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L ess than five minutes after Hayes sent Mendes a text with pictures of their findings, the deputy called back. Almost simultaneously, Reese’s cell rang. Kervin. Pushing her chair back, she left the table as she answered.

“You didn’t show up today.” His voice was hushed. Furtive.

“I just saw your text about an hour ago.” She got to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. “You said you had something big.”

“That’s right, and blowing me off isn’t the way to hear about it.”

Annoyance flickered. “I’m not at your beck and call. I actually have a life.”

“So do I, but I’ve been putting my ass on the line for you. The least you can do is respond to a message.”

“I can tell you right now, nothing you have to tell me is worth a thousand bucks.”

“You don’t know that. This is big. I mean like I can’t even believe it myself. You’re going to want to hear everything I have to say. And…” Kervin lowered his voice. “I’ve got photos to prove it all.”

Something in his tone had her journalist instincts quivering.

Hayes was convinced he was wringing the situation for the cash she’d paid him, and no doubt that was a significant factor for his interest. But there was more here.

Reese wondered just what the man had come up with.

“I’m interested, but not at that price.”

“We can negotiate. Meet me tonight. I’m due at the funeral home at seven. I’ll send you the address. Make it about eight, though. Everyone should be out by then.”

She hesitated. “I’m not sure I can do it tonight. But I’ll text you either way.”

“Be there, or the cost goes up.” He disconnected.

“Asshole,” she muttered, rising from the edge of the mattress. Hayes was right. The man was all about feathering his own nest. But she’d deliberately whetted his appetite when they’d first met, so Reese could hardly complain at this point.

She got as far as the bedroom door before her cell rang again.

The screen read only SDPD. Her heart sank.

Jennings contacted Hayes. Gibbons and Usher’s names appeared on their calls.

It occurred to her that she was collecting an extensive and unwanted acquaintance list within the department. “This is Reese.”

“Miss Decody. This is SDPD Detective Elaina Loffler. How are you feeling today?”

“Fine, thanks.”

“I’ve been assigned to the bomb scene investigation from yesterday’s incident. As you can imagine, it made quite an impact here.” Was that a thread of humor in the woman’s voice? “If you’re feeling up to it, I’d like to update you on what we have so far. I can send a car for you, if you like.”

“I’m sure we can be there. Let me confer with Hayes about the time and method of transportation.”

“Dr. Moreland is with you?”

“He’s in the other room, yes.”

“Excellent. Two birds, one stone. I’ll text you a number and you can message me. I’m anxious to speak with both of you.”

“I’ll let you know. Thanks.”

When Reese rejoined Hayes, she noted with amusement that he had his head in the refrigerator. “Hungry already?”

He straightened and closed the door, raising a bottle of water to show her. “Slim pickings. You want one?”

“No, thanks. What did Mendes have to say?”

“He’s sending someone to Rivers’s office as we speak. Did I hear your phone ring in there?”

It dinged in her hand. She glanced at the screen. The number Loffler had promised. Reese quickly recounted the conversation she’d had with the detective.

“She has more questions, or she’s found something already?”

“Loffler said update, so maybe both. When do you want to do it?”

He lifted a shoulder. “We don’t have anything going on. Have her send the car. Mendes offered us an escort for anywhere we go, but this will save me from reaching out to him again.”

“The earlier phone call was from Kervin.” Deliberately, he unscrewed the cap from the bottle and lifted it to his lips. Drank. “He wants me to meet him tonight.”

“Of course he does.”

“I told him I was interested in what he had to say, but wouldn’t meet his asking price. And that I may not be able to come tonight. He claims he snuck into the annex area last night where Ben’s room is.”

Hayes frowned. “This subterfuge could end up hurting you in your quest for conservatorship. Eckworth has a problem with Langrath. If she finds out that he’s breaking rules to get you information, that isn’t exactly going to impress the judge in your favor.”

“I kinda think what Eckworth’s been up to might outweigh my transgression, but point taken.

I can’t unring that bell, although when I see Kervin next, I can tell him I don’t require anything else from him.

” Reese texted Loffler that they could be ready anytime and to send a car, asking the officer to message her when it arrived. Her cell alerted midmessage.

“You’re popular today,” Hayes observed as he sat down in front of his laptop.

“It’s Kervin again.” The CNA was on his way to becoming a pest. Impatiently, Reese clicked on the message and saw an image of an unfamiliar man unfurl on her screen. He appeared to be asleep, his face half turned from the camera. Another picture showed a nameplate on a door. Ben Decody.

Her stomach did a quick flip and churn. Suddenly boneless, she sank to the edge of the couch. Reese tried to swallow, but her mouth was desert dry. She read the accompanying text.

If you wont pay maybe your paper will. This is big!

“Reese!” Her head jerked toward Hayes.

“What’s wrong?”

Wordlessly, she held out her phone. She didn’t trust her legs at the moment. He crossed to her and took the cell. Scrolled through the message and photos before coming over to sink beside her.

“Do you recognize him?”

She shook her head. The man could have been a stranger.

But that’s really all Ben had been to her when they’d lived together.

It took a moment before she found her voice.

“I haven’t seen him in twenty-two years.

He didn’t attend my parents’ funeral. He was a gangly, blond, blue-eyed fourteen-year-old the last time I saw him.

” Ben was rarely mentioned in her presence.

Certainly, no pictures had been shared. It was as if her parents had placed her in Bubble Wrap, providing a belated layer of protection.

A silent gesture of remorse for the times they’d failed to safeguard her as a child. Julia had done likewise.

“He was…” Her voice trailed off before she could form the words.

“He hurt you.” She didn’t look at Hayes. She couldn’t. “When I was looking over the medical documents in the pile you had at the apartment, I read a much earlier one to compare his diagnoses. It had a summary of the injuries you suffered at his hands.”

A ball of panic surged, lodging in her throat and nearly choking her.

This is what had kept her from ever getting close to someone.

Having every painful detail of her past laid bare.

Dropping the walls that shielded her from the mental onslaught of guilt-ridden anonymous passersby.

Was it worth it? The hardscrabble in her chest right now shouted a loud no.

She rose, driven to move. “It was a long time ago.”

“There’s a phrase used a lot in crime scene investigation.

‘Every contact leaves a trace.’” His calm, measured tone was steadying.

She’d heard its echoes in her mind since that night in Thorne’s cellar.

“I think the same is true of our experiences. They all leave an indelible mark on us. Subtly shape our responses and reactions well into adulthood.”

“I’m well aware what my mental etchings would reveal about me.”

“What they say is that you’re a freaking warrior. Battle-scarred. Resilient. Stronger than most people will ever be.”

“That’s me,” she replied caustically. “Xena the Warrior Princess.”

“Well, damn. I remember watching her on Nick at Nite. Now I’m imagining you in breastplate and armor. I was particularly fond of that golden bra she wore.”

She choked out a laugh, feeling infinitesimally lighter despite the shadows that still crowded her brain.

Although she didn’t hear Hayes rise, she felt him come closer.

And then his arms wrapped around her, drawing her back against his chest. Almost desperately, she blurted, “I know my own limitations. I can’t be who you want. ”

She felt his lips brush her hair. “Eighteen months ago I raced down those cellar steps too late for two of the victims. But the survivor engraved herself on my mind. It’s your image that I’ve never been able to dislodge from my brain. Let me be the judge of what I want, Reese.”

Elaina Loffler was a tall, lean, hazel-eyed blonde who offered each of them a firm handshake before leading them to her desk.

Her navy suit jacket hung on the back of her chair, and her short-sleeve gray tee was emblazoned with the name of a band Reese had seen in concert when she was a teen.

“Appreciate you guys coming in on short notice. Let me grab some things and we’ll find a place with more privacy.

” She collected her laptop and stacked some file folders on top of it before guiding them through a maze of desks to a room that might once have been a closet.

“Close quarters, but it’ll do for our purposes.

Watch the table. It offers up splinters like crappy souvenirs. ”

Reese gingerly seated herself on one of the two metal folding chairs across from the detective, who was still talking.

“As you can imagine, a failed assassination attempt taking place across from our station has garnered a lot of attention. And with that comes resources. We’ve got your would-be bomber in custody. ”

Hayes stared hard at her. “That was fast.”