Red Silk Scarf (31 page)

           
“Oh, right, without enough evidence
to convict him?
 
Even if I knew, do you
think I'd tell you, any of you?”

“Dammit, Casey,
what kind of evidence do you want, the killer on top of you tugging on the
scarf? You're under estimating this maniac.
 
He's way ahead of you.
 
He knows
your kind.
 
You on the other hand know
nothing about him.”

           
“What makes you so sure,” she
countered, with a cocky lift of her chin.

           
“You're being pigheaded.
 
You’ve always known I'm crazy in love with
you.
 
How do you think I'd feel if you're
the next victim?”
 
When Cassidy’s
statement finally registered, there was a loud click in his skull.
 
“You're making dangerous assumptions,
Cassidy.”
         

Putting space
between them, Dan’s hands, found his head screaming a Migraine, pant pockets,
neck, motions making verbal statements unnecessary.
  
With his back toward her, just like that, he
stopped, and took a deep breath.
 
“You're
going after proof, aren't you?
 
What if I
won't let you?”

Cassidy crept up
behind him, the warmth of her body enveloping, as well as the smell of Musk
blocking the pathways to logical thinking.
 
There was no masking the quaking her hands on his shoulders
detected.
 
“You won't stop me.
 
You know it and so do I.
  
Keeping your job depends upon solving this
case.”
  
With her arms circling his
waist, her body against his, the mounds of her breasts pressing into his back
making more painful his throbbing parts, Cassidy swung up on tiptoes and
whispered, “He, knows who I am, Dan, has all along.
 
I want the seclusion of a hotel room, a
computer, unlimited access to all information, and your spies pulled off my
ass.
 
First and foremost, an address
along with four one way tickets to New York,” undertones that were like a knife
entering his back.

Each request made
Dan's body shrivel.
 
Cassidy knew more
than he imagined, frightening him most was how much she knew. With protest
teetering on the tip of his tongue, he turned.
 
This time Cassidy didn't stop him when his hands found her waist and
roughly yanked her against him.
 

Before he
regrouped his thoughts enough to speak, she did, “I have to end this, Dan.
 
And you're going to help me.”
  
Certain he'd attempt a kiss, though
completely against her will, Cassidy was prepared to allow him the honor just
this time.
 
Surprisingly, his arms only
drew her tighter against him practically cutting off her ability to breathe
altogether.
 
His chin found the soft
pillow of her hair.
 
Estimating the
length of time he held her was impossible.
 
Knowing he was struggling with his physical need for her, the thought
built thick layers of ice for insulation.
 

Time was
dwindling when there was none left.
 
The
killer knew who she was, most likely from the very beginning.
 
Apparently everyone under estimated his
intelligence, including herself.
 

The need to break
free from Dan’s hold was overpowering.
 
Quickly, moving to the door she faced him.
 
There was a frightening seriousness to her
expression and the tone of her voice.
 
“I'll never forgive any of you for what happened to Ben, for not
protecting him, for disgracing him, for allowing the world to believe he was
the murderer.”
 
The door closing brought
a short-lived relief to Dan's features until it swung open again.
 
Cassidy's glance zeroed in on his hand
clutching the phone.
 
“Don't you dare
warn them?”
 
She slammed the door hard
this time.

           
Fact of
the matter was Dan didn't know whom to call first.
 
When his call finally went through, “Is
everybody there,” he asked.

           
“No,
just me.”

           
“Well,
dammit, find them and warn them not to go back to the apartment.
  
Cassidy is on her way.”

____________

Scurrying around
cleaning up any telltale signs Cassidy might recognize zapped his breath.
 
Stopping for a few seconds too long allowed
him to hear a key in the lock and the doorknob move.
 
Barely making it in time, he vaulted into the
bathroom, climbed into the shower stall, and yanked the curtain closed,
thankful that the setting sun was darkening his hiding place.
 
God knew he didn’t deserve to have his prayer
answered, but he continued to pray anyway.
 

Mercifully, anger
clouded Cassidy’s judgment.
 
Entering the
bathroom, she never thought to inspect the shower stall before buzzing about
like a hornet tossing everything from the medicine chest into an overnight case.
 
He heard her tossing suitcases onto the bed,
opening drawers, yanking clothing from the closet.
 
Dragging the suitcases into the living room,
she closed the door then suddenly it was quiet.

Well into evening
tide, the door of the suite opened.
 
Knowing the lights should be on, that the fifth member of their team
should be waiting Jonathan Brady was prepared for the unexpected, or so he
believed until flipping on the light.
 
If
any of the four who entered had taken another step, they would have stumbled
over the suitcases stacked by the door.
 
Unable to help himself, Jonathan chuckled, “Hello, baby girl.”
 

           
“Hi, sis,” echo’s that filled the
room three times, cheerful greetings that were far from sincere, their
expressions like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Sitting in an
overstuffed chair that swallowed her, as though nothing was wrong, leg crossed,
foot swinging wildly, Cassidy took her time inspecting her family.
 
They looked awful, as though for some time
they lacked sleep and decent nourishment.
 
Part of her wanted to rush into their arms, hug them until her limbs
ached before mashing their faces with mushy kisses but there were other parts
that were very angry and a good bit stronger.

Scrutiny
completed, arms crossed Cassidy stood, her feet crushing the carpet back and
forth, one second, the next stopping to glare at them, before returning to
forging a new path.
 
Dammit, even though
she knew what they were doing was out of love for her, she had to stay mad.
 
Indeed, “Love,” was the craziest emotion
she'd ever experienced.
           

Finally
stationary, Cassidy spoke.
 
“Look at you,
all of you.
 
You're a mess.”
 
Returning to trudging for a few seconds
longer, she stopped again.
 
“I feel like
beating the crap out of all of you.”
 
Pausing within a foot of one brother, she exclaimed, “Jesus,
Christopher, didn't you think I'd recognize you?
 
What nerve.
 
What audacity.” Christopher's hand reached to touch her, she dodged,
“Don't you dare, I'm not through.”
 

The Brady men
were very familiar with Cassidy's temper.
 
Having been on the receiving end many times, they learned it was best to
let her vent or she’d clobber them, all except Jonathan, of course.
 
He didn't help matters by allowing Cassidy to
get away with her physical abuse, at times, defending her as though she were
weak.
 
Christopher almost laughed, at the
thought, didn't dare.
      

           
“Why?
  
Don't you believe in me,” Cassidy pitifully
questioned.

           
“We do,” Jonathan replied, “but . .
.

“No buts about
it.
 
How would you feel if I treated you
the same way?
 
If I tagged along on every
case, you encountered.
 
Oh, not in plain
sight, mind you, deviously.”
 
Squinted
eyes and a harsh tone hissing between teeth accented the last word.

           
“Casey, dad . . .” Her younger
brother trying to speak should have reconsidered.

“Stop!
 
I know . . . I know . . .” Anger’s balloon
was beginning to deflate and her pacing had slowed considerably.
 
Still examining her brothers, she couldn’t
help but recall the seven dwarfs scolded by Snow White.
 
Thank God, she didn't have to cope with three
more, she whined.
                     

“I'm fine.
 
I'll be all right.
 
Although it kills me to admit it, I wasn't
concentrating at first.
 
I allowed my . .
.” heart, Cassidy almost said, changed her mind, “emotions to get in the
way.
 

I believe I know
who the murderer is.
 
I need time to
research my suspicions.
 
Meanwhile, I
don't want to be worrying about which one of you will be jumping to my rescue,
or, getting killed like . . . like . . . Ben.”
 
Feeling close to tears, she quickly turned away.
  
A few more steps permitted time to collect
her scurrying emotions.
 
Facing her
father, with all the sincerity she possessed, “Why, daddy?”

“Haven't I always
told you, baby girl, Brady's stick together?
 
You've never worked a serial killer case before.
 
They’re crazy, Casey, they’re liable to do
anything at any time.
 
I couldn't bear
being three thousand miles away, wondering, and worrying.”

Surely, he was
going to cry, Cassidy believed, she couldn't bear the possibility.
 
One second was all it took to burrow into his
outstretched bulging arms to be properly hugged and kissed, a welcome equally
returned.
 
One by one, each brother
grabbed her to do the same.
 
Todd knuckle
rubbed her hair.

Pulling free, she
explained, “I know how much all of you love me, but you have to understand,
this is something I have to do alone?
 
Ben was my friend.
 
I loved him.
 
He didn’t deserve to be killed in cold
blood.”

           
Reluctantly answering the knock on
the door, Christopher signed to receive a parcel meant for Cassidy.
 
Wearing a look of bewilderment, he handed
over the envelope.

           
Retrieving airline tickets, one by
one Cassidy distributed them to her family.
 
“Please, dad.
 
Just this time,
trust me.
 
Go home.”

The few hours they
shared before the flight departed wasn't long enough.
 
Somehow, they managed a few jokes, laughed,
ate, but only because Cassidy insisted.
  
Escorting them to the airport, feeling confident they were on their way
to safety, she returned to her apartment.
 
She had work to do, and this time no one or nothing was going to
interfere.

CHAPTER 25

           
Wrapped around her dam finger, he
was, Dan fumed.
 
Never-ending was
Cassidy’s ability to churn his brain to mush.
 
Reluctantly he met her terms, all the while grumbling about manipulative
women.
 
Storming through the precinct, he
entered his office heaving the door shut behind him.
 
No one dared to question the sounds of items
crashing to the floor.

           
Dan was the only person who knew of
Cassidy's mission.
 
For two days, it was
as though she'd disappeared from the face of the earth.
 
During that time, only once was he successful
in contacting her, his adamant attempt at seeking the results of her
investigation fruitless.
  
There was a
warning in her voice not to call again that spoke of her extreme irritation
convincing him she was close to identifying the killer, and for the first time
in his career, Dan was truly frightened.

           
That afternoon Dan arranged a
meeting of the team assigned to the case.
 
None of them was pleased with Dan’s decision to curtail Cassidy's
surveillance.
 
Shouts demanding answers
filled the room with chaos.
 
Stretched
taut nerves made tempers flare from not knowing when the murderer would strike
again or if the victim might be Cassidy.