Covered by Bubbles

by Gracie Meadows

  “Okay, great. I will let Coffee know, and I will met you both at the coffee shop.” She smiled one last time and turned to leave. He heard Dylan groan as both of them watched her walk with a small sway in her hips. Damn pants are too tight, he thought as hand went to his crotch to readjust his goods. Quickly as he could he finished the paperwork that needed done for the next shift while Dylan let the chief know they were working with an outsource company a victim had contracted. Dylan returned moments later with a smirk on his face.

  “Everything okay, Dylan?”

  “Everything is all set. He just warned me not to piss off Bubbles because she had one hell of a right hook, and a weird obsession to shooting men in odd places.” They both laughed and worked until it was time to meet with her.

  Bubbles quickly walked out the station, calling Coffee to let her know she was going to work with the PD on the case. She tried to leave out it was Thing One and Thing Two that she would be working with, but somehow the wise one behind the keys already knew. Coffee just laughed and she could hear the keys working away as she spoke. Bubbles ended the call and quickly texted the girls.

  Going 2 get coffee and discuss case. Good luck with Mrs. Hail’s slimy son-in-law. Will let U know deets when I get them. Peace Out.

  Fine whatev, drink and flirt U cheat. Don’t forget to use protection, and not UR gun.

  Bubbles blushed at reading the text. Both girls seem to have sex on the brain. She did have to admit that she was starting to get a bit needy in that department, but that was why she had 'pick up batteries' on her shopping list on the way home. Her trusty BOB worked just enough to help with the tension, but not enough to let her be fully satisfied. Damn hormones.

  The rich aroma of coffee filled her nose as she entered the small shop. Shileen Sweets and Coffee was small, but had the most amazing pastries. She took a seat and her stomach growled at her. She was hungrier than she thought. Already knowing what she was going to order, and was determined to at least wait until they arrived. She was seated at a small table in the back with her back against the wall. It was a normal response with her, and so far no one ever questioned it. She needed to be able to see everyone around her, and by having her back against the wall she didn’t have to worry about people sneaking up on her. She knew she had issues, but she didn’t really give a rat’s ass what people thought about it anyway. Pulling out her phone, she started studying all the information that was given to her. It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it sure looked like someone was into collecting one-of-a-kind cars. The one in which she was assigned just happened to coincide with the police department. She didn’t mind working with people, she just liked working with them via a phone, or computer. Sure, she could handle the girls okay, but at the end of the night, she still went home by herself.

  She heard the sweet dinging bell over the door as another person entered. She looked up from her phone and saw both Dylan and Chance walking her way. They both looked like they had showered and changed clothes. Chance smiled and waved and Dylan just held her gaze, looking her over, even though she was sitting down. Both men came up to her before Chance took the opportunity and slid in next to her, while Dylan sat on the other side facing her. The three of them stayed still in the secluded area of the café, she felt safer than she had in a while.

  “Hey, good looking, come here often?” Chance spoke as if trying to break the silence. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing at his corny one liner. Dylan even tried to hide his smile.

  “Smooth, Chance, smooth,” Dylan commented. “So let’s get something to drink. I actually haven’t been here, but I hear good things. Why don’t you tell me what you want and I will get it for us.”

  Brandie told Dylan her order and he was interested in the chocolate banana muffin she wanted, but he saw the fresh bagels and knew what he wanted. He ordered three black coffees and had taken the cream and sugar over to the table too with the muffins for both Chance and Brandie, and he was waiting on his bagel to get toasted. Soon everything was ready and he headed over to the table.

  “Not sure how you like your coffee, so I brought you some cream and sugar,” she thanked him and took her items. He watched as she added three sugars and two creams, making note what her preference was so he could make it for her again if he was ever presented the chance.

  Once everyone was eating and drinking the conversation flowed about neutral topics and nothing about the case of yet. He would have to be the bad guy and bring it up, after all, they were working together now on this case.

  “Alright, let’s get to the topic we have been avoiding. What do you have so far in the case, and we will see how they tie in together then we can create some type of profile.”

  He watched as Brandie took a drink of her coffee, licking her pink lips as a drop of the liquid fell away from her. He watched in fascination as her tongue came out cleaning it away, and he wondered just would it would feel like to have that tongue come out and lick his…

  “So that is why I was called in. Other than that there hadn’t been a big issue with this. Zach, our main contact for our clients, said that we needed to handle this one with delicate hands. He is an attorney who set us all up and we get his assignments from him.” Dylan suddenly felt a small wave of jealousy that this Zach had so much contact with Brandie. He didn’t know her well enough to have that type of emotion, but hell, he sure was attracted to her.

  “Well we don’t have much more than that, but a couple other cars from the other end of town that have been taken, those from upscale restaurants. We tried to set up a small sting, but nothing has worked and it seemed like to many people knew what was going on. We feared there was a leak in the department, but it’s so small it is hard to tell,” Chance went on to explain. He knew they needed to work, and she might be better at finding people than he would like to admit, especially since she didn’t have to follow all the normal laws he was stuck to. Plus, he could spend more time with her. He knew Chance was interested in her, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He had heard of ménage relationships before, but could he do it with Chance? Hell, they shared plenty of women, but working in law enforcement, it could be a problem if the chief had an issue with it. Hell, he was sure he could get thrown off the force if it came down to it.

  “Okay, so what we need to do is find out the connection between the cars. They all seemed to be different. Almost like a collection or something. Hell, I know some cars are getting taken for parts, because they are easy makes and models, but the classic cars or the expensive ones are a mystery to us. So anything you can find would be great. We have a contact number for someone who does reconstruction of older cars and the value of them once completed. We haven’t checked him out yet. We want to run a background on him, but even then it’s limited. I heard your girl, Colleen, has some mad computer skills and could get the dude's information quicker than we can. So do you think you can look into that, it might help,” Dylan said while finishing the last of his coffee. Brandie nodded and smiled at him. He noticed for the first time that when she smiled, her whole face lit up and her eyes twinkled with excitement.

  “Easy peasy, she can have that for you by the time you get to work tonight. I can try to talk to some of the other victims of the thefts today and maybe compare stories. So I guess I know what I am doing. What time do you start tonight?”

  Chance chimed in with the time and she started to clean up telling them she would get dinner, which she told them was going to be Chinese, and would meet them at the office at eight with everything she could find. They all stood and as Chance let her out of the booth she headed to the door, she turned and looked at them, throwing her hair to the side. She winked at them, she must have caught them checking out her ass. But damn, if that wasn’t a fine ass. Groaning, he threw away their trash and he and Chance headed out as well. Sleep, work, solve case, and then he was going to see how he could play with Bubbles.

  Chapter Four

  Bubbles called Coffee as soon as she got into h
er car. It was something small and knew that if anyone could dig up dirt on a person it would be her.

  “So did you get lucky?” she asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

  “Over coffee, as if. You know me better than that, Coffee, come on, I am not some loose type of tramp who gives it to everyone who smiles at me. Though I have to admit that Dylan has an awesome smile, he has those sexy dimples on his cheeks that, grrr... Okay off topic. I need you to run a check for me.”

  “Ssurre you are. Okay, I am ready, who am I running and is this a police background, or my background type of search?”

  “I will leave that up to you. I know you know what the hell you’re doing. Here is the name,” she rattled off the name and address of the mechanic and appraiser before disconnecting the call, promising the give her any updates if she gets any.

  Putting her car in drive, she headed down to the first location, the one many people didn’t know about. She too had a few connections, and she was going to use them to the best of her abilities right now. Pulling into the lower end of the town, Bubbles got out and straighten her shirt, lowering it a little to show off the small swell of her breast as they poked out of the shirt. She had to use what she was given, and hell, she had helped them out a time or two, so they owed her.

  Walking into the small bar, she knew many people wouldn’t be in at this time of day and she could talk without people looking at her. Pulling open the small door, the heavy wood groaning from the aging process, it opened to the smell of musky cigarettes and alcohol. She spotted some of the few people who came in for a mid-morning cocktail, but in all actuality, it was closer to noon by the time she arrived there. She made a small pit stop and grabbed some cash. She never bought anything via credit as it could be traced. She made sure she went into a store closer to her house and bought some gum, a bottle of water, and a notebook. She then got cash back for this trip. She knew she needed to order a drink to keep up appearances, so a simple beer it was, which she would wash away with the large bottle of water.

  Taking a seat at the bar, she made a note to stay in a clear line to the door and shifted so she could see everyone entering the bar. Big Mac was her inside source, and she had saved his ass a time or two with various issues happening within his bar. Brushing off the stool, she sat down and was happy to see nothing would be sticking to her ass while she talked.

  Mac looked up at her and smiled. “Bubbles, been a long time.” Reaching into the ice sink next to him he pulled out a beer, pulled the top off and placed on the bar under a white paper napkin. It was a small joke, he wanted to classy up the place, but she told him the only thing it would do was bring it color. Taking out a twenty, she laid it on the bar before grabbing the beer and taking a small sip. She didn’t mind beer, but it was too damn early for her. Putting the bottle back down, Mac started to wash and dry some mugs before putting them into the freezer behind him.

  “So, Mac, how you been?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’ve been worse. We both know you need info, kiddo, so what’s up?”

  She smiled and took another drink, looking around the place to try to figure out what to say and who was within earshot of their conversation. As she looked around, she spotted the old pool table in the back, along with the various pictures of men and women in the service. Growing up in a military family, she understood the importance of the pictures. Continuing to look around, she noticed the walls still had the blue color, but have been muted down from time and smoke. Lighting was dim, but the same old-time jukebox still sat in the back, reminding her of the music and good times she had when she came here to blow off steam. One final glance at the door and she deemed it safe enough to talk.

  “So what have you heard about recent thefts of cars, more specifically classic, high-end cars? A few everyday models are being taken to hide the bigger ones. But my gut is telling me they are connected to each other. Is there a big fish in town that has a hard-on for expensive cars or something?” She took another small sip of her drink when an older looking man walked through the door.

  “Where’s the can?” he shouted over to them. Mac pointed to the back of the bar and walked around to the register to look like he was ringing up her tab before heading in her direction once again. He knew how to play the cat and mouse game with giving her information. He did it as a favor to her only, but if she ever brought a cop in there with her, or hell, any of the girls, he wouldn’t hesitate to throw her ass out.

  “Your gut is right on with this one, but it’s getting weird. I have actually had suits come in the bar, followed by some young looking kids who look like they needed the money. The guy comes in with two guards with him at all time, and I have seen one in the front while a guy walked to the back door. So he must be money or the mob, something along those line.” He stopped talking when the same guy who used the bathroom came out and sat down next to her. He smiled and she could see his teeth hadn’t been brushed and by his torn mixed matched clothes, it let her know he was either someone down and out or living on the streets. The unkempt hair and body odor permeating off him, made her lean toward the later. She was thankful for her strong gag reflex because it was the only thing keeping her from throwing up on the poor old man.

  “Hey, good looking, you come here a lot?” he asked her. She suddenly had the urge to laugh at this man. Not for being down on hard times, but because only a few hours prior, Chance had said those exact words and looked cute as hell when he did. Not so much with this man, it was actually kinda creepy.

  “Nope, not at all, just needed a break. You?” She didn’t want to actually talk to him, but the sooner he was gone, the sooner she could get on with the conversation.

  “Na, just needed to piss and get a drink.” He looked at Mac, but Mac had already pulled out a bottle of water, and a small bag, which she could tell held a sandwich and maybe some chips for the man. He looked at it for a moment but didn’t say anything, then he took the bag and nodded to Mac. Mac was a big guy, so the old man didn’t answer, but nodded, taking the items and heading out the door. She needed to ask him what that was about, but knew Mac had a big heart when it came to people who lived in poverty.

  “Anyway, they have been coming in once or twice a week now. I’m not here all the time, but I heard this from the other bartender. Not sure what they are saying, and I can’t get close enough to either. His guard dogs come and get him drinks, and it has to be bottled and they open the top. Real stickler too, so anyways, that’s all I heard about it. Be careful with this one, kiddo. I have a bad feeling this is bigger than just some two-timing husband you girls normally investigate.”

  Brandie said her thanks and headed out the door to her car. She now knew she had some type of lead. Now she just needed to run this by the guys and see what they made of it. She wanted to also get a take on what Mrs. Rio thought about this. Had she gone anywhere with her car, shown it to someone, gotten it appraised or something like that. Pulling the keys from her jean pocket, she looked at the time and decided she couldn’t follow up on anything else right now, so she would head to the gym, then take a small nap before working tonight with the guys on their lead. Mrs. Rio was out of town until next week, so she had time to kill until she broached the subject with her. Happy to have something to report, Coffee would get the other information and by the time she was ready to work tonight she would look like wonder woman, well wonder woman with Chinese food.

  Dylan and Chance finally got some sleep after talking about the illustrious Bubbles. Dylan personally preferred her given name, but Chance being the goofy guy, he liked to call her Bubbles. He understood for her line of work the importance of it, but how cute it was for her to be Bubbles. She was a smart ass who actually knew how to shoot. And in his book that was extremely hot. They pulled into the station, got out and headed straight to the locker room to change. He preferred it that way. Once he and Chance had changed, they checked in with the chief and again he had nothing new to report to them, and they had nothing to give to him
as well.

  “Sir, we have some ideas that we are running by Ms. Anderson this evening as per your instructions. Since the two cases we are working on coincide, might as well use her tech people, and she is able to get in and out of places better than we are in uniform,” Dylan explained as he sat in a chair. “She is coming tonight with what she found out on the shop we got a lead on.”

  “Sounds good, boys. I’m getting a lot of heat from the mayor to get this shit done and those cars back, and someone in jail. This is your priority. You two are no longer working on anything else but this case. You're back on days too, nights, whatever time you need, just get me something I can use to shut him up. He is afraid this town will turn into some type of gang war, which I am sure has nothing to do with it. Take the backroom and set up what you need there. Keep Bubbles on the case, I know her, and let’s just say they can get results from places we can’t. Now get the hell out of here and get me something I can use,” he said before he went back to his computer and dismissed them. Both he and Chance stood and went to grab their files and other items, taking them into the backroom. It was actually more of a conference room, but it was soundproof and worked well when they had a case that was priority number one. Chance got the computers hooked up and logged in while he pulled some pins out and started to make a time line of the cars that had been hoisted. He pinned the classic cars on top and the normal cars on the bottom. Putting sticky notes of the date, time, and location of each car had been lifted from. He had finished putting up the last of the notes when the aroma of food drifted in and his stomach growled in response. He saw Chance jump up and open the door as Brandie walked in with a large box of food and drinks, along with her bag, which looked like it held her computer and notes. He smiled at her as she looked at him. “Nice timeline,” she said nodding her head to the board behind him. Oh was she smiling at him, or the board. Damn it.