Don't Look Back

by Christie Craig

  “It’s a bra. I’m sure you’ve seen one before.”

  “Maybe one or two,” he said. But not in a while. The anniversary of his partner’s death had thrown him off his game, and into a funk.

  Two minutes later, he pulled up to the crime scene and called Mark to get an update. Brie got out of the car and Connor watched her roll up the sleeves of his white shirt and knot the ends in the front. She made his shirt look almost like suitable attire and had him wondering how many times she’d borrowed a man’s shirt.

  An image of her wearing nothing but his shirt flashed. He quickly pushed it out of his brain and got out of his car. Moving closer to her, he noted the purple shadows under her eyes. She looked exhausted, but determined. He figured any suggestion that she go home and get some rest would be met with attitude.

  She glanced back. “What did you learn?”

  “Olvera was found on the right side of the street, a few feet under the bridge.”

  They crossed the road. She stopped and took it all in. When she spotted blood on the gravel, agony flickered in her bloodshot eyes. Seeing her pain opened up the doorway to his own. He remembered Don’s blood. Don’s empty, open eyes. Then he saw the kid’s.

  “Why here?” Her question pulled him back. “Why drop him here?”

  “It’s dark, looks abandoned. Mark said there was a…” He moved down farther. “There. Behind the trees. There’s a tent. But at night you probably wouldn’t see it.”

  Brie walked behind the trees, knelt down, and stuck her head inside the one-man tent. Connor’s gaze shifted to her ass and he recalled Mark’s rabbit comment. Not happening, he told himself, but for the first time in months he felt a little blood move south.

  “It’s empty.” She pulled her head out and stood up. “There are thin wheel tracks. Whoever sleeps here probably pushes a grocery cart.” She followed the marks to the side of the road then stopped.

  “How did they find Carlos?”

  “A truck driver spotted him and called it in.”

  She paused again, and he could almost see her mind spinning. Looking for clues. Wanting answers. Needing justice. He wondered if she thought by solving this, the hurt would go away. It wouldn’t. He knew. Then again, Olvera wasn’t dead. And she hadn’t killed a kid.

  She pulled her phone from her back pocket and checked the time. “Drive me to Pecan and Logan Street. Then you can drop me off at the hospital.”

  “What’s at Pecan and Logan Street?”

  “The shelter. They serve lunch on Fridays. We might find someone with a cart, or I might find Betty.”

  “Betty?”

  “A homeless lady I know.”

  “You’ve been here four months, how do you know…?”

  “I volunteer at one of the shelters. Betty might know whose tent that is. My gut says whoever sleeps there saw something or they wouldn’t have cleared out of here.”

  He considered her theory. “If he really cleared out of here, wouldn’t he have taken the tent?”

  “Not if he was scared.”

  Ten minutes later, Connor drove up to the shelter. “There she is,” Brie said.

  Connor parked and watched as Brie pulled some cash from her purse and tucked it into her pocket before exiting the car. He followed her over to the group of homeless people sitting against a brick building.

  “Star!” an elderly woman called out. Connor noted her long wild-looking gray hair, faded jeans, and her black jacket two sizes too big. “You serving lunch today?”

  Connor had continued the family tradition of dishing up Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to the homeless since his mom passed. So why was he surprised Brie volunteered? Maybe he shouldn’t be so fast to judge.

  Brie walked over. “Not today. How are you?”

  “Fine, thanks to you. The antibiotics worked like a charm.”

  “Can we chat a minute?” Brie stepped away from the group and waved for the woman to follow.

  Betty’s evil eye had Connor pulling back a few steps. “Why are you hanging with cops?”

  “Someone I care about was hurt. They’re helping me find the person responsible.”

  “Sorry. Is your friend okay?”

  “Still in the hospital. Look, he was found shot under the bridge at Fifth Street and Chestnut. Someone lives there in a tent. Do you know who that is?”

  “You think a homeless person did this?”

  “No, I think this person might have seen something.”

  Betty gave Connor another look that said back off, but he held his ground. “Fifth and Chestnut, huh?”

  Brie nodded.

  Betty leaned in. “I never told you anything, right?”

  “My lips are sealed,” Brie promised.

  She cut her eyes to Connor before continuing, “That’s Tomas’s domain. Big guy. Almost as big as your cop. He has a ponytail. Other than his size, he looks like that country singer who likes pot. The one who can’t sing, but people love anyway.”

  “Willie Nelson?” Connor guessed, though he’d love to argue about the can’t sing comment. His mother had been a country and western fan, and he’d grown up listening to Willie and the boys.

  “Yeah. Looks like a big Willie Nelson. Even wears a bandanna.”

  Connor moved in. “Does Tomas have a last name?”

  “I never heard one. But I gotta tell you, I’m not sure it’ll do you any good. Even if he saw something…he’s not friendly. Doesn’t like cops. Doesn’t much like anyone.” She looked at Connor. “He refuses to let anyone else camp there. A couple of new guys tried. One of them ended up in the hospital, lost his right eye. Tomas has a mean streak in him. I heard he’s got issues from Vietnam.”

  “Is he here?” Brie asked.

  Betty glanced around, concern etched on her face. “Haven’t seen him, but I haven’t been looking either.”

  Brie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Connor noticed again how tired she looked. “Could you call me if you see him around?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks!” Brie reached into her jeans pocket and handed the woman some cash.

  Betty held up her hand, her fingers gnarled with age. “No money. Thanks to you, I’m no longer pissing blood.”

  “Take it.” Brie slipped it into the women’s hand. “It’s a gift.”

  “You are good folk, Star Colton.” Betty closed her fist around the bills and stuffed them into her bra.

  Brie studied her. “Are you staying at the shelter at night like you said you would?”

  “Most of the time. Some nights are too pretty to sleep inside.”

  “Streets aren’t always safe.” Brie frowned.

  “I’m tougher than I look.” Betty gave Connor a head-to-toe glance then whispered something in Brie’s ear.

  “No,” Brie said, and he could swear her cheeks pinkened.

  “Well, maybe you should.” The woman smiled back at him. “Looks like he could keep you warm at night.”

  Brie and Betty said goodbye, but before walking off, Betty met his gaze. The humor had faded from her blue eyes. “Don’t let her go see Tomas alone. He’s dangerous.”

  * * *

  Brie ran into Tory as she stepped off the elevator, and one glance at his worried face brought tears to her eyes.

  “He looks so bad.” Tory’s voice cracked and Brie felt his pain in her own chest.

  “I know, but he’s alive.” She hugged him. Tory held on longer and tighter than any time she’d known the man, who in his own words was “a serial hugger.”

  When they pulled apart she asked, “Have you spoken to the doctor?”

  “Yeah. He…he’s not very positive.”

  “He doesn’t know Carlos,” Brie insisted.

  “That’s what I keep telling myself. They are doing some brain scans to make sure the swelling in his brain isn’t increasing.” Tory scrubbed a few tears from his eyes, and Brie’s throat tightened to the point where swallowing hurt. “Oh, you have no idea how good it made me feel
seeing Eliot and Sam here. Eliot said that Agents Calvin, Bara, and Miles came by when I was with Carlos. Eliot made them leave. I’m so glad. I’m afraid I’d—”

  “It’s okay.” Brie hugged him, but couldn’t help worrying how the meeting went. She knew Eliot would have tried to do it diplomatically, but when pushed he could grow a third head and spew fire.

  Tory continued, “If one of them did this, I—”

  “Don’t go there yet,” Brie said. “Where are Eliot and Sam?”

  “Sam left to get some rest. They’re taking shifts.”

  “Where?” She could kick herself for not offering them a key to her place earlier.

  “There’s a hotel connected to the hospital. Eliot’s camped out in that little seating alcove in front of the ICU.” He waved down the hall as his gaze lifted over her shoulder. Brie turned and saw Connor.

  Brie introduced them and they shook hands.

  “I was hoping to ask you a few questions,” Connor said.

  “Sure.” Tory grabbed Brie’s hand, silently asking her to stay with him.

  Connor waved Tory into the waiting room and started off confirming all the facts Brie had already shared. When Tory got emotional, Connor was patient.

  “Did Carlos have anything with him that would be worth breaking into his hotel room for? Maybe evidence?”

  “Someone broke into his room?” Tory asked.

  Brie nodded.

  “He had a computer, but that’s about it.” Tory looked at Brie. “Did he show you anything?”

  “I hadn’t seen him yet. He didn’t get in until late last night.”

  Tory’s brow pinched. “He left Tuesday morning. It’s less than a five-hour drive. He dropped me off at the airport, then left to come here. He had his suitcase with him.”

  Brie shook her head. “He told me he wasn’t arriving until Wednesday.”

  “Was he going anywhere else?” Connor asked.

  “No,” Tory answered.

  Connor looked at Brie. “I’ll check with the hotel and see when he got in.”

  “Hey.” A voice came from the door.

  Eliot stood there, so she went to him. He frowned at Connor then focused on her. “Get anything?”

  “A few leads, but nothing’s panned out yet. I heard Agent Calvin and the others came by.” She saw the way Eliot studied her face and knew what was coming. The man was worse than a grandmother.

  “You got purple moons under your eyes, Brie. You need some rest or you’ll have strep within—”

  “Quit mothering me.”

  “Then start taking care of yourself and I won’t have to.”

  “If I didn’t know how to take care of myself, I’d’ve shriveled up and died by now.” She frowned. “How did it go with Agent Calvin?”

  “Just how you expected it to go.”

  Brie closed her eyes. “How bad did it get?”

  “No one threw a punch. He told me I could leave. That his agents would stand guard. I told him I preferred they left. We debated and I won, but he wasn’t happy.”

  She’d bet that was an understatement. “Look, I have an extra key to my apartment. You guys don’t need to stay at a hotel.”

  “Actually, staying at the hotel is better. We’re closer. And Agent Calvin just called me three minutes ago. He’s trying to reach you.”

  Brie pulled out her phone. “I need to charge it.” She looked up. “What else did he say?”

  “Not much, but he did ask if I’d gotten to spend a lot of time with you since you’ve been on leave.”

  She bit down on her lip. “Does he suspect I’ve been here in Anniston the whole time?”

  “It didn’t sound like he was fishing. Just making conversation to cover up the awkwardness.”

  She nodded. “Wait. How did he get your number?”

  “We exchanged numbers last year when we went to his barbeque.”

  She frowned. “So you could keep tabs on me?”

  “No.”

  “Can I use your phone to call him?”

  “Sure.” He looked back at Connor. “Is the pissant cop behaving?”

  “He’s not…they’re helping me.”

  “They?” He handed her his phone.

  “The Cold Case Unit. For some reason, they’ve been assigned to Carlos’s case. I helped them solve a case before. They have a good reputation.”

  Eliot frowned. “I don’t like that one’s attitude.”

  “Well, he’s helping me.” She found Agent Calvin’s recent call and hit redial. “So don’t shoot him or anything.”

  “Too bad,” Eliot said. “I needed some target practice.”

  Chapter Nine

  The phone conversation with Agent Calvin had gone bad, and now the face-to-face was going down the same road. “How could you have told them about that?” Agent Calvin, who looked like a healthier Alec Baldwin only with less hair, ranted at her as soon as she showed up at the precinct meeting room. “I told you I would handle this. Do you know how this makes us look?”

  “I’m more concerned about Carlos’s safety than how it makes the agency look.”

  “Tell me something, Agent Ryan. Are you the one who encouraged Agent Olvera to come here? Is it because of you that Tory Vale came up with this conspiracy theory? First there was a leak at the ATF, and now there’s a leak in our own agency.”

  “I never spoke with Tory Vale about the case. But it’s not a conspiracy theory. Someone leaked information about the Sala case. Someone killed Pablo Ybarra. And if Carlos said he found evidence—”

  “We don’t know what Agent Olvera found.”

  “No, but—”

  “You never answered my question. Are you the one behind Agent Olvera coming here?”

  Her silence was all the answer he needed. “Goddamn it! Have you been working this case all along? I gave you a direct order to let it go. And now you tell our dirty secrets…This could end your career!” His face turned an angry red color that almost matched his burgundy tie.

  “Someone shot Carlos. There has to be—”

  “Carlos was probably shot because he was asking questions about your sister’s case, which has no connection to the Sala case.”

  “Dillon Armand’s name was in the Sala report and then in my sister’s—”

  “And we looked into that! We couldn’t prove shit. Even if you’re right and Armand’s connected, airing our dirty laundry to the cops is wrong. And so is calling Eliot to sit guard.”

  “I don’t know Agents Miles and Bara that well.”

  “So I could have looked into it! Now, look at the mess you’ve created.” With that parting shot, Agent Calvin stormed out of the conference room.

  Brie took a few seconds to mourn the probable loss of her career, one she’d been proud of. Then again, Calvin hadn’t asked for her badge yet. Still, tears threatened to fall. She’d gotten ten steps into the hallway when she saw Detective Pierce standing inside the open bathroom door.

  Had he been eavesdropping? Probably.

  “Sorry,” he said. So he’d definitely heard her conversation.

  She refused to look at him. “Do you always butt into other people’s business?”

  “Do you always need to kick a dog when you’re upset?”

  She swallowed a knot of frustration. “Just do your job.”

  “I didn’t purposely eavesdrop.” His tone lost its edge. “I was in the bathroom and as I came out…well, Agent Calvin’s voice carries. That said, you did the right thing. Trusting us.”

  She looked up. His bright green eyes were slightly bloodshot. His shirt wrinkled. His chest a mile wide. For one second, she wondered what it would feel like to lean against that solid torso. To feel his arms around her. To…she slammed the door on that thought. What the Hades was wrong with her?

  “Prove it by finding out who did this to Carlos.” She continued walking, wanting to leave him and the crazy temptation behind.

  But wanting something didn’t make it so. His heavy footsteps echo
ed with hers. “Olvera didn’t check into the hotel until Wednesday evening.”

  She stopped. “So he went somewhere else first. To do what?”

  “Could he have…someone on the side?”

  “No. He just married Tory. And anyway Carlos’s not like that.”

  Connor nodded. “When you talk to Tory again, ask him about Carlos’s credit cards. Maybe he can see if he used them anywhere.”

  “I’ll ask him. Call me if you get anything else.” She met his eyes. “And sorry for reacting like I did.”

  “No problem.”

  She started to leave, but he caught up with her again. “Where are you going?”

  “Back to the hospital and then to work.” She kept moving.

  He caught her arm, not a tight hold, but one that was almost tender. His touch sent a warm tingle traveling through her body, reminding her what it felt like to be a woman—not just an FBI agent.

  She shifted her arm, and he released her.

  He slipped his hand in his pocket and took a fraction of a second to respond, almost as if he’d felt the same spark she had. “What if you’re wrong about your cover not being compromised?”

  “I’m not.”

  “But Agent Calvin knows you are the reason Agent Olvera was here.”

  “He thinks I talked Carlos into looking into the case. He doesn’t know I work at the club.”

  “You’d stake your life on it?” He sounded aggravated again.

  “Yeah. I would.”

  * * *

  Stubborn. Smug. Sexy.

  Damn! Connor hadn’t been able to burn away the image of her in that lacy bra. Nor could he stop staring at her perky jean-covered butt power walking away from him. He released a hot breath. He again envisioned his shirt hanging midthigh with nothing beneath it. A shot of something sweet headed south.

  Could this mean he was ready to get back out there? Hell, he had quite a few willing women and phone numbers. But he knew that not just anyone would do. Great. Now his libido was getting picky.

  Rubbing the back of his neck, he started down the hall to meet up with the three FBI agents. After what he’d overheard of Brie and Agent Calvin’s conversation, his gut said this meeting could get intense. It also said he needed to keep his temper in check.