Page 3 of Rain Washed

A shout echoed through the trees from the direction of the parking lot and Linc stood, buckling on his duty belt as he narrowed his eyes in that direction. “Looks like Hickey and Gorman are here. I’ll go and organize them to cordon off this area. Are you right to stay with the body?” That look of concern was back on his face. “I know this might be hard for you, and I—”

“Of course,” she interrupted him. “I’m fine. I’ll guard the scene, you go and make sure everything else is secure.” And surprisingly, she was fine. The first surge of nausea when she’d spotted the body had subsided to a dull feeling of…perhaps emptiness was the best way to describe it. This was nothing like Rania’s death, filled with blood and desperation. This crime scene was completely different. Lacey was able to look at this woman with a somewhat detached interest. She felt sorry for this person and wanted to find the killer who’d cut her life short. But she wasn’t about to become an emotional wreck at the sight, as distressing as it was.

CHAPTER TWO

NICO STRODE THROUGH the gravel parking lot toward the cruiser Lacey was leaning against, waiting for him. She stood straighter as she spotted him, a smile forming on her gorgeous lips and he couldn’t help but smile back. It’d been a whole week since he’d seen her in person; the longest they’d ever been apart. Of course, they’d stayed in touch via video calls, but it wasn’t the same. A whole week since he’d been able to feel that soft skin, kiss those perfect lips. He pulled her into a swift embrace, not caring if anybody saw them and ignoring their no fraternization while at work rule, needing to feel her in his arms.

“I missed you,” he said, breathing in the clean scent of her hair as he kissed the top of her head. He couldn’t help himself; he dropped his lips to hers, just to taste that sweetness that was all Lacey.

“I missed you too,” she said, breaking their kiss and looking up, her amber eyes filling with a soft affection, a lingering heat hovering beneath that love. A look that was for him alone. But all too soon, their tender moment was broken as a loud cough came from the other side of the cruiser. Shit, he’d forgotten about Linc. Lacey’s partner was a good guy, and Nico couldn’t have hoped for a better partner for her in her first months back on the job. Linc must’ve been waiting with Lacey until Nico had finished interviewing the young couple who found the body. He was still here with her, even though both their shifts had ended two hours ago.

“Afternoon, Linc,” he said a little gruffly, letting Lacey go and taking a step back. Lacey flicked Nico a gaze, her amber gaze bright and thoughtful. But there was no censure there. They’d both agreed to keep it strictly professional while they were on the job. Nico had broken that rule, but he just had to touch her, ever so briefly, to put his heart at ease. And she clearly felt the same way, because she laid a hand on his arm, almost as if checking he was really there in the flesh at last.

“Helluva thing to come home to,” Linc replied and Nico silently agreed. Who would’ve thought he’d be called out to a homicide the second he touched down in Devonport? It’d certainly been the last thing on his mind. The only thing he’d been wondering while the plane landed was how soon he could get Lacey alone, preferably in their bed. Now he needed to force his mind away from Lacey and back into work mode.

“You were the first unit on the scene? You pulled the body out of the water?” He directed the question at both of them, but it was Linc who answered.

“Yes, sir.”

“What’s your take on our suspected homicide?” Nico asked. He valued Linc’s knowledge and policing skills. He’d seen a lot of things over his nine years on the job in Michigan, including at least a dozen other murders. Nico had read his file as soon as he’d joined the Burnie station; it always paid to know your team’s strengths and weaknesses. And Nico was sticking to that story, even though Shadbolt had raised an eyebrow when Nico had requested Linc’s personnel file. His scrutiny had nothing to do with the fact Linc was to be partnered with Lacey. Nothing at all.

“I think the woman may have been murdered elsewhere and dumped in the river,” Linc replied.

Nico nodded, pursing his lips. He’d come to a similar conclusion, but he wanted to hear it from Linc and Lacey. “Why?”

“Because there’s no sign of a struggle nearby,” Lacey chipped in. “And this place is too open, too well populated, especially at this time of the year. Someone would’ve seen something. Plus, there’re ligature marks on her wrists, as if she’d been tied up. If it was a spontaneous crime, of passion or coincidence, and she’d been murdered here, why bother to bind her wrists?”

“I think you might be right,” Nico conceded. “I’ll wait for the forensics report on the crime scene, but I think we need to look for a separate murder scene.”

“Have we identified the victim yet?” Linc asked.

“Nothing found on the body. No wallet, purse or phone,” Nico confirmed. “Dr. Lagos, the local forensic pathologist, corroborated that she’s around twenty-two to twenty-five years old, Caucasian, medium height and build. I’ve already got Sally-Ann scanning the missing person’s lists, along with any wanted lists and other useful databases.”

There were a few seconds of silence before Lacey asked the question they were all thinking. “Could this be connected to the serial killer?”

“Too soon to tell.” Nico shrugged and had to quell the urge to take off his jacket. It was unseasonably warm for this early in summer, and the humidity down by the river made the air hot and dense. He knew as soon as he’d seen the age of the girl and the ligature marks that this case would be compared to the other three still-unsolved murders. He suppressed a shudder. If this was the work of the serial killer, then this community was no longer safe. There was a dangerous wolf somewhere in town, hiding beneath sheep’s clothing.

Much the same as Gabriel had done. His friend had pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. An upstanding member of society, a well-respected doctor who was supposed to save lives. Not take them. But it turned out Gabriel had been living a double life. Hiding the fact he was gay behind the many and varied affairs he had with as many eligible women as he could date. It turned out Gabe had been well and truly screwed up as a child. His mother had manipulated him into an incestuous relationship when he was in his early teens and it’d severely fucked him up mentally, leaving him unable to let his true personality show. Gabe was so desperate to hide the fact he was gay from the world, he’d resorted to murder to keep his sexual preferences under wraps. Poor Rania had been murdered because she’d seen Gabe with another man, and then Lacey had become his next victim when she also pieced it together. The ex-doctor would now spend the rest of his life behind bars, but Nico felt little sense of satisfaction at catching this particular killer.

“I’d better get back to it,” Nico said. “The ME is just about finished with the body, and the forensics team are waiting to get in and process the site, so I need to oversee that.” He met Lacey’s gaze. “Sorry.” His mouth twisted in a small grimace of regret. “I’ll be late home tonight.”

“I already figured that,” she said with a smile. Then, as Linc ducked his head to slide into the driver’s seat, she moved closer and whispered in his ear, “But I’ll wait up for you. No matter what time you come home, I’ll be awake. Naked. In bed.” She tilted her head to the side seductively and lowered her eyelashes, and a shot of heat went straight to his groin. Shit. Now he was going to think of nothing else but how quickly he could get this thing wrapped up for the evening and race home to her. Even after six months together, their sex life had only become more interesting, more intense. She was a distraction that he probably didn’t need right now. But he couldn’t begrudge her that flirty little wink. He just needed to corral his libido back into a box for the coming few hours so he could think straight until the time came when he could let loose with her.

He watched the police cruiser drive away, leaving a trail of dust in its wake. Then he drew a deep breath and turned on his heel, heading back into the organized chaos of a murder crime scene.

* * *

Nico rolled his head sideways on the pillow to check the time on the digital clock beside the bed. Two-thirty-nine am. He smiled to himself and decided it was worth every second of lost sleep.

“Maybe I need to go away more often, if that’s the way you show how much you miss me.” His breath still hitched in his lungs and his chest was slick with sweat from the recent exertion.

“Don’t you dare.” Lacey slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “I need you here. With me. All the time. And so does Smudge,” she added soberly.

It was true; his loyal dog had been over the moon when he’d greeted him at the door earlier tonight. Almost turning himself inside out with wriggling delight, even breaking the rules by jumping up and licking his face. He was pleased that the border collie cross had taken immediately to Lacey on the very first day they’d met, and had been her loyal companion ever since, because it put Nico’s mind a little more at ease as he’d lain in his bed on the mainland thinking of her every night he was away; that she had Smudge to keep her safe and give her much-needed companionship. He suspected Smudge had been allowed to sleep beside the bed while he’d been away, rather than in his designated spot on his mat by the fire, but that was okay. The loyalty of a dog was a special thing, and his little black-and-white mutt had seen him through a lot of good and bad times, and it was nice to know that Smudge now shared his love equally between his two most special humans. It was always a pleasure to come home to his faithful dog, but it was a revelation to land in the arms of his hot, eager woman. A new experience for him, but one he could definitely get used to.

Lacey snuggled in closer to Nico’s side and he luxuriated in the feel of her naked skin on his as they lay without even a sheet to cover them. The window was open to let in a waft of cooler night air. Early-December was technically summer, but here in northern Tasmania, it was often cooler than on the mainland. Not this week, however. Temperatures had soared to almost thirty degrees Celsius. Hopefully not a sign of a hotter-than-normal summer to come.

“I know it’s late, and we both need some sleep, but I’d love to hear how it went in Lorne. Did you manage to talk to the Normandys?” she asked, pushing locks of blonde hair away from her sweaty face so she could look up at him. When he’d first arrived home, they’d both been too caught up in each other’s body to discuss anything else but the language of love. Nico had pushed everything about the dead woman found in the river this afternoon, as well as the reasons for his trip to the mainland, to the back of his mind. But it was only a matter of time before they intruded on their peaceful bubble once more. Lacey had chosen the topic of his missing father to pursue first, and he was fine with that; he had a lot to tell her.

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