Submission

“Molly, please.” She pulled out a pen and laid it against the pad. “And, no, unfortunately my sister and I were never very close. Despite the belief about twins, she and I were nothing alike. And when she moved down here last year, we pretty much fell out of touch.”

She didn’t like admitting that. Seeing as they’d been the only two siblings in their single-parent household, she thought she should have made more of an effort. Called her sister. E-mailed her. At least kept track of how she was doing.

“Do you know if she was dating anyone at the time of her death?”

Molly shook her head, unable to bring herself to meet his gaze.

“Isn’t that the type of thing a sister—forget a twin—would usually know?”

“Do you have any siblings, Detective Chevalier?”

He seemed taken aback by her response. “That’s not at issue here.”

“And my closeness to my sister is?”

He squinted at her, bringing out the crinkles at the sides of his eyes. Were they brown? No, they were green, she realized. A deep leaf green.

“I thought you wanted to help find the person responsible for your sister’s death.”

Molly drew in a deep breath. She did. That was the whole reason she was there.

Appetizers were served and Alan chatted with the waiter for a couple of moments, talking about what had been brought in this morning. After the young man left, Chevalier motioned for her to help herself.

“It’s meant to be shared,” he said.

She accepted a small plate on which he’d placed two of the thick shrimp scampi—or did they call them something else down here?

“I have three sisters,” he said, looking at his food rather than her as he spoke. “All younger. And I couldn’t tell you much about what’s going on in their lives, either.”

Molly felt as though he’d just pressed a thumb against a low pressure point, releasing the tension there.

She smiled easily. “Thanks.”

He shrugged, considering her warily. “Don’t mention it.” He ate for a couple moments, then asked, “So when do you go home?”

Suddenly Molly stiffened again, because it was obvious he’d meant as in today or tomorrow, the day after tomorrow at the latest.

He leaned closer to her, his expression intense. “Look, Miss Laraway, I know your intentions are good, but the fact is, there’s nothing you can do down here. You might as well go back home and resume your life. Nothing you can do can bring your sister back.”

Molly leaned forward, as well. “Tell me, Detective Chevalier, how many unsolved homicide cases do you have open at any one time?”

His eyes narrowed.

She picked up her purse and took out a photograph. “This is a picture of me and my sister taken at our college graduation.” She put it on the table in front of him. “Look at it.”

“Miss Laraway—”

“Look at it,” she repeated.

He sighed and picked up the shot.

“My twin, my sister, was a living, breathing human being, not just a crime victim.”

He tried to hand the picture back.

“No, you keep it. Put it on top of the countless ones you probably have of her postmortem.” She crossed her arms. “The sooner you accept that I’m not going anywhere, Detective, the sooner we can push aside all the BS and get down to the business of catching this killer before he takes the life of someone else’s sister.” She swallowed hard. “And before you have someone else like me to deal with.”

He seemed unfazed by her words, looking at her much the way he had when he’d first sat down at the table.

Molly searched for more arguments with which she might convince him. “I’m a lawyer, Detective. Familiar with the law. Use me. I can do legwork you might not have time for. Investigate far-fetched angles you’ve already ruled out that might still be viable. Make sure you’re not without a cup of coffee at all times.”

“You’re personally attached to the case,” he said.

“Which means I’m doubly committed to seeing the job gets done.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Coffee, huh?”

His lopsided smile made her retract a few claws. But just a few. Because she had the feeling that if he did take her on, he’d send her out for coffee…permanently.

Still, her options were few. “If that’s what it takes to be included in the investigation…yes.”

“Well, then,” he said quietly, “while department policy prevents anything official, it looks like you’ve got yourself a job.”

Her pulse leaped.

“But let’s get a few things straight. I define the job as we go along. I’m the boss and you’re the subordinate. And you cannot tell anyone else about this, ever. Do anything I tell you not to and our little arrangement ends. Do I make myself clear?”

She nodded, incapable of words.

“Good, then.” He grinned, although his eyes remained watchful. “My first order is that we enjoy this meal before we get down to the gritty details….”

3

I STOOD ON THE CURB outside Tujague’s and watched Molly Laraway walk toward the nearest intersection, her jacket folded over her arm as she hailed a cab. The woman was a stunner, that was for sure. She had a swing to her walk that caught not only my attention but the eye of every breathing male within a two-block radius.

I stared at the guy next to me watching Molly in the same way I was, then grimaced and patted my front shirt pocket, even though what I was looking for wasn’t there and hadn’t been there for years: cigarettes.

Truth was, I wasn’t sold on the idea of having a loose cannon like Molly running around doing Lord only knew what. But I admired her spirit. And I had the feeling that no matter what I said or did or threatened her with, she would go ahead with her own investigation into her sister’s death. Might as well try to channel some of that energy to my own advantage…and keep her safe at the same time.

I patted my coat pockets and took out my cell phone. By directing her actions, I could keep her away from anything remotely dangerous. Not that I thought she was in danger, but at this point I wasn’t taking any chances.

And if working with her also kept her in close physical proximity, where I could continue to admire those great legs and possibly charm my way between them…well, I wasn’t complaining.

I pressed the auto dial for Steven Chan.

“Tell me you’re not calling about this morning’s body,” he said by way of hello.

“It was worth a try.”