Page 14 of Dark Terror
The woman gave a curt nod before continuing on.
“The boss,” Gabe said. “The restrooms are down the hall, and there’s a break room with vending machines next to them. Don’t wander off by yourself, though. If you want to make use of either of them, ask Nate to show you where they are. I’ll be back soon.”
Any female would appreciate the view of him as he walked away, and Cara was no exception. “Mighty fine butt you have there, Detective,” she murmured.
“I heard that,” came an amused voice.
Oh God. Cara buried her face in her hands. She’d forgotten about Nate Ryder sitting on the other side of a thin wall. The man himself popped around the corner and perched his own fine butt on Gabe’s desk.
“You could have been a gentleman and pretended you didn’t hear me.”
He grinned. “Where’s the fun in that?” His grin faded, his expression turning serious. “So, I take it you’re Gabe’s witness?”
“Unfortunately, and not something I’m particularly happy about.”
“He’s a good man.” His gaze swept over Gabe’s desk. “A bit anal about being neat and tidy, but we all have our faults, or so Grace tells me.”
“Who’s Grace?”
“The love of my life. But back to Gabe. He’s one of the best, so having him on your side—”
“I didn’t mean I wasn’t happy about Gabe, but that I witnessed a murder.”
“Yeah, that part sucks.”
“Tell me about it.” She glanced over at the closed door of the office Gabe had entered. “Is he in trouble?” His boss hadn’t seemed at all pleased, and Cara hoped it wasn’t because of her.
“The boss lady probably just wants an update on the case.” His phone buzzed, and when he looked at the screen, he smiled. “Gotta take this. It’s my Grace.”
He headed down the hallway, and alone, Cara looked around, her attention caught by the words on the wall.Protect the Innocent, Serve the People.
David had died trying to protect the innocent, a wife and her two children. It had been in vain, though. After killing David and his partner, the man had turned the gun on his family and then himself. Her brother had died for nothing.
That’s what happens, Cara. Cops die.Tears burned her eyes as the ache of missing her brother surfaced.
* * *
“Bring me up to date on your case, Detective, and while you’re at it, explain why you had your hands on your witness’s knees.”
Gabe sat ramrod straight in the chair across from his captain’s desk. Eve Scanlon was as sharp as they came, had high standards, and demanded the best from her detectives. She was fair and had the respect of every man and woman in Major Crimes. She was nice… most of the time. Get on her wrong side, though, and she didn’t hesitate to come down hard if need be. If he didn’t tread carefully where Cara was concerned, he was going to be in the rare position of seeing her not-nice side.
Ignoring the reason he’d had his hands on Cara’s knees—at least for the moment, and forever if he could get away with it—he brought his boss up to date on what the ME had said and what the crime scenes techs had found.
“No much to go on,” she said when he finished.
“Not yet, anyway. I’m pretty sure I found where our victim lived, and as soon as we’re finished, I’ll run the address for a name.”
“It’s probable you could have that name already if you’d spent your time matching the address to a name instead of groping…” She picked up what Gabe recognized as the report he’d filed last night while sitting in his car guarding his cousin and Cara. “Cara Jenner’s knees.”
His cheeks heated, and eff him if he was blushing. “She’s scared, Boss. Two times this morning she saw a man watching her. We put out a BOLO, but about the only description we had of him is what he was wearing. A change of clothes and he’s home free. Which appears to be the way it is since patrol hasn’t spotted him.”
“She’s not the first witness to be frightened, but I don’t recall seeing your hands on any of them.”
That was because his hands hadn’t itched to touch a witness before. “Her brother was David Jenner.”
“The officer killed in Denver along with his partner?”
“Yeah. She says her only other family is an aunt who lives in London who she’s not close to, so she doesn’t have anyone to turn to. She’s my only witness, and I’m just trying to make her feel safe until we catch the bastard.”
