Night Watch (Kendra Michaels #4)(14)
“No, I wasn’t trying to impress you.” He thought for a second. “Well, maybe a little.”
“Another day I might have been impressed. A little. But right now, I’m just worried sick about my friend. I owe him, Lynch.”
Lynch nodded. “I know. Which is why I’m willing to spend every bit of professional capital I have to help you. Now that should both dazzle and impress you. Okay? We’ll leave right now.” He walked her toward the garage. “I’ll drive.”
Kendra stopped in front of a large painting in the hallway. It was a striking portrait of her, one that she and Lynch had actually watched being painted by a suspect in a previous case. Her eyes were closed in the painting, and her lips were slightly curled in a serene smile.
Kendra nodded toward the painting. “Maybe this is why Ashley left. Most women aren’t cool with their boyfriends’ decorating their houses with pictures of other women.”
“Ashley loved this painting. She joked about taking it with her.”
“So she could burn it?”
“No. She looked at it a lot. To her, it looked like you were enjoying something that only you could see.”
“Even though my eyes are closed?”
“Maybe because your eyes are closed. It was very perceptive of her, I thought. I had the exact same impression. I couldn’t get it out of my head after you and I saw it being done. That’s why I had to go back and buy it.”
“I still think you got taken.”
“No, I didn’t,” he said softly.
She turned to face him.
Lynch was looking at her, not the painting.
And she found she was caught and couldn’t tear her gaze away.
After a long moment, he gestured toward the garage door. “Shall we?”
Release.
She nodded. “By all means.” She hurriedly followed him to the garage.
FBI Regional Field Office San Diego
They made record time to the FBI’s gleaming, glass-fronted building in Sorrento Valley, home to much of San Diego’s high-tech industry. They rode in Lynch’s Ferrari, and for once Kendra resisted the urge to tease Lynch about his expensive, overcompensating-for-something wheels.
Her gesture didn’t go unnoticed. “No snide remarks about the car?” he said as he parked. “Now I know you’re upset. Either that, or you’ve finally learned to respect my ride.”
“There’s also the third option.”
“And that is?”
“I’m grateful for what you’re doing for me. So you get a onetime pass.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“Although … the way you were stroking that gearstick makes me a little uncomfortable. It’s really kind of disturbing. I know you have feelings for this car, but should I leave you two alone for a little while?”
Lynch shook his head. “That’s the Kendra I know. The world still spins on its axis. So much for the free pass.”
“You got a pass by my not mentioning the two women you’ve had in this car in the past week. Young women, probably midtwenties. You liked one of them, the Latina woman, well enough to bring her back to your house.”
He shook his head. “Okay, I definitely need to know how you knew that.”
“Later.” She opened the door. “We have work to do.”
*
SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE MICHAEL GRIFFIN stood in the corridor outside the FBI crime lab, staring at the jacket in Kendra’s outstretched hand. “You’re kidding, right?”
“That’s what that LAPD detective asked. I thought you’d know better.” She shoved the jacket toward him. “It’s on the left sleeve. It could mean nothing or everything, but we won’t know until it’s tested.”
Griffin looked at her, then at Lynch. “You two are tough enough to take when I have to deal with you separately. How did you come to team up on this?”
Lynch scratched the back of his head. “You know, I’m still trying to figure that out myself. I think I was shanghaied.”
“Uh-huh. And what if I tell you that our lab is already on a weekslong backlog?”
Lynch crossed his arms and smiled. “I’d say you should expect a call. Soon.”
Griffin cursed. “The last time you said that, I got an extremely unpleasant phone call from the Deputy Director of the Justice Department.”
“Good. Then you already have some history together. You’ll have something to talk about.”
Griffin sighed and took the jacket. “Fine. But even if I bump this to the front of the line, it’s not something that can be done in an hour.”
“When?” Kendra persisted.
“I’ll call you tomorrow. Or I’ll have the lab guys call you.” Griffin glared at Lynch. “Don’t bother to sic your patrons on me. It’s the best I can do.”
Lynch nodded. “Understood.”
Griffin turned to Kendra. “Listen … I’ll put in a call to Santa Monica PD. I’ll make sure they keep us in the loop on their investigation.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “I can imagine what this guy means to you, Kendra. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.” He turned and disappeared through the double doors that led into the lab.