Where had time gone? Wasn’t he just the same age as his partner? Twenty-four didn’t seem that long ago. Did the number really matter? Granted, he was in excellent shape and could outlast many men younger than him, but the choices in women were greatly diminished when they saw the spattering of gray in his hair. He needed to be realistic. Women Emma’s age were looking for men in the same decade of life. He’d already moved into his forties, and out of desirable range.
It pissed him off and irritated the hell out of him, but what was he to do? Should he give up and back off or risk the chance of rejection?
Croft always believed he had excellent instincts, and the minute he saw Emma across the field, part of him knew he needed to get to know her. Now, he was questioning the effort it would take to win her over.
“You okay?” asked Briggs, noticing his partner wasn’t his normal self. Usually, they’d be discussing the case or talking about sports.
“I guess.”
That didn’t bode well. “Want to talk about it?” he offered, willing to be there for his partner to help him work out whatever was bothering him.
Croft sighed, unsure how to even discuss it without sounding like a wack job. If he told his partner he thought Emma was the woman for him after six hours, Briggs certainly would tell him he was crazy. “Give me your impression of the sheriff and her deputies.”
Curtis thought about it. “Which ones?”
He pretended to ponder it, but he already knew which two bothered him the most. “Deputies Marshall and Reese.”
Briggs dropped down in the chair beside him and linked his hands behind his head, contemplating the two men in question. “Marshall is over eager, friendly, and wants to please people. He reminds me of a puppy chasing after the sheriff.”
This wasn’t making him feel better. “How do you think the sheriff feels about him?”
That got Briggs’s attention. It wasn’t like his partner to ask a personal question like that when they were on a case. “I think she looks at him like a little brother. When she talks to him, it’s not with any specific emotion, but you can see the fondness. I think she appreciates how hard he works.”
“She told me he has a crush on her.”
“I buy it,” he admitted, “but I doubt it’s reciprocated.” Curtis gave him what he thought he needed to hear. His partner was all tied up in knots, and he’d learned enough about the man to know why.
“What about Deputy Reese?”
This was going to be a harder one. “I think the man is super protective of her. When she had blood on her hands, he rushed to her, and the look on his face was pure worry.”
Yeah, he was well aware.
“But, if you notice it wasn’t him she allowed to comfort her. You were at her side first. You took her hand in yours, and she didn’t force you away.”
Croft didn’t think about that. His partner had a point.
“She didn’t let go of your hand until we started the search. I think that speaks volumes of her relationship with any of the men there. If she was embroiled in a dating or sexual partnership, don’t you think someone would have objected to the big scary FBI agent soothing his babe?”
That was the truth. He was so tied up in knots, he never thought about that.
“If she was involved with any of the men, there would have been a brawl over the meaty bone.”
“Good point.” Then he realized what he said.
Briggs started laughing.
“What?” demanded Croft.
He shook his head. “Nothing at all, big guy.”
Croft stood up and pushed in his chair. Everything his partner said gave him a little glimmer of hope. It began to ignite in his chest and push away the cold that he’d found gripping him earlier.
“Hey, Croft?” called his partner.
“Yeah?” he asked, turning around.
“Word around the deputies is that the boss lady has her own coffee pot in her office. You should go get a cup and talk to her.” Briggs offered up the detail to help the man out. He knew his partner had been out of the dating world for a long time and could use a little push.
“You don’t say?” he said, grinning. If he could get Emma to share her coffee, he was pretty sure he still had a chance. Walking out, he stopped and turned back towards Briggs. “Thanks, Curtis.”
The man nodded and grinned. This was going to be fun to watch unfold. It looked like the ‘Ice King’ was about to hit full thaw.
There was a knock on her door an hour later. Emma was hunched over some paperwork, and she glanced up when it opened. Greyson Croft stood, leaning up against the frame as he grinned at her.
It made her heart skip a beat.
“Yes, Agent Croft?”
Ahhhh, they were back to formal names, but not for long. He had new motivation and was ready to test out his partner’s musings. “Hey, how you doing, Emma?” he asked, refusing to be deterred.
She looked at him with zero expression on her face. “I‘m okay. Are you guys done moving into the office?” she asked. “Do you need more space?”
“Yeah, all the files are in and the boards are set up with crime scene photos. Anytime you’re ready, we can start.” Croft glanced around her office. It suited her. “The conference room is more than acceptable. Thanks for being so accommodating.” He nodded to her and her mug, stepping into the room. “Got anymore coffee?” he asked. “Or are you still mad enough at me to make me drink the swill out by the deputies?” Croft dolled out another friendly smile. He really wanted to crack the hard outer shell and get to the woman beneath the armor.
“What makes you think that my coffee is any better?” she asked, taking a long teasing sip of the really good brew just to torment him.
He sat in a chair across from her. “Well, for starters, it doesn’t smell like burnt tar in here. Then there’s the little detail about how this coffeepot is strictly off limits. Being a trained investigator that makes me believe that you have black gold brewing in your office.”
“They ratted me out, huh?”
“In a heartbeat,” he answered, grinning. “So, can I have some? At this very moment, they’re taking bets out there that you won’t give me a sip. Are you really going to make me look bad in front of a room full of men? At my age, I don’t think my ego could handle it.”
She crossed her arms. “Your age? I don’t think that’s a problem, Agent Croft. I seriously doubt that a man in his early forties is at a disadvantage.”
His heart pounded at her acceptance and acknowledgement of his age; fear number one was instantaneously abated. The woman in front of him didn’t see him as an old geezer. There was hope building, stoking more of the fire in him.
Now, she was smiling despite herself. “So, what you’re saying is that your standing with my men greatly depends on if I let you have a cup of my special blend?” She was in the mood to tease him now.
“It does.”
“Okay, you can have a cup, but let’s not make this a habit. I don’t share my coffee with others.”
Croft watched her pour him a cup. “I take it black,” he stated, as she crossed to him with the mug. “Thank you, Emma.”
“You’re welcome, Greyson.”
Again, his heart skipped at the use of his name. “You know they’re going to talk if they see me with your coffee mug.” He read the side, running his thumb over her name.
She shrugged. “Yeah, they probably will since they’re a gossipy bunch of hens,” she paused before continuing, “Want to really make them talk, Greyson?” Emma used his name again, after all, she owed him an apology for being a bitch earlier, and she honestly enjoyed the way it rolled off her tongue.
He leaned forward, lifting a brow, praying she was thinking what he was thinking.
“I ordered you dinner. You can go out there and tell them you talked me into it, and that you’re willing to share. You’ll be revered as a God among them.”
He glanced out the window, seeing a car pull up and boxes of food being unloaded. �
�You ordered me something to eat?” questioned Croft, turning and smiling. “Were you worried about me, Emma?”
“Maybe I was,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. “So, yeah, I ordered you dinner. I figured you and Briggs would be hungry, and if I feed you, then I have to feed them.” She jerked her head toward the door. Outside her office, there was a shout of euphoria as the men noticed there was a delivery to the station. “You better go get some, Greyson. Trust me. There won’t be much left. They’re animals when it comes to feeding time at the zoo.”
He grabbed his coffee and turned around at the door. “Meeting in fifteen minutes?” Croft waited for the nod of her head before escaping. Truth be told, he wasn’t rushing from her office because he was starving. If he stayed with her, there was the distinct possibility he’d do something stupid, like kiss her.
When Croft rushed from the room, Emma took a deep breath. The man shook her all up and made her a mess. Just his smile alone made her want to do incredibly irresponsible things. Right now, she needed to calm down and give herself some space away from the man.
Or she couldn’t be held responsible for her actions.
Fifteen minutes later, Emma exited her office with a coffee cup in hand. Walking over to the group of men eating the dinner that had been ordered, she checked the desk for the special item for herself. It was suspiciously missing. Before she could comment, one of her deputies called to her.
“Hey, Sheriff, thanks for the food!” yelled Carlisle with his mouth full. “It isn’t often we eat this well.”
Deputy Mason leaned over and patted Carlisle on the bulging belly. “Some of us eat pretty well as it is, Carlisle, or are you having a baby?”
That brought about chuckles and playful shoves from the men. Emma couldn’t help but snort at the pat on Carlisle’s belly. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at their antics. It was all normal for this group.
“Emma, the usual?” asked Reese, tossing her a sandwich that was marked:
STOP!
Property of the sheriff.
Emma nodded, snagging it with one hand midair. She found a spot, sitting beside Croft on one of the desks in the bull pen. She was well aware that Reese and Croft were watching speculatively. It was beginning to feel like she was under the microscope.
Special Agent Croft was having a hard time focusing. When she took a seat beside him, he began analyzing her actions in hope of finding some hidden meaning. Emma could have sat anywhere, including beside the man who had her food, yet she didn’t.
Emma began unwrapping it.
“The sheriff gets a special order?” inquired Croft, staring down at the warning one of the deputies had scribbled on the wrapper. “Is it because she’s a girl?” He stared into Emma’s eyes searching for the answer.
“Trust us--you wouldn’t want any part of that, Agent Croft. The sheriff doesn’t eat meat, so all that’s on it is veggies and sprouty things. It’s like eating a salad on bread,” added Deputy Mason.
The rest of the men made sounds of agreement. There were a few comments about it being a sissy sandwich, and he found himself intrigued and entertained.
Emma smiled at the banter between the men. Maybe Celestia wouldn’t be too different after all when this was all over. If the center of her world held, she may have a chance at making it through after all.
Croft took his chances, running his fingers down her arm to her wrist, and dropping his voice low. “I need to start. Will you be okay to eat while I do this?” he asked, willing to accommodate her needs.
She nodded, knowing that it wasn’t going to be anything she hadn’t seen before in her past. “I’ll be okay, Greyson.”
He desperately wanted to protect her and keep her safe from what he knew was coming.
Standing, he moved from the bullpen with his coffee towards the conference room. Briggs was right behind him.
Before leaving, Emma knew she needed to handle one more thing. Pointing at Lila, she continued, “No calls. Hold them all, and that means NO EXCEPTIONS, including your father. Got it, Lila?” Emma wasn’t going to chance imply anything to the woman, since she wasn’t able to pick up subtle hints on her own. It was better to just say it.
“Sure thing, Sheriff,” Lila replied, going back to filing her nails.
Emma grabbed her dinner, following the men into the conference room. She closed the door behind her and immediately noticed that they had twin looks on their faces. Something big was coming, and she went on alert.
“Are you sure you want to try and eat through this, Emma? You might want to finish that first. What we have to show you isn’t pretty,” said Croft, pulling out two thick files.
“No, I’ll be fine, Greyson,” she answered back, as she opened up her dinner.
The first name thing caught the younger agent off guard. When he told the man to go in for coffee, he didn’t realize he’d get to a first name basis that fast. His partner was definitely slick, and his new hero. It appeared he was honing in on the sheriff with crystal clear intent.
Croft figured if he tried to protect her from what was coming, she’d get angry, thinking he didn’t believe in her ability to be sheriff, and that placed him between a rock and hard place.
Briggs carefully observed her with unblinking eyes as she chewed her sandwich, watching Croft flip over the first board of crime scene pictures. She didn’t even flinch at the images of mutilated flesh in front of her.
It took Emma a full minute to finally get it. The pictures before her weren’t of Megan Landry, but two other victims that had befallen the same fate. She took it all in, scanning the visual reference before her. Once she had something to say, Emma swallowed her food, and took a sip of coffee before she spoke, “Well, this explains why the FBI has sent down two agents for one murder in a tiny town. It looks like we do have ourselves a serial killer, and he had a different playground first.” She glanced at Croft and Briggs before continuing, “So, how many victims have there been and how long until the FBI infiltrates the entire town, taking over?”
It was Croft who answered her first. “Your victim makes number three. It’s the same MO, but it seems to be getting more violent as he progresses. The profiler out of the Philly field office feels he’s a ticking bomb, and it’s only a matter of time before he explodes with rage. If it is the same serial killer, the FBI will be sending in more agents to help us out.”
“You think what he did to Megan Landry wasn’t explosive?” she asked, forcing herself to take another bite of her food, knowing she needed the fuel.
“It was worse than what happened to the women back in the city. Our guy thinks it’ll get worse.”
“When did the first murder happen?”
“About nineteen months ago,” he replied, still watching her face. “These are the crime scene photos from that one.” He slid the photos across the table to her. Croft was sure now that the woman sitting there had been a cop elsewhere. She was asking cop questions, and wasn’t batting an eyelash over the details.
Emma wiped her hands on a napkin and glanced up into his icy eyes before picking up the picture. As she scanned it, he moved closer to her.
“As I stated, it’s getting worse.”
She stared at the vicious puncture wounds of the first victim, seeing exactly what they wanted her to notice. The killer had been brutal, but not to the point of mutilation. The profiler was going to be right. It was escalating. Emma sighed, closing her eyes. When she opened them, both men were watching her closely.
“There’s more to come, Em,” stated Croft.
“Yeah, I know,” she said, waiting for either one of them to continue at that point.
Briggs stared at her sympathetically. He knew that once it all got out, the town was going to be in a panic, and the weight of it would be on her shoulders. “Sheriff, it’s time we started comparing crime scenes.”
She nodded, standing up. “Let me go get my notes.” Emma walked past the garbage, tossing her dinner. Suddenly, she didn’t have the st
omach for food.
“You think she’ll be ok, Croft?” he asked, once she was gone.
“I think Emma is tough, and she’ll work through it,” he answered, honestly.
Briggs agreed with the tough part. “For someone who doesn’t see murder daily, she was the calmest woman I’ve ever seen.”
Croft thought about that. “Get her dossier from the bureau. I don’t believe for a second that she’s not a seasoned cop. The sheriff has the grit of police officer all over her.”
“You think she handled murders before?”
He glanced over at his partner. “I’d bet my badge on it.”
After two hours and pages of files, the three sat there with nothing to tie any of the crime scenes together. The only similarities that they found were that they were all women and the mode of murder. Victim three was the only one with her cell phone missing.
“One of the other women received a phone call from a pay phone, so the number was useless. There has to be a reason the killer took that phone,” said Briggs.
She knew right away why he’d want it. “Agent Briggs, did you grow up in a small town?” asked Emma.
“No, I grew up in the city, why?”
“The killer couldn’t use a pay phone here. This town has a grand total of two. There’s one in front of this office and the other is in front of Macy’s Diner down the street.”
Both men glanced up at her.
“Who’s going to use a payphone in front of the sheriff’s office to commit a crime? You’d have to be insane,” added Briggs.
“Something tells me this guy is crazy,” she answered. “Any more, you can easily buy disposable phones. I doubt anyone, in this day and age, is stupid enough to use their own, so possibly there’s something on her phone that would lead us to his identity. Maybe he sent a text message previously.”
Croft agreed. “Since we know she went out dressed for sex, it might mean that they may have exchanged texts. I’m with Emma here. He may have revealed something in one of them, and he’s covering his bases. I don’t think it’s the number he was concerned with but the possible content.”
Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Page 9
