Page 31 of Heat of Justice

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Cody came off the phone with one of the last women’s shelters on her list to contact about Cassie Winters. And still no sign of the missing woman. She had widened the search toneighboring counties, including hospitals, clinics, and morgues, and come up empty-handed. It was as if Winters had totally vanished, which gave weight to the idea that she may have left of her own will and did not want to be found.What will Kim say about this?Cody was disturbingly aware that the urge to call her had less to do with this puzzling case than an urgent desire to speak with her again personally. To check on her and make sure she was okay. Just to talk, period. The beautiful lawyer had been on her mind day and night since their last, admittedly intense encounter. And what was up with that? At any rate, it was a recurring question that she struggled to find an answer to.

“Miller,” a strong female voice prompted. Cody looked up, just managing not to appear startled, as her lieutenant strode into her office. “How’s it going?”

Wesley fixed her with the kind of direct, commanding look that still had the power to make her younger partner squirm occasionally. Or snap to attention. Cody would not, but she noticed it all the same. Quinn seemed to be moving on a cloud of temper that she clearly could not be bothered to hide. Probably wouldn’t take much to light her fuse.

“Hey, Boss.” Cody greeted her with a single nod. “I heard… Are you back?”

“I’m here right now.”

“Sure. Okay. Well, if you need any help, I’m always up for a little OT,” Cody offered. And when Quinn met her eyes, silently probing, she made sure her lieutenant knew where her loyalties lay. “Anything at all, Boss.”

“Thanks.” Quinn briefly held her gaze, signifying with this that she got the message. Then she turned to her board and the few new photos Cody had tacked on there. Kim, Cassie Winters, her suspicious husband. “Who are these people? What are you working on?”

Cody told her, sharing the salient points.

“A lawyer who is also a psychic?” Quinn remarked, raising an interested eyebrow. “You sure don’t come across one of these every day.”

“No, you’re right.”

“You think she’s legit?”

“Hundred percent,” Cody confirmed.

Something in her voice must have triggered Quinn’s own well-honed intuition because she narrowed her eyes and stared.Shit,Cody reflected. She knew what would come next.

“This isn’t the type of case I expect you to be working,” the lieutenant added, right on cue. “You know we have a missing persons’ department, yes?”

“Yes, Lieutenant. But I was in between other cases, so…”

“Kim Reed, you say,” Quinn mused, lingering on her photo on the board. “Her name rings a bell. Defense lawyer?”

“Used to be, yes.”

“Right, then. I do remember her. She was a force to be reckoned with in Texas. She’s known for her diligence and thorough research, and she doesn’t cut corners. She hits hard and well and wins more cases than she loses. She tell you why she switched to family law and left Houston to move over here?”

“She said she likes to make big changes every ten years or so. It keeps her fresh and on her toes.”

“I see. Do you believe her?”

“Uh—” Cody hesitated only briefly, but it was still enough for Quinn to seize onto it.

“You don’t,” she asserted. “Why is that? She a suspect?”

chapter 11

She had a quick mind and was thinking out loud, of course, not considering anything Cody had not already thought of. But the lieutenant was also annoyingly putting words into her mouth and rushing to the wrong conclusions. Cody did a poor job of hiding her displeasure, which obviously was not lost on Quinn.

“What’s up?” she prompted immediately.

“Nothing. But Kim’s not a suspect. She—”

“Kim?” Her eyes narrowed again.

Oh, hell!Of course, Wesley would remark on the use of her first name. She paid attention and never let even the tiniest detail go unnoticed. Cody recognized in her the traits of a brilliant cop and a skilled interrogator. She happened to be made of the same stuff. Right now, though, she also mentally kicked herself for her less-than-professional reaction.

“Yeah, Kim.” She shrugged. Too late to take it back. “She’s not a suspect in this case.”

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