The Investigator (23 page)

Satisfaction warmed his gut when she flushed and looked away. At least she wasn’t totally immune. Surely that was a good sign? As good as he was going to get from the tight set of her mouth. She folded her arms across her chest.

“If you’re off duty, what are you doing here?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same thing.”

Her face darkened. Before she could say anything further, Riley lifted his hands in a placating gesture.

“Hey, Blondie, it’s okay. Put your claws away. I’m here, all right? And I want to know what’s got you so worked up you had to leave four messages for me to call.”

Her shoulders slumped on a sigh and she drew her light cashmere cardigan tighter around her shoulders. Riley glanced around, becoming aware of the chill in the air, noticeable now the sun had almost completed its descent.

“How about you let me in and we can talk inside, where it’s warmer? I can’t have you catching a cold. I’d never hear the end of it.”

She eyed him balefully, but opened the door wider and stepped back. He walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Immediately her scent wafted toward him. Memories of her soft lips crushed beneath his crowded his mind and he forced them aside with an impatient grimace.

Mistaking his discomfort, Kate spoke quickly. “I can turn the heat down. I’ve put the remote control here somewhere.” Her gaze cast around the room, her arms flailing at her side. “It’s just that I can’t seem to get warm.”

Riley reached out and stilled the movement of her arms. She tensed beneath his fingers.

“It’s all right, Kate. Don’t worry about it. The heat’s fine. Tell me what you’ve discovered.”

When he released her, she stepped away and came up hard against the bed. Flustered, she lowered herself onto the only chair in the room. The laptop was open on the counter in front of her, displaying a Facebook page.

Riley perched on the edge of the bed and looked at the computer screen. He quirked an eyebrow. “Facebook?”

“I’ve found Daisyblu.”

Surprise jolted through him. He stood and leaned over her shoulder as she explained how she’d found Daisyblu on the popular social media website and had sent her a friend request. The woman had responded by accepting her request and now they were able to communicate on Facebook.

Riley knew very little about the social networking site—barely any more than his younger sisters had imparted. He’d never had the time or the inclination to be part of it and he wondered how so many other people did. But if something on Facebook meant they had a break in the case, then he was all for it.

He watched while Kate clicked open more pages. The photograph of a middle-aged woman with bright, smiling eyes emerged on the screen. Daisyblu. Also known as Daisy Bloomfield. He scanned the information in her profile. Married with two adult children, Daisy lived in Grafton with her husband…a retired police officer.

Surprise shafted through him again, but then he considered the logic. It made sense Rosemary would be friends with the wives of other policemen. After all, coppers tended to socialize with their own kind. He was no exception. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but that’s how it usually was.

He leaned over and tapped the screen. “Grafton’s nearly two hours away. How do you think they met?”

Kate looked up at him and frowned. “I’m not sure. Mom was never one to travel too far afield. Maybe they met at a police function? Now and again she’d mention a ball or some kind of charity event they’d attended, although not in the last few months.”

Riley scanned Daisy’s Facebook profile. “She doesn’t have her address listed, but I guess it would be easy to find her, even in a town the size of Grafton. Someone would know where they live. I could even look on the internal phone directory at work. If her husband retired in the last few years, he’ll probably still be on it.”

“Do you think she’ll be able to tell us what’s happened to my mother?”

Riley heard the hope in her voice and saw the spark of excitement in her eyes. He hated to be the one to crush it.

“I don’t think so. From the tone of her emails, she’s as much in the dark about everything as we are.”

The spark faded and Kate turned back to the computer. Her body slumped. “I guess you’re right.”

Riley winced at the defeat on her face, but he wasn’t going to lie to her and if she took the time to reread the emails from Daisy, she’d know the woman was as clueless as they were. But they could at least go and talk to her. She could shed light on the events prior to Rosemary’s disappearance. At this stage, anything could help.

“Hey, look at me.” His voice was gentle but insistent. Even though she wasn’t interested in him, he couldn’t bear to see her so despondent. With obvious reluctance, she turned her head to face him.

“You did good, okay. Finding Daisy on Facebook, that’s great. And I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier. It was rude and cowardly.”

Her eyes widened. He held her gaze and the world narrowed to her perfect, heart-shaped face.

He shifted his head, making the tiniest whisper of movement. Her lips parted in response. Desire kicked him hard in the gut and then moved lower. All the reasons this was such a bad idea fought for airspace in his head, but he couldn’t help it. He was on the road to heartbreak, but there was nothing he could do about it. He took hold of her chin and tilted her face up to his.

Her eyes darkened, an ocean of need beckoning him forward. His lips found hers and he moaned from the impact. They tasted of coffee and warm, soft woman. They tasted like Kate.

Her mouth opened under his and he deepened the kiss. His lips tasted her, drank in her essence. He couldn’t get enough. He buried his hands in her hair and held her head still. A wave of blond hair tugged loose from the knot on top of her head and spilled over his fingers. He luxuriated in the silky feel of it.

A pulse beat a frantic tattoo just beneath her skin. He pressed his lips to the spot, exhilarating in the knowledge she was as affected as he.

Lifting his head, he dragged in a breath and tried to calm the pounding of his heart. His cock was rock hard. His arms trembled with the strain of holding back. Kate stood and moved into his arms, pressing herself tightly against him.

His stomach muscles contracted from the contact. He sucked in a breath. Her breathing sounded harsh in the silence. She held onto him like a survivor from the
Titanic.

Slowly, he became aware of the desperation in the tautness of her limbs. A fine tremor shook her shoulders. Her arms tightened around his waist.

“Hey, sweetheart. It’s all right. It’s okay.” He ran a tender hand over her head, stroking the silky strands of her hair. Something was wrong. She wouldn’t be holding onto him as if her life depended upon it if she didn’t want to be near him.
Would
she?

Gradually, she quieted and the pressure around his waist eased. She lifted her head and offered him a shaky smile.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

He placed a finger across her lips. “
Shh
, it’s fine. No need to explain.”

Of course there was.

He kept the thought to himself. Confusion rallied in his head. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he wasn’t prepared to press her. She’d tell him when she was ready.
If
he still wanted to know. It was as simple as that.

* * *

Kate splashed cool water over her flushed cheeks and patted them dry with a clean towel. She could hear Riley in the next room, flicking through channels on the television. She couldn’t believe she’d broken down like that, but it was progress. Much better than the bone-shattering, mind-freezing panic attacks she usually experienced when a man got too close.

Not that she could tell him about it. To tell him was to open a floodgate she’d vowed to barricade until the day she died. And even though a warm pair of understanding eyes caused a yearning in her so deep she didn’t know if she could stand it, she’d managed to tighten the reins on her emotions and bury them deep inside her, where they had to stay. Feelings meant pain and she’d already suffered enough of that for two lifetimes.

“Are you all right in there?”

His voice drifted through the closed door of the bathroom, the concern in his gentle tone almost weakening her resolve. Resisting the lure of it, she drew in a breath and answered him.

“I’m fine. Sorry. I’ll be out in a minute. It must be the heat. I was feeling a little lightheaded.”

“Are you sure?” His voice sounded louder, as if he’d moved to stand right outside the door. Kate’s chest tightened in alarm.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure,” she hastened to reassure him, hoping he’d move away. She needed him to move away. So she could breathe.

“Okay.”

The single word was less audible and she gulped in some much-needed air. She should never have kissed him. Not only was he a man, but he was a policeman. The worst kind of man.

And yet, for a few moments, as the heat of his mouth had consumed her, she’d managed to forget the fear, the loathing, the panic, the occupation. Because of Riley. He’d done that for her. Wiped her memories clean, even if it was for just a few moments.

Riley. Strong, kind, considerate, Riley. She owed him more than a view of the closed bathroom door. Squaring her shoulders, she stared at the wooden panel and prayed silently for courage. Then, she opened it.

* * *

Riley looked up from where he sat on the edge of the bed. Kate’s skin was still pale, but she had a determined look in her eye that almost managed to distract him from the slight tremor of her lips.

Her lips. Full. Luscious. Sweet. He tried to erase the images, the feel of them against his. She crossed the room with cautious steps and resumed her seat in front of the laptop, keeping her gaze averted.

“Sorry about that,” she said, staring with fierce concentration at the screen.

“Hey, don’t give it another thought.
I’m
the one who’s sorry. If I’d returned your call yesterday, we could have driven to Grafton today and found Daisy Bloomfield. We’d be that much closer to finding your mother.”

Her eyes met his in the mirror above the counter, huge and dark in the dimness of the room. “You said
we
. Does that mean you don’t think I’m a suspect anymore?”

Riley paused and realized that was true. He wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, but he
had
stopped thinking of her as a suspect. He still wasn’t ready to put the cuffs on Darryl, but he knew in his gut Kate couldn’t have harmed her mother. She cared too much. She couldn’t possibly be that great an actress.

He frowned as he thought of the kisses they’d shared. Twice now she’d devoured him with a fervor that had matched his own, until she’d changed her mind. Like a switch had been flipped, the wanton ball of passion had become a trembling bundle of fear, pushing him away, retreating to the solitude and safety of her bathroom.

Was it all an act to keep him off balance? His gaze ran over her back and he noted the tension in her muscles, the stiffness of her arms. She watched him in the mirror, awaiting his response. There was something so sad and defenceless in her eyes. When he opened his mouth to reply, he knew he was about to step beyond the point of no return.

“Yes. I don’t think you’re involved in your mother’s disappearance.”

The relief on her face was almost palpable. Her shoulders drooped and her head hung low for a few moments, until she raised it again and met his gaze in the mirror.

“You don’t know how much that means to me.”

Her voice was low and husky. The weight of emotion in it clutched at his heart. He dragged his gaze away and ran a hand through his hair.

“You think Darryl’s responsible, and who knows? Maybe he is. But we still don’t even know if she’s really missing, let alone dead. From the tone of her emails, she was planning to leave. How do we know she didn’t simply do that, this time without Daisy’s knowledge or involvement?”

Tears glistened in Kate’s eyes and Riley steeled himself to remain objective. He had to ignore the plea in her watery gaze and focus on the facts. It was the only way they were going to solve this.

“I thought you were on a day off.”

Her words cut into his thoughts. He offered her a slight smile.

“I am. What’s left of it, anyway. But I won’t rest while there’s a fresh lead in your mother’s disappearance. I want to find her as much as you do.” He caught the quick denial on her lips and cut her off. “Okay, maybe not as much as you, but I take my work seriously, despite what you might think.”

She looked away and a faint blush stole into her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I was awfully rude to you that day.”

He flashed a grin and brushed her apology away. “Hey, as you said, you were jetlagged. We can all get a bit stroppy after twenty-plus hours in the air.”

Her eyes suddenly widened. She swung around in her chair until she was facing him. “Oh my goodness, I forgot to tell you! It’s about something I remembered last night. That’s why I called you the first time.”

Riley felt a stab of guilt, even though he knew she wasn’t having a go at him. He sat forward, her excitement contagious. “What is it?”

“It was something Darryl said when I saw him yesterday. We were talking about Mom’s laptop. He said she was never off it and he’d never understand why she found it so interesting.”

Riley frowned and sorted through her words in his head, trying to work out what had gotten her so worked up.

When he didn’t respond, she stood and paced in front of the bed. “Don’t you see? He used the past tense.”

Understanding dawned. Could it really mean Darryl knew she was dead? Surely if he expected her to return he wouldn’t have phrased it that way? Riley shook his head. He couldn’t say. It was definitely odd and just one more thing stacked against the man.

“I talked to your old housekeeper. She told me your mom was going blind. Rosemary didn’t want Darryl to know.”

Shock spread across Kate’s face. “Oh, my God, I had no
idea
. Mom never told me. Are you sure? Did Mrs Fitzgerald actually say Mom said that?”

Riley nodded. “I think Maggie was the only one who knew. Your mother made her promise not to tell Darryl. According to the housekeeper, they hadn’t been getting on so good.”