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“Not at all. Can I get you a drink instead?”
She sighed. “I suppose a wine will have to do.”
I fixed her drink and by then, another woman was waiting behind her.
The flow of customers slowed ten minutes later, and I closed up soon after. Dean locked the front on his way out, and I exited through the rear, making sure no one could get in before making my way to the car.
Inside, I flicked the locks and called Adam.
“I have some news,” I said when he answered. I ran him through everything we’d found out from Portia and Sasha’s diary as well as my suspicions about Detective Neal. Then, after a long hesitation, and with a healthy dose of guilt, I mentioned the possible connection to Joanna’s partner. I didn’t want to throw him under the bus, but if there was a possibility he was on Ortez’s payroll, I had to say something.
“Is this Detective Hanson going to the fundraiser?” Adam asked thoughtfully.
“I don’t know.” I doubted it—Hanson seemed no more the sort to hobnob than Joanna was—but I couldn’t rule it out.
“Find out, and if he is, I want you to keep an eye on him while you’re there.”
“I can do that.” Surely, Joanna would know whether Hanson intended to be there.
“He’s not the only one I want you keeping close to,” Adam continued. “Detective Clancy Neal from Homicide was already on my shortlist of suspects in your district, asare Detectives Ireland and Hernandez from Narcotics, and Officers Greene and Warhol.”
“I don’t suppose there’s a De Luca on your list?” I asked.
“No.” Adam sounded confused. “Should there be?”
I sighed. “Probably not.” But it would be good for my ego to be able to arrest that flirty fucker. “I doubt I’ll be able to cozy up to all your suspects during the gala. I doubt the officers will even be in attendance. Who do you want me to focus on?”
“Neal and Hanson.” There was no hesitation. “Neal is the top priority if there’s even the slightest chance he’s our recruiter, but Hanson’s proximity to Joanna makes him a danger to your cover, so keep a close eye on him too.”
“Got it.”
We ended the call, and I gazed out through the windshield into the dark, lost in thought.
Then I frowned.
I could have sworn I’d seen movement in the shadows by the edge of the building, but no one should be here this late. I grabbed my sidearm, opened the door as quietly as possible, and darted toward the building, keeping low so I’d present a smaller target. Unfortunately, when I reached the wall, whoever had been there was gone.
A shiver rippled down my spine. I was confident they wouldn’t have been able to hear my phone call from all the way over here, but the fact someone had been lurking at all made me nervous.
I returned to the car, double checking that the back seat and the trunk were empty before I got in.
I headed to our apartment building, parked, and took the stairs up. I checked the door and was glad to find it locked. I let myself in, then came to an abrupt halt. Joanna lay passed out on the sofa, only the glow of the silent TVscreen illuminating her features. Her dark eyelashes cast shadows over her cheeks, and her lips were softly parted.
My gut clenched with an overwhelming sense of rightness. This was what I should find when I got home. I’d walked in on similar scenes many times over the past few months, and I’d always paused to appreciate how lovely she looked in sleep, but now I cherished the moment even more because it might be the last.
I couldn’t count on her always being there for me to come home to. Unless I did something about it, she’d be gone soon. Sorrow clawed at my chest. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
Joanna stirred in her sleep, her arm moving as if reaching for a blanket, but she didn’t open her eyes. I waited for her to still and then slipped off my shoes and padded over to her. I touched the back of my fingers to her forehead. She was warm, but not as much as she ought to be.
I knelt and slid my arms beneath her back and her knees, then lifted her and held her against my chest. I carried her to the spare bedroom, even though my heart screamed at me to tuck her into our bed, where she belonged.
I reached for the door handle, but at that moment, she stiffened in my arms.
“What’s going on?” she asked sleepily.
“Shh. I’m just taking you to bed.”
But a crease formed between her eyebrows. “Put me down.”
