Lines of departure front.., p.4
Cold Heart: Ellie Kline Series: Book Ten, page 4
A hundred times better than he’d appeared on my computer screen.
I’d once been perfect too. Before the damn diagnosis. Before that bitch left me to die. My heart hurt as badly as if she’d punched her fist inside my chest and ripped the whole thing out. After so much time wasted in pointless agony, I’d started plotting. I’d convinced myself that the pain would fade once I’d had my revenge.
In a way, I’d been right. On the day I finally held her warm heart in my hands and raised the dying muscle to my lips for my first bite of savory retribution, satisfaction had felt like a soothing balm.
Peace.
Alas, the euphoria hadn’t lasted. It never did. Each year, I tried again, but in the end, I was always alone once more.
People were the problem. Interacting with them was exhausting. So many feelings and ideas to deal with. Always needing and wanting. I hated them, yet cradled an unexplainable need, deep inside, to intimately interact with them too. Not love, exactly. My requirements skewed more primal than romantic.
Perhaps an increase in my allotment was exactly what I needed? This could be an experiment of sorts. The notion alone rejuvenated my passion. How often should I feed to have that emotion constantly? How many should I devour? One or two each month? Each week?
Lost in my giddiness for this new adventure, I almost let my man get away. He’d completed the walk to his car door and had the key fob near the lock. In a practiced move, I swooped behind him and hooked his beefy neck with my arm. “Hello, handsome.”
His arms shot backward, trying to grasp my nimble frame, but like any good hunter, I kept my prey away from my own jugular. I danced in time with his frantic movements, relying on my consistent strength and agility workouts to keep me on top.
The man’s elbow sliced through the air. His skull jerked from side to side. What was the old saying? The bigger they are, the harder they fall?
I held on, clamping down harder on his neck when he tried to wheeze out a scream. My chest dampened with sweat as he continued to thrash. The perfect kind of foreplay.
How I wished I had the concoction I ordered off the dark web with me. It was nothing too horrendous, just a fast-acting sedative mix to keep my subjects pliable. I’d never risk any harsh drugs that might ruin the flavor of the meat.
But since I hadn’t planned on this engagement, I subdued him with a sharp punch to the jaw.
As he slumped, I wrapped my arm around him and half pulled, half dragged him to the passenger seat. If anyone spotted us, they’d see a man helping his drunk friend to the car.
Once he was safely tucked inside, I picked up the car keys from where they’d fallen and bounced into the driver’s seat.
I fired up the engine and flipped down the sun visor for a quick spot check. The shower cap I usually wore before I took my Valentine was missing, of course, but the beanie on my head should do the job. No getting tripped up by a stray hair for me. Even the most thorough post-hunt cleaning was no match for an ounce of prevention.
Like Pavlov’s dog, my mouth was already watering as I shifted into gear and drove us away.
6
“Where do the spiders go when it rains?”
Bethany’s hand slipped out of Ellie’s, and she ran to a bush near the side of the walk. The morning dew was still shimmering across the lawn in front of her school, an illustrious private academy with an elaborate tuition paid for by the Kline family fortune.
Ellie joined her and admired the sparkling, abandoned web. “I don’t know, actually. Why don’t we look it up when I get home from work tonight?”
Bethany stopped. “Hold on.” She placed her backpack on the ground, unzipped one pocket, and pulled out a piece of construction paper and a pencil.
“What’ve you got there?” Ellie peeked at her watch. She’d be late for work if they continued to move at the snail’s pace Bethany was setting for them. “We don’t have much time.” The crowd in front of them swayed left and right like a flock of birds.
“I’m done.” Bethany shoved the paper and pencil back into the bag. “I started writing down all my questions, so I don’t forget. I have a bunch of things I need to know.”
Ellie grinned, secretly admiring the child’s initiative. Maybe she’d stop at a stationery shop on the way home and get Bethany a real notebook and pencil set. There was a boutique near King Street where the windows were always filled with colorful markers and stickers. She bet she could find something for Bethany there.
They continued toward the school’s green gable entrance. Tons of kids and adults milled around the sidewalk. Parents handed off lunch bags and made last-minute adjustments to uniforms. The energy buzz surrounding the entrance was almost overwhelming.
“How are you this morning?”
There’d been no nightmares. At least, none Ellie knew about. But the night before hadn’t been an easy one. Bethany’s panic attack had been exhausting for everyone involved. Even Ellie had woken up wishing she could stay in bed.
Bethany shrugged her slim shoulders. “I’m good. Why?”
“Just checking.” No part of the little girl’s cherub face showed distress, but Bethany was good at hiding her emotions. Was she being honest? Ellie couldn’t tell. Should she be concerned that she couldn’t tell? “Are you ready for school? You know, you don’t have to go today if you don’t want to. We could call you in sick, and you could go to Nana’s instead.”
Bethany shook her head vigorously at Ellie. “No, I want to go. Lyndy was going to bring her turtle in for show and tell, and Miss Robin said we could make things with clay during art today. Besides, I feel really safe here.” She grimaced. “Not that I don’t feel safe at Nana’s, because I do. I just feel safe here too.”
Ellie knelt and tugged on one of the girl’s braids. “That’s good enough for me. But if that ever changes, you need to tell me, okay?”
Bethany held up her pinkie but was distracted before she could link it with Ellie’s. “Oh, hi, Mr. Bowen!” She adjusted her backpack straps and waved at Ellie. “Gotta go. Don’t forget about the spiders.”
Ellie straightened. “Have a good day!”
She exchanged a wave with Mr. Bowen as he and another teacher herded the students into the school. One blink and Bethany disappeared, swallowed up by the crowd of kids trying to get inside before the first bell. The sense of loss that seized Ellie’s chest as she turned to walk away caught her off guard.
Leaving Bethany here when she might still be hurting felt awful, but what else could she do? Eight-year-olds had to go to school, and some mothers had to work.
The thought hit her like a sledgehammer. Mother. Ellie was a mother now. Well, a mother of sorts. Even though she still had no idea what all that entailed. Based on today, though, she guessed part of parenting involved letting go, even when you didn’t want to. And learning to deal with the sense of loss.
Her phone buzzed as she climbed into the SUV, interrupting her contemplation. The notification was a text from Jillian.
Fair warning, there’s a new face at work. I think we’re going to have our hands full with this one.
Someone new? Wait, had they hired someone to replace Fortis?
She scowled at the message. A new lead detective, great. Just what she wanted to deal with today.
With a groan, Ellie started the SUV. She’d better grab a coffee on the way to work. In fact, she’d better buy a couple.
* * *
When Ellie burst into the Violent Crimes Unit on the second floor of the Charleston precinct, her gaze went straight to the glass wall that separated Harold Fortis’s office from the bullpen. A woman sat behind Fortis’s desk, staring intently at an open laptop. The screen’s faint glimmer illuminated a stern set of features set into a pale face. Shiny, black hair was pulled into a tight bun at the tip of her head. Beneath a severe navy blazer, her shoulders and spine were rod-straight and unrelenting.
Ellie bristled. Everything about her was wrong. Her posture, her face. The way she kept tidying all the files on Fortis’s desk.
Except Fortis is gone. Dead because of Kingsley. It’s not his desk anymore.
That didn’t mean Ellie had to be happy about his replacement.
With a disdainful sniff, she edged closer to the glass-paneled wall to get a better sense of their new lead detective. Cardboard boxes were neatly stacked on the floor, waiting to be unpacked. A pile of official-looking, framed documents sat near the wall, ready to be hung. Whoever she was, she’d wasted no time in staking her claim to Fortis’s territory.
“There you are!” Jillian popped up behind Ellie and snatched her arm. Before Ellie knew what was happening, her friend was dragging her out of VCU and into the hallway.
“What are we doing?” Ellie fought to keep the coffees from spilling. Her work bag was still hanging over her arm because Jillian hadn’t given her time to drop it on her desk.
“Trust me, I’m saving you from embarrassing yourself.” They crammed into the rickety service elevator, and Jillian pressed the button for the basement. “Ooh, you come bearing gifts! You’re an angel, you know that?”
Gifts? What gifts?
Before Ellie could ask, Jillian snatched one of the coffees out of her hand. “Oh, wait! That’s for—”
Too late. Jillian was already taking a long, noisy sip. “Ahh, that hits the spot. Sorry, what were you saying?”
Ellie stifled a sigh. “Nothing. I just figured you could use a caffeine infusion this morning and it might be hot.” There was no sense in telling Jillian that the second coffee was intended for the new boss now. Not when her fuchsia lipstick was smeared all over the lid.
Jillian held the cup to her nose. “The aroma alone is calming my nerves. You truly are a goddess. Welcome back.”
The elevator shuddered before the doors inched open. They entered the hallway and walked to the evidence room, where Jillian entered the code on the panel by the door and pulled Ellie inside.
They walked in and Ellie was delighted to find Carl sitting on Jillian’s desk, jiggling his scrawny legs. Before her last stand with Kingsley, Carl had mentioned moving to Georgia to be with a woman and had asked Ellie for a letter of recommendation. But here he was.
Before she could ask him about his move, he clapped his hands together. “It’s about time!”
Jillian rolled her eyes. “Chill out, okay? Ellie just got here. I whisked her down as fast as I could.” She pulled the door shut behind them before pulling out a couple of chairs.
After sitting, Ellie studied the pair of them. “Let me guess. Carl put those stellar IT skills of his to use and did a little recon on our new lead detective.”
Jillian scooted her chair closer, until the three of them formed a tight, conspiratorial circle. “You know us too well. So? What’s the four-one-one, Carl?” She produced a hair tie from her pocket and pulled her blonde hair into a tight ponytail.
Carl glanced at the door and leaned forward. His voice was barely a whisper. “Rachel Stoddard, that’s her name. She’s a former Marine from Baltimore. I don’t have a ton of personal information, but I did find out they forced her into early retirement.” A shadow crossed his face as he watched Jillian take a sip from her cup. “Hey, don’t I get coffee too?”
Jillian ignored his question. She swung her right leg over her left and bounced a foot in the air. “Early retirement from the Marines? Why?”
“Classified info.” Carl sighed. “But that’s when she joined the academy. Can you imagine being older than everyone else? Anyway, she’s worked her way up the ranks in Baltimore. Now she’s all ours.”
“That’s it?” Jillian slumped in her chair. “Don’t you have anything else? Husband? Kids? Bodies in the attic?”
Carl held up his hands. “What d’ya expect? You only gave me twenty minutes to dig.”
“I wonder why she had to retire from the Marines early?” Ellie balanced her coffee on her knee. “What are the reasons that could happen?”
“Age, maybe? How old is she, anyway?” Jillian eyeballed Carl. “You at least found that out, right?”
He shrugged. “Forty-two. And a half. I’ve seen geezers before who look almost double her age still on active duty. Could’ve been an injury?”
“That makes sense.” Ellie frowned as she toyed with her lid. “Not sure what I think about a military background. Plus, leaving that career and blasting through the ranks to lead detective so quickly? Bet she’s one tough cookie.”
Carl scratched his cheek. “I saw a few sources mentioning words like tough and inflexible.”
Jillian groaned. “Just like I said. Hands. So full.”
They all jumped when the door squealed open, and the topic of their conversation strode into the room.
Crap.
Ellie only just stopped herself from cringing, but she needn’t have bothered. Carl was doing enough cringing for all three of them. She nudged his foot with her boot and gave him a pointed glare. Quit making us look guilty.
Rachel Stoddard stopped before them, her shoulders as perfectly squared as they were behind Fortis’s desk. Ellie should have guessed about the military background.
A tailored, navy-blue pantsuit adorned her tall frame. Not a single wrinkle in sight. Ellie’s eyes traveled downward, noting the pair of pristine white sneakers on the woman’s feet.
Detective Stoddard cleared her throat, snapping Ellie’s attention back to the woman’s face. A pair of stern brown eyes locked with Ellie’s green ones. “If you three are done gossiping, I’ve got something for you, Detective Kline.”
Ouch. Ellie felt herself shrinking as she nodded at her new boss, who turned on her heel and exited the room. The door thudded closed behind her.
They all remained seated, stunned silent until Carl’s hand shot to his mouth. “Anyone else suddenly feel like they’re back in high school?”
Jillian raised her hand. “How much of that do you think she heard?”
“Enough to get me off on the wrong foot.” Ellie rubbed the back of her neck and groaned. “Really wishing you wouldn’t have snatched that second coffee I bought as a peace offering now.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” Jillian used her sleeve to rub lipstick off the lid. “Here, maybe she won’t notice. I promise I don’t have any cooties.”
Even Carl appeared horrified by that idea. Despite the anxiety stirring in her gut, Ellie’s lips twitched. “I think she’s a pretty crap detective if she can’t put two and two together after seeing you holding the cup. And she doesn’t strike me as the type to be cool swapping spit with her underlings.”
“You’re right.” Jillian smiled and lifted her cup in a salute. “Oh well, that means more for me, I guess.”
Like a freak lightning strike, anger sizzled through Ellie. “I’m glad this is funny to you. It’s only my career on the line! I should never have let you drag me down here.” She jumped to her feet, pushing her chair back so hard that it tipped over and crashed to the floor.
Jillian and Carl stared at the fallen chair.
“O-kay.” Her friend’s forehead creased. “I’m not sure where all this is coming from, but I can tell you’re upset, and for that, I’m sorry.”
In the following silence, heat flooded Ellie’s cheeks. Her anger dissipated, leaving her shaken. Where had that come from? It wasn’t like her to snap at Jillian like that. “No, I’m sorry. I guess I’m more stressed about a new boss than I thought I’d be, especially on my first day back on the job.”
“No worries, we all have our moments.” Jillian set her cup down, knocking over one of the unicorn figurines she’d placed lovingly under her computer monitor. “Speaking of new bosses, you’d best not keep yours waiting.”
“Right. I’m off.” Ellie squeezed her friend’s shoulder as she headed for the door. “Wish me luck, guys.”
Carl saluted her. “Good luck! And feel free to put in a good word for me while you’re buttering her up.”
“Idiot!” Jillian smacked his arm before turning to Ellie. “Go get ‘em, tiger. Put that Southern charm of yours to good use.”
“Because my track record at charming my superiors is so good.” They all knew that her impulsive tendencies were more likely to land her in hot water than her charm was to get her off the hook. “But there’s a first time for everything, I guess.”
All she’d wanted for weeks was to get back to work, but she was being challenged at every turn. Would it ever get easier?
There was only one way to find out.
After tightening her ponytail and straightening her blazer collar, Ellie lifted her shoulders. “Let’s hope my first success starts now.”
7
The knots in Ellie’s stomach tightened when she spotted the new lead detective waiting for her by the elevator. Detective Stoddard pressed the button. The doors immediately creaked open, forcing Ellie to jog the remaining distance to dart inside before they rattled shut.
The ride up was more painfully slow than usual. Or maybe it just felt that way with neither of them uttering a word the entire trip. The only interruptions were the clunks and clanks of the elevator pulleys inching them up. When they finally heaved to an abrupt stop on the second floor, Stoddard exited first. Ellie followed behind like a naughty schoolchild as the new detective led them through the bullpen to Fortis’s office.
Once inside, Ellie remained standing, molding her spine to the office’s cinder block wall. Her throat thickened as she stared at the chair where she’d sat opposite from Lead Detective Harold Fortis so many times.
Their last formal meeting had taken place in Chief Johnson’s office, though, where Fortis had surprised the hell out of her by going to bat for her on the Kingsley case.
