Chapter 11

11

Kinsley stared at the scene in front of her. Her living room remained trashed, but nothing had changed since the photos. Still, seeing in person the way someone had violated her space in such a forceful way hit her hard. Tears quickly flooded her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She swiped at the moisture but couldn't stop the flow. The stress of the past few days, coupled with this disaster before her, seemed to hit all at once.

"Hey, now." Dev faced her. "Don't cry. Everything will be all right. I'll make sure of it."

She appreciated his sentiment, and she knew he had the skills to ensure her safety, but he could never make these feelings of helplessness go away. Her tears intensified, and the last thing she wanted to do was ugly cry in front of him, but she was heading down that path.

"Shh." He put an arm around her shoulder and drew her close.

Another sweet gesture and one that moved her further down the ugly crying path she hoped to avoid.

He swung her around to face him and wrapped his arms around her waist. She rested her head on his chest. The solid muscles under her cheek should reinforce her confidence in his strength and remind her how he was doing everything within his power to protect her. It should, but it didn't. She clutched the back of his shirt and lost all control.

"Shh. We'll get through this together. I'll help you in any way I can." He stroked her hair.

She reveled in his touch and moved her cheek against the softness of his cotton shirt. She was in Dev's arms, receiving comfort from the man she cared so deeply for. How could she not forget about the mess here, focus on the softness of his shirt, of his touch, and let go of her worry? Control her emotions and stop crying.

She took a long breath, her chest protesting. She let it out slowly and inhaled more. Over and over until she gained control. After using a tissue from her pocket to make her face presentable, she leaned back. She stared into his eyes. Deeply. Struck by the level of emotion she found there. He cared about her. That was clear. Was it a romantic love for a woman as Jada had said, or was it friendship?

He swiped his thumb under her eyes, drying her tears. He gritted his teeth, then shook his head. "Forget my promises."

He gently cupped the side of her face, then let his fingers tantalizingly slide into her hair and draw her head up.

He returned her searching gaze. "I'm going to kiss you unless you tell me not to."

Kiss her? Not want him to? What was this nonsense he was speaking? Of course she wanted his kiss, more than anything, but was it a good idea?

He drew her closer, his fingers behind her head urgent, his other hand moving to join the first one. "Tell me it's okay." His voice was raspy, and emotion nearly choked off his words.

"Yes, please," she managed to get out when she wasn't even sure if she could breathe.

He tugged her even closer and lowered his head. Slowly, as if savoring the coming moment when their lips would touch. She held her breath. His mouth settled on hers, gently but passionately. She kissed him back.

Savored his touch. Savored the freedom. Savored the fulfillment of years of wanting.

This kiss meant more than anything she'd experienced in her life. Much more.

She intensified the kiss, showing him the deep well of her emotions.

He moaned and deepened the kiss even more.

She wrapped her arms around his back and slid them up to his neck, moving one hand into his hair and pulling him closer. She lost herself, forgetting where she was. Forgetting everything but his touch. His lips. The joy.

"Guess I'm interrupting something," a male voice she didn't recognize came from the doorway.

She jerked back and looked around Dev to see a slender man dressed in a tight-fitting black suit standing by the door and holding a small notepad. He wore polished dress shoes that gleamed in the light, and his hair was in a modern cut, styled to perfection with gel. He looked nothing like a detective, but more like a model.

"Detective Stewart." He glanced at his notes before fixing a penetrating gaze on her. "And you must be Kinsley Pearce."

She brushed her hands down her shirt to straighten it and stepped to the door to shake hands. "I am, and this is my friend Devan Graham."

His eyebrows had gone up at the word friend, but he didn't comment. So the man had restraint.

Dev offered his hand, not seeming at all disturbed by being caught kissing her. Maybe he was far more used to that sort of thing, but it didn't happen in her world. Was she just one among many women he'd kissed? He was handsome and attractive, so of course he'd kissed a lot of women over the years.

Stewart released Dev's hand. "Since you're both still at the doorway, can I assume you haven't disturbed anything?"

Dev cleared his throat. "Unfortunately my brother and I discovered the break-in earlier, and we looked through a few things. Then we also removed some binders. They're in my vehicle if you would like to look at them."

The detective's eyes narrowed, his gaze sharpened even more. Gone was the model facade. She could now see him on patrol, stopping a vehicle or arresting a suspect. "That's unfortunate. You've likely contaminated the scene and could've disturbed evidence as well."

"We took great care not to do that, but even if we did, we're looking for a person who has twice fired shots at or around Kinsley, and we had to move forward in our investigation at all costs."

Stewart took a wide stance. "Amateurs have no place in an investigation, and it should be left to law enforcement."

Dev lifted his chin. "We aren't amateurs. I'm a former deputy, and my brother was FBI. We're fully versed in crime scene protocol and know what we're doing."

"Then that's even worse." Stewart's nostrils flared. "You knew that you were disturbing the scene and could very well cause investigative problems."

Dev shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's not like we ran through the place ransacking it. We wore gloves and were careful to leave most things where we found them."

"And today? Have you touched anything today besides each other?" His sarcastic grin wasn't a surprise.

Dev cringed and took a step back.

The heat of a blush raced up her neck, and she was sure her face had flushed bright red. But she wouldn't let it sideline her. She cleared her throat. "This is as far as we've gotten today, and the first time that I'm seeing the scene."

"I'll take a closer look at the apartment, and then I'd like you to determine if anything is missing. Other than those binders." He gave Dev a pointed look.

"Like I said," Dev's eyes held a challenge, as if warning the detective to lay off, "the binders are in my SUV, and I'm glad to get them for you."

Stewart shifted his focus to Kinsley. "What do the binders contain?"

"I'm a forensic engineer. They hold my case notes from every investigation I've conducted."

"Oh, right." He palmed his forehead. "I thought I recognized you, but I couldn't place you. You worked the Nico Huff investigation. I was most impressed with your work. Very thorough and yet concise."

That was unexpected and appreciated. Especially after the sarcasm, but… "I don't remember you being on that investigation."

"I wasn't lead, but I assisted." The right side of his mouth curved up as if he planned to smile, but then thought better of it. "Your work was a big help in persuading the jury to convict Huff."

She couldn't agree more. "He deserved to be put behind bars to pay for what he did. His negligence and greed could've killed a lot of people."

Dev took a step closer. "He was just released from prison and is one of our suspects in the shootings directed at Kinsley."

"I wouldn't have pegged Huff as someone who would carry out his threats, but when the prisoner has time to stew about his conviction, things can fester and rupture in unpredictable ways." Stewart turned to Dev. "So you think he's behind this break-in too?"

Dev's defensive posture relaxed. "Could be, or it could be the other suspect."

Stewart lifted his hand with the pen over his notepad. "Tell me about him."

Dev said all he needed to say. "Louis Luongo."

Stewart's mouth dropped open, and he blinked rapidly. "You think that guy is involved?"

"It's a longshot for sure, but we can't rule him out." Dev shared what they had learned. "Kinsley will get in touch with the detective who investigated Mrs. Luongo's murder. See if he's had any communication with him in relation to Kinsley."

Stewart bounced from foot to foot. She didn't blame him for being excited. Looking into a connection to a murderer versus looking at a simple break-in had to be a step up in his job. Even more so for a guy like Luongo, who was notorious in the law enforcement community.

Stewart jotted something on his notepad and looked up. "I'm glad to ask about that for you, and I'll let you know what I learn."

Kinsley opened her mouth to argue, but before she could, Dev nodded. "We'd appreciate the help. Can you do your walk-through so we can get out of here? The longer we stay, the greater risk that our shooter will show up."

Stewart closed his notepad and shoved it in his pocket, then without a word picked his way through the mess to enter her living area. Kinsley tracked him as he walked until he stopped at the back wall of bookcases.

Kinsley moved closer to Dev. "I wonder why our suspect came back. Nothing looks different from your pictures, so it's not like he wanted to trash the place even more."

Dev nodded. "It all looks the same."

Stewart glanced back at them. "Maybe your suspect added something to the scene. Like installing a camera or a listening device, or he took something on his first visit and returned it."

"Why would he do that?" Kinsley asked.

"Now that I can't answer," Stewart said. "Could be he thought the missing item might lead you to investigate him."

Kinsley took another good look at the room. "I don't see anything like that or a camera."

"They make them pretty small these days. It would take a very detailed search to locate one."

"We can use a detector to scan the place. It'll pick up any camera or recording device." Dev looked around. "But before we do, let's compare the photos we took to the room, and see if something obvious jumps out at us."

He grabbed his phone from the entryway table where he'd set it on the way in. He opened the first photo containing the items on the back wall of her living space and expanded the picture.

Kinsley glanced between the photo and the room before her, searching for any little detail out of the ordinary. "I don't see any difference."

"Me neither." He moved to the next picture, this one of the end table contents strewn on the floor. A mound of jewelry dumped in front of it glittered in the overhead light.

She glanced up at Dev and lost her focus. She was in her ransacked apartment, but her lips still tingled from the kiss. Having her wish fulfilled after years of longing left her wanting another kiss. Badly. Even now. Here.

Stop it. Focus.

She looked at the screen again. Searched it. Nothing unusual to see in the photo compared to the room. "Ditto for this pic. Next one, please."

"Hold up." Dev's eyes gleamed as he made the photo even bigger, highlighting the pile of jewelry. "Check this out again."

She compared the space and the photo. "Oh! Oh, I see it now. The picture has a gold piece poking out of the side of the pile, and it's not there now." She looked up at Dev. "Do you think he came back for that?"

"I don't know."

She gave it some thought. "I'd be surprised if he did. None of my jewelry is worth stealing or risking being caught on a second break-in. And the only piece of jewelry I have that would match that shape isn't a very expensive necklace. Why would he take that?"

Dev cocked his head. "What if it's not your necklace?"

She tried to process his comment, but nothing made sense to her. "Then what?"

He looked at her with a pleased expression. "What if the intruder dropped this piece of jewelry the first time and didn't realize it until he got home? Then he came back to get it because it would've identified him."

"Sounds like a good possibility," Stewart said from near the jewelry. "You should go through the pieces to see if the one you think was visible in the photo is still here."

She didn't need any encouragement and picked her way through the mess until she could kneel next to her empty jewelry box and the mound of costume jewelry she'd bought over the years.

She carefully sifted through the top pieces, untangling and placing them in her jewelry box. She neared the bottom of the pile, and the necklace that she thought had been poking out of the pile lay right before her.

She held out the flat gold medallion on a matching gold chain. "It's here. The piece you captured in the photo. If he didn't take this, then he must've taken something else."

"Did you have another piece of jewelry that resembled this one?" Stewart asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing nearly this big."

Dev crossed the room to join them. "So he came back to get jewelry he must've left on his first visit."

"But why leave it in the first place?" she asked.

He squatted and pointed at a tiny, shiny object lying on the laminate floor three feet from her jewelry pile. "Looks like a link from a large chain. Maybe he was wearing the medallion around his neck, it broke, and he didn't know it happened until later."

"Or the link belongs to Kinsley." Stewart peered at her.

"No," she said. "I've never had a chain with such large links."

"Looks like the size a man might own," Stewart said.

"Seems likely." Dev stood. "In either case, we'll leave it here for Sierra to collect as evidence."

The detective tipped his head. "Sierra?"

"The Veritas Center's trace evidence expert." Dev took a wide stance as if he expected an argument. "We're asking her to process the scene."

"The big shot forensics people on the west side," Stuart said. "Kind of overkill for this crime, isn't it?"

"Maybe," Kinsley said. "But we figured you wouldn't even order a forensic review for a break-in. Especially since it doesn't seem like anything's missing. So we had to do something."

Stewart worked the muscles in his jaw. "I haven't decided what I want to do. If it could be connected to our parking lot shooting, then a forensic review is in order. But our teams are backed up, and if you're willing to fork out the money for the Veritas Center, then I say we go for it. Assuming the reports are sent to me first."

"We can arrange that," Dev said.

"Then do it."

"And we should have Nick look at the photos I took to see if he can enlarge them to give us a better idea of the piece our intruder took." Dev looked at Stewart. "He's the electronics expert at Veritas."

"Then arrange that too," Stewart said. "But first, I need Kinsley to determine if anything else is missing so I can complete my report."

She nodded, but anxiety squeezed her chest. The last thing she wanted to do right now was sift through this chaos and discover missing items the creep might've taken.

Another extreme violation of her sanctuary, and she worked hard to keep her thoughts in check. If she didn't, she might imagine the other horrible things their suspect might do if he found her.