He told her about the police call, trying to hide his own growing uneasiness as he told her that it could be a death completely unconnected to Melissa or Orion himself. “I thought I’d head to the scene and see what I could find out.”
“I’m coming with you.” She untangled her legs from the knit throw and sat up.
“Rose, you shouldn’t go. I don’t know what I’ll find-”
“I can’t stay here and worry. I’ll stay in the car while you check on it, but please don’t make me stay here.”
Knowing futility when he saw it, he nodded. “But you stay in the car.”
“Thank you.” Relief and dread mingled in her voice. “I’ll go change clothes.”
She returned a few minutes later, her hair in a ponytail and her face scrubbed clean. She’d changed out of her club clothes into a moss-green sweater and a pair of faded jeans. “Ready?” she asked.
Not really, he thought. But he gave a nod and followed her outside, where the early morning quiet was broken by the faint hum of traffic on the expressway a few blocks away.
For most of the city, life went on, oblivious to the fact that a woman lay dead only a few blocks away.
WAITING IN THE CAR was only marginally better than waiting at home, Rose decided as the hand on her wristwatch clicked past 5:00 a.m. Daniel had left the Jeep about fifteen minutes ago, disappearing into the small clump of bystanders gathered outside the yellow crime-scene tape cordoning off an overgrown, empty lot that had once been a school playground. The abandoned school loomed in the background, shuttered and silent, its dark facade painted blue and crimson by the flashing dome lights of the police cruisers parked at haphazard angles along the curb.
Rose reached into her purse for her cell phone, hitting the speed dial for Melissa’s home phone. After six rings, the answering machine picked up. Rose hung up before the beep; Daniel had already left a message on her machine last night.
She tried Mark Phagan’s home number with the same result. Grimacing with frustration, she put her phone on the seat beside her, peering through the Jeep’s windshield to see if she could catch a glimpse of Daniel in the crowd. Time slowed to a mind-numbing crawl, each minute interminable.
On impulse, she picked up her phone and tried Melissa’s cell-phone number one more time. It rang three times, then there was a click. But no one spoke.
“Melissa? It’s me-please don’t hang up-”
More silence.
Rose’s heart began pounding. “Melissa?”
“Who is this?” a man’s voice asked.
Rose’s heart skipped a beat. A cold chill washed over her, making her light-headed and shaky. Her vision narrowed to a pinpoint.
It must be him. He’d killed Melissa and taken her cell phone-
“Hello?” the voice repeated. “I asked, who is this?”
“Who is this?” she countered, forcing the words from her constricted throat.
There was a brief pause, then the man answered, “This is Detective Frank Carter with the Birmingham Police Department.”
Relief shuddered through her, quickly swallowed by despair. If Detective Carter had Melissa’s phone-
“I told you who I am. It’s your turn.”
She licked her lips. “It’s Rose Browning. Melissa’s friend.”
Detective Carter released a slow, deep breath. “Oh. I’m sorry to tell you this, Ms. Browning, but your friend is dead.”
Rose closed her eyes, pain closing around her throat. Even though she’d spent the last hours preparing for this moment, it hit her like a truck. She tried to say something but only a strangled bleat escaped her mouth.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Detective Carter said, his voice gentle. “I’ll want to speak to you later, so don’t leave town in the next few days, okay?”
“Okay.” She managed to get the word out.
“I’ll talk to you soon.” He hung up.
Rose dropped her phone to her lap, sinking back against the seat. A shiver shook her, scattering chill bumps across her arms and chest. She wrapped her arms over her chest, trying to control the tremors.
The trill of her cell phone split the silence of the Jeep’s cab. She jumped, the phone tumbling to the floor-board. She groped for it in the darkness. “Hello?”
“It’s me.” Daniel’s voice rumbled through her, warm and solid, easing her shivers. “How’re you holding up?”
She could tell by his careful tone that he already knew about Melissa. “I know it’s her,” she said. “I tried Melissa’s cell phone and Detective Carter answered.”
Daniel sighed. “That was a terrible way to hear it.”
“There’s no good way to hear it.” She closed her eyes, her head beginning to ache. “Have you learned anything else?”
“Not yet. I’m hoping to get Frank off by himself to see what I can learn without the feds catching wind of my interest.”
Rose caught sight of Daniel through the windshield. He stood near the edge of the crowd gathered behind the police cars, his cell phone to his ear. Just seeing him, knowing he was close, eased some of her tension. “I see you,” she murmured, her voice tinged with unexpected tenderness.
He turned and looked toward her. “I see you, too.” The low, intimate tone of his voice set a fire in her belly, radiating warmth through her chilled limbs. “You have the doors locked, don’t you?”
She eyed the door locks. “Yes.”
“Keep your eyes open, okay? If you see anyone heading your direction, call me immediately. You have my number?”
“Yes,” she assured him.
He didn’t say anything for a moment, just stared down the street at her. When he spoke, his voice softened. “We have a lot to talk about when we’re through here.”
“I know.”
“I’ve got to go see if I can get Frank to tell me anything. Don’t forget-call me if anyone starts to approach you.”
“I won’t forget.”
“I’m sorry about Melissa,” he said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He rang off, weaving through the crowd again.
Rose clutched the phone to her chest, his warm voice lingering in her ears.
DANIEL EDGED HIS WAY to the police-tape cordon, trying to catch Frank Carter’s eye. When Frank glanced his way, Daniel gestured at him. Carter’s expression darkened, his mouth tightening with annoyance, but he said something to the detective standing next to him and headed toward the street.
Frank didn’t make eye contact with Daniel as he lifted the crime scene tape and ducked under it, but he gave a slight nod that Daniel took as an invitation to talk.
As Frank opened the trunk of an unmarked Oldsmobile Cutlass, Daniel joined him. “Number four?”
Frank didn’t answer. Daniel didn’t need him to. What he’d seen of Melissa’s body confirmed it for him.
“I’d like to come in on the case officially,” Daniel continued.
Frank slanted a dark look at him. “As what? A roving university professor?”
Daniel let the barb slide. “The last time we talked, you offered to speak to your boss about bringing me into the case.”
“Last time, you said no.”
“You think I’m going to horn in on your publicity when you catch this guy? I’m not. I don’t want publicity. I just want this bastard to go down.”
Frank stopped pretending to look for something in the car trunk and turned to face Daniel. “I’ve been doing a little investigating of my own, Danny. Tell me-what made you leave the FBI six years ago? Just felt the need to slow down, stop and smell the roses?”
Daniel could tell Frank knew the answer. “You know why.”
