Rafael by Faith Gibson Read Free Book Online Page A

the phone.”
    “Hold whatcha
got.”
    Shaking her
head, she waited less than a minute for the ME to pick up.
    “Chief Kane,
what can I do for you?” His deep baritone voice was sexy over the phone. If the
man ever chose to smile, she might consider him handsome.
    “Dante, have you
spoken to anyone other than me about the murders?”
    “No, I ran the
tests and made the notations in the computer myself.”
    “Does Trevor
have access to the information?” Kaya could see the young man chatting up the
murders over a nice game of Halo with his geek buddies.
    “Yes, he does,
but I can assure you, he takes his job seriously and knows not to speak about
ongoing cases, the same as you and I.  Is there a problem?”
    “I hope not. I
just received an anonymous phone call with a tip.  The caller knew the
approximate time of death.  Let’s hope it was a guess.” She pressed the button
that disconnected the call. When the dial tone buzzed, she punched in the
number for her IT department.
    “Wilkes, this is
Chief Kane. A call came in to my private line, and I need it traced. Yes, about
three minutes ago. This is priority.” She hung up. What the hell was going on?
If someone actually placed Rafael at the scene when they said they did, all of
his alibis had lied to Dane. She called his cell, but it went to voicemail.
“Dane, Kaya. Call me.”
    Needing another
cup of coffee, she passed by the dispatcher’s desk on her way to the kitchen.
“Hey Kim, did you put a call through to my phone a few minutes ago?” The
younger woman had worked at the precinct for years, and Kaya knew her well. “No,
Ma’am. Is something wrong?”
    “No,
everything’s fine. I just missed the call, and they didn’t leave a message.”
    Her office phone
was ringing as she walked back through the door. “Kane.”
    “Chief, Wilkes
here. We couldn’t get a trace on the call that came in. It was from a burner phone.”
    “Okay, thanks.”
Kaya was at a loss. She needed answers. She didn’t want to be wrong about
Rafael. Mr. Stone. Sipping her coffee, she thought back to the dream of
him and the little boy. Wishful thinking was all that could be. There was no
connection between them, never would be, especially as long as he was a
suspect.
    The anonymous
tip bothered her. She received them frequently and more often than not they
were bogus. Was this one real? Was someone trying to set him up? His alibi was
airtight if his housekeeper and gardener were telling the truth. There
was also the security footage at the office with timestamps. She needed to see
them.

Chapter
10
     
    Rafael’s home
was a large manor situated on a sprawling piece of land located on the
northeast side of New Atlanta. The house boasted eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms,
billiards room, dojo slash gym, state of the art kitchen, swimming pool, and
his favorite area: a flower garden. The garden covered approximately three out
of the fifty acres. Paths led through the various types of greenery, blooms,
trees, and fountains. It was one of the most serene places he had ever enjoyed.
When Rafe wanted to think, this is where he went. Benches were scattered
throughout the paths, and on one of these benches is where he found himself
this morning. The brisk October air kicked his senses into sixth gear.
    Ever since
waking, Kaya filled his thoughts. He couldn’t shake the memory of their brief
contact, the electricity that zinged through his arm when they shook hands. The
way she trembled beneath his touch and the scent of her arousal as they stood
close were tattooed on his brain. However hard it was to control his thoughts,
he had to get a lock on them. There was a killer to find so that he was no
longer a suspect.
    He had learned
the art of meditation from Geoffrey. Rafael calmed his heart rate, stilled his
body, opened his mind. Breathing in through his nose slowly, all tension eased
from his body. Rafael imagined he was standing on a rocky cliff looking out
over a wild sea; waves