"Yeah?"

"Thank you for understanding," he whispered.

Ethan acted as if she'd done him a favor. Angel knew better.

Chapter 15.

An hour later Outside Chicago Angel had picked up Ethan Chandler near a back alley that was a discreet distance from his residence where the media were still camped out. With a knapsack over his shoulder, he looked like a college student dressed in jeans, a black T-shirt, hiking boots, and an oversized blue plaid shirt worn tail out.

On the drive to Lake Zurich, Ethan had been preoccupied and quiet. He carried on polite conversation whenever she instigated it, but as usual, his facial expressions gave insight into the darkness cast over his life. The long bouts of silence felt comfortable between them. Angel understood what it meant to lose someone special, but Ethan had a great deal more to lose if he had a personal connection to the killer. That dark turn was still to come.

She got off the freeway and pulled into a gas station that had a convenience store.

"I have to fill up my tank. Do you need anything from the store?"

"Yeah, see if they have a jumbo bag of good judgment," he said. "I could use that. Make it two."

"With or without salt?"

When he smiled, and his cheeks blushed with color, she couldn't help but return his grin even though she knew he wouldn't see it.

Ethan had an unusual way of drawing her in. His good looks were part of it, but he had an intimacy to his voice and a way he moved that made her want to touch him. Maybe with him being blind, she felt the urge to communicate in a different way.

Had Olivia felt the same with him in bed? Angel hadn't thought about what it would mean to make love to a man who didn't have his eyesight...or for him to love a woman without the benefit of his sight. She could see how easily fantasy played into it. It would be like using a blindfold that never came off.

"I'll be right back," she told him.

After getting out of her vehicle, Angel set up the gas pump to top off her tank, but the real reason she needed to stop had been for privacy. She had to call Gabe, and she didn't want Ethan to overhear. Her partner answered his cell on the third ring.

"Are you sitting down?" she asked.

Angel told her partner about Ethan's call and how she now had a hitchhiker onboard.

"What? Why is he with you?" Gabe asked. "That wasn't part of the deal."

"I didn't expect this either, but I've had time to think about it. He came clean and admitted that he'd lied about who had instigated the fantasy s.e.x, and he said there might be something personally d.a.m.ning in these recordings."

"Anything to do with Olivia's murder?" he asked.

"He said no. Just the s.e.x, but he didn't have to admit anything, Gabe. I think he's being straight with me."

"Go on."

"If we believe Ethan is at the center of the killer's world, it seemed like a reasonable idea to have him with me. I trust my gut that he's not the one who pulled off Olivia's murder and staged McFarland's death to look like a suicide. Even if he ordered it, in a murder for hire scheme, he didn't do the actual killing."

"Oh, yeah. That makes me feel a lot better. Thanks."

"I figure this'd be a *keep your enemy close' kind of deal."

"Is that how you look at him now...the enemy?"

She hadn't expected that question from Gabe. Even though it bordered the edge of their professional relationship and crossed the line into her private feelings, she felt a tight bond with her partner that didn't make the question out of bounds for them.

"It doesn't matter what I think of him. He is involved in this, Gabe, whether he's aware of it or not."

The phone went silent. For a second, Angel thought she'd lost the connection until she heard Gabe's voice again.

"If he admitted there could be something McFarland caught on video, I'm convinced we'll uncover it at the lake house."

"Yeah, agreed."

"And look, Angel. I know he's blind, but please don't let that rub off on you," he said. "Eyes behind your back, partner. Stick to the plan."

"Will do."

Lake Zurich Evening The last few turns of the GPS app on Angel's phone took her down Rand Road Highway 12 across Main Street of the quaint village of Lake Zurich. She headed along Paulus Park and made a right that led onto a private drive nestled tight to the northwest side of the lake.

When Angel saw the cottage on the water, it looked like a picturesque Thomas Kinkade painting. It had a wrap-around deck, large picture windows on the backside that looked out onto a cove, and was surrounded by tall trees.

"Wow. Perfect," she whispered as she turned off the engine and got out of the vehicle.

"What is?" Ethan asked as he opened his pa.s.senger door.

"It's beautiful here."

McFarland had inherited the lakefront property. He'd been a lucky man until his good fortune ran out.

"Describe it to me." Ethan stood near her vehicle and moved his head as if he was guided by sound and the warmth of the sunset.

Angel felt heat rush to her cheeks. She didn't know what to say that would do justice to the pristine property, but Ethan waited for her to find the words.

"The lake looks like a mirror to the sky. It's dusk. The sun is an orange fireball on the horizon, about to dip over the edge of the world. The water is glistening, reflecting the color of the sun, like it's on fire. The forest and the water remind me of the camping trips I took with my family growing up."

"That's beautiful." He breathed in the evening air and said, "Shall I tell you how it feels?"

She smiled. "Yes. Please."

"Close your eyes."

Angel shut her eyes to listen to him and to feel what he felt.

"Listen to the lapping water on the sh.o.r.eline. It has a rhythm that's calm and forgiving," he said. "The night's chill is winning a battle with the sun. Can you feel the fading warmth?"

Angel smiled and didn't answer.

"I smell wood burning from a fireplace or a campfire," he said. "The crickets have started their evening chorus, and one is slightly off key. Wind is whispering through the tree branches, a sound I never tire of. And I love the feel of the breeze on my face and in my hair, don't you?"

It amazed Angel how she had used her eyes to paint a picture for him, but Ethan had used what senses he had to describe the same thing. The tone of his voice had a hypnotic feel. It sounded like music. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ethan's handsome face bathed in the pale orange of the sun and his long dark hair tousled in the breeze. For a brief moment, he looked happy, until his expression changed, and the misery returned.

"The only thing that makes this trip tolerable...is you," he said. "Being blind makes it hard to block bad memories. Those are always with me. I can't distract my mind from them. This place belonged to the man who violated my privacy and insinuated himself into my life like a vile disease. If he had something to do with Olivia's death, I don't know if I could forgive myself. I can't help feeling that I betrayed her somehow, but if coming here brings closure to what happened to her, it's the right thing to do...even if it's hard on me."

Ethan reminded Angel that she had come with him for a reason. Even if she and Gabe had other motives for doing it, Ethan had a personal stake that would change his life. She had to remember every murder had a devastating and lasting ripple effect that radiated out to affect many others.

Being a cop working the case didn't make her immune either.

"We'll find who killed Olivia, Ethan. Count on it."

Angel usually refrained from making promises on the outcome to an investigation, but in this case she was determined to make it happen. It didn't matter if Olivia had deserved Ethan's love. That wasn't for her or anyone else to say. What mattered was that a girl had been murdered and her life taken. Ethan had deserved to be loved, and someone had destroyed what he had for their own cruel reasons. They took Olivia's life as if she meant nothing, except a means to an end they had yet to figure out.

Gabe had been right. There were too many players with motive to risk a clever killer getting away with murder. They had to give the killer not only a good reason to come to Lake Zurich, but they also had to make it look easy, as if they'd let their guard down. Gabe had set things in motion.

He'd contacted the property management company that kept the place rented for McFarland during certain times of the year. A company rep promised to leave a key under the front doormat for her. Gabe had also given the Lake Zurich PD a heads up that they had an operation in the area and that the location would be a stake out. When they offered a.s.sistance, her partner asked for one patrol car to discreetly monitor the road that led to the property and serve as back up.

Angel had a search to conduct, with Gabe watching her back.

Even if she hadn't told Ethan their whole motive for coming to McFarland's place, Angel felt justified in doing whatever it took to expose whoever had butchered a young girl and find justice for Ethan and Olivia.

Angel had Ethan take her arm, and she led him toward the front door. He had his rucksack on his shoulder, and he carried her overnight bag, too. The key was under the welcome mat as promised. After she opened the door, Ethan squeezed her elbow.

"Does it look as nice as it smells?" he asked. "I smell pine cones...and something floral."

"It's beautiful in here, too. Real cozy."

She described the place to him. The lake house cottage had a large stone hearth that dominated the main living area. The wood burning fireplace had been set up, ready for a match to get a warm blaze going. An inviting leather sectional surrounded the hearth and looked comfortable, with a beautiful view of the lake through floor to ceiling windows that spanned one wall. A staircase led to a second floor where the bedrooms were. With warm paint colors, designer touches, and a chef's kitchen, the bungalow looked spotless and homey without being pretentious.

"Looks like the bedrooms are upstairs. Let's check them out, and you can get settled and freshen up," she said. "How does pizza sound? I saw a place as we drove in. A sign said they delivered."

"I never say no to pizza. Order what you like on it. I'm not picky."

Angel gave Ethan the largest bedroom with the en suite master bath, and she took the farthest bedroom away from him. She wouldn't sleep tonight anyway, but imagining him next door would've made things worse. After they settled in, she ordered a pizza to be delivered from DiPiero's Ristorante on Main Street. She hadn't eaten since breakfast and once the pie came, the enticing aroma of the combo pizza triggered her hunger, even when she thought she couldn't eat.

While they ate, Angel kept her eyes alert, looking for the possible places McFarland would've hidden his surveillance stash. Gabe had told her how the man had hidden his gear in his home and she had a good idea where to look in his lake house. After she targeted her first locations to search, she let her mind wander to Gabe.

She knew what the game plan was, but something about not having Gabe with her had put her on edge. The idea had been for him to watch her back from a discreet distance, to draw the killer out. Local cops were asked to stay clear unless they were called in, but she didn't like anyone else covering Gabe's sweet backside except for her.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asked.

Angel had to smile. For someone without his eyesight, the guy could be d.a.m.ned perceptive.

"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind. It's quiet here. I like it, but it's different than the city, you know?"

"I hate that this place belonged to McFarland, but I love being here...with you," he said. "Olivia would've hated it. The quiet would have driven her crazy, I'm afraid."

He finished his last slice of pizza and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

"Has the sun gone down?" he asked. "I hear an owl outside...and the temperature has dropped a little."

"Yeah, it's dark out now. The moon looks beautiful over the lake," she said. "After I clean up, you should sit on the deck...while I search. You might want to wear a jacket, if you brought one. I'll let you know when I find something."

Ethan's expression took on shadows after she'd reminded him why they'd come.

"With you here, I suddenly feel ashamed of what you might see on those recordings," he told her. "I'm not embarra.s.sed over what I find erotic. There were other women before Olivia. They didn't judge me. They taught me what pleased a woman...and I learned how to ask for what I needed, too. It can be a beautiful experience."

"If you feel that way, why are you ashamed?"

Angel knew she had opened a door to a very frank discussion she wasn't sure she should have with Ethan, but he made s.e.x easy to talk about.

"Not many would understand, that's all. And I suppose that I'm afraid you might judge me...or think less of me. I know we've only just met, but it matters what you think...about me."

"I'm here to do my job, Ethan."

"Is that the only reason you let me come with you? The job?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "Whenever we're alone like this, I feel a connection between us. Am I wrong? The other night on the phone, it felt like you were there with me...in bed. Talking to you helped me sleep. I didn't feel alone."

Ethan didn't make any move to touch her. She stared into his mesmerizing eyes and let her gaze drift to his full lips. With him being blind, she didn't have to play coy with him. He oozed sensuality without doing a thing. Any attraction she felt had to come from her.

He'd admitted to feeling the same, but could she trust him? Olivia had trusted him.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Ethan?"

He hesitated for only a heartbeat before he said, "Yes."

Chapter 16.

"Come with me." Angel reached for Ethan's hand. His fingers entwined with hers and felt warm against her skin.

"Where are we going?" he asked with a faint smile on his lips.

"To your room."

She led him up the stairs and took her time. She expected him to be more c.o.c.ksure of his seductive ways, but from the look on his face, Ethan appeared unsteady.

Vulnerable.