A Rose Dipped in Blood

Chapter Eight: The Note

            Sidney and Isabella shot daggers with their eyes at his comment, both of them crossing their arms at the same moment. Funny how he always attracted the same kinds of people.

            “Okay, so what did he do after going rogue?” Hawk asked, feeling uncomfortable with the two women in the room breathing down his neck.

            “He murdered a young woman,” said Arthur. Isabella sucked in air and Hawk shook his head sadly. “Her name was Claire Kelly. We’ve been searching through her murder for any clues on his murder, but we couldn’t find any. It’s extremely rare for an FBI agent to turn like that. One in a billion.” He handed Hawk a folder labeled ‘Claire Kelly’. Imaginative.

            “Looks like we found our one,” he said while scanning the folder. Hawk stood up and stretched his legs. “Well, let’s see who gets to the killer first.”

            “What? Hawk, where are you going?” Sidney stood up to block his way out.

            “To work on the case. Where else would I go? Disneyland?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. He stared her down.

            “Fine. But if you tell anyone about any of this, even Kayla-”

            “Then it’s a federal crime, blah blah blah. Yeah, I know the drill.” He gently pushed her aside and hopped down from the back. He then went to aide Isabella down from the van, but she was already down. So much for his gentleman’s move.

            When they were half way to the car, Hawk realized that the men he had spotted before were gone. So now they didn’t expect the criminal to return to the scene of the crime? He stored the question in the corner of his mind for later and decided to focus on the situation at hand. 

            They still had no idea who the killer was and only a single clue. Claire Kelly. Hawk reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and carefully brushed against the folder containing the information on Kelly. Luckily they hadn’t caught him taking it. Without it, they weren’t going anywhere.

            His partner walked beside him. Having cooled down on the walk, Isabella seemed much more relaxed.

             “So, where do we go now?” she asked.

            “Well, I’m going to do something illegal and you’re going back to the HQ.” Before she could argue, Hawk pushed forward. “I need you there to call me if anything bog happens. We can’t be both shut out of whatever is going on over there.”

            “Where are you going?”

            “Back to Nancy’s apartment. Something about her stills bugs me.” Hawk scratched an itch on his head. “I mean what kind of married woman doesn’t mind living in a different house than her husband who rarely stays in contact with her? It just seems strange.” She looked at him and nodded.

            “Okay. But just this once. I won’t stand to have my partner go into dangerous situations alone.” She bumped her hips into him. “Just this once.”

            Hawk smiled and thanked her. The two entered the car and Alex drove it out of the driveway, heading toward the HQ. They sat in silence, a comfortable silence. Not one of those awkward ones you have with an ex-girlfriend.

            He took his right hand off the wheel and laid it on his thigh, still controlling the car with ease. Suddenly Isabella’s hand was on top of his, her warm skin covering his freezing fingers. Hawk didn’t know what to say or how to react. Usually he was the one initiating the moves. Not the other way around. Even if he knew what to do, Hawk doubted he would have been able to.