And tastes?
In most things, yes. She located the key, then the lock and, once inside, the foyer light switch.
A low growl from the stairwell had Vanessa smiling and Rick narrowing his eyes.
She let the tease ride for a moment, before offering a firm, Friend, to the German shepherd who now stood at full attention on the bottom step.
Robo, this is FBI Agent Rick Maguire. Rick, retired Canine Officer Robo.
As in Robocop? He held out a hand to the dog.
Robo sniffed the newcomer carefully, wary as she was, Vanessa judged. When the dog transferred his attention to her, she took his head in her hands and gave him an affectionate rub.
Robos better than a lot of cops I know. He nailed more perps in a week than many rookies do in a year.
Why is he living with you?
Because he injured his leg one night while pursuing a suspect to the docks. Doctors put a pin in his hip. Hes mobile, just not up to chasing down suspects.
Why didnt his partner take him?
Because he has five kids, three dogs, two cats, a turtle and a parakeet. He figured Robo would get lost in the shuffle and that wouldnt be fair to anyone. On the other hand, Ive always wanted a dog. Also, Captain Palmer has very little faith in security systems. He brought Robo over one night last year, and that was it.
Love at first sight?
She laughed, gave the dogs fur one last ruffle. Robo and I were already friends from the station. We worked together on several cases. And before you ask, we were in Bodega Bay when my house was broken into.
Six days ago.
She tossed her bag and jacket onto a bloodred chair next to the door. You can lose the tone, Maguire. I understand the time frame all too well. A week to ten days after they were burgled, my friends died. Believe me, its been on my mind for the better part of the evening. Or it had been until shed almost been shot.
Sing described Steve McQueen to the police.
Yes, well, you know what they say about perception. Once he drew the comparison, his reality altered. Anyway, it was the best description we got. The only other people who noticed the guy said he was sort of average, from build to height to hair color. In other words, most peoples minds are too occupied to notice anything that appears ordinary. Our best bet is to look for someone who resembles Steve in his early-to midfifties and moves like a snake.
She felt Rick watching her as she led the way down the hall to the kitchen. It didnt bother her. She was used to men staring and couldnt deny she liked it. But she also understood there was something different about this man, something that appealed just a little more than it should.
He was definitely a looker. Geri had been dead-on there. Long, dark-brown hair, lean rangy build, great mouth and large, oddly soulful brown eyes.
Hed get a lot of women with those eyes, she reflected. And the smile, when it came, wouldnt hurt, either.
Do I pass inspection?
Vanessa checked the filter on her faucet before filling the kettle. She could have played the game, but a mounting sense of exhaustion had her going with the straight answer. You have an aura, Agent Maguire. I could get distracted by you. That wouldnt be good, all things considered.
Sounds like an interesting start. He removed his jacket to reveal a black shirt with the sleeves rolled partway up and just enough open buttons that she could see the beginnings of dark chest hair.
Didnt need to notice that. A sigh rose in Vanessas throat. He smelled good, tooclean, as if hed just showered.
Setting the kettle on the stove, she wiped her hands. Theres no start for us, okay? Someone shot at me tonight. Im frazzled. You say things when youre frazzled.
Like you do when youre drunk?
Her eyes sparkled. I dont get drunk. When my fingers go tingly, I switch to juice or soda. Mind in harmony with body. My aunts been preaching the concept since the sixties.
The gaze Rick ran over her body made not only her fingers, but every other part of her go tingly as well. No comment, he said, then offered her a slow smile that turned the tingle into a snap of electricity. For now, anyway.
Unfortunate, was all she could think. But, brakes on, she really didnt need this or him disrupting her life.
Tipping her lips into a smile, she asked, Do you want to see my bedroom before or after we eat?
Before, and you dont have to feed me. Coffeell do. You look all in.
Youre not feeding my ego, Maguire. But youre right. I worked three night shifts, grabbed two hours of sleep, then had to make a court appearance. If Id been more alert, I might have seen tonights shooters reflection in the shop window.
If you hadnt bent down, youd be on a slab in the morgue as we speak. He began to close in. His eyes were steady on her face, and she was too fascinated by her own reaction to evade him. Sometimes luck happens, Vanessa. Be grateful for it.
I am. She cocked her head at his continued approach. Do you have your mothers eyes or your fathers?
Fathers.
Must be one sexy man.
Ricks lips curved. Strange as that sounds, Ill take it as a compliment. Could it be youre warming to me?
Her blood certainly was. Frazzled, she repeated as he drew to within a foot of her. Closets upstairs.
With the ghost of his smile lingering, he reached out a hand to capture her chin. His thumb stroked the smooth skin of her jaw.
Vanessa made no attempt to pull free. Which both amused and intrigued her, because with any other man she didnt know, by now her palm would be planted on his chest. In Ricks case, she merely raised a brow. You realize youre pushing the boundaries, dont you, Maguire? Duty-wise as well as in other ways.
Story of my life, Detective Connor.
His lips were an inch from hers when he spoke. Damn, she thought, as little zaps of lightning began to shoot through her system. She actually wanted him to bridge that last bit of space and kiss her. On the other handGonna drive me crazy, she predicted and, tangling her fingers in his hair, dragged his mouth onto hers.
IT WASNT WHAT HE EXPECTED. Not the woman, not the kiss and definitely not his reaction to it. Vanessa had temptress qualities, no doubt about it, but the heat that flared both above and below his belt, now that was bad.
He knew where it came from, though, and why. She had a curious blend of softness and strength about her. Maybe shed channeled the fear shed refused to show him into the kiss. Whatever the case, his brain had quite simply melted down on contact.
Forty minutes later, he could still feel her pressed against him, that exquisitely toned body touching his in all the rightor wrongplaces. And he swore the taste of her would haunt him all night, maybe longer.
Angry with himself, he slammed the door of his car and took the porch steps outside his friends house two at a time. He walked in without knocking, but closed the door quietly. Didnt matter. Billy had ears like a damned elephant.
Sat you, Rick? I got coffee back here thats strong enough to strip paint.
The old mans voice had a wobble to it these days. It was a worry, but with his head swimming and the taste of a beautiful woman still on his lips, that worry had pretty much worked its way to the back of Ricks mind.
The old mans voice had a wobble to it these days. It was a worry, but with his head swimming and the taste of a beautiful woman still on his lips, that worry had pretty much worked its way to the back of Ricks mind.
Tossing his jacket aside, he navigated the obstacle course that was the first floor hallway. He hit his head twice on protruding cabinets before squeezing through the kitchen door. Youve got to stop taking in every piece of broken furniture you see, Billy.
Theyre antiques, and keep your voice down. Youll wake the new kid.
What new kid? Rick squinted into the poorly lit room. He could hear the old man but couldnt see him past two bookshelves, a tall boy and some kind of rickety bureau.
Found him this morning at a bus stop. The words came from somewhere near the pantry door. Kid didnt get on when the bus came. Didnt have any money. He tried to sell me a watch. I offered him a hot meal instead. Figured a good nights sleep wouldnt hurt, either. A smile entered his tone. I smell real pretty perfume out there. Would it come from that detective you saw tonight?
His vocal cords might wobble, but nothing else about Billy Ruby had changed in the nearly twenty years Rick had known him. He took in strayspeople, animals and objects. He cleaned them up, gave them a sense of worth and sent them back out into the world. He trusted easily, missed little and took it in stride if one of his tougher human challenges failed.
A Saint Bernard with a kinked tail wandered over to drool on Ricks boot. He gave a deep bark and wove a path to the far corner.
Its after midnight, Rick. I dont take that as a good sign.
Hunched over his computer, Billy didnt look up. At ninety-six, he was the oldest person Rick knew. He wore his store-bought teeth with pride and had more hair than most men half his age, long hair that fell halfway down his back in a thin white braid. He was part African American, part Native American, part French Creole and part Swiss. It never failed to make Rick smile when Billy threw that last thing in. A neutral country, Billy Joe Ruby was not.
Rick thought back briefly to his youth. Hed fallen in and out of troublemostly inbefore meeting the old man. With patience, luck and a whole lot of late night talks, Billy had helped a tall, skinny, scared kid from Bakersfield finally get his head screwed on halfway straight.
At the moment, Billy was regarding a group photo, taken on what appeared to be a college campus. Rick set one hand on the back of his chair, the other on the makeshift desk and bent to study the shot. Let me guess. Youre helping me with this case.
I was a Fed myself once, dont forget.
You sorted files, Billy.
Before, during and after the war. Read a lot of them while I was at it.
Pretty sure thats illegal.
Only if you get caught. He tapped a weathered finger on the screen. Id guess thats Vanessa Connor.
Out of a group of twenty girls, hed nailed her straight off.
At Ricks doubtful sound, the old man laughed. What? Its not so tough to figure. I know what her three dead friends look like, so I eliminated them. Got rid of the cute ones and the four or five whore hunkered down into their sweaters. No confidence. Left me with about six choices. Shes the prettiest, and she has the best eyes. Smart eyes. Like yours.
Uh-huh. Rick sent him a slow grin. Theres a list of names, isnt there? You read it and counted, left to right, bottom row.
If I did, shes still got smart eyes, and since you smell like a summer garden, Im thinking she wears nice perfume. She gonna let you help keep her alive?
Probably, but only because her captain wants it, and theyre tight.
Billy peered at him through a pair of thick spectacles. You wanna talk about it?
No.
Thought not. Do you good, though, if you did. Bottling doesnt work.
Im not bottling.
Did you kiss her?
My business, Billy.
Youve never kissed any other woman youve worked with. And you just met this one.
Suspicion moved in. Why dont you sound surprised?
Because I figured it would happen. Been waiting for the day to come. You saw her and thought, Oh, man, Im in trouble. Youre pushing at the feeling because its wrong right now. Could mess you up. Could land her in a grave. Still, that old feeling just wont budge. You kissed her, figured thatd get it out of your system. Doubt if it worked, but youll tell yourself it didor will soon enough. He smiled. I like smart eyes.
So did Rick, which, as Billy had pointed out, was a very big problem and one hed have to deal with fast. For the moment, he simply changed the subject. Someone took a shot at her tonight.
Billys breath whistled out. Looks like youve got a job ahead of you, boy.
Rick nodded. Grahams squeezing me for answers. Sos my boss.
The buck stops at you. Its what you get for being the best. But there was understanding in Billys tone. A lot of serial killings go on for years. They shouldnt expect a solution overnight.
Its been three months. Three long, stress-filled months of increasingly impatient phone calls, e-mails and ass-kicking lectures from his superiors. Senator Graham had clout, and he was using all of it in the case of his nieces highly publicized death.
The irony was, Graham hadnt liked her. Deirdre Morton had had a penchant for the outrageous and a rather pathetic need to grab headlines. Why Vanessa had hung out with her in college was almost as big a mystery to Rick as the identity of her killer.
Youll nail him. Billy gave a decisive nod. And Ill say that to Senator Graham myself if he keeps pestering you.
It doesnt fit. In as much as the space allowed, Rick pushed off to pace. The guy tried to kill her in a crowd of people in Chinatown.
One shot?
Yeah.
What kind of gun?
A .32. I knowsame caliber as the second victim. Im betting on a different weapon, though.
Second victim was murdered in Arizona, late last month, right? Its August now. Time frame and all, chances are good your guy flew to Houston after that. Metal detectors, physical searchesyou cant smuggle weapons onto planes these days. Guy burgles the third victim, stabs her with a knife, also not easily transportable, then hightails it on up to San Francisco. He does his burglary thing there and buys another gun. Reasons it worked once, itll work again.
Hes never gone with a crowd scene before. Its been one-on-one in the three previous cases. The MO works. Why change it up now?
Why hit the first victim over the head in a sleazy alley stairwell? Why leave the second floating in a hotel bathtub, fully clothed? Why slash the third victims throat and let her drain out facedown on her office desk?
That last scenario had been hard even for Rick to stomach. The victims were alone in every case. Vanessa wasnt.
But shed have been dead just the same if the shooterd hit his mark. Maybe results matter more to your murderer than MO.
Thats what Palmer thinks.
What does Detective Connor think?
Rick picked up the coffeepot at Billys elbow, swirled the murky contents. We didnt get into it.