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“Unnerving, Lark, given your father’s occupation.”
After shooting me a look and half laughing, she noticed my serious expression. “You think they were targeted because of their fathers’ occupation?”
“I do.”
Her expression became pensive. “Why does it sound like you know more about what’s going on than you want everyone to believe?”
“I’ve lived in this city for a long time. I’ve seen politicians come and go, and the folding of several major corporations, the men and women involved suddenly penniless. The number one reason they fell on hard times was greed as well as the need for power.”
“What does that have to do whether or not I’m on the case?”
I took a swig of my drink before answering her. “Everyone has secrets, but in this ruthless town they’re almost always dragged into the light. That means those with the most to lose will do everything in their power to keep their dark proclivities padlocked away. That includes murder.”
“Are you confessing your sins, Mr. McKenzie? If so, I should remind you that I’m an officer of the law. If questioned or God forbid, subpoenaed to court, I would be required to tell the truth.”
Chuckling, I lifted my glass in salute. “Thank you for the reminder, but my sins you’ve already determined are enticing. I’m not making light of the murder, Lark. I’m privy to enough of those secrets to allow a target to remain on my back.”
“Wait a minute. Are you telling me you have a little black book on people?”
“Hardly in the age of computers.” I dropped my foot to the floor, leaning as far over the table as possible. “What I am telling you is that I know what people are capable of better than most. There’s a reason you were assigned that case that I doubt has as much to do with your moxie and qualifications than it does the fact you’re a beautiful woman.”
She laughed, thudding the glass on the table. “You’re too late to the party, Lachlan, and there’s no need for you to be concerned your little bird will fly away. I removed myself from the case and yes, it was confirmed via an up close and personal message that my appeal was all about sex. That’s something I’ve been forced to deal with in this town full of alligators and sharks: men who can’t get it up, so they use violence and influence to get what they want. I don’t desire any part of it. I never have. I thought when I accepted the job offered by Trent Abbot that it had been extended because I graduated with honors. Of course, now I realize I was wrong. I was hired to fill a quota and nothing more.”
She jerked to her bare feet, immediately heading for the door.
I took a deep breath, not bothering to watch her go. What she’d spouted off was correct. While Trent was considered a fair player, he’d also been labeled sexist, his firm in hot water more than once. I kept up with such things, scouring the news to stay in the know. I also paid people very well to keep my ‘little black book’ full of secrets. Knowledge was absolute power.
However, it was the lack thereof, the shadows surrounding the murder that remained troubling. Maybe I was overblowing things, but I couldn’t let the idea she was in danger out of my mind. “I don’t want you hurt.”
I sensed she’d stopped, still so uncertain if I was one of the good guys or someone that she should be afraid of. The truth was somewhere in the middle.
“I can take care of myself, Lachlan. I’ve gotten very good at that over the years.”
“Then you underestimate the power in this town.”
“You forget I’ve had a front seat to the matinee. I’m going to take a hot shower and go to bed. If that’s allowed.”
“I’m not an ogre, Lark.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“No, but you’re thinking you still can’t trust me.”
She sighed, the sound troubling. “That’s not what I’m thinking. I’m wondering why I can. The strange thing is, I trust you more than I have anyone else, including own father. Isn’t that sad?”
As she walked out of the room, I sat back in the chair, rubbing my jaw. Maybe she and I were more alike than either one of us would admit. After a few seconds, I headed for the kitchen. The way she’d mentioned breath play continued to disturb me. Her laptop was still on the table, the lid closed.
I’d resisted going through her personal items before, but the entire situation was far too unnerving. The single file near the computer hadn’t arrived with her, which meant she’d either gone to the office or had someone meet her to bring information on the Davidson case.
The notes told me almost nothing other than what the detectives had on Davidson was mostly circumstantial. But the jump drive still in position possibly could. As I pulled up the screens she’d been looking at before I’d interrupted her, the first one I came to had been found off a Google page.
On breath play.
Christ. What the hell was she doing? After glancing at the coroner’s report in the file, I knew it hadn’t given a clear indication that’s what had happened. Why had she jumped to that conclusion? Or was it something Trent had insinuated? As I took a step back, instinctively glancing toward the kitchen door, I had no doubt the past was ready to collide with the present.
Grant’s concern about first-degree burns wasn’t strong enough.
Whatever the case, I was afraid Lark would end up being collateral damage.
