“And you’re welcome,” Nicole said as she headed toward the exit.
CHAPTER 12
Nicole gulped, trying to swallow all the saliva that her mouth was still producing. Her heart rate was up at peak Stairmaster pace. And that was after an hour or so with the Captain and IA. Luckily, she had only wounded her guy, so she didn’t have to go on enforced administrative leave. And because she didn’t use her gun, she didn’t even have to fill out a “discharged weapon” report.
It appeared that the regulations were a bit more loosey-goosey when using a bladed weapon. Which, of course, Kent probably already knew, which was why he’d taken away her gun.
So all she got was a good scolding from Glick about using her better judgment and then the mention of a possible accommodation for helping take out a notorious serial killer. It was a very schizophrenic discussion.
The police department had no jurisdiction over Kent, so they’d bumped his consequences over to the FBI, who must have had some kind of rubber stamp “Justifiable Homicide” for Kent. The decision that he’d used appropriate lethal force had come within minutes.
So what should have been an all-night ordeal with the shooting board had turned out to be a fairly concise debriefing.
Still, Nicole was wired. Now she knew what Kent was talking about. The high of the hunt and the kill. How many times had he come home late at night or early, early in the morning ready for sex? His intensity had always surprised her. Now, though? Now, she got it.
In some ways, she knew that she should be upset that he had used their lovemaking as some kind of PTSD therapy, but right now she wanted the kind of therapy that only Kent could give.
They had barely entered the house when she took his hand and led him up the stairs to their bedroom.
“I am liking the direction this is going,” Kent said as he nuzzled the back of her neck.
They didn’t even make it to the bed before she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips met as they fell to the bed. Her jaw was a little sore, but she didn’t let it stop her as they kissed. The rhythm of their tongues coursed down to her groin, which was more than ready to pick up the call.
Her leg hooked over Kent’s, bringing their pelvises together. His lips left hers and coursed down her neck to her cleavage. His palm cupped her breast, gently squeezing it while his thumb stroked at her nipple through her shirt and bra. Despite the padding, her nipples tightened, creating the most luxurious pain possible.
She arched into his ministrations, soaking them all in, giving her body permission to respond in full. His fingers were already working her belt. Her body wouldn’t have long to wait.
Then his lips came to her ear. She was surprised. Kent wasn’t big into whispering sweet nothings. He was more a fan of letting his body do the talking.
His words caressed her ear. “We’re being watched.”
* * *
Nicole’s body stiffened under his, and not in the good way.
“No, we need to act like nothing is wrong,” he whispered, going back to her chest. Using his thumb, he pulled at the fabric until her full breast popped from its restraints. The nipple was dark brown, erect and begging for some attention.
Nicole squirmed a little, clearly not all that fond of them really continuing in the face of an intruder. Right now, though, all they had going for them was the fact that the Peeping Tom didn’t know they knew he was there.
His mouth sought her nipple, licking and sucking in equal measure. Coaxing her to relax into his embrace. Finally, her fingers found his hair and interlaced between the strands, pulling him into her.
That was his girl. Put on a good show.
Kissing his way up her sternum, he sought her ear again.
“Go with me. I’m going to make our way to the armoire and surprise our guest.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she murmured in response. She sounded so into it, Kent wasn’t sure she had actually heard the plan. Then she kissed him, long and slow.
He had to stay focused, though. Picking her up around the waist, he lifted her from the bed. With his free hand, he cleared the dresser top and set her there. Nicole arched back, encouraging him to kiss all the way down to her belly button. Normally, Kent would have gone much further down, but their guest hadn’t paid any admission. He wasn’t getting that good of a show.
Kent then picked her up again and slammed her up against the armoire. She gasped, almost giggling as he worked on her belt. Even though Nicole was doing everything she should to convince the intruder that they were still into it, he could see concern in her eyes. Like exactly how far he was going to take this.
She didn’t have to worry. While he might be tugging on her panties, he was really getting in position. Kent went in for another kiss. Using the sound to cover, Kent grabbed the handle of the armoire and jerked it open. He then shoved his hand inside and grabbed whatever was closest. He hoped it was the intruder, rather than one of Nicole’s dresses.
“Hey!” a shout came as the subject tumbled out of the armoire and landed at their feet.
* * *
Nicole gathered her shirt up and tried to get her boob back in its proper place, inside her bra. But even as she did that, she recognized the figure.
“Yvent?”
With a mixture of horror and surprise, she watched Kent’s protégé get up and dust himself off.
“Where the hell were you guys? I was waiting in there for hours.”
Nicole was too busy sputtering to answer him. Kent, of course, recovered smoothly.
“A better question might be why the hell you were inside our closet?”
The younger man shrugged. “You are constantly talking about thinking out of the box and using every opportunity to hone your stalking skills. So who better to practice on than a profiler and his detective girlfriend?”
Kent nodded his head like that made sense. Which in Kent’s twisted world it might, but to Nicole, no way.
“That does not give you permission to B&E into my house,” Nicole snapped.
Yvent shrugged again. “I didn’t do anything that Kent hadn’t done before.”
Nicole could feel her cheeks flush. “That’s different.”
“How?” Yvent asked, all innocent.
Kent looked to her so she elbowed him, hard.
“Um,” the profiler said. “Because I’d seen her naked before.”
“So that gave you permission to break into her boyfriend’s house and take pictures of them while they were intimate.”
She really didn’t think this could get more humiliating, but per usual she was wrong. Nicole glared at Kent. “What, he’s right?”
The profiler was never any help in these situations. She gave him a glare that told him tonight would be the last time he saw her breast in a very long time unless he supported her here.
They had been together long enough that Kent seemed to get the message.
“What?” Kent challenged Yvent. “You can’t read a text during Sabbath, but you can go all Peeping Tom?”
“I walked over here and used no electronic devices. According to scripture, I’m good. Thanks for worrying, though.”
Yvent seeing Nicole half naked didn’t seem to fluster Kent one bit—however, the kid being sarcastic, that just wasn’t to be tolerated by the profiler.
“Let’s go ask your grandmother about that, eh?”
It was Yvent’s turn to have his cheeks flare red. Apparently, Kent had struck a nerve.
“Look, I originally came over here to tell you I think I have a break in the case.”
“And then what?” Nicole challenged. “You decided to crawl into my armoire and get a little show?”
Yvent lowered his head. “No, I just wanted the props for breaking in and getting out unseen. I had no idea you two were going to be intimate.”
“Um, dude,” Kent said. “It’s Nicole and me. What did you think we’d be doing?”
“Yeah, I didn’t realize…”
N
ow Kent was frustrated with the kid, not over breaking in, but over doing it poorly. “Kid, you have got to know your subjects better. This is another great example of why you aren’t ready to be out in the field. If you weren’t picking up that Nicole and I are sexually active nearly daily, you really have poor radar.”
Nicole just really wanted to melt through the floorboards at this point. She was raised never to talk about sex, let alone have someone watch you, then discuss it all afterward.
“But maybe I make up for it in book smarts?”
“That is still to be determined,” Kent scolded.
“Look, can we move past this so that I can tell you why I came here originally? I have a long walk home.”
Nicole finished buttoning her shirt as Kent looked to her. She gave a sigh. They might as well hear the kid out.
“Fine, spill it,” Kent said.
* * *
Yvent had to keep his eyes down at his toes. Otherwise, he feared what might happen if he looked at Detective Usher. Her face was still flushed with desire. And now, all he could do was picture her breast outside of her bra. Why did he look? Why?
Having not yet had sex, or really any kind of action with a girl, Yvent had been intrigued. As an orthodox Jew, he’d never seen or even heard porn before. Once they came in and started, he’d wished he hadn’t hidden in there, but what could he do? He’d decided to ride it out and then slip out later. He should have known that Kent would find him.
“Well?” Kent said. “Or was all this case talk just a ruse to see my girlfriend’s titties?”
“No,” Yvent blurted. “No.”
He gathered his thoughts and restarted. “Our primary goal right now is to try and figure out where Wallflower’s killing ground is. If we can find that, then we have a much higher chance of finding him.”
Kent rolled his eyes. “Statement of the obvious isn’t helping you out here.”
“And we know that each of the women, with the exception of the prostitute, must have been at the killing ground.”
“Kind of how they got dead,” Nicole added.
“Yes, but my point is, since they did not know each other at all, the killing ground would be their only common point of intersection.”
“Again, Mr. Obvious, move this along,” Kent said, leaning back against the dresser, which of course reminded Yvent of their interlude over there. Before his body could respond, Yvent hurried on.
“So if we can find some evidence that is similar on all the victims, we can find his killing ground.”
“But there wasn’t any trace on any of the bodies,” Nicole reminded him.
“Not on, but in,” Yvent stated.
“What are you talking about?” Kent said, his eyelids narrowing.
“I’m talking about pollen,” Yvent said. “It’s the new DNA.”
“What do you mean?” Nicole said, leaning forward, making her cleavage all the deeper.
Looking away, Yvent answered. “With every breath we take, we inhale pollen. Nearly every foot we travel, we inhale a different pollen profile. What we inhale is dependent upon the vegetation in the area, whether we are indoors or outside, the ambient temperature, and wind velocity.”
“And what does this have to do with our victims?” Kent asked.
“If we take mucous samples from all the victims, whatever pollen they share in common could only be from the killing ground.”
“Great, so we know what plants they were next to. How does that help us find the killer?” Nicole asked.
“That’s why pollen is being called the new DNA. It is that unique and exact. A pollen expert can usually place a person’s travels within a few hundred yards based on the foliage around them. It is that precise.”
“Example,” Kent barked.
“We are lucky enough to have one of the most preeminent pollen experts in town. He runs out of the university labs. He helped catch both the I-5 killer and the cross-country serialist, Hobo, by identifying where the victims were held during their abduction.”
Kent grunted but nodded. Nicole frowned, though. “So why isn’t everyone using this technique?”
“It is brand spanking new,” Yvent said. “Most don’t even know about it, let alone how to use it.”
* * *
“And you do?” Kent asked, hating it when the younger generation was onto something he wasn’t. He liked being on the bleeding edge. To find out science was advancing faster than he was simply unacceptable.
“Yes,” Yvent stated flatly.
Oh, the kid knew how to get under his skin. “So we’re going to have to get samples from the earlier bodies? Luckily, they are already exhumed. However, how much nasal tissue they still have is questionable.”
“No,” Yvent said. “That’s kind of the ironic part. We already take nasal swabs of all victims looking for trace inhaled particulates. We can use those same swabs for pollen.”
“Well, let’s get it ordered, then,” Kent said.
“I won’t be able to until Sunday,” Yvent said, but offered something. “But here is Dr. Rodden’s info. He’s usually in the lab on Saturdays, so you can get him going in the morning.”
Kent accepted the contact information. “Well, looks like it is bedtime for all of us. Do you want a lift home?”
Nicole elbowed him, but what? The kid lived practically on the other side of town. Sure, he’d hidden in their closet. But what young aspiring profiler hadn’t?
“No—thanks, though,” Yvent said. “I really do have to walk home.”
Nicole showed Yvent out. Kent still didn’t like the kid, but at least he was showing a bit more spark, and this pollen could turn into a real lead. Clearly, Kent had to catch up on his journal reading. It wasn’t good to have your protégé catch you with your pants down. Either figuratively or literally.
Nicole came back, grabbed her granny nightie off the bedstead and went into the bathroom to change. If that wasn’t the most obvious cock-block move ever. You would think after her walk on the wild side at the knife club that she could get over a little voyeurism.
But as she came out of the bathroom in the full-length frilly nightgown with anti-wrinkle cream all over her face, clearly she wasn’t going to.
Well, this night certainly didn’t end the way Kent had hoped.
CHAPTER 13
Ruben wasn’t quite sure what he was doing standing in a university waiting room. But at the least Nicole was keeping him in the loop, he hoped.
Clicking of heels told him that she was on her way. Nicole rounded the corner, a bundle in her hand. “Oh, there you are.”
“Eight AM, as instructed,” Ruben said, hoping that didn’t sound quite as douche-y as it might have.
“Look,” Nicole said. “I’m really sorry about last night. I really meant no offense.”
Ruben shrugged it off. “And I overreacted. We’re good.”
Nicole smiled and handed over a phone. “And here’s Paggie’s phone back. Again, sorry.”
Of course, it wasn’t Nicole who should have been sorry, but Kent. He was the one that pinched his girlfriend’s phone. The guy had a compulsion that no one else but Ruben found offensive and disturbing.
But that wasn’t a discussion for today, so he just said, “Thanks,” and tucked the phone into his jacket pocket. He’d take it to Paggie as soon as he finished up here.
“What exactly are we doing here so early?” Ruben asked.
“Pollen,” Nicole responded. “Yvent thinks we might be able to narrow down the killing grounds based on the commonality of the victims’ nasal pollen profile.”
Ruben nodded. “I read something about that in a journal. I wasn’t sure how to apply it, so this should be interesting.”
“Ah, and here is the doctor.”
Ruben turned to find a man in a long white coat approaching. The guy seemed way younger than a guy should, as an expert in his field. The guy looked like he should be going to school here, rather than teaching. And he looked like he should be lette
ring in lacrosse or something. Handsome didn’t do the guy justice. It seemed rather unfair. To be that attractive and that brainy? What chance did that leave guys like Ruben?
He also noticed that Kent hadn’t shown up. The guy wasn’t exactly a fan of sharing the spotlight. Ruben hoped that Yvent knew that the most credit he’d get out of this would be a non-starred footnote in Kent’s article if they caught Wallflower. Even this doctor would only get a passing mention if they nabbed the serial killer with his technique.
Nicole put her hand out for the doctor. “Thank you so much for meeting us so early, Dr. Rodden.”
“No worries,” he said. “I’d just gotten done with my rowing practice when you called.”
Of course the guy got up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday to go out rowing. Guess those Ken-doll looks didn’t just happen.
Nicole handed over the large bundle. She pointed to the evidence tape. “To keep the chain of custody, you need to cut the tape once. Date and initial it.” She handed him a roll of the tape. “You do that for each sample. Then, when you are done, you re-tape the sample, date and initial again, and then bundle them, repeating the process.”
The doctor nodded. “I understand. I’ve worked on a few cases before.”
Nicole grinned. “Of course. It’s just my responsibility to inform anyone working outside of the crime lab of our procedure.”
“When can we expect some results?” Ruben asked.
The doctor looked to the bundle, counting the samples. “I would say by Monday morning.”
“That soon?” Ruben said. Usually when he asked any of the lab coats back at CSI, they gave him a three-week window.
“Once my team establishes each individual pollen profile, it should be easy to cross-reference them. Then it is a matter of tapping into the National Meteorological Society and the National Council on Allergies to map out the spot where the victims inhaled that profile.”
Again, Ruben was used to a fifteen-minute lecture on how difficult, arduous, or time-consuming a request was. He’d never been told before it would be “easy.”
The sensation was weird.
The Harbinger Collection: Hard-boiled Mysteries Not for the Faint of Heart (A McCray Crime Collection) Page 46