Page 84 of Curvy Quirky Omega

Lucy

“I’m the one who deals with the people,” Frankie reminded them. She handed me a pair of black latex gloves next and gave me her cute lopsided smile that never ceased to make me feel better. “But Lucy is the one who excels at finding and recognizing patterns, even in a person’s behavior. She’s not just good with computers and problem solving, she’s also an excellent behavioral analyst.”

“Only because I thought if I studied psychology, I’d finally understand how to say the right thing to people.” I rolled my eyes and tried not to get all weird that I was blushing. “It’s basically the same shit as pattern recognition, only it’s with humans. It’s not like it’s any different than figuring out why computers break.”

“It’s a little different,” Cas said as he took the latex gloves from Frankie. “I knew you had a degree in criminal psychology, but I didn’t realize you’re also a behavior analyst.”

“What does that mean though?” Liam pulled on his gloves and let them snap into place just like on TV. “What does that do with Frankie asking you questions?”

I kept my eyes on my hands as I pulled on my own gloves, knowing this was going to be weird for him since this was his brother and not some random person. “Behavior analysts identify the laws of behavior and learn to predict a person’s responses or choices based on their circumstances, background, and the events leading up to their choices or reactions.”

“You can make wide assumptions based on a few pieces of information and be right a majority of the time, but I’ve been watching Gideon as much as I can over the last few weeks – reading his emails, going through his business deals, all his messages from his primary phone, and digging into his life.”

I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders back to readjust the weight of my coat. “I’m going to shove aside all the thoughts and feelings that make me – me, and then focus on Gideon’s behavior until I’m only thinking or feeling what he would be thinking or feeling the night he died.”

“Like method acting. Got it.” Liam cracked his neck and I could tell he was impressed, but also worried. “Okay, what can we do to help?”

“You do whatever Frankie needs you to do so she knows where to look,” I told him, hoping this would work. “Cas doesn’t need to do anything other than making sure no one interrupts us.”

Frankie opened the door to Gideon’s office and waved Liam forward, watching him closely to make sure he could do this.

I shut off as many emotions as I could, shoving the bond down deep enough I couldn’t feel theirs either. Liam stepped inside the office but didn’t turn on the light, explaining to Frankie he’d start from the main door.

Taking another deep breath, I let it out slowly, pushing aside any remaining emotions and extraneous thoughts so I could focus.

The answer was so close I could practically taste it.

Standing at the threshold of Gideon’s office, I studied the large room that was identical to Liam’s office in terms of layout, but their design choices were vastly different.

A few weeks ago, I’d stood in this exact spot – barely ten hours after the murder had taken place. There’d still been pints and pints of blood on the floor, but now it was gone, leaving nothing but a stain as a gruesome reminder.

It would be impossible to erase the last remaining sign that someone was killed here, not without ripping up the floor and deep cleaning anything that could absorb a scent.

Someone had tried to steam clean the fabrics by the smell of soap, but I could still scent faint traces of rotten copper from all the way over here.

Frankie was having Liam show her exactly what Gideon did every time he came into the office, down to the smallest detail. She even had him going through the motions while Cas stood behind me, patiently waiting for me to take my first step into the office.

His quiet, unobtrusive presence was comforting this time around instead of unnerving. The scorching heat of his attention was focused on me and me alone. It helped ease the chills the dark stain of blood gave me.

Closing my eyes, I let the sounds of Frankie directing Liam fade away until all I could hear was my own breathing and the soft echo of each breath Cas took with me.

The office reeked of chemicals. It smelled forcibly sterile in here – like it had in the home he shared with Melinda. Underneath that was the rotten copper tainting the pleasant scent of the hardwood floor.

It was a new scent – one I was probably able to smell now thanks to all those chemicals.

They’d damaged the wood. Changed its chemistry until it no longer smelled like walnut but something closer to mushrooms.

I honestly expected them to have ripped out the flooring and replaced it already, but I probably had Liam to thank for this. He must have asked them to leave everything as-is until I got through my heat.

With the air on, I couldn’t smell anything else. Not even Cas, who was standing right behind me. Whatever pheromones might be lingering from those who came to clean up in here were gone as well.

I opened my eyes, keeping them unfocused as I listened to the sound of Cas breathing behind me.

It was dark in here, even with the light Liam turned on and then off, then on again.

The sun shining through should have killed some of the bacteria over the last few weeks so it would smell like walnut trees and linen in here, but all it did was amplify the smell of chemicals and rot.

City lights glimmered at us and the view from up here was breathtaking even at night.

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