The task force snapped into action with the discovery of the possible clue. The photo was quickly enlarged and placed in the middle of the command center's main white board. Frost had taken it one step further. He'd scanned the photo and used the room's projector as well.
A floor to ceiling replica of the collar pin took up one wall of the conference room.
"I don't recognize it." Jane sounded as if that was impossible to believe. "We even sent it to OCCB and the Gang Division. Nothing." She stood so close to the wall Cat wondered how she could really see the image.
Frost typed rapidly for a few minutes, and the large image changed. A dotted line surrounded the pin before another screen replaced the photo. "I'm trying to use a variation of facial recognition, like the Gang boys use with tats. If any law enforcement organization anywhere has logged this image, we'll know." He peered at Jane apologetically. "It's going to take a while. The database is huge."
"What about the people wearin' it?" Faith asked. "Facial recognition is for faces. You plug those in yet?"
If Frost's skin had been a shade lighter, Cat thought she might have been able to spot his blush. "I'm working on it now," he mumbled. It wasn't like him to miss the obvious. Then again, they'd all been at this for too long.
No one moved. There was nothing they could do.
Unfortunately, the waiting gave Cat too much time to think. In less than two days, her world had turned upside down. It had happened before, fifteen years earlier. In both cases, Faith had been the catalyst. Cat's eyes were drawn to Faith; she tried not to be obvious.
Faith was beautiful. She was obviously fit. As a Slayer, Faith probably worked out a lot. Or did she? Cat had worked with several Slayers in C6, but she'd never taken the time to get to know them. Would Faith talk to her about it? Or would she shut down the way she always had before…before their bond shattered?
Their fucking bond. Cat rubbed the fingers of her left hand over the cuff on her right wrist. Red leather. A warning sign to every other normal bonded person on the planet. Beware. Emotional cripple ahead.
Cat's bond with Faith was clearly gone. Cat still remembered it. Remembered the sudden shock of the warm voice in her head for the first time. She'd been taking a math test at school when someone said,
You really care about that shit?
The voice had been loud, and Cat had jumped in surprise – and then looked around. Mr. Haynes normally got mad when people talked during a test. He went postal over bad words. The whole class was bent over their desks, though. No one else looked up. No one else had heard anything.
Lowering her head, Cat had gone back to work. That's when her giggles had started. Right there in the middle of the test, someone had started tickling Cat. It felt like it anyway. Like someone was tickling her sides or under her arms. Cat giggled until she thought she might throw up – and the invisible fingers went away.
You're fun. The voice was back. Think I'll keep ya'.
Faith hadn't kept that promise. And now Cat knew she never would. Faith didn't remember, and Cat was going to be alone forever.
There in the conference room, surrounded by other cops and with Faith sitting on the floor a few feet away, Cat faced one simple fact head on. She would always be alone. Unlike two nights ago, there was no longer any hope that one day, Faith would remember and find her.
Faith had found her – and there was no memory.
What was Cat supposed to do?
Doctor Blaylock would no doubt say it was time to move on. Time to find an unbonded Dominant and make a life together. A life with no bond, sure, but (he always insisted) people didn't need a bonded mate to be fulfilled.
Cat wasn't sure she could do that. She was sure she didn't want to do it. She tried to imagine it. She knew several Dominants who wore a Red Cuff. They were nice women. Two of them were prettier than Faith. Her eyes slid back to Faith. Actually, no they weren't. Sighing, she indulged in a little fantasy. What would happen if Faith suddenly remembered their bond?
Pushing away from Tara, Faith stalked over to Cat. "You're in a lot of trouble, little cat." Her hand reached out and tangled in Cat's shirt, dragging her out of her seat. "What did I tell you was my number one rule?"
Cat couldn't think. "I don't…Faith?"
If anything, her lack of answer angered Faith further. Faith swept her free hand over the conference table. File folders and photos scattered and landed on the floor seconds before Cat found herself face down on the now-clear surface.
"Honesty, little cat. You've known who I was since me and T showed up. And you didn't say anything. In fact, you went to a club and let another woman touch you!"
"Hey, Cat, are you still with us?" Korsak loomed over her, his eyes narrowed. "You OK, kid? You kind of phased out; Rizzoli's been calling your name for the last five minutes."
Cat nodded while she pulled herself together. "I'm good. Really," she said when Korsak didn't appear convinced. "Guess I haven't had enough coffee yet."
"We can hit a Starbucks on the way." Jane strode up. "Let's hit the road."
"Right behind you." Cat would have to figure out where they were going once they were in the car. She had to trot to keep up with the much taller Jane as they left the station house and climbed into Jane's car.
Jane didn't say anything until she'd successfully pulled out into traffic. "What the Hell is going on with you?"
"What do you mean?" Cat played stupid and made sure to look out the window to avoid eye contact.
The car rocked to a halt as the light at the intersection turned red. "Don't play with me, Cat. Last week, Cavanaugh came to me, singing your praises, talking about how he had a spot for another detective and how your captain had recommended you."
"I…" Cat started to say.
"Shut up." The light turned green. Jane stomped on the gas pedal and the car shot ahead. "I told him I thought you'd been a team player with the task force. I fucking said you were a great fucking cop and I thought you'd fit in with Korsak and Frost. I said you'd even impressed Maura." Her hand slapped against the steering wheel in frustration. "Then the damned Council goons show up and you start acting like a virgin sub in a room full of single Dominants."
The analogy drew a reluctant laugh from Cat. If only Jane knew… She couldn't, though. Jane could never know. "I'm sorry. Look, it's been a rough week. I'm tired, and," Cat decided to add a little truth to the tale, "I went out and did something stupid the other night. Played a little rougher than I should have on a school night. Your Domme and Tara tag teamed me and sent me home to write a 'how I was stupid' essay."
She could see Jane relax a little. In fact, Jane smiled. "Taking risks with your health is a crash and burn offense with Maura. You're lucky it was just a writing assignment. When I shot myself last year…" Shuddering dramatically, Jane mumbled, "I don't think I sat down for a week. Once I'd been cleared by the doctors, of course. She still gets a fire in her eyes if I even mention Marino. Do you know she threatened to get my shield taken away?"
"No way!" Dominants couldn't interfere in a submissive's career field. Despite what Cat's old teacher thought, subs weren't incompetent doormats.
"Yes way," Jane retorted. Her voice grew so soft Cat had to strain to hear. "Maura's got a lot of pull, and she was worried. I'd had a shit year. Korsak and I had gotten divorced," she said, using cop slang to indicate when two partners broke up. "A psycho tried to kill me. I was fighting to prove I still had what it took, that Hoyt hadn't broken me. I took a lot of risks. One call to the Superintendent and I would have been on permanent dog sitting duty."
Could Maura do that to Cat, too? Sitting up straighter, Cat vowed to get her professional life back under control. Her personal life might be a hopeless train wreck. On the job, though, Cat had more than proven herself. Once this case was over, once Faith and Tara went back to their regular jobs with the Council, the pain should get manageable again. She'd just have to suck it up.
"I've got my head back in the game," Cat told Jane seriously. Then promptly ruined her assertion by asking, "Can you tell me where we're going? I, uh, didn't really catch that part."
She grinned when Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head. "To interview the families of the victims. Hopefully, one of them will recognize the pin. Frost and Korsak are going to wait for the recognition programs, and Tara and Faith are headed to the Council's Boston HQ. They've got a separate database." Her voice grew mocking. "Apparently, it's so super secret no one outside the Council has access."
The next several hours kept Cat fully engaged. They started with Paula Benton's family. As the most recent victim, it was more likely her family would remember small details like the pin. However, questioning the family members made Cat feel insensitive. They were grieving and confused. They wanted Cat and Jane to give them answers, not ask seemingly useless questions.
Paula Benton's mother hadn't stopped crying during their visit. Her sister had threatened to file a harassment lawsuit, and Paula's submissive Carrie had simply stared at them with a lost, broken expression.
Cat let Jane lead that particular series of questions. Cat was too raw from the last few days to stay objective in the face of Carrie's suffering. Cat remembered when she'd been just like Carrie. Her skin crawled and the cuff on her wrist grew heavy and suffocating.
"I'm sorry to have to do this," Jane said again. She'd been repeating it since they'd arrived. "We think we have a lead in Paula's murder. Do any of you recognize this woman or the pin she's wearing?" She handed Carrie a photo of the woman in the crowd outside the church.
Only Carrie actually looked at it.
"I…I think I saw her once. At a party." Carrie started to cry again, and Cat wanted to join her. This part of the job always sucked. "I don't remember her name, though. Or even which party. P-Paula had a lot of friends."
Jane glanced at Cat, raised an eyebrow, and tilted her head at Carrie.
"You know, Jane and I meet a lot of people every day. It gets hard to remember them later. Sometimes, though, I can tie a face to a particular place or event. Something special I do remember. Like a special outfit. What were you and Paula wearing?" Struggling not to show how much she over-identified with Carrie's pain, Cat continued to gently prod the other woman. "You said it was a party. Did your Domme buy you something new and flashy? Something to make all the other Dominants envious?"
A slight smile lightened Carrie's expression. "Paula loved to dress me up." Her voice drifted off and her far-away gaze made Cat's skin crawl. "The party was private. Instead of a new dress, Paula bought…I think it was new lambskin tassels." Carrie's hands drifted up until they almost touched her nipples. "Paula said we'd be out too long for me to wear clamps so she ordered the tassels instead."
It wasn't much. However, it was a start. As they drove away from the Benton home, Jane called Korsak. "Can you dig through Benton's financials? Her sub remembered the woman from the church at a party. Nothing else. Except Benton gave her a new pair of nipple tassels. Maybe there's a receipt or something to give us more to go on."
Cat couldn't hear his reply but Jane grunted then closed the phone. "Nothing on the pin so far. Or any of the people wearing them," Jane explained.
Perfect. Cat leaned against the passenger-side door and braced for the rest of the afternoon.
It was a good thing. Their next two stops yielded no information but left Cat limp from stress. The widowed mate of Sarah Johnson, the third victim, had been her Dom. He'd been very drunk. And he'd rambled on about Sarah. It had been difficult for Cat to stem her submissive's need to care for a Dominant. Jane hadn't fared much better. She'd been pale and strained by the time they left.
Victim two, Avery Little, had been Forsaken. It should have made questioning her family easier – if Cat wasn't overly sensitive about her own status. Not to mention Avery's mother managed to push all of Cat's buttons within minutes of their arrival.
"I see you're a Red Cuff, too," she announced in ringing tones. She peered at Cat like she was a lab specimen. "Are you still mooning over your lost love or have you come to your senses the way Avery had?"
There was a clue buried in that question. Cat focused on the question and not storming out of the Little's ostentatious home. "Avery had found a new sub?" Cat asked with a veneer of politeness.
"I'd been telling her for years it's what she needed to do." A hint of tears showed in Mrs. Little's eyes. She probably wasn't as insensitive as she appeared (although, Cat delayed making a decision on that). "She started going out more last year. Parties, clubs. I asked her to introduce me to her new friends."
It was clear that hadn't happened. Cat pulled out the photos of the crime scene crowds. "Ma'am, do you recognize anyone in these? Or the pin?" The pin had its own enlarged glossy photo.
Mrs. Little flipped through the stack. "I'm sorry, no, dear. None of these people are familiar." She lost Cat's small bit of remaining sympathy when she added, "They aren't Avery's type of crowd at all." She started to hand the photos back and paused. "I do recognize this. Avery started wearing one a few months ago. She told me it was some kind of support group and that they'd been helping her."