“Carpet fibers were discovered beneath his fingernails. If you look at the crime scene photo, it would appear he tried to crawl away from the attacker.”
“Until the attacker started pounding on his back.” Same freaking injury pattern. “Always at the top. C1 to C4. The bastard knows what he wants to hit. He knows why he wants to do it.” The attacker wanted his victims absolutely helpless before he killed them. Damn. Joel handed the files back to Ruben. Started to walk away. Stopped. “Thank you.”
Ruben beamed at him. “Was that so hard?”
“Did Chloe read all of your files?”
“Yes.”
“And what did she say?”
“She’s the one who told me the weapon was probably a bat.”
Joel was betting Chloe knew a whole lot more than just what type of weapon had been used. “Why do you think she wanted me in here?”
“Because Chloe doesn’t like dead bodies.”
He thought it was more than that.
Ruben threw a quick glance at Joel. “Oh, I have to ask, have you been to the Mob Murder House yet?”
“Excuse me?”
Ruben wiggled his brows. “Chloe’s place. Or…the place that her last boyfriend gave her. Whatever.”
Whatever?
“That big-ass mansion near Audubon Park? You know the history of it, don’t you?”
“I have no idea about the place’s history.” He’d just hauled his stuff there and hadn’t even unpacked.
“Been owned by an infamous mob family since the early 1900s. But the last owner…word is that he just gave it to Chloe. They had some kind of relationship. Lasted a while. And as a thank you…” He wiggled his brows yet again. Made them practically dance. “The dude gave her the entire house. Do you know how much a place like that has to be worth?”
Her ex had given her the house?
“I figure it has to be worth four million.” Ruben nodded. “Give or take a few hundred grand.” He pursed his lips. “For a man to give a woman a place like that as a gift, she sure has to do something special. Ahem. Now do you see why you might want to at least practice saying please?”
Chapter Ten
“Are you testing me?”
Chloe didn’t jump when Joel spoke. She’d heard the creak of the floor. Her gaze remained focused outside of the window. From this vantage point, she had a perfect view of the parking lot. And Joel’s motorcycle.
Cedric had called her a few moments before. Richardson was on his way over.
That meant it was time to wrap things up.
“Did you finish checking out the body?” Her fingers pressed to the glass. She liked the smooth, warm feel of it beneath her hand.
“Yes. But you didn’t need me to do that, did you? I bet you already have all the facts you need.”
She turned toward him.
Ruben stood just behind Joel, behind and a little to the right. Where. Did. You. Find. Him? Ruben mouthed.
“In a bank storage closet,” she replied.
Ruben’s eyes widened.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Joel demanded. “No, wait. It’s just a distraction. You do that. You distract me a lot. Throw out random shit to keep me off balance.”
“Don’t you appreciate that? Do you truly want to get lost in your past again?”
He stalked forward. Stopped only when he was right in front of her. “I don’t like feeling as if you’re playing with me.”
“I am not playing.” She grew sick of people thinking that was all she did. Did it look as if she was a child, playing with toys? “I wanted your take on the body. Wait. That’s not one hundred percent true.” Chloe blew out a breath. “I wanted to know what you thought of the killer.”
Joel jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Ruben conducted very thorough exams, but you know that.”
“Thanks for noticing,” Ruben replied, all demure-like. The man was never truly demure. “It’s good to be appreciated.”
She frowned at him.
He glanced away. Chloe was pretty sure he smothered a smile.
“Ruben already knows plenty about the killer,” Joel continued roughly. “So…what was this? You just wanted to make sure I still understood basic human anatomy? I wasn’t going to see anything he didn’t. Certainly nothing you hadn’t already figured out.”
“I do figure out a lot,” Chloe admitted.
Ruben snorted.
Joel’s eyes narrowed. “Then you were just—”
“Ruben…” She raised her voice. “Tell me what you think about the killer and his attacks.”
“Blitz attacks,” Ruben replied promptly. “A powerful initial blow, one that left the vics incapacitated, then a wild surge of hits to follow that. The bodies were covered