“Ricky? Yes, it’s me.”
The words started to tumble out of the boy. “I really gotta talk to you, Detective. It’s about Ramsey. I think he’s in a lotta trouble.”
“Okay, Ricky, you did right to call.” Her voice was soothing. “Let’s get together and talk this out. Where can we meet?”
“I don’t know.” The boy’s voice dropped. “Ramsey can’t know I talked to you, and I can’t leave Rhonda alone.”
An idea struck her. “How about the library you always take her to? You could take her this morning just as you have in the past. I’ll meet you there.”
“And that other detective, too.”
Her voice was grim. “And that other detective, too,” she agreed. After getting the location of the library, she promised to meet him in an hour and a half, and disconnected. Funny, until Ricky had mentioned Cruz, Madeline had considered going without him. But she would never get away with that. After all their arguments about it, it would seem too out of character for her, especially after last night. At all costs, she had to do everything in her power to appear as if things were normal. She raised her chin and went out the door. Ready or not, she was about to embark on the most difficult pretense of her life.
Cruz jumped up as soon as he saw Madeline approaching his desk. He watched her carefully, trying to determine her mood. He’d been dismayed to find her gone this morning, with nothing but a short note explaining that she’d gone home to shower and change. He hadn’t liked the idea that she had left him sleeping and gone out alone. He didn’t like the idea of her out on the streets in the early hours without him, period. But now might not be the time to reveal his displeasure.
With narrowed eyes he took in her pale, drawn face. She was wearing gray this morning, another outfit of tailored pants and jacket, this time over a light peach blouse. Her hair was pulled back in that no-nonsense fashion she favored at work, and he gave an inward sigh. For some reason he thought this was more than just a return to her work persona. The way she was skirting his eyes as she approached him gave evidence of that.
“Good morning,” he said neutrally, still studying her carefully.
She managed what she hoped was a normal tone. “We’ve got a job right away this morning.” She told him of the call she’d received from Ricky. As she’d hoped, it took his attention off her for a moment.
He checked his watch. “How much time do we have?”
“About forty-five minutes.”
He walked out from behind the desk and toward her. She turned to precede him to the door. When his hand fell on her shoulder, she shrugged it away before she could prevent a reaction.
Cruz strode ahead of her and stopped in her path. Surveying her with narrowed eyes, he muttered, “We need to talk.”
Madeline was aware of interested glances cast their way and nodded, avoiding his gaze. “In the car.”
With a muttered curse he led the way through the building and to the car. He slid in behind the wheel and she situated herself in the passenger seat. Reaching beneath the seat, she extracted the city map and after studying it, proceeded to give him directions to the library where they were to meet Ricky.
Cruz drove silently for a time. When he spoke, his voice was deceptively mild. “I would have taken you home this morning, you know.”
She took a deep breath. The time for the showdown had arrived. “I know, but I was up early, and didn’t see any need to wake you.” She shrugged. “You already had a stop to make at your parents’ this morning. It was best that I left when I did.”
“No, dammit, it wasn’t best.” He bit out the words. When she looked at him cautiously, his face was grim. “I was hoping to find you there when I woke up. I didn’t like finding that you’d snuck out, like a thief in the night.”
Her eyes stared unseeingly out her side window. “I’d hardly describe it that way.”
“Wouldn’t you? How would you describe it?”
She looked over at him warily. His jaw was clenched and a telltale muscle was jumping in it. “I left a note.”
“Ah, yes, your note. The next time you’re in my bed, Maddy, you’ll stay there where you belong. You will not be gone at first light, just because you’re running scared.”
One eyebrow climbed at his chauvinistic assumption that she would return to his bed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The look he turned on her then was like none she’d ever seen on his face before. Implacable male pride was there, as well as a primitive possessiveness. “You scared yourself last night.” He made a gesture, dismissing the denial on her lips. “But I won’t let you pretend that nothing happened. I won’t let you erect a barrier between us as easily as the guise you put on each day to face the world.”
“Nothing scares me, Martinez, so save the psychobabble,” she retorted, her temper flaring to meet his own. “I needed to go home, I went. Don’t make more out of it than it was.”
Out of what? he wondered grimly. Out of her leaving, or out of the night they’d spent together? Somehow he thought she meant the latter. And he didn’t like the feeling that she was dismissing it, dismissing
“By the way, your machine came on as I was leaving,” she said in a studiedly casual voice. “Sounded to me like you knew where Tommy was all along.”
Cruz was silent for a moment, but his mind was racing. “I did,” he admitted finally. “Is that what had you running out before dawn this morning? You were upset I didn’t tell you where he was?”
She gritted her teeth at his choice of words. So far this morning it had been amazingly easy to resist his appeal. Each time he opened his mouth she was tempted to punch him. “We’ve already discussed why I left. But I would like to know why you kept his whereabouts from me.”
It was a long moment before he spoke again. “I was trying to protect him. I was the one who gave him an idea of where to go to lie low for a while. But Tommy has a hard time staying put, especially when the whiskey runs out. He thinks he was spotted by Valdez, and he’s convinced he’s in danger.”
“What do you think?”
He sighed. “It’s hard to tell. Tommy can’t even remember where he was when he thought he saw Valdez. But he could be right. So I’ve arranged to place him elsewhere.”
She frowned. “How do you know this place will be any safer than the last one? Or that Tommy doesn’t have more information to give us on Valdez? I think we should talk to him again.”
“No.” His response was firm. “Every time we’re seen with Tommy we’re increasing the danger for him. He’s safe anywhere I place him, if he remains drunk enough to stay put.”
She looked at him askance. “You’re seeing to that, too, I suppose.”
He gave her a hard look. “Damn right I am. We realized how dangerous Valdez was. Everyone on the street was scared to talk about him. But I went to Tommy because I knew I could count on his need for alcohol being greater than his need to stay alive. Now it’s my job to keep him alive, and I’m going to do it.”
Frustration slammed into her. There was no way she could be sure of Cruz’s real motives for hiding Tommy away. He could be worried for his safety, as he claimed. Or he could be keeping the man as far from her as he could so that she couldn’t quiz Tommy about Cruz’s possible involvement in the gun supply scheme.
She weighed her options, and had to admit they were limited. Cruz was the only one who could lead her to Tommy, and he’d refused. And it didn’t sound as if the snitch would be in very reliable shape if she did find him. Her time after-hours would be better spent tracking down the source of Cruz’s second income. But she didn’t like feeling outmaneuvered, and her voice was full of sarcasm when she spoke. “Is there anything else you’ve decided to keep from me? Given your superior wisdom about what’s best for this case, I mean?”
His next words were laden with meaning. “I think it’s your turn to tell what you’ve been keeping from
For just a second she froze, her mind flashing to the secret investigation she was doing. But then he spoke again and she relaxed, if only for an instant. “You still haven’t told me the truth about why you left this morning. Maybe you haven’t admitted it to yourself, either.”
“Last night was a mistake,” she said bluntly, with ironic understatement. “And it won’t happen again. I’m not going to risk the integrity of this case by getting involved with my partner. We need to focus all our energy on
