Unfair Advantage

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE





Dani spent a while in the area behind the video store. Nathan’s spirit did not linger there. She did feel a vibe, though. An eerie sensation that made her conscious she stood on the same ground walked by this boy’s killer.



Michael’s killer.



Something had changed since she’d hopped into Sergei. It made her more aware of the murderer. The violence he stamped upon the places he went. She decided to try with Michael. Her most solid connection resided with him. If she could hop into one ghost, she could another.



When she told Tim she couldn‘t really get anything from the alley, he replied, “That’s not the worse news today.” Then he explained about the plate proving somewhat of a dead end.



The ride back to her apartment passed in silence. Fielding called ahead so the officers could admit them past the barricades. Inside her apartment, she found a note from Ashlyn telling Dani her laptop came and waited on her bed, and second Ash had taken off to pick up dinner. Larkin answered his cell again. She put on a pot of coffee, let Buddy out of his crate and opened the French doors so he could come and go to the courtyard.



After concluding the call, Larkin said, “Our guy is a sharp son-of-bitch. Thirty-four years ago at a private physician’s clinic in San Francisco, Hale Barton, now owner of one black Jaguar coup, was born. Still born.”



“Oh no.” She felt as if all her suffering and efforts meant nothing. Dead end.



Larkin continued. “Special agent Ford and Tanzetti are running with what we have. I asked them to do a search for stillbirths and infant deaths from the same time frame and cross-reference them with New York driver’s licenses.”



“That license has a picture.” Dani’s hope returned. I need to see it.”



“Captain’s already on it. An enlarged copy will be in the hands of every patrol and beat cop in the city.”



“I want to see his face.” She needed to have the hazy image cleared. To put a visage on the evil phantom of her imaginings.



“Do you have email here?” he asked.



“I will when I get my laptop set up.”



Larkin regarded her for a moment. His eyes held a light that caused her to wonder if he thought about something outside the current topic. “Is there a fax here?”



“The lobby office has one.”



“I’ll speak to them on the way out. Arrange for them to get a picture to you.”



Ashlyn breezed in with a bag from a nearby pasta place and a bottle of wine. “Hey, girl.” Her gaze raked Larkin and Tim. “Detectives.” She strolled into the kitchen.



Tim announced, “We’d better go.”





Dani let them out, closed the door. She didn’t know how to feel about the many events she poured out to her friend. Ash always lent a sympathetic ear and good advice.



“Honey, I admire what you’re doing so much. I could rent a billboard and put up in big letters ’My friend’s fighting to save your children.’.” She opened the wine, poured them each a glass. Handing one to Dani, Ash said, “You’re getting better at it. Which probably means less danger. You have to learn to disconnect, too. Like this evening. Drink that pinot grigio and relax.”



Dani carried her wine to the living room. “Any minute someone will knock, hand me the photo and I’ll see him.”



“This is the first big break they’ve had and you deserve all the credit. Look that SOB in the face and know your enemy. Then finish this bottle with me and have some fun.”



Not three minutes later a rapping came. Ashlyn motioned for her to sit, went to open, accept the paper and lock up behind. “Are you ready?”



Dani nodded. She took the color printout, shivered.



The eyes caught her first. Almond-shaped and a deep green. Not exactly jade or emerald. More like a combination. He possessed the sort of handsomeness that made you think of a foreign prince. Exotic and elegant. Dark gold hair pulled back.



The memory of seeing his reflection in a water-wavy window returned full force. It clarified.



“It’s him.” She hurled the picture away. It floated lazily to land on the floor.



Ashlyn bent, grabbed it and carried to throw away under the sink. “Larkin’s number is on the caller ID. I’ll call him and let him know what you said.”





Roarke, Fielding and Ferelli spent three hours watching the computer try to match stillbirths with NY drivers. Nothing. Then, Fielding had an idea.



“What about a deed search? Can we cross-reference stillbirths with real estate purchases?”



Agent Ford had to someone in Langley to do it. By eight-thirty that night, they had two hits.



Dead kids didn’t buy property.



Roarke felt his first thrill in the hunt. They were getting closer.





Peta Seymour stepped out of the smelly cab, saw Dom’s number on her cell, almost didn’t answer. He didn’t have anything to give her the other night. She hadn’t bothered with him since. Sighing, she picked up. “Yes?”



“I want to see you.”



She handed the driver a twenty, walked down to the front of Riposte, a trendy grill restaurant that flame-cooked on sword-like skewers. “Really?” Peta glanced at her nails. Good thing she had an appointment tomorrow.



“We’ve had our first break.”



Peta’s entire body vibrated with a sharp thrill. “When can I come over?”



“I should get there around ten.”



“It‘s a date.”





The wine helped Dani’s nerves. She drank two glasses before they ate. Despite her trying day, she had an appetite. She had angel hair with lobster, crushed tomatoes, artichokes, baby mozzarella, and basil, tossed with olive oil. Ashlyn, manicotti stuffed with roasted red peppers, chicken and baby portabellas covered in a sherry cream sauce.



Afterward, they took bottles of water outside and sat on the steps leading down to the grassy courtyard. For a short time, Dani pretended nothing unpleasant happened around her.



Inside the apartment, the land line rang.



“Let the machine screen.” Ashlyn tightened the cap on her water.



After six rings, it did. The factory greeting, then, “This is Elite Transport Services. Your car is waiting outside the service entrance.”



Dan looked at her friend.



Ash hiked an eyebrow. “That man means business.”



“What if it’s not him? It could be someone trying to lure me out? Interview me.”



“Who besides Larkin could get the cops to let the car through?”



Dani realized Ash had a point. “Okay. But, I can’t think of one reason I should indulge the presumptuous bastard.”



“He looks like sex walking. And from your description, it sounds as if the guy hands out orgasms like candy.”



Not what Dani wanted to hear. “I’m going to use the opportunity to tell him it was a one time thing.“ Dani went inside, dialed the number from the caller ID. “I just heard my car’s waiting. Give me ten minutes.”





Roarke pulled on button fly Levis, combed his damp hair and checked his answering machine. By now the service would have arrived to drive her to meet him. He knew she’d come. Maybe not for the reason she gave herself. Still, she would come.



He pulled on a FDNY shirt his friend from the five-five gave as a Christmas gift last year. Then he went to meet the car service at the designated site.



When Roarke arrived under the bridge, a sleek black car already waited. He didn’t want his face seen. So he remained in the truck. Dani came over and climbed into the cab saying, “This tops it, Larkin.”



An uncomfortably predatory satisfaction filled him. He had her now. Close, alone. His. She brought out something primitive in him that Roarke decided he’d rather not examine at the moment.



“For someone who always does the right thing,’ she continued, “this breaks new ground on recklessness.”



He glanced over at her, noted her long legs in the brown jeans, and the way the shirt she wore hugged her body. “We have a conversation to finish.”



“I should have seen this coming.”



“What?” He turned left.



“Control issues. The macho cop thing screams it. Besides that, in my former life, I wrote the damn book on it.”



Roarke replied, “We have to talk about what’s happening between us. Unfortunately there’s no normal way to go about it right now.”



“Your answer is to practically have me kidnapped and delivered to you?”



Not particularly happy about it, he answered, “Tossing you over my shoulder was my first choice.”



“Unbelievable.”



He didn’t reply. She fell silent until they pulled into his garage. When the door to the street closed, Roarke shut off the truck, pulled keys from the ignition. “Shall we?”



Inside, he locked the door behind her. She glanced around. Roarke wondered how she saw the plain white walls, white tile. Then, he knew.



“Looks like your apartment from the previous life.”



She nodded. “Scale’s way off, wrong zip code. But, yes.”



From the fridge he withdrew a bottle of Glenfiddich. “Drink?”



Dani checked the offering. “Yes.”



He poured them each a rock glass. “What’s your problem with us?”



She accepted the drink, replied, “The only ‘us’ is our involvement during this investigation.”



He sipped scotch. Peaty fumes billowed. He watched her taste it as well, imagined sharing the flavor. “That’s bullshit.”



Dani surprised him. “Okay. Let me try again. There can’t be an ‘us’.”



“We didn’t have a one night stand.”



She sipped her liquor. “I agree. It’s just everything about this case, the circumstances limit our options. And honestly, I don’t want a relationship.”

“

Little late for that,” he observed, set his scotch on the table. “I’ve stopped the world for us again. We have tonight.” Roarke reached for her.



Her reserve vanished between one heartbeat and the next. He saw it, sensed it.



Reacted.