Page 42 of Made of Steele
“We have a body.” She brought Gutierrez up to date. “Do you want me to work the investigation or do you want to assign one of your permanent detectives?”
“It’s related to your investigation so you take it. You were the best record keeper ever on the squad, and we can always reassign it later if need be.”
Her shoulders automatically lifted at his compliment. He gave them, but not often, and they had to be well-earned. “Kelsey says this will be a time-consuming process. We’ll need deputies to man the site.”
He grumbled. “You know we’re running lean and mean right now. I’ll send someone over as soon as I can free them up.”
She thanked him and disconnected. Drew was still on his phone, his hand clamped on the back of his neck that was still bronze from the summer. She couldn’t help but wonder how he got the tan. She doubted Dylan engaged in any sports with the Contis. So did he have any free time or was he stuck in the role of Dylan all the time?
He shoved his phone into his pocket and marched back. “Harris thanks you for arranging an officer of record, but she wants to be sure you know we’re working this potential murder investigation together.”
“I think we’re past potential, but we don’t have a cause of death so I’ll let it go.” She grinned at him. “A deputy will be dispatched, and yes, I know we work it together.”
“I figured as much, but it had to be stated.”
She got it. Some detectives would claim jurisdiction and give the feds the cold shoulder. But as far as she was concerned, this was a joint operation all the way. “So now what? I mean after the deputy arrives?”
“Time for Dylan to deposit some cash in the Contis’ bank account.”
“Then what?” Teagan asked.
“We’ll have to play it by ear.” He shoved his phone into his pocket. “Undercover work is a slow, tedious process sometimes. You have to be careful not to seem too eager and tip off the subjects. I’ll make the deposit, and meet up with the brothers to be sure they know I did it.”
“And what do you want me to do? Other than go home and get ready for my lunch date with Oliver?”
Drew gritted his teeth.
“What?”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I still don’t like this date, but Harris agrees with it, so we’re a go. You’ll wait for me to signal that I’m in place to monitor things before you arrive.”
He was being pushy again, but this was different. She could see he was worried about her. Maybe on a personal level, so she would let it go. “Of course I will.”
“Good. Thank you.” He gave her a tight smile. “As to other tasks, do you think Nick’s reports on the Contis and Rossi are complete, or is there more research that could be done?”
“Complete for the amount of time we gave him,” she said. “He’s still running a few algorithms that could turn something up.”
“But a lay person like one of us wouldn’t likely find anything?”
“Not likely. But I can review Nick’s report again. Maybe see something we missed when we first looked at it.”
“Other than that, I can’t think of anything you can do to help at the moment. I’ll head out to talk to the Conti brothers. Then I’ll observe your lunch, and we can meet up again for a dinner date.”
She didn’t like his answer, but he might be right. There might not be anything else she could do right now. Still, she had to dosomething. She would figure out exactly what that something might be on the drive back to the city.
Other than the big date with Oliver.
12
Not sure how he was feeling about the morning’s developments, Drew parked outside his bogus business office. They’d found Smiley. Or at least Drew believed they had. And the discovery had caused Teagan pain. Man, he had hated seeing that. She tried to hide it, but she didn’t manage it well. Her face had lost color, and her eyes were tight until she made the call to her lieutenant. Then she’d moved into her law enforcement mode and either coped or managed to hide the anguish better.
And what did Drew do? He’d frustrated her with his answer on what she could do to help. Basically, a whole lot of nothing. He understood her disappointment. He wouldn’t like being put on the shelf either. He half expected her to follow him to the office, and he’d kept watching in his rearview mirror for her vehicle. Her law enforcement training had taught her how to tail a suspect unseen, but she would have to be nearly invisible to succeed.
He’d made several left turns in a row as was usual when leaving his real life to move into his UC life. Was the easiest way to see if someone tailed him. But no vehicle made the turns with him. Not a single one.
He had to assume she was home primping for a date with another man. His gut clenched. Worse, in a few hours, he had to sit and listen to her flirt with the guy—and the guy come on to her, as he most certainly would the minute he got a look at her.
Drew groaned and shoved that thought away. He had the Contis to deal with before he could agonize over the date. He got out and stopped on the sidewalk to look through the big storefront window. The small room faced the road and held two desks and signs advertising the business.
