Sundays Are for Murder

“Could be,” he allowed in a voice that said he didn’t really buy into either theory.

Charley was quick to pick up his tone. “But you don’t think so.”

Nick had never cared for being questioned, second-guessed or probed. “Trying to get into my head, Special Agent Dow?”

“Wouldn’t have to, if you volunteered a little.”

Nick shrugged, looking over her head. Hoping she’d get the message without his having to tell her to butt out. “Nothing to volunteer yet.”

To his surprise, she caught him by the lapels and forced him to look at her. “Partners are supposed to have each other’s backs, Brannigan. I can’t cover your back if I don’t know what to expect.”

She had beautiful eyes, he thought suddenly. Eyes that went right through a man, clear to his spine.

Nick mentally pulled himself back. Those weren’t the kind of reactions a man had about his partner. Not if he intended to remain part of a successful team. “It’s just a hunch.”

She released his lapels but made no effort to step out of his way. If he wanted to get out of the alcove, he was going to have to physically move her. Or give her an answer she accepted.

“What kind of a hunch?”

He shrugged. “Maybe I’m being paranoid.” It was meant to get her to back away.

It failed. Charley rolled along with the comment. “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.”

She wasn’t going to back off until she had what she wanted, he thought in exasperation. “It’s a long story, Special Agent Dow.”

Charley smiled sweetly. “Fine, I love long stories. We’re due for a lunch break. You can entertain me.”

He gave her a long, significant look. One that went along the length of her before it returned to rest on her eyes. “Telling stories is not the way I usually entertain a lady.”

It took Charley a second to recover, and do it without swallowing. Not that she could. Her mouth had suddenly turned bone-dry. She was aware that the terms of their future partnership depended on her not showing her reaction. She liked to think that when the chips were down she could bluff her way out of anything.

“Think of it as broadening your repertoire,” she instructed flippantly.

With reluctance, he agreed to give her at least a partial explanation over lunch. After he got the report.

NICK STOPPED BY the lab to get the report from Hank. Not that there was much to add to what he’d already been told. The rabbit had been pregnant when it died.

But that was enough. It told Nick everything he needed to know.

He muttered his thanks and left. There was no point in saying anything about the fact that Garcia was less tight-lipped than he would have liked. At least he’d gotten to the rabbit quickly.

“You okay?” Charley asked when he came out of the glass-enclosed lab.

“Let’s go eat,” Nick said.

The fact that he didn’t answer the question was not lost on Charley.

SHE TOOK HIM to a nearby taco restaurant, one she frequented. When it came to placing his order, Nick told her to pick for him, then added that he’d never had anything on the menu so he was going to have to trust her. She’d looked at him as if he’d just admitted to hopping the ten-fifteen shuttle from Mars, then ordered two beef-and-cheese burritos.

“I can’t believe you’ve never had a burrito,” she said when they received their order several minutes later.

“Missed that in my education,” he responded.

Charley waited until he’d taken a second bite, then asked, “Well, what do you think?”

He enjoyed it. As far as fast food went, this was preferable to a hot dog. “It’s a theme and variation on a crepe.”

As good an assessment as any, Charley thought. She also estimated that she’d given him enough time to frame the answer she was waiting for. Unwrapping her own burrito, she looked at him before digging in. “Okay, so much for the gourmet portion of our program. You were going to entertain me with a story.”

Nick regretted not lying to her. He wasn’t comfortable with lies, but he wasn’t exactly comfortable with the truth in this case, either. It wasn’t that he felt guilty. He couldn’t have played his hand any other way. But he did have regrets about how things had ended up.

He shrugged and gave it one more try. “Not much to tell.”

The hell there wasn’t, she thought. “It went from a long story to a summary? All right, give me whatever you want to give me. But give me something.” Their eyes met and she added, “We’re partners.”

“Right, the bonding thing,” he muttered, taking another bite. He slid the paper that was wrapped around the burrito down further. “Can’t we just make a slit in our thumbs and mingle our blood?”

He wasn’t wiggling out of it that easily. This was something that was eating away at him, and might have some maniac camping out on Brannigan’s doorstep. She needed to know what she was up against if she was going to be there for him.

“Talk,” Charley ordered. Her expression grew serious. “Are you in some kind of trouble, Brannigan?” She headed him off, in case he was going to offer a flippant remark. “And before you staunchly deny it, most people don’t open their door to find dead rabbits lying on their doorstep, not unless there’s something else going on in their lives.”

He frowned, lowering his eyes to his meal. “It’s personal.”

“So am I. Stop stalling, Brannigan,” she insisted. This wasn’t something she was going to back away from. It was in her nature to get involved. Not to merely test the waters but to jump in with both feet. For better or worse, the man was her partner and if that was going to work, trust had to be involved. He had to give her his. And then maybe she’d give him hers.

The slightest hint of humor surfaced around his mouth. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a pushy broad, Special Agent Dow?”

Her mouth curved. “Part of my charm. Talk,” she repeated.

He took a long breath, then finally said, “There was this woman back in D.C.”

When he paused, she pushed. If she had to crawl down his throat with forceps to get this story out, one piece at a time, she was determined to get it. “Yes?”

“Her name was Linda.” He tried not to remember her face. Tried not to remember anything at all. He just wanted this behind him, although he was beginning to doubt that it ever would be. “Linda Dixon.” He studied the paper cup that held his soda. “She was a little intense, but we had a good time. At first.”