Part 11 (1/2)

Shead fill him in on the interviews later.

She climbed into her car and headed into town, zooming into a drive-through for some much-needed caffeine. Roman was waiting for her in the lobby of the bank building.

aWhereas Dante?a he asked.

She shrugged. aNot joining us on this one. Iall catch him up to speed later on.a aOkay. So thereas a law firm that takes up the entire third floor. Two a.s.sociates were working last night atil about two in the morning.a She walked alongside Roman toward the elevator. aThird floor would give them a good view. Who else?a aSome corporate jock, head of a marketing firm on the fifth floor. He was here until past midnight. His offices only front the north side of the building, though.a She nodded. aOkay. Weall talk to the corporate jock just in case, but I doubt heall be of any use. Iam primarily interested in the attorneys. Are they clocked in now?a aYeah. I checked at the front desk when I got here.a She lifted her phone. It was almost eleven-thirty. d.a.m.n, she really had gotten some sleep.

Dante had also called her. Twice. She hadnat answered, instead sent him a text that she was running down some leads and shead get back with him later.

Roth, Llewelyn and Macy was a typical law firm. All expensive wood paneling and quirky architecture as the elevator doors opened. Fresh flowers flanked the reception desk, along with the attractive young blonde sitting behind it.

aMay I help you?a she asked.

Anna flashed her badge. aI need to see Margaret Atkinson and Larry Stevens.a She lifted her nose a couple inches in the air. aDo you have an appointment?a aNo,a she said.

aThen may I ask what this is regarding?a aNo, you may not. But you can pick up your phone and tell them this is police business and they can hustle their a.s.ses out here, or we can do this down at the station.a The girlas eyes widened. aOne moment, please.a It didnat take long to get a response. But instead of the two a.s.sociates she got an older guy with slightly graying hair and a very expensive suit.

aIam Roger Macy, one of the senior partners of this firm. Can I help you?a aDetective Anna Pallino of the St. Louis Police Department. Weare investigating a murder that occurred in the alley last night. We understand two of your a.s.sociates were working late last night and would like to speak to them to ascertain if they saw anything.a aAh, yes. We heard about the murder in the alley behind this building. Two of them so far, right?a aThatas correct.a aWas it someone who worked in this building?a aNo, sir. The victims are unrelated to the tenants here.a aAll right. Let me gather my a.s.sociates in the conference room. Do you mind if Iam present for the questioning?a aNot at all.a Lawyers. Anna looked to Roman, who shrugged.

They were led to the conference room and instructed to wait. The room was stark white, no pictures on the walls. It had a long, smooth cherry table and a ton of comfortable chairs, a credenza on either side and a stellar view of the alley through the wide windows.

aGood view of the Dumpster,a Anna said.

aNot sure what you could see in the dark.a Roman pressed his nose to the gla.s.s.

Anna looked over his shoulder. aDoubtful someone would be looking out that way. But maybe they heard something and looked down. Plus, thereas a light over the Dumpster area. Weall see.a They turned when the door opened. Macy came in with a man and a woman, both in their late twenties, good-looking. Both looked nervous, though the guy pressed his hand to the small of the womanas back as if to comfort her.

Hmm.

She was pretty, with long, dark blond hair pulled up in a sleek ponytail. She wore a pencil skirt and a nondescript white silk blouse. He was in a gray suit, impeccably tailored.

Macy introduced them both.

aHave a seat. This isnat an interrogation,a Anna said. aWe know you were both working late last night, and a murder occurred outside in the alley behind this building.a Margaret Atkinson nodded. aWe heard the sirens while we were working, then saw it on the news this morning.a aYes. We were wondering which offices you were working in.a aHere in the conference room,a Larry said. aWeare working on the same case. Trialas coming up, so weare reviewing depositions and witness lists and preparing pretrial motions.a aDid you at any time have cause to look out the window here?a Margaret looked at Larry, then shook her head. aNo, we pretty much stayed at the table the entire time.a aWe have a deadline,a Larry added after watching Margaret while she spoke. aWe didnat leave the conference room.a aIt was a late night and we had a lot of paperwork to do,a Margaret said.

aYou didnat hear anything unusual outside?a Anna asked.

aNo. We were wrapped up inathe case,a Margaret said, her nervous gaze darting to Larry. aWe didnat hear a thing. Until the sirens, of course.a Larry offered a serious look. aWeare very focused. A bomb could go off and we wouldnat have heard it. We didnat leave our chairs, until as Margaret said, we heard the police arrive.a aWe went downstairs then to see what was going on,a Margaret said, abut they wouldnat let us pa.s.s because they already had the police tape up.a aAt that point we figured we should get out of everyoneas way, plus we had to be here early this morning, so we wrapped things up and headed out,a Larry added.

aWhat time was that?a Anna asked.

aAround two,a Larry said.

Anna remained silent, wondering if either would add anything.

Larry looked from Margaret to their boss. aWe have the paperwork prepared if youad like to check it all over.a Macy waved his hand. aUnnecessary.a aHow long were you in this room?a Anna asked. aHours.a aMost of the night,a Margaret said, her gaze once again flitting to Larry before coming back to Anna and Roman. aFrom the time the office closed until we left. We ordered takeout to be delivered. I thinkaLarry, you have the receipts for that?a aI do.a aMotions had to be filed this morning,a Margaret said. aSo we stayed and worked through the night until we were finished.a aUh-huh.a aDetectives,a Mr. Macy said, aIam sure you can tell my a.s.sociates didnat see or hear anything.a They were getting nowhere. Anna pulled her card. aPlease do your best to try to remember everything from last night. Even the smallest detail could be of use. An unusual sound, anything that seemed out of the ordinary or may have caught your attention, even if it was for only a few seconds. If you got up to glance out the window and you saw anything that springs to mind, give me a call.a aThey certainly will, Detective,a Macy said, sliding her card across the table and slipping it into his coat pocket.

She thanked them and they left the office.

As soon as they hit the elevator and the door closed, Anna turned to Roman.

aWorking on briefs, my a.s.s. Maybe she was in his briefs.a aAgreed,a Roman said. aThe only thing they saw in that conference room was each other. The killer could have hung a body outside the window and they wouldnat have noticed.a Anna wrinkled her nose. Crude, but accurate as far as the witnesses. aYeah, pretty useless. The two of them were skirting glances back and forth like crazy. I think they were more afraid of the boss finding out theyad been boinking all night instead of working.a The corporate dude on the other floor was a bust, too. His office fronted the street instead of the alley. Head only worked until about eleven, had parked on the street side and he hadnat seen or heard a thing.

Useless. They were due for a break, and soon.

Thirteen.

Dante was parked in front when Anna drove past the precinct, so she parked on the street and walked up toward him.

He leaned against his car, arms crossed, his expression unfathomable behind his mirrored shades. Did he have to look so impossibly s.e.xy in his worn jeans and tight T-s.h.i.+rt?

Women pa.s.sing by on the street paused, looked over their shoulders and ogled. And why wouldnat they? He was gorgeous. Well worth a second look. Even a third.

She wanted to kick them for ogling, which was ludicrous. He wasnat hers. She had no claim on him. She didnat know what p.i.s.sed her off morea”the women staring or her irritation over it.

He seemed to be oblivious to the stares he got, his attention fully on her.

aWhat are you doing here?a she asked, deciding to ignore his rock-G.o.d status from the sidewalk groupies mentally dragging their tongues over him.

aFigured youad show up here eventually.a He pushed off the car and came toward her.

aIam surprised you didnat use your supercomputer to figure out my whereabouts.a aI could have, but no point. You were with Roman.a aHow did you know that?a aI called him when I woke up and saw you werenat there. He told me you were meeting him.a aSmart-a.s.s,a she said, starting up the steps. aYou talk to my captain yet?a aAs a matter of fact, we had donuts and coffee together this morning.a She stopped, pivoted on the steps to face him. aYou did not.a The corners of his mouth lifted. aDid, too. He likes me. Actually, he really likes me since I brought him donuts.a Captain Pohanski was a d.i.c.k. He didnat like anyone. He didnat appreciate his precinct messed with. And he especially didnat like the FBI, who he often referred to as a bunch of inept, interfering a.s.s wipes.

aI can guarantee Pohanski doesnat like you.a aIf you say so.a He waited for her to turn and go inside.

aYouare bulls.h.i.+tting me.a He dragged his sungla.s.ses down the bridge of his nose and gave her a look with those baby blues of his that melted her to the steps.

aYou going in or not?a he asked.

She turned and went inside, grateful the air-conditioning was in prime working order today. Between the heat, the way he looked and those steamy looks he was giving her, she was hot. Plenty hot.

aPallino.a She cringed at the sound of Captain Pohanskias bellow. aYes, sir.a aGet in here.a She lifted her gaze to Danteas, who took a seat at the chair next to her desk and stretched out his legs. aIall just wait here.a aYou do that.a She took a slow walk toward the captainas office.

Pohanski was a short round Pillsbury Doughboy of a man, with a ruddy complexion and jowls. His s.h.i.+fty, narrow eyes made him look more like a criminal than a cop. He was also a d.a.m.n fine police officer who knew his s.h.i.+t. He had thirty years of perfect service under his belt and ran his precinct loosely, preferring to let his cops do their jobs rather than keeping his thumb on top of them. But you never, ever wanted to be called into his office, because if you got caught on his radar, you got an a.s.s chewing you never forgot.

What the h.e.l.l had Dante gone and done?

aShut the door.a Oh, h.e.l.l.

She did, and moved in front of his desk, which looked as if it had been burglarized. There were crumpled notes, Post-its everywherea”Pohanski didnat believe in technologya”pencils, two empty coffee cups, a mountain of files, one dusty desktop computer that wasnat turned on and about fifteen note pads.

aThis murder investigation youare working? The two dead in the alley?a aYes, sir.a aA real cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k.a aYes, sir.a aCould be a serial.a aItas looking that way.a aAny particular reason you havenat filled me in about it lately?a aI was on my way to do that when you called me in, sir.a aUh-huh.a He tapped the pencil on the quarter of an inch of desktop that was visible. aSo this Dante Renaldi, the FBI agent thatas insinuated himself into the case.a aYes, sir. About thataa aSharp sonofab.i.t.c.h. Iam a little p.i.s.sed off about the government bureaucracy and the fact that heas pushed himself onto this case, but he explained about George Clemons and Jeff Barrone and his relations.h.i.+p to them. In his shoes, Iad do the same thing. I hate the FBI and all their bulls.h.i.+t, but I like him.a Annaas fumbling excuses for Dante got caught at the back of her throat. aSir?a aKeep him close to you.a Pohanski looked down and started scribbling notes onto one of his pads.

That was it?

aUh, Iall do that. Thanks.a She turned to make a hasty exit.