by Debra Webb
Confirming that piece of information could make a difference. Too bad the sandwich shop didn’t have video surveillance. Someone had hand delivered those notes to Reanne. “You still have those truck photos so you can see if what he means by older and what we mean are one in the same?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good deal.” Jess loaded her bag onto her shoulder. “Let me know if anything pans out or comes up.”
She was ready for a long, hot soak in Katherine’s glamorous bubble tub. Maybe she’d pilfer through the wine selection and do a little more reorganizing. Jess really shouldn’t get so much glee from the idea.
“Good night, Lori. Chet.”
Jess exited the conference room. She didn’t slow to wait for Burnett. The sooner she got through the horde outside the happier she would be. She stopped at the elevator and pressed the down button.
Burnett came up beside her. “Chet and Lori? Really?”
Jess laughed. “Really.” The doors opened and she stepped inside.
Burnett tapped the button for the lobby and waited for the doors to close.
“They’re still out there in full force,” he warned.
Jess leaned against the wall at the back of the elevator car. “My mother had a saying, when they’re talking about me, they’re letting someone else rest.”
The car bumped to a stop on the 2nd floor. An alarm sounded.
Jess straightened, realized that the stop had been triggered by her companion. “Why’d you do that?”
He closed in on her. The intensity on his face made her breath catch. Before she could repeat her question, he moved even nearer, braced his hands against the wall on either side of her.
“Listen to me, Jess.”
She flattened her back into the wall but the move didn’t help. He was still way too close. That same heat that had ignited between them in the wee hours of the morning blazed.
“I don’t care what those reporters out there say or do. I don’t care what the mayor says or does.”
“Did he say something I should know?”
It was difficult to concentrate on the mayor or anything else with Burnett practically on top of her. That subtle aftershave he’d worn since he used his first razor made her unsteady on her feet. The fervency in his eyes scared her almost as much as it drove her body temperature higher and higher.
“He made one point that I should have considered with far more gravity.”
“Whatever it was,” her voice quivered just a little, damn it, “I’m certain it wasn’t as important as all that. Relax, Burnett. We’re doing all we can and—”
“With Spears out, your safety is compromised. I haven’t taken the proper steps to ensure he can’t get to you.”
“You hardly let me out of your sight. You slept right down the hall from me last night.” She shook her head as if the idea were ridiculous. “Like I told you, I can protect myself.”
“That isn’t enough.”
Instead of calming down, his tension visibly mounted.
The text messages. Fury belted Jess. And she thought she could trust Wells. See if she called her Lori anymore. “Detective Wells had no business telling you—”
His expression changed to one of suspicion. “What about Wells?”
Crap. “She wasn’t supposed to tell you that I asked her to do a little digging around in Andrea’s father’s background.” She hadn’t but it wasn’t a bad idea. Then again, she imagined he’d already done that.
The elevator alarm sounded again.
“Security is going to be calling Fire and Rescue if we keep this elevator stopped any longer.”
His suspicion turned to something along the lines of cockiness. “That’s funny. Wells had already taken care of that for me since I felt I couldn’t be objective.”
“That is funny.” The problem was, he wasn’t laughing.
“What are you hiding from me, Jess?”
“Is there a problem, chief?” A deep male voice rattled over the elevator speaker.
“No problem,” Burnett answered without moving. “We need a few more minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
He leveled the full brunt of his impatience on her. “Tell me now or I will get the answer from Wells.”
“I received two texts.” She heaved a frustrated breath. “The first one was just what you’d expect from Spears or one of his puppets. I’m celebrating. Wish you were here,” she mocked.
“What about the other one?”
He was overreacting. “It was stupid.”
“Tell me now.”
Jess jumped at this growled words. “Fine. He said, Goodnight, Agent Harris.”
“When was this?”
She let go a defeated sigh. “When I went to bed last night.”
Fury tightened the features of his handsome face. “So that’s why you were wandering around the house in the middle of the night with your weapon.”
If he hadn’t said the words so quietly she might have denied the charge, but there was a lethal kind of fury in his eyes. This was not the time to dismiss his concerns.
“Yes,” she admitted.
He pushed away from the wall, turned his back and stabbed the necessary button to prompt the elevator back into motion.
Damn. Now she wouldn’t even be able to go pee without him.
Chapter Sixteen
10:15 p.m.
Lori hesitated at her door. She told herself again to just pretend she was in bed already.
Chet waited on the other side. He had called and asked to come over. She had said no, but he’d insisted that he had an update they needed to discuss and it couldn’t wait until morning.
Deep breath. She opened the door and stepped back. “Come in.”
He walked in, his presence immediately diminishing the usually comfortable size of her Five Points loft. He still wore the brown trousers and cream-colored shirt he’d been wearing when they parted ways almost four hours ago. The jacket and tie were gone. That he’d unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt shouldn’t have drawn her attention, but it did.
She closed the door, wrapped her arms around herself and faced him. If she’d been smart she would have changed before he arrived. The lounge pants and cami made her feel naked in his presence, particularly since she’d shucked her bra and panties in anticipation of going straight to bed when she’d exhausted herself researching the Murrays.
“You said you had news.”
“I interviewed Rimes.” He surveyed her one-room space, his attention lingering on the bed. “He confirmed the truck he saw cruising the sandwich shop repeatedly was the same one Thompson stated picked up Dana Sawyer.”
Anticipation raced through Lori’s body. “Did you let Jess and the chief know?” This was their first real break. They finally had a connection between two of the victims.
He nodded as he looked from the half-empty glass of wine near her laptop to her.
Gesturing to her laptop on the old steamer trunk she used as a coffee table, she hoped to shift his attention. “I’m still working on what the Murrays have been up to.”
She hadn’t discovered anything relevant yet but she wasn’t giving up. She had all night. The team wasn’t scheduled to meet until nine tomorrow morning.
The weight of his stare came to rest on her once more. She suddenly wished she had lit some incense or a candle. Anything that might have overpowered his scent. The clean, citrusy fragrance made her think of that night. Which was a really bad idea.
“I’m glad you shared this with me.” How did she ask him to leave without being outright rude? “It’s good news.”
All he had to do was stand there, looking at her as if he wanted to taste her, and her heart rate sped up. This was a really precarious situation; one that needed to be cut as short as possible.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I figured you’d want to know.”
She wanted to look away, but it was difficult. He had beautiful eyes. Deep, rich brown. When they were
alone like this he made her doubt her decisions about the future. She didn’t want that.
Jess was proof that waiting for kids and other complications could work. Lori wanted that kind of stellar career. Not with the Bureau, but with BPD. And what was wrong with that? She was the first in her family to graduate college. Her family looked up to her, depended on her. Making detective last year allowed her to qualify for the necessary loans to help her baby sister with college.
There was no room in her life at this time, financially or otherwise, for marriage and children.
“I should go.” He gestured to her, then seemed at a loss as to what to do with his hands. “You’re ready to call it a night and I’m holding you up.”
She nodded, moistened her hungry lips. “Another hour or so on the net and I’ll be beyond ready to crash.”
He nodded. “Well. Goodnight then.”
She followed him to the door, part of her thankful that he was going, the other screaming for him to stay. How crazy was that?
Her fingers closed around the doorknob, opened the door, she was almost home free.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
If she hadn’t looked at his mouth…
“Be sure to lock up.”
If she hadn’t watched his lips move as he spoke…
She might have had a chance.
He took the decision from her. Closed the door and flipped the deadbolt.
Before she could catch her breath, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
He kissed her until she gasped. His scent, his touch, saturated her senses. Her fingers fought frantically with his buttons…with the fly to his trousers. He peeled her lounge pants down her legs and off, and then settled between her thighs. Her arms and legs wrapped around him, she couldn’t resist. She didn’t care that he was still dressed with only his trousers open…she needed him inside her.
Without preamble, he thrust fully, deeply.
Her breath caught, her body arched with pleasure, and nothing else mattered. Not her career…nothing. All she wanted just then was for him to kiss her the way only he could…to make her body scream with ecstasy as no one else ever had.
He nuzzled her ear and whispered, “This,” he ground his pelvis into hers, she cried out with the exhilaration the move aroused, “is not fucking. This,” he executed the exquisite move again, “is making love.”
Lori took his face in her hands, searched his eyes until he trembled with holding so very still. “Show me more.”
She brought his lips to hers and lost herself to this man who was so incredibly dangerous to her independence.
Chapter Seventeen
Saturday, July 17th, 11:00 a.m.
Jess parted the blinds and peeked out the conference room window. “Damned reporters.”
After the brouhaha on the ten o’clock news last night, the mayor had insisted on a press conference this morning. Burnett, Griggs and Patterson had command performances. Chet was there for a show of strength.
Jess wasn’t allowed to show her face. Not that she wanted to. Definitely not. The reports made her look inept, pathetic and evidently they had searched for the absolute worst candid shots of her to use as visuals. Lori had babysitting duty. Burnett’s order had been something like: Do not let her out of your sight.
Fine. Jess turned away from the window. She had work to do anyway.
On her way to the other side of the room to join Lori at the conference table, her cell vibrated. She’d silenced it at seven this morning after five calls from former colleagues concerned about her. Right. They all wanted to gloat. She was out and they were still in.
Jess groaned when she checked the screen. Lily. Her sister had called twice last night and once already this morning. She was horrified by the news reports. She was incensed that Jess had been in town for more than forty-eight hours without calling. Jess let the call go to voicemail. If she heard one more I’m-so-sorry she might just puke.
Her suggestion that Lily and her family take a vacation out of town had gone unheeded. Jess didn’t really believe she had to worry about Spears…but she didn’t want to take chances with her family. Lily had insisted that her son had a summer job and her daughter had a thousand things to do in preparation for going off to college this fall. There was no time for a vacation…why did Jess ask?
Explaining that one, without suggesting her own vulnerability, had backfired big time.
The only good thing about the past dozen or so hours was that no one else had gone missing and they finally had a connection between two of the girls with the blue truck. Sullivan was still unaccounted for. Her attorney had finally called in and said he had heard nothing from his client. So far the press hadn’t connected the MIA doctor with the missing girls.
And, incredibly, Jess had managed to steer clear of Burnett last night. The house was huge, it hadn’t been so difficult.
Jess sat down across the table from Lori. “Found anything new?” Jess was restless. Sitting here doing nothing was driving her out of her mind.
Lori was completely absorbed in her search. Feeling Jess’s gaze on her, she finally looked up from the laptop. “Sorry. Did you say something?”
Jess liked Lori Wells better every day. The woman was driven. Reminded Jess of herself a couple decades ago. Harper might just have to keep waiting to catch this one. The distraction in her expression went deep but there was a distinct air of excitement simmering in her eyes.
“Did you find something?” Adrenalin lit. Jess felt herself leaning forward in anticipation.
Lori leaned her head toward one shoulder and made an I-dunno face. “May…be. It’s a cold case.”
Jess was up and around the table before the detective finished her uncertain statement. “Show me.”
“Christina Debarros, age thirteen, went missing almost six years ago.”
The young Hispanic American girl was listed as still missing. Jess read through the info listed on the database with her photo. “No indication of foul play.” Jess grunted. “That sounds familiar.”
“You haven’t gotten to the best part yet.”
Jess leaned closer to the screen. Janie Debarros, the mother, stated that she suspected her daughter was pregnant. Sudden bouts of nausea and the lack of a menstrual cycle for three months were listed as her reasons. Christina had been a student at Warrior Middle School.
Jess’s breath hitched.
“Keep reading,” Lori urged, the excitement now a full-blown rush in her voice.
Jess’s jaw dropped. At the very top of the list of persons of interest in the case was Tate Murray. “How the hell did we miss that when we ran the Murrays’ names through the databases?”
“He was a minor. And he was cleared of suspicion. His name wouldn’t be in any of the databases. I got this straight from records.”
Reeling with the possibilities, Jess took a second to calm herself. “Can you send the photo of the girl to my cell phone?”
“Sure thing.” Her fingers flew over the keys. She’d scarcely stopped typing when Jess’s cell vibrated.
“While you’re at it, send me the file or at least what you can of it.” Jess studied the young girl’s face. “Do the Debarros still live in Warrior?”
Lori pecked a few more keys. “Affirmative.”
They looked at each other, the unspoken shattering the air between them.
“The chief will have my head.”
“Not if what we find puts us on the trail of those girls.”
“Could be a coincidence.”
Jess smiled, anticipation charging relentlessly through her veins. “You don’t believe that any more than I do.”
“Tate Murray is dead.”
Jess nodded. “Yes he is. But his parents aren’t.”
Tate’s father had made an impression on Jess. His every word and action had come off as kind and caring. But there had been one element missing, besides the fact that he didn’t ask the usual questions. The one concept that had
niggled at her all night.
Mr. Murray hadn’t shown the slightest inkling of sadness when he spoke of his son. Not a glimmer. Three years wasn’t nearly long enough to have arrested that kind of pain. Which suggested one of two things. He was either still in denial or he hadn’t cared about his son.
Jess was going with denial—that initial, universal reaction to the sudden, agonizing loss of a loved one.
And denial could be a dangerous defense mechanism when allowed to linger for weeks or months…or years. In extreme cases one might not feel the emotional impact of events or see the logical consequences of their actions. The conscience would go by the wayside.
“We have to wait until after the press conference,” Lori argued.
“That could be hours,” Jess rebutted. “They just got started. There will be questions, et cetera, et cetera.” Lori still wasn’t convinced. “His order was that you not let me out of your sight. So you won’t.” Jess put her hands up and shrugged. “We’ll be together in your car. Armed and ready for whatever we encounter. Together.”
“If…,” Lori ventured, “…we go, you have to…follow—”
“Your orders,” Jess finished for her. She stood. “Done. Let’s go.”
Lori closed her laptop. “We can use the rear exit. Miss the crowds outside.” She managed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
She was worried. Jess could understand that. The innuendos flying about her being a maverick were enough to make any smart cop nervous.
If Jess looked past her own denial, she was damned worried, too.
What if she was wrong about this? She could be wasting time…making mistakes.
Like before.
~*~
Warrior, 12:22 p.m.
“That’s definitely it.”
“Looks like someone’s home.” Jess craned her neck to count the vehicles. Two cars, one truck, and two SUVs. All older models. Nothing fancy or new. “You think they’re having a party, maybe?”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Lori opened her door, then hesitated. “Let’s take this slow and easy, Jess. We don’t want any complaints filed against us.”
Jess blew out a puff of frustrated air. “Those stories about me are more about hype than about truth.”
