Page 22 of The Agent
“It’s real, Miguel. And before we go in there, I need your word that you’ll maintain my cover. We don’t know each other.”
Hernandez paused for a moment, looking both intrigued and wary. “We don’t know each other,” he finally agreed.
The two men crossed Marley’s lawn and climbed the porch. Marley was waiting at the door. The moment she saw Hernandez, her delicate mouth tightened in a thin line. “Detective Hernandez,” she said coolly, casting Caleb a suspicious look.
“Ms. Kincaid.” Hernandez’s nod of greeting was polite, but it was still obvious how he felt about Marley. He didn’t trust her.
“Let’s go into the kitchen,” Caleb suggested.
Unable to stop himself, he placed a possessive hand on the small of Marley’s back, ignored the slight raise of Hernandez’s fuzzy black eyebrows and headed for the kitchen.
* * *
MARLEY HAD TROUBLE CONTAININGher distaste as she watched Hernandez read the email. He’d slipped on a pair of latex gloves before handling the laptop, as if he expected Patrick’s fingerprints to be on it or something. Right, because she’d secretly met up with Patrick, let him use her computer so he could send her an email and then come home and called the police. Why did this man distrust her so much? She’d never been in trouble with the law, didn’t even have any outstandingparking tickets and yet here he was, treating her like a common criminal.
“Has anyone had access to this laptop other than the two of you?” Hernandez asked.
“No,” Marley replied. “I’m the only one who uses it.”
He stared at the screen again. “Do you recognize the email address the message came from?”
“No. Patrick’s address was the one on his domain name, for his web design company.”
“He most likely used one of those free email accounts,” Caleb spoke up, leaning against the counter. “He probably went to an internet café to do it.”
“Maybe,” the detective said, “but that’s for us to figure out. Why don’t you focus on—what is it you do, Mr. Ford? Writer?”
She noticed a muscle twitch in Caleb’s jaw. “Yes,” he muttered.
“Then focus on writing and let us do our job.”
The detective’s voice was so cold most people probably would’ve cowered and shut up, but not Caleb. To Marley’s amazement, he crossed his arms over his spectacular chest and said, “I’m sure you have a bunch of tech guys at the station who can locate the IP address of the computer the message was sent on. But what about Marley? I assume you’ll assign some officers to protect her.”
The detective spared a pithy look in Marley’s direction. “I’m afraid we don’t have the budget for that.”
Barely contained anger seethed in Caleb’s blue eyes. “Come on, Detective, you read the note. He’s obviously planning to make a move soon. I was under the impression you’ve been searching for this guy for some time.”
“We have been.” Hernandez let out a resigned breath. To Marley’s surprise, he caved in to Caleb’s request. “I’ll arrangesome patrols around the neighborhood and talk to the captain about posting an officer outside the house.”
Marley glanced from Caleb to Hernandez. There was a strange ripple of tension between them, and neither man seemed to like the other very much. She understood, at least from Caleb’s perspective. She hadn’t liked Hernandez from the moment they’d met. What she did like, however, was how Caleb didn’t even flinch as he met the other man’s gaze head-on.
A tiny thrill shot through her. She needed to stop being so closed off and suspicious. It actually felt nice, having someone in her corner.
“I’m going to have to confiscate the computer,” Hernandez said, his words sounding stilted. He picked up the laptop and tucked it under his arm. “The boys at the station will try to figure out where the email came from.”
“Thank you,” Marley said.
Hernandez slowly studied her face. “Is this the first contact Grier has made?”
She nodded.
“Are you sure about that?”
Marley’s spine stiffened. She opened her mouth to reply, but Caleb spoke before she could. “Why do you insist on treating her like a suspect?” he asked in an even voice.
“I’m doing my job, Mr. Ford. I’m expected to examine every angle.”
“Well, you’re wasting your time on this one. Marley didn’t do anything wrong. She was used and lied to, and you might actually get a break in the case if you focused your attention on more importantangles.”
