For Gail and Wendy

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Prologue

Detective Tessa Jacoby stood in the entryway of the special events room at the Pritchard Gallery located in Restin, New York, looking at the portraits of women and children who lost their lives to the depravity of the world. Her eyes finally rested on the family of Dana Stratton, who all stood holding hands in front of Dana’s portrait. When she saw the mother, Fran, reach up to touch the portrait, Tessa diverted her gaze. It was a private moment that didn’t include her.

Tessa’s meandering thoughts came back to the present when she heard a soft voice speak. “Thank you for coming, Detective,” Fran Stratton said. “The family appreciates all the time you’ve given us over the last year.”

With a nod and a slight smile, Tessa gave Dana’s mother her undivided attention. “Tomorrow is the trial and I wanted to speak with you—the family—if you have time.”

“Certainly,” Fran said with melancholy lacing her voice. “I’ll get the others.”

Tessa led the group to a small alcove where Dana’s sister, Sara, and the sleeping baby, Miranda, now a year old, could sit on a marble bench. She looked at the family and could still see the pain and sadness etched on each face. Clearing her throat, Tessa collected her thoughts. “As you know, the jury has been picked and the trial will begin tomorrow.” She saw the expectant eyes of Bob and Fran Stratton, along with Sara and Jeff Macintosh, focused on her. “I know the DA has spoken with you about what will happen.”

The brow of Dana’s father creased. “Is there something more that we should know?”

Tessa’s eyes looked at them with compassion. “The job of the defense is to win their client’s freedom. I’ve seen this defense attorney in action, so I know he will do everything possible to see that happens.”

“In what way?” Fran asked.

“By discrediting Dana—making her look guilty—like she was asking for it.”

Fran’s eyes opened wide. “No, that’s a lie.”

“I know that, Mrs. Stratton. He won’t come out and say that directly but he will ask his questions in a way that insinuates that Dana was somehow responsible. All he needs to do is plant one seed of doubt in one juror’s mind. That’s his job.” When the group in front of her said nothing, Tessa continued, “Did the DA speak to you about the crime scene photos?”

Bob Stratton nodded. “Yes, he said he’d warn us when he was going to show them so we could leave the courtroom.”

“Most jurors will look at the pictures, then at the family and the defendant for their reactions.” Tessa lifted one shoulder. “If you can, I think you should stay in the courtroom for them,” she said softly. “You can cover your eyes or look away.”

Sara asked, “So that the jury will see our reactions?”

“Exactly. The news surrounding the murder was front page around here and that’s why the defense attorney fought so hard to get a jury from three hundred miles away.” Tessa reached out and touched the visibly shaken Fran’s arm lightly. “The jury will be looking at Dana’s family and friends and, in a way that will shape their opinion of her.”

Fran reached into a bag, took out a t-shirt, and handed it to Tessa. “We had these made to wear to the trial,” she said. “It is the same shirt Dana was wearing that night.”

Unfolding the shirt, Tessa saw a basketball with the words reach higher to win ringing the ball. “Thank you.” The detective steeled her emotions. “You should tell everyone who’ll be wearing the shirt to bring a back-up.”

“Why?” Fran cried.

After closing her eyes briefly, Tessa focused on the family in front of her. “Because, the defense attorney will object.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Bob ground out through gritted teeth. “He can’t dictate what people wear.”

“In the courtroom he can,” Tessa said evenly. “The shirt, the pins you’re wearing and anything else that reflects on Dana will be sighted as prejudicial to his client. Even before the jury enters, the judge will most likely rule in the defense’s favor.”

Fran bristled with anger. “No. I will not listen to the judge and wear it anyway.”

Tessa moved closer and touched Fran’s hand. “Justice is supposed to be blind. If you don’t follow the judge’s rulings, he won’t let you stay in the courtroom. All I’m saying is to be prepared to wear something else,” she said softly. “You don’t want to jeopardize the trial over a shirt or a pin do you?”

“There’s always a chance that the defense attorney will say nothing. Right?” Dana’s sister asked.

Tessa shrugged. “There’s always that possibility but I wouldn’t count on it.”

The group fell into a long silence until the baby, Miranda, began to fuss.

Bob smiled fondly at the baby then looked at Tessa. “That’s all then?”

“Yes.”

Fran stood up. “Will you be in the courtroom for the trial, Detective?”

“Only when I’m called to testify. I can’t be there before that.”

Bob held out his hand. “Thank you, Detective, for all your hard work and support.”

Tessa shook each person’s hand before she left for the exit.

Rain was threatening as Tessa left the gallery. She raised the collar of her black leather jacket as a sudden gust of cold wind swirled around her. Walking quickly to her car and getting in, her thoughts turned to a year earlier when the Dana Stratton case changed her life.

As she pushed the key into the ignition, a bright bolt of lightning fractured the black sky.

Chapter One

The one thing about police work that Tessa Jacoby detested was testifying in court. It was almost ten and she’d cooled her heels for almost an hour before she took the stand again. She’d spent most of the previous Friday testifying about the investigation into the death of George Markowitz, a local grocer.

Once reminded that she was still under oath, she sat in a chair next to the judge’s dais and answered the five redirect questions the District Attorney, Herb Meyers, asked. They all revolved around the procedures used by Tessa and her partner when they first investigated the grocer’s body found in a nearby lake.

The defense attorney, Conner Ashley, a big man who looked like a cuddly teddy bear, had scored points the following Friday in his cross examination. Now, the same lawyer stood in front of the witness box with his hazel eyes boring into her. “Are you telling this court, Detective Jacoby, that you had no idea that the victim was a known police snitch?”

“Yes.”

“Is it your contention that this evidence,”—he held up several items—“was at the scene when you got there?”

Tessa looked at the jury. “Yes.”

“Detective, did it ever occur to you that someone planted the evidence there for you to find so it would implicate my client in a murder he did not commit?”

“No.”

“And why is that Detective?”

“Whether that evidence was there or not is immaterial. Our investigation uncovered other, more pertinent information that pointed to the defendant.”

“Then why did your partner, Detective Barrett, indicate in his testimony that the evidence found at the scene was, and I quote, the evidence was essential to the investigation, without it we might not have identified the perpetrator.”

Tessa raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“Do you and your partner discuss your cases?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t agree on the evidence at the lake?’

“The evidence found at the scene helped us identify the perpetrator sooner. If it hadn’t been there, it might have taken us longer but we would have come to the same conclusion.”

Conner Ashley looked at his notes, made several notations, glanced at the witness, and then said. “Nothing further.”

The judge’s wizened blue eyes fell on the DA “Any redirect?”

Herb Meyers stood up, buttoned his jacket, and said, “Detective Jacoby, do you approach a case with limited evidence any differently that one where evidence is readily available?”

“No.”

“Nothing further, Your Honor.”

Judge Everett looked down at the detective. “You’re dismissed.”

With her eyes focused on the door, Tessa walked rapidly out of the courtroom and headed for the exit. Flipping her cell phone open and pressing a button, she heard a familiar melodic tone that told her the phone was on—it rang immediately.

“Jacoby.”

“You done?” her partner, Gus Barrett, asked.

“Just finished a few minutes ago.”

“We have a body.

“You pickin’ me up?”

“Yep, I’ll be there in a few.”

Tessa was almost to the exit when she recognized Anna Mikaelson in an intense conversation with another woman. From Anna’s body language, Tessa saw familiarity. Now why doesn’t that surprise me? Rumor had it that Anna was a player. She chuckled slightly and shook her head. Then she continued toward the exit, ignoring the pain she felt in her heart.

Passing by security, she negotiated three steps, pushed open the door, and then left the courthouse located at Justice Square.

Tessa, driven by a work ethic that didn’t tolerate anything less than the best both professionally and privately, was the ultimate police detective. Those who worked with her knew her as a demanding workaholic, who played by the book and expected everyone else to do the same.

She hadn’t always been that way—not in the beginning. Tessa was the middle child of three girls and always had to fight for the approval of a domineering father and an unbending, distant mother. She often found solace in flights of fantasy that transported her from her life of not fitting in, to a world where she found love.

Her older sister, Jessica, always succeeded and, thereby, was the golden child who could do no wrong. Tessa was a disappointment to her parents and grandparents for she was suppose to be a boy—a stigma that would shape her life forever. Her younger sister, Rachel, with blonde hair and blue eyes, was the one everyone loved and doted on. It would make sense that Tessa might be jealous and resent her sisters but she didn’t. Instead, she clung to them in an attempt to have some of their sun shine on her, too—it never did.

During her school years, Tessa never lived up to what her one-hundred-thirty-five IQ said her potential should be. She learned early on that she could get by in school with the minimum of effort and later she took a perverse pleasure in disappointing her parents. Where Tessa failed to achieve her parents’ love, she conversely was very popular and voted class president in high school. After obtaining a degree in criminal justice, Tessa applied to the police academy. Her father expressed his surprise at her graduating and told her she’d never make it as a police officer. It was then that she decided to prove him wrong.

Tessa had known since junior high that she didn’t get the same thrill as the other girls did over boys—she was only looking at the girls. In her first year of college, she had her first lesbian encounter. It was then that she understood why, despite her popularity, she never seemed to fit in with the other girls.

At first, Tessa was gung-ho at being a homicide detective. She thought of herself as the defender of those who lost their lives to what she called the deranged element of society. Near the end of her first two years, Tessa found herself spiraling into depression. She came to the realization, after several months of therapy, that she could no longer champion the dead—it was too great a burden to carry. She couldn’t allow herself to care about the victims and began ignoring the suffering of the murder victim’s family and friends. No longer did she cry for those that had no voice. Instead, she closed off her heart as she concentrated on bringing the perpetrators to justice. Yet, nightmares remained.

Her reputation as a solid detective, who had a high rate of arrests, had many seasoned detectives requesting to be her partner. She had three partners before she finally found a good match in Gus Barrett, who she was partners with for the past eight years.

In the romance department, Tessa didn’t have time for any type of long term commitment, for she focused completely on her job. The lovers she did have, never asked for more than she could give and that suited her nicely. She had suffered her entire life without the love of her parents and she wasn’t about to let anyone hurt her like that again.

Still, her heart cried out for love.

Chapter Two

When federal prosecutor, Anna Mikaelson, saw Tessa Jacoby, she ended her conversation with Beverly Paycheck abruptly. This conversation is going nowhere. Bev will never get it that I’m not interested in her. Anna walked quickly toward the exit, pushed open the door, and lengthened her stride. As she neared the detective, she smiled.

They met five months earlier when a chance encounter in a courtroom brought them face to face—Tessa took her breath away. Over the time since that initial meeting, they had shared many lunches at a nearby deli, where playfulness was at the top of the menu. They had dated as much as they could—their hectic schedules always seemed to get in the way of something more meaningful. At least that was what Anna told herself was the reason she hadn’t had lunch with or called the detective in almost a month.

Anna’s case involving minor members of the Petroff crime family had occupied most of her time for the last several months. Once the trial began, her only free time was when she slept and there was precious little of that. That morning, the judge had charged the jury and the waiting began while they deliberated the evidence. Seeing the detective again set her body humming as the attraction she had for Tessa bloomed. She’s still as stunning as ever.

When Tessa heard, “Detective Jacoby,” a brief shiver went down her spine. With a smile, Tessa turned around to see Anna walking quickly toward her. She could be the poster child for her Swedish heritage. Her height, five-foot-nine, accentuated her lean, muscular body that a charcoal gray suit covered but did not hide. Her naturally blonde hair glistened as the sun seemed to kiss each strand. Her clear complexion, set off by eyes the color of the sky on a crisp, clear winter morning, was flawless. She was a vision of perfection.

They danced to the music of flirtation every time they met and this time was no exception. There was no mistaking the look of pleasure on Anna’s face when Tessa’s eyes overtly appraised the lawyer’s body. The draw was strong and Tessa knew it wouldn’t take much for her to fall for the words that slid so easily off the lawyer’s tongue. Nevertheless, the sting of Anna’s lack of communication for the last month hurt and she wasn’t sure she could or wanted to get past that.

After Tessa overheard two women talking about Anna and her reputation as a skirt chaser, she understood why she hadn’t heard from Anna in a month—she’d moved on. In spite of that, it still took every ounce of her resistance not to let herself fall for the smooth lines she knew would come. My life is complicated enough without adding an unfaithful lover to the mix. It was foolish of her to think that a philanderer would ever change. Still, there was the attraction, and the kisses they shared at doorways after their dates were both intense and pleasurable. The fact that it was always Anna, who pulled away just as passions began to beg for more, confused her. If the reputation of being a womanizer was true, then why hadn’t Anna taken her to bed? Her conclusion—Anna was already bedding someone on a permanent basis. Yet, the familiar stirrings of arousal in her body didn’t seem to care.

In a soft sensual voice, Anna said, “I saw you leaving the courthouse. It’s been a while, Tessa.”

“Yeah, it has. How are you doing, Anna?”

Intense blue eyes focused on Tessa’s face. “Oh,” she said with a wink, “things are definitely looking up at the moment.” She gazed into Tessa’s eyes.

Falling easily back into their familiar bantering, with a wide grin Tessa asked, “And why is that?”

“I think you know but I’ll spell it out for you, if you like,” Anna said playfully before her face became solemn. “I’ve missed you.”

Tessa shrugged. “I didn’t go anywhere.”

“I know,” Anna whispered. I was such an idiot.

Tessa saw the lawyer’s eyes leave her and settle elsewhere. Following the gaze, she saw a buxom, slim built woman standing nearby and Anna’s eyes were raking over the body in what looked like amazement. Tessa stared, too, for the woman’s double D breasts were something to behold. “Now, there’s a mouthful,” she quipped.

Anna laughed and looked at Tessa before her eyes slowly ran up the detective’s body. “I was wondering if those big boobs could suffocate someone if their face was buried in them.” She grinned.

Wiggling her eyebrows and laughing, Tessa said, “At least you’d go out with a smile on your face.”

Reaching out and running a well manicured finger across the detective’s hand, Anna shivered. “I can think of other ways to make you smile.”

Tess felt her body react in pleasure.

“Have dinner with me and I’ll show you what I mean.”

Anna’s assault on her libido, that was screaming yes, made Tessa gulp at the provocative invitation. Maybe this time Anna would actually come inside and not leave her frustrated and alone at the door. Do I take a chance? I…I,” Tessa began, relieved when she heard the sound of a car’s horn.

Turning, Tessa let out a sigh of relief when she saw Gus behind the wheel of his requisitioned battered old black Crown Vic. Tessa gave him a brief nod before turning back to the lawyer. She let a small smile turn up the corners of her mouth before she again looked back toward the street. “We’ve got a body…I’m sorry.”

With a shrug, Anna said, “No problem. I took a chance you’d be free…there’s always next time.”

Tessa didn’t want to end the connection, for something told her this time it would be different. Her eyes searched Anna’s until she heard another honk. “I’ve got to go,” she reluctantly said. “I’ll see you around or you can call me,” she added before she turned and hurried to the waiting vehicle.

Anna watched as Tessa walked away and let her gaze fall on the detective’s firm backside. Nice tight ass. Feeling stirrings of pleasure, she continued to watch as Tessa slid into the car. She heard someone say her name and when she turned in the direction of the voice, she saw a young law clerk that worked in her office. “Hi, Sylvia,” she said, as she took more one quick look at the departing vehicle.

Tessa closed the door, pulled the seatbelt across her chest, and looked at Anna. She hadn’t even left the area and the lawyer had already found another woman. In the space of a few minutes, she’s gone from the chick in the courthouse, followed by me and now she’s with a girl who might be jailbait. When the lawyer turned in her direction, their eyes met and Tessa swallowed the lump in her throat before letting out a long, slow silent chuckle. She’s amazing.

Sitting in quiet contemplation as she always did before a case began, Tessa absently said, “Where?”

“South Howard.”

“Rough neighborhood.”

“A couple of kids were playing in a vacant lot when they came across the body. The grandmother of one of the kids’ called it in at ten-thirty.”

Tessa looked at her partner of five years. He wasn’t a big man—stood about five-seven—his baldness was what everyone noticed first. His head was the only part of him that didn’t have hair. He sported a thick moustache, bushy eyebrows, black hair peeked out of his unbuttoned collar where his tie was loosely hanging, and each segment of his fingers had thick black hair. His eyes were a warm brown and his voice low and melodic.

The man was old school police. He felt that the technology was only an aid in smoking out perpetrators. He told his partner repeatedly that it was through old fashioned police investigation that required knocking on doors, finding leads and putting all the pieces together, that brought a murder investigation to its conclusion. Tessa was glad to have him for a partner, for she could rely on him always having her back just as she has his.

“Any other information?”

“Female is all I know.” Gus waited a minute before he said, “Cap said that you’re primary. You ok with that?”

“Yep.” Gus nodded at the white bag sitting between them. “There’s a roast beef on rye with horseradish and mayo, just like you like it. Got you a pickle, too. Oh, and a water.”

“Thanks. I can’t remember the last time I ate.” Tessa took the bag, opened it, pulled out the sandwich, tore the wrapper off, and took a bite.

“You and that lawyer still dating?” Gus asked as he kept his eyes on the cars in front of him.

Tessa laughed. “You need some gossip to share with your pals in your bowling league?”

Gus snorted. “No. You know that Helen always asks about you. She always wants to know if you’re eating right and if you’re dating anyone. I figured if I told her you were still dating the lawyer she’d stop giving me the names of women she wants to fix you up with.”

Taking another bite of her sandwich, Tessa let her partner’s words roll around in her mind. Swallowing, she said, “Tell Helen thanks for thinking about me and that I’ve got it all under control.”

“So you’re dating her?”

Tessa grinned. “This sandwich is delicious.”

Gus laughed. “You’re not going to tell me are you?”

“Nope.”

Gus let out a heartier laugh. “Women, I’ll never understand ‘em.”

Chapter Three

The old Crown Vic rolled slowly to a stop and Gus held his badge out the window. A uniformed officer at the police barricade of the entrance to the six hundred block of South Howard pulled back the metal barrier. Gus navigated his vehicle around the multitude of randomly parked police and other emergency vehicles. There wasn’t much room to drive, let alone park, but he did manage to get close to the scene.

Once parked, the partners made their way to the yellow crime scene tape that cordoned off a vacant lot. It was an early spring day and the sun was warm against their faces. Tessa and Gus stood on the sidewalk in front of the vacant lot and let their eyes do the first critical survey of the scene. They could see clear signs that a vehicle had recently driven over the dead weeds on the debris ladened lot. The impressions left by a vehicle’s tires led to where several crime scene investigators, along with the medical examiner, stood around what they could clearly see was a naked body. Other people, who they recognized, were searching in a grid within the lot.

Gus pointed to the tire tracks. “They look fresh.”

“I hope we can get something from them,” Tessa commented.

“It looks like it’s about a hundred and fifty feet or so to the body.”

Tessa looked at the distance between them and the medical examiner. “Yeah, that seems right.”

Making their way along the outskirts of the lot, the two detectives soon joined the others.

Gus looked at the body, shook his head, and muttered, “Bastard. This never gets any easier.”

The first look Tessa took of the body at every murder scene always made her blood run cold—this case was no different. She looked down at the nude body of a woman, who looked like she was in her late teens or early twenties, lying crumpled on the ground. She briefly closed her eyes as she offered up a small prayer to whoever was listening. The cruelty she’d seen over the years made her, at times, question the existence of a higher power but that never stopped her from praying for each victim.

The prominent thing that both detectives immediately noticed were a bloody pentagram carved into the abdomen, cuts on the breasts, along with a slit throat. Tessa crouched down next to the body and felt a distinct reaction—her instincts screamed this was personal. She pulled out a pair of blue examination gloves and looked at the medical examiner as she pulled them up her fingers. “Do you have a time of death?”

The man, Ellis Brown, pulled a thermometer out of the body and noted the temperature. “Judging by the liver temp and the rigor, my preliminary estimate is about ten to twelve hours ago.”

“That would make it between midnight and two.”

“I’ll have more for you once I get her on the table.” Ellis pointed to the deep laceration with dried blood across the woman’s neck. “It looks like exsanguination will be the cause of death.”

Tessa looked at the victim’s face. It was dirty and fixed in what looked like a grimace. She also noted that there were lighter areas running down her cheeks and Tessa surmised that the girl cried before her death. She pointed to the carving on the victim’s abdomen and asked the medical examiner, “What do you make of that?”

“Not sure. Might be some sort of devil worship.” The ME reached under the body.

“Or torture,” Tessa interjected.

The coroner nodded in agreement, as he gently turned the body. “Take a look at this.”

Moving closer, she looked beyond the dirt covering the woman’s skin and leaned in. There was clear evidence that numerous other wounds existed there. Initially, she thought they might be something like the pentagram but closer inspection had her questioning that thought. Tessa narrowed her eyes. “Do you have any thoughts on what the cuts on her back are or what was used to make them?”

“Not yet. From what I can see, they seem random. Once I get her cleaned up, they’ll be more visible,” the medical examiner offered.

Tessa’s eyes focused on the ground that was under the body. “I don’t see any blood around or underneath her.” She looked up at her partner and he nodded. “This is the dump site.” Her eyes then focused on something white and rectangular, like a business card, on the ground under the victim’s body. She motioned to the nearest CSI and pointed to the object. “Make sure you get that.”

“Did you guys get impressions of those tire tracks?” Gus asked Marvin Westcott one of the investigators.

“It’s impossible,” offered the taller, older man. “The ground is bone dry. All we have is crushed weeds and they aren’t giving up what they know.” The investigator crouched down in the grass about ten feet from the body. “We did find this.”

Gus moved away from the body and looked where Marvin was pointing. “Looks like oil.”

“Yeah, it lines up with where the engine would be when the vehicle stopped, if someone backed it in.”

“Will you be able to tell much from it?” Gus asked as he crouched down for a closer look.

“Probably not,” the investigator said. “But, if you find the vehicle, it will be leaking oil and then we can match the type.”

“Find any ID?” Tessa asked.

“All we have is the body,” Ellis said.

One of the patrol officers, Kim Ryan, a lean well-built woman, offered, “That’s Dana Stratton.”

All eyes focused on the officer.

“You know this woman?” Tessa asked.

“Not personally. Dana Stratton was an All American basketball player in high school, then a three time collegiate All American first team and Player of the Year two years in a row.” The woman shrugged. “I played against her in high school.”

Gus asked, “Any missing persons out on her?”

“When I recognized her, I checked. She hasn’t been reported missing,” the patrol officer said.

Gus’s attention turned to several news vans raising telescoping satellite dishes just outside of the police barricade. “Fuck,” he said under his breath. “This is going to be a zoo.”

Tessa growled when she saw several of the camera crews with reporters funneling past the barricades and lining up on the sidewalk in front of the crime scene. Gus, along with Tessa, instinctively moved to shield the body from the cameras.

“Who the hell let them get that far?” Tessa grumbled. She looked at the nearest officer and said, “Get them out of here and find me the officer responsible for allowing them to gain access.” Turning to the medical examiner, she noted he had already covered the body.

A young officer, barely in his twenties, came up to where the two detectives were and stood waiting for acknowledgement. With her upper lip twitching slightly, Tessa looked at the slim young man. Pointing to the media that other officers were herding away, Tessa asked, “You’re the one who let them in?”

The officer rocked back and forth on his heels. Haltingly he said, “I was asking about what we should do with the news vans and when I turned back to the barricade they were already past me. I tried to stop them but they just kept on going.”

“Exactly who’s in charge?” Tessa scolded. “You or the reporters.”

Gus moved closer to the man whose face was drawn and white. “How long have you been on the job?”

“A week sir.”

Gus looked at his partner and gave her a shrug. “Is this your first crime scene?”

“Yes sir.”

Tessa looked squarely at the young man. “What you should have done, once you saw they had gotten past you, was to go after them and make them leave! It’s your job to see that no one and I mean NO ONE, gets by you. If you want to continue being on the force, I suggest you get your butt back over there and make sure no one gets past you again,”

The officer edged a few steps away from the angry detective. “Yes, ma’am,” he said before he turned and walked briskly back to the barricade.

“And don’t call me ma’am,” Tessa muttered. She snorted and looked at her partner. “As usual, you were being too damn soft on him. How can he learn if you mollycoddle him? He needs to know he fucked up so he won’t do it again.”

“He’s just a kid,” Gus countered. “Did you do everything correctly when you first started?”

Tessa’s face softened. “He shouldn’t have let them get by him.”

Once Tessa turned back to the body that was now covered, she crouched down, pulled the blue sheet back and looked at the girl’s face, distorted by death. The cruelty inflicted on the body made Tessa’s stomach knot. Nevertheless, she had to maintain her cool persona, knowing that emotions never solved a murder. Pulling the sheet back over the body she stood up and looked at the medical examiner. “Hopefully she will give us a clue as to who did this to her.”

Ellis Brown nodded as his attention turned to the gurney that two men were pulling across the lot. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have anything.”

Chapter Four

As her eyes scanned the area beyond the vacant lot, Tessa noted that it was typical of an economically depressed area—run down homes with boarded up windows, burnt out hulls where people once lived, along with numerous vehicles in various forms of disrepair. Her eyes caught the movement of a curtain covering a window in the upper floor of a house across the street. The structure stood out like a sore thumb.

“Did you see that?” Tessa asked Gus.

“Yeah.” Gus flipped open his tattered notebook. “One of the kids lives there—Joey Carlton. He lives there with his grandmother.” Gus’s eyes rolled over his notes. “The grandmother is the woman who called it in.”

“Her name?”

“Bertram, Mary Bertram.”

Without speaking, Tessa nodded in the direction of the house. Then she and Gus walked toward the street and ducked under the yellow crime scene tape. Once they navigated around all the parked vehicles, they stood on the sidewalk outside the house. Both detectives assessed the house, yard, and driveway. The house was painted white with green shutters around each window. The recently mowed lawn and the dug up flower bed along the front of the house indicated that someone cared about the house’s appearance. They walked to the front door, pulled back the screen door and Gus knocked.

The door opened slowly and a tall, slim woman with steel gray hair, dressed in jeans, and a long sleeve shirt, looked at them. “Yes?” the older woman said, as she wiped her hands on a white apron wrapped around her waist.

The wonderful smell of something baking filled her nostrils and Tessa’s mouth began to water. “Mrs. Bertram, we’re Detectives Jacoby and Barrett. I understand you’re the one that called nine-one-one.” She turned slightly and pointed to the lot.

“Come on in.” The woman opened the door wider and once the detectives were inside, said with a grim voice, “Such a shame. Please take a seat. I was just getting ready to take a pie out of the oven when the doorbell rang. I’ll only be a moment.”

Tessa took the opportunity to inspect the sitting room, along with the dining room. Everything she noticed was much like the outside—neat and tidy. If she looked far enough into the home, she could make out the kitchen too. Oak hardwood floors, adorned with various area rugs, were highly polished. The furniture that she could see was old but in good condition. When Tessa saw embroidered doilies, she let a slight smile curve her lips. It was just like what her grandmother had throughout her house. How I miss her. She was the only family member that ever cared about me. Her eyes rested on a heavy oak dining table, where various bake goods were in a line.

When Tessa saw the woman returning, she turned her full attention in that direction. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“My husband and I moved in here right after we got married. Back then, the neighborhood was a wonderful place to raise kids. Now, there are gangs, drugs and murders,” Mary said. “I refuse to let them run me out of my home of forty years.”

“It must be tough keeping your grandson from those influences,” Tessa remarked. “How did he come to find the body?”

“I’ve told my grandson to keep off that lot. There are all kinds of things over there that I don’t want my grandson to know about.” Her voice was somber. “The lot is littered with needles, crack viles, old condoms, you name it, and you’ll probably find it there. It’s a magnet for the neighborhood kids ‘cause it’s the only open place for them to play. I’ve filled out all kinds of complaints with the city but nothing changes,” the older woman said, shaking her head. “I’ve spoken with Councilman Murray and even went to several council meetings. All I got from them were empty promises to make it better.” She pointed out the window to the vacant lot. “It continues to breed violence and crime.”

In an effort to bring the conversation back to the dead body, Gus asked, “Can you tell us what happened earlier this morning, Mrs. Bertram?”

“I was baking for our church—it’s the Holy Redeemer Church right down the street. Every Tuesday we open a soup kitchen and provide the less fortunate with a good meal. A local grocery donates the ingredients and the woman’s auxiliary does all the cooking. So far I’ve made two sheet cakes and four pies.” The woman looked at the bland expressions on the detective’s faces. “Sorry, I got carried away.”

“Please continue,” Tessa encouraged.

“Right, you want to know about what my grandson saw. Well, Joey came charging into the house with his friends, screaming about a body. He told me that they saw the body of a woman in the lot. I figured it was a mannequin or something that the older kids put there to scare the younger ones.”

Gus asked, “How old is Joey?”

“Nine.”

“What happened next?” Tessa asked, prodding the woman to speed up her story.

“I told them to stay put and I’d go see for myself. When I got there, I saw that poor child all cut up like that. It broke my heart. I called nine-one-one on my cell phone then went to the curb to wait for the police.”

“Did you touch the body?” Tessa asked.

“No! I know better than that. It was obvious she was dead. When the police came, I gave them all the information I had and came back here. I had my pies in the oven and I didn’t want them to burn.”

“Who sleeps upstairs in the bedroom that faces the street?” asked Tessa.

“I do.”

Tessa eyed the woman. “Did you hear anything strange last night or early this morning?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m a pretty sound sleeper.”

“No lights filled your bedroom?”

The woman thought for a minute and said, “Come to think of it, just after I put my head on the pillow the room filled with light but it went out right away.”

“What time was that?”

“Around midnight.”

“Did you look out the window to see what it was?”

“No. I found out a long time ago it’s best to ignore things like that. Besides, it was only for a second. I just figured someone was turning around. That happens sometimes.”

“Was your window open?” Gus asked.

“No. If I keep it open, I can hear all the gang kids who hang out there at night,” Mary paused, then added, “I don’t care for their language.”

“Do you know any of the gang members?” Gus pressed.

“I should say so. I taught English for thirty-one years and most of them were in my classes. They leave me and mine alone. We don’t pay them any attention and they ignore us.” She added, “It is the best way to survive these days.”

Tessa briefly closed her eyes in understanding. “Do you know if they were there last night when you went to bed?”

Mary inverted her bottom lip and sucked on it for a minute before answering. “I don’t think so. I remember hearing sirens about an hour or so before I went upstairs. They all usually scatter when that happens. I had a long day yesterday, that’s why I went to bed so late. I was asleep the minute my head hit the pillow.”

Tessa asked, “Is your grandson at home?”

“Yes, he’s in his bedroom.”

Tessa looked right at the woman. “Can we have your permission to speak with him?”

“Well, I guess it will be all right. I’ll get him.”

A small boy dressed in jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt, and what looked like new Nikes, walked into the room behind his grandmother. Hiding behind her, the boy peeked around the woman and looked at the detectives with big, owl eyes. Moving forward, he immediately sought refuge by his grandmother’s side and she put a protective hand on his shoulder.

Tessa looked at the boy. She disliked speaking with children, for she found they generally parroted whatever someone told them to say. Keeping her face neutral and trying to soften her tone, she said, “Hi Joey, my name is Tessa and this is Gus. Can you tell us what happened this morning?”

Joey looked at his grandmother who nodded. “Me, Tony and Ricky were playing across the street.”

Gus smiled at the boy. “Why did you go there?”

“We were looking for money. One time we found over a dollar.”

Still smiling, Gus asked, “Then what happened?”

“We saw something against the bushes and we went to see what it was.”

The boy’s eyes looked at the woman detective when she spoke. “What did you see?”

“It was a girl. She didn’t have any clothes on.”

For a brief moment, a feeling of sadness washed over Tessa. No one, especially young children, should have to see what I do on a daily basis. “Did you or your friends touch the body?”

Joey’s eyes grew wide again. “NO!”

Gus’s warm brown eyes looked at the boy. “Did any of you find anything and take it?”

With his eyes flitting to his grandmother before he looked away, he softly said, “No.”

“Joey,” said the grandmother, “you tell them the truth.”

Tessa he was certain that the boy was holding something back. “If you or your friends took something, we need to know. It’s important.”

“We found money.”

Tessa asked, “Where is it now?”

The young boy dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out what looked like a slim money clip holding some bills—the top bill was a five.

Tessa groaned silently as she put on exam gloves. No way are we getting prints off that. She held out her palm, the boy deposited the object holding the money in it. She felt the coldness of the metal. For a moment, her gaze took in the grandmother, whose hands were trembling while she wrung her fingers on her apron.

Tessa looked at the boy and said, “Did you count the money?” When Joey didn’t answer, Tessa tried to soften her voice. “Look, son, we need to know.”

Still, the boy refused to answer.

With a voice that he used with his own kids, Gus said, “Joey, we need to find the person who left that there so we can talk to them. We need you to tell us everything.”

Joey looked at the floor. “Yeah, I counted it. There’s seven dollars.”

“Is all the money still here or did you and your friends share it?” Gus asked.

“No, it’s all there. I was the first one there. They didn’t know I found it.”

When Tessa turned the money clip over so it laid flat in her hand, she saw some sort of drawing on the top near the curve and two initials–an R and an S. She looked at the boy and his grandmother and held the object up.

“Do these initials mean anything to you?”

The boy shrank away slightly before he shook his head. “No ma’am.”

Looking at the grandmother, Tessa nodded at the money clip. “Have you seen anything like this before?”

The older woman’s eyes flashed to her grandson. “No. I’ve never seen that before.”

Tessa looked at her in question. “Are you positive?”

Just as the woman was about to answer, her attention turned to a shrill buzzing coming from the kitchen. “Excuse me I’ve got to get a pie out.” Not giving the detectives a chance to object, the woman rapidly walked toward the kitchen.

Tessa looked at the boy and then at Gus, who cleared his throat. She felt the boy knew more than he was saying but she couldn’t question him without his grandmother being there. Tessa slid the object into an evidence envelope and looked squarely at the boy—he turned away.

Once Mary returned, Tessa asked, “Joey, have you told us everything?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

Turning to the older woman, Tessa asked, “Mrs. Bertram, what about Joey’s mother? Does she live here too?”

“Yes.”

“Any chance she saw something last night?”

“Lord no, Vanessa works the night shift at St. David’s and, like every night when she works, she’s gone by ten-thirty. I don’t know how she could help you, since she wasn’t here after that.” The older woman eyed the two detectives. “Unless that girl died before then.”

Tessa ignored the comment. “Is she home now?”

“Yes, she’s sleeping.”

With an imperceptible nod, Tessa pulled a card out of her jacket pocket. “Will you ask your daughter to call me when she gets up?”

“Ok, but I doubt she can help you. Like I said, she was at work last night.”

Tessa cleared her throat and shrugged. “Sometimes it’s the smallest observation that leads to the person who committed the crime. Thank you, Mrs. Bertram.”

Tessa looked at the boy who cowered closer to his grandmother.

“Joey, you listen to your grandmother and stay away from that lot.”

Back out on the sidewalk, Tessa asked, “Do you have the address of the other two boys?”

Gus nodded. “Yeah, they’re brothers and live a few doors down.”

“Let’s see if they have the same story,” Tessa said, before they started down the sidewalk.

Chapter Five

Tessa pushed open the door to the autopsy suite, where the medical examiner was standing over the body of Dana Stratton. She and Gus had just the girl’s parents. As with most notifications that involved a child, Dana’s parents were devastated. That part of her job tore her apart. “Do you have anything for me, Doc?”

The man shook his head as he finished rinsing the body. “I’ve only done a cursory exam. Now that I’ve got her cleaned up, my observations will be more precise. I’ll give you a call when I’m done.”

“Yeah I know. I’m not rushing you…I just wanted to get a look at her under these bright lights.” Tessa’s eyes focused on the girl’s face, noting that it was no longer dirty. The streaks that her tears created were gone and she could see that the rigor had started to reverse.

The ME let out a small chuckle. “When haven’t you been in a rush for my findings?”

Lifting one shoulder, Tessa let a smile play around her lips. She shifted her gaze from the body to the man who was about two inches shorter than she was at almost five-nine. “You know what they say about old habits.”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Somehow I don’t see you changing anytime soon, Jacoby.” Ellis motioned for Tessa to move closer. “Since you’re here, I’ll give you what I have so far.”

“Thanks. Did you find any usable prints on the body?”

“I was hoping I might find some on her face but, no, I didn’t find any.” Ellis motioned for Tessa to move closer. “I’ve found some fibers in the pentagram on her stomach. Probably from a carpet from a house or car, but we’ll need trace to verify that. The cuts had debris from the scene embedded in them but I did manage to find something strange. Help me turn her over.” Once the body was turned, he focused a small camera on one area of the back and pointed to a monitor at the bottom of the exam table. “See that dark green area?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“It looks like moss or some sort of mold. I don’t recall seeing anything like that at the scene, did you?”

Tessa closed her eyes and visualized the ground around the body. “No. It wasn’t that kind of area. Wouldn’t something like that be found somewhere that doesn’t get much sun and it’s damp?” Tessa’s eyebrows knitted. “Like maybe a basement.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I thought. It will be interesting to see what trace comes up with.”

“It might give us a lead as to where the actual crime scene is. Is that all you have?” she asked.

The older man shook his head. “No. While I was washing her, I noticed that the cuts on her body and the one across her throat are deep and clearly defined. The first cut must have been in the abdomen, since I found a shallow cut before it went deeper. ”

“Hesitation?”

“I think so. Whatever he used to cut her was very sharp and thin.”

“Like a razor blade, scalpel, or something like that?”

“Yes.”

Looking at the pentagram, Tessa leaned in closer. “They look precise.”

“It’s clear that someone had a steady hand and took their time, which is most peculiar since the cuts that slit her throat and drew the pentagram were done antemortem and those on her back and right hand were done postmortem.”

“Why is that curious?”

“Because the pentagram is every bit as precise as those on her back and that tells me that she was somehow restrained and I don’t see any indication of that.” The doctor picked up one of the girl’s hands. “It looks like her hands and ankles were loosely bound but in order for the pentagram to be so precise she’d have to be completely still.” He shook his head. “The toxicology will tell us if she was drugged.” He pointed to the slit across her throat. “It starts at one carotid and, with a consistent single stroke, ends at the other one. Most curious.”

“What did you make of the cuts on her back?”

“Strangely enough there are four partial triangles on her back and one on the back of her right hand. If you put them all together, you’d have another pentagram.”

Tessa lifted her eyebrows. “That’s odd,” she said, as she noted where the marks were. “How tall is she?”

“Seventy-four inches.”

Tessa scratched her head and pursed her lips. “How did someone get the best of her? Usually, the perp attacks someone who is smaller and weaker,”—her hand motioned up and down the body—“she’s muscular and obviously physically fit.”

“I didn’t find any evidence that she put up a fight.” The doctor again picked up one of the girl’s hands. “The slight bruising around her wrists and ankles is from her trying to get free but it doesn’t look like she did do much of that. I didn’t get much when I scraped under her fingernails and I don’t see defensive wounds on her hands or arms.”

As her eyes took in the lower part of the body, Tessa noticed bruising on the girl’s upper thighs. “Was sexually assaulted?”

“It looks like both vaginally and rectally and once I examine the stomach contents, we’ll know if it was orally, too.”

“Find any biologicals?”

“Haven’t got there yet. I can give you more on that when I open her up. Once I get her stomach contents, I can send it to toxicology, along with the blood and tissue samples. It’ll take a sometime before we get the full report back.” Tessa started to leave, and then turned back to the man. “Thanks.”

“I’ll let you know once you get the preliminary report,” Ellis said as Tessa walked away.

Just as she was about to shove the door open, Tessa turned back toward the body and saw the medical examiner with the Stryker saw in his hand. “The parents should be here soon to identify her. I’ll call down and let you know when they arrive.”

The ME raised the shield off his face and put the saw down. “I’ll wait until they see her then.” Before the detective was out the door, he said, “You can tell them that once I’m done with the autopsy and have all the samples I need I’ll discharge the body.”

Tessa waved over her shoulder. “Thanks Doc.”

When Tessa returned to her desk, Gus was hanging up his phone. “The DA’s office manager just called. The warrant to search the Stratton girl’s apartment is ready.”

“Good. Once we go to inform the parents, we’ll go check it out.” Tessa thought for a minute then added, “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find the primary crime scene there.”

“God, Jacoby, when did you become such a dreamer?”

Tessa just looked at her partner and gave him a lopsided grin.

“Get anything from the ME?”

“Not much. The outside of the body is like the lot where those kids found her—it isn’t giving up what it knows. Looks like she was raped and…” She stopped when Gus’s eyes moved in the direction of the elevators.

A man and a woman, clinging to each other, stepped out of the elevator before nervously looking around. Gus nodded. “They’re here.”

Turning her head, Tessa looked at the couple. “Yeah, that’s them. Call down to autopsy and let them know I’ll be bringing them down.” She rolled her desk chair back. “I hate this part,” she said to no one as she started to get up.

“Want me to do it?”

“No, I’m primary, I’ll do it. When we get back up here, we can question them again.” When they notified the couple earlier, they were so distraught that questioning them was pointless.

“I’ll get the room set up and go get that warrant.”

Steeling her emotions, Tessa walked toward the two people, who looked at her apprehensively. “Mr. and Mrs. Stratton thank you for coming,” she said softly

The couple, not knowing what else to say or do, stood pensively eyeing the detective. Bob Stratton was at least six-four with sandy blonde hair, dark blue eyes and she could see his daughter’s square jaw in him. The woman by his side with light brown hair and a full figure was considerably smaller. Her shoulders shook and Tessa braced herself for the onslaught of emotion she knew would surely come. It was bad enough earlier.

Fran Stratton finally asked, “Did you check again? Are you sure it’s our Dana?”

Tessa looked at the woman, before lifting her eyes in the man’s direction. “Nothing is certain until you make a positive identification.”

Tessa turned her eyes away from the couple. She didn’t want to see the pain and sorrow that she knew was all over their faces. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to her.”

Standing in front of a large window with a drawn curtain, Tessa looked at the couple. “Are you ready?” Once they nodded, she tapped on the glass and the curtain slowly opened. A small woman was standing next to what clearly was a body that a blue paper sheet covered. Looking at the detective and seeing her nod, she pulled back the sheet to expose the body’s head.

With her hand flying to her mouth, Fran cried, “Oh my God, it’s my baby,” as she fell against her husband. The husband’s arm went around his wife’s shoulders as he stared at his daughter.

The sight of the parents clutching each other in shared sorrow made Tessa feel uncomfortable—it always did. Yet, she stood stoically never letting on that the scene was tearing her apart.

The man tugged his wife closer and kissed her light brown hair. “Have you found out anything else about how this happened?”

“We’re just in the infancy of our investigation. What I can tell you now is that her death wasn’t accidental. If you’d come with me, I’d like to ask you both questions about your daughter.” Tessa let her eyes search the faces of the murdered girl’s parents. “The more we know about her, the better our chances are in finding out who did this to her.”

“NO,” wailed the mother. “Not yet, I want to go to her.”

Closing her eyes, Tessa looked away for a second as she regained her composure. “Certainly.”

Once the couple was standing next to the body, Tessa moved to the door and waited as she cast her glance to the floor. God, I hate this. The cold air that had a faint odor of death chilled her as she forced her emotions down when she heard the woman and man sob uncontrollably.

Twenty minutes later, Bob Stratton wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist and guided her away from the body.

“Please come with me,” Tessa said softly. The couple clung to each other as they followed her out the door and down a hallway.

Chapter Six

Tessa looked around the small room she’d brought the girl’s parents to—it was tiny with grimy, industrial gray-green walls. Bolted to the floor was a metal table, along with four steel chairs. To one side, underneath the one-way glass, was a small wooden table piled with various forms. Tessa said, “Please take a seat Mr. and Mrs. Stratton. Would either of you like something to drink? Coffee, water, soda?”

Bob Stratton studied the detective who was in charge of his daughter’s murder case. She had short, black hair, what looked like green eyes, and a body that looked fit.

“No thank you,” the father said to the detective. “When can we have her so we can bury her?”

At that moment, Gus entered the small room. “Mr. and Mrs. Stratton,” he said nodding as he slid into the chair next to his partner.

Tessa spoke next. “I know we went over this briefly at your home earlier, but I’d like to go over it again. If it is ok with you we’d like to record the session.”

“Sure,” Dana’s father said.

After placing a recording device on the table, Tessa tilted her head to look at the couple. “We need to go over the timeline of your daughter’s activities last night. When did you last speak with her?”

“Around nine-thirty,” Fran said in a shaky voice. “As I told you earlier, Sara, our other daughter, was in labor and I called Dana. She said she was at the gym and was finishing up with her coach. She said she’d be at the hospital in fifteen minutes.” The woman smiled slightly. “I told her to hurry up because I didn’t think the baby would wait much longer. She said, tell Sara to cross her legs ‘til I get there.”

Silence filled the room until Gus asked, “When she didn’t show up did you call her?”

“Yes,” Bob answered. “But she didn’t pick up. We figured she was still at the gym. The coach wanted Dana to show two potential recruits around.” He smiled slightly. “Dana is a big draw for new players. They all want to play on a team with her.”

Gus asked, “Was nine-thirty late for such a visit?”

Mr. Stratton pondered the question. “I guess it was…since she doesn’t live at home we really have no way of knowing what is normal or not. We knew she was with her coach and that meant she was safe.” He frowned. “I should have known she wasn’t,” he whispered.

“When did you call her next?” Tessa asked gently.

Fran’s watery eyes looked at the detective. “I called her around eleven, then again at midnight but she still didn’t answer. I left a message that Sara had a baby girl and told her to call me.”

Gus gave the woman a kind look. “What did you think when she didn’t show up at the hospital?”

Fran swiped at the tears running down her cheeks with her husband’s handkerchief. “I figured that she was held up or that her phone needed charging.”

With compassion, Tessa asked, “Did she often not show up when she said she would be somewhere?”

Bob Stratton briefly closed his eyes before he fixed them on the two detectives. “She’s always very responsible.”

Tessa looked at Gus and lifted one shoulder. “You weren’t alarmed when she didn’t come to the hospital?”

Fran Stratton, with tears sliding down her face, sobbed, “We were so ecstatic about the baby that…” The woman let out an audible wail. “I should have known something was wrong. It’s all my fault.”

Once again, Bob Stratton’s arm went around his wife’s shoulders as he pulled her close. “Shh, it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t any of our faults. It’s all on the bastard that did that to our little girl.”

Gus waited a minute, while the girl’s parents regained their composure. “When did you try to contact her next?”

“I called her apartment this morning and Jenna said she didn’t come home last night. I knew something was wrong,” the girl’s father said to the detectives. “Then, we started calling around to see if anyone had seen her.”

“Had they?” Gus asked.

“No…no one had seen her since yesterday.” Fran began weeping again. “Bob called Coach Barr but didn’t get an answer, so he called the police to report that she was missing.”

“They told me that someone would get in touch with us. The woman told me that we needed to wait twenty-four hours before we could report her missing,” the father said.

Tessa looked at the visibly shaken man. “What time was that?”

Dana’s father briefly closed his eyes. “Nine-thirty or so.”

“We found her around ten,” Tessa murmured.

Tessa looked away from the woman’s tear-filled face. “Did anyone call you back?”

Fran shook her head. “We got a call from the police about an hour or two later. The officer I spoke to asked all kinds of questions about Dana. Then she said she’d get the information into the database and that some officers would visit us,” Fran said in a shaky voice. “Then you two showed up at our door.”

“Does your daughter have a boyfriend?” Gus asked.

Fran shook her head. “Not that I know of—she hasn’t had a boyfriend since high school.”

Gus looked at the victim’s mother. “What about other people? Did your daughter say anything about her having trouble with anyone?”

“No, everyone loved Dana.”

“What about you, Mr. Stratton? Did your daughter ever confide in you about someone harassing her or stalking her? Anything like that?” Gus asked.

“No, if she told anyone about something like that, it would be her sister.”

Tessa asked Bob, “Do you own a money clip?”

The man scowled as the area between his eyebrows formed a deep crevice. “You mean like something to put your bills in?”

“Exactly.”

“No, all my bills are in my wallet.”

Tessa looked directly at the man. “So you never owned a money clip?”

“No.”

Gus asked, “What hospital is your other daughter in?”

“St. David’s. She’ll be discharged this afternoon.”

“Can you give us her phone and cell numbers?” Tessa slid a notepad and pen across the table.

The victim’s father jotted the numbers down and slid the notepad back across the table.

“What’s the name of your daughter’s roommate?”

Confused, the father asked, “At the hospital?”

“No, your daughter at school,” Tessa said.

“She doesn’t live on campus,” Fran offered.

Tessa tightened her fingers around the pen she was holding. “Can you give us that address?” She already knew the answer but wanted the parents to confirm it.

“Twenty-two-forty-five West Hanover, apartment one-thirty-two.”

“The name of the roommate?”

“Jenna…Jenna Rudolf.”

Tessa quickly penned the information before she eyed the couple. “Your daughter only has the one roommate?”

Bob listened to the rapid fire questions both detectives asked until he couldn’t take any more. He pounded his fist on the metal table and the sound reverberated off the walls. “She has a name! Our daughter has a name. Can’t you even say her name?”

Tessa said, “Yes, I know…Dana.”

Gus remained silent for there was nothing to say. He didn’t think that the grieving parents would understand that, if they personalized a victim, they couldn’t be objective in their pursuit of the perpetrator.

“Does she have a computer?” Gus asked.

“Yes.”

“I included that in the warrant,” he said absently to his partner.

“Take whatever you need to help find out who did this to Dana,” Fran said.

Bob held up a hand. “I think you should get a warrant.”

Gus nodded. “Ok, sure, no problem…it’s protocol.”

Tessa pushed away from the table, stood up, and offered her hand to the man and woman. “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Stratton. If we need anything else, is it ok if we get in touch with you?”

They both nodded.

Gus interjected, “We’ll keep you up to date with the investigation. If you hear something in the news about the case that disturbs you or that you don’t understand, please call my partner or me. The media doesn’t always get the story straight, so be prepared for all kinds of rumors and misinformation.” He slid his card across the table. “Don’t hesitate to call me.”

Tessa, with a grim expression, looked at the couple, who were now on their feet, too. “Once the medical examiner is finished with the autopsy, and assuming he finds nothing that needs further examination, the body should be released in the next few days. Someone from the medical examiner’s office will contact you to find out which funeral home you want to pick her up.”

Gus pushed away from the table and then nodded at the victim’s parents. “Please remember to call me for anything you need,” he said in a soft voice before opening the door.

Tessa followed behind the couple to the elevators. When they stopped, Tessa offered her card. “I know you’re in shock right now and, once it sinks in, you’ll become very angry and might think that we aren’t doing enough. Please know that we will be working hard to bring to justice whoever did this to…Dana.” She made eye contact with the couple. “My private number is on the back of my card. If you have questions or think you have something that will help the investigation you can call me any time.”

Bob Stratton took the card and nodded, before guiding his wife into the waiting elevator. Without another word, the doors smoothly closed as the car rattled slightly before it began its descent.

“I hate talking to the parents. It’s the pits. I don’t know how you manage to always remain so calm and in control.” Gus said as Tessa sat down. “What’s with you giving them your private number?” The man drew his head back. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that before and I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

Tessa shrugged and her forehead creased. “I don’t know why.” She scratched her arm as a slight grin formed in her lips. “You think I’m getting old like you?”

“Hey, watch that old guy stuff,” Gus warned as he raised his eyebrows and did a little shake of his head. “We’ve only just begun and I have a bad feeling that we’re going to be busting our balls over this one.”

Tessa grinned. “Speak for yourself on that one.”

“Jealous?”

“Hardly.” Tessa flexed her jaw. “We have a case with no evidence that will make headlines.”

Gus opened the thin murder book—by the time the investigation concluded, it would be full. “Cases with kids are the worst. The parents always take it the hardest.”

“Shell shocked,” mumbled Tessa as she took out her notebook. “I didn’t think they were holding anything back.” Tessa shrugged. “Except for the father telling us we needed a warrant.”

Gus held up the warrant. “Not a big deal. I agree that was kind of a strange thing for him to do. Most families bend over backwards to help in any way they can.”

Tessa raised her eyebrows. “It’s been a long day already and we haven’t even scratched the surface.” She stood up. “Let’s go see what her apartment has to tell us.”

Chapter Seven

Gus and Tessa stood in the hallway outside apartment one-thirty-two, waiting for someone to open the door.

From the other side of the door, they heard, “Who is it?”

“Police.”

“Let me see your badge.”

Tessa took the gold shield attached to her belt off and held it up to the peephole. “We need to speak with you about Dana Stratton.

The sound of a chain moving and a deadbolt turning preceded the door opening. “Yes?” said the small woman with a swollen and red face.

“Ms. Rudolf?”

“Yes.”

“May we come in?”

“Dana’s parents were here a little while ago. I can’t believe it.” She opened the door further and motioned for them to enter.

Tessa’s eyes took in what she could see of the apartment. “Did they go in her room or take anything?”

“No, they didn’t go in her room at all. They just told me what happened, we cried together then they left. They said they had to meet Dana’s sister when she got home from the hospital with the baby.” The girl sniffed then blew her nose. “I don’t think Sara knows.”

Gus asked, “Did you see Dana at all last night?”

“She was here for about an hour around five then she left for the gym to meet her coach and two possible recruits for next year. I think they were going out to dinner.”

“Did she come back after that?”

“No, and I didn’t really expect her to. She said her sister was having contractions and would probably have the baby last night. When she wasn’t here by midnight, I thought that’s what happened.” Jenna started to weep harder. “If only I had called her mom and asked where she was. I should have done something.”

Tessa hated the way people fell apart when they heard of a death. To her, death was a part of life and you just accepted it. Grieving was something best done in private or with someone you trusted. Accept it, Tessa, and get over it. That’s what her mother always would say to her about most things—Tessa followed that rule.

Gus handed the girl a piece of paper. “Ms Rudolf, we have a warrant to search your roommate’s room.”

“Yes, I know, Mr. Stratton told me you’d be here to do that.”

Going into the basketball player’s room, Tessa looked around in surprise. It was spotless and neat as a pin. The bed made, dirty clothes in a hamper, and not strewn on the chairs—everything was where it was supposed to be.

Standing in the doorway, Jenna watched as the detectives inspected Dana’s room. It was surreal.

“Is her room always this neat?” Tessa asked.

The girl looked around the room. “Yeah, she’s pretty anal about that.”

“What about boyfriends…or girlfriends?” Gus asked.

Jenna’s brow furrowed. “Just because she plays basketball doesn’t mean Dana is gay. If she had a boyfriend, I didn’t know about it. Her life was either in class, researching something at the library, at the gym, or here studying. She’s been on the Dean’s List every semester and Penn’s medical school accepted her for the fall semester. She always told me she’d have time for dating after she graduated from med school.” Jenna started to tear up again. “I guess she’ll never get to do that now.”

Tessa turned her back to the girl and pressed the button to start Dana’s computer.

Gus, the more sensitive of the two, handed the girl a tissue out of the box on the desk. “Do you know if she had any special places she liked to hang out?”

The sobbing girl shook her head. “Like…I...I said…she had her priorities and she never compromised them.” Jenna wiped her tearstained face with her sleeve. “I…I just can’t believe this happened to her.”

With her back still to the girl, Tessa asked, “What do you mean by priorities?”

“Well,” Jenna said as she took a calming breath. “Even when she had a late class, she’d get up early and head for the library to do research for some project she was doing. She’d even do that on the weekends, when she wasn’t at an away game.”

Gus turned and looked at the girl. “Projects, like what? Papers, research something like that?”

“Mostly, it was term papers. Sometimes she had to do hands on training, but the last time she did something like that was a year ago.”

“Did she have many projects?” Gus asked.

“At least one a semester but sometimes she had more.”

Half listening to the conversation between the roommate and her partner, Tessa waited impatiently for the computer to come to life. When it finally did, she sat down and began moving the mouse and opening various programs. To her surprise, the girl didn’t have any chat room programs, blogs, or Facebook account. In the history and favorites, she found sites that all related to various themes that had to do with medicine. She turned to the roommate and asked, “Did she ever chat with people on the Internet?”

“Not that I know of but I wasn’t watching what she did or didn’t do. As far as I know, she only used the computer for research or papers she had to do.” The girl shrugged and said, “I guess she had email but I really don’t know anything about that. If I needed to tell her something, it was by text message.”

Pointing the cursor to Outlook Express Tessa’s eyes widened in surprise. “Do you share this computer with her?”

“No, I have my own laptop.”

Tessa’s eyes tracked to the girl. “Did your roommate use your computer?”

“No. I don’t let anyone else touch my laptop. It cost too much money.”

“You sure she didn’t use it when you weren’t around?”

“No, my laptop is password encrypted, so you need to know the password before it will turn on completely.” The telephone rang. “Excuse me I need to get that.” Jenna moved away from the room.

Tessa looked at the victim’s email account. Unlike most people who leave the password on their email accounts so they will open automatically, it required one. “We need the techies to go over this,” she said to Gus, as she turned the computer off and unplugged it from the wall. She disconnected the monitor, the keyboard, mouse, and the network connections. “Strange that the roommate and the vic are so restrictive with their computers.”

“Remember that case we had a few years back with that kid in the dorms? Didn’t we find that those kids had passwords on their computers? Didn’t the roommate there say something about using passwords?”

After thinking for a moment, Tessa smiled. “Yeah, he said it kept prying eyes out of his business.”

“That’s it,” Gus replied. “Probably the same thing here.”

Tessa nodded in agreement. “I think it’s safe to say the murder didn’t happen here. Did you find anything else?”

“Nope, nothing. No stash of drugs or anything that would raise a red flag.” Gus scratched his head. “Does that seem odd to you?”

Tessa let her eyes roam the room. The decor was in neutral colors of beige and a very light green. The coordinated bedspread and curtains were perfect. Again, the fact that everything was neat and tidy struck Tessa as odd. On one wall was a bookcase neatly jammed full of books and on another, pictures of what she assumed were the dead girl’s family.

“Didn’t that officer at the scene tell us she’d received all kinds of awards for basketball? And didn’t her roommate just tell us she was on the Dean’s List?”

Gus looked at his notebook. “Yeah, she was an All American, player of the year, and student athlete of the year. It looks like she excelled in both basketball and academics.”

“Look around this room. Is it an athlete’s room? Does it look like the owner stood out in her sport or even in school? There are no certificates, no medals no trophies. I played softball in college and every award or trophy I got was in my room somewhere.”

“So she wasn’t a jock,” he said. “Maybe they’re all in her bedroom at her parents’ home. You know, not every woman that plays a sport wants to be macho.”

Irritated, Tessa glared at her partner. “It has nothing to do with macho! It is a pride thing. Basketball was a big part of her life, yet there is nothing in this room that tells us that.”

“Maybe we’ll find out more when we speak with her coach.”

“Yeah, I guess. Something isn’t adding up here. It’s like she’s too perfect.”

Before they left, Tessa asked the roommate, “Did she seem like something was bothering her lately?”

Jenna said, “She never talked about personal stuff with me.”

Tessa focused on the girl. “You’re roommates but didn’t share anything personal…why is that? Weren’t you close?”

“We are friends but both of us are completely focused on our studies...anything else was secondary.” The girl thought for a minute, then added, “But I did get the sense over the last few months that something different was going on with her.”

Tessa eyed the young woman and watched for any body language that would signal deceit—she saw none. “In what way?”

“She’d leave early every morning. Some evenings she’d go out and not come back until late.”

“That’s unusual?” Gus asked.

“Yeah, before that if she wasn’t at basketball practice or at school she was pretty much a homebody. I asked her if she had a new boyfriend and she said, get real, I don’t have time for that.” Jenna shrugged. “Other than that, I can’t tell you anything more. If something was going on with her, she was keeping it to herself.”

Chapter Eight

Gus knocked on the frame of the open door to the basketball coach’s office in the athletic complex at Restin State University.

Deirdre Barr, sitting at her desk, was startled when she looked up and saw a man and a woman standing at her office door. Her eyes went to the badge the woman wore on her belt and the bulge inside her jacket. The man was older, bald with a slightly flabby belly but had a kind look to his face. The female detective’s face had what appeared to be a permanent scowl.

“May I help you?”

“Coach Barr, we’re Detectives Jacoby and Barrett. We need to speak to you about one of your players.”

Deirdre looked at the woman suspiciously. “Which one?”

“Dana Stratton.”

The coach’s eyes narrowed in question. “Dana, what about her?”

Both detectives looked at the coach.

“Haven’t you listened to the news today?” Tessa asked as she looked at her watch—it was past three. She knew that the story of the basketball player’s death had been all over the news for at least two hours.

“No, I’m the only one here today. They’re resurfacing the court.” She eyed the two people. “How did you get in here? The door is locked to everyone.”

Tessa raised an eyebrow and said, “Not to us.”

The woman cocked her head and frowned—she didn’t like the woman detective. She lifted her eyes to the television mounted in the corner by the door.

“I’ve been watching videos that potential players have sent me. I have about fifty to go through today.” The coach shrugged. “I’m looking for a shooting guard.”

“No one came in or called you today?”

“No, I turn off my phones when I’m working. If I get distracted, I may miss something a player does or doesn’t do that will impact on my decision.”

“Tell us about Dana Stratton,” Tessa said in a matter-of-fact manner.

“Why?”

Tessa played close attention to the woman’s face. “She was found dead this morning.” Genuine shock was apparent on the coach’s face.

“She was just here last night. She took two prospective recruits out for pizza, then, when they left we talked about her future. I thought she had a good shot at the WNBA but she said she wasn’t interested.”

“Did that upset you? Were you angry with her?” Gus asked.

“No, no I was proud of her. She had her head on straight and knew what was important in her life.”

To Tessa it seemed as though the woman was deliberately scrunching up her face in an attempt to make herself cry. She looked at the woman with a critical eye. “Is that so?”

Tears began to flow in rivulets down the woman’s cheeks. “Are you sure it’s her?” the coach asked as she swiped at her nose with the back of her hand.

Tessa nodded. “Do you know if she was having any kind of trouble with school, teammates, or her parents?”

“I…I make it a practice to make sure my girls are keeping their grades up. I also make it my business to know what’s going on with them,” the coach sobbed. She looked directly at the detectives and, in a trembling voice, said, “I may play the role of coach while they’re on the court, but I'm more like a parent to my girls when they're here at school. I also counsel my players and have chats, sometimes on a daily basis if necessary. If they know something about one of their teammates that might affect their grades or game, I want to know what it is so I can nip it in the bud.”

“Do they tell you?” Tessa asked.

Deirdre sucked in a breath and regained some of her composure. “Mostly, we are a close knit group.”

“Did Dana confide in you?” Gus asked.

“Not really. She kept personal stuff to herself.” Deirdre shook her head. “Over the last four years I’ve tried to get her to open up but she would always smile and say everything is good. Recently, I could see by her expression that something different was happening with her. She never opened up to me about it or even acknowledged that something was going on.” The coach blew out a calming breath. “Whatever it was it didn’t seem to affect her grades or her game—she appeared to be happy.”

“Do you think any of the other players might know?” Tessa asked. “Was she close with one of them more than the others?”

“Dana was friendly with all my girls but she never socialized with them.”

Gus’s brow creased. “What do you mean?”

“She was a team player and would always encourage her teammates and compliment them on their play. However, off the court, she kept to herself. She never would go out with the rest of the team after a home game.”

“Why do you think that was?” Tessa asked.

“Don’t know…she’s always done that. I think she was completely focused on where she wanted to go.”

“And that was?”

“To be a doctor—basketball was secondary to that.”

Tessa gave the woman a thoughtful look. “Did she have friends that came to her games?”

“Other than her family, I don’t know of any.”

“What time did she leave here last night?”

“I don’t know, around ten, maybe a little later. She said her sister was going to deliver at any moment and she was on her way to the hospital.”

Gus looked at his notes. “Did you see her get into her car and leave?”

“Yes, we left at the same time. Her car was parked next to mine and we both got in and waved to each other before leaving.”

“What direction did she go?”

“She went out of the parking lot and then went left. It’s the direction that I’d expect her to go, since the hospital is that way.”

“Did you see anyone following her?”

“No, I watched her drive away until I couldn’t see her taillights anymore.”

“Where did you go after that?” Gus asked.

“Home.”

“Can someone vouch for that?”

The coach looked at the male detective suspiciously. “Yes, my husband. Look, if you’re trying to say I had something to do with Dana’s death you’re wrong.”

Tessa eyed the coach. “No one said that you did, Coach. Did she have any problems with her team members or an opposing team’s players?”

Deirdre felt her back stiffen. She disliked the female detective even more. Cold hearted bitch. “No, I can’t think of anyone who didn’t like her. She’s the real deal.”

“In what way?” Tessa countered.

“There is nothing fake about her. She’s a genuinely nice person.”

“But she was standoffish.”

“Not in a mean way. She was always kind and genuine with everyone. She just didn’t confide in others or get close to them.”

Tessa set her jaw. “And you think that somehow made her the real deal?”

“Yes.” Deirdre felt the tears sting her eyes again. “If you’re trying to insinuate that she was responsible for her death you’re dead wrong.”

“I wasn’t implying anything,” Tessa said. “A young woman was murdered and it’s our job to find out who’s responsible.”

“Dana, her name is Dana.”

Tessa nodded. “I know. We need a list of all your team members that includes trainers, scorekeepers…everyone.”

“No one on the team killed her,” the coach said with indignation.

“I didn’t say they did,” Tessa replied.

“Don’t you need to have some sort of court order?”

With a measured response, Tessa asked, “Is that what you want to see happen? If the media gets wind of our asking for a warrant to get the information, it might not be favorable press for you or the university. It will look like you don’t want to cooperate in finding the murderer.”

“Are you threatening me, Detective?”

Gus stepped in. “No, she isn’t threatening you, Coach Barr. That’s not what she’s saying at all. Look, we’ve been involved in,”—he lifted his eyes—“almost a three hundred homicides and we know how the press works, especially in high profile cases. We want to find out who killed Dana and that means we have to investigate all aspects of her life. We’d really appreciate your sharing the information with us.”

The coach smiled at Gus. “I understand. Can I fax the information?”

“Yes.” He took out his card. “This has my number along with the fax number. Do you think you might include a list of your team’s schedule for say, the last two or three years?”

“Certainly,” the woman said.

With a quick glance in Gus’s direction, Tessa pulled a card out of her pocket and offered it to the coach. “If you can’t get in touch with him you can always contact me. We’d appreciate it if you’d let us know if you think of anything else that will help in the investigation.”

Glaring at Tessa, Deirdre snatched the card out of her hand. “I’ve told you all I know.”

Tessa shook her head. “I’ve yet to have anyone tell me all they know about a victim or a suspect the first time we speak with them.” She smiled. “You never know who holds the key to solving a murder. Who knows, a minor detail you may have forgotten could be that key.”

“If that’s all, please leave my office,” the coach said, before she flicked on the DVD player and the television.

Chapter Nine

It was past five when Tessa walked back into the detective’s area. Their captain, John Flynn, stopped her when she got off the elevator. “Where’s your partner?”

“He’s checking on the status of the vic’s computer.”

“Want to explain to me why the basketball coach at Restin U called me to complain about you?”

“Me?” Tessa said pointing to her chest. “It was routine and nothing more.”

Just then, Gus walked up to them. “That techie guy, what’s his name, said to come back in the morning.” He looked at his partner then at the captain. “Anything wrong?”

“A complaint about Jacoby.”

Gus pulled his head back. “From who?”

The captain looked at the paper in his hand. “Deirdre Barr.”

“The basketball coach? Jacoby went by the book. We thought it was strange that by three, when the girl’s death was all over the news, the coach didn’t have a clue. You’d think someone would have told her, like the janitor, a student, anybody.” He shrugged. “She told us the team was close knit. How close can they be if no one bothered to tell the coach that her star player was murdered? You tell me if that sounds strange to you.”

The captain shook his head. My best damn detective is a loose cannon. “How many times do I have to warn you about alienating witnesses, Jacoby?” The man rolled his eyes. “The ME wants to see you two.” He shook his head again and walked away.

“Did you get someone to look at the camera feeds from the university?” Tessa asked Gus as they walked toward the medical examiner’s suite.

“Yeah, they weren’t too happy that they had to go there to view them because something hinky was going on with the university’s system.”

Tessa let out a small snort. “Let’s hope hinky doesn’t apply to last night.

Gus nodded in agreement. “I went over the route she would have taken to St. David’s and have a BOLO for her car.”

“They can be on the lookout for that car but I doubt they will find it on the streets,” Tessa remarked. “The perp left us no evidence to speak of so I doubt he left the vehicle out in plain sight.”

“It’s all we have for now,” Gus said before they pushed through the door to the autopsy suite and saw Ellis Brown at his desk with his head bent down.

“Hey Doc, what do you have for us?” Gus asked his old friend.

The doctor looked up and stood before he walked over to the two detectives. He smiled before he offered his hand to Gus. “How are Helen and the kids?”

“They’re all good, thanks for asking.”

“Tell Helen hello for me.”

“Will do. Hey, when are you going to get time to get back to bowling with us?”

Tessa cleared her throat, which made both men look at her.

“Ah, yes,” the medical examiner said, as he picked a piece of paper off his desk, “the murdered basketball player. Just as I expected, exsanguination was the COD. Preliminary findings indicate that the scrapings from under her fingernails were her own DNA. We need another day or two for the final report. I’d doubt that the person you are looking for has any kind of scratches. As I told you before, Jacoby, I saw no signs of defensive wounds. I found bruising everywhere. From their appearance, the beating was after death. The marks appear to be from some sort of long cylinder, like a pipe or bat.”

Tessa eyed the man. “Was that used for the rape too?”

Elis shrugged. “Maybe, but there’s no real way to tell that.”

“Broken bones?” she asked.

“No.”

“Did you find anything in the way of trace evidence?” Gus asked.

“Not really. Trace found that the fibers in one wound were generic threads from a cheap towel, which would be consistent with what we’d expect to find at a gym. Other than that, the only other thing I found was a common moss found in most dark, damp areas. There is evidence of sexual assault. Her stomach contained partially digested pizza but didn’t contain semen. I found no usable trace in the vagina or rectum. The guy probably used a prophylactic although I didn’t find any kind of trace of that so I can’t be sure that’s the case.”

Gus said, “The pizza goes along with what the coach told us about where she was last night.”

Tessa asked, “Do you have any good news for us?”

The medical examiner shook his head. “Yes, I did find an injection site on her right hand that the perpetrator apparently tried to mask with the cuts he made there. The preliminary toxicology screen found that the drug Pavulon was in her system.”

Tessa looked at the doctor. “Isn’t that the lethal injection drug they use in prisons?”

The doctor nodded. “It’s a muscle relaxant and that in would explain why the pentagram was so precisely made. Of course, it would have been terrifying for the girl.” Elis thought for a minute then absently said, “I wonder if he thought she would be aware but unable to move for a longer period of time? Unless ventilated, death would occur in less than five minutes after the injection. Slitting her throat was overkill.”

“How would someone obtain the drug?” Gus asked.

“It’s not hard. The Internet would be the most anonymous source. You can buy almost anything there if you know where to look and finding that isn’t hard. Prisons and hospitals along with anesthesiologists are required to keep stringent records of what they use. If the drug was missing from either place, they would know.”

“Couldn’t someone alter the records?” Gus asked.

Ellis looked at his old friend. “Probably, if they knew what they are doing but I’d go with the Internet. With lawsuits the norm these days, hospitals strictly regulate the drugs they use. It seems to me that whoever did this didn’t understand the ramifications of the drug. ”

Gus eyed the man. “Why?”

“The fact that he gave her the drug and slit her throat…if he knew what the drug did he wouldn’t have done that.”

Tessa made a notation in her small notebook to check with the hospitals.

“Anything else?” Gus asked.

“No, not until I get the complete toxicology and that will take a while. Whoever did this was meticulous.”

When Tessa returned to her desk, she had a voice message from Vanessa Carlton.

She quickly dialed the number and, when the woman answered, Tessa said, “Ms. Carlton, this is Detective Jacoby.”

“My mother tells me that you want to speak with me, Detective.”

“Yes, do you think you could meet me at the station?”

“Can’t we do this over the phone? I really need to get something to eat and spend some time with my son before I have to get ready for work.”

“I’d prefer a face to face meeting.”

“I don’t see how I can help you.”

“Ms. Carlton, I’ve seen the most innocent information lead to the perpetrator.”

Tessa heard the woman sigh.

“Can I stop by after work in the morning?”

“Yes. What time do you think that will be?”

“As long as there isn’t some sort of emergency and I leave on time, I can be there by seven-thirty.”

“I’ll be looking for you then.” Tessa plunked the receiver down and looked at her partner. “It always amazes me the number of people that don’t give a damn.”

“The Carlton woman gave you attitude?”

“Not really. She just didn’t want to come here for the interview. Just like her mother said, she claims she has nothing to give us.”

Gus chuckled. “Obviously she doesn’t know that nothing is always something.” He looked pointedly at his partner. “She’s probably right. The doc put the TOD around midnight or one and, if she left for work at ten-thirty, there’s no way she’d have seen anything happening in that vacant lot. We know by the lack of blood at the scene that the vic was killed elsewhere.”

Tessa raised her arms and stretched before she let out a yawn. “I know it’s a long shot but maybe she saw a car that she’d never seen before or someone lurking around the area.”

Gus picked up the phone. “I’ll have one of the techs check the hospitals for that drug.”

The tip hotline had generated numerous calls, some good, but most were outlandish—they investigated them, nonetheless. One call caught the detective’s attention. Someone reported seeing the victim in a white SUV with a man after ten the night before.

“We’d better follow up on this one personally,” Gus said.

“I’ll give her a call and set something up for tomorrow morning. Until we get all the tox and trace reports back, there’s not much more we can do right now.”

“The crime unit will be busy with all the crap they found on that lot,” Gus surmised. “I betcha ninety-nine percent of it has nothing to do with our case.” He paused for a moment. “Maybe even a hundred percent.”

Tessa’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, I think you’re right. We need to catch up with Silverstein and see if he found anything of value on her computer.”

“He said he’d need at least until tomorrow.”

“What do you say we call it a night and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning?”

“Sounds good to me.” Gus, with a slight smile stood up, took his gun out of his desk, and slid it into its holster. “I’m going to head out now, unless you need me for something.”

“No, go on I’ll be right behind you. We’ll pick this up in the morning with the Carlton woman.”

“What time?”

“She said seven-thirty.”

“Ok, I’ll see you at seven.” Gus looked at his partner, who was still sitting in her chair. “Thought you said you were heading out too.”

Tessa looked at the case folder. “First, I want to call this woman who said she saw the vic around ten last night.”

Tessa watched her partner walk away. He was going home to his wife and family and she was still working on the case. Not like there’s anything waiting for me at home. Picking up her phone, she dialed the tipster’s number.

“Hello.”

Tessa heard the voice and her initial reaction was that the woman sounded harried. “Is this Joann Stewart?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Detective Jacoby with the police and am calling about the tip you left regarding Dana Stratton.”

“Yes, yes I did leave a tip. Listen, I can’t talk right now. Can I call you me back in the morning?”

Tessa heard a baby crying in the background and some kind of loud music.

“I really need to go,” the woman said.

“Can you come to the station tomorrow morning around nine-thirty?”

“Yes, I can be there then.”

“You know where to go?”

“Yes, I’ll find you...Jacoby right?”

“Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Stewart.”

Chapter Ten

Tessa sat in her black Ford Expedition waiting for the gate to her condominium complex to slide open. The investigation into the murder of Dana Stratton was in its infancy, yet something about it gnawed in her gut. She had a good idea about what that something was but she wasn’t ready to resurrect that demon. She glanced at the case folder on the seat next to her. One of the photos of the crime scene had slid out onto the leather seat. Even though that particular photo was in black and white, she could still see the horrific scene in full color.

Once she pulled in front of her garage, she pushed a button and the garage door began to lift. “I’m going to find the bastard that killed you, Dana,” she said absently, as she guided her car into the garage and lowered the door. In complete darkness, Tessa sat in surprised silence. The case was less than twelve hours old. When, in that short span of time, did I begin thinking of her in that way? Her rule—never call the victims by their names. The vic, daughter, son, mother, father, woman, man, or in any combination were acceptable. If she started thinking of the basketball player in terms of her name, she would lose all objectivity. Her only focus had to be on finding the perpetrator.

Once in her condo, where she felt a modicum of safety, Tessa slipped her jacket off and placed her gun in the safe near the door. She made her way to the kitchen, where she found a bottle of Yellowtail Pinot Noir, opened it, and poured a generous glass. In the living room, she flopped down in her favorite oversized red chair and picked up the remote for the CD player. The sounds of Andrea Bocelli filled the silence of her home. After taking several swallows of wine, she set the glass on a side table, brought her knees up, and wrapped her arms around them.

Tessa let the music wash over her and let the stresses of the day dissolve. The first day of any investigation was always difficult, for she had to witness the gambit of emotions that crossed the faces of everyone involved. The victim’s family was the most difficult for Tessa to see—she knew their pain all too well. Her sister, Rachel, killed herself after a brutal rape that left her fragile and frightened. Tessa watched, as the Rachel she knew faded into an empty shell that refused to exist in the world—it was a pain she wished on no one.

Perpetrators had a far-reaching effect on more than just the victims they brutalized. Tessa found her sister’s body lying in a pool of blood that came from her slit wrist. She remembered sitting on the floor holding the lifeless body of her sister while she rocked her gently, as she whispered words of love and sorrow into the cold unfeeling cheek. Tessa felt a sorrow that still haunted her ten years later. Because of Rachel, Tessa diligently worked to bring those that defiled life to justice. Every time she looked at a murdered body, she thought of her sister. Whenever Tessa dealt with the grieving loved ones of a murder victim, she let a wall of impersonal emotions surround and protect her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t survive being a homicide cop.

Now, sequestered in the safety of her home, Tessa allowed the anger that threatened to boil over recede, as the haunting melodies of the opera singer enveloped her. She finished off the last of the wine in her glass and, briefly, closed her eyes. Her mind did not comprehend the meaning of the tenor’s words, but her heart understood them all.

Eventually, Tessa switched off the music and went to the kitchen to get another glass of wine. Picking up the television remote, she clicked on the plasma screen mounted on a wall and saw the local news flicker to life. Not really paying attention, she listened to the commentator drone on about something that she had no interest in.

She had no close friends—none she acknowledged—except maybe Gus. She never felt the need to surround herself with people and, outside of work, there was no one she could call in an emergency and know they’d be there for her—not even her family. When she’d first met Anna Mikaelson, she hoped there would be a deeper relationship. When the lawyer, like so many others in her life, stopped calling, she knew that the closeness she hoped for would never be. Seeing the lawyer again this morning, brought back into focus the longing she always felt when Anna was near. Lovers are for sex. I’ve always preferred a life free from entanglements. Why does Anna make me want more?

The detective’s attention turned to the television, where a man with dark hair and dressed in a suit with a purple tie was saying, “Sources close to the investigation indicate that Dana Stratton was beaten, raped and tortured before her death.”

“Who the fuck told them that?” she said, as she automatically dialed Gus’s number. “Hey, did you see the news?”

“No, I’m at the mall with Helen buying Robbie new shoes.”

“Well, somehow they know the particulars of how our vic was beaten and raped before she died.”

“Shit,” Gus said.

“Yeah, my sentiments exactly. I can’t believe how stupid people who leak that kind of information are. Now, we’re going to have every nut case calling us with leads that go nowhere. Fuck.”

“Nothing we can do about it now,” Gus remarked. “I’ll get someone to work on finding out who it is in the morning.”

Tessa chuckled sarcastically. “You know the list is endless.”

“Yeah, I know. You sound upset, what’s going on with you?”

“I’m just tired. It’s nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t cure.”

Gus softened his voice. “How many glasses of wine have you had? No, don’t answer that. I might have to breathalyzer you in the morning.” He heard Tessa snort. “Take it easy ok, get some sleep. I think we both have to be at the top of our game with this one.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ll see you in the morning,” Tessa said as she closed her phone. A small smile filtered across her lips as she thought of Gus. He was one of the rare guys, who found time to have a happy family life, do his job, and still care. She occasionally wanted to allow that into her life but it had always eluded her.

Chapter Eleven

With the rumbling of her stomach, Tessa remembered she hadn’t eaten since the sandwich that Gus brought her earlier in the day. The unfinished portion probably was still sitting on the floor of the Crown Vic. “Never had a chance to eat that pickle.”

Making her way to the kitchen, Tessa began opening cupboard doors and closing them. The refrigerator contained a jar of olives, some moldy cheese, and a carton of milk that had expired two days earlier. The cupboard where she stored canned food had a lone package of Ramen noodles. “Guess this is it,” she said, before she turned up her nose. “I’m not that desperate. I’ll call for a pizza.”

Tessa was dialing the number for Toni’s Pizza when she heard a knock at the door. Who the hell can that be?” Tessa grumbled, as she closed her phone and walked quickly toward the front door.

Tessa looked through the peephole and, to her surprise, saw Anna Mikaelson. Her body buzzed with instant arousal and she felt her nipples grow hard as she opened the door. “This is a surprise—twice in one day.” She opened the door wider. “Come on in.”

Anna gave the detective a once over, stopping briefly at her chest before she made eye contact. “I see you’re glad to see me.” She grinned and let her eyes return to the nipples straining against a tight black t-shirt. “I’m saving you from a boring meal.” Holding up a bag from a Chili’s restaurant, she added, “I heard on the news about your case and knew you probably hadn’t eaten yet, since this is the first day of the case. They always seem to be the most intense…the start of the hunt.”

With a genuine laugh, Tessa motioned for the woman to follow her further into the room. “I was just about to call for a pizza.” She turned and let her eyes take in the woman. The suit jacket she had on earlier was gone and light pink cashmere sweater hung over the charcoal gray skirt that rested just above her knees. As always, her shoes were the perfect complement to the outfit.

“This is much better, trust me.” Anna placed the bag on the tall, granite top dining room table and looked around. “Nice place. I pegged you as a rare hamburger kind of gal,” she said as she pulled a box out of the bag.

Tessa laughed and it felt good. “You got it right in one,” she said, as her mouth watered—she could taste the hamburger. “How did you know I liked Chili’s?”

Anna handed the detective the container. “I saw you there once. You were eating a hamburger. You were alone.”

I bet she did then she ran the other way. “I take it you didn’t say hi to me because you weren’t alone.”

“No, actually I was by myself. I just didn’t know you then. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were in law enforcement too.”

Tessa went into the kitchen and poured them both a glass of wine. “Try this, I think you’ll like it,” she said handing the lawyer a glass.

Anna sipped the wine and saw that the bottle was almost finished. Guess she was thirsty. Her smile widened as she asked conversationally, “It’s really good. What is it?”

“Yellowtail Pinot Noir, it isn’t as heavy as some red wines.”

Anna’s face filled with a bright smile. “I like it.”

To Tessa, the woman’s smile seemed so full of repressed sexuality that she wanted to crawl inside the lawyer and satisfy her every want and need. Instead, she pushed open the tab, lifted the top of the container, and picked up the cheeseburger that fries surrounded. “Yum, and to think I was within minutes of a pizza.”

“I’m happy I saved you from that fate.” Anna smiled and looked into Tessa’s green eyes, as she rested her hand on the detective’s arm. Tessa was slightly shorter but not by much. The short black hair served as a frame for her eyes that sparkled. She was wearing the same outfit she’d always associated with the detective—jeans, a black t-shirt, and black service shoes. The black leather jacket she usually wore was resting on the back of the couch.

The contact Anna’s hand had with her arm made Tessa swallow hard. The innocuous contact made her clitoris swell and harden so it strained against her underwear. “Aren’t you eating?”

The lawyer smirked. “Already did earlier…eat food that is.”

Clearly, she knew what the innuendo meant but she couldn’t think straight as Anna’s fingers stroked Tessa’s arm. She swallowed hard, hoping that the hand wouldn’t move. The movement of the fingers on her arm was sending ripples of desire throughout her body. When she looked into the lawyer’s blue eyes, Tessa felt drawn to her and tired to gulp back the desire—she couldn’t.

Anna held Tessa’s gaze. “From the sounds of it, you pulled the short stick. The cases with an unknown assailant and little physical evidence are always the hardest to solve.” She tilted her head. “That is, if the news reports are correct.”

“Yeah.”

“When I heard the details on the news, I knew it wasn’t something that the detectives or anyone close to the investigation would say. When a leak happens to one of my cases, I fume about it for days.” Her eyes rested on Tessa’s face. “Any idea where the leak came from?”

“Nope.” Tessa answered as she took a bite of her sandwich in an attempt to squelch her libido. Finally, she was able to say, “Man, this is so good. Thanks.”

A smile filled Anna’s face. “You’re welcome.”

Tessa laughed. “We were at the house of the woman who reported finding the body and she was baking pies. My stomach rumbled so loud that I looked around to see if anyone noticed.”

“Did they?”

With a crooked smile, Tessa said, “I don’t think so.”

Anna reached out and touched Tessa’s arm again. “You need to take better care of yourself. When was the last time you ate a proper meal,” her eyes traveled to the wine bottle, “or are you on a liquid diet?”

Tessa frowned at the reference and was about to say something, when her phone rang. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she said, “Jacoby.”

“Detective, this is Ira Silverstein.”

“Did you find anything on the computer?”

“Yes. For the last three months, the vic was receiving e-mails that started out as fan mail and then turned suggestive before morphing into threats.”

“Do you know who sent them?” Tessa looked at Anna and mouthed, I’m sorry as she listened to the tech’s words.

“The account used to send the email seems anonymous. I’ll have to dig deeper to see if it a free version that doesn’t require a credit card or one that does. I’ll have to contact the provider to see if there’s any more information. The screen name is bball_fan99.”

“How long will it take you to find out who it is?”

“It depends on how cooperative the provider is.”

“We need to find out who sent those e-mails.”

“I know. Count on me. I’ll find out for you.”

“Ok, I will. Make copies of the e-mails and put them on my desk,” the detective said before adding, “Keep me informed.”

Tessa folded her phone. “Hey, I’m sorry about that.”

“No problem, I’m not on a schedule.”

Tessa lifted a shoulder and gave Anna a brief smile. “The computer forensic specialist found some threatening e-mails.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “It might lead us to the bastard who killed the girl.”

Anna saw the strain on Tessa’s face. She stood up, moved behind the detective, and gently put her hands on Tessa’s shoulders before her fingers began to massage them.

When Tessa felt strong hands on her shoulders, she knew she was on the edge of an orgasm. She melted into the fingers and thumbs that worked on her tense muscles. “Mmm, that feels so good.” Tessa let her body relax into the rhythmic motion as her clitoris pulsed in time.

“I’ve noticed by the way you walk you always carry all your tension in your shoulders,” Anna said as her fingers continued to work on Tessa’s tight neck muscles. “When was the last time you had a day off?”

“Murderers don’t take days off. You know that.” Tessa closed her eyes as all thoughts of the case disappeared. Her only focus was on the hum going through her body. “God, your fingers are magic.”

Anna leaned in and whispered, “If you’d like, I can give you a full body massage.”

Tessa moved, stood up, encircled Anna’s waist and pulled the woman into her. Her mouth hovered near the lawyer’s mouth until their lips met. Tessa ran her tongue over Anna’s bottom lip and her mouth immediately opened. Their kisses were long and fervent, only stopping long enough to breathe before the assault continued. Tessa’s fingers snaked under the cashmere sweater Anna wore and began running them up and down the soft skin of her back. When she heard Anna moan, she moved her hands to the hooks that held a bra in place and deftly released their hold. Her fingers splayed and her thumbs ran along the edges of Anna’s breasts.

Feeling the warm hands caressing her back and teasing her breasts, Anna’s mind warred with her body. I can’t let her close. I just can’t. Her hand tangled in Tessa’s hair as she pressed for deeper, harder kisses. She positioned her thigh so it was between the detective’s legs and began to press hard. Never had she felt so much passion for anyone yet she pulled away. I can’t.

The need between Tessa’s legs screamed for release as she ground against Anna’s thigh. “Don’t stop baby,” her husky need driven voice said.

“I need to go,” Anna said breathlessly. “I’m waiting for the jury to come back.”

Anger flashed in Tessa’s eyes. “Give me a break, Anna, that jury went home for the night a long time ago.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you always do this to me?” Tessa growled.

“What?” Anna asked, knowing what Tessa meant.

Tessa’s voice rang with hurt and frustration. “Get me all worked up then move away whenever we start getting close to more. The word is that you have a new woman everyday—what’s wrong with me. Why don’t you want me?”

I do want you more than you know. Anna felt her anger begin to rise at the words but held the emotion in check “Those accounts are over exaggerated to the point of being completely wrong.” The look in Tessa’s eyes told her that she didn’t believe the words. “Look, I’m very attracted to you and want to have a relationship with you but…”

With her body still tightly coiled, Tessa ground out, “But what, Anna?”

Anna’s hand caressed Tessa’s cheek. “You’re someone that needs my complete attention. Ever since we met, I’ve been embroiled in one case after another. Right now, it’s the Petroff case. Every case I’ve had has demanded my complete attention. The times we dated or went out were like a lifeboat to me.” Her eyes searched Tessa’s eyes. “Do you know what I’m saying?”

“Not really,” Tessa said belligerently. You’re my lifeboat too.

Moving closer, Anna lightly kissed Tessa’s lips. “Once this case is over and you’ve captured a murderer, we can get to know each other on all levels.” She kissed Tessa again before she stepped back, put her arms around her back, and rehooked her bra. “Nothing about you is casual to me, Tessa, and that is exactly why we have to stop now.” I’m afraid.

Over her career, Tessa prided herself on knowing when someone was telling the truth—Anna’s words held no deceit. “I’d like that.”

Anna picked up her keys and headed for the door. “For the record, it isn’t true you know. You can count the number of lovers I’ve had on one hand, with fingers to spare.” She began for the door, only to stop again. “The jury asked if they could deliberate longer.” She looked at her Blackberry. “No word that they aren’t still doing that.”

Tessa caught up to the lawyer. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

No, I’m the one who should be sorry. Anna kissed her gently. “Apology accepted. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Standing alone, Tessa watched the door close behind the lawyer. She couldn’t decide which to treat first—the threatening headache or the need for release. Knowing how wet and hard she was, Tessa’s hand slid between her skin and her jeans.

Chapter Twelve

In the very early morning, in the space where dark fractures light into shadows, Tessa ran through the streets that lights occasionally illuminated before plunging her back into the dark. It was like her life—dark, except for a miniscule amount of light that would give her hope. Hope for what, she didn’t know. She ran further than she normally did, hoping that the cold air hitting her sweaty body would shock her system and cause her brain and overactive libido to shut down. They didn’t.

She never did get to sleep the night before. As soon as her head hit the pillow, her body and mind went into hyper-drive. At first, her mind exploded with every picture of every victim of every case she worked. And, she saw Rachel laughing and dancing, before the image of her body lying in her own blood came into view.

She pushed thoughts of the dead away, only to have Anna appear. Her body reacted as it always did when she thought of the lawyer—unbridled desire. But, this time, she felt something different that she couldn’t quite grasp. Along with the passion that still hummed with the pent up need that her fingers could not squelch, she felt a sense of peace. How can that be? She craved the woman in a way she never imagined. What scared her—the tender feelings that told her that, if Anna only held her, that would be enough.

Tessa arrived at work when it was still dark and the streets were mostly silent. Getting out of her SUV, she looked at the long, empty stretch of the parking lot—the analogy of her life being like the parking lot was not lost on her. Occasionally, she would allow her mind to indulge in the fantasy of having a private life that included a lover and close friends. In the end, another murder would always occupy all of her time, leaving nothing left to explore the possibility of a relationship—Anna floated into her consciousness.