Murder Under Cover

As far as I was concerned, she could be as disgusted as she wanted to be, but I was reassured. If they could find drugs in her system, I knew it would exonerate her completely.

As she disappeared into the bathroom, Derek walked in the front door. My heart stuttered as I watched him stride toward me, looking ridiculously gorgeous in a navy pinstripe suit, crisp white shirt, and the most beautiful burgundy tie I’d ever seen. The tie alone probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. I glanced down at my turtleneck sweater, jeans, and scruffy boots, then back at him. It was sad to realize that he was a far better dresser than I was, but he didn’t seem to notice or care.

In fact, he seemed just as pleased to see me as I was to see him. So I guessed I didn’t have anything to worry about, wardrobewise. Not yet, anyway. The relationship was still young. Besides, I was capable of cleaning up quite nicely when the occasion called for it. This one just happened to call for jeans and old boots.

“You’re back already?” I asked, my voice betraying my happiness.

“I was able to cancel my afternoon meeting,” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist. “I couldn’t concentrate on work, knowing you were here having all the fun.”

I frowned at him. “Fun?”

“No,” he said soberly. “This has definitely not been fun for you. But except for Robin’s involvement, you can’t pretend you’re not in your element.”

I pressed my forehead against his chest. “What does it say about me that a crime scene has become my element?”

He lifted my chin up with his fingers. “It says you’re endlessly fascinating.”

I gazed up at him and knew I could lose myself in his dark blue eyes. “That’s very sweet.”

“Oy, take it somewhere else, you two,” Inspector Lee groused as she strolled back into Sharon’s apartment. “You’re gonna make me sorry I changed my mind about moving this all downtown.”

“We don’t want that,” I said, pushing away from Derek. Usually I was no fan of public displays of affection, but lately I couldn’t seem to help myself.

“Where’s my girl?” Lee said, glancing around the apartment. “I’ve got some more questions.”

I assumed she was looking for Robin. “She’ll be right out.”

At that moment, the bathroom door opened and Robin emerged, looking sheepish, hiding the plastic cup inside her jacket. She went into Sharon’s kitchen and came out a moment later carrying a small brown bag that she handed to the assistant ME.

“Hey, Schultz, call me with the results ASAP,” Inspector Lee said.

The man waved without turning. “You got it.” Then he disappeared out the front door.

“All right.” Lee motioned for Robin, saying, “Let’s do this.” She escorted Robin halfway down the hall before turning back to me and Derek. “We’ll probably be another half hour.”

Then she led Robin into Sharon’s small office and closed the door, leaving Derek and me with nothing to do but wait. And worry. Which I was really good at. At the moment, my mind was racing back and forth among every possible bad situation Robin might face.

“Why don’t we go for a walk?” Derek suggested, interrupting my anxious thoughts. “I’ll buy you something to eat.”

“I could eat,” I allowed, and he grinned. Derek was well aware of my capacity to eat anytime, night or day. I loved food. All kinds of food. I wasn’t picky. You’d think I was starved as a child.

I grabbed my jacket, then tracked down Sharon in her bedroom and told her we’d be back in twenty minutes if anyone was interested.

Outside, the weather was sunny, cold, and breezy, but I didn’t mind the chill after being cooped up inside Sharon’s apartment for half the day.

Deciding on coffee and maybe a muffin, we headed over to a bakery I knew of on Twenty-fourth Street, a few blocks away. In deference to Robin, we decided to hold off eating lunch. But coffee and pastry didn’t count as real food.

We held hands as we walked, and Derek talked about the morning he’d spent at his new offices. He’d recently opened a branch of Stone Security in San Francisco, which meant that from now on, he would be commuting between here and London, as well as flying all over the world wherever and whenever his services were required.

In his London, Berlin, and Rome offices, there was a combined staff of almost nine hundred, and forty of them had made the initial move with Derek to San Francisco. They were still bringing in furniture, arranging for services and vendors, and setting up all the myriad processes and functions and staffing it took to run a successful company in a strange new land.

I’d never asked and he’d never mentioned whether he’d relocated here to be closer to his clients in the Pacific Rim countries or to me. Maybe it would be presumptuous to ask, but I was hoping it was all about me. After all, he seemed happy to be living in my home with me. But I guessed it was also a smart business decision to have an office on the West Coast, since he had clients on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. I’d decided not to ask him. Not yet, anyway, because he would’ve told me the truth. I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear it.

Sometimes I couldn’t believe we had actually become so involved with each other. Derek resembled something out of a James Bond film, and by that I mean he truly resembled James Bond. Any Bond. Take your pick. Derek, of course, was better-looking, tougher, and classier than any of them. He was also loyal, bold, straightforward, and very, very hot. The first time I’d ever seen him, I was reminded of a sleek panther stalking its prey. At the time, I’d had the uneasy feeling that the prey just might be me.

Did I mention that he carried a gun? He did. He also made me laugh. I guessed I kept him laughing, too. I just had to trust he was laughing with me. He made me feel feminine and petite-not that I was Quasimodo or anything, but at five-foot-nine, I wasn’t exactly elfin. Lucky for me he was six feet, two inches of blue twisted steel. Okay, the blue twisted steel was a bit of an exaggeration. But the part about being hot? No exaggeration there.

And it sounds weird to say it, but he just plain liked me. And I liked him. A lot.

From his positive description of things in his new offices, it was clear that his partners and personnel were settling in nicely after more than a month of flux.

“You’ve been busy,” I said, “but it sounds like your assistant may be the real hero.”

“Corinne is invaluable,” he said. “I would be lost without her. I wasn’t even sure she would come with me, but she surprised me. Told me she and her husband decided they wanted an adventure.”

“They sound like an interesting pair.”

“They are. You’ll meet them both next Saturday.”

“I will?”

“I hope so. We’re having a party to celebrate the official opening of the San Francisco offices. We wouldn’t ordinarily schedule an office event on a Saturday night, but my partners are flying over from London, and a number of clients are coming in from out of town. We’re inviting vendors, staff, friends, lovers.” He raised one rakish eyebrow and flashed me a smile.

“Is that an invitation?” I asked.

“I’m not about to go without you.”

“Sounds like fun,” I said casually, while I secretly felt all squishy and blissful because he’d invited me. Maybe I would slap myself later for being such a twit, but right now I smiled and reveled in the joy of it all. “I’d love to see your offices.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to showing you around.”

I knew I was wearing a big dopey smile, but I couldn’t help it. Derek had revealed last month that he was moving here and I hadn’t gotten over the thrill yet. I could still remember the moment he told me. I’d spent the entire day-well, at least those moments when I wasn’t being threatened by a cold-blooded killer-preparing myself to say good-bye to him. Imagine my shock when he’d handed me his new business card showing a tony Nob Hill address as his new office location.

I’d been wearing this same silly grin ever since.

We turned on Twenty-fourth Street, the treelined heart of the Noe Valley community, and walked half a block down to the Noe Valley Bakery. As we entered, the intoxicating aroma of warm, sugary treats was the first thing that caught me. I stopped and stared in awe at the massive displays of fluffy cupcakes, airy croissants, and every type of gooey, yummy pastry known to man.