“Come on! My brother thinks I’m his hero for getting a woman like you at my age. Make me look good.” Croft waited, wondering if she’d actually deny him a kiss.
“Ugh,” she muttered, kissing him. Then she started giggling when he pulled away. “You’re crazy.”
Dante grinned at his brother, glad to see he was finally happy.
“So, tell me about you, Emma. I need to report back to my family,” Dante said laughing at the look his brother was giving him. “You know that it’s true. Right now, mom is hiding somewhere spying on the three of us.”
Greyson laughed. “Probably. She’s stealthy.”
“Okay, well let me give you all the details. I don’t want your mother to be let down,” she paused. “I’m a sheriff, and I was once a homicide detective in Philly. I’m the last Starling standing. My mom was a schoolteacher and my dad was a cop--as was my brother. I went to college, and I’m a dog person.” She paused. “Oh, and I’m madly in love with your brother.”
Croft stared at her. “A dog person?” he muttered in mock horror. “Poor Hairy.”
She laughed. “He was pathetic when you shackled him with that name, Grey,” she teased.
Dante looked confused. “What’s wrong with his name?”
“See? I told you so,” laughed Croft. “You’re my soul mate and this proves it.”
Emma stared up into his eyes, unsure if he was joking or serious. When he kissed her again, she leaned into his body. Breaking apart, she rubbed her cheek against the scruff of his chin. “Mine too.”
Dante grinned. “How long are you staying?” he asked his brother, finishing his couscous.
“We’re leaving after dinner,” he replied. “Tell mom I’m taking Hairy with me. There’s no need to check on him.”
The younger man dropped his fork at the implication.
Emma couldn’t help but find it amusing. “I think you’re brother’s alluding to the fact he plans on moving in with me.”
“Oh, are you inviting me?” he asked grinning.
She laughed. “You’re moving your cat to my house for the duration of this assignment?” she clarified.
“Yep,” he left it at that. He didn’t tell her that he planned to marry her. He was going to make her accept that they were going to be together for the rest of their lives. Why freak her out with that little detail?
“The more the merrier,” she said, eating her salad. “The cat’s sleeping on your side of the bed,” she stated, laughing.
Croft didn’t care. It was another step towards locking her into his life. She couldn’t stay in Philly, but there were other places that they could go if she’d leave Celestia. When they got back there, he’d do his research and start planning.
“I’ll start the dishes,” she said, clearing their plates. She paused only long enough to kiss him on the lips.
When she was inside, Dante leaned in to talk to his brother. “You’re never coming back here, are you?”
He didn’t even have to think twice.
“Nope. She’s my road home.”
It wasn’t a long drive back to Celestia. Since it was a Saturday night around dinnertime, most people were eating or out having drinks. The traffic was light and that made it more pleasant of a drive.
Well, that and Emma was beside him, holding his hand. When they left his neighborhood, he knew he’d miss it, but he also knew he’d miss her more. On Monday morning, he was going to call someone to put his house up for sale. He meant what he told his brother. He wasn’t coming back. Once he got Emma to marry him, they’d start out on their own adventure and forget the past.
Both of them.
When they got in the car, Hairy wasn’t happy. That was putting it mildly. He was damn pissed off to say the least. They locked him in a cat carrier and stuck him on the back seat. He howled and cried as if he was being tortured.
Emma was feeling bad for the poor furball. She opened the crate and pulled him out to sit on her lap. He immediately curled into her and began purring.
While she was stroking Hairy, all Croft could think was he was a damn lucky cat. As they drove, he continued to glance over at his woman. It was obvious she and his cat were bonding. The dog person would be won over yet. He’d bet on it. Hairy grew on you.
Then he started laughing at that thought.
“What’s so funny?”
Greyson grinned mischievously. “Nothing, honey,” he proclaimed, squeezing her hand in his and holding it tight.
Emma closed her eyes and leaned back in the seat, occasionally peeking to enjoy the scenery as it flew by her window.
Before long, Croft could tell she was fast asleep. He couldn’t blame her. It had been a crazy couple of days. When they got home, he was going to tuck her in and get the cat taken care of before bed.
Driving through Celestia, he wound his way up the road that led to her cabin. Once there, he hopped out and grabbed the cat, shoving him back into his crate temporarily. Picking Emma up in his arms, he carried her into the cabin, carefully scanning to assure they were alone and safe.
Placing her on the bed, he pulled off her boots, stripped her out of her jeans and left her in her shirt. He lovingly tucked her into the bed and went to go get their cat.
It made him smile that they were living together, and now had a joint cat together after five days.
It was definite progress.
Croft carried their bags, the cat, and his gear. He threw the catnip-filled toys all over the floor and set Hairy free. Watching to make sure he was all set for the night, he locked up and headed to bed. What he wanted more than anything was to fall asleep near Emma.
Stripping down, he climbed into bed beside her. Instinctively, she moved towards him, seeking his warmth. It made him feel complete. Before her, there had been his cold bed and a sense of being lost and alone in life. Now, he’d found happiness. It was hard to believe that he’d gotten this lucky and this fast.
“I love you, Emma,” he whispered, closing his eyes and letting sleep finally take him.
The shrill sound of her phone ringing snapped them out of their peaceful slumber four hours later.
“Hello?” Croft mumbled, answering her phone.
There was a pause at first. “Um... Is the sheriff there? This is Deputy Carlisle. Is this Agent Croft?”
“Yeah, it is, hold on, Deputy.” Croft handed a groggy Emma the phone, lying back on the pillows. He knew it wasn’t going to be a good call this early in the morning.
“Yeah?” she answered into the phone.
“Sheriff, I’m sorry to bother you and Agent Croft, but it’s Deputy Carlisle. We have a possible situation that needs both of your attention.”
“What’s wrong?” Emma sat up and began sliding out of bed. She could feel the bed shifting and knew Greyson was doing the same thing.
“Ma’am, Betty Kline’s husband called a while ago. His wife never came home from work and her car is still sitting in the parking lot at the mayor’s office,” he stated.
“Oh hell!”
“What should we do, Sheriff?”
“Make sure the car’s secured, and we’ll be there in thirty minutes to take over the situation.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered.
Emma hung up the phone and stared over at Croft. “It looks like he got number five. Betty Kline, the mayor’s secretary, is gone.” She told him everything her deputy relayed to her.
“Gee, another person the mayor is acquainted with turns up missing,” Croft muttered, dialing Briggs to wake him up too. If he was going to suffer, so was his partner.
“We’ll have to get to town and ask around.” She was busy pulling on a pair of jeans and grabbing a shirt out of her closet. She grabbed a baseball cap to toss over her bed-messed hair.
“Ready, Emma?” he asked, hanging up the phone with Briggs. “Curtis will meet us there, and he’s calling the lab staff to get them to the car to see what they can find.”
“I’m ready,” she said, following
him out of the house. “You better let me drive, babe. I can maneuver better down the mountain in the dark than you can, and I slept longer.” She took the keys from him and got behind the wheel.
They drove in silence for a while.
“Never thought I’d see you in a baseball cap,” he said, smiling at her in the dark.
“My brother collected them. This was his favorite.”
He didn’t know what to say to that.
“Breathe, babe. I’m not hurting,” she offered, feeling his tension.
Croft placed his hand on her leg as she drove. It still tripped him up how she simply knew when he was off balance. Emma’s voice pulled his focus back to her.
“Grey, do you think he took her?” Emma was feeling bad for the poor woman. She’d just seen her the other day in the mayor’s office, and she was smiling and full of life.
“Yeah, honey, I think he probably did.”
Emma was feeling sick to her stomach over the possibilities. At that very moment, Betty Kline could be dying or dead. “We have to figure out who this sicko is because I hate this,” she said, angrily.
“Me too, honey. Me too.”
They pulled into the parking lot in front of the building that housed the mayor’s office around two in the morning. The lab crew was already dusting and pulling any evidence that they could from the scene.
Croft and Emma hustled across the parking lot, hoping they had something to give them.
“Wow, you both got here together really fast and together,” said Gail snidely.
“Do you have any observations regarding this case, Gail, or just my personal life?” questioned Croft. He wasn’t going to let the woman stir the pot when it came to Emma. She wasn’t going to be her handy target because they tried to date and didn’t hit it off. Mentally, he made a note to address this privately later when he could get the tech alone.
“Certainly, Agent Croft. Betty Kline’s engine wires were cut. Someone didn't want her to leave here with her car tonight,” Gail answered, staring at Emma with nothing but hostility etched into her face. “There’s a good chance she was abducted, but there’s no signs of struggle.”
Emma contemplated it, trying to slip into the mind of the victim. “If I were broken down and alone, the first thing I’d do is call my husband and let him know I needed help. He’d be my first point of contact, but then again I’m not married, so what do I know?”
Croft nearly said ‘yet’ out loud, and she damn well better think to call him if her car wouldn’t start. “Yes, you would,” he mumbled, noticing only she heard him.
“Did we check with the husband yet?” Emma asked, staring at Croft as if he lost his mind.
Deputy Ridge stood there shaking his head. “Betty’s husband claims she was supposed to be home to make him dinner after his fishing trip. He beat her home, laid on the couch, and woke up an hour ago to find she still wasn’t there. He then called us.”
Emma walked around the car and turned her cap backwards to analyze the interior. “Keys aren’t in the ignition, and her purse is missing.”
Greyson observed his girl as she began breaking it down.
Gail crossed her arms, hardly impressed by the dink town sheriff. “So? The killer probably took both. I don’t see what it is you’re getting at.” There was so much hostility in her voice.
Croft opened his mouth to say something and Emma cut him off, taking care of it.
“Well, call me crazy, but Betty Kline was my size, and if someone tried to drag me kicking and screaming to a vehicle, I doubt he’d be thinking, ‘I better go back and take her damn purse’.”
The corners of Greyson’s lips curled. Emma was generally calm and sweet, but she had a tough streak when pushed. He found it incredibly sexy.
“So, he knocked her out.”
Emma laughed. “Don’t take up a life of crime, Gail. Your ass will be sitting in jail. If you knock someone out you then have to carry them across a parking lot and get them loaded up. You’re going to want to move fast and get out of there. Not hang out around the victim’s car to look for her shit.”
“Great. You’re an expert at murder in this rural metropolis where there’s only ever been one deranged killer,” muttered Gail. “Thanks for the perspective.”
Everyone went silent.
Enough was enough. “Actually I have ten years on the streets in Philadelphia, the last five as a homicide detective,” Emma paused. “Did you know, Gail, that Philly’s nickname is Murdertown, USA? Or that they average one homicide a day? I spent quite a few years handling killers. In fact, I juggled up to four cases at a time. Don’t let the small town fool you. I’ve done my time in hell.”
The woman stared at her.
Emma wasn’t done. “How about we try this? You don’t tell me how to solve a murder, and I won’t tell you how to sit on your ass staring at Agent Croft like a hopeless, desperate puppy? We all have the things we excel at, and this one’s mine.” Then she pointed at Greyson, throwing down the woman gauntlet once more. “As a matter of fact, he’s mine too.”
There was a collective gasp as everyone’s attention went to the woman whose mouth hung open.
Yeah, Emma went there. It was one thing to get the stares from the woman, but if Gail believed she’d take the pot shots sitting down, the woman was out of her mind.
“Now, back to what matters, if we may,” stated Emma, winking at Croft. She could tell he was fighting to not start laughing. Emma was infinitely grateful that her little tongue-lashing didn't upset the man.
“I think we need to have a little heart to heart with the mayor as soon as possible,” stated Croft.
“We have a whole lot of women turning up dead that had contact with the man. He’s either very unlucky or guilty of something,” Emma stated.
Greyson stood there a few seconds.
“You have a glint in your eyes,” she said, moving to his side. “What’s going on in that sexy devious mind of yours, Grey,” she said, lowering her voice.
“We do need to have a little chat with the mayor, but how do you feel about screwing with his mind a little bit, sweet stuff?” he queried, using her nickname and grinning wickedly.
Emma leaned into him and laid her hand on his lower back connecting them. “Love muffin, I get all hot and bothered when you mess with the suspects. What do you have in mind?”
Croft loved how well they synced when working. He dropped his arm around her shoulders and threw out his plan. “When we pop in to see Ron Tate, what do you say about doing it a little later? I want him to hear about the abduction and be incredibly nervous.” He looked over his shoulder at the techs staring at him. He knew what they were thinking, but he didn’t care. He was working on cementing them together.
Emma liked his plan. “We go in, make him really nervous, and see what falls out of his little brain?”
“Worried people make mistakes. He doesn’t realize we definitively know that he’s the baby daddy, and that he was in Megan Landry’s backup book.”
“You think he was getting hot and bothered at work with his secretary too?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
“I think it’s a possibility. He wouldn’t be the first man to be having sex with his assistant.”
“Do you think we can connect him to the first two victims from Philadelphia?”
Croft rolled his neck, trying to alleviate the tension. “Let’s head to your office and see what we can do to connect him to them.”
“Works for me,” she stated, following him to the Jeep.
“I’ll make the coffee,” offered Greyson.
“Make a drum of it. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day.”
They made coffee, got comfortable, and started working against the clock. If Betty Kline had a snowball’s chance in hell, it meant finding anything that was relevant to the killings, and fast. They both sat at her desk. Croft was in her chair because he needed more legroom and Emma by his side. The files were all laid open and ready for easy
access and comparison. Emma had Croft’s tablet in her lap and was flipping through data, hoping to see anything.
“Do you think we can get him to admit he knew Maggie Wilson or Bekka Drake?” she asked.
Croft wasn’t sure. “He just might if we can tie him to Philadelphia. Like I said, very nervous people make mistakes during an interview.”
“Between us, we should be able to scare him. Well, one of us might be scary enough.”
He started laughing. “You didn’t mean me, did you?”
Emma grinned. “Sure I did, babe,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Sipping his coffee, he wondered what she’d be like in an interview. She’d worked the streets, and she had to assume that the woman would be tough. “We need to get proof that Mayor Tate was spending time in Philadelphia. We’ll have Briggs run a background check on the man and see what pops.”
“How is he picking his victims? It can’t be random,” she said, standing and pacing.
Greyson watched her stalk the room. “Why don’t you talk it out? Maybe something will shake free.”
“Okay,” she answered, thinking about the files in her desk. “There were two killed in Celestia. First, we have Megan Landry. She was successful executive, who ended up divorced because her husband found out about her affairs. In her journal, we found the initials RT and his home number. Then we have Connie Hart. Not as successful and doesn’t seem to exist. We haven’t found out her real name, but she was single and pregnant.”
“Seemingly, they have nothing in common but being women who called Celestia home at some point.”
“Now, we have Betty Kline, a married woman who works for the mayor,” Emma paused. “When I was there to see him the other day, he was winking and handsy with her.”
“So, are we going to assume there was a little something going on between them?”
Emma considered it. “He’s generally touchy feely. He’s been known to get handsy with most women, so I don’t know. I don’t like to assume anything.”
Croft crossed his arms. “If I catch him with his appendages anywhere next to you, I’m going to rip them off.”
Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Page 32
