Carolina Rain (23 page)

Seeming to know what Chloe was thin
king, Jen set her fork on the table and
ran her
fingers
through her hair
, brushing her long bangs from her face.
Manny was right, she looked like Louise more and more, but there was that light in her eyes that she could have only gotten from her father. Fascinating and disconcerting at the same time.

“I worry about him too
,
Chloe, more than I should, you know? And if something ever happened to him, I just might need a room in one of those crazy houses. When he was in that operating room thing, I didn’t think I’d be able to breathe
. B
ut I did. One breath at a time, just like he
told us
when stuff hits the fan. He and
M
om taught me a couple
of
things about stressing over things you can’t control. I don’t always get it right
.
I’m trying
, though.
The big thing is to live for that moment. Worry is a waste. I believed them both. They wouldn’t lie to me. So, even though he’ll be the number one thing I’ll talk about with God tonight before I go to sleep, I can’t control what happens where he’s at. And you know Manny Williams, the Guardian of the Universe
. H
e’ll do what he thinks is right and that ain’t going to change. So I’m going to enjoy your cooking, watch Titanic with you both, for about the fiftieth time, and
go
get the b
l
ack
-
cherry ice cream.”

Manny’s daughter got up and headed for the kitchen. Sampson, the huge black Lab who had been lying at Jen’s feet, chased after her.

Chloe stared after Jen
and then
peeked
at Gavin who had stopped eating, a sheepish feeling crossing her thoughts.

“I just got a free life lesson that should be packaged up and sent to half of the world’s
population
.”

“That’s two of us
,
sister. Tell me that apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Damn. Way too smart for her own good, especially given what she’s gone through over the last few years. Man
n
y and Louise did good. I want to think like that when I grow up.”

Emotion began to rise deep within Chloe’s
throat
as she realized how proud she was of Jen. The girl was right
.
H
ow did one get to where this teenager was?

Shaking her head, she patted Gavin’s hand.
“Me
too
, Gavin Crosby, me too.”

Returning with four bowls and
a
half-gallon of the best ice cream money could buy, Jen quickly scooped out four generous helpings.

“Wait. Th
ere’s only three of us,” said Gavin, just as Sampson put his heavy head on Gavin’s lap, giving him a
don’t mess up my dessert
look.

“Oh yeah, the spoiled one gets
a bowl
.”

“Yep. Ice cream doesn’t hurt him and he’s got to stay big to keep me warm at night,” said Jen as she placed the bowl on the floor.

The dog took one long lick, then raised his head, his ears standing straight up. Without hesitating, he rushed to the front window that led to the street, barking
with
a
tone
that could raise the dead.

Chloe heard shouting on the front lawn. A second later, a shot rang out, then the lights flickered
and
failed
, leaving them in darkness.

CHAPTER-31

The feeling of being snatched from his chair like a rag doll from a toy box was disconcerting. To think another human being could lift him, all two-hundred pounds of him, with that type of ease, left his internal security dashed on the floor.
A
t first,
Manny
wondered if Argyle had
been
resurrected from the dead in some apocalyptic zombie
figure
that super
s
eded any know
n
laws of energy and physics.
T
he smell of the huge man’s aftershave and the compelling, worry
-
free laugh that he’d first heard at El Yunque in San Juan, banished
Manny’s
active
imagination
.

Braxton Smythe set him down on the floor, turned him around
,
and picked him up again, bringing Manny’s face even with the widest grin in the northern hemisphere.

“Manny Williams! It be good to see you dis side of
da
spirit world.”

“It’s good to be on this side of it, my friend. Now put me down so I can make sure these fine folks don’t fill you with good old Southern lead.”

Braxton threw back his head and laughed even louder. “Just like you, mon, worrying about old Braxton.”

The
big man hugged him again and sa
t him down, still laughing.

But Braxton wasn’t the only one. His friends in the BAU were greatly enjoying Braxton’s greeting. Captain Tanner’s crew, after realizing that the man mountain wasn’t there to tear off any heads, were appreciating the moment as well.

“That’s a right friendly greeting,” said Captain Tanner.

“We be friendly in da islands when we want to be,”
said
Braxton.

“Good to know if I get to your neck of the woods,” said Tanner.

“We’d love to have ya, mon
. B
ring lots of money.”

The room rippled with laughter again and Manny felt the tension ease. That was always a positive thing because it made communication easier. Extremely important in cases like this.

After greeting the rest of the BAU like long-lost kin, Braxton sat to Josh’s right. The chair was lost from sight, creaking in protest, but stayed firm as he stretched his legs, causing him to move away from the table.

“So he was the other call you made?”
he asked Josh.

“Yes. Who better to work these other situations than an agent with the DEA who is also a US
Marshal
?”

“Good point.”

Josh looked toward Tanner’s group, pointing to the big man. “This is Braxton Smythe. He’s worked with the DEA
,
but he’s a US
Marshal
. We met him in San Juan
while
working a case. He’s here to help on one or two other situations we need to address so we can concentrate on your Aphrodite case.”

“Fair enough. Let me introduce the lead detectives working this
one
,” said the
c
aptain.

“This is Detective Ginny Krantz, Detective Ben Garcia, and CSU supervisor, Dana Boytin. They’ll be able to fill
any
gaps
in
the reports.”

Manny looked at Ginny and noticed she wasn’t really looking at anything other than the coffee pots and ceramic cups sitting in the middle of the table. He knew one of the victims was her husband and it had only been a few days s
ince he’d died. Strong or crazy?
He guessed they
’d
find out shortly.

Standing, Josh spoke again. “You’ve met Braxton. This is Special Agent Sophie Lee, our muscle and investigative agent. This is Dean Mikus and Alex Downs, our
s
pecial
a
gent CSIs,
and Manny Williams, our certified spooky-like
s
pecial
a
gent profiler, and I’m Josh Corner. I’m in charge. At least
,
they let me think so.”

The BAU stood and circled the table to shake hands, then returned to their chairs, except Manny. He held onto Ginny’s hand a little longer , looking into gray eyes that he was sure had seen more, especially in this case, than they’d bargained for. Much more.

“Nice to meet you, Manny. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you. You
r
papers on profiling are some of the best I’ve read,” said Ginny, keeping a steady lock on his
face
.

“That’s nice to know. I can guess who’s filling your head with stories.”

“Really? I suppose you can. Gavin and I go way back and talk once in a blue moon or so. But that’s not what you really care to know, is it?”

Smart woman.

“You’re right
, it’s not. N
ot now
, anyway
.”

By then
, they
,
and their conversation
,
were the focus of the others
—
and that’s how Manny wanted it. It was important to hear what Ginny had to say
if
she could muster the strength to be involved at this level. Working the case was out of the question
—
spouses didn’t get to investigate the murder of their wives or husbands
. Yet
it didn’t mean she couldn’t help by sharing her insight
,
and her pain. He couldn’t think of a better witness to interview
,
especially when the crime scene was fresh in her mind. But then again, as he thought about Louise dying in his living room, those types of memories were the ones that would
only
fade when the sun stopped rising.

Licking her lips, Ginny searched his face. “You are a
smart
one
,
and you can’t hide that heart either. Listen, Manny and the rest of you
too
. I know what it takes to solve
crimes
like these and
,
as much as I hate my last memory of Carl to be what it is, I can’t change it. I can only
hope that something I remember will end this carnage
. . .
and it is carnage. I’ll report what I know when my
turn
comes in this meeting
. M
aybe with tears, maybe not
.
Just know that
I’ll do what’s necessary. Any questions?”

The silence in the room answered her. She released Manny’s hand, kissed him on the cheek
,
and sat down.

Strong or crazy?

His vote went toward strong. Crazy didn’t carry that kind of character
; it
never would. He returned to h
is seat, opened up his brief
case
,
pulled out the files he’d brought from the hospital
,
and waited.

Reaching into his own steel case, Josh brought out a stack of papers, and
two
dark green files stamped
FBI
Restricted Content.

“We’ll get this part out of the way first
.
”
Josh
handed the paperwork to Braxton.

Scanning the files and paperwork, Braxton
was suddenly serious.
“Okay. Let me know what’s goin’ on,”
he
said.

“They’re pretty self-explanatory
,
but I’ll give you the skinny. The first file and most of the paperwork is in regard to Michael Garity. After two weeks, we’ve got nothing solid on
his
killer
. We’ve got another team working it and I gave you the contact information
so you can find out
where they’re at. Plus
, there’s
an extra forensics team inside the Charlotte office.
T
his is a tough one. Manny has a few ideas
,
and th
ose
are written in the file as well
. W
e’re not sure of anything, other than a possible link to Max Tucker, and I told you about Max on the phone. What you see is what you get. It’s not so rare for murders to go unsolved, even when the Bureau’s involved, but this one
has
to be figured out. Maybe your eyes and resources can get something else going?”

Braxton nodded, deep in thought.

Josh took another file from his stack.
“This
next
file concerns our cyanide lady who now has a name—Janice Rhodes.
The guys in the tech department were able to match up her picture with a secure
d
Army database.
Sorry, Manny.
We just got that info.”

Manny raised his eyebrows. “What else?” he asked, alert.
“Who is she?”

“We’re still digging.
And that’s where Braxton comes in.
Give him what you have.”