She nodded. “Our guy is probably between thirty and forty-five, and he likes dark-headed women usually. Athletic build, white most of the time, although there have been a few Hispanic women in his pickings.”
He nodded, knowing all of this. He had been following the case for months since they’d found Samantha Brown.
“So he kills a number of women, then the FBI descends, he disappears.”
She hesitated. “Before the press even knows we’re there.”
That tidbit sent a slice of ice racing through his blood.
“Before the press catches wind, the killings stop?”
She nodded. “They were in Atlanta for three weeks before the press found out.”
Hell, this was worse than he thought. If the press had known first, there was a good chance there might be someone in their ranks who had done this. But if the press hadn’t been sniffing around, that really did narrow it down to law enforcement and people directly connected to them.
“I see from your expression you understand the implications.”
His gut was churning just thinking about it. “This is someone who travels. Could he be FBI?”
He expected her to get irritated, but she just nodded again. “Yeah, that’s one of my worries.”
“I’m surprised that I didn’t piss you off.”
She offered him a wry smile. “It takes a lot to piss me off mainly because I work for the federal government in a career field filled with men. Besides, my father said never rule anyone out. That mistake has cost too many lives in the past.”
“So we need to start going through a database of people in the FBI.”
“Done. There weren’t many names on the list that fit the criteria..”
He studied her for a moment. “Are you taking a risk doing this?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I would think that putting yourself in this situation would put you out there to be attacked if you fail.”
She shrugged. “People are always waiting for me to fail.”
She said it as if it were a fact. “Because you’re a woman?”
Chuckling, she said, “No. Actually it’s because I’m Big John Callahan’s daughter. I have a lot to prove. I can send you that list if you can give me your email.”
She was already pulling out her phone when he asked, “Why don’t we have something to eat?”
The moment he said it, he wanted to call back the words. He meant to stop on the way, just pick up something fast. But he’d been so preoccupied with Callahan and what he would like to do to her, he’d forgotten. Shit, he didn’t even know if he had something to feed her. He opened his mouth to tell her to forget it. But a second later, she looked up, surprise lighting her eyes. That look alone had his hands itching. There was something about the expression that had him reassessing his original thoughts on her preferences. A hint of vulnerability along with interest in her gaze made him rethink everything. And he could tell she was trying to decide what to do.
“Sure.”
A strange sense of relief swept through him. Damn, he was acting like some kind of fifth grader with a crush on his teacher. “I’ll go see what I have on hand.”
“Oh, you don’t have to go to any trouble.”
She gave him an out. He didn’t have to follow through on his offer, but strangely, he didn’t want that out. He wanted to spend more time with her. Rome just had to figure out if it was because of her or the case.
“No worries.”
· · · · ·
Maria really didn’t know what to think of her new partner, for lack of a better word. She knew a lot of men. It was hard not to in her field. Since her mother had died when Maria was twelve, she’d been raised by her father. For the better part of the last fifteen years, she had actually spent more time with men than with women. She didn’t think any of the men she knew intrigued her more than the man presently sitting across the table from her. He had thrown together a quick meal of grilled shrimp and vegetables, served it on what he called the lanai, and while they talked of the case, he never tried to take the lead. From what she knew in his files, she had expected him to be different. Very different.
“So you have Masters checking out these guys?”
She nodded as she took a sip of white wine, another shock. Most of the men she worked with had a great selection of beer in their houses, but Rome seemed to be a bit of a connoisseur of wines. And he’d had one of her favorites.
“He’s going to do some digging, then leave.”
His eyebrows rose. “Whose call was that?”
“Mine. If I’d had my way, he wouldn’t be here at all. But the boss wanted to be sure I had a seasoned agent with me. And dragging him all this way and letting him leave actually got me brownie points with Masters.” In fact, the expectant father had been embarrassingly thankful when she’d told him.