When Chris stood there and simply grinned, the man had all the answers he needed.
It was clear.
“Oh, shit! You scored the sexy agent, didn’t you? You got her to date you!”
He nodded.
“Is it official?”
“Yes, we’re a couple.”
Then he realized what he’d done.
“Yeah, but you can’t say a word,” he demanded. “We can’t let it get out. If we do, there’s going to be an issue. Gabe will never let us work together if he finds out we’re in a relationship. The man hates my guts. He’ll give me all the shitty agents to keep me away from her.”
Tony got it.
“I can’t believe you scored her as a girlfriend. That’s the pinnacle, my friend.”
“I know, right? She’s MY girlfriend.”
Chris was giddy. It felt amazing to tell someone.
God!
He loved saying that. He was in a freaking relationship with a sexy woman.
Holy shit!
This was his best day ever.
“I mean it, Tony. Mum is the word.”
He got it.
“I won’t say shit, but now you have to tell me what you did. How did you wrangle that bull and not end up gorged by the horns?”
He laughed.
The picture in his head was pretty accurate.
Only, it had been so much easier than he ever thought it could be. It was amazing what open and honest conversation would get you.
“I simply asked her if she wanted more, and it turned out that she wanted the same thing I did.”
“To get married and have little doctors?”
He stared at him in horror.
That was NOT what he wanted.
In fact, the mere thought of kids made him want to put two condoms on, and dip himself in spermicide—daily—just in case. He wasn’t at a point in his life where he felt like he could take care of a child.
He was still taking care of himself.
“NO! We are a couple, and that works for us. Why would I want to get married?” he asked. “We are both way too young.”
Tony just assumed.
“So, couple sex? Is it hot?”
He knew he shouldn’t be talking about Elizabeth like she was some conquest, but by God! When would something like this ever happen to him?
This meant holidays together.
It meant vacations with each other.
It meant that so many doors had been opened for them. They weren’t alone.
They were making their own unit, and that was exciting for a guy who was always alone.
He now had someone, and she was pretty damn amazing.
“Well,” Tony asked. “You can tell me. I’ve only had one-night stand sex. What’s relationship sex like? Is it better?”
Was it ever?
“Yes, it’s even better than ‘friends with bennies’ sex. It’s the best thing ever.”
Tony wiggled his eyebrows lecherously.
“Tell me more.”
And that was where Chris drew the line.
There was a difference between talking about having a girlfriend and talking about HAVING your girlfriend. This is where the man talk train came to a screeching halt. There was no freaking way on earth that he was going to gossip about Elizabeth and their sex lives.
NO.
FREAKING.
WAY.
She wasn’t some sleazy conquest.
This was a relationship and he wanted it to last. He couldn’t imagine his life without her intertwined in it. That meant not crossing some line with his friend.
So, no, there was NO talking going on.
“Come on! Share!”
“Not if you were the last man on earth. She will kill me. I know better. I don’t want to be dumped after twelve hours. I’d like this to last a long time.”
Tony hugged him anyway.
“I’m happy for you. I hope you’re together a very long time.”
Yeah, him too.
In fact, that was his plan.
The timer chimed.
“Bugs are done!” Tony declared, a little too enthusiastically.
Then again, the man always was a little overzealous about his bugs.
Chris followed him to the boxes, and together, they took off the lids. The beetles had had one hell of a meal. The victims were down to the bones.
“Now to clean what’s left and examine them. Then you can contact Elizabeth?” Tony asked.
Chris agreed.
“I’ll help. Keep me away from the doctor. She’s giving me the creeps.”
“Why?” Tony asked.
Chris didn’t know.
All he knew was she was in his space, and he didn’t like to be crowded.
Well, unless you were Elizabeth LaRue. She could crowd him any day.
All.
Day.
Long.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Harvard
When she arrived at Harvard with the detective, it was clear that school was in session. There were coeds all over the place, toting books, laughing with friends, and studying in the quad.
It took her back.
Being in college had been so different for her. She came from a town with fewer residents than Cornell, and the fun began.
Sororities.
Parties.
Studying.
Dean’s list.
It had been a good memory for her. She’d grown up a lot in those four years.
“I can’t imagine spending this much money to go to school,” Detective Bronson stated. “It seems insane to me as a cop.”
She got that.
She’d gone to an ivy league school, but she didn’t talk about it. It made people treat her differently.
“Yeah, that’s crazy,” she said, going along with it. “You do have a kid, so…”
He looked horrified.
“State school was good enough for me, and it’ll be good enough for any children I have.”
Thankfully, she wasn’t going to have to deal with that train wreck.
“Tell me about the professor.”
“She taught biology, and everyone seemed to like her. There were rumors of some issues between her and another professor.”
“And you verified that the person giving you that information was legit?” she asked.
He nodded.
“We can hit him up first if you’d like. He seemed helpful. He’s a kid himself. What do you call those students that kiss ass and teach a class for their professors?” he asked.
“A teaching assistant?”
“Yeah, that’s it. You can interview him if that’s how you want to roll. He seemed to be on the up and up. We couldn’t connect anyone to the class he taught. Besides, he’s…”
He stopped.
“What?” she asked.
“He’s a nerd. He had his face stuck in a book as he prepped his lecture. Boring.”
She laughed.
“Today’s nerds are tomorrows scientists, doctors, and millionaires.”
“Well, you like that type. I don’t think nerds are hot. You’re hot.”
“You’re making me want to punch you in the throat.”
He laughed.
“Anyway, he’s yours to interview.”
Yeah, well, she not only would like that, but it was required. Elizabeth didn’t like to leave any stone unturned. That was how you missed shit.
“That would be good. Lead the way, Detective.”
They headed into the one building, flashing their badges at campus security. The one man came over when he seemed skeptical of their identification. He stopped them from going up in the elevator.
“What’s going on?”
Elizabeth took over.
“I’m Special Agent Elizabeth LaRue, and I’m here investigating the death of Professor Mirel McGowan.”
He backed up and put away the testosterone. She was glad. It would suck if she had to
kick his ass.
“Yeah, I heard about that. It’s a shame. She was a really cool lady.”
She was curious.
“And you are?”
He held out his hand. “I’m Leland Brooks. I’m here to protect and serve. I’m a cop just like you two.”
She stared at him.
As did the detective.
Was this kid serious?
He was clueless if he thought that ‘policing’ a college campus was ‘protecting and serving’. He didn’t have a real idea as to what their jobs were really like.
This was nothing.
She wanted to ask him when the last time he’d been shot at was, but what was the point?
She knew the answer.
“Well, congrats on the job. That’s good to know. Now maybe you can tell us if anyone was bothering Ms. McGowan?” she asked.
“Nah! She was a nice lady. I’d walk her to her car at night after she had her late lab. She was always pleasant and friendly. She would talk to any one of her students and give them extra help. She was pretty popular with the student body.”
Yeah, especially with a killer.
“Where can we find a teaching assistant by the name of Kai Fitzpatrick?” she asked, reading his name off the list that she’d pulled from the detective’s file.
“Oh, Kai is up in the office working on papers. I just saw him getting a soda from the machine. That kid needs to get a life. He’s a total nerd.”
Detective Bronson gave her the look that said, ‘I told you so.’
“He practically lives here.”
She ignored the detective.
“Thank you, Leland. We appreciate your help,” she offered. “You can get back to your ‘protecting and serving’ now.”
“I’ll walk you up. If there’s a killer around, I want to make sure I’m extra diligent keeping the ladies safe. You know how dangerous it can be out there.”
Yeah, just what she needed.
A cop wannabe watching her ass.
LITERALLY.
She had news for him. She could kick his ass, remove that pepper spray he was carrying, and shove it down his throat before he ever realized what the hell was going on.
God!
Today’s youth.
She was ashamed to be one of them.
She allowed him to lead them to the elevator and Detective Bronson rolled his eyes too.
Yeah, even he got it.
As they went up, Elizabeth was cognizant of how close the man stood to her. Something was off about him, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
He was watching her, but overtly doing it.
Yeah, her skin began to crawl.
“Here you go,” he said, heading out of the elevator. “His office is right here,” he said, stopping at the open office door and knocking.
“Kai! You have visitors.”
The man looked up from his papers and welcomed them into his room.
“Hey! It’s the detective. Thanks, Leland. I’ve got it from here.”
The security guy nodded and winked at Elizabeth.
“All in a day’s work, sweet cheeks.”
Max snickered, and she gave him the look. She was going to hurt him later.
Until then, it was time to get down to work.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick, I’m Special Agent Elizabeth LaRue. Can I come in and ask you some questions?”
He waved her in.
“Sure! I’m going to guess this is about Professor McGowan, right?” he asked, as he stood for her.
Elizabeth shook his hand.
“Yes, it is.”
Kai greeted the detective.
“I don’t know what more I can tell you. I pretty much told you everything I knew.”
They all sat.
Elizabeth studied him. He was this redhead nerd with glasses and clearly a Coke habit.
The soda.
Not the drug.
His space was littered with the red and white cans behind him, around him, and in the overfilled trashcan.
“I’d offer you refreshments…”
She waved it off.
“No, thank you. How about you just tell us what you know about the person you said was bothering the professor? That would really help me out.”
“I don’t know if I’d say bothering, but he was acting odd.”
She pulled out her phone and waited.
“Tell her,” Max said.
“I was working late about a month ago. It was after ten. I’m normally not here that late, but I had a big project of my own due, and I fell behind with papers.”
He pointed at the stack.
“Again.”
She got it.
She recalled college.
“So I’m in here working, and I had my door closed and my light off. I was using my desk lamp,” he said, tapping it.
“Go on,” she stated.
“So, I’m grading and I can hear talking. At ten at night, that’s an oddity—especially on a Tuesday. On the weekends, the kids party, but mid-week? Not much. This place is a freaking ghost town.”
She made notes on her phone.
“So I get concerned. It’s escalating. I walk over to my door, and I’m listening. I know it’s wrong to eavesdrop, but the woman sounded upset.”
This was good.
She was listening.
“I could hear Professor McGowan telling someone to stop touching her. She was irritated and not happy with whoever it was.”
Oh, a sexual deviant killing, and then this?
This was a good lead.
They might have a good chance with this one.
“Well, they went on talking about some things, and I kept listening.”
“What did they discuss?”
“Sex and she said…and I quote, ‘I don’t like sex like that, and you crossed a line. It’s over and done, and I don’t want you touching me anymore.’ She really sounded grossed out by it. I was concerned.”
Elizabeth glanced over at the detective. “That wasn’t in the report I got.”
He looked confused.
Then it hit him.
“Well, my partner likely had a hand in that. He made the notes. I was just here with him doing the interview.”
Kai agreed.
“Yeah, the other guy asked all the questions and took the notes. I didn’t like him. He was rude.”
Well, she understood that.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Surprising. Information left out of a report by a cop to a Fed.
This was exactly why she insisted on redoing everything. If you missed things like this, the case was never solved.
“Go on, Mr. Fitzpatrick.”
“So they are talking, and her office is across the hall at an angle. I open the door, peek out a little, and pray they don’t see me.”
“Did they?”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe so since they kept arguing about the ‘raunchy, dirty, and across the line sex’.”
She made more notes.
“That was what she called it?”
He nodded.
“Who did you see?” she asked, needing the other person’s identification.
“I saw another professor.”
Elizabeth saw that in the report. She figured it was just someone to interview who worked with the deceased woman.
“Professor Daryl Prince?” she asked.
“Yeah, and he was not happy with the way she was talking to him. I’m gay, ma’am, so I don’t know how to treat the ladies, but I know that’s NOT the way to do it. He was mean.”
Yeah, women didn’t like that.
At all.
“If a gay man knows that, then a straight one should too, right?”
“You’d assume,” she stated. “Then what?”
They argued a little longer, and she kicked him out of the office, and then called for security to walk her down to her car. He came, and she left.”
“Who came?”
“Leland—the
guy you just met. After that, I didn’t hear another thing, and I went back to grading my class’s history papers.”
Leland didn’t mention the incident, but he did mention walking her to her car after late labs.
Maybe he just assumed.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick, thank you so much for your help. How can we reach you?” she asked.
He scribbled his name and phone number down. “I really hope you meant that in a ‘we can meet for coffee sometime’ reach me.”
She took the card.
“Sorry, I’m in a relationship.”
“I meant him.”
She found that amusing, that for once, today, it wasn’t her being hit on.
The detective went red.
“I’m not available,” he muttered as she took the phone number from him.
“Well, late to the party again.”
Elizabeth found this to be poetic justice.
A few times, she’d been hit on by the detective, and now he could see how uncomfortable it really was.
And inappropriate.
“Again, thank you for your help, Kai.”
As they headed out and into the hall, they regrouped.
“What the hell?” Max asked.
She started laughing. Elizabeth had held it in for as long as she could.
“I think he wanted to test out your man goods, and ride that package, detective.”
He was horrified.
“Stop.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, it’s okay for a woman to be talked to like that, but the first time a man wants to explore all your orifices, you get squeamish?”
“I’ll puke on your boots.”
She laughed even more.
“I get it. Hitting on women like they are nothing more than a sex object is wrong.”
“Someone came to Harvard and got schooled,” she stated. “Go figure.”
“I need to go bathe in bleach. I feel dirty.”
“He was totally checking out your dick.”
The man’s mouth hung open.
“You’re a horrible human being.”
“And your ass.”
“I’ll leave you here,” he warned.
She found his homophobia amusing. It was karma, and he had it coming.
“Let’s focus on work,” he stated.
That worked for her.
“I guess you’re going to want to interview the professor,” he stated.
“You think? Your partner left a lot of that interview out of the notes.”
He sighed.
Dawn of Evil_FBI Flashback Page 17