Compulsion

by Terri Breneman

  “Sure we can.” Boggs hugged her. “We’ll have movers do all the work and we just have to unpack stuff. And we can have the new furniture delivered on the thirtieth.” Boggs was obviously jazzed about the idea.

  Toni pondered that for a moment. She didn’t really have that much, so unpacking wouldn’t be too hard. And the new place was already spotless, so they wouldn’t have to spend much time cleaning. She was still trying to wrap her brain around the idea when Boggs spoke.

  “We can do it, babe. It’ll be great.” She kissed Toni. “After we take another look at the loft, we’ll go shopping.”

  “I guess so.” Toni was still hesitant. “Are you sure you want to buy all these things now?”

  “Absolutely,” Boggs said as she grabbed her equipment bag. “As long as we can find things we both like.”

  Toni joined her by the front door. “Okay.” Toni hugged her tightly. “This is going to be great, shopping together.”

  “It will be. I’ve always wanted to get nice things, but it never seemed worth it for just me. And now I just want to splurge a little. Is that okay?”

  Toni was so touched that she felt tears well up. No one had ever made her feel so special and so loved. She kissed her passionately.

  After a few minutes of kissing, Boggs pulled away. “Um, we’re either going to have to stop right now or I’m going to miss my game. And at this moment I’m thinking they can do without me.” She started to pull Toni toward the couch.

  Toni stopped her and laughed. “Let’s save that for later, okay?

  You can’t miss a game and we’ve got plenty of time.”

  Boggs sighed. “I suppose so, but let’s celebrate when we get home tonight?”

  Toni agreed and patted Mr. Rupert on the head before they left.

  Chapter 12

  Sunday afternoon the woman was again sitting in her study. She couldn’t stop thinking of Toni Barston. She’d been fantasizing about having sex with her since she’d gotten home last night. It’d been the best night she’d had in months.

  She’s absolutely stunning, the woman thought. She’d be perfect for me, she’s beautiful, and her eyes are the bluest I’ve ever seen. She replayed their meeting the night before and recalled how soft Toni’s hand was when they touched. She knew that having Toni, both personally and professionally, would be the key to her success. She wasn’t sure whether she should ask her out first or buy her services first. It would probably be better if she got her on the payroll first. Then she was sure that Toni would jump at the chance of dating “the boss.” She smiled at the thought.

  She fixed herself a drink, the first of the day. After sitting in her tall, dark leather chair for several minutes she pulled out her cell phone. Before dialing, she swirled the Scotch three times with her left index finger, then tapped it twice on the rim. She was licking the Famous Grouse from her finger as she called Mike Johnson.

  “Detective Johnson,” he said tersely.

  “Hi, Mike. It’s me. How are you?”

  “Oh, hi, boss.” Mike’s voice warmed. “Doing good. What can I do for you?”

  “I met Toni Barston last night,” she said quickly. Just at the mention of her name she felt her heart beat faster. She recalled one of her fantasies and took a sip of her Scotch. “I was thinking of adding her to the payroll,” she continued. “Can you arrange that?”

  “Barston?” Mike laughed. “Sorry, boss, but from everything I’ve heard she’s as straight as an arrow. And she’s friends with Captain Billings.”

  She felt dizzy. She reached for her lead glass tumbler and noticed it wasn’t centered on the coaster. Her hand was shaking. She centered the glass, then picked it up and took a healthy swallow. How could this be? She’d made all the plans. Carefully, she recentered her drink on the coaster. Everything would have been perfect but she ruined it all. That bitch.

  “Boss? Are you there?”

  “What?” She had to regain some control. “Yes, I’m here. Okay, never mind. Are you executing the search warrant for Kevin’s apartment tomorrow?” She needed to change the subject. She couldn’t let him hear how upset she was.

  “Yeah. I have to take a newbie along with me, but there shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “What was found on his body?” She noticed her hands were still shaking. She ran her fingers through her hair five times.

  “Some drugs, but not much.”

  “What about his cell phone?”

  “I don’t know,” Mike admitted. “I’ll check on that. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of anything that comes up. You can trust me, boss.”

  She didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust anyone. Too many bad things were happening to her. And all of it began and ended with Toni Barston. She ran her fingers through her hair five more times. That helped some. She needed to think.

  “Okay, Mike.” She had to end this call. “Just let me know what you get tomorrow, okay?”

  “Sure. Anything else I can do?”

  “No. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She closed her phone.

  She took another drink and ran her fingers through her hair five more times. Her best judge and best attorney had been killed. Her girlfriend suddenly left her. Her best drug dealer had been killed. Everything pointed to Toni as the root of her problems. Now that she knew the bitch thought she was too good to be on the payroll, she must resort to another plan.

  Her fantasy from last night beckoned and her anger turned into lust. She wanted Toni to pay, but she was torn as to how. She wanted her. Wanted her bad, but she was trouble. She could have Jan shoot her and it would be over, but she wasn’t quite there yet. Toni was too pretty to kill right now. Maybe she’d just take something that was important to Toni, just like she’d done to her. A little tit for tat. That would be perfect. She’d have Jan do some more research. All she knew now was that Toni lived alone. Well, if nothing else, she could always have her car torched. That would make a statement. She called Jan.

  “Hi, boss.”

  “I need more background on Toni Barston,” she said without any preliminaries. “I want to make her pay.”

  “Okay, no problem.”

  “I’m thinking we should torch her car to start. Can you handle that?”

  “Sure.” Jan chuckled. “Do you want her in it?”

  “No. Not yet. I just want her scared.” She smiled at the thought.

  “When?”

  “Can you do it tonight?”

  “Not a problem. Anything else?”

  “No, that’s all. Call me when it’s done. I’ll still be up.” She hung up without saying anything else.

  This would be good. Maybe she’d wait a week or so and then torch the new car that she’d have to buy. Then if Jan found anything worthwhile in her digging, maybe she’d step it up a notch. She drained the last of her Famous Grouse and made herself another.

  Even though she was happy that Jan was going to torch the car, she wanted more. She wanted to be near Toni, to see her, to touch her. But she didn’t know how that was possible. She wanted to learn all she could about her.

  While sipping her drink, she had an idea. Maybe Davey could find a way to hack into Toni’s computer. Maybe if she could read some of her e-mails, she’d get to know more about her. Hopeful, she called Davey. He answered on the third ring and she quickly explained what she wanted.

  “Sure. I can do that, no problem,” Davey said. “All I need is an e-mail address.”

  “Okay. I’m sure Jan can get that for me.”

  “Do you know if she’s got a webcam?” he asked.

  “I have no idea. Why?”

  Davey laughed. “I figured out how to access someone’s webcam,” he explained. “I was playing this online game against this dude in Texas. He was always beating me and I just knew he was cheating somehow.”

  He laughed again and she could tell he was really excited.

  “So I programmed this Trojan and sent it to him in an e-mail. His antivirus software didn’t catch it. All he ha
d to do was open the attachment once. I was in and could activate his webcam without him knowing it. I watched him for a couple days until I caught him. He was using this new device that would double his score.”

  “Couldn’t he tell you were using his webcam? Wasn’t there one of those picture icon things on his screen?”

  “Nope. That icon only shows up when you use the standard webcam software. My program goes around that. He had no idea.”

  Her hands were shaking. Could this be possible? Could she actually see Toni in her home? Watch her? She fantasized about watching Toni walking around, maybe not even dressed. Mmm.

  “Sis? You still there?”

  She shook the image from her mind and licked her lips. Her hand was shaking as she brought her drink to her mouth. She took a healthy swallow before answering. “I’m here. That would be wonderful. I’ll get you the e-mail address as soon as I can.” As an afterthought she asked, “So, did you beat the guy?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He laughed again. “And he can’t figure out how, because I wrote a program to disable his device. You should see him sitting at his computer, cussing me out.”

  They talked for only a few more minutes. Now that she knew about this possibility, she felt a little better. She desperately hoped that Toni had a webcam. She turned on her own laptop and checked her bank balance and her stocks.

  Chapter 13

  Toni and Boggs were drinking beer and sitting on the patio of an outdoor café. “I can’t believe we just bought an entire room of furniture.” Toni had her pad of paper with all the measurements in front of her and the bill of sale for the furniture. They’d purchased a cream-colored microfiber couch. It had classic clean lines and down-filled cushions. Since the living area was so large, they’d also gotten a loveseat in the same style. To complement the couch, they picked out two club chairs covered in a worn-looking brown leather. Boggs had been thrilled when she’d found out they were also recliners. They’d also found a couple of oversized ottomans that could be used for extra seating or to just put your feet up. A coffee table, two end tables and a few lamps rounded out their haul.

  “That was so fun.” Boggs took a sip of her beer. “And I think we got some really good deals, especially with that sale. I love bargains.”

  “Me, too. I think we did great.” Toni looked at their list. “Next on our list is a bed and, of course, bedding. All your stuff is for a full-size bed and mine is for a queen-size waterbed. Are you sure you want to get a king-size?”

  “Hell, yes.” Boggs laughed. “The master suite is huge and anyway, Mr. Rupert hogs half the bed now.”

  “That’s true,” Toni agreed. “Okay, king-size it is. I’ve never shopped for a mattress before. Do you have something in mind?”

  “I want a Tempur-Pedic.”

  “Are you serious? Aren’t those, well, a little pricey?”

  “But they’re so worth every penny. Aunt Francie has one and I’ve slept on it before. And they’ve got like a twenty-five-year warranty or something.” Boggs took another drink. “Just wait till you try it. I know you’re going to love it.”

  Toni was a little hesitant. She’d heard those mattresses cost close to five thousand dollars. But if that was what Boggs wanted, it was okay with her.

  “Okay, I’ll give it a try.” She finished her beer and glanced at her watch. “It’s still early. Do you want to do some more shopping?”

  Boggs had already finished her beer. “There’s a great furniture store right down the street and the mattress place is next door.” She took Toni’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  A little over two hours later they were back at Toni’s townhouse with a frozen pizza in the oven. Boggs was stretched out on one side of the couch with a beer in her hand. Toni was curled up next to her with a bottle of lemon water. She was rubbing Mr. Rupert’s tummy.

  “I can’t believe all we bought today,” Toni said, sipping her water. “I’ve never done that in my entire life. And I’ve never had a real bedroom set.”

  “Me either. And I can hardly believe the deal we got on the furniture. Just because there was a scratch on the back of one of the dressers. I mean, who’d ever see that anyway?”

  “I know.” Toni giggled. “I feel like we almost stole the thing.” She looked at the list on the coffee table. “The only thing left is bedding. Not bad for a day of shopping.”

  “I’ll line up the movers.” Boggs sat up and took a sip of her beer. “And I’ll get a bunch of boxes for us tomorrow. We can pack a little every night. That way it won’t seem so overwhelming.”

  The timer on the oven went off and Toni went to get the pizza. She placed it on a rack to cool a few minutes before cutting it. She felt a little strange, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Several minutes passed and Boggs appeared by her side.

  “Are you okay?”

  “What?” Toni realized she must have been zoning out. “Yeah. Just waiting for the pizza to cool before I cut it. Could you hand me the scissors from that drawer?”

  Boggs complied, then frowned at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Toni nodded. “It’s probably just all the excitement of the last two days.”

  She cut the pizza and put the slices on paper plates, which Boggs carried to the living room. Toni joined her, handing Boggs a napkin.

  “Not the normal few days, you know.” Toni took a tentative bite of the pepperoni pizza. It was still too hot. “I mean, jeez, we decided to live together, then we bought a loft and two rooms of furniture. And oh, yeah. I found out you’re a millionaire.”

  Boggs laughed. “I guess you’re right.” She was chewing. “But I trust your instincts. Are you feeling weird like when you thought someone was watching you a few months ago?”

  Toni contemplated that for a moment. “Well, not like someone’s watching me, no. But I do feel like something’s wrong. Maybe it’s just all the changes we’re making.” Even though she was discounting the feeling to Boggs, she was a little concerned. Usually when she’d had these feelings in the past, there was something to them. It’s just all the excitement, she told herself.

  They finished their pizza and chatted about their new loft. Toni pushed the feeling of dread from her mind. Boggs turned on the television and pulled Toni close. They stretched out on the couch and watched a baseball game. Toni felt safe and loved in Boggs’s arms. She pulled Boggs’s T-shirt out from her shorts and began to caress her stomach. Boggs moaned softly in response, which motivated Toni to explore more. She’d unbuttoned Boggs’s shorts and had her mouth on her stomach before Boggs spoke.

  “I guess I really don’t care if the Cardinals win tonight or not.” She pulled Toni on top of her and kissed her deeply.

  Toni responded quickly. She felt like a teenager, barely able to keep herself from exploding. Her tongue was desperately searching Boggs’s and her hands were pulling at her clothing. The T-shirt hit the floor, followed by her bra.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” Boggs said breathlessly.

  Toni jumped up and grabbed Boggs’s arm. “Well, hurry up.” She pulled and Boggs stood, albeit a little shakily. Her shorts dropped to her ankles.

  “I’m at a bit of a disadvantage,” she said, looking at her shorts on the floor then pointing to her chest.

  “Just the way I like you.” Toni held her hand and led her upstairs. Once they reached the bedroom she peeled off her own clothes and pulled down the quilt. “We only have a few weeks left with this bed, so we better make good use of it.”

  “I knew there was a reason I’m in love with you.” Boggs rolled onto the bed and lay on her back with her arms and legs spread. “Use me.”

  Toni felt her whole body tingle as she crawled on top, her legs straddling Boggs’s thigh. Toni kissed her passionately, feeling like she couldn’t get close enough. She wanted to touch her, feel her, taste her. She wanted everything and the need was a burning fire inside her. Her hands were all over, trying to touch Boggs everywhere at once while continuing to rock against her leg. Her
heart, mind and soul were filled with love for her woman, her partner, her best friend. But her body was overriding every other emotion and her climax came quickly and unexpectedly. She collapsed next to Boggs.

  “Sorry,” Toni said quietly, then giggled. “Didn’t see that coming.”

  Boggs burst out laughing. “Didn’t see that coming?”

  Toni rolled her eyes. “Okay, well, I guess I did. But that was just a warmup.” She smiled coyly and kissed Boggs’s lips, then her neck, and began working her way down. Boggs protested for just a moment, but Toni held her where she was. As her hands and mouth found their target, Toni could barely distinguish her own moans from those coming from Boggs. There was no question, this was heaven on earth.

  Chapter 14

  Jan pulled into the parking lot of Toni’s townhouse around midnight. She found Toni’s little blue Neon at the edge of the lot in a spot marked with her address and was pleased to see that there was an empty parking space next to it. She pulled her car in, turned off the engine and waited. After ten minutes with no movement around her she got out, taking a plastic gas can out of the back. With work gloves on, she flipped the cap off the end of the nozzle and quickly poured the gasoline over the entire car. She’d done this several times before. When the can was empty, she returned it to her backseat.

  She got back in her car and started the engine. She put down the driver’s side window. She could smell the strong odor of the gas. Smiling, she lit a cigarette and took a long drag. She knew it wasn’t healthy for her to smoke, but she didn’t care and there was nothing like that first long drag. She backed out of the space and stopped when she was perpendicular to Toni’s car. After another long drag from her cigarette, she shifted into drive and flicked the butt out the window. It landed on the trunk and instantly flames appeared. Any evidence from the cigarette would be incinerated.