down.
Several seconds ticked by before it dawned on her who he was. Her missing investigator, Frank Matrone. Kate couldn’t believe he had the audacity to walk in now, some twenty minutes after the meeting had begun. She’d purposefully moved the sign on the conference room door to the “In Use” position so he wouldn’t walk in late. There was an unwritten rule in the DA’s office that once that sign was in place, you didn’t cross the threshold. Evidently this man didn’t do well with rules. That was fine with Kate. She’d never done well with subtle. She sure as hell wasn’t shy about getting in someone’s face when she needed to.
“Mr. Matrone, I’m afraid this meeting is already in progress. I’m assuming you didn’t see the sign on the conference room door.”
Several snickers sounded around the table, but Kate ignored them.
“I saw the sign.” He met her gaze levelly, and once again she was reminded of the dark Texas woods. After dark. When the wild animals came out. “Mike Shelley told me I needed to be here.”
Kate could tell by the hard sheen in his eyes that the good-old-boy Texas drawl wasn’t nearly as friendly as it sounded. She didn’t miss the resentment buried in the depths of that hard gaze. She’d done her homework. She knew this man had once been a detective with the Dallas PD. She also knew he’d been a military reservist and that he’d been sent to the Middle East. He’d been badly injured, and when he came back he hadn’t been able to resume his career with the Dallas PD. Kate had been around enough to know how to read between the lines. She figured some high-ranking individual within the Dallas PD had pulled some strings and gotten him a job with the DA’s office. And she knew this man was not happy about the perceived demotion. She saw bad attitude written all over him in big, bold letters. From the way he sprawled in that chair. To the tardiness of his arrival. The lack of paper and pen. His total disregard of the rules.
Kate admired the men and women who’d put their lives on hold to serve their country. But her admiration didn’t extend to vets who took advantage of their status—or had a chip on their shoulders. This was the biggest case of her career, and she wasn’t going to tolerate anything less than one hundred and ten percent. If Frank Matrone didn’t want to be here, she didn’t want him.
“That’s all I’ve got this morning.” Kate looked at the rest of her team and motioned toward the door. “My home and cell numbers are in the file along with my e-mail addresses. If you need to talk about the case, please don’t hesitate to call me any time. Until this case goes to trial, I am available day or night.”
At that, the participants began to gather their materials. Frank Matrone sat sprawled in the chair, staring at her, looking like a bored teenager who’d been asked to stay for detention.
“Mr. Matrone, you can go.” She motioned toward David Perrine’s retreating form. “I’ve already been assigned an investigator, but thank you for coming.”
Giving him a cool smile, she began stacking her notes into her briefcase. Vaguely she was aware of her team filing from the room. Of Frank Matrone scooting his chair back, rising slowly, and starting toward her. She didn’t look at him when he reached her and hoped he would realize he’d been dismissed. But Frank Matrone evidently wasn’t ready to be dismissed.
Kate could feel the power of his stare on her back as she turned and popped the tape from the VCR. When her meeting notes and files were neatly stowed, she looked up and met his gaze. “Is there something on your mind?”
“Mike Shelley assigned me to this case,” he said. “This is where I need to be. Maybe you could fill me in on what was covered in the meeting.”
Feeling the initial fingers of anger pressing into her, she snapped her briefcase closed and rose. “Since you don’t do well with subtle, Mr. Matrone, I’ll just
Several seconds ticked by before it dawned on her who he was. Her missing investigator, Frank Matrone. Kate couldn’t believe he had the audacity to walk in now, some twenty minutes after the meeting had begun. She’d purposefully moved the sign on the conference room door to the “In Use” position so he wouldn’t walk in late. There was an unwritten rule in the DA’s office that once that sign was in place, you didn’t cross the threshold. Evidently this man didn’t do well with rules. That was fine with Kate. She’d never done well with subtle. She sure as hell wasn’t shy about getting in someone’s face when she needed to.
“Mr. Matrone, I’m afraid this meeting is already in progress. I’m assuming you didn’t see the sign on the conference room door.”
Several snickers sounded around the table, but Kate ignored them.
“I saw the sign.” He met her gaze levelly, and once again she was reminded of the dark Texas woods. After dark. When the wild animals came out. “Mike Shelley told me I needed to be here.”
Kate could tell by the hard sheen in his eyes that the good-old-boy Texas drawl wasn’t nearly as friendly as it sounded. She didn’t miss the resentment buried in the depths of that hard gaze. She’d done her homework. She knew this man had once been a detective with the Dallas PD. She also knew he’d been a military reservist and that he’d been sent to the Middle East. He’d been badly injured, and when he came back he hadn’t been able to resume his career with the Dallas PD. Kate had been around enough to know how to read between the lines. She figured some high-ranking individual within the Dallas PD had pulled some strings and gotten him a job with the DA’s office. And she knew this man was not happy about the perceived demotion. She saw bad attitude written all over him in big, bold letters. From the way he sprawled in that chair. To the tardiness of his arrival. The lack of paper and pen. His total disregard of the rules.
Kate admired the men and women who’d put their lives on hold to serve their country. But her admiration didn’t extend to vets who took advantage of their status—or had a chip on their shoulders. This was the biggest case of her career, and she wasn’t going to tolerate anything less than one hundred and ten percent. If Frank Matrone didn’t want to be here, she didn’t want him.
“That’s all I’ve got this morning.” Kate looked at the rest of her team and motioned toward the door. “My home and cell numbers are in the file along with my e-mail addresses. If you need to talk about the case, please don’t hesitate to call me any time. Until this case goes to trial, I am available day or night.”
At that, the participants began to gather their materials. Frank Matrone sat sprawled in the chair, staring at her, looking like a bored teenager who’d been asked to stay for detention.
“Mr. Matrone, you can go.” She motioned toward David Perrine’s retreating form. “I’ve already been assigned an investigator, but thank you for coming.”
Giving him a cool smile, she began stacking her notes into her briefcase. Vaguely she was aware of her team filing from the room. Of Frank Matrone scooting his chair back, rising slowly, and starting toward her. She didn’t look at him when he reached her and hoped he would realize he’d been dismissed. But Frank Matrone evidently wasn’t ready to be dismissed.
Kate could feel the power of his stare on her back as she turned and popped the tape from the VCR. When her meeting notes and files were neatly stowed, she looked up and met his gaze. “Is there something on your mind?”
“Mike Shelley assigned me to this case,” he said. “This is where I need to be. Maybe you could fill me in on what was covered in the meeting.”
Feeling the initial fingers of anger pressing into her, she snapped her briefcase closed and rose. “Since you don’t do well with subtle, Mr. Matrone, I’ll just
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