Page 59 of Fatal Vision

Colton scratched the dog’s ears. “Guess I’m out of practice. Connor needed an excuse to get Sabrina here to meet you. Salisbury found a wrapper at the place across the street this morning. I told Beatrice it might be a clue but none of us have faith in the local PD to test it for prints, hence I needed Sabrina.”

She rearranged a pillow behind her head and sank into a more relaxed position, sighing as he rubbed the arch of her right foot. “That’s obviously only part of the story, but since your boss was so willing to send Connor here to deliver a security system, I won’t doubt it’s true. Plus, you’re massaging my feet and I don’t want to argue ’cuz you’ll stop. Later, you can tell me the truth or I’ll get it out of Connor. Either way, I’m happy I get to meet Sabrina.”

Colton continued rubbing her foot and gently working his way up her calf. She moaned softly as his thumb found a tight knot and he made little circles around it. “Is there anyone else at the Bureau who could get you a copy of the reports from your shooting? What about that Denbe guy?”

Her eyes closed and she let him move her leg up and down, bending the knee and manipulating her hip. “I have an idea on how to get it without raising suspicions, and also I want to see my file on the serial killer at the office. My notes here seem incomplete.”

Did she want to see if his picture was in the office file? He worked on her range of motion, continuing to massage out kinks and tight muscles in her leg. “How are we going to do that? Sweet talking your SOB of a boss didn’t work—I already tried that.”

“Sweet talking? Is that what you call it? He’s protecting the case; he can’t just let anyone look at the files. I would do the same if I were in his position.”

“He’s pretending to be protectingyou. Says he doesn’t want to overtax you since you haven’t been officially released from your doctor’s care yet.”

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

“You’ve seen your share of violent crimes and terrorism and were in line to head your own counterterrorism taskforce before the shooting. While you’re not back at your desk yet, you’re perfectly cognizant and he needs you to solve the serial murder case, which he brought to you the other day to discuss, with no reservations then. He’s being evasive, not protective, and I think I know why.”

She opened one eye and glared at him. “Why?”

“He’s crushing on you big time and looking for any excuse to visit you daily, and he’s hiding something about your shooting.”

The second eye opened. “Why would he do that?”

Running his hands over her leg felt so good, so right. He didn’t want to blow it by riling her up, because she’d take her shapely legs away from him.

So he kept quiet on his theories about Ingram—which he couldn’t prove anyway—and went to work massaging her left foot. “That’s the question of the hour.”

She was quiet, her body wanting to relax into the massage while her brain fought to keep her alert. “The only way to know for sure is for us to get those files, look at the evidence reports and interviews, and see if we get a fresh perspective on any of it.”

“So what’s your plan?”

“It occurred to me this morning that I need to stop by the office and get something from my desk.”

Such a liar. “And what would that be? Cuz you know your boss is going to be aware of the real reason you’re making a trip to HQ.”

“It needs to be something personal. Something I would never ask Theo to bring to me.”

“Tampons?”

She smacked his arm. “Something silly to everyone else but important to me.”

“Can’t you say you lost your keys and thought you might have left them there?”

“Nah. He’d know you wouldn’t bring me to the office to look for keys. What do I need those for anyway right now? It’s not like I can drive.”

“How about your good luck charm?”

She scrunched up a face. “I don’t have one.”

“He doesn’t know that.”

“I’ve got it.” She snapped her fingers and sat up. “I know exactly what to use as the ploy.”

She swung her legs off his lap and set Salisbury on the rug. “Come on. We’ve got a file to sneak out of the FBI.”