eyes, silvery green and rimmed in thick black lashes. For a second she seemed to catch his eye, to look right at him, and she hesitated, mascara wand in hand. Little lines appeared between her arched eyebrows, a hint of worry. As if she knew. Her eyes narrowed, and his heart pounded hard against his ribs.
Turning quickly, she stared out the window, to the gathering darkness and the snow now falling steadily. Was it fear he saw in her green eyes? Premonition?
“Just you wait,” he whispered, his voice soft in the deadly quiet forest, the snow becoming thick enough that her image was blurred, his erection suddenly rock-hard as he conjured up pictures of what he would do to her.
But that instant of fear was gone, and her lips pulled into a half smile, as if she’d been foolish. She flipped off the bathroom light, then headed back to her bedroom. Once in her cozy master suite, she yanked a sweater from her bed and pulled it over her head. For a few seconds he felt ecstasy, watching as her arms uplifted and for a heartbeat she was blindfolded and trapped in the garment, but then her head poked through a wide cowl neck and her arms slid through the sweater’s sleeves. She pulled her rope of hair from the neckline and walked quickly out of view, snapping the lights off as she entered the hallway.
Hot desire zinged through his blood at the thought of her.
Beautiful.
Arrogant.
Proud.
And soon, very soon, to be brought to her knees.
CHAPTER 9
“Get this,” BJ said, as Carter walked into the courthouse the next day. He’d spent the last three hours at the scene of an accident where a semi had jackknifed on I-84. The huge truck had hit a patch of black ice and slammed into an SUV filled with teenagers on their way to the mountain for night skiing. One kid had been treated by EMTs and released, two others had been sent by ambulance to local hospitals, and a third had been life-flighted to Portland. The driver of the eighteen-wheeler had escaped without injury except for the mental anguish he was putting himself through.
“Just don’t tell me it’s more bad news,” Carter said, yanking off his gloves. He was cold, tired, and hungry, as he’d missed both breakfast and lunch. Freezing rain had snarled traffic, the schools had closed, and now a blizzard was blowing down the gorge.
BJ ignored his bad mood as he stopped in the small kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot simmering in the coffeemaker. He took a long sip and felt the hot liquid splash against the bottom of his empty stomach. Finally, as they headed toward his office, she asked, “What is it you’ve been bugging me about for over twenty-four hours?”
“The autopsy on the Jane Doe.”
“Bingo.” She flashed him a smile. “Just ask and ye shall receive.”
It was on his desk. He unzipped his coat and hung it on a peg, then picked up the computer pages and scanned them quickly. “Cause of death hasn’t been determined.”
“That’s right, but check out the teeth. Definitely filed down. No dental work to be found, so we can’t ID her that way. No flesh on her fingers, so no prints. Not enough left of her to identify her from physical marks. No tattoos or scars, none of her bones were ever broken, well, at least none of the ones we’ve discovered. But they did analyze the stuff in her hair.”
Carter had already seen the note. “Latex?”
“Yep, but foam, not paint.”
“Foam,” he repeated. “Like the rubber stuff.”
“Mmm. And some of it was inside her. Now, check the other stuff they found. Alginate.”
“What the hell’s that?”
“It’s manufactured from a seaweed source, comes in a powder that, when added with water, creates the stuff that dentists use to make molds of teeth. Have you ever been fitted for a crown and had to bite into a mold filled with some cherry-flavored goop? That’s alginate.”
“How do you know that?” he asked. BJ always amazed him.
“I’m Internet-friendly.”
“So while
Turning quickly, she stared out the window, to the gathering darkness and the snow now falling steadily. Was it fear he saw in her green eyes? Premonition?
“Just you wait,” he whispered, his voice soft in the deadly quiet forest, the snow becoming thick enough that her image was blurred, his erection suddenly rock-hard as he conjured up pictures of what he would do to her.
But that instant of fear was gone, and her lips pulled into a half smile, as if she’d been foolish. She flipped off the bathroom light, then headed back to her bedroom. Once in her cozy master suite, she yanked a sweater from her bed and pulled it over her head. For a few seconds he felt ecstasy, watching as her arms uplifted and for a heartbeat she was blindfolded and trapped in the garment, but then her head poked through a wide cowl neck and her arms slid through the sweater’s sleeves. She pulled her rope of hair from the neckline and walked quickly out of view, snapping the lights off as she entered the hallway.
Hot desire zinged through his blood at the thought of her.
Beautiful.
Arrogant.
Proud.
And soon, very soon, to be brought to her knees.
CHAPTER 9
“Get this,” BJ said, as Carter walked into the courthouse the next day. He’d spent the last three hours at the scene of an accident where a semi had jackknifed on I-84. The huge truck had hit a patch of black ice and slammed into an SUV filled with teenagers on their way to the mountain for night skiing. One kid had been treated by EMTs and released, two others had been sent by ambulance to local hospitals, and a third had been life-flighted to Portland. The driver of the eighteen-wheeler had escaped without injury except for the mental anguish he was putting himself through.
“Just don’t tell me it’s more bad news,” Carter said, yanking off his gloves. He was cold, tired, and hungry, as he’d missed both breakfast and lunch. Freezing rain had snarled traffic, the schools had closed, and now a blizzard was blowing down the gorge.
BJ ignored his bad mood as he stopped in the small kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot simmering in the coffeemaker. He took a long sip and felt the hot liquid splash against the bottom of his empty stomach. Finally, as they headed toward his office, she asked, “What is it you’ve been bugging me about for over twenty-four hours?”
“The autopsy on the Jane Doe.”
“Bingo.” She flashed him a smile. “Just ask and ye shall receive.”
It was on his desk. He unzipped his coat and hung it on a peg, then picked up the computer pages and scanned them quickly. “Cause of death hasn’t been determined.”
“That’s right, but check out the teeth. Definitely filed down. No dental work to be found, so we can’t ID her that way. No flesh on her fingers, so no prints. Not enough left of her to identify her from physical marks. No tattoos or scars, none of her bones were ever broken, well, at least none of the ones we’ve discovered. But they did analyze the stuff in her hair.”
Carter had already seen the note. “Latex?”
“Yep, but foam, not paint.”
“Foam,” he repeated. “Like the rubber stuff.”
“Mmm. And some of it was inside her. Now, check the other stuff they found. Alginate.”
“What the hell’s that?”
“It’s manufactured from a seaweed source, comes in a powder that, when added with water, creates the stuff that dentists use to make molds of teeth. Have you ever been fitted for a crown and had to bite into a mold filled with some cherry-flavored goop? That’s alginate.”
“How do you know that?” he asked. BJ always amazed him.
“I’m Internet-friendly.”
“So while
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