as part of his MO. “I’d like to go over them.” Sometimes something would jump out at her, some fairly innocuous detail that matched an element from the dream. Something that might be hard to explain to her colleagues but which would have her focusing on a certain subject more thoroughly. “I’d like a copy of the case file, too. Include the ViCAP requests in it, crime scene photos, and updated briefings as they come in. I often work on the profile at night from home. Those details will change as we acquire more information on the subject.”
He was already shaking his head. “I’ll have a copy made, but it stays here. And when you leave at night, it’ll be locked in that file cabinet there.” He jerked his head in the direction of a battered metal government-issue piece sitting in the corner of the room. “The brass were clear on the need for keeping this investigation under wraps.”
Risa eyed him. His tone had been final, that hard jaw of his angled. Clearly he was used to not having his orders questioned. But she was a little out of practice at making nice on a case.
“That’s fine.” She kept her words mild as she took out her cell again. “I understand that you don’t have the authority to clear it.” Maybe that last verbal jab was a bit much, but there was something about his unshakeable air of command that had her wanting to jar it. Just a little. She quickly looked for a contact she’d recently added and rang the number. It was a moment before the call was answered.
“Eduardo.” Because she was looking, she saw the way Nate’s dark eyes heated and narrowed. “I’d like a copy of the case file, photos, updates from the briefings . . .” She stopped when the man immediately agreed to have one started for her. “I’m planning to work on the profile at night from home. Is that a problem? Thanks.”
There was a muscle ticking in his jaw. Probably came from being clenched so tightly. But he said nothing as he took the ViCAP folder and shoved it into his desk drawer and locked it.
The phone on his desk buzzed. Still without looking at her, he answered it, listened briefly, before saying, “Thanks for the heads-up.”
After a moment it became clear that he wasn’t going to share the details of the call with her. Risa’s mouth quirked. So there was temper beneath that professional surface. She’d suspected as much. And if she had the stray urge to discover what else lurked there, she’d firmly push it aside. She didn’t mix her personal and professional lives. Her one attempt at marriage had shown her what a recipe for disaster that was.
When the knock sounded at the door, Nate seemed to be expecting it. He rose, rounded the desk, and opened it.
“McGuire?” The man on the other side would have looked perfectly at home on the streets, with his baggy jeans, torn black T-shirt, and shaggy hair. A couple days’ growth of beard shadowed his jaw. But as Nate stepped aside to allow him to enter, Risa caught sight of the PPD detective’s shield clipped to the pocket of his shirt.
“Detective Randolph. I appreciate the face-to-face.”
The name had Risa straightening in her chair. She’d seen it on an arrest report just yesterday. They exchanged a handshake. Nate gestured toward her. “Marisa Chandler, outside consultant to the department on this case.”
Randolph’s gaze sharpened. “Consultant? What exactly do you do?”
Risa offered him a bland smile. “I consult.”
“I left you a message yesterday about a Javon Emmons.” Nate’s words had the detective’s attention returning to him. “We’re trying to run down a possible witness who goes by the name of Juicy. Sold someone a little pot in the park where we found the last victim.”
The man nodded. “Christiansen.”
“Did you know him?”
Randolph shoved his hair back, revealing a diamond stud winking from his earlobe. Although his hair was still dark, the stubble on his jaw was sprinkled liberally with gray. “Naw. Didn’t know any of the vics, but there’s not a guy on the force that doesn’t want the bastard responsible put away for this. Everyone keeps up on the details. That’s why I came here instead of calling. Anything I can do to help, you got it.”
“We appreciate that.”
“So, Emmons.” Randolph handed Nate a file folder he carried. “Here’s a brief rundown on what I know of him. Where was that park you mentioned, northeast side?