Chapter 4
Four
W hat the actual?—
“Eileen?”
She glanced at Sharlene. Even wearing heels, she felt tiny compared to the African American ME. She was over five nine, with sharp dark brown eyes that rarely missed anything. Even standing at a crime scene as bloody as this one, Sharlene looked stunning.
“I might be wrong.”
Sharlene let her eyebrow rise up. “You’re rarely wrong, and when you are, it’s so tiny no one notices.”
Eileen wished that was true. What she told her cousin was true. Being an O’Reilly was good, but it put a spotlight on her. Being one of the few women to make it to detective so fast and in homicide no less made her a target. Every asshole in the department who thought they should have been chosen made her life hell. Not outwardly. Just enough to slow down her investigations. But she knew Sharlene had dealt with her share of misogyny.
“This looks just like the Norma Wilson case.”
Sharlene pursed her lips. “When was that? I don’t think I worked on that case.”
“Probably because it happened in 1987.”
Her eyes widened as she looked down at the woman. “Did they ever catch the guy?”
Eileen shook her head.
“So…are you thinking this would be the same murderer?”
“God, no. The profile on the guy said he would have been white, in his mid-thirties to late forties. That would make it impossible. Even if he were in his twenties…”
“Not impossible, but definitely improbable.”
She nodded. “It’s odd to go this long between killings for someone like this.” She might not have been FBI like her brothers, but they had taught her a lot. This much rage was hard to contain. The victim might have been stabbed once in the heart, but the bruising and swelling around the face told of the bastard’s rage. Plus, stabbing someone in the chest was not an easy feat.
“Does she look like the woman?”
She had the same athletic build, slight curves. There was something familiar about the woman, but it was hard to tell with her face swollen.
“Yeah, except for the dark hair. That’s different.”
“Hmm. Well, hopefully, I can find out who she is fast.”
“How long has she been here?”
“Less than two hours. I hear they have the person who found her in the back of one of the cars.”
“Gotcha.”
She made her way back out of the alley, trying to hide the anxiety coursing through her. Eileen was usually good at controlling her nerves. It went with being a cop and, especially, a female cop.
“Does Sharlene have a TOD?” Eddie asked.
“Within the last two hours.”
He blew out a breath. “Damn.”
“Have you taken the witness statement?”
“Yeah. He was on his way home from work. Chad Baker,” he said, signaling with his head.
“Thoughts?”
“Could have done it, but he has no blood on him. Also, I already checked with the restaurant where he works. He only left about ten minutes before he called 911. With her being murdered in the last two hours…”
“Highly unlikely. Although, I guess we’ll have to double-check his alibi.”
Her partner nodded. “You might want to check him out before we turn him loose.”
She walked over and found the man sitting in the back of a squad car. The door was open. He was holding his head in his hands.
“Sir?”
He looked up at her, his gaze a little unfocused. She had seen it before, way too many times. People knew about murders and spent their days and nights watching all kinds of true crime. It was different when you were part of it. Light blue eyes, dirty blond hair, and a slight build. She would put him in his early to mid-twenties.
“Mr. Baker, I was told you found the body?”
He swallowed and nodded. “I was walking down the street to catch the bus and saw her feet on the other side of the dumpster. I know there are a lot of people who drink too much down here. Working at the bar, I see it all the time.”
She nodded. “How did you know it was a woman?”
He shrugged. “Little feet, so I assumed.”
The woman was small in stature.
His head was in his hands again. “I thought maybe it was just a mannequin.”
Ninety-nine percent of the time, it wasn’t a mannequin.
“Okay, Mr. Baker, we will probably have more questions, but I’ll have one of the officers take you home.”
His head rose. “I can get home on my own.”
“I know you can, but sometimes, people in your situation can have delayed responses. Do you live alone?”
He shook his head. “I live with my boyfriend.”
“And he’s home tonight?”
He nodded.
“Good. Sit tight, and we’ll get you home safely.”
She did not need this man going into shock on the way home. Watching murder on TV was a lot easier than being up close and personal with it in real life.
After sending one of the officers back to the man, Eileen returned to her partner.
“Yeah, the guy looks like he’s going into shock.”
He nodded. “Sorry to ruin your night.”
She smiled at him. “And yours, too.”
“Naw, Avery is teething.”
“Oh, so you were happy to abandon your wife.”
He snorted. “You’ve never had a teething kid. I promise you; you would do the same thing.”
“Okay, well, I’m gonna drop my degenerate cousin off and change. Should take me about thirty minutes.”
He nodded. “Crime scene people are almost done.”
When she returned to her car, Rowan was sitting on the hood. Somehow, he’d found a bag of chips. Seriously, where the hell did he get that? He was always eating, probably because of his training. She was sure SEALs ate an insane number of calories.
“Get off before I shoot you.”
He licked his fingers. Ugh.
“You can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can.”
He made a face and slid off the hood.
“Did you want to crash at my place? Or did you want me to drop you back at Fitzpatrick’s?”
“Naw. I’ll be up at O-dark thirty. Are you going back?”
She stopped at a light and slanted him a look. “I just got a body. I have a case to work.”
He nodded. “I just thought you would go back to see your boyfriend.”
She frowned. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Declan’s not your boyfriend? He sure does act like it. He watched you all night.”
Something fluttered in her belly. Stupid butterflies. She was thirty-two years old. She didn’t get all giggly over men. Not anymore. She’d learned her lesson. Men didn’t like a woman who had other interests, especially when those interests included dead bodies.
“You’re imagining things.”
“Am not.”
“That was mature.”
“More mature than pretending that some dude wasn’t making goo-goo eyes at you all night.”
“He wasn’t doing that, and I don’t think you can call yourself mature if you use the term goo-goo eyes.”
“Why don’t you ask him out?”
“Why are you being so nosey about my love life?” Or lack thereof. She hadn’t been out on a date in months, and those few she’d had in the last year had been…disappointing.
“Answering a question with a question. Dude, you want to date him, but…?”
“Listen, when men find out I’m a cop, they fit into one of two categories. They are repulsed by it because it is a guy job.”
“That group sounds like a bunch of a-holes.”
She snorted as she pulled into her driveway.
“And the second?”
She sighed. “Those dudes are turned on by it.”
“And you don’t want to date them?”
She glanced over at Rowan to find him frowning at her.
“It’s a fetish with them. Like the badge bunnies.” She’d always hated that term, but she knew that there were both women and men who wanted to date cops just because they were cops. And if you both understood the situation, she had no problem with it. As a woman in a male-dominated career, she knew she didn’t want to deal with that.
“Ugh, okay, but Declan seems like a nice guy.”
“Nice guys, don’t want to date a woman who is going to spend her Saturday night and Sunday morning working on a murder.”
He looked like he wanted to say more, but she didn’t have time. “Listen, we can talk about my non-existent love life later. I have work I have to do, and I know you understand that.”
It wasn’t until eight the following day that they finally had an ID on their victim. Both she and Eddie had gone home to grab an hour or two of sleep. They knew there was a good chance that their captain would be on their asses to get this one solved and fast.
“Irene Adams,” Robby said.
She looked over at him.
“That’s her name. Sent the info to your phone.”
She sighed as she picked up the phone. The moment she saw the ID photo, her breath backed up in her lungs.
“I know her.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded as she went through the info they had found on her.
Irene Adams was only twenty-five and had recently moved to Baltimore from Richmond, Virginia. She lived alone.
“She worked at Fitzpatrick’s.”
And that’s how badly her face had been beaten last night. She had looked familiar, but Eileen hadn’t been able to place where she knew her from. Again, that was a lot of rage.
Her parents still lived in Richmond, and Eddie offered to do the notification. Even over the phone, it was one of the worst things about this job. As a cop, you will play a starring role in the worst day of people’s lives.
Eddie sighed as he set his phone down. “They’ll be up here tonight to identify her. They’re in Virginia Beach for their anniversary.”
“Damn.” And now, every year, they would remember the death of their daughter.
Her phone buzzed, and she looked at it. “Oh, okay, we have some info on an ex. She filed a restraining order against him six months before leaving Richmond.”
Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. “She filed, then she moved away? That sounds like a lead.”
Eileen nodded. “Yeah, the asshole started stalking her after she broke up with him. Then, he escalated and…” her voice drifted off as she read on.
“And?”
“He broke into her house, smacked her around, and threatened her with a knife.”
Eddie whistled. “I would say that is a lead.”
“Name’s Brantley Brown.”
“Jesus, who would do that to a kid?”
She looked up at him. “You wanted to name your kid Sam. With the last name of Francisco.”
“That’s classy. Besides Marguerite said no. She rules the house.”
“Hey, guys.”
She cringed the moment she heard Bryan’s voice. Why the hell was he hanging around the place on a Sunday morning?
“Heard you caught the murder case.”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“Should we head over to Fitzpatrick’s?” Eddie asked loudly. He didn’t like Bryan. Now that she thought about it, not many people liked him since they had both started at the department. He had his group of bro dudes, those guys who still acted like they were twenty-two years old while in their thirties and forties. They drank beer, made condescending comments about women, and were gross. They all seemed to think they should get preferential treatment. All of them were legacies, just like her, but she worked twice as hard to prove herself. Those idiots were lazy, and many would probably never move up—unless a family member got them a leg up.
She shook her head. “Yeah. They do a late brunch, so they should have people there now.”
He rose out of his chair and smiled. “I love how you have a connection to food. You always know where to go for a meal.”
She rolled her eyes and didn’t tell him why she frequented restaurants as much as she did. That was her little secret, and only her family knew she couldn’t even boil water.
“You’re driving,” he said, tossing her the keys. She caught them and followed him out the door. She was about to become part of a bad day for everyone at Fitzpatrick’s.
She realized neither of them had said goodbye to Bryan when they stepped outside. They walked to the car, and once she started it up, she asked. “Why don’t you like Bryan?”
“He’s an asshole. I don’t think he deserves to be detective, either. There have been complaints.”
Eddie’s wife was an Assistant DA, so he would have heard. “Yeah?”
“Not just from people he arrested. There were a few other uniforms who were uncomfortable working with him.”
She thought about it as she drove. “I guess I could see it. He did not like when I beat him on a lot of stuff at the academy.”
“I don’t understand how you two dated.” He shook his head.
“I was twenty-one.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I didn’t make the best decisions then either.”
With a sigh, she pulled out into traffic. Today was definitely going to suck.
Declan rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the knot between his shoulder blades. He really hated it when he got that tense. It was like a sixth sense thing. Bad things always happened when he felt like this. Of course, it might be that he had about three hours of sleep, and bouncing back after that amount of sleep wasn’t something that had been easy since he’d hit thirty.
The worry came from Irene ghosting him. She had never been late for work since he’d hired her. The woman showed up early, stayed late, and was one of the best damned managers. When Adrian had called him to tell him she hadn’t shown up, he’d been dead to the world and in the middle of the most amazing dream about Eileen.
Just thinking about it had his cock twitching and his entire body heating. Which, of course, was totally inappropriate. His brothers were right to chide him, though. He was taking too long before asking Eileen out and if he wasn’t careful, some other guy would realize how wonderful she was.
“Hey, Declan, you said we’re doing the red velvet pancakes today?” Sandy Howard asked him. His head chef was four years older than him, with three kids, a husband she adored, and a sarcastic sense of humor that matched his own. She’d been with him for over a year and ran the kitchen. Someday, he hoped he could promote her to take over everything, and he would just run the behind-the-scenes things. He loved to cook and plan menus, but he worked twelve-hour days at least six days a week and needed a break.
“Yeah. I also made extra cookie butter icing for the cakelets today.”
“Fantastic. Thanks. Have you heard from Irene?”
He shook his head. “You?”
He knew the two women were close since they had hit it off after Irene started working at Fitzpatrick’s.
“No. It’s not like her, although she did have a date last night.”
“She has a boyfriend?”
Sandy shrugged. “He was new. Maybe she overslept.”
“Probably,” he said, but he didn’t tell her what he was really thinking. It was entirely out of character for her. “Just let me know if you hear from her.”
She nodded, then hurried off to get to work.
That was when he noticed there was someone at the door. He was frowning when he realized who was there, and his entire body jumped back to life. Eileen was standing there next to an Asian man. Declan thought the guy might be her partner.
She cocked her head as she studied him through the front door, and he realized that he was staring at her like some moony-eyed goof.
He walked over and unlocked the door. He smiled, but neither of them returned it.
“Morning. Didn’t expect to see you this early in the morning.”
She was dressed in one of her badass suits. He knew many men didn’t like them, but when Eileen strode into his bar for the first time, she had been wearing one. Each and every one of them fit her perfectly, and damn, but her ass looked good in them. She also looked like one tough detective in them, which was a turn-on for him. Not the fact that she was a detective but that she understood her worth.
“Can we talk?”
There was something in her voice, something…distant. He had never heard her speak like that before. Declan studied her and her partner. They wore the same grave expression and sported identical dark circles under their eyes. Whatever case she had last night must have been a bad one.
“Sure. Come on in. We can talk in my office.”
They followed him back to his office, and he felt the weight of the stares. He had a few people in setting tables and making sure they were ready for the brunch crowd.
“Can I get you anything to drink?”
Both of them shook their heads.
“Please, have a seat.”
They both sat, and Eileen waited for him to sit down.
“When was the last time you saw Irene Adams?”
That knot was back between his shoulders. Dammit .
“Yesterday afternoon. We shut down at two for the party prep, and she had the night off. She was supposed to be in today, but she never showed up. That’s why I’m here.”
“Declan, I’m sorry, but Irene was found murdered last night.”
He blinked. “Murdered? You’re sure?”
“What do you mean?” her partner asked.
Declan looked at him. “I mean, it wasn’t an accident or anything?”
The man shook his head.
“Sorry, I forgot to introduce you to Eddie Francisco, my partner.”
Declan nodded to the man. “Is there anything you can tell me? Anything I can do to help?”
“Irene has been working here for a few months, right?”
He swallowed, thinking about the day he’d hired the younger woman. She had been a go-getter with excellent references and shadows in her eyes.
“Yeah. Well, almost nine now. She’s originally from Richmond.” He closed his eyes, then opened them again. “Her parents are on an anniversary trip.”
“We’ve already talked to them,” her partner said. “You seem to know a lot about her.”
Declan frowned. “She was my manager. Fitzpatrick’s is a family business.”
The man didn’t look satisfied.
“Stop,” Eileen said to him. “Declan has an alibi.”
“You would know this how?” Francisco asked.
“Remember, I was here last night.” She had been dancing in his arms when she got the call about Irene.
“Okay, do you know if she was seeing someone?”
He studied both of them. “I just heard she was dating someone new, but she was private about her personal life. She talked about her parents and brothers, but the guys were different. I know that she moved up here after a bad breakup.”
“And you never met him?” Francisco asked.
“No. They broke up beforehand.”
“Is there anyone she was really close to here? Someone she might have confided in?” Eileen asked.
“Sandy, my head chef. She’s the one who insisted we start serving those red velvet pancakes for brunch you love so much.”
“Is she here today?” Francisco asked.
He nodded. “I can get her for you.”
“Thanks,” Eileen said.
He rose out of his chair, but before he left them, Eileen stopped him.
“I’m really sorry, Declan.”
“Yeah, me too.”
He headed off to tell his people that one of their family was gone. His head pounded, and his heart hurt. Nothing about today was going to be good.