Blake's Pursuit
Page 10
Ordinary? Lilo clamped her hand over Blake’s forearm. “Brown eyes? You didn’t see?”
Blake’s forehead furrowed. “See what?”
“His eyes were red. As if he had an infection like—”
“You mean like conjunctivitis?” the officer interrupted.
She looked straight at him. “No. It wasn’t the white part of the eye that was red; his irises were.”
“I’ve never heard of an illness like that,” Blake threw in, making her turn to him. “Maybe it was just a reflection.”
“That’s what I thought at first, too, but there wasn’t a lot of light in the living room that could have reflected off his eyes.”
The officer cleared his throat, making her look back at him. “So it was pretty dark then, Miss? I’m surprised you were able to describe the man as well as you did.” He made a note on his form. “Well, let’s talk about anything that’s missing. Your phone, right?”
She wanted to protest, but what if she’d seen wrong? She couldn’t swear to it. Maybe it had been a reflection after all, or fear had made her see things that weren’t there. After all, he’d been attacking her, and her only thought had been to save herself.
Her mind had played a trick on her.
7
Half an hour later, Blake guided Lilo back to the car.
Donnelly had done his job well. He’d taken down the report and pretended to give the case his utmost attention, when Blake knew all too well that Donnelly would shred the report the minute they left the police station.
Crimes involving vampires were dealt with by Scanguards. That was the deal they had with the city. Only a few people in the city government knew about this arrangement: the police chief and several police officers, who were spread around the various precincts, so they could alert Scanguards when a vampire-related crime crossed their desks.
While Lilo had gotten dressed, Blake had quickly alerted Donnelly by text message that they were coming and told him to pretend that they didn’t know each other. All had gone as planned.
When Blake opened the car door, Lilo turned to him. “Can you recommend a hotel? Nothing too expensive, but in a safe area.”
“You won’t need a hotel. You’re staying with me. I thought I made that clear earlier.” He was sure he’d told her that she was coming with him. Why else would he have made her pack her suitcase?
“I can just as easily stay in a hotel. I really don’t want to be a burden. And you don’t know me.”
“You’re a friend of Hannah’s. That’s all I need to know. Besides, if we want to find Hannah, we need to work together.”
She gave a hesitant nod, then eased into the passenger seat. He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He was pulling out of the parking lot and into traffic, when Lilo shifted in her seat.
“You’ve gotta turn around. We didn’t give the police Hannah’s computer and tablet,” she suddenly said. She pushed a lock of her blond hair behind her ear. “I don’t know how I could have forgotten that.”
He glanced at her for a brief moment. “The police will sit on her computer for days before they get an IT expert on it and get into Hannah’s email. We don’t have that kind of time.”
“But what are you gonna do with it? I told you it’s password-protected. And I already tried a few passwords without success.”
“I’ll get the company’s IT department on it. They’ll be able to crack it.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, but before he could dial Thomas’s number, the phone rang. “Speak of the devil.” He pressed accept, then hit the speaker button. “Hey Thomas, you’re on speaker. I’m in the car with Lilo, the owner of the cell phone I had you trace. Anything new?”
“It pinged off a tower at the airport earlier in the evening,” Thomas replied. “But nothing since.”
“That must have been when I got off the plane and checked my messages,” Lilo said.
Blake nodded. “Makes sense. Thomas, keep monitoring it.”
“I sent a text message to it and called the number, too, but it’s going straight to voicemail. Sorry, it’s a dead end for now.”
Before Thomas could disconnect the call, Blake stopped him. “Another thing: can you come over to my house and look at a laptop and tablet? They’re password-protected. I need to know what’s on them.”
“Now?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Sorry, I’m going into a meeting in a minute.” There was some mumbling, as if Thomas was holding his hand over the mouthpiece. “Okay, Eddie just volunteered. He’ll be there shortly.”
“Thanks, Thomas.”
“You bet.”
A click on the line, and Thomas was gone.
“Your colleague has a meeting at midnight? Who works those kind of hours?”
Hearing a hint of suspicion in Lilo’s voice, Blake met her look and smiled warmly, hoping to dispel all her doubts with his charm. “Security is a twenty-four-seven business.”
Slowly, she nodded. “I guess I knew that already.” She took a breath. “Your colleague didn’t even ask what all this was about. You didn’t tell him that we’re trying to find Hannah.”
“I don’t have to. He knows when I ask him for help, it’s because it’s important. That’s how the company works. We don’t question our colleagues’ requests. It goes both ways.”
“That requires a lot of trust,” she mused.
“In our business, trust is everything. Sometimes our lives depend on it.”
“You mean when you’re protecting somebody as a bodyguard?”
“Some assignments can be dangerous, but we’re trained well.” It also helped that as a vampire he had a few secret weapons up his sleeve. Better than any fictional British spy.
But it was time to stop Lilo from asking any more questions. “So what do you do in Nebraska, Lilo?”
“I’m a writer.” She turned to look out the window. “What neighborhood is this?”
Blake suppressed a chuckle. It appeared he wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to answer questions about his work. “We’re driving through Pacific Heights.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of it. Pretty.”
Blake’s forehead furrowed. “See what?”
“His eyes were red. As if he had an infection like—”
“You mean like conjunctivitis?” the officer interrupted.
She looked straight at him. “No. It wasn’t the white part of the eye that was red; his irises were.”
“I’ve never heard of an illness like that,” Blake threw in, making her turn to him. “Maybe it was just a reflection.”
“That’s what I thought at first, too, but there wasn’t a lot of light in the living room that could have reflected off his eyes.”
The officer cleared his throat, making her look back at him. “So it was pretty dark then, Miss? I’m surprised you were able to describe the man as well as you did.” He made a note on his form. “Well, let’s talk about anything that’s missing. Your phone, right?”
She wanted to protest, but what if she’d seen wrong? She couldn’t swear to it. Maybe it had been a reflection after all, or fear had made her see things that weren’t there. After all, he’d been attacking her, and her only thought had been to save herself.
Her mind had played a trick on her.
7
Half an hour later, Blake guided Lilo back to the car.
Donnelly had done his job well. He’d taken down the report and pretended to give the case his utmost attention, when Blake knew all too well that Donnelly would shred the report the minute they left the police station.
Crimes involving vampires were dealt with by Scanguards. That was the deal they had with the city. Only a few people in the city government knew about this arrangement: the police chief and several police officers, who were spread around the various precincts, so they could alert Scanguards when a vampire-related crime crossed their desks.
While Lilo had gotten dressed, Blake had quickly alerted Donnelly by text message that they were coming and told him to pretend that they didn’t know each other. All had gone as planned.
When Blake opened the car door, Lilo turned to him. “Can you recommend a hotel? Nothing too expensive, but in a safe area.”
“You won’t need a hotel. You’re staying with me. I thought I made that clear earlier.” He was sure he’d told her that she was coming with him. Why else would he have made her pack her suitcase?
“I can just as easily stay in a hotel. I really don’t want to be a burden. And you don’t know me.”
“You’re a friend of Hannah’s. That’s all I need to know. Besides, if we want to find Hannah, we need to work together.”
She gave a hesitant nod, then eased into the passenger seat. He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He was pulling out of the parking lot and into traffic, when Lilo shifted in her seat.
“You’ve gotta turn around. We didn’t give the police Hannah’s computer and tablet,” she suddenly said. She pushed a lock of her blond hair behind her ear. “I don’t know how I could have forgotten that.”
He glanced at her for a brief moment. “The police will sit on her computer for days before they get an IT expert on it and get into Hannah’s email. We don’t have that kind of time.”
“But what are you gonna do with it? I told you it’s password-protected. And I already tried a few passwords without success.”
“I’ll get the company’s IT department on it. They’ll be able to crack it.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, but before he could dial Thomas’s number, the phone rang. “Speak of the devil.” He pressed accept, then hit the speaker button. “Hey Thomas, you’re on speaker. I’m in the car with Lilo, the owner of the cell phone I had you trace. Anything new?”
“It pinged off a tower at the airport earlier in the evening,” Thomas replied. “But nothing since.”
“That must have been when I got off the plane and checked my messages,” Lilo said.
Blake nodded. “Makes sense. Thomas, keep monitoring it.”
“I sent a text message to it and called the number, too, but it’s going straight to voicemail. Sorry, it’s a dead end for now.”
Before Thomas could disconnect the call, Blake stopped him. “Another thing: can you come over to my house and look at a laptop and tablet? They’re password-protected. I need to know what’s on them.”
“Now?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Sorry, I’m going into a meeting in a minute.” There was some mumbling, as if Thomas was holding his hand over the mouthpiece. “Okay, Eddie just volunteered. He’ll be there shortly.”
“Thanks, Thomas.”
“You bet.”
A click on the line, and Thomas was gone.
“Your colleague has a meeting at midnight? Who works those kind of hours?”
Hearing a hint of suspicion in Lilo’s voice, Blake met her look and smiled warmly, hoping to dispel all her doubts with his charm. “Security is a twenty-four-seven business.”
Slowly, she nodded. “I guess I knew that already.” She took a breath. “Your colleague didn’t even ask what all this was about. You didn’t tell him that we’re trying to find Hannah.”
“I don’t have to. He knows when I ask him for help, it’s because it’s important. That’s how the company works. We don’t question our colleagues’ requests. It goes both ways.”
“That requires a lot of trust,” she mused.
“In our business, trust is everything. Sometimes our lives depend on it.”
“You mean when you’re protecting somebody as a bodyguard?”
“Some assignments can be dangerous, but we’re trained well.” It also helped that as a vampire he had a few secret weapons up his sleeve. Better than any fictional British spy.
But it was time to stop Lilo from asking any more questions. “So what do you do in Nebraska, Lilo?”
“I’m a writer.” She turned to look out the window. “What neighborhood is this?”
Blake suppressed a chuckle. It appeared he wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to answer questions about his work. “We’re driving through Pacific Heights.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of it. Pretty.”
