“If I don’t try, we will never find out, will we?” she said, ever practical. Her gaze found his and, to her relief, he at least returned her smile. He looked tired, though, and she worried that he had been working too hard since he’d started his new job. Whenever she asked him about it, all he said was that he wasn’t able to discuss his work but she wasn’t to worry.
“I can ask your father for help, Ilmari. You don’t have to work yourself to death to raise money for me.”
“I’m not going to do that, Mama,” he said in that patient way of his, sliding plates into the kitchen sink and running the water so that he didn’t have to look at her while he lied. She saw the defensive twitch of his shoulder blades through his shirt but played along.
“I’m glad to hear it. I don’t want to have to have words with your boss about this.”
“Mama, I’m not at school. I work for MI5. You do not have the right to tell my manager off like she’s one of your patients.” Anni couldn’t see his face but she could hear the note of amusement in his voice all the same.
“Ohh…you’re no fun,” Anni teased.
“I’m going to come with you tomorrow,” he warned. “I want to meet this Solana woman before you give her everything we have.”
“Of course,” she demurred, folding her hands in her lap as he rinsed the plates and slipped them into the drying rack, focusing all his frustration into the simple task of putting the correct items into the proper slots and holders.
“No arguments?” He looked over one shoulder at her, a wisp of ice-blond hair tumbling over one eye. After drying his hands on the dishcloth, he tucked the renegade strands behind one ear as he turned to lean against the counter.
She wondered when her baby boy had grown so tall and handsome. He had been a child in her eyes for so many years, even after he’d gone off to work in Barcelona. Since then he had gone through so many changes, not all of them good ones. In the past few months, she had seen a new maturity in his bearing. He seemed to have found his purpose in life and pride warmed her heart. Jake Chivis was a lucky man. He and Mari made such a striking couple and she loved the light that Jake had put back in her precious Ilmari’s eyes.
“No. I want you to meet her. I think you may find that you have things in common,” she said. “I hope very much that you’ll like her, Ilmari. I do.”
“Then I hope I do, too, Mama.” Mari unfolded himself and came to her, kissing her hair. “I’m going for a run. I might pop round and see if Jake’s awake before I go in to work. I’ll get changed there. Don’t wait around for me.”
“Don’t be late,” she reminded him.
He just laughed at that and left her to watch the news.
Chapter Two
A ripple of pops went down Jake’s back as he stretched his arms over his head. He yawned and, with a little grunt, pulled on his sweats in preparation for his morning run. A knock on his door interrupted his plans.
The street-level door had a buzzer, but half the time it was broken. Even when it worked, his new neighbors across the landing kept sticking a brick in the jamb to prop it open so their friends could breeze in and out. Still, he could count on one hand the number of times someone had come up and knocked directly on his apartment door, barring visits from Mari, who now had his own key.
“Detective Cordiline, you look like hell,” Jake greeted the man as he opened the door for him. He said it casually, but alarm bells were going off in his head. The last time the detective inspector had shown up unannounced on his doorstep, he’d been investigating the possible homicide of his previous neighbor.
“Thanks for that, Chivis,” the gruff London copper told him with a shake of his head. There were dark shadows around his storm-cloud blue eyes. If he’d gotten any sleep the night before, it didn’t show. “Have you got time for a quick word before you slope off to the comfy desk job?”
“Envy doesn’t suit you,” Jake told him. “Besides, it’s Sunday. You want coffee?” he asked, stepping back to let him in.
“You read my mind.” Cordiline cracked a smile that mellowed the stark lines of his face. He rubbed a hand across his unshaven chin and pushed his fingers through his short, dark brown hair. Jake thought he was sporting a few more silver strands than he had the last time they’d spoken. “I forget what a normal week feels like. Sometimes I’d kill for a quiet life. Then I wonder if the boredom wouldn’t finish me off.”
Jake poured two mugs, added cream and sugar to one and handed it to Cordiline, who accepted it with a nod.
“I’m sure every cop feels the same at some point, Inspector. But philosophy isn’t what brought you over this morning. What’s going on?”
Cordiline settled on the edge of the sofa and took a sip of coffee before he set his mug on the chrome-and-glass table. He laced his fingers between his knees and Jake could practically see him composing his thoughts.
“I’m here to ask for a consult, Chivis,” he said.
A heavily laden pause followed that statement. Jake remembered their last conversation, which had been fraught with tension over his unofficial involvement in a murder case. If John was here asking for favors, it was something serious.
“I’m all ears.”
“I don’t need to tell you that this is hush-hush,” Cordiline warned. “You are not to repeat any of this.” He paused again and took a gulp of his coffee.
“I know how to handle confidential information, John.” Jake frowned. Cordiline’s reluctance was obvious—which meant he’d either hit a wall in his investigation and had no choice but to ask for help or had received orders from on high to bring him in on a case. He wasn’t sure which would create more animosity.
“Good. I’d have thought so, but I have to give you the official line.” Cordiline set the mug down on the table again. “We’ve had three very nasty rapes on our patch in the last few weeks. The perp uses the same MO every time. The victims are doped. SOCO says metabolites of flunitrazepam and ketamine were found in the blood of the previous pair, and they suspect they will find the same from this morning’s victim. After he assaults them, the perp buries the girls in a shallow scrape that allows them to dig their way out. In all three cases, he’s put a sheet of balsa wood over the girl’s head and shoulders before covering her body, presumably so that she can breathe as she’s coming round from the roofies. So far, he’s not killed anyone, but in my experience, it’s only a matter of time.”
“Jesus, he fucking buries them alive?” Jake suppressed a shudder. There were few things he could think of more horrible than waking up trapped underground.
Cordiline leaned back, sighed and pressed his knuckles into his eyelids for a moment. “This guy is a sick bastard, Jake. There’s no apparent rhyme or reason to this one. The girls don’t know each other. They don’t work together. They don’t live in the same areas. There’s no shared boyfriend history. As far as we can work out, nothing links them. He’s just picking random young women.”
“And you’re at a dead end. I’m assuming you want me to see if I can pick up any memories? Do you have anything from the victims I could handle? Clothing, jewelry, anything they had on them at the time of the assault?”
Cordiline shook his head.
“He leaves nothing on the victims—no clothing, no accessories. All jewelry, including piercings, he removes and…maybe he keeps them as trophies.” Cordiline shrugged. “What we do have is a suspect in custody. I understand it’s a big ask, given the situation, but if we knew we had the right guy, it would save us time. He’s been questioned and maintains he’s innocent. So far, there’s no evidence linking him to any of the crimes other than his presence when the last victim was found, and she can’t remember ever seeing him before.”
“I’d be happy to see if I can give you confirmation, sure. Just as long as you realize it’s not a guarantee I’ll pick anything up off him. Even if I do, it’s not admissible in court.” Jake tried to keep from sounding bitter, but he could hear a hint of it in his own voice. He could
n’t help it. Part of why he’d agreed to take his current job at UCL was the opportunity to advance Elemental studies to the point where they were taken seriously in the mainstream.
“Anything you can give us that will help,” Cordiline said. “If he’s our man, we can focus on building the case. If not, we know we still have a serial rapist out there somewhere, and he’s escalating.”
“All right, let me get changed and I’ll go with you to the lock-up,” Jake told him and headed off toward the bedroom.
* * * *
Mari kept to a steady run as he dodged the early-morning tourists around the top end of Baker Street. He hadn’t spotted Jake anywhere on their regular route so he headed through Marylebone to Jake’s flat. When he got there, the street door was off the catch and he let himself in and made his way to the landing, prey to a sudden wave of anxiety. He contemplated knocking, then steeled himself and slipped his key into the lock instead, letting himself in.
“Oh, there you…” The words died in his mouth as the figure on the sofa turned to face him and he realized it wasn’t Jake. His heart jumped hard. “What in the world are you doing here? Where’s Jake?”
The moment Mari uttered his name, Jake appeared in the short hall from the bedroom, pulling a shirt on. As soon as he saw him, a big smile flitted across Jake’s face—for all of a moment. It died as he took in Mari’s expression.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Jake asked, coming to him at once.
Mari glanced briefly from Jake’s open, ingenuous face to Cordiline, who was trying very hard not to smirk. He looked at his lover again, smoothed all evidence of jealousy from his features and slid his arms around Jake’s neck to plant a kiss on his mouth.
“I was worried about you,” he soothed. “You didn’t run?”
Jake gave him a searching look but put an arm around him and returned the kiss. “I was about to, but the inspector here dropped in and asked me to do a bit of consulting. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine…totally fine.” Mari beamed at him. He pointed upward, toward his deliberate grin. “See? Is he staying for breakfast, or does he want you to go with him right away?”
Cordiline rose to his feet, drained his mug and set it down on the coffee table with a clunk.
“It can wait until later, if you have to be somewhere. We can hold him until tomorrow morning,” he said with a nod to Mari, who just eyeballed him in silence.
Jake glanced back and forth between the two of them, so Mari offered him a placid smile, while his eyes shot furtive daggers at Cordiline. Jake said, “Yeah, that might work better. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
“You know where you’re going, yeah?” Cordiline said in a mild tone. “They’re moving us all up to Kentish Town, so I’m working from there this week.”
“I’ve been there.”
Mari noted that Jake didn’t add that it had been while he was being questioned about their unofficial involvement in their first case together. That was a sore point with the DI at the moment.
“I saw the scaffolding. Have you got the builders in?” Mari asked.
“No. Albany Street’s been decommissioned. They’re gonna pull it down and build some expensive flats, I imagine.” Cordiline raised an eyebrow. “That’ll suit you, I’d have thought.”
“So I won’t have the benefit of your charming company for much longer? I’m gutted,” Mari told him, not even trying to disguise the fact that this was far from unhappy news. Kentish Town was at least a mile away. If it meant that Jake accidentally ran into John Cordiline less often, it was a good thing, in his opinion.
“I’m sure you’ll feel the same when your neighborhood crime figures go up,” Cordiline said, with a smirk that told him his sincerity was doubted. He headed for the door. “I’ll be seeing you, Jake.”
As soon as Cordiline was gone, Jake pulled Mari close and locked both arms around him.
“You are not seriously still jealous, are you?”
“What? I turn up at my boyfriend’s flat and find an old guy—one who I know is already perving on him—sitting on his sofa, while he’s half-naked in the bedroom… Tell me again how you think I should feel, Chivis?” Mari kissed his cheek to show that he wasn’t truly angry, but he wished it was easier to make Jake see how the cozy relationship he had with Cordiline affected him. “I know he’s a cop. I understand that there is cop stuff going on between the two of you that’s just business.” He sighed. “But I can’t help it. He fancies you. And I totally want to kill him for it, every time I catch him leching over you.”
Jake’s chuckle was a warm, husky sound in Mari’s ear that went a long way toward chasing his jealousy away.
“He was sitting on my couch, drinking coffee. I’d hardly call that leching. Did you have a good run?”
“Mhh-hmm,” Mari conceded. “It was okay. I missed you. Mama was grilling me about why you didn’t stay last night.” He paused. “So, Inspector Gadget wants your help again? I thought he told you not to get involved after that business with the euthanizers?”
He snuggled up to Jake, in spite of his promise not to make himself late for work. It wasn’t entirely his fault, after all.
“I don’t know if it was his idea. He seemed hesitant to even ask,” Jake said. He wrapped his arms around him more tightly. “It might be his higher-ups suggested it, and he was just delivering the message. I can’t give you the details, but they have a suspect in custody for a series of rapes but no real evidence. If I can tie him to the victims, they’ll still have to build their case the old-fashioned way, but at least they’ll know they have their man.”
“Oh my!” Mari sighed and pulled him into a full-body embrace. “I can’t even object without sounding like a total bastard, can I?”
He didn’t let go, though. It might only have been one night without his precious Jake, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t missed him.
It was strange for him to be so relaxed with another man. After the disaster of Barcelona, Mari had believed that he would never again be completely at ease in a physical relationship. The nightmare with Tomas Arregui had left him doubting who and what he was. It had made his love life a no-go zone for nearly three whole years. Jake had cut right through all that anxiety in mere months. He made Mari feel human again, deserving of love and desire like a normal person—something he had almost stopped hoping was possible.
“What if he is their rapist, though?”
“Well, that’s sort of the point, babe,” Jake told him.
It hurt him to think that Jake might be forced to see that sort of darkness. Even when he knew his lover was strong enough to cope with the evils of modern society, Mari still wanted to protect him from anything that might make him feel bad. It was ridiculous. Jake had been a cop in Detroit, one of the toughest cities in the world. It was far too late to shelter him from the harsh cruelties of life.
“Is it fair, asking you to go into his head like this?”
“You know what they say about fairness. It doesn’t exist. I’ll be fine, Mari. I’m not looking forward to it, but if he harmed those women and I can see what he did, it ends there. If he didn’t do it, they still need to be looking, before anyone else gets hurt.”
Mari pressed his forehead to Jake’s, running his fingers through Jake’s hair, then kissing his lips.
“You are wonderful,” he whispered. “Never forget that.”
“Mm, you’re pretty fantastic yourself,” Jake murmured. “I missed you last night.” He stroked his hands up and down Mari’s back, over the curve of his ass, and Mari pushed back into that touch with a mischievous glance.
“I imagine you did.” Mari wriggled encouragingly. “And you are going to miss me again.” He glanced at his watch. “I have seven minutes then I have to get ready and go. I could kill your tame copper sometimes.”
“Are you sure you have to run off so soon?”
“Uh-huh.” Mari nodded with an unhappy pout. “I promised. There’s a gold alert in place
. I’m looking into some suspicious emails Ghislaine intercepted last night. It shouldn’t take too long, but I need to talk to her about it.”
Jake sighed and kissed him. “I hope they’re paying you OT for going in on a Sunday. I suppose I’ll go see Cordiline’s suspect while you’re gone. Are you coming back here when you’re done?”
“If you want me to.” Mari winked at him and planted a kiss on his nose. “Did I leave any grown-up clothes here last time? I can take a shower here with you if I did.”
Jake snorted. “You’ve got at least half the wardrobe taken over. I’m sure there’s something in there you could wear.”
“Come on then. You can scrub my back,” Mari said with a wicked smirk.
As tempting as it was to do more than just soap each other up in the shower, they stuck to a quick but sensual wash. Jake had not exaggerated about the wardrobe, either. There were plenty of clothes for Mari to choose from and he was dried and dressed in an ice-blue, single-breasted Paul Smith two-piece and ready to go in short order.
Chapter Three
It was about even odds which was the worse option for crowds, the park and the busy market streets or cramming into the Underground. Since it was only about a half-hour’s brisk walk, and likely to take just as long on the Tube, Jake opted for the open air and set out through Regent’s Park. He left its leafy haven of peace behind as he crossed the Parkway toward Camden High Street.
Mari had taken him to the Lock Market on a number of occasions, so he was at least familiar with the area, although he didn’t share Mari’s love for shopping. He was quietly amazed how Mari could wander from store to store, in and out of this booth and that stall, cooing over prospective purchases and seemingly oblivious to the sardine-can press of people all around.
If Jake wasn’t preoccupied enough with trying not to touch anyone or anything that might hold a big jolt of memory, he was forever eyeing strangers, measuring up potential trouble. It got exhausting fast. Today, he avoided the high street, traversed Parkway and skirted the panhandlers at the tube station before heading down the quieter Kentish Town Road. He crossed over the canal and under the railway bridge into the urban environs of Kentish Town itself.
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