Claim the Night. Rachel Lee

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СКАЧАТЬ that he cared. He jerked his head toward his office, then went inside to wait. And Chloe, of course, made him wait. She must have filled the teakettle and put it on the stove before she meandered his way. Chloe drank tea as if it were the staff of life.

      “Close the door,” he said.

      “Eavesdroppers rarely hear anything good.” She sniffed as she closed the door.

      “I’m glad I listened. You need to avoid making me sound like Superman.”

      Chloe shrugged. “I gotta explain it somehow, boss. You keep doing these little things that make people suspicious.”

      “Only when I have no choice.”

      “Choice or not, that woman is observant. Scared as she was, she noticed things. So how do you want me to explain it? Oh, my boss is a vampire?”

      He glared at her.

      She glared back.

      “Just watch it,” he said finally.

      “If you watch it better, I can watch it better.” Chloe sniffed yet again, evincing worlds of disapproval. “You ought to be grateful I’m such an inventive liar.”

      With that she pointed at the clock wordlessly, then walked out.

      Jude stared at the closed door, and finally gave in to a grin. It was too damn bad Chloe wasn’t his type.

      Then, gauging his time, he decided he could at least escort Terri and Chloe to the nearest precinct station and get the process rolling before he’d need to hurry back here.

      More time with that woman and her narcotic scent. He needed to have his head examined.

       Chapter 2

      An hour before dawn, even police stations experienced a lull. While hospitals were in their most critical hours, the rest of the city, including the criminal element, was finally sinking into sleep.

      Well, it was a relative lull, anyway. Jude accompanied Theresa, who looked singularly unhappy, and Chloe, who looked as if she were enjoying this change of pace, into the station and up to the desk sergeant. As a PI, he wasn’t entirely unknown in some of the precincts, though seldom was his arrival truly welcome.

      Sgt. Davies knew him, though, and greeted him pleasantly enough, though not exactly warmly.

      “Ms. Black,” Jude explained, “needs to file a report. She was attacked twice tonight down near Mason and Crick, and I witnessed the second attack.”

      Davies’s eyes leapt to Terri as Jude indicated her with a wave of his hand. “Twice? Crap.” Then he looked at Jude. “And I suppose you’re in your usual rush?”

      Jude frowned at him. “All I can do is confirm part of her story. And I do have an urgent case.”

      “You always have an urgent case.” Davies sighed. “Well, you’re in luck. I’ll get you to Detective Matthews. She always seems to have time for you.”

      Not entirely the detective’s own choice, thought Jude with grim satisfaction. He’d implanted a suggestion four years ago, and occasionally reinforced it. And he certainly found it useful to have an ally of sorts within the police.

      In less than five minutes they were in the Robbery-Homicide squad room, although the case would probably be better handled by the sex crimes unit. Regardless, Matthews never refused to see Jude.

      She was a tall woman of about forty with a no-nonsense air and short gray-flecked hair. Attractive, but in a subdued way. She chose not to flaunt.

      The squad room was even more quiet than the rest of the station because those on shift were out on cases that had occurred tonight, and the rest were doing what mortals do at that hour: sleeping at home.

      “Okay,” Matthews asked. “What happened?”

      Once again Terri seemed reluctant, so Jude plunged into describing what he knew, and giving a description of the four thugs who had surrounded her. And he was starting to get impatient because the prickling on the back of his neck had begun to grow uncomfortable. He glanced at the large wall clock across the room. Forty-five minutes and he had to be home. Period.

      Matthews took Terri’s personal information, then asked her, “What do you do for a living?”

      “I’m a forensic pathologist. I just started working at the M.E.’s office last week. And, Detective, I can’t be late for my shift.”

      A forensic pathologist? Hot damn, Jude thought. A contact of that kind could be extremely useful.

      Matthews smiled at Terri. “I’ll be as quick as I can, but I think the M.E. would be understanding if you’re a little late because you’re a material witness.”

      “Maybe. I’m so new, though.”

      Pat Matthews’s eyes softened. “Honey, I know it’s awful. All of it. But you’ve got to help us get these cruds off the street. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for it happening to someone else, would you?”

      Terri shook her head and straightened her shoulders. “No, of course not. Except I don’t have any evidence to offer. Other than that I stabbed Sam with a pen. I can’t prove he attacked me. Or that those other guys wanted to.”

      “I understand. We may not be able to do anything immediately, but having your statement on file could help us in the future.”

      Terri nodded. “All right then.”

      Jude stood and started pacing. Night was drawing to a close, and being this far away from his lair at this time always made him uncomfortable, even when he knew for a fact that he could make it back in time.

      Finally as the minutes ticked by, with Terri telling her story in detail and Chloe offering the information she had gathered on the Sam guy, he could take it no longer. It wasn’t as if he absolutely had to be here, a situation which would help him overcome his growing discomfort. No, he was basically a fifth wheel, and he’d already told Matthews everything he knew.

      “I’ve got to go. If you need me to sign anything or answer any more questions, I can come back tonight.”

      The detective hesitated only a moment. “All right. I’ll let Chloe know if I need more.”

      “Thanks. Good night. Oh, Chloe? I’ll leave you the car.” He tossed her the keys and strode out.

      Twenty minutes later, back at his office, he locked his own office door, three dead bolts and a key-code entry. But his bedroom was something else. Getting it built without arousing interest or suspicion or creating talk had been quite an achievement.

      It was basically an oversize vault, with a time lock that would not open until after sunset unless he opened it from the inside. The room itself had been decorated to look like an ordinary bedroom, in case someone happened on it when it was unlocked. But since he was nearly defenseless in the sleep of death, the price of this kind of protection hadn’t mattered. Not since the night forty years ago when he had been discovered in sleep by accident and had awakened СКАЧАТЬ