Karen Rose - Die for Me

“What happened? Last night we were talking and you were smiling, then I asked if you wanted to get a pizza and you got mad. I want to understand why.”

“Maybe I just didn’t want to have dinner with you.”

“No. If looks could have killed, I would have dropped dead on the spot. I’d like to know why. And I’d like to know why I’m Detective now when I was Vito last night.”

She huffed a flat laugh. He sounded so victimized. “You guys really are all the same, aren’t you? Look, Vito , I’m sorry your ego got bruised, but it’s time you learned that not all women are going to fall at your feet. I’ll get you the information, as quickly as I can. But not because of you, so get that straight now.” She took a step, then stopped. He was still standing there, his dark eyes snapping with anger and suddenly the questions she’d asked herself too many times demanded answers.

“Tell me, Vito. When you’re on the make, do you think about the woman at home?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, each word deliberately spaced.

“Then I guess the answer is no. What about the target? Do you think she’s stupid, that she’ll never find out that she’s only a conquest? Do you think the woman at home will never find out that she’s being betrayed?”

“I don’t know where you get your information, but I have no woman at home. ”

She stomped her foot. “The ‘woman at home’ is a metaphor. It means you’re taken. ”

His expression didn’t change. “I have no one, Sophie.”

She held his gaze. “So those roses in your truck… weren’t yours?”

His eyes flickered. He opened his mouth, but this time no words emerged.

She smiled, but not nicely. Turning on her heel, she walked the rest of the way to the museum without interruption. But when she got to the door she saw his reflection in the window. He stood where she’d left him, watching her go. Just like the night before.

Monday, January 15, 2:15

P.M.

Vito slumped in the passenger seat, ignoring Nick’s curious stare. “Just drive.”

Nick pulled away from the curb into traffic. “Where to?”

“Let’s go to the morgue. Jen should have sent a few more in by now.”

“Happy, happy, joy, joy,” Nick muttered. He was silent for several minutes as Vito stared out the window, thinking about knights and torture… and roses.

“We could contact another professor,” Nick finally said quietly. “Other universities have archeology programs. I checked it out on the Web last night.”

“You checked lots of stuff on the Web last night,” Vito returned, and even he could hear the animosity in his voice. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. The house is too quiet,” Nick murmured. “I always hated the way Josie would stay up all night with her music blaring, but now that she’s gone… I miss it.”

Vito turned only his head to study his partner. “Do you miss her?”

“I know she cheated, and I know it makes me a fool. But yeah. I miss her.”

It was an open door, Vito knew. Nick didn’t like talking about his private life. That he’d been duped by his ex-wife for so long was an especially sore spot. But he’d opened the door so that Vito could talk.

“She saw the roses.”

Nick winced. “Sheee-it.”

“Yeah. That about sums it up.”

“Did you tell her who the roses were for?”

“That would have been too logical.” Vito huffed a disgusted sigh. “No, I didn’t. I couldn’t. So she thought the worst. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“What a crock of bullshit. Vito, do you like her?”

“Don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, of course. Even if she does speak Occitan, whatever the hell that is. She’s funny and cute and…” He shrugged with a rueful grin.

“Hot,” Vito supplied morosely.

“That ’bout sums it up. But more importantly, she might be able to help us with this case.” He glanced over, serious again. “So even if you don’t want to explore her personally, tell her the truth so we can use her ‘basic knowledge.’”

“I don’t want to tell her the truth.” I don’t want to tell anybody the truth.

“Then make up a damn good lie, because if we end up having to pay another expert, Liz’ll want to know why. And I’m not taking your whoopin’, Chick.”

Vito gritted his teeth. Of course Nick was right. A free resource was too valuable to let get away for personal reasons. “Fine. I’ll stop by the museum tomorrow.”

“Better do it tonight. I’ve got to go to court tomorrow, so you’ll be on your own.”

Vito blinked in surprise. “Did I know about this?”

“I told you twice and sent you a memo. You’ve been distracted this week.”

By Andrea. Vito blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. So why are you in court?”

Nick’s jaw tightened. “Diane Siever.”

Vito winced. Diane had been a thirteen-year-old Delaware girl who’d gone missing three years before. Nick had been the unlucky cop to stumble across her body during a raid on a heroin ring when he’d still been Vice. “Do you still get cards from her folks?”

Nick swallowed hard. “Every damn Christmas. I wish they weren’t so grateful.”

“You gave her parents closure. At least they know. I can’t imagine not knowing.”

“I can’t imagine sitting in a courtroom watching the sorry asshole that murdered your daughter strutting up to the stand like a damn peacock.” Nick’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the wheel. “Damn DA deals. Every time I think they’re on our side, they go and deal a murderer. Makes me sick.”

The “sorry asshole,” a junkie with track marks on his track marks had rolled on his partner, an up-and-coming local drug lord. The DA had wanted the drug lord more than the junkie and had dealt him down. “Which DA made the deal?”

“Lopez.” Nick nearly spat the name.

Vito frowned. “Maggy Lopez? Our Maggy Lopez?”

“One and the same.”

Maggy Lopez was a recent addition to Liz Sawyer’s homicide team, but every time she drew one of their cases, Nick had let Vito handle the communications. Now that made sense. “You never said word one about her before.”

Nick just shrugged angrily. “I shouldn’t have this time. Call the lab and see if they got anything on Keyes’s computer.”

“Okay.” Vito’s call was answered by Jeff Rosenburg. “You guys have a chance to look at that computer we took from Warren Keyes’s residence this morning?”

“Dream on, Chick. We’ve got a line out the door.” Jeff always said that.

“Can you look? It’s important.”

“Important,” Jeff finished with him sarcastically. “What isn’t? Hold on…” A minute later he was back. “You lucked out, Chick.” Jeff always said that, too. “We got to it, but only because one of the techs is working on a special drive-wiping project.”

“So you’re saying Keyes’s drive was wiped?”

“Not totally. It takes a lot to totally wipe a drive, but enough is gone to make it a challenge. The method was very elegant.” Jeff sounded impressed. “It was a virus, delivered through your vic’s e-mail. But it was timed.”

“Like a sleeper?”

“Just like. The tech is still trying to piece together the code to find out how long the virus stayed hidden before leaping to life and gobbling your vic’s files. We’ll call you if we come up with anything more.”

Vito snapped his phone shut thoughtfully. “Wiped,” he said. “But elegantly.” He told Nick what Jeff had said. “So we have a sadistic OCD killer who digs graves with military precision, who has a sick medieval obsession, and who is a computer wizard.”