Yours,
Richard
P.S. Why didn’t you go into work tonight, darling? I wanted tonight to be our night.
Nikki gasped, bile churning in her stomach. She reread the last sentence, ice-cold fear lancing through her.
P.S. Why didn’t you go into work tonight, darling? I wanted tonight to be our night.
He knew who she was, she thought, her hand flying up and clamping over her mouth. He knew who she was and he knew where she worked.
Oh my God.
She surged to her feet and stumbled toward the phone.
Chapter 15
Sunday, July 20 8:07 P·M·
“It’s about time I heard from you, bud. Where the hell you been?” Thomas shut down the computer, wanting to give his partner his full attention.
“Didn’t Chief Williams tell you I caught a plane to JFK?” James said through the phone connection. “He said he’d pass the message along.”
“Yeah,” Thomas confirmed, leaning back in the chair, “he told me.”
Silence.
“We need to talk, bro,” Thomas said softly.
James was quiet for a moment, and then, “What about?”
“Vincent Pinoza,” he drawled.
“Vincent Pinoza? What is it you want to know?”
Thomas considered his words, choosing them carefully. “According to the report you filed, you stated that four years ago Vincent claimed he believed Lisa to have been a faithful wife. I had a little chat with Vincent last week, and he claims that not only was Lisa unfaithful, but that he has maintained that very thing all along.” He stared unblinking at the powered off computer. “Care to shed a little light on the situation for me?”
Silence.
“Just what the fuck are you accusing me of?” James finally bellowed.
Thomas’s eyebrows rose. “I’m not accusing you of anything, bro. I need some answers is all.”
“Answers? What answers? Vincent is a druggie and a liar. What more of an explanation do you need?”
“Good point. Do you think he was wired the night you interviewed him?”
“I doubt it,” James said, calming down. “He was in a one-man holding cell the night I interviewed him.”
Thomas mentally blew out a breath. His partner had just passed that part of the test with flying colors.
“Oh, right. I hadn’t thought of that. Well why do you suppose he lied, bro? I can understand him being angry at his wife. I mean, the lady was a whore. But—”
“I doubt Lisa was a whore,” James interjected. “Vincent probably made that little story up to you because he felt like fucking with us. He doesn’t have anything better to do with his time, so why not bother the cops?”
“Definitely possible,” Thomas said, relaxing. He had purposely thrown the slander against Lisa out there to see if his partner would react to it. He’d merely sounded explanatory, not defensive. Thank God.
“Happens all the time. You know that.”
“Yeah, it does. Sorry to have bothered you with it, bud,” he replied. “Hey, go take care of your dad and I’ll see you when you get back.”
“It’ll be a few days yet.”
“I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, bro.”
Thomas ran a hand across his jaw after he clicked off the phone. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. There were still too many coincidences for his peace of mind: a missing report, conflicting stories, and James racing off to Brooklyn to care for a father he didn’t get on with.
In such a situation, however, Thomas had only two choices available to him: believe the word of James, a man who was not only his partner but his best friend as well; or believe the word of Vincent, a convicted felon, drug addict, and lord knows what else.
“No contest,” he muttered, his eyes flicking open. “No damn contest.”
Thomas would remain vigilant. He would check out a few things behind the scenes. But for now, at least, he would also give James the benefit of the doubt.
Seated on the couch, her legs beneath her, Nikki stared unblinking at the wall across from her while five cops rifled through her apartment trying to ascertain whether or not it was possible that Richard had broken into it at some point prior. So many extreme emotions had assaulted her in the past two hours that she’d eventually gone numb. Fear. Revulsion. Anger . . .
Richard was, it seemed, steadily ruining her life. It was bad enough that she found herself constantly looking over her shoulder. It was worse still that she could no longer relax in her own home. Now the police were telling her she couldn’t go to work without an escort. She wasn’t about to argue with them, for she knew it was the smart thing to do, but the very necessity of it was depressing and frightening.
Nikki had gotten away from Richard once, but his phantom continued to haunt her.
Sighing, she glanced over to where Thomas Cavanah stood behind Leon Walker, the CPD’s resident computer-crimes guru. Judging from the disgruntled look on both men’s faces, she thought as she wound her long curls into a topknot on her head, it looked as though Richard had proved cunning once again and left no residual traces of his location behind.
Surprise, surprise.
“My God, are you okay?”
Nikki glanced up at the sound of Kim’s voice. She offered her best friend an attempt at a smile as she watched her limp into the living room on crutches, Megan in tow.
“As good as you’d expect, I suppose. How’s the ankle?” she asked, her green gaze flicking first over Kim and then Megan.
“To hell with my ankle,” Kim grumbled. “Good lord, Nik, I about had a heart attack when the police called me.”
Nikki’s eyebrows slowly drew together. “You know, I’ve been so out of it I hadn’t thought to phone. Who called you?”
“Detective Cavanah,” Kim announced as she made her way over. “He thinks you better come stay with Megan and me for a while. I agree.”
Nikki’s gaze shot over to where the detective stood. His concentration was on whatever Leon Walker was doing, so he didn’t notice her stare. He’d been off duty when Richard’s email had arrived and was therefore in his street clothes, snug jeans and a nondescript black T-shirt. The biceps-length T-shirt really showed off those vein-roped arms, she thought with a small swallow. The gun holster added another level of danger and intrigue to him. “Thomas?” she murmured. “Really?”
Kim glanced at Detective Cavanah, then back at her best friend. Her smile came slowly. “Uh huh.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Yes, Thomas,” she said breathily, giving a dramatically sensual imitation of how Nikki had said his name.
Nikki frowned. “I didn’t say it like that, brat,” she muttered. She felt her cheeks growing hot under the yeah-right look Kim threw her way. “Oh, stop it.” She decided to ignore her for the time being. “So Megan,” she said, turning her attention to the beautiful woman in her early fifties who was standing behind Kim. “How’s your mean daughter been treating you?” she said on a wink. She ignored Kim’s sigh.
Megan Cox was and always had been a classic beauty that age never managed to get the upper hand over. At fifty-three, her blue eyes were lined with a couple of crinkles at the corners and her face had a mature, sculpted look to it, but she was still as beautiful as ever. Perhaps more so.
Kim’s stepmother had married Roger Cox three days shy of her thirty-fourth birthday, putting her stepdaughter at fifteen at the time. Tall, blonde, tan, and statuesque, Megan had made for the perfect trophy wife. Her personality, unlike Kim’s, had always been on the quiet, demure side. Megan had never had an easy time of standing up to Roger Cox, so five years later she took to alcohol for comfort instead.
Kim, Nikki knew, had loved her father dearly. And yet she had also hated him. Roger had been a true asshole in every sense of the word. From cheating on Megan, to verbally abusing Kim whenever something inane set him off, to leaving his family alone on the holidays so he wouldn’t have to be bothered by them—he’d done it all and then some
.
Nikki had always wondered at the animosity Kim harbored toward Megan over the years. She supposed it probably had something to do with Megan’s inability to put Roger in his place—something the young Kim had probably hoped for when the couple had first married. What Kim seemed unable to accept was the fact that nobody could have put Roger Cox in his place. If he didn’t like something, he removed it from his life as though it had never been—a fact of which Megan had no doubt been aware.
“She’s treating me just fine,” Megan said in a quiet, demure voice. She smiled sweetly down to Nikki. “How are you feeling, honey?”
Nikki was given no time to answer the question, for Kim was growling before she could even open her mouth.
“I’ve been treating you like shit,” Kim snapped, causing Megan to blush. Nikki frowned, the urge to swat her best friend a good one barely controlled. “When someone is treating you like shit, Megan, you don’t tell the world they are treating you kindly.”
“Kim,” Nikki murmured. “That’s enough.”
“Would you quit protecting her?” Kim screeched, causing a few heads, Thomas’s included, to turn.
Nikki’s nostrils flared. “Would you quit acting like a spoiled little bitch!” she snapped, her voice kept low. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Kim closed her eyes briefly, sighing. “I’m sorry.” She sighed again. “You, too, Megan. I’m sorry.”
Megan’s blue eyes went so wide Nikki became convinced it was the first kindness Kim had shown to her stepmother since she’d arrived.
“It’s okay,” Megan whispered. She smiled, a bit unsure of herself. “Kimmie has been under a great deal of stress worrying about you, Nikki.”
“And then you defend me,” Kim muttered. She sighed, throwing up her hands.
Nikki shot Kim a scathing look. She had always liked Megan, regardless of everything. She might have had a drinking problem in the past, but a more loyal person didn’t exist. When the chips were down, Megan Cox could be counted on. Her presence might have irritated Kim, but it gave Nikki security in knowing that Kim was being watched over when Nikki couldn’t be there to do so herself.
“I guess both of you are about to be put under a great deal more. Unfortunately, I have to agree that I can no longer stay here. Not until Richard is caught.”
Kim smiled, momentarily forgetting her one-sided argument with her stepmother. “Hey,” she said softly, “it’ll be just like Cambridge. We’ll have a blast.”
“Are you sure you are up to this, Kim?” Nikki shook her head as she glanced at her. “This is serious stuff, babe. I’m not staying with you while my house is painted or something innocuous like that. I’m staying with you because a sadistic serial killer is trying to hunt me down. A serial killer! Things could get ugly. Maybe I should go somewhere else.”
“I’m well aware of what could happen,” Kim said quietly, but firmly. “And no way am I letting you go someplace else.”
“I’ve already taken the liberty of hiring around-the-clock security at the house,” Megan said in that small, breathy tone of hers. “Plus, there will always be officers in and out. We’ll be fine.”
Kim’s eyebrows shot up. “How generous of you to spend my money for me,” she said sarcastically. “Not that I wouldn’t have done the same thing,” she quickly assured Nikki.
“I used my own money, Kimberly,” Megan said, the color in her cheeks rising. “I don’t use people,” she added pointedly. “I’m not your father.”
Well, score one for the Megan-meister, Nikki thought, amused. She’d finally stood up to her stepdaughter. Apparently that hadn’t been lost on said stepdaughter, either, for Nikki saw a glimmer of something—respect, maybe?—shimmer in her eyes.
“Oh,” Kim grumbled. “Well . . . thank you, then.”
Thomas strolled over, interrupting the conversation. His dark gaze lingered briefly over Nikki before honing in on Kim and Megan. “Thanks for getting here so quickly, Dr. Cox—and Mrs. Cox,” he drawled in that raspy, gravelly voice of his. “Why don’t you go into Nikki’s room and get a suitcase together. I’ll drive the three of you home when you’re ready to go.”
Nikki’s eyebrows shot up. “Hey, since when did I become incapacitated?” she mumbled. “I think I can pack my own suitcase.”
Thomas frowned. His hands rested on his hips in that stance football players often assume while watching the game from the sidelines. “Quit giving me lip. I never said you couldn’t pack your suitcase, Doc. I asked them to do it because I need to go over a few things with you.”
“You could have just said so,” Nikki sniffed.
He grunted.
Kim was grinning far too fully for Nikki’s peace of mind. “Well,” she said, clapping her hands together once, “Megan and I will go pack Nik’s stuff up, then. We’ll leave you two kids to talk.” Her blonde eyebrows rose. “Try not to kill each other. Oh and Detective,” Kim threw from over her shoulder as she strolled away, “there’s a pistachio pudding Nik made in the fridge. You might want to pack that up while you two are ‘going over things.’ ”
Nikki rolled her eyes at Kim.
Thomas watched the schoolteacher walk away. When Kim and Megan had disappeared into the bedroom, he turned to Nikki. “You made pudding out of my nuts?”
Nikki’s face colored when four police officers’ heads turned. Her nostrils flared as she regarded Detective Cavanah. “Apparently not the nuts I wanted to make pudding out of,” she seethed.
Thomas winced. “Damn, girl, anyone ever told you you’re a grouch?”
“I’m rubber, you’re glue,” she sniffed.
“Ah,” Thomas drawled. His intense gaze raked over Nikki’s breasts, making her heart race. “I see we’ve now graduated from the fourth grade.”
“So how long you been into that hocus-pocus voodoo junk?” Detective Ben O’Rourke asked Kim before shoving a piece of gum between his lips. “I thought only people in the movies did shit like that.”
Amused, Nikki watched the exchange from her position next to Megan in the backseat of the unmarked car. “It is not voodoo,” Kim retorted. “It is called ESP.” Her eyes narrowed. “And why in the hell are you driving us, anyway?”
Nikki’s expression grew thoughtful as she considered that question. Thomas had seemed hell-bent on being the one who would escort them back to the Cox estate, but changed his mind after a call had come in on his cell phone. He hadn’t said who the caller was, but Nikki had found herself wondering if it was a girlfriend. Or a wife.
She would never admit it aloud, but both thoughts left her feeling a bit sunken. Dismal, even. She frowned, reminding herself that she and the brash detective didn’t have anything besides a mutual disdain of Lucifer and a mutual love of pistachios in common. This did not a potential future make.
“Jesus!” Ben snapped back on a growl. “Is that the mouth you kiss your mother with?”
“Oh, shut up!”
Nikki shook her head, sighing, as Ben and Kim went to verbal war in the front seat. She couldn’t blame her best friend for disliking Detective O’Rourke after the way he’d treated her in Thomas’s office. Thomas . . .
Her thoughts returned to him.
Nikki’d caught Thomas staring at her strangely a few times since he’d arrived on the scene tonight. She didn’t really know how to describe the looks he’d been sneaking of her when he thought her attention was turned, but there was something searching about his black gaze.
A small part of her had thought maybe, just maybe, he might be the smallest bit attracted to her because he kept sneaking peeks at her breasts. She’d discarded that notion entirely, however, when it had occurred to her that he’d been looking right through her. Or looking for something on her . . .
Huh. Interesting. What did that mean? she asked herself. What could he possibly have been—
She stilled. Her breathing hitched.
Oh, damn, she thought, her cheeks going up in flames. Oh, damn! Oh, damn! Oh, damn!
Nikki felt like groaning with mortification when it at last dawned on her that he had probably come across that topless photo of her when he’d been going through the email exchanges between her and Richard.
“Has anyone ever told you what a jerk you are!” Kim seethed.
“Funny, I was wondering the same thing about you!” Ben bellowed.
Oh, damn, Nikki thought, wanting to bury her head in the nearest sand dune. Thomas knew about her pierced nipples. Nobody knew about that except Kim. She’d just had them done six months ago. A secret way for her to feel privately sensual since scrubs and face masks left her feeling anything but.
“Go to hell!” Kim shot back.
“It beats the shit out of spending another second with you!” Ben yelled.
Nikki would never be able to look Thomas in the eye again, she thought dramatically. Oh lord, not ever, ever again.
“Shut the hell up!” Megan shouted from next to Nikki, drawing everyone’s stunned attention toward her. “Both of you!”
They shut up. Kim cocked her head and gawked at her stepmother from over her shoulder. Her eyes squinted. “Did you just tell me to shut up?” she squeaked.
“Yes!” Megan fumed. The color in her face was high. “Yes!”
Kim’s eyes widened. “That’s what I thought.” She stared at her stepmother a suspended moment, then turned around in the seat and remained silent.
One side of Nikki’s mouth kicked up into a half-smile.
Well. Chalk two up for the Megan-meister.
“What do you got?” Thomas asked from his cell phone when he climbed into his Cadillac.
“Another dead body,” Chief Williams sighed. “Cavanah, you better get out to the crime scene ASAP. This one’s a bit different than the others.”
“How so?” Thomas murmured. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
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