Conduit

  Lionel regarded the curves that her flowered dress accentuated. They had spent so much time away from each other because of the murders, and Lionel wanted some time alone with his wife. “Maybe we should send Shawn home hungry and forget about the brisket.”

  She picked up a dishtowel and snapped it at his arm. “Detective Edwards,” she said. “We have company. I think you’ve had one too many beers already.”

  “I’ve not even finished my first one.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “But I don’t need any to know how beautiful you are.”

  She gave him a quick kiss. “Dinner should be ready soon.” She pushed him aside and went back to the oven. She looked through the small window and said, “At least I hope so.”

  Barbara seemed overly obsessed with dinner, but Lionel allowed her to shoo him out of the kitchen. Rejoining Shawn in the living room, he asked, “What are your thoughts on Rogers?”

  “That one’s going to be awesome in Homicide,” Shawn said. “You were really hard on her yesterday, but she ran with it.”

  “I was hard on her?” Lionel asked. “How about you? You practically unloaded your whole divorce on her.”

  “Yeah, I suppose that was a little over-the-top for me,” Shawn said. He took a long drink from his beer bottle. “But she came back to work today, so that says a lot about her tenacity.”

  “We’ll recruit her directly into Homicide as soon as she passes her detective exam. We just need to keep her grounded. That kind of promotion can go to someone’s head really quick.”

  “Speaking of keeping people grounded, exactly how long are you going to let her suffer with calling you ‘sir’ all the time? It’s bad enough Aurelio still does it. Your ego is going to pop all over the office one day.”

  Lionel leaned forward with peals of laughter. “I wondered when you were going to call me out on that. I thought I’d give it another few days, and then I’ll cut her a break.”

  Shawn laughed and shook his head. “You’re sadistic, Edwards.”

  Barbara wandered into the living room and went to the bay window. She pulled back the curtains and peered out into the driveway and street.

  Lionel exchanged a curious glance with Shawn. “Barbara, what are you looking at?”

  “Nothing, dear,” she said without turning around.

  “Why is she so dressed up tonight?” Shawn asked in a hushed tone.

  “I was just wondering the same thing.” He looked back at Barbara, who impatiently tapped her foot and held back the curtain. “Barbara, what’s going on?”

  She released the curtain and rotated to face them. “Well, I’m a little concerned.” Her fingers retreated to her mouth and she gnawed on her fingernails, an old habit that resurfaced whenever she was particularly stressed.

  “Are we not having brisket tonight?” Shawn asked.

  “Not exactly,” she said. “The brisket has been done for about a half hour. I’ve just kept it on a low temperature to keep it warm.”

  “Then why are we waiting around while you pretend to cook it?” Lionel asked.

  “I don’t want you to be mad at me,” she said. “I sort of invited Cassie to dinner tonight.”

  “Why would I be mad at you for that? And why didn’t you tell me you invited Cassie to dinner?”

  “I may have had an ulterior motive for dinner tonight. I was sort of trying to play matchmaker between Cassie and Shawn. Neither of them knew the other would be here.”

  Lionel’s face scrunched up. “Matchmaker? With Shawn and Cassie? I don’t understand.”

  Shawn’s face reddened, and he remained silent.

  Barbara pointed at Shawn. “See? He has a crush on her, and she has one on him.”

  Lionel laughed. “That’s ridiculous. Cassie’s my niece and Shawn’s my partner.”

  Barbara swung her finger around and pointed at Lionel. “And that’s exactly why no one was ever going to say anything about it. Because of you.”

  Lionel’s mood sobered and his mind numbed. “I don’t understand,” he repeated. Even though he knew his niece dated on occasion, he never thought of her as being a woman who had actual relationships with men, especially not with his partner.

  “Barbara,” Shawn said, “while I appreciate you stepping in and trying to set us up, why are you concerned and why do you keep looking out the window?”

  “She was supposed to be here over an hour ago. I keep calling her cell phone, but it just goes straight to voicemail. I even tried Emily, but after a few rings, hers went to voicemail as well.”

  Lionel forgot all about Shawn and Cassie’s potential interest in each other. “Are you sure she’s not answering? You’re dialing the right number?”

  “It’s her voicemail that picks up.”

  Lionel rushed to the front closet and grabbed the jacket he wore to work. He had left his cell phone in the pocket, as he did many nights after coming home. The phone’s screen listed one missed call and one voicemail from Cassie. “She called my phone, so maybe she just couldn’t reach you to let you know she’s running late.”

  Back in the living room, he put the phone on speaker and played the voicemail. “Hi, Uncle Leo! I’ll be there in a couple hours for dinner, but I didn’t want to forget to talk to you about something. Em and I wanted to ask you to come by the office first thing in the morning to discuss the case. We can talk about it more when I get to your house. I’ll see you soon!”

  Shawn stood up. “When did she make that call?”

  Lionel flipped to his missed calls. “Just over three hours ago.”

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Shawn said to Barbara. He pulled his own cell phone out of his front pocket and walked out the front door.

  Barbara’s concerned face turned to panic. “What’s wrong, Leo? Is Cassie okay?”

  Lionel placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “I’m sure she’s fine. She probably fell asleep and either had her phone off from work or the battery died, but we’re going to go to her house to check on her.”

  His words failed to comfort her and a mass of tears spilled from her eyes. “What can I do?” she asked.

  “Just stay here and be calm. Keep trying both her and Emily. I’ll call you as soon as we get to her house and yank her butt out of bed.”

  Barbara nodded, and Lionel kissed her damp cheek. “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you, too.”

  Shawn ended his call as soon as Lionel stepped onto the front porch. “I have back up meeting us at her house. Timmons is checking police reports and Aurelio is calling area hospitals in case she was in an accident.”

  The situation suddenly became real for Lionel and his gut churned. “If that bastard took my little girl—”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions, Leo,” Shawn said, as he started toward his car. “We may be overreacting, and she may very well be at home, safe and sound.”

  Chapter Fifty-two

  “We make such a good team,” Emily said.

  “Those lettuce wraps were pretty amazing,” Jake said. He put the last plate into the dishwasher. “I don’t know how you concocted that sauce, but I’ve never tasted anything like it. I could have eaten just that and been happy.”

  “The wraps were nothing without your shrimp, though,” Emily said. “I always overcook shrimp and it’s so chewy that it’s not good, but you cooked them perfect.”

  “Like you said, we’re quite the team.”

  “Well, this half of the team is exhausted,” Emily said, flipping off the kitchen light. She laughed when they walked into the living room. Bob slept on top of the recliner, one leg dangling over the side. “Looks like someone has found a favorite sleeping spot.”

  Jake chuckled with her. “He’s already moved in. I’m going to check the locks before we turn in.”

  “I’ll get ready for bed.” She planted a kiss on Jake’s cheek and wandered back to his bedroom. Jake had set her overnight bag on the end of his bed, and she carried it into the master bathroom. She changed into a pair o
f light cotton pajama bottoms and a camisole. After she scrubbed her face and brushed her teeth, she packed her belongings back into the bag and left it on the bathroom floor next to the counter.

  Jake wasn’t in the bedroom when she was done, so she took the liberty of pulling down the covers and selecting a side of the bed. She climbed under the plush comforter. Taking in a deep breath, she encouraged her limbs to relax so she could get a restful sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day, starting with an early morning confession with Uncle Leo.

  The bedroom door swung open and Jake came through, shivering and rubbing his arms. He shut the door and walked toward the bed. “It’s freezing out there. I can’t wait until we get some warmer nights.”

  She rose up on her elbows. “What were you doing outside?”

  “After I locked the doors, I realized the Jeep was out front, so I moved that into the garage next to your car. Then I started worrying about the windows and made sure those were locked.”

  “You’re going to a lot of trouble.”

  “Nothing is too much trouble where your safety is concerned.” He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes.

  She stared at him as he pulled off his jeans and tugged his shirt over his head. He threw his clothes in the laundry hamper and went into the bathroom, going through the motions of preparing for bed without thought that she was in his room watching him. A warm flush crawled into her cheeks when he came out of the bathroom, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

  Jake stopped walking when he saw her expression. “I, uh...” He rushed over to the bedroom door and flipped off the light. “I wasn’t thinking that you’re right here,” he said.

  Emily cleared her throat and sunk into the billowy mattress. “It’s okay,” she said. “I just didn’t expect you to strip down to your shorts right in front of me.”

  His nervousness came out in his chuckle. “Neither did I, and I’m sorry. I guess I’m getting a little too comfortable around you.”

  “Oh, don’t apologize,” Emily said. Her teeth came down on her bottom lip. “I didn’t mind one bit.”

  She rolled on her side, and Jake climbed into bed. He lifted his hand to her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. After her eyes adjusted to the dark, Emily took a moment to look at him, memorize the contours of his face, examine his soul through his eyes, and he did the same to her.

  They exchanged timid, childlike smiles. They both wanted the same thing, but neither of them spoke. Her heart beat so hard against her ribs she thought it might break out. With the killer in her mind, she suddenly felt that their time together was limited, as if at any moment Jake would be ripped away from her. She didn’t want to waste one more second.

  “You know,” Jake said, “you’re on my side of the bed.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” Emily said. A mischievous grin took over her face. “Or maybe I’m not. This side is big enough for the both of us.”

  “Oh really?”

  Emily pressed her smiling mouth onto his. Light, sweet kisses evolved into sensual, greedy ones. Jake reached for the bottom of her camisole and lifted the edge just high enough for his fingertips to grab onto her bare skin. He rolled her onto her back and hovered over her. His eyes studied her face and he brushed stray hairs away from her cheek. He lowered his head and met her lips.

  Her hands journeyed over the contours of his chest and arms while they kissed. His mouth moved to her chin and down the front of her neck. He lowered the strap of her camisole off her shoulder and consumed the freckles between her neck and shoulder. The end-of-day stubble on his face tickled her skin and forced a moan to escape from her lips.

  Jake kissed across her skin just below her collarbone and his fingers probed the top of her cami. Her hands wrapped around the back of his head and her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip. His mouth moved back up to her neck, his fingers playing with the top of her cami instead of taking it off. She arched her head back into the pillow and desire took control of her breathing. Part of her wanted him to hurry up and rip off her clothes, but the other part wanted him to continue taking his time exploring her body so she could savor every moment with him.

  Without warning, the darkness stretched out in her mind and she pushed Jake away. She didn’t know what triggered the darkness, but it came so fast that she had no time to analyze what happened or why.

  Jake moved to her side, his face filled with worry. “Emily, what’s wrong?”

  His distant voice entered her mind, but she couldn’t seem to answer. Her body trembled, and her arms and legs went limp. Nausea took control of her stomach, and the fog in her mind impeded her thoughts. She lifted her hand to her forehead in response to a severe hot flash.

  “Emily?”

  “The darkness,” she said, rolling on her side to face him. “I can feel him, and it’s much stronger than before.” Her hand flew to her mouth with another wave of nausea. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “What can I do?”

  She remembered Marta’s words. “You already know...” She caught her breath to get the words out. “You know what to do.”

  His eyes scanned her face. “You’re right, I do know,” he said. “Come here.” He moved closer to her until his body was snug against hers. “The night we met, something happened between us and before I knew it, I was in your mind. We’re going to try that again. If I’m in there, I can help you push him out.”

  As soon as Emily heard his words, she knew it was the right thing to do.

  “Give me your hands,” he said. She lifted her hands to him and he laced his fingers between hers. He pulled their hands up between their torsos and he squeezed her hands tight. “Close your eyes, Em. Listen to the sound of my voice.”

  She closed her eyes, and in the midst of the darkness, a warm light appeared.

  He lowered his head until their foreheads touched. “Follow the sound of my voice. I don’t want you to think of anything else but me. I’m right here, Emily, and I’m not leaving you. We will get through this.”

  She relaxed against him, and his familiar presence entered her mind. The feeling of him reminded her of the first night they met, when he was in her mind without explanation. That night she had been frightened, but now she trusted him and his presence comforted her.

  Just when the darkness retreated into the corners of her mind where it normally lived, it pushed back. Every muscle in her body tensed and her breathing quickened, as the entity within the darkness shoved its way back into her mind. It thundered through her, and the pain Marta warned her about earlier came as a flash of lightning and intensified throughout her body.

  “You’re breathing too fast,” he said. “Focus on my voice and steady your breathing.”

  Emily did as he said, but could not get her breathing under control. Her searing lungs seemed to operate under the will of the darkness, which continued expanding in her mind.

  He let go of her hands and cupped her face. “Emily, slow your breathing or you’ll hyperventilate. Concentrate only on my voice and let me back in so I can help you fight him.”

  Her head spun in a vortex created by the darkness. She knew it was a combination of hyperventilating and the killer trying to take her mind, but knowing what was happening didn’t help her regain control.

  “Emily, it’s just you and me here, so concentrate on us. Feel me here with you.” Jake’s voice rushed over her like a calm wave, and his lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “Breathe with me,” he whispered.

  His breath warmed her lips and chin, and she no longer struggled to slow her breaths. She matched his steady pace of breathing, and the darkness retreated again, giving way to Jake. She continued listening to his soothing tone and her body calmed. Within minutes, his presence radiated as the only thing left in her mind and a smile formed on her lips. She didn’t want him to ever leave her mind.

  Several minutes passed before Jake said, “I think it’s safe for me to let go now. I don’t think he’s coming back to
night.”

  She waited to open her eyes until he had retreated from her mind. “How did you do that?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “But now we know how to stop him from hurting you.”

  “It’s strange, but I think our connection is stronger than before you did that.”

  “It started the night we met. That first time, it happened naturally, and even though I didn’t know your name, it was as if we’d known each other forever. It wasn’t as difficult then, since no one else was in your mind fighting for control.”

  “There’s still a feeling from you being in there,” she said. “It’s almost like a tickle, but it’s also warm and calm. What did it feel like to you?”

  “I couldn’t read your thoughts, but I felt every part of you and experienced all of your emotions. It was like touching your soul. Knowing you like that...I can’t imagine anything more intimate.”

  She let her lips touch his in a light kiss. As much as she wanted to be with him in that moment, the kiss remained gentle and innocent, feeding her emotions rather than her physical needs. She was content just to love him.

  After a moment, they broke the kiss, but their bodies stayed close together. He settled down onto his back, and Emily lowered her head onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and her eyes shut, seeking the sanctuary of peaceful sleep.

  The darkness took hold of her in the middle of a dream and Emily’s eyes flew open. She popped out of bed and raced for the bathroom. She took a second to slam the door shut and lock it. She didn’t want Jake seeing her like this. One hand clutched the toilet seat lid and the other held back her hair. What was left of her dinner came up in violent heaves.

  “Emily!” Jake pounded on the door. “Are you okay?”

  She couldn’t respond, and she continued vomiting. Jake called her name and pleaded for her to open the door. The banging on the door fueled the angry headache that gripped her mind. Once her stomach was empty and the cramping subsided, she flushed the toilet and sat against the wall.