A Fine Specimen (17 page)

Maybe he should be seeing a cardiologist.

At eight o’clock on
Monday morning, Alex marched Caitlin up the broad granite steps of the station
house and into the high-ceilinged lobby. “Marched” was the right word too. Alex
looked like a man on a mission. A soldier with one goal in mind—getting her up
the stairs of the station house, no matter what.

They’d argued about it
all morning and, not surprisingly, Alex had won. Caitlin wanted to take a bus
in and arrive at a different time from Alex, but Alex had refused in a way that
made a brick wall look reasonable. When she’d broached the topic, he’d simply
said, “No,” and that was that. Reasoning and pleading and even anger hadn’t
budged him an inch.

Entering the building together
on a Monday morning was more or less the equivalent of having HEY! WE’VE BECOME
LOVERS! tattooed in red ink on their foreheads. Apart from the embarrassment,
it was terribly unprofessional to engage in an affair with the subject of a
study in the first place, let alone publicizing it. Caitlin had broken a lot of
personal rules this weekend and had been hoping to get away with it. After all,
who had to know? She’d simply assumed that in public, Alex would behave toward
her exactly as he had before, in his usual brusque, bordering-on-rude manner
and no one would be the wiser.

She would soon be out of
the station house, her study completed, with no more professional barriers to
an affair with Alex Cruz. She hardly dared to hope that their…relationship,
affair, whatever it was, would last out the week. But if it did, then afterward,
she was a free agent.

However, in the
meantime, Caitlin deeply,
deeply
wanted to pretend that there was
nothing going on between them.

The embarrassment at
having an entire cop shop know they were sleeping together was compounded by
the fact that, though they’d had copious, fantastic sex all day
yesterday—Caitlin was sure she’d used up her sex quota for the next couple of
years—Alex hadn’t said one word that made her think it was something
more
than sex.

It was true that at
times his touch was delicate and affectionate, but he hadn’t given any
indication whatsoever that this was anything more than hormones gone wild.
Caitlin was afraid to ask outright, because she didn’t want to know the answer.
Something told her Alex was always brutally honest and if she asked him whether
they were in a relationship, and he answered no, she’d shrivel up and die.

If they became a couple,
people would quickly forget that it all started at work, during a research project,
which was pretty much a no-no. Couples become part of the woodwork very soon.

If everyone knew they
were having an affair, and if it ended right away, people would never forget
that she’d been sleeping with a senior police officer. She was going to become
a fellow at the Frederiksson Foundation and, as such, was expected to entertain
good relations with the law enforcement community. If this…thing with Alex
somehow ended badly, right away, Caitlin was going to be up the proverbial
creek without the proverbial paddle, and she’d have started her fellowship, her
first big chance, with a big black mark next to her name.

Those were all really
strong reasons why she didn’t want to walk into the station house at the same
time as Alex. All she had to do was walk in a quarter of an hour after him and
behave impersonally toward him all day and her reputation would be salvaged.

She’d tried every
iteration possible on “let’s keep a low profile”.
I can catch the bus
and
I can call a taxi
had been repeated so often she would throw up if
she said the words one more time. For all the attention Alex had paid, she
could have been reciting the Gettysburg Address.

Every single variation
of “I don’t want to walk into the cop shop with you” had been tried and found
failing.

She’d dawdled as long as
she could this morning, hoping Alex would finally just go off on his own and
she could call a cab. But no—Alex had waited patiently downstairs until she was
ready. Then, when he had parked the car, she had stated that she absolutely,
desperately needed another cup of coffee and that Alex should just go on ahead.
But he had simply steered her into a coffee shop just across the street from
the entrance and waited until she gulped down a boiling-hot, unwanted espresso.

There seemed to be
nothing she could do to shake him off. He had a tight grip on her elbow, as if
he knew she wanted to escape. With a feeling of dread, she walked up the big
granite steps side by side with Alex at exactly one minute to eight.

“Hey, boss.” A young,
sandy-haired police officer greeted Alex and matched his pace with theirs as
they walked up the staircase.

“Boyd.” Alex nodded,
barely sparing him a glance.

“So…anything good happen
yesterday?” the young officer asked. “I was off duty.”

Caitlin knew that in cop
talk, “good” meant a juicy murder or at least an armed robbery. Cops lived for
the excitement.

“I don’t know.” Alex’s
voice was clipped and his face remote. “I didn’t come in yesterday.”

“Yeah, riiiight,” Boyd
answered with a laugh. “That’ll be the day. You’ve come in every Sunday since
the Jurassic era.”

Alex turned his head
slightly and Boyd blinked at Alex’s look. Suddenly he seemed to register
Caitlin’s presence, Alex’s hand on her arm and her flaming face, all at once.
Caitlin watched in an agony of embarrassment as the young officer looked from
her to Alex then back again, finally putting the whole thing together.

“Wow.” He shook his head
and raised his eyebrows. “Sorry, boss. Bad case of foot-in-mouth disease.” He
bit his lip to keep from smiling and coughed into his fist. “Ah…I guess I…gotta
go get a…a report. Right
now
. Bye.” He loped up the rest of the
staircase then turned for a moment at the top to stare at them, smiling. He
stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away, whistling.

Knowing how news
traveled in offices, Caitlin was certain that in half an hour, the entire
station would know she was having an affair with the Loot. There would probably
be a pool on how long it lasted.

Alex didn’t seem at all
perturbed. Caitlin tried once more to gently pull her arm away from Alex’s grip
but it didn’t work. She tried a little less gently.

“Stop tugging,” Alex
said irritably, “or you’ll hurt yourself.”

“Well, then let me go,”
Caitlin hissed, a big smile pasted on her face for the benefit of the officers
passing them on the stairs and staring. She tugged again.

Alex gripped her elbow
harder. “No.”

Caitlin understood what
he was doing. He’d been halfhearted about having the station house cooperate
before—and now he was making it plain that she was under his protection and
that everyone would cooperate fully.

It was a nice thought
but he could have done it more subtly.

There were at the top of
the stairs, walking down the corridor. The grapevine had been at work faster
than expected and heads were popping up out of cubicles like prairie dogs at a
whistle. Alex seemed not to notice.

“What do you want to do
this morning?” he asked her as they walked into the squad room.

“Um…” It was hard for
Caitlin to think straight with all those curious glances directed her way. She
desperately needed someone familiar, friendly.

Curly brown hair, a
round lined face… “Kathy!” Caitlin called out, pleased. “Do you have a few
minutes to spare?”

“Sure.” Kathy Martello
smiled and beckoned. “Come on over to my desk.”

Alex released his death
grip on her elbow. Caitlin scurried over to where Kathy was sitting filling in
a form on her computer. An open box of donuts sat next to the monitor, a little
trail of sugar and crumbs leading to the keyboard.

Caitlin dumped her book bag
onto Kathy’s desk and started hauling out her questionnaires. Alex watched her
for a moment then turned to walk away.

“Uh…Lieutenant?” Kathy
called after him.

Alex turned back.
“Yeah?”

Kathy shifted her weight
in the chair and loosened her shoulders, the way wrestlers do before going a
round. “Look, Lieutenant, I was busy all weekend and I just couldn’t get around
to that report on the Barton shooting. But I’ll have it on your desk by early
afternoon, promise.” Kathy visibly braced herself.

Alex raised his eyebrows
and one corner of his mouth lifted. “Okay, Sergeant. Just make sure I have it
by three.”

Kathy’s mouth opened
then closed with a snap. “Yes sir,” she said, stunned. “I…I’ll be sure to do
that.”

Caitlin and Kathy
watched Alex’s departure. Kathy let out her breath in a little huff of surprise
and turned to Caitlin.

“What just happened? He
didn’t chew me out, not even a little! Usually, you’re late with a report and
he reams you a new one. Hey, wait.” Kathy frowned suspiciously, eyes narrowed.
“Was that the Loot just now or do they have a pod in the basement with Alex’s
name on it? Because that wasn’t like him
at all
. Believe me, when he
says he wants a report, he wants it yesterday, so that just
can’t
have
been him saying I have until three o’clock to hand it in. And not only that…” She
looked at Caitlin, puzzled. “What was Alex doing with his
mouth
?”

Caitlin sighed. “As
someone who has spent the past ten years studying human behavior, Kathy, I think
I can safely say that the lieutenant was smiling.”

“Smiling?” Kathy looked from
Caitlin to Alex’s back as he disappeared into his office and then back at
Caitlin. She blinked. “
The Loot
?”

“My word as an expert.”

Kathy mulled that one
over. “Listen, hon.” She put her hand on Caitlin’s arm and leaned in close.
Caitlin could smell bad coffee and the donut she’d just eaten. “Whatever it is
you’re doing to him—don’t stop.”

* * * * *

Midmorning, while Alex
was trying to catch up with paperwork on the computer, Ben Cade stuck his head
in Alex’s office. Ben leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb.

“Hey, guess what?”

Alex abandoned his mouse
and stretched his arms above his head. He hated writing assessment reports and
they seemed to multiply like rabbits. Maybe he should have Caitlin study how
many man hours were lost to this bullshit paper chase. Then he could go to the
brass and have it cut down in the name of efficient use of resources.

“Dunno, but I’m sure
you’ll tell me in the next ten seconds.”

Ben sauntered into the
room and settled comfortably in the chair in front of Alex’s desk “Okay, man.
You’re really going to like this one. Take a guess who was sighted this
weekend?”

Oh God, riddle time.
Still, it beat writing up the monthly account of ammunition use, which was
next. “Elvis. Back from the dead.”

“Nope.” Ben looked sad
as he shook his head. “But Jesus, wouldn’t
that
be fabulous? Guess
again.”

“Okay.” Alex tilted his
head to one side. “Judge Crater.”

“Noooo.” Ben was
enjoying himself. “Try again.”

“Jimmy Hoffa.”

Ben grinned and shook
his head. “Nah, he’s sleeping with the fishes. Come on, you can do better than
that.”

“I give up.” Alex
shrugged. “Who?”

“Ratso Colby.” Ben
looked smug and tilted his chair back. “He didn’t skip town after all. Guess
where he was seen?”

“Riverhead.”

“Well,
hell
.” The
front legs of Ben’s chair hit the floor with a thud. “Why don’t you just tell
us you’re psychic so we can save ourselves the trouble?” he asked in disgust.
“How’d you guess? Riverhead is the last place Ratso shoulda been caught in. Guy
knows he only escaped by an act of God and thanks to his skinny ass. He shoulda
skipped town days ago. How’d ya know he’s still around?”

“I saw him myself,” Alex
said, regretting it even as he said it. “Yesterday morning.”

“Oh yeah?” Ben sat up in
interest. “You
saw
him?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Alex kept his
face expressionless.

“I swung by yesterday
and you weren’t here. Threw me for a loop. Since when are you not here on a
Sunday? Wondered where you were. So now I know! No wonder you weren’t here, you
were making the collar. Good work!” Ben grinned. “So when are we gonna put the
fucker in the box? Or is he there already?”

Alex hesitated a moment.
This wasn’t going to be easy and it wasn’t going to be fun. He let out his breath
on a huff. “He’s… Ratso’s not in custody.”

“Yes he is.” Ben
frowned. “You said so yourself. You said you saw him. Yesterday. That’s what
you said, just now.”

“Saw him. I didn’t say I
caught him.”

“Well,” Ben began,
confused. “If you saw him, why didn’t you collar him? That runt can’t outrun
you.”

Alex mumbled something
and stood up. Ben was like a terrier when he had something between his teeth.
He never let go. It was a good trait for a cop to have, except for right now.
“Don’t you have some recruits to see to, Ben?”