“Alex, you okay?”
“Sure. Just fine.” She finished the soda and flung the empty can into the blue recycle bin next to the machine. She stood up. “You talk to Cliff?”
“Yeah. He said nice work on finding the stuff on the cups. He also asked how we were getting along with Teren. I told him things were cool.” He looked at his partner’s tense face. “Was I wrong?”
“No. Everything’s just peachy.”
“Okay, now I know something’s up. You never use words like peachy.”
Alex stood up and faced him. “I’m fine, David. Now, how long ‘til we have to be at the airport?”
He looked at his watch. “Well, it’s almost six, and our flight leaves around seven-forty, so we need to head out now if we’re going to get anything other than airline food.”
“Fine. I’ll find Tanner and meet you at the van. You can go get Teren.”
David was surprised that Alex didn’t want to find the woman herself. “Do you know where she is?”
“The last time I saw her, she was talking with Seffren. You know where the room is?”
David nodded. Alex pulled her coat on, and brushed a hand through her blond locks. “Go on. I’ll find Tanner, I think he’s in the cafeteria.”
She walked away, leaving David wondering what Teren had done to anger his partner.
He shook his head, muttering. “Normally it’s me bugging Teren, now it’s Teren bugging Alex. Huh.”
*******************************************************
The ride to the airport was silent. It was late by the time they got there, and they decided dinner would have to be on the plane. They had enough time for a drink, however, so they made their way to one of the many lounges scattered throughout DIA.
David had noticed that Teren and Alex weren’t really talking, so he volunteered to get their drinks. It was sodas all around, but with the line at the bar, it would be quite a few minutes before he got back.
Just enough time, he decided, for them to either fix whatever was wrong, or shoot each other.
As for the two women, they sat at a table in the back of the lounge, one of the few that hadn’t been taken. Alex watched David walk away, then stared at the table. She knew what he was doing, but had no idea what to do now.
For once, it was Teren that started the conversation.
“You’re upset with me for not telling you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I -” Alex stopped. She took a deep breath, and tried to start again calmly. “Because we’re a team. Teammates talk about stuff. You should have told me.”
“What does this team have to do with my former girlfriend?”
“Is she the reason you joined this investigation?”
Teren stared at her in shock. “No. You know that’s not true.”
“Then why didn’t you just happen to mention, when we were discussing this particular shooting, that you had a relationship with the victim?”
“Because it was a relationship that ended two years ago. It has absolutely no bearing on this case.”
Alex opened her mouth to make a retort, but shut it again. She couldn’t argue with Teren’s logic. Her relationship with Ann really had nothing to do with why the activist had been shot, or who shot her, or even how this shooting was connected to the other murders. It was a purely personal issue, and though Alex felt she should have been informed, she couldn’t fault Teren for not telling her. So, the question, in Alex’s mind, became, why did she feel Teren should have told her?
She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she was hurt Teren had kept it from her. For a moment she had felt betrayed, almost —
Almost jealous.
Alex put her hand over her eyes and shook her head.
Teren waited patiently, trying to understand why Alex was angry. But she was also trying to figure out why she hadn’t simply told Alex that she had been in a relationship with Ann Seffren. While it wasn’t something she felt the team had to know, it also wasn’t something she had particularly tried to hide before. Her being a lesbian had been no secret, hell, it had even come in handy on a few cases. Besides, Alex’s friends had tried to set them up, it wasn’t like Alex didn’t know she was gay. But for some reason, she had not wanted Alex to know about Ann, and Teren didn’t know why.
Alex raised her head and looked at Teren. “You’re right,” she said in a soft voice. “Your past relationship is not an issue in this investigation. I’m sorry.” She looked back down. “I think I’m just looking for anything that might help, and even inconsequential facts are fair game.”
Teren nodded. “I understand. Kind of grasping at straws, huh?”
Alex dropped her chin into the palm of her hand, and rested her elbow on the table. “Yeah, I guess that’s a good way to describe it. I mean we’ve had several things that didn’t seem to mean anything turn out to be huge pieces of information. One led us to Wilford’s brother Ricky.”
Teren dropped her own eyes to the table top. “I’m sorry, too. I should have told you, I suppose. But my relationship with Ann ended badly and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to see her. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t go into the room with you.”
“So, if her friend hadn’t shown up, you probably never would have told me.”
“True.”
Alex felt her temper flare again, but this time recognized the jealous streak that accompanied it. She managed to say nothing until it had passed.
She rubbed her eyes with her other hand. “I’m tired. I really need a good night’s sleep. This jet lag thing is killer.”
Teren, nodded, feeling the tension between them relax somewhat. “I’ve never minded the travel, it’s the jet lag I hate.”
“Exactly my point.” She heard her cell phone buzz inside her coat, and pulled it out to answer.
David was carrying three drinks back to the table, and as he approached, he noticed Alex was on the phone. Her face looked agitated, and he thought for a moment that maybe she and Teren hadn’t taken the opportunity to talk at all. As he got closer to the table, Alex hung up and pounded her fist on the table.
“Okay, guys,” David said as he put the drinks down. “I know something happened between you two, and you were both angry when I left. I wanted you to talk it out, which is why I volunteered to stand in line for several minutes and get drinks. Obviously it didn’t work, so tell me what’s going on?”
Alex and Teren stared at each other and then at David. Alex looked back at Teren, who shrugged.
“Teren didn’t want to tell me that Ann Seffren is her ex-girlfriend, and when I found out I was angry that she didn’t tell me.”
David looked at Teren. “You were in a relationship with Seffren?”
“Yes, but it ended two years ago.” Teren met David’s steady gaze. “Is that a problem, David?”
“Depends. Alex, is there a problem?”
Alex shrugged. “We talked about it, it’s over. Are you happy?”
“That you’re not fighting? Yeah. Now, you want to tell me what got you so riled that you were pounding the table a minute ago?”
“I was on the phone with Cliff. There’s been a change of plans. We’re not going to Washington.”
“What?”
“You and I are going to Philadelphia. Kyle Brogan’s house was firebombed. Nobody was home, but the fire almost destroyed the place. The police have his wife and kids in protective custody, and Ken thinks the wife knows something, but she won’t talk to him. He wants me to talk to her, and since you’re my partner, you’re coming with me.”
“They have the wife and kids? What about Brogan.”
“Brogan’s gone missing. Ken thinks he’s in hiding.”
“From us?”
“No. From his buddies.”
“Shit.”
Chapter Seventeen
It was late by Mountain Standard time, and later still in Washington. But Teren found herself wide awake in a plane full of snoring passengers. She would have slept if she could, but her mind wouldn’t quiet down.