Cold Touch by Leslie Parrish Read Free Book Online Page B

went.
    Ninety percent of these were a waste of his time, and the other ten long
    shots. Stil , no matter how implausible, every cal had to be evaluated, which
    would take up a lot of man-hours. His man-hours. There was no task force
    working this old, cold murder, just him and Ty, plus whoever else was wil ing to
    help them out while also dealing with their own workloads, which were al just
    as heavy as steamy Savannah boiled over into tense, angry Savannah.
    It only takes one . He kept reminding himself of that every time he lifted the
    phone to return a cal to somebody who might know something important.
    “Hey, Cooper! Somebody’s here to see ya,” a voice cal ed.
    Lowering the phone back into its cradle, he looked up at Kinney, a longtime
    patrolman whose shitty attitude had kept him from ever climbing the SCMPD
    ladder. The barrel-chested man was old school—racist, sexist, always smiling
    but as quick to stab you in the back as to offer you a hand in friendship.
    “Who is it?”
    Kinney wagged his bushy eyebrows. “A woman. She says she won’t talk to
    nobody but you. Hot, juicy little piece.”
    “Classy as ever, Kinney,” he muttered in disgust.
    Hard to insult, the man simply shrugged. “She says it’s about some fire
    you’re workin’. I put her in interview two,” Kinney added.
    Gabe nodded once, figuring the woman might be another reporter. If so, he
    couldn’t help wondering why she’d just shown up rather than cal ing first. He
    didn’t have a lot of time to deal with impromptu interviews, but he couldn’t
    deny being curious about the woman who’d insisted she talk to him and only
    him. Sounded like a little more than a media request.
    Ty had gone out to grab a late lunch, so Gabe headed alone down the long
    hal way to interview room two. He rapped once on the door, then pushed it
    open, his gaze immediately moving to the woman sitting at a smal , bare
    metal conference table.
    Surprise shot through him at the sight of her. His feet hesitated for the
    briefest moment, causing a tiny misstep between one stride and the next.
    Because it was her , the redhead who’d stepped into oncoming traffic Monday
    and had almost paid for it with her life. The woman he hadn’t been able to stop
    thinking about since, the one whose face he hadn’t been able to get out of his
    mind.
    huge, yes. Beautiful, heavily lashed, expressive. But now they were reddened
    and luminous with recently shed tears. This woman looked like she’d been
    crying al morning and no amount of eyedrops could have disguised that.
    “We meet again,” he said.
    She nodded, then reached into her purse and pul ed out a smal box. “These
    are for you.”
    When he saw the label, he had to laugh. “You real y didn’t have to replace
    them. I was serious; they were dol ar-store throwaways.”
    “It was the least I could do. Thank you again for what you did.”
    Even as she said it, he knew that replacing his broken sunglasses wasn’t
    the reason she’d come here. The woman’s slim throat quivered as she
    swal owed. Then she licked her lips nervously, and Gabe’s heart skipped a
    beat. Not only was he damned glad she’d waltzed back into his life—since
    he’d been kicking himself al week for not getting her name—but he also
    thought she might be ready to tel him what she’d real y been doing outside
    Fast Eddie’s Monday morning.
    His excitement grew, as it always did when he sensed he was on the verge
    of some kind of break in a case. If this attractive woman had been crying like
    her heart was fit to break and had then come here, insisting on seeing him in
    person to talk about the bones found after the fire, she might have recognized
    the sketch from the news. Might have known that boy enough to be wel and
    truly grieved at his passing.
    Might be here to give him just the lead he’d been hoping for.
    The woman managed a smal smile as she graceful y rose to her feet and
    extended her hand. “I saw you on the news. Your