Tunnel Vision (20 page)

“You can leave Maggie the hell alone.”

Brodie smiled. “What’s your interest?”

“Maggie has finally gotten over you, Brodie. We’re together now.”

“Congratulations. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”

“I knew you’d self-destruct eventually. I’m a very patient woman.”

“Well, I’ve heard that’s supposed to be a virtue. It sounds like you don’t trust her much though.”

“It’s you I don’t trust.”

“That’s a group that seems to be growing by leaps and bounds lately,” Brodie said as she walked toward the door.

Carrie grabbed her arm. “Stay away from her, Brodie,” she threatened in a low voice.

“Or what?” Brodie asked as she jerked her arm away and opened the door. “You’ll ruin my career?”

Brodie skirted her way around the edges of the crowd, stopping to speak to one or two women. When she turned to leave the club, she caught a glimpse of Carrie drawing Maggie closely against her on the dance floor and paid no attention to the man exiting the club in front of her.

ON AN IMPULSE, Brodie turned the Camaro east onto Congress Avenue toward the Omni. It had been a long time since she’d been to the Renaissance Tavern inside the hotel. She considered it a special place. The Renaissance appeared to have its usual contingent of late-evening diners as she pulled into a parking space.

The rich dark paneling in the dimly lit bar exuded a sense of calm as soon as she entered the room. Taking a seat at the bar, she decided what the hell, she hadn’t reached the limit on her credit card and might as well get what she wanted for a change. Ordering a double Chivas on the rocks, she tried to relax and looked around the room. Her thoughts were interrupted by a woman sliding onto the bar stool next to her.

“Excuse me,” the woman said, “would you mind sharing your ashtray with me?”

Brodie slid the heavy leaded-glass ashtray toward her.“Thank you,” the woman said with a smile as she pulled a silver cigarette case from her black beaded clutch purse and flipped it open.

Brodie picked up a matchbook from the bar and opened it. When the match ignited she held it toward the woman, who played with the cigarette between her lips for a moment while looking at her before lowering her cigarette into the flame.

“Thank you again,” she said softly.

“No problem,” Brodie said, picking up her drink. Glancing at the woman, she asked, “Would you like a drink?”

“I’d love one. Are you alone?” she asked.

“Seems like,” Brodie answered, signaling to the bartender.

The woman ordered a glass of white wine and tapped ashes from her cigarette into the ashtray. “Do you come here often?” she asked.

“No. You?” Brodie said as she turned slightly toward her.

“Not as often as I’d like,” the woman smiled as she exhaled a thin stream of smoke.

Brodie’s eyes took in the whole package seated next to her as she inhaled the light scent of an expensive perfume. The woman had shimmering auburn hair braided into an elegant French twist. Her hair was set off by a simple black cocktail dress with a neckline that plunged far enough down her chest to make Brodie wonder what kept her breasts from slipping out. The skin of her cleavage was evenly tanned and inviting.

“You look a little stressed,” the woman said nonchalantly. “Rough day?”

“You could say that,” Brodie said, as she

remembered the way she had held Maggie in her arms earlier.

“Are you from out of town?”

“Sort of,” Brodie answered as she tossed down the rest of her drink and motioned for a refill.

“Actually, I was supposed to have a date tonight, but got stood up,” the dark-haired woman said.

“Someone’s loss,” the detective smiled. “You’re very attractive.”

“Thank you. I’m Kara,” she said, extending a slender hand toward Brodie.

“Brodie,” she said as she took the woman’s warm hand in hers. The soft lighting around the bar shimmered in Kara’s green eyes.

They chatted until they finished their drinks. As Brodie got up the leave, Kara stopped her. “I don’t want to sound forward or anything, Brodie, but I have some Chivas in my suite if you’d like a nightcap,”

Kara offered.

“Sure. I don’t have any other plans.” She couldn’t help but smile at Kara. She hadn’t been fooled for an instant, but she wasn’t about to tell that to the woman.

HE WASN’T SURE what it was, but there had been something about the interaction between Maggie and the tall, older woman that made him decide to follow someone new. The body language between Maggie and this woman practically broadcast an interest in one another simmering just below the surface. Whatever it was, it had driven the older woman to seek out companionship. He shuddered to think what she would have to pay for an evening with the beauty who accompanied her on the elevator. It was late and not many people milled around the elevators waiting to return to their rooms. He watched as the elevator the two women entered rose and finally stopped on the sixth floor. He would remember that. The auburnhaired woman reminded him a little of Maggie. Maybe that was what the woman from the bar wanted. Someone she could substitute for what she couldn’t have that night.
Ah, Maggie, such a fucking
tease. You were going to be mine tonight, but I can wait a
while longer. I know where you live.

AS THEY STEPPED from the elevator on the sixth floor, Kara opened her purse and found the key card to her room, handing it to Brodie with a smile. She unlocked the door and followed Kara inside as the woman switched on the overhead light. She moved across the room toward a small wet-bar, taking two glasses from a cabinet over the bar, and pouring Chivas into them. When she turned around, Brodie was standing at the sliding glass doors leading onto a small balcony. Walking up next to her, Kara handed her a glass.

“Nice view.” Brodie said.

“The city looks different at night and from this height,” Kara commented. “Almost clean-looking, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she answered, taking a deep drink from her glass.

She looked at Kara as she sipped her drink. Her unexpected meeting with Maggie earlier had filled her with a need she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. Setting her glass down, she stepped closer to Kara and held her eyes with her own as she slipped her hand into the open neckline of her dress, pleased to discover nothing underneath. She heard the quick intake of breath as she slowly fondled Kara’s breast, smiling as she felt the nipple harden beneath her touch. Running her hand under the skirt of Kara’s dress, she pulled her closer. She could taste the Chivas that lingered on the inviting mouth as she kissed her hungrily, hoping to erase her memory of Maggie’s lips on hers. It was an expensive drink and Kara was an expensive call girl. Both were outside her budget.

Kara took her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom. As she backed into the room, she pulled a few pins from her hair and long auburn tresses cascaded over her shoulders. Brodie slid the dress off Kara’s shoulders and let it fall to the floor while Kara slowly began unbuttoning her shirt as Brodie kissed her and explored her slender body. Neither was in a hurry. She needed to drive the feel of Maggie’s body out of her mind, if only for a few hours. It had been an emotionally difficult week and she owed her body everything it was about to give and receive. BRODIE WAS AWAKENED by lips on hers and

for a split second didn’t remember where she was. Instinctively, she grabbed whoever it was and deepened the kiss. The early morning fog lifted from her brain as Kara’s body moved on top of hers.

“Good morning,” Kara said, tossing hair back from her face.

She reached up, stroked Kara’s velvet breasts and smiled, “Morning.”

“Are you feeling better?” Kara asked.

“Absolutely.”

Kara had a light laugh. She didn’t know how much Kara usually got for her services, but she was worth every damn dime. The truth was she did feel better, despite a general lack of sleep. Kara had awakened her every two hours, resuming their lovemaking, and had seemed pleased with Brodie’s response. For the first time she could remember in a long time, she had made love to another woman without seeing the face of someone else. Kara was alive and warm and tender and reminded her she was alive as well. She almost felt guilty that the call girl had worked so hard for nothing more than her gratitude.

“I ordered breakfast from room service,” Kara said softly. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Brodie said, grabbing her and pulling her down toward her. She was losing herself in the woman’s body again when she heard knocking on the door of the room.

“Why don’t you take a quick shower while I get breakfast?” Kara suggested.

She watched Kara’s naked body slide out of bed and into a short, silk kimono-style robe. As she stood, Brodie felt light-headed and didn’t know whether it was from hunger or exhaustion.

When she came out of the shower a few minutes later she felt much better. The last of the cobwebs had evaporated in the steam from the shower. She quickly slipped back into her clothes before leaving the bedroom. A rolling cart from room service was parked near the coffee table. She looked around and found Kara standing at the sliding glass window, looking down at the early morning traffic that had begun to clog Congress Avenue. She walked up behind her and slid her arms around Kara’s waist, kissing the nape of her neck.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a cop?” Kara asked bluntly, but without anger.

“How’d you find out?” Brodie asked, releasing her. “I took some money for a tip from your wallet and the gold from your badge sort of jumped out at me. Are you going to arrest me?”

“For what? You didn’t bring up the subject of money last night and it’d be a pretty safe bet you’re not going to now. Last time I checked it wasn’t against the law for two consenting adults to make love.”

“As long as it’s free,” Kara said.

“When it’s free and consensual, it’s called making love, Kara. When you pay for it, it’s just fucking.”

“When did you know?” Kara asked with a smile.

“As soon as you said you had been stood up. I figured you might be looking for a way to recoup your loss.”

“Guess that didn’t quite work out the way I thought it would,” Kara laughed.

“I don’t usually have other women try to pick me up in a straight bar, even an expensive one.”

“Actually, some of my best lovers have been women,” Kara smiled.

“How will you explain it to your employer?”

Running her hand down Brodie’s chest, she said,

“I’m my own employer. But even a working girl needs a little vacation. Let’s eat before our breakfast gets cold.”

HE WAITED IN his car outside the hotel all night. He mentally shifted between anger and fantasy. He would have enjoyed watching the women getting it on, as perverted as that might have seemed. Then he could have shown them both what they had been missing all along. He smiled and rubbed his face. He was exhausted. At least the women upstairs had been horizontal and not stuck sitting halfway up in a cramped car. He needed a cup of coffee and something to eat, followed immediately by a hot shower and eight hours sleep.

A little after ten-thirty in the morning, he watched as the woman from the bar pushed open the glass front doors of the hotel and stepped out, squinting into the sun with a self-satisfied look on her face. THE LATE MORNING sun was shining brightly as Brodie left the Omni. She was surprised that she actually felt relaxed and refreshed. As she started her car and prepared to return to Cedar Springs, she looked up and smiled. She knew she would remember the night Kara had given her exactly what she had needed, but she also knew she would never see the woman again. Kara had accepted her as she was and hadn’t asked any questions. Regret over leaving her mixed oddly with a twinge of guilt. She felt strangely unfaithful to Maggie, a woman with whom she no longer had any kind of relationship, and to Camille, a woman with whom she had until a few days earlier.

Chapter Seven

WHEN BRODIE ENTERED the squad room

Monday morning, she didn’t bother to sit down at her desk. Maggie and Nicholls were engaged in early morning chit-chat in an attempt to get their juices going when Brodie walked in.

“Grab your stuff, kiddies, and let’s go.”

“Where to?” Nicholls asked.

“The university. Did we get anything from

Brauner’s doctor yet?”

“Came in early this morning,” Maggie said. “The position of the screws looks like a match.”

“First, we’ll tell Mrs. Brauner we’ve identified her husband’s body. Then we’ll divide up the list of graduate students and start talking to them. I want to speak to this Obregon guy myself.”

“Are we keeping the Garcia and Brauner cases separate or lumping them together?” Nicholls asked.

“I think Weston’s right and one case led to the other, so I’m sure we’re looking for the same killer for both crimes. Two cases of real bad luck.”

“What do you mean?” Maggie asked.

“It was bad luck that Garcia was a janitor in the Biology Building and bad luck that Brauner left something he needed in his office the same night.”

“Anything else?” Nicholls asked.

“Yeah. I want an inquiry sent out to see if there have been any other crimes similar to this at any other universities. This guy was too cool about what he did to be a first timer. Keep a list, Weston, of the things we need to do.”

“I think we should check out the other cars in long term parking at the airport,” she said.

“Good idea,” Brodie said. “Any other thoughts you’d like to share with us?”

“Not right now, but I’ll let you know if I think of something, Lieutenant.”

“When we get to the university drop me off at the Chemistry Building. Then you and Nicholls swing by the registrar’s office and get class schedules and addresses on the graduate students. We can jerk their asses out of class if we have to. Be sure to watch their reactions to being questioned. See if anyone is too cool.”

“I’d like to go with you to see Mrs. Brauner,”

Maggie said. “I spoke to her originally and I like her.”

“That’s okay with me, RB,” Nicholls said. “I can get the info from the registrar pretty quick. I’m sure they’re computerized.”