Christmas Male

What she didn’t relay was why she hadn’t wound things up at the crime scene as quickly as she should have. Captain D. C. Campbell was distracting her. Each and every time she’d scanned the area or the faces of the curiosity junkies who’d gathered along the crime scene tape, her eyes had returned to him. Once she’d even caught him gazing back at her, and she’d felt that same mind-numbing flash of heat. That fact alone was enough to tempt her to look at him again—just to see if his effect on her was diminishing.

So far it wasn’t.

“So let me summarize,” Natalie said. “One of our toy drive volunteers was the victim of a mugging at the National Mall. We don’t know who her assailant was except that he, too, was wearing a Santa hat. Nor do we know who his two pals in the van were. And it looks like the four of them may have tried to pull off the heist of the century by stealing the Rubinov diamond right out of the National Gallery.”

Fiona frowned. “The question is how?”

“Chance will be all over the how part.”

“I’m betting they had inside help. How else could anyone get a well-guarded diamond out of the National Gallery without setting off an alarm? Maybe Amanda and/or her assailant were just supposed to bring it out of the gallery. Who would suspect a toy drive volunteer?”

“And Hemmings decided at the last minute to take the diamond and run?” Natalie asked.

“Or she had a change of heart?” In her mind, Fiona could almost see Natalie in the middle of a party at the Blue Pepper, jotting the possibilities down in her notebook. In the background she could hear chatter and Christmas music.

“I need to talk to her,” Fiona said. “The medics weren’t able to bring her around before they transported her.”

“Hemmings’s involvement could cause some public relations problems for the army,” Natalie murmured.

“Yes.”

“I have to say I’m a bit jealous. If I weren’t so close to my due date, I’d be tempted to work at your side on this one.” She paused. “So, what do you think of your Captain Campbell? Is he good?”

“Yeah,” Fiona said. She had to give him that much. She scanned the area again, playing back the scene D.C. had described. If what had happened here was some kind of a falling-out among thieves, it was thanks to him that they had the diamond.

But she could see the direction Natalie was heading in. “I don’t need a partner.”

“The army is going to want in on this,” Natalie said briskly. “First, we’ll have to make sure what you have is the real Rubinov.” There was a beat of silence. “Hold on. I’ve got a call coming in from the commissioner. It never ceases to amaze me how fast news travels in our nation’s Capitol.”

Politics. Fiona bet she knew exactly what the call from the commissioner was about—and that her boss had seen it coming. The army was going to want in on the investigation. They had a right, Fiona supposed.

Whirling, she narrowed her gaze on D. C. Campbell. He’d evidently been a busy boy while she’d been directing traffic and gathering information. In less than an hour, he’d reported to someone who’d gotten the commissioner’s ear. Not an easy feat to pull in the last few days before Christmas.

He was standing over near the ice rink, and he’d been joined by the same two women she’d seen with him earlier in the exhibition room. Both were tall and striking-looking and bore a strong family resemblance to Campbell. As if they had a will of their own, Fiona’s eyes strayed to D. C. Campbell. Even now when he wasn’t gazing directly at her, there was still that little skip of her pulse to deal with.

“Fiona, are you still there?”

Dammit! Disgusted with herself, Fiona turned away and refocused her attention on Natalie. “I’m here.”

“The commissioner got a call from a General Eddinger at Fort McNair. The bad and the good news, depending on your perspective, is that you’re going to be working this case with Captain Campbell.”

“Figures.” It was logical that they work together. And Fiona didn’t like to waste time fighting logic.

“The army does have a right to run their own investigation,” Natalie said.

“But it would be more efficient if we worked together.”

“Exactly. I can hear the lack of enthusiasm in your voice, but I learned during the few times I’ve worked with Chance that two heads are often better than one.”

“You’ve worked with Chance?” It was common knowledge around the department that Natalie and her sisters were daughters of a professional thief. But Natalie had never before mentioned that she and Chance had worked together.

“Ancient history—back when we first met. We were paired up for the first time on a high-profile case for the department. After that, I worked undercover with him on a case on my own time. Our mission was to steal back a diamond. We fell in love on the job.”

Another pump of panic had Fiona placing a hand against her chest just where she’d tucked the Rubinov away for safe keeping. She had to get a grip.

“Now—” Natalie’s tone turned brisk “—I want you to bring the diamond and your Captain Campbell to the Blue Pepper.”

Fiona frowned. “I was going to go to the hospital and check on Private Hemmings.”

“I’ll send a couple of uniforms over there to keep us updated. By the time you get here, Chance will locate someone who can authenticate the Rubinov.”

When Natalie disconnected, Fiona frowned down at the phone. She could tell that D. C. Campbell was looking at her by the tingle of awareness that moved through her. The nip in the night air contrasted sharply with the heat that shot through her veins. It was as if his mere presence heightened all of her senses. And she was stalling. Logic was one thing. Her reaction to D. C. Campbell was another.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like men. She did. In the right time and place. So far, she’d been able to keep them on the fringes of her life. Enjoyable, but not essential. And she wanted to keep it that way.

Gut instinct warned her that Captain Campbell was not a man kept easily in his place. Already, he’d slipped into her mind and was staging an assault on her senses.

Not that she was going to admit it had anything to do with the Rubinov or its legend. What she was feeling was just a trick of chemistry. There’d been a time in her life when she’d had stars in her eyes and she’d believed in wishes and dreams. It had been Christmas time then, too. There was something about the season that made her lose track of reality. But she could handle this…situation. She would handle it and D. C. Campbell, as well.

Straightening her shoulders, she raised her gaze to meet his and strode forward.

Chapter Three

LIEUTENANT FIONA GALLAGHER walked the way she drove—purposefully and fast. They’d come to Georgetown in separate cars, so he’d had time to observe the competent way she threaded her way through Washington traffic. Because of the season, parking was at a premium. They’d parked their vehicles several blocks away from the Georgetown bistro where her boss had summoned them.

She’d said nothing since she’d joined him at his car, where she’d passed along the news that as soon as Amanda Hemmings had reached the hospital, she’d been rushed in for X-rays, but hadn’t regained consciousness yet. Fiona had delivered the information in a matter-of-fact voice, but if D.C. read her correctly, she wasn’t any happier about the news than he was. Many of their questions might be answered if they could just talk to Amanda Hemmings.

In spite of her killer heels, the lieutenant strode along the sidewalk at a fast clip. For now, D.C. was willing to let the silence stretch between them.

The twenty-minute drive from the Mall had given him some time to think about how he was going to handle her. Professionally. General Eddinger had already made the arrangements. Like it or not, he and the lieutenant were going to work together on this case. The question was, how did he want it to play out? In his experience, there were two ways to work with a partner: around them or with them. And he bet he knew exactly what choice Fiona Gallagher had already made.

They’d nearly reached a corner when she realized she was outpacing him and slowed down until he caught up.

“Sorry,” she murmured.

“No problem.”

It wasn’t the first example of her thoughtfulness. Earlier at the sculpture garden, she’d arranged for one of the squad cars to drive his mother and sister to Union Station so they could catch the eight o’clock train back to Baltimore.

As they crossed the street, D.C. took her arm and felt her stiffen.

“I don’t need help crossing the street, Captain.”

“Maybe I do.”

The look she shot him was cool and assessing. “I don’t think so. You don’t impress me as a man who needs much help with anything.”

D.C. smiled. “Thanks, but you’d be wrong. I want your help solving this case. And my guess is that you’re not happy at the prospect of working with me.”