Page 26 of 1st Shock
Teeg. The Justice Team's hacker extraordinaire and all-around tech genius. Personally, I suspect the super-secret black ops unit is an arm of the FBI, but no one will fess up and I sure as hell won't ask. All I know is they're our friends when it comes to providing intel. Grey and Charlie think alike and have similar personalities.
When Charlie told me Teeg was "running" our intruder's photo I didn't ask for details. Honestly, I don't care what government database he hacks into as long as we find this guy. "I don't think so. Charlie isn't in yet though."
The second the phrase leaves my mouth, a chime sounds. Back door.
Matt angles back, peeping down the hallway. "Speaking of."
"Hi," Charlie says, her voice coming closer and I picture her storming the hallway in her high heels. "I just heard from Teeg."
"And?" I ask, but my heart is already sinking. She's got the same look, the lack of excitement as Matt did a minute ago about the wig.
Poker face. "Nothing. We're still at square one. But don't worry, I have another idea."
I’m sure she does, but I still have the feeling she's only saying that to give me hope.
12
Charlie
Ihave six cold cases that fit our killer's parameters spread out on the conference room table. JJ strikes again. When he puts pressure on local law enforcement, they produce a lot faster than they do for me.
I spoke with Juanita this morning. Her results are back and show definite African American genes, a mixture from Ghana, Nigeria, and Somalia. I'm due at her mother's at three o'clock to help her with her DNA test.
Meg has been holed up in her art room all morning, her door shut and her music on. Shutting out me or the rest of the world?
I try not to take it personally, knowing she's as disappointed as I am Teeg came up with zero hits. So far, all my attempts to figure this out are a bust, and our killer's identity is too.
She hates the new security system and I don't blame her. All the bells and whistles are starting to get on my nerves too, and it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. Haley is jumpy too; I'm not sure if it's from what happened yesterday or the various alarms constantly going off.
My eyes flick to the tablet on my right, showing me different exterior views of our building. I see the back door, the front, both parking lots, and like the old-time Town Crier, I hear a voice in my head that says,all is well.
Unfortunately, the system has to stay. If nothing else, I need this constant surveillance and reassurance as much as I do the cases in front of me to keep my mind focused.
Them, along with Meg, Haley, Avery, and Juanita... they'll keep me from stewing over what happened last night with JJ. We ate, drank too much wine, watched the video a dozen times, and spit-balled different theories. We talked far into the night then did other things I'm not proud of, but even with a slight hangover, my body is far more relaxed than it has been in eons.
He's a magic man.I catch myself humming the old Heart song under my breath, after waking up to it playing in my head. It may not be classic Mozart, but it makes me smile for the first time today. I'm at war with myself, part of me feeling guilty about last night and the rest cheering like a kid on Christmas morning.
Guilt infuses my system once more, even as I keep humming. I pick up a file folder with three rubber bands holding all the info inside, and dig in.
I've just begun reading the detectives notes when a buzz sounds from the tablet. On screen, I see JJ and Matt coming in the back door, both carrying boxes—Matt with pizza, JJ with a cardboard file box. More cold cases?
My body flushes at the sight of him. Certain parts tingle and I curse silently under my breath. One hand flies to my hair to make sure it's still held back in the band I put it in this morning, and I curse again. Since when do I check my looks before coming face-to-face with JJ?
Get a grip.
I pretend to be deep into the case in front of me when they enter the conference room.
"Lunch time," Matt announces, plunking the pizza boxes on the table.
I barely glance up, trying not to look at JJ and failing miserably. He's wearing a fresh suit, his cheeks clean shaven, and everything about him is perfect as usual. No one would know he was up all night with me.
Unless they saw the smirk he sends me as he lowers his box to the floor next to my chair.
I jerk my gaze from his face and return to studying the notes in my hands, although I can't make sense of any of it with him so close. That cologne of power and safety washes over me.
"I picked up the rest of the cases to review," he says, stalling to look over my shoulder.
I come out of the chair so fast I nearly smack his chin with my head. I drop the papers then scramble to gather them up. Dammit. "Just leave them," I say. "We'll work on them and you...should go."
