Free Diana by Laura Marie Henion Page A

maybe you'd like to keep the arson investigation to us professionals,” Luke snapped at her again
    This time, others took notice, and appeared to be on her side. She moved closer to Luke, being sure to whisper and not make a scene. He wasn't acting very professional, and this was a homicide investigation. They needed each other's help.
    She gazed into his eyes. They were the color of the ocean. Her heart pumped hard.
    "Listen, Fontella,” she emphasized each syllable of his name, hoping the sarcasm was clear, “I don't know what your problem is, but we have a murder victim on our hands, and we need to work together on this. So cut the shit and start acting professional.” She started to walk away, ignoring the mumbling behind her.
    What was his damn problem? She wasn't interested in his father, despite his accusations.
    "This dwelling is a bit unstable. You may want to move things along,” one of Luke's assistants said, with a smirk.
    Diana walked closer to the three men.
    "Preservation of the crime scene is first priority. Why don't you wait outside? We'll call you when we're ready for ya.” She walked away before they could respond.
* * * *
    Luke tried his hardest to focus on the crime scene. Charred human flesh never sat right with him, not even when it was the bad guy's charred flesh. He had a guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach and he knew where it stemmed from. Detective Diana Pellino.
    She was a piece of work. He sighed as he collected bits of some kind of substance that sat on the floor of the bedroom. She was a piece, all right. She was gorgeous, sexy as hell, and damn tough. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Pellino was trouble. The nerve of her, telling him to get his shit together and act professional. Who the hell was she, anyway? Like sleeping with your commander is acting professional.
    The anger filled him to his core. His father had great taste in women, but Diana was too young for him. The guilt suddenly felt more like jealousy.
    Pellino questioned the firefighters on the scene. She batted her eyelashes, joked around with them, and they ate it up.
    Again, he tried to shake the thoughts and focus on the task at hand.
    To Luke, it didn't appear that any accelerant was used to start the fire, which meant that there had to be another source. He glanced toward the charred remains, then the small dust pile on the floor, adjacent to where the bed once sat. He needed to find out what the substance was, just as Pellino had stated. Maybe the detective knew a thing or two about arson investigating from her family background.
    "Hey, Fontella, you get a load of this?” One of the technicians looked out the charred window that was once Lee's apartment.
    Luke walked to the window and peeked outside. He was shocked. There was a media frenzy out there, with camera crews, reporters, and a huge crowd of onlookers. More police approached the scene while others began putting up barriers.
    "Holy shit!"
    "My thoughts exactly.” Diana re-entered the room with Jerry alongside her.
    Luke looked over his shoulder and sighed, then turned away from her. “No one says a word about this investigation. No interviews, gorgeous."
    His comment obviously angered her. Her lovely cheeks went flush, and her hands turned into fists by her side.
    "I'll wrap things up and let the coroner finish. Tell him we'll meet downtown later today. With the media on the story, they'll be sure to want answers fast."
    "Don't we all?” Jerry said.
    "I would hope so.” Luke gazed at Diana every chance he got. He just couldn't help himself.
    "May I suggest that we all put whatever crap is going on between us behind us, and try to find out who is responsible?” Jerry said.
    Luke stared at Diana, and she refused to back down.
    "If you're done, Fontella, I'd like a few minutes in here."
    "It's all yours, Pellino.” Luke gathered his things and headed toward the door.
* * * *
    Diana slowly walked around the apartment. It had been late in the