It was an interesting set up. Dance floor in the center of the room with tables lined in circles ever expanding around it. Two sets of spiral staircases on opposite sides of the room led to a balcony where more tables and seating areas crowded the room. From the railings hung lines of red lights that flashed in time with the music. They reflected on the fog on the dance floor to make it red. A chandelier of red and white lights hung over the dance floor and looked as if it had cost a pretty penny.
“Lieutenant Storm?”
Swiveling in her chair, she momentarily went gaga over the stunning blond Adonis before her in what looked like a designer suit perfectly fitted to his tall, thin form. She hoped to God she wasn’t drooling.
“Would you be Zachary Adams?”
His smile was blinding and made her heart thump a little harder beneath her chest.
“One and the same.” He held his hand out to her. “How may I be of service to you today, Lieutenant?”
Not only gorgeous but polite as well. She took his hand, not at all surprised by the softness of it. He didn’t strike her as a man who used his hands to work. “Is there somewhere we could talk that’s not quite as noisy?”
“Certainly. My office is right this way.” He held a long arm out to his left.
Slipping from the stool, Sienna followed him and noticed along with the gorgeousness came an intoxicating scent. The guy was a charmer and she reminded herself she was on duty. He led her through the bar to the back and along a short hallway before coming to a stop.
“Here we are.”
He stepped back, holding the door open to allow her in. She clamped her mouth shut, just to make sure she wouldn’t drool as she passed by him as she entered his office. The instant the door closed, the loud pumping music was shut out. Looking around, Sienna noticed it was more than just an office. It looked as if the guy lived here. Along with a huge and what looked like a very expensive oak desk was a mini bar, a sofa in cream leather and a TV that filled an entire wall of approximately six feet by eight feet.
Holy shit!
“Can I offer you a beverage of the non-alcoholic type, Lieutenant?”
“I’m fine, thank you. Nice office.” Trying for nonchalant, Sienna sat in the soft leather chair by his desk and hoped she wasn’t showing how in awe she was of the space.
“Thank you. I designed it myself. Now,” he began as he sat in a tall, cream leather chair behind the desk. “How may I help you?”
“I’m investigating Jacob’s Cove’s first serial murder case. You might have heard about it in the news.”
“Yes, indeed. How awful.” He clicked his tongue while giving his head a short shake.
“Yeah, and then some.” What did she expect from a demon? “I was wondering if you might know of anyone who could be capable of such a heinous act?”
He leaned back in the chair, folding his long elegant fingers together on his lap.
“Of course you would come to the local demon bar to ask that. I understand that but, I assure you, I would not condone such an act in my club.”
He owned a demon bar and she was supposed to believe he didn’t condone demons and vampires taking humans for their own gain. Right. But she played nice.
“Okay, so not in your club but maybe you’ve heard something. Maybe someone’s been talking while they sip a nice cold one?” It was common that murderers liked to brag.
“Nothing that I’ve been privy to, but you’re welcome to ask my waitresses and the bartender, after hours,” he concluded. “Having a cop poke around in my bar makes for nervous patrons. I can give you a list of all the employees in my bar and their addresses.”
She could understand his apprehension at having her around. Still…she might see something or hear something while investigating. “That’ll do just fine.” For now, she supposed. Nothing wrong with coming in after hours to peruse the place.
“Is there an email address I could send it to?”
Slipping a business card from her ID folder, she slid it across the desk to Zachary. “The sooner the better, if you could.”
“Of course.” He stood and she understood it as a dismissal. “What race of demon are you, Lieutenant?”
She cocked her head to the side. “How do you know I’m a demon?”
“I make it my job to know everything there is about the people who enter my club.”
Of course he would. “Tejakkan.”
“Ah…a time-shifter. I can see why you would be an asset to the department. I’ll have the information to you by the end of the day.”
She left his office and decided it might be a good idea to keep an eye on Zachary Adams and his club.
***
It was a nice evening, Nathan decided as he sat on the steps to the lieutenant’s apartment building, cracking sunflower seeds while he waited for her return. There was a light breeze in the air, enough to chase away the warm air that had filled most of the day. He supposed it might be one of the last warm days left as fall began to make its way. Despite being late August, it still didn’t explain the dead trees, grass, and lack of foliage in the city.
When the beat-up police cruiser pulled into the parking lot beside the building, Nathan checked his watch and noticed it was well past ten in the evening. He’d popped into the cop shop periodically throughout the day but every time he’d been told the lieutenant was out on her investigation. Finally he had caught the lieutenant.
As she strolled toward him, he admired the way she walked. Head held high, eyes straight forward, shoulders squared. Those black leather pants of hers formed a second skin over her long, lean legs. The short leather jacket she wore opened in the front, revealing a white t-shirt beneath it. And just a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage. Her blond hair was a short shag of mixed layers that seemed to suit her perfectly.
She really was a hot number.
“You are the hardest person to get a hold of, Lieutenant,” he remarked, getting to his feet.
When those eyes focused on him he saw recognition, then something that looked like weariness. “Detective—”
“Powers,” he supplied, holding his hand out to her.
“I remembered your name, Detective. I heard you’ve been in looking for me. It’s been a crazy day. I usually prefer to do my business in my office and not in my home.” She climbed the steps, then stopped and turned to him. “How did you find me, anyway?”
“The receptionist gave your address to me. I think that woman needs a vacation.” She definitely seemed stressed.
“I’ll make note of it and be sure to remind her not to give out my home address. If you want to talk to me, I’ll be in the office tomorrow morning at eight. That would be the best time.” She continued up the steps.
He tossed his handful of seeds aside into the dead flower bed beside the stairs, and followed her. “Now seems just as convenient.”
She continued up the steps to the front door without sparing him a glance. “Tomorrow would be better.”
He stepped up in front of her. “Look, all I want is access to your reports on the Heartless Killer, then I’ll be out of your hair.”
She came to a stop, eyebrows raised. “The Heartless Killer?”
Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue lined by long lashes. Nathan couldn’t get over how smooth her face was. There wasn’t a flaw to be seen. And she had the cutest nose he’d ever seen curving up just a little at the end. Her mouth wasn’t half bad either and though he had yet to see her smile, he would bet his car it was a killer. “The media labeled him, not me.”
She shrugged. “Leave it to the media. I thought you were here on vacation, Detective.”
The sarcasm in her voice was thick.
“I lied.”
“So it seems.” She narrowed those big blue eyes at him. “I ran a check on you,
Detective Powers. You’ve been put on stress leave.”
Great, just what he didn’t need. ”It’s a bullshit excuse to keep the department looking good. I’m perfectly fine.”
“The report said you had a mighty severe head wound.”
“Flesh wound. They always exaggerate in the reports.” Sure, he’d had to have stitches and he’d had a concussion but he was fine now.
“Did they exaggerate about you being unstable as well?”
He clenched down on his jaw hard enough to make it ache. “I am not unstable.”
“Tell that to the innocent victims you beat up.”
He was losing his patience but since he needed something from her, he played nice. “If you think drug dealers and pimps are innocent you’re in the wrong business, Lieutenant.”
She narrowed those lovely blue eyes at him. “In any case, I prefer to keep this investigation in my own house. Good day, Detective.”
She tried to go around him, but he stayed in front of her and he saw her jaw clench. “Look, Lieutenant Storm, all I want is some information. Why is that so tough?”
“Tell you what, Detective—you get some authorization that says I have to let you have the files and I’ll make sure you get them. Until then, get back to your vacation.”
He backed up and barred the door, and this time she growled at him.
“Move it, Detective.”
There was something incredibly sexy in the way her voice vibrated with her anger. Nathan wondered what her skin would feel like beneath all that leather. “I understand that you don’t want to share—”
“Great, then back off.” She planted a hand on his chest.
His heart began to speed up. Taking her wrist in his hand, he felt her pulse skitter. Maybe if he seduced her she would be more inclined to let him have what he wanted on the case. He was spun so fast he didn’t even have time to blink. She pinned him to the door with an incredible amount of strength and when she spoke in a slow, even tone it was completely professional.
“Try that again and I’ll haul your ass into a cell faster than you can say boo.”
She shoved him aside and slammed the door in his face before he could stop her. Nathan was dumbfounded, and his heart was pounding.
He’d never been so turned on in all his life.
Chapter Seven
Sleep was as short-lived for Sienna on her second night on the job as it had been on the first. Two hours into a nice, dreamless night she’d been awakened to her cell phone jangling.
Another murder had taken place and it was her duty to investigate it.
Dragging her tired butt out of bed, hearing Daisy’s disapproval in a tiny snarl, Sienna dressed then stumbled sleepily from her room. She threw some cold water on her face, some more on her messed-up hair, then drying both with a towel, grabbed her cell, her weapon, keys, and her badge. She shoved them in her fanny pack as she headed out the door.
Despite the crispness in the air, she had no need for a jacket. Her body regulated her temperature to accommodate. It was like having your own heater or air-conditioner built into your body. The only time she needed a jacket was when the temperature dipped below minus twenty. Frostbite was a bitch to deal with.
Climbing behind the wheel of the battered patrol car, Sienna made a mental note to call the repair shop and nag them into finishing her car already. She was tired of driving this piece of crap. The fact that it didn’t have a GPS or onboard mapping system was just sad. Settling for the primitive, she pulled out the paper map from the glove box and searched for her current location. Once she found it, she tried to find the murder site. After wasting several moments she finally located it and sent herself off. Once she found the general area she was looking for it didn’t take much to find the scene. The flashing cop lights were a dead giveaway.
Parking on the street in front of a simple, white, two-story house, behind the cop car with its lights flashing, Sienna headed to the scene. Detective Vega met her at the front gate to the house.
“Called me first by habit,” he explained as he led her around back. “Husband found her when she didn’t come to bed after going out for a cigarette. Same MO—heart ripped from the chest. And they say smoking’ll kill you.”
“It does, but I doubt this is what they meant.” Sienna stepped up onto the patio to see a young female, blond hair, approximately mid-thirties, lying face up with blood pooling around her and a fist-sized hole where her heart once had beat. She had the million mile death stare.
Sienna glanced over at Officer Barlow as she slipped into the sterile cap, gloves and gown.. “Give me the details.”
He cleared his throat and began. “Helen McCroy, thirty-nine, stepped out approximately three hours ago for a cigarette. Hubby decided to check on her after noticing she hadn’t come to bed after the news was over and found her like this. He’s currently in the washroom spilling his dinner. Officer Simmons is with him.”
Kneeling down, Sienna examined the body from head to toe. The cigarette Helen had been so eager to have before bed was still between her fingers but had smoldered down to the filter. She had nice nails, not long but well taken care of. She wore a cream terrycloth robe which had parted to the side upon her fall. Beneath it was a green flannel night-shirt that had ridden up to her mid thigh. She had on white fuzzy slippers.
Spotting something in the hole on her chest, she knelt down to the body to take a closer look. “There’s something inside here.” Dipping her finger into the hole, she carefully pulled out a tiny button. Holding it up, she glanced at both Vega and Barlow.
“Could have come from the vic,” Barlow supplied, opening a baggie for her.
“There are no buttons on the victim,” Vega corrected. “Her nightshirt is a pullover and the robe has a drawstring. Think we could get lucky enough to pull a print from that?”
“It’s possible. Anything’s possible.” She was a strong believer in that.
“You won’t find anything on it.”
She looked up to see Detective Powers inching his way toward her. Instantly her back came up. “Are you following me, Detective?” Because if he was, she was going to make sure he was nicely and promptly escorted from her city.
“Police scanner. I have one in the car and lucky for me I was able to tune it in to your frequency.”
Sienna’s jaw tightened. “You boys see this guy show up at the shop or around any of the scenes, arrest him.”
“You have no justification for arresting me, but if you don’t want to know why I believe you won’t find anything on that button, that’s fine by me.” He turned to leave, then stopped when she swore.
“He might have some info, Lieutenant. He was working the case in Boston.”
She hated that cutie Vega was right. “Fine.” She gave in reluctantly. “Tell me what you know, but when you’re done you get the hell off my scene.”
Nathan turned around with a sardonic smirk on his face that she so wanted to slap off. “It’s a plant,” he added slowly as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “He’s famous for it. His first few kills show no evidence then the next you find something that makes you think he got sloppy. He likes to do that, to toy with the investigators.”
“Thank you for your input, Detective, now buzz off.” Sienna waved a hand at him, the tips of her fingers coated in the victim’s blood.
“She always this cheery?” he asked Vega.
“It’s two in the morning. Not many of us are cheery when we’re woken to murder.” Detective Vega turned back to Sienna. “I’ll run it personally.”
“Good, because if I hear someone tell me it’ll take a week for the results one more time I may scream.” Lifting Helen’s cold hand, Sienna examined the nails. Short, no obvious signs of defense, but that didn’t always mean anything. “Has the ME been called?”
&
nbsp; “Sure has. He’ll be here shortly. You think what Detective Powers said might be true?”
Standing, Sienna looked around and noticed he’d left as she’d asked. Good.
“Beats the hell out of me. Worth checking out, though. Get in contact with Boston and Denver and see what they have for us on their victims. I’m going to see what the husband has to say.”
Leaving the body, Sienna headed inside. She stripped out of the gown, gloves and cap as she made her way into the house. The grieving widower did not need to be reminded of what he’d just lost. Following the sounds of sobbing, she found the husband, sitting on a beaten-up gray sofa. He had his head in his hands while a female officer sat beside him.
Glancing at her name tag, Sienna nudged to her left as she spoke. “I’d like a minute with Mr. McCroy, Officer Herman.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” With a squeeze to the grieving widower’s shoulder, the officer left.
Sienna didn’t take her spot on the sofa but instead sat in the chair across from him. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. McCroy. I’m Lieutenant Storm. I’m in charge of your wife’s case and I was hoping you could talk to me and maybe give me some input.”
The middle-aged gentleman with graying brown hair and a wrinkled and damp face looked up at her with obvious sorrow. “I asked her to quit that damn habit years ago but she refused. Said it was all she had to stop her from packing on the pounds. What do I care if she has love handles? All the more to love. Now she’s gone,” he sobbed, hanging his head down.
Spotting the box of tissues on the sofa where Officer Herman had sat, Sienna slipped a few out and handed them to Mr. McCroy. Though she didn’t know exactly what he was going through, she could imagine the pain he was feeling. “Did you hear anything unusual before you went out to check on your wife?”
Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 07] Page 5
