tempered with surprise as she tugged her slender, strong arm free of his grasp. Reminiscent of the tension from their first day as partners, the tug had sent fire racing through his blood.
“What? What’s going on?” She stared at him, even as she followed his direction toward the door. Dropping a twenty on the counter, he nodded to the pretty waitress, more to irk Elizabeth than to flirt, and guided her out of the cafe. Rushing to the car, he opened her door. As he went to close it, her leg braced it open. “Barrow, what is going on?” The insistence in her voice forced him to answer.
“There’s been another murder, and it looks like its the same guy. We are headed to the crime scene now.” Her leg pulled back with a jerk and he closed the door. Rushing around to the other side, he started the car, flicked on the lights and turned out into traffic. As he moved through and around the crowded streets, she sat irritatingly still next to him.
“It’s only been a little over a week, what serial killer strikes again that fast? Do they know its the same guy?” He could feel her stormy eyes moving over his face and it very nearly unnerved him. Turning the car down a side street to avoid the back up at a light, he cleared his throat.
“Same M.O. Two victims, found face down, bound and stabbed in the back at a health club near the park. Proximity to the first crime scene, just a couple blocks down, is another indicator.” He whipped the car back onto the main road ahead of the clogged intersection.
“Wha...what health club?” The drawl peaking around the panic in her voice made the hair on his neck stand out. The memory of her personal connection to the first victims popped into his head. Realizing all too slowly that it was likely she could know these as well, he swallowed hard.
“MFG & Combat Training Center.” The ragged gasp next to him told him everything he had feared was true. “It’s your gym, isn’t it?” His heart wrenched for her. At only nine am, this was going to be a long day.
Chapter 10
As Elizabeth Walked through the doors of MFG, Grace, the receptionist, who had been trying to answer a uniform’s questions between her sobs, saw her. Without hesitation, she all but ran at Elizabeth, wrapping her slightly larger frame around her and breaking down into a quivering mass of tears. She cried into the dark red wall of Elizabeth’s hair, repeating over and over again, “Where were you Liz, where were you?” Barrow left her to deal with the distraught woman while he went to inspect the scene, returning a few minutes later to find that Grace still clung tightly to Elizabeth’s neck. She struggled in vain to free herself of the woman’s grasp. In truth, she had never been friends with Grace. She was just the receptionist to Elizabeth, but, considering that it must have been Grace who had found the bodies, and that hers was the first familiar face she had found, Elizabeth allowed her to cling. Cooing as best she could, she tried to calm the irate woman, admitting to herself that she needed to spend a little more time practicing her interpersonal skills from now on. It took almost shoving her off to get Grace to come free, but even then she wouldn’t release her hand. The contact felt wrong, awkward, but not wanting to risk another torrent of tears, Elizabeth allowed her the touch.
“Grace, tell me what happened. What do you mean where was I?” Elizabeth sat her down in a chair in the lobby of the familiar gym and took a seat close enough to allow the woman continued access to her small hand. Barrow took up a post standing just behind Grace’s chair. Much to Elizabeth’s discomfort, she could not look at Grace without seeing his questioning, piercing gaze, which seemed focused more on her than Grace.
“You were supposed to teach the advanced class this morning, weren’t you? I mean, that’s what it said on the board.” Grace craned around to point at the large white
“What? What’s going on?” She stared at him, even as she followed his direction toward the door. Dropping a twenty on the counter, he nodded to the pretty waitress, more to irk Elizabeth than to flirt, and guided her out of the cafe. Rushing to the car, he opened her door. As he went to close it, her leg braced it open. “Barrow, what is going on?” The insistence in her voice forced him to answer.
“There’s been another murder, and it looks like its the same guy. We are headed to the crime scene now.” Her leg pulled back with a jerk and he closed the door. Rushing around to the other side, he started the car, flicked on the lights and turned out into traffic. As he moved through and around the crowded streets, she sat irritatingly still next to him.
“It’s only been a little over a week, what serial killer strikes again that fast? Do they know its the same guy?” He could feel her stormy eyes moving over his face and it very nearly unnerved him. Turning the car down a side street to avoid the back up at a light, he cleared his throat.
“Same M.O. Two victims, found face down, bound and stabbed in the back at a health club near the park. Proximity to the first crime scene, just a couple blocks down, is another indicator.” He whipped the car back onto the main road ahead of the clogged intersection.
“Wha...what health club?” The drawl peaking around the panic in her voice made the hair on his neck stand out. The memory of her personal connection to the first victims popped into his head. Realizing all too slowly that it was likely she could know these as well, he swallowed hard.
“MFG & Combat Training Center.” The ragged gasp next to him told him everything he had feared was true. “It’s your gym, isn’t it?” His heart wrenched for her. At only nine am, this was going to be a long day.
Chapter 10
As Elizabeth Walked through the doors of MFG, Grace, the receptionist, who had been trying to answer a uniform’s questions between her sobs, saw her. Without hesitation, she all but ran at Elizabeth, wrapping her slightly larger frame around her and breaking down into a quivering mass of tears. She cried into the dark red wall of Elizabeth’s hair, repeating over and over again, “Where were you Liz, where were you?” Barrow left her to deal with the distraught woman while he went to inspect the scene, returning a few minutes later to find that Grace still clung tightly to Elizabeth’s neck. She struggled in vain to free herself of the woman’s grasp. In truth, she had never been friends with Grace. She was just the receptionist to Elizabeth, but, considering that it must have been Grace who had found the bodies, and that hers was the first familiar face she had found, Elizabeth allowed her to cling. Cooing as best she could, she tried to calm the irate woman, admitting to herself that she needed to spend a little more time practicing her interpersonal skills from now on. It took almost shoving her off to get Grace to come free, but even then she wouldn’t release her hand. The contact felt wrong, awkward, but not wanting to risk another torrent of tears, Elizabeth allowed her the touch.
“Grace, tell me what happened. What do you mean where was I?” Elizabeth sat her down in a chair in the lobby of the familiar gym and took a seat close enough to allow the woman continued access to her small hand. Barrow took up a post standing just behind Grace’s chair. Much to Elizabeth’s discomfort, she could not look at Grace without seeing his questioning, piercing gaze, which seemed focused more on her than Grace.
“You were supposed to teach the advanced class this morning, weren’t you? I mean, that’s what it said on the board.” Grace craned around to point at the large white
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