And then he came back to her, his body hot, hard and ready, his hands moving over her with an eagerness that thrilled her and a tenderness that melted her. A delicious anticipation welled up inside her. When he slid into her she welcomed him with a matching eagerness, and a low groan of pure pleasure rumbled up from deep in his chest. She felt an answering ripple as her body strained to accept him, felt a glorious stretching fullness that made her cry out her own pleasure.
Suddenly it didn’t matter where they were, or how long they’d known each other. The only thing that mattered was this glorious sensation, this building, tightening, rising tension that nearly made her scream.
And then he moved one last time, driving hard and deep into her, and the tension shattered, flinging her in what seemed a thousand directions at once.
And she did scream. His name.
Colin hung up the phone and turned to Darien with a wide smile on his face. “It’s a match. Maggie says the ring in the photograph is a perfect match for the bruises on the body.”
Darien smiled back, and potent memories of last night flashed through his mind in a hot, vivid stream.
“Is it enough?” she asked.
Never, he thought, then realized she was talking about the ring.
“For a conviction? Probably not, we’ll have to keep searching for the thing. Stone’ll need all the help he can get, including that ring and any trace DNA evidence on it. But for an arrest, definitely. The warrant’s already in the works.”
She let out a long breath. “What if we’re wrong?”
“We’re the good guys,” he teased. “We’re never wrong.”
She laughed, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to brush the backs of his fingers over her cheek. She blushed and lowered her gaze, but she also nuzzled his hand. And instantly he was again awash in those intense images. He didn’t know what she’d done, had a strange feeling it was more what she hadn’t done, such as throw herself at him, but somehow she’d blasted through every reservation he’d had.
“Ho, ho, ho, I smell fraternization!”
Colin stifled a groan as Palmer’s voice told him he’d been caught. Served him right for succumbing to the urge to touch her here in the office.
“Isn’t this sweet?” Palmer drawled. “Together at last. How convenient.”
Colin summoned up an air of unconcern.
“Don’t mind us,” he said with a creditable laugh. “We’re just celebrating the fact that in a minute we’re going to pick up a warrant and make an arrest.”
“In fact,” Darien said, getting up, “we’re going right now, aren’t we?”
“Indeed we are,” he agreed, and they left so quickly Palmer was left with nothing to do but gape after them.
They both breathed a sigh of relief that Mrs. Gardner wasn’t at home. They hadn’t looked forward to dealing with her when, after the murder of her younger son, they were about to cart off the eldest.
Lyle Gardner was his usual haughty self when they arrived. He demanded to know if they had made any progress. Darien kept her eyes on Gardner ’s face as Colin answered.
“Yes, we have. In fact, we’re about to make an arrest. We’ve discovered a key piece of evidence.”
Darien was sure she saw Gardner draw back infinitesimally.
“Did you think we wouldn’t find out about it?” Darien asked softly. “It’s pretty distinctive, after all. All Gardner jewelry would be.”
Lyle paled visibly. “I lost that ring. Long ago. You can’t prove otherwise.”
Gotcha! Darien exulted silently.
“Did you?” Colin asked.
“Yes.”
“So there will be a claim on file with your insurance company?” Darien put in sweetly, already knowing perfectly well there hadn’t been.
Gardner suddenly seemed to realize he was digging himself into a hole. “I’m through with your questions. My attorney will speak for me from now on.”
“Fine. We’ll call him for you from the station,” she said.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Colin reached into his pocket and took out some folded papers. “I’m afraid you are, Mr. Gardner. This arrest warrant says so.”
“Whatever judge you got to sign that won’t be on the bench for long.”
“Amazingly enough, there is a judge in Chicago who doesn’t owe the Gardners a thing,” Colin said.
Fuming, Gardner swore indelicately. “I’m calling my attorney now.”
Colin shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We won’t be needing to ask you any questions now anyway.”
He spoke as if the case was open-and-shut, as if he were utterly confident that nothing Gardner could do would make any difference. It rattled the man, Darien could see it in his face.
“Oh, wait,” Colin said. “I was wrong, there is one more question.”
“I won’t answer anything.”
“That’s okay. I already know the answer, anyway.”
Darien could see he was struggling not to ask. And saw the moment when he gave up. “The answer to what?”
Colin smiled. “To how you knew we were talking about your ring. We never mentioned it.”
The man visibly blanched.
“Lyle Gardner, you are under arrest for the murder of Franklin Gardner,” Colin said with satisfaction.
Darien typed the last line on the jail booking form, hit the enter key with a flourish.
“Voilà,” she said. “The end. Mr. Lyle Gardner is officially booked.”
“Too bad the investigation hasn’t ended. We’ve still got to find that ring.”
Darien sighed. “Don’t rain on my parade just yet, will you? Give me an hour or so to feel some job satisfaction.”
Colin grinned. “Well, since it’s your first time…”
She took a swipe at him, but she was grinning back. It did feel good, even he had to admit it. The case wasn’t a lock, not by a long shot, but he knew in his gut they had the right guy. Not that that would be worth a thing in court.
“Do you need to go back to the office?” he asked.
“No.” She wrinkled her nose. “Besides, I don’t want Palmer to ruin my mood.”
“He was right about one thing.”
“Palmer? Hard to believe. What?”
“The convenience.”
She blinked. “What?” she repeated.
“It’s convenient. If you were to marry me, you wouldn’t have to change your initial.”
Her breath caught audibly, but she recovered quickly. As she always did. “What makes you think I’d change my name anyway?”
“Then I won’t have to change my initial,” he said with a lopsided grin.
She laughed then, warming him anew. Mostly because she hadn’t shut him down outright. He still felt a little bit like he was on an out-of-control train, but to his own surprise, he didn’t want to jump off.
Not as long as his new partner was on board.
VERDICT: MARRIAGE
Joan Elliott Pickart
With thanks to our editor, Ann Leslie Tuttle, who was buried in e-mail during this challenging project
Dear Reader,
It was a privilege to work with two such talented authors on this project, and the three of us were e-mailing back and forth in a frenzy to be certain that our descriptions and details matched.
As Evan and Jennifer became living, breathing people to me, I could feel Evan’s frustration as he waited, and hoped, for the evidence that would convict Lyle Gardner. But despite Evan’s dedication to his career, Jennifer staked a claim on his heart. Beautiful, spunky Jennifer, with her precious secret she feared to share with Evan, and who was also dedicated to her unique career, had the womanly wisdom to know there was room for so much more in her life.
While writing this book, I learned so much about what goes on behind the scenes as each step is taken to ensure that justice will be the victor when a horrendous crime has been committed.