She learned just how dark it could get when they started climbing the stairs, which were wall-?bound and did not get any of the police spotlight bleeding into the lobby. Nikki led with her Maglite; Rook surprised her with a beam of light of his own. At the second floor landing she said, “What the hell is that?”
“iPhone ap. Cool, huh?” The screen of his cell phone radiated a bright flame from a virtual Bic lighter. “These are all the rage at concerts now.”
“Did Mick tell you that?”
“No, Mick didn’t tell me that.” They resumed their climb and he added, “It was Bono.”
It was an easy climb to her third-?floor apartment, but the stifling air of the staircase had them both palming sweat off their faces. Inside her foyer she flicked the light switch out of habit and chided herself for being so on autopilot. “Do you have service on that thing?”
“Yep, showing all bars.”
“Miracle of miracles,” she said and flipped open her own phone to speed-?dial Captain Montrose. She had to try twice to get a connection, and while it rang, she led Rook into the kitchen and lit up the freezer. “Ice down that jaw, while I—Hello, Captain, thought I’d check in.”
Detective Heat knew the city would be on a tactical alert and wanted to see if she should come to the station or go to a staging area. Montrose confirmed that Emergency Management had called the T.A. and that leaves and days off were temporarily suspended. “I might need you to cover a shift, but so far anyway, the city is behaving. Guess we’ve got this down from the 2003,” he said. “Considering the twenty-?four hours you’ve just had, your best use for me would be to get some rest and be fresh tomorrow in case this drags on.”
“Uh, Captain, I was surprised to see I’ve got a little company out front.”
“Oh, right. Put in a call to the Thirteenth Precinct. They’re treating you right, I hope.”
“Swell, very solid. But here’s the thing. With this T.A. on, is this the best use of resources?”
“If you mean covering my best investigator to make sure she doesn’t get her sleep disturbed, I can’t think of a better use. Raley and Ochoa insisted on doing it themselves, but I put a stop to that. Now, that would be a waste of resources.”
God, she thought. That would be just what she needed, having Roach show up and catch her out there brushing buttons in the dark with Rook. As it was, she wasn’t keen on the idea of those uniforms knowing what time Rook was leaving, even if it would be soon. “It’s sweet, Cap, but I’m a big girl, I’m home safe, the door’s locked, the windows are closed, I’m armed, and I think our city will be better off if you kick that car loose.”
“All right,” he said. “But you double-?lock that door. No strange men in that apartment tonight, you hear?”
She watched Rook leaning against the butcher block holding a dish towel of ice cubes to his face and said, “No worries, Captain. And Cap? Thank you.” She pressed End and said, “They don’t need me tonight.”
“So your obvious attempt to cut my visit short didn’t pan out.”
“Shut up and let me look at that.” She stepped over to him and he lowered the towel so she could examine his sore jaw. “Not swelling, that’s good. An inch closer to my foot, you’d have been drinking soup through a straw for the next two months.”
“Hold on, that was your foot you hit me with?”
She shrugged and said, “Yeah?” then rested her fingertips on his jaw. “Work it again.” Rook moved it back and forth. “That hurt?”