Perry adjusted the earpiece, listening carefully while he drove out of Kylie’s neighborhood. He heard the sound of a doorknob turning and then footsteps. Kylie had unlocked that middle room and was once again in there. For good measure, he drove around the block, confirmed what he’d heard when he saw the middle light on through the window and kept going. Something that sounded as if a chair slid across the floor. Damn, his bugging equipment that he’d placed in her hallway, and just inside her front door, was sensitive as hell. It might not be what some would consider scrupulous, but no one would harm his nieces. Perry would know beyond any doubt that Kylie’s intentions were good before he allowed anyone to get closer to her.
His cell phone rang as he ran his tongue over his lips, still tasting her. No, he wasn’t getting too close to her. It didn’t matter how good she felt or smelled. Or how damn aroused she got him. Her intelligence and beauty were compelling, and he’d see her again, and soon. But he had to know beyond any doubt that she wasn’t indulging in any foul play.
“Hello,” he said, noting the number calling as he yanked the earpiece for his equipment that allowed him to hear into Kylie’s house.
“Hey, little brother,” Megan said, sounding cheerful yet tired. She always sounded tired these days. “Word on the street is that you might have found a hot little number.”
“What?” he hissed, rolling his eyes. “Hold on a minute.” He dropped the earpiece that had a cord attached to a black box in his passenger seat. Then grabbing his Bluetooth out of the cubby on his dash where a CD player or some other modern contraption could be installed if he were so inclined, he shoved it in his ear. “Do I even want to ask what you might have heard?”
Before Megan, his sister and mother of his nieces, spoke he was positive he heard amusement in her sigh. “It appears the girls spent the afternoon with a Kylie Dover. I admit freaking on it a bit, even with Diane there, too, until they told me you were part of this gathering as well. Mind filling me in on what’s going on?”
“What did the girls tell you?”
“You know I hate it when you answer my questions with questions.”
He knew. He also was curious whether the girls had told Megan a different story about Kylie than what they had told him. When he didn’t respond, Megan sighed again, sounding slightly less amused, and continued. “Dani met her first at the bowling alley earlier this week. They tell me she’s working on her thesis over at KU but came here to get a different perspective from teenagers. Apparently she’s going to several different towns before writing her thesis and turning it in. They tell me she’s a cultural anthropologist and is focusing on teenagers as a subculture within our social structure. From what I heard, it sounds as if she actually has some interesting data gathered.”
“She told the girls what data she’s gathered?” It wasn’t jealousy or envy that stabbed at his insides. Just because Kylie wouldn’t let him see her work but shared it with his nieces didn’t mean shit. He did barge in on her and accuse her of playing investigator. And the jury was still out on that one.
“Dani told me she saw some of Kylie’s notes. She’s convinced that fourteen-to sixteen-year-old girls are more daring on the computer than seventeen-and eighteen-year-old girls. Apparently, although all girls in that age group seem to have no problem meeting people they don’t know after talking to them online, girls in the fourteen-to sixteen-year-old bracket are more inclined to meet boys for dates than teenagers in other age brackets.” Megan paused and sipped at a drink.
He pictured his sister gripping her glass of iced tea, drinking and then getting that faraway look in her eyes like she always did when she digested information. “What was Dani’s take on all of that?”
“Are you kidding? Dani tell me what she’s thinking?” Megan laughed. “So anyway, the girls think it would be great to have Kylie over for dinner. And I admit I’m a bit curious about her. How does next Wednesday night sound to you?”
“Why are you asking me?” Perry scowled, already guessing the outcome of the conversation. He hated his sister trying to match him up with anyone. “If you want to meet Kylie, that’s your business. I’ll be busy.”
“You will not,” Megan snapped. “And I expect you to invite her over. Let’s say six thirty. That gives me time to get home from work and I’ll have the girls focus on supper.”
Perry turned onto his street and slowed, hitting his brights before he reached his driveway. “Megan, you know I hate it when you get your hopes up about something.”
“Perry. I’m a widow with four teenage daughters. I work two jobs and have no life. Let me do this. It will be fun and something to look forward to,” she said, pausing as her tone turned serious. “Or are you telling me that there is absolutely no chemistry whatsoever between the two of you?”
He didn’t mean to hesitate with his answer. Perry glanced in his rearview mirror and then across his yard when his headlights swooped over his large, neatly mowed corner lot. It was habit, confirming that no one lurked waiting for him to get out of his Jeep. Years of being on the force, knowing he was personally responsible for more than one criminal going to jail, made it habitual to watch his ass coming and leaving his home.
“That’s what I thought,” Megan said smugly, as if he’d responded. “Then next Wednesday at six thirty. Be sure and tell me when she confirms.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he grumbled, and parked the Jeep outside his garage door, which was closed. “Talk to you later, Sis.”
“Love you, little bro,” she chirped, and hung up the phone.
Perry grabbed his monitoring equipment and cell phone and then headed inside. He showered, something that usually helped him unwind after coming home, but tonight he was wound just as tight after slipping into his sweatpants and padding barefoot to his kitchen for a beer.
He opened his refrigerator, staring at the bleak contents before leaning over and pulling out one of several longneck beers. Twisting the cap off, he tossed it in the trash and grabbed the monitoring equipment.
Perry’s den faced the front of his house and oftentimes served as his bedroom as well as a computer room. After closing his blinds and placing the small black box next to his computer, he changed the settings so he could hear everything without earphones and slumped into his chair behind his computer.
His desktop appeared on his monitor when he moved his mouse and at the same time the audio started crackling on his monitoring equipment. Perry strained to hear what was picked up on the bugs in Kylie’s home.
“You’re still up, sweetheart,” he whispered, staring at the nondescript black box.
Before tonight, his interest in Kylie was physical. He hated thinking that a grown woman wearing such innocent-looking yet incredibly seductive minidresses could get him hard as stone when so many other women had tried and didn’t hold his interest. Granted, listening and watching her over the past couple of days had piqued his curiosity, and more than physically. Although any time he got anywhere around her his cock grew harder than steel.
But there were things about her that bugged him. The simplicity of her house, no knickknacks, no pictures, barely any furniture, seemed odd. It also bugged him that being in her company brought forth more than just a craving to sink into her hot little pussy. She questioned his nieces like a pro, using a pattern, building her line of questioning like a professional. And then so easily blew him off, using the lame excuse that she couldn’t show him her schoolwork until it was done.
Things didn’t add up, but that didn’t make her a criminal or an amateur detective. Regardless of his inability to figure her out, Perry was a patient man. He would learn what she was about. And there was more to Miss Kylie Dover than just being a student.
Reclining in his chair, he picked up his sweating bottle of beer and guzzled half of it while moving his mouse over the icon to check mail. Nothing came over the monitoring equipment other than occasional static popping, probably the result of some small noise in her home that the device barely registered. When he opened his mail, the chat feature automatically signed in as well. Immediately Dani popped up with an instant message box.
Did you ask her? She put a silly smiley face at the end of the question.
Chatting online wasn’t one of Perry’s strong points. He didn’t like a means of communications that eliminated body language.
No. He typed the answer, which was immediately followed by a frowning face.
Mom says she wants to meet her if we’re going to spend time with her. Now Dani presented her argument in an effort to corner him into doing the dirty deed. So you’ve got to ask her, she added before he could even think about what to say to her previous comment.
The monitoring equipment crackled and Kylie’s voice came through the small microphone. Perry’s insides tightened, a rush of adrenaline hitting him as he growled at his computer when it chimed from another message from his niece. Turning down the speaker volume on his PC, he leaned closer to the small black box.
“What did you say, sweetheart?” he whispered, and checked to see if a microcassette was in place. “Talk to Papa,” he said, and pushed “play” to start recording what would be said.
“Any idea which department?” Kylie’s usually soft, alluring tone sounded crisp, firm, all business. “Okay. Well, I’m going to have to get cuddly with local PD then.”
“Get cuddly, huh?” Perry brought the bottle of beer to his mouth again, swallowing the last half of the brew and tossing the bottle into his trash can. “How much of the police department do you plan on getting close to, and why?”
A flash of light reflected against the front window and grabbed his attention. Perry stood, frowning, when a car pulled into his driveway. People didn’t come over without calling first to see if it was okay. They just never had.
He headed out of his den and stopped in the living room, watching as the Chief pulled into his driveway and parked.
“What the hell?” Perry returned to his den and scowled at his monitoring equipment, a device that would definitely be a tough one to explain to Rad. “Goddamn it,” he growled, turning the thing off and shoving it into the top drawer of his dresser. His gut told him something was off with Kylie. He was so damn close to learning what the hell it was and then this. “Why the hell are you here?” he snarled under his breath, slamming the drawer closed and making it bang.
Perry reached the back door, which opened off his driveway, as Rad knocked firmly. “Rad,” he said, not caring if irritation sounded in his tone.
“Sorry to interrupt your evening.” Rad didn’t look or sound apologetic. “I need to talk to you, Flynn.”
His serious manner didn’t sway Perry. “What’s up?” He had enough decency to stand to the side and allow his Chief to come inside. The bugs were hovering over his outside light anyway, and the longer they stood like this, the more bugs would get inside.
Rad entered but didn’t turn around in the dark kitchen. Instead, he walked into the living room and focused on the den, the only room in the house with a light on.
“What were you doing?” he asked, frowning at the open door like he was itching to head in that direction.
“Having a beer, checking e-mail.” Perry joined him, standing in the middle of his dark living room. “What’s up?”
“Mind if we go in there?” Rad asked, but instead of waiting for Perry’s consent headed into the den.
“Something on your mind?” Perry followed Rad into his den and walked around him to his desk. Remembering that his beer was empty, he turned and headed back through the dark living room. “You want a beer? Anything to drink?”
“I’m good.”
Perry grabbed another longneck from his fridge and headed back to his den. Rad was standing behind his desk staring at his computer when Perry entered. The Chief looked up at him, concern lining his face. Perry frowned, twisting the cap off and moving around the desk so that he saw the screen that Rad saw. “What’s got you bugged?” he asked.
“I’ve got a question for you. I need you to be straight with me.” Rad turned and faced Perry. He stared at him with shrewd gray eyes.
“Ask,” Perry said. Although he was six foot one and Rad had a bad knee and was damn near twenty years older, he stared the Chief straight on, eye to eye.
“This case with the girls coming up missing, with them being stalked online, what do you know about it?”
“About as much as you do.” Perry tried reading Rad’s intent expression but wasn’t getting anywhere with it. “You going to give me the case now?”
“No,” Rad said, not hesitating. “Are you working on it on the side? Possibly going after anyone in chat rooms or posing as someone you aren’t?”
“Hell, no,” Perry snapped.
“Mind pulling up that chat box?” Rad asked, pointing at the monitor.
Perry cursed under his breath, pressed his palm against the back of his office chair, and used his free hand to move the mouse and pull up the chat box with Dani.
“Who is that?”
“My niece. My sister Megan’s daughter,” Perry growled. “What the hell is this?”
The chat box showed Dani’s last two messages with her insisting Perry ask her. It didn’t say who he was supposed to ask, or why. But Dani’s comment referred to “Mom,” which added simplicity and innocence to the chat. Perry looked away from the screen and at Rad’s profile as he stared at the large green font and finally nodded.
Perry took another drink and walked around his desk. Rad joined him, moving around the desk and sitting on the edge of it, crossing his arms and still scowling.
“I assigned a partner to you last month, but the two of you aren’t riding together. Why is that, Flynn?”
“Don’t know. Why?”
“You two got issues?”
“I don’t have issues with anyone,” Perry snapped. “And if any occur, they’re worked out before I call it a day. Did you come out to my home to ride my ass about not spending enough time with my new partner?”
“You know we work cases with partners for a reason.”
“I know how to do my fucking job.”
Rad didn’t say anything but studied Perry, which aggravated the hell out of him.
“You didn’t come over here to remind me that I have a partner. You could have done that down at the station. Whatever it is, spit it out,” Perry demanded.
“I want you and Ramos to start running together, got that?” Rad said coldly. “Watch your ass and make sure everything you do is accounted for.” The Chief pushed away from Perry’s desk and headed out of his den.
Perry stopped him, grabbing the Chief’s arm and forcing him to turn and face him. No one entered his home, no matter who the hell they were, and threatened him without offering an explanation as to why. And it had better be one fucking good explanation. The Chief knew Perry didn’t like working with a partner, and it had never been an issue before. He worked best alone, whether it was investigating crime scenes or getting reports turned in. Call him anti-social, he didn’t care. But someone else tagging along simply slowed him down.
“Why do I need to cover my ass?” he demanded, unable to control the anger growing inside him.
“Hopefully you don’t.” Rad suddenly sounded relaxed, like a calm before a storm.
Perry’s guts twisted from nerves, but he wouldn’t be intimidated. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and had a hard time believing Rad thought otherwise.
“I don’t and you damn well know it,” Perry hissed. “You’re not walking out of my house without explaining why you show up off-hours, unannounced, and imply there’s a situation when there isn’t one.”
“I didn’t say there wasn’t a situation. Account for your time and your actions and it won’t become your situation.” Rad looked down at his arm where Perry still held him and then started across the room, yanking his arm out of Perry’s grasp.
To grab the Chief again would be a sign of aggression, one Perry would take if that was what was needed.
“Rad,” he said, trying this tactic first. He didn’t doubt for a moment that he could physically restrain the Chief, but he’d never had a beef with the man, and didn’t now, at least not at this moment. “You’d better tell me what’s going on or I’ll be forced to learn on my own.”
“I’m not at liberty to say.” Rad turned around, his stressed-out expression lined with aggravation. He stared at Perry for a long moment, and when the Chief spoke again the coldness in his tone was enough to put a chill in the room. “Watch your fucking ass and if you’re confronted, ordered to show your reports, or,” he added, lowering his voice and pinning Perry with a brutal stare, “if your personal computer is subpoenaed, your ass better be clean. I’ve already gone out on a limb for you. And I’m here to tell you now, there are a lot of holes in your time sheets. Start keeping your log sheets current. You take a fucking piss, log it.”
“What the fuck?” Perry hissed.
Rad walked through Perry’s house and opened his back door, leaving it opened as he headed toward his car. Perry didn’t bother shutting it, either, as he stormed after the Chief.
“Are you implying that I’m under investigation? Tell me who’s trumped up charges against me.”
“No one has,” Rad offered easily. “Yet. Keep it that way. You hear me?”
Perry heard him but didn’t have a fucking clue what he was talking about.