Читать книгу A Serial Affair - Natalie Dunbar - Страница 10

Marina Santos always managed to push Reed’s buttons whether she wanted to or not. Wound up from his first day on the task force, and more than a little out of sorts from seeing Marina and trying to adjust to working with her, Reed grabbed a quick hot dog on a bun covered with chili gravy and onions at his favorite Coney Island restaurant. He drove around the city until he reached one of his favorite spots, the Xsport Fitness Gym. He worked out and pumped iron until most of the restless feeling disappeared.

Instead of heading home this time, Reed turned his truck onto his mother’s street. It wasn’t his evening to take care of her, but he was close enough to stop and check on her. Her blood sugar levels had been fluctuating, her blood pressure was high, and she’d seemed overtired the last couple of days. The area’s streetlights were out again. Porch lights shone like an oasis on several neighborhood homes, but they did little to dispel the gathering darkness. The small one-and two-story brick structures were old and worn.

Most of the older inhabitants had already given up the warm evening air for the relative safety and security found inside their homes. Like his mother, Trudy, they were clinging to the homes they loved come hell or high water.

Here and there, youths sat on porches or stood in groups talking. The old neighborhood was rundown and becoming dangerous for those unable to hold their own against the local toughs and predators looking for victims.

Reed parked the truck in front of his mother’s house. The porch light was off but a warm glow around the edges of the blinds indicated that his mother was still up and about.

Peering around the quiet block, he got out of the truck. A warm evening breeze enveloped him. Something moved in the dark. Reed froze. His hand moved close to the Glock pistol he wore strapped at his waist. Innate caution and the desire not to hurt anyone unless it became absolutely necessary kept him from drawing the pistol.

Reed stood listening to the darkness. Nothing but the wind. He studied the surrounding trees and bushes, looking for movement. Nothing. Still his instincts told him that someone was hiding in the darkness, watching him. Instinct had saved his life more times than he cared to remember.

Fleetingly, he thought about being stalked. He wasn’t the kind of man who saw menace everywhere. In the truck earlier, he’d dismissed Marina’s suggestion that he could be in danger from the serial killer because the profile was still too general, but the possibility remained. He thought of Elliot Washington and Colton Edwards. Maybe someone had stalked and watched them in the dark before moving in close to viciously attack them.

Dismissing the thought, Reed stepped around the side of the truck. It was more likely that a druggie or neighborhood tough was lurking in the bushes, hoping to mug him. “Police officer. Who’s there?” he called into the dark.

Footsteps echoed on the sidewalk and changed to the muffled sound of someone running across the grass. The sound of breaking glass fractured the relative silence. His pulse raced. Reed drew the high-powered flashlight from his pocket and switched it on. Illuminating the trees, bushes and sidewalk, he satisfied himself that no one hid nearby. Walking up the driveway, he headed for the back of the house to check for broken glass.

Easing between his mother’s house and the one next door, he was glad for the absence of trees and bushes to hide an attacker. Behind the house, broken bottle glass littered the area near the trash. He guessed that someone had thrown the bottle to attract his attention.

Shining his light over the small garage and the few trees in his mother’s yard and the yards on either side of her, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Damn fool kids,” he muttered under his breath as he returned to the front. He would sweep up the glass tomorrow when it was daylight.

Warm light and cooler air hit him in the face as he used his keys to open the security door and enter the house. Inside, Trudy Crawford sat at her desktop computer under a floodlight in a corner of her living room.

Golden-brown eyes mirrored his. Seeing him, her mouth broke into a smile. “Hey, Be-be,” she said pleasantly as she pulled the reading glasses off her nose and laid them in front of the large magnifying screen on the desk. “What’s up, Lieutenant?”

She was so proud of him that she never tired of calling him that. “Just you, Mom,” he said with a smile of his own. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” she assured him. “I’ve got two wonderful sons who make sure I stay that way.”

“What was your sugar level?”

“Four hundred,” she answered, looking properly chastened, “but I didn’t eat anything that wasn’t on the diet today. I even turned down the muffins in knitting class. I must be coming down with something.”

“I hope not.” Moving closer, he kissed her cheek and enjoyed the warm hug. As she released him, he took one look at the computer screen and burst into laughter. “Computer dating for seniors, Mom?”

“Why not?” she asked with a straight face. “I’m not looking to get married, but I could sure use some company. I don’t remember the last time I had a date.”

“I take you out to dinner every week, Mom,” he reminded her.

She gave him the look and deepened her tone. “And you’re my son. You’re cute, but you don’t count, Be-be.”

He studied the questionnaire she’d been filling out. He didn’t like the idea of his mother dating someone off the Internet. He knew that all sorts of predators lurked there, hidden behind their computers. Still, Trudy wasn’t his child; she was his mother and would do as she pleased. “Don’t give them any personal information.”

“Of course not,” she agreed readily, “And you’ll probably want to personally meet and check out any of them before we go out, right?”

“For sure.” Reed pulled a chair up next to her. “Why don’t I help you with the form?”

“I’d love that.” She patted his hand. “You sure you don’t have a date or something better to do?”

“What could be better than you?”

Trudy grabbed his hand and shook it gently. “Don’t try to play me, son, ’cause I’ve been played by the best of them and am still here to talk about it. Your heart ain’t been into dating since you messed around with Marina and things fell apart. Let’s talk about your social calendar.”

“I’ve got a date with Sondra. We’re going to dinner and the movies on Friday,” he said as he started adding his mother’s name to the computer form.

Trudy snorted. “Sondra does not count, and you know it. You’re not interested in her.”

Still typing, Reed bit back a smile. He’d never said anything, but his mother was right. “I got a new assignment today at work,” he began, changing the subject.

An hour later he let himself out. He’d talked about the task force assignment but neglected to mention that Marina was the FBI agent he would be working with. In his mind he’d rationalized his omission because he didn’t want to get his mother’s hopes up. Both he and Marina had moved on. The uneasiness between them now was only due to both of them trying to figure out how to work with each other on a daily basis.

Outside the house he stepped into warm darkness once more. There was no one around. As he neared his Explorer Sportrac, he noticed that it was pitched at an odd angle. Whipping out his flashlight he examined the tires. The front tire on the driver’s side had been slashed.

From time to time youths in the neighborhood vandalized property, but Reed seldom had a problem. He hoped there was no connection with his new assignment.

Angry, Reed surveyed the area once more, certain that someone was behind the curtains of a nearby house, laughing. The perpetrator was long gone. Opening the trunk, he took out his tire iron and jack, and got to work. He was going to have to be more cautious at work and during his time off. Hopefully this wasn’t the start of something nasty.

Marina’s dinner with her dad at the Italian restaurant was a dramatic affair. In between salad and lasagna, Javier, darkly handsome with just a touch of silver at his temples, was usually a very charming and talkative man. Tonight he punctuated the silences with soulful sighs. This unconscious habit was something he did when he was worried and wanted to discuss his concerns with her. Through conversation she usually got it out of him.

For some unfathomable reason she suspected that this was one time she should ignore the signals. When she could stand it no more, she fixed him with an exasperated gaze. “What? What is it, Dad? What’s got you so stressed?”

He reached across the table to pat her hand. “Marina, you know you’re my heart. Maybe I didn’t always make the best example for you, but I always tried to do my best.”

Cocking her head to the side, she gave him a puzzled look. “Sometimes you drive me crazy, but you’re a wonderful dad. Have I ever complained?”

He shook his head. “No, but it’s not your nature. I should have remarried after your mother died, let you see what it’s like to have a mother around all the time instead of…all the girlfriends.”

This time Marina sighed loudly. Her father was as amorous as they came. Simply put, he liked women, and age, beauty and intelligence were no barriers. One concession she appreciated was that he’d never dated any of her friends, but that hadn’t dampened the interest of a determined few once they reached legal age. “Dad, where are you going with this?”

Javier gripped her hand. “Chica, is it my fault that you don’t get married?”

“No.” She eyed him as if he’d transformed into a three-legged chicken. “Uh—how’d you come up with that?”

“You and your cousins Janisa and Carmen, are all about the same age, but both of them are married. Carmen’s little Chico has the birthday party this week. Janisa is expecting. But you, you are alone. You don’t even have a boyfriend. Why not? I want you to be happy. And I can hardly wait for some grandchildren.”

“You’ll get grandchildren. One day,” she added quickly. “What’s the rush?”

“You’re twenty-eight now. You don’t have a long time to make babies.”

Marina rolled her eyes. “Uh…thanks, Dad. Do you think I’m almost old enough to retire?”

Ignoring her comment, he thrust another question at her. “What happened to Emilio?”

“I told you. It didn’t work out.”

“But you liked him. We liked him.” Javier’s tone deepened and he leaned forward, intent on pressing his point.

It had been a number of months since she’d sent Emilio on his way. Resenting her father’s pushing himself into her love life, Marina leaned forward, too. “Yes, I liked him, but I didn’t love him and he wanted to get married.”

“Then what about the other guy? Rich? Rod?”

“Reed,” Marina corrected. “And don’t tell me you liked him. I know better.”

“He was okay,” Javier corrected her gently. “But his Spanish wasn’t that good and he didn’t share the Puerto Rican heritage of our family.”

“Mama was African-American,” she stated flatly.

“Yes, mija, my daughter, I loved her very much. Why do you think no one has replaced her?”

“And her Spanish was good?” she asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear him say more.

“Her Spanish was excellent. She tutored me in English.”

“But she didn’t share the Puerto Rican heritage,” Marina noted, just to see what he’d say.

Javier’s eyes lit up as he gazed inwardly. “To tell you the truth, I was so in love with Lily Ann Taylor, she could have been an alien and I would have followed her to the end of the universe.”

“Oh, Dad.” Marina gave his hand a squeeze. Hearing her dad talk about her mother often made her misty-eyed.

Javier lifted her hand and kissed it. “That’s what I want for you, mija, a love so strong that nothing else matters.”

“Maybe one day,” she murmured, wishing she could get misty-eyed about a love of her own.

The waiter came and give them dessert menus. Marina studied hers, hoping her dad was through poking into her love life. She’d never experienced a love so strong that nothing else mattered, and couldn’t even imagine that notion. The truth was that she’d never experienced love at all. What she’d had with Emilio had been a comfortable combination of lust and like with enthusiastic family approval on both sides.

“Tell me about your job,” her father said, starting a welcome new thread of conversation. “What’s going on with that?”

Marina told him about being appointed to the task force. She left out the part about working with Reed because she wasn’t going to have that discussion with Javier and she wouldn’t be doing anything with Reed but finding a serial killer.

As Javier dropped her off at home she saw her neighbor heading inside with her fiancé. The two looked so wrapped up and in love with each other that Marina felt an acute pang of envy. She wasn’t naive enough to think that any successful man would do. A man who stimulated her mentally, physically and emotionally, like Reed Crawford, was what she needed, only better. She started thinking of how she could improve on Reed. After all, he wasn’t perfect. After several minutes she gave up, disgusted with herself.

As she settled down at her computer, Marina forced her thoughts back to the task force and Lissa Rawlins. Tomorrow she would find out if Lissa could have killed Elliot Washington and Colton Edwards.