its stream, trying to wake up her body, if not her brain.
She’d been up late copying Kelly’s medical files, rape kit report, and the details of the investigation to date. She’d also scanned Kelly’s pictures into her home computer, though she knew that was of limited use. Still, it would have to do until she could get the photos professionally duplicated. That way, if any more of Kelly’s information went missing, they’d have a backup copy stored in a safe place.
Which did not include her office at work. The more she thought about last night, the more she saw it as a positive thing that someone had rifled through her papers—it showed she was making someone very nervous.
Good. That meant she was digging in the right place.
Luke ordered a pot of coffee and sat back in the corner of the vinyl booth to wait for Tessa’s arrival. He whistled a quiet tune and tapped his fingers in time on the table. An elderly woman seated across the aisle caught the action and smiled. He nodded and smiled back.
Not wanting to analyze too closely why he’d been looking forward to this meeting, Luke took out his notebook to review the information he had gathered since speaking to Paul Jacobi on Sunday. When a bell jingled daintily over the front door, he looked up to see Tessa removing her sunglasses. She saw him and hesitated, just briefly, before making her way to the booth.
As she got closer, Luke saw the deep circles under her blue-gray eyes. Her face was a little paler than he remembered,too. And there was a tightness to the way she carried herself that told him she was both tired and stressed.
Not that it made any difference in her efficient walk and the swing of her nicely curved hips. It just showed in the set of her shoulders and the grip she had on her black briefcase. Something was gnawing at her.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like hell. Hot date last night?” Luke asked.
“Is there a right way to take that comment? Besides, you’re the one who dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn. What do you want?” Tessa was never at her best before morning coffee, which she hadn’t had time to make before leaving this morning. L.A. commuters had paid the price on her way to the coffee shop and now she was happy to turn her temper on Luke Novak.
“Efficient and to the point, as always. That’s what I like about you, Swiss.” Luke pushed a cup across the table to her, then motioned to the carafe of coffee at the end of the table.
“I like it, too. So why don’t you get to the point,” Tessa said, snatching the carafe and pouring liquid caffeine into her cup. She could almost feel the dull headache behind her eyes easing its grip as she took a huge gulp.
“You’re grumpy in the mornings—that’s so cute.” Luke grinned when she scowled at him. “All right, enough teasing. And I’ll use short sentences with small words so you can follow. I’ve looked further into Kelly’s story, and it seems like both of you could use some help.”
Surprised, Tessa lowered her cup to the table with a thump. “Why did you look into Kelly? How was it possibly any of your business, since you turned the case down because you didn’t believe me?”
“It’s not that I didn’t believe you—”
“But you didn’t believe Kelly, I know,” Tessa finished. “What’s changed?”
“I’d like to help you, but I can’t do that if you’re grilling me. Do you want to argue about bad first impressions, or doyou want to prosecute the rich jock who raped an eighteen-year-old girl in his Hollywood Hills home?”
Tessa raised her eyebrows as she took another sip of coffee. Apparently Luke Novak had done enough investigative work to realize that Sledge Aiken was a real loser, one who was more than capable of the crime of which he’d been accused.
“So now you believe us. Why?” Tessa asked.
“I don’t believe the whole story.”
“At which point do you get lost?”
“I believe the starstruck
She’d been up late copying Kelly’s medical files, rape kit report, and the details of the investigation to date. She’d also scanned Kelly’s pictures into her home computer, though she knew that was of limited use. Still, it would have to do until she could get the photos professionally duplicated. That way, if any more of Kelly’s information went missing, they’d have a backup copy stored in a safe place.
Which did not include her office at work. The more she thought about last night, the more she saw it as a positive thing that someone had rifled through her papers—it showed she was making someone very nervous.
Good. That meant she was digging in the right place.
Luke ordered a pot of coffee and sat back in the corner of the vinyl booth to wait for Tessa’s arrival. He whistled a quiet tune and tapped his fingers in time on the table. An elderly woman seated across the aisle caught the action and smiled. He nodded and smiled back.
Not wanting to analyze too closely why he’d been looking forward to this meeting, Luke took out his notebook to review the information he had gathered since speaking to Paul Jacobi on Sunday. When a bell jingled daintily over the front door, he looked up to see Tessa removing her sunglasses. She saw him and hesitated, just briefly, before making her way to the booth.
As she got closer, Luke saw the deep circles under her blue-gray eyes. Her face was a little paler than he remembered,too. And there was a tightness to the way she carried herself that told him she was both tired and stressed.
Not that it made any difference in her efficient walk and the swing of her nicely curved hips. It just showed in the set of her shoulders and the grip she had on her black briefcase. Something was gnawing at her.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like hell. Hot date last night?” Luke asked.
“Is there a right way to take that comment? Besides, you’re the one who dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn. What do you want?” Tessa was never at her best before morning coffee, which she hadn’t had time to make before leaving this morning. L.A. commuters had paid the price on her way to the coffee shop and now she was happy to turn her temper on Luke Novak.
“Efficient and to the point, as always. That’s what I like about you, Swiss.” Luke pushed a cup across the table to her, then motioned to the carafe of coffee at the end of the table.
“I like it, too. So why don’t you get to the point,” Tessa said, snatching the carafe and pouring liquid caffeine into her cup. She could almost feel the dull headache behind her eyes easing its grip as she took a huge gulp.
“You’re grumpy in the mornings—that’s so cute.” Luke grinned when she scowled at him. “All right, enough teasing. And I’ll use short sentences with small words so you can follow. I’ve looked further into Kelly’s story, and it seems like both of you could use some help.”
Surprised, Tessa lowered her cup to the table with a thump. “Why did you look into Kelly? How was it possibly any of your business, since you turned the case down because you didn’t believe me?”
“It’s not that I didn’t believe you—”
“But you didn’t believe Kelly, I know,” Tessa finished. “What’s changed?”
“I’d like to help you, but I can’t do that if you’re grilling me. Do you want to argue about bad first impressions, or doyou want to prosecute the rich jock who raped an eighteen-year-old girl in his Hollywood Hills home?”
Tessa raised her eyebrows as she took another sip of coffee. Apparently Luke Novak had done enough investigative work to realize that Sledge Aiken was a real loser, one who was more than capable of the crime of which he’d been accused.
“So now you believe us. Why?” Tessa asked.
“I don’t believe the whole story.”
“At which point do you get lost?”
“I believe the starstruck
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