Tension melted. She opened the door. “Detective.”
He turned and when his gaze landed on her he studied her as if peeling back the layers. He frowned when he saw the dark purple bruise. “Counselor.”
“Don’t tell me the DNA has come in?” The question travelled as easily as her.
“You only know how to play one note, don’t you?”
“I never said that I was far thinking or original.” She cocked her head. “I take it that the answer is no.”
“It’s a not yet. May I come in?”
“Sure.” She stepped aside and allowed him to cross the threshold. As he passed, an unyielding, focused, and forceful energy radiated around him. When his sights zeroed in on a target he couldn’t be stopped. She closed the door. “What can I do for you?”
He glanced around her office, studying the disarray of papers and files on and around her desk. “You had any trouble in the last couple of days? Any other strange people?” His tone might be conversational but he wasn’t a man who stopped to chat.
“All is quiet.”
“And McMillian?”
“He’s keeping his distance.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “Did you come all this way to check up on me?” And then unable to resist a sarcastic twist, she added, “Because if you did, I’m really touched.”
Lips curled into a little used smile. “Don’t be.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “No DNA. Could it be about the letters?”
“I’ll know more on those tomorrow.”
All hints of teasing evaporated. “You’ve had them analyzed.”
“I have.”
“And?”
“As I said, I will know more tomorrow.”
“No information on DNA or the letters.” She raised her hands in surrender. “I give up. Give me a clue. Why are you here?”
For a beat a heavy silence stood between them. “We have another body.”
Darkness rose up from the earth and wrapped around her like a shroud. “Who?”
“A woman named Rebecca Saunders. She was beaten to death at the West Hotel.”
“Beaten like Lexis?”
“Not like Lexis. Like Dixie Simmons.”
“That singer.”
“Yes.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“You survived an attack.”
“We aren’t certain it’s the same person. It could have been a mugger.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. The first and third victims were beaten strictly on the head and the face. Lexis, well she wasn’t killed right away.”
The shroud tightened. She was grateful to have received the tape and CDs this morning. “This all ties into the letters. I had them. Lexis had them. And now they are gone.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“Why would anyone care about the letters? If they are real they are over thirty years old and from what I could tell they were written by a talented, if not volatile, woman who didn’t identify her lover.”
“You’ve pried open a can of worms and someone is not happy.”
“Dixie Simmons was killed before my press conference.”
“But whoever attacked her, came after you and killed Lexis. You all are connected to Annie, either in appearance or association.”
“Annie’s cause of death was never determined.”
“The skull was never found. The bones found did have unhealed fractures, but none of those injuries were deemed fatal. And a tire iron similar to the one found in Jeb’s truck was used in the recent killings.”
Frowning, she saw his logic. “So what do you want me to do?”
“It’s time we compared notes.”
She thought about the Annie tapes. Don’t open your mouth, Rachel. He’s a cop. The enemy! “Really?”
“You held back the letters. Anything else you’ve held back?”
“If you haven’t noticed, we are on the opposite side of the Jeb Jones case.”
“There is a killer out there now.” A steady tone did not dull the meaning’s razor sharpness. “I’d like to think we are on the same side in that case.”
“And if the two cases are connected?” She shook her head. “I owe it to Jeb not to play all my cards.” Lexis understands.
A vein in his neck pulsed with frustration under the tight hold of his collar and tie. “If you get in my way or I find out you held back again, I’ll file obstruction charges against you.” The words rumbled in his chest like a growl.
She’d been in enough legal brawls over the years to know she could hold her own. “Take your best shot.”
“I will.”
Deke arrived at the public relations firm before five. The glass and chrome front doors opened into a lobby tiled with marble. The interior decorating incorporated sleek chrome and leather and told clients they’d found their ticket to success. A guard sat behind a shiny console.
Pulling out his badge, he approached. “I’m here to see the president of TNK Public Relations.”
“Suite 301.”
“Great.” Seconds later he rode the elevator to the third floor where doors opened to the TNK Public Relations agency. More sleek glass, cool metals, and soft grays wrapped around the reception area. He moved directly to the receptionist, a cool redhead, and explained himself again. Within minutes a tall, well-dressed woman in a burgundy suit stood in the doorway.
She extended a neatly manicured hand. “Detective Morgan. I’m Taylor Knight. I own the company.”
“I’d like to talk to you about Rebecca Saunders.”
A slight frown wrinkled her face. “Come into my office.” He followed her into the corner office. As she closed the door behind her, she indicated a sitting area. He took a seat in one of the plush chairs while she took the couch opposite him. “Rebecca is one of our best client servicers. She’s been with us three years and is on track for a big promotion.” She checked her watch. “She did not come in today, which has raised some concern. Wha
t’s happened?”
“She was murdered.”
Taylor sat back against the couch, the energy deflating from her like a popping balloon. “What?”
“She was found this morning by the maid at the West Hotel.”
“The West Hotel? That certainly would have been her style. She had expensive tastes.”
“She was a regular visitor there. Every Sunday for the last eight weeks. Have any idea who she might have been meeting?”
She hooked a finger in a slim chain encircling her neck and moved it back and forth. “No. She broke up with her boyfriend a couple of months ago but it was all friendly. They remain friends.”
“What’s his name?”
“Jake Wheeler. He works for the association of churches.”
“Churches?”
“That’s how Rebecca and Jake met. They went to the same church.”
“What is the church?”
“New Community. She was active in her church. Had a real love for it all. I always thought that’s why she did so well with our nonprofit clients.”
Annie had been involved in her church. Dixie had sung in church. Was it New Community? “Do you have names of anyone she might have dated after Jake Wheeler?”
“No. From what I gathered she was single. She seemed happy and her work was top form. I could supply you with a list of the clients she serviced. She might have met someone through work I wasn’t aware of.”
“That would be helpful. What about friends in the office?”
“No female friends. Liked the company of men more.” Taylor typed a message into her phone. “I’ve asked my secretary to print a list for you.”
Ms. Taylor’s image of Rebecca did not line up with what he’d found in the hotel room. “No exes? No threats? No trouble?”
“None.” She leaned forward.
The door opened and a neatly dressed woman handed a list to Taylor. She glanced at it before giving it to Deke.
When the secretary closed the door behind her, he said, “Looks like you work for a lot of nonprofits.”