Steele by Kathi S. Barton

had a long talk with Kari yesterday as well. He wondered if either of them was aware of how much they needed each other.
    “When you were told not to go to that floor, did you go out of spite or did someone tell you to go?” He looked at Thomas Stile and smiled. “I have to ask you. The police are claiming that you put that shit up there to make them look bad.”
    “I think they did that all on their own.” Both men with Thomas laughed. “We were led up there, or Nick was. She said she didn’t want to leave just yet and we helped her along.”
    Ray had quit the force right after Steele had been left alone. He’d had him in his own home for a time, but Steele had kept going back to the big house, and Ray asked if he could stay there too. Ray had often wondered if his sister was pulling him back, but when he’d finally asked him, Steele said his sister was gone, that he’d not seen her since she’d told him she was dead.
    As their group grew, Steele had quietly moved them all in with them and never said a word about it. They had their fights, a great many of them, but after a time each of them had settled in and became a part of his group…his group of “Dreamers,” he called them.
    “Nope. We were ready to leave when she came to us.” Thomas nodded. He wasn’t a Dreamer, of course, but he believed them when they talked about their job. Ray thought it was because they’d helped them so much over the years. “This woman, she said the guys in the wall were the killers. Do you think that’s possible?”
    Thomas nodded but didn’t say anything else. He didn’t have to. His look told him a great deal more than any words would. When the file slid across the desk at him, he noticed at first how thick it was. Then he saw what was printed on the front. “Unsolved” was a police officer’s, as well as a Federal agent’s, worst kind of file.
    “How many?” He told him there were two hundred and fifty-six in there. “Are the trophies a match to any of them?”
    “We were hoping you and your men could help us.” Ray nodded and reached for the file. “The trunk had over five hundred baggies in it. Much more than we have here.”
    “They moved around.” Thomas nodded. “Do you think we can have some dinner sent in? Some beers even? My men have been on duty for a long time before this, and only came here because the building was being torn down.”
    “I can get you that. I’ll have them set you up a place now.” Thomas stood up. “If you can match even half those names to the trunk mysteries, I’ll be indebted to you.”
    “We’ll try our best.” Thomas led him down a long hall and when the door was opened, Ray noticed that all the men were there. He told them what they were going to do, and each of them took a stack of the names as well as a handful of the little Baggies. It was going to be a long night.
    ~~~
    Steele wanted to throw his phone across the room but only just managed to end the call and set it down on the table he’d been at for over five hours. The inconsiderableness of Kari was driving him insane. He finally called the house and asked Izzy where the hell Kari was.
    “First off, you’ll not talk to me like I’m some woman you met in a pool house. I’m your housekeeper, not your barking post. And Miss Kari has been job hunting all day. I’ve only just heard her come into the house.” He asked her if she’d left the phone he’d gotten her. “None came for her that I saw. And I get the post when it arrives. If it came, then I never saw it.”
    Steele had been leaving her messages all evening and none of them were very nice. “Could you see if it’s there now? I was kind of ticked off at her because I thought she was ignoring me. I’d really hate for her to hear them now.” Izzy huffed at him, but she could hear her moving through the house. Then he heard Kari speaking, and every part of his body got hard and needy.
    “She said to tell you to go to hell. I’d have thought of