"As a matter of fact, that's what I'm going to school for over at SUNY Caldwell."
"God, you are perfect."
"Hardly." Ralonda smiled again, flashing beautiful white teeth. "Let's get you measured and I'll bring you some things."
One hour and six hundred seventy-two dollars and forty-three cents later, Reilly left with three bags full of things. As she headed out the door, her chin was up and she found herself smiling at two girls who were peering in through the windows.
"They're having a sale," she said to them. "Better get in there. And ask for Ralonda - she's the best."
As they scurried inside, Reilly marched back to the station house feeling curiously light in her shoes. Then again, maybe the slightly padded cherry red bra with matching red panties she'd put on and kept on had antigravity properties, lifting not just her cle**age, but her entire body.
Made you wonder what the astronauts had on under their suits.
As a horrific image of Buzz Aldrin in a set of hot pink itty-bitties lit up her mind, it dawned on her that walking into HQ with her VS bags and a bounce in her step didn't exactly send the right message - especially given that she was partnering with Veck for the next month.
Sneaking around the tside of the station house, she made it to her car and stashed the contraband in her trunk, as opposed to the backseat.
This time, as she went in through the back and passed by the guard in the lobby, she was painfully aware of herself, wondering whether anyone knew what she had on under her clothes. Nobody paid her any unusual attention, though, which suggested that among the numerous talents of the various members of the force, it appeared as if X-ray vision was not one of them.
First stop was her office. Quick check of voice mail and e-mail. Then it was grab a pad and head for Homicide. And what do you know, her growing confidence in the concealing properties of cotton and wool took it on the chin as she opened the door into the department.
Everyone looked up, including Veck.
Right. Now she knew why folks hated those dreams where they walked naked into a room full of people. She'd never had a nightmare like that before, and as she put her pad up to the front of her br**sts, she wasn't in a big hurry to hop on that learning curve.
But then people just waved and helloed, and she nodded and helloed back while heading over to Veck. The cubicle next to him was empty of everything but a computer and a phone, and as she sat down, she kept her yellow-and-lined right where it was.
Veck eased back in his chair in a way that made his chest look huge against his white button-down. "All settled back in your office?"
"Yes. What are we working on today?"
He nodded to his computer screen. "I've found something to pass the time with. I was waiting for you to come over - thought we'd go do some recon in the field, and double-check some witnesses."
"Good. What's the case."
"I'll tell you about it on the way across town. Mind if we take your car? I've only got my bike."
"Ah ..." Surely there could be no reason for him to look in her trunk. "Sure. Yeah. That's fine."
"Thanks, Officer. Or should I call you 'Detective' for the next four weeks?"
As they stood up together and she found herself eye-to-pectoral with him, she knew it was time to kick her inner Britnae to the curb. "Reilly is fine."
For a moment, his lids dropped low, and she could have sworn that he muttered under his breath something like, She sure is.
But no doubt it was her new underwear making her hear things.
"Wait a minute - that is not a homicide cold case."
As they came up to a red light, Veck got nailed with a hard stare from his new partner ... and that was an incredible turn-on.
Shifting in his seat, and praying that the arousal he'd abruptly popped would deflate before they reached their destination, he made it his business to keep his voice level and completely groan-free. Although, for f**k's sake, if this was an indication of what the next four weeks were going to be like?
He was in trouble.
"She's technically a missing person - "
"There's no 'technically' about it. There's no body."
"If you'll let me finish?"
"Sorry." As the light turned green, she hit the gas. "But I have a feeling where this is going, and you're not getting anywhere near the Kroner case."
We'll see about that, he thought. "I got a call from one of the FBI field officers this morning. He's been working on the case of this missing girl, and he wanted to know if there was any new information. I told him I'd be happy to go back through what we've got - "
"The FBI can do its own - "
"No reason not to be collegial. Or to assume that there's a tie with Kroner."
She frowned. "What's the FBI's angle?"
"I didn't ask. Maybe it's interstate." Because maaaaybe it was part of the Kroner investigation - which was why he didn't ask.
"Just so we're clear, if there's a nexus with Kroner, we're out."
"Got it." He reached into his breast pocket and took out a three-page disposition form. "Cecilia Barten, age nineteen, missing for just over three weeks. Last seen leaving her home to go to the Hannaford supermarket on Union Avenue. Surveillance cameras picked up nothing, thanks to a power surge that knocked out the feed from the lot and from the exit of the store."
"And we're starting where?"
"Her parents' house. I just want to see if there's anything that was missed. Her mother is expecting us - hang a right here."
Reilly hit the directional signal and followed through on the turn, heading into a neighborhood that was a good click or two above where Veck lived. Here, the houses were a little bigger and better planted. No cars parked on the street, and he imagined that there were newer sedans and station wagons in all those attached garages. Probably not as many minivans - although this was the land of the soccer mom, so maybe he was wrong.
"Okay," he murmured, looking at the colonials. "Four ninety-one. Ninety-three. Five ... here it is."
Reilly pulled over to the curb in front of 497. After canning the engine, they got out into the sunshine and -
The car that pulled up behind them was a gold SUV with blackened windows, and what got out of it was a whole lot of federal agent: The three men were in plain clothes, and as they came up, the one in the lead, with the dark blond hair, flashed his credentials.
"Jim Heron. We spoke on the phone. These are my partners, Blackhawk and Vogel."
"Thomas DelVecchio."
As they shook, Veck felt a strange kind of charge, and he stepped back. "This is Officer Reilly. You want to come in with us?"
The agent narrowed his eyes on the house. "Yeah. Thanks. My partners will wait out here."
Good idea. It would be hard to fit the three of those boys in a front hall smaller than a football stadium.
As they went up the brick walk to the front door, one of those seasonal flags waved casually in the spring breeze. The thing was pastel and had an egg on it that was half lavender and half pink with a bright yellow band around the middle.
Easter had come at the end of March this year. Right around the time the daughter had gone missing. No doubt the flag had been forgotten ... or perhaps they were praying for a resurrection of their own. Either way, ruination had come to this house, even though it still had fr walls and a roof: This girl was dead. Veck knew it in his bones, even though he wasn't one for prescient shit.
Doorbell.
Wait.
Wait.
He glanced back at Reilly. She seemed sad as she leaned back and scanned the windows on the second floor - and he wondered whether she was trying to imagine which one had been Cecilia Barten's. Behind her, Heron was doing an excellent impression of a statue: towering and unmoving, his eyes were focused on the front door as if he were seeing through it into the house.
Veck frowned. There was something off about the guy. Clearly not competence, however; the agent radiated a militaristic precision about everything from the way he flashed his creds to his walk to how his body settled at rest. Still ... what the f**k was it -
The door opened with a soft creak and the woman on the other side looked like she hadn't slept or eaten well in a long time.
"Good morning, ma'am, I'm Detective DelVecchio. This is Officer Reilly and Agent Heron."
Everyone flashed their credentials.
"Please come in." She stepped back and motioned with her arm. "May I get you anything?"