“My little brother turned out to be a true student of science,” Michael said. “He has a doctorate in forensic anthropology. Seems some of your M.E.’s in Dade County like to read, and happen to know some of the people Sean has worked with in the past.”
Lori watched Sean, wondering just what kind of work he’d done in the past. So much time had gone by. She thought that she knew a lot about him, his past, and what made him tick. But she had missed the years when the young adult had matured into a man, and so she didn’t really know him at all.
And yet she knew that she liked him still. And that she was more attracted to him than she had ever been before.
“I didn’t know we had an expert in murder in our midst!” Jan said.
“Not an expert,” Sean said. He shrugged. “But being accused of the deed does make you interested in the subject of proving guilt and innocence. Think we should head back? Hey, Mike, thanks, it was a really great day.”
Lori echoed the thank-you.
“Shucks,” Michael said, “come more often!” Outside, Michael said good-bye to the kids, who happily fawned all over him and gave him more thanks. He finally managed to get into his Jeep and head south.
Lori was dismayed when the kids both opted to ride with Jan so that she wouldn’t have to make the drive alone. She didn’t want to be with Sean alone. It was very strange to feel such a physical excitement alongside an awkward emotional fear. Not that dating was ever easy…
But Sean didn’t press any issues. He drove in silence, his eyes on the road. She found herself staring at her hands, then instigating a conversation.
“Sean?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks. Really, thanks. This was great for Brendan. I thought it would be so difficult, moving him here, but Tina has helped to make it easy, and today sure made the area look great.”
“Michael was the one with the magic touch.”
“Yes, but thanks for…”
“Making you come down for the day.”
“Yes. It’s been strange to come home.”
“Damned strange. I arrived, Ellie was murdered—and you were here.”
“It’s all coincidence.”
“Mmm.”
“It has to be coincidence. I mean, you published a book and came on tour. I came home because of Gramps. And Ellie was murdered because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the police will get the guy,” Lori said determinedly.
“We can hope.”
“You don’t sound sure,” Lori said.
He shrugged, hesitating. “Statistics aren’t always in favor of killers being caught.”
“But… this guy is crazy. Surely. He’ll have to trip himself up somehow.”
He studied the road. “Lori, you’ve got to be careful. Really careful.”
“I’m always careful.”
“More careful than ever. You don’t have an alarm system.”
“I will.”
“Let me loan you the money.”
“What makes you think I need the money?” she demanded irritably. “I have a teaching post waiting, and I’m paid very well for my designs, thank you—”
“And it’s an expensive world.”
“My folks are well-off, you know,” she reminded him coolly.
“How could I ever forget?” he asked her quietly.
“That again. You’ve got a chip on your shoulder as big as a boulder—”
“Well, you did drop a few rocks on me.”
“I did. I did, all by myself?”
He was silent, staring straight ahead. Then he suddenly seemed to explode, his voice modulated but harsh, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “A chip on my shoulder? No, I really shouldn’t have a chip, and you know what? Usually I don’t. But let’s see, how did I get into all this? First, because I was thrown in jail. I had a kid for a public defender, fresh out of school, who was smart, who tried but who was intimidated by the tough, experienced district attorneys set to try the case. Then, let’s see—some time in the Dade County jail, with every cutthroat, deviant, and sick cold-blooded murderer out there. There were the pictures they threw at me daily. Mandy’s ankle, Mandy’s face, Mandy’s eyes, on the autopsy table. While all the rich, respectable kids sat home in a protected silence, all bonded together, nice as could be.”
“Ahh, so at last I can tell what regard you have for me,” Lori breathed.
He lifted one of his hands off the wheel. “I’m supposed to be sorry for being angry when I was the only one accused out of that many people?”
“Well, you were dating her!”
“I was done dating her.”
“Conveniently.”
“You of all people know that’s the truth!”
“But—”
“But what?” he demanded harshly.
“But it’s over! And I can’t go back, and I sure as hell can’t change things. So if you’re going to resent everyone, you should just leave. You’re the great Sean Black. You’ve beaten all the odds, you made something out of yourself, you met adversity head-on, and you climbed out of the gutter and up a damned mountain. Just who the hell do you think you are to be so stinking self-righteous—”
“I am not self-righteous!” he broke in furiously.
“The hell you’re not!”
They were suddenly both silent. Lori found that she was shaking, and she didn’t know if it was with anger or guilt. What the hell was she doing? Making matters far worse than they ever needed to be?
“You’re going seventy, and the speed here is forty-five miles an hour,” she murmured.
“I’m going sixty and the speed limit is fifty.”
“Oh, good, let’s argue about this, too.”
“Lori, I’m sorry, you can’t begin to understand—”
“Because you won’t give anyone else credit for understanding, and you can’t begin to understand yourself what others were going through,” she interrupted.
“Well, forgive me. Try a few autopsies and a couple of nights in the Dade County jail,” he murmured.
“And you should try—” she began and broke off.
“Try what?”
“Nothing.”
“Lori—”
“Nothing. You’re right, no one’s experiences compare with yours.”
“Damn you, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“It’s exactly what you’re saying.”
He fell silent. She heard him gritting his teeth; his knuckles remained whitely wound around the steering wheel. He drove fast but competently—not too far over the speed limit.
They reached the turnpike and rode the distance from Florida City to Lori’s house in dead silence. When he drove into her yard, she was startled to see a Metro-Dade police cruiser sitting in her front yard.
“Oh, my God, there’s been an accident. Something has happened, Jan had an accident with the kids—” Lori blurted in a panic.
Sean shook his head, setting his hand on hers to calm her. She nearly jumped a mile high at the touch.
“No,” he said softly. “It’s just Ricky. He’s come for me.”
“Why? Why would Ricky be looking for you—and at my house?”
“I’m not sure,” Sean said, and stepped out of the car.
Sue sighed softly; she’d been about to scream. Andrew Kelly was laughing.
“It’s Jeff.”
“Jeff?”
“Jeff Olin.”
Sue smiled. It was great to have friends. Jeff had come right from work, it appeared. He walked in wearing a three-piece suit, loosening his tie, his smile handsome and rueful. “Hey, Sue.”
“I know. You just had a sudden, uncontrollable urge for coffee, right?”
Jeff grinned at Andrew. “I guess Ellie’s funeral was a shake-up for all of us. You were in such bad shape, Sue. Not physically—I mean, you look like a million bucks, but…”
“Thanks, that’s nice, Jeff.”
“You do look great,” Andrew assu
red her.
“And you’re just two of the most glorious hunks I’ve ever seen, and better than that, you’re being the world’s best friends.”
“One of us can give you a ride home.”
“Thanks. I’ve got my car. If one of you wants to follow me home, that would be great. I’m probably just being a big scaredy cat, right? Ellie disappeared from a club, so this monster probably crawls around bars and nightspots rather than coffeehouses, don’t you think?”
“Right,” Jeff agreed. “And you know what? I hear that you do make incredible gourmet coffee.”
“Want some?”
“Of course.”
“What’s Andrew drinking?”
“French roast. Have the same?”
“Hell, no, I’ll have something different,” Jeff told her.
She smiled. “Friends are good,” she told them, and poured Jeff a cup of Colombian gold.
Sean saw that Ricky wasn’t alone. They really might have been back in high school— Ted Neeson, tall and lanky now and usually a little quiet in Ricky’s presence was with him. Ted was in his City of Coral Gables uniform. Ricky was in jeans and a T-shirt.
“Hi, Lori, Sean!” Ricky called, striding toward the rental Olds.
“Is anything wrong?” Lori asked anxiously.
“No, nothing,” Ricky told her.
“Then how, what—”
“We were just looking for Sean.”
“How’d you know I’d be here?” Sean asked. Lori still looked distressed, hazel eyes wide and glittering, face pale. Even worried, he thought, inwardly growling at his libido—Lori was looking great. She’d maintained what he considered a perfect female figure—she managed to be tall and slim and curved all at the same time. It had been a hell of a long time since he’d touched her, and he’d been drunk at the time, but it was odd how he remembered the way she felt, the full firmness of her breasts in his hands, the hollows at her hipbones…
Hell! This was definitely not a time to remember how her fingers had brushed him with such inadvertent intimacy.
“What’s up, Ricky, Ted?” Sean asked. “How’d you know I’d be here?”
“Jan told Brad she was meeting you down in the Keys for dinner,” Ricky said. “Sorry, Lori, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was about to drop Ted off, and decided to ride by and see if I could catch you.”
“There hasn’t been another murder?” Lori asked anxiously.
Ricky looked at her, a strange expression in his eyes, then he shook his head. “There’s always a murder somewhere, unfortunately. But no, not here, not that I’m aware of.” Ricky turned to Sean. “Gillespie asked me to see if you’d come back in,” he said. “That’s all.”
“Gillespie?” Lori murmured, confused.
“The medical examiner,” Sean explained, not looking at her. “Is it any kind of an emergency?” he asked Ricky.
“She’s not down at the morgue waiting for you now, no,” Ricky said. “But she would like to see you in the morning.”
“Sure.”
“Why?” Lori demanded.
“She has old bones she wants to play sleuth with, that’s all,” Sean said. “How’s it going in Coral Gables, Ted?” he asked, determinedly changing the direction of the conversation.
“Good, thanks. We’re still mostly after traffic offenders, a few kids wandering the streets. A few more home invasions in the last few years—some violent deaths in the last decade, but knock on wood, not many,” Ted said cheerfully. “I’m glad you bought this old place, Lori,” he told her. “Nice neighborhood, good for you and for your boy.”
“Thanks, Ted. It’s great so far.”
“It needs an alarm,” Sean said.
“Well, you’re in the right place as far as I’m concerned,” Ted told her. “I happen to know all the guys on the force, and we’ll keep an eye out for you.”
“Thanks, that’s good to know,” Lori said.
“Speaking of which… we were about to take a ride to Sue’s shop, make sure she closes up okay,” Ricky said. “Want to come for the ride? She makes great coffee?”
“I have to wait for Brendan,” Lori said. “He’s in Jan’s car.”
As she spoke, Jan pulled into the drive. Like Lori, she instantly frowned at the sight of the police cruiser, jumping out of her car with a worried “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, social visit!” Ricky called to her. “Don’t go getting your panties in a snarl, Jan.”
She flashed Ricky a glance that assured him that although he might be on the Metro Dade homicide squad, he had not come so far from the 4F days. “Everything’s all right?”
“Everything’s all right,” Lori said.
“We’re about to go to Sue’s for coffee. Want to come?” Ted invited.
“Sue’s—coffee now?” Jan said, frowning.
“I think that the guys are being nice he-men, and that we should applaud them,” Lori told her, smiling.
Jan shrugged. “It’s a little late, but…” Brendan and Tina were standing just behind Jan.
Brendan stepped forward. “Mom, would you mind if Tina and I just vegged out and watched a little television until you all came back?”
Sean was somewhat startled to see that Lori glanced his way, almost as if she were asking his opinion. Not to lose the moment, he quickly spoke up. “Lock yourselves safely in,” he advised.
“Don’t open the door to anyone,” Lori added sternly.
“Of course not, Mom.” His glance at Tina stated that grown-ups were overly paranoid but it was best to humor them.
“Want to all go in the cruiser?” Ricky asked.
“I think I’ll take my own car. Jan, Lori—want to drive with me?”
“Sure,” Lori said.
Again, to his surprise, she slid into the front seat. Next to him. Jan slid in beside her.
Her arm brushed his. Little tendrils of her hair brushed his flesh. He was glad that the denim jeans he had changed to were of a heavy material. He locked his jaw, looked ahead, and revved the car into motion.
Sue, looking out the window as she chatted with Jeff and Andrew, suddenly started to laugh.
“What is it?” Andrew asked.
Sue smiled at him. “Your cousin Josh is coming from one direction, and your sister is coming from the other direction with Sean and Jan, and our neighborhood cops—Ricky and Ted—are coming in right behind them.”
“You’re kidding,” Andrew said, rising.
“I guess I’d better put on more coffee.”
“Hey, Sue,” Lori said, opening the door. She flashed a smile at her brother and Jeff while the others piled in behind her. “Hey, Andrew. And Josh!” She ruffled her brother’s hair and kissed her cousin on the cheek. Sue smiled, remembering just how wildly she’d been in love with Andrew Kelly back in high school, and how she, Jan, and Lori had talked endlessly about their hopes and dreams and fantasies. The Kellys were still remarkable. Lori had always been a beauty with her blond hair and tawny eyes; likewise, Andrew was as solidly sexy as an adult as he had been as a football hero. Josh Kelly, a bit leaner, still had a subtle grace and appeal. He had been captain of the debate team, Sue remembered. One hell of a talker. He was probably one damned good lawyer. Ellie had told her that she knew a number of girls Josh had dated, and that he’d talked his way into bed with every one of them.
“Hiya, Susie,” Josh said, grinning. “Coffee smells great!”
“This sudden craving for coffee is just amazing!” Sue said. “But thank you, all of you, very much.”
Sean looked at Andrew and Josh, shrugged, smiled. “Great minds think alike, or something like that.”
“And, just think. It’s safe as all hell—the cops are already here,” Ricky put in.
“Safe? That’s not the way I hear it—regarding you, Ricky Garcia!” Jan teased.
“He started those rumors himself,” Ted told her.
“Well, we are all here,” Jan said. She grinned at Sue. “I’m supposed to be having the par
ty, you know,” she teased.
“And don’t you dare renege on it. I can’t wait. And I’m sure you’re going to have much better food, since I’m out of everything but day-old bagels and croissants,” Sue said.
“Pizza!” Another voice suddenly announced from the door.
“Brad!” Jan said, startled.
“In the flesh,” he agreed.
“What are you doing here?” Jan demanded.
“I called Lori’s house to find out why you all weren’t back yet, and Brendan told me you had come here. Seriously. I worked hard today and I’m famished. Let’s order a pizza.”
“Fine, I’ll call down the street. They’re open until midnight,” Sue said happily. She picked up the phone and dialed, while the group lined up at her counter began to call out suggested toppings.
“No anchovies!” Josh insisted.
“We have to have anchovies,” Ted complained.
“Anything but onions,” Jan said.
“Oh, man, gotta have onions,” Ricky protested.
“How about one plain cheese, one with meat, and one with onions and anchovies?” Lori suggested.
“If I can repeat all that!” Sue agreed, laughing.
When the pizzas arrived, the group ate, talked, laughed. In the middle of biting into a piece deliciously loaded, Sue looked up and exclaimed, “I don’t believe it!”
“What?” Sean inquired, his eyes narrowed. Sue smiled at him. For all of his success, good looks, and usual confidence, Sean could still be very tense. Well, could she blame him? There was a time when the D.A.’s office had been threatening the electric chair.
“Your brother is here.”
“My brother?” Sean said, astounded.
Michael Black stepped into the coffee shop, grinning sheepishly. “I thought the party was tomorrow night!”
“It is!” Jan assured him.
“What are you doing here?” Sean demanded.
Hands on hips, he told Jan, “I’m not supposed to spill the beans, but your daughter left her little knapsack in the changing room. There were prescription glasses in it along with her assignment notebook, and I was afraid that she might get in some trouble at school.”
“Oh, Michael! You drove all the way up here for that! I’m so sorry!” Jan protested.
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