Tainted Mind (22 page)

He let out a deep breath and stared off into the night sky. “I know, you keep saying that, Vivienne, but this is my first rodeo. I want to catch this guy before he kills any more women. If your cousins can help, what harm can that do?”

She turned in his arms to face him. “They can help when and if you want them to. I'm not saying don't use our resources, I'm saying you need to place some value on the resources you have—namely, you.”

Ian seemed to mull this over for a while before looking down at her. His hands moved up her back and he wrapped them in her hair. And her heart broke a little when he finally spoke. “It's hard to have faith in something you know is so flawed.”

She knew he wasn't as flawed as he thought, but she didn't want to argue with him. Yes, PTSD could ruin a person's life, but Ian wasn't just living his life, he was living it successfully. He had nightmares, he worried about people's safety all the time, he was constantly reaching for his gun when she knew he'd deliberately taken it off. But he was also hunting a killer, leading a team of smart, capable people, and even keeping a sense of humor. He might not have faith in himself at this particular moment, but she did. And she'd have to show him it was well placed.

“We'll call John, in the behavioral science unit tomorrow. Let's see what he has to say and we can go from there,” she said.

His eyes locked on hers. “And if he says they're coming?”

She inclined her head, giving him what he wanted, her acquiescence. “Then we find another B&B for them to stay at, because they aren't staying here. And in the meantime, why don't you take me to bed and I'll let you show me how good you are.”

It took less than a second for Vivi's words to sink in, and Ian gave her a cocky look. “There's good and then there's wheelhouse good, honey.”

*   *   *

Despite not getting much sleep the night before, Vivi awoke rested and ready for the day. Either she was more like Ian than she thought or he was rubbing off on her—she found herself going over the plan for the next few hours, ticking everything off, and putting everything in place: call John, meet her cousins for breakfast, drive to Boston, see Lucas, pick up the evidence, and then head back to Windsor. It would be a long day, but being able to add the files of the three Boston women to their growing collection would, she hoped, give them an exponential amount of additional information. And the
more information they had, the better their chances of discovering
something
that could help them find the person responsible for the deaths of Jessica and Rebecca.

Rising from the empty bed, she threw on one of Ian's t-shirts and walked into the kitchen. He was sitting at the table filling out paperwork. Rooster was sprawled on the floor beside him, resting his head on what looked like a well-loved stuffed toy and a small blanket. Ian's uniform shirt was unbuttoned and he wasn't wearing his gun, but he didn't need either to command authority. He may have been questioning his ability to perform the duties of an investigator, but he was still a leader, still in charge, still shouldering the responsibility.

“Are you ready to call John?” Vivi asked.

He looked up from his paperwork, and she didn't miss the sweep of his eyes over her. She arched her brow, then winked at him, making him smile, before she walked over to pour a couple of cups of coffee. Bringing them both back to the table, she grabbed her cell from the counter before sliding into the seat across from the Ian. Rooster must have become accustomed to her already, as he simply raised his head and watched her until she sat, then dropped his head back down and closed his eyes.

“Ready?” she asked.

“As I'll ever be.”

She hit speaker, then speed dialed John's number. It rang twice before her colleague picked up.

“Levitt, here.”

“John, it's Vivienne DeMarco.”

“Vivi, it's good to hear from you.” She could hear the surprise in his voice. John was the only person she'd talked to at the Bureau about her decision to take some time off, the only person she'd told, until Ian, about the manic behavior that had consumed her after her parents and brother died. His surprise wasn't unexpected.

“Everything all right?”

“I'm fine, I'm doing okay,” she answered. “Unfortunately, I happened upon a young woman who wasn't so lucky. I'm here in Windsor, New York, with Ian MacAllister, the Deputy Chief of Police, and we're working an interesting case. It's Ian's first here as law enforcement, but he's been a Ranger for over a decade. We thought your opinion might be helpful.”

“Sure, anytime. Why don't you tell me about it and we'll see what we have.”

So they did, or rather, Ian did. Vivi sat back and listened as he gave John the details in a succinct, but thorough, overview of what they'd found—who the victims were, the serial killer theory, and the possible additional victims. John interjected a few times—asking questions, clarifying who was who—and when Ian finished, Vivi could all but see John leaning back in his chair, frowning in thought, and maybe running a hand over his bald head.

“You've found yourselves in quite an interesting situation. But let me ask you this, are you calling me because you want the Bureau involved?”

Vivi looked at Ian, waiting for him to answer. He caught her eye and held it for a long moment before answering.

“Truth be told, sir,” he started, “I'm not sure. I'm not opposed to federal help if it will help catch whoever is doing this, but I also don't want to take you away from cases that might be more in need of your attention. I think we're going to need you at some point, but being new to this, I'm not sure at what point that will be. Vivienne's been telling me to wait but was gracious enough to humor me and set up this call.”

John grunted. “Vivi is a smart woman, and you don't strike me as someone who just fell off the turnip truck. You're right, if you do verify victims in other states you will need to officially notify the FBI, but right now, you only have two confirmed victims, both in New York, both in your jurisdiction. You're doing all the right things to discover if there are more. With Vivi there to help, and you mentioned Nick Larrimore, who, despite being somewhat of an arrogant prick, is a great agent, you're doing exactly what we would do.”

Vivi took a sip of her coffee to hide her satisfied smile; John had said what she'd hoped, what she'd expected him to say. Ian shot her a look, not of defeat, but of good-natured acceptance.

“We're pretty busy here now, anyway,” John continued. “But if you keep doing what you're doing, by the time we come in, if we come in, you'll have friends for life for doing most of the grunt work, I promise you that.”

Ian thanked John for his time and promised to keep him updated. They were getting ready to end the call when John interjected.

“And listen to me, MacAllister, when I say that what made you a good soldier will make you a good investigator. I know it may seem like different skills, believe me I know. I spent seven years as Marines Special Forces before coming back and getting in with the Bureau. But those instincts you have as a soldier—your ability to assess a situation and people, knowing that sometimes the most obvious way out isn't the best way out—will all serve you well. It's your intuition that made you a good soldier, not the other way around. And that intuition will make you good at this job too.”

Vivi studied Ian as his eyes stayed glued to the phone lying on the table. After a moment he mumbled a thank you, which John acknowledged with his own indecipherable grunt, and the two hung up. Ian toyed with the phone for a moment before raising his eyes to hers and holding her gaze.

“You knew he was going to say that, didn't you?”

She shrugged, rose from her seat, and slid onto his lap. “I had a good idea he was going to say that, and I figured you needed to hear it from someone with whom you are not involved.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to nibble on his earlobe. His arms came around her.

“So, we're “involved,” are we?”

She trailed soft kisses down his neck. She loved the soft, musky scent he used after shaving.

“So coy, MacAllister. It doesn't become you.”

She could feel his throaty chuckle against her lips.

“No, it doesn't, does it?” Ian stood, lifting her with him. She gave a little yelp of surprise, then realized where this was going as he headed to his bedroom.

“We have to meet my cousins in forty-five minutes and I haven't showered yet,” Vivi protested as he laid her down on his bed and came down over her. Unbuckling his pants on the way.

“That gives us twenty minutes. Twenty-five if you shower fast.” He said, reaching for a condom.

He slid into her and she shuddered at the feel of him. At his strength and the rawness of who he was as a man.

“Maybe thirty minutes if I don't wash my hair,” she murmured.

*   *   *

Ian followed Vivienne into Frank's Café fifty minutes later—they'd made good time considering they'd also dropped Rooster at Ian's parents’ house. The twins, seated next to each other, were having a spirited debate about something, and another man, maybe a few years older, sat opposite them, watching their discussion with a detached expression. Figuring it was the-cousin-who-wasn't-a-cousin, Travis, Ian understood in an instant what the other three had been talking about the night before. His khakis were pressed, his shirt wrinkle-free, and he even had a sweater tied over his shoulders. Ian would bet that Brian wouldn't be caught dead with a sweater tied over his shoulders. Travis looked out of place with his cousins, but to Ian, he looked like a lot of the weekenders, with nothing much else distinguishing about him.

When Ian and Vivienne approached the table, all three stood for hugs and handshakes. Vivienne introduced Ian to Travis and then settled in with her cousins. Ian headed over to say hello to Frank and place an order for Vivienne and himself. When he came back to join the table, the four of them were midconversation.

“Not a chance,” Vivienne was saying with an emphatic shake of her head.

“You know you want to,” Naomi prodded.

“There are a lot of things I want in life. This isn't one of them,” Vivienne retorted.

“I'm kind of on your side on this one, Vivi,” Brian chimed in. Then, with an apologetic look at Ian, he added. “Naomi is trying to get Vivi to dish on your sex life. Vivi is holding her ground, I'm sure you'll be happy to know.”

He shot Vivienne a look and she gave him a what-can-you-do-it's-family shrug. He opted not to weigh in on the discussion, knowing the less he said, the better.

“Welcome to the zoo.” Travis's comment was sardonic, but a hint of a smile touched his lips as he looked at Naomi and Vivienne. “I'd say this isn't normal, but it is.”

“I have a sister, I remember what she was like with her girlfriends. Though sometimes I wish I didn't,” he said as he sat down beside Vivienne.

“So, how are things going?” Brian asked, changing the subject.

“Since last night?” Vivienne arched an eyebrow at him. “Fine. We're headed to Boston today to pick up a couple of files. Other than that, nothing new.”

“You're going with her?” Brian asked. Ian picked up an undercurrent of surprise in Brian's voice, but didn't react other than to nod.

“Are you going to stay the night? See some of the family? They'd love it,” Travis said.

Vivienne shook her head. “It's not in the plan. It depends on what Lucas has to say, but we're planning on coming back tonight. What about you, what are you up to these days?”

Travis shrugged. “I've been driving around, checking places out. You know how much my mom loves it here, so I've been here before with my folks quite a bit, but I never looked at it from a scouting perspective. It's a preliminary trip, but there are definitely some places I'm going to follow up on.” Then, turning to Ian, he asked, “Do you know if any movies have been filmed in the area?”

Ian shook his head. “I don't think so, at least not recently. But we do have an active arts community and a lot of actors and movie folks have summer homes around here.”

Travis seemed to contemplate this, then made a noncommittal noise.

“Is that a bad thing?” Ian asked.

Travis wagged his head. “Depends. Some directors and actors don't like to have movies filmed in their backyards, so to speak. Then again, if they are committed to the area, they would probably support the money it might bring in to the local population.”

“Bringing money into the area would definitely be a good thing. If you're looking for anything in particular, let me know. My family has been here forever and I know the area as well as anyone,” Ian offered.

“Thanks, I might take you up on that,” Travis responded.

Frank called their order and, after he and Vivienne had retrieved it, it was obvious the twins wanted to revisit the case. Vivienne must have noticed too and spoke as she slid into her seat.

“It's an ongoing investigation, guys. We can't talk about it.”

“Not true, you can talk about some of it,” Brian pointed out, leaning forward.

Vivienne speared him with a look. “Fine, ask a question. If we can answer, we will.”

“Actually, I don't want to ask questions, but I do have a few opinions,” Brian said.

Ian looked at Vivienne. She kept her eyes on Brian as if debating whether or not to ask. She sighed and Brian grinned at her silent acceptance.

“So, I was thinking about where you found Rebecca and the house she stayed in—”

“Whoa, hold up,” Ian interjected, holding a hand up to stop Brian. “How do you know where she was found? Or where she stayed?”

Four sets of eyes turned on him. And stared. He looked at each of them before letting his own gaze fall on Vivienne in question. She pursed her lips.

“Uh, remember what I told you about the twins bordering on being felonious? Well, sometimes that border is a little fuzzy.” He stared at Vivienne for a moment, wondering if she'd just admitted that her cousins had committed a crime.

“You'll never be able to trace it,” Brian piped in as if reading his thoughts.

“Or prove it,” Naomi added.

“So you might as well let it go,” Vivienne ended. His eyes narrowed.