Page 42 of Elliot

Silas stayed with Maya while Rob went down to retrieve their dinner when it arrived. Elliot made his way into the bedroom. “About done?” he asked as he entered.

“We are. Just making sure our evidence is initialed and logged. Ms. Callahan has brown hair, right?”

Elliot nodded. “She does. What did you find?”

The man held up a small bag. “Blonde or maybe white hairs. Three of them. Two from the bed and one from the destroyed clothing. Plus, we have a couple of smudged prints. I think maybe the perp damaged their gloves with all the cutting going on. We found a small drop of blood near the door. I cut out the fibers of the carpet with the blood and collected them, and we’ll send that to the lab. There wasn’t any semen, so sexual gratification wasn’t the goal here.” He looked around at the mess. “Besides that, whoever did this was pretty clean.”

“Silas said he sent in the video he got from the lobby,” Elliot told them.

“Good. I’m going to look at their logbook, too. If the person signed in, we might get something from their handwriting. It's a long shot, but Ross said we’re balls to the wall on this one.”

“Thank him for me, will you?”

“Honestly, everyone in the section would go over the edge for you, sir.” The guy put his evidence in his kit and looked upat Elliot. “You’ve made a name for yourself.” He chuckled. “And everyone has your last KO in the ring on their phones.”

Elliot barked out a laugh. “Dude had a freaking glass jaw. How could he not know that?”

“Well, he does now.” The investigator laughed as he stood up. “Ready to go, Mark?”

“Yep,” the other man stood up. “But if you ever want to get back in the ring, I’m ready for a go.”

Elliot shook his head. “Not sure I’ll ever step back into the ring.”

“Well, then, I could use a coach,” Mark said. “And being coached by the best would be quite the coup.”

“Thanks, but I work out of Colorado. Unless you move base camp …” Elliot left the statement hanging as he thought about moving to New York. He could see himself moving. That thought struck hard.

“Nope. Don’t figure I’ll ever leave this city. It’s in my blood.” Mark extended his hand. “Would love to spar with you if you have the time, though.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Elliot shook the man’s hand and escorted them to the elevator. Maya was in the kitchen, so Silas and Rob headed down with the investigators, who were leaving for the night. Elliot waited until the elevator hit the ground floor, then walked into the kitchen.

Maya was sitting on the counter, swirling the small amount of brandy left in her snifter. Their dinner was on the table, waiting for them. She slid off the counter. “Has everyone left?”

“They have.” Elliot took off his jacket, draping it over a chair at the table. He loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves.

“Silas told me you were a fighter. MMA?”

Elliot chuckled. “Not really. Guardian trains all their operatives in multiple disciplines, so mixed martial arts was a natural outcome. One of the lead people in Domestic Operationsstarted a tournament. She established brackets for each of the sections and then a championship for the winners of each division. It was pretty tame. Points for touches, kicks, no choke holds or debilitating aggressiveness. We pulled our punches for the most part. Love taps. Sometimes, it got heated, but for the most part, no one was injured too badly. Well, not on purpose, anyway.”

He pulled the chair out for her, and she sat down. “Did you enjoy fighting?”

“Enjoy it?” Elliot considered that for a moment as he took a seat. “I enjoy the physicality of the disciplines. Actually being in a ring against an opponent? The adrenaline spike is real, and finding out how good you are is validating, but do I enjoy fighting? No.” She nodded and stabbed half-heartedly at her salad. “After dinner, I’ll go clean up your room.”

Her head jerked up. “No, I can do that. I need to see what clothes I have left.” She chuckled sadly. “Olivia is always telling me I need to step up my fashion. Maybe I’ll do that now.”

Elliot smiled at her. “No, you won’t.”

She smiled. “You’re right. I just can’t imagine spending that much money on clothes when I can find nice things off the rack. I mean, sure, designer clothes make a statement, but I could spend that money investing in my company, my people, or other ventures.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a soft heart?” Elliot asked as he cut the steak he’d ordered.

Maya snorted. “Tell that to the person who painted my walls.” She pointed toward the bedroom with her fork.

Elliot rolled his eyes. “That person has some extreme mental issues. I’ve seen it several times. You removed an executive and gave him double compensation. You were talking to Jessica and told her about the bonus you gave to your logistics personnel.You’ve got people who would go to the wall for you, and you treat them well. That says a lot about you as a person.”

She shrugged. “I told you my dad worked two jobs, right?”

“You did.”

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