“I can’t believe I went out on a date with him. Do you really think he did it? Killed all those women?”
“Honestly, he’s an asshole. There’s no question about that. I don’t think he’s a killer. He’s smarter than that, to kill his own secretary. I still have to follow all leads and clear him, though. I don’t want you near him.”
She shivered. “I don’t want him near me.”
“Call me right away if he calls you or comes to your work. Call me for anything. Okay?” He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into his embrace. “I’m going to worry about you all day.”
“I’ll be fine at work. Trust me. One word to Dee and I’ll be safe.”
He chuckled and let her go so he could finish buttoning his pants. “For once, I don’t mind Dee’s in-your-face attitude. She’s pretty great. She’s a great friend.”
“She is. Zoe promised her a sexy detective of her own. Can you think of someone good for her?”
He stopped buckling his belt, a smile beaming from cheek to cheek. “A sexy detective of her own? Like you have?”
“Yes. Like I have.”
“I’ll have to think about it.”
“Zoe liked Newman for her, but he’s dating someone now. Sauer seems like a nice guy.”
Ben grinned and shook his head slowly. “Sauer is, but he’s also really shy when it comes to women. She needs someone who can dish right back. It’s not going to be easy for the man who decides to date her. I don’t mean that in a mean way either.”
Rina lightly laughed. “I know what you’re saying.”
She walked to the closet in her underwear, flipping through her clothes to find another outfit.
“You better dress fast before I throw you back onto the bed.”
Strapping on his holster, he caught her sultry glance as she said, “Or you could leave the room while I change.”
“I like watching you get dressed.”
“Yes, but it leads to trouble.” She eyed the bed, then looked at him. “Remember, we don’t want to be even more late.”
“Very true. It’s going to be a long day without seeing you.”
“Are you sure you’ll be finished by the time I get off work?”
“Yes.” His voice was firm. “Do not leave without me. We’ll come home together. And maybe pack some of your things. I’d like it better if you came home with me.”
She almost dropped the shirt she grabbed from the closet. “You don’t want to stay here?”
“I have a security system. I’d feel better in my house.”
She slid an arm into a sleeve, shaking her head in agreement. “That makes sense. How long do you think it’ll take to find this killer? How long do you want me to stay?”
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take. But I want you to stay forever.”
She slowly looked at him, her hands stalling on a button. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Yes.”
“Ben, I…we haven’t been dating that long. We…I don’t know if we should do that. I think…”
He grabbed her hands. “You think what?”
“Last time you didn’t let me finish telling you what I think,” she said with a coy smile.
“I will this time.”
“Okay.” She tried to pull her hands away, but he refused to budge with his grip. “I think we should focus on this case. I can stay with you while that happens. After that…I can’t say.”
He squeezed her hands tighter, then wove his fingers through hers. “You know how I hate it when you say can’t. You said we haven’t been dating long. That’s true. But we’ve known each other for a year. If I would’ve asked you out right away in the beginning instead of acting like an idiot, we’d already be in a relationship for months.”
“Provided I didn’t say no.”
“Or can’t.” He pulled her closer, kissing her lips. “I think if I would’ve asked you out earlier, you would’ve resisted like you originally did. I also think we still would’ve ended up together because you love me. I love you. It’s that simple. Considering we technically would’ve been in a relationship for months, the next logical step in any relationship is moving in together. So, let’s pretend I asked you out forever ago and take that next logical step.”
“You make it sound simple.”
“It is simple, Rina. Really, really simple. All you have to do is say yes.”
“I ca—”
He cut her words off with a searing kiss. “Don’t say that word. You can say whatever you want. But don’t you dare say can’t.”
“I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad. I just hate hearing that word from you.” He let her hands go and turned her around to the closet. “Finish getting dressed. I didn’t mean to bring that up right now. I don’t know why I did. Don’t worry about it.”
“Ben?”
Halfway across the room, he took his time to look at her. Hiding his anger was easy, but the pain. That was impossible. “Yeah.”
“I’ll think about it. I won’t dismiss the idea. You just threw me for a loop when you said that. I like when you spend the night. I’m sure I would also enjoy living with you. It’s just a lot so soon. And we still haven’t spoken to my father together.”
“I like that answer better than can’t. I’m ready to talk to your father whenever you are. Hell, tonight after work sounds great.”
“It didn’t sound great coming out of your mouth.”
“I hate to say it, Rina, but I will. I just want to get it over with. I want to work things out with him. I don’t have high hopes I can. I imagine, neither do you. Wouldn’t it be better if we try sooner rather than later?”
She frowned, her eyes dripping with sadness. “No, I don’t have high hopes. But you’re right. I’ll call him. I’ll see if we can have dinner together.”
“Good. I’ll wait for you in the living room.”
***
The tapping of the pen grated on his nerves. Ben took the pencil he was using and whipped it across the desk.
Zeke chuckled, picking up the pencil.”Yeah, you’re in a mood alright. You were late today. You have a glow about you. Late plus glow equals sex. Yet, there’s this underlying moodiness. That’s what I can’t figure out. What happened?”
“Shut up, Zeke.” Ben picked up a piece of paper, crumbled it, and threw it at him. “Stop tapping your damn pen.”
“Definite moodiness. I think if the captain was going to suspend you, he already would’ve. He hasn’t called you into his office yet. Is that what has you so uptight? Morning sex before work, which also makes you late, should lift your spirits. Not bring you down.”
Despite himself, Ben laughed. “It did lift my spirits. Shut up about the sex already.” He sighed, rubbing his chin. “We’re having dinner with Rina’s father tonight. We didn’t exactly argue, but it sort of felt like we argued. If there’s one person I don’t want to argue with, it’s Rina.”
“Okay, that explains things better. Rina did seem distracted this morning. She’s probably nervous as hell. You need to be the strong one. Don’t lose your cool with him.”
“I won’t. Trust me.” Ben shrugged when Zeke gave him an incredulous look like he didn’t believe him. “Okay, I’ll try really, really hard not to lose my cool. For Rina’s sake. Trust me.”
“That sounds a little more believable. So this…” Zeke said, pointing to the papers strewn across their desks. “This is a lot of shit to sort through. We also need to dig into Carol’s life some more. Like, visit her office and interview some of her co-workers. Did you ask Rina about any medical issues? And, if the answer is yes, she has issues, are you going to tell me what they are?”
“I asked. No issues, so we have nothing to investigate with her on that angle. Thank goodness. I’m not sure I could’ve handled it if she had medical problems. I have enough to worry about already.” Ben shifted in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “So you’re right. We have a ton
to do today. Maybe we should split up. These credit card records from the boutique could take forever. I’ll sift through that and you can visit her office.”
“I think—”
“Stoyer, my office. Now!” Captain Ganderson said, stopping the rest of Zeke’s words. He didn’t look happy.
“I think I’ll wait for you to come back before I leave. Good luck,” Zeke whispered as Ben stood up from his desk.
“Chance, you, too.” Captain Ganderson added before walking back inside his office.
“Well, shit, I didn’t expect that,” Zeke said, following Ben to the captain’s office.
“I hope my bad luck isn’t rubbing off on you, man.”
Zeke laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle it.”
They walked into the captain’s office with Zeke shutting the door. He obviously didn’t need to be told the captain normally liked the door closed. They both took a seat in front of the desk and waited patiently while the captain folded his hands on his stomach and leaned back in his chair.
“I thought I told you to solve this little predicament you landed yourself into. Try to make peace, I believe that is what I said, Stoyer,” Captain Ganderson finally said, sitting up a little.
“I’m trying, Captain. I’m also trying to do my job. Catch a killer.” Fidgeting would be bad. Fidgeting would show how everything was affecting him. But the look of disappointment on the captain’s face made him want to fidget like a hive of bees were chasing him.
“I received another call from the chief. He wasn’t happy.” Captain Ganderson stopped speaking when Ben stood up, placing his hand on his weapon. “What are you doing, Stoyer?”
“You’re about to suspend me, or hell, maybe even fire me. I’m saving you time by getting it over with quickly. But, please, Captain, please don’t do anything to Zeke. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“I told you I could handle myself, Ben. If the captain’s suspending you, then he might as well suspend me. This is bullshit! Ben hasn’t done anything wrong, and you damn well know it, Cap,” Zeke said, standing up as well.
“Both of you. Take your hands off your weapons and have a seat. Now.” Captain Ganderson sighed heavily and waited patiently while they sat back down with hesitation.
“As I was saying, the chief wasn’t happy. He did not appreciate, as he put it, harassment towards Anthony Tollhorn, or the rude behavior displayed.”
“I’ll admit I called him a jackass, sir. He is one. But I won’t apologize for doing my job,” Ben said, clenching his fists. Keep the cool. That’s all he needed to do. It wasn’t working very well.
“Stoyer, stop interrupting me.”
“Sorry, Cap.”
“I kindly explained to the chief that when a third victim pops up and she happens to work for the same man, that I don’t consider that harassment. I consider that my detectives doing their job. Did you get in his face to crack some information? Well, that’s what my two best detectives do sometimes. They get into a suspect’s face and demand the truth. And yes, I called Anthony Tollhorn a suspect to the chief.”
Captain Ganderson rested his elbows on the desk as he leaned closer. “I also told the chief that if he felt it was absolutely pertinent that I suspend one of my best detectives for doing his job, then he could suspend me as well because I am doing no such thing.”
Ben let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Thank you, Captain.”
“No, thank you, Stoyer. If you hadn’t called me last night with an update on the case and these possible ramifications to occur, well, then I wouldn’t have had the proper information to fight back with. He backed off. He didn’t realize all of that when he called me. I was even so bold enough to say that maybe he should stop calling me with nonsense if he doesn’t have all the facts. I did point out he is the chief of police. He should know better. That probably put me in the hot seat, but frankly, I’m done with this bullshit. You’re right, Chance. It’s bullshit.”
Zeke smiled. Ben wished he could summon up a smile. Hell, even a small grin would do.
“Do you two know what I want now? I want you to solve these murders. I really want this problem of yours to go away as well, Stoyer. Do I need to do something to help you out with this?”
Ben shook his head. “No, Cap. I’m having dinner tonight with Rina’s father. I hope to solve this problem tonight.”
“You don’t sound very positive about it.” Captain Ganderson leaned back in his chair. “Let’s move these cases along, please. Do you two need help?”
“Help? As in FBI help, Cap,” Zeke asked a little shocked, sitting straighter in his chair.
“Calm down, Chance. No, not that kind. But if the number of murdered women keeps rising, we might not have a choice in the matter. I meant, here, like Newman and Sauer. They obviously have a caseload like you two, but nothing like this.”
“Yeah, we could probably use their help today. Those credit card records are long. With a new victim, we need the help. What do you think, partner?” Zeke looked at Ben.
“I think I get Sauer, you get Newman.”
Captain Ganderson laughed. “Go back to work. Solve these murders. Quit making me holler at the chief of police. Tell Newman and Sauer what they’re doing today. If they have a problem, send them my way.”
Zeke nodded and stood up, walking to the door. Ben stood up more slowly, waiting to speak until Zeke left. “Thank you, Captain. I wouldn’t want Zeke, or even you, to lose your job because of me. I appreciate the support.”
“You’re a damn fine detective. Why wouldn’t I support you? I have no trouble talking to this Chastain guy myself.”
“Thanks, Cap, but I got it. Dinner tonight, remember?”
“Yeah, I also remember you didn’t sound so positive about it. Just like now.”
“True. But for love, you do crazy things. Like be nice to a man who doesn’t deserve it.”
Ben excused himself and met Zeke by their desks. They decided Ben would stay back with Sauer while Zeke and Newman headed to Carol’s office. Ben didn’t mind staying back either. He didn’t need another opportunity to call Anthony a jackass. Because he probably would’ve.
He and Sauer grabbed all the reports and papers scattered on their desks to a conference room and set up shop for the day. They took their time scrolling through the names on the list to try and match any names involved with Beth, Ashley, Carol, and unfortunately, Rina. He hated that he had to include her in the list.
The list was long. A lot of people liked to shop at Little Red Boutiques. They had gotten a list of every credit card receipt. It was impossible to know which receipts held scarves purchased without going through each receipt itself. By the end of the day, Ben’s eyes were hurting from scanning paper after paper. Relief finally came when Zeke and Newman walked into the room. Until he realized what he had to look forward to when he left work.
Dinner.
With Rina’s father.
“You two looked wiped. You didn’t even leave the office.” Newman laughed.
“You try looking at receipts all day, name after name after name. Pretty soon they all start to blend together,” Sauer said, stretching his arms in the air.
“Did you find anything?” Zeke asked with a hopeful smile.
“Negative. We got pretty far, though. You went six months back, thank you, by the way,” Ben said sarcastically, as Zeke shrugged with a big smile. “With two people, we made great progress. On the downside, we didn’t find any names that popped out at us. Carol shopped there. She never purchased a scarf based on the receipts. Beth and Ashley never shopped there before. None of their friends and family purchased any scarves from there, as far as we can tell. Same goes for Carol’s family and friends, besides herself, like I said. Although, we do need a complete list of Carol’s friends besides what we have.”
Ben rubbed a hand over his face. “I called Rina. She’s never shopped there before. Maybe we missed something. How about you two? Bet
ter luck, I hope.”
“I think so.” Zeke looked at Newman, who shook his head in agreement and grinned.
“Share it with the class, teacher,” Ben said.
Zeke chuckled. “Is it because you’ve been confined to a room all day, or is it the looming dinner that has you cranky? Has he been cranky all day, Sauer? I’m sorry for leaving him in your care. I thought he’d behave better.”
Newman and Sauer laughed while Ben glared. “Are you done? I’ve been absolutely wonderful to work with. Haven’t I, Sauer?”
“Yeah, he’s been fine,” Sauer agreed.
“Must be the looming dinner then.” Zeke decided to stop messing around when Ben’s hard stare didn’t waver. “So, we interviewed her co-workers. They all had nice things to say about her. Sweet girl, friendly, always had nice things to say about people. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Same as our other two victims. Apparently, Anthony and her were really good at hiding their affair. No one had any idea about it until we spilled the beans. Needless to say, Anthony wasn’t too happy about that.”
“Wasn’t happy is an understatement,” Newman said. “He made quite a few threats about having our badges for the lack of proper decorum while doing our jobs. His words, not mine.”
“The captain has our back,” Ben said.
“I already told Newman that. Her medical bills, which I scanned before we left, were her mother’s. She had stage four breast cancer. She also didn’t have the best of insurance. Carol did what she could to help her mother. She brought her to appointments, helped pay the medical bills her mother couldn’t. It was rough, according to her one co-worker, who said she helped Carol on occasion when she needed time off from work.”
“When did she die?” Ben asked.
“About two weeks ago,” Newman answered.
“Why wouldn’t Anthony tell us this?” Ben wondered.
“Because he’s a jackass. And when I asked, he said her mother wasn’t any of our business.” Zeke tilted his head at Ben as he grinned. “I called him a jackass for you. Once. I felt better.”
One Taste of Love (A One Taste Novel Book 2) Page 18
