Mary
Yawning, she sent it, then went back to her work account and replied to “Wesley.”
It’s something you gave me a long time ago. Interested?
Love and hugs-Mary
Maybe if he thought those flowers had given him away, that she was beginning to realize who he really was, he’d drop the charade and agree to meet.
It was impossible to be with Sebastian and not think about what’d happened between them earlier. Jane had known that their previous intimacy would be a problem, but she didn’t want to be alone all night, driving from casino to casino. Latisha’s father had been leaving hateful messages on her voice mail, claiming she couldn’t be working hard enough if she hadn’t found Latisha by now. In the last message, he’d even accused her of giving priority to the white victims she was trying to help.
Jane didn’t know how to respond to that. She wanted to find Latisha and Marcie as much as he did, but the color of her skin had convinced him otherwise. And part of her did feel guilty-not because she wasn’t doing her best but because she didn’t know how to do any better.
“It’s nearly one o’clock. How are you holding up?” Sebastian asked as they pulled out of the parking lot at Red Hawk.
Since they hadn’t come across anyone who recognized Malcolm’s picture, not particularly well. The fatigue dragging at her heels made it difficult to keep going. She and Sebastian hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, and she’d been on her feet all day. But she had to finish canvassing the casinos. She wasn’t about to call Gloria or Luther and tell them she had no more to go on now than she did yesterday. Besides, there was only one more place to visit, and it was the one that mattered most.
“Knowing Malcolm Turner, when would you expect him to gamble? During the day, in the afternoon, or at night?”
“I have no idea. This Malcolm Turner isn’t the Malcolm Turner I thought I knew. Even if he wasn’t the nicest guy, I believed he cared about Emily and Colton. I believed he hated me, but that he’d do the right thing because he was a cop.” He shook his head helplessly. “This person-this man who could kill with impunity-he’s as much a stranger to me as he is to you.”
He adjusted the heater while she stared at Malcolm’s picture. “It’d be nice to finally catch a break, wouldn’t it?”
“We’re doing everything we can, Jane. You’re going to have to accept that this might not happen fast or you’ll run yourself into the ground.”
He should know. He’d been searching for more than a year. But it really wasn’t the long hours that were getting to her. It was the what if questions that chased each other around and around in her mind. What if she wasn’t a good enough investigator to be handling this case? What if she or the police didn’t get to Latisha and Marcie in time? How would she deal with that? What if she was pregnant? How would she tell her friends and in-laws-and Kate? Would she ever tell Sebastian? It hardly seemed fair to burden him with her mistake. But it didn’t seem fair to make his decisions for him, either.
Then, as she grew more tired, there was another what if question that kept presenting itself. What if she went home with him tonight? What if she allowed their relationship to turn into a full-blown affair for the duration of his stay in Sacramento?
But she had no business even considering that, much less acting on it. She’d told Sebastian she couldn’t get pregnant, which meant she couldn’t let him touch her again. If there was a next time, he’d see no reason to use a condom, and a repeat performance would significantly increase the risk of destroying everything she’d created-her new life, her sense of security.
She must have dozed off as they drove because the next thing she knew, Sebastian was gently shaking her shoulder. “We’re at Cache Creek, Jane. I’m going to go in. You wait here.”
Maybe he liked being large and in charge, but she had to admit he was always willing to carry the heavy end, always willing to do more than his share. Oliver had been so different, more like an indulged little boy who expected her to make all the sacrifices.
When Sebastian covered her with his coat, she wanted to close her eyes and drift away again. But letting him take care of her somehow weakened her resistance to him.
Forcing herself to return his coat, she sat up. “No, it’ll be quicker if we both go. You must be tired, too.”
“Jane-”
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “You’ve got your copy of Malcolm’s picture?”
“Listen to me. Running yourself ragged isn’t going to help.”
She arched her eyebrows at him. “I can do it if you can.”
His lips were compressed in a straight, unhappy line. “Suit yourself.”
As soon as they passed into the casino, Jane looked for the security guard she’d met earlier, but she couldn’t find him. No doubt his shift had ended.
Sebastian touched her arm. “You take that side, I’ll take this one.”
Hoping she was doing it subtly enough, she stepped out of reach. The attraction she felt grew stronger when they stood close together. “Okay.”
“Maybe you should get a cup of coffee first.”
“Are you kidding? Then I’ll be up for the rest of the night. This won’t take long.”
She strode purposefully off, but when she glanced over her shoulder to see if he’d done the same, he was still standing there, watching her. “What?”
“Nothing,” he muttered and disappeared into the crowd.
Covering a yawn, Jane headed to the closest table, which turned out to be a blackjack table. She’d been to so many casinos and spoken to so many people, she expected another negative response. But this time when she flashed Malcolm’s picture, she saw immediate recognition on the dealer’s face.
“Yeah, I know him,” he said while someone cut the deck. “He used to come in all the time.”
Like magic, her exhaustion disappeared. “Have you seen him tonight?”
“No, not for a while. Several weeks.”
“When does he normally come in?”
Obviously feeling some pressure to get back to work, he looked uncomfortably at the people waiting for him to deal. “He done something wrong?”
He had only a few seconds. She had to convince him to reveal what he knew before he brushed her off. “He might’ve kidnapped two teenage girls.”
The dealer whistled and shrugged off his hesitation. “Comes in late, usually on the weekends when it’s crowded.”