Divine Justice (38 page)

"Is this another psychic gift you have? Premonition?"

"No." Natassia chuckled. "A regular old feeling."

Jasi studied her partner for a long moment, wondering if she was being truthful. Did Natassia know something?

Her data-com beeped. "It's Ben. He'll meet us in The Study Lounge for coffee. Says the place is empty."

Natassia disappeared into the bathroom.

Outside, the rain rattled against the window, adding to Jasi's somber mood and thoughts.

If we don't solve this case soon, we might have to tell another family that they've lost a loved one.

She shivered at the thought.

Ben looked up when he felt Jasi's presence in the lounge. She was alone. He watched as she crossed the room in quick strides and sat down across from him.

"Where's our charming partner?" he asked.

"She had to iron a shirt." Jasi grinned. "So you think she's charming, do you?"

"I said that sarcastically."

"Well, our charming partner is getting changed. I wonder what she'll wear. I don't know how she manages to look fashionable and still conduct an investigation."

She was needling him and he didn't want to rise to the bait. "Natassia's okay," he said. "She's a hard worker."

"Hmmm."

He removed his gloves. "What's that supposed to mean, Jazz?"

"You like her."

"I said she was okay."

Thankfully, his data-com beeped. "Yeah?"

"No fingerprints on the CD," Matthew told him.

"What about the music?"

"We haven't found anything definite, but the tech said there were some unusual frequencies he wanted to look into."

"Let us know as soon as you know."

"Of course," Matthew assured him. "You're dealing with someone very cunning, Ben. I have to tell you, I'm getting some real heat here, from the powers that be. We need to get this guy before he kills again."

"We will."

"Matthew?" Jasi asked after he hung up.

Ben nodded. "He's under pressure from the higher-ups. They want us to wrap up this case."

"We've got nothing new to go on."

"Something will turn up. It always does."

Jasi stared past him. "Here's our
charming
partner."

He tried to resist looking over his shoulder. He failed miserably. Natassia gave him an apologetic smile and sat down beside Jasi.

He said the first thing that came to mind. "You look nice."

Nice?
Was that the best he could come up with?

At least Natassia was dressed more appropriately. She wore a pale yellow blouse buttoned almost to the top and a pair of navy slacks. Was she trying to win him over? If so, it was working.

Or it was until she said, "It's the only clean blouse I had left."

They spent the next two hours trying to reconstruct various crime scenarios, but nothing led to a viable suspect. They combed through the Winkler and Sampson files, looking for anything they might have missed.

Discouraged, Jasi called Constable O'Malley at OPS.

"They've got nothing," she said when she hung up. "They're as stumped as we are."

It wasn't until they reached the topic of Zane Underhill that Ben found his patience wearing thin.

"We still don't know why he was taken," he said.

"He was supposed to see Sampson," Jasi reminded him. "He was a threat, especially if Sampson remembered anything while under hypnosis."

"But who else knew about Zane's involvement?"

"Besides us and Matthew? No one."

"Unless there's a leak," Natassia suggested.

"At Divine Ops?" He shook his head. "I don't think that's it."

"What are suggesting?" Jasi asked, her eyes shooting daggers. "You think Zane told someone he was going to see Porter Sampson?"

"I don't know."

"That's right. You don't."

The anger in Jasi's voice cut through him. He thought back to the time Jasi had been seeing the guy. She'd been happy then. Even he had to admit that. Until Underhill disappeared without a word or phone call.

She deserves better.

"I have some calls to make," she said, standing.

"We'll survive without you," Natassia replied.

Jasi eyed Ben. "I'm sure you will."

"Is Zane on your list of phone calls?" he blurted.

"I want to see if he remembers anything."

"I'm sure he'll call you if he does."

For a second he was tempted to leave with her.

He grabbed her arm. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"I'm fine."

Without thinking, she peeled his hand away. The contact of her hand on his bare skin sent him mentally reeling. After she left, he studied his bare hands and swore softly.

"Ben?" Natassia eyed him. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he lied.

"You touched her and you saw something, didn't you?"

Tugging his gloves over his hands, he said, "It wasn't so much a vision as a sensation."

"What kind of sensation?"

He didn't answer.

"Ben?"

He tried to smile. "It was probably nothing."

Natassia let out a sigh. "You don't fool me a bit."

"Fine then. I'm worried."

"Why?"

He stared into Natassia's eyes. "I think Jasi's in danger."

In the lobby, Jasi sat on a bench and called Zane.

"How are you feeling?" she asked when he picked up.

"I'm fine. The CFBI got me all settled in my room."

"Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah, one thing."

Her heart pounded. "What?"

"We have a date in a couple of hours."

"I meant about your abduction, Zane."

"No. Everything's still a blur."

"But the doctor said you'll be all right?"

"As right as I'll ever be." He chuckled. "Were you worried about me, love?"

"I worry about all my friends."

"Ouch. That's how you think of us then. As friends?"

She gave an irritated sigh. "I don't know what we are. Let's not rush this, Zane."

"Who's rushing? Take as much time as you need."

"That's awfully nice of you," she said dryly.

"Forgive me for being facetious. I'm in a bit of a funk."

"I can tell."

"Hey, you would be too if you'd been stuck in a hospital room. The beds were like concrete and the Jell-O was simply atrocious."

She chewed her bottom lip. "Maybe we should hold off on having dinner."

"Not on your life. A guy's gotta eat, and I'm craving
real
food."

She glanced at her watch. "Listen, I have to go, but I'll see you later. Dinner only, right?"

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe Nurse Jasmine and I could play doctor. I assure you, I'd be a most compliant patient."

"Behave yourself. Remember your promise?"

"Yeah, I remember. I might have forgotten some things, but I do recall agreeing to keep us strictly professional."

"Zane, you've got to stop getting under my skin."

"Under isn't where I plan to be, love."

She shivered. "Goodbye, Zane."

Jasi had tried to quell her excitement. It was date night.

While Natassia and Ben remained in the dining room, she'd had a quick shower, then slipped into stylish dress pants and a simple mauve blouse with a flowing cowl neckline. She rarely ever packed a dress. Corpses usually made lousy dates.

Rummaging through the tote bag, she found the box with her mother's pearl necklace and small pearl studs. They were the finishing touch after she blow-dried her hair as straight as she could get it and applied some makeup.

"Well, Zane," she muttered. "You'd better appreciate the trouble I took."

On her way up to Zane's room, she inspected her makeup one last time in the small compact she kept in her purse. With a fortifying breath, she exited the elevator and headed down the hallway.

A man sat in a chair at the end of the hall.

Zane's bodyguard.

"Agent Greene," she said with a nod.

The CFBI agent smiled. "He's excited about your date."

She blushed.

Greene knocked twice on the door. A minute later Zane opened it, his smile widening the second he saw her.

"Come in, love."

She stepped inside, saying, "I'm not sure you should be going anywhere, Zane."

Seeing Greene had reminded her that someone might be looking for Zane. Someone with murder in his or her heart.

"It's already been cleared," Zane said, taking her hand. He raised it to his mouth and his lips lingered warmly on her skin. "We're only going downstairs. Besides, we'll have Mickey."

The fact that a CFBI bodyguard would be with them on their date was both satisfying and disappointing.

Zane grinned. "He promised to sit at another table."

"Great."

Dinner went smoothly. Mickey sat close to the entrance, while Zane and Jasi sat at the end of the room, partially blocked by a decorative screen. Every now and then Mickey would discreetly saunter past them, checking to make sure his protégé was still breathing.

"So much for privacy," Zane said wryly. "Sorry about this, Jazz."

"Hey, don't apologize. It's not your fault."

"I told the CFBI I didn't need a babysitter."

Her mouth thinned. "Of course you do. What I don't understand is why you're not holed up in your room. What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed?"

"Of course not."

She gaped at him. "You're not playing bait, are you?"

"Me? I have too much to live for."

She blew out a relieved breath. "Good."

Zane wiggled his brow. "So…your place or mine?"

She chuckled. "You're incorrigible. I have a roommate. And you have your bodyguard."

"Mickey won't be in my room. Or my bed."

His words sparked an internal heat wave.

"Zane…"

"I want you, Jasmine." His voice dimmed to a whisper. "I need you."

Be smart, Jasi,
her inner voice warned.
You're still on duty. You can't afford another lapse.

Ben returned to his
room to review the files Matthew had sent to his laptop. The first one was on evidence found at Sampson's murder scene. At first, it seemed like useless information. The receipt had one unidentifiable fingerprint; the condom wasn't a match on the international sex offender database, and the gum had DNA, but without a suspect there was no one to compare it to.

Then something jumped out at him.

Gum contains nicotine.

That bothered him for some reason.

Turning to the second report, he read carefully.

"Bingo."

Divine Ops had conducted an investigation into the emergency broadcast channel, and at first glance everything seemed normal. It wasn't until a tech started analyzing the frequency that something strange jumped out. The channel exhibited constant static, but between 6:30 and 7:00 every night, the static was interrupted.