He gave her a shark’s grin, and had she not been aware of her ability to hold her own, she might have been intimidated. “Sounds great,Jane.But so there’s no confusion, we have one person in charge.Me.Do what you’re told when you’re told. No hot-dogging. No using this as a steppingstone to unlock a big ball of girl power so you can reign as queen bee. I’m here to solve a case. Period.”
“Great to know we’re on the same page, Rapp,” she said with a lot more sweetness than their dialogue warranted.
He studied her and sighed. “You’re going to be a huge pain in the ass. I can just tell.”
She swallowed her coffee, her agreement silent but no less adamant.Screw with me and I’ll end you, big guy.
He glared back at her, and they stared in silence for a few moments, sipping their coffee.
Until Jane said, “So am I going to get notes on the other victims or what?”
Rapp rolled his eyes and pulled out a briefcase she hadn’t noticed, one that had been sitting against the wall next to him. He handed her a manila folder.
As she looked through it, she saw four more victims, but all with different causes of death. “So these two doctors died from natural causes. One nurse poisoned, another overdosed. How do they link up?”
“That’s what we’re still trying to figure out.”
“Who lumped them together? They seem unrelated.”
“Exactly. Which is why no one is taking them seriously as a serial threat. But Gambol called me in on this for a reason. The only resources I have are the hacker and the agent. I haven’t known them much longer than I’ve known you.”
“What a treat that must be for you.” She knew it had to be bugging him, a bossy type not in total control of his people yet.
He grinned, a genuine expression of mirth that turned him from annoying to slightly less so. And handsome, not that she had time for that. He set his coffee back down and said, “Gee, it’s like we’re best friends already.”
She snorted. “Right. So obviously you have detailed records on the cases. What do you need from me, exactly?”
“Come to this address tomorrow.” He pointed to a sticky note inside the manilla folder she’d been studying. “You can get towork poring over evidence, looking for anything we might have missed. I’ll hook you up with Holtz and Rivera. We’ll go from there.”
“Sounds good.”
He drank the rest of his coffee, took the folder back from her after giving her the sticky note, then tucked the folder into his briefcase and stood with it in hand.
She stood with him, irked to see he had several inches on her.
As if he read her annoyance, he smiled. “Need a ride to your car?”
“Nah. I’ll walk back.” The weather was brisk, but the mile walk would do her good. Plus, it would take her twice as long if she had to drive back. And more time spent with Agent Rapp wasn’t on her to-do list, at least not today.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jane. 0800, bright and early.”
“I can’t wait.”
He laughed and followed her out.
She turned right and walked back in the direction of her car. After some distance, not meaning to, she glanced over her shoulder and saw him watching her.
He caught her glance, nodded, then walked away.
And damn it all, she felt as if she’d lost a game she wasn’t aware she’d been playing.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next dayat 7:45 in the morning, Jane stood outside the locked door of Suite A in a building right around the corner from the downtown FBI office where she normally worked.
Hal and Joe had been disappointed that she’d be spending the next few days in the city, but they understood the appeal of getting back to real work. Having completed whatever they’d been up to, the two of them would likely remain on vacation until Uncle Chris returned.
Her uncle used to have to force them to take time off, but the past few years, the guys had realized they needed to decompress. Working at maximum output twenty-four-seven burned out even the best operatives.
