“So?”
“So what?”
“Was Robin the intended victim?”
“I don’t know.”
“That doesn’t help.”
“Okay, let’s play this out. Anna Clark was supposed to be out of town. I assume this was common knowledge?”
“Yes.”
“So the killer would have every reason to believe that Robin would be coming home, alone, that night. So he breaks into the apartment, and either finds Anna there, or Anna arrives while he’s waiting for Robin. He has to kill her.”
“If Anna arrived while the killer was there, the killer would have to have called Will.”
“Was the phone dusted?”
Jim looked over the reports. “Yes. Only smudged prints.”
“That’s odd.”
Jim’s stomach sank. Why hadn’t he seen that before? There should have been clear prints from at least whomever used the phone last.
“The killer wore gloves. Called Will. Why did he want Will to find the body?”
“If Robin was the intended victim, the killer knew about Will’s relationship with her. Wanted Will to be the one to find her,” Dillon said.
“That’s almost exactly Glenn’s M.O.,” Jim said. “Glenn got his thrills first from making his victims suffer, then watching Robin’s reaction to the news when she learned they were dead.”
“But Jim, Anna’s killer hasn’t killed again, at least not in the same manner. Which suggests that this was a personal crime. A premeditated crime of passion.”
“Passion?”
“Look at Robin’s ex-boyfriends, other people at the time who may have stalked her.”
“It sounds too coincidental that she would have two stalkers-Glenn and this unknown killer.”
“She led a public life, exposed herself in front of thousands of men. I can see how more than one might be unbalanced enough to kill.”
“But to also be a cop?” Jim made a note. “At least this gives me something to go on. Thanks, Dillon.”
“Anytime, Jim. And I’ll think more on it. Call me if you have anything new, I’m happy to help. But you should run the scenario by Will and Agent Vigo. He’s a good guy, by the way. I’ve worked with him before.”
“Glad for the recommendation.”
Jim hung up, drew up a detailed time line and the list of suspects. He also made a note that perhaps someone in law enforcement who wasn’t directly involved in evidence collection had accessed the information. It wasn’t unheard of, and the evidence locker wasn’t restricted to law enforcement personnel. Anyone from the D.A.’s office to cops to the crime lab could go in there and simply sign in. They could easily lie about what evidence they were viewing. No one double-checked, unless they were removing it from the locker.
And something as small as a few hairs could easily be concealed.
Ten minutes later his doorbell rang. He rose from his desk, glanced out the peephole, confused more than concerned.
He opened the door. “You could have called.”
“I could have.”
Jim barely noticed the gun until three bullets hit him in the chest.
THIRTY-ONE
Will knocked on Robin’s door after midnight. He’d debated going home, but he wanted to see her. She’d seemed so lost after she learned that the woman helping Theodore Glenn had been in her employ for the past thirteen months.
Mario had left one of his men guarding the door. “Detective,” the man acknowledged.
Robin unbolted the door and let Will in. As soon as she closed and locked it, Will took her in his arms, her body up against the wall. He kissed her as if it were for the last time.
Her arms went around his neck and she pulled him to her, drinking in his embrace as if she hadn’t seen him in years and still loved him.
With Robin, he never wanted to wait, he wanted to make love to her wherever they were, at the drop of a hat. It had been that way since the moment they first met, but he didn’t want their relationship to be built solely on lust. He wanted the connection they’d begun before he blew it, the one he prayed they could find again.
“Robin,” he murmured, pulling back.
“Hmm,” she mumbled, her voice heavy with sleepy desire.
He kissed her neck, so white and long and soft. He felt the vibration of a moan in her larynx, so he kissed her again.
Will picked her up and carried her to her bed.
“The bed? That’s a novel idea,” she teased.
He didn’t smile back. “I blew it with you, Robin. I won’t blow it again.”
Her smile faltered. “And having sex in bed has something to do with that?”
“I want to make love to you.” He kissed her neck again. “I want to show you how much I love you.”
“Will, please-”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Just kiss me.”
“No.”
She frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not doing anything other than trying to fix what went wrong. I know exactly what you’re doing.”
She tensed beneath his body. “Do you? So smart.”
“You’re pushing me away.”
She literally pushed him off her. “
“Because what happens between us
He sat next to her on the bed. She rested her head on her arched knee and looked at him, large green eyes exposing her hope. She was so beautiful, comfortable and sexy in her partial nudity. “I made a mistake by not going after you seven years ago and telling you I was wrong. Look at it from my viewpoint-I saw the M.O., I made a judgment call. I was wrong.”
“You were wrong about
“I know what you told me, and I should have believed you, but I’m a cop, okay? People lie to me all the time.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Will.”
“Do you love me?”
“What kind of question is that? How can you expect me-?”
“Do you love me? If you’ve never lied to me, answer that question.”
Her bottom lip quivered and Will almost felt bad for pushing her. “Oh, God, I want to, Will.” Tears formed in her eyes.
He gathered her back into his arms. “I want you to love me, Robin. More than anything. I’m not going to let you walk away this time. You mean too much to me. My only regret is that I didn’t see it seven years ago. I was too self-absorbed, too scared that I was falling in love and would screw it up again.”
He brushed back her hair, unable to keep his hands off her. She leaned into his caress. “I gave up the one
