Chapter 20
Brooke stepped into the pub and looked around. She had some unfinished business to deal with during her lunch break. The last couple of days had been more than she could reasonably be expected to deal with.
First, she had rushed to the courthouse when her ex-husband was arrested. Then she got into a fight with Fox, though she still didn’t get the whole blood gushing thing.
Demanding to know where Ethan was had almost been the last straw. Her sister asking really had been. Edmund had finally insisted she send Bailey the information on where he was so they would stop calling.
Edmund hadn’t even acted excited to see her. It was the first time she had found an entitled jerk on her own. Except he had pointed out that the guy was just some useless schmuck right out of prison. He had been furious, but for the first time, he’d let her strap the man into the machine.
Soon, he would see her as a partner instead of just his assistant. His honeytrap, for lack of a better term. Perhaps he would even let her reverse their roles on occasion.
Then there was her sister, Bailey. She was positive Fox was fucking her on the side. Normally, she wouldn’t give two shits what her sister did. Sneaking around with her boyfriend, no matter how she felt about him, was unacceptable though.
Bailey would get hers in the end if Brooke had anything to do with it. The bitch should know better than to cross her.
Today, she just wanted to start setting things right again. Her life had been quiet, until Knox had arrived in town and begin interfering in her ex-husband’s business.
Looking around again, she finally spotted him sitting in a booth toward the back with a mound of food in front of him. He had a notebook opened next to his plate and wrote something in it every few bites.
“Two pints of whatever you have that’s good on draft,” she said when the bartender stepped over to her. The pints arrived, and she took them over to the booth. She sat one in front of him as she slid into the seat opposite.
If he was surprised to see her, it didn’t show. In fact, he kept writing in his notebook for several more seconds before looking up.
“Brooke,” Knox said like it was simply a statement of fact. She took a long sip of her beer. It wasn’t to her taste, but she doubted the Neanderthal sitting across from her drank anything else.
She watched him closely. Her shirt was carefully chosen this morning to present the best cleavage. If his eyes went straight to it, she knew she could charm him into doing what she wanted.
Unfortunately, his gaze never wavered from hers. It was a shame. She would much rather charm this man than press him. Then again, she still had some anger to work out. He would do as well as anyone. With a sigh, she set her beer back on the table and nodded at his notebook.
“Keeping a list of the lives you’re trying to ruin?”
Slowly, his gaze left her to return to the opened notebook. He took his time clicking the button on his pen before setting it on the table. He reached over and closed the notebook. She wanted to tell him there wasn’t anything in it she was interested in. She was only interested in one thing.
“That’s a bit dramatic, even for you. I’m working on a lesson plan for a class on statistics and probability I’m teaching next year,” he finally said.
She had dropped out of school at sixteen when it was discovered she was having an affair with one of her teachers. It was easier to leave on her terms than wait to be kicked out. Of course, the teacher only got a slap on the wrist. She found out later he was transferred to another school.
“Isn’t that better done at home. I think I heard Chicago?”
They sat in silence for a moment while he seemed to size her up. She straightened in her chair slightly hoping to appear more in command of the conversation. The other brother, the cute one, would have been so much easier to deal with. He had been approachable. This one was not.
“What do you want, Brooke?”
“Are you this hostile to everyone? Your wife might get off on it, but I’m not going to put up with it,” she said, pressing on. His eyebrow rose, she hoped in surprise. “Now that I have your attention, there’s something we need to discuss.”
“Please, lead on,” he said, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. “I can’t wait to hear this.” She took a moment to admire the tree trunks he had for forearms. Even the worst male asshole had some decent qualities. There was no denying Knox had a few.
“Let me dumb this down for you,” she finally continued.
“By all means, give it to me in simple terms so I can understand.”
She sneered at him before she could stop herself.
Edmund always told her that she would never be successful in life if she couldn’t learn to control her emotions.
But Knox’s attitude was beginning to piss her off.
She would give anything to strap him into the machine and watch the life slowly be choked out of him.
It would be worth making Edmund angry to lure this man into the back alley. Emotions be damned.
“It’s really very simple, you see. Pack up, go home, and stay out of my business.”
“Mmm,” he said after a few minutes. “Nah, I think I’ll stick around for a while. I’m in the middle of a family reunion.”
“You’ve seen them. Go home. Besides, I would hate for you to stay, and those babies grow up without a father. Bad things can happen in this city. Just ask your sister.”
“Are you threatening my family?” he growled. If she wasn’t so angry with him, she might be intimidated. His eyes shone brighter as he leaned forward in his seat. She decided to lean forward too, just to hammer her point home.
“You can call it a threat, warning, or whatever you want,” she snarled back. “I don’t care. Just stay away if you know what’s good for you.” She stood abruptly and stomped away from the booth.
It would take more than just a threat. She had known men like him her whole life. Thought they were God. She would teach him how wrong he was about that. He would pay one way or the other for not heeding her warning.
Now she just had to get Fox back in line. He would do whatever she told him to not lose Ethan. Her son made the perfect pawn. He guaranteed she had a decent place to live with all the bills paid. Fox would be easy.
Bailey, on the other hand, might be more of a problem. She was partial to Ethan also, though, one more well-placed threat might just warn her sister off.
She’d think about all that later. According to her phone, she was going to be back late from lunch.
Her boss would be more than happy to dock her pay for it.
Someday she would own her own place, then they could all go straight to hell.
She’d show them she wasn’t a woman to be messed with. She’d show them all.
Dover was bent over one of the tables in the incident room studying the latest autopsy report when Knox walked into the room.
She had given up keeping him out of the investigation when Dex secured him a visitor’s pass.
Returning to her report, she waited for him to speak.
She’d learned there was no use rushing him.
“I just had a very interesting lunch date,” he finally said.
“Yeah?”
“Actually, I’ve had lunch dates two days in a row.”
“Okay.”
“Just FYI. Bailey knows about us. That was my first lunch date yesterday.” Both Dex and Dover stopped what they were doing to stare at him. “She needed to know if she’s joining this fight.”
“What fight?” Dover asked, exasperated. When did whatever he was doing turn into all of their problem?
“That’s what the second lunch today was about,” he continued. “Why would the girlfriend be so pissed off about her ex-husband being sent inside?”
“What are you talking about?” Dex asked. He sat across the room from them studying the crime scene reports.
“Just what I said.” Knox gave a deep sigh when they both looked at him.
“I was eating at the pub down the street working on a lesson plan when Brooke sat down across from me. I thought it might be civilized since she brought me a beer. But she then proceeded to threaten my family if I don’t leave town.
That was the general gist of it anyway.”
“How did she even know where to find you?” Dover asked.
“Hell if I know. I’ll tell you this, though. If she even looks at my family I’ll kill the bitch.”
“Okay. Calm down, Rambo. Did she actually threaten to hurt your family?”
“Not in so many words. She threatened me.”
“Then I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I’m pretty sure you can take care of yourself.”
“Yeah, but I agree with Knox,” Dex said, setting down his reports.
“Why is she so worked up over a known drug trafficking ex-husband? You’d think she’d be relieved to have him out of her life.
Something isn’t right. First, she pulls a vanishing act when we tail her.
Now, she’s threatening Knox over something she should be relieved about. ”
“So, what do you suggest?” Dover asked. “I don’t exactly have time to go chasing after my brother’s girlfriend.”
“I’m not sure, but you’re right. This has us burning at both ends.”
“Don’t worry about her,” Knox said. “I’ll deal with her and your brother. What’s happening with the case?”
“Bodies are stacking up, and we don’t have anything that leads us to who’s doing this. No trace, no prints, nothing. How is someone this good?” She shoved her chair back from the table in disgust. They had pored over everything.
“The only things these men had in common was the medallions, private school dump sites, and method of death,” she continues. “We can’t even count on a type now. The last guy was working class.”
“No one is perfect forever,” Dex assured her. “He’ll make a mistake, and we’ll catch him. This last guy might just be it. What happened to change his type?”
“I have an idea,” Dover added looking out the door to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I hate this idea, but what if Knox comes to the next scene. If I can spot anyone in the crowd who looks like a possibility, like there’s an aura that isn’t right, I could point him out to be followed.
I can’t tell a patrolman or even another detective without throwing up red flags. Knox, however, could do it.”
“Might be worth a try. Knox?”
“Yeah,” he said, standing up. “Just let me know where and when. I’m heading back to the apartment to get the rest of this damn lesson plan done.
The head of school wants it as soon as possible.
I swear kids are getting too smart for their own good.
” He gave a small wave as he walked out of the room.
“Do you think my idea is nuts?” she asked when he was out of earshot.
“I think anything is worth a try. We have to get this person off the street. I believe nothing is off limits if it makes the world a safer place. Knox burned a warehouse down while in it to catch a killer. Following a person of interest is child’s play for him.”
“And until then?”
“Until then, we keep doing what we’re doing. I guarantee he’s made a mistake somewhere. We just have to find it.”
“And if we don’t?”
“We will,” he said with conviction in his voice. “We will.”
“Is this how every case is for you? Chasing your tail, biding your time until you get a lead? How do you stand it?”
“I remember that sometimes, we’re all that stands between the monsters and the innocent.
It’s what your family is about. It’s why Knox stayed.
Why the rest of your siblings will drop everything to rush in when everyone else flees.
Your family,” he said, catching her gaze, “they are the monster slayers.”