The doorbell chimed like a church bell; he could hear it echoing through what must be dozens of rooms. The door was opened by a blonde and what a blonde! Not much older than thirty, she was wearing a shiny spandex leotard that hugged every taut curve. A healthy sweat sheened her face, and from some other room came the thumpy music of an exercise video.
Hello, Daniella, Nina said quietly.
Daniella assumed a look of sympathy that struck Sam as too automatic to be genuine. Oh Nina, Im so sorry about what happened today! Wendy called and told us about the church. Was anyone hurt?
No. No, thank God. Nina paused, as though afraid to ask the next question. Do you think I could spend the night with you?
The expression of sympathy faded. Daniella looked askance at the suitcase Sam was carrying. I, uhlet me talk to your Dad. Hes in the hot tub right now and
Nina has no choice. She has to stay the night, said Sam. He stepped past Daniella, into the house. Its not safe for her to be alone.
Daniellas gaze shifted to Sam, and he saw the vague spark of interest in those flat blue eyes. Im afraid I didnt catch your name, she said.
This is Detective Navarro, said Nina. Hes with the Portland Bomb Squad. And this, she said to Sam, is Daniella Cormier. My, uhfathers wife.
Stepmother was the appropriate term, but this stunning blonde didnt look like anybodys mother. And the look she was giving him was anything but maternal.
Daniella tilted her head, a gesture he recognized as both inquisitive and flirtatious. So, youre a cop?
Yes, maam.
Bomb Squad? Is that really what you think happened at the church? A bomb?
Im not free to talk about it, he said. Not while the investigations underway. Smoothly he turned to Nina. If youre okay for the night, Ill be leaving. Be sure to close those driveway gates. And activate the burglar alarm. Ill check back with you in the morning.
As he gave a nod of goodbye, his gaze locked with Ninas. It was only the briefest of looks, but once again he was taken by surprise at his instinctive response to this woman. It was an attraction so powerful he felt himself at once struggling to pull away.
He did. With a curt good-night, he walked out the front door.
Outside, in the darkness, he stood for a moment surveying the house. It seemed secure enough. With two other people inside, Nina should be safe. Still, he wondered whether those particular two people would be of much help in a crisis. A father soaking in a hot tub and a spandex-and-hormones stepmother didnt exactly inspire feelings of confidence. Nina, at least, was an intelligent woman; he knew she would be alert for signs of danger.
He drove back to Robert Bledsoes house on Ocean View Drive and left the car on a side street around the corner.
He drove back to Robert Bledsoes house on Ocean View Drive and left the car on a side street around the corner.
With Ninas keys, he let himself in the front door and called Gillis to arrange for a surveillance team to patrol the area. Then he closed all the curtains and settled down to wait. It was nine oclock.
At nine-thirty, he was already restless. He paced the living room, then roamed the kitchen, the dining room, the hallway. Any stalker watching the house would expect lights to go on and off in different rooms, at different times. Maybe their man was just waiting for the residents to go to bed.
Sam turned off the living room lights and went into the bedroom.
Nina had left the top dresser drawer hanging open. Sam, pacing the carpet, kept walking back and forth past that open drawer with its tempting glimpse of lingerie. Something black and silky lay on top, and one corner trailed partway out of the drawer. He couldnt resist the impulse. He halted by the dresser, picked up the item of lingerie, and held it up.
It was a short little spaghetti-strap thing, edged with lace, and designed to show a lot. An awful lot. He tossed it back in and slammed the drawer shut.
He was getting distracted again. This shouldnt be happening. Something about Nina Cormier, and his reaction to her, had him behaving like a damn rookie.
Before, in the line of duty, hed brushed up against other women, including the occasional stunner. Women like that spandex bimbo, Daniella Cormier, Ninas stepmother. Hed managed to keep his trousers zipped up and his head firmly screwed on. It was both a matter of self-control as well as self-preservation. The women he met on the job were usually in some sort of trouble, and it was too easy for them to consider Sam their white knight, the masculine answer to all their problems.
It was a fantasy that never lasted. Sooner or later the knight gets stripped of his armor and theyd see him for what he really was: just a cop. Not rich, not brilliant. Not much of anything, in fact, to recommend him.
It had happened to him once. Just once. Shed been an aspiring actress trying to escape an abusive boyfriend; hed been a rookie assigned to watch over her. The chemistry was right. The situation was right. But the girl was all wrong. For a few heady weeks, hed been in love, had thought she was in love.