RISK

by Sam Skyborne

  “Yes, but you knew when I did!”

  Lizbeth got up and rounded her large oak desk. “I didn't tell you because I figured our friendship had nothing to do with my sex life.”

  A long pause followed.

  Toni was clearly processing this new information. “Who else knows? Does Lawrence know?

  “Yes, at work, only Lawrence.”

  “Lawrence knows, but not your ‘best’ friend. People must think I’m a klutz.” Then another thought hit her. “They must think I’m like that too.”

  This had gone far enough. “Toni! This is not about you. You are proving me right... If you have a problem with it, there's the door.”

  The last thing Lizbeth wanted right now was for Toni to leave but she had heard enough and quite frankly was appalled at her friend’s behaviour. She had known that it would be a tough conversation to have but this was quite ridiculous.

  Toni stared at Lizbeth for some time. Who was this woman in front of her? She thought she knew her so well and was really happy to call Lizbeth her ‘best friend in the whole world’, but it seemed she knew very little about Lizbeth after all. How could Lizbeth have kept such a secret from her for so long? Toni had no idea how to even start to articulate what she was feeling. She needed to think. She needed to get out of there. Even better she needed to wake up and realise that this was all a bad dream.

  She backed to the door, unable to do anything else except shake her head, unable to find a single word that would make this better.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Tuesday

  If Toni had had her way she would have tried to avoid Lizbeth for longer, leaving Lawrence to do all the liaising with her. But, time was ticking by and Toni really needed something to crack on this case. Besides, she was not in the habit of allowing herself to take the easy option. She was after all the one needing the favour. If she was honest, she also did not want to act like the coward she felt. So, she picked up the phone and arranged the stakeout with Lizbeth for later in the day. She made a point of keeping the conversation very professional and impersonal. She was not ready for a heart-to-heart or to give Lizbeth the opportunity for a ‘talk’—not any time soon.

  Toni was not sure what she had expected exactly but when she finally walked into The Vox, she was pleasantly surprised by the venue. Yes, it had booths in dark corners, but it certainly could not be described as seedy by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it felt quite welcoming and she could see herself, if she were gay, easily spending time enjoying a drink after work or meeting friends.

  As they advanced farther into the venue, Toni allowed Lizbeth to walk slightly in front of her. She caught herself instinctively placing her hand on Lizbeth’s lower back in a protective gesture. She realised that must be something she had always done naturally without thinking, but now it felt awkward and she felt self-conscious, especially once she became aware of the eyes of the other patrons on them. She resisted removing her hand, justifying it in her head as just ‘part of her cover’.

  She wondered if Lizbeth was aware of her touch. How did it make her feel?

  It was amazing how lifting the veil of innocence could change the interpretation of a situation.

  Toni guided Lizbeth to a booth in one corner of the large central space of the club. It was well positioned for surveillance, giving them a good view across the venue.

  A few minutes after they settled, a buff young waiter with short cropped blond hair and a large earring dangling from just one ear introduced himself as Victor. Toni ordered a Diet Coke. Lizbeth ordered a gin and tonic to which Toni raised her eyebrows.

  “I am technically off duty,” Lizbeth said with a cheeky smile. “And, anyway, if we both have a soft drink it will look suspicious.”

  Toni cocked her head reluctantly taking Lizbeth’s point.

  “Toni, you need to relax a bit, or people might mistake you for an undercover controlling teetotaling stone-butch,” Lizbeth teased lightheartedly.

  Toni heard Lawrence chuckle through the earwig in her ear.

  Once they got their drinks, they pretended to chat for a bit. However, there is only so much small talk one can make in front of an audience while everything one says is being recorded, especially after their last heart-to-heart. So, mostly they just smiled at each other while conversing via Lawrence.

  After a while, Toni could not take any more of the tension so she excused herself to go to find the facilities.

  She decided to take a look around and soon discovered an archway leading off the main room into another recreational space. This was obviously designed to give the patrons a more intimate area in which to socialise. The lighting was more subdued and rather than booths with chairs focussed around a central table, this space had extended couches that formed short semi-circular beds scattered around the room.

  It was still only late afternoon so she was a little surprised to find two couples already occupying two of the couches. Both couples were so engrossed in their partners that they did not notice Toni’s presence.

  Even though it was darker in that room, her eyes soon adapted and she was able to make out the figures clearly. One couple was angled away from her so she could not make out any detail of what they were doing, although it was obvious they were kissing and being intimate. On the second couch however, she could clearly see one of the participants had her shirt unbuttoned, exposing her bare chest, while the other was kissing her. Toni watched as her kisses progressed from her lips down to her chest, her nipples. She moved down her partner’s body kissing her torso and, before Toni realised what was happening, she was seated at her partner’s feet, lifting her skirt and kissing her way up her thigh.

  Toni swallowed.

  The woman kneeling on the floor reached up and caressed her partner’s breasts, while she began to feast on her partner’s intimate folds.

  Oh my God! Toni thought. She was gobsmacked that anyone would be bold enough to do that in such a public place, in the middle of the day.

  The sight was awesome!

  Toni found herself staring, completely mesmerised by the woman’s head bobbing up and down between her partner’s thighs.

  Toni’s eyes travelled back up to the partner’s face. She realised that, in the dark, the woman was staring straight at her. When their eyes met, the woman came, holding her gaze through every convulsion. Toni could not tear her eyes away until the woman’s body stilled and her eyes closed.

  Shit! What was she doing?

  Toni abruptly pulled herself together and bolted out of the room.

  Once back in the main bar area, she stopped just to one side in a slightly darker corner to compose herself. She had to admit that was very sexy. She would never have guessed that it would have such an effect on her. She knew that a number of her straight female friends previously had admitted to being able to sleep with women, if only to satisfy their boyfriend’s fantasies. But this felt a little different.

  “Oh. Hello Handsome.”

  Toni nearly jumped out of her skin. She was so busy in her own thoughts that she did not notice the tall striking dark-skinned woman approach her.

  “What is your pleasure?” the woman asked with a large grin of perfect white teeth.

  Toni took stock of her low-cut crop top which revealed toned abs, short red skirt that hugged narrow hips, and dangerous looking heels on the bottom of thin shapely long legs.

  Once Toni finished her appraisal she looked up straight into deep dark-mahogany eyes. After a long piercing stare the woman finally broke the spell by winking at Toni, causing a surge of blood to rush to Toni’s cheeks.

  “I—” Toni stuttered, “I am looking for a friend. Maybe you have seen her.” Toni swiftly took out the copy of a photo of Erika and handed it to the woman.

  “You a cop then?” The woman seemed surprisingly more salacious than before. “Or a de-tec-tive.” Before Toni knew what hit her the other woman had slipped her finger into her belt and was pulling Toni playfully closer to her.


  “Why? Would it make a difference if I was?” Toni asked, hoping that the suggestion would deter her new suitor’s advances but induce her to talk.

  “Oh yes, honey,” the woman said pulling Toni even closer, “ab-so-lutely! But only in my very, very wet dreams.” The woman slipped her hands further into Toni’s waistband.

  Toni cleared her throat, unsure of what to say. “Ah, well, ah, I’m not.” When she felt the woman’s fingers slip under the waistband of her knickers, she grabbed her wrists in a strong hold and pulled them out of her trousers.

  “I’m just looking for my friend,” she said firmly.

  This seemed to surprise the woman.

  “What a pity, indeed.” She pulled away and looked Toni up and down. “But in case you change your mind, I’m Sasha and I’m here most nights.”

  “Do you know my friend?” Toni pushed.

  “Sorry honey, I really can’t say.”

  By now the woman was already heading towards the bar, leaving Toni a little confused about what had just happened.

  Toni refocussed on her purpose for being there.

  There was a large dance floor on the other side of the bar which was now quite empty. She could imagine that, if The Vox played good music, it could get pretty crowded. She wanted to come in the evening since there would be more people to talk to. However, Lizbeth disagreed. Apparently, The Vox would be too noisy, crowded and full of distractions later to have effective intel conversations. Lizbeth pointed out that the best people to talk to would be the regulars. They would be most likely to know most of the goings on and they would more than likely be there from early on during the day. She argued that if needed they could always go back later to speak to specific people of interest.

  Toni wondered if Lizbeth was not just protecting her, or perhaps even embarrassed to be in that club with Toni. She had said she was likely to bump into her lovers. Toni scanned the room and wondered if there was anyone there who Lizbeth might have been intimate with.

  Toni’s eyes came to rest on the back of Lizbeth, where she was sitting at the table. It struck her how natural and comfortable she seemed in that environment. How could that be? What was Toni expecting? How could she have missed something so obvious all those years? Or did she just not want to see it?

  Toni lurked around as casually as possible a little while longer, trying to engage a few of the other clientele in conversation. Sadly, no one was in the least bit cooperative. She did not blame them. If a stranger came around toting a photo of a dead girl, who she was pretty sure almost everyone recognised, she would also have clammed up.

  As Toni started to head back over to Lizbeth, Victor approached their table with another gin and tonic. This surprised Toni. Lizbeth was not a big drinker and she doubted Lizbeth would over indulge on an official stakeout.

  According to what Toni could understand of their conversation over the earpiece, Victor had taken it upon himself to treat Lizbeth to another round on the house and was now overtly flirting with her.

  Even more surprisingly, Lizbeth was flirting back!

  That was a little too much for Toni to cope with. She quickened her pace towards the table.

  “Okay, that's enough.” Toni said. “Time to go. No one here seems to know anything.” She grabbed her coat, raising her eyebrows to suggest Lizbeth should follow.

  Lizbeth smiled apologetically at Victor and started to gather her things.

  “Hope to see you again soon, Love,” Victor said with a wink at Lizbeth.

  Once they were out of Victor’s earshot Lizbeth reached over and grabbed Toni’s sleeve. “Why all this cloak and dagger? Why not just ask Victor if he's seen your vic and who she used to hang out with?”

  “Because we don't want everyone, especially the police, to get wind that we're poking around in one of their closed cases.”

  Lizbeth seemed exasperated. Then she abruptly took out her earpiece, ripped off her microphone.

  “What are you doing?” Toni asked, confused.

  Without answering Lizbeth turned on her heel and headed straight back to the bar counter where Victor was now pouring cocktails.

  “Where are you going?” Toni hissed, trying to catch Lizbeth’s arm and stop her. “Come back!”

  But, Lizbeth was too quick and Toni could do nothing but stand and wait and watch as Lizbeth went up to Victor and engaged him. Toni could see Lizbeth openly flirt with Victor.

  She saw him smile, nod and whisper something obviously flirtatious in Lizbeth’s ear that made Lizbeth turn slightly scarlet. He took a napkin and scribbled something on it before handing it to Lizbeth with a wink.

  Toni could not believe her eyes. Did she just see Lizbeth pick up the bartender and ask him for his number?

  Lizbeth strode back towards Toni with a smile still on her face.

  As she neared Toni, Toni quipped, “I thought he’s not your type?” She regretted it even before the words left her lips.

  Rather than be riled, which is what Toni expected, Lizbeth glanced back at Victor and smiled. “They are more my type than you obviously realise.”

  Toni looked back at Victor, confused.

  Victor waved at her and winked.

  The penny dropped. “You mean he’s…?” Toni asked. Toni was astounded. She had heard of trans-men before but always imagined they would be obvious girls that were ‘butched up’ with testosterone.

  She looked at him with new eyes. He was a gorgeous, toned, muscled young man. Toni could see his lean sculpted abs flex under his tight t-shirt. She would never have guessed he used to be a woman.

  Toni caught Lizbeth rolling her eyes before she headed off towards the main door.

  Toni’s attention was drawn down to her hand. While she had been ogling Victor, Lizbeth had thrust the napkin into her palm.

  “What’s this then?” She opened it and saw a mobile phone number scribbled on it.

  Was this Victor’s number?

  She rushed after Lizbeth.

  “It's the number of your vic's b.f.f.” Lizbeth said. “She is bound to be able to answer some of your questions or at least maybe give you some names of people to ask.”

  “How did you?” Toni felt like her brain could not keep up with all the new information.

  Lizbeth kept walking towards the door forcing Toni to trot after her.

  As Toni neared the door she saw two cops outside talking to the bouncer. That is when she saw the crowd gathering outside. A group of about thirty-five people were gathering in the near car park. They had placards. Toni did not have to see the wording on the placards to have a pretty good idea what these people were there for. They were undoubtedly from the CUL. She could hear their chanting.

  She grabbed Lizbeth’s shoulder to stop her.

  “Wait!” Toni said and stepped sideways out of view taking Lizbeth with her. She listened to the conversation the cops were having with the bouncer.

  She recognised the two cops as Dwight and Kevin from her days on the beat. “Ah shit! That is all we need.”

  Toni started looking around for another exit. “Come. There must be a back way.” She had already turned around and was intending to drag Lizbeth with her to the back exit when she felt Lizbeth straighten her shoulders. She realised what was happening a fraction too late, and before she could stop her, Lizbeth was marching straight to the main exit, straight into the lion’s den. “Lizbeth wait! You can’t—”

  “Yes, I can!” came the terse reply as Lizbeth barged out the door and walked straight past the cops, through the picketing crowd with her head held high, towards the main car park, where Laurence was in the parked-up van.

  Toni took a deep breath and dashed after Lizbeth, trying to catch up to her before she reached the crowd. That stubborn woman is going to be the death of me!

  She hoped that if they were quick enough, Dwight and Kevin might not recognise her, and once she had reached a few paces beyond Dwight and Kevin she almost began to believe that they were in luck.

  Then she hear
d Dwight’s whining voice behind her over the din of the chanting. Her heart sank.

  “Hey, look who we have here,” he said loudly enough for all to hear. “What brings you to this part of town Miss Mendez?” He deliberately accentuated the title.

  Toni knew full well it was a deliberate attempt to emphasise the fact that she was no longer a detective. This made the crowd quieten down a bit, all intrigued by the new comers. “Looking for a missing girlfriend or is your client’s girlfriend cheating on him?” Dwight chuckled, enjoying his own humour more than anyone else. “Or actually…” Dwight was not the sharpest tool in the box and Toni could almost see the cogs turning until the penny dropped and his face contorted into a cat-got-the-mouse-grin. “Should’ve known! You’re a dyke, Mendez! Better tell Aiden!” He laughed!

  Toni could not resist. She turned back. “Dwight, really? Is that the best you can come up with? Give it a rest!”

  “Is that why they kicked you out?” he shouted after her. “Was that your dirty little secret?” A smirk crept across his face and he nudged his weedy partner, Kevin.

  Toni had to dig her nails into the palms of her hands to force her not to go and wipe that smirk off his face with her knuckles. She tried to refocus on getting back to the van. She was irritated that she let such a weasel, so easily, get under her skin.

  Behind her, she was conscious of Dwight and Kevin continuing to talk non too quietly, chuckling and glancing in her direction.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Wednesday

  The information Victor had given Lizbeth proved to be very useful. It was the number for a woman by the name of Antoinette. Toni called her and asked her to come into the office. She explained that Antoinette’s help would be greatly appreciated with tying up a few loose ends related to Erika’s death. Antoinette sounded very sincere and keen to help out in whatever way she could.