“Is he drooling?”
“Excuse me?”
“I hear she’s a stunner.”
“Yeah? Where did you hear that?”
“The pool,” he said, referring to the open area where all the detectives worked. “She’s been the topic of conversation since you brought her in. I hear she’s got a gorgeous face and a body that just won’t quit.”
Alec was surprised by the spark of anger he felt. It came out of nowhere.
“She’s definitely out of your league, Lyle.”
Newly divorced, Bradshaw considered himself a ladies’ man. Women found him attractive and attentive, and he never lacked for female companionship, but Alec thought he was a little too arrogant for his own good, and on occasion he could be downright obnoxious. His only saving grace was his skill as a detective.
Bradshaw was opening the door to the coffee room when Alec called out, “Hey, Bradshaw.”
“Yes?”
Alec was going to tell him not to hit on Regan but stopped himself in time. “Go easy on her,” he said instead. “She’s scared.”
Alec picked up his messages and went back to his desk. Lewis had doled out his cases to several other already overworked detectives, and in a childish attempt to punish him, Lewis had had his computer removed. The top of Alec’s desk was now completely bare.
If the other detectives hadn’t gotten stuck with his work, he would have thought Lewis’s behavior was funny. Alec sat down at his desk and used his cell phone to call his brother Nick.
“So I guess I’m in,” he said.
Nick laughed. “Hi, Alec. By in, I assume you mean the FBI?”
“You already knew, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did. Ward called to tell me about five minutes after you were accepted into the academy. Your test scores were impressive.”
“Better than yours?”
“If they were, do you think I’d admit it?”
“Probably not. Tell Theo, will you?” Alec asked. He didn’t know if he’d have time to track down his oldest brother.
“He already knows. Ward called him too. Have you made up your mind about buying my town house? Laurant’s been out looking every Sunday with a realtor. The town house is great for a bachelor, but with the baby, it’s too crowded, and Laurant wants to get pregnant again.”
Alec smiled. Nick had hit the jackpot when he’d married Laurant. She was such a sweetheart, and perfect for his brother. She was so laid-back and easygoing, which was exactly what Nick needed when he came home from work. Theo often described Nick’s job as a real pressure cooker. He and his partner, Noah Clay-borne, worked for a special branch of the FBI. They were called in when the search for a missing child had gone cold. It was a hard, tear-you-up-inside kind of job.
“I am going to buy your town house,” Alec said. “Even if I don’t get assigned to the Boston area…”
“Ward says you will.”
“He’d say anything to get me to sign up,” he said. “Ward doesn’t make the decision, but even if I don’t end up in Boston, I’ll still keep the property. It’s a good investment.”
“Hold on,” Nick said. “I can barely hear you. I’ve got two conversations going at the same time.”
“Who’s talking to you?”
“Noah.”
“Where are you?”
“In Dallas,” he said. “We just finished up a case. This one went well.”
“That’s good.”
Noah was suddenly on the line congratulating him. “They’re gonna work your butt off at the academy, but you’ll do fine. When are you leaving Chicago?”
“Not for at least three weeks, maybe four,” he said. “If you still want to see a Cubs game, you better get here soon. I’ll need a little notice to get tickets from Gil.”
A second later Nick was back on the cell phone reminding him that their sister Jordan was still planning a trip to Chicago.
“I know, but she won’t commit to a date. I won’t be able to start packing until my job ends here. I’ve got a new assignment that’s going to take up most of my time for the next three weeks, but then I’m done. If Jordan waits too long, she’ll get stuck helping me pack.”
“What’s the new assignment?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Nick laughed. “That bad, huh?”
A young cop dropped a fat file on Alec’s desk and turned to leave. Alec motioned him to stay. “I’ve got to go, Nick.” He flipped the cell phone closed and put it back in his pocket. “What’s all this?” he asked.
“Forms you need to fill out. H.R. sent them over.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, sir. I never kid.”
“I’ve already filled out papers.” He silently added, damn it.
“No, sir. You filled out some of the forms, but not all of them. They said they’d need these back by the end of the day.”
“It’s harder to get out of this place than it is to get in.”
“That’s what a lot of criminals tell us,” the cop responded dryly.
Alec decided he might as well get it over with, opened the folder, and started filling in the first form. It took him close to an hour to finish up, but only because he kept getting interrupted. A detective had gotten a photocopy of Sweeney’s blackmail book and was reading out loud from it.
Alec had just signed the last form when he looked up and saw Bradshaw motioning to him. He picked up the folder to take with him, intending to drop it off on his way downstairs. Bradshaw was waiting by the steps.
“Are you finished with Regan?” Alec asked.
“For now,” he answered. “Wincott took her upstairs to his favorite sketch artist.”
“That shouldn’t take too long.”
Bradshaw snorted. “You don’t know Tony, do you? He’ll keep her for the rest of the day if he has to, until she tells him it’s a perfect likeness. You’ll need to stay with her. I just got a call from Lewis’s kiss-ass assistant. He told me that Regan’s brother and her attorney are headed over here.”
“She’s not a suspect. Did you explain that to her?”
“Of course I did,” he said. “I came close to asking her out too, but I controlled myself.”
“Jeez, Bradshaw. Try to stay focused.”
Bradshaw grinned. “That’s hard to do around her.”
“Who called the brother and the attorney? Do you know?”
“No,” he said. “They’re going to have a conference with Lewis.”
They simultaneously turned to look at the lieutenant. They could see him through the glass clearing the clutter from his desk.
“He’s getting ready for company,” Alec said.
“Important company,” Bradshaw added. “The Madisons have money.”
Money. That was what it was all about with Lewis, Alec thought, as he headed to the front desk to drop off the papers. On his way back, he ran into Melissa and said hello to her. She grunted her reply. When she was past him, she stopped and called out, “Hey, Buchanan.”
“Yes?”
“Tell Regan that when I was working on her piece of crap computer, I removed her from the loop and I forgot to put her back.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She’s got a couple of stations hooked on in network.”
“Melissa, I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
