Like No One Else. Maureen Smith
dreamed about finding her dead, mutilated body in the woods? She’d probably call him a fucking psycho and hang up on him. And he wouldn’t blame her. He had no reason to spook her, or to attach any significance to the nightmare he’d just had. Maribel Cruz’s brutal murder had been fresh on his mind, considering that he’d left the crime scene just a few hours before he went to bed. It wasn’t the first time a victim from one of his homicide cases had worked his or her way into his subconscious, and it wouldn’t be the last. It was one of those “occupational hazards” nobody ever mentioned to you when you were thinking about joining the force.
Washing his hands at the sink, Paulo surveyed his reflection in the mirror. He looked like hell, with bloodshot eyes, unruly hair, and nearly a week’s worth of dark stubble covering his jaw. He’d have to break down and shave before he left the house that morning. He didn’t want to embarrass his family by showing up at the law firm looking like a savage.
Grimacing, Paulo rummaged in the cabinet until he located an electric razor and shaving cream, conveniently supplied by the housekeeper. He wished she’d left a fresh pack of Marlboros for him as well. Hell, he would have loved to draw in a deep lungful of nicotine right about now. Giving up smoking was harder than he’d ever imagined, and he’d kicked the habit more than four years ago. But every so often his body craved what it couldn’t have.
Like too much booze.
And Tommie Purnell.
Ruthlessly shoving the thought aside, Paulo opened the bathroom door and called out to Daniela, “When’d you get in last night?”
“Around one.” Daniela stood at the French doors, where she’d just opened the drapes to let in the sunlight. “Mom didn’t want me taking a cab late at night, so she sent Mr. Mackey to pick me up,” she added, referring to the family’s longtime driver. “Mom said you offered to do it, but she told you not to because she wanted me to be surprised when I got home and found you here.”
“And were you?” Paulo drawled, lathering his face and neck with shaving cream.
“Of course.” Daniela grinned. “I know how paranoid you are about keeping your coworkers from finding out we’re related. That’s the only reason you didn’t move into the guest cottage when Mom and Dad offered, even though you wouldn’t have had to pay rent and you could have enjoyed Lydia’s wonderful home cooking every night. And God knows the guest cottage is a helluva lot nicer than that dump you call an apartment.”
“Don’t start,” Paulo warned, chuckling.
“I know, I know.” Daniela heaved a long sigh, stretching out across the foot of the mahogany sleigh bed with her head propped in the crook of her palm. From that angle she could see Paulo through the open bathroom doorway. “Don’t mind me. I’m just feeling sorry for myself because I’m a thirty-four-year-old divorcee still living at home with my parents. I guess I just figured if you’d moved into the guest house, you’d always be around to keep me company.”
“Not necessarily,” Paulo countered, gliding the electric razor along his throat. “Between your long hours and mine, we’d probably see each other about as often as we do now.”
“You’re probably right.” Another deep sigh. “Listen to me, throwing a pity party for myself after the terrible thing that happened to poor Maribel Cruz. I couldn’t believe it when Mom called to tell me.”
“Did you know Maribel?”
“Not very well. I’d spoken to her a few times around the office, and she seemed really nice.” Daniela paused, making a face. “Unlike her boss.”
“Ted Colston?”
“Yeah. Him. I never understood how Maribel could put up with him. He’s such an asshole.”
Paulo raised an amused brow. “He’s a lawyer. Isn’t that a given?”
“Hey!” Daniela laughingly protested. “I’m a lawyer!”
Paulo grinned through the white foam covering his face. “Seriously, though. What’s your beef with Ted Colston?”
“God, where do I begin? The first time I met him, he was new to the firm, so he didn’t know who I was. When I walked into the conference room for a meeting, he automatically assumed I was a secretary, there to take notes and serve coffee. Before I could even sit down, he proceeded to tell me how he took his coffee—cream with one sugar.”
Paulo chuckled. “Uh-oh. What’d you do?”
Daniela’s hazel eyes sparkled with mischief. “I got his coffee and served it to him with a smile, sweet as you please. Everyone else was just staring at us, like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. A few people were holding back grins, ’cause they knew Ted was going to feel like a real dumb-ass when he found out who I was. After one of the other attorneys opened the meeting with a few announcements, he turned it over to me, making a point of introducing me as Senior Associate Daniela Santiago.” She laughed, an infectious, rollicking sound. “You should have seen the look on Ted’s face once he made the connection. I thought he was going to shit all over his Armani suit! It was priceless.”
Paulo grinned. “What a gringo.”
“Tell me about it. Before I got down to business, I looked him in the eye and told him that one day, after my parents retired from practicing law, my sisters and I would be in charge of running the practice, and if he was fortunate enough to still be working for us, he could pour my coffee.”
Paulo roared with laughter.
Daniela smiled smugly. “He’s been kissing my ass ever since that day. But I know deep down inside he believes that the only reason I made partner is that my parents own the firm. But I worked my ass off to get where I am, and I had to pay my dues just like everyone else. If that chauvinistic, self-serving prick wants to believe otherwise, then—”
“Fuck him,” Paulo finished calmly.
“That’s right!”
The two cousins grinned conspiratorially at each other in the mirror.
Suddenly Daniela’s eyes lit up. “Hey, I’ve got an idea! Let’s go to the Breakfast Klub when you finish getting ready.”
“This morning?”
“Yeah. We haven’t been there in months, and I’ve been seriously craving some wings and waffles.”
“Sounds good, but not today. I need to head to your office this morning and start interviewing Maribel’s coworkers, including your friend Colston.”
“It’s not even seven o’clock yet. We can have breakfast and be at the office by nine. More people will be in by that time anyway. Come on, Paulo,” she cajoled, clasping her manicured hands together in a gesture of supplication. “It sounds like you’re going to have a pretty full day ahead of you. Might as well start it off right with a lip-smacking, rib-sticking breakfast at our favorite place. Can’t you just taste those wings and waffles? The catfish and grits? Mmm-mmm, good.”
Paulo grinned. She did have a point. Tasked with a new homicide investigation, he had no doubt that he was in for a very long day; he’d be lucky if he managed to squeeze in a lunch break, today or any other time this week. And the food served at the Breakfast Klub, a popular restaurant near downtown, was second to none.
“Okay,” he agreed.
Daniela whooped with delight. “Hurry up and get dressed so we can go,” she said eagerly, heading from the bedroom. “I can’t wait to tell you about the cute guy I met in New Mexico. I want to get your advice about long-distance relationships.”
Paulo chuckled dryly, wondering when she would come to the realization that when it came to relationships, he was the absolute last person on earth to be dispensing advice. To her or anyone else.
Chapter 5
Tuesday, November 10
“I