Cold Case Manhunt. Jennifer Morey

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СКАЧАТЬ case.” Turning once again, he left the office with a wave of relief and the sense that this was the right thing for him.

      “Chelsey.”

      The chief went to his office door. “Chelsey!”

      Cal kept going, noticing other workers stop what they were doing to look and see what the commotion was about. He ignored them all. As he reached the conference room, he saw a man in a black suit standing inside. He spotted Cal and walked to the door as though to greet him.

      “Detective Chelsey?”

      Cal could see the arrogance in McBride’s brown eyes. He didn’t smile and definitely seemed grief-stricken. Losing his son to murder put the darkness there but hadn’t dimmed the aggression.

      “Detective Chelsey?” a woman suddenly called.

      He recognized the voice and almost closed his eyes in annoyance. They were coming at him from all directions.

      “Chelsey’s going to win a popularity contest today,” one of the other detectives quipped.

      He heard Jaslene Chabot rushing his way. He turned to see her marching toward him, golden-blond hair flapping behind her sexy body.

      “I’ve just been told nothing will be done on Payton’s case. It’s been moved to another detective?”

      He doubted she’d been told nothing would be done. She must have made that assumption. “The case has been reassigned, yes. The new detective will work on it.”

      “Why not you?”

      Cal glanced at Mr. McBride. “I’ve been assigned to a new case.”

      “But...it was my understanding that you have the most experience in this department.”

      “That’s why he’s working on my son’s murder,” Mr. McBride said.

      Jaslene’s pretty blue eyes moved to that man and then back to Cal. “Payton could have been murdered, too. Why is this case more important?”

      “It’s not.”

      “He’s already said another detective is working your case,” Mr. McBride said impatiently, then turned to Cal. “Now, if we can get started. I’d like to go over my expectations.”

      His expectations?

      “Who the hell do you think you are?” Jaslene said. He’d gotten to know her fiery side the very first time they’d met. At first he had been struck by her attractiveness and then they had fallen into a professional relationship, with Jaslene determined to find her missing friend and concerned only about that.

      Cal held up his hands. “Hold on a minute. First.” He looked at Mr. McBride. “I’m turning in my resignation today.” Then he looked at Jaslene. “Second, nobody’s case is more important than the other. The only people I care about are the victims.” He turned back to Mr. McBride. “I suggest you remember that.”

      “What?” Mr. McBride put his hands on his hips. “You’re what? Quitting? You can’t do that.”

      “If you want my services, you’re going to have to go through Dark Alley Investigations.” With that he turned and walked away.

      He reached his desk and sat, ready to begin typing his resignation. Jaslene appeared at his desk. She looked contrite.

      “Why did you quit?”

      “I haven’t yet.” He poised his fingers over the keyboard. “But I’m about to.”

      She sat on one of the two uncomfortable metal chairs on the other side of his desk. “Why?”

      “Because I’m going to solve the Everett case.”

      “Don’t I have to hire you for that?”

      “DAI is a nonprofit organization. I can do what I want. The main purpose is to catch killers.”

      “But I can still hire you.”

      “Yes.”

      “I will, but only if you let me help you.”

      He could see the determination in her eyes and in the way she held herself, legs crossed, back straight, hands stacked on her leg. Deceptively prim. The thought of working with her every day both gave him a sexual spark and made him wary. Aside from being quite demanding in the search for her friend, she was also standoffish. There were moments when he sensed her attraction to him but she always reined it in before anything progressed into something acknowledgeable—the other side of her fiery spirit. What would he find underneath her ice queen shell?

      “You don’t have any experience,” he said.

      “I want to be involved.”

      “Don’t you mean you want to boss me around?” he half teased.

      She sighed in exasperation. “I’m not normally like that. Payton is my friend.”

      She never let him forget that. He thought her tenacity was actually refreshing, almost as appealing as her prettiness.

      He wouldn’t encourage her, though. “You’ve made that abundantly clear...on many occasions.” He started typing. This would be a short letter.

      Alice appeared beside his desk. “The chief wants to see you again.”

      “I’m sure he does. Tell him I’ll be there in five minutes.”

      When Alice left, Jaslene sat back against the chair, her posture not so rigid anymore. “Look, Detective Chelsey, I know I’ve been pushy. It’s just that...” She sighed and looked away. He thought he saw moisture gather in her eyes before she blinked the emotion into submission. “Last night I met my friends for drinks and they told me I should let Payton go. They don’t think Payton will ever be found. They think she’s dead. They’ve been saying for a while now that they think it was her stalker.”

      “Riley Sawyer?”

      She nodded, still visibly upset.

      Cal had checked Riley out early on, having read in the police report that he had dated Payton for almost a year. When she ended the relationship, he began following her everywhere and parking outside her house, looking into windows. She had gotten a restraining order against him. Things had escalated, with him breaking into her house and pleading for them to get back together. At the time, Payton had been on the phone with Jaslene, who’d called the police. Riley had been arrested. That was the last time he’d attempted to see Payton.

      “He is still a person of interest in my mind,” Cal said. “He had a weak alibi and he had motive. But there’s no concrete physical evidence tying him to the crime, as you know.”

      “Too well.”

      There had been no sign of a struggle, no blood, no prints, nothing broken. Nothing. That had been the frustration with this case all along.

      “My friends have given up. I haven’t,” СКАЧАТЬ