She jumped, then glanced around and was surprised to see that the court proceedings were over and people were filing out of the courtroom. “Nothing.” She quickly stood. “Guess we’re done, huh?”
Prater stood, too, and led the way out. “Looks that way. The lawyers will present their closing arguments tomorrow, then it’ll be up to the jury.”
They’d given their testimony, which she hoped helped the prosecutor’s case. “Let’s hope they decide in favor of the state. McPherson deserves a nice long vacation away from women and temptation.”
“Amen to that.”
Prater opened the door, then followed her outside into the sunlight. “You and Gabe getting along all right?” he asked.
Andi tensed. “Yeah. Why?”
He shrugged a shoulder and started down the steps. “You living alone so long, I figured you might have a tough time adjusting to living with a man.”
Stunned, Andi stared. “You know that I’ve been staying with Gabe?”
“Yep.”
She jogged down the steps to catch up. “But…how?”
“Gabe told me. He also mentioned the trouble you’ve been having.” He gave her a pointed look. “I would’ve preferred to hear it from you.”
“Uh, yeah…well…” She lowered her gaze.
“Your ride’s here.”
She glanced up to find Gabe’s truck parked in front of the courthouse and Gabe behind the wheel.
She narrowed an eye. “So it is,” she muttered, then said to the chief, “See you tomorrow,” and headed for Gabe’s truck.
She yanked open the door and climbed inside.
“How’d it go?” Gabe asked as he reversed from the parking space.
She whirled on him. “Why did you tell the chief that I was staying with you?”
He stared, obviously caught off guard, then frowned and pulled the gearshift into Drive. “He wasn’t supposed to say anything to you about that.”
“Well, he did,” she snapped, then balled her hands into fists against her knees to keep from slugging him. “I told you I wanted to handle this on my own.”
“Look, Andi,” he said patiently, “it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help when you need it.”
“I didn’t ask for his help or yours.”
His jaw taut with anger, Gabe whipped the truck to the curb, then spun on the seat to face her. “Dammit, Andi, I care about you, and I’m not going to take a chance on you getting hurt.”
She drew back, staring. He cared about her? He wasn’t supposed to feel anything for her at all! They’d agreed to a physical relationship. Period.
Gulping, she tore her gaze from his. “I—I’m not going to get hurt,” she said.
“Damn right, you’re not,” he muttered as he pulled back into traffic. “Because I’m going to see that you don’t.”
Later that night Andi lay in bed beside Gabe, unable to sleep, her mind whirling with conflicting emotions. It had all started with Gabe’s announcement that he cared for her. She hadn’t admitted it to him, but she’d grown to care for him, too. Worse, she was afraid she was in danger of falling in love with him.
That alone complicated things. But when she added Gabe’s desire to make detective to the mix, an already complex situation quickly turned disastrous. Members of the same unit couldn’t date or marry. It was against department policy. If Gabe made detective, that meant their relationship would end.
And what if he didn’t make detective? What then? Would he be satisfied to continue as a police officer? Or would he seek a detective job on another force, in another city?
Either way spelled disaster for their relationship. It would have to end. There was no other way.
And Andi didn’t want it to end.
The next morning Gabe and Andi sat before her computer at the station, searching the national database for missing persons, the same as they had for nearly three months, looking for a match for Lost Fortune.
“This one looks promising,” she said, and clicked the link that would reveal a more detailed description of the person.
“How would a guy from Seattle, Washington, end up in a lake in Red Rock, Texas?” Gabe asked doubtfully.
“Weirder things have happened,” she reminded him. “Height and weight are close,” she said, studying the data listed.
Officer Reynolds stopped at her desk. “Prater wants to see you in his office, Andi.”
Without moving her gaze from the screen, she nodded, and scraped back her chair. “It’s worth a try,” she said to Gabe as she rose. “Give the Seattle police department a call, while I see what the chief wants. I shouldn’t be long.”
She quickly crossed to the chief’s office and stuck her head inside the door. “You wanted to see me?”
He waved her in. “I just got off the phone with the D.A.’s office.”
She sank down onto the chair opposite his desk. “And…” she prompted, knowing this had to be about the McPherson case.
“The jury just came in. Took less than an hour to reach a verdict.”
The suspense was killing Andi. “Come on, Chief. Spit it out. Are they sending him up or not?”
A smile split his face. “Guilty on both counts. Rape and assault.”
Andi went weak with relief. “Thank, God. That’s one less pervert on the streets.”
“You did a good job. Without the evidence you and Leo gathered, the D.A. wouldn’t have had a case.”
“Leo’s the best.”
“He’s good,” the chief agreed. “Can’t argue that. Talked to him last night. Another week and he says his doctor’s going to cut him loose.”
A knot of dread twisted in Andi’s stomach. “I guess that means Gabe will be returning to his regular duties.”
“I ’magine so. ’Course, he’ll continue to work with you on the Lost Fortune case until it’s solved. No sense tryin’ to bring Leo up to speed when Gabe’s been on the case from the beginning.”
When she remained quiet, the chief looked at her curiously. “That’s okay with you, isn’t it? I can pull him now, if you want me to.”
She quickly shook her head and rose. “No. It wouldn’t make sense to pull him before the case closes.” She turned for the door.
“Had any more trouble from that stalker?”
She stopped in the doorway and glanced back over her shoulder. “No. Maybe he got bored and decided to pick on somebody else for a while.”
“I doubt it.”
“I can always hope.”
He waved her out. “Yeah. Me, too.”
She closed the door, then looked toward her desk. Gabe stood beside it with a phone pressed to his ear. Unless she was terribly mistaken, that looked like excitement in his expression. She slowly crossed the room, that knot in her stomach twisting a little tighter. “What’s going on?”
He held up a finger, then said into the receiver, “Yes, I will. I appreciate your help.” He replaced the receiver, then let out a wild whoop and punched the air with his fists.
She tried to hide her fear with sarcasm. “What? Did you win the lottery or something?”
“Better. That was the detective with the Seattle police department. The report you saw was filed by the guy’s girlfriend. She claims he’s been missing for three months. And here’s the kicker,” he went on, oblivious to the fact that he was the only one excited about the news. “The guy has a crown-shaped birthmark on his hip.”
Eight
Gabe unlocked the door to the hotel room, then stepped aside, letting Andi enter first. “You’re awfully quiet,” he said, as he followed her in. “Something bothering you?”
She avoided his gaze, knowing there was no way she could tell him that, if the woman they’d flown to Seattle to meet identified the Lost Fortune body, he would be returning to his duties as an officer. It would break his heart.
She shook her head. “Just tired, I guess.”
He dropped his bag on the bed. “How can you be tired? I feel like I could run a twenty
-six-mile marathon and still have energy to burn.”
She forced a smile, determined not to spoil his excitement at the possibility of closing the case. “I don’t know about running a marathon, but I bet I could find the energy to walk down to the pier for some fresh seafood.”
He took her bag and tossed it to the bed on top of his, then grabbed her hand. “That’s my girl.”
By the time they finished eating and strolling through the market, darkness had settled over the pier. With energy still to burn, Gabe suggested a walk along the bay. More relaxed now, Andi agreed.
She stopped and pinched off a piece of bread she’d purchased at the market and tossed it out into the water. She watched as gulls dived to retrieve it. “Did you see that?” she asked Gabe, laughing. “The little one got it.” She tore off another chunk and threw it farther out.
“He got it again!” she cried in delight.
“He’s smart,” Gabe replied.
“Cagey,” she corrected, then looped her arm through his and walked on. “He’s learned he has to be cunning in order to survive. Brains versus brawn. Brains will win every time.”
“Is this the voice of experience speaking?”
She shrugged. “Most of the perps I go up against are bigger than me. If it came to a fight and I had to rely on physical strength alone, I’d probably lose. I have to outsmart them.”
“And if you find yourself facing a perp that has brawn and brains, then what?”
She hid a smile. “Then I run like hell.”
He dropped back his head and laughed. “I can’t see you running from anything.”
“I may be stubborn, but I’m not stupid. I know when to back off.”
He slung an arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I hope so.”
The gesture was so easy, so casual, and a form of affection he’d used often over the past few weeks. So, why did she have the sudden urge to cry?
She blinked rapidly and turned her face away, not wanting him to see the emotion. But she obviously wasn’t fast enough.
He stopped and pulled her around to face him. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s bothering you? And don’t say it’s nothing,” he warned. “I know better.”
She wanted to distract him with a sarcastic comeback. But she couldn’t seem to work up the strength needed to make it convincing.
“Leo’s coming back to work next week.”
He stared at her in puzzlement for a moment, then muttered a curse and turned to brace his hands on the railing, glaring out at the water. “And you won’t need a partner any longer.”
“Not once Leo’s back. You’ll continue to work on the Fortune case,” she assured him. “Prater says it doesn’t make sense to pull you when you’ve been on it from the beginning.”
He dropped his head between his arms, obviously realizing what she’d already ascertained.
“So tomorrow could be my last day as a detective.”
She wanted to touch him. Place a hand on his back and tell him she was sorry. Instead, she curled her hand into a fist at her side. “It looks that way.”
He lifted his head and stared out at the bay and the long stream of silver the moon cast on the water’s surface. “How long have you known about this?”
“Since yesterday. Prater told me when he called me into his office.”
“And you didn’t say anything?”
She heard the resentment in his voice and figured he was entitled. She’d probably feel the same way. “You were pumped about the prospect of closing the Fortune case. I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”
He stared out at the water a moment longer, then blew out a long breath. Turning, he caught her hand. “Let’s go back to the hotel. I’m tired.”
Later that night Gabe reached for her in the darkness and held her for what seemed like hours, before slowly making love to her. There was a sadness in his touch, as if he realized, too, that their time together was coming to an end.
The girlfriend who had placed the missing person report was Delilah Johnson, a librarian. A thin woman, with short, mousy-brown hair, she had a fragility that made a person want to protect her.
And Andi was about to break her heart.
She scooted to the edge of her chair, eager to get this over with.
“The man you reported as missing,” she began.
“Christopher Jamison,” Delilah said, then dabbed a tissue to already red-rimmed eyes. “His name is Christopher Jamison.”
“Christopher Jamison,” Andi repeated, understanding the woman’s need to use the man’s name. “You said that Christopher has been missing for three months.”
“Yes. About that. He said he was going to Texas.”
“Why did you wait three months to file a missing person report? He was your boyfriend. I’d think you would’ve been more concerned about his safety.”
She balled the tissue in her hand. “I loved Christopher.”
“Then why wait so long to report him missing?”
“Because I didn’t know he was missing,” she said angrily, then buried her face in her hands.
“I’m sorry,” Andi said quietly. “But the questions are necessary in order for us to establish that the man we found is your boyfriend.”
Delilah lifted her head and sniffed, nodding. “I know. I just can’t bear to think that Christopher might be dead.”
“I understand. Take your time.”
Delilah took a deep breath, then slowly released it. “I spent the summer in Europe. It was a trip I’d arranged before Christopher and I started dating. I offered to cancel my plans, but he insisted that I go. He said he wouldn’t be in Seattle, anyway, as he planned to spend his summer break in Texas. It seemed foolish to cancel, if he wasn’t going to be here.” She lifted her hands helplessly. “So I went to Europe.”
“Did you have any contact with him while you were away?” Andi asked.
“Yes. At first. We e-mailed back and forth almost daily.”
“You said ‘at first,’” Andi said. “Why did you stop e-mailing him?”
“I didn’t,” she replied, then dropped her chin. “When several weeks passed without a response from him, I thought perhaps he’d met someone else and it was his way of ending our relationship.”
Andi recognized the woman’s embarrassment and suspected that the librarian suffered from a low self-esteem. Not wanting to cause her any more discomfort, she opted to focus her questions away from the e-mails.
“When did you return from Europe?” she asked.
“Last week. Late Thursday evening.”
“And did you try to contact Christopher then?”
She nodded. “I felt I deserved an explanation of some sort. When I didn’t reach him at his home, I didn’t consider that something might’ve happened to him. I assumed he was still out of town.”
“When did you suspect that he was missing?”
“Monday. School starts soon and the teachers have mandatory meetings they are required to attend prior to it opening.”
“Did you check with the school?”
She nodded tearfully. “They hadn’t heard from him, either.”
“What about family? Does he have any siblings?”
“A father and two brothers.”
“Have you talked to them?”
“I called his father. Mr. Jamison hasn’t heard from him, either.”
“What about his brothers?” Andi asked.
“I don’t know how to get in contact with either of them. Christopher has been estranged from them for years. Emmett, the oldest, joined the FBI shortly after graduating from college. I remember Christopher saying something about him suffering some kind of an emotional breakdown after capturing a serial killer.”
“And the younger brother?” Andi prodded.
“Jason.” Delilah shrugged. “I don’t know anything about him, other than that he broke off contact with his family years ago.”
Andi had seen examples of dysf
unctional families before, but Christopher Jamison’s took the cake.
She decided to change tactics and go for the one answer that would confirm that Christopher was their floater. “You mentioned that Christopher has a crown-shaped birthmark on his hip.”
“Yes.” Delilah angled her body and placed a hand against her hip. “Right here. He said it was a family trait.”
Andi exchanged a look with Gabe, then turned back to Delilah. “The man we found has that same birthmark.”
Delilah clapped her hands to her mouth, tears flooding her eyes. “Oh, God. He’s dead, then. My Christopher is dead.”
“We won’t know that for sure until you identify the body.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, no. Please. I can’t.”
“I’m sorry, Delilah, but someone has to make a positive identification.”
“Christopher’s father,” she said. “He can do it.”
“Would you like for us to call him?”
She hesitated, obviously tempted, then shook her head. “No. I should be the one to call him. He shouldn’t have to hear about Christopher’s death from strangers.”
Chief Prater moved up beside Andi, who stood before the two-way window, watching as the medical examiner pulled out the drawer containing the body of Lost Fortune. Gabe had volunteered to go in with Christopher’s father, while he made the identification, and stood beside Jamison and opposite the M.E.
“Good thing the Johnson woman knew how to get a hold of her boyfriend’s father,” Prater said in a low voice. “Seeing her boyfriend like this could give her nightmares for years.”
Andi nodded gravely, then stole a glance at Delilah, who sat in a chair across the room, her face buried in her hands. “I’m afraid she’s going to have them anyway. This whole thing is too weird.”
“Ryan Fortune thinks so, too. I talked to him earlier. Knowing the dead man has the same birthmark as him seems to have thrown him for a loop.”
“I imagine it would, when it’s supposedly an inherited family trait.”
“He wants to talk to Christopher’s father. Think Jamison would be willing to meet with him?”
Andi lifted a shoulder. “I can ask.”
In the Arms of the Law Page 13