After showering so long the hot water turned cold, Sean and Lucy cleaned up the pool house, then went inside to tackle the kitchen.
Lucy saw her briefcase on the table with her phone next to it. There were several text messages from Barry Crawford, confirming that they were meeting with Jolene Hayden at 8:00 A.M. on Monday, and then asking that Lucy come in an hour before the meeting. After Jolene, they’d talk to James Everett.
She confirmed, then saw she had a voice mail.
She listened to it. It had come in at nine last night from Tia Mancini. “I have a lead on your girl. Call me.”
“Something wrong?” Sean said.
“No—I’m just glad I left my phone inside.”
“Lucy—I know your work is important. I would have understood if something came up.”
“I know you would, Sean. Barry Crawford, the agent I’m working with on this case, told me I didn’t know how to turn off the job. He’s right, you know that, but last night I wanted to turn it off. I didn’t know that we’d be spending all night in the pool house, but I’m glad we did.”
“You have to work today?”
“I don’t think so. Tia called about the girl we’re looking for. An underage prostitute who was in the room with Harper Worthington when he died.”
“Lucy—I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She hadn’t told Sean anything about the case, because last night had been all about them. “Maybe you don’t want to know. I need to learn to compartmentalize.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Sean?”
“Of course I want you to share with me. I don’t want you to think you have to keep anything from me. Unless—is talking about your work giving you the nightmares?”
“No, of course not. It’s just—last night was incredible. I didn’t want to tarnish it with a homicide investigation.”
He gave her a half smile. “I am pretty incredible.”
“You are.” She kissed him, but her mind was elsewhere.
“Lucy? What is it?”
“Sometimes, I bring the darkness home with me. And … I wonder if that’s all I have inside.”
“Don’t. It’s not true. Inside you are passionate and compassionate, you’re everything I want or need. Lucy, I’m here for you, light and dark. Good and bad. It would hurt more if you didn’t want to share, because I know how you think, how you work. You immerse yourself in your cases. It’s what makes you so good—and what troubles you.” He pushed her damp hair off her face and ran his thumbs down her jaw to her neck. He kissed her.
She returned the kiss and smiled. “You make everything easier for me. And I really do like brainstorming with you, your mind thinks through problems better than anyone I know.”
“I am brilliant, as well as incredible.”
She laughed. “Yes, you are.”
“Lucy, last night wasn’t isolated. We’ve done pretty good for the last eighteen months balancing the dark with the light.”
She sobered up. “But you’re the light, Sean. I’m the dark.”
“Don’t even think that way.” He caressed her cheek. “You can tell me anything.”
“You want to know, don’t you?”
“I want to share everything with you, Lucy. You know that.”
After filling Sean in on the Worthington case over breakfast, she realized that she and Barry had covered a lot of ground yesterday. “So Tia is helping us locate the prostitute. Once we talk to her, I think we’ll finally know what’s going on.”
“But you think he was murdered.”
She hesitated. “Yes. I just don’t know why he was killed. Because he was a pervert? Because of something related to HWI? Because of his wife, the congresswoman? Once we know why he flew to San Antonio on Friday night, I think we’ll have the answers. Hopefully tomorrow, when we interview his daughter.”
“I don’t know if I told you, but HWI offered me a job a few months ago.”
“You didn’t, but yesterday I met the head of security, Gregor Smith. Small world—he mentioned you, after he found out who I was. He was an MP and arrested Jack once.”
“Now that would be an interesting story. But I mention the HWI offer because Smith called me again yesterday afternoon. He didn’t tell me that you’d been to the office, just that he wanted to hire me to test their security and assist in the forensic audit. I accepted, but I didn’t know you were the lead agent. I can back out.”
“First, I’m not the lead agent—Barry Crawford is. Second, I’m not going to tell you to take it or not take it. In fact, it would probably be more of a conflict if I’m involved in the decision making, so I’m recusing myself.” It would be easier on her at work if Sean wasn’t involved with the same cases she was, but at the same time, they worked so well together that she certainly wouldn’t complain if he did take the job.
“All right. I’m meeting with him tomorrow morning.”