Page 30 of Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind
Chapter Thirteen
“If it’s too much foryour delicate constitution, Winslet, we can handle it.”
“I’m fine, but if you need a moment, go right ahead.” Ryan swallowed the bile rising in her throat and kept her face neutral. Yes, the scene was gruesome, but it was the fishy smell of the docks that made her queasy. She wasn’t about to give Haines, Kowalski, or anyone else a reason to believe she wasn’t just as capable as they were, though in truth, they looked a little green around the gills themselves.
She forced her gaze away from the man who had been strung up along the dock and left dangling. She recognized him as one of the local indigents known as “Punxsutawney Phil.” He had gotten the nickname because he was a transplant from the Northeast and had a tendency to hide at the first sign of trouble. The poor man had definitely looked better. His eyes, ears, and tongue had been crudely cut out and left beneath his feet.
“Who called it in?”
“A couple of dock workers,” Kowalski answered. “Said they found him like this shortly after they clocked in.”
“Looks like someone was trying to send a message,” Haines said.
She frowned. The scene was clearly a warning.See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing. Otherwise, this was what would happen. Phil must have seen or heard something he wasn’t supposed to.
“Yeah, but what?” Ryan mused aloud. The docks weren’t exactly a safe place to hang out, but she felt pretty confident that none of the locals would have done this to Phil. They knew he wouldn’t have said anything. Phil had been a silent presence around here for years.
As they spoke, a black sedan pulled up and two men got out. Even if their dark suits and sunglasses didn’t peg them as Feds, their cocky G-man swagger did.
“Great. Just what we need, the dynamic duo,” Kowalski grumbled.
Ryan bit her tongue. It was no secret that Kowalski was champing at the bit for a position in Homeland Security Investigations. Hell, many of them were, including her. But, instead of letting the caustic taunt of “Jealous?” cross her lips, Ryan remained silent and professional.
“You think Nez is involved?” Haines asked quietly.
“I do now,” Kowalski answered.
Ryan didn’t care for their superior attitudes. In the interest of working together, though, she would share what she knew about Phil with the G-men. After a brief internal debate, however, she decided not to mention her conversation with Drew. If her informant was right and there really was a new guy in town, it might explain why Nez had resurfaced unexpectedly. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had a chance to corroborate any of Drew’s information, and she was not about to jeopardize another chance at nailing Nez by parroting unsubstantiated claims.
The agents didn’t seem inclined to share much either. When she asked point-blank if they had any leads on Nez, they blew her off with Bureau-speak answers that revealed nothing. She wondered if they knew about her previous encounter with Nez or if they were just misogynistic douchebags.
She was in a foul mood when she returned to the station, but the crystal bud vase with a single red rose she found on her desk lifted her spirits. She held it to her nose and inhaled the sweet, subtle fragrance.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” Pam accused, coming out of nowhere. “Who isTanyway?”
Ryan snatched the small card out of Pam’s hand, seeing the strong, masculine scrawl with the words:Until tonight, T.
“Nosy much?”
“Jealous,” Pam corrected. “I can’t remember the last time a guy sentmeflowers.”
Neither could Ryan, but that was because no man had ever actually sent her flowers.
When she heard Haines and Kowalski coming back into the office, she quickly slipped the delicate vase into her oversized tote. Being a woman on the force was difficult enough without having things like flowers on display. Her general rule was: if it wasn’t something the guys would put on their desks, she wasn’t going to put it on hers.
“You saw nothing,” she told Pam pointedly.
Pam put her thumb and forefinger together and made a zipper motion across her lips. “My lips are sealed.” Then her face grew serious. “Hey, I heard about Phil.”
“Yeah.”
“He didn’t deserve that, you know?” She lowered her voice. “Is it true? Nez is back?”
Ryan looked over to where Haines and Kowalski were deep in conversation. “It sure looks like it.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. Keep your eyes and ears open, okay?”
