Grayson, p.8
Grayson, page 8
part #1 of Oath of Honor Series
That was her field of expertise after all.
He quickly placed the computer on the table and booted it up, then took a few minutes to deal with the new phones. When they were charging up, he turned back to the computer. He needed to start looking into the names Gabe had provided for the rest of the people who were in the animal rights group photo. If Mike Jones was the tech guy who somehow traced Eve by her computer and her phone, one of the others was likely the bomber.
Even one of the women, he reminded himself. He’d been a cop long enough to know that gender didn’t mean much when it came to committing crimes.
Then again, he could be on the wrong path altogether. Jones didn’t come across as overly bright and capable of doing something like this.
He was working through the second name when a knock at the door startled him. He was so intent on his work that he’d almost forgotten about the food. He closed the laptop, shot to his feet, and double-checked through the peephole before opening the door.
“Thanks.” He gave the server a tip, then took the tray. “Eve, will you take a moment to lock the door?”
“Sure.” She did so, then joined him at the table. “Smells great.”
“I know, please excuse any drool,” he joked. He uncovered the plates and sat down, then belatedly remembered Eve would want to pray.
She glanced at him, then seemed to realize he was waiting for her. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this wonderful food you’ve provided for us. We ask that You continue to keep us all safe in Your care, especially Grayson and the members of the tactical team. Amen.”
“Amen.” He was touched by her sweet prayer. “Thanks for including the team.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t be here if not for you and the others.” Her brow furrowed as she picked up a french fry. “I still can’t believe someone is trying to kill me.”
He could understand that. As a cop, he was used to being hated on principal, thanks to the handful of bad apples. Yet he could say with certainty that he didn’t know of anyone who hated him on a personal level.
Even Monica hadn’t hated him. Just the opposite. He quickly pushed that memory aside.
Taking a big bite of his cheeseburger, he focused on the two names he’d managed to investigate so far. What else could he do if he made it through the entire list and still had nothing to go on? They needed something. Anything to break this case open.
Hopefully, Mitch Callahan would come through on the bomb fragments. It was sometimes possible to get fingerprints off them, but he wasn’t going to bank on that. From what he saw beneath Eve’s desk, it was a basic pipe bomb with a trigger device. That particular bomb had been built with C4, but he had no way of knowing if they all were built the same.
And what about the gunman at the American Lodge? That seemed to be an aberration from the killer’s MO.
“Grayson?” He glanced at Eve. “Do you think a police officer could be involved?”
“What? No way.” He was surprised she’d mentioned that possibility. “Why would a cop care about your research?”
“No reason, it just seems strange to plant a bomb outside a police station. And that he managed to escape being caught on the security cameras.” She flushed and shrugged. “Ignore me, I wouldn’t make a very good cop.”
“No, you’re right to ask those types of questions.” He couldn’t blame her for being suspicious. “I can’t imagine any cop wanting to stop your research, but I promise to keep my mind open to all possibilities, okay?”
She nodded and took another bite of her sandwich. They ate in silence for long moments. He wanted to reassure her everything would work out fine, but so far, they’d barely escaped with their lives, not once but several times.
He couldn’t help but think Rhy, Joe, and the other believers on the team were right about how God was protecting them.
Even Raelyn had gotten engaged to Pastor Isaiah Washington last week. If anyone had predicted something like that, he’d have laughed in their face.
When they’d finished eating, he placed their dirty dishes on the tray and set it in the hallway outside their door. Time to get back to work.
Eve wandered around the suite, obviously unable to settle down. After a few minutes, he glanced at her. “You can watch something on television if you’d like. It won’t bother me.”
Her cheeks went pink. “I so rarely watch TV I have no idea what’s on these days.”
“Use the TV guide function. I’m sure you’ll find something familiar.”
“No thanks.” She returned to the sofa and dug in her bag for her endless supply of sticky notes.
It took him an hour to get through the list, and all he had to show for it was a woman named Marlene who had a minor assault and battery charge. Rather than bothering Gabe Melrose for the police report, he did a search on her name and found an article in a local paper. Turned out, her assault and battery charge was related to hitting a pedestrian on the head with her sign, which resulted in the pedestrian getting a couple of stitches.
“That’s it,” he said with a sigh of disappointment. “I didn’t find anything else that would indicate the group is responsible.”
“Maybe they are but so far have managed to avoid being caught,” she said.
“Yeah.” It was the same argument he’d used earlier, but in truth, criminals didn’t just wake up one day and decide to set bombs to blow people up. Normally those prone to violence had other brushes with the law.
He scrubbed his hands over his face. It wasn’t that late, but the long day was catching up to him. Glancing at Eve, he noticed she was yawning too.
“We should get some sleep.” He closed the computer and stood. “Things will look better in the morning.”
“You think so?” She frowned, clearly doubting him. “Would Rhy or the others call you if they found something?”
“They would, but I’ll check in if that makes you feel better.” He thumbed his phone to find Zeke’s number. His teammate answered on the second ring. “Hey, how did the search go?”
“We didn’t find anything, so Joe called it a night,” Zeke said. “Mitch Callahan was there, too, but he said he couldn’t do much with what was left of the Jeep until the morning.”
“Yeah, I get it.” He masked his disappointment. “I just went through the list of names Gabe sent on the local animal rights group. I didn’t find anything to work with.”
“That reminds me, Mitch was asking about Eve’s former boyfriend,” Zeke said. “Some guy who works in the hospital, right?”
“That’s right. Andrew Thomas. Joe ran him through the system, but nothing popped from a criminal perspective.” He glanced at Eve, who was listening to his side of the conversation with interest. “Why did Mitch ask about him?”
“He mentioned stopping by the guy’s condo, but he wasn’t there. Sounds like Mitch wants to interview the guy.”
“I’d like to be there for that,” Grayson said.
“Talk to Rhy and Joe,” Zeke suggested. “I’m just filling you in on the conversation outside the precinct.”
“I will. Anything else?” Grayson asked.
“Just that there was a body found at the research institute,” Zeke said. “Mitch said the person was buried under some heavy lab equipment, so they didn’t find her right away.”
Her? He glanced cautiously at Eve, knowing this would hit her hard. “Do you have an ID?”
“Yeah, hang on a minute.” There was a brief pause as Zeke searched for the information. “Pauline Klug. My understanding is that she’s a lab tech of some sort.”
“Okay, thanks for letting me know. Get some sleep, we’ll talk more tomorrow.” Grayson lowered the phone.
“What is it?” Eve stepped closer, searching his gaze. “I can tell by the look on your face something is wrong.”
“You might want to sit down.” He couldn’t lie to her even though he’d rather wait until morning to give her this latest news.
“Who died?” She sat on the edge of the sofa.
He nodded slowly, sinking down beside her. “Do you know a lab tech by the name of Pauline Klug?”
She sucked in a harsh breath. “Yes. Pauline is a very skilled tech. Was she hurt in the blast?”
“She’s dead, Eve.” He reached for her hand. “I’m sorry, but they didn’t find her body right away because it was buried under some heavy equipment.”
She gripped his hand tightly and bowed her head. “Pauline didn’t deserve this.”
“No. And neither do you.” He scooted closer so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. Eve abruptly turned toward him, burying her face against his chest.
He held her as her slender shoulders shook with her sobs, her tears soaking his shirt. He gathered her closer still, wishing he could think of something that would offer her some measure of comfort.
But words of wisdom failed him. Selfishly, his main thought was to be grateful that Eve’s life was spared.
Thank You, Lord, he silently whispered, cradling her in his arms. Thank You!
Chapter Seven
Eve pulled herself together with an effort. Crying on Grayson’s shoulder wouldn’t change anything. And it certainly wouldn’t bring Pauline back. Her church pastor would say that Pauline was in a better place, and while she shared that belief, it was still difficult to know the poor woman had died because some maniac had targeted Eve.
Because of her research? That truly didn’t make any sense.
“Sorry,” she murmured, lifting her head from the warm comfort of his chest and swiping at her eyes. “I didn’t mean to fall apart like that.”
“You can fall apart on me any time.” He lifted his hand and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’m here for you, Eve.”
“I know.” She tried to smile, but her face felt stiff. “It’s so maddening to know an innocent woman was killed because someone is holding a grudge against me.”
“It could be that the bomber assumed the lab would be empty.”
She scowled. “That doesn’t make it right. You don’t blow up an office without considering innocent lives may be in danger.”
“You’re right.” He hugged her close and pressed a kiss to her temple. It was all she could do not to throw herself back into his arms. “I promise to keep pushing forward with the investigation to uncover who is behind this.”
“I know you will.” She injected confidence into her tone. Right now, she needed to believe Grayson and the rest of the team would find the person responsible and soon.
Before he could strike again.
He hugged her again, and she relaxed into his arms. What was the point of fighting her feelings? Maybe this was nothing more than a brief interlude for Grayson—despite how he claimed he wasn’t seeing anyone as she was sure he had plenty of women to choose from—but she needed this.
Needed him.
She’d been looking for comfort, yet now there was a definite attraction humming between them. More so on her part, she knew. She snaked her arms around his waist and hugged him hard, wishing for more.
“Eve.” His voice was a husky whisper near her ear. “You should probably try to get some sleep.”
Was that his way of telling her to let go? With a soundless sigh, she released her grip and lifted her head. “I’m sure you’re exhausted too.”
He nodded, his gaze clinging to hers. Was it her imagination, or was he going to kiss her?
She was convinced she moved first, leaning in to meet him halfway. His mouth captured hers, sending a sizzle of heat shooting through her.
In high school, she’d imagined kissing him, but even her best attempt didn’t match reality. He gathered her close, deepening their kiss.
She kissed him back, but suddenly he was breaking off their embrace and taking deep breaths. “I—uh, we can’t do this.”
Why not? She almost said the words out loud. Instead, she managed to nod. “Oh, um, okay.”
He let out a low groan and shook his head. “Kissing you was something I’d wanted to do back in high school, but I need to stay focused on the danger.” His expression sobered. “I can’t afford to lower my guard. I hope you understand.”
In truth, she had no idea what he was talking about. He’d wanted to kiss her back in high school? But then again, emotions and feelings were not her strong suit. “I do. It’s fine.” She leaned back and glanced around the suite as if seeing it for the first time. “Which room is mine?”
“Take your pick.” He didn’t move from his spot on the sofa as she stood and glanced at the two bedroom doors.
She took the one on her right for no good reason other than it was closer. “Good night, Grayson.”
“Good night.”
She felt his gaze boring into her back as she made her way across the room. Then she frowned when she remembered she’d left her small suitcase at the City Central Hotel. Oh well, it wasn’t like Grayson had a change of clothes or toiletries either.
No complaining, she lectured herself as she closed the bedroom door behind her. After everything they’d been through, she was grateful to be alive.
She lifted her fingers to lips that still tingled from Grayson’s kiss. No wonder he had cheerleaders falling all over him in high school. The man could kiss.
Or maybe her experiences with men were just that lame.
She’d walked in to find Andrew kissing a beautiful blond woman dressed in a short skirt and formfitting blouse and three-inch-high heels. Andrew had claimed Bambi—seriously, who named their kid Bambi?—was a close friend, but she knew better. For one thing, Andrew had kissed Bambi with more passion than he’d ever shown her, and besides, she recognized the woman as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Owens and Powers Pharmaceuticals. One of the up-and-coming drug companies to cash in on the sales of prescription medications.
She didn’t doubt that Andrew, who had the authority to prescribe diabetes medications, had gladly used some of O&P’s newest diabetes drugs, despite the fact that they were more costly than those that had been on the market for years. And that was due to the infamous Bambi.
Whatever. It didn’t matter. Andrew was old news. She and Grayson had bigger issues to worry about. She needed Grayson to find the person responsible for the bombings so that she could return to her research.
Earlier, she’d tried to recover the notes she’d lost in her office, but her mind had not been able to recreate a single one.
What if those notes were gone forever? No, she couldn’t allow herself to think the worst. Once she was back at her desk, working through her experimental data, the ideas she’d jotted down would return.
Pushing away from the door, she washed up, then climbed into bed. Maybe her subconscious would help to recreate some of those lost notes.
Instead, her mind replayed those wonderfully intense and sizzling moments of Grayson’s kiss.
At some point she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, light was streaming in through the window. She blinked, then nearly groaned when she saw the time was barely six o’clock in the morning.
She knew from past experience that falling back asleep wouldn’t happen, so she dragged herself up and splashed cold water on her face. Unfortunately, she couldn’t wash her hair without a hairbrush, so she raked her fingers through the dull brown strands trying to get rid of her bedhead.
It didn’t work.
Muttering under her breath, she made the bed, then followed the enticing scent of coffee. Of course, Grayson was up, dressed, and even with his five o’clock shadow looked as if he’d just stepped off the cover of GQ.
Men. They had it so easy, she thought crossly.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?” His cheery attitude wasn’t helping. Was he always like this in the morning?
“Fine.” She headed straight for the coffee. After taking a bracing sip, she turned to face him. “I don’t suppose you have any updates on the case?”
“Not yet. But I would like to interview your ex-boyfriend first thing.”
She frowned at him over the rim of her cup. “I thought you said he wasn’t home when they stopped in?”
“He wasn’t, but I’m sure he was working, right?” He grinned. “With your help, we can track him down in the hospital.”
“We can’t go traipsing through the hospital intruding on sick people,” she protested. “That’s not fair to them. Besides, all visitors have to check in at the front desk to let the security guards know who they intend to visit.”
“Figures they finally tightened up their security,” he grumbled. “I really want to talk to him, Eve. And I need your input on how he responds. You know him better than we do and can probably tell if he’s lying.”
“Not sure about that, but okay. I get your point.” She glanced at the clock. “Andrew starts at eight. We should be able to catch him in the doctor’s parking structure.”
“Or better yet, at his home prior to him leaving for work,” Grayson countered. “Come on. We need to talk to him.”
She stifled a sigh. It was too early for this. “Fine. But he probably leaves by seven thirty, so we’ll have to head out soon.”
“Perfect. We’ll grab a bite to eat afterward.” He looked pleased with having gotten his way.
“Can I finish my coffee first?” She was trying hard not to sound as cranky as she felt. One cup didn’t seem too much to ask.
“Bring it along.” He clearly was eager to go. “I don’t want to risk missing him.”
She stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. “Fine. He lives in a condo in Brookland that isn’t too far from Trinity Medical Center.”
“Great. It should only take fifteen to twenty minutes to get there.” He dug in his pocket for Zeke’s truck keys and moved toward the door.
“Wait. I want to take my bag.” She set her coffee aside, then gathered her notes together and stuffed them back in her oversized bag. This trip probably wouldn’t be dangerous, but after everything she’d experienced so far, she wasn’t leaving her notes behind.
