Eye of the Beholder by Dana Marie Bell Page A

papers, before shaking her head and slapping them against his chest. He caught them on pure reflex as she turned and walked away from him. “Want to work on gettin’ the warrant for poor old Mrs. Grimm’s place?”
    “I don’t know. I’m leaning more toward the son and his friend, Travis.” She stopped, turning to frown at him. “Rumor has it the old man had a fight with both of them not long before he disappeared.” A couple of other phone calls had made sure she heard those rumors too. “There’s no indication that Mrs. Grimm was anything other than happy with Mr. Grimm.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Tell you what, get search warrants for all three places.” She turned and headed back for their shared desk, her hips swaying enticingly.
    “Sure, no problem.” He smirked. Damn, he liked watching her walk away. When all of this was over, he’d have to make sure to enjoy the good detective for a while. From the gleam in Rina’s eyes the first time she caught sight of Detective Mancinelli he didn’t think she’d object to a little fun herself.
    He sat at his desk and dialed the phone. “Hello, Judge Foster? I need to discuss some search warrants with you.” He smiled, infusing his voice with just enough power to get exactly what he wanted. He’d already gotten the judge to issue the warrant for Grimm and Sons. This, with actual evidence, would be a piece of cake.

    Jamie grinned when her brothers Magnus and Morgan showed up at the condo for lunch, sniffing the air appreciatively.
    Ah, the lure of the Philly cheesesteak. She bit into her sandwich, slapping Jeff’s hand away when he reached for her hot peppers. “Get your own,” she mumbled around a bite of gooey, cheesy goodness.
    Magnus just shook his head at her as he settled on the floor in front of the coffee table. Her love of hot peppers was something of a legend in the family, as was Jeff’s attempts to steal them. He popped the tab on a can of soda and took a healthy drink before unwrapping his sandwich. “How’re you feeling, munchkin?”
    “Like I was run over by a truck.”
    Magnus winced, unable to keep from visibly tracing her bruises.
    “I don’t blame you, Mag.”
    “Don’t matter. He blames him.” Morgan sat next to his twin and unrolled his sandwich. “Hell, I blame me too.”
    “The only one to blame is Grimm, and you know it.” Travis sat next to her on the sofa, his can of soda right next to hers. He had a bowl of chips cradled in his right arm. He waved away her attempt to take it from him, placing it between them after he’d set his soda down. She’d never had the chance to watch him so closely before. Seeing how he handled his lack of a right hand had been something of an eye-opener. Things she took for granted, like holding her phone and texting her friends at the same time, Travis had to find work-arounds for. But not once had she ever heard him complain or seen him act uncomfortable. More than once her fingers had twitched, wanting to help him button his shirt, but she’d held back. He didn’t need her help, and frankly she didn’t have the right to touch him that way.
    “Here.” A hand reached around and gave Travis his sandwich.
    “Thanks, Jeff.”
    Her twin slid onto the third spot on the sofa next to Travis. “Welcome.” He bit into his sandwich with a happy moan. “Mmm. Geno’s.”
    “Heathen,” Magnus coughed.
    “Pagan.”
    “Children.” Kir joined the brothers on the floor. “Play nice.”
    “Or what?” Morgan asked, balling up and tossing his empty wrapper at Jeff.
    “Or Logan will keep all the cheesecake for himself.” Logan helped Jordan into the chair, handing her a soda and a sandwich before heading off into the kitchen again.
    Jeff frowned. “Since when do you drink Sprite, Jordy?”
    “Since today.” She took a sip and made a face. “Blech.”
    “Gimme, I’ll drink it.” Jamie stood to take the can of soda from her sister.
    Travis pulled her gently back down. “Let her