[Harbinger 01.0] Plain Jane

by Carolyn McCray

  “Thanks.”

  Nicole turned to leave, but thought better of it. To have any hope of keeping tabs on Kent, she’d need some leverage. She turned back to Sebastian. “Let me have the book.”

  “Whoa, woman, you may have a badge, but there’s a limit.”

  Pulling back her jacket, Nicole showed off her gun.

  “Okay, okay. Don’t go all Nazi Maus on me.”

  “Just hand it over and put it on his account.”

  More carefully than grocery store clerks handled tomatoes, Sebastian put the acid-free, cardboard-wrapped, and plastic-sealed comic in yet another bag. “Here you go, but don’t open the bag, or touch it, or breathe on it, or he’ll kill me, okay?”

  Nicole smiled. She already had her plan. A little lie to Sebastian would not hurt anything. “Promise.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Kent leaned forward as he watched the pictures speed by, his right knee strategically placed, just barely touching Dolores’s stockinged leg. He had to keep her too preoccupied to ask many questions.

  Dolores stopped on Nicole’s photo. “How about her?”

  “Nope.”

  “But she fits all of your… I mean your captain’s criteria.”

  He grinned. “Trust me, she’s not a hundred and four pounds.”

  Used to his idiosyncrasies, Dolores continued, but almost immediately, Kent found another possible victim.

  “Her. Check her out.”

  Dolores complied immediately and began accessing county records as a voice startled them both. “Well, well, you couldn’t hide forever.”

  Kent knew that voice. Nicole.

  The DMV worker looked up and recognized the detective from the photo. “Wow, now they’re coming to you.”

  Kent winked. “Told you I didn’t need a computer’s help.”

  Nicole wasn’t amused. “Can we talk? Privately?”

  Rising, Kent urged Dolores to continue. The detective walked past several cubicles before she found an empty one. Luckily the walls were low enough that Kent could watch Dolores’s search while Nicole read him the riot act.

  “This isn’t legal.”

  “That’s pretty much my calling card.”

  “Damn it! We don’t want to just catch this pervert, we want to convict him as well.”

  The profiler shrugged. “That’s your problem.”

  Several cubicles away, Dolores stopped on a plain brunette and turned back to look at Kent. He gave a thumbs-up. But the next screen showed that the brunette had four children. Definitely not Plain Jane’s type. He needed a womb that had an abortion but no live births. Kent nodded for Dolores to continue. A signal that was not missed by Nicole.

  “Just give me an hour, and I’ll get you a warrant for—”

  “Stop!” he shouted.

  CHAPTER 35

  Nicole took an unconscious step back. Kent had many affectations, but randomly yelling at her was not one of them. Even though they were in the back of the office, heads still turned at the outburst.

  “That one!” Harbinger yelled as he rushed to Dolores.

  Relieved that Kent had not completely lost his mind, Nicole followed as he studied the newest brunette’s picture as if he was certifying the Mona Lisa for the Louvre. And she could see why. This woman could not be more Plain Jane if she tried. The straight brown hair. The lack of makeup.

  The profiler was so engrossed in the woman that he reached out and stroked her screen. “There’s my girl.”

  The DMV worker raised an eyebrow but searched the county records.

  “Hold on, let me get a warrant first.”

  But she had already hit the key. “No live births.”

  “I could have told you that,” Kent said. His voice a mile away.

  “Yes, but that search may have—”

  In typical fashion, Kent abruptly rose.

  “Where you going, darlin’?” the worker asked.

  “To find her.”

  The profiler was in target acquisition mode. Nicole had seen it dozens of times before, but the DMV worker hadn’t. “Don’t you want me to print up her details? Name? Address?”

  “No need.” Kent tapped his temple. “I’ve got them archived.”

  Kent strode off as the woman shook her head. “Damn, but that boy is weird.” With a slight leer at his ass. “And hot.”

  “Fax all the others he picked out to Detective Torres.”

  “Torres?”

  Nicole did not have time for one of Kent’s groupies. “Yes. T. O.—”

  “Honey, I know how to spell it.” The woman still seemed confused. “But he just said he did not need them.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Detective Torres?” The DMV worker looked down the empty corridor. “He just walked out of here, darling.”

  “That wasn’t Ruben.”

  “Sure it was, sweetie. He showed me his badge and everything.”

  Kent must have pilfered Ruben’s badge. The profiler knew no limits. Nicole handed the woman her business card. “Just fax those other records to that number, okay?”

  “You got it, sugar plum.” Dolores looked at Nicole. “You better hurry, or he’s going to give you the slip again.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Confident he had the information he needed, Kent closed his new cell phone and was about to make his getaway, in Nicole’s car of course, but the detective burst from the exit and rushed alongside the moving car.

  “Oh no, you don’t.”

  Kent slowed, but did not stop, forcing Nicole to trot alongside. “I promise to have the car back before its curfew.”

  “Glick says I’m to stay on you 24/7.”

  “As kinky as that sounds…” He sped up the car, but Nicole just would not give up.

  “Don’t make me stop this car.”

  Chuckling, Kent shook his head at the silly detective who thought she could bully him into compliance. He stepped on the gas and glanced into the rear-view mirror, mainly to enjoy the look of defeat on Nicole’s face, only to find her standing there, looking pretty darned confident. Then with deliberate care, she pulled out a comic book from her briefcase.

  It might have been over a hundred feet away, but Kent could spot a number-one-issue Archie comic. His foot hovered over the brake. What was she playing at? Then to his horror, Nicole peeled off the seal and began to pull the comic from its protective cover. Did the woman not understand what even the slightest exposure to humidity could do to those fragile pages?

  Slamming on the brakes, Kent put the car in reverse, halting, level with Nicole. “You wouldn’t.”

  She was playing. “Watch me.”

  “I’ll just buy another one.”

  “No, you won’t.” Nicole smiled a smile that was very reminiscent of his own roguish grin. “Because you can’t. You’ve been looking for this for over five years. Maybe more.”

  Damn, but she had him by the balls. That was not just a comic in her hands. It was a national treasure. More for the country than himself, Kent opened up the passenger door. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “About?” Nicole asked as she slid into the car.

  “Blackmail.” Kent started the car. “You’ve taken your first step down that slippery slope.”

  “I’ll take my chances. Where are we going?”

  “You’re in the car.” Kent eyed his comic to make sure she had properly resealed the package. “Don’t expect cooperation, too.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Ruben tapped the pages of the report on the edge of his desk to straighten them before he put them away.

  “Don’t tell me,” Glick stated. “Harbinger was right?”

  Torres did not even try to hide his sigh. “We’re still waiting on the last two Vics’ history, but yeah, Kent does have as much gray matter as he claims.” Ruben hurried on before the captain could ask the next obvious question. “I’ve already cross-referenced all the victims’ abortion providers, doctors, nurses, janitors, and hell, even the
ir accountants.”

  “And no one in common?”

  “Not a single telephone operator.” Again Ruben’s anger rose and made his teeth grind. The profiler had stumbled onto a hot lead, but now it was up to Ruben to follow it up.

  It pissed him off to no end that he had run into dead end after dead end. “And I’m telling you. It’s like pulling teeth from some of these families to get confirmation of the victims’ abortions. We’re tracking down college roommates to confirm the last two.”

  He handed over the folder, and Glick rapidly flipped through the neatly typed pages as Ruben continued. “Which begs the question, how in the hell did the killer find out that all these women had abortions?”

  The captain shrugged. “Guess that’s another one for our resident savant to figure out.”

  Always, everyone counting on Kent. Even the damn captain. Ruben turned to walk away, but Glick’s voice brought him back.

  “You know, just because Harbinger is the Nobel Laureate of wackos doesn’t mean that he doesn’t still need us.” Glick looked over his reading glasses to Ruben. “Doesn’t need you backing him up.”

  A tight smile crossed Ruben’s lips. “Thanks Captain, but we both know that isn’t true.”

  Even Glick had to nod. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

  CHAPTER 38

  Sitting in the passenger seat, especially in her own car, felt strange to Nicole. How long had it been since she let someone else drive? When she and Ruben went anywhere they either drove separately, or she would drive. She didn’t like feeling out of control.

  Even now Nicole struggled to figure out what the hell Kent was doing as they pulled into the shopping mall’s parking lot. She didn’t want to ask. She wanted to figure it out on her own, but could not. “So, we’re going to do a little shopping before we track her down?”

  “Watch and learn.”

  They pulled to a stop, then Kent removed his safety belt and slouched down into the seat, getting comfortable.

  Nicole reviewed the file that Ruben had faxed over based on Kent’s lead. “This target, this woman…this Rebecca is a meter maid.”

  “I believe they prefer to be called parking regulation enforcers.” Kent glanced at her. “You little sexist.”

  The profiler’s mood had changed from night to day, literally. The night before, Kent had been sullen, angry. Even just a few hours ago he was snide and defensive. Now he was on a high. Harbinger had the scent. He was a hound on a fox, baying for the joy of it.

  Nicole scanned the parking lot. “Whichever, there aren’t any parking meters for miles.”

  Kent pulled the lever and brought his seat back to an even more comfortable position, ignoring her completely.

  “Why would she be here?” she asked.

  “Even ‘meter maids’ have to eat,” Kent said as he settled in and closed his eyes.

  The detective looked into the glass-encased food court. Hundreds of people streamed in and out, but no sign of a meter maid. “Kent, there’s got to be seven hundred places to eat within her grid. Why would she—”

  A meter maid’s cart driving past them stopped the detective in her tracks. Nicole hated it when Kent was so right that it made your head throb. “How in the hell did you know?”

  “I told you. Watch and learn.”

  Nicole watched, but Kent just lay there. Eyes shut, his breaths slow and regular. “You’re telling me you are just going to lie there?”

  Kent put his iPod earbuds in.

  The only thing Nicole could do was open the glove box to whip out a few items she kept handy for a stakeout. Getting out the binoculars, Nicole watched Rebecca head toward the Japanese booth.

  Knowing they weren’t likely to get a lunch themselves, Nicole took out a couple of boxed juices and a large bag of Cheez-Its. It was not exactly the breakfast of champions, but on a stakeout they would make do.

  Opening the bag, she offered Kent some, but his eyes were still closed and his head swayed slightly to the music. She could not help but grin. How many times had she seen him like this? Music was his retreat from boredom. If Kent even thought there was a whiff of tedium in his future, he would pop in the earphones and rock out until the world became more interesting.

  The only problem was, the profiler also had a habit of losing the devices. At first it was Walkmans, then MP3 players. They had started buying them by the dozen.

  Nicole’s eyes wandered down the earbud’s wire. It looked like he had upgraded to an iPod. A fairly expensive item to replace every other week. And it looked like Kent had even decorated this one. She tilted her head to read the sticker. “Morgue Attendants Get Stiffs All the Time.”

  Jerking the buds from his ears, Nicole punched Kent in the shoulder. “That’s Joshua’s!”

  “And even for me, there’s some pretty weird shit—”

  “I can’t believe you stole it!”

  “Especially track four. Ritualistic killings and—”

  Nicole wrapped the ear buds around the iPod. “It’s not Joshua I’m worried about.”

  Despite her anger, Kent looked at the Cheez-Its in her lap. “So is that how you snagged your goateed gaucho? With pre-packaged snack food?”

  “Damn it, Kent!”

  “Sorry. I’m not as susceptible to your charms, woman.”

  After years of therapy, Nicole knew that his joking was a defense mechanism to disassociate him from feelings he did not want to experience, but at the moment she didn’t care.

  “Kent, this isn’t funny. You have a problem.”

  “Yes I do. Two, in fact. You ripped my earbuds out and you are holding my comic book hostage.”

  Before responding, Nicole tried to reel in her temper. Yelling at him had never been successful. Actually, nothing had been successful with Kent, but she’d try one more time.

  “I can’t keep lying to Captain Glick, telling him that these missing items—”

  “Sure, you can.”

  Nicole tried to rebuke his statement, but Kent talked right over her.

  “Because that’s who you are.” Harbinger met her eyes. His gaze was not necessarily harsh. “You’re an enabler, Nic.” The profiler’s tone turned playful, and his eyes lit up. “Perhaps you should seek professional help.”

  Nicole lashed out. “You know, Ruben was wrong about you.”

  “Of course he was.”

  Trying to find some way to keep from exploding, Nicole picked up the binoculars. “You really haven’t changed at all.” She stared out the lens, not daring to meet Kent’s gaze. “You’re the same selfish bastard you always were.”

  CHAPTER 39

  Kent couldn’t argue with that statement even if he wanted to. If anything he had become an even more selfish bastard in the two years they had been apart. What had caring about anyone else’s feelings ever gotten him? Stuck in a psych ward, that’s what.

  He could blame her for that and so much more, but he never did. There had not been a single second in those padded rooms when he cursed her name. As a matter of fact, the only time he spoke her name was when he cried it out in the middle of a dream.

  No, he was not going to think about what once was or what could be. Kent was not going to go there. But damn it, how could he not think about her, when she was so close that he could smell her mouthwash?

  He watched Nicole watch Rebecca. She was trying so hard to stay mad at him, but he could tell in the corner of her eye that there was the slightest hint of a crinkle. She knew he was watching her. She not only knew it, but she liked it. They might have patched things up if the cell phone had not rung to the theme of Bonanza, no less.

  Nicole answered it before he could snatch it, obviously knowing that the device was not his.

  “Ya. Um, Dolores, it looks like I picked up your phone by mistake.”

  Ever so carefully, Kent opened his car door while Nicole was distracted. He really didn’t need to hang around for this bitching out.

  Nicole’s voice drifted out of the car as he hurried acro
ss the parking lot. “I’ll swing by later and drop it off.”

  He had almost made his escape, but he heard the passenger door slam shut and the sound of Nicole’s heels as she raced to catch up. Kent pushed through the door of the food court, hoping that the crowd would tone down his lashing.

  Almost to the Mexican food restaurant, Nicole caught up with him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Ordering a chimichanga, but the ‘wet’ burrito, now that sounds interesting.”

  Nicole growled, “We’re supposed to be surveilling.”

  “Even profilers get hungry.” Kent waited until the vein on her temple throbbed. “You’re going to draw suspicion if you don’t order.”

  Nicole was livid, but she followed his gaze and noticed several people looking in their direction. “Fine.” She turned to the guy behind the counter. “Two steak tacos and an order of guacamole with sour cream on the side.”

  Kent smiled. “You’re never going to get down to a hundred and four pounds that way.”

  CHAPTER 40

  Nicole stared as if he was a stranger. “Excuse me?”

  He smirked. “Nothing.”

  The more Kent ramped up the intelligence scale, the more indecipherable he became. She was about to press him, but their order was ready at the other end of the counter. Nicole grabbed her tray. “Now what?”

  Again the smirk. “We eat?”

  Not only did the profiler become obtuse when he was on a hyper-intelligent kick, but he was pretty damned pleased with himself as well. But that was the Kent package. If you wanted his awesome intellect, you better be willing to suffer the inflated attitude that went with it.

  By the time Nicole looked up to see where Kent wanted to sit, he was gone. She spun around to find him walking in exactly the opposite direction of Rebecca. For the third time, Nicole had to trot to catch up to the profiler.

  “You are heading the wrong way.”

  “Watch and learn.”

  Well, Nicole watched as Kent took them nearly all the way on the other side of the food court from Rebecca.

  Nicole couldn’t hold her tongue. “But our mark is way over there.”