The Fire Within (5 page)

“Could you tell who the other man was, Candy?” Dante asked, his eyes intent on Candy’s face. Shockingly, they didn’t seem glazed at all.

Maybe he really did have a taste for Candy after all.

Blech.

Candy shook her head sadly. “Well, to tell you the truth, no I couldn’t. I mean, I wanted to keep my job, you know? I didn’t get close enough to see who she was with.”

Dante made a small note on his notepad. “Height, build, anything?”

Candy bit her full lip, making a big show of thinking back. She completely ignored Beth. “Um, taller than Jennifer by at least five inches.” She eyed Dante up and down appreciatively. “Kind of makes me think of you. You know, same build, same height.” Candy sighed dreamily. “Same broad shoulders.”

Dante made a big show of closing his notepad with reluctance. “I want to thank you for all your help today, Candy.” He stood and reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a business card and handed it to her. “If you can think of anything else, anything at all you need to tell me, you can reach me at this number.”

Candy took the proffered card delicately, then put it into her bra.

Beth’s eyes nearly popped out of her head in disbelief. She forced herself to turn away before she burst out laughing.

“Thank you, Detective,” Candy said breathlessly, her hand slowly coming out of the top of her shirt. “I’ll be sure to call you if I can think of
anything
I want you for.”

Beth glanced up just in time to see the amusement on Dante’s face. “You be sure to do that, Candy. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

Dante held out his hand. Candy grasped it warmly and batted her lashes at him. “It was certainly a pleasure to meet
you
, Detective.”

Beth took a deep breath and decided it was time to move away. Far,
far
away. She was surprised to see Dante move with her. “Careful, Dante,” she muttered. “Too much Candy will give you cavities.”

She saw his lips purse out of the corner of her eye as he tried to suppress a laugh. “Ah, but what a sweet way it would be to go.”

She looked up at him in outrage before she could stop herself, and was surprised at the knowing look he shot her. She turned her head away and began to seethe all over again. “If you want to rot your teeth on Cotton Candy, go right ahead.” As nonchalantly as she could she flipped open her notebook. The next person on her agenda was Robert Kensington. He was the only man who seemed impervious to Cotton Candy, unlike some detectives she could name. She started to look around the office for Kensington, trying her best to ignore Dante as he stood silently beside her.

“I’ll make you a deal, Elizabeth.” His quiet voice sent a shiver down her spine, which she ruthlessly suppressed. “You talk to half the office, I talk to half the office, and we get together over dinner and compare notes. You don’t hold back, I don’t hold back, we halve each other’s legwork. Deal?”

Beth stared at him. She only had one answer for his abrupt one-eighty. He’d been replaced by a body-snatching alien intellect that was using him for its own nefarious purposes. “Why are you suddenly being nice to me? You hate the fact that I’m on this case.”

Dante shrugged. “Purvis. Besides, you’re already
on
the case. I can’t keep you off of it—at least legally—so it makes sense to utilize your skills as well as my own.”

She studied him. As annoying as he could be, he was a damn good cop. “Fine, but you’re buying.”

She couldn’t miss the triumph that flashed across his face just as she turned away.

Dante Zucco was up to something, and Beth was going to find out what.

Chapter Four

The stench of Shem was all over the building. It sickened him, the knowledge that a Shem was working so closely with unguarded humans. Unless the Nephilim caught him, the odds were that each and every one of these people would die by its hands.

There was one, however, Dante actually wanted to serve up on a silver platter with an apple in his mouth. He glared at where Elizabeth was questioning one of the victim’s coworkers and gritted his teeth.

If the
figlio di puttana
didn’t stop touching her Dante was going to rip his dick off.

Dante watched as Elizabeth handled the human octopus known as Robert Kensington. He was positive that if they hadn’t been in a roomful of people with a police officer standing right there, Kensington would have pushed Elizabeth onto the desk and tried something that would get him slapped with an assault charge at best.

If the man didn’t stop trying to chase his new partner across the desk, Dante was going to barbecue his ass.

Elizabeth managed to dodge yet another attempt to get her phone number, but Dante could tell her temper was beginning to fray. If this bozo knew anything at all about Jennifer Blake, he wasn’t talking. Odds were, in fact, that if Blake were cheating on her husband, Kensington would be at the top of the list.

Dante’s smile became more and more rigid as Kensington got more and more obnoxious. “I still can’t believe such a beautiful, intelligent woman is a private investigator,” Kensington said silkily as he ran a finger down the side of her arm. “What made you decide on such a hard, dangerous job when you could have been anything you wanted to be?” Kensington smiled winningly, obviously hoping to get somewhere with Dante’s partner.

Dante waited for the answer. It wasn’t long in coming.

Elizabeth stared blandly back. “I like big guns.”

Dante choked on a laugh. It wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting, and apparently neither had Kensington. The man looked shocked for a second before that same smarmy expression covered his face.

Jesus Christ, did anyone around here work, or were they all sex maniacs?

She flipped her notebook to a fresh page. “Now, about Jennifer Blake—”

“Ah, right, Jennifer.” Kensington shook his head sadly. “It’s a pity about her. You were hired by Jonathan, right?” Kensington watched her the way a Doberman would a large, juicy steak.

“That’s correct, Mr. Kensington. Do you know anything about Mrs. Blake that could help apprehend her killer?”

“I’ll have to think about it, maybe over dinner. Would you like to join me?” Kensington shot her a hungry smile that had nothing to do with food.

Dante’d had enough. “She’s with me.” He was getting supremely pissed off, but the surge of possessiveness that roared through him was unsettling. He stared Kensington down, gratified when the man blanched.

Elizabeth looked up at him in quick surprise before confirming his statement. “That’s right. We’re partners.”

“Ah. I see.” Kensington settled on the edge of the desk. “All I know is everyone in the office knew Jen was seeing someone else. Sort of a closely guarded public secret, if you know what I mean.” He winked and smiled at Elizabeth.

She ignored him. “Any idea at all who she was seeing?”

Kensington shook his head. “Nope. Sorry. All I know is she turned me down when I offered. But, hey,” he added, slightly maliciously, “some people don’t understand what they’re passing up, you know?”

Elizabeth looked at him in complete disgust. “Some people know
exactly
what they’re passing up, Mr. Kensington.” Dante could almost hear her ticking off the venereal diseases in her head as she closed her notebook with a snap. “Thank you for your assistance. If you can think of anything else that would assist in the apprehension of Mrs. Blake’s murderer, please contact Detective Dante Zucco at the New Castle Police Department. I’m sure he’ll be willing to leave you his business card.” Elizabeth turned away from Kensington’s outstretched hand and walked away to the water cooler.

Kensington whistled soundlessly. “Well, she’s a cold bitch, isn’t she?”

Dante slapped his card onto Kensington’s desk. He turned and walked without a word to the water cooler, thoroughly disgusted.

He stepped up beside Elizabeth. “What an ass.” He leaned against the wall, his gaze intent on her face.

She snickered. “As long as you aren’t pawing it like he did, you’re welcome to admire it as much as you want.” She rubbed her rear, glaring at Kensington before turning her gaze back to Dante.

He had a sudden yen for fried calamari.

“Don’t be too surprised if he and Candy wind up together,” Beth drawled. “Something tells me they were made for each other.”

Dante shook his head. “Nope. Candy would eat Kensington alive for breakfast.”

“And lunch, and dinner. She seems like the type who has a voracious appetite.” Elizabeth took a sip of water, then reopened her notebook. “By the way, are you beginning to detect a pattern, here?”

“You mean the one where Jennifer Blake was cheating on her husband?”

Elizabeth pushed her glasses back up her nose. “Exactly. Wonder who the guy was?”

“That’s something we’re going to have to find out.” Dante pushed himself away from the wall and scanned the room. “Okay, partner, who’s next on the agenda?”

“Let’s see.” She flipped through her notebook. “There’s Sylvester Oates, head of accounting, Delilah Messinger, Blessing’s personal secretary, and Bryan Cranston, who works with Oates. Then there’s Blessing himself, but it doesn’t appear that he’s in right now.”

He blinked. “You got all that from Mr. Grabby?”

“Please. While you were studying her cleavage, I was studying Candy’s appointment book. Mr. Blessing, in fact, is currently getting his hair done.” Beth rolled her eyes. “You get the names of the rest of the employees from Mrs. Messinger.”

He’d missed the appointment book, damn it, but watching Beth have a meltdown while he flirted with Candy had been worth it. Still, Dante was impressed. “You take Oates, then, and we’ll do Blessing together. Deal?”

“What about Cranston?”

Dante shrugged. “Whoever gets done first gets him.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Okay,
partner.
” She shut her notebook and strode toward the accounting offices.

Dante watched her walk away, her stride determined, the sway of her hips capturing his undivided attention.

Dante sighed and headed for the office of Todd Blessing. The Shem miasma was here as well, but it wasn’t nearly as thick as out where the employees sat.

At least Todd Blessing wasn’t the Shem. If he was, the stench would be thickest here, in his personal office. Dante’d have to check back where the accounting office was, see how thick it was there.

Damn it. This splitting up thing wasn’t working for him, but what else could he do? He doubted the Shem would make a move on Elizabeth in the middle of the day, in his own place of business and surrounded by coworkers.

A motherly lady in a no-nonsense business suit sat at a desk outside Blessing’s office, smiling sweetly. “Mrs. Messinger? I’m Detective Zucco with the New Castle Police Department. I’d like to ask you a few questions about the death of Jennifer Blake.”

“Oh, of course, Detective.” The smile faded to be replaced by a sad expression he’d seen far too many times. “Such a sad time for her family, and for all of us.” She gestured toward the chair near her desk. “Please, have a seat. I’ll answer what I can.”

Wonderful. Finally, something today was going to go right.

* * *

Beth poked her head around the corner of the accounting office. She saw one gentleman pouring himself a cup of coffee, and a young woman talking on the phone. She was willing to bet the short, dark-haired woman was Oates’s secretary. The tall, dark, handsome man was probably Oates himself.

Beth walked into the office and directly up the dark-haired man. He turned with a smile on his face. “May I help you?”

Beth held out her hand. “Elizabeth Rand. I’ve been hired by Mr. Jonathan Blake to investigate the death of Jennifer Blake.” The smile left Oates’s face, but his grasp was firm and unhurried. “May I have a few moments of your time?”

“Yes, of course.” He looked at the young brunette. “Barbara, hold all of my calls for me, will you?”

The woman nodded, and Oates led the way into his tiny office. He shut the door and motioned Beth into a chair in front of his desk. Placing his coffee cup down, he seated himself behind the desk. “What can I do to help you, Ms. Rand?” His tone was filled with concern.

“Just so you know, I need to ask these questions. You’ll get the same ones from the police, but I like to be thorough.” Beth had no doubt that Dante would come in behind her at some point and ask his own set of questions, but she wasn’t concerned about that now. She flipped open her notebook. “Where were you on the night Jennifer died?”

“Home, with my kids. I left as soon as they announced that there’d be a state of emergency declared. I didn’t want to be caught out in the storm.”

“And this can be confirmed by friends or neighbors?”

He thought about that for a moment. “I think I saw my neighbor, Ted, pull into his driveway, but I’m not sure. You can ask my wife, though.”

She’d do that. “Can you tell me anything at all about Jennifer Blake? What she was like, in the office and out?”

Oates leaned back in his chair. “Well, in the office she was the consummate professional. Always on time, always on the ball. She was totally committed to getting Todd elected. Out of the office?” He shrugged. “Who knows? I didn’t really see her outside of her working capacity. We didn’t exactly run in the same circles.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, she was friends with Todd, while I was just the accountant. Meaning, she went to balls and parties and cocktail hours, while I went home to my wife and kids.”

“And were you jealous of her success?”

“Success?” His eyebrows rose. “No. I wouldn’t call what she had
success
.” When Beth frowned, he continued. “To me, success is heading home to my wife and kids at a decent hour but still being able to make the mortgage payment. I don’t want to work eighteen-hour days while my wife takes the kids to soccer. I want to be the one driving them all. Jennifer wanted... Well. Who knows what she wanted, but I doubt it was the stable family life I’ve got. I don’t think she went home often enough to really
have
a home.”

“Fair enough.” Beth made a few notes. “Any rumors or innuendos you may have heard attached to her name?”

Beth glanced up from her notebook and caught the look of disapproval on Oates’s face. “I don’t listen to gossip, Ms. Rand, especially anything that comes out of the mouths of the likes of Kensington and Grahame. Kensington was annoyed that she turned him down, and Grahame was annoyed that Kensington asked.”

She didn’t really agree with him about Ms. Grahame, but from the expression on his face he wasn’t going to talk about anything outside Jennifer’s professional life, not without some serious proof, anyway. “That was the impression I got. I just needed to confirm it. Thank you.” Beth settled back in her chair. “How did
you
interact with Mrs. Blake?”

“Jennifer often requested financial files from my office for legal purposes. Sometimes she’d want to have proof ready of exactly where a campaign contribution had come from, what it was being used for, and that it did not exceed any legal limits imposed by the government. She wanted no hint of scandal to attach itself to Todd’s campaign. She was extremely anal about that, despite the fact that we have a couple more months to go before it becomes a real issue. Part of me admired that dedication to Todd just as part of me cursed her out for the unnecessary paperwork.”

Beth made another note, nodding. “When was the last time she asked for those financial sheets?”

He grimaced. “Funny you should mention that. She asked for them three days before she died, and I’ve been unable to locate any of them since then. I think she may have still had them on her when she was killed.”

“How far back did the information go?”

“She asked for the financials dating back to the first of August.”

Beth felt herself growing excited. “Do you have copies of that data?”

To her chagrin, Oates shook his head no. “The redundant files got stolen the day after her death. In fact, Todd was the one who reported the theft, since his office is where those files were stored.”

Interesting. Beth made some quick notes to get Dante to pull those police files. “Electronic backups?”

“Wiped, and I’m not sure how it was done.” Mr. Oates sighed wearily. “In fact, that’s what I was working on when you came in here. Somehow, someone in this office got to those copies before I could.”

Beth tapped her pen against her notebook, trying to hide her excitement. “You don’t say.”

Now they were on to something.

* * *

Half an hour with Mrs. Messinger and Dante was ready to pull his hair out. She’d absolutely refused to discuss anything real. She’d offered him cookies and coffee when he questioned her about Blessing. She’d asked him whether or not he had children when he mentioned Blake, making sympathetic noises about how all of this must be affecting Blake’s young daughter. He was about to throw in the towel when Elizabeth joined him, looking far too smug for his liking.

Before he took her out to lunch he had to ask one final question. “Is there anything else you can tell me about Mrs. Blake, ma’am?”

Mrs. Messinger shook her head sadly. “Oh my, no, Detective, I wish I did know something.”

Damn it. It was like pulling teeth from his nana. Every time she offered him a cookie or shot him a disappointed glare he wanted to squirm in his seat like a guilty little boy.

Elizabeth tapped her pencil on her pad. “What do you know about the break-in the day after Mrs. Blake died, Mrs. Messinger?”

Mrs. Messinger looked flustered. “Break-in?”

Apparently Elizabeth’s grandmother wasn’t the grandmotherly sort, because she wasn’t falling for the guilt trip the way he had. She snapped open her notebook, ready to decimate the nice little old lady. “Yes. The break-in where all of the financial files were stolen right out of Mr. Blessing’s office. The one he himself reported to the police the day after Mrs. Blake died.
That
break-in.”