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Authors: Marie Ferrarella
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Patience had opted for a different path by becoming a veterinarian, her services were frequently used in providing medical care for the force’s K-9 squad. Thatmeant he could run into her, too. He didn’t feel like having to field questions from her, either, although of the lot of them, Patience was the most unassuming and laid-back.
The stairwell was definitely the way to go until he was ready to share whatever findings Claude Wilkins came up with at the lab. Wilkins owed him more than a few favors, not the least of which was his present position as head of the crime lab. He’d promised to get the results to him as quickly as possible.
Until then, he’d keep his own counsel. There was no use in stirring everyone up if there was no match.
But in his heart, he knew there would be.
His footsteps echoed as he went down the metal steps.
“Hey, Cavanaugh, I saw your dad here earlier.” Mulrooney sat down at his desk, momentarily tearing his attention away from the slightly squished package of Ding Dongs that he’d ransomed out of the vending machine. It was his third such venture today. He claimed that chocolate made him think more clearly.
Teri didn’t look up from the notes she was studying. So far, the flow chart she’d put together of all the victims had yielded nothing even vaguely enlightening. “Yeah, me, too,” she muttered.
“What’s your dad doing hanging around the crime lab?”
Mulrooney’s innocent question, uttered as he sank his teeth into the plastic wrapper and yanked, spearedthrough her thoughts. Her head jerked up in his direction as he got her full attention.
“The crime lab?”
“Yeah.” The older detective shook his bounty out of its plastic confines onto a sheet of white paper on his desk. “Saw him giving something to Wilkins. A spoon and a book of some kind.” Using a plastic knife he kept in his desk, he meticulously divided the dessert into halves. “He doing consulting work for the department or something these days? I mean, the man was damn good when he worked here.” There was a fond note in his voice. “Everything ran like a well-oiled machine and crimes were down while number of cases solved were up.” Picking up the first half of the treat, he prepared to pop the whole thing into his mouth. “Maybe you can have him wander in and solve this case for us. You know, lay hands on the files and come up with an answer.” The suggestion was followed by a chuckle.
Teri chewed on her lip, thinking. Her father hadn’t mentioned anything about stopping at the crime lab when she’d run into him. Now that she thought about it, he looked unwilling to talk about being here at all. And why would he be giving Wilkins a spoon and a book? Something was definitely up.
More than anything else, she hated not knowing what was going on.
She reached for the telephone on her desk, intending to call home and get to the bottom of this. Butbefore she could dial, Hawk was standing next to her, putting several sheets on her desk.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Found another home invasion, sloppier than the others. Timeline puts it first.” Suddenly aware that there didn’t seem to be enough space between them, Hawk took a step back. “Maybe there was a learning curve for our guys.”
Teri scanned the papers he’d printed up. “What do you mean?”
Their desks were butted up against one another, head to head. He sat down behind his, allowing her to absorb what he was saying. Finding himself getting more and more in tune to her, he noticed she looked a little distracted. “The crime lab boys found prints on the scene that didn’t belong to any of the family members or friends.”
Adrenaline surged through her. “Did the prints match anyone in the system?”
His expression never changed. But then, Teri had a feeling he could have discovered gold on his property and never bat an eyelash. “No, but neither ‘suspect’ has any priors.”
At least this was possible
The stairwell was definitely the way to go until he was ready to share whatever findings Claude Wilkins came up with at the lab. Wilkins owed him more than a few favors, not the least of which was his present position as head of the crime lab. He’d promised to get the results to him as quickly as possible.
Until then, he’d keep his own counsel. There was no use in stirring everyone up if there was no match.
But in his heart, he knew there would be.
His footsteps echoed as he went down the metal steps.
“Hey, Cavanaugh, I saw your dad here earlier.” Mulrooney sat down at his desk, momentarily tearing his attention away from the slightly squished package of Ding Dongs that he’d ransomed out of the vending machine. It was his third such venture today. He claimed that chocolate made him think more clearly.
Teri didn’t look up from the notes she was studying. So far, the flow chart she’d put together of all the victims had yielded nothing even vaguely enlightening. “Yeah, me, too,” she muttered.
“What’s your dad doing hanging around the crime lab?”
Mulrooney’s innocent question, uttered as he sank his teeth into the plastic wrapper and yanked, spearedthrough her thoughts. Her head jerked up in his direction as he got her full attention.
“The crime lab?”
“Yeah.” The older detective shook his bounty out of its plastic confines onto a sheet of white paper on his desk. “Saw him giving something to Wilkins. A spoon and a book of some kind.” Using a plastic knife he kept in his desk, he meticulously divided the dessert into halves. “He doing consulting work for the department or something these days? I mean, the man was damn good when he worked here.” There was a fond note in his voice. “Everything ran like a well-oiled machine and crimes were down while number of cases solved were up.” Picking up the first half of the treat, he prepared to pop the whole thing into his mouth. “Maybe you can have him wander in and solve this case for us. You know, lay hands on the files and come up with an answer.” The suggestion was followed by a chuckle.
Teri chewed on her lip, thinking. Her father hadn’t mentioned anything about stopping at the crime lab when she’d run into him. Now that she thought about it, he looked unwilling to talk about being here at all. And why would he be giving Wilkins a spoon and a book? Something was definitely up.
More than anything else, she hated not knowing what was going on.
She reached for the telephone on her desk, intending to call home and get to the bottom of this. Butbefore she could dial, Hawk was standing next to her, putting several sheets on her desk.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Found another home invasion, sloppier than the others. Timeline puts it first.” Suddenly aware that there didn’t seem to be enough space between them, Hawk took a step back. “Maybe there was a learning curve for our guys.”
Teri scanned the papers he’d printed up. “What do you mean?”
Their desks were butted up against one another, head to head. He sat down behind his, allowing her to absorb what he was saying. Finding himself getting more and more in tune to her, he noticed she looked a little distracted. “The crime lab boys found prints on the scene that didn’t belong to any of the family members or friends.”
Adrenaline surged through her. “Did the prints match anyone in the system?”
His expression never changed. But then, Teri had a feeling he could have discovered gold on his property and never bat an eyelash. “No, but neither ‘suspect’ has any priors.”
At least this was possible
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