waist-deep muck. Regulations and procedures ate away most of her available work hours. She’d wanted to serve her community, to protect society’s weakest members. Instead, criminals thumbed their noses at her and the system as they got away with the same misdemeanors and petty crimes over and over and over.
And then there were the crimes that weren’t so petty…
“You and I want the same thing, Fox. Together we’ll be a force to reckon with.” He planted his hands on her desk and leaned forward. She caught a whiff of his soap, noticed the clean-blunt lines of his fingernails.
He was serious. The realization sent a zap of adrenaline through her bloodstream. She couldn’t help but be intrigued, even though she knew it was a bad idea.
“Why not start a firm of your own? Why partner up with me?”
“Starting a business takes time. You’ve got everything in place here. Plus, you’ve already made a name for yourself. I saw the story in the Daily last month. Impressive.”
She knew the case he was talking about. The Anderson file had started out as a simple missing-persons case. She’d been asked to locate a long-lost uncle who’d been a beneficiary in a multimillion dollar family estate. She’d ended up finding Curtis Anderson, a convicted sex offender on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
What a buzz that had been. Who knew how many children’s lives would be safer now that Anderson was no longer on the prowl. Talk about job satisfaction.
“You’ve got more cases than you can handle,” Nathan continued. “A good reputation and an ideal location with an excellent long-term lease.”
She couldn’t believe how much he knew about her operation. But then Nathan had always been the sort of investigator who did his homework. He was never tempted to cut corners, the way she sometimes did.
Her instincts were good. Very rarely wrong. Still, occasionally, she had to admit, she’d been burned by her impetuousness. In the past, Nathan had saved her butt more than a few times. He’d also driven her nuts.
“You know I prefer to work alone.”
“You’re the one who put an ad in the paper. Besides, we don’t have to handle the same cases. We could work independently.”
Much as she hated to admit it, he was wearing her down. “I’ve put a lot of time and money into this business. Why should you just walk in and reap the benefits?”
“I’m prepared to buy my way in.”
“Promissory notes?”
“Cold, hard cash.”
She thought of all the things she could buy with an infusion of capital. The extra computer programs, a new camera—maybe even a van.
Then she imagined having to vet every decision with another person. Discuss approaches, divvy up new cases. She wrinkled her nose. “I like being the boss. You want in as an employee, that’s cool. But partnership is not an option.”
She waited for him to stalk out the door, certain that he would. But he just smiled. Slow and confident. Then he placed an envelope on her desk.
“I have more to contribute than money. Read that, Fox. Then let me know if you change your mind.”
CHAPTER TWO
LINDSAY WAITED FOR NATHAN to leave her office. Only once the door was firmly closed between them did she touch the manila envelope he’d left on her desk. Using a letter opener, she slit the top open and peered inside.
She’d almost expected to find the cold, hard cash he’d promised her.
Instead out slid a package of case notes. She flipped through the pages. Did he really expect to sway her with this?
The client’s name was Celia Burchard. Burchard. That sounded familiar. Lindsay leaned back in her chair, propped her feet on an overturned wastepaper basket and settled in to read.
Apparently Celia Burchard was looking to retain an investigator to assist in the defense of her mother who had been charged with the attempted murder of her husband.
Lindsay realized then where she’d heard the name before. The story had been all over the news media for most of August.
The case had caught Lindsay’s attention because of the twist on the abused-wife scenario. For once it wasn’t the husband who had attacked his wife, but the other way around.
The news quotient had been upped by the Burchards’ social status. Maurice Burchard was well-known as a Manhattan property developer and his wife was active in the arts community. The couple had a reputation for hosting amazing parties. To be invited to an event at the Burchards’ town house in the city, or their hunting lodge in the Catskills was the pinnacle of social success.
In some circles, anyway.
How had Nathan landed a client like this?
She turned a page, dismayed to see that her hand was shaking. Just a little, but the slight tremor was enough to worry her.
Aftershocks from Nathan Fisher’s visit?
She’d never imagined that she would see him again—she’d been pretty blunt when they’d said their goodbyes two years ago. Not that she’d meant what she’d said, but she’d thought a clean break would be the best—they usually were.
And now he wanted to be her partner again. What was up with that?
She knew that during their year together she’d driven him as crazy as he had driven her. He thought she was impulsive, relied on her intuition too much, didn’t follow the rules.
Yet, they had had their moments of brilliance, despite the clashing, or maybe because of the clashing. If she could put up with their different investigating styles, the possibilities were intriguing.
Nathan was a stickler for rules and procedures, but he had other, more impressive qualities. His work ethic, for one. His integrity for another. He was also smart, a wizard at gathering background research and meticulous about gathering facts and operating according to a defined plan.
Those qualities had made him a much better police officer than she had been. Which begged the biggest question of all.
Why had he quit the force?
He’d avoided the question when she’d asked. But it wouldn’t be difficult to find out the answer.
Lindsay called a friend who’d gone through basic training with her. Kate Cooper was still at the Twentieth Precinct, connected enough to give her the answers she wanted.
Kate answered the phone with a clipped “Cooper here,” then whistled when she found out who was on the line. “Fox—nice work on the Anderson case. I meant to call when I saw your name in the paper. Pretty impressive bringing down a piece of scum like that.”
“It felt good,” Lindsay admitted. “You want to give this kind of work a try? Quit the force and I’ll make room for you.”
Kate just laughed. “Got
