The Touch (14 page)

Sitting down at the desk, she connected her camera to the laptop, kicking off her shoes as the pictures transferred to the machine.  It was too bad she hadn’t gotten Gabriel’s email address
;
Lexi would much rather
deal
with him instead of that Cooper guy, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.  To her surprise, next to the email from Tim Cooper
,
asking her to contact him any time of the day or night to discuss the case
,
was a quick email from Gabriel, with the simple message, “In case you don’t like
ham
.” 

Her lips quirked into a smile, and she was still smiling twenty minutes later when she
finished
tweaking the pictures of Allie’s house from her camera.  After sorting them into the right order and labeling, Lexi started sending pictures in batches of three to Gabriel’s email address. 
Ham indeed; C
ooper was
more of a t
ool than hammy
,
pulling that trick with his tie, but she could see why Gabriel would use the gentler term. 
She was just opening up a new email to send a more personal message when her cell phone rang, Elton John blaring into the room about Benny and the Jets, her ring tone du jour.  “Lexi here,” she answered, not recognizing the number.

“I see you found my email address alright,” Gabriel’s voice came through, relaxed and low, almost tickling her ear. 

“Speak of the devil,” she smiled into her end of the phone.  “I was just thinking about you.”

“Good thoughts
,
I hope.”

“Mostly.”

“Only mostly?” Lexi could practically hear the affronted expression she imagined on his face, “I could have sworn I made a better impression than that.”

“It’s the impression I’ve made on you that gives me pause,” she clarified.  “I have to say I’m a little surprised to hear from you, Detective.”

“Uh oh, I thought we were past the labels.  Or did you want me to go back to calling you Miss Morgan again?”

“Don’t you dare,” she laughed
, easing a little
.  “Why did you call?”

“I wanted to thank you for the pictures, they’re
excellent.
”

“Oh,” she wasn’t sure if she was disappointed
,
or if that was an excuse for his call and he really just wanted to talk to her again.  “Well it was my
pleasure
;
I hope they’re of use to you.”

“No
,
they’re great.  You were
right
;
you really are a professional photographer.  These are right up there with the pictures we usually get from our forensics guys.”

“Wow, in that case thank
you
for the compliment
,
”
she grinned from ear to ear.

“Not at all, in fact
,
if you ever want to try and get a job here at the department, let me know, I might be able to pull some strings.”

Th
at was enough to make her laugh;
it
was the second time he’d said something like that to her.
“Can you just imagine me working for the police?”

“I’ve seen stranger things.”

“Me too, that’s the problem,” she replied sourly.  “They’d laugh me right out of the building.” 

“Maybe people might surprise you every now and again
?
”

Maybe, but in her experience, they usually disappointed right on schedule.  Not wanting to pursue that depressing thought, she changed the subject.  “Did you get the go ahead on the Amber alert from your boss?

“No,” he let out a long
s
igh
,
“
b
ut I got the next best thing.  The spot with her picture
will
air on all the local news broadcasts tonight and tomorrow morning
,
and there will be a small article in the
paper
.”

“Oh,” Lexi nodded on her end;
it would have to do.  “Thanks for doing that, I know you went above and beyond the call of duty in getting the word out.”

“It’s no problem; I just hope we get a hit soon.  Until then there’s not a whole lot more we can do.”   

“Did you call Allie to tell her?”  Lexi moved to curl up on the window seat, pulling
Gran’s
brightly colored afghan around her legs as she settled in.   

“Uh no, I called you first.”  The corners of her mouth twitched a little higher at
the
admission.  So he’d called her first?  That had to b
e a good sign.  “Is that okay?”
Gabriel asked at her silence.

“Actually
,
I kinda like that you called me first,” she admitted. 

“So… you wouldn’t mind if I called you again sometime?”  There was a tiny bit of hope bleeding through in his tone that caught at her heart.

“That all depends.”

“On…”

“Are you calling me as Allie’s sister
,
or are you calling
me
?”

Gabriel’s chuckle was low and intimate, sending a ripple of pleasure down her spine.  “Definitely calling you.  Lexi.  Miss Morgan.  Whatever you want me to call you.”

“Alright then, you can call me whenever you want to, leads or no leads, even if you just want some company.”

“Thanks, I’ll have to keep that in mind.  You know actually… there is something that I’ve wanted to ask you ever since I last saw you.”

“Oh?”  Lexi sat a little higher, her heart skipping to a
faster beat in anticipation of
whatever he was about to ask her.  

“
Wha
t
did
you see when you touched C
ooper’s tie
?”

It took her a moment to recover after she realized he was teasing her
, b
ut after a skipped beat, she replied with a shake of the head
,
“
y
ou don’t wanna know
.”

“
I can’t help it;
I’m a
detective
, remember?  Un
re
solved questions bother me.”

“
Trust me,
that’s an image that’s gonna stay with me until the day I die,” she laughed.  “But if it’s bothering you that much, you can ask him yourself.  He’s your partner, right?”

“That’s okay, maybe you’re right and this is one I should just let go.  Actually
,
I should let you go too, there’s some work I need to finish up.”

“Are you still at the
station
?”  It was late, but she imagined cops kept unusual hours.

“No, I’m at home
, in my bedroom.”

“
Me too
.”  The conversation suddenly seemed much more intimate, knowing they were each in their bedrooms.

“
Alone?
”

“
How else would I be?
”

“
I thought maybe you and that guy you live with
…”

“
You mean Paul?
”
s
he interrupted. 

“
That’s the one. 
So
,
t
he two of you aren’t a thing?
”

Talk about a fishing expedition… Lexi smiled to herself over the question and couldn’t help but tease a little.  “
Would it bother you if we were
?”

“
I
don’t
like to think
I’m
calling you up and
disturbing
your happy home
;
my momm
a didn’t raise me to be a homewr
ecker.
”
 

“You can tell your momma for me that I appreciate that, but no, you’re not disturbing anything at all.  What about you?  Are you home alone?”

“There’s a cat around here somewhere, but seeing as how I’m not in the kitchen
,
he’s leaving me alone for the moment.  Other than that, I’m all by my lonesome.”

“I’ve never had a cat before, what’s her name?”

“
His
name is Jake and he’s been
my sole roommate
for a few years now.  You’ve really never had a cat before?  Are you allergic?”

“No, I
never had much in the way of animals.  You don’t get to do much petting when you’re wearing gloves.”

“
Y
ou can’t touch animals either?”

“
To be honest
,
I haven’
t reall
y tried;
I’ve gotten used to having the gloves on all the time.”  In theory she should be able to touch a cat, but she wasn’t sure if she’d pick up what the cat was thinking, or maybe get images of everyone who’d pet the cat before her. 

“So you really wear the gloves all the time?  Even when you’re at home?”

“Even in the shower,” she supplied, knowing people were curious about that.
  It was easier that way not to get an eyeful of whoever had taken the last shower before her.  Maybe someday if she had her own bathroom she wouldn’t have to take such precautions, but she owed her housemates that bit of privacy.
  “I’m okay without them in my own room, but it’s generally a lot more peaceful in my head when I keep them on.”  He was silent for a long moment, and she wondered if she’d spooked him again. 

“
And you’ve never experimented with touching a person?” 

“It’s not the sort of thing that’s fun to experiment with.  Would you want me seeing everything you’re thinking about when I touch you?”

There was a brief pause before he answered, “I guess that depen
ds on how you were touching me. 
What
a
bout when someone touches you?
”
 

That sparked all manner of images in her mind.  Lexi might not have much experience with men, but there was nothing wrong with her imagination. 
Her voice was a little breathy when she replied
,
“
t
hat’s just fine, as long as you
don’t touch my bare hands.
”
 

“Good to know,” he replied. 
A companionable silence stretched between them, each lost to their own thoughts.  “I really should say goodnight though, like I said
,
I do have some more work to get back to.”

“
Right, I should probably go too.
I wanted to get up early and go try again at Allie’s house tomorrow.”

“That’s a good idea, call me if you get anything, okay?”

“I will,” she promised.  “
Thanks for calling.”

“Good night, Lexi.”

“Bye Gabriel,” she replied, smiling to herself for long minutes after he’d hung up.  Movements slow and lazy, she got ready for bed, changing into a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top, hair brushed and swiftly plaited into loose braids that hung down the back of her shoulders.  She was still smiling when she went out to brush her teeth
in the hall bathroom. 

“
You like him
,
don’t you?
”
Paul asked
, leaning against the open door jamb while she squeezed the toothpaste onto her toothbrush. 

“
Who?
”

“
That detective who was here the other day
.  That was him you were talking to just now, wasn’t it?”

Lexi stared at him in the mirror, had he overheard her conversation?  Her mind cast back to think if she’d said anything that would have clued him in to Gabriel’s identity or if she’d said anything inappropriate to be overheard.  But in the end she had nothing to hide over the admission.  “
Yeah, I do
like him
.  He’s a good guy.
”  Harder to find than one would have thought.

“
Then why were you so upset the other day over him?
”

“
Because
I like him
.”  Otherwise his discomfort around her wouldn’t have stung nearly as much
, b
ut Gabriel had rallied nicely.
In fact, the conversation she
had with him on the phone
was
one of the most natural and relaxed talks she’d had with a guy.