Rarities Unlimited 04 - The Color of Death

supposedly quiet, middle-class upbringing in Denver would be documented by the state of Colorado.”
    “So you’ll talk to Kelly and straighten things out.”
    “I think the big problem is going to be convincing Tessa not to go balls out on this case,” Ed said.
    “Yeah. She told me she’s going to ask the D.A. to be assigned first chair on this case. She said she wants to make a difference, to work on a case that has substance for once.”
    Ed shook his head.
    Ronnie leaned forward, her voice low. “You think we’ll be able to prosecute?”
    “I don’t know. Tessie understands the system inside and out by now—probably better than anyone because she started at the very bottom and learned every one of the rules the hard way. But…”
    “But not everyone plays by the rules,” Ronnie finished for Ed.
    “Yeah. I wonder how she’ll react when she encounters someone who doesn’t give a shit about playing fair and will do anything to win.”

Chapter 4
    Santa Monica, California
    Thursday, February 25
    T essa verified the address of Novak International, Inc. a third time. Apparently, Lucas Novak had rented space in a small medical and insurance business mall on the edge of a residential neighborhood, rather than going for the exclusive and chic real estate in Hollywood or Beverly Hills. It was a sound business decision that would keep overhead down, even if it wasn’t the best marketing approach.
    She rang the bell and was greeted by an efficient receptionist who showed her to Mr. Novak’s office. Though he was on the phone, he waved Tessa in and offered her a seat. It was clear he was wrapping up the discussion, so she took a moment to study him while he typed an entry onto his small laptop.
    He was big enough not to be dwarfed by the large executive desk he sat behind—a desk that was notable for its lack of decoration and clutter. Tessa thought of her own work surface with its overflowing piles of files, sticky notes, and memos jotted on the back of used copier paper. While the rest of her life was quite organized, her desk was a disaster. She liked it that way.
    The man seated across from her caught her eye and shrugged apologetically, motioning that he would be with her soon. She smiled as he rolled his light-colored eyes. He was obviously trying to be diplomatic with the person on the other end of the line.
    “That’s right, Mr. Soares. I’m obligated by law to report that the theft of your coin collection was committed by your grandson. I realize you are myclient and paid me to investigate the crime. But the fact is an insurance claim was filed, you collected the money, and it’s now an issue for the cops. I can’t stop their case now just because you don’t want your grandson arrested.”
    Tessa watched as Novak raked a hand through thick brown hair that was turning gray at the temples. His handsome face was creased in a frown of concentration as he looked through his computer files. She saw that his eyes were hazel, a mix of light brown and green and blue that was striking even in the low office lighting. She knew he was thirty-six from her research, but he looked much younger, despite the bits of silver in his hair.
    “I’m going to give you the name of a good defense attorney. It’s possible with restitution of funds to the insurer and a family court sentence for your grandson, you can make this all go away. It’s out of my hands, though, as I warned you it would be if you filed an insurance claim.”
    Tessa watched Novak shrug his shoulders. Very broad shoulders. He wore a casual oxford-type shirt tucked into khakis, which emphasized the wedge shape of his chest. She remembered Ronnie saying Novak had worked with the Orange County Sheriff’s SWAT team, so clearly he was once in excellent physical shape. Life behind a desk hadn’t changed that as far as she could see.
    “Sorry about that, Ms. Jacobi. That particular client has a personal problem I got involved with. I didn’t want to cut him loose without giving him some ideas on how to proceed.”
    “I know what you mean. I often spend more time on my petty crime and misdemeanor cases because the people involved are so…needy. It’s hard to say no sometimes,” Tessa smiled.
    “My assistant MacBeth tells me you’re a prosecutor with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office,” Luke said. MacBeth was his primary investigator and sometime assistant, the person in the office who fielded most of the new cases to determine