Family Honor by Jamie Hill Page B

wait and see when this case is solved, I bet I'm proved right. He smiled, keeping his thoughts to himself. He remembered something else and asked, "The vice cop one of the girls mentioned, Marshall somebody?"
    Mel nodded. "Brady Marshall. Been in Special Investigations for a number of years."
    "You think he'd come over and talk to us about the case? He most likely knows the neighborhood. We've got a lot of leads to track down. Thrift stores in the area that might have sold those uniforms, that kind of stuff."
    "I'm sure he would, but it's going to have to be Monday."
    "Monday it is."
    They batted around more ideas for another couple of hours, and when someone mentioned lunch, Nate glanced at his watch. He looked at Mel. "We seem to be at a standstill until the first of the week. I'd like to take the case files with me to study over the rest of the weekend. We can pick this up again Monday morning."
    Stone and Becker both lit up. Mel seemed to like the idea, but didn't want to appear too enthused. "If you say so, I think that would be all right."
    They stood and each of them gathered their own paperwork. Nate took the opportunity to speak softly to Becker. "I wanted to apologize for last night. I think I was trying a little too hard to unwind and forgot I hadn't eaten much yesterday. The beer knocked me on my ass."
    She stared up at him with a pleasant but blank expression. "I don't know what you're referring to. Last night was fun. I hope you'll be in town long enough that we can all do it again." She gathered her things, turned and walked out.
    Mel followed, leaving him standing there with Stone. Nate scratched his head. "The females in your department have me bamboozled. I've tried to apologize to each of them for drinking too much last night, but neither one wants to hear it. So, do I have anything to apologize to you for after last night?"
    Stone grinned. "Oh, if I told you now, that would be waaay too easy. You need to live in fear a little while longer."
    Nate shook his head, unable to suppress his grin. Mel's partner was a pretty cool guy. "Jerk," he muttered genially as they walked out. "You're so much like Mel, it's scary."
    Stone kept walking toward the door. "I'll take that as a compliment. Enjoy your weekend in Kansas, Agent Willis. Hope I don't see the rest of you soon."
    "Hope I don't see you either," Mel called back, and added, "See you Becker."
    "Bye all." Becker followed Stone out.
    Nate turned to Mel and blinked. "Hope I don't see you?"
    She smiled. "If we see each other soon, it means we got called in to work another homicide."
    "Oh! Of course." He looked toward the empty doorway. "Hope I don't see you either."
    Mel laughed. "I'm famished. Shall we grab a bite to eat before I show you to your hotel? That is, if you've remembered the name of it by now."
    He patted his breast pocket. "I have their card, right here. I'm starving, too. How about a more leisurely lunch, instead of grabbing on the run. Pick someplace nice, anywhere that isn't full of cops, that is."
    She smiled. "Planning to do something illegal?"
    He sidled up close to her. "Of course not. But possibly something immoral, and I don't need fifty of your closest friends watching."
    She seemed to contemplate his offer for a moment before replying, "Okay, I'm game. I know just the place. Do you like Italian?"
    He let his gaze travel to her full, lush lips. "I love Italian."
    Her eyes captured his for a moment, and they studied each other. She pulled away. "Grab your files and follow me. The restaurant's not far, but I think we should take two cars. That way neither one of us will overindulge on the wine."
    He grinned. "I don't plan on doing that again for a long time. But I'll follow you, just because I like the view."
    She looked over her shoulder and smiled.

 

 
 
    Chapter Four

 
 
    The restaurant was crowded for noontime, but they had a booth in the corner available. Mel threaded her way through the tables, trying to keep up with the