“Do you see what I see?” He blinked at the names. The chances of what he saw were astronomical. Two names, maybe, but four names, all connected to the same serial with the same letters?
“It’s like some sick game of boggle. Every one but yours. I would call it a coincidence, but I’d be lying.” He flipped his coat away from his hips as he sank his hands into his pockets. This case just got weirder, if that was possible. Elizabeth’s face went wide as she hurriedly rounded the corner of her desk and bent over the keyboard, apparently too excited to sit down.
“Pannel said something in his e-mail that bothered me….here. He says that he wasn’t supposed to be the detective on my case, it wasn’t his turn. Maybe my detective was supposed to fit that pattern too, but something happened, screwed it up.” Matt watched as she immediately reached for her cell phone and began to dial. He knew she was calling Pannel again. Turning to face her, he removed his hands from his pockets and pressed his knuckles firmly down into his desk, eagerly poised to listen to the conversation she was about to have.
Chapter 43
“Captain Pannel, it’s Detective Elizabeth Cord again. … Yes, sir, the file came through just fine, thank you. I was actually calling because of something you wrote in your e-mail, not in the case file. … Yes, actually, what did you mean you weren’t supposed to be the detective? What happened? Who was?” Matt watched as her face changed several times, from confusion to curiosity, to elation. As excited as she seemed to be at the information she was receiving, he could not share her enthusiasm. She was giving him nothing to be excited about. After a few more awkward moments of infuriating silence, she spoke again. “Thank you so much Captain. That information is very valuable, I assure you. … Count on it. The second we know something you will be my first call, I promise. …You too.” She hung up the phone beaming from one ear to the other. “Roemano, the detective that should have landed my case was named Roemano, R-o-e-m-a-n-o.” Before Matt could turn and add the tantalizing detail to the board however, she spoke again. “What’s more, I know why he couldn’t work my case. He was fired the day before. Apparently he was pretty new to the department and when they ran his references he had lied about them. They sacked him and were getting ready to arrest him, but he fled town.” Matt was astounded. Turning back to the board he added the name and then leaned against his desk. Elizabeth’s slender body slid in next him, dangerously close to his side, as they stood staring at the breakthrough before them.
“I know our guy is meticulous, but really? He went searching for the perfect girls, with the perfect talents, with detectives on deck that fit his spelling requirements? That’s just a little much, even for him.” Matt was truly intimidated. If it were true, this was by far the most cunning, patient killer he had ever encountered, even heard about.
“Maybe not. I know you keep telling me to drop it, but I can’t. I just can’t, Matt. What if he didn’t look for detectives that fit his needs, but became the detective he needed. What if he was the detective in each case. All but mine, because he got caught in his lies. That would explain why my attack was rushed, sloppy. He was going to be arrested soon and he needed to get away, but he couldn’t leave without me. He had already waited nine years to find me.” He looked down at her up turned face. The urgency there was intense. She desperately needed him to believe her. If it wasn’t for what he knew to be true, her argument would be sound, logical, but it just couldn’t be.
“Elizabeth, we’ve been over this, it can’t be him.”
“Why not? Do you know he gave a sample two years ago? Did you see him do it? What if he gave a false sample in place of his own? He’s smart enough to do that, right? Why can’t you at least concede the possibility that I might be right?” There was pain in the final words. His doubt was actually hurting her. He realized too slowly that she needed him and he was failing her. Sighing, he nodded slightly.
“Your right. I don’t know for sure that he gave a sample. But I still don’t think he should be our only suspect. All roads, remember?” Looking back at her, he was pleased to see that her pained expression had eased. His willingness to at least consider Moreano a suspect assuaging her tension. Together they turned back to the board, staring at the information, looking for anything they might have missed.
Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin as her phone rang. Answering the call, she was told by the desk clerk in the lobby that a carrier had just dropped off a package for her. Her blood ran ice cold through her veins, fearing a gift from the killer was awaiting her just downstairs. Making her comment to Matt about him not being fool enough to come after her at the station a lie. She couldn’t breath. Her panicked expression glared at Matt for help as she struggled to suck air into her seizing lungs. Then, the desk clerk said something that nearly had her laughing out loud. All that apprehension and it was only the files she had asked for from Uncle Mark arriving. Hanging up the phone, she smiled across the desk at Matt who was now more confused than ever. “Our real estate files are downstairs.” She smiled warmly as he gave an exasperated sigh. “I’m going down to get them.” Liz was already halfway across the bullpen when she heard him call out for her to wait. Turning slightly to glance over her shoulder, Matt was trotting after her, tucking his badge back over his belt.
“It’s just past twelve. We should grab lunch while we are down there. The cafeteria is terrible, but it’s cheap and it’s close. “ He caught up to her and instinctively placed his hand firmly on the small of her back. Before she could think, she leaned into the touch and they both seemed to shiver simultaneously before stepping apart again, the strength of their reaction startling. Elizabeth came face to face with her desperate need for his touch. Matt, his face blushing and his eyes darting around the room to see if anyone had seen their contact, seemed to be struggling with the same need. Clearing her throat, Elizabeth took a jerky step forward, then another, Matt following behind closely. They couldn’t speak as they waited on the elevator to come, too tense to even chance a quick look at each other. When the car doors opened on an empty elevator, Liz’s heart slammed against her breastbone. Alone in an elevator was more than she could have hoped for.
Matt flashed her a mischievous grin as he slid into the elevator first. She filed in behind him as he did something she didn’t understand. The wicked look still flashing in his azure eyes, he held both the lobby button and door close button down until the doors slid shut. Releasing the buttons, he immediately turned and swept her into his arms, his questing mouth finding and taking hers with astonishing need. She fell into his kiss, wanton lust filling the car around them. Her mind went quiet, filled only with the taste of his mouth, the feel of his tongue and the sinful way his hands slid over her, cupping her breasts, her bottom, with unhindered desire. Pulling away slightly, she tried and failed to ask the question that faded in and out of the dim light in her mind. His lips found hers again and as he pulled her against his thighs so that she could feel his ardent desire. She groaned and arched into him even further, molding her body against his. Her arms flew to his neck, her slender fingers tangling in his hair. In that moment he was life, the very air she needed to live. He lost his balance and fell against the elevator wall, bringing her with him. He moaned as she shifted her hips against his manhood. The thrill of the moment snapped her free of his intoxicating kiss. Pulling back again, she found her voice, though his mouth still hung temptingly close and delightfully slack, only a whisper away from her own. “What if it stops to let someone else in?” Her eyes flicked to the counter above the double doors as it ticked from twenty one to twenty.
“It can’t. I used a trick I learned in the military for direct floor-to-floor travel. It won’t stop again until we reach the lobby.” His lips grazed over hers, but didn’t take them. She smiled against his mouth, reveling in the warmth of his breath on her skin.
“How simply marvelous,” she whispered as she took his mouth. She kissed him freely now, and with all the mornings pent-up need. Part of her mind, still rel
atively coherent in the midst of her consuming passion, remembered another moment they spent in this elevator. When she had gotten such a thrill from merely brushing against him, from feeling his lips lightly on her forehead. Now she was having to chant in her head that she mustn’t remove his clothes, or allow him to remove hers. She wanted to, fervently. Their kisses deepened dangerously as he turned and pressed her back against the wall, sliding his hands to her hips and pinning them back. He ground into her and they moaned together. Her mind went silent, dark and decadently blank as she pressed her flesh against his. Her eyes flicked open for a second, almost an involuntary motion, but enough for her to catch sight of the ticker above the doors. She pulled away again, sighing sadly. When Matt’s eyes opened lazily, she motioned with her eye brows toward the counter as it ticked from three to two.
Sighing, Matt pressed his forehead to hers briefly, “It was nice while it lasted.” He frowned a little as she stepped from between him and the wall. Straightening her blouse and making sure her bun was still in place, she watched out of the corner of her eye as he tried valiantly to tuck his aroused flesh secretively away in his trousers. A feat made more difficult by his impressive size. She couldn’t help but snicker lightly behind her hand as he turned to her in exasperation, a question hanging in his flushed expression. She nodded and he turned, smiling sheepishly at her as he squeezed her hand one last time before the doors slid open.
The second Elizabeth stepped into the lobby, she wished they could simply go home. She wanted them to be alone again, with every fiber of her being. Taking a deep, reassuring breath, she moved toward the front desk before Matt’s hand caught her wrist. The unexpected contact, mixed with her thoughts of them alone, cause a telling blush to run rampant over her face. As she met his gaze, she caught a familiar flicker light up his eyes before it disappeared behind his serious expression. “Maybe we should grab our lunch, then the files. We can eat at our desks, this place is a little too crowded for my taste.”
“Sounds good.” She smiled shyly at him as he lead her into the cafe. They made their way through the line, scooping small helpings of only the most edible looking concoctions onto their resealable plastic plates. Matt paid the bill as she grabbed some utensils, and they made their way back toward the elevators. Elizabeth stopped in front of the reception desk and waited for the young officer to look up from his book, but it didn’t seem to be in her future. Matt, growing impatient, cleared his throat and the young man nearly fell out of his chair. Elizabeth smiled warmly and said, “I’m Detective Cord, you have something for me?” Unable to speak from the fright he had just sustained, the young man motioned to a navy blue, lidded, file box resting on the edge of the counter. Along the side, in deep gold letters, was written ‘Targstead Realty Group’. Elizabeth placed her tray on top of the box and lifted it into her arms. Nodding to Matt they returned to the elevator bank. Part of her hoped they could repeat their ride down, but they were soon joined by an over weight short man she recognized as another homicide detective. Though he was far more interested in the sloppy gyro he was slurping than in them, it was clear he was headed to the same place. When the elevator doors opened and he pushed past them into the car, her suspicions were confirmed.
She and Matt slid into the car and around behind the man, perfectly happy to stand directly in the middle of the small box and eat his strong smelling Greek concoction. Matt had to clear his throat three times before the older man reluctantly pushed the button for the twenty seventh floor. It was a long ride up, but Matt kept her entertained by nudging her elbow and making mocking gestures toward the large man’s back. More than once Elizabeth had almost laughed out loud, barely able to stifle the mirth his simple expressions were bringing her. All her joy was shattered as the doors opened onto their floor.
There, directly in their path, was Moreano. The second he saw the wide smile on Elizabeth’s face his expression soured. Her grin vanished in an instant, only adding to the rage in his eyes. Luckily, he seemed to be in a hurry at the moment, unable to stop long enough to berate them. Scowling as they exited the elevator, he slammed past them and nearly broke the plastic cover on the button as he punched it. He stood glaring fiercely at them as the doors slid closed. Once he was out of sight, Liz realized she was shaking. Matt leaned lightly against her side and she looked up at his face. He seemed shaken, too. With a flick of his dark head, he motioned her back to their desks and she followed, fear welling up inside her once again.
Chapter 44
Elizabeth sat at her desk eating her passable meal, watching as Matt did the same across from her. Their eyes seemed locked together, tension pulling at every muscle in her body, making her ache all over. She wanted to speak, tell him she missed his nearness, but she didn’t dare. Such an admission would only increase the aching need their moment in the elevator had left in her abdomen. She knew Moreano was out of the office and no other detective would care if they were less than strictly professional, but she was simply too afraid. She was all too aware of how close the elevators were, and since they had no idea of where he had gone or when he would be returning, that kind of contact, even fleeting, would be far too dangerous.
Knowing these truths did not make the desire any less. Elizabeth, losing her appetite for the lack-luster food from unrequited want, tucked her plastic fork inside the container and slid it away from her. She could no longer tolerate the smell of stale vegetables and too much salt. Sighing, she propped her head in her hands and pulled her gaze free of Matt’s entrancing eyes.
“What’s wrong? The food upsetting you?” His teasing smile made the knot in her stomach tighten painfully. Smiling sadly, he nodded. “Yeah, we probably should have just gone somewhere.” Closing his container too, he stood. She watched the long length of his torso move beneath his charcoal pinstripe suit as he stretched his arms over his head. Wicked thoughts overtook her mind and left her fully flushed and squirming in her chair. Too slowly, her addled mind caught firmly in the tumultuous sea of her desires and unable to function properly, she realized that he had done it on purpose. His grin, too wide and too wicked, washed over his entire body. His eyes were blue flames that licked over her flushed flesh, only fueling the raging inferno within her. As if to make things worse, his voice, deep, melodious, and so very tempting, husked out, “Why Detective Cord, is something wrong? You look positively troubled.”
He was using her words against her, taunting her desire freely as she had done to him only a few hours earlier and as much as it irked her, it thrilled her as well. “Oh hush, you! You just wait, these walls can’t protect you forever.” She winked at him slyly and relished the flash of excitement and reckless want that rushed across his face, setting his eyes ablaze again and causing his lips to part temptingly. She had only meant the jab to affect him, but his reaction, pure and plain as it was, had a strong mirror in her. Her pulse began to race and her knees began to grind together, trying desperately to hold in the heat spreading rampantly down her thighs.
He moved around the desks, drawing very close to her as he lifted her partially full lunch container into his hands to join his own. The movement afforded him the chance to get dangerously near to her. His warm breath on her cheek made her shiver. “How very wonderful that moment will be, Mara darling.” The soft, raspy whisper of her intimate nickname left her completely undone. Having lost her resolve entirely, she turned, determined to drag him into a deep, full, seeking kiss, but he apparently knew what his words would lead to. Pulling away suddenly, he moved just out of reach, winking at her full pout. Her heart fluttered and in that moment she wished more than anything she was free. Free to be who she wanted to be, do what she wanted to do. He made her happy, made her want to be happy all the time. A bright star, the way she felt when they were alone and she was in his arms.
She watched for a second as he moved away toward the break room. Sighing longingly, she turned back to her desk and grabbed the real estate records, pulling the box over to sit centered in front of her. Remo
ving the lid, she retrieved a rather hefty tie front file folder from its depths, then another, small folder of the same type followed. The larger one had an expertly printed label denoting that it contained all of the New York City properties, while its smaller sibling contained those that occupied the more rural regions of New York state. Grinning to herself mischievously, she stood from her chair and placed the larger of the two squarely on Matt’s desk. Punishment, she mused inwardly, for how brutally he had just teased her. Returning to her chair, she unwound the cord holding the small binder together and pulled a rather large stack of papers from within. Each page, or stapled pair of pages, was a detailed property summary containing all the pertinent information on each individual listing. Realizing that there were several hundred listings propped on her thighs, resting against the edge of her desk, she leaned back into her chair and began thumbing through them one by one. Deciding to start with the properties Mark represented in the Hamptons, she found the header section she needed and initiated her sort. As she was pulling the twelfth summary free from the stack, another coffee cup, steaming and aromatic, appeared next to her shoulder.
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