LITMIR.BIZ

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thought. It would take more than a no-brainer guess before she gave the new man any points.

      “That’s what the detectives on the scene thought,” Kelly told them.

      “Detectives?” Charley echoed. “What have they got to do with it?”

      “The latest victim lived in Tustin. The police who were called in thought it was just another homicide. One of the detectives noticed that the M.O. was the same as the other serial cases we’ve been working on so he called us. The investigation didn’t go any further. Nobody questioned the owner.”

      “What’s the owner’s name?” Charley asked.

      Kelly checked the report he’d been handed. “Robert Pullman.”

      Charley made a notation in her worn notepad, taking care not to rip off the tattered cover. “Is the crime scene still intact?”

      Kelly shrugged his wide shoulders in suppressed frustration. “It’s been walked over by the patrolmen who responded to the call and then the detectives they called in. I’m told that Pullman lost it when he saw the body. He threw up.”

      “Terrific. Hope they didn’t preserve that,” Sam muttered.

      “The body’s in the morgue,” Kelly volunteered. “Here’s the address to the apartment.” He handed it to Charley.

      Charley glanced at the location. Tustin was a nice little city. Murders weren’t par for the course. I hope you slipped up, you bastard. I hope, this one time, you slipped up.

      Ignoring the man that Kelly had brought in to be her new partner, Charley turned toward Sam and Bill. She held out the report that Kelly had given her. “You guys want to take the body or the crime scene?”

      Except for Nick, everyone in the room knew how Charley felt about viewing dead bodies. Given a choice, she would just as soon work the case without seeing the victim. It wasn’t that she had a queasy stomach, but viewing the Sunday Killer’s victims vividly reminded her of the moment she’d walked into the apartment to find her sister lying on the sofa. Strangled.

      But despite the fact that she had managed to get herself placed in charge of the task force before the details of her sister’s murder caused the case to be connected to the Sunday Killer, Charley went the extra mile when it came to fair. She didn’t believe in playing favorites, even if that “favorite” was her.

      Especially if it was her.

      Sam held up his hand. “We’ll take the body, Charley,” he said, speaking for himself and Bill. “You can deal with whatever the boys in blue stomped over.” And then he stopped abruptly, an uneasy expression descending over his craggy face as his glance shifted to the newest member of their team. Some people were touchy about family and he’d just been less than tactful. “Your old man didn’t walk the beat, did he?”

      Nick smiled and shook his head. “Retired army colonel.”

      Sam pretended to breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay then. Cops tend to tread with a heavy foot. Half the time, they don’t know what they’re dealing with.”

      “Not like us,” Charley commented drily.

      Nick glanced at her to see if she was being sarcastic, but her expression told him nothing. Except that she avoided looking his way. He wondered if he had a prima donna on his hands. He’d never worked with a woman before, but he knew a couple of agents who had. One was currently involved in divorce proceedings.

      Charley turned her attention toward Kelly. “Is there anything else, A.D. Kelly?”

      “Yeah.” Kelly paused for a beat. “Catch this son of a bitch for me, Dow,” he said with feeling. “I want him so bad I can taste it.”

      Charley looked over at the posted photographs of the serial killer’s victims. Eleven women who had not been allowed to live up to the promise of their lives. Stacy Pembroke would be the twelfth victim.

      “Get in line,” Charley replied solemnly. The next moment, she shook off her mood. Looking at Bill and Sam, she said, “We’ll meet back here.”

      “You got it,” Sam agreed.

      As she began to walk toward the door, she glanced over her shoulder at her new partner, trying to contain her resentment that he was now in the position that Ben had once held.

      “I’ll drive.” It wasn’t an offer, it was a statement.

      “Whatever rings your chimes, Special Agent Dow,” Nick answered.

      Charley stopped. “Was that supposed to be amusing, Special Agent Brannigan?”

      “That was supposed to be an answer, Special Agent Dow.”

      This was turning out to be one of his more memorable First Mondays, Nick thought, not altogether certain he was happy about it. He figured there were two ways he could play this. He could either take offense or laugh it off. The latter seemed to be the better way to go.

      His new partner said nothing as she led the way to the bank of elevator cars.

      THEY RODE DOWN in the elevator and made their way through the basement of the parking structure without any further exchange of words. The silence accompanied them as they got into her vehicle. It continued as Charley started up her Honda.

      Nick kept his peace until after she’d pulled out of the structure and was on the road. The rain was still coming down in a fine, annoying mist. It coated the windshield just enough to demand intermittent swipes from the windshield wipers.

      “Want to fill me in?” he finally said.

      She’d retreated into the same thoughts she always had when dealing with one of the Sunday Killer’s victims. Had the death been quick? Had the woman suffered? Had Cris suffered those last few moments of her life? What had gone on in her mind during that time? Had she known she was facing death, or was it just too improbable a situation to comprehend?

      Charley realized the new man had asked her a question and waited for an answer. Belatedly, she replayed his words in her head.

      “About?” she asked, taking a right turn.

      Nick banked down a wave of impatience. Would it get any better or did he need to pass some magical test to prove himself to this woman?

      “The serial killer,” he said evenly, then added with a smile, “although feel free to fill me in about anything else you might want to throw in.”

      You’re not being fair to him.

      It was Ben’s voice, not her own, that she heard in her head. Ben, her teacher, her mentor, her surrogate father. No, more than a father, she thought. Her own father had never treated her with the kindness and understanding that Ben Temple did. And she was going to miss Ben. Miss having him by her side, teaching her things even at this stage of her career. She knew it was better for Ben to finally take the retirement that the Bureau had been waving before him. As for her, she’d always hoped the day would never come.

      She spared Nick a glance. Man has a profile like Mount Rushmore. “It’s going to take me some time to adjust.”

      He looked at her. “To…?”

      She could have easily made it through the yellow light, but for once she eased back on the gas pedal, slowing down enough so that the light slipped into red before she was at the crosswalk. She looked at the man beside her.

      “You.”

      Nick wasn’t sure if he was supposed to take offense at that or not. “Most people don’t find me that difficult to get along with.”

      The man was young, good-looking and in excellent shape. His jacket hugged his muscles. Probably had to have his jackets altered to fit, she mused.

      “I liked my old partner,” she informed him flatly.

      He slipped in through the opening she’d offered. “What happened to him?”

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