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Authors: Julie Miller
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her better than anybody. He says she’s ‘sensitive and suggestible’ and wants to make sure we’re not taking advantage of her or scaring her more than she needs to be. It’s like facing off against a pair of big brothers.”
Sensitive and suggestible? The woman had stood up to what was probably an abusive father and pulled a knife to defend herself from the things that frightened her. She’d gone to the scene of a homicide to confirm the identity of someone she knew. Pike punched Hank Lockhart’s prison record off the computer screen and turned toward Nick. “Hope may not look like it on the outside, but she’s tough. She’s a survivor.”
“I hope so. I’d still like to get her in a room without her entourage to see what she has to say.” Nick’s shift was long over, too, but he had nothing but a smile when he reached for Annie’s hand. “Come on, slugger. I’ll drive you to the lab.” With a nod to Pike, the couple walked toward the elevators. “See you at the briefing tomorrow morning. Try to get a couple hours of sleep.”
“Yeah,” Pike answered. “You, too.”
Pike groaned when the elevator door opened and three of the five members of SWAT Team 1 stepped out, including Pike’s older brother Alex Taylor. Pike greeted Trip Jones and Holden Kincaid, each of whom towered over his vertically challenged, muscle-bound sibling. As adopted brothers, Alex and Pike couldn’t look more different, but they couldn’t be closer, either. Growing up in foster care together had forged a bond as strong as blood between them.
And Alex took his role as big brother very seriously. He knew Pike should be home at his apartment getting some shut-eye right now.
After sending his buddies on to roll call, Alex combed his fingers through his curly black hair and stretched up on tiptoe to look over the counter where Pike stood. “Where’s your better-lookin’ sidekick?”
“Aren’t you the funny guy.” Logging out of the computer terminal, Pike grabbed his ball cap and joined his brother around the front of the desk. “Hans is in his kennel, getting some R & R.”
“Looks like you had a long night, too.”
Pike scratched at the stubble that shaded his jaw and nodded. “We had another Rose Red rape.”
“Ah, hell.” Although the task force was specifically dedicated to solving the string of assaults and related deaths, there wasn’t a cop on the force who didn’t care about catching the perp. “Did the victim survive?”
Pike shook his head. “Looks like the Cleaner got to her. Shot the vic. CSI Hermann thinks LaDonna Chambers was dead before the body was dumped this time.” There had been too many innocent victims. He smacked his cap against his thigh and looked across the room to Hope again. A woman like that shouldn’t have to live in fear of walking the streets or going to work. “I don’t understand why we can’t catch these bastards. He hasn’t left a single fingerprint at any crime scene, but we’ve got the accomplice’s on file. We’ve got the rapist’s DNA, but there’s no match in the system. According to the CSI I was just talking to, the only blood at this scene belonged to the vic. We can’t figure out where he takes them to commit the assault or why this Cleaner goes to so much trouble to destroy any evidence of the crimes. It’s a sick relationship.”
“I don’t know what color they were.” Was that Hope raising her voice? “He was going too fast. If I had known who he was, of course I would have...” Her hands squeezed into fists on top of Detective Montgomery’s desk. “He wore a hat and a surgical mask. His eyes were in the shadows.” Matuszak moved in behind her chair, warning the detective not to press his client.
Alex turned to track the object of Pike’s wandering gaze. “What’s she got to do with it? Montgomery is lookin’ intense.”
“I know. They’re being pretty hard on her. The woman hasn’t had any sleep.”
Alex tilted him a curious
Sensitive and suggestible? The woman had stood up to what was probably an abusive father and pulled a knife to defend herself from the things that frightened her. She’d gone to the scene of a homicide to confirm the identity of someone she knew. Pike punched Hank Lockhart’s prison record off the computer screen and turned toward Nick. “Hope may not look like it on the outside, but she’s tough. She’s a survivor.”
“I hope so. I’d still like to get her in a room without her entourage to see what she has to say.” Nick’s shift was long over, too, but he had nothing but a smile when he reached for Annie’s hand. “Come on, slugger. I’ll drive you to the lab.” With a nod to Pike, the couple walked toward the elevators. “See you at the briefing tomorrow morning. Try to get a couple hours of sleep.”
“Yeah,” Pike answered. “You, too.”
Pike groaned when the elevator door opened and three of the five members of SWAT Team 1 stepped out, including Pike’s older brother Alex Taylor. Pike greeted Trip Jones and Holden Kincaid, each of whom towered over his vertically challenged, muscle-bound sibling. As adopted brothers, Alex and Pike couldn’t look more different, but they couldn’t be closer, either. Growing up in foster care together had forged a bond as strong as blood between them.
And Alex took his role as big brother very seriously. He knew Pike should be home at his apartment getting some shut-eye right now.
After sending his buddies on to roll call, Alex combed his fingers through his curly black hair and stretched up on tiptoe to look over the counter where Pike stood. “Where’s your better-lookin’ sidekick?”
“Aren’t you the funny guy.” Logging out of the computer terminal, Pike grabbed his ball cap and joined his brother around the front of the desk. “Hans is in his kennel, getting some R & R.”
“Looks like you had a long night, too.”
Pike scratched at the stubble that shaded his jaw and nodded. “We had another Rose Red rape.”
“Ah, hell.” Although the task force was specifically dedicated to solving the string of assaults and related deaths, there wasn’t a cop on the force who didn’t care about catching the perp. “Did the victim survive?”
Pike shook his head. “Looks like the Cleaner got to her. Shot the vic. CSI Hermann thinks LaDonna Chambers was dead before the body was dumped this time.” There had been too many innocent victims. He smacked his cap against his thigh and looked across the room to Hope again. A woman like that shouldn’t have to live in fear of walking the streets or going to work. “I don’t understand why we can’t catch these bastards. He hasn’t left a single fingerprint at any crime scene, but we’ve got the accomplice’s on file. We’ve got the rapist’s DNA, but there’s no match in the system. According to the CSI I was just talking to, the only blood at this scene belonged to the vic. We can’t figure out where he takes them to commit the assault or why this Cleaner goes to so much trouble to destroy any evidence of the crimes. It’s a sick relationship.”
“I don’t know what color they were.” Was that Hope raising her voice? “He was going too fast. If I had known who he was, of course I would have...” Her hands squeezed into fists on top of Detective Montgomery’s desk. “He wore a hat and a surgical mask. His eyes were in the shadows.” Matuszak moved in behind her chair, warning the detective not to press his client.
Alex turned to track the object of Pike’s wandering gaze. “What’s she got to do with it? Montgomery is lookin’ intense.”
“I know. They’re being pretty hard on her. The woman hasn’t had any sleep.”
Alex tilted him a curious
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