Between Hearts: A Romance Anthology Read online

  He heard the beep signaling the end of the message. “I received no packages from Lara, or anyone else, before or after this message. I have no idea who Trent and Eli are. And she hadn’t called me Benny since she was in middle school.” That little detail haunted him even more than not answering the phone when Lara needed him the most. How scared must she have truly been to revert back to her old pet name for him?

  Delaney pressed a button in her intercom.

  Greg answered, “What up, boss?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Gregory, I need Karen in here,” she demanded.

  “On it, boss. She went to the bakery, but should be back any minute now.”

  “Of course she went to the bakery,” Delaney muttered with a sigh. “Thank you, Gregory.”

  “You got it,” Greg sang back.

  “Would your sister be involved in any kind of illegal activities?” she asked in a monotone voice, devoid from any judgment.

  “Not really,” he answered.

  “Is it just the two of you?”

  He nodded. “Our father abandoned us when Lara was a baby. I was nine. Our mother passed away four years ago.”

  As he expected, she gave no indication of sympathy. Ben started to believe that warmth he saw in her eyes was imagined. A trick of the light, maybe.

  “Why didn’t the police contacted you immediately after the missing person report was filed?”

  He had no idea how she knew that, but she was eerily accurate. Everything that came out of her mouth was.

  “They told me there was a mix-up.” His tone conveyed his skepticism at the excuse he’d been given by the officers. But honestly, it was the first of many things that didn’t sit well with how they were handling the case. He wanted to trust they were doing their best, but there was a nagging little voice in his head saying the police didn’t want to find Lara.

  “Detective Aaron Caruthers doesn’t do mix-ups,” she deadpanned. And how did she even know Caruthers was the one in charge of Lara’s case?

  “He was put in charge of the case after week two. Detective Nichols and Detective Carrols were reassigned when they came up with no leads,” he explained.

  Delaney held up a hand to stop him. “Nothing you’re saying makes procedural sense, Professor.”

  “I know.” He ran a hand through his short hair.

  “Tell me about Lara,” she requested next.

  “She is twenty-one, pre-med, a junior at Sacramento State University, dated a couple of kids in high school.” He opened up his bag to give her the most current picture he had of his baby sister.

  She took it, examining intently. Despite their age difference, they were really close growing up. This picture was the last one Lara had sent him before she inexplicably started drifting from him. It started gradually, with her missing their weekly phone calls and texts; her emails coming more and more infrequently until they just stopped altogether. He should have known there was something wrong with her, but he got so caught up with classes and his barely there social life that he kept putting off a visit, and then she was just… gone.

  In the picture, Lara pursed her lips as if sending him a kiss. She’d always been a lively girl, but school was hard on her. She had bags under her eyes, but they still managed to smile along with her.

  “Well, that answers the illegal activities questions,” Delaney muttered, frowning at the picture.

  Before Ben could ask what she meant, the door burst open, and a girl shuffled in, speaking at a speed of approximately seven thousand words per second.

  “Hey, boss. The cousin said you needed to see me. I got you those horrible rice cookies you eat; they’re in the kitchen. God forbid a speck of the stuff falls on your desk. Hi, there.” She noticed Ben as she plopped down in the seat next to him. “I’m Karen. Oh, I got word from Jaime about those reports we were waiting on for the Costello case. Pauli said she’d pick them up on her way in. Also, I was wondering if we could move the oak trousseau out of your hall, ‘cause that place would make an epic dance floor for the fundraiser thingie. I can get Greg on that tomorrow if that’s cool with you. My cousin Greg is our beautiful assistant,” she explained to Ben.

  He nodded, trying to follow her verbal diarrhea.

  “About time we got those reports. Those monkeys aren’t going to find themselves. Tell Jaime I expect more expediency from him next time. Yes to the trousseau, but tell Gregory to mind my nana’s spoon collection inside, and thanks for the cookies,” Delaney replied without missing a beat. She handed Karen Ben’s phone, adding, “Procure a copy of that message and run it through LISA; see if we can isolate the sounds. Make it as pure as it can get, please.”

  “On it, boss.” Karen saluted her, standing up and walking out of the door as quickly as she came in.

  The silence that followed her exit was super charged as if making up for the flurry of energy that apparently surrounded Karen whenever she walked into a room and left with her when she walked out.

  Ben raised his eyebrows, mouthing a “Wow” under his breath.

  Delaney smiled, noticing his reaction. “Karen is our technology expert. She’s light years better than those troglodyte IT people they keep at the 15th.”

  “Oh,” Ben said. There wasn’t really anything else to add. “What did you mean about the picture answering the illegal activities question?”

  “Your sister was dabbling in recreational drugs,” she replied with a pleasant smile.

  “She was what? And how do you even get that from a single photo?”

  Delaney closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, she pierced Ben with a look of thinly veiled annoyance. “If you ring my doorbell, it means that whatever your case might be, it’s beyond any government institution to solve. My methods are not found in any of their books. You do not question my deductions; you do not make suggestions as to how I handle your case. I am the best at what I do, and no amount of disbelief or lack of faith will change that. If I take your case, I will not stop until I deliver your sister right into your arms, no matter what state she might be found in.” She delivered her speech assertively, without raising her voice or hesitating.

  “There is no way my sister was doing drugs; she’s not that kind of girl,” he argued.

  Delaney fixed him with a long look. This time, the silence was oppressive for a different reason.

  “Have a nice day, Professor Hertz. Best of luck finding your sister.” She effectively dismissed him, getting her puzzle back from the drawer.

  “Wait, that’s it? You’re not even going to consider the case?” Ben exclaimed desperately. He had the gut feeling the investigator was indeed his last chance.

  “I considered the case, and I dismissed it,” she replied without looking up from her puzzle. “Ask Gregory for your cell phone on your way out.”

  Of all the shrews… He recognized a lost cause when he saw one. Delaney Stark was not going to help him.

  Chapter Three

  For the next two days, Ben resumed his routine of staring blankly at walls in between running coffee errands for the guys at the 15th and collecting clipped articles about random missing people. Yes, he was trying to find a pattern. Yes, he might have watched a few too many episodes of CSI back in the day. He was done being frustrated, just as he was done being patient, and was basically at the end of his rope. The end of the rope seemed like a good place to start collecting articles about random missing people.

  Ben stared at the seventy-one clipped articles neatly displayed on his motel room’s floor, including the piece they ran on Lara a few weeks ago. One more and he’d have seven equal rows of nine articles each.

  Somebody should probably do a quick check on his mental health pronto.

  As soon as the thought formed in his head, someone knocked on the door. He resisted the urge to laugh maniacally. Better not give them more fodder.

  Ben stood, opened the door, and stared at the person standing outside.

  “May I come in?” Delaney Stark as
ked politely.

  Ben mutely gestured her in.

  “How did you know where I was staying?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.

  She ignored his question. After a glance at his article collection that couldn’t have possibly taken more than five seconds, she said, “Teresa Mendez was found two weeks ago; she’d ran away from home because her step-father was abusing her.” Delaney pointed at one of the pieces.

  Ben could almost swear she looked sad, but then he’d have to admit she was capable of having feelings. In the last eight hours, he concluded she was a probably a robot from outer space, incapable of human emotions. Her looks were probably fashioned to lure innocent humans to her trap. It was a nice theory to explain why he still felt a smidgeon of attraction for her. It was very annoying how his heart rate seemed to pick up at the mere sight of her.

  ¨How do you know that?” Ben asked with a frown, exhaling wearily.

  “Our local newspapers are not as diligent in their reporting as big city ones. Happy outcomes don’t sell as many papers,” she replied with a one-shoulder shrug.

  “We’re in Sacramento,” he said, baffled.

  “You phone is bugged, by the way,” she added as an afterthought, ignoring him again.

  “Christ, how do you know that?” He wrestled his phone from his pocket and stared at it. It looked the same as it always did.

  “You sound like a broken record, Professor,” she chided. “The bug is not a literal bug. You’re not going to find it waving hello at you. It’s software. Luckily, a quite unsophisticated one. They must have stolen it briefly to install it. Did it go missing for any length of time in the past few weeks?”

  “You are infuriating,” he informed her.

  “Likewise,” she replied with a small smile as if enjoying the insult.

  “Start at the beginning. The phone?” Ben waved it in front of her as if saying hello.

  Delaney cocked her head and reluctantly explained, “Karen cloned your phone when you gave it to her. She likes to be thorough.” She justified the invasion, expressionless. “She says that if you give her access to the physical phone, she can track whoever is receiving the information.”

  “Why are you here?” It felt important to know that, so he asked.

  “I’m taking your sister’s case. Pro-bono,” she replied.

  “Why?”

  “You have a penchant for asking unimportant questions,” she remarked narrowing her eyes as if he were the inappropriate one. “I’m taking the case. That should be enough for you. The phone?” She waved a hand, mimicking the same impatient tone he used before.

  “I am not giving you my phone,” he nearly shouted.

  “Must you be so difficult?” she sighed.

  He actually growled. The woman had the remarkable talent of annoying him into a caveman. “I’m giving it to your girl myself,” he gritted through his teeth. As much as it pained him to admit it, her taking the case might be the last chance Lara had.

  “Suit yourself. I trust you remember the address?” She raised her chin as if everything was settled.

  He nodded, and went into the minuscule closet to grab his coat. When he turned, she was gone. Great. Apart from being apparently omniscient, the woman was capable of teleportation.

  * * *

  Almost an hour and a half later, Ben found himself back at the reception desk where he met Madeline. The extra time it took him to get to the office only furthered his irritation. Gregory was there, piling tiny yellow boxes on top of his desk. These people were extremely bizarre.

  The assistant smiled when he met Ben’s gaze. “Hey there, man. How you doin’?” Gregory greeted him with a handshake.

  “Delaney?” Ben asked, trying to hold back his frustration.

  “You know where to go.” Gregory pointed upstairs.

  Ben took the stairs, noting that Gregory abandoned his project to follow him up. Gregory shrugged. “I’m not missing this.” He gestured to the fuming Ben. He continued the motion of his hand in the general direction of Delaney’s office.

  This time around, not being ungodly o’clock in the morning, two of the desks were occupied. The other two sat empty.

  There was Karen, who cheerily waved hello at him when she noticed him. He glared, and her eyes grew wide in an unmistakable “Oops” expression. Predictably, her work station was full of tech gear too advanced for him to identify. Well, he could tell she had a couple of laptops running simultaneously, but he was pretty sure they were models unavailable to regular people.

  The one next to hers was occupied by a redheaded woman, sitting ramrod straight, chewing a pencil and so focused reading a piece of paper that she didn’t even notice when Gregory snatched a cookie from a plate on her desk.

  Before Ben reached Delaney’s office, the woman herself appeared from behind him, holding a steaming cup of coffee.

  “I see you’re finally here, Professor.” She nodded at him as she stopped and sat at the edge of one of the empty desks.

  “Glad to see you teleported all in one piece,” he snapped back.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she berated with a frown. “I’ll have you know, I own a motorcycle. Beating rush hour is impossible, even in a town this small.”

  “Sacramento,” he said yet again, baffled. And of course she owned a bike. Okay, he had to admit that was kind of hot.

  Delaney flipped her hand at him as if chasing away unimportant details. She blew on her coffee and asked, “Have you given your phone for its cleansing?”

  Staring fixedly at her, he passed his phone to Gregory, who was still hovering over him clearly expecting a showdown. The man took it and passed it along to his cousin.

  “Why are you taking the case? I mean, what made you change your mind?” he asked as specifically as he could.

  “I listened to your sister’s voice message,” Delaney admitted.

  “You did that before you turned me down,” he said. That sounded better in his head.

  “I listened to your sister’s full message,” she specified. “Karen was able to retrieve the static-y portion, and what I heard convinced me only I can help you.”

  Well, that certainly wasn’t cocky at all. “Can I listen to it?”

  She nodded, and Karen fumbled with one of her computers to play it for everyone. Lara’s voice blared out in the open space.

  Benny, I screwed up, I’m so sorry. I hope you got the package… give it to Trent when he finds you. I never should’ve trusted Eli… Please get out of your apartment. Ignacio’s people will find you. They’ll kill you. I’m so scared, Benny. You have to—

  A few beats of silence followed the final beep, and Ben had to admit, he did not get it. The message, while a bit scarier than before, didn’t say anything that could explain the investigator’s sudden change of heart.

  “Ignacio Casillas is our local drug lord, Professor,” Delaney explained with faintly raised eyebrows, daring him to defend Lara’s honor again. “I’ve been meaning to look into his activities for a while now, but we have so many cases, I could never manage the time to do it justice. Now I’ve got the perfect excuse,” she explained with a “so there” hand gesture.

  He had the vague instinct she wasn’t telling the whole truth, although he had no way to back it up. Her posture was relaxed, her expression open.

  “So what do we do now?” Ben asked without taking his eyes off her.

  “We aren’t doing anything. I’ve already got most of what I need to start looking,” Delaney scoffed.

  “But I want to help. You’re not charging me for your services, and this is my sister we’re talking about. I can’t just wait and start my own missing persons scrapbook in the meantime. Not anymore,” he pleaded.

  “I understand your concern, believe me, Professor,” she replied sternly. “But I already have all the help I need. My team is the best one you can possibly find.”

  “This is true,” the redhead muttered around her pencil without looking up.

  “So I ju
st sit and wait? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Yes,” she answered simply.

  “Okay, I got a location for the signal,” Karen piped up, interrupting the staring match. “It goes to one of Casillas’ guys. His name is listed in the apartment address, Gerardo Perez. Hang on… and I have eyes on his apartment.” One of her screens changed to a live feed of a mostly empty apartment. “It looks like no one lives there. Why would he keep an empty apartment under his own name? What a moron,” Karen rolled her eyes. “But I do love it when morons use hackable cell phones. His current location is encrypted. It might take some time to decode, but his calendar says he’ll be at Richmond Grace Memorial tomorrow at eleven. Oddly organized for a goon, huh? Might be the best way to catch him off guard. Barging in with those guys tends to get violent. If you get me his phone, I can ping where he’s been in the last few days.”

  “Yes, Karen. Please continue giving away sensitive information to the client who’s bent on helping.” Greg rolled his eyes at his cousin. “This guy is not your average bully. You’re not gonna show up at the hospital ready to kick ass and take names, are you?” he asked Ben curiously.

  “No.” Ben shook his head.

  “I knew there had to be a practical man somewhere in there,” Delaney deadpanned.

  “What’s a narc doing at a hospital anyway?” Greg asked, frowning.

  “Hang on,” Karen muttered, clicking on her keyboard, biting her tongue in concentration. “Okay, hospital records are loading,” she sing-sang.

  “You hacked into a hospital’s server?” Ben gaped, dumbfounded.

  Karen nodded, and opened her mouth to say something, but before she did, her eyes landed back on her screen. She started laughing. “Gerardo is booked for a Lamaze class.”

  Gregory blinked. “I did not see that one coming,” he admitted.

  “Can you see if there are still spots available in the same class?” Delaney requested.