“So, does that mean you don’t want to know where he is?” Jordan could tell she was baiting her, and she didn’t really want to stoop that low, but damn it, that woman got under her skin. Did she want to catch the killer or not? And something as simple as tracking someone down shouldn’t raise her ire as much as it did.
Rebecca let out a loud sigh. “Tell me what you got.”
“Well, I’ll assume you already know his name.”
The smile in Jordan’s voice was obvious, and it at least got Rebecca to loosen up some. “Yes, I do." Rebecca answered smugly. "Richard. Works for some law firm here in the city.”
“Yep. Apparently, the law firm he works for handles a lot of overseas clients. He travels a lot, and my people picked him up at O’Hare. Guy was getting ready to fly to Singapore.”
“Interesting considering his wife was killed last night.” Rebecca’s sixth sense was starting to act up, a sign that maybe she finally had a lead.
“Exactly what we thought.” Jordan concurred quickly.
Rebecca pinched the bridge of her nose, her brain working on overtime. “Did he happen to mention where he was or why he didn’t answer his phone?”
“Oh, he was very forthcoming with that. Had an early flight out of O’Hare, and apparently he hates traffic, so he spends the night at a hotel near the airport. Didn’t answer his phone because it was off.”
The hair on the back of Rebecca’s neck was standing on end. “That’s convenient. Did you tell him about Elizabeth?”
“Nope, I figured you would want to see his face when we told him.” Jordan had thrown we in hoping that maybe, just maybe, with the help she and the FBI were able to give in tracking down Richard Hudson, Rebecca would return the favor and let her sit in when they told him about his wife.
“We?” Rebecca chuckled sarcastically. “You just think your part of my team now, huh?”
“Wishful thinking.” It was true. She was wishing she could spend more time with the enigmatic Detective Foxx. She wanted it to be about the case only, but a more personal reason was starting to creep into her consciousness. “Besides, it might help to have backup.”
“And why might I need backup? Detective Jones has covered my ass this long, and I’m still alive.”
“Because of the second part of the news I wanted to tell you. Richard Hudson has a rap sheet.”
“Whoa…what do you mean?” Rebecca’s tone belied her disbelief. “We didn’t find anything.”
“And now do you see why I’m important to you?” Jordan asked smugly.
Rebecca begrudgingly admitted to herself that maybe having the FBI around wasn’t too bad. “So what did you find on him?”
“You didn’t find it because his record has been expunged. Dad evidently had money and knew someone in the DA’s office. Apparently, this guy has a bit of a temper. Put his ex-wife in the hospital a couple of times. She tried to file for divorce, but he messed her up really badly. Bad enough that she filed for a restraining order.”
The wheels in Rebecca’s mind were spinning rapidly. “Think we can talk to her?”
“I wish.” Jordan said ruefully. “She died six years ago.”
Rebecca's heart stopped. “How did she die?”
“Funny you ask.” Jordan’s tone suggested it was anything but funny. “Attacked in an alley, had her throat sliced. Killer was never found.”
Rebecca’s interest peaked. The same MO as their current perp. Certainly it wasn’t a coincidence. “And Mr. Hudson?”
“Alibied out. Can you believe that?” Jordan's incredulous tone suggested she believed that his alibi had been of a very convenient and much too suspicious nature to be a coincidence.
“Nothing surprises me nowadays.” Rebecca grabbed her coat off a chair. She tucked her phone under her chin and shoved her arms into her coat.
“So, you wanna meet me at headquarters?” Jordan asked hopefully. “I think it’s about time we tell Mr. Hudson what an unlucky fellow he is.”
“Sure. Will Detective Riley be joining us?” For some reason, Rebecca had the oddest feeling of wanting to be alone with Jordan. The thought of Detective Riley joining them seemed like more of an inconvenience then a benefit.
“Not today.” Jordan wasn’t quite sure what to make of the question. She didn’t think Rebecca was interested in him or any other man, for that matter, but maybe she read it wrong. “Let’s just say he’s covering both our asses while I am working on this case. I think he doesn’t mind not being buried in this case anyway. He doesn't do blood and guts too well.”
Rebecca’s husky laugh came through the phone and sent shivers up and down Jordan’s spine. “Yeah, I kind of gathered that from his reaction last night. Jonesy is following up on another lead as well.”
A thought struck Jordan, and she took a leap of faith. "Since it's just the two of us, how about I pick you up?"
Rebecca almost declined, but on a whim and in the interest of time, she accepted. Twenty minutes later, Rebecca was ensconced in the soft leather of Jordan’s Nissan 370Z. Richard Hudson was being detained at the airport, and Jordan was chomping at the bit to see his face when he learned his wife had been murdered. She stole a sideways glance at Rebecca and wasn’t surprised to see her jaw muscles flexing uncontrollably. “Listen, I know I have a bad habit of butting in where I don’t belong, but I figured in light of our shared desire to catch this guy, you might be willing to overlook that.”
Rebecca’s fist flexed into a tight ball. “It isn’t that. I’m talking myself into behaving when we get there. I’m so ready to catch the fucker who is doing this, that I’m afraid anyone who even smells a little suspicious might catch the brunt of my anger.”
“Temper, temper, Detective Foxx.” Jordan directed her car onto the highway and instead of merging into the traffic, shot across several lanes and let the speedometer rest at eighty-five miles an hour. “I’ve been doing the same thing. Ever since I found out that Julie had been attacked, I’ve been fighting to keep this case from becoming too personal.”
Rebecca finally turned to her and searched her face. “How’s that working for you? ‘Cause so far, I’m failing miserably. I want to slice this guy’s dick off and shove it down his throat.”
“Wow, tell me how you really feel.” Jordan’s tone was teasing, but she felt the same way. She followed her comment up by balling up her own fists.
Rebecca smiled evilly. “I can’t help it. I’m tired of seeing the same thing day in and day out. Some guy goes on one bad date and decides to start taking it out on random strangers. Then more times than not, he pleads insanity and spends a few years in some cushy mental facility before he gets released back out on the streets and starts the whole thing all over again.”
“Not this time.” Jordan’s tone held an unspoken warning. In all her years, particularly those spent surviving on the streets, she didn't fail. She wouldn't allow herself to fail her boss, and especially not Julie.
As much as Rebecca wanted to find him and gun him down herself, her sworn duty as an officer of the law required her to apprehend him, build the strongest case possible and then trust that justice would be served. “You can’t go all rogue on me, Special Agent Gray. I’ve got my superiors to answer to and having to tell them that some hot-headed Fibbie shot my UNSUB in cold blood isn’t going to go over well.”
Jordan was silent for several minutes, not acknowledging the comment. She wasn’t a hothead, didn’t shoot from the hip. That wasn’t her style. She was methodical, cold, calculated. That’s what kept her alive all these years. She also didn’t defend herself to anyone, least of all a Detective with a chip on her shoulder.