The Heat

  There used to be a playhouse on College Drive where Lily and her friends paid $15 a piece every Friday night to watch really good and really poor actors and actresses perform drama by Mark Twain and Shakespeare. The playhouse had been situated in a strip mall that also contained a twenty-four hour café where LSU students stayed up all night eating beignets and drinking dark-brewed Louisiana coffee as they studied for upcoming finals. It had smelled like heaven.

  The mall and its beignets and coffee and fifteen-dollar plays was gone now. In its place stood a Wal-Mart.

  There were things in the city that seemed to have been untouched by time. A small secondhand store off of Burbank still stood in the same location that it had stood in for more than twenty years. Here Today Gone Tomorrow was where Lily had purchased all of her clothes while she’d been in high school. She remembered when it had dirt floors. And it was still there.

  Highland Park looked virtually the same as it had a decade before.

  Her parents’ apartment on GSRI was still standing, and it was still painted pink. Her parents were long gone, having moved to Oregon five years ago. But the apartment was still there.

  But so much had changed, and change was hard. There was comfort in recognition. In repetition. It was good for the soul to know that some things would never go away. When it turned out that they would go away after all, the soul had to adjust. And adjusting one’s soul was a little like learning how to swim by jumping into the deep end. The simple act of keeping your head above water was painful. And, at times, it was just plain hard to breathe.

  Again, Lily sighed. Not for the first time since her return, she wondered whether she was making the right move. She wasn’t a weak woman. She was raised by good parents. They loved each other, and their daughter, deeply. They knew the difference between right and wrong. And they’d instilled this knowledge – and the need to fight for it – within their little girl. Lily was one of those extremely rare, extremely lucky individuals whose parents encouraged bravery, but offered comfort when things didn’t go as planned.

  Lily wanted to help the people in her hometown when they needed help the most. From what she’d seen in the last few days, that time was now. Baton Rouge was inflating beyond its capacity, like a balloon threatening to pop. And Lily didn’t want its people to detonate right along with it.

  Lily blinked, realizing that she’d been staring at the same spot for several long minutes and that her eyes were burning. Then she sat up, grabbing the hardback book that was on the bedside table. Barefoot, she tiptoed to the door of the guest room and then quietly opened it. At one point, it creaked a little and she paused. When she heard no sounds coming from Tabitha’s room, she opened it the rest of the way and stepped out into the hall.

  She managed to make it to the stairs and then down to the first floor without any more creaks. When she was in the living room, she stole the throw off of the rocking chair and sat down on the plush couch, wrapping the fleece tightly around herself. Then she stared down at the cover of the book she’d set down beside herself.

  Intense green eyes gazed out at her from a black background. She knew whose eyes they were. They belonged to the man on the back cover – the author of the book, Malcolm Cole. He was an unbelievably handsome man. His hair was thick and dark brown and nearly as long as Daniel’s….

  Daniel….

  Tabitha’s big brother had been haunting her all night. She shook her head to clear it. She concentrated on the book again. Cole’s eyes were so emerald green that they almost seemed to glow. Lily had never seen another person with eyes like that. They were nearly unnatural. Maybe contacts? She doubted it. They seemed to fit in with the rest of him too well.

  He wrote mysteries and he was so good that Lily’d been hooked for years. She wasn’t the only one; he had a following that had made him a very wealthy and famous man. Once Lily started reading one of his books, she had a very hard time putting it down. There was something about the way he seemed to get into his characters’ heads. Especially the bad guys. He knew them inside and out; their thinking processes, their desires…. It was like he was there beside them, watching them as they progressed through their iniquitous acts, one evil step at a time.

  Sometimes, when Lily was reading, she could imagine that she heard Cole’s voice whispering the tale into her ear. She’d heard his voice once on an interview; he sounded like Rupert Everett. A British bad boy, wicked and delicious.

  She even dreamed about him. In fact, there were only two people in the world that Lily dreamed of over and over again. One was Daniel Kane. The other was Malcolm Cole.

  Lily reached out and turned the book over, gazing down at the impossibly gorgeous man on the back cover. “Hey, good looking,” she muttered softly. He seemed to smile back at her. But there was something a little strange to his smile. It was…. Machiavellian. Like there was a secret he was keeping from the world and it amused him.

  She blinked down at him. “Well, whatever that secret is, I hope it’s not that you’re actually five-foot-one and weigh four hundred pounds.”

  Malcolm Cole was coming to Baton Rouge the next day. He would be at Barnes and Noble for a book signing. She’d been looking forward to the event for weeks. A thrill went through her at the thought. Just a few hours to go.

  In one week’s time, she would start work at the hospital in town and her career would again claim her life. She wanted to thoroughly enjoy what free time she had until she was once more in over her head with abused children and wives and unwanted babies and drug addicts who, in her opinion, had good reason to be drug addicts.

  Until that day, her time was her own. Going to Malcolm Cole’s book signing was just about at the top of her list of fun things to do. Her friend, Alexis, called her a fuddy-duddy, but her real life was enough like riding a roller-coaster that she appreciated taking it slow in her down time.

  Lily picked up the book, turning to her bookmarked page. In a few moments, she was so engrossed in the book that all of her other thoughts began to melt away…. The killer was systematically destroying any evidence that would point to his involvement. He’d created very little to begin with, so it was easy. His movements were precise and well thought out, executed with a calm deliberation that chilled Lily to the core.

  So enthralled was she with the words on the page in front of her, that when Tabitha stepped down from the last stair on the landing and the floor creaked noisily, Lily screamed and very nearly jumped out of her own skin.

  In turn, Tabitha screamed, jumping back into the wall and knocking a painting askew. She caught it and straightened it in time to keep it from falling. “Jesus, girl! What the hell!” Tabitha placed one hand to her chest and breathed hard.

  Lily was standing now and once she processed everything, she let out a shaky breath and sat back down on the couch with a huff. “You scared the crap out of me, Tabby.” Her own heart was dancing.

  “I scared you? Lil, you almost gave me a heart attack!” Tabitha pushed away from the wall and came the rest of the way into the living room to sit on the smaller couch across from Lily. “What on earth are you doing down here, anyway? Couldn’t sleep?” She gestured toward the book that Lily had dropped on the rug beneath the coffee table.

  Lily shook her head. “No, I couldn’t. Sorry I scared you.”

  Tabitha shrugged, tossing a long lock of blue-black hair over her shoulder. “S’ okay, sweetie. What are you readin’, anyway?”

  Lily handed her the book. Tabitha took a good long look at the cover and then turned it over. She froze.

  “He’s hot, isn’t he?” Lily asked. “He’s coming to Barnes and Noble at CitiPlace tomorrow. Wanna come with me and meet him?” Lily smiled slyly.

  Tabitha still hadn’t looked up from the picture.

  “Tabby?”

  Tabitha’s head jerked up. Her hazel eyes seemed distant. “What?”

  Lily blinked. “I said, he’s coming to town tomorrow. For a book signing. You’re obviously smitten,” she smiled
again. “So, would you like to come?”

  Tabitha’s eye brows knit together. She put the book down on the coffee table and Lily noticed that her hand was shaking. “I’m sorry, Lil. I’m just tired, is all. I actually just came down for a glass of water. I can’t think straight without enough sleep an’ I’ve gotta get to work real early tomorrow.” She stood then and moved around the coffee table, heading for the kitchen.

  A few seconds later, she came back out with a full glass of water. “I’m heading back to bed. See you in the mornin’.”

  Lily frowned, confused by her friend’s sudden strange behavior. But she nodded and waved Tabitha up the stairs. “All right. Good night.”

  * * * *

  Tabitha closed the door to her room, trying to sound unhurried about it. But once she was alone, she put the water down and raced across the room to the bedside table, where her cell phone rested. She turned it on and waited for a signal, her mind racing a thousand miles a minute.

  Tabitha’s parents had been killed when she was only eight years old; Daniel had been twelve. Lily St.Claire had seemed to be able to truly understand how confused and lost and bewildered Tabitha was when no one else in the world could. There was just so much inherent empathy in Lily, and Tabitha clung tightly to it.

  Tabitha and her brother went to live with their grandparents across town and it was their grandparents who had taught them the ways of their kind. At first, Tabitha hadn’t believed any of it. But there was only so much proof one could ignore.

  And then, as far as Tabitha was concerned, the worst thing that could possibly happen to her already fucked up world actually happened. Lily told her about her dream with Daniel and the wolf…. And Tabitha knew what Lily was. With that knowledge came the knowledge that if Daniel knew too, he would try to take her best friend away from her.

  She couldn’t let that happen. Tabitha had nothing else in the world; she wasn’t overly fond of her big brother. She understood that it was supposedly the fire in his blood that made him the way he was, but she still thought he was a slut. And she knew that if he ever found out about Lily, there would be no stopping him. Even her grandparents would defend his right to her.

  So, she’d demanded that he stay away and, figuring that she was just being her weird little self, her brother agreed.

  Tabitha rubbed her hand over her face. There was little doubt that he knew all about Lily now.

  When her phone showed that she had the signal, she dialed her brother’s number and again waited. He picked up on the first ring.

  “What is it?”

  “Daniel, it’s me.”

  “Yeah, I know little sis. I have some pretty good caller I.D.” He sounded impatient. He sounded pissed. That made sense. He was probably livid with her for keeping Lily’s secret from him all these years.

  “Danny, it’s about Lily-”

  “Not now, Tabitha. We’ll discuss this when I get off work today.” In the background, Tabitha could hear what sounded like papers rustling, copy machines working, and people talking in subdued voices. Daniel was at work. At 3:00 a.m.

  “It can’t wait, Danny. She’s in danger.”

  There was silence on the other end. Then a door was slammed shut and the background noises came to a halt.

  “Go on,” he ordered.

  “It’s Malcolm Cole. He’s coming to town tomorrow.” She paused to let the information sink in. “He has a book signing – and Lily’s a big fan.”

  Again, there was silence on the other end. And then Daniel was swearing vehemently and the muffled quality of his voice told Tabitha that he was holding his hand over the receiver. In a moment, he was back on and there was a hard edge to his voice.

  “Stay by her side as long as you can.” He hung up.

  Tabitha looked at the phone in her hand and then sat on the edge of her bed. Fear coiled itself around her heart and squeezed like bands of ice. She shivered. Cole.

  This was very bad.

  * * * *

  Daniel Kane shut his phone and then stood statue still, his blue gaze claiming the darkened city beyond his office window.

  Malcolm Cole.

  The man’s timing was so impeccable, Daniel would almost believe that he’d chosen it on purpose. That he knew about Lily St. Claire.

  But that was impossible. This was coincidence and nothing more. It had to be - horrible, dangerous coincidence.

  Daniel looked down and realized that he’d squeezed his phone into oblivion. He released his grip on the device and chunks of plastic and wiring crumbled to the floor. He gazed down at them, barely seeing them.

  It was time to ratchet things up a notch or two.

  Daniel walked to the trash can beside his desk and dropped what remained of his phone into its depths. Then he pushed an intercom button on his larger desk phone. “Jennings, get me a new phone,” his voice was deceptively calm. “And I need you to run a check on someone for me.”

  A few seconds later, there was a knock on his door. He glanced up and called out, “Come in, Jennings.”

  The door opened and a young man stepped in. He was tall and well built, though not as finely cut as Daniel. He had American good looks, with dark brown hair and stormy blue-gray eyes and a strong chin.

  Daniel had known him since high school. At that time, Allan Jennings had been somewhat of a geek, much smaller in stature than he was now, and he’d worn glasses. Daniel assumed he wore contacts now, or perhaps had dished out for that Lasik eye surgery business. Either way, these days Allan was spectacles-free and had filled out his uniform in a way that most of the female officers in the department noticed.

  In high school, Jennings had irritated Daniel. There was just something so… irritating about him. It hadn’t helped that Jennings had so obviously had a crush on Lily St. Claire. That was something that, despite his promise to his sister, Daniel had taken it upon himself to rectify.

  However, that was all in the past and Jennings seemed to have forgotten all about it. He’d been with the police department for almost as long as Daniel had and had proven himself worthy of Daniel’s trust time and again. The man had grown. He’d morphed from a soft-spoken know-it-all into a seasoned police officer that Daniel valued above every other human officer working for him. He was one of the very few humans Daniel trusted.

  Allan Jennings now stood before Daniel, a paper pamphlet in one hand, a pen in the other. He eyed his Chief expectantly and the pen hovered above the pad. “Phone specifics, sir? Same as last one or upgrade?”

  “Same. Make sure my voice mail doesn’t disappear.”

  “Yes sir. And you need me to run a check on someone?”

  “Yes.” Daniel’s expression darkened. How to put this delicately? He considered his words for a moment. “There is an author coming into town for a book signing.”

  Jennings thought for a moment. “Malcolm Cole?”

  Daniel cocked his head to one side. “You know of him.”

  “Great author. Great books – I’ve read them all. He’s really got the crime scene thing down.”

  You have no idea, thought Daniel. “Right,” he said, simply. And then he took a deep, calming breath. “Jennings, I need to know when he gets in and on what flight, which hotel he’s staying at and what room, what his itinerary looks like for the duration of his stay, and when he’s leaving, along with his departing flight info.”

  Jennings dutifully wrote it all down, but his brow had furrowed into a frown. “Not a problem, Chief. But, mind if I ask what’s going on?”

  “Nothing’s going on, Jennings,” Daniel said, calmly. “Just curious, is all.” He smiled a smile that said, I’m lying, but I’m not going to tell you, so don’t ask again, and Jennings nodded in understanding.

  “Got it.” Jennings recapped the pen and straightened. “Chief, while I’m here, I might as well get confirmation on a couple of things.”

  Daniel turned toward his desk to rifle through the papers and folders atop it. “Shoot.”

  “We need
a rep for a neighborhood watch that’s starting in district three. Any suggestions?”

  Daniel thought for a moment. Reps needed to be outgoing and personable. “Send Tate. And have him take Margaret with him. They make a good pair.”

  Jennings nodded, uncapped his pen, and marked something off of his list. “Noise complaints have reached an all-time high in Tiger Town. Haven’t died down since graduation. Do we need to do a sweep?”

  Daniel sighed, read something over on one of the sheets of paper he was holding, and turned to another page. “No. But park a few marked cars at intervals along Highland and GSRI. Do a random for about a week or two. See if that helps.”

  Again, Jennings nodded and checked off another item on his list. “The canine unit reported that one of the dogs is sick. Which vet?”

  Daniel looked up. “Which dog?”

  Jennings blinked. “Um, I’m not sure, sir.”

  Daniel’s gaze narrowed. “Each dog has its own doctor, Jennings. How would you like someone to call in a random doctor for you if you were ill? Don’t you have a PCP?”

  A bit of the color ran from Jennings’ face, but he nodded. “Um, right. I’ll check then, Chief. I’ll take care of it myself.”

  Daniel nodded. “Okay, then.” He realized he was being a jackass, but this Cole business was under his skin and he did have a soft spot for the dogs. These issues were things that other officers could handle. What he really wanted to know – right now – was where Malcolm Cole was and what the hell he had planned for Lily St. Claire.

  Jennings cleared his throat. “Just one more thing, sir. The East Baton Rouge Parish school board would like to initiate an outreach program for next year.”

  “Give that to Tate, too. He loves that crap. Now, go run that check on Cole, Jennings, and make it quick. Let me know as soon as you have the intel.”