Just This Once

by Diana X Dunn

  “He isn’t my boyfriend,” she told Alex. “He’s a married man.”

  She finished the wine in her glass and then closed the distance between them. “I don’t know who is following you, but you’re safe here. Are you staying tonight?”

  She pressed herself against him and tipped her head up to look into his eyes, her eyes making sure he understood the invitation.

  No one breathed for a long moment and then Alex bent and gave Julia a fleeting kiss. As she moved to deepen it, he moved away.

  “I’m not sure what is going on, but I don’t think getting involved with you is the right thing to do at the moment,” he told her, putting his wine glass down on the counter and moving back toward the door. “Leaving now is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I need to get my life back before I can think about a relationship, especially with someone like you.”

  He was gone before Julia could choke out her reply.

  “No one said anything about a relationship,” she said to the back of the door. “I was just looking for some great sex.”

  She took a dose of neutralizer before heading to bed, keeping her movements deliberate and controlled, ignoring the urge to smash something. Years of training kept her possessions intact, as she got ready for bed. After a moment’s hesitation, she popped a tablet to help her sleep before she crawled between the sheets. The drug put her straight to sleep so she didn’t have to waste time being upset about the two men who had walked out on her tonight. There would be plenty of time to worry about them later.

  Sixteen

  When Julia’s alarm sounded, she woke up feeling more rested than she had in a long time. The sleeping tablet had done its job well. She rolled out of bed determined to track down Serena Stone and get some answers. Maybe she could have the whole case solved by the end of the day.

  Then she could get back to her normal job, and get Alex Knight out of her life. Even as she had the thought, she knew it wasn’t that simple. She was mad at him now for turning her down last night, but she still had feelings for him. She just wasn’t sure what those feelings were.

  After feeling inappropriately dressed for much of yesterday, today she dressed with care. A pair of black wool trousers and a comfortable but sophisticated lightweight sweater were paired with simple silver jewelry and black leather boots. Julia took extra care with her hair and makeup as well, taking the time to make it look as if she’d had taken no time at all.

  A quick call to Serena’s office revealed that the woman hadn’t come to work again, so Julia headed for the house on Lilac Court. No one answered her knock. From her transport, she pulled up all of the information that she had on Serena. Friends and relatives would have to be checked. The woman had to be hiding somewhere. Julia also checked out Matthew Richards. He had to know where his partner was, but would he be willing to share that information?

  Julia’s wrist-con flashed up a message as she searched.

  Would appreciate your dropping by ASAP.

  Julia frowned at the message, and by extension at the sender. Blake should know better than to talk to her like that. Stopping by police headquarters wasn’t on her list of things to do today, but in reality she didn’t have anything more pressing to do. Maybe Blake would have a lead on where to look for Ms. Stone and her partner.

  If Julia was surprised to find herself ushered straight into an interrogation room when she arrived at police headquarters, she was far too well trained to let it show. The room was cold and sterile. A metal table sat in the center, its surface pockmarks with dents and scratches from its hard life. Four identical metal chairs surrounded the table. They looked as if they had been designed to be as uncomfortable as possible.

  Julia moved the least dirty and damaged of the four into a position that let her face the door and sat down. The windowless room was almost uncomfortably cold and the only light came from a pair of glowing bulbs covered with protective wire cages. Julia idly read the graffiti scratched into the surface of the table while she waited.

  She had learned that Jake hated cops and that Bobby Robinson was a weasel when the door opened. She smiled at Blake as he stormed in. He was obviously upset about something and was trying to make some point, but as far as she was concerned he could be as dramatic as he liked. If he pushed her too far, she could have him pulled off the case with a single message. Blake had to suspect that, even if he didn’t know it for certain.

  She was only slightly surprised that Blake brought a second man into the interview. She almost laughed when he started a formal record before they began. “Blake Bowman and Robert Harrison, conducting an interview with Julia Randall regarding the whereabouts of Alex Knight.”

  Blake spoke into the recorder without looking at Julia. He and Robert took seats around the hard metal table, and Blake finally met Julia’s eyes. He didn’t look friendly. “Exactly when and how did Alex Knight take off his monitoring device?” He barked the question at Julia, his anger clearly simmering barely under the surface.

  Julia used every bit of her training to think carefully before replying. Blake was upset because he thought that she’d helped Alex remove the device. Presumably he thought that they’d done so to hide the fact that they’d spent the night together. Really, if it hadn’t been so serious, Julia might have laughed. Blake was acting like a jealous lover. She carefully composed her answer.

  “The last time I saw Alex Knight he was still wearing his monitoring device,” she answered, addressing her remarks toward Robert Harrison, carefully keeping her tone level. “He didn’t say anything to me that indicated that he was considering removing it.”

  She met Blake’s eyes as she finished speaking and Blake stared hard at her, as if he could read her secrets in her eyes. It was a ridiculous notion, and they both knew it. Her years of training meant that he could read nothing more there than what she was willing to let him see. That had always been a problem for them as a couple. He was always aware that, even in their most intimate moments, there were parts of Julia’s mind that were completely closed off from him.

  After a long silence, Julia spoke again. “This might be easier if you tell me what is going on,” she suggested, with a broad smile for both Blake and Officer Harrison, who had, as yet, said nothing.

  Blake looked at her and then at the other man. “Harrison, maybe you’d better go and do some more checking around. See if you can drag the trace backwards and then work forwards again.” The other man looked surprised but didn’t argue. Once he left the room, firmly shutting the door behind him, Blake turned off the recorder.

  “I was sure you knew what was going on,” he told Julia with a frown.

  “And you were pretty mad about it as well.” Julia knew she shouldn’t goad him, but she couldn’t help but point that out.

  “Yeah,” Blake frowned. “I need to get some stuff figured out, but that’s personal and we have a bigger problem that needs sorting out first. Alex Knight has disappeared.”

  “Disappeared?” Julia frowned. “Details, please?”

  “His monitoring unit stopped transmitting at exactly 10:39 last night. We have a record of his visit to your apartment. He appears to have left after a very short visit?” Blake raised his eyebrows, and waited for Julia’s confirmation.

  “Yes,” was all the satisfaction Julia was prepared to give him.

  Blake waited another beat, presumably hoping for a more detailed reply, before continuing. “He walked one block north and then the monitoring device was switched off.”

  “Switched off?” Julia questioned.

  “Sometimes they cut in and out if someone goes near a transmitter that overrides the system. It appears that his monitor cut out and then, before it could cut back in, it was switched off at the unit.”

  Julia thought about what Blake was telling her. “In order to do that, someone would have to have the right codes,” she said, more to herself than to Blake. “Police codes, override codes, these aren’t things that most people can access.”

>   “That’s why I thought of you,” Blake told her dryly.

  Julia smiled. Blake was right. She could easily have turned off Alex’s monitoring device if she’d wanted to do so. Getting the right codes would have taken her only a minute or two. But she wasn’t an average person.

  “Could you have turned it off?” she asked Blake.

  Blake looked uncomfortable. “Actually, no,” he admitted. “I don’t have all of the codes necessary to turn off monitoring units. The idea is that no one person on the force can turn the devices on or off. It is supposed to prevent situations just like this one.”

  Julia nodded. “So clearly we’re dealing with someone that has skills or contacts that most people don’t.”

  Blake frowned at her. “That is why I was really hoping it was you who’d turned the stupid thing off.”

  Julia shook her head. “If the device is off and Alex is missing, I think we have to assume that the killer has him.” She was pleased with how even her voice stayed. Her emotions were all over the place, but outwardly she remained calm.

  “Why take him? Why not just kill him?” Blake asked. She knew he was pushing her, trying to see just how emotionally attached she was to Alex.

  Julia didn’t let Blake see anything. “Presumably the killer has a use for him,” she paused, “or had a use for him.”

  She got the words out without altering her tone or her expression, but it wasn’t easy. Her feelings for Alex ran deeper than lust, even if she was just realizing that now. That wasn’t just inconvenient, it was stupid and could only lead to disappointment.

  “So we need to start looking for him,” Blake stated the obvious.

  “I would have thought you would have started looking for him as soon as his signal shut off.” Julia hoped that was the case, otherwise the killer had a twelve-hour head start.

  “You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Blake sounded angry again as he explained. “Some junior detective on monitoring duty last night decided on his own initiative that it would be okay to not call me and let me know about Mr. Knight going missing. He felt that evidence suggested that Mr. Knight wasn’t guilty of anything so there really wasn’t any need to monitor him anyway. He didn’t bother to let me know. I didn’t find out until I got here this morning. So, no, no one has started looking yet.”

  Julia was appalled. “I would have thought that there would be strict procedures in place for dealing with this sort of situation,” she said mildly, not letting any of her anger seep into her voice.

  “There are very strict procedures in place, and the man on the desk knew that. He’s also been suspended without pay while we investigate. It’s possible he’s just an idiot, but it is also possible that he was given some incentive to ignore things. Until we figure it out, he’s being closely watched.”

  “I want to talk to him,” Julia told Blake.

  “Maybe,” Blake answered, “but not right now. He is undergoing some exams and testing right now.”

  Julia nodded. No doubt the officer in question would be subject to intensive scrutiny. The police could do a lot more when questioning their own people than when questioning the general public. Lie detecting machines could be used on police personnel, without their consent if necessary. Nearly all police forces, around the world, had a zero tolerance policy for police behavior. Julia wouldn’t be able to get more out of the man than the computers and machines could.

  “I think we need to hit the streets, then,” Julia told Blake. “I still think Serena Stone is the key to this whole puzzle. If we can’t find her, then we need to look for Matthew Richards.”

  Blake nodded. “I’m not as convinced, but I’m willing to go with your instincts on this one for the time being. Wait here for two minutes while I clear a few things off my desk and we can head out. I’ll have someone call and find out if Mr. Richards is at his office today.

  Julia nodded and then settled back in the uncomfortable chair, quickly checking her messages. Finally, she had a few replies to the inquiries she had sent out the previous evening. The replies themselves, however, did nothing but frustrate her. None of her contacts would or could admit to knowing Serena Stone. Julia hadn’t expected any of them to admit to employing the woman, but she was very disappointed that none even acknowledged knowing of her.

  There were certain codes of behavior within the communities in which Julia worked. One of them had to do with identifying agents. While it was often difficult for agencies to disclose their connection with any given agent, the general expectation was that they could or would admit some affiliation under certain circumstances. And an agent mixed up in a murder investigation would be one of those circumstances. Julia frowned at her M-ped.

  She hadn’t heard back from everyone, but she had received replies from the most likely groups. None of them knew Serena Stone. That left a few options. Serena could be exactly who she claimed to be. Her fuzzy background could be entirely legitimate, and just the result of the turmoil in the modern world. Or she could be working for an organization that was outside of the law. Julia had contacts within many of those organizations as well, but it seemed best not to use them unless it was absolutely necessary. Alex’s disappearance had her giving the idea some serious thought.

  Julia did what she always did, box up her emotions and consider things logically. While solving the murder of two people and the disappearance of a third was important, it was not worth risking her contacts within those groups. If she and Blake hadn’t managed to find Alex by the end of the day, she would have another think about the bigger picture, and where her personal happiness might fit within it.

  Seventeen

  Blake was back by the time Julia had read through all of her messages. She had done an initial run on Matthew Richards after the first interview, but didn’t remember much about it. Now she realized that she had focused too much on Serena Stone. She should have kept an open mind about everyone. Serena Stone definitely had secrets and it looked like she might be more dangerous than Julia had realized. Now Julia wondered what secrets Matthew Richards might be hiding.

  “What can you tell me about Matthew Richards?” Julia quizzed Blake as they exited police headquarters and headed toward his transport.

  “Not a whole lot,” Blake told her. “He has something of an alibi for the first murder. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about the second, yet. He works as an architect at Masters and Mason. His secretary said he has meetings scheduled all day, so he should be in when we get there.”

  “Something of an alibi?” Julia questioned.

  “All electronic. He was at work. Security cameras and monitors show that he was there all day. It was a Saturday and apparently he was working alone. You know as well as I do how easily such things can be faked with the right skills and equipment. Someone got the monitoring device off of Alex, so we have to assume that that someone has the skills and equipment.”

  Julia nodded thoughtfully. “I quite liked Matthew Richards when I met him,” she recalled. “He seemed to be exactly what he claimed, unlike his partner.”

  “Double bluff?” Blake suggested. “Maybe he is the one with secrets.”

  Julia frowned. Blake’s words mirrored her own uncomfortable thoughts. The idea that Matthew might not be exactly what he seemed to be called into question Julia’s perceptiveness. If she was wrong about Richards, she might be wrong about other people as well. People like Alex Knight for instance. Julia frowned more deeply as the thoughts flashed through her head. Best to push them to the back burner and think about them another time, she told herself.

  Masters and Mason owned an entire building in rapidly re-developing Manhattan. The building was only a few years old and still gleamed and shone in the sunshine. Made almost entirely of windows, the building was a tribute to modern architecture and engineering. Julia had heard rumors that it was also not entirely stable, but the company was still using it, so it must have passed the necessary safety inspections.

  The lobby was all cool blue
and cream tones, with a light fountain and an enormous reception desk that had a team of six working behind it. Hushed buzzing noises were the only indication that messages and calls were coming in. Blake and Julia watched for a moment as the men and women behind the desk worked. Everyone spoke in hushed voices, the way Julia imagined that people used to behave in libraries.

  A bank of elevators lined the wall far behind the reception desk and Julia headed toward it. She didn’t see any point in engaging the busy reception staff in conversation. She could find Matthew Richards on her own, and the element of surprise might work in her favor. Blake followed her, allowing her to take the lead for the moment.

  They were halfway across the spacious lobby, angled away from the reception desk that dominated it, when they were stopped.

  “Can we help you?” The man who stopped them had stepped away from the desk. He smiled politely at them, as if hoping he could solve all of their problems.

  “Just going upstairs,” Julia told him, starting to walk casually past him.

  “I don’t think so,” the man replied, a sharper edge to his voice. “I’m sure we can help you down here, or at least make sure you get to the right place.”

  Julia turned her full attention to the man. He was about her height and slimly built. She was pretty sure she could knock him out with a single punch, but there were five other staff members to get through as well. She sighed and pulled out a badge.

  “We are here to see Matthew Richards, and I would rather he not know we’re on our way up,” she told the man who had slipped back into his fake smile. Blake held out his badge as well, which should have been more than adequate authority for the man to allow them to go wherever they wanted within the building.

  “I’m terribly sorry,” the man told them, all attempts at sincerity now gone. “I’m afraid that I can’t let you upstairs without proper authorization.”