Harlequin Intrigue April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Carol Ericson (beginner reading books for adults .txt) 📗

Jake enough to tell him she knew about his meeting with Matt and wanted to be there when he questioned him?

She stabbed the elevator button. Why should she trust him? He didn’t trust her. He’d been divorced once and through the ringer with another therapist. It didn’t take any special skills or training to understand the guy had trust issues. And so did she. A match made in hell.

Not that she was considering a match with Jake. There’d been a moment tonight when she expected a kiss from him, but she’d backed off. She had a feeling once she started kissing Jake McAllister, there would be no turning back.

She stepped into the task force conference room and blinked at the late-night activity. Her gaze jumped to Jake’s empty desk.

Billy called across the room. “You looking for J-Mac? He left a while ago.”

“No.” She had to stop being so obvious. “I left a few things here. What are you doing here so late?”

Billy slumped in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. “I’m still trying to ID victim number one. I see her face when I close my eyes.”

Billy was a smooth operator, but like Jake, he was a good cop. They did this for the victims, and Billy was doing this for his sister. “None of the working girls around Melrose recognize her?”

“No, and it makes it harder going from a sketch. Her face was in pretty bad shape when we got to her, so we’re not showing that around. The sketch artist does a good job, but no hits yet.” He rubbed his eyes. Even his typically crisp suit looked wilted.

She took a seat in front of her computer and twisted her head around. “Hey, I heard you’re interested in meeting a friend of mine, Megan Wright from KTOP.”

Billy’s head shot up. “I wouldn’t mind an introduction—just to do it right.”

“You’re not married, are you?”

“Separated.” He drew a cross over his heart. “My wife and I aren’t living together. We’re both free to date.”

“Then I’ll give Megan your card and put in a good word.”

“I appreciate that.” The phone on Billy’s desk rang and he grabbed it. “Crouch.”

Kyra watched his face go hard as he listened to the words on the other end of the line.

“Where? Does J-Mac know?”

Kyra’s breath came out in shallow spurts. It had to be another victim.

Billy hung up the phone and steepled his fingers. “The SOB has done it again.”

“Another one?” Kyra had wrapped her arms around her body.

“This one dumped in the Ballona Wetlands.”

Kyra’s arms tightened. “That’s...bold. It’s not exactly the middle of nowhere like the canyons and trails he’s been favoring.”

He pushed back from his desk. “I’m heading out there. Do you want to come with me?”

“I’ll follow along in my own car, if that’s okay. The wetlands are closer to my place—too close.”

“I’m leaving now.”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

This time, Kyra left the station to follow an LAPD detective in her own car. She didn’t ask Billy if Jake was already at the site. If he wasn’t now, he soon would be. Would he be surprised to see her? Irritated?

Forty-five minutes later, she pulled behind Billy’s car onto a scene bathed in red-and-white lights. She didn’t have to plunge into the trees or hike down a trail. The yellow crime scene tape encircled an area just off the paved walkway through the Ballona Wetlands.

She tugged on Billy’s sleeve and pointed to a camera installed on a light post.

He shook his head. “I’ve already been informed that’s broken.”

Kyra kicked at a rock, and the long grasses of the wetland tickled her bare legs. She hadn’t even gone home yet to change clothes.

Given the hour, the only people shuffling in and out of the area were law enforcement, a few members of the press, including Megan, a few homeless people and a young couple. Had they reported the body?

She knew she wasn’t getting close to the crime scene so she sidled up next to Megan. “How’d you hear about this?”

“My guy heard it on the scanner. Young couple called it in. As soon as the Sheriff’s Department got here, they knew what they had and reported it to the task force.”

“So, she must have the playing card between her lips.” Kyra kept her mouth shut about the severed finger. That was not general knowledge.

“And the missing jewelry?” Megan put a finger to her lips. “This is off-the-record, but we’ve heard reports that the killer is taking jewelry from the victims as a trophy. True or false?”

“That falls under things I can’t tell you.” Kyra folded her arms in case Megan thought she could wheedle anything out of her.

“This is his fourth victim, all within two months. He’s voracious, isn’t he?” Megan looked over her shoulder. “And so close to where I live.”

“Are you nervous?” Kyra caressed the outline of her gun. Nerves didn’t get to her.

“A little. I mean, these victims are a bit younger than I am, but they’re not hookers, are they? They’re not runaways. They’re young women with jobs and school and regular lives.”

“Can I give you a piece of advice that I don’t want to see on the evening news?”

“Yes.”

“Stay away from Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood.”

Megan’s eyes popped. “For real? Is that where he’s picking them up?”

“He’s not picking them up there, but let’s just say there are some connections to that area that might mean something.”

“I swear I’ll keep that hush-hush if you promise to give me what you got when the time comes.”

“I do.” Kyra caught her breath as Jake emerged from the crime scene, the bright lights highlighting the white T-shirt hugging his large frame.

He’d pulled on the same jeans he’d been wearing earlier for his meeting with Matt. It had been the first time she’d seen him out of his suit. The casual clothes suited him better, more in tune with his blatant masculinity.

Megan elbowed her. “There’s a hot guy trying to get your attention.”

Kyra had been assessing Jake’s body so thoroughly