Hotter After Midnight (Midnight 1)

Not the reaction he’d been expecting.

Brooks stepped forward, charming smile still in place. “Why don’t we go inside and discuss this?”

As often happens, Mrs. Drake stumbled back, opening the door as she moved. “But I don’t know what you want to discuss!”

Brooks walked into her foyer. “We told you. Emily.”

Colin followed them inside, his glance sweeping over the spotlessly clean house. Emily’s mother led them into a large den. There were no photos on the mantel, he noted. No photos anywhere.

“Wh-what do you want to know about Emily?” She’d crossed her arms over her chest and she lifted her chin, a gesture so like Emily’s that Colin almost smiled.

“Was she here last night, Mrs. Drake—or actually, can we call you Karen?” Another of Brooks’s tricks—make the witnesses feel comfortable, get ’em on a first-name basis and get ’em talking.

“What? Oh, yes, Karen’s fine.” She frowned. “And, ah, yes, Emily was here last night.” Her eyes widened in sudden worry.

“Nothing’s happened, has it? Emily—”

“She’s fine,” Colin told her instantly. “We’re just following up, asking some questions on a case we’re working.”

“Oh.”

Did she sound disappointed? His stare sharpened. “How long was Emily here?”

“An hour, maybe two.” Karen shrugged. “I don’t know, I wasn’t looking at a clock.”

The grandfather clock behind them chimed.

Brooks and Colin stared at each other a moment. “It would really help us if you could be more specific, Karen,” Brooks murmured.

“Fine.” She huffed out a breath. “Emeline arrived a little after seven and she stayed until around ten-thirty.”

“And why did Emily come visit you?” Colin asked blandly. Was it because you sold her out to a reporter and Emily told you to stop talking to the press?

“She’s my daughter. She doesn’t need to have a reason to visit.” Her words were a little too high.

“I see.” Actually, he didn’t. “So you and Em had a nice little mother–daughter visit last night?”

Her head tilted to the right. Her lips parted on a breath of surprise as she studied him. “You know my daughter?”

Ah, shit. Not the way he’d wanted the introductions to go. “Umm, yeah. She’s actually working on a case with us. As a profiler.”

All of the emotion vanished from her face. “Really.” The temperature in the room seemed to drop about ten degrees.

What in the hell?

“Why are you asking me these questions?” Her stare returned to Brooks. “It’s almost as if you’re trying to get an alibi for my daughter.”

Well, yeah, that was exactly what they were trying to do.

Brooks kept his smile in place. “Karen, what can you tell me about Serenity Woods?”

She took a step back. “S-serenity Woods?”

He nodded.

And that chin shot into the air again. “I think I’ve answered enough questions. You should leave now.”

His friendly smile faded. “There are records we can check, you know.”

“No,” she said very definitely, “there aren’t.”

She walked back to the foyer. Opened the front door. “Good-bye, Detectives.”

Hmmm. She’d talked to them longer than he’d thought. Colin caught his partner’s eye, shrugged. He’d known Karen Drake would back up her daughter’s alibi, but he’d gone along with the investigation anyway. If he hadn’t followed up on Emily’s story, Brooks would have become even more suspicious and he might have started spreading some of his bullshit suspicions around the station.

And that was something Colin couldn’t let happen.

Brooks left first, nodding politely to Karen Drake as he passed. Colin inclined his head as he walked by her.

“You’re involved with my daughter, aren’t you?” Her voice was hushed. Her gaze hooded.

“We work together, I told you that.”

She shook her head. “You called her Em. And I could tell by your voice—”

Shit. He’d have to be a hell of a lot more careful in the future. But, wait, dammit, maybe she hadn’t picked up on anything in his speech, maybe she sensed the truth. Maybe she was just like her daughter.

Colin was instantly on full alert. He’d underestimated Karen Drake. He needed to be on guard with her.

Brooks had walked down the sidewalk. He glanced back, frowning.

“Be careful, Detective,” she said, her voice a harsh whisper. “You may think you know my daughter, but believe me, you don’t.”

He clenched his back teeth to hold back the not-so-polite response that sprang to his lips.

Karen shook her head sadly. “Emily is very…different.”

Different was too tame a word for the doc. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You don’t understand.” She leaned forward, staring straight into his eyes. “Emily is—”

“Is there a problem?” Brooks called, moving back toward them.

Emily’s mother straightened with a quick snap. Her lips firmed into a thin line.

“No,” Colin told him, “I’ll be right there.” He was suddenly very eager to get away from the picturesque house on Terrace Lane.

“She’s evil.” Karen breathed the words, and Colin saw a tear track from the corner of her eye. “Remember that, and don’t trust her. ”

Then she turned and fled back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

Chapter 13

“We have a problem.” Smith was waiting for them when they returned to the station. She’d made herself comfortable at Brooks’s desk, and when they approached her, she swiveled around to face them, tapping a manila file against her desk.

“Yeah, and how is that new?” Brooks reached for the file. “This the report on those hairs you found on Myers?”

Colin glanced across the pen, saw McNeal making a beeline for them. “Has the captain read the file?”

Her lips turned down. “Not yet. I’ll see him—”

“Now,” McNeal finished, appearing at her side. “I told you, I wanted all data on this case given to me first.” His shoulders were stiff as he loomed over her.

Smith didn’t look particularly intimidated. She shrugged. “Procedure is for me to report to the lead detectives.”