The Cavanaugh Code

by Marie Ferrarella

She rolled her eyes. “That’s what I said. At least you have decent hearing.”

  He smiled down into her face. This wasn’t nearly as hard as he thought it was going to be. A lot less difficult than imagining his life without her. “How do you feel about marriage?”

  Taylor felt her heart skip a beat, but she refused to get ahead of herself. Refused to put words into his mouth. “In general or specifically?”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “Damn, for a cop, you sound like a lawyer. Specifically,” Laredo underscored, then added, “ours,” when she didn’t say anything.

  She looked at him, puzzled. Had she missed something, or was this some side effect from the medications she’d been taking after her surgery? “We don’t have a marriage.”

  He skimmed his lips along her forehead. “Yet.”

  She felt herself growing warm. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  And now he grinned at her. “That would seem to be the direction this is going in, yes.”

  Just because she wasn’t shy and retiring didn’t mean she didn’t want all the trappings that went with something like this. “Damn it, Laredo, say something romantic.”

  “Something romantic,” he echoed, then ducked as she swung to hit him. Catching her in his arms again, he held her close. “Marry me, Taylor. Marry me and make my life a little less miserable than it is right now.”

  She sighed. So much for a honeyed tongue. “You can’t say something romantic, can you?”

  He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “I figure, if you say yes, I’ve got the next forty years to practice.”

  “Only forty?”

  “After that, we’ll negotiate.” Warm rays of sunshine threaded all through him. He hadn’t thought that it was possible to feel this happy. It almost seemed as if it should be against the law. “Don’t want you to get too complacent.”

  She had a feeling that was never going to happen. Not if she was married to him.

  “So?” he coaxed. “Are you going to say yes?”

  She laced her arms around his neck, thinking how much she’d missed being this close to him. “Don’t rush me, I’m thinking about it.”

  He kissed her softly even as he began to undress her. “Think fast.”

  She managed to say yes before they both became too busy to talk.

  Epilogue

  R euniting with Taylor, Laredo handed her one of the two glasses of eggnog he’d gone to fetch. Because the noise level in the living room was swelling to epic proportions, he leaned down so that his lips were closer to her ear. “Finished making the rounds?” he asked her.

  She laughed, taking a sip. “Not even close.”

  This was Andrew’s annual Christmas party. Not only had the entire extended family shown up, but it felt like at least half the force was here as well. There were people in almost every room, not to mention that they were spilling out into the backyard.

  Suddenly jostled from behind, Taylor clutched her drink with both hands to keep it from spilling.

  “Sorry,” Zach apologized, flashing his sister a grin before merging into the crowd.

  “You know, there’d be more room here if the chief had invited less people or gotten a smaller tree,” Laredo observed.

  Finishing his eggnog, he put the glass down on the closest flat surface and looked up at the heavily decorated tree. It stood more than ten feet tall, thanks to the cathedral ceilings, and there was a story behind each and every one of the countless decorations that hung on every available branch.

  Laredo shook his head. “That has got to be the biggest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen outside of a mall.”

  Finishing her own drink, Taylor placed her empty glass next to his. “This coming from a man who doesn’t even put a tree up.”

  He shrugged carelessly, drawing her over to a doorway and away from, for the time being, the immediate flow of foot traffic. “It’s still early.”

  She pinned him with a look. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

  “That’s my point,” he said innocently. “There’s still tomorrow.”

  Yeah, right. “You’re planning on putting a tree up tonight?”

  He pretended to think it over. “Well, doesn’t seem like it’s worth the trouble for just one day, does it?”

  “It’s always worth the trouble.” Taylor shook her head. She absolutely loved Christmas and the celebration of the holiday was deeply entrenched in her soul. “You should have a tree.”

  He took hold of her hands in his. “Why?”

  Taylor sighed. “If I have to explain it, it loses something.” Even so, she tried to get him to come around. “Don’t you just light up inside whenever you look, really look, at a Christmas tree?”

  This time, he was the one who was jostled. He took the opportunity to move in closer to her. “I don’t need a tree to light up,” Laredo told her, looking down into her eyes. “I have you.”

  Taylor could feel herself melting. “That has got to be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  He grinned in response. “Wait,” he told her, pointing up directly over her head. There was mistletoe hanging in the doorway. “There’s more.”

  And then, to underscore his promise and because tradition demanded it, Laredo kiss her. Long and hard.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4486-7

  THE CAVANAUGH CODE

  Copyright © 2009 by Marie Rydzynski-Ferrarella

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

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

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  Visit Silhouette Books at www.eHarlequin.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 T he way Detective Taylor McIntyre liked to work a homicide was to put herself in the victim’s place. Not just into his or her place, but into their actual lives. To get a full sense of the person, she needed to walk through their homes, touch their things and imagine what it felt like to be this person who had fallen victim to a homicide. In essence, Taylor, a third-generation law enforcement agent, wanted to walk in their shoes and examine what they normally had to deal with on a daily basis. She couldn’t accomplish that from a distance. And she had come to learn that sometimes the smallest of details was what eventually allowed her and her partner to find the killer and solve the crime. Just because her partner, Detective Aaron Briscoe, was on a temporary leave of absence, immersing himself in the head-spinning roller-coaster ride of first-time fatherhood, and the precinct was shorthanded, didn’t mean that she had to change her approach. She just had to go through the pace

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2 T aylor stood in the walk-in closet that was bigger than her own bedroom. Surveying its contents, she shook her head. How did one woman manage to accumulate so many clothes? Moreover, nearly half of them still had their tags on. Eileen hadn’t even gotten around to wearing them yet. Was there some inner compulsion that made her just buy things to have them, not necessarily to use them? “Who’s going to wear them now, Eileen?” Taylor asked softly, examining a designer original evening gown that sparkled even in the artificial overhead light. “What drove you, Eileen? What?” Taylor stopped talking and cocked her head, listening. Was that…? It was. The sound of t
he front door opening and then closing. Instantly alert, her journey in the other woman’s shoes immediately suspended, Taylor pulled out her weapon again. Had someone else come in? What was going on here, anyway? It felt as if she’d wandered into an open house instead of an official crime scene. Holding her breath, Taylor c

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3 L aredo had gotten to his position in life by reading people correctly. Innate instincts had trained him to be an excellent judge of character. Consequently, he knew when to push and when to step back. He also knew when a little extra persuasion might help him wear down barriers. He had a feeling that the sexy-looking blonde with the serious mouth did not respond favorably to being either opposed or coerced. Moving slightly forward in the chair so that his face was closer to hers, Laredo looked into the woman’s eyes. They were a shade lighter than his own. And very compelling. You could tell a lot about a person by the way they looked at you and her eyes never wavered, never looked away. “C’mon, Taylor,” he coaxed, “what’s the harm in sharing information?” She didn’t want him getting familiar with her. He wasn’t her friend, he was an annoying man and she was still debating having him arrested for tampering with evidence. “It’s Detective McIntyre,” she informed him stiffly, an

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4 H ours later, out in the field, Taylor could swear she could still feel the blush from that morning creeping up her neck. It lingered, breathing color along her cheeks as they traveled down in the elevator to the first floor. To his credit, Laredo had made no reference to being packed against her like an amorous sardine, but it was obvious that he was thinking about it. One look at the smile in his eyes told her that. Damn annoying man, Taylor thought now, not for the first time. If her stepfather and Frank hadn’t indirectly vouched for Laredo by the way they’d both greeted and interacted with the man, J. C. Laredo would have definitely been at the top of her list of suspects to investigate. She wasn’t sure if she would have bought into his story about investigating Eileen’s murder as a favor to his grandfather if it hadn’t been for them. Even so, she still might look into his background once she finished interviewing the people on the victim’s list of clients. She’d been doi

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5 S everal hours later, after questioning more of Eileen Stevens’s former clients and the people on the lower rung of her law firm, people who were more likely to pass on gossip, Taylor was no closer to solving the woman’s murder than she had been before. Nobody loved the woman, but everyone respected her and felt she was an excellent lawyer. As far as she could determine there were no grudges, outstanding or otherwise. Desperate for any kind of a decent lead, Taylor decided to return to the late lawyer’s building. But this time, she wasn’t going to wander around the tomblike apartment or talk to any of the woman’s overly busy neighbors. Taylor wanted to question the security guard who had been on duty the evening Eileen had been murdered. The young man, Nathan Miller, seemed surprised to see her again. She’d already questioned the guard once and he had sworn that Eileen Stevens hadn’t had any visitors. Anyone who didn’t live in The Villas had to sign in and indicate who he or

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6 T aylor, grudgingly accepting Laredo’s help, spent the better part of the afternoon interviewing everyone who was at the school when Terrance Crawford’s body had been discovered. The primary question was: How did they feel about the dead teacher? The words the interviewees used might have varied, but the essence of what they had to say was the same: Terrance Crawford was a wonderful teacher who was loved by everyone. Incredibly selfless, the science teacher slash coach gave of himself to the point of exhaustion. If there was an after-school program that needed someone to helm it, Crawford was the first—sometimes the only—one to volunteer his services. And if there was no funding available for the program, he found a way to run it for free. It quickly became apparent to Taylor that, in his own way, Crawford was as passionately devoted to his work as Eileen had been to hers. The difference being that there was no king’s ransom to be had in the teacher’s case. What Terrance Craw

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7 “S o what do you do when you’re not detecting, Detective McIntyre?” Laredo asked her as the waitress retreated with their orders. When he’d offered to buy her dinner, Taylor had expected Laredo to bring her to one of the dozens of fast-food places that littered Aurora, serving anything from hamburgers to pizza to Asian food, all of which could be consumed on the run. Instead, he’d brought her to Fiorello’s, a well-reviewed, four-star restaurant that specialized in Italian cuisine. She’d always been very partial to Italian food. Had this been just a lucky coincidence on his part, or had Laredo known about her preference? And if so, how? And why? Why was the private investigator trying to cull favor with her? What was he up to? “Your problem is that you overthink things,” Frank had told her more than once. But then, little brothers had a tendency to be critical. It was due to the very nature of their position within the hierarchy of the family. She supposed that maybe Frank had

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8 “S omething wrong, Johnny?” was the first thing Chester Laredo asked when he opened his front door that evening. As tall as his grandson and almost as muscular and trim, Chet Laredo had the same bright blue eyes and he sported an identical full head of hair, although his was a mixture of black and gray with just a little white weaving through. He stepped back now, allowing Laredo to enter, studying his grandson carefully. There was something different about him tonight, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. In his seventies, Chet had worked for all of his adult life, but he had never been one of those people, no matter where his work took him, who’d been too busy for his family. Johnny’s welfare always had top priority over everything else and he’d lived his life accordingly. The aroma of something tasty and familiar wafted from the kitchen. No matter where he traveled, this would always be home to him, Laredo thought fondly. More accurately, the man he’d stopped by to

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9 A fter stopping at the precinct in order to pick up the best photograph from the ones that had been taken of Terrance Crawford at the crime scene, Laredo and Taylor went to see the security guard at Eileen Stevens’s building. Taylor insisted on using separate cars. “I’m beginning to think you don’t like my company, Detective McIntyre,” Laredo observed when she told him she intended to go in her own car—and he was welcome to follow in his if he wanted. She smiled, but just barely. “I guess you really are astute, Laredo.” “And you, Detective McIntyre, are one tough lady.” He noticed that his observation pleased her. Pressing a button, Laredo released the security system in his vehicle. It beeped twice in response as all four locks popped open. “As long as you know,” Taylor replied, getting into her car. Even though he knew the way, Laredo opted to follow behind her. As it turned out, if he hadn’t, he would have missed her vehicle suddenly veering off the given course. He watche

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10 “W hat do you mean, not necessarily?” Taylor asked. Now that she’d agreed to let him hang around, she couldn’t help wondering if he was going to make her resort to dragging information out of him. She wasn’t in the mood for games. Laredo didn’t answer her. Instead, he strode back to the security guard at the front desk. A second before he reached the man, she realized what Laredo had to be thinking. Of course. “The logbook,” she said out loud. Laredo glanced at her over his shoulder and grinned. “Exactly.” “Nathan” had handled the logbook, at least once in her presence when he’d picked it up to supposedly look at the previous day’s sign-in sheet. That meant the man’s fingerprints had to be on the book. Along with who knew how many others, but at least it was a start. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to impound your logbook for a while,” she told the retired policeman just as Laredo reached him. Clearly on the same wavelength, Wilson nodded. “And you’re going to want the finge

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11 T aylor had trouble concentrating. Try as she might to
shut out all outside distractions, she couldn’t. Ordinarily, she was pretty good at tuning out everything else and focusing only on what demanded her attention front and center. But this time, her power of concentration had abandoned her. Most of the people in the squad room had gone home for the night, but Laredo, the source of her distraction, was still there, still sitting across from her. There was a decent separation between them, yet he felt closer than her own skin. At least, to her. And if that wasn’t enough, there were occasional, low-pitched sounds coming from what was really Aaron’s computer. What was that? Unable to stand it, Taylor pretended to go to the coffee machine just to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that was transpiring on the computer screen. Laredo was playing solitaire. A card game? “You can do that at home, you know,” Taylor informed him tersely, her supposed planned trip to the coffee machin

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12 T aylor realized she was a woman standing at the very edge of a narrow ledge. Moreover, she was about to go plummeting without the benefit of even a rubber band to anchor her in place. When Laredo’s lips touched hers, she instantly felt herself free-falling into the abyss, an almost giddy sensation filling every nook and tiny crevice within her. The emptiness Taylor carried within her instantly vanished. The kiss between them blossomed, drawing in all her senses. She could taste him, feel him, breathe in the particular scent of him. She was vaguely aware of the shampoo he used for his hair, his aftershave and soap. The subtle mix made her head spin—or was that the effect of the kiss that was ever deepening? Or was it because of the man who was holding her to him as if there were no barriers between them? All she knew was that they were already mingling, already becoming one even though they hadn’t even gone beyond the kitchen, hadn’t gone beyond the press of lips to lips. It

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13 L aredo considered himself a light sleeper, rendered that way both by nature and out of necessity because of the demands of his vocation. He would have thought, then, that the slightest shift of weight on the surface of the mattress, especially if someone was slipping away, would have woken him up. But when he did open his eyes to greet the dawn, he found himself alone in the bed. Taylor was gone. From the bed and, apparently, from the room. Surprised and a little uncertain—just because he’d made love with the woman a record number of three times, as he recalled—didn’t mean that she was now an open book to him. With Taylor, he was still feeling his way around. Right now, he wouldn’t have put it past the crafty Detective McIntyre to try to get a jump ahead of him on this case by sneaking out and leaving him here, asleep at the wheel. Laredo shook his head. He liked his women simpler, he thought as he hurried into the clothes that, unaccountably, were now sitting on a chair in