"I'm not sure there would be a good time, Charley." He looked back to Laur ie and pointed to the couch. Laurie suddenly feared him; her wary gaze tol d him as much. And he would be d.a.m.ned if he knew why. "Sit down," he state d firmly. "I'll be off the phone in a minute...then we'll talk."

"I'm sure we will," she said sarcastically, taking a seat as told. Cole wond ered what could have possibly happened in the span of minutes to send her fl eeing his apartment when a moment ago, she had instigated the kiss.

"What the h.e.l.l do you want, Charley?"

"I'm calling as a concerned friend. You don't know how many times I picked up this receiver to call you and chickened out. I knew you would react th is way."

"So why the h.e.l.l did you call? To reopen old wounds?" Cole clenched his teet h as an ache gripped his heart like a vise. He did not want to feel. It had been too d.a.m.n long.

"Some Michaels woman came by asking-"

"What?" he nearly shouted. "What the h.e.l.l did you discuss with her?" His e yes fell on the object of his newly found anguish. No wonder she had been i n such a hurry to leave.

"Look, she was concerned about you, is all. She thought you were unreachabl e and d.a.m.ned if she wasn't right. Cole Kincaid, you are one cold son of a g un. I called to make amends, buddy. It's been too d.a.m.n long to carry this o n. But I can see now-"

"That you made a mistake?" he said with a malice-filled chuckle. "When the h.e.l.l is everyone going to realize I don't want to be reached." Cole punched the OFF b.u.t.ton on the phone and threw it into his recliner. He advanced on Laurie.

She stared back, unflinching. She had nerve, he would give her that much.

"I think maybe you ought to leave now," he growled, clenching and unclenchin g his fists at his sides.

"I think that would be best," Laurie agreed. She attempted to rise, but he pl aced one hand on her shoulder, staying her, and leaned precariously close.

"When, Laurie? When did you meet Charley?" A tear slipped down her cheek, and like the strong-willed woman he had com e to know, she failed to acknowledge it. "The same day I went to see Rober t Freeman," Laurie said, holding her head high.

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes.

Laurie batted his hand off her shoulder and headed for the door, leaving him to stare after her. When she reached the exit, she turned to glare at him.

"Because I thought I cared," she bit out, then yanked open the door only to s lam it shut behind her.

Cole sank to the couch, the fight drained from him. "Not a wise thing to do, Michaels," he said to the silent room. Not a wise thing to do .

Chapter 21.

Cole walked from his bedroom, freshly showered, shaved, and ready for work . G.o.d, he hated Mondays, particularly this one. Going into the office toda y would not be a typical one. The mayor's daughter was still missing and h e knew there would be h.e.l.l to pay for it. Someone's b.u.t.t would be hung out to dry and Cole had a strong feeling it would be his.

Grasping a ceramic mug from the shelf, he poured himself a cup of strong bl ack coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar, wanting to delay the inevitab le as long as humanly possible.

His gaze took in the wall beside the counter as last night replayed itself in his mind. The image of Laurie boldly approaching him had haunted his d reams and waking hours of the night. He was unsure how much sleep he had a chieved but would bet it wasn't much.

Had Charley not picked that particular moment to call...what? He would hav e woken up one satisfied man this morning because there certainly had been little doubt the direction they were heading-even if they had managed to make it through his chicken and rice.

But thanks to Charley, he had slept alone last night. Thank goodness he liv ed far enough away or Cole would probably chance losing Laurie to him as we ll.

Cole's last thought caught him off guard, knocking the air from his chest a s thoroughly as if someone had struck him in the sternum. Where the h.e.l.l ha d that come from? With Laurie, Cole had nothing to lose, for there was noth ing between them to lose.

Cole took another sip from his cup as the door to the second bedroom opene d. Cole glanced down at his watch, making sure he had not slept in. A weary-looking Damien, sporting nothing but a pair of boxers and a flannel robe , approached the coffee pot, grasped a mug, and poured himself a cup.

Damien walked around the counter and took a seat on a stool opposite Cole.

He ran a hand through his long black hair, attempting to make some sembla nce of it.

Cole narrowed his eyes. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing up so early this mornin g? It's only seven-thirty."

Damien chuckled. "Don't I know it. h.e.l.l, my whole body is telling me I shou ld be asleep, but I guess I'm just too keyed up."

"What's got you wound so tight?"

"I don't know, man," Damien said, taking a sip of his coffee. He glanced up at Cole as though weighing the options of telling him exactly what was on his mind. "Cindy, I guess."

"I take it she didn't spend the night."

Damien laughed again. "If she would have had her way. I made excuses and to ok her home right after the gig last night."

"Damien Vincent is turning them away? Miracles will never cease."

Damien ran a hand down his slightly whiskered jaw. "How the h.e.l.l do you let a girl down easily, man? I've never had to deal with this."

Cole shrugged. "You never seemed to have a problem with it before."

"I never allowed them into my world before. Man, you take them home, screw their brains out, then send them packing come morning. I don't know why I let this go on so long with Cindy. Now I think she fancies herself in lov e with me or something. Women," he snorted, then took another sip of his c offee.

Cole knew the whole affair was none of his business, yet he could not help himself from asking. "Does this have anything to do with Laurie?"

Damien's gaze met Cole's. "What makes you say that?"

"You've made it obvious you find her attractive, and even asked about my r elationship with her."

"So you have one with her now?"

"No."

"I'd never step on your toes, man. If you have designs on her, then you bet ter say something now."

Cole weighed his options. He could either admit to the feelings he so despe rately tried to deny or he could say nothing and chance losing anything tha t might develop between them to his roommate.

He opted to take his chances. After all, with last night's occurrences, forgi veness would be hard to come by.

"I told you before, there is nothing between us," Cole said.

"Then Cindy VanWarren has got to go, but gently. If Laurie knows I dumped Cindy for her, she won't even look at me." Cole grimaced. "You're one cold son of a b.i.t.c.h, Damien." He grinned. "But t hen, I don't think you need me to tell you that."

"You got to go where your libido leads you," Damien said, winking.

"Maybe sometime you ought to think with the head on your shoulders and not the one in your boxers." Although Cole had made the decision not to ackno wledge his feelings for Laurie and Damien had considered asking him first, he could not help from lashing out and taking the pot shot.

Unscathed, Damien smiled. "And what fun would that be? Right now, there's only one thing in life more fun than uninvolved s.e.x and that's rock n' rol l, man."

Cole's beeper sounded and he checked the number. "I think you're worse off t han I am, Damien. You're not cold; you're more like dry ice. We make a h.e.l.l of a pair. The only difference, you're not afraid to go after what it is you want...at any cost."

Cole walked away from the counter, grasped the phone, and punched in the nu mbers. "Chief?" he asked into the receiver as soon as the other end connect ed, not waiting to be greeted.

"Get on over to the mayor's house, Cole." His voice sounded grim. "They fou nd his daughter...dead...in his own front yard."

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Cole blasphemed. He whistled as he replaced the cordless phone on the base, then glanced at Damien who looked at him in int erest. "As much as I'd like to finish this conversation, I have to go. They just found another dead body."

Cole parked his car along the curb, across the street from the mayor's house.

He stopped long enough at the station to stock the detective's sedan with ev idence kits, before heading to the Stanton's.

Frank Cooper cordoned off the entire front yard with yellow crime scene tape . Cole ducked beneath the barrier and stepped toward the front of the house.

Mayor Stanton and his wife sat beside one another on the front stairs in an attempt to console each other, though neither seemed to be doing a very goo d job. Mrs. Stanton sobbed pitifully into her hands while Jim sat, jaw tense , trying his d.a.m.nedest to stop the flow of tears. Cole's heart pained for th eir loss, knowing all too well the feeling of losing someone so dear.

Taking his note pad from his pocket, he did a quick sketch of the area as Frank Cooper and O'Riley began measuring the scene and triangulating the b ody.

"I hate to ask these questions at a time like this, Jim," Cole said, his gaze traveling to the body covered by a dark blue Cleveland Indian throw, the Wah oo staring into the clouds, "but you know it's my job."

"Yes, yes," he mumbled in grief. "Just get this over with and get on with what it is you do best. I want this son of a b.i.t.c.h strung up by his b.a.l.l.s." "I want him, too," Cole a.s.sured the mayor. "What time did you find her?"

"I came out to get my paper about seven o'clock this morning. Her feet...by the bushes...caught my attention," he choked out, then covered his mouth, trying desperately not to give way to anguish.

"Was she covered with that blanket?" Cole asked, his gaze returning to the b ody.

"No." The mayor shook his head as though the word had not been sufficient. "I did that. I couldn't stand to let her lay there like that...exposed."

Cole understood but feared the answer to his next question. "Did you touch her body?"

The mayor's eyes snapped up to Cole's, anger evident to the cores. "What wou ld you have done, Lieutenant? Of course, I did. I held her head in my lap; I would have breathed life into her if I could."

Visions of his wife's lifeless body played through Cole's mind. He, too, ha d ignored protocol and held Jeanne's head in his lap as his tears washed aw ay some of the blood marring her beautiful face. She had been beaten so bad ly, he hardly recognized her.

"You know as well as I do the importance of disturbing the body or the crime scene," was all Cole could think to say.

"Lieutenant, had you been in my position, you would have done the same!"

the mayor nearly roared.

"I know that all too well, sir." Anxious to move on, he asked, "Was anything else disturbed?"

"No," he answered meekly, the fight gone from him as his shoulders sagged and his face sported new lines of age. Jim Stanton now appeared years olde r than he had just yesterday.

"Did you see or hear anything unusual throughout the night?"

"No, like I told you, I didn't see or hear a thing until seven this morning."

"All right. That's all the questions I have for now, Jim," Cole said, laying a gentle hand atop his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Beside the body, leaving the parents to their grief, Cole lifted the blanket away from the face of the victim. Sightless eyes stared up at him, void of an y expression. Only a body without a soul could appear so empty, so vacant.

Before Cole began snapping pictures of the body and surrounding area, Coope r called out to him. "Cole, over here."

Cole made a careful arc around the body to a spot about fifteen feet beyon d where Frank pointed to a patch of flowers. A perfect imprint of a large hiking-type boot lay undisturbed in the bedding as though the perp had pee red into the opened window of Mayor Stanton and his wife's bedroom.

"Looks like the son of a b.i.t.c.h is getting careless," said Cole, more to hims elf than Frank, then he turned to Cooper, giving him his full attention. Exc itement coursed through his veins, renewing his determination. "Go get the camera from the car and the plaster and bucket also."

Within minutes, Cole had a special camera, which took exact-sized photos set on a wooden frame positioned directly over the print, then placed a twelve- inch ruler beside the impression. Shot taken, Cole sprayed the surface with hair spray as the fixative, then used a metal frame to surround the track. A fter mixing the plaster and water, Cole poured the mixture into the frame an d over the print, using his blending stick as a diffuser so the flow would n ot disturb the print's surface. Grasping some sticks from the nearby bushes, Cole placed them on top of the wet plaster to reinforce the cast.

Cole returned to the body, allowing the plaster to harden. Victoria had been a girl of infinite beauty with brown hair and brown eyes. Not much makeup w as required to enhance her cla.s.sic good looks. His heart ached for the loss to the world, for surely life would have been better with her in it.

Looking past the collar of her shirt, Cole noted the neck wound, slit nearly from ear to ear with the trade mark purplish bite marks surrounding it. No blood soaked the ground beneath her. She had been killed elsewhere and dumpe d in her parent's front yard. Pulling the blanket the rest of the way off, C ole saw a bloodied piece of paper stuck to her chest, just below her left br east with what appeared to be a serrated knife.

"s.h.i.t," Cole grumbled. Not only had their perp gotten bolder, but he'd bec ome more violent as well. He was positive the chief had not antic.i.p.ated thi s move when he ordered the piece in the paper to be written. G.o.d help them if they did not find the perp before he struck again. They had thoroughly p issed him off.

After taking several close-up photos, Cole tore the paper from the knife, c areful not to disturb the inflicted wound. His hands actually shook with th e rush of adrenaline running through his veins as he opened it. Scrawled in barely legible black marker were the words, "Back, back, to your own place ! Your time is not yet come. Wait! Have patience! To-night is mine. To-morr ow night is yours!"

Even though the reminiscent "BS" was missing from the quote, Cole would lay odds they came from the same source. The broken words, to-night and to-morrow, reminded him of something, but of what he could not be sure.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner arrived at the scene interrupting his thoughts; she obviously hadn't wanted to send one of her staff to the mayor's house.

She spoke quietly to the mayor and his wife before approaching Cole. The e ver-present politician .

"What do you have?" she asked as she knelt over the body.

Cole chuckled at the lame question, but decided it best not to be sarcastic at the moment. "Dead white female, age twenty-one. Appears she died due to the neck wound."

As the Coroner took the body's temperature and compared it to that of the air, she asked, "And the knife here in the chest?"

"May have happened postmortem."

"Anything been disturbed?"

"Mayor Stanton claims to have cradled her head in his lap, then covered the victim with the Cleveland Indian throw," Cole said, indicating the blanket discarded beside the body.

"Pack it up for evidence, Lieutenant. I'll take note that it was placed over the victim by her father." She studied her equipment, then looked at Cole.

"I'll give you time of death after the autopsy, but she looks like she's bee n dead a few days. Anything else I should know?" she asked, her voice soundi ng annoyed as she eyed the bloodied note in his gloved fingers.