My stomach wrenched at such a selfless sacrifice.
My conscience exploded with guilt.
I couldn’t leave her hanging in the breeze.
But I had no idea what the fuck I could do.
I slid the contents back in the envelope and marched over to my desk. Then I snatched the receiver up as I dragged my wallet from my pocket and found his card.
“Light,” he growled in greeting.
“I just got a package in the mail from Clare Noir. A legal consent for testing, baggies full of possible DNA for her, Tessa, and Walter, and a letter begging me to save the girl.”
Silence.
“Heath! Did you hear me?”
“Walt’s DNA won’t be admissible in court,” he said, emotionless.
“Hers will though. And, if we can confirm that Tessa is Elisabeth’s, that’s all we need to prove foul play, right?”
He didn’t answer my question. “You at the office?”
“Yeah.”
“Hang tight. I’m on my way.” Then he hung up.
Keeping the phone to my ear, I hit the button with my hand then released it and dialed again. “I need to speak with Detective Rorke immediately. It’s an emergency.”
After I’d relayed the story to him, he too stated that he was on his way over to my office then disconnected.
I debated calling Elisabeth, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up. I had no fucking idea what the hell this meant for us. Yes, we now had the DNA, but I had a feeling getting custody of that little girl wasn’t going to be an overnight process.
With restless legs, I spent the next fifteen minutes pacing my office as I reread the letter from Clare over and over again. Each time I finished, my anxiety and my resolve to help her grew stronger.
By the time Heath came striding through my door, I was roaring with adrenaline.
“Letter!” he demanded.
I handed it his way then fisted my hands on my hips and watched him read, recounting each word by memory as his eyes scanned the page. His jaw clenched, the muscles twitching as he ground his teeth.
I waited. And waited. And waited.
He had to have read it at least four times. But he never looked up.
“What are my options here?” I finally asked.
He said not a single word as he dropped the letter to the floor and headed right back out my door.
“Light,” I called after him.
His long legs swallowed up the distance to the elevator as I marched after him.
“Where the fuck are you going? I need some help here.”
His blue gaze swung to mine, causing me to flinch when I caught sight of the hollow orbs staring back at me. He shook his head, raked a hand through his hair, and boomed, “Fuck!” His fist slammed into the metal doors just before they slid open and revealed Rorke standing inside.
The air turned thick as the two men saw each other.
“You are not here,” Heath said dangerously.
“Light,” Rorke warned.
He took a giant step into the elevator, bumping his chest with Rorke’s. “You are not fucking here!”
I caught the elevator door before it closed and climbed inside. “What the fuck is going on?” I rumbled, squeezing in front of Heath, who had passed the point of anger and was teetering precariously on the edge of blinding rage.
“This man just cost you your daughter,” he growled.
My body jerked. “Excuse me?” I planted a hand on his chest and turned to face Rorke.
“I did not!” the detective assured, visibly shaken.
“You smoke your mole out yet?” Heath shot over my shoulder. “Because I guarantee Walter Noir has heard that his wife gave up DNA to the police and they are both probably dead or dying by now.”
Rorke cocked his head to the side and spat, “I kept it quiet.”
Heath turned and jabbed the L button, muttering under his breath, “If you know, it’s not quiet enough.”
My mind was spinning, and I couldn’t keep up. Finally, I’d had enough. “Somebody tell me what the fuck is going on right fucking now!” I seethed in a volatile whisper.
Rorke started with, “Light thinks—”
He didn’t get another word out before Heath dove around me, grabbed the front of his shirt, and slammed him up against the back of the elevator, snarling, “I know! I don’t think! I fucking know! You have a goddamn cop feeding Noir our every move. Now, once again, I have to figure out a way to clean up your mess.”
“You’re not cleaning up shit, Light. You go anywhere near that house, you’ll blow the entire investigation.”
“Fuck you. Fuck your department. Fuck your entire jacked-up investigation.” He gave him another hard slam into the elevator. “I swear to God, Rorke. One fucking uniform follows me, I’ll have your badge.”
“Really? Because it sounds like you’re about to lose yours.” Rorke pushed back.
Heath’s lips formed an angry snarl. “What’s he gonna do? Call the cops?”
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to the lobby. Heath stomped out but stopped only a few feet away to turn back and look at me. “You coming with me or what?”
I was. I so was.
Even though I had no idea what the hell was about to go down.