Tainted Mind (6 page)

“Really, Kathryn?” Vivi retorted with affectionate resignation. “He could be sixty and ugly.”

“He's not. I have his file in front of me. Deputy Chief MacAllister?”

“Yes, Ma'am?”

“Please don't take this the wrong way, but you are a very good looking young man.”

“I'm not sure there is a wrong way to take that, but thank you.”

“You're welcome. Now, it's actually a jurisdictional pain in the ass to authorize you, Vivi, so I'll do it under one condition.”

Vivi groaned, knowing the condition wasn't going to have anything to do with the case. “Of course, name it.”

“You have to come to dinner while you're in the area.”

That wasn't so bad.

“And bring MacAllister with you.”

“He's very busy, Kathryn.”

“Fine, I'll have Henry invite that nice new assistant dean from the school.”

Vivi cast him a questioning glance. She didn't know Ian MacAllister well, but she was sure he would be a better dinner companion than one of Henry's colleagues. Still, it was his call if he wanted to pay the price for getting her on the case.

“I'd be happy to join you,” Ian said.

“Excellent,” Kathryn commented, sounding way too pleased with herself. “MacAllister, email me the resource request and I'll have it back to you by the morning. Vivi, call Henry and set up a dinner.”

They both agreed and when Vivi hung up she cast a wary look at Ian. “Sorry?” she offered.

“That was not at all like I thought it would be,” he answered. “And I didn't know you were a professor, too?”

“Adjunct,” she qualified. “I only take a couple of PhD students at any given time. Kathryn's son, Daniel, is one of them. We've known each other for a while.”

“I can tell. How did you meet?” he asked as she moved to gather her things.

“Sad story, really. Daniel is a grad student of mine now. But back when he was sixteen, before his mother was even in politics, he contacted me to help with a cold case. When he was six, his twin sister was kidnapped from their home.”

“I think I remember my parents saying something about that when she was running for election.”

“Yes, the kidnapping came up a lot during her campaign, as I'm sure you can imagine. But you were probably out of the country at the time.” Knowing he wouldn't confirm or deny, she continued. “Anyway, Daniel read some article about me and some case I'd worked on. He contacted me to ask for help, and how could I say no to a sixteen-year-old who only wanted to find his sister? So I took the case.”

She paused while Ian slid the table that held their Jane Doe into one of the wall crypts and checked the locks on everything.

“Did you find her?” he asked.

“We did.” They resumed the conversation as they headed out of the hospital. “It wasn't a happy ending. Kristen had been killed within hours of when she was taken. But we did find her body and we did find at least one of the people involved.”

“At least one?”

“If you ask me, there were at least two, maybe three people involved. But the only one we caught was a former student of Henry's. Turns out she was obsessed with him and thought that if she took his daughter they could run off and have a family together. When Kristen fought, the woman struck her. The blow knocked Kristen down and she hit her head on a rock, killing her instantly.”

“That's shitty.”

“Yeah, understatement. But Kathryn and I have been friends ever since. Despite the fact that she keeps trying to marry me off.”

They reached their cars and stopped. “Is that such a bad thing?” Ian asked.

“Not really, but except for Henry, she doesn't have very good taste. Don't get me wrong, the men she tries to set me up with are all great. Nice guys, accomplished and all that. But they are like younger versions of Henry.”

“Which worked for her.”

“But isn't my type,” Vivi ended the sentence then realized where the conversation had gone. “I should go.”

“Do you want to grab some dinner first? It's close to seven.”

She shook her head. “I need to get back and make some calls—let my family know where I am, that sort of thing. I have some errands to run in the morning, but I'll come back down to the hospital after lunch and begin my investigation.”

“Sounds good,” Ian said, opening her door for her.

“I'll call you in the morning to make sure I'm cleared first,” she added.

He nodded. “You know where to find me.”

*   *   *

Ian watched Vivienne drive away before getting into his own car. He was attracted to her, no way around it. And on more than a physical level. She was a woman of contradictions. To call her intriguing was too cliché, but there was no other way he could describe her. She was friends with the governor, an international traveler, an FBI consultant, a professor, and a medical examiner. But when she relaxed, she was quick with a smile, more empathetic than was probably healthy, and felt too obligated to the dead and the living they left behind—not that he had any right to fault her for that since he was benefiting from it at the moment. Ian couldn't help but identify with her—he knew a thing or two about feeling obligated and what it could do to a person. He reached down and rubbed his thigh and, even through his pants, he could feel the raised scars along his leg. Letting out a breath, he brought his hand up to turn the key in the ignition and started for home.

Obligation wasn't always a bad thing. For him, and he suspected for Vivienne too, obligation wasn't wrapped in martyrdom, but rather in guilt mixed with a genuine belief in the good he was doing. He'd bet she was driven to do what she did because she could, and her moral code wouldn't let her do otherwise. At least, if she was anything like him.

Passing the mini–Statue of Liberty that marked the edge of Riverside, Ian headed north toward Windsor and wondered about Vivienne's conversation with the governor and what might have happened to her in the past year. Maybe it had something to do with one too many bodies he thought, remembering what she'd said yesterday. Her practical nature and obvious work ethic made him
think she wasn't a woman who'd make the decision to walk away easily. So, whatever it was, it must have been big. It had taken an IED to make him to walk away.

Whatever brought her here, he wasn't going to speculate or look a gift horse in the mouth. But maybe he could hedge his bets and at least try to make it easier for her. He couldn't change the facts of the case, but there were other things he could do for Vivienne.

C
HAPTER
5

VIVI WALKED INTO THE TAVERN
and caught Rob's eye. They'd talked enough over the past few days that she could call him an acquaintance, if not a friend-in-the-making.

“Hey, Rob. I have some things to take care of, but I was wondering if I could get a ploughman's plate and salad in my room?”

“Already there,” he answered, drying a glass and stacking it back in a perfect line.

“Ah, okay. Thanks?”

Rob smiled. “Ian called. Said you were on your way back and hadn't eaten dinner. He asked me to get a plate ready for you.”

Vivi gave this bit of information a thought. It made her feel a little strange because he didn't need to take care of her, or even look out for her. But he had and hadn't made big deal out of it. A small luxury she didn't often experience.

“So, you're going to help him with that murder case?” Rob's voice interrupted her thoughts.

“As much as I can,” she answered. “He's a good cop, isn't he?”

Rob nodded. “How long will you stick around?”

“We'll have to see how things go. It's too early yet to have any ideas about where the evidence will take us.”

“But there is evidence?”

“There's always evidence,” she answered without answering.

“Fair enough,” he said, sliding a pint in front of her. “And when you're done, are you going to head home?” She shrugged in response, not having given it much thought.

“Boston's not far,” he continued. “Just a couple of hours away.”

She nodded at his obvious statement. “Go ahead and take that upstairs,” Rob added with a nod to the glass in her hand. “I'll collect it with the rest of dishes when you're done. Just give me a call.”

She thanked him and turned toward the stairs. She was halfway up when she realized something. Coming back down, she stopped at the end of the bar. Rob looked up, drying yet another glass. The man was always on the move.

“Are you trying to play matchmaker for Ian and me?” She should have let it go, but on the heels of her conversation with Kathryn, she couldn't do that.

“Men don't play matchmaker, Dr. DeMarco.”

“Call me Vivienne or Vivi. Then were you doing whatever it is men do to try to get their friends, uh,” she paused, not quite sure of the word she wanted to use.

“Laid?” he offered, his lips tilting into a smile, teasing her.

“Maybe not quite the word I was looking for, but something like that,” she conceded. She didn't think Rob was out to help his friend along on that front—she was pretty sure Ian didn't need any help on that front—but something between a one-night stand and marriage was more likely.

“Maybe.”

She thought about asking him why her, or why not someone else, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

“Okay, just, uh, checking,” she said instead and made a beeline for the stairs. She hadn't missed how attractive Ian was. And she'd sensed his awareness of her, in a subtle, tentative sort of way, like he was testing out the interest—on both of them. But she hadn't let her mind go any further than an almost clinical analysis of the situation—interest noted, felt, and filed away. It was different now though, with Kathryn's conversation still hovering in her mind, followed by Rob's very male inquiry, and she knew it would be harder to ignore the whole thing. The next time she saw Ian, it—whatever ‘it’ was—would be lingering there on the fringes of her mind like a pesky bug, flittering in and out of her line of sight at random moments.

She pushed the door to her room open a little harder than necessary then grabbed it to keep it from hitting the opposite wall. Setting all her stuff down, Vivi stripped off her clothes and jumped
into the shower. When she no longer smelled like a morgue, she dried off, slipped into a nightshirt, and propped her dinner tray on the bed. It was early, but she didn't feel like getting dressed in something else only to get undressed again in a few hours.

Picking up her cell, Vivi dialed her Aunt Mary, who would, no doubt, want a minute-by-minute account of her morning excursion. And an hour later, she hung up with Mary and dialed her Uncle Michael.

“Darling girl, is that you?”

“You know it's me, Uncle Michael, you have caller ID,” she answered with a laugh. Uncle Mike, was one of her father's three brothers, all of whom had become cops. He'd married an Irish girl, back in the day, and so, while Vivi's dad was firmly rooted in the Italian community in Boston, Uncle Mike and his wife Nancy straddled the Irish-Italian divide.

“What's doing, young lady? Are we going to see your gorgeous face here any time soon?”

In response, Vivi gave him a brief overview of her situation. Not surprisingly, he was upset that she had landed herself in yet another murder investigation. But she could also tell he was pleased that she was no longer driving around the country alone with no rhyme or reason—that kind of spontaneity worried him. And, since it hadn't been in her character either until a month ago, she was pretty sure he might have given himself an ulcer over her little road trip.

She gave him the rundown on the players, the victim, and the evidence. He mulled it over with her for a bit, tossing ideas back and forth, but since there was so little to go on at this point, the conversation was fairly short.

“Well, if anyone can help bring that girl some peace, you can,” he offered in blind support of Vivi. “Your Aunt Nancy is grabbing the phone from me, now. I'll talk to you soon, Vivi. You keep in touch,” he added. There was a shuffle of the phone being handed around, then Nancy DeMarco's voice came on the line.

“Luv, it is you!” her Aunt Nancy started. “I'm so glad you called. I just walked in the door, I was out shopping for Kiera's baby shower. It's a few days away and I'm leaving for Los Angeles tomorrow— any chance you will change your mind and come with me?” Kiera was
Nancy and Mike's eldest daughter and only a year older than Vivi. Because they were the closest cousins in age, they'd been like sisters as long as Vivi could remember. But even so, Vivi couldn't bring herself to make the trip. Not now.

“I'm in the middle of a case, Aunt Nancy. But even if I weren't, well…” her voice trailed off.

Nancy sighed in understanding. “I know, dear. We all know.” She absolved Vivi with those few words. “We're all glad you're finally taking some time to yourself. Even though it sounds like maybe you aren't, right now.” Vivi opened her mouth to make excuses, but her aunt kept talking. “Vivi, dear, you do what you need to do. If it's work, work. If it's driving all over the world, then go ahead and do that, even if it gives your uncle an ulcer. The shower is a shower. Kiera knows you're thinking of her. Of course, if you don't come for the christening, that might be a bit of an issue, since you're the godmother.”

“I'll be there,” Vivi promised. And she would. There was no way she was going to miss her goddaughter's christening.

“I know you will.” The certainty in her aunt's voice was comforting. Vivi may be on a different path right now, but her family still considered her family—still
expected
her to be family, as well.

“Well, I'll be letting you go. But you be careful. I ran into Mary today and, though she swears that Windsor is the most beautiful, peaceful place, obviously it isn't, since they've had a murder.”

Vivi promised to be careful and to stay in touch, then hung up. She made a few more calls, and by the time she finished the last, it was late and she was tired. She called Rob, and he sent someone to pick up the dishes. Once that was out of the way, she brushed her teeth and climbed into bed, wondering just what she was getting herself into.

*   *   *

Vivi, feeling agitated by either her fitful night of sleep or, more likely, a guilty conscience about not going to Kiera's shower, decided to spend the next morning doing something ‘normal’—shopping for
her cousin's baby. She had already sent a gift, but still, she wanted to do more. And after perusing the stores on Main Street, she hit the quilt shop, searching for something unique to send and hoping that Kiera wouldn't see it for what it was, a guilt offering.