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hair. "I thought this was political, and so subject to your laws. Now ... it may be a clan matter."
"What do you mean?"
"Leidolf may be moving against Nokolai." There was so much he couldn't tell her. "It happens. Clans
have warred in the past."
"Killing random humans is a mighty roundabout way for one lupus clan to declare war on another."
"My father supports the Species Citizenship Bill." His smile was grim. "Do you think only humans
oppose full citizenship for lupi? There are those among my people, too, who hate the idea. Citizenship
means Social Security numbers and all those computers keeping track of us. It means limits, changes to
some of our customs. They don't want to be that visible or that subject to human law."
"Whoever did this is going to end up very visible. I'll see to that." Anger boiled up suddenly and she
paced in front of him, taking short, jerky steps. "She had two sons. I don't know their names yet, but one
is in the Navy. The other has a wife
and child. Once I've learned who they are, where they live, I'll have to tell them their mother is dead
because someone had a political point to make."
He put a hand on her shoulder. She was all but vibrating with anger. "Killing has always been a political
tactic for some. Why do you work homicide when it hurts you this much?"
She shrugged him off. "I don't know what you mean. I'm a cop. It's what I always wanted to do."
"It hurts you to see life wasted." Again he asked, speaking softly, "Why homicide?"
"Because murder is the worst! It doesn't kill just once. It throws out waves of destruction that poison so
many lives."
"This happened to you. Someone you loved was mur-dered."
"My friend. My best friend. Sara Chen."
He ached. It took all his control to keep from reaching for her, holding her. But she wouldn't want that,
not here and now. "How old were you?"
"Seven. A man grabbed her on the way home from school one day. I saw him snatch her. They found
her body a week later. They arrested him a week after that." She swallowed. "I followed it in the papers.
My parents didn't like that they thought I was hurting myself, that I was obsessed and should let it go. I
couldn't."
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"No. I can see that. What happened?"
"He never went to trial. The police were sloppy. They didn't secure the evidence properly. Seven
months later, he killed again. That time, the cops did it right. He didn't get away with it."
She'd given him a piece of herself, something important wrenched up from deep inside where it still hurt.
He lifted a hand and rubbed his knuckles along her cheek slowly, thank-ing her. "This woman isn't dead
because you were sloppy, Lily. You know that."
She blinked. "I didn't mean ... I don't think it's my fault."
Yes, she did. But she was pulling back now, embarrassed that she'd revealed so much. "That's good. I
admire your pas-sion. And your courage."
Oh, definitely she was embarrassed now. She turned away, trying to get her cop face back. "The point
is, the law has to
be the same for everyone. Fuentes has to matter as much as Charlene Hall. And whoever killed them,
for whatever reason, has to be stopped."
"Of course. Aside from the personal injustice of murder, if there's sufficient outrage it will affect the vote
next fall. Es-pecially if there are killings elsewhere."
She stopped moving. "You're talking about a conspiracy."
"I'm speculating. I have no evidence. But with this latest death ..." He drove his fingers through his hair.
"Killing a woman will garner a great deal more outrage than killing a gang member did, won't it?"
"This is going to make trouble for you. She was killed much closer to the Nokolai Clanhome than the
others. Rule, I have to talk to your father. I have to talk to a number of your people, but your father first."
"He'll be back tomorrow. I'll speak to him." He took her hand, closing his fingers around it firmly. "When
are you going to go out with me?"
Her laugh was uncertain. "I mentioned something before about your odd sense of timing. We're at a
murder scene, for God's sake."
He stroked his thumb along the pulse point in her wrist. "So let's agree that we have to stop meeting this
way, and meet some other way. Over dinner, perhaps. I'm growing im-patient."
"That's not my problem."
"I want to discuss something other than death and politics with you. I want to see your face when you're
not being a cop."
"I'm always a cop."
Perhaps. But she was a woman, too. And her heart was beating fast and hard right now, like his. It took
all his control to keep from bending to taste that pretty, unsmiling mouth, but he knew how little she'd
appreciate that. Her people might see. His mouth crooked up. "I guess tonight is out."
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"Good guess," she said dryly. But she didn't snatch her hand away.
"Tomorrow won't work, either. As I said, my father returns then, and we'll have a good deal to discuss.
How about the next night? I can get tickets to a play, reservations for dinner."
She eased her hand away from his. "That's Friday night,
and I'm booked. A family party Grandmother's eightieth birthday." She started back down the path,
but had taken only a couple of steps when she paused, looking back at him. The tilt of her lips held
challenge. "Ah ... it's formal, a big bash at my uncle Chan's restaurant. Would you care to go with me?"
Chapter 6
LILY WASN'T SURE at what point she'd lost her mind. At six-oh-seven that Friday she slicked color
over her lips and tried to figure that out.
What had prompted her impulsive invitation to Rule? Hor-mones run amok? Her conversation with her
mother earlier had put the idea in her head, but she hadn't been serious. She certainly hadn't intended to
ask him. All of a sudden the idea had burst open in her mind like a flower gone from bud to bloom
instantly, and she'd done it.
Maybe it had been that brief, startling gentleness he'd shown. The way he'd stroked her cheek, the
softness in his voice. For a moment, understanding had shimmered between them, fragile and precious.
Or she'd thought it had.
Lily shook her head, turned to open her closet, which was off the bathroom, and almost tripped over
Worf. "No shedding or drooling allowed," she told him firmly. "Sit."
Obediently he lowered his rear end, but continued to pant at her happily. She kept an eye on his lolling
tongue as she reached for her dress.
Never mind the reason. The fact was that she'd succumbed
to impulse. A flash of lunacy, she supposed. And winced. Lu-nacy was not a comfortable word,
considering the effect a full moon had on the man she would be with tonight.
The moon would be full in three days. She'd checked.
All in all, this hadn't been a good day. She'd spent too much of it in court, for one thing, testifying against [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]