Harlequin Intrigue, Box Set 2 of 2 by Julie Miller Page A

murder fell into place. “Isabel Asher was Leland’s sister and Matt’s mother, of course. Roberta Hays was the DFS social worker assigned to Matt’s case. And...”
    Trent looked up from the notes in his folder when she hesitated. “What is it?”
    She circled the image of a haggard-looking man with graying hair. “I found a connection to me in here.”
    â€œWhat is it, kiddo?” Max asked, voicing the others’ surprise and concern.
    â€œRoberta Hays’s brother is Craig Fairfax.”
    Ah, hell. Trent recognized the name from Katie’s past.
That
was what had truly scared her. He sat forward, extending his long arm to the end of the table. He reached for Katie, his fingertips brushing the edge of the laptop where her hands rested on the keyboard. But she curled her fingers into a fist, refusing his touch. That didn’t stop him from asking the question, “You discovered Fairfax in your research last night?”
    Her gaze landed on his, and she nodded before explaining the significance of that name to the others. “He’s the man who kidnapped me when I was seventeen. He tried to take Tyler from me as part of an illegal adoption ring. He and his sister Roberta—who used her position with Family Services to scout out potential candidates like me—are both serving time now.”
    No wonder she’d gotten obsessed with her work and lost track of both Tyler and the late hour last night. Trent was already sending a text of his own, verifying that Craig Fairfax was still locked up in a cell in Jefferson City and not running loose on the Williams College campus.
    â€œWhat’s his connection to cold case?” the lieutenant asked, gently reminding Katie of the focus of the team’s investigation. “Does he fit in with our
Strangers on a Train
theory? Can we tie him to Asher’s criminal organization?”
    Katie nodded. “Mr. Fairfax was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year.” She drew one last line on the computer screen from one sicko to another. “He’s in the same prison infirmary with Leland Asher.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    â€œYou need me there to back you up?” Max Krolikowski’s voice was a deep growly pitch over the cell phone Trent slipped beneath the edge of his black knit watch cap as he climbed out of his truck at the Williams College auditorium.
    â€œNah, brother,” Trent answered, flipping up the collar of his coat against the clear, cold night. He turned his back to the bitter wind blowing from the north and strode across the cleared pavement toward the massive brick building. “This is personal. We’re off the clock.”
    â€œDoesn’t mean I won’t be there in a heartbeat. I owe you for helping me keep an eye on Rosie this summer.” Max chuckled. “Besides, I decided I like ya. I’d hate to have to break in a whole new partner.”
    Trent laughed, too. “Nobody else would have you, you grumpy old man.”
    â€œBite me, junior.”
    â€œLove you, too.” Stretching out his long legs, Trent stepped over the snow piled between the sidewalk and curb. He noted that the parking lot was crowded with cars and the pavement and sidewalk had been cleared from one end to another by plows. There’d be no footprints to follow tonight unless the perp he believed had been spying on Katie was dumb enough to trek through the drifts. But if the guy who’d shoved her to the floor was that kind of dumb, Trent intended to be here to have a conversation about keeping his distance from the Rinaldi family. “Hey, did you ever hear back from the gym Matt Asher belongs to?”
    â€œI thought we were off the clock.”
    â€œI’ll stop thinking about these unsolved cases when you do.”
    Trent’s booted feet quickly ate up several yards walking around to the front lobby doors of the building while Max grinched around in the background.