by KT Roberts
He arched his brow. “Yeah, but there’s a little matter we need to discuss.” His voice bordered on the side of edgy. “And since it’s too difficult to discuss the matter while we work, a quiet dinner will give you plenty of uninterrupted time.”
He loved watching her when she was unaware. Her animated facial expressions always gave her away. He gave a quick scan of her body, and his heart melted. She looked especially beautiful today in her beige tailored pants suit. The rust background of her flowered blouse complimented her hair and brought out the green in her eyes that sparkled when she smiled. The prospects of being alone with her sent his pulse sailing.
His six foot three frame, a full six inches taller than hers, was imposing to those who didn’t know him.
“I’m waiting,” he said tapping his foot.
She released an exasperated sigh. “You’re a freakin’ pain in the ass, you know that?”
The corners of his mouth curled into a wide grin. “So it’s a date then?”
“No. It’s not a date, bud. It’s to get you off my back.” Her voice was firm.
He was excited she’d agreed and convinced himself, he was well on his way to a relationship with her. “I knew you’d see it my way.”
They walked down the hallway, side by side. She stopped short.
“You know, maybe we should wait for the artist’s sketch, so we can start hanging Jane Doe’s picture around town.”
“Nice try, Jess. No. The beat cops will take care of that. I called the newspaper before I came over here figuring you were going to ask Bradshaw to see the artist.”
“Oh, now you’re reading my mind?”
He gave her a sexy cut-eye glance. “If only that were true.”
They walked outside to hail a cab. As usual, the traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see. Impatient drivers leaned on their horns trying to intimidate those ahead to move forward. Zach crinkled his nose when he inhaled the smell of exhaust fumes from the massive line-up of vehicles. She noticed.
“Ooh,” her hand slapped against her chest, “do I have on too much perfume?”
“Not unless the new scent of choice is petroleum.” Sweat dripped down Zach’s face. He reached for the hanky in his back pocket and wiped it.
“Okay, so if I have to do this, where are we having dinner?” The tone of her voice was much lighter now.
“I’m in the mood for a big fat juicy steak, a baked potato with lots of sour cream, and a salad,” he said, salivating when he pictured the image of a steak, the juice running out with each slice of the knife. “Are you okay with that?”
“Sure. It works just fine.”
The sound of shuffled footsteps behind gave her pause. She latched onto Zach’s arm with a firm grip. He watched her shoulders tremble as he glanced her way. “What’s wrong?” He whispered.
“Good job today,” Harwell said on his way past them.
“Ooh. Lieutenant,” Jessie exhaled and stepped back, her hand clutched to her chest. “You startled me.”
“Sorry.” He gave Zach a questionable glance. “Where are you two going?”
“Jessie’s helping me pick out a gift for my brother,” he lied.
“Sounds like a good deal. We guys don’t know much about gift giving. Well, don’t stay up too late, Kensington . . . you need to get some sleep tonight?”
“Yes sir,” she saluted. “I will if you’ll promise not to call me in the wee hours of the morning.”
He shrugged his wide shoulders. “Hey, when duty calls, I call.”
Zach and Harwell both hailed cabs. Seconds later, two taxis pulled up to the curb.
Harwell gave a wave and jumped into the first taxi.
“Oh, man,” she exclaimed, “He’ll be calling one of us into his office tomorrow for a chastising.”
“He can’t very well say much to you,” his eyebrows raised, “now can he?”
“Yeah, but things are different now that he’s the boss.”
“So does this mean, romance is on your mind, after all?”
She poked him in the side. The second cabbie pulled up to where they stood. Zach opened the car door for her.
“My, my,” She said, her eyebrows rose in surprise, “and he’s a gentleman too.”
“Why? Don’t you deserve to be treated like a lady?”
“I absolutely do, and thank you for recognizing that.”
He made his way around to his side of the vehicle, slid across the seat next to her and gave the driver the address.
“So,” she teased, “does this mean you’ll start being gallant during work hours too?”
“Hey, when we’re working, you’re one of the guys. Isn’t that how you want me to treat you?” He glanced her way.
“That’s exactly what I want.” She leaned over and squeezed his arm. “Thank you, Gerard. It’s nice to be treated like a lady.”
Zach patted her hand and changed the subject. He wanted her to know his gestures were genuine and not some lame excuse to get her into the sack. Although . . . he wouldn’t have minded that either.
When the taxi pulled away from the curb, deep in the darkness, a figure lurked in the far corner of the building and watched.
“We’ll just see about that, bitch. By the time I’m done with you, you won’t need to worry about the boss making any demands on you,” the shadow murmured.
The cab stopped in front of Wolfgang Puck’s Steakhouse. Exiting the vehicle, Jessie ran her hands down the front of her slacks to smooth any newly acquired wrinkles when she looked up and noticed Zach giving her an approving glance. He smiled when he realized she’d caught him and her heart skipped a beat. God, he was gorgeous. Jessie couldn’t recall the last time anyone had complimented her. The truth was, she’d forgotten how good it felt yet she reminded herself not to read too much into it. He was a player. Even so, she couldn’t help but let the internal giddiness linger a little longer.
She watched him from the corner of her eye. The lights from passing cars illuminated his handsome face like a neon light. Falling for him would be so easy, but so wrong. Once a playboy, always a playboy came to mind. And then there was that thing about getting involved with her partner.
“What?” tripped off the tip of his tongue. “You’re staring at me.”
The heat of a blush rose up her cheeks and caused her stomach to do a flip-flop. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was staring.”
“But, you had a smile on your face.” He gave her a playful jab with his elbow. “You were thinking about us, weren’t you?”
“I hate to disappoint you,” she lied, “there was no ‘us’ on my mind.”
“I think you’re lying.”
“And, I think you’re a little too confident.”
“Never hurts to try.”
Inside the entry of the restaurant, large groups of people sat on benches waiting for a table. The low carved ceilings with stone arches gave the place a warm and friendly atmosphere, but did nothing to buffer the loud noise of clanking dishes and over zealous conversations. Jessie waited while Zach gave his name to the receptionist. Seeing the large trays of hot steaming food being delivered to nearby tables had her salivating.
“Mmm, it smells way too good in here. And now, I’m starving.”
He crinkled his nose, “I’m afraid we’re in for a long wait. We could go somewhere else.”
“Are you kidding me? After luring me into having a steak with you, there’s no way I’m leaving this place without one.”
He winked. “Ooh, baby, I like the way you think.” He latched onto her elbow and steered her toward the lounge to a newly vacated table. He quickly eased into the seat before anyone else could take it.
“Are you ready to order?” the cocktail waitress asked while setting down a dish of nuts.
“What’ll you have, Jessie James?” He popped a nut into his mouth.
“I’ll have a double martini on the rocks.”
“And I’ll have a beer on draft,” Zach said and reaching for another handf
ul of nuts.
“Thank you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The waitress walked away.
“Let’s talk about Jane Doe’s disappearance,” Jessie said.
“No, Jess,” he said forcefully, “we’re here to discuss the notes.”
“I’d much rather discuss our case.”
“And, I’d much rather discuss the notes.”
“Okay, okay.” She flung her hand in the air. “Go ahead. Let’s put this to rest before I scream.”
“Finally, we’re getting somewhere.” He cleared his throat. “Tonight, when you heard footsteps behind us, you were afraid. Now you can pretend all you want. You can tell me till you’re blue in the face that you’re not scared, but tonight’s panicked look when Harwell came up behind us told me otherwise.”
“Oh, stop already.”
He shot her a stern look. “Start talking.”
“The footsteps startled me, that’s all. No need to read anything into it.” He arched his brow.
“What?” she said. “You never get startled?”
“On occasion, but even you have to admit that kind of reaction is pretty unusual for you. Shit like that never bothered you before these notes started.”
“Okay,” she admitted, “so maybe I am a little shook up. Once I find out which one of the guys is doing this, it’ll all be over and we can get back to life as we know it.”
“Like I said earlier, how do you know it’s the guys at work?”
“Bradshaw all but confirmed my suspicions tonight.”
“Oh, like he’s the authority on the scuttlebutt in the precinct?” he gave her a weary look. “So what exactly did he say?”
“He told me they resented me, and added he didn’t care who I’d dated, then or now. That’s enough of a lead for me to feel better about suspecting them. The only other proof I need is to actually catch the person in the act.”
“Okay, then tomorrow morning I’m going to take care of this matter.”
“Oh, no you’re not. I’m not a damsel in distress waiting for my prince charming to rescue me. I don’t need you or anyone else taking care of anything. I’m a big girl now, and this is my problem, not yours.”
The waitress returned and placed Jessie’s martini down in front of her. She took a sip.
“Yeah, so you’ve said.” He took a swig of beer. “So tell me again how the notes started.”
“Look, I appreciate your concern, but really, I’ll be fine.”
He rubbed a smudge of mascara off her cheek. “Jessie, how did you receive the three notes?”
The tone of his voice told her he wasn’t kidding. “On the windshield of my car in the parking garage.”
“You don’t drive to work. How did your car get into the garage?”
“I drive when I come to the precinct during sleepless nights.” A chill skittered down her spine as she remembered her initial reaction to receiving that first note; the cut out letters pasted to a note card saying she’d better watch out. She remembered shaking so vigorously, the note slipped from her hands and fell to the cement floor. Before stooping down to retrieve it, she’d done a quick scan of the area, her hand firmly planted on her Glock, ready to draw it if necessary.
“Hellooo,” Zach said, waving his hand in front of her eyes, “Where are you, Jessie?”
“I was just trying to remember the first time.”
“You were scared, weren’t you?”
“Sure, a little. But it’s old hat to me now.”
“Old hat, huh?” He leaned back against the leather seat, his eyes never leaving her face. “How often do you go back to the office late at night?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe, once, twice a week.” She sipped her martini.
“And what time do you usually leave?”
“Two, maybe three o’clock in the morning.” She shrugged, “sometimes later.”
“You go out at that hour . . . by yourself?” he asked, surprised. “Are you crazy?”
“Well what should I do when I can’t sleep? Twiddle my thumbs? Besides, there are plenty of people working the night shift, so I’m not alone at the precinct, and I do carry a gun.”
“So you’ve reminded me a few hundred times.” He closed his eyes and inhaled. “Have all the notes appeared during these late night returns to the precinct?”
“Two did.”
“And, where did the third one show up?”
“I found it in my inbox when we returned to the precinct after meeting Tony and Lenny for a status report.”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Okay. Maybe you are right about it being someone in the precinct. Have you watched the footage from the garage surveillance footage on those days?”
“Yes.”
“And?” his hand gestured impatiently, “What did you see?”
“Nothing except the usual people going in an out. Let’s face it, everyone of us knows where the hidden cameras are.”
“That’s right. We do.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Those sons of bitches. We’ll get to the bottom of this. And so help me God,” he raised his hand, “when I find out who’s doing this, I’ll kill the bastard.”
“Ah ha! So then you do agree with me?”
“In theory, but not in practice. I don’t think we can rule out the possibility of a former criminal trying to get even. Nor can we rule out the scumbag’s family. There’s always the possibility there’s someone on the inside who’s pissed at you for being the boss’s former girlfriend, and he’s fronting for the criminal.” He paused when she rolled her eyes. “Look, I know you want me to believe you’re tough as nails, and you can handle this all by yourself, but I’m not letting you go through this alone, and I don’t care what you say.”
She smiled, warmed by his concern, yet she felt a tinge of guilt for not having trusted her partner enough to tell him.
“I’d like to know which one of those assholes is stupid enough to pull crap like this.” His face formed into a concerned frown. “I want you to promise me you’ll stop going to the precinct in the middle of the night. If you can’t sleep, read a book, buy yourself a computer and play a game, but please, don’t go back to the precinct. You’re setting yourself up—especially with a stalker on the loose.”
“Gerard, that’s all well and good, but how am I supposed to find out who’s doing this?”
“Whoever this is, he’s bound to mess up sooner or later. If it is someone in the department, you can be sure he’s not going to kill you. His mission is most likely to scare the crap out of you. But I still think you need to take every precaution not to rule out the other more logical questions. Since the note was found in your inbox, it takes the heat off of an outsider doing it . . . but only for the time being.”
“Thanks, Gerard. I appreciate your compassion.” A tender moment passed between them, and her heart rate surged. He was so hot. Jumping into the sack with him would be way too easy. She reached for her drink and tilted the glass to her lips, spilling the last few swallows of her drink in her lap. The effect was like taking a cold shower, snapping her back to reality. “Oh damn,” she said, and grabbed the napkin from the table, blotting the liquid. “Gerard, I’ve made a mess.”
“I see that.”
“I need club soda.”
He motioned for the waitress. “Can you give us a glass of club soda and an extra napkin for my date?”
The waitress nodded.
“Since when did this become a date?”
“Well, you know what I mean. It’s not, but I see no reason to explain it to the waitress.”
“Fair enough.”
When the waitress returned with the club soda, Jessie excused herself. “I’ll be back.” On her way to the restroom, she convinced herself that her mental thoughts of becoming intimate with him were definitely the byproduct of ambiance and alcohol—mostly the alcohol. When she returned ten minutes later, he picked up the conversation right where they’d left off.
“So, are you going to promise me you
’ll stay away from the precinct in the wee hours of the morning?”
“I’ll consider it. Now, please stop worrying.”
“Well, someone has to worry. You’re certainly not.”
Jessie swallowed hard. She wanted to believe it was the guys in the department, but what if it wasn’t? She couldn’t let Zach know she’d questioned herself. It would make her look weak.
Fingers snapped in front of her eyes. “Hello, Jessie. You keep drifting off into la la land. What’s going on?”
“I think the alcohol has gone to my head. I need food.”
“Then it’s a good thing the waitress is on her way over here to take us to our table. No more alcohol for you.” They stood and followed the waitress. “Tell me you won’t go to the precinct again in the middle of the night.”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“I should think after three years of partnering, you’d know better than anyone that I don’t give up easily. So, does that mean you’ll promise?”
“I swear, I promise I won’t do it again.” She held her hand up. “I’ll buy a computer and play games, read gossip columns, and let my ass get as big as a house. Now will you please stop.”
“I’ll check with the guys tomorrow.”
“Gerard, no, dammit. I don’t need protecting. I can handle this.”
“You mean, like you already have?”
“Whoa, that’s a low blow,” she tapped a balled fist against her heart.
“I’m sorry, but even the lieutenant has noticed something is wrong.”
“How do you know that? Did he say something to you?”
“No, but he’s already told you to get some sleep. He can see you have something on your mind.”
“Are you going to spend the rest of your life joined at my hip?”
“Hmm, now that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
She rolled her eyes. “Get serious, Gerard.”
“I am serious.” He reached over and grasped her hand. Surprised, she jerked it back.
“Whoa . . . excuse me.”
“I’m not your type of woman.”
“Type? I have a type?” he chuckled. “Geez, you make it sound like I’m a playboy.”
