Limbo (27 page)

‘Okay…I’ll be going then…see you tomorrow.’

She turned to go and he said, ‘I’ll see you out.’

Joy turned back to face him and shook her head. ‘I don’t think you better do that.’

He looked at her for long moments and her heart skipped a little beat as his gaze dropped to her mouth. ‘Yeah,’ he murmured. ‘Okay.’

Joy took one last look at him and walked away, pleased he had the good sense not to argue the point. But that didn’t mean he had the good sense not to stare at her ass all the way out. She could feel the heat of his gaze clinging to it like ivy.

As if she wasn’t wet enough already.

***

Dash did not wake up in the best of moods the next morning. He’d gone to bed thinking about a half-naked Joy and woken up sexually frustrated with a massive hard-on at five in the morning, still thinking about a half-naked Joy.

Although he was pretty sure she’d been fully naked, and there’d been no cause for sexual frustration in his dreams. They’d fucked five different ways to Sunday in those. Sure, they were elusive now, but they’d been pretty damn vivid at the time.

Seeing her today, sitting in his car with her for hours on end while they performed the essentially boring job of surveillance, was going to be an exercise in restraint. In fact he was fairly certain he was going to have a hard-on for her til the inevitable happened…

Suffice to say, he was really not in any kind of mood to be talking to Baz about something he knew was going to be dismissed out of hand. But, fully caffeinated at eight o’clock, he sat at his desk and pulled the cloth off Ralph’s bowl. He noted the lovebirds seemed to be taking a break — thank fuck — as he searched through his contacts list for Baz’s number.

He’d been to Baz’s wedding. To his daughter’s christening. Liz and Helen were good friends. Or had been at least. And then the corruption allegations had started to surface and Helen had stopped coming around, much to Liz’s consternation.

But Baz had probably been more hurt by those allegations than anyone. They’d been partners for five years and apart from the complete betrayal of trust that Baz had felt, he’d also known how those kind of allegations tended to cast a wide shadow and he’d been furious with Dash that his own reputation was also being called into account.

It didn’t matter that Baz should have known better because he’d known Dash better than anyone,
known
Dash wasn’t dirty. Baz was, above all else, a company man. A good, by-the-book, cop. He was a follower. Solving crimes and arrests were his mantra. But Dash had always been interested in getting to the truth, to the bottom of things, not securing an arrest at all costs. And that’s where they’d always differed.

‘Dash?’

‘Hey Baz.’

‘Let me guess. Little Miss Woo-Woo’s seen Elvis?’

Dash gritted his teeth and let that one slide off his back. He understood how hard it was for anyone to believe the kind of thing Joy was pedalling, and he knew for a fact there were a lot of charlatans out there ,but Dash believed her.

He
believed
Hailey Richardson had appeared to her.

He believed Isabella Richardson was alive. Or at least had been when Hailey had approached Joy.

He believed,
in his gut
, where he was still a cop, there was a connection between the robberies and the abduction.

And he wasn’t going to stop digging until she was found because now Baz had just pissed him off.

‘I think there’s a connection between the liquor-store jobs that occurred around the time of Hailey’s disappearance and her abduction.’

There was silence on the end of the line.

‘You’re joking, right?’

‘Nope.’

‘Did your little psychic friend tell you that?’

Dash drummed his fingers on his desk. ‘This hasn’t got anything to do with Joy. This is
me
investigating it.’

‘Oh you’re
investigating
it now, are you?’

‘I’ve been looking into it.’

‘Hailey’s husband has been charged with her murder. He’s in jail awaiting trial. The
investigation
is over.’

Dash shook his head.
Sonofabitch.
‘And what about Isabella?’

‘That is of course ongoing.’

‘Ongoing? Shouldn’t it be a priority?’

There was a loud sigh on the end of the phone. ‘Look…Dash. Truth?’

‘That would be nice.’

‘There isn’t one person that’s been working on this case that doesn’t think the kid’s either dead like her mother or that the father has her stashed somewhere and that she’s safe.’

‘So…not a priority then?’

More silence. ‘The investigation is ongoing.’

Dash snorted. That was Baz — repeating the company line to the end.

‘I have better things to do then take crap from a guy whose
greed
compromised god knows how many investigations.’

Dash gripped his phone hard.
Fuck you
and a bunch of other not very nice words lined up to trip off his tongue, but insulting Baz wasn’t going to change his mind. And it sure as shit wasn’t going to get Isabella Richardson back.

‘Just listen to me for a second, okay?’

‘I’ll give you ten.’

‘There’s a bunch of liquor-store robberies that occurred in the three-week run-up to Hailey’s disappearance. Two offenders, couple of shops a night in that area, right near closing time, every three days. Every three days like clockwork. A hit was due on the night Hailey disappeared. It didn’t happen. But there’s a liquor shop right next to the Night Owl where the abduction probably took place. And the stick-ups just stopped. None happened that night or since.’

Dash drummed his fingers on his desk while he waited patiently for Baz to say something. His ex-partner had never been the strong silent type — that had been more Dash’s MO — but he was redefining the term right now.

‘So what you’re saying is that you think these two guys who were at the Night Owl that night to rob the liquor store decided to throw the whole plan out the window and abduct a woman and her baby.’

Dash winced. Hearing it paraphrased so sarcastically emphasised the craziness of the theory. And he knew it was out there. That it was highly improbable. But he also couldn’t shake the feeling in his gut that he was right.

‘Yep. That’s exactly what I’m saying.’

‘Fuck’s sake, Dent? Why would they do that? What on earth could be their motive?’

And therein lay the rub. Dash didn’t know the answer to that. ‘I don’t know, Baz. I can’t explain that bit. I just have
that
feeling. You know what I mean. We all have them about certain cases.’

It was Baz’s turn to snort. ‘Yeh. Well I gave up on that feeling when it was wrong about you. And I’m
sure as shit
not about to trust yours again. This is just bullshit Dash. Don’t come to me with this robbers-turned-abductors crap again unless you can prove it.’

The phone went dead in Dash’s ear and he threw it on his desk before swivelling around to pour another coffee. Ralph and Simone were at it again. He shook his head. ‘You two are going to boink each other to death, you know that, right?’

Dash thought back to Joy deliberately flashing him last night. ‘Yeah, yeah, I know…what a way to go, huh?’

Dash was on his third cup of coffee when the door opened at quarter to nine. He’d been steeling himself for Joy’s appearance since he’d woken with major wood that morning, but it was Eve who breezed into his office in red fitted trousers and some kind of silky orange blouse that clung in all the right places.

‘Hi,’ she said.

‘Hey.’ He smiled at her, grateful for the reprieve.

‘Whoa,’ she joked. ‘To what do I owe the honour of such a stunning thousand-watter?’

Dash lifted his mug to his mouth. ‘Can’t I just be pleased to see you?’

Eve grinned. ‘Well that depends,’ she said as she sat in the chair opposite him, ‘on just
how
pleased you are to see me.’

He smiled around the edge of the mug as he took a sip. He enjoyed their easy banter. Eve’s company over the years since his life had hit the shit heap had been one of the bright spots. ‘Just dimple deep this morning.’

She sobered a little, her eyes roving over his face. ‘You really should smile more, Dash Dent.’

He examined her face, noticed the sadness he often saw in her gaze. ‘So should you.’

‘Honey, I smile all the time, it’s all part of the service.’ And she gave him one of the hey-baby-what-can-I-do-for-you smiles she’d perfected on the streets a long time ago.

Dash leaned forward. ‘Yeah, but it never quite reaches your eyes.’

Eve cocked a delicately arched brow at him. ‘And yours does?’

‘Touché,’ he grinned.

Eve lounged back in her chair. ‘We make a fine pair, don’t we?’

Dash nodded. That they did. And if Eve wasn’t still in love with her ex and Dash wasn’t still so pissed at the world then they’d have probably made a pretty great couple. But both of them were realists. They knew that kind of baggage made for crap relationships.

‘So,’ Dash said, also lounging back in his chair, ‘to what do I owe the pleasure?’

‘I have a —’

The door opened, interrupting them, and this time it was Joy who walked through it. She was in her standard black skinny jeans and black hoodie zipped up all the way, and she was wearing her trademark frown. Her pink fringe was the only splash of colour, and even that was partially obscured by the fleecy hood.

Next to the colourful exoticness of Eve she should have come across as bland and uninteresting. But, as her gaze skittered to anywhere but him, already his brain was sliding down that very closed zipper and his dick was paying attention.

‘Hey,’ she said lifting her chin in their general direction.

‘Hey,’ Dash replied.

‘Morning Joy,’ Eve said, twisting in the chair. ‘How are you?’

‘Fine,’ she said, standing just inside the doorway.

‘Haven’t bought anything for Ralph today?’

Dash almost choked on his coffee. ‘I think she’s done more than enough for Ralph,’ he said tersely.

Eve glanced back at Dash. ‘Oh really?’

He nodded grimly. ‘He still hasn’t finished
playing
with the last toy Joy bought him.’

Three sets of eyes swivelled to the fish bowl. Ralph and Simone did not disappoint their audience.

‘Oh,’ Eve said, her eyes widening. ‘I see. Frisky little things aren’t they?’

‘
That
is not frisky,’ Dash muttered. ‘
That
is an orgy.’

Eve laughed. ‘He’s making up for lost time,’ she shrugged.

‘That’s what
I
said,’ Joy replied, still standing by the door.

Eve looked over her shoulder and smiled. ‘Are you going to come in or not?’

Joy shook her head and Dash noted the way she was still avoiding his gaze. ‘No, it’s fine. I don’t want to interrupt. I didn’t realise you guys had business. I can wait outside if you like?’

‘Are you kidding, it’s like ten degrees out there,’ Eve said. ‘Come in and grab a coffee,’ she said, waving Joy over. ‘This won’t take long.’

Joy finally sought his gaze, her eyes clearly asking for his permission. Dash nodded, annoyed at her and himself over this awkwardness. He should have kept a lid on it last night. Should have politely asked her to lower her top, gotten off the goddamn couch, laid out all the reasons they shouldn’t have gone where they did.

This awkwardness, being number one.

Eve frowned at him as Joy made a beeline for the coffee pot. She raised her eyebrows at him in a silent everything-alright-here? enquiry.

‘You were saying?’ he prompted, ignoring both Eve’s unspoken question and Joy behind him. Within touching distance.

‘Yes…’ Eve said. ‘I was wondering if you might be free tonight to come and meet a newbie that’s starting two nights a week.’

Dash nodded. Eve introduced him to all her employees. She wanted them to know that Dash was just next door and willing, eager and able to help out if ever needed. That he was their go-to guy.

‘Yep. That should be fine. Depends on today,’ he said, conscious of Joy standing just slightly behind and to the left of him in his peripheral vision. He certainly hoped they weren’t still on a stakeout together.

‘Is she a complete newbie?’ he asked.

‘No. Narelle was on the game quite a few years back. Around the time Ginny was murdered. I knew her vaguely then through Ginny. It frightened her enough to get her life together. She got married, had three kids — four, two and one. She’s just finished breastfeeding her youngest and they need the extra money so she approached me about picking up a couple of shifts.’

‘And her old man’s cool with it?’

Dash knew there were guys out there who were fine with their partners being in the sex industry. He just didn’t think
he
could ever be one of them. The mere thought of Joy’s ex
sharing
her had made him want to punch a hole in the wall last night. And then there’d been that situation a few years back with another employee of Eve’s who had told her husband she was working at a bar called Eve’s. He’d been none too happy when he’d found out that it wasn’t just booze you could buy.

Eve nodded. ‘He’s fully on board, came to the interview.’

Dash laughed and Eve said, ‘What?’

‘Could you ever have imagined all those years ago that you’d be a madam running a brothel where the women employed are uni students and part-time mothers instead of runaways and addicts and you’d be interviewing them
and their partners
for the position beforehand?’

Eve smiled that smile that never quite reached her eyes. ‘No way. Seventeen years ago I honestly thought I was going to die on the streets. Or at least be stuck in that life forever.’

Dash regarded her, suddenly serious. ‘But you weren’t. You got out.’

Eve reached across the desk and patted his hand. ‘Thanks to you.’

‘No. That was all you.’ Dash, still conscious of Joy hovering, didn’t want to get into any of the details of his past relationship with Eve. It was all old news anyway. ‘I just gave you a little leg up. You were the one who ran with it.’

Eve withdrew her hand as she rolled her eyes and winked at Joy. ‘So modest,’ she joked. She turned her gaze to Dash. ‘You still didn’t have to do it.’