Morgan Hayes - Falling For Him

“Detective Parrish.” His greeting had a questioning lilt.

“Hey, Marty. How’s it going?”

“Good.” He touched the brim of his cap and then eyed Gavin.

“This is Detective Monaghan. He’s in charge.”

“Oh.”

“Can you tell us what we’ve got? Or is it a surprise today?”

“Nah. No surprises. Looks like a shooting,” he said. “Maybe a burglary gone wrong. Who knows? That’s your job, Detective.”

“Do we have a name on our victim?”

“Early-morning cleaning staff found him. They verify it’s James Silver. Runs a PI business.” He pointed to the Silver Investigations sign in the only lit window on the first floor.

Claudia nodded slowly, muttering a thank-you, and started for the doors. James Silver. A numbness came over her. She struggled to cover the reaction, but it didn’t work.

Gavin put a hand on her arm, stopping her in the foyer. “What is it, Claudia? You okay?”

She straightened her shoulders. “Yeah. Of course. I’m fine.”

“Do you know this guy? James Silver?”

She looked down the hall to the sign over the PI’s door.

“Claudia?” he prompted her again.

“Yeah,” she said at last, and headed toward the open doorway. “Yeah, I know him.”

“CLAUDIA, WAIT.” Gavin put his hand on her shoulder and spun her around to face him.

Almost immediately he regretted doing so. The second she lifted her gaze to meet his, Gavin felt as though the corridor had suddenly become too narrow. She stood close enough that he caught the residual traces of her perfume. He’d smelled it in the car, as well—something seductively intimate, with the slightest hint of jasmine. But at least while driving, he hadn’t been challenged by the added allure of staring directly into those captivating gray-green eyes.

Those same eyes had caught him by surprise when she’d first looked at him, back at headquarters. Sure, he’d studied the photo in her file: he’d stared at it for the past five weeks—a newspaper clipping taken from the Baltimore Sun two years ago when she’d been presented with the Maryland Officer of the Year award.

The faded black-and-white photo hadn’t done justice to the vibrant golden highlights in her hair or the glow of her perfect skin. But in the picture, Claudia had been smiling, and in the weeks he had studied her file, Gavin had imagined seeing that lush smile in person. Instead, there was concern on her face; it furrowed lines across her forehead and tightened her mouth as she gazed up at him.

“What is it?” she asked.

“This guy Silver. You know him?”

“I told you, yes.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be here then.”

“If it’s a conflict of interest you’re worried about, Gavin, forget it. I met the man a couple of times, but haven’t seen him since January. He was an acquaintance at best.”

Gavin wondered if the subtle twitch at the corner of her right eye indicated a lie. “You’re sure about this?”

“I’m sure. Now are you coming in or do I have to conduct your investigation?”

She slipped her arm from his grasp, and her trench coat whirled in the air behind her as she turned once more. Gavin watched her and wondered how it was that someone who stood barely five foot five in heels could command such presence.

It shouldn’t have surprised him though, he thought. After all, her file was chock-full of commendations and an endless stream of laudatory reviews from her sergeants, past and present. And besides the award, there had been the bronze star four years ago. Gavin had been impressed from the moment his lieutenant had handed him her file back in the Internal Affairs offices.

“Okay, guys, what have we got?” Claudia’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

He watched her pull a notepad and pen from her pocket and then just as quickly shove them back in, obviously remembering her role as the secondary detective on the scene.

“This is Detective Monaghan.” She gestured an introduction. “He’s the primary, so any details you’ve got go to him.”

She wasn’t liking this one bit, Gavin decided. It wasn’t her case, she wasn’t in control, and she hated that fact. Frustration appeared to stiffen her stance.

But when she stood over the victim, Claudia’s expression softened. In his years on patrol, then in Narcotics and finally Internal Affairs, Gavin had seen his share of violent deaths. It struck him now, however, that he’d never worked one with a woman. As Claudia studied the body of James Silver, a look of compassion seemed to wash over her face. It was a look rarely seen on the faces of seasoned detectives, and Gavin couldn’t help wondering if there was, in fact, more to her relationship with Silver than she’d admitted.

She hadn’t clarified the context in which she knew the private investigator. And then, as Gavin scanned the PI’s office, he saw the Baltimore Police cap on one bookshelf and the framed academy diploma on the wall.

He joined her, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Tell me how you know this guy.”

“This isn’t the time, Gavin.” Her response was barely audible, her focus never leaving the body crumpled in the corner amid a scattering of files.

“He was a cop. Did you work with him?”

She didn’t respond.

“Because if you worked with him, you know Sarge will have to take you off—”

She turned on him, a flare of impatience in her eyes as her whisper sharpened. “I told you, I hardly knew him. Now, are you going to take charge here, or do I have to?”

“Fine.” He withdrew his own notebook from his pocket, flipped to a fresh page and clicked his pen. “I want you to start by getting the report from the responding officer, and then arrange for an initial canvass of the area. After that, I need you to interview the custodial staff. Talk to whoever found him, see what they know about his hours, if they saw or heard anything. Do you think you can handle that, Detective Parrish?”

It was clear Claudia hadn’t expected him to take such swift authority. She stared at him for a moment, and Gavin wondered if it was a smile that tugged at the corner of her lips instead of the indignation he’d expected.

Then she gave him a subtle nod. “That’s more like it, Detective Monaghan.”

THE MEDICAL EXAMINER HAD removed Silver’s body at six o’clock, and by seven the crime-scene technicians appeared to have breakfast in mind as they hurried to wrap up their work. She and Gavin had been on the scene for close to two hours now, and throughout Claudia had watched him. She couldn’t deny that she was impressed.

Gavin’s command of the scene had been almost immediate. As Claudia had spoken to the responding officer and waited for him to write up his report, Gavin had stood over Silver’s body for the longest time, both hands buried deep in the pockets of his trench coat. At first, Claudia had wondered if perhaps he’d forgotten his past work. Then she’d seen how carefully his gaze scrutinized the area, locking on details, assessing the surroundings, studying the position and condition of the body, until he’d finally moved on to talk to the ME at length.

Obviously a one-year stint chauffeuring the brass around had not robbed him of his experience. The investigation was in capable hands. And yet, if there had been any way for her to take the case, Claudia would have jumped at the opportunity.

From the moment she’d heard James Silver’s name, she’d wanted this one. She hadn’t lied to Gavin about knowing James Silver, about meeting him. It had been only twice, but Silver had been more than the “acquaintance” she’d told Gavin he was. He’d been a good friend of Frank’s, and his partner on patrol years ago in the Eastern District. It had been a decade since Silver had worn a uniform, yet his friendship with Frank had remained loyal.