“I didn’t realize…and you shut me out.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Without even giving us a chance to work through it.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. You simply reinforced what I already knew. Why it wouldn’t be a good idea to marry a cop.” She threw her hands up. “And why are we even having this conversation anyway? Look. Your brother’s friend is in trouble. Let’s just see where all this ends up before we do anything stupid like talk about…us.”
His jaw clenched; his fingers curled into a fist. “If you—we—have to arrest Dylan, I’ll have to figure out how to help Alonso deal with it. But for now, we have to work together. Without letting our past interfere. Can we do that?”
“We can try.”
“Deal.”
He reached out to grasp her hand in a handshake and the tingles that danced up her arm told her she might talk a good game about ignoring their feelings for each other, but actually putting her words into actions was going to take a lot more work than she’d bargained for.
THREE
Joseph stared over Catelyn’s shoulder at the autopsy report. Nothing new there. And nothing new about his inability to keep himself from noticing how good she smelled. Just like he remembered. A combination of vanilla shampoo and strong coffee.
“Hey, look at this,” she said, just as he inched back a tad to put a little distance between his nose and her hair. She pointed to the list of items found with Tracy. “An iPod. An expensive one.”
“Did they run the serial number on it?”
“Yes, and would you look at that?”
“Stolen.”
“That kind of makes you sit up and go, ‘hmm,’ doesn’t it?”
“So what does a deaf kid do with an iPod. She must not have been totally deaf. Who reported it stolen?”
She shuffled to the next page. “Here. The Whites. Abe and Eva White on the west side of town.”
“A breaking and entering. There’s been a rash of those lately, hasn’t there?”
“Yep. The guys working it think it’s gang related, but haven’t been able to connect any specific members to the break-ins yet.”
“This might be your connection right here. Go back to the autopsy report.”
She did and he pointed out the tattoo. “She had a tattoo of a skull around her belly button.”
“The symbol of the new and up-and-coming local gang, The Skulls. We just had a whole session on gang training a month ago.”
Joseph sighed. “So now they’ve infiltrated the deaf school.”
“But Tracy spent the majority of her school day at the regular high school. It could be that the gang’s not originating on the deaf campus, but the local high school campus.”
“Or neither.”
“Right. So Tracy was a gang member, we know that much. She’s also in possession of stolen merchandise. Which brings me to the questions: Does Dylan know about this? Does he know anything about the breaking and entering and thefts going on? Is he a member of the gang?”
“A lot of good questions.” He closed his eyes, picturing Alonso’s thin, but well-muscled frame. He shook his head. “I can’t remember my brother having a tattoo, but I haven’t seen him without his shirt, either. I can’t imagine him getting involved in that, but I’ll ask Alonso later.”
Catelyn shot him a look that said she thought he had his rose-tinted glasses back on. Thankfully, she kept her opinion to herself. He’d have to prove Dylan’s innocence one way or another. And if the kid was guilty…
“Did Dylan ever say why Tracy was so adamant about Kelly breaking up with him?”
Joseph shook his head. “Nothing specific. Just that her brother wanted to go out with Kelly and she kept turning him down because she was Dylan’s girlfriend.”
“What’s Tracy’s brother’s name again?”
“Zachary.”
“So, we need to talk to Zachary about this gang that his sister was a part of.”
“Looks like. And my bet is that if she was a part of it, so is he.”
“He’s not deaf. He’s hearing and goes to Esterman High.” She pushed back from her desk and wisps of blond hair tickled his chin sending shards of longing to clench his gut. Somehow, some way, they were going to have to work things out because she had already burrowed her way under in skin in less than twenty-four hours. Just the thought of telling her goodbye again was painful enough to know that having to go through the real thing again would probably rip his heart to shreds.
Pushing aside his personal agenda, he said, “I suppose we should give the family a call and let them know we want to talk to Zachary. I’m guessing he’s probably not back at school yet so soon after Tracy’s death.”
Catelyn got on the phone and made the call. Joseph got up to stretch a minute and say something to one of the other detectives he’d worked with a few years back.
When she hung up, Catelyn turned to him and frowned. “He’s not there.”
“So, where is he?”
“His mother didn’t know. She said he got a text after lunch and said he was going to meet up with a friend. She hasn’t heard from him since.”
“When’s Tracy’s funeral?”
“Tomorrow. Visitation is this afternoon.”
“I’ve got a feeling we need to see if he shows up to the visitation.”
“And who he shows up with.”
Catelyn scanned the sea of faces heading in to pay respects to the family. Mostly teenagers, teachers, probably some church members. The line to greet the family and offer sympathy extended well down the hall to snake around to the entrance to the funeral home. The front door stood open and Joseph waited off to the side, dressed in a suit and tie.
She nearly stumbled in her uncomfortable medium-height heels. She’d never had a problem walking in them before so she couldn’t blame her sudden clumsiness on the shoes.
No, it was Joseph. What was she going to do about him? He exuded strength, authority, and was completely at ease in his six-foot-two-inch frame. At five feet eight she didn’t consider herself a short woman, but next to him, she always felt petite, feminine. Something that didn’t happen very often around other men. And Joseph was definitely the only man who’d ever made her palms sweat. She rubbed them on her black skirt and tried to paste a serene expression on her face.
His smile greeted her with a warmth that nearly caused the upward tilt of her lips to take a downward turn. So much for serenity.
Have a little backbone, Catelyn. And, Lord, if You’d help me control my wayward emotions here, I’d really appreciate it.
He held the door open and she slipped in, nearly jumping out of her skin when his hand dropped to the small of her back. He’s only being a gentleman, she told herself. Relax.
Easier said than done. From the back of the line, they waited, watching.
A few more people trickled in, and the line in front of them moved slowly, but consistently. Catelyn kept her eyes peeled. “See him?”
“No, but he’s probably with the family in the receiving room. I can’t get a good view yet. A few more inches and I’ll be able to see if he’s in there.”
Catelyn lost her balance and stumbled into