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. He straightened up and LIFE LESSONS 91put the camera in his pocket. Maybe we ll have better luck withthe note itself.Tony ran a finger over the chair and looked at the resultinggrit. That stuff is pretty messy, isn t it.Will it clean up withwater? Better to dust off as much of it as you can dry first,MacLean said. Here, I ll help you.Tony looked at him, startled. You don t have to.You musthave other stuff to do. I can take a couple of minutes. MacLean grabbed a fewtissues out of the box on the desk and began wiping. Sure, okay. Tony eyed the bigger man surreptitiously asMacLean bent to his task.His straight brown hair was neatertoday and he looked younger, probably the result of losing thedark circles under his eyes.Tony revised his estimate of the man sage down to his early thirties.His hands were big, broad-knuckledand tanned.His movements were neat and competent as hewiped the mess away from the upholstery and caught the loosepowder in another tissue.He glanced up, and those deep browneyes caught Tony s in mid stare.Tony felt himself flush, but MacLean only said mildly,  Yougoing to help with this? Yeah, sure.I ve got paper towels in the cabinet. Theyfinished the clean-up together, and Tony wiped his fingers ona damp towel and reached for his bag. I might as well lock upnow, he said. I don t have anything to keep me late tonight. Did you stay late last night? MacLean enquired as theyheaded for the door. Yeah, I did. Tony had forced himself to hang around untilfive o clock. Not really late, but& I felt like I had to, because Iwas spooked by it, which was stupid, and the best way to get oversomething that scares you is to just do it. Maybe it isn t stupid for you to take a few precautions for92 Kaje Harpernow, MacLean suggested. Given the note. Yeah, but this wasn t precautions.It was pure nerves.Like,I haven t been able to walk past the third floor elevator yet.It sreally freaking nellie of me, but I just can t do it.I use the southstairs every time.MacLean hesitated then raised an eyebrow at him. So ridethe elevator with me now. Now? Sure. MacLean gave him a slow smile. Your own policeprotection.What could be safer than that?Tony blinked and tried to smile back. Okay.Good idea.Approaching the elevator with MacLean beside him didn tproduce the chest-tightening panic that had sent him back downthe hall earlier.Tony put in his key and pushed the button.Hewas a little surprised when MacLean held the door open whileinspecting the gap between car and doorsill.The detective tooka long look around the floor of the car, then stood, releasing thedoor. They did a good job on the clean-up, he said as they rodedown. But from the photos and the look of the space, I don tthink any blood ever went into the shaft.Tony stared at him as the lift cranked downward and the dooropened on the first floor. Damn! he said. How did you knowthat was freaking me out? Heard your voice when you mentioned it, MacLean saidcasually, leading the way toward the visitor s parking lot. Listeningto people s voices is part of what I do. I ll bet you re damned good at it. Tony muttered.MacLean s car was an old Volvo.Tony wondered if it was thebig man s personal vehicle or an unmarked department car.It hada radio visible under the dash, but the rust and dents seemed overthe top for something in official use.A criminal being pursued bythat car would be more likely to laugh than worry.Tony paused LIFE LESSONS 93beside it, somehow reluctant to leave.Mac bent and unlocked thedoors manually with his key, then paused, his hand on the opendoor, to look back at Tony. I do think, MacLean said slowly,  that it wouldn t hurt foryou to pay a little more attention to personal safety until we getthis guy.Don t work so late that you re alone up there.Maybeerase my name from your board.Don t ask questions aboutWestin or show too much interest in the case. How can I not show interest? I was there! Anyway, I don tlike giving in to threats.This guy s not going to do me much harmwith thumbtacks.MacLean made a face. Don t be stupid.He didn t usethumbtacks on Westin.I don t like it. I thought you d be pleased to have new clues. Oh, I m ecstatic, MacLean said. I just don t want the nextcall to be for your body.Just show a little common sense, allright? Sure, Tony agreed. Whatever. He stepped back fromthe car and watched as MacLean folded his long legs into thedriver s seat.Tony clasped his hands behind his back to keep fromreaching for the man or the door, to delay things.Just becausehe felt safer with MacLean around didn t mean he should getclingy, for God s sake.So what if the denim pulled across thosemuscular legs in an interesting way.All the more reason to let thisstraight widowed cop go off and do his job.Still he couldn t resist asking, Will you let me know if you learn anything from the note? I ll call you, MacLean agreed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]