Behind the Badge: Justice Hunters, Book 1

She’s investigating a series of murders.

He’s investigating her.

When rookie homicide detective Crystal Rashaad’s partner is murdered, it’s a chilling echo of a cold case that’s personal for her. This is her first big investigation, so she seeks guidance in profiling the killer from Special Agent Lucas Gilchrist.

Luke’s eager to get close to Crys—because he’s trying to prove she’s a corrupt cop. Even as he searches for proof of her guilt, though, he’s drawn to her brilliance and boldness. Solving a string of homicides may be easier than winning Crys’s forgiveness when she learns Luke’s secret…

Behind the Badge: Excerpt

“Detective Rashaad. I’m Special Agent Lucas Gilchrist.” The conservatively dressed, thirty-something stranger swallowed Crystal Rashaad’s outstretched hand in a firm grip. A warm grip that sent disturbing—though not unpleasant—currents up her arm.

Crystal slipped her hand free. Ignoring the echoes of his touch on her skin, she tipped back her head to meet his deep-set, black onyx eyes. “Agent Gilchrist—”

“Luke.” He turned to escort her from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s utilitarian lobby into a wide hallway early Wednesday morning.

Crystal’s black, faux-leather loafers were nearly silent against the gleaming white-and-green-tiled flooring as she matched her strides to the agent’s. The paper white walls added to the strict establishment vibe oozing from their surroundings. Luke pressed the Up button beside a black stainless-steel elevator.

The BCI was housed in a two-story building. Crystal was a fit five-nine with her loafers’ two-inch heels. Luke had about five inches on her, not including his black oxfords’ one-inch heels, and he was built like a tight end on a professional football team. So why were they waiting for an elevator?

“Let’s take the stairs.” She strode toward the staircase farther down the hall. Luke’s footsteps sounded behind her. “I’d sent my case file to Special Agent Kim David. I was told I’d be meeting with her today.”

Crystal had contacted the BCI’s Special Investigations Unit almost a week earlier to request their assessment of her two homicide cases. SIU had assigned her to Special Agent David. They’d had a brief conversation before Crystal had hand delivered her files. Crystal was still grouchy over her clock tossing her an hour into the future ten days earlier with the Autumnal Equinox time change. Fatigue made her irritable and this game of Agent Musical Chairs made her crankier. Why hadn’t anyone warned her about the switch?

As she mounted the stairs, Crystal assessed her new SIU contact. Everything about him bellowed “Conformist!” From his classic fit, navy-blue suit, matching tie and blinding white shirt to his short, dark brown curls, clean-shaven brown face, square jaw and stubborn chin. He was trying hard to fade into the background, but Crystal saw through his subterfuge. His piercing eyes under thick, black, arched eyebrows, coupled with full, well-shaped lips, signaled this brother had hidden depths.

“Agent David has a full plate.” Luke ascended the steps beside her. “I offered to take a few cases off her hands, including yours.”

Crystal arched an eyebrow at the agent. “She doesn’t let you call her Kim?” This dude was def uptight.

Luke’s dark eyes gleamed with appreciation of her sarcastic wit. “I’ve reviewed your documents and can assure you I’m up to speed with your case.”

“Good. Two people have already been murdered. I need to catch their killer yesterday.” This was her first big case since she’d become a homicide detective eight months earlier. She was anxious to prove herself to her department—and to herself.

Luke stopped beside her. His eyes were inscrutable as he scanned her face. “I understand.”

Why did she have the uneasy feeling his sentence was only half finished? What wasn’t he saying to her?

Her thoughts scattered when he gestured toward the end of the bright hallway. She followed him into a small, sparse space that cried out for a personality, anyone’s personality. Where were the little touches that gave visitors insight into the person who occupied the office forty plus hours a week? The photos that reminded him of the people and places that mattered in his personal life? The knickknacks that kept treasured memories within arm’s reach?

The lack of individual touches left a vacuum filled by beige walls and institutional furniture. Ah. Crystal corrected herself. Luke had mounted a large tan corkboard on the far wall and pinned neat rows of bureau memos and resource lists to it. Fun. His L-shaped, silver-and-white desk stood against the opposite wall with its requisite black computer, black phone, pens, pencils and notepads. She wanted to scribble a note across his black-and-white desk calendar: Buy Toys! Do something that would make him seem less like AI and more like a warm-blooded, three-dimensional human being.

“Please have a seat.” He gestured to the black-vinyl-and-silver-metal visitor’s chair.

“Thank you.” Crystal lowered herself into the seat.

He had very nice manners. She liked that. Her eyes landed on the closed hutch above his desk. What was he hiding in there? Perhaps some personal touches?

“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Luke paused beside his black cushioned swivel chair.

Crystal glanced at his plain black coffee mug. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” She opened her writing tablet on her lap and uncapped her pen.

Luke shed his jacket and hung it on the back of his wheeled chair before sitting. “How long have you been working this case?”

Crystal gestured toward the unopened manila folder centered on the desk in front of him. “As I noted in the files I shared with Special Agent David, my partner and I have been investigating these murders for a little more than a month.” Five weeks and two days. “The first victim, Rita Gomez, was identified February 9.”

“Why isn’t your partner here with you?”

Crystal raised her eyes to meet Luke’s enigmatic stare. “He’s unavailable.”

Her tone was flat and final. She didn’t want to discuss the reason her partner, Victor Hansen, wasn’t at this meeting. Not now. Crystal was grateful when Luke didn’t push for an explanation.

“According to your case files, the victims don’t appear to have any connections to each other.” He opened the first folder on the stack. “Rita Gomez was a Hispanic woman in her early thirties. Your most recent victim, Alfred Murphy, a white man in his late fifties, was recovered fifteen days later, February 24. They worked for different companies, lived in different neighborhoods, had different hobbies and interests.”

Crystal took over the review. “They attended different churches and graduated from different colleges. The only thing linking them is the method of murder and the recovery location. Both were found at Griggs Reservoir.” The dam was constructed in northwest Columbus on the Scioto River. “The lack of blood or signs of a struggle indicate the area was a secondary crime scene. The suspect killed them at a separate location before bringing them to the reservoir.”

Luke made a noncommittal hum. “The suspect used a knife and twisted it in the victim’s back.”

“That’s right.” Crystal found Luke’s steady stare distracting. “We’ve identified the weapon as a straight, double-edged, eight-inch blade.”

“Like a dagger.” Luke finally dropped his eyes from Crystal, returning his attention to the folder and allowing her to breathe.

Crystal angled her head. “Why do you say it that way? As though using a dagger somehow makes sense to you?”

He looked up at her again. “These murders feel like revenge killings, a knife to the back with the blade being twisted.”

His description gave Crystal chills. “I’d wondered about that. The phrase, ‘Twist the knife,’ kept playing in my head. But I thought I was being too literal.”

“You have good instincts. Never second-guess yourself.” Luke’s crooked smile was both charming and very human. It gave her a glimpse into the man behind the virtual reality simulation.

Crystal’s face heated, both from his appeal and his compliment. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

Luke’s expression sobered as though he regretted sharing that sexy smile. “Stabbing the victims in the back could indicate the suspect thinks the victims broke their trust.” He flipped through the folder. “Your notes also mention a fishing lure.”

“Yes. The killer left one fishing lure in each victim’s mouth. It was a plastic silver minnow.” Emboldened by his previous encouragement, Crystal shared her thoughts. “I wondered if there could be a connection to the phrase, ‘Taking the bait.’”

Luke nodded. “I think you’re right. Again.”

Crystal expelled a frustrated breath. “But who took the bait, the victim or the killer? And how did these victims break the killer’s trust?”

Luke searched her features again with an intense, lingering scrutiny. “You sound very committed to this investigation.”

What a strange comment, especially from another member of law enforcement. “Of course I’m committed to it. Someone is killing people in our community. Regardless of the reason, they have to be stopped.”

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