as a step up from the “babe” he was fond of using. He picked up JR, hugging him until he giggled, struggling to be put down. TJ reminded herself how lucky she was to have Richard with her. They had broken up for a few months when she and Lisa Rayburn were on a mission to find out why abused women were disappearing in Milwaukee County. She had turned to Jeff Denison, whose wife had just gone missing, and they became friends during the search for a killer. Their friendship turned physical on New Year’s Eve, shortly after TJ realized who was responsible for the disappearances and had known there was no way to prove it.
All her energies at the time had been on a quest for the killer, not on Richard, and he had moved on with another woman. After Jeff was killed, it seemed natural that she and Richard would gravitate back to one another. Amazingly, there had been no regrets when they discovered she was pregnant with Jeff’s child. Before JR was born, he had even asked her if she wanted to get married, but she hadn’t been ready for such a big step. Now she had conflicting feelings, wondering if she had been too hasty while at the same time hating to give up her independence. At least Richard hadn’t questioned her taking the case.
The next morning after Richard left, she spent time playing with JR, then put him down for a nap and went downstairs to the office with the baby monitor in her pocket. Her security business had no official hours yet. It had been slow getting started, and TJ had been okay with that for months. She wanted to be there for her son as much as possible when he was so small. But lately, she was getting bored with security work and itched to be doing something more meaningful. Gemma’s case—if it even turned out not to be a case—could make all the difference.
Her trip to the Wauwatosa police department hadn’t been helpful. The detective in charge of the fire didn’t tell her any more than the fire inspector had. She knew something else had been going on; the atmosphere in the room had a buzz, like an interesting case had just popped. Now she scoured the pages of the local paper, looking for anything new or sensational. Nothing. About to give up, the phone rang. Probably her sister, Janeen, who called TJ daily.
Yup . “Guess what? I’m getting a new kid—a baby.” Janeen had recently opened her own daycare business. She took care of two toddlers, one JR’s age and a two-year-old too young for preschool. Her own kids, Jazz and Lonnie, were in school all day now.
“That’s great. Boy or girl?” TJ knew Janeen loved babies.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t ask. It’s a baby, doesn’t matter. The woman has two other kids that the grandma takes care of, but she told her daughter she couldn’t handle a baby. She’s bringing the baby here so she can go back to work.”
“Let me guess,” TJ said, “you’re givin’ her a great deal.” Janeen’s silence answered the question. “Hey, no big deal. You love babies, and they’re not a lot of work if you get one like JR.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait. It’ll be a week or two, though. She just had the baby a few days ago. Oh, and she’s a cop. Right by you in Tosa.”
TJ tilted back in her chair and grinned. It was just what she needed—an in with a Tosa cop. Hopefully she would be nothing like Brian Haymaker.
Chapter 13
W ith the prescription sleeping pills finally in my medicine cabinet, I enjoyed a few nights of uninterrupted sleep, and been tempted to cancel the group therapy session. Being honest with myself, though, I had to admit Lisa Rayburn was right; there could be an underlying cause for my sleep demons that I hadn’t been able to figure out.
I had been having second thoughts about telling Lisa the story of my secret love affair with Taylor Harcourt. Discussing it brought back all the old memories. I needed to force myself back to the reality of the present and take care of more pressing things like my work and
All her energies at the time had been on a quest for the killer, not on Richard, and he had moved on with another woman. After Jeff was killed, it seemed natural that she and Richard would gravitate back to one another. Amazingly, there had been no regrets when they discovered she was pregnant with Jeff’s child. Before JR was born, he had even asked her if she wanted to get married, but she hadn’t been ready for such a big step. Now she had conflicting feelings, wondering if she had been too hasty while at the same time hating to give up her independence. At least Richard hadn’t questioned her taking the case.
The next morning after Richard left, she spent time playing with JR, then put him down for a nap and went downstairs to the office with the baby monitor in her pocket. Her security business had no official hours yet. It had been slow getting started, and TJ had been okay with that for months. She wanted to be there for her son as much as possible when he was so small. But lately, she was getting bored with security work and itched to be doing something more meaningful. Gemma’s case—if it even turned out not to be a case—could make all the difference.
Her trip to the Wauwatosa police department hadn’t been helpful. The detective in charge of the fire didn’t tell her any more than the fire inspector had. She knew something else had been going on; the atmosphere in the room had a buzz, like an interesting case had just popped. Now she scoured the pages of the local paper, looking for anything new or sensational. Nothing. About to give up, the phone rang. Probably her sister, Janeen, who called TJ daily.
Yup . “Guess what? I’m getting a new kid—a baby.” Janeen had recently opened her own daycare business. She took care of two toddlers, one JR’s age and a two-year-old too young for preschool. Her own kids, Jazz and Lonnie, were in school all day now.
“That’s great. Boy or girl?” TJ knew Janeen loved babies.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t ask. It’s a baby, doesn’t matter. The woman has two other kids that the grandma takes care of, but she told her daughter she couldn’t handle a baby. She’s bringing the baby here so she can go back to work.”
“Let me guess,” TJ said, “you’re givin’ her a great deal.” Janeen’s silence answered the question. “Hey, no big deal. You love babies, and they’re not a lot of work if you get one like JR.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait. It’ll be a week or two, though. She just had the baby a few days ago. Oh, and she’s a cop. Right by you in Tosa.”
TJ tilted back in her chair and grinned. It was just what she needed—an in with a Tosa cop. Hopefully she would be nothing like Brian Haymaker.
Chapter 13
W ith the prescription sleeping pills finally in my medicine cabinet, I enjoyed a few nights of uninterrupted sleep, and been tempted to cancel the group therapy session. Being honest with myself, though, I had to admit Lisa Rayburn was right; there could be an underlying cause for my sleep demons that I hadn’t been able to figure out.
I had been having second thoughts about telling Lisa the story of my secret love affair with Taylor Harcourt. Discussing it brought back all the old memories. I needed to force myself back to the reality of the present and take care of more pressing things like my work and
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