Page 36 of Tease

“They’re my babies.”

I reached down and stroked her hair.

“I know. I defer to their judgement about my worthiness.”

She grinned and took my hand, entwining our fingers together.

“I-I-I think they approve.”

I was about to reply when her phone started ringing. Rina let go of my hand and dug it out of her pocket. She pulled herself up and answered it after she checked who it was.

“Xav?”

She hurried over to her computer, setting the phone down and putting it on speaker.

“You didn’t think I’d let you down, did you?” came her boss’s voice.

“No, but I-I d-didn’t think you’d get it this f-f-fast.”

Her fingers worked on the keyboard.

“I have my ways. You can thank me at any time.”

“Thank you. I o-owe you.”

Rina’s brow furrowed as she clicked on whatever he’d sent her.

“Then you can repay me by bringing your boyfriend to meet me.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Okay fine, b-but only when I’ve h-handled my family s-s-stuff.”

I almost shook my head at her giving in.

“Deal. I’ll leave you to read it over. Hope it helps.”

“Thank you a-again, Xav. You’re a l-life s-s-saver.”

“You’re welcome. Say hi to the man for me.”

The phone went silent, but Rina wasn’t paying attention to it. She was too busy staring at the screen. I ducked under the bed and leaned over her chair to see for myself. It was all the case information from the car bombing. Witness statements, detailed descriptions of the accelerants used in the bomb, everything you could need to solve the case… except it remained unsolved twenty-five years after it had happened.

“They h-had a list of s-s-suspects but nothing l-l-linking them to the bombing,” Rina said, pointing at one document she had up on the screen. “N-none of them are Villetti’s.”

She was right. It didn’t prove they weren’t involved, but if I knew anything about the Villetti’s it was that they covered their tracks well.

Rina was about to click on something else when an email notification popped up on her screen. Her mouse cursor hovered over it. I looked down at her, finding a frown etched on her features.

“Something wrong?”

“I-I-I don’t k-know who this is.”

“Then open it.”

She clicked on the email. It was titled ‘Getting Closer’. My eyes scanned the body of the email, a pit of dread forming in my stomach.

I’m impressed with your research. I knew you were the smart one, Rina.

---