Tender Is The Night(27)

"What happened to I can be just as determined as you?"

"Nothing, but I can see I don't have a talent for this."

"Your problem is you don't want to give up control," he told her.

He was probably right about that. She was worrying so much about getting  the steps perfect and not dancing too close to him and not looking  stupid that she was messing the whole thing up. So she took a deep  breath, and let herself hear the music, and feel his moves.

Once she stopped fighting him, she started to do better.

Jessica came over to them a few times and interrupted just long enough  to show them how they could improve a step, then left them alone to  continue on with the dance.

By the time the class was over, Kate felt both exhilarated and tired.

Devin twirled her around in one last move that was completely made up,  but since he was giving her his sexy smile, she went along with it,  ending up in his arms.

"That was more fun than I thought it would be," he said.

"I know. It surprised me, too."

They were so close together, their faces just inches apart, she could  feel his breath on her face and she wanted very much to close the gap  between them and feel his lips on her mouth. Devin's gaze darkened, and  his arms tightened around her body.

"Just kiss me already," she breathed.

Desire flickered in his eyes. But before he could move, she heard a guy call her name.

"Kate?"

Startled, she pulled abruptly away from Devin to see her cousin Sean making his way across the dance floor.

"Hey, nice to see you," he added, giving her a hug.

"You, too. I didn't think you were here tonight."

"Just got back from dinner. We have a band recording later. They like the late night start."

"This is Devin Scott," she said, introducing the two men.

Sean shook Devin's hand. "Nice to meet you. Jessica told me you're following an arsonist and that we might be a target?"

"Yes. I just got on the case a few days ago," she said. "But Devin has  been investigating a series of fires over the past several years. We've  isolated some potential targets."

"And this studio is one of them?" he asked in surprise.

"Actually, it's very low on the list," Devin interjected. "But the  arsonist has been known to target organizations that provide services to  the community for at-risk kids and senior citizens."

"Why the hell would anyone want to go after those groups?" Sean asked, bewilderment in his blue eyes.

"Still trying to figure that out," Devin replied.

"We actually have extra security for the next three nights," Sean said.  "The recording artist coming in later is well-known, and he brings along  his own team."

"Who is it?" Kate asked.

Sean smiled. "I can't tell you that. He values his privacy."

"So it's a he."

Sean shook his head in amazement. "You're just like Emma. So curious."

"I consider any resemblance to Emma to be a compliment."

"Speaking of Emma, why didn't my sister warn me about the possibility of arson?"

"She was just made aware of these potential new targets," Kate told him.

"Well, glad to hear she's not asleep on the job."

"You know that would never happen." Kate paused as Jessica came over. "Thanks for the class. That was fun."

"It looked fun," Jessica said with a twinkle in her eyes. "You two make good partners."

"When she lets me lead," Devin said with a grin.

"You stumbled a few times, too," she reminded him.

"That's when you stepped on my feet."

"Well, you'll both get better if you come back next week," Jessica put in.

Jessica's words reminded Kate that she wouldn't be coming back next  week, because that was Mia's rehearsal dinner, and the following week  she'd probably be back in DC getting assigned to another case.

"Sorry, I forgot next week is the wedding," Jessica said. "So maybe another time?"

"We'll see," she said. "Thanks again for letting us crash the class."

"There's always room for two more, especially family."

"Nice to meet you both," Devin added, as they said their goodbyes and headed back to the car.         

     



 

As she got into the car and Devin started the engine, she glanced down  at her watch. It was nine thirty, which meant they had a few hours to  kill until they started to stake out the other targets, and she had a  really terrible idea on how to fill that time.

She should go home, she told herself. She should ask Devin to drop her  at Ian's place and then have him pick her up after midnight. She could  take a quick nap. She could talk to Ian. She could do a lot of things  besides get closer to Devin.

On the other hand, maybe fighting all the tension wasn't the greatest idea, either.

If they just gave into it, like the dance, maybe it would be better all the way around.

Yeah, that was a great rationalization.

With a sigh, she looked out the window as Devin stopped at a light.  Ashbury Studios was in the once famous neighborhood known as  Haight-Ashbury. It had been the center of the hippie movement in the  sixties and had always had an eclectic and edgy atmosphere.

To her right was a clothing shop next to a tattoo parlor. Across the  street was a more upscale home goods retailer next to a pot shop selling  legalized marijuana and other herbal supplements.

As Devin drove through the intersection, she looked up the hilly street  and saw an old bookstore with lights shining in the windows. And those  lights almost brought her heart to a crashing stop.

"Stop," she said abruptly.

Devin slammed on the brakes, throwing her forward. "What?"

"Go around the block and come back down the street we just went through."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I saw something in the window of a bookstore."

"What?"

"Just drive around the block."

He did as she asked, and as they came down the hill, she asked him to stop in front of the bookstore.

"Damn," he muttered, gazing at the front window in amazement.

"So I'm not crazy. That peace sign looks exactly like the map in your apartment, doesn't it?"

"With just part of the circle and one of the lines missing," he agreed.

"Weird coincidence?"

His jaw tightened. "I have no idea, but we need to find out."





Thirteen


Devin thought about that peace sign all the way back to his apartment.  It was quite a departure from what he'd been thinking about before,  which was whether or not to answer Kate's very tempting demand to kiss  her already.

The large lit peace sign in the window of the bookstore had definitely  provided an unexpected distraction. Was it just a reminder to get back  to work? Or was it a clue?

They'd been in Haight-Ashbury, the place where peace-loving hippies and  flower children had gathered in the sixties to share love and protest  war. It wasn't unusual to find a peace sign in that neighborhood. There  were probably dozens of them within a few blocks.

But there was something about that particular sign that made his nerves  tingle. He'd always trusted his gut, and his gut was telling him to pay  attention.

Kate was quiet, her gaze on the streets, as if she were seeking another  clue or trying to find a way to connect that bookstore to the fires.

"We need to find out who owns the store, the building and the land," he said, breaking through the silence.

She turned her head. "That would be a good place to start. The peace  sign caught my eye from across the street. Perhaps it inspired our  arsonist. They could live in the area, or they could have visited that  bookstore."

"Or we just found a peace sign in the middle of a neighborhood that is probably full of them."

"That's looking at the glass half-full."

"Just being realistic."

She frowned. "It feels like fate, like we were meant to see that sign.  It was a good thing we went to warn Sean and Jessica. And even that we  danced. We might not have seen the sign if we'd left the studio in the  daylight. It jumped out at me in the dark night."

He wanted to be as optimistic as she was, but he just couldn't quite get  there-not yet anyway. He was, however, willing to invest some time and  energy into researching the owner of the bookstore.

When they got back to his apartment, Kate immediately jumped on her computer, and he did the same.

Within five minutes, they both had the information they'd been looking  for. "You want to go first?" he asked, as she gave him an expectant  look. "And don't boast because you beat me. You have access to FBI  resources; I don't."

She gave him a smile. "I didn't have to use the resources, just the  county records. Haviland Real Estate owns the building. They own a dozen  commercial buildings all over town."

He nodded, her information matching his. "The bookstore owner is Mitch  Conroy. He's a sixty-four-year-old retired English professor from  Stanford. He and his wife Beth opened the bookstore six years ago. They  also own a house in the Richmond neighborhood." He thought for a moment,  something niggling at his brain. "Do you have the bookstore website  open?"