Taryn struggled to breath as the walls of her hotel room closed in around them. Her brain struggled to comprehend that his change in manner had to do with something as simple as a dream, yet her body reacted to him as if she herself had experienced what he’d envisioned. She had to be responding like this due to her stress level and they needed to leave this room before she did something she’d regret.
“You’re right. I don’t want to talk about this.” Taryn turned and slammed her laptop shut. She shoved it in its case and slung it over her shoulder. She’d had it in the safe, but something about Arthur Bowers set her on edge and she wasn’t going to take the chance of leaving her computer for someone to hack into. “I couldn’t get a hold of the patrol officer that handled Madeline’s car accident earlier, so arriving early will give us a chance to possibly track him down before we meet with the other detective.”
Taryn saw movement in the mirror and her muscles tensed, waiting for Ethan to touch her. When she felt nothing and didn’t sense him near her as she normally did, she looked over her shoulder to find him waiting at the door. It took her a moment to comprehend that he was doing what she said she wanted. The disappointment that he hadn’t pushed the issue confused her, which caused more anger to surface. Shit, she would have been better off if she’d made Ethan leave this morning like she’d originally wanted. That was the kicker…Taryn wasn’t sure
what
she wanted.
* * * *
Ethan couldn’t put a finger on why he felt like he could conquer anything put in his way, but the future had never appeared to him in such vivid colors before. For the first time in his life he could be patient. If it meant Taryn coming to terms with where their relationship was headed, he had all the perseverance that was required. Having secured their sidearms in the firearms lockbox in Taryn’s vehicle, they proceeded up the steps to the station. He slipped off his sunglasses and hung them on his shirt as he held open the police station’s door for Taryn, ignoring her look of annoyance. She was rather cute in this worked up state.
“I left a message for Crest this morning, but I will have to brief him later tonight. The information we’ve discovered so far is both a relief and a concern.” Ethan stepped inside the barracks behind Taryn, taking in the crowded lobby. It looked like a busy afternoon for the men in uniform, so it was a good thing they’d scheduled an appointment with Detective Fred Noel. Whether or not the patrol officer would have time to meet with them was another question altogether. “I’ve been thinking about Sabrina, Yvette—whatever we want to call her—and I have to wonder why she would walk away from such a lavish life for one of constantly being on the run from authorities.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I am relieved that Dad didn’t have an affair on my mother, but to be kept in the dark about another child is fundamentally wrong on so many levels.” Taryn walked up to the bulletproof window where a police officer was still on the phone and holding up a finger, asking them to be patient. “There are a lot of unanswered questions on both Sabrina and Madeline. Let’s hope that the detectives can shed some light on things. I’m thinking that Detective Noel didn’t put his theories in the report.”
As Taryn turned her head to look at Ethan, he noticed that she still had a pencil behind her ear. He reached up and slowly pulled it away from her, noticing that her eyes never left his. As a matter of fact, from the way her pupils dilated and her lips parted, he would say that they were making progress. He slid the pencil into his back pocket to give him something else to do besides touching her.
“May I help you?”
“Yes,” Ethan answered when Taryn didn’t reply right away. “We have an appointment to see Detective Noel, although we’re a little early. We were hoping that Officer Timms is on duty this afternoon.”
“Yes, but I think he might have already left the building.” The officer looked over his right shoulder, scouring what must be the bullpen. “Johnny, is Matt still back there?”
Ethan and Taryn couldn’t hear the reply, but it must have been affirmative for the officer in front of him was nodding. He then picked up the phone and spoke into the receiver. It wasn’t long before the officer addressed them once more.
“Take a seat, please. It’s your lucky day. Officer Timms will be with you in a moment.”
Ethan already knew there wasn’t a seat to be had in the lobby, so he placed a hand on Taryn’s back and led the way over to a corner where they would keep out of everyone’s way. He liked the feel of touching Taryn in a more intimate manner and when she didn’t look up at him with her usual frown of late, he felt another piece of the puzzle fall into place.
“There is no way Art Bowers could have gotten Sabrina declared dead unless he paid off a judge,” Taryn surmised, crossing her arms and continuing the discussion as if she hadn’t felt something shift between them. Ethan gritted his teeth, trying to recall the patience he’d had not five minutes ago. “There wasn’t enough evidence to support the theory that she had died.”
“I think Art uses money to get his ass out of a lot of things. I know you ran a background check on him. Anything of interest?”
“Nothing that stands out.” When the inner door swung open to reveal an officer in his thirties, Ethan and Taryn stood a little straighter. Sure enough, it was Officer Timms. “Showtime.”
Introductions were made and it wasn’t two minutes later that Ethan and Taryn were led into the back of the barracks. They had been around the block a few times and knew never to enter a police station armed unless you wanted to explain at length why you were that stupid. They were shown to a desk that clearly wasn’t Officer Timms’, but more of a universal one for those officers on patrol. The noise level in the room was tolerable with the ringing phones, the whirring of the copy machines, and the numerous conversations being held. It was the smell of the streets that had been brought in by the criminal element that Ethan had trouble tolerating. This place really needed a better air ventilation system.
“What can I help you with?”
“We’re with a private security agency and it’s come to our attention that a woman whom was involved in a fatal crash years ago might be connected to one of our cases,” Taryn replied, leaning forward to place one of her business cards in front of the officer. Ethan let her lead, knowing she had a better grasp on the questions she wanted answered. “If I’m not mistaken, it was one of the first fatalities that you were assigned in your career. The woman’s name was—”
“Madeline Bowers.” Officer Timms looked questioningly between Ethan and Taryn, obviously wondering what they could possibly want with a case that was years old. “You are right. It was my first fatality. Something like that sticks with you.”
“We’re not here to question your competency or how you handled your part in the case, but we’re hoping that maybe you might in retrospect remember something that didn’t appear to be on the up and up? Was there anything that stood out to you then or now that might suggest it wasn’t an accident?”
“Unfortunately the accident itself was just that…an accident. Mrs. Bowers had a blood alcohol limit of twice that which was legal at the time. She lost control of her car and ran headlong into a tree around a mile from her residence. All evidence found at the scene pointed toward the fact that she was driving at a high rate of speed and lost control.” Officer Timms shook his head in regret at the memories of his first fatality. “It could have been a whole lot worse had there been another vehicle involved.”
“When you say the accident itself, what do you mean?” Taryn asked, picking up the same exact thread that Ethan had.
“Arthur Bowers made sure that the cause of the accident was kept out of the media.” The contempt in the officer’s voice was evident and Ethan started to warm up to the man. “It pays to have money around these parts.”
“Were you the one to notify Arthur Bowers?” Ethan asked, shifting in his seat and not liking that he didn’t have his weapon. “Do you remember his reaction?”
“I didn’t have to notify Mr. Bowers. He’d been driving behind her when the accident occurred. He’s the one that dialed 911.”
“Excuse me?” Taryn asked, her surprise evident. Ethan had reviewed the police reports as well and never once did it say that Art Bowers had been at the scene of the accident. They couldn’t exactly inform Officer Timms of that, considering it would give away that they had already read the case file. The way that Taryn had obtained it wasn’t technically through the normal channels. “Arthur Bowers had been following Madeline home that night?”
“Yes,” Officer Timms answered, nodding his head. “They had been returning home from a friend’s party.”
“Why would he have allowed Madeline to drive that night if she were that intoxicated?”
“Mr. Bowers stated that Mrs. Bowers left before he could stop her and that he’d caught up with her one mile before she crashed.” Officer Timms looked at them with curiosity. “Who exactly are you investigating? Madeline Bowers or Arthur Bowers?”
“Madeline Bowers,” Taryn answered promptly. Ethan casually glanced around the station to see if anyone was within earshot. The more information they gathered, the more it appeared that Art liked to influence people. If word got back to the man that they were investigating him, Ethan could pretty much guarantee that their stay wouldn’t be as productive as it could be. Hell, he was convinced that Art would hear about their visit to the station anyway. It was going to be interesting to see the man’s reaction as it was. “We think her daughter might have had a connection to a man we are investigating.”
“Ah, that’s why you’re meeting with Detective Noel,” Officer Timms concluded. “Bogs mentioned that you had an appointment with him.”
He could only assume that Bogs was the duty officer manning the front desk. Once again Ethan nonchalantly glanced around their area. No one was close enough to be listening in on what was being discussed. He waited for Taryn to continue speaking, knowing she would somehow point out that a lot of what the officer was saying was missing in the report.
“We’ve already requested an official copy of the report of Madeline’s car accident, but you by chance didn’t keep any other notes from back then, did you?” Taryn asked, leading the officer down the path that she wanted him to take.
“Everything was in my report,” Officer Timms replied, reaching for the mouse next to a monitor, which Ethan knew had Taryn wincing on the inside. It looked older than Jesus and the keyboard was disgusting, even by his standards. “Your request will take weeks or months with our backlog. Let me just print you out the report.”
“We really do appreciate it.” Taryn smiled her gratitude. Her lips, which she’d glossed before coming into the station, drew Ethan’s attention. He’d never expected her to taste as sweet as she had and the silkiness of her tongue made him want to savor their kiss once more. He must have stared too long for her liking, for she reached over and pinched him. “You had a gnat on your arm.”
The little wench smiled even wider as she turned to face Office Timms once more. Ethan caught movement out of the corner of his right eye and saw a man headed their way. He was wearing a gray suit with a bolo tie, a white Stetson, and a badge attached to the left front side of his belt. The metal piece would have come across as garish on anyone else, but this detective pulled it off. He was a little heavier around the middle, but his weathered face gave way to the knowledge that he’d learned on the job.
“Heads up,” Ethan murmured, letting Taryn know that someone was headed their way.
“Ms. Sisal?” The detective waited for Taryn to stand before he continued. Ethan slowly unraveled his form, taking his place beside Taryn. “I’m Detective Noel. If it’s all right, I just came back from an interview and need a few moments while I confirm something by phone.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Detective. This is Ethan Chambers, my partner.” Taryn waited for the two men to shake hands. “We appreciate you meeting us on such short notice. And please, take your time. Officer Timms has been answering our questions regarding another part of our case.”
“Timms, just send them my way when you’re through.”
With that one order Detective Noel walked out of the room. Taryn and Ethan took their seats while Officer Timms stood up to snatch the papers that he’d just printed on an ancient well-worn machine a few feet away. Ethan watched the man closely as he went through the multiple pages. It was apparent when he’d found that some of his report was absent.
“I don’t understand,” Officer Timms said, sitting back down and scrolling his finger over the mouse in an attempt to find what he was looking for. He went back through one more time. “Two pages are missing from my initial report.”
“Really?” Taryn asked innocently. “Did they just not get printed or are they also missing on software?”
“Gone,” Officer Timms said in frustration. “They must have not scanned in the entire report when we switched over to the electronic format.”
Ethan wanted to sell the officer a bridge in Brooklyn too, but figured he’d better keep those words to himself. He leaned forward and pulled out his wallet where he kept some business cards and laid one face up on the desk next to Taryn’s. Both he and Taryn stood to close out this meeting. They’d gotten what they’d wanted and now it was time to look into the case of Sabrina Bowers.
“We appreciate your time, Officer Timms. If you come across those missing pages, you have both of our cards.”
After he and Taryn were given directions to where Detective Noel’s office was located, they headed through the doors and down the hallway to another office. Ethan once again placed his hand on Taryn’s lower back. What was it about that intimate gesture that had wicked thoughts passing through his mind? He tried to focus on the job at hand, but at this rate they would have to do something to quell these growing feelings.
“Follow my lead,” Taryn whispered as she rapped on the open door. This room was smaller than the one they’d just left. Four desks sat in each corner, with not much room for guest chairs on either side, although the detectives had made it work. “Detective Noel?”