Added to the already wonderful mix, he had to do this with his ex-wife, pretending that they were an item, again. Of course, after what had just happened in her office…

  He didn’t want to do this.

  He was in trouble.

  Ash paced around his apartment, unsettled. This case had suddenly been turned on its head. He was supposed to kiss up to the rich and powerful of the city. Behave himself. Be deferential like some damn servant.

  What grated on his sense of fairness was that these people were no different than anyone else in the city. They were murderers, they beat their wives and children, they cheated on their vows, they embezzled from their companies. He loved the idea of catching them with their pants down. But instead of investigating Catherine Reed’s murder, he had to play a role of boyfriend to his ex-wife.

  But what really threw a kink into this little scenario was that little lip lock he’d experienced with Kelly. Damn, what had inspired such stupidity on his part? When had his common sense taken a walk? When he’d seen the tears in her eyes, that was when. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from pulling Kelly into his arms. With her fragrance filling his nose and her body molded to his, Ash had just gone with the flow, dumb as that had proved to be.

  His body still hummed with the memory.

  He walked into his kitchen and pulled out a ten-year-old bottle of Scotch. He poured a small amount in a glass and downed the fiery liquid.

  He found the idea of playing reunited lovers with Kelly before all of Houston society alarming, given what had happened earlier. Just take him out and shoot him and save him from this mess. Not only did he have to fight memories, they were going to have to work together without others to witness their meetings. They would probably have to have daily sessions. And where would they meet? Their house—Kelly’s house would be the logical answer.

  He remembered how he had pursued her. After their initial coffee date following their class, Kelly had made it clear she wasn’t interested in a relationship and he’d backed off. Several months later, he’d been summoned to the chief of police’s office to receive an award for helping deliver a baby in the middle of a traffic jam on the Southwest freeway. Kelly had been rushing to work in the chief’s office where she worked as PR official, not looking where she was going. They’d literally crashed into each other. Kelly had bounced off him and landed on her rear.

  They had both been embarrassed and, while Ash had helped Kelly to her feet, he could’ve sworn that the floor had shifted beneath his feet. He had returned the next day and asked her out. She hadn’t accepted. The next month, at the St. Patrick’s Day picnic that the police department held, she’d been there. They had spent the afternoon together. That had been the beginning of a whirlwind courtship. The next six weeks had been the most intense of his life. Every moment he had been off duty, he’d been with her, wanting her.

  The phone rang, bringing him out of his memories.

  “Ashcroft,” he barked into the phone.

  There was a pause. “Ash, we didn’t get to talk after the meeting with the D.A. and your captain.”

  Kelly’s voice caressed his ears. His mind envisioned her full lips. They belonged on an erotic movie star, not a steel-willed A.D.A. who ate suspects for lunch.

  “Yeah.”

  “Elegant, as ever.”

  “Kel, I don’t need attitude from you. Anyway, I had to get out of there before I let our bosses know how much I don’t like being jerked around.” He took a deep breath, trying to bring his hormones back into control. “Are you happy having to pretend you’re getting back together with your ex-husband?”

  The silence on the line unnerved him. He wished he could see her face. She could never lie worth a damn to him. Amazingly enough he could see through the walls that she threw up to keep the rest of the world at bay.

  “This isn’t any easier for me than you.”

  Her calm response hit him in the gut. Didn’t she have the same reaction to him eating her tonsils as he did to her? Apparently not, and that irritated him.

  “Do you still have your tux?” she asked.

  “I do. It’s in the back of my closet.” He’d been tempted to throw it away after the divorce, but reason had argued that he might need it in the future.

  “I wanted to check and make sure, since the first party we’ll need to attend is day after tomorrow.”

  “It’s clean. I haven’t worn it since it came back from the cleaners the last time.” The time when you took it to the cleaners for me. He didn’t say it, but it was understood between them.

  “We’ll need to talk before then, go over what you found out today.” They hadn’t had time to discuss what Ash and Julie had discovered in their interviews earlier. Instead, they had spent their time blowing this investigation to smithereens.

  “Name the time tomorrow, Kelly. Then we can also float the story that we’re closing down the investigation.”

  “I have court in the morning. Why don’t you bring your lunch and we’ll do it at noon?”

  “Better yet, I’ll bring some burgers from Jim’s.” He wondered why he wanted to bring her favorite food. “It will lend credence to our cover story of starting to date again.”

  “All right.” She paused for a moment, then said, “I know you don’t like how things have turned out, but in order to get to the truth in this case, Ash, we’re going to have to jump through a few hoops.”

  “And kiss some a—”

  “That doesn’t matter. We both believe that Andrew Reed killed his wife.”

  Her admission blew him away.

  They’d never spoken out loud their suspicions about Andrew Reed. It had been understood but never voiced. It shocked him that Kelly willingly stated it aloud.

  “Proving it is going to be the challenge.” She sighed. “Also, he probably had Carlson killed to cover up his crime. I want to prove it.”

  “You’re right, Kelly. Bringing Andrew Reed to trial for his wife’s death is all that matters. I can smile at these society folks, make nice with the rich, to get the proof we need.”

  “I knew I could count on you.”

  Her confidence hit him low and hard, jumbling his already confused reactions. “Always, Kelly. Always.”

  Kelly stared down at the phone in her hand. Confusion clouded her mind. How had she managed to put herself in this hole? Ash’s action earlier in her office, holding her, kissing her, comforting her had completely shaken her world. He still knew how she liked to be kissed. That little spot below her ear that always melted her.

  She’d been mindless with pleasure when he pulled back. How quickly she’d fallen into that pit of…of…wanting, needing. If he hadn’t given her that breather, she would have gladly drowned in that ecstasy.

  Her head fell forward. She and Ash were to play the role of reunited lovers. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would work with him again—and never, never in this capacity. Captain Jenkins was responsible for this mess. If he hadn’t assigned Ash—but he had. And in the end, it was the best choice he could have made.

  But wasn’t that plan a little too over-the-top? She should just walk into her boss’s office and tell him that this wasn’t going to work. No one in their right mind would believe she and her ex were getting back together. But hadn’t she argued that very point, and Jake had shot her down?

  She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to be with Ash, playing that they were in love.

  What if she pressed the issue? What reason could she give to her boss? Surely Jake would ask if she still had feelings for Ash. She didn’t.

  Liar.

  And they needed to find a place to discuss this case, away from probing eyes. The logical place would be here at the house. She had a home office.

  Her head fell forward in defeat. If she admitted she didn’t want to work with him, both Jake and Captain Jenkins would wonder why. She wouldn’t be able to hold her head up if they wondered about her reasons. So her only option was to stick this thing out. Smile through gritted teeth and socialize with the upper strata of society.

  She gave a snort of laughter. The only person who hated this playacting more than she did was Ash himself. That should be a source of comfort.

  During their marriage, when she had a social function to attend and had wanted Ash to accompany her, it was tougher than pulling teeth to convince him to go.

  Her mind wandered back to that kiss. She’d melted in his arms, like ice on the hot summer cement. Well, she wouldn’t let that happen again. She was over him. She attributed her reaction to the extreme stress of the day. If her boss, or anyone had offered her a shoulder to cry on she would have taken it.

  Her reasoning sounded good, but she didn’t really believe it for an instant.

  Needing to get away from the memories, Kelly stood and walked out of the kitchen.

  She still couldn’t understand why she’d had that response to Ash. The moment his hand had cupped her cheek, something in her had come back to life, bursting into full bloom.

  He still tasted so good.

  Wandering down the hall, she stopped in front of the closed door. Her heart clenched. She put her hands on the wood and rested her forehead on it. The baby’s nursery.

  The pain in her heart wasn’t as sharp anymore. She put her hand on the doorknob. After several long moments she turned the handle.

  Panic raced over her. She wasn’t ready for this. Her hand released the knob. Turning, she strode into her room. That was the closest she’d been to walking into that room since the day Ash closed it after their daughter died.

  Kelly went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, praying she could drown the memories. As she stood under the shower, the water that ran down her cheeks wasn’t all from the showerhead.

  Ash walked into Homicide. Ralph Lee glanced up from his paperwork.

  “I heard the Reed investigation has been put on hold since the main suspect is dead.”

  “Word gets around quickly,” Ash answered.

  Ralph shrugged. “I had planned on offering you help now that I’m back from vacation, but I guess it’s a moot point.”

  “Thanks for thinking about me. Funny thing, the case brought a big bonus.” Ash would try out their new cover.

  “How’s that?” Ralph frowned.

  Several other detectives had stopped their work and were listening to the exchange. “Well, I’ve been working with my ex. It seems some things have come together and—well, she and I have decided to try dating again.”

  Ralph studied him. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

  Several of the other detectives laughed. Ash didn’t know whether to punch Ralph or agree with him. “Can’t say. We all do dumb things.”

  “Hell, I remember the time I tried dating a lady wrestler,” Joe McPherson, Ralph’s latest partner, piped in. “She was beautiful, but she could pin me in three seconds flat. I finally got tired of being taken down.” He shook his head. “But it was something while it lasted.” His smile left none of the other detectives with any doubt as to what the something was.

  Ash didn’t know whether to be offended or flattered that his and Kelly’s relationship could be compared to Joe’s. “Love makes us all look like we’re a few bricks short of a full load.”

  The men laughed.

  When Ash approached his partner, he noticed Julie hadn’t laughed with the other detectives. Her gaze drilled him.

  “What’s wrong, partner?” Ash asked.

  “You tell me,” she quietly replied.

  “Why don’t you let me buy you a powdered-sugar doughnut at the coffee shop across the street?”

  Her gaze searched his. “Sure. I haven’t had my sugar and caffeine high this morning. But you’re buying.”

  “No problem.”

  Julie kept her questions to herself until they were seated in the back of the deserted coffee shop. “So what gives? And don’t tell me it’s love.”

  “It could be,” he protested good-naturedly.

  She didn’t look convinced.

  “All right. Jenkins and Thorpe jumped all over me and Kelly about my interrogation techniques. I apparently upset several people yesterday.”

  She nailed him with a glare. “I told you.”

  “I know, I know. Well, the long and short of it is we’re going to float the story that the investigation into Catherine Reed’s murder is closed. What Kelly and I plan to do is make the social circuit as a couple, lightly eliciting information. When we develop credible leads, we’ll follow up on them.

  “You, on the other hand are to take over the investigation into Carlson’s murder, be the lead detective. I’ll be here, but I’ll be working on Catherine Reed’s murder. Hopefully this way, we’ll be off everyone’s radar screen while we learn all their dirty little secrets.”

  “So love hasn’t bitten you on the butt?”

  Ash noticed that Julie’s gaze didn’t waver off his face.

  “No,” he shot back. The force of his protest made him uncomfortable. “But Kelly and I will have to find a place to meet and discuss the case. So, it’s going to look like we’re dating. It will be the best cover.”

  Julie didn’t blink. He felt sure she would challenge him on his veracity, but she didn’t. She let it slide, much to his relief.

  “So you want me to take up the investigation on Carlson’s murder.”

  “I thought that we could do witness interviews today, see what leads we turn up. Then you could do follow-up.”

  Popping the last of her doughnut into her mouth, she wiped her lips and fingers with a napkin. “Sounds good to me.” She studied him. “So you’re going to do the social circuit?”

  “Yeah.” He glared down into his coffee.

  “And you feel confident you can do this?”

  His head jerked up, stung by his partner’s question. “Of course. When Kelly and I were married, I accompanied her to lots of kissy-kissy functions like this. I even have my own tux.”

  Julie’s brow arched. “That’s a good attitude.”

  “I held my own in that shark tank. My problem was I didn’t want to be there.”

  “That must’ve been pleasant for Kelly.”

  He remembered a couple of times he had stepped in it big time. He had made it up to Kelly later when they were at home. “There’s nothing worse than having to endure a lot of folks trying to impress everyone with how much money they have,” he answered, trying not to remember those apologies to Kelly.

  Julie drained the last of her coffee from the foam cup. “So how’s this going to be different?”

  “I’ll be looking for proof of a couple of murders and not simply socializing.”

  “So this playacting has purpose for you,” she observed. “Dare I suggest you might actually enjoy it?”

  He sat back and thought about it from strictly an investigative angle. “You’re right.”

  Julie grinned. She’d been leading him down a path to the see the truth in this situation. He was so close to it, he couldn’t look at it logically.

  “You really are too smart for your own good,” he grumbled good-naturedly.

  “I know. Sometimes I’m so clever it kills me.”

  The note of despair in her voice brought Ash up short. He studied her carefully. Something wasn’t right. “What’s the problem, Julie?”

  “What makes you think anything is wrong?” She tried to bluff him, but he didn’t buy it.

  “You’re talking to your partner. We’re honest with each other. I know I’ve been wrapped up in this investigation and my problems with the department, so I haven’t been one hundred percent. What gives?”

  “Nothing unusual. Male problems. Had a couple of dates go south. Working in Homicide scares off most men. And one certainly can’t talk shop.” She shook her head.

  They all ran into that problem. Mates and significant others didn’t understand that sometimes at the most inopportune moments, you got a call. It had more than one time come at the wrong moment for him and Kelly. She’d always understood. “You want to unload on me?”

  “Naw, I don’t want to relive that miserable date.” She shook her head. “Let’s just say I’m not going to ever date an insurance agent again.”

  He laughed. “An insurance agent? What ever possessed you do that?”

  She shook her head. “A wonderful set of pecs, and don’t tell me you haven’t dated a woman simply because she was endowed.”

  He shrugged.

  She stood. “Let’s go back to work and see what we can discover about Carlson’s murder.”

  Ash and Julie spent the rest of the morning interviewing the residents at the apartment complex where Carlson had lived.

  No one had seen anything.

  They walked through Carlson’s apartment again.

  “So if Carlson was murdered, why didn’t he put up more of a struggle?” Julie posed the question.

  “What if he was surprised by the killer, knocked in the back of the head, then dragged into his bedroom. The killer then staged the murder, placing the gun in Carlson’s hand and pulling the trigger. That could account for the odd spray of gunpowder on the victim’s hand.”

  “I like that,” Julie agreed.

  “What are you doing?” a little voice asked.

  Both Ash and Julie turned around to see Sarah Mendoza standing at the door to the bedroom. The four-year-old clutched a well-worn teddy bear to her chest. Her eyes were wide as she studied them.

  Ash walked to the little girl and knelt. “We were talking about the other night when Mr. Carlson died.”

  “Oh.” She held her teddy closer and rested her chin on his head. “I didn’t like him.”

  “Who, sweetie,” Julie asked.

  The little girl solemnly regarded Julie. “The man who yelled at the other man. He scared Teddy.” She held up her bear.

  “I know.” He ran his finger over the bear’s head. “Teddy was very brave.”

  Sarah nodded.

  “Have you seen that man around here again since that night?” Ash asked.

  “No. But he came before that night.”

  Ash looked up at Julie. He turned back to Sarah. “That man was here before Mr. Carlson died?”

  “He came the day Mr. Carlson moved in.” She readjusted her hold on the bear. “They didn’t like each other.”