The Trigger

by Jacqueline Diamond

  “That’s a chance we have to take.”

  No, they didn’t. “You can do a better job of protecting Barbara by watching her, not trying to be her.”

  “Sam! We have to chance it!” Nora insisted. At least she wasn’t babbling about hair color anymore, he thought irrelevantly. “This guy is running rings around us. Here’s our chance to set a trap. And you know we can’t put a civilian’s life in jeopardy by using Barbara as bait.”

  “He’ll be watching from the moment she gets off that plane.”

  “She won’t get off the plane—I will,” Nora said. “I’ll slip in among the passengers as they exit. We’ll have plainclothes cops all over the place. And if anyone can spot this guy trying to plant a phone, it’s me.”

  If she was wrong, she might pay with her life. A wave of something near despair swept over Sam, but was quickly replaced by sheer outrage.

  “You’re jumping into this without considering alternatives,” he told her. “You’re being impulsive and foolhardy.”

  “We’ve tried every way we can to nail the Trigger.” Nora regarded him with a stubbornness that further irritated him. “Now that Barbara’s flying out, we don’t have time to subpoena records and sort through paperwork. It’s time to let go of the safety net, Sam. If this case is moving too fast for you, hop off the train!”

  He refused to get sidetracked. “Ms. Noot needs a guard, not a double!”

  “Do you honestly think I’d be any safer guarding her than pretending to be her?” his partner shot back. “Sam, I can’t watch her every single minute, but I can certainly watch myself! She’s more likely to end up with a tampered phone than I am, and anyone close to her would get blown to kingdom come.”

  “What’s the Trigger going to do, slip a phone in her purse in a ladies’ rest room stall?” he demanded.

  “Suppose our perp has a woman accomplice? She might manage it.” Nora’s chin came up and her mouth tightened.

  He wanted to keep arguing but he couldn’t. And he knew why…because Nora was right.

  It absolutely killed Sam to admit that. No way would he say it aloud.

  “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “Before you make the final arrangements, let me make one more attempt to track the Trigger. Something we haven’t tried yet.”

  “Such as?” Her eyebrows lifted in an almost comical gesture of skepticism that made him want to tell her how precious she was and how dark and grim the world would be without her. As his partner, of course.

  Sam didn’t trust his feelings at this moment, so he said nothing. Anyway, he needed to come up with an idea, something they hadn’t considered before that might actually work.

  Miraculously, one occurred to him. “The Trigger is keeping tabs on his victims, right? Maybe he’s doing it through computers.”

  “A hacker?”

  “Exactly.” Sam wished he had more skills in that area. He knew how to use the department’s databases, but he couldn’t hack his way out of a paper bag. “Let me see if Bud Patchett’s got any ideas. You were joking about having him break into Wonderworld’s computers and steal their personnel files. Maybe we can use him for real.”

  “I thought you didn’t like Bud.” The corners of Nora’s mouth twitched with amusement.

  “I don’t like him around you,” Sam answered honestly. “That’s why I should be the one to talk to him.”

  She nodded wryly. “Okay. You go pick Bud’s brain and I’ll call around to see who sells wigs. But remember, I promised to get back to Barbara this afternoon, and it’s three hours later in Atlanta.”

  Sam glanced at his watch. Half past noon. “I’ll hurry.”

  The maintenance department occupied half of Bay 4 at the fire station. Despite rigorous cleanliness standards, the place smelled of oil and brake fluid. A radio tuned to a country station echoed off the array of welding and automotive repair equipment and the racks of spare parts.

  One of the mechanics directed Sam outside to the plaza, where firefighters and officers often ate on pleasant days. He found his brawny target with a group of fellow workers at a picnic table, consuming a sack lunch.

  When Sam asked to speak to him alone, Bud complied amiably. “What can I help you with?” he asked when they were out of earshot of the others.

  “It’s these cases Nora and I are working on.” Sam paused, unsure how much he needed to explain.

  “The Trigger,” Bud supplied.

  “You keep up with the department’s cases.”

  The mechanic shrugged. “I may not be a firefighter myself, but I care about what’s going on.”

  “We figure this guy might be tracing his victims by hacking into the companies’ computers,” Sam said.

  Bud frowned. “It’s possible, but more likely he used to work there and has the passwords. You’d think people would change them, but you’d be amazed how rarely they do.”

  “I can believe it.” Having once forgotten his own password, Sam understood how embarrassing it was to have to call on tech support. He hadn’t changed his password since then. “Is there a way to backtrack and find out if somebody’s reading other people’s e-mail?”

  “You’d have to access their computer system to do it,” Bud said.

  “We might be able to get permission.”

  “Given enough time, sure, it’s possible.” The mechanic considered a moment “It’s not really my job, but I’d enjoy the challenge.”

  “Will you do it if Chief Egan agrees? And if we get the company’s okay?”

  “I’d be glad to,” Bud said.

  “Thanks.” Sam clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll see what I can set up.”

  “Anything else I can do, just let me know.”

  When Sam dropped by the chief’s office, Egan said it was fine with him if Bud wanted to try it. After returning to his desk, Sam placed a call to Rose Chang at Speedman.

  “I’m sorry, but we’ve got confidential information in our system,” she said. “You’ll need a court order.”

  “You realize that Barbara Noot is arriving tomorrow. We’re trying to catch this guy before he has a chance to hurt anyone else.” Sam could see Nora watching him guardedly.

  “It isn’t up to me, it’s up to my superiors at Wonderworld, and they’ve clamped down,” Rose said. “It’s the usual corporate knee-jerk reaction. In this case, however, there are also legal restrictions on who can access personnel files.”

  Although a court order could be obtained quickly in an emergency, Sam doubted a judge would move that fast in this case, if he agreed at all. Without Wonderworld’s cooperation, Sam knew he didn’t have a chance of accomplishing his goal before tomorrow.

  “It’s not going to fly,” he told Nora after hanging up, and put in a call to let Bud know the bad news.

  “You did your best,” the mechanic said. “I was kind of looking forward to the challenge.”

  “We have more than enough challenges facing us.” Sam didn’t go into detail. “I’ll catch you later.” They both rang off.

  “Thanks. It was a good idea about the computers. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” Nora tried to look solemn, but her eyes began sparkling. “Won’t it be exciting? I haven’t done anything this adventuresome in ages!”

  “Almost as good as blowing up a hotel.” Sam’s effort to make a joke fell flat, mostly because he didn’t feel particularly humorous.

  “Let’s get started.” Nora cited the need for a backup team and a couple of officers to act as bodyguards. There were logistics to work out with Barbara, the airlines and the airport authorities. “And, of course, I’ll have to get Max to spring for a wig,” she finished with a grin. “I’ll send him an e-mail right now.”

  Since the scheme appeared inevitable, Sam determined to do everything possible to make sure it went off smoothly. “Count on me to be right beside you.”

  “I will, believe me.” Despite her obvious eagerness to spring into action, Nora paused. “Sam, I’m not taking your concerns lightly. I know
this is dangerous. But it’s who I am. I’ve never hesitated to put myself on the front lines if that’s what the situation calls for, and this time it does.”

  “Then let’s make sure we’ve covered all the bases. It’s not enough just to keep you and Barbara safe. We’ve also got to catch this guy,” Sam said.

  “Agreed.”

  Time to bring in Max, Dan and Adam Guthrie, the chief of detectives. From now on, there’d be no turning back.

  AT LEAST WONDERWORLD COOPERATED in one respect: Barbara’s bosses agreed to fly her secretly from L.A. on a corporate jet, landing at the Courage Bay Airport away from the main terminal. In addition, she booked a seat on a commercial flight scheduled to arrive several hours later, and e-mailed Rose Chang with the fake plans as if they were real. With luck, if the Trigger had access to Speedman’s in-house computer, he would read it and take the bait.

  That gave Nora time to meet Barbara and make sure her disguise looked good enough to fool a casual observer. After a quick lunch, they would join Barbara’s bodyguards, who could transfer her to the hospital through a side entrance. Meanwhile, Nora, watched by an undercover backup team, would make a show of arriving with the commercial passengers and proceed to the hospital in a taxi secretly driven by another officer.

  With so much to arrange, they didn’t knock off work until after nine o’clock. However, lights still blazed at the firehouse, where the rec room echoed with the hollow thunk-thunk of a table tennis ball. In addition, a couple of firefighters were playing video games in one corner.

  Energy zapped through Nora. She didn’t want to go home and try to sleep. She needed to work off her excess energy.

  “Let’s go dancing,” she said to Sam.

  He nearly ran into a door frame.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” He sidestepped smoothly. “Did you say dancing?”

  “I’ll never get to sleep if I don’t exercise,” Nora said. “I feel like I’m about to explode.”

  “Your terminology leaves something to be desired,” Sam muttered.

  “Sorry.” It occurred to Nora that the rooftop patio at the Courage Bay Bar and Grill was probably the only place in town that offered dancing on a Monday night. If they showed up there together again, tongues would wag. “I guess I’ll go for a swim at my complex.”

  “Alone?” Sam asked as they exited the building. “That’s not safe.”

  On the point of arguing, Nora conceded that she knew as well as he did that people should never swim alone. “You’re right.”

  “Besides, I’m not convinced exercise is the best way to release your tension,” he said. “I seem to recall owing you a massage.”

  She remembered the neck rub she’d given him at his apartment—and the wrestling match that had followed. “That might get me more worked up than relaxed,” she pointed out.

  They both halted. Above the plaza, the starry June night vibrated with unspoken questions.

  “Would that be a problem?” Sam asked quietly.

  Drawing closer to him against the cool of evening, Nora tried to remember all the reasons why she’d put him off earlier. The concern that once he engaged her emotions, he might dump her the way he’d dumped Elaine. The fierce resistance to opening herself to a man who might try to control her. The looming catastrophe whenever two co-workers got involved.

  They all made sense. But her back felt stiff as a board.

  “Let’s see how it goes.” Immediately, she recognized that she’d given out a mixed signal. “I mean…”

  “You mean, let’s see how it goes,” Sam said, cutting off her attempt at clarification. “I’ll pick up some food on the way. From what you’ve told me about your approach to cooking, we’ll need it.” They’d bought snacks out of the vending machine earlier as a substitute for dinner.

  “So we’re going to my place this time?” A small inner voice warned that this might be a really bad idea. Nora ignored it.

  “We take turns with our offices. Why not our houses?”

  She chuckled. “Makes sense.”

  “See you.” Sam strolled away toward his car. He wasn’t acting overprotective now, Nora thought appreciatively.

  Reaching her sports car, she left the top down and zoomed home with the wind streaming through her hair. All her senses on full alert, she noted the sweet scent of a flowering bush and caught an arc of melody soaring through the open window of a passing pickup.

  Tomorrow, she planned to risk her life. Tomorrow night, she might not be here. That made every prick of sensation sharper.

  What would it be like to make love to Sam? Nora wondered.

  She remembered the teasing pressure of his lips against hers. His muscular buttocks beneath her grip. The deep voice that murmured straight into her soul when he spoke close to her ear.

  She yearned to explore him without reserve. And yet, she knew she’d better not. Because after making love to Sam, she might not die tomorrow, Nora reflected, and then she’d have to live with the consequences.

  AS HE PICKED OUT a roasted chicken, fruit salad and fresh-baked French bread at the supermarket deli, Sam acknowledged that his offer of a massage hadn’t been intended as a come-on. Although the idea of engaging in window-steaming sex with Nora appealed to him at many levels, he didn’t want to make assumptions.

  At the checkout, he took his place in line. Ahead, a rack of magazines celebrated the start of summer with a throng—or was the appropriate word a thong?—of bikini-clad cover models. Nipped-in waists. Swelling bosoms. Long bare legs.

  Not one of them stirred him like a single smile from Nora. Tonight, the only waist he wanted to circle with his hands belonged to her. The only curving female body he yearned to feel yielding beneath him was Nora’s.

  An ache in his groin warned that he was letting his fantasies run away with him. Grimly, Sam tried to distract himself by reading the labels on the packets of chewing gum and candy displayed above the magazines. Juicy. Chewy. Sweet. Tart.

  Well, that certainly didn’t help.

  By the time he reached Nora’s apartment, the scent of broiled chicken had stirred a different appetite. Sam congratulated himself on overcoming his supermarket lust. Also, he understood now why prudes over the ages had pasted fig leaves onto nude statues. Sometimes a guy had a hard time resisting visual stimuli.

  Nora had changed into jeans, a knit top and moccasins. Her new blond wig sat atop a mannequin head in the middle of the coffee table. She nodded toward it as she whisked away the tub of ice cream he’d added to his purchases at the last minute.

  “I think I’ll call her Babs, in Barbara’s honor,” she said.

  “How come you brought that wig in here?” Carrying the rest of the food, he followed her across the living room.

  “It didn’t seem right to leave her in the trunk of my car. Besides, she has a faint chemical smell. I want to air it out.”

  Sam thought the thing looked ridiculously artificial. Obviously, Max hadn’t sprung for an expensive model made of real hair. “Are you sure it’s the right style?”

  “It matches the description Barbara gave me. In any case, she’ll have a chance to help me fix it tomorrow.” Nora led the way into the kitchen, where she tucked the ice cream into a half-empty freezer compartment. “I’m glad there’s time for me to have lunch with her. I want to observe the way she moves and holds herself. I’m no actress but I’m not a bad mimic.”

  “Where’d you learn how to do that?” he asked. “I don’t think I could walk like some other guy.”

  “I took some acting classes in college. It seemed like fun.” From a drawer, she removed two place settings of flatware. “I’m looking forward to dressing up as someone else.”

  “I might suggest that’s due to your feminine instincts, but you’ve got a knife in your hand,” he teased as he removed the food from the sack.

  “A dull knife.”

  “They hurt the most.”

  She plopped the flatware onto the table. “You’
re scared of me. Good. I like that in a man.”

  “Not that scared,” Sam said amiably. “Just sensible.”

  While the food vanished, both of them pretended not to notice how often their calves and ankles brushed in the tight space. The conversation skated across a variety of topics, occasionally veering into the personal, but Sam quickly returned to the other thing on his mind: the investigation.

  “I wonder whether the Trigger’s read the e-mails we sent announcing Barbara’s arrival,” he said.

  “It’s strange to be hoping he really is clever enough to track her—or rather, me.” Nora dug into a second helping of fruit salad.

  “But not so clever he recognizes the substitution,” Sam noted. “Or figures out she’s coming earlier.”

  Because they couldn’t discount the possibility of an inside job, they purposely hadn’t advised anyone at the local Wonderworld subsidiaries, even by phone, of Barbara’s true arrival time. She’d assured them headquarters had agreed to keep the secret as well.

  Wonderworld executives still showed no signs of cooperating with the police department. However, they’d apparently decided they had an obligation to Barbara to help protect her during this visit.

  “Time for ice cream.” Nora tossed the carry-out containers in the trash and Sam added the paper plates. “Let’s see what toppings I’ve got.” She prowled over to the pantry.

  “Hot fudge sauce?” Sam asked hopefully. “Cherries and whipped cream?”

  “I used to have some, but I ate them the last time I got the late-night munchies.” Nora tucked her hair behind one ear as she peered inside. “How about this?” She whisked out a bottle of cream sherry.

  “Perfect.” Sam would have preferred the hot fudge sauce, but this was almost as good.

  The sherry went down smoothly on top of the ice cream. Nevertheless, he declined a second helping. He didn’t want to overeat and feel sluggish tomorrow.

  “It won’t go to waste,” Nora assured him. “I’ll enjoy the leftovers for breakfast.”

  “You drink sherry in the morning?”

  “I meant the ice cream.” Settling back in her chair, she flexed her shoulders, a motion that threw her figure into jaw-dropping relief. To Sam’s dismay, the desire he’d worked so hard to suppress rebounded enthusiastically. To his frustration, she added, “Maybe we should skip the massage.”