Tender Is The Night (11 page)

When the music and the class finally came to an end, she was filled with euphoric relief, but she stumbled a little as she got off the bike, her legs not quite recovered from the punishment she'd put them through.

"Easy," Devin said, putting a steadying hand on her shoulder.

And just like that, all the sexual tension she'd been trying to burn off came right back.

Why him? Why now?

They were pointless questions to ask, because attraction never came on demand, and it was almost always the wrong person at the wrong time.

"Are you all right?" Devin asked, wiping his face with a towel. "That was a workout."

"I'm fine. Thanks." She stepped away and used her own towel to mop up her sweat. She'd put her hair up in a high ponytail and was thrilled when the air conditioning in the gym finally began to register against the heat in her body. "Casey is almost done talking to everyone," she said, her eyes on the teacher. "Let's hope she can tell us something about Alan Jenkins."

She'd been able to find both an address in San Diego and a cell phone number for Alan Jenkins, but he hadn't answered her call. Hopefully, he would call her back.

While it was somewhat interesting that Jenkins had left town after the fire, it could mean absolutely nothing at all. The thread that tied Jenkins to Baines was about as tenuous as it could be. They needed someone—hopefully Casey—to give them something else to go on. Otherwise, they could be chasing a non-existent lead.

Devin led the way to the front of the studio and gave a warm smile to the attractive brunette with the pretty green eyes and killer body.

"Great class," Devin said.

"I'm glad you liked it. You're new," Casey said. "I haven't seen you around here before."

"First time. This is my friend Kate."

"Hi," Kate said. "Thanks for the workout."

"You're welcome. You two kept up pretty well for newcomers. I hope you'll come back."

"Definitely," Devin said. "Would it be possible for us to talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Sure? What about?"

"We spoke to Pete earlier. He said that you were friends with Rick Baines."

Kate immediately noted the change that came over Casey's face when Devin mentioned Baines.

"This isn't about those fires again, is it?" she asked. "Are you cops?"

"No, I'm with the FBI," Kate said. "And Devin is a private investigator."

"I told the FBI everything I knew, which wasn't much of anything," Casey said. "I worked with Rick, and I thought he was a nice guy, but I guess he wasn't."

"We actually don't think Baines set the fire," Devin said. "We think he was a victim."

"Really? That's not what everyone said before."

"Things have changed. How close were you and Rick?"

"We weren't close. We were just gym friends. Occasionally, we'd have a drink together. He was kind of a lonely guy. He told me he had a rough childhood. His parents were in and out of rehab. He had to live with relatives. He said working out was one thing that always made him happy."

"Did you know Alan Jenkins?" Devin asked.

Casey nodded. "Sure. He was here three to four times a week. But he dropped his membership a long time ago."

"Three weeks after Baines died," Kate said.

"Is that supposed to mean something?" Casey asked.

"We don't know," she said. "Did Alan and Rick spend time together? Pete told us earlier that he thought they were high school friends."

"Now that you mention it, I think they did go to high school together. They were friends, but they could get into it, too. Alan left a sweaty towel on a machine one day, and Rick got after him about it. They had a shouting match in the middle of the gym. I think that was right before Rick died. But I do remember that after we all heard the news, Alan was very upset."

"Do you know why Alan moved to San Diego?" Devin asked.

"No idea. Sorry." She paused. "So you think someone else killed Rick and that woman? Are you suggesting that it was Alan?"

"Would Alan be capable of committing such a crime?"

"I can't imagine that he would be, but then I didn't think Rick could do it, either."

"Thanks for your time," Devin said. "And thanks for the class. It was great."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm sorry I can't help you more."

As they walked out of the studio into the main gym, Kate said, "The class was better than the information we gathered."

"Casey didn't have much to give us," he agreed. "Hopefully, we can confirm Alan Jenkins went to St. Bernadette's when we get the yearbooks tomorrow."

"But Jenkins doesn't live here anymore, so he couldn’t have set Monday's fire at the school."

"He's still a connection. We have to find a way to reach him."

"We've called him. Not much else we can do at this point," he said.

"Then I think I'll take a shower. Maybe the hot water will give me some new ideas," she said, as they walked toward the locker room.

"Ever the optimist."

"Investigating is always one step forward, two steps back—you know that, Devin."

"In my case, it's usually one step forward, a hundred steps back," he said cynically.

She gave him a playful punch in the arm. "As long as there's still that one step in a positive direction…"

Her words teased a reluctant smile out of him.

"Take your shower and come up with a brilliant new plan," he said. "Maybe then I'll be as optimistic as you are."

* * *

A half an hour later, she was warm, dry, and clear-headed. Unfortunately, she had no brilliant plan in her head, just a lot of swirling thoughts. She stuffed her sweaty clothes into a duffel bag, then went out to the lobby.

Devin was waiting for her. "How do you feel about sushi?" he asked.

"We have a long-term, committed relationship."

He smiled. "Good to know. There's a great place not far from here."

"Excellent. I think we've earned ourselves some calories."

As they drove toward the sushi place, she checked her phone. "Nothing from Emma. I don't know why she hasn't called me back."

"She could have been ordered to stay out of it."

"I hope not. I'm going to assume she's just super busy." She saw the gleam in his eyes and beat him to the punch. "And, yes, I know I'm being optimistic. It's who I am, Devin. You're going to have to deal with it—for at least the next few days. Then you can be spared my happy thoughts."

"I guess I can last that long," he said dryly. "Just don't try to make me hopeful."

"I don't believe in knocking my head against a brick wall—too painful."

"I think you like to knock your head against a brick wall. The harder the better—the sweeter the victory."

Okay, he might be partially right, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "Just drive."

"I don't have to; we're here."

He pulled into a parking lot, and a few minutes later, they entered the restaurant.

Kaz Sushi was a trendy Japanese restaurant, and even at nine o'clock on a Thursday night, it was still crowded with diners. After perusing the menu, they ordered several platters to share and a couple of glasses of water. She drank half of hers in one long sip.

"Still hydrating?" he teased.

"That class was not for amateurs."

"I thought you were a runner."

"I've been busy lately. And you can't seriously tell me you didn't feel a little challenged by the workout."

"It was intense, but I enjoyed it. Working out has been the only thing keeping me sane."

"All evidence to the contrary," she joked.

"Hey, I was worse right after the fire."

"I believe that." She set down her water glass. "Have you ever thought about quitting, Devin? It's been a long time. I know since Monday's fire, you've gotten amped up again, but what about before? What about all the long months in between?"

"They were hell, but I never thought about quitting. I haven't found Sam's killer, and until I do, I'll keep working the case."

"Even when there's nothing to work? What about your life, Devin? What about your dreams?"

"My only dream is to solve this puzzle."

"What about friends? Do you have any? Do you ever do anything fun? Do you go to ballgames? Do you drink? Pick up women? Any of the above?"

"Are you done?"

"That depends on if you're going to answer any of my questions."

"Why do you care what I do with my life?"

"I don't care, but I'm curious. You seem…isolated."

"Work can do that. Aren't you just as isolated? The job takes everything from you."

"I still make time for friends, for myself." She frowned, thinking that wasn't completely true, but she was living far from her friends and forging a new life for herself. "And I'm working for me, for my career, my goals. The devotion and loyalty you have for Sam is admirable and amazing. But I can't imagine that she holds you responsible for her death."

"You don't know that."

"I've worked with partners and so have you. We all do our best, but sometimes bad things still happen. I might have only been on the job a year, but I've already seen that." She took a breath. "I would hate for you to wake up one day and suddenly realize a decade had passed, and you were still stuck in the same place."

"This won't take a decade."

"It might."

"Hey, you're supposed to be the optimistic one," he reminded her. "Don't go dark on me now."

"Fine, let's talk about something else."

"Thank God."

She smiled at his heartfelt relief. "Most men like to talk about themselves. They brag and boast for hours on end, and then at the last minute, right before you're about to leave, they say something like: how was your day?"

"I can't believe you let anyone get away with that."

"Sometimes it's hard to get a word in edgewise."

"You seem up to the task," he said with a smile. "Have you dated anyone at the Bureau?"

She immediately shook her head. "No, I don't need to add that complication into my life."

"Not even at Quantico? I saw more than a few relationships start there."

"I wouldn't call them relationships. And, no, I didn't get involved with anyone there. I was more concerned with passing all the tests and becoming an agent. There's no way I could have gone back to my family if I flunked out."

"What do you like about the job so far?"

"Everything."

He rested his forearms on the table as he gave her a thoughtful look. "Not everything. Be more specific."

"I don't know. I've been moved around a lot the past year."

He nodded. "There's always a process to get agents with the right skillsets for the right jobs. What have you worked on?"

"I've done a couple of fraud investigations, a counterfeit operation sting, and most recently I was part of a task force trailing a possible domestic terrorist group in Colorado. They were all interesting."

"But?"

"I didn't say
but
…"

He held her gaze. "Kate."

"But," she admitted, "I really want to work kidnappings. I want to find people who are lost. I want to help put their families back together. Unfortunately, for some reason that's one of the jobs I haven't been given a shot at yet."

"That's on purpose. The Bureau knows your background. They want to test your mettle before they put you on a case that will have more of an emotional impact."

"I think I've proven my mettle."

"They have to think so, too. You're young. You have a long way to go. But you'll go at the Bureau's pace, not yours."

"I know. I'm really not complaining. I love the job. And I tell myself that whatever I'm working on is important."

"Does that help?"

"Most of the time," she said, acknowledging the gleam in his eyes. "I can't help it. I'm a little impatient. I always have been. When I want something, I want it that second."

He smiled. "Something we have in common."

The way he looked at her reminded her of the moment just before he'd kissed her earlier that day.

She'd had the reckless urge to lean across the table and kiss him again.

Fortunately, the waiter arrived with their food, and with the platters of sushi between them, Kate concentrated on filling her stomach and not the other hunger filling her soul.

"Do you want to come back to my apartment?" Devin asked as they finished dinner. "To look at the files again?"

She wondered why he'd felt the need to clarify, but she wasn't going to ask. She also thought ending the night and going to her brother's house was a better idea. "I think I'll grab a cab and go back to my brother's apartment. It's been a long day. We both need to rest and regroup."

"All right. I'll drive you."

"It's out of your way."

"Who cares?" he asked. "I'm sure it's not that far. I can pick you up in the morning on the way to St. Bernadette's."

"That's a good plan."

Devin paid the check, and they walked out to his car. "So which brother are you staying with? One of the firefighters?"

"No, I'm staying with Ian. He's a scientist. And don't ask me any specifics. He's very cagey about what he does."

"Sounds intriguing. I can't believe you haven't dug into it."

"I've thought about it, but I try to stay out of my siblings' business, because then they stay out of mine."

"Got it."

"You can turn right at the next street," she said, directing him to Ian's apartment.

"Whatever he's doing, he must make some good cash," Devin commented as he double-parked in front of the building. "This is nice."

"That's why I decided to stay here." She opened her door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll come by a little before ten."

"I'll be ready. I think we'll get a new lead tomorrow."

"There's that optimism again."

"Good-night, Devin."

"Good-night, Kate," he murmured, his gaze holding hers for a long second. Then she got out of the car and shut it firmly behind her before she could decide that going home with Devin would have actually been the better idea.

Nine

Devin woke up early and went for a run before breakfast. His legs ached from the spin class the night before, but it felt good to get outside. His usual route took him through the Marina and along the waterfront to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a popular trail, especially on the weekends, but on Friday morning before eight it was fairly empty.