Flawless (New York Confidential #1)(47)

*

Craig’s alarm never had a chance to go off; his phone rang at 6:37 a.m.

It was Mike.

“They struck again, Craig. In New York this time. Vintage by Victoria, an antique place with a valuable jewelry collection, in the Diamond District. Meet me there.” Mike hesitated just a fraction of a second before speaking again. “They robbed the place, and they killed again. Vic was part of the cleaning crew. Aw, Jesus, Craig, she was just twenty-two, emigrated from Romania six months ago. Welcome to the American dream, right?”

*

Kieran finished up her notes on her interview with Tanya Lee Hampton earlier than she’d expected.

She’d been at work since 7:30 a.m., and somehow she’d even managed to concentrate on her job.

At first she’d had a hard time focusing, lost in her natural human sympathy for the woman who had been killed. She didn’t know the woman, of course, but her untimely death still hurt, and without the distraction of work, her thoughts now turned back in that direction.

Any decent person would feel that pain, she thought, then laughed drily as she realized she was practically quoting her suddenly famous phrase.

But someone out there had lost a daughter, a lover, a sister....

She thought the killer deserved the death penalty himself and hoped that he would be tried in a jurisdiction that allowed it, though she wasn’t sure what requirements defined a death-penalty case.

The murder must count as inhumane, right?

Didn’t people give up any claim to humanity when they took a life?

She gave up trying to solve that dilemma on behalf of the world, or even in her own mind, as her thoughts turned to the cataclysmal change in her own life.

Today was Friday. She’d only known Craig Frasier since Monday. She’d slept with him last night.

On the one hand, she’d deserved a night of incredible sensual pleasure. She barely remembered the last time she had even gone on a date. She’d been busy with school and her new job and, over the past three months or so, being a support system for Julie.

She’d been attracted to Craig from the beginning. He was, frankly, an Adonis. She realized that her attraction to him had caused her to react self-defensively and against her own interests, as when she’d told him just how wonderful Julie was.

She smiled to herself. He was the type of man who could have posed for the kind of calendar women hung on their walls—or hid in a drawer.

He was courteous.

And employed. She remembered when her dad had warned her never to date a guy who was unemployed.

He was educated, smart, caring....

And an FBI agent.

One she hadn’t even known for a full week.

What the hell had she been thinking?

Okay, maybe she was taking things a little too seriously. After all, even if Julie spilled the information that Danny had “borrowed” a diamond and Kieran had been there putting it back, what would he do? What could he do?

Arrest Danny?

There was no proof of any crime; the diamond was back where it was supposed to be.

Would he despise her?

Was that her real fear now?

She told herself that it wasn’t, that she was really afraid he would look into Danny’s juvenile records and discover what he—and Kevin, too—had gotten up to in their younger years.

Face it, she was still afraid of what Danny and Kevin might do. After all, Danny hadn’t realized that stealing a diamond made him a felon, even if he had done it for what he saw as the right reason.

She felt a little chill run through her.

She liked Craig, really liked him. And sex with him had been amazing. She tried to convince herself that she could have it all, hot nights with Craig and her brothers’ safety from punishment for the sins of the past.

The click of her office door reminded her that she’d come in so early because another jewelry store had been hit and another person had died.

And that a man in a hoodie might have pushed a girl into the path of an oncoming train—and that perhaps she was the one who’d been meant to meet a grisly end on the tracks.

Dr. Miro entered the office, smiling, and Kieran breathed a sigh of relief.

“Kieran, hard at work as always, I see. Did you know you’re still all over the news? ‘Any decent person would lend a hand.’ Everyone’s saying it now. And of course,” she added wryly, “you really did lend that young woman a hand. The media will get to that eventually, I’m sure. Meanwhile, you’re certainly giving this office a lot of great press.”

“I’m so glad,” Kieran murmured, wishing the media would just stop talking about her. “I’ve finished my notes on Tanya Lee Hampton. She was abused for a long time before she finally turned on her husband. I think we need to help with her defense.”

“Then we will.” Dr. Miro sat in the visitor chair and took the file Kieran handed to her. She skimmed through it, her lips pursing, then looked over at Kieran.

“I agree,” she said. “How is she going to look on the witness stand?”

“Her attorney needs to thoroughly prep her. But I believe that if she lets go and reveals her emotions along with the truth, it will serve her well.”

“Good. I’ll speak with her attorney, but you should be prepared to take the stand yourself.”

“Happy to,” Kieran assured her.