A plow went by her as she walked to the subway, and as she went down the stairs she was bathed in the warmth of the trains racing by. She had a car, but living in the city she tended to walk everywhere or take a bus or train. Her partner had a car and she drove with him when they were working.

The subway stop was right around the corner from the market she had shopped at last night. She was really quite centrally located, even if she wasn’t in Manhattan. Brooklyn was its own little city; it just happened to be connected to a bigger one that was within easy traveling distance.

Renee got to the precinct and the first thing she did after taking off her coat was search for the coroner’s report on yesterday’s murder. It still was not ready but Stella promised her it would be there by that afternoon. They had done the notification of the next of kin yesterday and begun their interviews. So far the vic was well liked and didn’t seem to have any enemies. But it was still early in the investigation and some new leads might turn up. But as of that moment, it looked as though it might be a random killing; perhaps a robbery that had been truncated by the screeches of the witness who had seen the whole thing. Still, she wasn’t ready to discount all who knew him. There was a wife and an insurance policy and a bit of money involved. Quite a bit of money. All of which made for a good motive.

She sifted through other cases during the morning, keeping herself busy and hoping she didn’t have to go out in the extreme weather. Luckily it turned out to be a quiet day for new murder.

The coroner’s report came in around two P.M. She looked through it immediately and saw cause of death was an arrhythmia, a disruption of the electrical functions of the heart. In other words, a heart attack. But it was strange the way Stella had worded it. Why not just say it was a heart attack? She turned the page and read Stella’s further notes on the apparent bite marks on the victim’s neck. It was a human bite mark, likely done by someone with dental enhancements of the upper and lower canines. Stella had taken a bite-mark impression for use as evidence. There were no other wounds or injuries on the body.

So was it murder? Yes. The victim had suffered a heart attack during an attack on his person. She would let the DA figure out the finer details of whether the attacker would be charged with murder or manslaughter, but in her book it was murder. She would treat it as such. She didn’t have much to go on, but she’d done more with less before. That part where he had bit his victim on the back of the neck—it couldn’t be the first time he had pulled a stunt like that. Maybe his MO was on file somewhere. Maybe it was some petty criminal who had never expected the man he was attacking would die.

Renee typed the details of the case into ViCAP and began a search for matching MOs. While she waited, she toyed with the embossed card sitting in front of her on her desk. She had taken it out of her pocket about two hours earlier and had been fondling it off and on since then.

Should she call him now? He was probably back from lunch and in a meeting or something, she thought. She ran her fingers thoughtfully over the raised pattern on the card. She ought to have called at lunchtime when he might have been able to talk more. But she hadn’t wanted to seem too eager. She sighed, realizing she was playing games with herself in her own head. She picked up her cellphone and dialed the number on the card.

“DaSilva,” he said in greeting.

She didn’t know why she had been expecting to get his voicemail…or perhaps hoping to get it. That way she could leave her number and the ball firmly in his court. After all, she didn’t know how he felt about her after last night’s kiss.

“Hello, Rafe?”

“Renee,” he said on an exhale, as if he had been holding his breath waiting for her to call. It gave her enormous pleasure to imagine that was what he had been doing. Her ego was sufficiently pleased. “I’m so glad you’ve called.”

“Are you?” she asked.

“Yes, very much so. Did you think I would not wish to hear from you?”

“I don’t know. You might have had a terrible time last night.”

“I can assure you, I did not have a terrible time.” His voice lowered, though she couldn’t tell if it was from interest or because he was trying to make their conversation more intimate. “I’m pleased you called. I very much wanted to hear from you.”

“You said that already,” she said with a chuckle.

“Well then, it must be true. It must mean I am eager to see you again.”

“Are you?”

“Yes. Are you busy this evening? There is an opening at an art gallery in SoHo. I know of an excellent organic restaurant right around the corner from there as well.”

“Will the opening even happen with all of this snow?”

“Last I checked they had no plans to delay it. Do you enjoy art?”

“As much as the next person,” she said with a smile. “I suppose it depends on the art. I’m into classic paintings and sculptures. Nothing too avant-garde.”

“I think you will like this artist then. He has a classical style.”

“It sounds interesting.”

“It will be. Can I assume then that you will come?”

Renee smiled to herself. She was a simple woman when all was said and done. She liked her coffee and her paper. She liked Facebook and she liked her ten o’clock news. She liked a beer and a basketball game. She had never been to anything as exotic as an art gallery opening, but she had been to many museums. She figured one couldn’t be that much different from the other, and after all it was clear she was going there just to spend time with him. She didn’t need too many social graces for that.

But she wasn’t exactly an upper crust type of person and it was becoming clear that he was. She should have recognized that simply from the job he held. It was obvious from the clothes he wore that he was made of more than a little money and the way he spoke and carried himself only supported that. It wasn’t as if she didn’t think she was good enough for him so much as it was she wasn’t sure she would fit into his life well.

But there was only one way to find out.

“Yes. You can. I am looking forward to it.”

“I am looking forward to you. The art is secondary.”

Renee felt herself warming beneath her clothes. “Charmer,” she accused him lightly.

“Not at all. I speak from the heart. You will discover that about me. I am blunt, and I am honest about my feelings. I don’t cater to others. If I say I am looking forward to seeing you, then rest assured I am.”