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“Who are you?” He tried to get a read on her, but she had spent years honing her ability to appear completely neutral when being scrutinized. Her lips flattened as she stared at the space between his eyebrows, close enough to his eyes that he would think she was meeting his gaze and far enough that she was able to remain unengaged. The ability to look straight at people and not see them was one of her favorite skills. It unnerved them. From the huff of breath the detective released, it had worked again.
“Anastacia Geist. I may have some insight if you are open to an outside perspective.” She held out her hand for a handshake. He returned the gesture with an apprehensive expression.
“Detective Tony Knight,” he introduced himself and took a deep breath as he scowled at the door. “The boys are going to get an earful from me. If they missed this, what else did they miss?”
Anastacia didn’t have an answer for him as he knelt back down to get a better look at the tiny smear before examining the door to check for anything else.
The forensics team made good time reaching them, and the detective was at the mouth of the alleyway to meet them. His voice echoed off the bricks and cobblestones. Anastacia winced. Cars slowed as they passed behind the scene. Relief poured through her body that she was well out of sight.
Mel leaned against the wall next to her and chuckled. “You know how to make a good first impression. You caught his attention.”
“Good. He’ll be more apt to let me get closer to the case notes and the investigation. Maybe look at a few leads.”
“So you can track down the SOB that did me in.”
“Bingo. The faster we solve this, the faster you can pass over.”
“You say that like you’re trying to get rid of me.”
Anastacia gave him a very pointed and deliberate look. She pushed away from the wall and walked toward Detective Knight, who was giving instructions to a uniformed officer. Anastacia heard enough to catch that the beat cop was sent to watch the scene. She’d have to get what information she could now since returning later was going to be difficult.
“Don’t give me that look. I’m a fucking delight!” Mel yelled after her before hurrying to join her at Knight’s other side.
As Detective Knight stepped toward the door, Anastacia remained glued to his side. Once there he turned and put an arm across the width of the door, barring her from entering.
Mel, on the other hand, walked right through them all into the room now brighter by the sunset filtering down through the top windows. The room was empty.
“They’re going to be there awhile,” Knight sighed. “You have a good eye. What experience do you have if you aren’t routinely looking at crime scenes?”
“I have an undergrad degree in criminology with a specialty in law enforcement. Also worked at an on-campus police department for a few years.”
“You got an eye for detail; I’ll give you that. Sometimes our department hires consultants. You got a resume?”
“I’ve never thought of consultation work before.” She surprised herself. It was true, she always wanted to help but had been stubbornly obsessed with the policing aspect. A job is something she desperately needed. She didn’t have the ability or the funds in her pathetic bank account to turn down the opportunity. “I would love to know what you would need from me to get the ball rolling.”
“Let me reach out to the captain and see what they say.” He pulled out his phone, typing a quick message As he navigated his eyes would flick up to her, the rapid conversation over the phone only interrupted when he would stare at her. A smirk pulled at her lips. He still hadn’t figured her out. “What made you come here? You aren’t a local.”
“I moved here a few weeks ago, looking for something new. California got a bit old for me,” Anastacia explained, watching Mel come back out from the building.
“Captain will talk with you, but we’ll have to set something up. What’s your phone number, Anastacia Geist?”
Rattling off the digits quickly, Anastacia was impressed when his thumbs kept up. He pulled a business card from the pocket on the back of the phone case. She hadn’t noticed it until that moment. So much for being the person who picked up on details. Inwardly she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. Outwardly she accepted the business card with a smile.
“There’s an email address on that card. Send over your resume and I’ll pass it along. Give us a couple of days to do some checking. I’ll call you with an interview time.”
“Yes sir.”
“And let’s set some ground rules before you expect it to be something different from what it’s going to be,” Knight pointed at her face as if he had to lay the ground rules a few times over. “You don’t get a gun.”
“Wasn’t expecting one.”
“You do what I say when I say, no exceptions or back talk. Last thing I need is some stupid hero-complex civilian dying on my watch.”
“I can see the importance of safety. Done.”
“And I lead the investigation.”
“You’re the detective. I’m counsel, not the deciding factor. Understood.”
