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“I checked into the warehouse across the street, the one where you thought the shot came from. It’s for a lightbulb manufacturer. I looked around on the roof and had some uniforms search around the building, but we didn’t find anything.”
Collier nodded.
“We’re running the names of the victims who died during the rescue calls alongside the names of employees of the warehouse to see if we can find any connection.” She paused. “Changing the subject, I heard from some of the firefighters that Lazano used to be involved with our third victim, Lisa Embry.”
“Yeah. That was a while back.”
“The man sure got around. How long ago were they together?”
Collier thought for a minute. “Probably close to five years ago. She was married for four years, and her affair with Lazano ended before she even met her husband. Ex-husband,” he amended. “Lisa and Alan divorced at the end of last summer.”
“I just heard from more than one source that Alan Embry is a possessive, jealous man and harassed Lisa mercilessly until some of you guys paid him a visit.”
“That’s true.” Collier folded his arms over his chest. “Our whole shift threatened to hurt him if he didn’t back off. I wasn’t in on it, but I would’ve been if I hadn’t been at the training center. Embry was really scaring Lisa, actually stalking her. He thought she had hooked up again with Lazano and he made her life miserable. Phone hang ups at all hours of the night, pictures of her undressing slid under her door or stuck in her mailbox. Threats. One time he flattened all her tires, and she couldn’t get to school to pick up her sick kid.”
“So it’s not a stretch to imagine this guy could’ve killed her in her garage and killed Lazano tonight.”
“No, and he was plenty hot about the guys paying him a visit. That could be motive for Miller’s and Huffman’s murders.”
Kiley nodded. “In our interviews with him right after Lisa’s murder, Alan said he had never owned a gun and didn’t know how to shoot.”
“No one’s disputed that so far.” Collier shoved a hand through his hair. “So I’d say we still consider that he hired the murderer.”
“I agree. Since he works for the city as an electrician, he’d certainly have the know-how to screw with a security system. He could get into the building, start a fire and let the sniper do the rest.”
“Yeah, talking to him is definitely on our to-do list.”
“I tried to see him yesterday, but he wasn’t at home or work.” Kiley’s next step was talking to McClain’s ex-fiancée, but she didn’t want him around for that, since his name would likely come up.
She was too aware of the fresh-showered scent of him, the underlying tension between them that went back to that dance at the Christmas party. “I’m anxious to see what you found on the video. Maybe we can watch it now, then again when Terra gets here?”
“All right.” His quick agreement was the first sign she’d had that he might be just as antsy as she was. “You’ve seen the videos of the other fire murder scenes, right?”
“Yes.” Kiley took a seat on the end of the sofa. Across from her, a burning log crackled in the fireplace, and warmth from the flames reached across the floor. The television sat on the adjacent wall, facing the end of the room where Collier stood. “I know y’all video most of your fires.”
He nodded. “We use them to train others in investigation and also to keep the chain of evidence in our control. That way it can’t be tampered with.”
He eased down into the chair closest to her, then picked up the remote and turned on the television and VCR.
The picture flickered to life, and they watched grayish-brown smoke plume out of the side windows of the coffee warehouse. The camera picked up the occasional orange flame shooting through the smoky wall. A firefighter, unrecognizable because of his hood and helmet, rushed forward with the nozzle.
“That’s Lazano,” Collier said quietly.
A second firefighter appeared behind him in the frame. “You?”
“Yeah.” Maybe a second later the sharp crack of a gunshot rang out. Lazano went down.
Collier hit the ground and vanished out of the frame. The shouted “Mayday! Firefighter down!” was muffled but audible. A pair of firefighters—the Rapid Intervention Team—rushed into the picture, bending low then straightening to drag Lazano away from the flames. Another two-man team rushed toward the building with a hose gushing water. There were no more pictures of Collier and the victim.
For several minutes the camera stayed focused on the fire, catching the sounds of thundering water, yelling voices, sirens in the distance. Flames crackled and hissed in the background. The firefighters moved in smooth synchronization. After the blaze was out, the camera panned the perimeter of the building, down the west side of the driveway to the street and across three fire engines.
Kiley wondered what Collier was thinking. Despite what had happened between the two men, watching a brother firefighter die in front of him had to be hard.
He paused the tape. “Right there.”
She leaned forward, studying the frame. “Ladder truck, hoses, hydrant, fireman.”
“Since he isn’t wearing a hood or a helmet, I can see his face. That guy isn’t a firefighter. At least not from here.”
“What?” Kiley dragged her hair over her shoulder with one hand as she scrutinized the screen.
“I know almost every firefighter in Presley, and I’ve never seen this guy.”
“Really?” She got that little head rush she always did when she got a good lead.
“I went back over the tapes from the three previous fire scenes and I didn’t see him in any of them. There’s an unidentified male in the first tape, but Terra already tried to have that enhanced. The tech couldn’t get a clear shot of the person.”
“But we have a clear shot of this guy.” Kiley rose, excited. “This is the first lead we’ve had on this murder, McClain. Good job.”
“All I did was look at the video,” he said wryly, stopping the tape.
“But you picked up on the man. I wouldn’t have. That’s why it’s such a good idea to have guns and hoses working these cases together.”
“Guns and hoses? You’re a piece of work, Russell.” He chuckled at her slang for cops and firefighters as he stood and started into the kitchen. “I’m going to call Terra again. You want something to drink?”
“Sure.” She followed him. “We need to get a photograph made from the video. The police lab can do it if you don’t have the equipment.”
“That’s where I’d take it, too.” Grabbing a cordless phone from its spot on the wall, he punched in a number and waited for several seconds, then hung up. “Still no answer on her cell. I’ll try her house.”
There was no answer there, either.
“Maybe she and Jack are out to dinner.” Kiley traced his steps to the refrigerator, leaning a hip against the counter that butted up to it. “We can show the picture to the other firefighters and anyone else at the scene.”
He nodded, opened the fridge, bent down to grab a cola and handed it to her.
She leaned forward, taking the chilled can. “We’ll need to check mug shots, too. And maybe the enlarged picture will show if the guy has a tattoo or any other distinguishing marks. If he does, we can have Crime Analysis check the field interview cards for any matching descriptions.”
“I’ll touch base with all the station houses and see if anyone has reported any stolen gear.” Collier straightened and stepped away from the fridge at the same time she popped the top on her soda can. His elbow banged her forearm, jostling her drink.
They both grabbed for the can, their combined grips crushing the tin and spewing soda all over her front and down her arm.
Collier quickly reached behind her and tossed her a towel. “Sorry.”
“No problem. I was in the way.” She blotted the front of her sweater then the sleeve and her hand. Facing the sink, she set down the towel and her drink, then turned on the faucet and put her sticky hands under the water.
“You missed some.”
“Where—” She broke off, jolted by the sudden feel of his big hand settling hotly on her hip. He reached toward her with the towel. With one knuckle, he angled her head and dabbed at the underside of her jaw.
She froze. They hadn’t been this close since the FOP Christmas party. She could feel the heat of his body and his subtle woodsy scent drift into her lungs. His lean thigh brushed hers, but it was the hand on her hip that shocked all her nerve endings. His fingers splayed low on her back, right where her hip curved into her bottom. He’d held her the same way while they danced. The memory was so vivid she could almost feel the provocative friction of his body moving against hers.
“Got it.” His voice curled around her with just an edge of seduction.
The low, sexy drawl was the same she’d heard that night, too. And her body did that same melt-in-the-center thing. The realization forced some energy through her dazed limbs. She turned off the faucet and plucked the towel out of his hand, drying her hands as she walked away. “Thanks.”
No way was she going all soft around him. She didn’t care how good he sounded. Or looked. Or felt.
Just then the phone rang. Collier crossed to the wall and picked it up. His side of the conversation consisted of “oh” and “yeah” and “okay.” She tried to read his face and determine if he was talking about the case.
In a few moments he hung up, his features tight and grim. “That was Jack Spencer, Terra’s husband. She’s in the hospital.”
Apprehension started a low drumbeat inside her. “Don’t tell me.”
“She’s having her baby.”
“Now?” Kiley squeaked.
“Now.”
She saw the realization in his eyes the same time it hit her. Now only the two of them would be working this investigation.
“Oh, great,” they said in unison.
Chapter 3
On Monday afternoon Collier left the fire investigator’s office early to attend Dan Lazano’s wake. Not just out of obligation to a fellow firefighter, but also because he had come darn close to being in that casket himself.
Lazano’s parents hosted the gathering at their modest brick home in northwest Oklahoma City. Collier stepped through the front door and scanned the people overflowing from the spacious living room into the dining room. He managed to make his way through the throng of firefighters, paramedics and city officials to Tony and Simone Lazano and offer his condolences on the loss of their son.
Collier might have resented Dan for what he and Gwen had done, but he hadn’t hated the guy. Not anymore, despite what Kiley Russell thought.
Thinking about his curvy new partner lit off a spark of irritation. Partnering up with her gnawed at him, but he figured it gnawed at her just as much. He’d seen that flare of panic in her eyes last night when he’d delivered the news about Terra having her baby before either of them had expected her to.
He wanted to believe it was the challenge of Kiley’s back-off attitude that put a kick in his blood, but everything about her from that sexy tangle of red hair to those luscious long legs charged him up. If she were any other woman, he would take her to bed and get her out of his system, but the redhead set off high-powered warnings in his head, and he’d learned the hard way to listen.
If he’d paid attention to those doubts about Gwen, things between them would never have gone as far as they had. Or gotten so ugly.
At a table draped with a white cloth, on the far wall of the dining room, he filled a cup of coffee and turned, searching the crowd. Shelby Fox, a former station mate, raised her cup, and he nodded at the slender brunette. A flash of red hair behind her caught his attention, and his eyes narrowed as Detective Russell let herself in the front door, then spoke to an older gentleman standing nearby.
She sure didn’t let any grass grow under her feet. No doubt she was here to work the crowd, see if she could learn anything about Lazano. The fact that she was doing her job shouldn’t have irritated Collier, but it did. And when she shrugged out of her heavy black coat and revealed the simple black dress beneath, his irritation edged into something else. Something hot and reckless.
Her hair was down today but pulled away from her face, the thick mass brushing her shoulders. It was the dress that had his grip tightening on the delicate china cup. The soft-looking, midnight fabric skimmed over every curve, accentuating her full breasts and trim waist. The hem fell just below her knees, and the legs encased in sheer black hose were the best Collier had ever seen. He couldn’t resist mentally following the line back up beneath her dress.
“Oh, hell,” he muttered, gulping at his coffee, then wincing when he burned his tongue.
“Pretty hot stuff, McClain.” Shelby Fox had made her way over and stood at his elbow.
“Huh?” There was no way she could’ve known he was looking at—lusting after—Kiley Russell.
She gave him an odd smile. “The coffee? I blistered my mouth a minute ago.”
“Oh. Yeah.” He’d already established he wanted Kiley Russell, but why did his chest always tighten when he saw her? Just like it had the night they’d danced at the Christmas party. He didn’t know, and he was pretty sure he didn’t want to figure it out.
“Word is you could’ve been the one to buy the farm instead of Lazano,” Shelby said soberly.
“Yeah. It was too close.”
“Glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks.”
They sipped their hot drinks and spoke to other firefighters who stopped at the table for coffee or tea and sandwiches that had been cut into quarters.
Shelby reached across the table behind him and plopped a sugar cube into her cup. “How’s your first day on the new job, Investigator McClain?”
“I’ve spent most of it doing paperwork for the Personnel Department.”
The brunette shifted to make room for Jerry French, a veteran firefighter from Station One. “Anything on that warehouse fire yet, or any leads on Lazano’s murder?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
French jerked at his tie. “You got thrown right into the middle of a big humdinger, didn’t you? You been up to the hospital yet to see Terra and her baby girl?”
“I went early this morning,” Collier said. “But she was asleep and so was Jack. I’ll try again later.”
“Did she have to have a C-section?” Shelby asked. “One of the guys was talking about it.”
Collier nodded. “I think it took her and Jack by surprise, but I heard everyone was doing well.”
Talking about Terra reminded him of his new partner, but he didn’t see Kiley anywhere. Where had she gone? That instant last night when he’d had his hand on her shot through his memory. As much as he hated it, he wasn’t going to lie to himself about the electricity that arced between them. They struck sparks off each other, and he wanted to find out just how long they would burn, but he knew better than to explore it.
Something about Kiley warned him that she wouldn’t be that easy to walk away from. And walking away from women was what he did ever since his engagement to Gwen Hadley had gone to hell. He’d bought into the true-love thing once, and he was done. For good.
The detective’s wariness around him said she had learned the same hard lesson. He wasn’t going to follow up on the slow sizzle that had started in his blood the minute he’d held her at that Christmas dance. And he instinctively knew she wouldn’t, either.
They could work together and get the job done, then go their separate ways. Her slightly awkward manner the night before at his house was proof she wanted the same thing.
They were both professionals. Regardless of the searing current that seemed to zap him whenever he was within a foot of the red-haired detective, Collier intended to do his job. He wanted to make a good impression, especially on his first solo case. All he had to do was concentrate on the investigation, and that annoying awareness he felt around Kiley would disappear. Pretty soon he wouldn’t feel anything different for her than he felt for any other co-worker.
“I didn’t know if she’d be here or not,” Shelby murmured.
Collier followed her gaze across the living room and saw Gwen, who spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Lazano before she melted into the crowd. “Why not?”
“She and Dan broke things off about two weeks ago.”
He nodded. He’d heard about Dan and Gwen’s breakup, but the other firefighters didn’t often discuss the pair around him.
“Lazano couldn’t take her drinking anymore,” Shelby said.
