Deadly Messengers (29 page)

Trip knocked on the door and, without turning to his partner, said, “You know you don’t have to be here, O’Grady. I can handle this. It’s not a formal interview.”

“Oh yeah, wouldn’t that be cozy. I think one of us here needs to have his mind on the job.”

He felt Trip look over at him. O’Grady continued to stare ahead.

“I could take offense, if I didn’t already know the asshole side of you.”

“Oh, yeah,
I’m
an asshole, when I’m covering your butt with this writer. You shouldn’t be meeting with her. She’s playing you. If you accidentally say something, and she uses it—” With his finger, he made the motion of a knife slicing across his neck. “—then it’s desk duty for you. So, think of me as ‘Lance the babysitter.’”

Babysitting was the right description. This whole detour would probably go nowhere, even with the file author’s name, but O’Grady liked his T’s crossed and his I’s dotted where he could see them.

The door opened just as O’Grady was about to remind Trip anything he said could and would be held against him by this journalist. Kendall Jennings stood at the threshold, her hair slightly wet and still tangled from a recent shower.

In the bright sunlight streaming through a window from the living area behind, natural light-brown streaks glinted like bands of gold through her damp hair. Either she was feigning disinterest at their visit or she really didn’t care how she looked. O’Grady acknowledged to himself that, honestly,
she
was an attractive woman.

She smiled at Trip first, and then simply nodded toward him, before standing back and inviting them inside. She kept her body half-turned from O’Grady and avoided meeting his eyes.

“Sorry I kept you waiting. I was just in the shower.”

Kendall settled herself into a red, plastic designer chair, which looked extremely uncomfortable. She motioned them to sit opposite on a sofa.

“No problem.” Trip unbuttoned his jacket. “We were early, anyway.”

“Do you want something to drink?” She made to get up, glancing at O’Grady when she asked, but immediately averting her gaze when their eyes met.

Trip gestured for her to stay seated. “No, we’re good.”

O’Grady became acutely aware how uncomfortable he felt sitting in this proximity to her. The skin on his arms tingled. A strange, curling feeling vibrated in his stomach. He really needed to cut this as short as possible.

Of course, Trip began with small talk. They’d be here forever if he let that continue.

O’Grady cleared his throat, trying to send Trip a signal:
stick to the job.

Kendall Jennings suddenly looked over at him. Her blue eyes fixed upon him through dark eyelashes. He locked eyes with her, refusing to allow her the gratification of feeling she had some control over the meeting. He was trained to stare down criminals in interviews. Making people squirm was his forte. To his surprise, the space between them felt awkward as though the air had thickened. It was a peculiar feeling, which he didn’t like.

She smiled.

Wow, she had the audacity to smile at him
.

“How are you, Detective O’Grady?”

He intensified his stare.
She
would need to look away first. Let her feel uncomfortable. Let him be the intruder into her life.

He kept his tone business-like. Cold. “Fine.”

She conceded the challenge, and turned her gaze to Trip as though O’Grady was no longer in the room. He’d seen something in her eyes, felt something in her eyes. He couldn’t understand the feeling. What he should have felt from her was frustration, annoyance, even anger. There was something else, though.

Embarrassment?

No, but an emotion. A current of something intangible. He’d felt something, too, something sparking and strange. That wasn’t meant to happen. He was meant to be in control.

“So what do you think of the file. Amazing, right?” She was sitting on the edge of the red chair and beaming at Trip.
Over-beaming
, if there was such a thing.

Trip leaned forward to answer, but before he could, O’Grady gathered himself enough to interrupt. He needed to put a stop to the fawning and niceties. He tried to sound as official and brusque as possible.

“Miss Jennings, we don’t tend to deal in
amazing
stuff. We deal in evidence. To be frank, whether a certain medication makes a person suicidal or homicidal falls outside the range of police jurisdiction.”

Kendall Jennings lips tightened. Her eyes immediately darkened, the blue turning an unusual near-violet color. As she leaned back in her chair, pulling her arms about herself protectively, she looked annoyed.

Just in case she was left with any doubt, he added. “I’m sure you understand this is police business into which you’ve interjected yourself. We’re meeting with you today simply as a courtesy.”

He was about to add:
and this isn’t a game; you’ve one minute to give us the file author’s name
, but Trip spoke.

“Please, ignore my partner. We appreciate you bringing this information to us.” O’Grady felt Trip’s eyes on him. “I recognize you didn’t have to share this.”

O’Grady sighed. Now they were playing a doubles match.

Trip tipped his head toward O’Grady. “What my partner is
trying
to say is while it
is
compelling information, it’s not of much use in this case. Maybe it’s something for a civil pharmaceutical case.”

O’Grady studied her face. Maybe this wasn’t a bad strategy. Good cop, bad cop might get this thing done quickly. Kendall Jennings was avoiding looking at him, her focus now entirely on Trip.

Through the open window, a slight breeze caught wisps of her hair; the tiny strands floating about her face glowed in the light. She gently pushed the errant pieces back behind her ear.

For one moment—a moment that would keep him sleepless for the next few nights—he imagined the feel of pushing back those strands of hair while cupping her chin in his other hand. The thought caught him unaware. Immediately a pulse of anger shot through him. Stress had to be the cause, stress, a lack of sleep, too many bodies, and too much death. He was on an emotional rollercoaster.

He needed to get this done, get out, and leave her to Trip. No matter how careful he and Trip were with regards to this file, they might still be damned in some distribution-hungry newspaper. He saw the headlines in his mind:
Police ignore strong leads.
Police follow crazy theory
. The minute they’d stepped foot in this apartment, they
were
on shaky, dangerous ground.

When he spoke, O’Grady couldn’t hold back his frustration.

“No, actually, what
his
partner is trying to say is we can still arrest you for obstruction. We want the name of the author of the files. Now.”

Kendall Jennings turned from smiling at Trip and fixed him with a surprisingly calm stare. She almost looked amused. O’Grady had imagined she would bite at his words. At least, that’s what he’d hoped. He wanted to get this moving, wanted her to understand this wasn’t a game. Most of all, he just wanted to get away from her and this odd, unsettling attraction he felt.

“Seriously, Detective O’Grady? Really? You think I’m an idiot? I’m trying to
help
not obstruct you. What would I actually have to gain?”

Trip chimed in: “We understand that. Don’t we, O’Grady?”

O’Grady ignored Trip and continued to stare at Kendall. “I think it’s what
Miss Jennings
understands that’s important here.”

Kendall’s chest rose and relaxed as she took several deep breaths. Fingers, which had been resting, intertwined in her lap, began to tap. A small crease appeared in her brow.

Maybe now she was getting the picture.

He continued: “Here’s the reason we want the name. You could be in danger. This person may be involved.”

When she didn’t respond, O’Grady added, “Maybe you’re involved.”

Trip motioned to O’Grady. “O’Grady, that’s not really the best—”

Before he’d finished, Kendall turned her body to face O’Grady full on.

“Let’s get this straight, here and now.
I am not the enemy!
You’ve got some kind of problem with me. I get that. I don’t think it’s me you dislike so much; I think it’s something else, something to do with you. Give me a break. I’m not giving you my source’s name, unless I know, for sure, you won’t harass him. Like you’re harassing me! He’s suffered enough. He’s done a better job of finding out all this information than the police, the FBI, the CIA, and the FDA combined.”

He hadn’t actually thought she was involved. He just wanted to prod her a little. See what gave. She was naively innocent, he’d realized. Nothing quite like a beautiful, angry woman, though.

“You know, Miss Jennings, if you aren’t involved, protecting your
source
isn’t helping your cause.”

“Hang on. Hang on.” Trip motioned with his hands to take it down a notch. “Kendall, we appreciate your help. Really, we do.”

Kendall turned away from O’Grady giving him more than a cold shoulder.
Frozen shoulder, perhaps?

“It certainly doesn’t show. I’ve done nothing to warrant being treated like a criminal. I’m a writer. That’s it.”

“No. No, I understand.”

Trip glanced toward O’Grady. Suddenly, O’Grady felt outnumbered.

His partner rose, motioning to O’Grady to meet him outside the door. “I think my partner and I need to have a quick chat. Would you just excuse us for a second?”

Kendall stopped him by raising her hand.

“Don’t worry. If you need to talk, I’ll leave. I need to check my emails, anyway. I’m waiting on something.”

Trip remained half-standing, while O’Grady made no motion to move, to show her not even the courtesy of standing as she left the room. Instead, he glared at the corner of the ceiling across from him.

Only after they were alone did Trip reseat himself and address O’Grady. “Man, what are you doing? She’s totally fine. Why play full-on angry cop?”

“Maybe you should tell me what
you’re
doing. That report is flimsy at best. You’re pussyfooting around like she’s the mayor’s niece. Maybe you and I are here for different reasons.”

Trip opened his mouth to reply, then paused. He looked like a schoolboy who was discovered passing a secret note in class. He really liked this woman. It was in his eyes, a pleading desperation. A thought ran through O’Grady’s mind, which he instantly hated:
I don’t blame him.

O’Grady’s demeanor softened. “Why don’t you just ask her out, man?”

Trip stared at him, his brows knitting together, then relaxing, then knitting together again. The tension between the two of them dissipated.

Trip shook his head and sighed. “Yeah, you think I haven’t? Buddy, feel free to threaten to arrest a girl I really like. That’s a huge help. Not to mention, she is
not
giving us the name if you don’t chill.”

Maybe Trip was right. Maybe her sins were imagined and related to his past and not the present circumstance. Trip was looking at him, expectantly.

“Okay. Okay. It’s cool. But right now, can we just get the name, get out of here, tick the mad drug theory box as explored, and close these cases?
Please.
Whatever you want to do with your high school crush after that, you can do. I don’t need to sit across from you and endure your big, soppy eyes.”

“Roger. Now we’re both on the same page.”

Now Trip looked as though he’d gotten an
A
for his note instead of detention.

“When it comes to the author of those files, I’m going to agree to keep her in the loop when we interview them. Keep her happy. Then, maybe, who knows.”

“It’s your funeral when it comes to women. Stick to staying on track, and I’m good.”

“Look, I still think there’s something to that file. Aren’t
you
curious as to why we haven’t heard more about this drug link to mass killings?”

“I’m curious, but I’m tired more, and I’m not trying to get into anyone’s pants, so I’m not sharing your enthusiasm. Like I said, I’m with you. Can that just be enough?” O’Grady pointed a finger at Trip. “You owe me one, though.
Love-struck
looks ugly on you.”

Kendall reentered the room. She also seemed to have wrangled her emotions, carrying an air of confidence similar to the demeanor she had when O’Grady intercepted her at the precinct.

“Right, have you decided if you’re going to arrest me? Probably a story in that I can sell.”

O’Grady concealed a smile.

Trip chuckled. “No, you’re safe. Too much paperwork. However, regarding your source, we do need to speak with him.”

“I’ve decided I’ll give you their details, but there’s a proviso. This is my story, my source, and I can assure you this person has nothing to do with these crimes. And I don’t want him harassed. So like I told you Trip, I’m coming with you.”

O’Grady jumped in. “We can’t agree to that. We don’t do ride-alongs. This isn’t
Cops.”

“He’s right,” agreed Trip, “but—”

He stopped mid-sentence, seeming to consider her proposal. A flicker of a smile caught his lips.

“What we have no control over though is an acquaintance of this person being there when we arrive.”

Kendall tipped her head to the side, clearly pondering Trip’s proposition.

“Hmm. That sounds … workable. Okay, I agree to those terms.”

O’Grady shook his head. This was definitely not a good idea. No matter his protests, this was obviously going to happen. He, though, didn’t want any part of this excursion. Any fallout was on Trip. Trip, who now looked happier than O’Grady had seen him in weeks.

“When can we head over there?” asked Trip

Kendall smiled the smile of a woman who’d gotten her way. Trip still smiled like a fool. All O’Grady could think was:
This could become a huge mistake that’ll wipe those smiles from both their faces.

Even as he thought it, he sincerely hoped he was wrong. It would be he who’d cleanup the pieces, and at this point, he didn’t have the energy.