It was printed in the same block lettering as her warning letter had been—complete with a light watermark on the page. She squinted at the marking, turned the paper around, and held it up to the light. What was that mark? She squinted at it, but it remained vague—something like a cross and sword. She would have to take it out into the daylight to see. Then she turned her attention to the script and analyzed the writing.
WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.
That could mean so many things, Jil thought to herself. Who knew what? They knew she was a PI? They knew she was a lesbian? They knew she was having sex with the principal? Or, more likely, they didn’t know anything, but they were trying to scare her.
And clearly, that wasn’t going to work.
Chapter Twenty
Jil strapped Zeus to his leash and laced her runners. He galumphed excitedly through the house, sounding like a donkey gone wild. Those two hours they’re awake…
“Settle down!” she commanded, and he stopped on the spot, wriggling and whining, his tongue hanging out as he tried to control himself. Filling her pocket with treats and searching out the keys, she noticed that the sun was already beginning to set. The days were getting shorter and shorter, and she was getting less and less time to walk Zeus before she had to leave at night.
He looked at her anxiously, pawing the ground.
“Sorry,” she said, realizing he thought he was going to be left behind. Again. “I don’t know what I was thinking getting a dog.”
She did know what she’d been hoping—that he’d be a companion and a guard dog, maybe even go with her on stakeouts, help get the bad guy. But it seemed he was never going to be a good and staid service dog. Maybe she should have gotten a shepherd or a retriever. A Great Dane was imposing, but apparently, they weren’t very bright.
She made him sit as she opened the door. He turned around and pawed the air. “Sit,” she tried again. He whined. She sighed and opened the door, not at all surprised when he wrenched her halfway to the elevator before she could convince him to turn around so she could at least lock the door.
For a moment, she considered bringing Padraig’s gun along, but decided against it. Zeus would probably set it off, and then she’d have a lot of explaining to do. It was one thing for a PI to own a registered handgun. It was another for her to carry it in a residential area.
“Zeus, for Christ’s sake,” she sputtered as he took off at Great Dane speed after a whirling maple leaf. He stopped, cocked his enormous head at her, then continued galloping across the open field.
“Come!” she called, not expecting much. But he did come, wagging his long tail, which thwacked against her calves and left little welts on her skin. She grasped hold of his tail. “Watch where you swing that thing.” And he backed away, accepting a treat.
The trail Jil wanted to take involved a long tunnel that went under a major road. There was no crosswalk above it, so they had to take the underpass, which led to a wide-open space that Zeus could run in.
“C’mon, boy,” she said firmly, setting a brisk pace. Zeus trotted next to her heels, weaving around her a few times in an effort to escape. “No,” she said, and the sound of her voice boomed back over and above. Zeus reared back, coming down hard on all fours.
Jil stopped, tightened the leash, and proceeded. Zeus carefully followed, his ears cocked, his head whipping from side to side at every noise. Once she stopped, he started leading the way out of there. She let him, knowing he wasn’t happy with the dark, enclosed space or the way the snow crunched under her feet.
At the other end of the tunnel, someone was coming toward them.
Zeus stopped, sniffing the air. He pulled her left then right.
“No,” Jil said, stopping.
The man walked slowly, hands in his pockets, a toque down over his ears. Zeus whined and darted left again, trying to get behind Jil. “Come on, you big chicken,” she said, walking forward again. Zeus wrapped himself around her, attention on the stranger. He barked then cowered at his own sound.
“Sorry,” Jil said.
The man didn’t reply, just continued walking. Toward them.
His hand came out of his pocket and, with surprise, Jil saw the glint of a knife blade.
“Back off,” she said firmly.
He didn’t. He continued toward her slowly.
“I said back off,” Jil repeated, her hands coming up in a defensive position.
In the dark, it was hard to tell what he looked like. The toque covered his hair, and his jacket was done up all the way to his chin. He was Caucasian, with gray eyes and stubble, and he wore a black jacket and boots.
He was three feet away. Zeus trembled by her side, whining and barking.
“Shut that dog up,” the man rumbled. His voice was raspy, and Jil smelled something on his breath—cigar smoke, maybe. Though he looked way too young to be smoking cigars.
“What the hell do you want?” she demanded. She scanned the trail behind him, looking to see if anyone was coming. It wasn’t a well-used path, but it was by no means deserted.
“Pretty little women like you should stay home in the kitchen where you belong,” he sneered, then, with movements that belied his slow approach, the man lunged at her, the knife blade inches from her face.
Automatically, Jil’s foot found his groin, and he doubled over, shocked.
Zeus, snapping and barking, reared up, his bared teeth glinting in the dark. In one fluid motion, he pinned the man to the ground, his 160 pounds of muscle crushing the supine attacker. His massive head in the stranger’s face, he growled and snapped, teeth zoning in on his neck.
In the enclosed tunnel, the sound was terrifying.
The man rolled once, stood up and ran for his life, back the way he’d come.
But he’d dropped his knife. It glinted on the white snow on the floor of the tunnel, silver and unstained. At least there wasn’t blood on it, Jil thought sardonically. Shaken, she knelt and kissed the dog’s enormous head. Zeus put a paw on her back, almost as if he were giving her a hug. She smiled a little and stroked his long floppy ears. He poked a cold, wet nose into her face, and nuzzled her. “Good boy,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
When she went to retrieve the knife, though, Zeus blocked her. “It’s okay,” she said, bending over with a Kleenex in her hand. He watched, uncertainly, trying to paw the weapon out of her hand. She wrapped it up and stuck it in her pocket.
Hm. Maybe Danes are smart after all.
“Good boy,” she told him again. And then she took him to the field where he could run, just so she’d have to come through this tunnel again on the way home. And tomorrow she’d take him again, just so she wouldn’t be afraid.
But next time, she would be bringing her gun.
*
It was past midnight with no moon and a sky too cloudy to show any stars that might have been peeking out. Jil lay awake, listening to the sound of Zeus’s even breathing coming from the doggie bed on the floor beside her. She mentally recounted all the doors and windows in the house. She was certain she’d locked them. And set the alarm too.
The phone rang again. She picked it up, waited. Only silence. Again.
“Stop calling,” she said sharply to whoever was prank-calling her at this hour. Then she slammed down the phone and unplugged it from the wall.
She hardly slept.
The next morning, she downed two cups of coffee before she even got into the car and stopped at Second Cup for an espresso on the way. Coming in the door, she spotted Jess with a Styrofoam cafeteria cup in her hand. “Rough night?” she asked.
Jess only nodded. She had frown lines between her eyebrows, and her face was a few shades whiter than normal.
“Some idiot kept calling the wrong number,” Jess said. “And it’s not like I’m sleeping terrifically anyway.”
Jil nodded. Coincidence? Not likely.
“Listen, Jess—” She stopped. She felt eyes on her. She shifted her gaze to the left and saw a group of sen
ior students—two boys and a girl—standing silently by the door, watchful, staring at her and Jess.
Jess didn’t notice. She was too busy scanning the hallway for drug deals and fistfights. Jil started down the short flight of stairs toward the group. Inconspicuously. Not even looking at them. But by the time she reached the door, they had melted into the crowd, as unobtrusively as they’d been standing.
*
After school, they met for coffee at the shop near Jil’s flat.
“So what are we going to do tonight?” Jess asked.
“I think I’d like to take your clothes off.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I might just let you, but first I’d like to cook you something.”
“Cook?”
“Yeah, you’ve heard of it? Heating and mixing ingredients until they’re edible?”
Jil laughed. “Yeah, I understand the concept, I just didn’t realize you had any more talents that I didn’t know about.”
“Osso Buco. It’s a slow-roasting dish. Plenty of time for the meat to get tender and juicy and delicious while we…entertain ourselves.”
*
Jil watched in fascination as Jess seared the veal shanks and placed them in a roasting pan she’d forgotten she owned. She took item after item out of her magic grocery bag, deftly crushing garlic and peeling whole cloves for the sauce, stirring beef stock and opening a jar of homemade stewed tomatoes.
“Do you have any white beans?” she asked, frowning.
Jil went to the cupboard and rooted around. “I have canned ones. Don’t know what from. Tara must have bought them.” She stopped and bit her lip. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to say that.”
Jess’s face twisted sympathetically. “Of course you’re going to mention her.”
“Yeah,” Jil said, wrapping her arms around Jess’s waist and nuzzling her neck. “But I’d rather talk about you. And me.”
Jess turned around and kissed her slowly, open-mouthed and hot.
“Damn,” whispered Jil, running her hands through Jess’s hair, slightly moist with steam and sweat from the oven.
“Yeah.” They kissed again, the jar of tomatoes lying abandoned on the counter as Jil leaned Jess back into the butcher block top.
The oven beeped, interrupting them, and Jess pushed her back gently. “Temp’s right.”
With fluid precision, Jess dumped the jar of tomatoes and can of beans over the seared chops, put the lid on the roasting pan, and pushed the whole thing into the oven. “We have an hour and a half.”
“That’s plenty,” Jil said, pulling her close again.
Jess wrapped her arms around Jil’s neck and kissed her, her hard nipples poking through the borrowed apron.
“You’re braless again.”
“Yep.”
Jil yanked the string that held the apron around Jess’s hips, then pulled it over her head, grabbing her waist again and running hot kisses down her neck.
“Oh, you’re sneaky.” Jess put her hand to the back of Jil’s neck and guided her back up for another slow kiss, pulling her shirt out from its waistband, and sliding her hand along the cool, bare skin beneath.
Heat seared Jil’s lips where Jess’s pressed against hers. “I want to fuck you,” she whispered.
“Like…fuck me, fuck me?”
“Yeah.”
“Here?”
“No. On the bed where you can hold on to the bedpost.”
Jess’s jaw dropped and she bit down gently on Jil’s lower lip, eliciting a soft groan. “I’ve…um…never done that before…”
“Oh. Ever?”
“Well, not with a woman.”
Jil bit her lip where Jess’s teeth had left a tiny spot of blood. “Let me show you.”
Back in the bedroom, she pushed Jess down on her back and sank onto the pillows beside her, taking her time removing Jess’s clothes piece by piece until she was laid out naked and shivering.
But Jess surprised her by rolling quickly on top and expertly undoing Jil’s buttons with her teeth.
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Jil teased her.
Jess grinned and pinned her hands over her head with one hand, sliding her other hand under the line of Jil’s bra and brushing her palm over her hard nipple. Jil gasped in surprise at the bolt that ran from her breast to her groin. Jess pinched her nipple lightly, rolling it between smooth fingertips. She hiked the bra up over Jil’s breastbone and bent to circle the sensitive flesh with her tongue.
“Bite it.”
Jess obliged, clamping her teeth gently around the shivering bud while Jil moaned and writhed under her. Straddling Jil’s hips, she pulled her up to a seated position, quickly wrestling off her shirt and unclasping her bra. Then she pushed her back down and focused her attention back on Jil’s aching breasts.
“Oh my God,” Jil panted as Jess teased first one, then the other, with her warm, skilled tongue. She opened her mouth to take in as much as she could, biting gently, then harder. “I thought you were new at this.”
“Well, I’m new to some things, but not to this.”
“What’s-her-name liked her tits played with?”
Jess snorted. “Yeah. What’s-her-name liked attention, period.”
“Well, there we go. We found a positive to that whole mess. You are very talented as a result.”
Jess laughed out loud, then slipped her tongue into Jil’s mouth, pushing their breasts together and lighting a spark that resulted in a hot and tangled make-out session, where their last articles of clothes were ripped off and discarded. In the end, they lay side-by-side, naked and entwined in each other’s arms.
Jess propped herself up on her elbow and ran her hands down Jil’s stomach, separating her legs with one firm push. Jil didn’t resist, letting Jess’s fingers explore as much as they wanted to. “How do you want to fuck me?” she asked as she stroked Jil’s slit with one finger.
Jil moaned. “How do you want me to?”
“I want you to tell me.” She flicked her finger up one side of her clit, then down the other, sending shivers cascading through Jil’s whole body.
“God. Okay. Open my drawer. I have a few ideas.” The cool air that rushed over her when Jess took her hand away made her clamp her legs together.
Jess opened the drawer and laid out the selections on the bed.
“They’re all new. You can pick whichever one you like.”
“How are you going to do it?”
“Well, I have a harness. I could use that.”
“Is that what you used with—”
“No,” Jil said, blushing. “She wasn’t into it.”
“Oh. So you bought these all…”
“For us. Or, you know, for me alone, minus the harness.”
Jess shoved her. “I don’t believe you’ll need to fly solo. I think we should give this one a try.” She held up a purple silicone dildo with a small add-on at the top. “What’s this part for?” she asked, playing with the little piece that faced back toward the base.
“Um, I think that’s for the wearer.”
“Ohhh,” Jess said, understanding at once. “Well then, I definitely think we should try this one.”
Jil slipped into the packed harness. Before she could say a word, Jess’s tongue was back in her mouth, and they were making out again, this time with hands and arms stroking and fingering every exposed crevice. Jil almost came just from the attention Jess was giving her nipples, but just as her head started swimming, she pushed her away.
“Turn around.”
Jess knelt at the top of the bed, facing away from her. “Like this?”
“Just like that.” Jil knelt behind her and ran her hands down the length of her front, from her shoulders, over her breasts to the top of her thighs. Gently, she pushed Jess down onto all fours. “You comfortable?”
“Yeah. Not bad at all.” The relaxed position would put the least stress on Jess’s hips. Plus, Jil got to hold those hips as she moved in slowly from behind.
“Oh, Christ,” Je
ss moaned as Jil cupped her, stroking her clit with one hand, her breast with the other. “Don’t do that too long or I’m going to come.”
“So come,” Jil said.
“I want you to fuck me like you promised.”
Jil slowly eased the dildo in, and Jess moaned deeply. Touching her clit and being inside her at the same time made Jil’s groin ache. She could only imagine what it was doing to Jess. She took her hands away from the other sensitive places and put them on Jess’s hips, drawing out the moment.
Jess gently eased back into Jil’s thrusts, rocking back on her hands and knees. “That feels so good,” she whispered.
Jil pulled out and pushed in a little deeper. “It’s supposed to hit your G-spot.”
“Yeah, well, I’d say it’s doing its job.”
Every time Jess thrust back, the clit stimulator pushed against her, sending shock waves through her whole body. She began to pant, grinding against the silicone piece as she thrust into Jess. She let Jess control the timing until she was moaning so loudly she couldn’t keep time any more.
“Harder,” Jess panted, burying her face in the pillow between her hands.
She pushed in farther, faster, harder, unable to tell which sounds were hers and which belonged to Jess. Waves began crashing over her and she felt Jess’s legs stiffen, her back arch. Knowing she was close, she reached around and stroked her clit again. Jess started gasping, parting her legs to allow Jil’s fingers more space.
“Fuck, I’m coming,” Jess groaned, her lips pressed into the pillow.
Jil felt Jess’s pulsing nub get rock hard, just as the biggest wave crashed over her. She concentrated on keeping a steady rhythm as the orgasm bowled her over, and she thrust into Jess for the last time.
They collapsed on the bed, spent.
*
After Jess left around eleven o’clock, Jil made some tea and headed upstairs. She glanced in the door of her office but couldn’t bring herself to look at her work notes. Not tonight. The smell of Jess’s perfume still clung to her skin from where they’d lain pressed together for hours. The secrets and the deception clung even closer.
UnCatholic Conduct Page 23
