the scene again before speaking. “Well, I’d have to say that he was most likely seated at his desk when his attacker arrived. Perpetrator came through the door, probably already had his gun out, and fired as soon as Silver looked up. One bullet caught him in the left shoulder, and the second took him in the chest as he started to stand. Considering Silver’s background as a cop, he either knew his assailant and was surprised, or the shots were fired rapidly, giving him no time to take cover or return fire. His own weapon is still in his desk drawer.
“As for the disarray of the office,” Gavin went on, “it has the appearance of a random burglary, but my gut feeling is that our perpetrator was looking for something specific. Then again, until I find out what kind of stickler Silver was for organization, I can’t rule out the fact that some of this might be the usual state of his office. It doesn’t help that he didn’t have a secretary. Even if something was missing, we’re not likely to know about it.”
“You got a real whodunit here, Detective Monaghan,” Claudia told him, scanning the office again, hoping she’d missed some obscure yet crucial clue. “Hardly the kind of case you’d want to start with, I’d say.”
“What are you suggesting? That I can’t handle it? That I should give this case over to you and wait for the next one?”
Claudia shrugged casually. If she appeared too eager to take over his investigation, he was sure to balk. “All I’m saying is that for your first homicide in this city—your first case on the board—you’re better off with one that’s going to go down. This…I don’t know. It could be a tough one. You’ve got a dead PI. A former cop. He probably has a list of enemies longer than your arm, not to mention the fact that you’ve got zero witnesses so far.”
She dared to glance up then. Was it amusement she saw sparkle in those dark eyes?
“You really want this case, don’t you?”
“Not necessarily,” she lied. “It’s just probably not the ideal case to get your feet wet.”
His smile broadened. “Well, why don’t you let me worry about my own feet, okay?”
“Claudia.” Lori Tobin called to her, and Claudia was grateful for the interruption. She wasn’t sure how long she would have been able to hold Gavin’s penetrating stare.
She turned as Lori crossed the office to join them. The younger woman snapped off a pair of latex gloves and wadded them into one hand. She tucked a stray wisp from her dark ponytail behind one ear.
“How are you doing, Claudia?” As usual with Lori, the question was more than simple courtesy. Her sincerity and concern was punctuated with a hand on Claudia’s arm. The gesture reminded Claudia of that night ten months ago.
Lori had guided Claudia from Frank’s bedroom to the living room and then consoled her. She had even phoned a couple of times to check on her afterward. In fact, Claudia had almost admitted the truth about her relationship with Frank to Lori. In the end, though, she’d remained silent.
“Looks like you’ve got an interesting one here,” Lori said. “So far we’re not coming up with anything useful. We’ll probably need another hour, but I didn’t know if you wanted us to box up all the files and paperwork, as well.”
“No, we’ll take a look at everything here before—”
Gavin cleared his throat behind her.
“Actually,” Claudia corrected, “since this is Detective Monaghan’s investigation, you should ask him. I doubt you two have met. Lori Tobin, Gavin Monaghan.”
Claudia watched the technician’s face brighten somewhat as she gazed past Claudia’s shoulder and up at Gavin.
“So you’ve finally got yourself a partner.”
“It would appear that way,” Claudia answered.
“Good to meet you,” Gavin offered in his smooth voice as he shook the technician’s hand. “And I think Detective Parrish’s suggestion is fine. We’ll look through the files here and submit the relevant material ourselves.”
“Very good.” Lori nodded, and Claudia couldn’t help noticing how the woman’s gaze lingered on Gavin for a moment before she turned back to her work.
“So what now?” Gavin asked.
“Now? Now I suggest we head down to Jimmy’s for coffee and a bite to eat. We’re only going to be in the way here, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to wade through any of this paperwork until I’ve had a good kick of caffeine. The techs will seal the office when they’re done, and then we can go through this mess and figure out just who might have wanted James Silver dead.”
JIMMY’S WAS CROWDED as usual. To Claudia, there seemed no rhyme nor reason behind the high demand for tables at the greasy spoon down on the waterfront in Fells Point, but without fail, seating was scarce. It had to be the coffee, she thought as she took another sip. It certainly couldn’t be the food.
Across the table of the window booth they shared, Gavin was finishing his own breakfast. Claudia watched him spear another piece of omelette and fought back the urge to reach across with her fork to sample some. She’d have done exactly that, a year ago, when it would’ve been Frank sitting with her. And, while she did that, he would have been stealing her last slice of bacon.
As usual, she tried to clamp down on the nostalgia.
“So you met James Silver only a couple times?” Gavin had asked the question already once after she’d explained Frank’s connection to the dead PI. Even so, a glimmer of suspicion wavered in his voice as he studied her over the rim of his juice glass.
“That’s right,” she assured him again. “What? You think I’d lie about something like that? Why would I?”
“Maybe so you could stay on the case?”
“Please. Give me a little credit for professionalism. I understand what conflict of interest is. If I had actually been friends with Silver, I’d remove myself from the case, all right?”
“All right.” The defensiveness in his voice attested to the bite she’d heard in her own, and immediately Claudia regretted her harshness.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to snap. It’s just…I’ve had a long twenty-four hours, you know?”
“Sure.”
Gavin reached across the table and snagged her last piece of bacon on the end of his fork. Speechless, she watched him take one bite and then pop the rest into his mouth. For ten months, she’d been returning to Jimmy’s for breakfast, and for ten months, she’d always left that last slice of bacon. Until this morning no one had touched it.
He must have seen her surprise because he said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Were you saving that?”
“Not at all.”
He nodded, finishing the bacon. “Look, you’re right. It’s been a long twenty-four hours for you. Maybe you should just call it a day. I can look through Silver’s files myself and—”
“No way.” She took another swig of coffee. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy. I’m still among
