Angels Fall

warming in the oven while we…"
    His mouth captured hers, firm and strong. She tasted the wine on his tongue, heady and tempting, and felt the testing graze of his teeth. Her blood flashed as it might with a lightning strike.
    "Oh boy." she managed. "It's like having the circuits in my brain crossed. All sizzle and smoke."
    "Maybe you need to lie down."
    "I'd like to. Let me say first, I'd like that. I even washed the sheets, in case."
    His lips quirked. "You washed the sheets."
    "Seemed like the thing to do. But… Would you just take a step back? I can't breathe right."
    He eased back. "Better?"
    "Yes and no." He was so compelling, she thought. She stood by her initial impression of him. Not handsome, but so compellingly attractive. So absolutely male. Big hands, big feet, hard mouth, hard body.
    "I want to go to bed with you; I want to have all those feelings again. But I think I need to wait until I'm a little more sure of myself."
    "And of me."
    "It's one of the things I like about you. You get the point of things. It would be normal for you—good, possibly great—but normal. For me, being intimate again would be—will be—monumental. I guess we'd both better be sure, because that's a big weight on you."
    "Okay. You're not sleeping with me for my sake."
    "In a manner of speaking."
    "Damn considerate of you." He gave her a quick jerk, took her mouth again. This time his hands ran down her sides, shaping her breasts, waist, hips. And once more, he stepped back. "What the hell is apple brown betty?"
    "Who? Oh. Wait." She took a moment, eyes closed, until her brain settled back down between her ears. "It's delicious, that's what the hell it is. Go sit down, give me a minute and I'll prove it. You want coffee?"
    "You don't have coffee."
    "Actually…" She sidestepped to avoid contact with him again, and picked up a thermos she had on the counter."I got some from downstairs."
    "You got coffee?"
    She saw—for once—she'd surprised him. "Light, one sugar, right?"
    "Yeah. Thanks."
    She fixed the dessert, served it in the living area. "It's not sex,' she said, "but it's a nice end to a meal."
    He took the first spoonful. "Where has this been all my life?"
    "I learned to make it for my father. It was a favorite of his."
    '"A man of good taste."
    She smiled, toyed with her own. "You haven't said anything at all about… I'm not sure what to call it."
    "I think the term's murder.''
    "Yeah, the term's murder . One of the sheriff's theories is that I mistook the spot, and she wasn't dead. Maybe I saw a couple of people in an altercation, but it wasn't murder. Which is why no one's reported anyone like her missing."
    "And you disagree."
    "On every point. I know what I saw and where I saw it. Maybe she hasn't been reported missing because she's not important to anyone. Or was, well, from France."
    This time Brody smiled. "Wherever she was from, odds are someone saw her. Getting gas, buying supplies, in a campground, in a motel. How well can you describe her?"
    "I've already told you."
    "No, I mean, could you describe her to an artist?"
    "Like a police artist?"
    "Angel's Fist doesn't run to that, but we've got a couple of artists. I was thinking of Doc."
    "Doc?"
    "He does charcoal sketches. Sort of a hobby, but he's not bad."
    "And I'd be describing a murder victim, not getting a medical evaluation?"
    Brody shrugged. "If you don't trust Doc. we can get someone else."
    "I trust you." She nodded when Brody frowned. "See? I told you about the weight. I trust you." she repeated, "so I'm willing to try this with Dr. Wallace. If you come with me."
    He'd already planned to go with her. There was no possible way he'd miss out on any angle of the situation. But he continued to frown as he spooned up more dessert. "You want me to go with you, what have you got to trade for my time? I'm thinking along the lines of something that goes with the bottle of white in your fridge."
    "I've got Sunday off. I'll take care of the menu."
    He polished off the last bite in his bowl. "I trust you. I'll talk to Doc."

Chapter 12
     
    "SO HOW'D IT GO?" Linda-gail set the tub of cleared dishes on the counter for Pete, then gave Reece an elbow bump.
    "How'd what go?"
    "Your date with Brody last night."
    Reece flipped the burgers she was grilling for a table of after-school teenagers. "I just fixed him dinner. A payback for a favor."
    "Just dinner." Linda-gail rolled her eyes over at Pete. "And you're going to tell me you didn't make a move on