Mallory Kane - The Heart of Brody McQuade

“Well, I’ve had about enough of this latest media circus. I’m seriously considering moving.”

“I know. This whole year has been so bizarre. Do you realize that three people we know have died in the past eight months?”

“Three? Oh—you mean starting with Kimberly.”

Caroline paused infinitesimally. “Yes, and all three were such tragedies.”

An eerie chill spread through Victoria. “Sometimes I wonder—”

“If there’s a connection? Me, too.”

Victoria heard her sigh. “Caroline, Kimberly’s death wasn’t your fault.”

“I was driving, and Kimberly didn’t have her seat belt on. There are two people who are certain it was my fault. Lieutenant Brody McQuade and me.”

“It was tragic, but it certainly wasn’t your fault. The only person at fault was the driver who ran away from the scene.”

“I’m the only one who can say what happened, and I have no idea,” Caroline said. “Until I can remember what happened…”

“Still nothing?”

“Zero. Zilch. Nada . I’d always heard about amnesia, but I guess I never really believed someone could actually have zero memory of something that happened to them. And yet here I am, living proof.”

Victoria heard the chimes of her intercom. “Now there’s someone at the door. Looks like I’m the most popular person in Cantara Hills this morning.” She’d tried to make her voice light, but knew she’d failed.

“Don’t let them get you down. Are you going to work?”

“Planning to. I’m sure not staying here all day.”

The chimes rang again. “I’d better go. It might be Lieutenant McQuade, wanting to harass me some more.” Her words were sarcastic, but deep inside, Victoria felt a twinge of anticipation.

What the heck was wrong with her? Did she actually want to see Brody again? Want to experience that sense of safety and power again? Last night he’d filled her apartment with his comforting presence.

“Victoria, if you need to talk or if you just want to get a drink or have lunch or something, let me know.”

Victoria thanked her and hung up. She looked down at herself. She was still in the ivory gown and black-and-red kimono. She started toward the intercom, reaching to turn on the security camera’s monitor.

But before she got to it a ping announced the arrival of the elevators. She recoiled.

Who…? Nobody but the manager had a master access card capable of sending the elevator to the penthouse. She clutched her kimono together at the neck and waited, paralyzed with fear, as the doors slid open.

Chapter Three

It was him . Brody McQuade. He stepped into her foyer looking like a poster for the Texas Rangers in dress khakis, a crisp white shirt, shiny badge on his chest and the signature fawn-colored Stetson held in his left hand. The only thing missing was a tooled-leather holster.

She met his gaze and saw that he was eyeing her clothing just like she’d eyed his.

His brows rose. “Morning, Ms. Kirkland. I didn’t mean to get you out of bed.”

Victoria’s hand tightened at her neck. “How…what…how did you get up here?”

He held up a plastic card. “Master. From the manager.” Was that a twinkle in his eye? It couldn’t have been. Brody’s dark eyes weren’t the twinkling kind.

“Mark Patterson is not supposed to give anyone access to the penthouse.”

Brody didn’t comment.

She narrowed her gaze suspiciously. “I wasn’t in bed. I’m being deluged with phone calls. Apparently everyone in San Antonio knows about last night.”

“Deluged?”

Dear heavens, it was a twinkle. Victoria felt her chest tighten in anger. He thought she was funny?

She propped her fists on her hips, then noticed what that did to her kimono. So she wrapped it around her again and crossed her arms tightly. “Two people have called already and now you’re here.”

“I see what you mean by deluged.”

He nodded solemnly, but Victoria knew sarcasm when she heard it. She ignored it. “I thought the media had to have permission to use victims’ names.”

“You’re the attorney. You ought to know.”

“What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”

“I’m canvassing the tenants about their access cards. Whoever attacked you must have had a card, because there was no unauthorized access. No breach of the system, either.”

“Well, that should be easy. Who used their cards last night?”

“I’m waiting for the manager to get me a printout.”

“So you want to see my card?”

“Thought I’d start at the top.”

“Could you give me a minute to dress?”

His gaze flickered. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll go back down to the lobby and wait.”

“Come inside, Lieutenant. There’s no reason for you to wait downstairs.” She excused herself and went upstairs for the first time since the police had left the night before. Her bedroom was still a wreck from the CSIs.

Victoria dressed quickly, averting her eyes from the stripped bed, the misarranged furniture and the fine film of fingerprint dust that covered every surface.

When she came back down, Brody wasn’t in the foyer and the elevator doors were closed. Had he left? Gone down to the lobby to wait, after all?

“Lieutenant?” she called, suddenly nervous. The penthouse was huge, ridiculously large for one person. For the first time since she’d moved in she felt small and vulnerable. “Lieutenant? Brody?”

“In here.”

The kitchen. She followed his voice across the quarry tile to the open door that led into her walk-in pantry, laundry room and trash bin. Brody was examining the door to the hallway.

“I wanted to see where the perp got in.”

“That’s the fire-escape door. The stairs are just to the left.”

“And your penthouse card works in this door, too. My master does.”

“Yes.”

“Who comes in this way?”

“No one.”

“How do you handle trash, recycling, laundry?”

“I set the trash and the recycling out this door and Maintenance picks it up. I do my own laundry.”

“Where do the stairs go?”

“All the way down to the basement, I think. But Maintenance takes the elevator to the third floor, then walks up the fire stairs. They never come inside.”

“Maintenance doesn’t have a card for the penthouse?”

“No. That’s why I put my trash out myself.”

He gave her a hard look, then went back to studying the door. “There’s no sign of forced entry. The perp had to have a master card or one that accesses the penthouse.”

“I have never given anyone a card,” she said sharply.

Brody took a pen-size flashlight out of his pocket and examined the door. “What about these dead bolts? They look like the original locks.”

“They are. These condos were built in the late seventies. That’s why there’s a guardhouse. The guard would operate the gate to let the tenants in.”

“Do you have a key to the dead bolt?”

“Yes, but I think I’m the only one.”

“The only one. Why’s that?”

“Well, other than the staff. I’ve never paid much attention. But it seems like I’ve heard the housekeepers rattling keys.”

“So if the staff have a key, how can you be sure they don’t come in?”

“They’d have to use the card and the key to get into the penthouse. This is the only apartment that requires an electronic card to get in.”

“What about the other tenants? Zelke, Briggs?”

Victoria shook her head. “Their cards are for the gate and the lobby door. Oh, and their keys didn’t fit each other’s locks.”

“How do you know that?”

“They told me. Because they were guys, they tried the keys.”