Quincy snorted. ‘Of all the adjectives, responsible was the best you could do?’
Embarrassed, Adam approached gingerly, watching where he placed his feet. ‘I’m sorry. I was out of line when I . . .’ He faltered, not sure how to describe what he was apologizing for.
‘For glaring at me like I was poaching on your territory?’ Quincy was unamused. ‘I’ve had the chance to talk to Dr Fallon a few times in the past and I’m acquainted with her play therapy techniques. I like her. She’s smart and has a kind heart. And that’s all. She’s nobody’s territory. Possessiveness is not an admirable character trait.’
‘You’re right,’ Adam said simply. ‘It’s not. Jealousy isn’t terribly attractive either. I apologize.’
Quincy gave him a sharp look. ‘Apology accepted.’ He resumed photographing the scene around the table. ‘And if it makes you feel better, she is not my type.’
The last sentence was said in a way that made Adam clearly understand. And feel even more embarrassed and stupid. But also relieved. ‘Oh?’
Quincy snorted again. ‘Neither are you, Detective.’
Adam laughed. ‘Now I think my feelings are hurt.’
Quincy smiled wryly. ‘Pretty sure you’ll live.’
Adam sobered. ‘She might not have. How close did the second shot come?’
‘Close as I can figure without running trajectories through my computer model? If Mallory hadn’t pulled her down, this scene would look very different.’
Adam’s chest seized up, his breath freezing in his lungs. He forced the breath out, told himself that she was all right. That she hadn’t been hit. He crossed around the table and found himself staring down at the body of the young man who’d told her to run.
Adam cleared his throat. ‘One of the diners caught him on video, so we have his face.’ Which was extremely fortunate as there wasn’t much left of it. The victim lay on his back, arms positioned at his sides. ‘I assume this isn’t how the bomb squad found him?’
‘No. The team used a robot to defuse the device. They had to get him into a position to safely remove the vest, but we have a 3D photographic record of the scene, including the body before anyone moved it. The victim was crumpled in a heap. The bullet came from the curb, directly opposite the window. The bullet entered the back of the victim’s head, probably ricocheted inside the skull, and exited at the left temple. The ME will confirm that, of course. Dr Washington is on her way.’
‘Where is the bullet?’
‘Found it outside. It passed through the already broken window and was stopped by the ground outside.’
Adam looked out the window to where a numbered marker sat on the snow. ‘So Meredith was lucky again. If it had gone straight through . . .’ I would have lost her before I got the chance to tell her the truth. But the truth was that he’d had plenty of chances. Months’ worth. He’d wasted all of them because of his stupid pride. I’m an idiot. ‘Shit.’
Quincy nodded. ‘She was very lucky.’
‘Are we certain that the body isn’t still a threat? Could whoever coerced this kid to walk in here with a bomb strapped to his chest have booby-trapped him somehow?’
‘Not with anything visible. The team did a scan of the body after they removed the vest. The ME will do a CT scan of the body before beginning the autopsy.’
Gathering the tail of his coat under his arm, Adam crouched next to the body. ‘Did the X-ray show any ID in his pockets?’
‘Nope. Sorry. Dr Washington will take his prints when she gets him to the morgue. Hopefully, he’s in the system.’
‘Hopefully, he’s local and someone will recognize him.’ Adam noted the yellowed fingertips. ‘He was a smoker.’
‘Doesn’t appear to have any cigarettes on him, though.’
Adam stared at the body for a long moment, willing something to show up, to tell him something more about the young man who’d told Meredith to run.
But there wasn’t anything. Not yet. He stood up, backing away carefully. ‘I’ve got an interview to do. You’ll let me know if you find anything?’
‘Absolutely.’ Quincy hesitated. ‘You have protection lined up for Dr Fallon, right?’
‘I’ve got two unmarked cars on her street. Right now she’s being guarded by Diesel Kennedy and her grandfather, who is apparently Diesel’s twin.’ And Adam was apparently jealous of the two men too, because he desperately wanted to be guarding her himself.
‘Good. You got any suspects yet?’
‘She was stalked, but she won’t say by whom. She’s protecting a client’s privacy.’
‘Damn ethics,’ Quincy growled.
Adam sighed. ‘Yeah, except I respect her ethics.’ He truly did, especially because Meredith protected children. It was just one of the things that had drawn him to her from the very beginning. ‘But I don’t want her ethics to kill her, either.’
Which was why if he hadn’t identified her stalker by nine p.m., he was going to press her again. Harder this time.
And will that be before or after you explain things and hope she still wants you?
He had no idea. He only knew he had to keep her alive or nothing else mattered.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Saturday 19 December, 8.15 P.M.
Adam got off the precinct elevator and went straight to Isenberg’s office. She was on the phone and held up a hand for him to wait, then pointed to the chair in front of her desk.
‘Yes,’ she said to whomever she was talking to, ‘we have a few leads and we are following them up with all urgency. I have my best people working on this case . . .’ She rolled her eyes. ‘The FBI is working with us. Special Agent in Charge Zimmerman and I have been in frequent contact. This appears to have been a targeted attack against a single individual.’ She listened, wincing as the caller’s voice grew loud and shrill. ‘I am aware that a bomb was involved, but there’s no reason to believe the city is in any further danger. Look, I understand people are afraid.’ Another wince and she held the phone away from her ear. ‘Yes, I am aware that it’s near Christmas. I’ll be better able to promise the downtown business owners uninterrupted holiday sales by catching the person or persons behind this. For that, I need to get back to work. I’ll keep you apprised. Goodbye.’ She hung up, closed her eyes for the length of a loud sigh. ‘Hell.’
‘The mayor, I take it?’ Adam asked.
‘Yeah.’ She pushed a folder across the desk to Adam. ‘People are scared to shop downtown now.’
‘I can understand that.’ He opened the folder and went completely still. It was a photo of Meredith, a side view of her speaking to her priest in the middle of a crowd. Behind the priest stood a man, smiling at her. The priest couldn’t see him, but Meredith did. It was evident in the tightness around her mouth, the narrowing of her eyes. She was pissed off. And afraid.
Adam had to close his eyes for a moment, to battle back the roar of rage. Holding on to his control, he began flipping through the photos. There were at least a dozen, taken from surveillance footage at the church, the grocery store, and the running track. All featured Meredith and the man. In each one, he hovered an arm’s length away. Just close enough that she would know he was there. And in each photo, she knew.
The man was in his mid-forties, average height and weight. Handsome, with an arrogant smile that said he knew it and expected everyone else to know it too. He was well-dressed, the suit he’d worn to church fitting him like it had been made for him.
The last photo was grainier, taken by a security camera in the Kroger parking lot. The same man was getting into a Lamborghini. A fucking Lamborghini.
Adam made sure his voice was steady before he spoke. ‘Do we know who he is?’
‘Yes. His name is Broderick Voss.’ She leaned back in her chair, waiting.
‘Am I supposed to know who he is?’ Adam asked.