“I do.”
“But you—”
“I couldn’t share my opinion in front of uniforms. I had to act impartial in front of them.”
She shook her head. “And here I thought you didn’t believe me.”
“I don’t know you that well, Malone, but I do know that I am drawn to you. Have been since we were in high school. I’d like to think I couldn’t be attracted to a murderer, but my experience as a detective says it’s possible.”
“I…well, I guess that’s an interesting way to look at it.” She didn’t know what else to say. Not when something she’d always longed for had happened. He’d admitted he was attracted to her.
She took a bite of spicy rice mixed with cool avocado to keep her mind off thoughts that didn’t help move the investigation forward. “I can’t tell you anything more about the guy than I’ve already told you.”
“What about smell? Did he have a scent at all?”
She closed her eyes and ignored the food to think. “No. Nothing.”
“His clothing? Expensive or bargain quality.”
She kept her eyes closed and brought the man to mind, seeing his clothing vividly. She opened her eyes. “Expensive. The shirt had a label at the hem. It was an expensive brand Reed likes to wear. And his boots were leather. Worn but stylish.”
“Okay, so we have a man who has money to blow on clothes.”
“Yes.” Excitement had her reaching out for his hand. “This is a start, right?”
He nodded, gaze flicking to her hand resting on his.
Suddenly self-conscious, she let go, picked up her taco, and took a bite, the sweet corn melting on her tongue.
“And your level of detail helps reinforce that he does exist. You can’t just pull such detail out of the air unless you’re a practiced liar. A vibe I don’t get from you.”
She swallowed. “I feel like there’s something else I saw, but it’s not registering. I’ll keep thinking.”
He nodded as he chewed.
“I kept wondering last night if the guy came to the hotel to shoot Junior or if it was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” she said. “Like maybe he went to the reunion, and Junior said something to him like he did to me. I concluded he most likely came to shoot him, or he wouldn’t have a ski mask with him, unless he had gear for skiing in his car.”
Ian set down his taco. “Would you be willing to look at footage from the hotel video? To see if you can ID him by his clothing when he arrives?”
“Sure.”
“I have my laptop in the car, and we could review the files when we finish here if it’s okay with you.”
“Reed’s likely getting mad at me for not showing up. Any minute now, he’ll send a search party. He’s asked the Veritas and Nighthawk Security team to meet with me to develop a plan to find this guy.”
Ian leaned back. “What if we went over to Veritas and then came back to review the files over leftovers?”
“Smooth way to insert yourself into our meeting.”
“I didn’t think you’d notice.” The right side of his full mouth quirked up.
You keep smiling like that at me, and I won’t notice anything else ever again.
Still, she couldn’t think of a reason to keep Ian away. After all, she’d often heard it said to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Right now, she didn’t know where Ian fit in the picture, but she did know she liked having him close.
5
If Ian were prone to nerves, the Veritas conference room filled with the five muscled Byrd brothers and the Veritas partners would make him flex his confidence muscles. But being in law enforcement, Ian was used to testosterone-filled rooms, and he relaxed in his chair while Malone updated the team, who didn’t at all seem upset to be there on a weekend.
