Daddy's Little Killer (14 page)

"And it's consistent with this crime?"

"Very consistent.  I'd say it was
remarkable."

"Huh," I grunted softly.  "That doesn't
fit somehow."

"Explain."

"If the first victim was sexually assaulted,
I would anticipate that subsequent victims would be similar in
age.  Sex offenders are typically very preferential.  Why
would he go for a mid teen the first time, and a thirty-something
the second?  It doesn't jibe."

"You'll figure it
out.  I've seen you work through far more baffling cases than
this one."  Maya nudged me with one shoulder.  "Remember
the spate of elderly women in Baltimore?  Everybody else
thought it was that,
old people die in
threes
thing until you saw the
pattern."

"Ah, yes.  The temp nurse who fancied
himself an angel of mercy to women who reminded him of his overly
strict grandmother."

"Not even your boss was convinced that
something criminal happened."

"You believed it," I said.  "You were
the one who noticed the barely discernible signs of
asphyxiation."

"We make a good team, Helen.  What time
do you want to meet for dinner?"

"Seven.  My hotel restaurant.  I'm
glad you're here, Maya.  I do have a strange request
though."

"The stranger it is, the better I like
it."

"For now, I think it would be best to let
people think our relationship wasn't as friendly as it became over
the years.  I'd rather that people think I'm isolated out here
without an ally in the world."

"You're right.  That is an odd request,
but I shall defer to your psychological wisdom on that one. 
Maybe you should come to dinner at my place rather than be seen
with me in public."  Maya wiggled her eyebrows
conspiratorially.

"No, I want people to see me working this
case.  So no flirting with men at dinner.  We have to at
least maintain the façade of an utterly professional
conversation."

Chapter 12

It occurred to me when I walked into the
Arboretum Restaurant and immediately spotted Orion sitting at the
bar nursing a crystal glass of amber liquid that perhaps my other
shadows were lurking about too.  Sure enough, I scanned the
room and saw them trying to appear unobtrusive tucked into a corner
along the restaurant wall. 

Apparently, they all knew I returned to the
hotel after my visit to the medical examiner this afternoon. 
A wild thought tickled through my brain.  Who was Orion
following?  Them or me?  Didn't it make more sense that
he happened to find me being harassed by men he followed from
Darkwater Bay rather than another more convoluted scenario?

That's the problem with paranoia.  It
can put you at the center of the universe when that's not the case
at all.

I strode through the busy restaurant to the
bar and tapped Orion's shoulder.

"I was wondering when you'd make an
appearance."

"Funny," I said, "but I was about to say the
same thing to you.  It struck me that I've been vain, Mr.
Orion."

His eyebrows took an exaggerated arch. 
"Indeed.  Do tell."

"I thought you've been following me, showing
up in D.C., a convenient excuse to swoop in and play hero,
ingratiate yourself and make me feel indebted to you because you're
interested in what I'm doing."

His chuckle was a warm, soft hug that
wrapped me in desire that my delusion was true.  "What makes
you think I wouldn't go to such exaggerated ends to get your
attention, Doc?"

"Because I observe behavior for a living,
and I think that if those men trying to hide so poorly in the
corner weren't here, that you wouldn't be either.  This isn't
about me, it's about them."

He lifted his glass in silent toast.

"Any idea why they're following me yet?"

"Not the foggiest clue."

"And I don't suppose you'd share if you did
know."

The twinkle in his cerulean blue eyes
intensified.  "I might be coerced into sharing."

"You're a pig," I muttered.

"Hey, nobody held a gun to my head and
forced me to go to your suite in D.C.  I figured it was a case
of mistaken identity, just like you said it was."

"So you showed up because …?"

He leaned close and whispered against my
neck, "Because you're gorgeous, and I have no self control when I
meet a woman and want her the way I want you."

My stomach twisted and dove down to the
vicinity of my left ankle.  "Nice try, Orion.  Why were
you tailing Dumb and Dumber?"

"Why did you lie and say your name was
Diana?  It would've saved me a hell of a lot of trouble if I'd
known they really were after you."

It was my turn to lean in and be
provocative.  "Is it so difficult to understand why a woman
might use an alias before inviting a complete stranger into her
bed?"

It was a ridiculous claim, and if Orion had
the capacity for rationality, he'd have known it instantly.  I
gave him the name I used when I checked into the Ritz.  My
ruse was in play long before he showed up.  Fortunately, the
notion that I planned to spend the night with him stripped away his
sense of reason. 

Before I could retreat, Orion's hands
morphed into a cage that trapped my waist.  His thumbs stroked
along the bottom of my ribs.  "Doc."

"Let go of me.  Have
you lost your mind?  You're not Todd and I'm not Diana." 
The weak delivery rendered the message ineffective.  I might
as well have said,
take me to bed and make
wild passionate love to me all night.
 

The look in his eyes, predatory, hungry,
made me question if I said the words my brain formed or the ones
that fluttered in my belly. 

"Let's get out of here," he
murmured. 

"I'm working, Orion."  Still weak, but
a little more firm.

"Fuck the job.  I want you."

It took more willpower than I imagined I
possessed to step out of his light, seductive embrace.  "Mr.
Orion, the case I'm helping to solve involves the murder of your
friend Ms. Foster.  I find it odd that you care more about
your libido than justice for a friend."

"I'm a master of multitasking.  For
instance, are you aware that Dumb and Dumber have left the
restaurant?"

I glanced at the empty table.  "They
could be on their way upstairs to ransack my room again."

A wicked grin and a jerk of his head in the
direction of the door, "Are you inviting me upstairs, Doc?"

"Not a chance.  It's official now,
Orion.  I've got a badge and a sidearm.  I think I can
handle it."

"I wasn't aware you lacked either one."

"We weren't exactly truthful with each other
Monday night," I reminded him.  "Perhaps it's merely a trend
we're destined to continue.  Meanwhile, the men you refuse to
tell me why you're following are probably breaking into my room
while we debate who has the tougher mojo."

Orion chuckled softly.  "I doubt even
those two are foolish enough to break into a room now guarded by
private security."

"What?"

"You heard me, Doc.  There's a private
guard posted at your door.  You can thank me later."

"I'll thank you to butt out and mind your
own business."

Orion polished off his scotch and pushed the
glass away.  "You assume that's not exactly what I'm
doing.  I let myself be persuaded to ignore a threat once
before.  It's a mistake I don't intend to repeat."

"Your mistake is letting your quarry
escape."

"My quarry.  You make it sound
downright Shakespearean, sweetheart.  I like it."  Orion
motioned the bartender to bring another glass.  "How's the
investigation into Gwen's death going?  I heard you had a big
day at central this morning.  Old George was practically
stepping on his tongue over the coup of hiring a bona fide criminal
profiler."

"He didn't hire me."

"No?  So you're a pickpocket on top of
being the cool little liar, eh?"

I swayed close enough to brush his
shoulder.  "I'd love to know who your source is, Mr.
Orion."

"Have you confirmed my alibi yet?"

"We have."

"But you're not convinced of my
innocence."

"It's the lies you've told that make me
doubt you, Mr. Orion."

"And I believe your dinner date has
arrived.  Give my regards to Dr. Winslow."

"Not until you tell me the truth," my feet
planted firmly, arms crossed over my chest.  "What
investigation led you to Washington D.C., Mr. Orion?  What do
you know about why the bumbling PI's are following me?"

Orion lifted his drink, swirled it in the
glass and watched the colors flicker in the dim bar light.  "I
haven't figured that out yet, but I find it damned interesting,
considering who I suspect hired them."

My fingers dug into his bicep.  "Who
hired them, Orion?"

"Tsk.  Suspicion isn't evidence, as you
well know.  But I'll let you know as soon as I can prove my
theory."

"I'd settle for the theory."

"Meet me after you talk to the good doctor,"
Orion said.  "I'll show you mine if you show me yours. 
Theory, that is."  He tipped his glass and drained
it. 

"I don't have one yet."

"Bullshit," Orion smirked.  "I've heard
enough of your reputation to know that's not true.  You've
always got a theory, Doc.  You know where to find me when
you're ready to share stories."

"I can't possibly –"

"Your friend is headed this way."

Orion slid off the bar stool and
saluted.  "Congratulations on the new working
arrangement.  I sincerely hope you close this case.  Gwen
deserved a hell of a lot better than she got in the end."

"Give me your number.  I'll call you
when Maya and I finish discussing the case."

His eyes twinkled.  "And here I thought
you already did that when you were at the morgue earlier
today."

"A lot can happen in a few hours,
Orion.  You should know that."

I joined Maya at our table, out of Orion's
prying vision and slid into the chair.

"We had an agreement," she grinned. 
"That looked like flirting."

"Don't look too relaxed.  I told him
we're discussing the case.  And I wasn't flirting.  Orion
knows something and he's baiting me with the information he's
withholding."

"He's involved in this murder after
all?"  Her eyes darted across the room.  "I was so sure
he wasn't one of the villains in this city."

"It's nothing."

"But you just said –"

"I know what I said, Maya," I snapped. 
"It's not related to the case.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean
to be sharp.  Someone has been following me since before I
arrived in Darkwater Bay.  It turned out that these …
investigators are actually from here.  I seriously doubt that
it has anything to do with the murder investigation."

Her eyes widened.  "Are you safe?"

The gun at my hip provided an additional
layer of security, one I was accustomed to holding.  I
nodded.  "Now that things are official with Hardy and Weber,
I'd say that I'm safer now than I was when I arrived in town last
night.  Let's order some wine and forget about unpleasantness
for an hour or two."

"Helen, are you sure you're all right?"

I rubbed my temples and dug around my memory
for some tidbit of wisdom instilled by my father.  Nothing
came immediately.  Dad hadn't prepared me for the eventuality
of being stalked by corrupt PI's for an unknown reason.  No, I
was definitely not sure I was all right.  "Yes, of course I'm
fine.  It's been a grueling week.  Two weeks."

"I can't imagine how you're capable of
working at a time like this.  I realize that the divorce was
long over, Helen, but it can't have been easy to hear that Rick was
dead."

"Work is a balm to my soul right now."

"Of course it is," she reached out and
gripped my hand.  "I hope you know that if you need to talk
about any of this, I'm here for you, Helen.  We haven't really
treaded far into the territory of friendship outside our
professional relationship, but I suspect that we're both in a place
where a familiar face is more than welcome."

"It's been difficult for you out here,
hasn't it?  Blending in, making new friends."

"I wasn't welcomed with open arms." 
Maya gave a slight wave to our waiter and ordered a bottle of wine
and an antipasto platter.  "If you've encountered any
resistance from the police today, I wouldn't be surprised."

I talked about Charlie Haverston.  "He
seems eager to work this case with me.  If the pressure from
Jerry Lowe's detectives at central gets too great, I suspect his
enthusiasm will wane."

"I don't like the detectives from central,
not the ones I've had to deal with," Maya said.

"The true test will be tomorrow. 
Rodney Martin is setting me up in an office adjacent to his. 
Considering our history, I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"You have a history with him?"

"I was a teaching assistant in his criminal
psychology course his senior year in college.  What I thought
was a crush turned out to be Rodney's true skill – using anyone
within his reach to advance his unwavering ambition.  He had
no idea that George and Donald took his suggestion and asked me to
come out here to consult on their cases.  He was stunned to
see me."

"I'm sure," Maya said.  "Was it awkward
seeing him again?"

"He didn't recognize me until Hardy told him
who I was.  It was a different story after that.  Rodney
hasn't changed much over the years.  In fact, I wasn't
surprised at all that he made police captain by the time he was
thirty-five."  I sipped wine and let my eyes drift around the
dining room.  "Then again, if incompetence is a job
requirement in Darkwater Bay, I'm not sure either one of us should
be too pleased that the city targeted us to join the ranks."