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morning.
    Wouldn’t be the first time or the last, she suspected.
    He was on his cell when she stepped into the room. Whoever was on the other end, he wasn’t making Burnett happy, or maybe it was the other way around. Oblivious to her arrival, Burnett gestured in frustration with his free hand – or more specifically the hand holding a cup of Starbucks coffee. Jess licked her lips in anticipation. Another cup sat on a nearby table. Was that one for her? If it was, that would be an answered prayer. Considering how long she’d kept Burnett waiting, the coffee was no doubt cold but she didn’t care. She seriously needed caffeine.
    He snapped a cutting remark at his caller. Something about keeping the investigation low-key for now. Usually unable to control her curiosity, she would try figuring out who was on the other end of that conversation. Not this morning. She had bigger issues with this case. But neither the case nor the promise of Starbucks could prevent the way she studied his every move. He had his back to her and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that side of him. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, and, well, things just got better from there. The elegantly tailored suit accentuated his every asset. Most of them, anyway. There were some that were best admired without any sort of embellishments.
    A smile tugged at her lips when she thought of the way his skin smelled. Clean and masculine. He’d always been subtle with his aftershave or cologne. They shared that habit. Give Jess a softly scented lotion any day over perfume.
    He ended the call and turned as if he’d suddenly sensed her presence. Her breath hitched. Looking at him head - on had always managed that feat. How could he be more handsome now than he had been as an ambitious senior in high school? His dark hair scarcely showed even a hint of gray. Jess had to get her roots touched up most every month. It was the bane of her existence.
    Not fair .
    And how the hell could so much time have passed? They’d known each other since they were kids. God she felt old. Forty-two really sucked so far.
    Those blue eyes of his zeroed in on hers. ‘I called.’
    She nodded. ‘Four times.’
    He dropped his cell into his jacket pocket, then bracketed his coffee-free hand at his waist in an authoritative maneuver. All the move did for Jess was point out that, like Sylvia Baron, Burnett always looked expertly put together. Crisp, creamy white shirt and tan trousers topped off with a navy jacket and tie. When he wore that color, those blue eyes of his appeared even more vivid.
    ‘You enjoy ignoring me like that?’
    Jess sighed. She could lie but he would know. ‘Immensely.’
    Burnett frowned but he moved on. ‘Sylvia says this appears to be a homicide.’
    ‘I never had a doubt.’ Vaguely she wondered if he’d been speaking so sharply to Sylvia. But mostly she was amazed at how the sound of his voice disrupted her heart’s natural rhythm even now when the topic of conversation was murder. That was something she probably should never say out loud. And just went to show how very much sleep deprivation affected one’s ability to reason and stay on track.
    Get to the point, Jess . ‘Is SPU keeping this case?’
    The hesitation before he answered had her heart thumping for a completely different reason. Her Special Problems Unit often had to go to war with Crimes Against Persons for cases like this. Jess had her own motives for needing to see this one through, but she didn’t want to bring up Frances Wallace just yet. Knowing Burnett, he would insist a conflict of interest existed and the case would go to Deputy Chief Harold Black.
    ‘Harold has his hands full with the Ted Allen situation.’
    When a cop went missing, the first assumption was always foul play. Between that and the bomb planted in the department vehicle she had been driving last week, there were lots of questions and endless speculation going around. For example, had her interference in the