CHAPTER FOUR
It was late afternoon when their flight landed in Pittsburgh.
The sun glistened off the three rivers that met in the heart of Pennsylvania’s second-largest city, and the double shine of the water and the sun lent the skyline a burnished brassy appearance.
As far as cities went, Pittsburgh wasn’t the largest or the most impressive, but it punched well above its weight.
A respectable cluster of skyscrapers occupied the center of the city while numerous bridges spanned the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers to the residential areas and suburbs beyond.
Surrounding it all, the great red maple forest of Pennsylvania enveloped the urban sprawl in a cocoon of green.
It was strange how beautiful the world looked when one was certain that their life was about to crumble around them.
“Kate, relax,” Marcus said. “Nothing’s going to happen.
We’re going to run this case by the book.
Cox is in jail, Quinn Marsh is on trial and will soon be in prison, and unless there are even more skeletons hiding in your dad’s closet, nothing’s going to show up to make this personal enough that you have to do something risky and tip things over the edge. ”
Kate bristled. Cox’s obsession for her typically manifested in connecting his murderous behavior and those of his disciples to Kate’s relationship with her deceased father.
Quinn Marsh, in particular, was manipulated by Cox into killing because of her father’s choice to save another woman’s life rather than his mother’s during a clinical trial for a new drug.
Hearing Marcus suggest that her father might have made some other “mistake” that Cox could use was icing on a very bitter cake.
She didn’t bring that up, though, instead offering a fairly generic, “Does telling women to relax usually work for you?”
He reddened with something akin to shame, and Kate immediately regretted that. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I’m probably overthinking it like I always do. It just sucks. I don’t want Winters to lose her job.”
“No one does. But it’s not likely she will, so let’s just put that to the side and focus on the case, okay?”
Kate got the distinct impression it wasn’t only Winters Marcus was talking about. He hadn’t volunteered any more information on the latest blowup with Cheryl, and she hadn’t asked, but he seemed more affected by this one than past fights.
Because he loves her. And you’re in the way.
Cheryl might not know about Kate’s growing feelings for Marcus, but she definitely resented the connection they had.
From the little Marcus had allowed to leak about his personal life, Kate knew that Cheryl believed their marriage came second to the job, and from the little Kate had overheard Cheryl say about her, she knew that Cheryl was keenly aware of how well the partners got along and how close their friendship was.
Marcus had put his own career on the line to back Kate up.
Meanwhile, he refused to jeopardize or let go of his career to focus on his marriage.
The plane came to a stop at the gate, and Kate forced herself to forget everything but the murder they were here to investigate. She didn’t even know if she was right about any of that or just letting her imagination run away with her. Time to focus on the job and leave the rest in its place.
They were met at the gate by a brick-shaped sheriff’s officer in his late thirties with close-cropped blond hair and impossibly gorgeous blue eyes set in a head the rough size and shape of a basketball.
He nodded briskly and said in an equally brisk Pittsburgh accent, “Afternoon. Thanks for coming down.” He stuck out a hand. “Brad Thompson.”
“Pleasure,” Marcus said, taking his hand. “Marcus Reid.”
Kate was next. “Kate Valentine.”
Thompson smiled. “Oh yeah, I heard about you. You caught that priest, right?”
“I arrested Elijah Cox, yes.”
“Fuckin’ criminal what these priests think they can do,” Thompson offered. “Pardon my French.”
“None taken, as what Cox did was very literally criminal.”
Thompson led them from the airport, talking constantly. Kate paid enough attention to pick up on the fact that Thompson was a Steeler’s fan (not surprising) drove a Prius in his off time (surprising) and was dating a supermodel (somewhat surprising).
Marcus kept up with the conversation as Thompson drove them to Etna, the small suburb just across the Allegheny where the murder took place, allowing Kate to wonder what surprises Cox had in store for her next.
Don’t think that way. You don’t know that Cox is involved. It could be someone copying his methodology and have nothing to do with you.
“Gotta warn you,” Thompson warned, pulling half onto the lawn of a well-kept family home. “It’s pretty gruesome in there. We have a dead man murdered very violently after getting caught sleeping with a woman other than the one he exchanged vows with.”
“I doubt it’s worse than what we’ve seen before,” Kate replied.
A young woman with dyed blond hair and a generous helping of makeup—most of which was smeared across her face—stood in front of the house flanked by two burly officers. She wore a halter top and a pair of shorts too short to be comfortable in anything short of desert heat.
She had a body that made that outfit look good.
Irresistible even. Kate had an uncomfortable recollection of the one-time she’d met Cheryl, when Marcus was in the hospital after apprehending a particularly dangerous criminal.
This woman had that same almost supernatural ability to look breathtaking, even when she was in the middle of deep anguish.
It was no surprise their victim found her irresistible.
Kate didn’t love that she had that thought, but it wasn’t her fault that so many men were so easily swayed by a hot woman wearing almost nothing. The officers appeared just as easily affected. One of them had a hand on her shoulder, and both were looking anywhere but her eyes.
Kate rolled her eyes and approached the weeping woman. “Good evening. I’m Special Agent Kate Valentine. This is my partner, Special Agent Marcus Reid. Can you walk us through what happened?”
The woman looked up at her. Her lips were doing a little dance, rippling with emotion. Her moist eyes shone a bright blue and looked directly at Marcus. The beseeching in her eyes disgusted Kate. Try not to look like that much of a stereotype, yeah?
The woman sniffled. “I… I was with Donald. We were…” She flushed.
“You were engaged in sexual activity,” Kate said bluntly.
She nodded. “And she… she…”
Her lips danced again. Kate took a deep breath, but before she could press for more information, Marcus put a hand on her shoulder. He smiled tenderly at the woman and said, “Hey, it’s okay. We’re here to help.”
She reacted like a whipped dog being given a treat for the first time. She looked at him, heaved a sigh, then offered a watery smile. “Sorry. It’s just a lot.”
“I understand,” Marcus said tenderly. If Kate didn’t know any better, she would think he was just as affected by the slutty damsel in distress act as the other men were.
But you do know better, and you’re letting your personal feelings interfere. So, calm the hell down and let Marcus do his job.
Kate pursed her lips and stayed quiet.
“What’s your name?” Marcus asked.
“Cynthia.”
“Nice to meet you, Cynthia. Can you tell us what happened?”
Cynthia nodded. She took a deep breath, then said, “I was with Donald. I was giving him a… We were…”
“Those details aren’t important,” Marcus said. “Tell us what happened after.”
Cynthia’s lips danced again. She nearly broke down, but she met Marcus’s eyes, took a deep breath and powered through.
For you, Marcus, her eyes said. “She came home and caught us. When she saw us, she started shouting at him. I started getting dressed to leave, but he tried to get her to leave. They were blocking the door, and I couldn’t go, so I watched while she… She…”
She hesitated again and reached for Marcus’s hand. Kate had to bite her lip when Marcus put his other hand on top of hers.
“She grabbed a kitchen knife and started chasing him, shouting Bible verses. She chased him to the door, and somehow got in front of him. Then she… She…”
Cynthia finally broke down again. Not even the gentle presence of the dashing FBI agent could prevent her from bursting into tears.
Detective Thompson cleared his throat and gestured with his head toward the house. Kate frowned. “We’re interviewing a person of interest.”
“She’s not the killer,” Thompson assured her. “We’ve got another witness who saw another woman leave the house covered in blood.”
That was a good point, actually. There was no blood on Cynthia. She could have cleaned up, but if she did, she’d done a great job making everything else about her look dirty, and not just in a sexual way.
Kate pressed her lips together and stepped closer so Cynthia wouldn’t hear. “Until we know for sure, I want her watched. If she’d released, then I want officers watching to make sure she doesn’t flee the area.”
Thompson frowned. “I told you, it’s not her.”
“Can you arrange to make sure she’s watched until we know for sure?”
Thompson rolled his eyes and shared a look with one of the uniformed officers. Women, right? “Sure. We’ll take care of that.”
“Thank you,” Kate said curtly.
She didn’t particularly care if they thought she was a bitch. Cynthia could be as innocent as a baby panda bear, but if so, then they would discover that by examining evidence, not thinking about what a poor wittle girl she was.
“Marcus?”
Marcus squeezed Cynthia’s hand, smiled, and walked to Kate. “We should have a couple officers watch her until we can corroborate her story,” he mentioned to Thompson.
Kate felt a rush of warmth for him. It felt good to hear him on the same page as her.