Hell Is Burning (24 page)

They could see it in his eyes.

“Kid, I’m not your babysitter. I’m her babysitter. I’m the man who is going to find you an alibi, so shut up and get ready. While they put up with bullshit, I don’t.”

They grabbed their gear, knowing that Curtis wouldn’t be able to sneak away from Captain Ford. If anything, he was your worst nightmare when it came to keeping an eye on someone.

He had eyes everywhere.

That’s how he managed his detectives. Prisoners had a better chance of breaking out than cops under Ford’s watch.

Outside, Emma glanced over at Greyson. “You have a problem on the horizon.”

He was well aware.

“I already know. I’m going to have to pull his badge. There’s no way he’s going to bounce back from this. I have to find a solution, and fast.”

She saw it too, and she didn't envy her husband.

This was going to suck.

       
         
* * *
  Croft & Croft  * * *

Paris was back out in the field with his partner, and it was amazing. It was like nothing had ever happened to keep them apart. Tessa was behind the wheel, sunglasses on, and looking just as tough and badass as she always did.

It was hot.

He really missed this.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked, glancing over at him. Paris was grinning, and it was very infectious. There was something sexy about that boyish grin. She wanted to see it every day for the rest of her life.

“I missed this. I forgot how great it was being with you out in the field.”

Tessa took his hand in hers as she drove. “This is pretty awesome. I missed you too. Don’t get me wrong. I love working with Curtis. He’s a great agent, but it’s awkward when I picture him naked.”

He stared at her. “Tessa!”

She laughed. “I’m kidding. I have a thing for sexy, geeky doctors. It appears that’s my type.”

Paris was thankful for that.

“What do we have on the missing person report that Marleen Web filed?” Tessa asked, getting prepped for the interview.

“She only said that the woman went out, was supposed to return later in the day, and never came back.”

“I thought they lived in separate places.”

“When we lived in different houses, you were always at mine, and now we live together. Maybe she was crashing there. It’s easier to get your sex on and not have to roll home.”

He had a point.

“If I recall, you showed up at my place and I couldn’t get you to leave,” Tessa teased.

“Yeah, well, I know a good thing when I see it. You cook, I don’t,” he joked back.

In all honesty, that night was the best thing he’d ever done.

Tessa couldn’t help herself. She was dying to talk about their wedding. This seemed like the perfect time. “I can’t wait for you to see the dress.”

He glanced over. “For the wedding?”

“When else do I ever wear one?” she asked, laughing at the look on his face.

“Well, I’ve seen you in one a few times.” He paused. “I bet you’re going to be the most beautiful bride in the entire world. Are you sure you’re okay with eloping?”

Tessa pulled into the parking spot and turned to face him. “I’d marry you right now if we had a spare hour. I just want to be your wife.”

He leaned over, sealing his mouth to hers. The kiss was more than chaste, and the heat brewed in his gut, clawing its way up his pale flesh in a red flush.

Yeah, he wanted her not only as his wife, but as his partner in everything they did for the rest of time.

This woman was the one.

When they broke apart, he kissed her on the knuckles. “I love you, Tessa Brass. You’re going to be mine forever.”

She grinned at him. “You better believe it, but for now, are you ready to be my partner?”

He pushed his door open and waited for Tessa to get his chair. “Let’s get this done.”

She couldn’t help but grin wickedly.

Paris Archer was back in the saddle, and she couldn’t wait to watch him work.

It was like old times.

Inside the apartment building, Tessa knocked on the door. They waited until they heard footsteps approaching. When the door opened, there stood a very beefy woman.

She looked like a weight lifter.

“Marleen Web?” Tessa asked, holding out her badge as Paris did the same thing.

“Yes.”

“I’m Special Agent Tessa Brass, and this is my partner, Doctor Paris Archer. We’re here to talk to you about Shirley Golden. You called in a missing person report on her.”

Immediately, her face softened.

“Please come in,” she offered. “I figured someone would be coming by, and soon. I know the police were going to want to interview me. I didn't expect FBI.”

Paris wheeled his chair to a stop beside a couch and took out his tablet. Tessa was going to do the interview, and he was going to make notes. He wanted to absorb it all.

“Shirley is the first victim, and we believe more have been connected, so the LVPD has asked us to assist.”

The woman sat. “Oh God.”

“Can you tell us what happened the day your girlfriend went missing?” Tessa asked.

The woman thought about it. “It was a normal day. Shirley and I woke up, and she had errands to run.”

“Do you co-inhabit together?”

“No. She has her own place. I mean… she had. We weren’t really out as a couple. Well, I’m open, but Shirley, she’s not. I mean she wasn’t. She was really worried about her job. It’s not easy being gay in the world. You’d think Vegas would be easy, but it’s just as tough here.”

“I imagine it would be difficult.”

The woman pointed to her ring finger. “You’re getting married?”

“Yes, I am. Doctor Archer is my fiancé,” she stated, glancing over at him. Tessa wanted to giggle ridiculously. She couldn’t help herself. Paris had that effect on her.

“I wanted to get married one day, and Shirley was the one. I guess that dream is over,” she stated, grabbing a tissue.

“Can you tell us if someone was bothering Shirley?” Tessa asked, pushing on with the interview. They had to get the woman to talk if they wanted to get any viable information.

“No. If they were, she never mentioned it to me. We would go to work, meet up at the gym, and then head home for dinner. That was our plan for that day, only Shirley never showed. She missed the gym, and I didn't think anything of it. Really, she only went because I love it there. Then when I kept calling her, there was no reply.”

“What time was that?” Tessa asked.

“She got out of work at four and was then planning on grocery shopping. After that, she was going to hit the gym at six when I got out of work. I stayed here until eight lifting, and then headed to her place. I thought maybe she had a bad day and blew it off.”

“When did you realize something had happened?”

“When I started backtracking her steps through the day. I went to the school, and her car wasn’t there. I headed to the grocery store, and again, there was no car. Then I hit the gym. That’s where I found it. At first I thought, ‘
Shit! I missed her’
,” she stated. “Then when I went over to the car, her purse was inside, and the doors were unlocked.”

Tessa watched the woman. Her face showed so much pain and horror as she relived it.

“That’s when I knew. No one saw her inside, and she never checked in. Our car keys have this tag on it, and you scan when you get in the door.”

“So you called the police?”

“They didn't care. They told me I needed to wait until at least forty eight hours.”

Tessa knew the rest. There was no reason to make the woman relive that. The time passed, Marleen filed the report, and then Shirley Golden was found in the game lands.

It all played out as a horror story for this woman and her girlfriend.

“And no one was bothering her?” Tessa asked. “Not even at the gym?”

She shook her head. “Shirley was a sweetheart. It was my job to keep her safe, and I failed. How am I supposed to live with that?” she asked, tears streaming down her tan cheeks.

Paris knew exactly how she felt.

That was how he felt about Tessa when they were working.

“We’re so sorry for your loss,” Tessa said, handing her a business card.

“When can I see her?”

This was always hard for the victim’s family.

“We’re in the middle of the investigation. As soon as we can, we’ll release Shirley to you.”

The woman nodded. “Thank you.”

“If you think of anything else, please don’t hesitate to call me. Sometimes, when you least expect it, something comes to you. It might be that one thing we need to find who did this to Shirley.”

The woman nodded. “I will. I promise.”

With that, they headed out. After Paris pulled himself up and into the vehicle, Tessa stowed his chair. When she got in behind the wheel, he was watching her.

“So, still miss this?” she asked.

He shook his head. “This part I could do without.”

Yeah, so could she.

       
                
* * *
  Croft & Croft  * * *

When they pulled up to the coordinates, there was no doubt in Emma’s mind that Steele Bentley had been right.

They had to have two killers, or the one they were chasing was screwing with them.

Once more, they were back at the game lands.

As they jumped out of the Navigator, Mace Bristol headed toward the media to calm them down. It appeared that they had a mess brewing there, and someone had to handle it. There was no doubt that they were a bad choice, since the second the news reporters saw them, they were stirred into a feeding frenzy.

Yeah, this sucked.

As they headed through the trees, being escorted by a cop, they noticed that the killer had picked a location where the body really had to be carried. It wasn’t easy terrain.

Through the trees, they stopped when they saw her.

She was hanging from the tree, swaying back and forth. Only, this one was going to be interesting.

“This guy’s nuts,” Emma stated. She’d seen a lot in her years as a cop, but there was something so macabre about the way the killer was doing this.

“Hey, Doc. Why is she still up there?” Emma asked.

Then Emma saw why.

The city ME was also there.

Well, hell.

They had a turf war over a dead body. This was going to be shitty.

“I would have brought her down, but your ME isn't being cooperative. She seems to want to claim her, and you know I can’t let that happen, since we’re handling this case. I’ve autopsied the other three, and I plan on handling the entire case. We don’t need a screw up.”

“You mean the case you stole out from under me?” Doctor Hanlon protested. “I was scheduled to do those bodies, including the detective. I don’t like the game you’re playing.”

Emma rolled her neck.

This was why it was better to have only one ME in the city. Yes, there was a backlog, but she didn't have time for this shit.

“Doctor Hanlon, we know how busy you are, and once the FBI picked up this case as our partner, they had claim on the bodies. Surely you have some other cases to work on back at the morgue.”

She stared at Emma, her brilliant blue eyes flashing. “Oh, I have plenty of work, it’s just I don’t like the way you did this. You could have come to me and asked me to sign off on the victims. I would have, but no, you took them, leaving me out of the loop. That’s not how I work.”

Greyson went to smooth it over, but Emma stopped him. This was her ME and her issue. She’d been the one who ordered the bodies shipped to the FBI.

The woman had a valid point.

In Emma’s haste to keep Brynn’s murder silent, she’d overlooked the woman’s feelings.

“Listen, I hear what you’re saying. I just hope it’s not some power play by you because this case has the media swarming all over it. We don’t play that way on my team, and if that’s the case, you can expect this to happen a lot. I’m liaison to the FBI. Most of my cases end up with them.”

The older woman stared at her. “That’s insulting. I’ve been doing this longer than you’ve been alive. I don’t play games.”

Emma didn't care if the angry ME bird’s feathers were ruffled. She had four victims and a mess brewing.