Loves Redemption (19 page)

As soon as the men left the elevator, the man left inside repeatedly stabbed the button to

close the doors. The benign smile left his face, and in its place a look of distaste fell upon his small pinched features.

“Dalia, do you have a list of the new volunteer counselors?” Maya called out through the

open door as she sat behind her desk, eyes glued to the computer screen.

“Yes I do, Maya. I think the numbers are a little short of what it is you were expecting,”

Dalia answered. She walked into her office and leaned her rounded hip against the corner of Maya’s desk. “I am printing off a copy for you as we speak.”

“Where are we short exactly?”

“We could get by with one more counselor for the day sessions. And another one for

nights and weekends would not hurt either. Otherwise, you will be working yourself to death, as you usually do.”

“I’m fine, Dalia,” she said, as she went back to entering figures into her computer, her

mind on the monthly budget.

“You know, Maya, it has been nice to see you not work every day and spend more of

your time in the pursuit of more pleasurable things,” Dalia said with a sly grin. “As you are doing the budget, maybe you should see if we can see our way clear and hire another full-time counselor.”

“Actually, that isn’t such a bad idea, Dal. I’ve been thinking another full-time counselor

would be nice to have. It would ease the workload, and I could devote the free time to organizing the fundraiser.”

Mentioning the fundraiser reminded her she hadn’t called Arlinda back. When she’d

arrived at work, Arlinda had left her a message with a demand for her to call her ASAP. She’d been busy from the moment she had walked in and hadn’t gotten around to calling her friend.

“Would you like for me to place an ad in search of an additional counselor?”

“Yes, Dal, we probably should. You know what we need. Just write up the ad and I’ll

proof it,” she teased her assistant.

Although Dalia’s English was accented, and she didn’t always use the right euphemisms

when she spoke, her written form was perfect, and Maya would often have her proof drafts.

“I will make sure I do,” Dalia said, giving her a wink in return.

As Dalia turned to leave the office, she came face to face with Mark, making her take a

small step back to avoid bumping into him. She glanced past him and caught sight of the man with him.

“Oh, hello there, Detective. I didn’t hear you coming,” she said with a smile, her hand

going to her chest.

“Hi Dalia. I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

“Maya, would you like for me to hold your calls?” Dalia asked as she allowed the two

men to enter.

“Yes please, Dalia. Could you also start writing the ad for a new counselor?” she asked

her departing assistant, and caught Dalia running an admiring glance over the man standing near Mark.

“Maya, this is Special Agent Nicolai Montgomery. Agent Montgomery this is Dr. Maya

Richardson.” Mark made the introduction as he came around to shake Maya’s hand.

“Hello, Agent Montgomery--it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Richardson,” the agent replied.

Not a jealous man by nature, Mark nevertheless didn’t like the way the agent was holding

on to Maya’s hand. Very subtly he maneuvered himself closer, separating them as he guided her back to her chair.

“Please have a seat, gentlemen.” When Maya waved a hand in offering for them to sit,

Mark wasn’t surprised when the agent opted for the chair, which allowed him the best view of the entire office.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Dr. Richardson. I realize how busy you

are. Detective Halstan and I shouldn’t have to monopolize much of your time.”

“You’re welcome, Agent Montgomery. It’s not a problem; I’ve been working with the

police for a while, and anything I can do to help find the person responsible for killing my sister is worth my time.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. Detective Halstan says your FBI unit assists in cases like this.”

“Yes, ma’am. One of my unit’s specialties is serial crime. We’re sent to help in cases

involving serial killers, rapists, bombers and arsonists.”

Mark could tell Nicolai was comfortable with his topic, his usual stiff posture had relaxed as he spoke of his unit.

“I’ve been with the FBI for over ten years. During much of the time I was a profiler.”

“Does your experience as a profiler help you with your work in your unit?” she asked.

“Tremendously. It’s my job to understand the how’s and why’s of the crime and the

criminal. A good profiler needs to be able to think and ‘see’ the way the offender does, in order to capture and prevent further atrocities. As a profiler, you must have the ability to go inside the psyche of the offender.”

“I imagine psychology is a part of your training?” Maya hazarded a guess.

“In my unit all of my people are trained in psychology, as well as other areas. As a

psychologist, I’m sure you understand the importance of understanding the psyche of the

criminal.”

“I definitely see the importance psychology plays in trying to capture the offender.”

Maya, too, had warmed to their topic.

“Yes, ma’am, it does. In profiling the killer, we know that they aren’t all cut from the

same cloth. They have a myriad of backgrounds and experiences that have brought them to

where they are.”

“Here at Imani House, the residents have also come from a variety of backgrounds and

experiences. I’ve learned not to try and treat them all with a blanket approach to therapy. It never works. And it also can provide a hindrance to treatment,” Maya agreed.

They continued to speak on the importance of psychology in their respective roles as

therapist and agent. Mark was surprised at the similarities in their roles. He’d been observing Maya closely as she enthusiastically spoke with the agent, and although he felt a spark of

jealousy over their instant rapport, he was proud as she spoke so eloquently on her area of expertise.

That was also one of the things that turned him on about Maya. She was so intelligent,

and sometimes reminded him of a nerdy professor when she talked about psychology. A very

sexy nerdy professor.

But in bed, the nutty professor turned sultry vixen. The sometimes shy, sometimes

distracted, Dr. Richardson turned into a sexy woman who’d learned what she liked and had no problem letting him know what felt good to her. He adjusted his pants and tuned back into the conversation.

“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Agent Montgomery. Thank you for sharing your

information with me, and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me, I’m usually here at Imani House.”

“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Richardson. I look forward to working with you.”

Nicolai held on to her hand a fraction of time longer than necessary before releasing her. He headed toward the door and stood back for Mark to exit in front of him.

“I’ll be out in a minute Montgomery--give me a second,” Mark said.

As soon as the door closed, he pulled her into his arms and tilted her chin so he could

look at her face. The dimple in her cheek let him know she knew what was coming.

“Yes?” she asked, and openly laughed in his face.

“Nothing. Just this.” He claimed her lips.

He grabbed her bottom lip and pulled the full rim in his mouth, sucking hard, before

releasing it. Recapturing both lips, he opened his mouth wide and thrust his tongue inside.

He kneaded the back of her head, and delved his hands inside the curly mass to dislodge

the large pins. As he did so, pins flew in all directions and the springy curls fell, enveloping them both in their own private curtain.

He hitched her body up his and crushed her to his chest. As he was flipping her around to

straddle him, a knock sounded on her door. Breaking apart, he rested his forehead against hers, a silent curse on his lips.

“Maya you have a call from one of our sponsor’s on line two, are you able to take it?”

Dalia asked from behind the closed door.

Maya straightened her clothes. “Give me one minute, Dalia,” she told her assistant,

clearing her throat.

As he helped her straighten her clothes, she reached her fingers up to wipe the mauve

lipstick off the corner of his mouth.

He captured her fingers and pulled them into his mouth, giving them a slow, hot lick

before reluctantly releasing them. “Stay away from him,” he said and she laughed outright.

Jaime’s fingers flew across the keyboard, using the department’s formidable search

engine in the quest for more information.

Bingo, instant access.

Hmm. Let’s see, let’s see. It looked like she was in need of help. She was such an angel.

From the first time Jaime had seen her, the fact that she was special was obvious. She could do no wrong. She was an absolute doll.

It was a darn shame she had to beg for help from the government to fund her programs

when they threw money away on things that really didn’t matter. All their help did was help perpetuate the cycle. The dumb asses.

Jaime continued to read the University Press article, thoughts racing. More than anyone

else, Jaime knew how the government was always cracking down on something. But when they

cracked down, they rarely did a damn thing to help those they were cracking the whip on.

Those upstanding congressmen saw them as the dregs of society. Selling drugs, selling

their bodies, it didn’t matter. They were all the same in their eyes. No good. When you had an angel like Dr. Richardson trying to help, she had to damn near beg to receive aid.

Jaime continued to scroll down. There. She needed volunteers. It seemed as though she

was always in need of volunteers. Poor thing.

Jaime picked up the phone and placed the first call. It was time to call in a favor.

“Imani House. This is Dalia, how may I be of help to you?”

“Hello, ma’am. My name is James Smith and I’m a new graduate student. Dr. Tomas

instructed me to call you about an internship.”

“This is wonderful. But I thought Dr. Tomas had already left for vacation,” Dalia asked

the student.

“Yes, ma’am, he left a few weeks ago. I work full time, and this is my first opportunity to give you a call. Will that be a problem?” the student asked.

“No not as long as you have your paperwork.” Dalia rushed to assure him.

“Yes, ma’am, I do,” he answered eagerly.

“Wonderful. Tell me about yourself. Are you a new graduate student? And what is it you

are interested in within the counseling area?” Dalia reached for her pad and pencil.

“I recently transferred to UTSA. I’m interested in working with domestic abuse victims,

and my counselor suggested I speak with Dr. Tomas.” He mentioned the name of the internship liaison between the University and Imani House.

“Do you want to begin your internship in the fall then?”

“Oh no, ma’am, I’d like to start this summer. Dr. Tomas assured me you had openings for

summer interns.”

“We do. I thought you were interested in the fall. We are in great need of good

counselors at any time. Do you have any experience in this area?” Dalia asked.

“I’ve done some counseling with my church and also some volunteer counseling with a

crisis center in Austin.”

“This is good. When are the times you are available?” she asked, jotting notes down as

they spoke.

“I work full time, so it would have to be after five o’clock. Would that be okay?”

“Yes, that would work out well. We are currently in need of an evening and weekend

counselor. Would you be able to work on the weekends for a few hours?” She asked, mentally

crossing her fingers.

“Yes, I could come in as long as you needed me on the weekends.”

“When would you be able to come in for an interview?” Dalia asked, elated at their turn

of good luck. She gave the student the times that Maya had available to interview him.

“I’ve heard wonderful things about Dr. Richardson, and I would be grateful for the

opportunity to work with her.”

“Yes, she is a wonderful person. Would you like to come in today to visit with her? She

has two visitors in with her now, but she may be able to see you this evening for a few

moments,” Dalia volunteered.

“No, I’m sorry, I can’t come in today. Ma’am, the only day I
can’t
come in, would be Fridays. I have a standing commitment elsewhere. But I could come in tomorrow any time Dr.

Richardson has available.”

“Dr. Richardson will not be in tomorrow. However, she will be in for a few hours on

Sunday. Will that be okay?”

After they had confirmed the time, Dalia hung up the phone with a smile. She liked the

sound of the young man, he sounded earnest and excited. Dalia decided to wait to place the ad for a counselor until Maya had a chance to visit with the student. With a smile, she turned back to her computer.

* * * *

“This is where we discovered the two victims’ bodies; the female of course, was Dr.

Richardson’s foster sister Allison Hill,” Mark began, as he and Nicolai walked to the sectioned off crime scene.

After they left Imani House they’d driven to the crime scene where Allison had been

found, so the agent could survey it. Moving crime scene tape aside, Mark entered the area with Nicolai following close behind him. Turning around he was going to speak when he noticed the intense expression on the agent’s face.

“Could you show me where the bodies were buried, Detective?”

“Sure follow me. They were buried close together but in separate shallow graves.” Mark