Some Like It in Handcuffs

by Warner, Christine

  Early morning light danced through the white lace curtains covering her window and reflected off the mirror above her dresser. She rose up on one elbow and glanced at the clock on the wicker night stand beside the bed. Although she hardly slept, she was full of energy. She pushed herself up, flung her legs over the side of the bed then shoved her feet into her slippers.

  The pictures and notes she’d picked up from Glen were her top priority today, but she was tense from her fight with Judson. Before showering she’d have a quick jog around the block. It’d loosen her body and mind; then she could focus.

  Chocolate followed her down the short hallway to the tiny lavender bathroom. He leapt onto the marble vanity to watch her with his steady green eyes as she squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush.

  Minutes later Sunny tugged her nightshirt over her head and threw it to the tiled floor. The light material slid a few inches and collided against the tub. She shuffled through the open bathroom door in nothing but her tiger striped panties and her fluffy slippers, Chocolate on her heels.

  Chills rushed over her backside. “Where’d I put my jogging clothes?” She looked at her feline friend as he tagged along beside her. Chocolate meowed and raced past her into the bedroom as if to show her.

  Sunny pulled her mass of long curls behind her head to secure it with a large clip. The door to her office stood open and she glanced inside as she passed. She sucked in a breath, stopped, and backed up until she stood in the frame of the door. Her hands faltered their work with her hair. The breath she’d been about to exhale caught in her throat, and she blinked several times. Not sure if what she saw was real.

  “Judson! What the hell are…?”

  Judson’s body was strewn across the black futon. His sleepy expression perked up when he noticed her. He bolted upright, rubbed his hands over his face, and stared. His eyes darkened. The heat from his gaze burned a trail from the top of her head down to her fuzzy slippers, stopping momentarily to circle her breasts, before she realized she stood in front of him in nothing but her shocked expression and a pair of animal print panties.

  Smoke followed her sprint to her bedroom. The door crashed closed and she pressed her back into it. Sunny’s hands flew to her mouth as she choked back a sob. She gasped for air and sank to the floor.

  “Sunny!”

  Judson’s footsteps were quick. He covered the small distance from the office to her bedroom in seconds. The sound of his breathing from the other side of the door echoed in her ears. She buried her face in her hands.

  “Sunny.”

  His deep voice lowered. She raised her head then swallowed the lump in her throat. What was he still doing here? Looking like a ditz in front of him had become a habit.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Go away.” Her voice squeaked. She pulled her knees to her chest. Only one of her feet was encased in a slipper. She must’ve lost the other one during her mad flight.

  “No. I need to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay. Now go away.” Any normal man would slink out of the apartment without a word, but not Judson. He had the sudden urge to have a conversation. Someday she hoped the workings of the male mind would make sense to her.

  “You don’t sound okay.”

  “Well, of course I don’t sound okay.” She gulped down her embarrassment. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  She folded her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. Chocolate strolled from beneath her bed, swirled his tail over her shin and sidled toward the closet. At least he remained calm.

  “I’m sorry. I fell asleep.”

  An apology.

  “Really, you think?” She snorted. “Just leave, Judson.” Couldn’t he take a hint?

  “Come on, Sunny. You’re acting like a man’s never seen you in the raw before.”

  Her cheeks burned. “And you’re acting like it’s an everyday occurrence.”

  Silence. Sunny thumped her head against her knees. He didn’t need to know she was practically a virgin did he? She could talk the talk, but when it came to walking the walk, she reserved it for someone special. She didn’t sleep with anyone unless major feelings were involved.

  She groaned at the memory. She could honestly say she’d only loved one man in her life. Her clumsy, first and only, long term boyfriend. Though now she realized it was more puppy love than all consuming. Their one attempt at making love had turned into a disaster of universal proportions. She’d ended up with a black eye when he’d tried to remove her shirt in the backseat of his car, and she’d practically maimed him for life when her knee had jerked up between his legs. From then on they’d kept their romance to kissing and heavy petting. When their relationship ended, Sunny put men on hold to focus on her career.

  His voice softened. “I didn’t see anything.”

  “You’re a liar. You saw everything.” She lifted her head and flicked her eyes at the white door littered with heart shaped post it notes. Written reminders on each one acted as her unique calendar. “The only thing you don’t know about me at this point is if I’m a natural blonde or not.”

  Her comment was greeted by his badly concealed chuckle.

  “Well, are you?”

  Sunny whipped the solo slipper from her foot and threw it across the room. “Get out! I mean it.”

  “Oh, come on, that was funny.”

  Would she be humiliated and embarrassed every time he was near? She couldn’t take much more. He’d never be able to respect her. Sunny pushed herself up from the floor then walked to her closet.

  She slid into a pair of worn, faded jeans. After she fastened her bra, she flung a white tank top over her head, and followed it with a black tee shirt.

  Judson’s soft knock broke her concentration.

  “What are you still doing here? I told you to leave.” She scowled at the door.

  “Do you really think I’m going to leave you like this?” He sighed. “We should talk.”

  “Please. Go. Away.”

  “I don’t want to leave things like this. You’re upset.”

  Sunny yanked the clip from her hair then turned toward the door. “Can you give me some time to come to terms with you seeing me naked? It’d be a little awkward to see you right now.”

  “Feeling somewhat exposed?”

  Was that humor in his voice?

  The clip in her hand hit the top of the white wicker dresser when she tossed it, then bounced to the floor. Sunny bit her lip. “You could say that.” He did have a fun sense of humor. But, her embarrassment trumped everything at the moment.

  “Don’t be embarrassed.”

  What was he, a mind reader?

  Sunny bent down to the clear storage bin tucked in the corner of her closet and pulled out a Chicago Bears football jersey and whipped it over her head. She spied a large red sweatshirt on the top shelf. It must be one Paxton, her eldest brother, left behind on his last visit. She rested her weight on one foot then reached up and snagged it.

  “It’s a little late for that.”

  She pulled her hair through the neck of the sweatshirt. A string for the solitary light bulb hung in the center of the walk in closet, and she tugged it to fill the space with light. Tapping her finger against her chin, she glanced around to see what else she could find.

  “You’ll have to face me sooner or later,” he said.

  “We’ll have to work through emails and over the phone.” To stop her giggle, she bit the inside of her cheek.

  A dark green down vest hung in the corner of her closet and she stepped over the tote then pulled it off a hanger. After she slid her arms through the holes she looked at her reflection in her mirror and grinned. The vest looked lost against the extra large sweatshirt which fell halfway down her thighs. The sleeves dangled past her hands, and she rolled them up.

  “Come on. It was so long ago, I don’t even remember what I saw.”

  “Yeah, right.” She sneered. “If your memory is that bad, then you hav
e to be older than thirty-six.”

  Sunny walked to the door separating them.

  “Ouch. You’re hurting my pride.”

  The yellow terry cloth robe hanging from the hook on the door caught her eye. Several post-it notes floated down to scatter over the surface of the floor when she pulled it off the hook. She tugged its plush fibers over her arms and cinched the belt at her waist.

  “You’re pride might be hurt, but I’ve been humiliated.” Not once but twice. Her anger from last night still simmered.

  “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

  The beat of Sunny’s heart quickened. She flung her bedroom door open and stood in front of Judson, layered in mismatched clothes.

  “I thought you didn’t remember.” She lifted her brow.

  Judson wiped the palm of his hand over his hairless head as he raked his gaze over her. Humor tugged at his lips.

  “It was coming back to me.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Until you opened the door.” He grimaced.

  She clasped her hands in front of her and waited. “I’d love to hear your apology while were face to face.”

  He bent at the knee and held out her forgotten slipper. “For you, princess.”

  Sunny chewed on her lip, but it curved into a smile anyway. She grabbed the slipper then tossed it through the open doorway of her bedroom. “Thanks.”

  “Maybe you should sit down before you pass out from heat exposure.” He shook his head. “Can you even bend?”

  “Don’t make fun of my outfit. That’d be like me asking if you could still eat with your fake mustache. If you wanted to explain why you ended up sleeping on my futon, you’d better get started.” She popped her hip. “Then we can talk about last night.”

  “Not much to explain.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin to hide his smirk. “I was organizing the pictures trying to see if anyone in the crowds looked familiar or out of place.”

  “And?”

  “A few faces I’d like to match a name to, but nothing jumped out at me. I made notes on the backs of some.”

  Sunny walked past him toward the office. “Let me take a look. A lot of times the perp will stand in the crowd and watch the investigation. Almost like a slap in the face to the authorities. I guess they get a kick out of being so close to the action, but not being discovered.”

  “It’s been proven more times than I can count.” He followed her.

  Sunny adjusted some of the pictures Judson had organized on the wall in silence. After several moments, she turned toward him.

  “So, then you decided to lay down on the job and take a cat nap?” She folded her arms over her chest.

  “Something like that. The last thing I remember, I peeled off my fury lip, leaned back on the futon, and contemplated pulling some files from the precinct.” He rocked on his heels.

  “Which reminds me, anything on the evidence box yet?”

  “They’re supposed to call one of us when it arrives from the warehouse.”

  “Good.” Sunny picked up her glasses from the round table and noticed Judson’s peel and stick mustache on the edge. Her heart thumped in her chest when she recalled how he’d tugged her toward him in the bar and given her a quick kiss. His mustache had tickled her lip. Even though it wasn’t real, she liked the feel of it when he kissed her. She adjusted her glasses over her nose before she ran her finger down the line of pictures filling the wall.

  “Here.” Judson handed her a large magnify glass.

  She looked at the glass then his face.

  “You really are a mind reader,” she said.

  Sunny grabbed the magnifier and examined the first couple of pictures. Judson stood next to her shuffling through some of the notes Glen DeVito had included from his own investigation taken more than twenty years ago.

  Her pulse accelerated as she listened to his even breathing. Even in wrinkled clothes he managed to exude a manliness that was hard to ignore. He got sexier with each passing day. His long fingers moved along the edges of the papers he studied, and she licked her lips imagining them caressing her skin. He drove her crazy. The magnifier in her hand dropped to her side. Her ability to concentrate plummeted to zero.

  She stepped back. “Are these all the pictures?”

  Judson looked up. “No. There are more on the table.”

  Grateful for the chance to put some distance between them, Sunny turned toward the table, pulled out a chair and sat to examine the remaining photographs with the magnify glass. Some she placed in a pile to be hung up, the others were either too grainy or duplicates, and she slid them into the original envelope.

  She turned in her seat to look at Judson. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten our discussion. We’ll forget this morning ever happened, but I’m still angry about last night.” Her cheeks heated, but she didn’t look away.

  “I’m sorry about this morning.” He sounded sincere, even though the muscle in his cheek ticked, which made her wonder if he was suppressing a smile.

  “I know,” she murmured. “It was an accident, but I can’t help feeling—”

  “Vulnerable.” Judson finished for her.

  She winced. “That’s one word to describe it.”

  “I’m not lying when I tell you I didn’t see much.”

  “Really?” Her eyebrows rose to her hairline, disbelief in her voice.

  “I’d just woken up, my vision was blurry.” His smile looked lame.

  “You’re trying to tell me you didn’t see me standing in front of you with barely a stitch of clothing on?” She tilted her head.

  “If it makes you feel better I am.” He grinned.

  Sunny shook her head. “There’s really not much I can do about it at this point is there? I’ll get over it.”

  When the room grew silent, Sunny whispered, “But don’t think you’re off the hook for last night. That discussion is still open.”

  “I’m ready when you are, Wildcat.”

  She smiled to herself.

  Moving through the pictures she’d left out, she searched every detail for what seemed like the hundredth time. She put the magnifier on the table and rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands. There were only a couple of pictures to go over again. Sunny grabbed one and held it up to catch the light from the one small window in the room. The skin on the back of her neck itched in recognition.

  How could she have missed this before? Sure, the red hair was longer, there was no beard, and he appeared leaner, but there was no mistaking the sinister eyes of Slater. He seemed to be looking right at the camera, almost like he’d known she’d be studying his picture twenty-six years later. Goose bumps moved along her arms. After picking up the magnifying glass with unsteady hands, she took a closer look.

  Yep, it was definitely Slater. Knowing he stood outside the complex where Karina had been strangled only hours before turned her skin cold. She flinched and the magnify glass bumped against the surface of the table with a hollow thud as she recalled the note she’d received in her mailbox yesterday, and the conversation she’d overheard.

  “Did you find something?”

  Sunny jumped at the sound of Judson’s voice. She turned toward him. He stood in the same spot, still reading through the papers and writing notes on the dry erase board.

  “I think I did.” She held out the picture. “Take a look.”

  “Whatcha got?” He held the picture between his thumb and pointer finger, looking at it then her.

  Excitement caused her to bounce up from her seat. “Right here.” Sunny tapped her finger on Slater’s image in the photo. “Do you know who that is?”

  “Hmm, looks kinda familiar.” He grabbed the magnifier Sunny held out to him and looked again. “Is that Benny’s sidekick?”

  “The one and only.” Her heart accelerated. Her skin heated up and she removed the robe and down vest, throwing them over the seat she vacated.

  “Now this is an interesting twist.” Judson circled Slater’s image with a permanent black marker. He turned
toward Sunny. “He has absolutely no reason to be there.”

  “Exactly. I have to check my background info again, but I’m sure he didn’t live anywhere near there.” Sunny pulled out the storage box from beside the file cabinet and leafed through the files. “Aha!” She grabbed a neon green folder covered with doodles and drawings from the box and pulled it out.

  Sunny licked her fingers, sorting through the papers spilling from the folder until she found what she needed. She separated it from the others, bumped her glasses up the front of her nose, and scanned it.

  Judson looked over her shoulder. “Right there.” He pointed to Slater’s address listed on the bottom of the form. “His address is probably a good fifteen miles from her.”

  “So, why would he just happen to be at the crime scene within hours of her being murdered?” Sunny looked at Judson. “It probably hadn’t even made the news yet. Between this, Slater and Tasha’s conversation yesterday and the note in my mailbox, we’re getting some good leads.”

  “Whoa, slow down. What conversation, what note? You didn’t tell—”

  “I know. I brought it with me last night hoping we’d have a moment alone so I could show you, but things got…how should I say it…sidetracked?” Sunny hurried from the office to get the paper from her carry-all, Judson hot on her heels. She pulled the letter from her purse and handed it to him. “It wasn’t sent through the post office. Whoever left it knows I’m working this case and they were daring enough to come right up to my front door.”

  Judson unfolded the paper and grimaced. “Come here, I have to show you something.” He turned back toward her office and this time Sunny followed.

  “This isn’t the first one I’ve received. Another was left a couple of weeks ago on the front seat of my car, along with a picture of Benny and Karina.” Sunny grabbed the note she’d tucked on a shelf and snatched the picture from the wall. “I also overheard an odd conversation between Tasha and Slater before I punched in last night.”

  “And?”

  Sunny relayed all she’d heard, but Judson didn’t seem as excited over it as she’d been.