?”

  Kate didn’t turn back, although she paused. “No, Jack. Not for many years. He is my friend, and yes, there’s history, but my life isn’t here. It hasn’t been for a very long time.”

  She stepped from the car and turned a smug smile on Kyle. “I believe that this should make us even.”

  Kyle glared, eyes blue as the winter sky above, but ran a hand sheepishly through his sandy brown hair. “Yeah, alright, we’re quits, Summers.”

  Kate grinned, as Jack stepped up beside her, greeting his partner more coolly than usual. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Jack’s easy sway personality had been a godsend at the start of all this, giving her an in to Kyle and the case, but now, that childlike quality looked set to start a mess.

  Kyle half raised his eyebrows, glanced at Kate, and let out a chuckle.

  “Something funny?” Jack asked.

  “Nope.” Kyle grinned, then his smile faded. “I heard Brenner’s going to pull through.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes. “You should be thankful that he is. I can’t work miracles, Green. Despite everything, you still chose to pull the trigger.”

  Kyle met her look. “I did, and you’re right. I’m glad he didn’t die. He deserves a long slow punishment in prison, not a quick out.”

  Kate tilted her head to the side, not buying it. “And you, oh man of impeachable morals, would not have lived down a kill like that.”

  He glared but wasn’t bold enough to deny her claim.

  “So,” Jack said, interrupting what had become a two-person conversation. “I’ll bring you back up to speed on our cases, the main one obviously being the Summers family because I can tell you now Olsen is set to breathe fire. You’d better watch your step.”

  Kate heard the hint of threat there and turned her gaze to Jack. “Yes. We’ll all have to watch out. I think my unraveling of this latest trap will stop him from stepping outside of the law again, but we can’t be sure.”

  “So it was Olsen,” Kyle said, then smirked at Kate’s look. “Don’t worry. I’d guessed as much.”

  “Don’t take revenge.”

  He arched an eyebrow, leaning closer. “Didn’t you already do that for me?”

  Kate began to laugh, then caught Jack’s look at their joking. Kyle noticed the look too, and his eyes sparked with sudden challenge She stifled an annoyed sigh. She needed to keep both these men on track so that she
could clear her family of all murder-suicide labels and get back to New York. “I got you back to get to work, not spend the day standing in a parking lot chatting. Jack can bring you up to speed as we drive.”

  ****

  Kate settled back into her chair at the forensic building, letting out a long sigh. Jack and Kyle had been bickering most of the past day, and while she knew that it was likely heading towards disaster, she couldn’t quite bring herself to interfere, even if she could think of a safe way to do so. Their attempts to garner more of her favor than the other meant that they were both outdoing themselves, trying to one-up each other in order to impress her. The result was that any and all borderline leads she was managing to shoot their way were being dealt with in record time and with a level of thoroughness she hadn’t expected.

  She pulled her keyboard towards her and hit a few keys, bringing up the files in question. With one thing and another, mostly due to Olsen and his infuriating need to be top dog, her progress into her family’s two cases had been painfully slow. Despite the weeks that had passed, she’d been able to prove little in her theories, but she had made one important find that today she would hand in to Adams for her final confirmation.

  The cases were, in fact, linked. She had already debriefed Adams on most of her finds, straining the barrier of credible coincidences into the M.O. of a killer. Now she had found the last point. Although the labeled suicide victims, her mother, and uncle respectively, had indeed stabbed themselves, both had injuries that were postmortem. Her mother’s ones, though an oddity in the case, had been brushed aside by the person who had been in charge back then, attributing them to the fall after she had killed herself and then the further traumas of the fire itself. Kate, however, had spent many hours creating a virtual scenario replay, the likes of which she’d often used up in New York, to prove that false. The injuries marked on the bones were not caused by chance. They were caused by a third party, who had left the same mark on all four victims.