Killing Hour - Lisa Gardner [31]
“He doesn’t want us to know her ID,” the kid said eagerly.
“Yeah.” Older Special Agent was frowning. “How about that? You know what? We’re missing something else. Keys.” He shook the bag, but there was no telltale jingle. “What kind of person doesn’t have keys?”
“Maybe he’s a thief? He’s got her address from the license, plus the house keys . . . It’s not like she’s going to come home anytime soon.”
“Possibly.” But the Naval officer was looking at the stitched-up mouth and frowning. From her vantage point behind a tree, Kimberly could read his thoughts: What kind of thief stitched up a woman’s mouth? For that matter, what kind of thief dumped a body in the middle of a Marine base?
“I need to fetch paper bags for the hands,” the ME reported. “They’re back in my van.”
“We’ll walk with you. I want to review a few more things.” The older Naval officer jerked his head toward his counterpart, and the younger man immediately fell into step. They headed off down the dirt path, leaving the sprawling corpse alone with the four sentries.
Kimberly was just considering how to make a stealthy exit herself, when a strong hand snapped around her wrist. In the next instant, a second hand smothered her mouth. She didn’t bother with screaming; she bit him instead.
“Damn,” a deep voice rumbled in her ear. “Do you ever talk first and shoot later? I keep running into you, I’m not gonna have any hide left.”
Kimberly recognized the voice. She relaxed against his large body, but grudgingly. In return, he removed both hands.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered, casting a furtive glance at the crime-scene attendants. She turned to face Special Agent McCormack and he frowned.
“What happened to you?” He held up a silencing hand. “Wait, I don’t want to see the other guy.”
Kimberly touched her face. For the first time she felt the zigzag welts creasing her nose and cheeks with flecks of dried blood. Her scramble through the woods had taken its toll after all. No wonder her supervisor had tried to send her to her room.
“What are you doing here?” she asked again, voice low.
“Heard a rumor. Decided to follow it up.” His gaze briefly skimmed down her body. “I heard a young new agent made the find. I take it you had the honors? Little ways off the PT course, don’t you think?”
Kimberly simply glared at him. He shrugged and returned their attention to the crime scene.
“I want that leaf,” his voice rumbled in her ear. “You see the one the ME pulled out of the victim’s hair—”
“Not proper protocol.”
“You tell him, honey. I want that leaf. And as long as you’re here, you might as well help me get it.”
She jerked away from him. “I will not—”
“Just distract the sentries. Strike up a conversation, bat those baby blues and in sixty seconds, I’ll be in and out.”
Kimberly frowned at him. “You distract the guards, I’ll grab the leaf,” she said.
He looked at her as if she were slightly slow. “Honey,” he drawled. “You’re a girl.”
“So I can’t grab a leaf?” Her voice rose unconsciously.
He covered her mouth with his palm again. “No, but you surely have a bit more natural appeal to young men than I do.” He glanced down the wooded path at the direction the ME and two Naval investigators had gone. “Come on, sugar. We don’t have the rest of our lives.”
He’s an idiot, she thought. Sexist, too. But she nodded anyway. The ME had been grossly negligent to pull the leaf out of the girl’s hair, and it would be best if someone retrieved it.
Mac motioned to the left pair of guards and how he wanted her to draw them to the front. Then he’d go in from the back.
Thirty seconds later, taking a deep breath, Kimberly made a big production of walking from the woods right onto the dirt path. She made a sharp left and walked straight up to the pair of sentries.
“I just need to see the body for a moment,” she said breezily.
“This area is restricted, ma’am.” The first