“I think you’re right. That makes it part of the crime scene.” He turned to the Grangers. “We’ll follow up on this, see if it has anything to do with the murder. Thanks for giving it to us.”
“I hope it helps,” Maria said.
They talked to the couple a while longer, but there was nothing more to add to their original statement. Still, the paper might prove interesting. He’d get the brown spot tested, see if it was blood. If so, maybe they could find out whose.
They left the Grangers and Linc drove back to the office. He had a quick meeting, some calls to make; then he was done for the day. They could go out to dinner, then chopper home.
Linc flicked a glance at Carly and desire slipped through him. He had plans for her tonight and sleep wasn’t high on the list.
As the car rolled down the North Central Expressway, the mirrored windows of the Tex/Am building glinted in the sunlight ahead. He pulled the Mercedes into the underground lot and got out. The attendant opened Carly’s door, then hurried around and slid in behind the wheel.
Linc grabbed Carly’s laptop out of the car and they rode the private elevator up to his office. He should probably give the paper to the sheriff for DNA testing, but he still wasn’t sure Howler wasn’t involved.
Instead he would send it to the City DNA Lab here in Dallas, see what turned up. Tomorrow he’d talk to Conchita, see what she had to say about the twenty-thousand-dollar bank deposit.
It should be an interesting conversation.
Chapter Fourteen
It was Thursday morning. Carly sat across from Linc at the round oak breakfast table in his sunny kitchen, both of them drinking coffee as if they were just a normal couple on any normal morning.
As if time weren’t ticking away, danger pressing in from all sides, getting closer by the minute.
Through the window, beyond a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle, she could see horses playfully running through a grassy pasture. It was so peaceful here. No wonder Linc loved it.
After their conversation with the Grangers yesterday, they’d had supper at an elegant but quiet Dallas restaurant called the Abbey, then they’d returned to the ranch, and Linc had taken her straight to bed. The man was practically insatiable and when she was with him, so was she.
Now it was morning and they both had things to do. She needed to go into her office. She’d been working on her laptop, getting a few things done, but she needed to pay bills and appease creditors, which meant she needed the loan Linc had promised her.
Damn, she hated to bring it up. Having just climbed out of his bed, it felt a little like selling herself.
“What’s troubling that mind of yours this morning?” he asked. “I can almost see your brain spinning around.”
Carly sighed. “I’ve got to go into work. I’ve missed too much time this week already. You said my pickup’s in one of the garages. You wouldn’t have to drive me.”
Linc took a sip of the rich, freshly brewed dark coffee, and set his mug back down on the table. An empty plate that had held a toasted bagel, bacon, and some scrambled eggs sat next to it, along with an empty glass of orange juice.
“I had a feeling you were thinking about that loan I promised you,” he said. “You’ll find the paperwork at your office when you get there. Sign the documents, and the check will be deposited into whatever account you want this afternoon.”
How did he do that? Practically read her mind. Or maybe it was her face. She’d bet he was great at poker.
“You’ll pay it back,” he said, still tuned in to her thoughts. “Just keep doing what you have been and it’ll all come together.”
“I hope you’re right.” Dressed in stretch jeans and a crisp white cotton blouse, she grabbed her purse off the counter. “I’ve got to get going. If you could just open the garage door so I could get my—”
“Your truck should show up out front any minute.”
Carly flicked him a glance. Slinging the strap of her purse over her shoulder, she started walking. Linc came up behind her as she stepped into the entry and pulled open the door.
“There’s someone in the passenger seat,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“That’s good ol’ Frank. Ross says he’s very good at his job. Says he was having an off night the evening of your little run-in at the Stop and Shop. I don’t think he’ll let his guard down again.”
“What, he’s my bodyguard?”
“You haven’t forgotten our deal? I told you I’d insist on personal protection. I wasn’t talking about condoms.”
If she wasn’t semi-pissed, she would have laughed. “What’s he going to do all day while I’m working?”
