by Melissa Seal
“Thanks Cheryl, I think spending some family time with my favorite little girl is just what I need and I’m starving.”
The next few weeks were hell for Dani, Lexie refused to accept her and made it abundantly clear that she would rather work alone than with Dani.
Something had to give, “Captain Harris, can I talk to you privately, please?”
“Certainly Detective, what’s on your mind?”
“I want to request a transfer back to Narcotics, this isn’t working, my partner clearly doesn’t want me here.”
“It has barley been a month Dani, are you sure? Maybe you should give it a little more time. Hang in there for another month, and if you still feel this way, I will grant your transfer.”
“Yes sir, thank you for your time” responded Dani.
When Dani came back to her desk, Lexie inquired, “What was that about? It seemed serious. Everything okay?”
“Not really, I requested a transfer back to Narcotics, where I am wanted!”
Lexie growled, “Wow I didn’t peg you as a quitter!”
“Well I didn’t peg you as a bitch either, yet here we are.” retorted Dani.
Lexie couldn’t help but laugh at the younger woman.
They worked endlessly for months after Jack’s death with no luck, and finally the case went completely cold. The killings had stopped; however, the Norfolk Police Department was dealing with another madman. This one was a rapist. Lexie hoped to find him before he raped another girl, or worse, killed one. The first rape victim, Jenny Newton, came into the station. She asked to speak to a female officer. She was directed to the desk sergeant and reported the attack to Sergeant Armstrong.
Jenny stated she was raped outside the night club where she worked as a bartender. She reported that a man wearing a hoodie and ski mask approached her with a gun and told her to walk to her car. After they got in the car, he told her to drive to her apartment. He said he knew where she lived and if she tried anything funny, he would kill her. Jenny drove to her apartment.
Once inside, the man tied her to the bed post and then turned her shower on. He came back into the bedroom naked, undressed Jenny, forced her into the shower, and assaulted her. After he finished, the rapist turned the water off, zip tied Jenny’s hands to the shower head, got dressed, and left. He wore gloves and the ski mask the entire time, so Jenny could not identify him. All she knew was he was a white male about six feet tall.
Lexie took her statement while Dani watched outside the room. She was awed by how easily people opened up to Lexie. Things had gotten a little better between the two detectives over the past few months, but there was still some tension between them. Lexie had let Dani take the lead on a murder case a month earlier. Dani had been instrumental in catching the murderer. Lexie was slowly warming up to her, but Dani wanted it to happen faster. She felt things that she could not explain, all she knew was that she wanted to be around Lexie all the time. When she was not at work with her, she still thought about her. Dani had called Lexie one night after work and asked if she wanted to hang out. Lexie agreed, and the two women went to get dinner and had a great time. Lexie discovered that Dani was sweet, caring, and strong once she got to know her. She liked her a little more each day.
CHAPTER THREE
The day after their dinner, the two detectives were dispatched to investigate another rape. It was the second rape in two weeks. Lexie asked Dani if she wanted to interview the victim. Dani quickly declined. The more seasoned detective thought the younger woman just needed more time, so she took the lead in the interview. This rape was different than the last one. The rapist hid in the victim’s closet for hours and waited. When she went to bed, he burst out of the closet and beat her with a metal object which he also used to violate her repeatedly. She was barely alive when the detectives arrived. Paramedics were already on scene and loading the victim into the ambulance. Lexie rode in the ambulance with her, while Dani stayed at the house to interview the victim’s boyfriend. He found the victim when he came home from work that morning. After interviewing all the witnesses, Dani went back to the station. Lexie was there and told her that the victim, twenty-six-year-old Melanie Hawkins, died on the way to the hospital.
A few days later, the detectives, along with some help from a reliable confidential informant, found a lead in the second rape case. Still no leads on the first. Lexie and Dani both wanted to get the violent rapist off the streets as soon as possible. They believed the first attack was a one-time thing and that the rapist knew the victim and had targeted her. The first victim was staying with her parents in Delaware for a while.
Based on the information about the second rape, Captain Harris put Lexie and Dani on an all-night stakeout. The two women had not been on a stakeout together since they had become partners almost a year ago. Four hours into the stakeout, the detectives were laughing and talking like old friends. Lexie realized it had been a long time since she had laughed, and it felt wonderful.
Lexie announced, “I’m hungry, you want a sandwich from the store on the corner?”
“Sure, get me whatever you are getting and a bottle of water please.”
Lexie came back with sandwiches and chips. They ate their dinner and talked about the case. Dani seemed distant for a minute, and Lexie inquired “what’s wrong partner?” Dani now understood how everyone talked so easily to Lexie. All she wanted to do right now was to tell her what happened to her on active duty.
“I’ll tell you after shift, I promise. Now isn’t the time to talk about it, but thanks for noticing and asking.”
“I understand, but that doesn’t mean you are off the hook, you will tell me later.”
The rest of the stakeout was uneventful and when their shift was over, Lexie offered, “would you like to come over for breakfast and you can tell me what’s bothering you?”
“I would like that, Lexie, thank you.”
Once they arrived, Lexie ordered, “Okay, spill it, partner.”
Dani broke down, she had never told anyone what happened and now she couldn’t stop the flow of words and tears. Seeing Dani cry was unexpected, and Lexie wasn’t sure how to respond. She guided Dani to the couch and sat down beside her.
Dani began, “While I was in Germany, I was sexually assaulted at a party. Until now, I never told anyone, because I always felt like it was my fault, and that I should have been strong enough to fight him off.”
Lexie listened intently and let Dani finish, then she reached over and hugged her while Dani cried softly. They both felt a spark but neither acted on it. Lexie walked to the kitchen while Dani got herself together. Lexie came back and sat down beside her partner, they were both quiet and Lexie felt Dani staring at her. As she turned to look at her, Dani leaned in and kissed Lexie.
The kiss took Lexie’s breath away, and she kissed Dani back. The phone rang, and both women jumped. The call was from Dani’s confidential informant telling them that the guy they were surveilling was leaving his building with a back pack. The next few hours were intense.
They had no time to think about the kiss or anything else. They focused on catching the bastard who had viciously attacked that poor woman before he struck again. They followed the suspect to a brick house a few miles from his apartment. They watched as he checked all the windows until he found one that was unlocked. He slithered through the open window like the snake that he was. He went into the bedroom and made himself comfortable in the closet. He waited for the woman that lived there to come home. He was so excited, he could hardly contain himself. This was going to even better than last time! He anticipated. He had watched this young lady for a while now. He knew she worked late on Thursday nights, and she would be home in less than an hour.
Lexie and Dani knew they had to work quickly, they called dispatch to report the break in and request backup. Lexie entered the house first through the same window the suspected rapist had used.
Dani whispered, “Please be careful. I will be right behind you.”
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Dani checked in the kitchen and Lexie was in the bedroom when the man burst out of the closet, grabbed Lexie by the hair, and hit her with a pipe. Dani flew through the door and had the suspect on the floor within seconds. She wanted to beat the crap out of him, but she didn’t want to jeopardize the case. Lexie tried to get her bearings from being hit in the head with a pipe. Officers swarmed in and took the suspect into custody while Lexie left in an ambulance. She insisted she was fine, but her head was bleeding, and there was the chance she could have a concussion or a brain bleed. Dani worried about her partner but had to go to the station to interrogate the suspect. She couldn’t focus on the interrogation. She remained preoccupied with finding out how Lexie was doing.
Captain Harris noticed her preoccupation and called her into his office. “I understand it has been a traumatic night for everyone involved, but you have to stay focused on the job, Dani. That means you need to get your head in the game and get this piece of shit to confess.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Lexie called Chris from the hospital. They had been talking on the phone for a few months now. He wanted to reconnect, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to reconnect with him. After the kiss with Dani, she felt confused and scared about how it made her feel, but Chris felt safe. He answered on the first ring, and she explained to him what happened that night, well, everything except the kiss. Chris was living back in Tampa, Florida and couldn’t get a flight out until the next day but he wanted to be there with Lexie.
Dani’s focus returned. It only took twenty minutes in the box with the suspect behind the brutal rape and murder of Melanie Hawkins, to confess everything. Dani felt accomplished as she exited the interrogation room. Officers escorted the man, now known as James Ellis, to his holding cell. Dani could not wait to get to the hospital to see Lexie but when she arrived, her partner was asleep. The doctors did not want her disturbed. Dani waited with her for a few hours but had to report back to the station. Lexie was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health the next evening.
After being in the hospital all night, Lexie went home hoping to relax in a hot bath with a few glasses of her favorite wine. Unfortunately, when she got home, Chris was there waiting for her. He had a dozen white roses which were her favorite flowers. She lit up when she saw him. She missed him and wondered if she had done the right thing by telling him to leave. They had been talking on the phone for months, and now, here he stood with flowers and that sexy ass smile. He was the first and only person she called while in the hospital.
Lexie had been lonely for so long and she kept thinking about the kiss with Dani. When she saw Chris standing there with mischief in his eyes, she succumbed, what the hell, he is my husband. She needed to prove to herself that she didn’t like women. She ran to him and jumped in his arms. They kissed passionately as he unlocked the door and carried her inside. They made it as far as the kitchen before they were both undressed, and Lexie reached for Chris desperate to feel him inside of her again. They made love on the kitchen floor and then eventually made it to the bedroom. A few hours later, the doorbell rang. Lexie answered the door with Chris standing behind her.
Dani stood there with a look of confusion on her face. “Hi, I just stopped by to see how you were feeling. You seem to be in good hands, so I’ll get back to the station.”
Both women felt terrible, but neither could understand why. Lexie hadn’t done anything wrong and had nothing to feel guilty for, yet she felt guilty. Dani knew she had no reason to be upset, but she couldn’t stop the tears welling up as she ran back to her jeep.
After taking another day off to recover, Lexie arrived at the police station while Dani worked out in the gym downstairs. She knew Dani would be there, so Lexie went to the gym to talk to her. Dani was working out in the boxing ring with another detective. They were going at it hard until she looked up and saw Lexie standing there. She lost concentration for one second, and Detective Smith nailed her with a right hook that sent her flying across the ring. Stunned and more than a little embarrassed, Dani got up and headed toward the locker room acting like she had not seen Lexie there.
Lexie ran after her, but Dani implored, “Can we please talk later because I need to shower and get upstairs before the captain gets here?”
“Sure, no problem, I understand. I’ll see you upstairs when you get done.”
Several messages were waiting for Lexie from people who claimed to know the identity of the Last Call Killer. The team received hundreds of calls every week, but none ever panned out. She paid close attention to them all just in case. She was desperate to find the man who murdered so many women and, in her mind, killed Jack. Not a day went by that she didn’t wonder what she could have done to help Jack sooner. She visited his grave at least once a week to talk to him and let him know he may be gone but never forgotten.
Lexie was on the phone talking to Chris when Dani came in from the gym. Chris planned to move from Florida back to Norfolk while he and Lexie attempted to sort things out. She wasn’t ready for him to move back in, but she did want him near.
Overhearing some of the conversation, Dani inquired, “Why is Chris moving back to Norfolk? Are you guys getting back together?”
“We just caught a new case and we need to focus on that and not my love life.”
Their newest case was a home invasion that took place in the historic district. Lexie and Dani drove to the house in silence, each lost in her own thoughts. Upon arrival, the detectives saw a few patrol cars. Officers were talking to a man and woman. Lexie parked the car and went to talk with the patrolmen, while Dani went to look around the house. The detectives were operating on bad information. They were told the gunman had fled the scene already. But he remained inside with the couple’s sixteen-year old daughter, Sally and seven-year old son, Jason. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Keller, had gone out for a date night. They had left Sally to babysit Jason. Sally called them but couldn’t talk because someone was yelling at her to drop the phone. They were having a lovely evening out by the water when they received the call. Mr. Keller immediately called 9-1-1.
Believing no one was inside, Dani walked in through the open back door, and found herself face to face with a shot gun. A man dressed in jeans, dirty work boots, and a navy-blue hoodie glared at her. Another man was yelling from the other room and Dani could hear a girl crying. By the time Lexie realized the men were still in the house, Dani was on the floor with her weapon removed and handcuffed to the bottom of the staircase. She saw Jason, his head wet with sweat, and his small body paralyzed to the spot at the bottom of the stairs, the color had drained from his face. The two men barricaded the back door like they had the front door earlier. Dani tried to reason with the two men. The one with the shotgun hit her with the butt of the gun several times and told her to shut up or he would use the other end next time. Bleeding from her nose and mouth, Dani wondered if her partner or anyone outside had developed a plan to get them out alive. Jason wasn’t tied up, so when the men left the room, he slipped over to Dani and tried to stop her nose bleed. She asked him where his sister was. Jason said the man in the camouflage jacket took her upstairs and he hadn’t seen her since. Dani prayed the young girl had not been hurt or worse, killed.
Lexie was in full panic mode, there was no way she was going to lose another partner. She was in constant contact with the lead officer at the scene and wanted to know when they planned to rescue the kids and her partner. The guys on the ground wanted to take it slow so they would not spook the men with the guns. Dani and Jason were sitting together when they heard Sally scream. The boy ran up the stairs to help his sister. Dani heard a gunshot. Mustering all her strength, she yanked and tore the railing off the staircase and ran up the stairs with her hands still cuffed. She felt a sharp pain, and everything went black. She woke up a few hours later in a hospital bed with intense pain in her shoulder and Cheryl and Lexie by her side. Dani looked confused when she woke up. Lexie explained that she grew tired of waiting for the pansie
s outside to figure out their next move. So, she snuck around to the back, climbed up to look in a window, and saw Sally fighting off the man in the camouflage jacket. Then she saw Jason run in the room which distracted camo boy long enough for her to get in the window. Lexie recalled that the man shot at her, and she returned fire and killed him. Then, she heard another shot and saw Dani lying on the stairs bleeding and unconscious.
The man in the blue hoodie was arrested, and the kids were taken to the hospital. Dani had been shot in the shoulder when she ran up the stairs, fell, hit her head, and lost consciousness.
After checking out Dani’s injuries the doctor informed “Well, Ms. Watkins, you will need to take it easy for a few days. The bullet went straight through your shoulder and there shouldn’t be any lingering effects. You have a mild concussion from hitting your head, but with plenty of rest, you should be just fine and back to work by the start of next week.”
Dani responded, “Thanks Doc, can I go home now?
“Is there anyone that can stay with you? You shouldn’t be alone tonight.” Without realizing it, Lexie jumped up and offered, “I will stay with her tonight, so she can go home.”
Cheryl spoke up, “Dani, you can stay with me for a few days if you want.”
“Thanks Cheryl but I think I will get more rest at home in my own bed.”
Lexie asked, “Cheryl would you mind driving Dani home so I can finish up a few things at work and get a change of clothes?”
“Absolutely, take your time because Mom and Dad are going to want to stop by and make sure their little girl is okay.”
All three women laughed, and Lexie was happy to see her partner was in good spirits after being shot.
The doctor agreed to release her, “Make sure the patient takes it easy and gets plenty of rest.”
