The Watched (CSI Reilly Steel #4) Page 5

  Reilly took a deep breath and then stepped inside, pushing away her misgivings about getting involved in something that was really none of her business. She would do this. For Daniel, and for the grieving mother in his arms, she would do this.

  Going straight into work mode, she began to look at it like just another job. First things first – most people are killed by someone they know. Careful not to touch anything she didn’t need to, Reilly began her perusal.

  She’d seen the bulletin board of pictures across from the door when she’d first entered, but she ignored them for now. If she immediately went there, she might miss something important. Instead, she went to the right and slowly walked the perimeter of the room, taking in everything.

  Holly’s room was small, neat but not obsessively so. Her dresser was cluttered with what one would expect from a young woman in her mid-twenties. Some make-up, jewelry, a few odds and ends.

  The closet floor was a bit more cluttered, about a dozen shoes scattered about haphazardly. The clothes hanging up were fashionable but not expensive. The bed was rumpled, the sheet and blanket tossed back over it but not tucked in. Her pillow was crooked; the smiley face on the pillow case appeared to be watching the rose-printed wallpaper. A pair of cute pale green pajamas lay in a ball at the foot of the bed.

  Reilly turned to face the bulletin board she’d first noticed. It was less than a foot square and covered with thumbtacked pictures. She paused, noting the positioning of each one. She didn’t need Daniel to remind her that the pictures of most importance were typically placed on the top, overlapping others.

  There were three pictures that Reilly figured were the girl’s favorites. One was of a pre-teen Holly with her mother and a blond man who Reilly assumed was her father. The second was of Holly, her mother and Daniel at Holly’s high school graduation, which she found curious. Where was the father on such a big occasion?

  The one in the center – and the most important, Reilly guessed – was of Holly with a smiling blond guy who looked to be about the same age. Their arms were around each other’s waists, body language implying they were more than just friends.

  As she headed back into the living room, Reilly made a mental list of the items the investigators would want to ask for: the picture of the mystery guy, any new jewelry, and the dress purse that Reilly had seen hanging in the closet.

  The CSI team would need to more thoroughly search the room for other evidence of Holly’s boyfriend, birth control, a journal, anything like that. With so little information to go on, they needed to start with the basics. Unfortunately, that meant looking into those closest to Holly first.

  Reilly paused at the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner. Daniel had returned to his seat on the couch and caught her eye, indicating that she should come back in. As she walked over to the couch, Reilly cast a surreptitious glance in Mrs Young’s direction. The woman’s eyes were red, an occasional tear making its way down her cheek, but she seemed relatively composed. Reilly settled back onto the couch and gave Daniel a nod.

  ‘Alice,’ Daniel said, his voice gentler than Reilly had ever heard it. ‘The police are going to be here a little later to ask you some questions to try to figure out who did this. But, if you’re up for it, I’d like to ask you a few things now. Reilly took a look around and may have noticed a couple of things.’

  ‘She’s a cop too?’ Mrs Young sniffled as she glanced toward Reilly, this time giving a dubious glance at the sundress. She reached for another tissue.

  ‘Reilly’s a former student of mine from Quantico. She’s a crime scene investigator now. The best in her field,’ Daniel said. ‘And she’s going to help us.’

  Mrs Young nodded. ‘All right then, go ahead and ask.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Daniel’s tone took on a more professional note. ‘When was the last time you saw Holly?’

  ‘This morning.’ Mrs Young took a shuddering breath. ‘She was going to an audition and then spending the afternoon at the beach.’

  ‘An audition? What kind?’

  ‘For a movie, I think. She wants to be an actress.’ She looked at Daniel. ‘You know how much she loves . . . performing.’ The woman’s voice broke as she realized she’d been speaking about her daughter in the present tense.

  ‘Did she mention anyone specific she was going with?’ Daniel shot Reilly a sideways look and she gave a minute nod. ‘Maybe a boyfriend?’

  ‘Um . . .’ Mrs Young closed her eyes for a moment. ‘She’d been seeing a boy from the community theater. They’d go to auditions together sometimes, I think.’

  ‘His name?’ Daniel pressed.

  ‘Aaron. Aaron Overton,’ Mrs Young stood abruptly, her eyes brimming with tears. She shook her head and her voice caught. ‘I’m sorry . . . this is so hard. If you’ll excuse me for a moment.’ She hurried away without waiting for a response.

  ‘There’s a picture of Holly with a young guy in the bedroom,’ Reilly said, pitching her voice low once Mrs Young was out of ear-shot. ‘Probably him. There’s some jewelry that he might have bought for her. We could test for prints; run them to see if he’s in the system.’ She shook her head, feeling a little silly for temporarily forgetting where she was. ‘I mean they could test for prints. The room looks pretty clean for forensics, but there could be a journal. Maybe get a few leads that way.’

  Daniel nodded. ‘I’ll see if I can get Alice to let us look for a journal.’

  ‘Daniel. . .?’ Reilly began, then hesitated. She didn’t want to pry, but she knew she needed to know how involved he was in this. Was Alice Young an ex-girlfriend of his, perhaps? She was so timid and nervous she didn’t seem the type, but who knew with these things?

  He must’ve read the question in her eyes because he answered it without her having to ask. ‘Alice’s husband Bruce and I grew up in the same neighborhood back in Virginia. We started hanging out in junior high and stayed in touch even after we graduated. Bruce became an accountant and met Alice, who’s from here. I was the best man at their wedding, was at the hospital when Holly was born. Our friendship is partly the reason I bought the vacation home down here. Our families spent every summer together for as long as I can remember until . . .’ He trailed off and shook his head, his eyes full of anguish.

  ‘Are you sure this is such a good idea then?’ Reilly put her hand on her old mentor’s arm. ‘I understand that you want to help your friend but—’

  Daniel continued as if he hadn’t heard her question. ‘When Holly was still at school, Bruce was in Tampa on his way home from work when a drunk driver ran a red light. I was in the city at the time, and got to the hospital before Alice. Bruce made me promise to look after his family if he didn’t make it through surgery. He died on the table.’

  ‘This wasn’t your fault.’ Reilly felt a sympathetic stab of guilt. There was always guilt. Should have done more. Should have been me. I could have done something if only. Sometimes, the ‘if only’s were the worst; Reilly knew that better than most.

  ‘I promised Bruce that I’d take care of his little girl.’ A hard light flashed in Daniel’s eyes, and Reilly knew there would be no dissuading him. ‘And since I didn’t do that, I’m sure as hell going to make sure I help nail the son of a bitch who killed her.’

  CHAPTER 6

  They rode away from the Young house in silence, Reilly’s mind buzzing as feverishly as she knew Daniel’s was, though perhaps not about the same things.

  ‘Mind if we head down to Tampa for a bit?’ he said, breaking the silence. ‘I want to talk to Todd, let him know about this boyfriend, and where Holly was today.’

  ‘Sure,’ Reilly said. She pulled her thoughts back to the present. She quite liked the idea of visiting the Tampa police department. Her few years abroad made her curious about the advances made in her native land. Things were bound to be different.

  The humid night air was oppressive as, some twenty minutes later, they arrived in the heart of the city and climbed out of the air-conditioned Chrysler.
Before she’d taken two steps, Reilly could feel the sheen of sweat on her skin. Even so, the moment she entered the building, she wished again she’d had on one of her work suits. Designed for use in the much cooler Dublin, they’d be nearly unbearable here, but at least she’d have felt more professional.

  In her sundress and sandals and in this setting, she felt more like the wide-eyed girlfriend being taken to see where the big bad investigator worked. She’d seen far too many of her male colleagues – and a couple of female ones – use the profession like their own personal aphrodisiac. The patter usually went something like this: ‘I’m not just a doctor, you know. I help catch criminals. Would you like to see where I do my best work?’ The worst line she’d ever heard was from a newbie in the medical examiner’s office in San Francisco. ‘I have to warn you, when we get down there, there’ll be two naked bodies; and the corpses, of course.’

  ‘Good evening, Dr Forrest.’ The officer at the desk greeted Daniel with respectful familiarity and Reilly had to remind herself that of course he was no longer Agent Forrest, and since leaving the FBI would have defaulted to his doctorate status.

  ‘Evening.’ Daniel’s smile was tight, forced. ‘Do you know if my son is still in the lab?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ the officer nodded. ‘Mr Ford’s got them all staying late tonight, even the ones not usually on call.’ He leaned forward. ‘Something bad happened, I guess.’

  Daniel nodded. ‘Yes, something bad happened.’ Quickly introducing Reilly again as an associate, he was buzzed through a nearby doorway and motioned for her to follow him.

  As they moved down the corridor toward the crime lab, Reilly felt her mind absorb the new surroundings. The hallway was well lit, the floors clean white tile. So far, so familiar.

  To her left, she saw a set of double doors with the lettering, ‘Dr Owen Kase, Chief Medical Examiner’. A few feet further on were another set of sliding glass doors, these bearing three letters, and three words in smaller typeface.

  Daniel knocked on one of the doors and, a moment later, they slid open. Reilly followed him in, eyes scanning the crime lab in her usual thorough manner.

  The girl closest to the doors gave the two of them a dazzling smile and Reilly immediately knew that the redhead wasn’t flirting; she was just one of those shiny, happy people who would’ve been grinning on the Titanic, talking about how excited she was for the opportunity to go for a swim.

  She sincerely hoped the young woman was good at her job because people with her personality usually didn’t do well in these types of circumstances. Then she checked herself, immediately reminded of Lucy, a GFU colleague back in Dublin, who was of a similar cheery disposition – or at least she had been until recently.

  So she really should keep an open mind. Judging by the instruments in front of the young technician, the girl was analyzing dirt and other particulates, nothing particularly interesting.

  The equipment was good, Reilly noted, some of it more up to date than the lab back in Dublin, some less so. Unlike the GFU one, though, the mass spectrometer looked absolute state of the art and she curled her fingers into fists, suppressing the urge to touch it. Like many women, she did like shiny things.

  ‘Dad?’ Todd’s surprised voice caught Reilly’s attention. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Whoah . . . Todd had grown up, Reilly thought, and then had to smile at her foolishness. Of course he’d changed. Almost a decade had passed since the last time she’d seen Daniel’s son.

  It wasn’t that he necessarily looked older though, she realized, amending her original impression – more that his eyes looked tired, more world-weary.

  The rest of him looked the same. Same face that had always been too pretty for a guy. Same ebony curls that made her want to run her fingers through them. Not because of any type of attraction, but more because they were there. Those curls just had that shiny texture that made everyone want to know if they were as soft as they looked. Kind of like a cat.

  ‘The famous Reilly Steel.’ Todd’s eyes changed, a grin curving his lips upward. ‘Steel by name, steel by nature. Dad mentioned he was having a house guest.’

  ‘Todd,’ she said, extending a hand. ‘How have you been? I was so sorry to hear about your—’

  ‘So Dad’s got his prize pupil running interference already?’ he muttered darkly. ‘That didn’t take long.’

  ‘Reilly,’ Daniel interjected before she could reply, and she assumed he hadn’t noticed the barb. ‘I’d like you to meet Bradley Ford. He’s senior investigator here at the CSI unit.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you.’ Reilly smiled, eyes trailing over the other man. He had to be in his early forties, but he didn’t look much older than her and Todd. And he was handsome, not in a teen heartthrob kind of way, but with more of an exotic appeal. She wasn’t looking for romance – she was a disaster at that kind of thing in any case – but she could definitely appreciate the view.

  ‘Bradley,’ Daniel continued, ‘this is Reilly Steel.’

  A look crossed Bradley’s face and Reilly knew that for some reason he’d recognized her name. ‘Well, it’s an honor to meet you, Ms Steel.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She felt heat rising to her cheeks, wondering how and why her reputation had preceded her.

  ‘Todd never mentioned that you were friends.’

  ‘Daniel was my mentor at Quantico,’ Reilly explained smoothly, ‘and we’ve stayed close ever since.’

  Bradley’s expression and tone grew somber and he turned again to Daniel. ‘I’m truly sorry for your loss, Dr Forrest, and let me assure you that the team will do everything they can to bring this killer to justice quickly.’

  ‘Thank you.’ The words were stiff.

  ‘I hear you requested to be the one to inform the family? Understandable given your personal connection.’ Bradley’s sympathy was slowly turning into the familiar businesslike tone of an investigator addressing a family member.

  ‘Yes. I thought it best that Holly’s mother should hear the bad news from a friend.’ Reilly saw Daniel tense and she knew what was coming next: the ‘thank you and we’ll take it from here’ speech. Bradley didn’t disappoint, though he said it far more nicely than others Reilly had heard before.

  ‘Thank you for your assistance; as always, I know the detectives will be very grateful for your input.’

  ‘Of course.’ Daniel’s response was polite but terse, and she noted how he didn’t divulge to Bradley the news about the boyfriend, or the audition.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Todd’s mouth flatten for just a moment and knew that he too had noted the barely-there current of tension beneath his father’s voice.

  Reilly wasn’t fooled either. Daniel wasn’t letting anything go. It didn’t matter that he’d given the same speech to other cops and agents over the years. Forget protocol . . . nothing mattered to him right then but finding Holly’s killer.

  ‘So how was Alice?’ Todd put his hand on his father’s shoulder, acknowledging their shared grief, and Daniel’s expression softened a bit. Father and son moved away to the side to discuss Mrs Young’s reaction, and to console one another in the wake of the tragedy.

  ‘So you’re the same Reilly Steel who made Neil Pearce cry and brought on a nervous breakdown?’ Bradley asked her.

  She was surprised to hear him mention a defense attorney from her San Francisco days.

  ‘How do you know Pearce?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t. But I’m still in touch with some Cali guys from the academy. It was the talk of the department at the time as I recall.’

  ‘Well, for what it’s worth I didn’t really make the guy cry,’ Reilly said, shrugging. ‘Though I think the guilty verdict did.’ She looked at Bradley. ‘He had a nervous breakdown?’

  ‘Last I heard. After the incident with you, he basically stuck with low-profile cases he could plead out. I don’t think he saw the inside of a courtroom for anything but arraignments and allocutions until three years ago. He must’ve decid
ed to give it a try again – or maybe he just needed the money – because he took on a known drug dealer.’ Bradley continued the story. ‘When he tried cross-examining the arresting officer, the detective took a page from your book and called Pearce a dumbass. It must’ve hit a nerve because he completely flipped out. He started crying and yelling. Rumor had it, he even tried to take off his clothes, but he couldn’t figure out his shoelaces. The judge had to declare a mistrial to let the defendant retain new council.’

  ‘What happened to Pearce after that?’ She was fascinated.

  Bradley was nonchalant. ‘Last I heard, he moved up north. So listen, I’d love to talk to you more about it sometime – maybe pick your brains a bit,’ he added with a mischievous grin.

  She laughed, suddenly realizing where the conversation had been leading. ‘Really? That’s the best line you’ve got? I was expecting something slick and original.’

  His grin widened. ‘I’ll try harder next time.’

  The smile was proving hard to resist. ‘Sounds good.’ What the hell. Just because she didn’t want any romantic entanglements at the moment didn’t mean she couldn’t make new friends. And she was on vacation, remember?

  ‘Could we have a few minutes, Bradley?’ Todd spoke up then, his voice tight.

  ‘Of course.’ The somber expression on the senior investigator’s face revealed he’d just realized how inappropriate his timing must’ve appeared. He hurried to make amends. ‘I was actually going to go on a food run to the taco bus, clear my head, since we’re going to be here for a while longer. Do you want anything?’

  On her way in, Reilly had spotted a bright yellow taco truck just down the street from the station, and guessed it would be a huge favorite with the department. Todd shook his head; his pallid complexion and tired eyes suggested that he’d lost his appetite for the day.

  Once Bradley left, Daniel glanced at the redhead across the lab and raised an eyebrow in an unspoken question. Todd lifted up a finger and called out to his colleague.