“And I know how you like it sweet, so there’s extra packets of honey in the bag just for you, Sweet Tea.”
Hearing the despised nickname a former partner had stuck him with because of his love of tea with honey irritated Raley enough. Hearing it from Rook after he’d divulged it in his article set him on edge. The skin was mottled white around Raley’s lips as he tightened them. And then he relaxed and set the cup back down. “Not thirsty, I guess” was all he said before he showed a confused Rook his back and then left.
Detective Heat got into her unmarked car with Rook belted in beside her. She asked where they were going, and he only winked and put a shush finger to his lips and instructed her to take the West Side Highway south. She wasn’t crazy about the arrangement, but he had spent all that time with Cassidy Towne and maybe some of his insight could come to something useful. And besides, without any leads yet, the price to pay for needing Jameson Rook was to actually have to spend time with Jameson Rook.
“How about this?” he said as he and Nikki Heat rolled along beside the Hudson.
“How about what?”
“I’m talking about the flip-flop. The switcheroony. It’s still a ride-along, except this time, instead of a journalist’s ride-along with a cop, it’s a cop’s ride-along with a journalist.”
She paused and then looked over at him. “Have you noticed, I’m the one driving?”
“Even better.” He powered down his window and breathed in the clean fall air. As he surveyed the Hudson River, Nikki watched the wind rustle his hair and remembered how it felt to have a handful of it. She thought of grabbing it and pulling him to her the first night they had sex, and could almost taste the limes from the margaritas they had improvised in her living room that night. He turned back and caught her staring and she felt her face grow flush. She turned away so he wouldn’t notice, but she knew he had. Damn him. Damn that Jameson Rook.
“What’s the deal with Raley?”
“What do you mean?” God, she was glad he was going off-subject, away from the two of them.
“Did I somehow piss him off? I’ve been getting a vibe off both your guys, but Raley truly gave me the stink eye just now.”
She knew what it was for her, same as she knew what it was for Raley and Ochoa. Ever since Rook’s piece about his summer ride-along experience with her squad hit the October issue of First Press, Nikki had been battling the negative attention the article gave her. So many colleagues felt left out and were either jealous or hurt. The fallout was not pleasant and it was in her face every day. Even Raley and Ochoa, the strongest allies on her team, harbored their own bruised feelings about getting footnote status in what turned out to be, unhappily for Heat, a love letter to her. But Nikki wasn’t up for getting into their resentments about Rook’s article any more than she wanted to open that can about her issues, which ran more personal. “Ask Raley” was all she said.
He let it drop while he did some texting, then said, “We’re all set. Get off the highway at Fourteenth and head south on Tenth Avenue.”
“Thanks for the notice.” They were right on top of the exit. She shoulder checked and jacked the wheel to get them in the feeder lane before they blew past it.
“Skills,” he said.
As she nosed onto Tenth Avenue, she asked, “Are you sure this source you’re taking me to is willing to talk to me?”
“Affirm.” He held up his iPhone. “That was the IM. We’re all good.”
“And will this require a special series of knocks? A password? A secret handshake?”
“You know, Detective Heat, you mock me and it hurts.”
“Skills,” she said.
Just two minutes later they got out in the parking lot of the Apple Shine 24/7 Car Wash. Rook came around to meet her. She tipped her sunglasses down her nose and looked over the top of them at him. “You’re kidding.”
“You know, a little red hair and you could be that CSI guy.”