skin there with the back of her hand.
âI saw you leaning against the wall, and then you left so suddenly. I was worried,â she said, voice soft.
âOh, itâs just this damned suit. This thing is way too hot and I had to get some air. No worries.â
Not swayed, she took his wrist and held it between her fingers for a few seconds. âYour pulse is racing.â
He mustered a grin. âThatâs because of you, gorgeous.â
Letting go of him, she huffed a laugh. âRight. You never quit, do you?â
âI donât know the meaning of that word.â He took a deep breath. âIn fact, I was wondering if youâd thought aboutââ
Just then, Tonio rounded the corner carrying the leftovers of their materials. âHey, are youâ? Oh. Didnât mean to interrupt.â
Damn his timing!
Robyn eyed Tonio, offering him her hand. âHello, Iâm an acquaintance of Chrisâs. Weâre neighbors.â
âOh?â He shook her hand, glancing between them.
âIâm also a doctor, actually. I know he hasnât been well, and I was just checking on him.â
âNot feeling well? Is that so?â His partner shot him a pointed look.
âIsnât there something called a HIPAA law?â he muttered.
âYouâre not my patient,â she shot back. âThat makes me simply a concerned friend.â
âFriend?â That perked him up. Now they were getting somewhere.
Whatever she might have said was cut off as the phone in his jeans buzzed. Stifling a curse, he slipped off the suspenders and dug around in his suit until he snagged the device.
He glanced at the display and then to Tonio. âItâs Rainey.â Punching the button, he answered. âHey, Cap.â
âYou two done playing Wonder Dog? Iâve got a ho- micide with your names on it.â
His adrenaline kicked into overdrive as he fumbled in his pocket for his notepad. âAddress?â He scribbled as the captain rattled it off.
âI know you two are backed up, but from all appearances this one started as a burglary. Seems the victim may have surprised the intruder.â
âYou think itâs related to the other break-ins?â
âThatâs what we pay you the big bucks for. Go find out.â
âYes, sir.â Ending the call, he jumped around, kicking off the suit before gathering it. He looked at Robyn with real regret. âIâm sorry, that was our captain. We have to go.â
âOh.â She seemed to deflate a little. âNo problem. Iâll talk to you soon?â
His heart lightened. âIâll look forward to it.â
He and Tonio hurried from the building, not bothering to sign out. Once they were in the car and on their way, Chris told him what little he knew.
âWe caught a homicide. It appears the victim surprised an intruder.â
âThatâs why you asked Rainey if it could be related to our burglaries.â
âYeah. It might be a stretch.â
âOr not. Guess weâll have to wait and see.â
Tonio followed the directions to the address Chris loaded into the GPS, and soon they were parking in front of a nice home in a newer neighborhood. A couple of uniformed officers were waiting, and had stretched yellow crime scene tape around the perimeter of the yard and driveway.
One of them was young Officer Jenkins, or âJenkâ around the station, who had had his homicide cherry popped a few weeks earlier when heâd responded to a call at a motel and ended up with a murder victim. That had turned out to be Shane and Taylorâs case, the one that had caused Chris to crash the surveillance van and almost get himself killed.
Jenk didnât seem any happier now than he had backthen. âHey, guys. Brace yourselves, itâs a real fucking mess in there.â
âNever saw a pretty murder,â Tonio said shortly.
Jenk flushed. âJust
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