Absolute Pleasure

“Great.” She’d been on the SEDSCAM case for almost four weeks and finally felt as if they were making progress. “Ned, what about the bank in Atlanta? Any luck?”

“None yet,” he said. He propped his shoulder against the wall. “We do know the UNSUB didn’t clear out Manchester’s accounts with a stolen check the way he did with Bryson. If there’s a hole in the bank’s software, give me enough time and I’ll have it for you.”

“What about an Internet transfer?” Georgia suggested, gathering up her printouts and reports.

“First place I looked,” Ned told her. “Neither Manchester’s personal nor business accounts were set up for Internet banking. Doesn’t eliminate a hack job, but banks are required to report security breaches so don’t hold your breath.”

“Did you tell Mac about the check?” Georgia asked Ned, lifting the stack of papers to the chair.

Ned stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark trousers. “Bryson’s bank finally released the original check the UNSUB forged to clear out her account.”

Sunny glanced down at the still quiet phone. “That’s progress.”

“You were unavailable for consultation.” Ned cleared his throat before continuing. “I hope it’s okay, but I went ahead and asked Milken over in check fraud to give us his opinion on the Bryson check.”

“No, that’s good,” Sunny told him, hiding a smile when Ned stood just a tad straighter under her praise. “Don’t be afraid to ask the other divisions for assistance when you need it.”

“Ah, here it is,” Georgia said suddenly. She stood, a sheaf of papers clutched in her hand.

“How would you like to get out of the office tomorrow?” Sunny asked her.

“I’d love a change of scenery. What do you need?”

“Accompany the sketch artist to Wilder’s tomorrow. Take notes of anything else she might recall,” Sunny instructed. “If those warrants come through, Ned and I will be hanging out with the techno jocks at the gallery and theater.”

Georgia’s smile turned sly as she handed a set of documents to Sunny and Ned. “This caused production to grind to a halt in word processing.”

A warming blush heated Sunny’s cheeks as she scanned the cover sheet of Margo Wilder’s recorded statement. “No doubt,” she muttered, grateful she’d used a tape recorder rather than a video camera. “This was quick.”

“It’s the weekly supply of Krispy Kremes she feeds them,” Ned said with a quiet laugh, flipping through the statement.

“Works like a charm,” Georgia agreed good-naturedly.

“Good God,” Ned blurted. He pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against and gave the knot of his tie a tug. “People actually do this kind of thing?”

Georgia burst out laughing. “If you have to ask, then you’re spending way too much time with computers.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Sunny warned gently. “Georgia, why don’t you try the clerk’s office again.”

“Will do. But first tell me who is the hunk?”

Sunny frowned. “Hunk?” she hedged.

“Chamberlain,” Georgia clarified. “The man has a voice that could melt granite. That spells hunk in my fantasies, not short, fat and bald.”

“I’m gone,” Ned announced and quickly gathered up the notes and files he’d brought with him. “Maybe Milken has something for us.” He practically jogged for the door.

Sunny waited until she and Georgia were alone. “How’d you hear his voice?” she asked in a hushed tone.

She hadn’t dared replay the session herself, afraid of what she might hear—like her own heavy breathing. When she’d arrived at the office, she’d turned the tape over to word processing as a rush job. Not that she was eager to relive the fantasy she’d conjured during the interview, but she did need to thoroughly dissect Wilder’s statement for clues.

Georgia sat on the edge of the chair and leaned forward, resting her arms on Sunny’s desk. “My cubicle’s next to word processing,” she said, keeping her voice low. “When all the gasping and giggling started, I got curious.”

“Oh God.” Sunny closed her eyes and groaned. “They were playing the tape aloud?”

Georgia’s grin widened. “There wasn’t a headset in use. So? Is he as good-looking as he sounds?”

Sunny bit her bottom lip, then shook her head. “We’re federal agents, Georgia.”

“Statistics show that more and more couples are meeting on the job. We’re agents, Mac, and women. With the hours we put in, where else are we going to find a man?”

Georgia did have a point. Hadn’t Sunny just been bemoaning how long it’d been since she’d found a guy who could hold her interest? Duncan certainly had done that…and more.

“So?” Georgia prompted when Sunny remained silent. “Is he or isn’t he?”

Sunny looked toward the door to make certain they wouldn’t be overheard. “That voice,” she whispered, looking back at Georgia, “isn’t all that could melt granite.”

They giggled. Like women, not agents.

“He has these bluish-gray eyes, and they are so intense,” Sunny said once they stopped laughing. “When he looks at you, it’s like he really sees you.”

“Unlike cleavage crawlers,” Georgia said with distaste. “You know the type. They never look you in the eye because they’re too busy staring at your chest.”

Sunny wrinkled her nose. “How would they feel if we stared at their crotches?”

“Like we’re speaking their language. So, is he tall? Short, what?”

“A little over six foot.”

“Hair?”

“Wavy. Black.”

“Ass?”

Sunny grinned. “The nicest I’ve seen in a while.”

“Oh, it’s not fair.” Georgia let out a sigh. “Such luck. Beauty and brains, too.”

Sunny pushed out of her chair and walked to the filing cabinet. “How does a nice ass equal brains?” She pulled open the top drawer for the bottled water she kept on hand.

“Well, he’s not stupid. He made an interesting point when he said if we’re going to nail the UNSUB, we need—” The phone on Sunny’s rang and Georgia automatically reached for it. “It’s probably the clerk’s office.”

Sunny handed Georgia a bottle before she twisted the cap off her own and took a drink. “Need to know his habits,” she said quietly, recalling Duncan’s words during the interview. “His quirks.”

“Special Agent MacGregor’s office,” Georgia said into the receiver.

UNSUB. CID.