She opened and closed her mouth several times, then laughed aloud. Seeing her genuine smile, it struck him once again how beautiful she was.
“You said when,” she said, tilting her head slightly.
“Well, there’s no time like the present. Will you have dinner with me?”
She hesitated, but there was no artifice in her expression. Doubt. Confusion. Maybe even an inner battle. But he watched in fascination as these emotions moved over her face, and then she smiled again. “All right, Carter. I’d love to have dinner with you.”
They stood and he helped her with her coat. Walking outside, she turned and looked up at him. “I know our schedules may be difficult to figure out. I’ll certainly have to wait until I see if my daughter is well before I make dinner plans. I may have to take her to the doctor, even though one of my nursing friends at the clinic was offering me an antibiotic for Colleen to save me a doctor bill.”
Her words hit his radar, but he adopted a casual pose. “Oh, really? I guess it’s hard to find time to do everything you need to do with your job and being a mother.”
“I refused, of course. Even though she’s a nurse, I wouldn’t want to give my daughter anything that her pediatrician hasn’t approved. Even taking an antibiotic if you don’t really need one is not good.”
“I met one of the nurses this morning. Kate, I believe was her name.”
“Polly is the one who usually opens,” Tara said. “She’s the one that’s been there the longest and offered to help Colleen. She also comes over and chats with some of our residents, making sure they make it into the clinic. She even volunteers her lunchtime to hand out bag lunches. She keeps her eye out for anyone who’s sick and tries to get them to come to the clinic.”
“Yes, I think I saw her going into the clinic when I was coming out. She looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t think of her name.”
“It’s Starr, with two r’s. Polly Starr.”
Shaking his head slightly, he said, “No, doesn’t sound familiar. She just must have that kind of face.”
A strong breeze whipped a few tendrils of her dark hair, and she shivered. He reached out and draped her scarf over her shoulder. “So, Tara, what about this weekend? How about dinner?”
Nodding, she smiled her agreement. “I’d like that.”
They traded cell phone numbers, and she stuck out her hand. He wrapped his fingers around hers, the warmth radiating from her to him. He watched as she hurried down the street before he turned in the opposite direction.
Scrubbing his hand over his face, he wondered what the hell he was doing. Fucking taking advantage of her is what it’s called. It was one thing to use her to gain insight into the shelter, the area homeless, and the clinic. But now, he could not deny the pull of her as a woman he was interested in getting to know better. He may have been a Boy Scout, but this was one situation he was not prepared for. Blowing out his breath, he stalked toward headquarters.
10
Carter sat at his desk, surrounded by a few of the other detectives. Evan Barlow was at the opposite desk where Rachel usually sat. He had long hair, tats, a scruffy beard, and eyes that held a hundred secrets—the complete opposite of Carter and perfect for the job.
His head jerked around as his supervisor, Nancy Barker, walked out of her office and over to where they were meeting.
“You have the details ready?” she asked.
Carter nodded while turning toward Evan. “On Friday, he’ll go to the Ever Hope Homeless Shelter for their bagged lunch program. It may take several visits, but he’s gonna make contact with Polly Starr. Acting sick but not willing to go into the clinic, we’re going to see if she offers him any prescription drugs.”
“Keep me posted.” Nancy turned and walked out of the room, leaving the others to finish their planning.
“I’ll be nearby,” Carter said to Evan.
“I got this.” Evan stood and left the room just as Carter’s phone rang. Looking down, he grinned. “Rachel, don’t blame me if your husband leaves you because you can’t stop working.”
She laughed and said, “Actually, he’s grateful. I’m in bed, off my feet, being a good little mommy-to-be. And, since I’m able to do a little computer research, he’s got a happy little mommy-to-be.”
“Okay, okay, whatever keeps you happy. What have you got for me?”
“Well, I know you’re looking into Polly Starr, so you can fill me in on her in a minute. As far as Kilton Pharmaceuticals go, here’s what I’m learning. We know from the lab that they identified the prescription pills in the bags that Carl, Jonathan, and Rocky were carrying. Almost all of them came from Kilton and were oxycodone. But there was also fentanyl not available in a prescription form. They were pills, but not legally produced and marked by a pharmaceutical company. Kilton does make a prescription fentanyl, but those pills don’t match.”
“So, with the oxycodone, is there identification on the pill so that we can trace exactly where they came from? I mean, doesn’t Kilton keep up with where their drugs go?”
“Yes and no.”
“Thanks for keeping it simple,” he quipped, shaking his head.
Rachel laughed again. “Hell, Carter, you know nothing is simple in this line of work.”
“Ain’t it the truth!” He sighed heavily. “It’s because they had been altered, right?”
“Yep, that’s it. Whether someone had a shipment come in, and either with water or rough surface altered the pills slightly, or they came from someone inside of Kilton, we don’t know.”
“Okay, Rachel, that’s it. No more research for you. You’re officially on maternity leave, so I’ll handle it from here. Your number one job is taking care of you and the little one.”
“You know I’m here if you need me,” she assured.
Disconnecting, he turned back to the open folders on his desk. He planned on
