Beauty & the Beast (21 page)

She asked Goss, “Do you have any kids?”

Goss stared at her in horror. “Perish the thought.” Then she twisted her face into an apology. “I’m sorry. Do you?”

“Not so much.” Tess shifted. “I mean, we’re dog-sitting and it’s like having a kid.”

“Except dogs don’t need braces and prom dresses and college tuition. Dogs don’t post pictures of you asleep on the couch with drool on your chin all over social media.”

Yikes.

The elevator went down and Tess noted the assemblage of police vehicles. No press yet. She hated the idea of more publicity for Cat and Vincent. In his first attempt to rejoin society after eleven years in hiding, Vincent had been paraded in the media as a war hero with amnesia. Then the late, not-lamented Assistant District Attorney and former beast Gabe Lowan had manipulated the press to get Vincent labeled as a homicidal “vigilante” whom every red-blooded New Yorker tried to track down. After that, Liam, the ancient beast responsible for the death of Cat’s ancestor Rebecca and the beast Rebecca had loved, attempted to frame Vincent for his own crimes. They had kept that one out of the limelight, but only barely. Through it all, Tess had lied and covered up and would again for her two friends, but she was sick of it all. Sick to death of how many innocents were harmed from the fallout caused by her own government’s failed program to create super-soldiers. She included Cat and Vincent in that endless chain of near-demonic cause and tragic effect.

Suresh wasn’t a link in that same chain, but if he had been killed because of some high-tech program, it was more of the same. And Heather, that most innocent of souls…

Do not let Heather be dead.

“Here, Captain,” Detective Goss said, indicating their ride, a nondescript sedan. They climbed in, Tess behind the wheel. The city was ablaze with lights and traffic. A couple strolled down the sidewalk arm in arm. The woman was carrying a bouquet of roses and she playfully bopped the man on the head with it. Tess gave one moment of mourning for Cat’s aborted honeymoon before she put on her game face.

Goss’s warrant came in.

“Good to go.” Goss couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice and seemed to know it, as she became more subdued and added, “I know this is very personal, Captain Vargas. I’ll do everything in my power to clear this case.”

It’s not a case, it’s Heather
, Tess thought, and a queasy roll of anxiety rumbled through her abdomen. Queasiness, or morning sickness?

She nodded at the woman. “Thanks.”

“I’ve followed your career. I know you believe in adhering to procedure, same as I do,” Goss went on. “Step by step, orderly procedure. Covering our bases as we go. That’s why you had such a high clearance rate.”

Is she reassuring me or warning me?
Tess wondered. She replied, “You must know that my clearance rate took a huge dip for quite some time.”

The detective hesitated, then said, “Permission to speak freely?”

What, are we on
Star Trek
?
Tess thought. She nodded. “Please.”

“Well, isn’t that because you were partnered with Detective Chandler?”

Stunned, Tess pulled in her chin as she looked over at Goss. “Really? That’s what people think?”

Goss nodded.

“But the years when my clearance rate was the highest were the same years when I was partnered with Detective Chandler.”

Goss shifted in her seat. “Well, ma’am, the belief is that you did the work, and that you got it done in spite of her, not because of her. After all, she got called into IA at least twice.” She grimaced. “This conversation has turned sideways, and I’m sorry about that, Captain. I know she’s your best friend and this is not the right time to have this discussion.”

Tess looked at her hard. “I don’t think there
will
be a right time to have this discussion.” She felt bad for Cat. If her fellow cops believed that Tess had carried her for all those years…

Maybe I did carry her later, when she was trying to protect Vincent. And I did put in for a new partner when I caught her destroying evidence. All that is trailing after her
, Tess thought.
She’s done stellar work since then, but a lot of it has been under the radar, for Homeland Security and ridding the world of Liam. But she’ll never get credit for it.

“I overstepped.” Goss had gone a little pale. “I-I didn’t realize you hadn’t heard all this before.”

Concentrate on the case
, she thought.
On Heather.

“Let’s move on,” Tess said.

Goss inclined her head. “Gladly.”

“You realize we may be looking at a kidnapping in addition to a homicide,” Tess ventured. The detective’s lips parted but she said nothing, only nodded—reluctantly. The bead Tess drew was not comforting.
I think she’s going to get in my way. I may have to peel off from her.

It took twenty minutes and forever to arrive at Chrysalis, a towering octagonal structure illuminated with blue and purple lights. Badges got them into the private executive lot adjacent to the building, and into an elevator leading to the twenty-seventh floor, where Ravi Suresh’s laboratory was located.

“Dude has a lab, wow,” Detective Goss said. As they got out of the elevator, they flashed their warrant at a very nervous security guard, who understood that he had to let them in, but started punching in numbers on his station console phone right away.

Suresh’s office and lab were both listed in the warrant. They had to call the guard over to unlock his office door. Tess braced herself for an argument, but there was no pushback. Then as the door was opened, she half-expected a toss, but it was pristine. A well-padded leather chair sat behind a mahogany desk covered with as many computers and monitors as JT’s desk, only these were smaller and sleeker. The far wall was a curtain of glass that looked out over the city.

“I’ll call in for some IT support,” Goss said, taking out her cell phone.

We don’t have time. We so don’t have time
, Tess thought but did not say. “Good idea.” She did a visual scan of the desk for a plain old-fashioned notepad, a pile of receipts; something that could lead to additional warrants covering cell phone calls, credit card charges, anything that could create a trail. She felt like a runner waiting for the starting gun.

Then she saw that the top drawer to the desk was pulled slightly open. And inside lay the unmistakable shape of the lower third of a smartphone.

“I’m having trouble catching a signal,” Goss said. She indicated the wall of glass. “I’ll try over there.”

The second Goss’s back was turned, Tess darted her hand into the drawer and plucked up the cell phone. She glanced at Goss, who was facing the glass. Could she see Tess’s reflection? She put her back to Goss and dropped the phone into her jacket pocket.

“It’s Goss,” the detective said into her phone. “Yeah, I’m at Chrysalis, on my warrant. There’s a whole lotta sci-fi stuff here and… yeah, exactly. Do you think it’ll hold up? Okay, good. Yeah, we’ll be here.”

She hung up and turned to Tess. “Captain Frost is checking with the judge to make sure our warrant covers the computers.”

Tess stared at her in disbelief. “Of course it does.”
Unless they didn’t word it correctly.
“May I read it?” she asked in a calmer tone.

Goss tapped her phone face and held it out to Tess. An attachment had opened. “Here, Captain.”

Tess began to read. Everything looked fine to her. But she knew that until Captain Frost gave his detective the word, no one was powering on a single device.

I have the cell phone.

She said, “Okay, while we’re waiting, I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

Ducking out of the office, she saw the security guard, who was on his phone, and asked him to unlock a bathroom. It was then that she saw the glow of an office window farther down the hall.

He said, “No need to unlock it, ma’am. These eggheads work around the clock.” He pointed to the end of the hall, past the office light.

“Thanks,” she said.

She walked down the hall and stopped at the door of the occupied room. She rapped once, then opened the door.

An attractive middle-aged woman looked up from a bank of computers similar to Suresh’s. She smiled pleasantly at Tess.

“Yes?”

I don’t have jurisdiction
, Tess reminded herself, but she flashed her badge anyway. The woman’s lips parted.

“I’m Captain Vargas, NYPD,” she said. “We’re here investigating a case. May I ask you a few questions…” She looked at the nameplate on the woman’s desk “…Ms. Vanderberg?”

Startled, Anne Vanderberg lifted her hands off her keyboard and folded them against her chest. “Is it all right with Steven? Steven Lawrence, I mean. He’s our CEO.”

“This is a matter of urgency,” Tess replied. “Do you know Ravi Suresh?”

“Yes, of course. We’re on the project.” She blanched. “I have a security clearance. I need to speak to legal before I talk to you.”

The project.

“We have a warrant,” Tess said smoothly. “But I just need to know a few basic questions. He’s been gone from work for a few days.”

“Yes. I figured he was ill. We’ve all been working so hard.” Ms. Vanderberg reached for her phone. “I really should talk to legal first.”

“So that leaves the rest of you holding the bag,” Tess continued. “Makes for interruptions.”

“Not really. Ravi’s part was pretty much completed.” She cocked her head. “Is he in some kind of trouble?”

“You must have strict protocols to safeguard your work—”

“May I help you?” a voice said from the door. Tess turned. A fifty-something man, quite handsome, stood in the doorway with her old friend the security guard.

“Steven.” Ms. Vanderberg heaved a sigh of relief. “This is Captain…” She shrugged apologetically. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”

“I’m Steven Lawrence,” the man said. “The CEO of Chrysalis.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Tess replied. “We’re investigating a possible homicide that may involve your employee, Ravi Suresh.”

His brows shot up. “A
homicide
? The other detective told me this was a suspected suicide.”

Tess wanted to shoot Goss. Instead she plowed ahead. “Did Ravi Suresh have any enemies at work?”

“I need to call our attorney,” Lawrence countered. “You understand. It’s not that we have anything to hide. It’s simply that we deal in projects at the highest level of secrecy and we must remain in compliance.”

She could argue that he had to answer her questions. She could go back into Suresh’s office and wait with Goss for verification of their warrant, or for the tech guys to show, whatever. But she had a feeling that the FBI, Homeland Security, and other government agencies were about to tie up this entire investigation with red tape.

And she had Suresh’s cell phone.

She said, “Of course, sir. We understand completely and we’ll do all we can to be of service. This portion of the investigation will be in the hands of Detective Goss. She’s the lead on this case.” She nodded at Anne Vanderberg. “I’ll leave you to your work.”

When she reached the door, Lawrence moved politely out of the way. As she walked back toward Suresh’s office, the CEO and the security guard followed closely behind. The vibe she got off Lawrence was that while he was concerned about Ravi Suresh, he wasn’t worried about anything else.

“Still waiting,” Goss told Tess when Tess walked into the office. “I’m sure we’ll have an answer soon.”

“Right.” Tess masked her own frustration and anger. “I’m going to move on. I’ll catch a cab. Will you call me if you find anything?”

“Yes. I promise, Captain.” Goss looked from her to Lawrence. “Have you heard back from your attorney yet, Mr. Lawrence?”

The man shook his head. Tess mouthed
Later
to Goss.

* * *

That used to be me
, she thought as she hailed a cab and gave the driver Cat’s address. “
By the Book” Vargas.
God
, I must have been so annoying.
She managed a plaintive smile.
Still, back in the day, Cat and I had the highest clearance rate in the precinct.

Before she got in her car, she flashed her badge and went back up to the crime scene. Correction: Cat and Vincent’s apartment. The cell phone felt heavy in her pocket.

“Anything?” she asked Detective Goss’s partner, the haircut guy.

He rolled his eyes until the CSU who’d performed the blood test said, “Captain Vargas is Detective Chandler’s best friend.”

Whatever the detective was going to say next went left unsaid. Instead, he supplied, “We have two assailants. I talked to the ME’s office and the autopsy is going to start on the John Doe in about an hour.”

An hour
. Tess was in agony but she didn’t let it show. This guy was getting things done faster than Goss. Still, she remembered the lightning-fast results she’d become accustomed to when Evan Marks had still been alive. She’d had no idea at the time that he was hunting down the mysterious “human hybrid” whom Cat was protecting—that being Vincent, of course. Nor that Evan had laid down his life to save Vincent and Cat from Muirfield once he had learned the whole story.

Handing Haircut her card, she said, “I’d be grateful if you would call me personally with any updates.”

She was making an end run, ignoring procedure and asking him to go outside his chain of command. So much for Goss’s idol worship of her and her adherence to protocol. He nodded and looked at her card as if memorizing her number and put it in his wallet.

“Sure thing, ma’am,” he said. Then he added kindly, “We’ll find Detective Chandler’s sister.”

So someone got it. Someone knew it was about more than Ravi Suresh and his “suicide.”

“You ever want to move precincts, let’s talk,” she said.

“Name’s Chuck Steinberg.” They shared a look, sizing each other up, and then she was gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

When Tess pulled to the curb in front of JT’s place, she found a quartet of guys in hoodies loitering around the front door. Was that a flash of metal? As in a
gun
?