Cindy sniffed. “What if I say, ‘Sources close to the police department have confirmed to the
“Okay,” I said. “Write that. Now just in case your boss didn’t already tell you-”
“Henry? Oh, he did. What a scorcher, huh? A letter from the Lipstick Killer going into the front section.”
“Well, you’re up to speed. Is there anything else, Cindy, dear?”
“I’m off to interview Dorian and Jim Morley. This is a heads-up.”
“Thanks,” Conklin said.
“Off you go,” I said to Cindy. “Have fun.”
“You’re not mad about anything?”
“Not at all. Thanks for the list.” I waggled my fingers.
“See you later,” she said to Conklin. I turned my face when she touched his cheek tenderly and kissed him. When Curlilocks had gone, I lifted my coffee, opened the file folder, and spread the morgue pictures of Elaine and Lily Marone out on the desk.
“Let’s get back to work,” I said to Conklin. “What do you say?”
I hung icicles from every word.
Chapter 56
“I TOLD HER nothing,” Conklin said to me.
“Whatever,” I said back. My mind was splitting, I think, literally. Hello Kitty. Lipstick Killer.
Lipstick Killer trumped everything.
“I didn’t even mention the Morleys to Cindy.”
“I believe you. It’s over. She’s going to run the story about Kitty being female, and the phone lines are going to burn up all over again.”
“Cindy got a tip from one of the Morleys’ friends. She did it all herself.”
“Can we please move on?”
I didn’t want to believe Conklin hadn’t spilled the new info to Cindy, but I did. I do. He’s honest. We’ve been partners for more than a year and, in that time, I’ve put my life in his hands more than once-and he’s put his in mine. Crap. Images of the two of us working through bombings and firestorms and covering each other while trading shots with homicidal punks washed over me.
We had a bone-deep connection as partners, and then there was what Claire called the “other thing.”
There was still a lot of spark in our relationship that had never been fully resolved. I remembered us grappling half naked on a hotel bed, an action that I’d stopped before it was too late. I recalled confessions of feelings. Promises to never discuss them again, that we had to keep our relationship professional, that it was the best and only way.
And now Rich was head over heels in amour with Cindy. That had to be why I was being a bitch. Had to be that, because I love Joe. I love him a lot-and Cindy and Rich are perfect together.
I took apart my stack of doughnuts and gave the chocolate one to Conklin.
“Wow. The chocolate one. For me?”
“I’m sorry. I’m hormonal. All the time.”
“Just take it easy on yourself, okay, Linds?”
“I’m trying.”
Conklin got up from his seat, came over to my side of our abutting desks, and sat in the chair Cindy had just vacated.
“Are you sure about Joe?” he asked me.
I was mesmerized for half a second. Conklin’s good looks have that effect on me, and there’s also something about the way he smells. Whatever the heck soap he uses.
“I’m sure,” I said, looking away.
“He’s the one?”
I nodded and said, “He’s the one.”
I felt Conklin’s lips on my cheek, right there in the squad room, a decidedly unpartnerlike gesture, but I didn’t care if anyone saw it.
“Okay, then,” he said.
He went back to his chair and put his feet on the desk.
“If Hello Kitty’s a female, what changes? Why would she shoot Casey Dowling?”
Chapter 57
IT WAS THEIR lunch break, and Sarah had left the building first. Now Heidi entered the diner and saw Sarah at a booth near the window.
Heidi broke into a smile, waved, and slid across the red leatherette banquette so she could sit next to Sarah and hold her hand. She kissed Sarah quickly, then looked over her shoulder, making sure there were no other teachers around.
“Happy birthday, darling,” Sarah said. “You’re a flirty thirty.”
Heidi laughed. “I don’t feel any different than when I was twenty-nine. I thought I would.”
Menus were brought to the table and hot open-faced turkey sandwiches were eaten quickly because the lunch break was short and there was a lot on their minds. Heidi blurted, “If we could be together for real, without being afraid of getting fired, or of Terror or Beastly going ballistic, do you think we’d feel differently about each other?”
“You mean, would we care less about each other if we felt safe?”
“Yeah.”
“No. I think it would be better. Will be better. That’s a promise. Look, Heidi-”
Three waitresses came out of the kitchen, the one in front holding the cake, cupping her hand in front of the thirty small pink candles. The waitresses clustered at the head of the table and sang, “Happy birthday, dear Heidi. Happy birthday to you.”
Applause sounded up and down the length of the narrow diner, and Heidi looked at Sarah, squeezed her hand, and then blew out the candles, every one of them on the first try.
“Don’t tell me what you wished for,” Sarah said.
“I don’t have to. You know.”
The two hugged, Sarah’s heartbeats picking up speed as she thought about the gift in the pocket of her jeans.
“I have something for my birthday girl,” Sarah said. She dug into her pocket and came out with a packet so small only something really good could be inside. Heidi exchanged a mischievous glance with Sarah, peeled away the silver wrapping paper, and held the small leather box shaped like a round-topped trunk.
“I can’t guess what this is,” she said.
“Don’t guess.”
Holding the box in both hands, Heidi pried up the lid, then took out the chain and the pendant, a brilliant yellow, very faceted stone. Heidi gasped and flung her arms around Sarah’s neck, asking her to please help her put it
