The words echoed through memory to another woman, another time. Seth growled, stepped around the podium and
Thank you, Special Agent Varitek. The chief got between them and diverted Seth to his chair with a warning look. Based on that evidence, I think we need to assume that the female officers are at higher risk, and Officer Dumont in particular. He scanned the room and made two partner changes, breaking up a pair of male detectives and a pair of female detectives and switching them. That leaves everyone protected except Officer Dumont. The chief looked at Seth. Youll keep an eye on her?
Yeah, Seth said, though he wished there was another option. Ill watch her back.
At that, Cassie shot to her feet and stalked from the room, shoulders tight, body language just this side of aggressive.
The door slammed behind her.
CASSIE POUNDED DOWN to the basement crime lab, nearly vibrating with fury.
Maybe she should be used to being underestimated by now, but it still stung. How long would she have to fight the fragile female stereotype? How many heads did she have to bite off, how many testosterone-laden men was she going to have to chase away from her territory before theyd believe that she was smart enough, tough enough and street-savvy enough to do the job shed been hired to do?
In all honesty, Varitek probably wasnt trying to be a jerk. There was some logic to his words. It had been a tense, ugly situation when Croft had targeted Alissa. But she wasnt Alissa, and this wasnt the same situation. Cassie couldnt afford to be coddled, and shed be damned if he shoved her to the side of another investigation.
She glared around the lab, part of her wishing for someone to fight with, part of her glad to be alone in the one space that made her feel truly welcome. The banks of machines didnt care what she looked like or whether she peed sitting down. They answered the questions she asked, using the information she gave them. She could load in two DNA samples and be confident that the next morning, the fluorescent peaks and valleys on the computer printout would tell her whether she had a match or not. Whether she had a mixed sample or not.
The evidence didnt care who she was.
She let her fingertips drift over the stereomicroscope she used to examine fiber, hair and dirt samples. She glanced at the logged evidence from the apartment murder scene, the jacket and hat from the bastard whod rigged her truck. But though she was tempted to dive in, she knew better.
She was too ticked off to work effectively, too distracted. Her thoughts were jammed with Seth Varitek. She was all tangled up with the sound of his deep, masculine voice, and the feel of being pressed up against the wall of a crummy apartment building. Hed invaded her senses until she swore she could taste him on her lips, which was impossible.
Cursing, she strode out of the lab and into her small office, where she threw herself into her desk chair and slapped her computer mouse to wake the machine from its screen saver.
Cursing, she strode out of the lab and into her small office, where she threw herself into her desk chair and slapped her computer mouse to wake the machine from its screen saver.
Then she stared blankly at the glowing icons.
Stop taking this so personally, she said aloud, hoping the words would help put the scene upstairs into perspective. He wasnt saying you couldnt take care of yourself. He was just saying to watch out.
Only hed said more than that. Hed agreed to watch her back, which she translated as keep her in the lab while I work the field. He was an excellent evidence tech, but so was she. And she was the one whod be staying in Bear Claw once this was over. She was the one who lost status in her coworkers eyes every time she let the FBI take over a crime scene.
She lost. Not him.
So, yeah, it was personal. Maybe not to him, but it sure as hell was to her. With Alissa and Maya out of town, it was up to her to defend the value of the new forensics department. It was up to her to make herself indispensable to the BCCPD, so the other cops would finally realize that she was worth something to the department.
That she was worth something at all.
Lees voice whispered around the edges of her mind, telling her it wasnt enough, that it would never be enough. Gritting her teeth against a press of anger, she clicked over to her favorite Web search engine. She typed two words into the query box.
Seth Varitek.
If this was going to be a battle for control of the Bear Claw Forensics Department, it made sense for her to know her enemy, to know his weak spots, if there were any. And though public records might not give her the insight she needed, the Web was a good place to start. She didnt need to be a full detective to know that.
She avoided his public profile on the FBI field office Web site. Shed checked it out a few weeks after hed left Bear Claw, just out of curiosity, and had been unsettled by the hot rush that had punched through her when shed seen his official photo. In the picture, his dark hair was buzzed close to his skull and his pale green eyes seemed to stare directly at her. It was by no means a glamor shot, it was too rugged for that, too fierce. But it had encapsulated what she remembered of the man, and it had left her far warmer than shed liked.
So well skip that site, she muttered to herself. Well stipulate that hes relatively hot and move on to the important stufffiguring out what makes him tick.
She kept one eye on the door as she clicked through lists of the papers hed authored in recent years. Hed come looking for her sooner or laterto gloat if nothing elseand it wouldnt do for him to find her prying. Wouldnt do for him to know that she was interested, if only in the context of defending her territory.
The search results were sorted by date, so it took her ten minutes or so to work through the past couple of years worth of information on Varitek, mostly notations of meetings hed attended or spoken at, research hed done on computer simulation models and methods for integrating the various criminology databases.
No wonder he has all those cutting-edge programs to work with, she said, impressed in spite of herself. He developed some of them.
That also explained why he was a generalized evidence guru when so many of the FBI forensics experts specialized in one field, whether it be hair or paint chips or DNA. But that didnt really help her. She needed something more. Something personal. Then she clicked on the next screen worth of information and hit pay dirt.
Only it wasnt the sort of dirt shed wanted to find.
It was far worse.
The newspaper articles were from the major Denver papers. The headlines jumped out at her, highlighted one-line summaries that told a terrible story.
She sucked in a breath and moved to blank the screen, but a hint of movement and a low curse from the doorway warned that she was already too late. She spun in her chair and saw that Varitek stood in the doorway of her small office, close enough to read the damning words over her shoulder.
His eyes were dark, his expression closed. Find what you needed, Officer?
Her stomach knotted and she stood, unwilling to let him loom over her. Im sorry. I shouldnt have pried.
He didnt nod, didnt smile, didnt let her off the hook. Instead, he said, No, you shouldnt have. Its none of your business. He didnt move, didnt even seem to be breathing, though she knew that was an illusion. How much did you read?
Not much, she answered quickly. Just the headlines.
Headlines like Woman Murdered Returning Home From Art Show, and Cop Husband Vows Revenge Against Diablo Brothers.
Then what else do you want to know? he said, voice dark with an emotion that didnt show in his face. Should I tell you that Robyn and I fought about that damned art show? She wanted people to know how run-down the schools were in that section of town, wanted to help improve them. She moved her paintings down there and planned a party, a grand opening for Gods sake. Grief deepened the lines beside his mouth and the muscles at his jaw bunched with tension. I made her promise not to go out there without me. Then I let her down because I got a call. A break in the case. He paused. It was a plant, of course. A diversion. I got back just in time to find her. In time to say good-bye.
Cassie made a wordless sound of sympathy while her heart tore in her chest and leaked pain. She reached out, but didnt quite touch him. Im sorry.
The words seemed inadequate. She reached over and blanked the computer screen, as though erasing the headlines could erase the memories.
If Id been there to drive her home His expression was closed, as though he were talking to himself now, as though this were a conversation hed been through a thousand times in his head. If Id been better about separating my life from my work He trailed off and refocused on her. He scowled, but the expression didnt seem as fierce as it had before. Sorry. Not your problem.
But it was her problem, she realized. It explained what had happened back in the alley, and why he had moments of being as overprotective as one of her four older brothers. Why he kept trying to push her to the edges of her own investigations.
It was her problem, because it was affecting her ability to do her job and make her place in Bear Claw.
Knowing it, but also knowing that shed never been good at touchy-feely emotional conversations, she jammed her hands into her pockets. Im sorry, Varitek. Theres nothing I can say to make it better. Nothing at all. But I wont let you shut me out of this case like you did with the kidnappings, just because Im a woman and youre afraid I might get hurt.
He scowled down at her. I didnt shut you out.
He was closer than shed realized, a mere half step away. She wanted to retreat from the warmth of him, the sheer size of him, but held firm. Yes, you did. Maybe you didnt mean to, and maybe the lab fire made it simpler to use FBI equipment and personnel. But in the end, it was your work, not mine, and everyone here knew it.
I didnt
She held up a hand to stop him. Dont worry. Were both at fault because I let you take over. But not this time. This time youre on my turf and Im not giving it up. She took a breath. Look, Ill admit it. With Alissa and Maya away, I could use help. But this is going to have to be my investigation and my evidence collection. Im in charge this time.