Kissing the Key Witness

But no, he had to believe he was still a man of mystery in his boss’s eyes. A wanted, hunted man, but still an unknown commodity.

What would the big man do now? Obvious answer, he’d go for the last person Tyler had spoken to. The doctor who just happened to be his ex-wife. Yeah, that’s what he’d do, all right. And if Tyler had talked, if he’d told her…

Falcon began to hyperventilate. The woman wasn’t a cop, wasn’t trained. A little pain, and she’d crack, like the fatal egg he’d laid today.

He had to run, get away. Let Tyler’s ex die. Beautiful she might be, but beauty wouldn’t help her, couldn’t save her.

Giddy laughter swelled as he regarded the silhouette of the hospital before him. The woman was as dead as her ex-husband.

She just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter Two

“Well, well. If it isn’t Drake’s go-to guy, hanging out in the E.R. at one of Miami’s top three hospitals. Wish I thought you were here because you’d been shot. However, since you appear to be walking upright, looks like I’m out of luck.”

Tal didn’t bother to turn or even look up as Gene McGraw strode into the lounge. He wouldn’t have made such a blustery entrance if there’d been other people around, but for the moment they were alone.

McGraw came to stand so close that his chest almost bumped Tal’s arm. “You’re looking a little unkempt, Lieutenant. Is this the appearance du jour of your homicide cronies up in Tampa?”

Raising a mug to his mouth, Tal turned. “You can’t goad me, Gene. You don’t matter enough at the moment.”

“Oh, that’s right. You and Tyler were pals, weren’t you? Started out together on the street. Quick series of high-profile busts, and it was on to vice. Then a parting of the ways. Butch went to fraud, Sundance to homicide.”

One thing McGraw seldom did was stir Tal’s temper. God knew he had one. It simply couldn’t be bothered squaring off with an overinflated jackass.

“Adam’s dead, Gene. He was shot from behind with a nine-millimeter handgun. You worked with Tyler, so you can be here. But this is a homicide investigation.”

Now McGraw did knock his thick chest into Tal’s arm, just hard enough to slosh coffee onto the floor. He stuck a finger out for emphasis. “This, Lieutenant, is your captain yodeling his swan song and you vying for his job. Or maybe you want to bypass captain and shoot straight to the next level. Cop on a rocket to the gold stars.” He flicked at the shaggy ends of Tal’s hair. “Gonna have to tidy up some, though. Can’t run a department looking like a back-alley gypsy.”

Tal held his stare at close range for several seconds. “Still a homicide investigation, McGraw.”

The detective’s torso bulged. “You listen to me, you—’

“Oh, cool. A hormonal free-for-all. Can I watch?” Maya breezed into the room and went straight to the refrigerator.

Tal admired her savvy entrance—to say nothing of her other assets. Like the thick, coffee-colored hair she wore clipped back from the most striking face he’d ever seen. It never failed to amaze him just how jaw-dropping her features were. The woman very simply commanded attention. He should know. She’d commanded his for seven years.

He knew McGraw missed the glitter in her bluer than blue eyes when the burly detective planted intimidating hands on the counter and leaned toward her. “If you don’t mind, Ms. Santori, I’ll ask the questions. You only have to answer.”

“It’s Santino, and we did this dance earlier.”

“Let’s do it again. Be concise, and we’ll be finished before you know it.”

After a slight hesitation, her lips quirked. Not the best sign in Tal’s opinion. “As you wish, Detective. I’ll give you two minutes.”

McGraw glanced at Tal, who shrugged and rested his butt on the table across the room. He opened with a gruff, “Did your husband—?”

“Ex-husband.”

McGraw’s features tightened. “Did your ex-husband,” he repeated, “mention any names before he died?”

“Yes.”

The detective glowered. “Well?”

“You said concise answers.”

He pushed up to his full height of six feet four inches. “Whose name did he mention?”

“Tal’s.”

“Why was that?”

“Adam wanted him to have his Shelby Mustang.”

Tal’s eyes narrowed, but beyond that he didn’t react.

“That’s it?” McGraw demanded.

She smiled vaguely, as if at some private joke. “Adam and Tal rebuilt that car. Adam loved it. His brother’s been involved in four traffic accidents over the past year. You don’t leave treasure to a fool.”

“No editorials necessary, Ms. Santino. Were there any other names?”

“He wanted his sister to take over his investments and for me to have his condo.”

“Did he—?”

“Say anything unusual or extraordinary?” Anger was creeping in, but only to her voice. She kept those remarkable features schooled and her body, also remarkable, relaxed. “That would depend on your definition of the words. He said he’d tell my mother I was doing well. She died seven years ago.” She capped her juice bottle, glanced at the wall clock. “Tempus fugit, Detective. Your two minutes are up.” Reaching into the pocket of her lab coat, she produced a set of keys. “Yours,” she said and tossed them to Tal.

He caught them left-handed and without taking his eyes off her.

McGraw reached the door first. “Would you recognize Orlando Perine if you saw him?”

Her brows went up. “As a matter of fact, I would.”

“Did Tyler show you a picture?”

“No.”

“Then how…?”

At a subtle head motion from Tal, she relented. “We had a board meeting last night to discuss the distribution of funds from a number of local businesses. The largest donation, over five hundred thousand dollars, came from Delgato Enterprises. If you don’t know it, Delgato is the company president’s mother’s name. As I’m sure you do know, the company president is Orlando Perine.”

“ARE YOU LEAVING?” JAMIE tried to respike her hair, which had wilted badly after six hours of nonstop action.

Maya tried—and failed—to focus her bleary eyes. “Yeah, definitely leaving. All the major traumas have been dealt with. Well, sort of dealt with.”

Slumped against the locker-room wall, Jamie frowned. “Does the ‘sort of’ refer to your husband’s death?”

“Ex-husband, and only partly. I’m still shell-shocked there. I think it has more to do with the police presence.” Specifically, Tal’s, but no way would she admit that out loud.

While Maya had half expected him to show tonight, after four years of not seeing him, the emotional punch had surprised her. Truthfully, it had blindsided her. Like watching Adam die…

“So, who was the cop?” Jamie gave her fingernails a casual inspection. “Not tall, dark and gorgeous—he’s out of my league. I mean the big one who looked like a rumpled golden retriever.”

“Gene McGraw. They call him Quick Draw, like the cartoon horse.” She slipped off her work shoes and stepped into a pair of red heels. “This McGraw’s more of a horse’s ass, but I’m told he gets the job done.”

“Is he married?”

“Are you serious?”

“Hey, twice divorced here, from bigger asses than your horse cop could ever be.”

“You’re a masochist, but I didn’t see a wedding ring.” Pulling on a light jacket over her jeans and tank, Maya closed her locker. “I want fresh air, a soft bed and no more cop questions. I figure if I’m lucky, I might get one of those things.”

“Wait.” Jamie caught her sleeve. “I want to tell you how sorry I am about Adam. I talked to him last spring, when he came in with a wounded suspect. I think he cared about you. A lot.”

Because she knew her usually cynical friend meant well, Maya smiled. “Thanks. Don’t let Driscoll bully you into double shifting.”

She made it through the door this time, snagged an apple from the lounge and made her way along the maze of hallways to the staff exit.

Adam’s face was in her mind. How could it not be? Then Tal’s appeared over it, and she whooshed out a breath.

Did visualizing Tal above the man she’d married, divorced and watched die tonight make her a monster?

Did she want to answer that question?

“Not until my brain defogs,” she said to the air.

Physicians were supposed to be compassionate, caring people. She had that covered. But what about selfless and forgiving? What about honest?

To block thought—and she desperately wanted to do that—she slipped her earbuds in and scanned her iPod for David Bowie.

Night had begun to fracture as dawn approached. Slivers of orange and red floated over a shimmering horizon.

They’d gotten married on the beach, she recalled. She’d let her mother arrange everything, from the rehearsal to the reception. She’d even let her set the larger-than-life guest list. She shouldn’t have, but she’d known her mother was dying, and she’d wanted to indulge her in every possible way, right down to rushing into marriage with the wrong man.

At least her mother had wanted to see her married and happy, unlike her father, who’d ditched them both before Maya’s fourth birthday in favor of—Well, twenty-six years later, that was still an open question. No one really knew what he’d wanted or where he’d gone.

Her uncles blamed his leaving on a pretty young accountant he’d met in Jamaica. Cousin Diego insisted he had a second family stashed away in Tennessee, but that was more likely Diego’s own twisted fantasy. Her mother maintained he’d simply needed space.

The apple turned to mush in her mouth. Maya dropped the uneaten half in a trash can, breathed in the still-humid air and told herself it didn’t matter why her father had taken off. It was the act that counted, and his leaving had hurt her mother far more than it had her.

Rooting through her shoulder bag, she located her keys. Tal would want to talk to her at some point. The thought came out of nowhere and brought a fatalistic “Damn” to her lips. Her avoidance layer was wearing extremely thin.

High above, palm fronds rustled. The shadows that lingered lengthened and shifted. The scent of verbena swirled around her. Stars still twinkled overhead, but the quarter moon was waning.

Maya located her car, then caught a sound much closer to the ground than the palm fronds.

She snapped her head to the right. For a woman who’d lived in Miami most of her life, it was an automatic response. Big-city girl, big-time guard.

For a moment there was nothing; then she caught a crunch of pebbles to her left. The black blur sprang at her before she could turn. It hit her hard and tackled her to the side of a large truck.

The impact knocked the air from her lungs. Her head slammed against the window; her shoulder against the metal frame.

Her assailant was bigger than her, Maya noted. Bigger, heavier and with momentum on his side.

But she’d lived with a cop; she knew how to evade the hand that tried to wrap around her throat.

Using her heel, she spiked his instep. Then she shoved her knee into his groin. She heard a rough hitch of breath and recognized the pain beneath it.

He slapped her back with his arm, and this time when her head hit, stars glittered.

She shook it off, had to. If she didn’t, he’d catch her with the next blow. Keys, she thought and, twisting sideways, freed her right hand.

She heard a snarl as he attempted to pin her. She hadn’t spied a weapon yet, but it would be a moot point if he got his fingers around her throat.

In the back of her mind, Maya registered a beam of light. It made him hesitate. It got him looking.

It gave her a chance.

He stopped her from stabbing his throat with her keys at the last second but forgot about the larger threat. While they wrestled, she rammed her knee full force between his legs.

He released her, with a curse, muffled by the black balaclava over his face.

Another light pierced the darkness. Swearing, he clutched his crotch. Then he dropped back, darted a look in both directions and bolted.

Ignoring the pain in her head and shoulder, Maya shoved away from the truck and ran in the opposite direction.

She grabbed her cell phone from her bag. Should she call 911 or Tal? After a quick debate, she went with the preferred option.

Did it even ring before he answered?

“Tal?”

“Stop running, Maya.”

“What? How do you know…?” With the phone pressed to her ear, and still heading for the hospital, she swung in a circle. “Where are you?”

The collision brought her up short. If his reflexes hadn’t been a split second quicker than hers, she’d have kneed him dead center.

“Right behind you,” Tal said from the depths of a long shadow. The hands that trapped her arms held her away from him just far enough to avoid injury. “You have really good aim, Dr. Santino.”

She exhaled on a shaky curse. “You have even better timing, Lieutenant Talbot.” Then she whirled. “Did you see him? The guy in the balaclava? He pushed me into the side of that truck.”

Tal followed her gaze and shook his head. “All I saw was you running across the lot.”

“Which I was doing because some thug dressed in black tried to have a football scrum with me.” As her heart rate slowed, she picked out the booth near the entrance. “And, of course, Eddie’s on a break.”

“Eddie being the parking attendant?” Tal seemed more interested in scanning the lot than in finding the missing man.

Maya worked on uncoiling the tension knots in her throat, an easy feat in theory, not quite so simple in practice, with Tal’s fingers still curled around her arms.

“I’m okay.” She gave a gentle pull. “Nothing but a headache and a few bruises. My wannabe linebacker’s probably in more pain right now than I am.”

Tal’s lips curved, though his eyes continued to probe the shadows. “Adam teach you how to kick?”

“Sorry to say it was my cousin Diego.”

“The one with the speech impediment?”

“That’s my cousin Jesus. Diego opens beer bottles by breaking their little glass necks and drinking from the splintered end. Shows how tough he is.” She managed a smile. “You can stop searching. The guy’s long gone. He didn’t get my purse or my medical bag. And don’t look at me like that, because if you think he was trying to push me into the truck, I promise you, he wasn’t.”

“I know.”

“I thought you might. Damn.” She let her head fall back. “All things considered, this has been a really pissy night. You’re going to tell me the attack was connected to Adam, aren’t you?”

The gray eyes that returned to her face revealed nothing—which was so typically Tal, she didn’t even bother to be irritated. “That’s the part I wasn’t going to tell you.”

He smelled really good. Maya had no idea why she noticed that, but there it was, together with his very dark, very long hair; a two-day growth of stubble; and the kind of lean, hollowed-out features that made females from nineteen to ninety hot, flustered and more than a little tingly inside.

Thankfully, experience had taught her how to offset desire. That plus an overdose of fear.

She gave Tal’s wrists a light tap. “Let go, Lieutenant. I’m not on the verge of collapse. Might sway a little after everything that’s happened today, but we’ve all been there, right?”

“Are you babbling?”

“Not really.” She resisted an urge to brush at his hair. “Babbling’s an avoidance technique I never quite mastered. What I’m doing is stalling.” Glancing away, she sighed, “What was Adam doing, Tal? What was he into that got him killed and me attacked? All I know is that it involves Orlando Perine.”

“A man whose company just donated five hundred K to your hospital fund.”

“Good PR for a straight corporate mogul, closer to blood money if McGraw’s take on him is right,” she noted.

“It is.”

She blew out a long breath. “Anything else I should know?”

“One thing.” Tal kept his eyes steady on hers. “Perine got married two weeks ago. Quietly and with only three people in attendance—the bride’s mother, her brother and her stepfather, who just happens to be our deputy chief of police.”

Chapter Three

He took her to a diner out on a disused two-lane highway that wound inland from the coast. Maya was so preoccupied, she barely noticed the beautiful sunrise, let alone the fifties-style Airstream structure.

Orlando Perine’s stepfather-in-law was the deputy police chief. If the situation hadn’t been so absurd, she would have laughed. She almost did, anyway, but that was either borderline hysteria or a brain so tired, it could no longer function. Since her eyes felt gritty and unfocused, she went with the latter.

A bell above the diner door jingled when Tal opened it. She smelled pancakes and, thank God, coffee as she preceded him inside.

“Okay, I’ll accept that I’m not dreaming, though I was really hoping that would be the case here. Adam’s gone, I’m in danger and Orlando Perine’s not entirely straight. I know that sounds clinical, Tal, but this really doesn’t want to sink in for me.”

“Breathe deep enough, long enough, and it will,” he replied.

“So you, what, infuse your resistant right hemisphere with so much oxygen that the vaguely surreal mutates into harsh reality? And we wonder why some people turn to drugs.”

“Good thing you’re not some people.”

“Always the flatterer. But I wouldn’t say no to a hit of caffeine.”

As she spoke, Maya finally noticed the retro booths, the long counter with its row of red swivel stools and the scattering of pink flamingo napkin holders.

Tal steered her toward a table in the back.

The counterman came over, filled two coffee cups without asking and winked at Tal. “Better than your usual companion, Lieutenant. This one’s a pinup.” He took an appreciative sniff. “Smells like tropical spice.”

After a hectic night in the E.R., Maya embraced the compliment. With her chin propped on her fist, she arched a brow at Tal. “Okay, what’s the story, Lieutenant? You didn’t bring me here so we could eat a healthy breakfast, and you’ve already dropped your bombshell. What’s left that falls within the parameters of cop facts a civilian can be told?”

“Not a bad question for someone who’s been up more than twenty-four hours.”

“Adrenaline’ll do that.” She scanned the diner, her eyes straying to the counterman, who was holding court by the stools. “What did your friend over there mean by ‘better than your usual companion’?”

A smile grazed Tal’s lips. “Caught that, huh? He meant Nate Hammond. You’ve met him. Grizzled, crusty, cantankerous. Short on words, long on experience. He worked vice and fraud in his day. Captain in both departments. He was offered a promotion but decided he’d rather retire. Überstress versus a fishing pole. We do coffee stops and poker when we can.”

A picture formed in Maya’s head of a no-nonsense cop with a whiskey-and-cigarette voice and the occasional, if you looked really close, twinkle in his eyes.

“He used to come to blackjack nights when Adam and I lived in North Miami. Carried a battered red thermos of whiskey masquerading as iced tea.”

“Only when he was off duty, and there was no masquerade. He just didn’t want to spring for a flask.”

Leaning forward on her arms, she said, “Talk to me, Tal. Tell me what’s going on, what happened and why. If that guy in the parking lot attacked me because of Adam, I deserve an answer, and screw your cop rules.”

Under scrutiny from Tal’s gray eyes, she had to work to keep her features composed and her body language unrevealing. If she let her gaze stray to his mouth, even for a moment, she’d want to grab him and kiss him. After all these years, she’d have thought the urge would be gone, but surprisingly it wasn’t. She wanted him as much now as she had back, well, back in another time.

“Sure you’re up for this?” Tal asked.

“I have to be, don’t I?” She drew circles on the table. “I don’t want Adam to be dead, Tal. At my angriest, I never wanted that. I’m not sure…or, well, maybe I am. We shouldn’t have gotten married. But we did. Things happened, and we split. I figure better our mistake than my parents’.”

Something flickered in Tal’s eyes. Understanding? Empathy? Desire?

He studied her, half-lidded. “Do you remember your father?”

This wasn’t exactly how she’d envisioned their conversation going. But then, life was all about twists and turns and faded lines. “He left when I was three. In the summer, I think. I only have a vague memory of his face. My mother tossed all his pictures. Actually, she burned them, but that’s the Latin temperament for you. Exorcise the mad any way you can.” She selected a peach muffin from the basket the counterman had placed on their table, and spooned fresh marmalade on top. “I didn’t really know him, so it wasn’t as sad as it could have been.”

“You’ve never heard from him?”

She shook her head. “Maybe he’s dead. Maybe he isn’t. I don’t imagine I’ll ever know.”

Tal drank his coffee, continued to unsettle her with his cool gray stare. “Life tends to surprise, Maya. He could show up at that charity volleyball game you’re playing on Sunday.”

“Heard about that, huh?” Why wasn’t she surprised? “Eden Bay vs. General. Jamie’s our coach, but the smart money’s on General. Do you know Jamie?”

“Tall woman, buzz-cut hair, has a wild kid going through a rebellious biker phase. I’ve seen them at the station.”

“Renita’s a handful.”

“Unlike you at that age.”

Maya laughed and felt better. “I was two handfuls, because I happened to be crazy about the high school bad boy.”

“You liked the bad boy, and yet you married Adam. Not sure what that says about you, Maya.”

“I think it says I’ve changed. Kids grow up. In fact, my bad boy’s a loan officer now. Drives a Volvo. And Adam…” Her eyes locked on his. “Tal, why is Adam dead?”

She knew he was weighing his answer. “Adam made a deal, with one of Perine’s men,” he finally said.

“What kind of deal?”

“For information, facts and figures, incriminating evidence.”

“Pertaining to?”

“Real estate fraud, investment fraud, development fraud, counterfeiting.”

“Okay, I get the fraud part, that’s why Adam was after him. But you must have known or at least suspected he might also be a murderer.”

“Homicide and fraud were cooperating on the investigation.”

“Big fish, small pond,” Maya recalled. At Tal’s arched brow, she opened her mind to the full horrible memory. “Adam said that just before he died. I forgot about it, or maybe I buried it.”

“Reverse the adjectives and you’ve got McGraw.” Tal stroked her inner wrist. “I know this is hard for you, Maya, but you’ll have to go through it when you give your statement anyway.”

“I know. He said I shouldn’t trust anyone, anywhere.” A smile stole across her lips. “Considering the deputy chief connection, he was probably right. He didn’t say much else, really, just told me to tell you to seal the deal. Guess that means you’re the only person I can trust, huh?”

“Guess so.”

She wanted him to touch her again. When he didn’t, she asked, “What was McGraw’s status relative to Adam’s?”

“Adam was in charge.”

“And now?”

“It’s a homicide. Pushes McGraw even farther down the authority ladder.”

“I can’t see that sitting well. Who’s heading the investigation now?”

“Drake’s still pulling files, juggling.”

“Do you have any idea who Perine’s triggerman is?”

He glanced at the surrounding tables, all occupied by diners.

“It can wait,” Maya said when Tal brought his gaze back. “Going back to the father thing, I know you have some issues there yourself.” Her eyes danced. “I love that word, don’t you? No one has problems anymore. It’s all about issues.” She fingered her long pendant. “It’s about memories, too, isn’t it? Not the best for either of us, it seems.”

“Makes us simpatico,” he said, with an odd tone in his voice. Sarcasm? Bitterness? Regret? “Could be that’s what triggered Adam’s jealousy.”