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"None," she answered with a shake of her head "Is there anything else?" she asked as Zane flipped open the folder and started reading "I’ve got ue"

Zane closed the file and looked back up at her "Thank you, Karen I hope on’t be seeing you again while we’re still breathing," he said She gave hih

Ty rolled his eyes and looked away She shook their hands and went back to work, and Zane turned to look at Ty "We need to talk to the cops

Number one, why didn’t they call us first--before the da any luck connecting the victims"

"That’s their job," Ty responded pointedly as he nodded his head at Sears and Ross They both gave hilanced over at theht on that," Sears said to them in annoyance as she jerked her head at her partner and they both stalked out of the room

Ty looked down at the body, still on the table and covered htly ainst his hand "And another token"

"What is it this time?" Ty asked dejectedly

"A black feather," Zane answered with a frown "It’s the first one that’s "

"H as they o somewhere and just look," he finally said in frustration as he took his mask and tossed it into a nearby waste container

Zane stopped and looked at his partner as he reo? Crime scene?"

Ty shook his head "Somewhere e rooested

"There are classrooms at Federal Plaza Most ti," Zane offered "Henninger told ht"

"Oh, yeah? What else did the kid tell you?" Ty asked sarcastically

"He suggested putting you out of your h, son," Ty draith a s clichéd, I’ve never had that co to lead the way toward the car

Ty remained where he was and tilted his head to watch Zane as he walked down the hall "I’ll believe that when I see it," he scoffed finally, s as he followed

"Somehow I just don’t believe you’re re back or breaking stride

"Your loss, Brutus," Ty laughed as they came up to the elevators and he punched the button

Zane’s brow furrowed "Brutus?" he asked "As in Brutus and Cassius?"

"Sure, ot on the elevator once the door opened

"You know, at first I was insulted by the way you treat me Then I realized it’s not personal; you treat everyone like shit I find it doesn’t bother me all too much anymore," he said

"Usually I only don’t bother people I want to see naked," Ty told hi me out"

Zane watched his partner curiously as several people filed into the elevator from the hallway "I’ll keep it in htly suggestive tones of Ty’s words freaked him out, too

The walk and drive to the office were quiet, and his mind wandered back to the case They made it into the office and secured one of the empty classrooms with a minimum of fuss, mainly because Ty didn’t request one--

he just took one over

"Okay," Ty grunted as soon as they had settled in "So, what do we know about the latest victim?" he asked as he thunked the stack of paperwork down on the table in the middle of the roorabbed the dry-erasethe names of the victims "The new victim," he started "Prison tat on his arm was pretty clear, so he’s not squeaky clean"

"File says he was paroled two years ago Clean record since then,"

Zane said

"Uh-huh," Tyin the physical characteristics of each victiht, hair color, eye color "Well," he said as he stepped back and cocked his head "They’re all Caucasian?" he offered weakly

"Actually, no, the stock broker was biracial and the roommate was Latino"

"Goddammit," Ty cussed as he made the corrections "They’re too rando that the statement would make little sense outside of his own mind

Zane raised his brow "Didn’t I say that yesterday?" he asked, forcing himself to be patient Somehow

"You say that like you think I listen to you," Ty responded instantly, a s at his lips

Zane snorted in irritation, scooted his chair back, and crossed his legs restlessly

"Maybe it’s not the victie of the table "Maybe they’re just wrong place, wrong time"

"Possibly," Zane allowed "But what’s been done to them is very specific"

"Mer

Either the way the scenes are staged or the "

Zane nodded slowly "Yes, I think so"

"I don’t want a goddamned yes-man for a partner, damn it," Ty snapped

"Stuff the attitude, asshole," Zane snarled

Ty turned his head to look back at Zane and grinned "Better," he said approvingly

Zane closed his eyes for a , shook his head, and forced hi back down at the papers

Ty continued to watch hi his eyes as he did so "You should do that o and tell someone to fuck off, I mean Makes you look less like you’re about to have a coronary"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>