Chapter 32

By late afternoon, Riley was more discouraged than when they'd started. He met his partner, Charlie Ramos, on the sidewalk. They'd decided, after the first couple of hours, to split up somewhat. They'd alternate houses on each block. That way, they'd finish up faster and could compare notes.
"Anything?" he asked when they met back at their vehicles.
Charlie shook his head. "Nada.
He'd make it a point to stop by and see Jamie and Mike before he went home tonight. They needed to have a straight and honest conversation. Electric chemistry between them aside, Riley sensed no threat to anyone from Lia. He was relying on his cop instincts here, and they had never failed him. So the questions now were, would Jamie and Mike talk to her, and what was her real motive for her search?
But that was for later. Right now, he had a rapist to identify, and the prospects so far were less than nothing.
"Okay," he said to Charlie. "We've worked the streets closest in proximity to where the attacks took place. Let's branch out and see if by chance someone a little farther away noticed anything strange."
"You know, we'll have to come back and do this at night if we get no results," Charlie pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." There were other things he'd rather be doing with his nights now. "Still, we gave our cards to everyone so, hopefully, when the rest of their family is home later on, the questions will jog someone's memory."
"This is sure a nasty damn case." Charlie ran a hand over his face, as if to wipe away the images of what had happened. "I never can figure out what motivates people to do something this heinous."
"Me, either." Riley heaved a sigh. "Well, let's get to it."
When they finally quit for the day and compared notes, they still had nothing. Maybe less than nothing.
"I have an idea," Riley said. "I'm going to call headquarters and get someone who works our new supercomputer to do a run for us."
"Of what?" Charlie lifted his eyebrows. "We've got nothing to give them."
"How about this? They can run a list of all the homeowners in the target area and condense it to a list of just the males. Then they can match it to their driver's license descriptions and see whose body type might fit our rapist."
"Whew." Charlie blew out a breath. "That's some long shot, but you might have something."
"Then we can revisit those addresses where the resident is a likely suspect and go from there."
"Okay." Charlie nodded. "Make the call." He looked at his watch. "I'm going home to catch dinner with my wife. Let me know as soon as you get any answers. We'll get together and divvy up the names."
"Will do."
Riley climbed into his car, cranked the ignition, and looked at the dashboard clock. Five thirty. Mike Volka often came home around this time. As an architect, he divided his time between his office and visiting the sites where his projects were under construction. Since he and Jamie had become a couple, he worked his schedule to arrive home much earlier than he used to.
Lucky dick
Still, Riley wouldn't trade what he did, even for shorter hours. Being a policeman was in his blood, especially since he'd made detective. But now it meant he could swing by and see if he could have some conversation with his friends.
Today, as he'd pounded pavement and knocked on doors with his partner, his mind had too often been distracted by Lia and the craziest thought that had popped into it on his way to work that morning. Did she have a deeper motive for wanting the book Jamie used for research? She was Romanian. Did she have the same heritage as Mike? Was there any connection between the two of them, however vague and distant?
Well shit, Riley. Absurd much?
Because it was absurd, the core of the idea that had smacked his brain. Was it possible Lia Popescue had exactly the same heritage as Mike Volka? That she, too, was a shifter? Was that really why she was researching and investigating them?
I'm in love with a fucking werewolf!
Before meeting Mike and knowing who and what he was, Riley would have taken himself to the nearest shrink. But now? Anything was damn possible, right? He hoped this would be one of Mike's early days, so he could hopefully get some answers.
And it was. The man gave Riley a look of surprise when he opened the door for him.
"Did you come to mooch dinner from my wife?" He grinned. "She just got home, but she had a beautiful roast set to go. She popped it in the oven a while ago, so it should be ready before long. Come on in."
"I'll pass on dinner, but I'll take a beer if you've got it."
"Sure thing. Come on. Let's go out on the deck in back."
"Okay, but can Jamie leave her cooking for a few minutes and join us?"
Mike gave him a hard look. "Is this about the woman at the book signing? The one who stalked her at the library?"
Riley gave a half-laugh. "Yeah, but she's not really a stalker."
"Oh? And exactly what is she?"
"I'd rather give you the background, and then you'll understand. I hope."
"Now I'm curious. Hey, Jamie," Mike called as the men walked into the kitchen. "Look who showed up for a free meal."
Jamie turned from the stove, spotted Riley, and gave him a big smile.
"Hi, Riley." She gave him a friendly hug. "How goes it?" Her face sobered. "Anything new on the rapist case?"
"We had a new one last night." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm telling you, when we catch this fucking bastard, they'll have to stop me from breaking every bone in his body."
"I know how you feel," she told him. "I've stopped riding my bike at night until you catch him."
"Very smart. Anyway, I'm not staying for dinner, but I'd appreciate it if you could take a few minutes from the kitchen so I can talk to you and Mike."
"You found out who my stalker is," she guessed.
He nodded. "And like I told Mike, she's not exactly a stalker."
"Then I'll be very interested to find exactly who and what she is and what she wants with me."
"I'm getting a couple of beers for us," Mike told her. "Want one?"
She shook her head. "I'll just get my iced tea, and we can sit out on the deck. It's a nice night."
"That would be great. Thanks."
When they were all seated, Riley searched his mind for a place to begin. He took a long swallow of his beer as he tried to gather his thoughts.