This was a bad idea, she thought. Their appearance here together would only lend fuel to the gossip fire that Jamie and Lonnie had started. On the other hand, Tango’s was neutral ground. There was no way Will could construe this as anything more than two law enforcement officers stopping for something to eat and drink.
“I suppose we’ll be the topic of conversation at the building tomorrow, won’t we?”
“What do you mean?” She knew she sounded flustered. The man had the most unnerving habit of speaking as if he had just read her mind.
“You said this was a favorite haunt of the city’s cops. I’m assuming some of these customers wear a badge. Right?”
She nodded.
“I know how cops are, Jen. I used to be one, remember?”
“Everyone knows we’ve been working late on the case.” She shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned. “Nobody would think anything if Al and I stopped in after work for a bite to eat.”
“True. But I’m not Al.” He leaned back in the booth, stretching his long legs. One brushed against Jen’s, and she jerked away as if she had touched something hot. “There’s another reason our appearance here tonight will cause a stir.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s my fault. I should be ashamed of myself.” He didn’t look ashamed of anything. “I’m afraid I haven’t done a very good job of hiding my attraction to you.”
Jen didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything. Her heart was hammering double time, and the temperature felt as if it had jumped twenty degrees since they’d entered the place. She took a sip of her beer, trying to appear nonchalant.
“Not that I care if the world knows I want you.”
Her breath blew out in a little gasp of shock at his bluntness, spraying foam onto her nose. So much for acting cool, she thought, blotting the moisture with her napkin. Will grinned at her, obviously enjoying the effect he was having on her.
“I just hope you’re not ashamed to be seen with me,” he continued.
“Why would I be ashamed?”
“Like I told you, I know how it is with cops. Being friendly with a fed could net you a lot of grief from the people you work with.”
“Who said I was going to be friendly?”
“A guy can always hope, can’t he?”
He looked at her the way he had earlier, his gaze a billboard displaying his desire for anyone to see. For a few seconds, she stared back, unconsciously running her tongue across her suddenly dry lips, feeling her body being pulled to him like metal to a magnet. Then she remembered where she was and looked away, breaking the connection.
“Hey, Dillon, what’s happening?”
Jeff Holloway, a patrolman on the midnight relief shift and apparently celebrating his night off, stood at their table, beer in hand. Neither Will nor Jen had seen or heard him until he had spoken.
“Nothing good.” She hoped the flush she could feel creeping into her cheeks didn’t show in Tango’s lighting. “We had another killing. Like the Edwards girl.”
“Yeah, I heard,” Jeff said. “Saw it on the news just after I got up this afternoon.”
Jen didn’t particularly like Jeff Holloway, and she had never been able to pinpoint why. He was new to the area, having made a lateral transfer from a department in northern Ohio. Around thirty, he was slender but muscular. He wore his brown hair in a buzz cut, and his brown eyes were a little on the buggy side, making her wonder if he had issues with his thyroid. He wasn’t married, and as far as she knew, he wasn’t in a relationship, straight or gay. Nothing she knew about him could explain her dislike of him. It was a gut reaction, and try though she did, she could not dispel it.
Holloway extended his hand to Will and introduced himself.
“Will Anderson,” Will said. “I’m one of the two FBI agents you’ve probably heard about.”
“Yeah, I did hear. Seems you’ve had experience with a similar killer before?”
“We don’t know if there’s a connection, but, yes, something similar.”
Jen noticed Will seemed to be examining Holloway closely, almost frowning in his concentration. Jen wondered if he was experiencing the same reaction to Holloway that she did.
The three of them talked for a few minutes about the cases. When the waitress brought their sandwiches, Jeff moved on to another table.
“Well, that’s that,” Will said. “Your reputation is ruined now.”
“I suppose it could be worse.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Jen chuckled and took a huge bite of her Reuben. She was hungrier than she’d thought, and it was delicious. For a few minutes they ate in silence, then Will spoke.
“How long has Holloway worked for your department?”
“About a year. He transferred from a department in northern Ohio. Why?”
“He looked a little familiar, that’s all. Not the name, just the face. I thought maybe I’d run into him somewhere, but I’ve never been assigned to northern Ohio. Guess he just looks like someone I know.”
He picked up his mug and drained what was left of his beer. He looked at Jen, suddenly serious.
“Have you realized he’s speeding up?”
For a second, Jen thought he was referring to Jeff. Then she realized he was talking about the killer.
“Our killer started killing six weeks ago,” she said. “At the very least, it was his first time here. Maybe it was his first time anywhere. The second murder was four weeks later, and now only two weeks later, we’ve got another. Yeah, we noticed.”
Will motioned to the waitress for a refill and looked at Jen to see if she wanted one. She nodded her okay.
“When Carla Edwards was killed in the same way as Judy Sams, we knew we had a serial and sent alerts out nationwide to see if other jurisdictions had had similar crimes. We got nothing. So if he did
