Читать книгу Her Texas Ranger Hero - Rebecca Winters - Страница 10
ОглавлениеAs soon as Luckey got home, he went straight to the kitchen for a cold cola and ended up in his den. The first thing he did was phone Stan at headquarters. Stan was one of the best forensics experts in the country.
“Luckey? What do you need?”
“What can you tell me about a cream called DMSO?”
“That old underground home remedy?”
“Is that what it is? Traces of it were found on the sleeves of the dress of a suspected murder victim, a sixteen-or seventeen-year-old Chinese girl.”
“Hmm. Dimethyl sulfoxide is a by-product of the wood industry, used as a solvent. It acts like a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. In the 1970s, rumors spread that athletes were using it to cut down on joint pain. The controversy stemmed from the fact that some people believed it to be poisonous, but in reality, DMSO isn’t dangerous unless it’s injected in gross amounts. Most athletes have since moved on to other treatments.”
Luckey made notes. “So the person who dumped the deceased’s body in the street had to have been using it at the time. I’m faxing you a report from Dr. Wolff. I need your team to do a global search on DMSO and find a cream that matches the properties on the evidence he identified. Then I can track down where it’s sold.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks.”
Once he’d sent the fax, Luckey sat back in his comfortable leather chair and pulled out the six pages of secret writing. To think Ally Duncan had taken one look at these and made sense of them...
What were the odds of him quickly finding anyone else who had her incredible knowledge? All the years he’d been a Ranger, she’d been growing up in an entirely different culture. What an amazing woman.
A gorgeous woman with raven-black hair tumbling to her shoulders and eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets.
When she’d opened her office door, he’d been knocked sideways in more ways than one. The contact had awakened something inside him. She was well-endowed and probably about five foot seven. The scent of her skin and hair, the breathless way she’d responded to him had made Luckey conscious of her as a living, breathing woman.
It had been eight years since his divorce. Since then he’d had relationships with other women, but none had lasted long. He’d always made it clear to the woman he was dating at the time that he wasn’t interested in a permanent commitment. Too much damage had been done for him to feel the emotions necessary for a relationship to flourish. But all that changed today. Today he’d been caught totally off guard by a rush of desire so foreign to him he was stunned.
He knew his family worried that he might stay single for good. Luckey hadn’t given it a lot of thought until now. Damn if meeting Ms. Duncan hadn’t pierced through the armor he’d built up around him to the part that had either been asleep or in a deep freeze. What if he still felt this way tomorrow after meeting with her?
Luckey didn’t want to experience these feelings again. He couldn’t take it. He was just going to meet her for breakfast and record the translation, then he’d get on with the investigation, and that would be the end of it.
Needing to get his mind off Ally ASAP, he phoned Randy. His brother was still on patrol, however, so Luckey left a message that he’d get in touch tomorrow. He thought about calling one of his best friends, but all three were Rangers and he knew they’d be busy working other cases. Restless, he fixed himself a TV dinner, then walked out to the barn and saddled his horse, Persey, who needed the exercise. A good ride would help Luckey put his feelings in perspective.
When it was dark, he came back in and turned on the TV. But he was unable to concentrate on anything. In the end, he returned to the den and pored over the information he’d gathered at the coroner’s office. Luckey worked until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and then he went to bed.
* * *
TUESDAY MORNING HE woke up early to shower and shave. After dressing in a long-sleeved Western shirt and trousers, he went out to feed his horse and noticed he needed to buy more food for him. Once back in the house he remembered that his cleaning lady, Ruth, would be coming by later. She came twice a month and did odd jobs for him. Luckey left her a note to drop by the feed store as well as the grocery store for supplies, and then he took off for the Magnolia Café.
He always felt a certain excitement when he began a new case, but driving to meet with Ally, he recognized an eagerness that had nothing to do with his work.
His pulse picked up speed when he spotted her Audi in the parking lot among at least a dozen cars with license plates from other states. The place got a ton of tourists because the food was reputed to be so good.
He walked in and was greeted by a hostess. “Your party is already at your table,” she told him. “She’s over in the south corner.”
Luckey was surprised. “How did you know?”
The woman smiled. “You’re the man with the badge. Can’t miss you.”
“Thanks,” he said.
Ally Duncan stood out from every other female in the room. This morning she’d tied her glossy black hair back at her nape with a simple leather cord. Those purple-blue eyes fringed by thick black lashes met his as he approached the table. Everything about her was classy. Her nails were manicured in a soft pink shade that matched her lipstick.
“Hi.” She smiled at him.
He sat in the chair opposite her and took in the creamy blouse she wore, covered by a sleeveless crochet vest in the same color shot with gold. “Hi, yourself. You were smart to get here early. This place is hopping.” He would have suggested a quieter spot, such as a park, for their meeting, but felt a public space would make her more comfortable.
“I remember the last time I came here, with friends. We had to wait an hour to get a table. Since I knew you were in a hurry to get going on this case, I thought I’d make sure we beat the rush.”
“Well, I thank you for your consideration.”
The waitress came to the table and poured them coffee. Ally murmured, “Go ahead and give her our orders, since you already know what I want.”
He smiled. “Chocolate-chip pancakes?”
She smiled back. “Of course.”
“Would you like some juice?”
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll take apple.”
“Anything else?”
Ally shook her head.
“Two orders of chocolate-chip pancakes, one apple juice and one glass of OJ, please,” he told their waitress.
Once she had left, Luckey was free to focus on the beautiful woman sitting across from him. She wasn’t wearing a ring. How could she still be single? If she was, it had to be by choice. Had she been wounded in the past, like he had? Was she reluctant to open up her heart for fear of being burned again? The question hung in the air. Of course, she could be in a relationship right now. Either way, he would get an answer soon, so help him.
She sipped her coffee. “If you’ll show me those papers, I’ll look over the writing and translate it for you once we’ve eaten.”
With those words he was reminded of the reason they were there. What she said made perfect sense, but his mind had been on her instead of the case. “Why don’t we eat first, then I’ll let you read from the file while I record you. It will probably be more horrifying on a second reading.”
Quiet reigned as they both drank their coffee. When she lifted her head, he saw the pained expression that had snuffed the light from her eyes.
He put down his mug. “Will it be too horrifying, second time through?”
“Horrifying and heartbreaking, Ranger Davis.”
“Call me Luckey. With an e.”
Ally cocked her head. “I thought your name was James.”
She remembered. That was something. “Luckey is my nickname.”
“Because you’re such a successful Ranger?”
He shook his head. “That’s a nice lie, but no, I inherited it when my parents named me for our ancestor. Luckey Davis was one of the original forty Rangers serving under Jack Hayes at the Battle of Bandera Pass. That name determined my destiny by osmosis.”
“Osmosis instead of genetics? I don’t think so. You’re the real deal.” She chuckled as the waitress came to the table with their food. “Shall we eat?”
They both tucked into their chocolate-chip pancakes. He darted her a glance. “I bet you didn’t eat these in China.”
“You’re right. We had several native cooks who taught me how to prepare local meals from scratch.”
“So if there’s a revolution—”
“Yikes!” she interjected, causing him to chuckle.
“—and you’re not needed as a professor,” he continued, “you could open a Chinese restaurant.”
“A mediocre one to be sure.”
“Ally Duncan? I can say in all honesty that there’s nothing mediocre about you.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, he detected a slight flush on her high cheekbones. But she drawled, “Well, Luckey Davis, it seems we’re quite an amazing pair.”
He broke into laughter, but doubted anyone noticed, because the room was filled with noise. Though they’d met on a serious matter, she didn’t take herself seriously. He liked that about her.
“How would you feel if we went out to your car so you can translate for me?” They’d finished eating. “We’re going to need the quiet.”
“That’s a good idea,” she said. He helped her up from the chair and, after he paid the tab, let her walk ahead of him as they made their way to her vehicle. He had to admit she looked terrific in her designer jeans.
Concentrate on the job, Davis. What he’d have given to have met Ally under other circumstances. He wanted to know if she was involved with another man. And after that he wanted to make plans to see her again that had nothing to do with business. But there were rules a Ranger had to follow. Luckey wanted and needed her trust while he worked on this case. Rules had to come first.
Once they were inside her car, he passed her the papers from the file and pulled out his handheld digital recorder.
Her gaze met his. “Luckey? Before we start, I want to thank you for breakfast. I enjoyed it very much.”
“So did I. Don’t forget you’re doing me a great favor. It was my pleasure.” I want to do it again and again. “When you’re ready, I’ll turn this on.”
* * *
WAS THIS A one-time happening with Luckey? Would she ever see him again? Ally wished it didn’t matter, but she was so attracted to him she could hardly think about anything else.
Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the writing. She ought to be used to this after working alongside her mother in China on human trafficking cases. They’d assembled statistics about lost girls disappearing from Hunan Province for several years. But each case was heart wrenching in its own right.
Ally knew she could never be indifferent to the suffering of these young women. Thank heaven there were people invested in fighting this brand of evil, people like the bone-achingly attractive man sitting beside her. If Ally’s mother were to find out about this, she’d be overjoyed to hear that the Texas Rangers had been called in to work on this case. But Ally had promised Luckey complete secrecy and she meant to uphold that promise.
“I’m ready.”
He turned on the recorder. “This is James Davis of Company H, Austin, Texas, investigating the case of Jane Doe, a young Chinese girl who died March 2. It is now March 10, 10:30 a.m. Dr. Allyson Forrester Duncan, Director of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, will translate a message from the secret Nüshu language of the sworn sisters in the Hunan Province of China. It is written in the deceased’s blood on the underside of the dress she was wearing when mounted police found her body dumped on an Austin street.”
Shuddering over the circumstances of the poor girl’s death, Ally began translating while he held the recorder.
“‘Someone help us. We are being held by an evil man with a dragon’s forked tongue. He smells like garlic and speaks English, Xiang and Indonesian. There are many of us imprisoned here, and other evil men speaking English come to do terrible things to us. We’ve been kidnapped and stolen from our homes. We don’t know where we are. We miss our families. I know I am going to die. Some of the others with me have been killed already for trying to escape. There is no way out of here. Please, someone help us.’”
Ally handed him back the pages. He turned off the recorder, then rewound it and played it back so she could hear. When it was over, he clicked off and said, “That part about the men speaking English is significant. But even more so is her mention of the man who smells of garlic and speaks with a dragon’s forked tongue. Those have to be clues.”
“Definitely,” Ally said. “We know that a forked tongue means the same thing in every language. But because she was Chinese, I would have thought she’d use the analogy of a snake. Instead, she did refer to the Komodo dragon, the long forked tongue of which is a deep yellow. That was an unusual thing for her to do.”
“Agreed. Komodo dragons come from Indonesia,” Luckey mused. “Perhaps her reference to the tongue meant he was blond haired. She said he spoke Indonesian as well as English and her native language. What is it again?”
“Xiang, which she would have spoken in Yongzhou and Changsha, but being upper-class, she would have spoken Mandarin, too.”
“Thank you for doing this, Ally,” he said. “The whole department is indebted to you, not to mention the parents of this girl if they can be found. Their anguish must be terrible.”
Ally looked at him. Her pain went too deep for tears. “What a brave young woman to write that, knowing it would be her death sentence if she was found out. I can’t even imagine her terror. How was she killed?”
“Shot in the back.”
“Probably trying to escape a situation she couldn’t bear a second longer.”
“No doubt,” he muttered. “Ally? Are you free for a while longer?”
His question quickened her pulse. Whether he’d asked her that because of the case or for another reason, it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to have to say goodbye to him this morning. “Yes.”
“Will you follow me to the morgue? I want to show you the dress from the evidence room. I hope it won’t distress you too much, but something you said about this woman being of the higher class has given me an idea I want to explore.”
Ally didn’t have to think. “I’ve wanted to see the real article all along.”
“It’s not a pretty sight.”
“I’m not worried about that. After what that girl went through, if there’s anything I can do to help you find her killer and have her body shipped back to her parents, I’ll do it.” But identifying her sounded next to impossible.
He gave Ally the address in case they got separated, then slid out of her car and got into a Volvo parked at the other end of the lot. Her heart pounded against her rib cage all the way downtown, where she parked her car next to his in front of the coroner’s office.
Luckey’s eyes searched hers with concern after she got out. “Are you sure you’re all right doing this?”
“Positive. During the years I helped my mother gather statistics, we always felt so helpless. But today I’m going to be doing something useful. You don’t know what a good feeling that is.”
“Actually I do,” he said in his deep, attractive voice.
Of course he did, and she admired him for it.
Luckey accompanied her inside and introduced her to the coroner. “Dr. Duncan is the Chinese expert I needed for this case. Could we see inside the evidence box again?”
Dr. Wolff told them to go into his private office while he retrieved it. It wasn’t long before he returned with a box of plastic gloves and another, larger box.
After they’d both donned their gloves, Luckey took off the lid of the evidence box and gently removed the garment. As he handed it to her, she saw the hole made in the back. “When you’re ready to tell me anything and everything you can about the dress, I’ll record you.”
After studying the writing on the inside, she laid it out on the table and nodded to him. “This is a cheongsam, actually the term for a man’s mandarin-style robe. Over the years it became the name of a body-hugging, one-piece women’s dress that features a frog, which is a knob of intricately knotted strings. It has two big openings at either side of the hems for convenient movement, and it is often buttoned on the right side, but not always.
“The cheongsam comes in various styles based on differences in the shapes of the collar, the length of the openings, hem and the width of the sleeves. The embroidery might show a peony, a lotus flower, a dragon or fish.”
Ally darted him a glance. “This garment is made of very expensive embroidered silk with fine gold threading, and belongs to a woman from a highborn family. The design depicts a lotus, which symbolizes purity.”
Luckey eyed her intently. “Do you think that aspect is significant?”
“It could be.” She smoothed the material between her fingers. “A fabric like this in pale pink is normally worn by a slim young woman, because it wouldn’t look as good on a heavier woman. The hem is knee length. The short, tight sleeve indicates this female has slender arms. See this collar? It’s midsize because the woman wearing this has a shorter neck. A taller woman would wear a higher collar.”
“Amazing,” Luckey murmured.
“The hem is midlength. Notice that the slits are just high enough to allow leg movement, indicating modesty. The dress is formfitting to reveal beautiful posture and feminine curves, and exude an air of elegance and grace.” Ally stopped talking and looked up at him. “That’s all the information I can think of.”
He shook his head and turned off the recorder. “You sound like a forensics expert. I’m in awe of your knowledge. Do you have any idea where this cheongsam would have been purchased?”
“It was probably made by a seamstress for the family. If the embroidery is in the Xiang style, then it might have been bought at a high-end silk merchant in Jiangyong County or Yongzhou City itself.”
Luckey got up from the table. “Excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later he returned with the coroner, who’d brought another box with him.
“I’ve asked him to let you look at the clothes of the Indonesian woman.” He undid the lid and pulled out an embroidered blouse. “Can you tell me anything about this?”
Ally examined it. “My friend Soo-Lin could. She and I occasionally saw an Indonesian girl at the university wearing a tight-fitting lace blouse like this with a long skirt. I remember she called it a kebaya.”
Luckey nodded to the older man, who carried a pair of scissors. He cut a three-by-three-inch swatch from the backs of both outfits. “There you go.” He returned the clothes to the boxes and walked out with them and the glove carton.
The Ranger wore a satisfied expression. “I’ve got my samples.”
“I didn’t know you could do that to evidence.”
“You can’t.”
Ally averted her eyes. “Unless you’re you.” Because he was the best of the best.
“The next thing I need to do is track down these materials. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.”
“I feel the same way about you working on this case, so we’re even.” Don’t just sit here, Ally. She checked her watch. “I’d better get going.”
He pulled a business card from his pocket. After writing a phone number on the back, he handed it to her. “Ring me at either number if any other thoughts come to your mind that could help this case.”
“I will, I promise.”
The card with his cell phone number burned a hole in her palm. She hurried out of the office to the car, and once safely inside, looked at the card in detail. When working on a case, did he give everyone who helped him his cell number?
She drove away wishing he’d made some suggestion about seeing her again. A man like him came along only once in a lifetime. But even if he was free to date, what were the odds of him pursuing her while he was in deep, looking for a possible serial killer?
When she got home, Ally went upstairs to her room. Her parents were out, which made it the perfect time to write a letter to Soo-Lin. After grabbing a notebook and pen, Ally stretched out on her bed to read her friend’s letter again before answering it. When she came to the part about Yu Tan, a cold, clammy sensation crept through her body, making her feel ill.
Three weeks ago their sixteen-year-old daughter, Yu Tan, didn’t come home from school. One of her friends said she ran off with a man from a disco club in the city, where she often went dancing without permission. I don’t believe it. Yu Tan is a sweet, well-brought-up young woman with plans to make the Olympic team and go to college. She’s won all kinds of awards in gymnastics.
As Ally continued to read Soo-Lin’s concerns about Yu Tan’s disappearance, that sickness grew, until she slid off the bed to look for her purse. Inside was the card Luckey had given her with his phone number.
Maybe there was no connection between the words she’d just read and the case that Luckey was working on, but she needed to get his permission to discuss this with her parents. The news in Soo-Lin’s letter had struck too close to home.
* * *
LUCKEY LEFT THE morgue with the swatches of material in his pocket and headed for the office. On his way down the hall he was relieved to see Cy coming out of the lunchroom with a mug of coffee. There was no one he’d rather talk with about this case than him. “Ranger Vance, as I live and breathe!”
Cy saw him and grinned. “Where have you been for the last couple of weeks?”
“You don’t want to hear about it.”
“Actually, I already did. TJ spread the word that you nailed those three felons. Grab some coffee and come in my office so we can play catch-up.”
Luckey didn’t need to be persuaded. In less than a minute he was sitting across from Cy at his friend’s desk and sipping the hot liquid. “How’s the baby?”
“She’s a heartbreaker, like Kellie.”
“Another champion barrel racer?”
“Maybe.” He eyed Luckey. “But the important question is, how’s your personal life?”
He’d been concentrating so hard on thinking about Ally Duncan, the question took him by surprise.
Cy’s eyes narrowed. “What’s this? Silence from our dedicated bachelor?”
After a pause he said, “Do you remember the day you bumped into Kellie outside the radio station in Bandera?”
“What kind of a question is that? You know damn well it was the greatest day of my life.” His friend studied him. “Okay, buddy. You’re setting me up for something. Out with it.”
“I had a similar experience yesterday.”
“Yeah?” Cy broke into a smile that lit up his face. “I guess I don’t need to ask if she’s drop-dead gorgeous.”
“Nope.”
He let out a yelp that filled the room and jumped out of his chair to slap Luckey on the shoulder. In the process he set down his mug so hard some of his coffee spilled. “I knew it had to happen sooner or later! Wait till the guys hear about this. What’s her name?”
“Dr. Duncan.”
“That has a nice ring. Where did this encounter happen?”
“At the university. She was coming out of her office and we...collided.”
Cy chuckled. “I can relate and haven’t been the same since. What were you doing there?”
“I needed to find an expert in Chinese to help me on my new case.”
His brows lifted. “She teaches Chinese?”
“Yup. She went to the morgue with me to identify the writing on some fabric.” He pulled an evidence bag from his pocket that held the samples of embroidered silk and lace. “You’re looking at some swatches that are going to crack it.”
“So the morgue was your first date?”
“Nope. We had breakfast at the Magnolia Café first.”
“You’re a dark horse, you know that?” His friend rolled his eyes. “So she’s a knockout and she speaks Chinese. There’s only one more important question to ask. Does she ride?”
Luckey burst into laughter. “She lives on her family’s ranch, so I’m assuming as much.”
“Three out of three. Now you’ve got my attention.” Cy walked back to his chair and sat down. “All right. I want you to start over and don’t leave anything out.”
“Just remember, I have no idea how she feels about me.”
No sooner had he spoken than his cell phone rang. Luckey pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. He couldn’t believe it. Needing privacy, Luckey got up from the chair and walked out into the hall. He clicked on. “Ally?”
“Hi. Forgive me for bothering you when I know how busy you are, but I need to discuss something really important with you. Can we meet again?”
His heart thundered in his chest. “Where are you?”
“I’m home, but I’d be glad to drive to your office if you’re there.”
“How soon can you get here?”
“I’ll leave the house now. What’s the address?”
He gave her the information. “I’m on the second floor when you come up the stairs. Third door on the left.”
“Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”
After hanging up, he walked back into Cy’s office.
“Was that who I think it was?”
Luckey took a deep breath. “Yes. She’s on her way here to discuss something important about the case.”
Cy was all smiles as he cleaned up the coffee spill. “Sure she is. What was it you said? Something like ‘I don’t know how she feels about me’? She’s doing both of us a favor, because I want to get a good look at her.”
Luckey shook his head. “She sounded serious.”
“While you wait for her, tell me why you need a Chinese expert.”
“It’s a female trafficking case involving a Chinese victim.”
For the next little while, he told him what he’d uncovered and they talked about possible theories. “I believe the victims are being held here in Houston or Austin or somewhere nearby. I’ve got to find out where.”
“Don’t be afraid to use me if you want help.”
“Thanks, Cy. I might take you up on it.”
He got up and went out into the hall to keep watch for Ally. The office was busy, with lots of staff milling around, but she was impossible to miss when she appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing the same outfit she’d worn to breakfast. “You got here fast,” he said, walking toward her.
She sounded a little out of breath. “The traffic cooperated.”
“Come with me.”
Cy had just emerged from his office with the empty coffee mug. Luckey slowed down. “Ally? I’d like you to meet a friend and colleague Cy Vance.”
A smile broke out on her face. “Another famous Ranger. I always wanted to meet one. Now I’ve met two.” She shook his hand.
“Even if the famous part is fiction, that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to us in a long time.” Luckey saw the way Cy’s eyes lit up. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m on my way for more coffee. Do either of you want some?”
“Not for me, but thank you,” she said.
Luckey flashed him a private glance. “We’re good. Talk to you later.” He turned to Ally. “My office is right down here.”
He showed her inside and shut the door. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you for meeting with me again so soon.”
“When I’m on a case, I don’t let anything interfere with my work.” Luckey sat down behind his desk. “Tell me what’s happened.”
“During the years we lived in China, our family was watched by the Ministry of State Security. The MSS employs a variety of tactics including cyber spying to gain access to sensitive information. They also engage in industrial espionage. Because of this, I was never allowed to use email or the phone.
“As I told you, Soo-Lin and I met and became friends at the university. Any news passed back and forth had to be done in person, either at school, my parents’ home or when I traveled to her home in Yongzhou. When I went there on vacation, I didn’t contact my parents at all during my stay in order to avoid a paper or electronic trail. The MSS is always looking for subversive chatter.”
Luckey marveled over her family’s ability to function under such difficult conditions. “That couldn’t have been easy.”
“I got used to it. But when our family came back to the States, it meant I had to resort to using my father in order to correspond with her. He’s constantly sending classified material to the new ambassador and receiving classified information back through the diplomatic pouch. When Soo-Lin has a letter for me, she takes the train to Changsha and leaves it with a trusted professor at the university who became our good friend.
“He comes from an old, venerable family. One of his sons works at the American Embassy in Beijing and facilitates our exchange of mail now that I’m in the States. What he does is put Soo-Lin’s letters in the diplomatic pouch for my father. If I’ve sent a letter in the pouch, he gives it to his grandfather, who passes it off to Soo-Lin when she visits the university. Father reminded me we have to be careful after what happened to the artist Ai Weiwei.”
Luckey stirred in the chair. “I read he was detained for months and interrogated fifty times for being openly critical of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights. I remember hearing that the officers watched him in his sleep, their faces inches from his.”
She nodded. “He was finally released but is still under their watch. His story is common. Even though our family is back in the States, because of my mother’s work against trafficking we have to be extra careful. But we’re willing to take the risk. Yesterday my dad flew in from DC and brought Soo-Lin’s latest letter to me. You won’t be able to read it, so I’ll translate the important part for you.”
Ally withdrew it from her purse and started reading. As Luckey listened, he was reminded of what Dr. Wolff told him about the latest body in the morgue. He’d said the young woman was likely either a ballerina or a gymnast. More than ever Luckey recognized the implications and understood the horror her friend’s news had raised in Ally’s mind. He dealt with the dark side of life every day. But now this case had become personal, because it directly affected this woman’s life, a woman who had already impacted him in a profound way.
He sat forward. “You were right to bring this to me.”
She stared at him through those beautiful, shadowed eyes. “Do I have your permission to tell my parents about this? They have no idea you came to see me at the university. But they love Soo-Lin and her family. When they read what’s in this letter, my father won’t wait to do something about it.”
“That’s what has me worried, Ally. Would you set up a time when I can meet with you and your parents?”
“Yes,” she said softly. Before he could blink, she got up from the chair and hurried over to the door. Before exiting it, she said, “I’ll drive home now. I’ll phone you when it’s arranged. Thank you, Luckey.” Her voice throbbed.
After she’d disappeared, Cy strolled into his office. “I can tell from the look on your face you’re a goner. No wonder. She’s gorgeous.”
Luckey tightened his jaw. “Her family is involved in a risky activity that could endanger their close friends in China.”
“I haven’t been assigned another case yet. Anything I can do to help?”
“Okay, come with me while I go talk to TJ. This case has just taken on a life of its own.”
