Brian Freeman - The Voice Inside

“I’m sorry, Frost, I can’t imagine why he came after Nina. Believe me, I’ve racked my brain all these years to think of something. Nina never hurt anybody. She was just a sweet, decent soul.”

“Tell me more about her birthday,” Frost said. “What was the day like at the coffee shop?”

Tabby stroked her fingers through her deep red hair with both hands. “It was fun. I got her balloons, and we tied those up everywhere. She wore a big crown all day, because it was her day, and she was the queen. She was wearing some big buttons on her T-shirt that she’d made from old photos of herself. Her high school grad photo. Me and her in her bedroom getting ready for a party. All of her siblings at Christmas. She kept singing, too. ‘Happy birthday to me.’”

“What did the customers think about this?” Frost asked.

“Most of them got into it. Nina got some great tips. The men sure liked it. She was showing off the buttons on her shirt, and let’s just say Nina had a lot more to show off under there than me.”

“Nobody got upset?”

“Not that I remember.”

Frost shook his head. He’d been to that coffee shop in the Ferry Building dozens of times. It was small. If you sat at the counter, the baristas were right in front of you. Cutter would have had plenty of time to study Nina Flores close-up while he drank his latte. The young woman would have had plenty of time to brag to him about her birthday. It was a half hour that had changed both of their lives. He just didn’t know why.

“Do Nina’s parents still live nearby?” Frost asked. “I want to talk to them.”

“Yes, they’re in the same little house on Silver Avenue they’ve owned for years. My parents had a place one block over, but they retired up in Oregon a couple years ago. I haven’t seen Mr. and Mrs. Flores for a while now. I don’t know if they’ll be at the support group this weekend or not.”

“Okay.”

“I’m sorry, Frost, I wish I could be more help.”

“No, I appreciate it, Tabby,” he said. “And thanks for the other thing, too.”

“For what?”

“Being a mediator between me and Duane. We need it sometimes. Stubborn Easton boys and all.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that,” Tabby said.

They were silent for a moment in the chilly air. He heard the noise of trucks on 101 behind them. Her cheeks were pink. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the ground. He felt oddly awkward around her, but he was rescued by a chime from his phone. It was a text message from Jess.

Need to see you right away.

“I have to go,” Frost said.

“Of course. I understand.” Tabby turned toward the food truck, but then she looked back at him with a curious smile and a toss of her red hair. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“I know I’m putting you on the spot, but I was hoping you could tell me if I’m making a horrible mistake. With Duane, I mean.”

“Why would you think that?” Frost asked.

Tabby rolled her eyes. “Your brother is a great guy, but he doesn’t exactly have a reliable track record when it comes to relationships.”

“You’re right about that. All I can tell you, Tabby, is that Duane seems different around you than with other girls.”

“Yeah, maybe. That’s what he says, too. I like him, but I don’t want to get serious with someone who’s not capable of being serious. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I get it.”

“When I fall in love, I fall hard and fast. That’s why I’m careful about what I get myself into.”

Frost weighed his words and then said, “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re making a mistake. Not about how Duane feels.”

She stared at him, as if trying to decide whether he was simply telling her what she wanted to hear. Then she closed the distance between them again and kissed him softly on the cheek. When she was done, she wiped away the smudge of her lipstick. Her eyes didn’t know where to look.

“Thank you, Frost.”

At that moment, he felt a sudden chemistry with her that took him by surprise. He wasn’t looking for it, he didn’t want it, but there it was.

When Frost rang the bell at Jess’s apartment, she answered the door with a knife in her hand. He put up his arms in mock surrender. After she saw that he was alone, she opened the door wider and put the knife down on a table by the entry. He nudged past her.

“Taking no chances?” he asked.

“No.”

“Well, that’s smart.”

Jess locked the door behind him. He’d been to her apartment many times before. It wasn’t fancy; she didn’t waste time or money on frills. She could eat, sleep, watch TV, and work on a computer here, but not much else. The white walls were mostly empty. She’d lived in this apartment since she and Captain Hayden had divorced almost two years earlier, but it wasn’t really a home. The only home Jess had was at work. He didn’t know how she was going to adjust to the idea of not being a cop.

“Did anyone see you?” she asked.

“No. If Hayden was watching you, he’s pulled his surveillance. And the media gets bored easily.”

“Guess I’m already old news,” Jess said.

Without asking, Jess went to the kitchen to get him a beer. Frost let himself out onto her second-floor balcony. It was small, and she hadn’t decorated it with ferns or flowers like the other apartments near her. She had two uncomfortable chairs, and he sat in one of them and put his feet on the railing. The apartment looked out on the alley at the back of the building and the green cliff leading up to Chestnut Street.

Jess joined him, handing him a bottle. She leaned her strong arms on the railing and stared into the darkness.

“Did you talk to your lawyer?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“She says perjury is a serious felony,” Jess said.

“No kidding.”

“Yeah. She’s trying to do a plea bargain. A judge could give me four years, but she thinks we can get it down to a year. It depends on whether the DA wants to make an example of me. ‘We won’t tolerate bad behavior by the cops.’ That sort of thing. He probably has to have his political people do a poll first.”

“Nobody wants them to come down hard on you, Jess. Inside or outside the department.”

“We’ll see.”

He got out of the chair and stood beside her. He took a drink of his beer and then put the bottle on the concrete next to him.

“I picked up the research materials from Eden Shay,” he told her. “I’m starting to review them. She talked to a lot of people. I’m hoping there may be something in her notes.”

“You want me to look at them, too? Off the record?”

“No, I can handle it,” Frost said.

“Okay. Whatever.”

“By the way, Eden knows we slept together.”

Jess didn’t look surprised. “I don’t care if people know. Do you?”

“No. Not anymore.”

She dug in the pocket of her jeans and extracted a pack of cigarettes. She lit one and blew smoke off the balcony. Then she stared at him from behind her bangs. “Want to do it again?”

“Me and you? I thought we decided that was a bad idea.”

“I’m not your boss anymore.”

His body stirred at memories of the two of them together. With Jess, it was never about making love. It was sex, fast and furious. He could spend an hour in bed with her, and there would be no strings, and they would both be satisfied. He was tempted, but it was still a bad idea.

She saw the rejection in his face, and she looked away and continued to suck on her cigarette. “Well, I’m having a hell of a month.”

“Your text said you needed to see me.”