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  Ellie narrowed her eyes. “You say that, but it’s obvious most of them think flattery will get them special treatment. If Jillian was a man, they wouldn’t treat her like that.”

  “You don’t seem to mind.”

  Ellie blinked, taken completely by surprise. “No one flirts with me.”

  Jacob snorted, his head falling back on his shoulders as he laughed. “Seriously? It happens all the time, you just don’t notice.”

  She assessed his expression, trying to see if he was pulling her leg. “I think maybe you’re imagining things. Anyway, Jillian is great when you treat her with respect, so I wouldn’t listen to the rumors.”

  “Time will tell how long that lasts with you in her office all the time.”

  “Well, it’s our space now, and we get along just fine.”

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me? You up for a drink?”

  She glanced up at him suspiciously. “Is that why you’re here?”

  “I came in to grab some paperwork before I start intensive training tomorrow.”

  “I thought you were supposed to start today.”

  He held his hands up. “It was pushed to tomorrow. I didn’t ask why.”

  “All about the paid time off, right?”

  “Hey, do you blame me? Maybe you could use a mini-vacation.”

  She grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair and waited for her computer to shut down before locking up. “Not sure I’ll get one of those, but I could use a drink and fresh eyes on this in the morning.”

  “I can drive.”

  “Sure. I’ll just leave my car here and take a service in the morning.” She followed Jacob out through the side exit, whistling low through her teeth when he pointed the key fob at a powder blue Mustang with dealer plates. “New car?”

  “It’s a couple years old, but it’s new to me.”

  “I didn’t figure you for a Mustang guy, but it’s nice. Where does the dog sit?”

  He chuckled. “Duke gets the whole backseat to himself. He takes it all up too.”

  She slid into the passenger seat and leaned back, closing her eyes. When the victim’s face popped up on the backs of her eyelids, her eyes snapped open, and she settled for watching the scenery fly by. Charlie’s Pub was only a few blocks from headquarters, and so close to shift change that it was wall-to-wall police officers. A few greeted them, but just as many gave Ellie the side-eye and teased Jacob about the partner upgrade.

  “Assholes,” Jacob muttered, leading her to a booth in the back.

  “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t bother me.”

  “They’ll get over it.”

  She shrugged out of her suit jacket, letting out a sigh as she sank into the booth. “Or they won’t. I’m not lying when I say I don’t care.”

  “Some of them are still jealous of the attention you attracted.”

  “Like I jumped off a bridge for attention,” she scoffed, arching her back and stretching, trying to shed the day.

  “I know. And I’ve said as much to anyone who’s confronted me about it. I’m sort of surprised no one busted my chops for letting you do the hard part.”

  “I think they’re just grateful they didn’t have to drag a slick, half-naked man out of the water. That was the hard work. You even lost a shoe.”

  “Funny,” he grumbled, eyeing the paper menu that boasted some of the best deep-fried bar food that could be found in the South. “I couldn’t get the smell of swamp water out of my upholstery.”

  “Is that why you got a new car?”

  He looked at her dubiously. “Promise you won’t be mad?”

  “No, I don’t promise,” she said, following a comic scowl with a smile. “Come on, tell me.”

  “All right, but if you get mad…”

  “I won’t.” This time she had to school her face so she didn’t frown.

  “When we were assigned as partners, I’d heard so many…stories, I was afraid my career would be over. So, I promised myself if my career survived working with you, I would buy myself a new Accord.”

  Ellie’s eyes narrowed, sensing this was about to get worse. “You bought a Mustang.”

  “About halfway through our time as partners, I realized my life was in danger, so I changed my reward. I figure living through all that meant I deserved something special.”

  “Wow.” Ellie tried to decide if that was a compliment or an insult.

  “You promised you wouldn’t be mad.”

  “No, I didn’t,” she laughed, “but I’m not mad. Actually, I’m kind of flattered.”

  A waiter appeared at their table, but before he could hand them the printed menu, Ellie waved it away. “I’ll take a cheesesteak and fries with a rum and cola.”

  “I’ll have the same,” Jacob said. When the waiter was gone, he leaned forward to be heard over the crowd. “So, tell me about the case.”

  She laid the whole thing out, pausing when their drinks then food were delivered so the waiter didn’t catch any of the gory details. Jacob listened with rapt attention, asking her questions a few times, but otherwise just hearing her out.

  “It feels good to share that with someone,” she said when she finally finished. “I can’t tell my family because they would freak, and Nick doesn’t really get it. I mean, he tries, but sharing the case with him might put him over the edge.”

  “That’s the kind of thing you should only share with another LEO. Unless you’ve been a law enforcement officer, you can’t really know how we can see this stuff day in and day out and still come to work ready to serve. It takes someone really special.”

  “Nick is special.” She grimaced when she heard how defensive her own tone was.

  “He’s a good guy,” Jacob admitted. “But my dad always told me, never marry someone who’s not an officer. The marriage would be doomed from the start.”

  “Your mother was a housewife.”

  “Before that, my mother was a dispatcher. It’s not the same thing, though a dispatcher is in touch with the horrors that happen to a beat cop. But they work crazy hours, too, so she quit to stay home with me. When I went to school, they were doing well financially, and she just never went back. She missed it, though.” He took a sip of his drink and let it settle on his tongue before he swallowed. “She lived for Dad’s stories.”

  “Nick would listen to me. But it wouldn’t be the same, so I don’t bring it up.” She shrugged one shoulder and took a sip of her drink, letting the rum settle to the bottom of her stomach and do its magic. “It’s not like we’re getting married anyway.”

  “Is everything all right?”

  She let out a long sigh. “Yes. He’s perfect; completely content to wait until I’m ready and all that.” She waved a hand in front of her face in a flippant motion, then finished the rest of her sandwich in two bites and went to work on her fries. “He’s everything a woman could want and more.”

  “So, why don’t you want to marry him?”

  “It’s not him.” She looked into Jacob’s probing brown eyes. “I don’t want to marry anyone. At least, not right now.”

  “What about your parents? Are they happy you’re working in a safer environment? Not many bridges in the cold case locker.”

  “Ha-ha. I thought they’d be thrilled, but no. My mother is freaked out by death, I guess, and my dad loves my mother, so he goes along with whatever she wants.”

  “I’m sorry.” The waiter came back, and Jacob waved off his offer to refresh his drink before he continued. “I really thought they’d be happy.”

  “They’re afraid I’ll get hurt.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten you a cactus,” he joked. “Too many barbs.”

  “Shut up.” She laughed, rolling her eyes. “They’re not that protective.”

  He screwed his mouth to the side and put his finger on his chin. The effect was hilarious, and she nearly snorted rum and cola up her nose. “I see you get my point,” he said.

  “Whatever.”

 
; “So, what did you think about the other case from West Ashley? Weird that two bodies were dumped there so close together, right?”

  Ellie's lips parted, and she froze with her glass inches from her mouth. “What?”

  “You’re talking about the Jane Doe by the walking trail, right? There was another one found that same month.”

  She set her glass down with a sharp thunk, leaning forward. Two in the same month?

  “In the same spot?”

  He frowned. “No, but in the same park.”

  “Why aren’t the two of them linked in the system?”

  He pursed his lips and thought for a second. “I’m guessing because the cause of death was completely different. The body was hidden instead of displayed, and her head was attached to her body. At least, that’s what I think the detectives said when a news anchor asked the same question.”

  Ellie leaned back in her seat, deflated. “Oh. Well, that doesn’t sound like more than a coincidence.”

  “It doesn’t, but there were some pretty strange things about both cases. Then there’s the location. There are always people there, so whoever it was knew the area well, blended in, and were able to get in and out without leaving any evidence.”

  Ellie thought back to the path she had taken to the dumpsite. “Any shoe prints would be obscured by the mulch, right? It’s not the best material for footprints.”

  “It may have been dry out and the path mulched, but isn’t it unusual to leave nothing? No hair, no ripped clothing, no fibers. Nada.”

  Ellie could feel the case sinking deeper into her subconscious; talking it over with Jacob had been just what she’d needed. “The M.E. basically said the same thing. That she hadn’t seen so little evidence in such a violent death.”

  “Same with Jane Doe number two.”

  “That still doesn’t connect them. Are there any similarities at all? Even small ones that might not have seemed important at the time could mean something, with two bodies close to each other. How did she die?”

  He shook his head, rubbing his hand over the side of his face. “I don’t remember. It wasn’t as gruesome as the first woman, so it wasn’t discussed as much. If I remember right, the throat was slashed and stabbed, but I could be wrong.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “What if he tried to decapitate her too, and failed?”

  “There’s no way. If my memory serves me, the cuts were made in an entirely different place than when you aim to slice someone’s throat. If you miss the artery, they could survive.”

  Ellie recoiled a little, eyes widening. “How do you know that?”

  He gave her a wily smile. “You’re not the only one who had dreams of making detective. It didn’t pan out for me, but I watched enough crime dramas, learned more than I ever needed to know. Some of the most popular shows are horribly inaccurate, but the ones that really take time to research are worth the watch. If you want, I can give you my watch-list.”

  She held up her hands and shook her head. “Hard pass.”

  “Your loss.”

  “Do you know anything else about the case? How long between the first woman and the second?”

  Jacob took a swig of his drink, his eyes going to the ceiling as he thought back. “Within the month, I think. And the second body was badly decomposed, but there’d been so much rain. Between that and the scavengers, time of death was hard to pinpoint.”

  Ellie’s stomach lurched. “I’m glad she was dead for that.”

  “Me too. That’s all I remember. They never figured out who she was, and a police sketch didn’t lead anywhere.”

  “Maybe whoever did it heard about the first woman and decided it was a good place to dump a body.”

  “I think that’s what detectives ultimately decided, but I can’t be sure.” Jacob took both their plates and stacked them on the edge of the table for the waiter.

  “And you don’t have any logical reason that the two are linked, besides location?” Ellie drained her drink and considered ordering another since Jacob was driving.

  “That’s right. And really, so many bodies are found in parks and in wooded areas that it could just be a coincidence.”

  “You don’t sound like you believe that.”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences.” He downed his drink and set it on the table. “To tell you the truth, the detective assigned to the case dismissed everyone’s concerns. I wasn’t the only one who thought the two women might have been linked.”

  A rowdy group walked in, and as soon as Ellie saw the beefy cop who’d blocked her in the breakroom, she groaned. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Jacob followed her gaze and nodded. “I have to be up early.” He opened his wallet and tossed a twenty on the table. Ellie did the same, and they slipped out the door and headed to the parking lot.

  As they were walking out, Ellie checked her watch. “I can’t believe it’s almost nine.”

  “Time flies in good company.” His chocolate-brown eyes sparkled. “And you turn into a different person when you talk about a case.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  He opened the passenger door, and she slid in, buckling her seatbelt as he started the engine. “Not at all. You light up. It’s amazing how your whole demeanor changes. I had my doubts, but I think this is your calling.”

  The compliment hit home, and she let it settle in, basking in its warmth. “Thanks. Maybe someday I’ll get to work on newer cases.”

  “I didn’t mean homicide as a calling.” The low roar of the Mustang’s engine fit Jacob perfectly as he made his way down the quiet streets toward her apartment. “Cold cases. When you talked about that victim, it was like her story lit a fire in your soul. I know you want the excitement and danger that comes with a fresh crime scene, but don’t give up on cold cases too soon.”

  “Don’t worry, Fortis isn’t going to bump me up anytime soon.” She leaned her head back on the headrest, smiling a little, surprised at how relaxed she was feeling now. “He’s made it clear that I’m to follow the rules and keep my head down.”

  “Fortis is a good guy.”

  “He is, but I have a feeling Danver warned him I was trouble.”

  “Aren’t you?” Jacob winked at her as he pulled the car to a stop at the curb in front of her building.

  “You know what I mean,” she grumbled in a warning tone. “Until I prove myself, I’ll have to watch what I do.”

  “Or you can connect these two cases and solve them both.”

  His faith in her was like a ray of sunshine. She grinned at him in the glow of the streetlamp he always parked under. In or out of uniform, Jacob was a cop first.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “For believing in me.”

  He flashed her a grin. “Give ‘em hell, Kline. Anyone who underestimates you is a fool.”

  She got out of the car and waved when she was safely through the locked entryway. Jacob didn’t move, so Ellie hurried upstairs and turned on the lights in her place. When she opened the blinds and waved once more, he finally pulled away from the curb, satisfied that she was safe and sound.

  Normally, his overprotectiveness annoyed her, but she was too excited now to care. The possibility of a second case rejuvenated her. That meant more evidence, which gave her a better chance of solving both crimes. Solving them wasn’t going to bring either woman back, but somewhere two families waited for closure, and Ellie was going to bring it to them.

  She wouldn’t stop until she identified both of the women.

  She would find their killer.

  Justice would be served.

  14

  When Ellie arrived at Charleston PD early Tuesday morning, Jillian was just walking in the rear door.

  “Late night?” Ellie asked her, handing over the coffee she’d brought her.

  “You don’t have to buy me coffee every morning.” Jillian took a long, grateful sip.

  “I know, but I have to get my own.
Might as well get two.”

  “Thank you,” she said as they walked to the elevator. “Really. I’m exhausted and short on sleep. It’s taking a toll.”

  “I know the feeling. Can I do anything to help?”

  Jillian shook her head. “Unless you can get Sam to stop snoring.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.” Ellie held Jillian’s cup as they stopped in front of the evidence room door so she could unlock the office.

  “Sam isn’t my partner.” Jillian laughed, flipping on the light and picking up the picture frame on her desk. “Sam is my dog. Well, she’s technically my brother’s dog, but he’s been saying he was going to pick her up ‘next month’ for the past two years, so I think she’s my dog now.”

  “Aww.” Ellie cooed at the photo. “How old is she?”

  “Almost three. She’s a mess. And the reason for the bags under my eyes.”

  “I see.” Ellie slung her purse over the back of her desk chair and leaned back against the desk, savoring her fresh-brewed coffee. “She’s a handful?”

  “Energetic, friendly, sloppy, and always into something. I can handle that. But then she snores all night long.”

  “You have to draw the line somewhere.” Ellie grinned so wide her cheeks hurt. She’d pined for a dog when she was a kid. Her mother had only waved a hand at all the priceless antiques in sight, and she had known there was no hope she would ever have a puppy. That hadn’t kept her from asking, though, and frequently. “Maybe I could babysit once in a while. Or puppysit. Whatever it’s called.”

  “You like dogs?”

  “I love dogs.” So had her brothers, and they’d even gone so far as to launch a united campaign for a dog in which they’d assessed the possible drawbacks and what they would do to prevent those. In the end, though, there were just too many valuable objects in their home to allow it to house a pet.

  “Everyone says that until they meet Sam. She has a way of making people run the other way.”

  Ellie quirked up a brow. “It sounds like Sam and I have a lot in common. I may need to borrow her.”

  “I’ll think about it. I’m not sure if I can sleep without her with me.” Jillian pointed at the stack of papers on Ellie’s desk. “Did you make any headway last night? That stack looks a lot bigger than it was when I left yesterday.”