Lightning Chasers

by Cass Sellars

  “Very nicely done, Darcy.” Parker gave her a pat on her arm. Guiltily, she wondered if she was just happy that Sydney’s ex was focused on another woman, at least for the moment.

  Mack high-fived her. “Do you think she would cooperate if we ever need a witness?” Mack looked like she wasn’t sure they would ever manage to get that far.

  “Absolutely. It pisses her off that she finally got an opportunity to do the job and it’s all screwed up.”

  Syd led the trip up to her office to play the helicopter video. When it was finished, she spun away from the screen.

  “Can we review here?”

  Parker watched the very linear thinker in Syd list the known data to see where the remaining holes might be. She started writing bullet points on a blank page.

  “A: What if Sandy sees a truck, possibly with pallets of product in the warehouse being picked up or delivered by a guy that doesn’t do much pallet jack maneuvering? There would be no other reason for a CTI pallet ticket to be in a warehouse rented by and under construction for a textiles company. B: So someone could be stealing or an employee is embezzling big dollars over a short period of time. They would have to eliminate anyone, especially a cop, who might have witnessed them in the midst of handling stolen goods to stop from being discovered.”

  Syd was on a roll, and Parker enjoyed watching her in her element.

  “C: We have confirmed, by this video, that the truck belongs to CTI—meaning someone who is authorized to use the equipment is likely responsible for embezzlement. And D: If corporate honchos are reporting positive inventory, there seems to be a major cover-up, at least partly led by someone in the company with some clout. It sure would be nice to establish or refute any connection between the SLPD and, we assume, someone who is moving product from CTI. We also need to be sure we can prove that the SLPD connection was absolutely not Sandy.”

  Mack glared at Syd without comment and began reviewing the list. “We need to show exactly who else might have been there that night. Otherwise, it’s just a lot of circumstantial bullshit and nothing to officially suggest that the two things are even related. Not to mention that I would just look like a bitter rank whore with a hunch who’s trying to exonerate a dirty cop…or protect one if we make a link to someone inside the department.”

  “You got stonewalled, kicked off the case, and denied a standard warrant in the shooting of a fellow officer. A cop being involved or at least part of the cover-up is the only thing that makes sense,” Sydney reasoned.

  Mack replied, “Why would a cop even get involved in something like this? You have to assume that they’re getting a cut. Who stands to benefit at SLPD and, of course, CacheTech?”

  “We need to know why this warehouse and how they got access.” Syd picked up Mack’s train of thought. “Maybe the connection is more direct that we’re giving them credit for.”

  * * *

  Back in the kitchen, Syd laid a block of cheese and French bread on the counter. As she bit a corner of bread, Parker started to tap away at her tablet. “So if I want a computer, I go to a big box store or order it online. If I want a cheap used computer I go to eBay or Craigslist, right? What if I’m trying to get a deal on a new one? I put in my search parameters to include the words new or NIB for new in box, right?”

  Syd nodded and everyone watched her fly through the screens. “Why don’t we just see if we can go buy one, or fifty?” She flipped the screen around and showed nineteen results for the words new and CacheTech sorted by highest to lowest dollar amount.

  Mack started reading the posts and making notes. Several of them appeared to be related to the same seller location with roughly the same wording and, in most cases, the same amateur looking photo displaying refurbished units. The two highest priced and seemingly unrelated ones were $9200 each for 48-port switches which the seller claimed he bought for his business and then realized he didn’t need.

  “Yeah, I regularly spend eighteen grand out of my business account on shit I’m not even sure I need.” Syd sighed at the thought. “My accountant would kill me. No one does that.”

  Parker looked happy with her contribution. “You know, my little friend from the Silver Lake Ball made a big deal about working for CacheTech. I could always arrange a business meeting with him. Or just call one of these sellers to see if he would clue me in that something fishy might be afoot.”

  “Absolutely not.” Syd dropped the words on the conversation abruptly as if she had been lugging a heavy weight too long. She felt her heart drum loudly in her chest as a faint sheen of sweat glazed down her back. She fought the urge to move Parker from the room and them both from the conversation, instead gripping the stone counter of the kitchen island.

  “I beg your pardon?” Parker turned to stare at Syd, her jaw set and tense. Syd had never seen Parker’s current expression in the entire time they had been together.

  “I said no.” Syd’s words sounded much more stern than she had intended.

  Mack turned and spoke directly to Syd. “We just need a line to pull, Syd. Maybe this guy isn’t the one involved, but Parker could just have a conversation on the phone. Parker wouldn’t have to actually meet. Or she could talk to this Bryce guy like a potential CTI customer.” Mack continued the planning as if to take the sting out of the statement.

  Parker’s eyes fired at her girlfriend as she ignored Mack. “Or you could please enlighten me on your plan, Ms. Hyatt.” Her face was flushed. “I’ve been here every moment you have, in case you forgot.”

  When Syd didn’t reply, Parker addressed the room. “Excuse me, I forgot I had some laundry going at my place.” She turned and quietly left the apartment.

  Syd knew Parker had been preparing the loft for Mia and there was nothing left in the small unit, certainly nothing in the way of laundry. She rubbed her temples and squeezed her eyes closed, fighting the alarms that sounded.

  Jenny broke the silence. “It’s not like she would be in danger, Syd. It’s just a call. You let Darcy go with you to the warehouse. Besides, even if they did meet, it would be in a public place, not some dark parking lot. There’s no harm in that.” Jen was obviously trying to encourage Sydney to back off before she did major damage. Darcy was shifting uncomfortably; perhaps even she saw the inequity in Syd’s response.

  Syd could only focus on the dark terror that consumed her, the same feeling she had when she realized Parker had been hurt by Becky Weaver. Although that unstable woman was now committed to an institution, Syd had barely climbed out of the emotional well after that night. Mack, of all people, should understand her guilt and, even more, her fear, but she knew she was not handling this well.

  “How about we all get back together tomorrow, okay? Everyone’s tired.” Jen handed the keys to Mack and nodded to Darcy. Syd was grateful Darcy wasn’t given the option of staying there alone. She knew she had enough damage control ahead of her.

  When the door shut behind them, Syd bent over the counter and dropped her forehead onto her hands. She was frantically searching for a stable island in the sea of her irrational panic. She wondered if she would always react like this to any possible threat to their relatively new connection. After a few minutes, Syd gathered a precarious grip on her emotions and made the long walk across the short hall.

  She heard Parker throwing laundry, piece by piece, into the washer. Syd caught the slam of the washer door as the rumble of the industrial door announced her arrival. Parker was fumbling with the controls when Sydney’s unsteady voice found her.

  “Can we talk please?” She was miserable as she watched Parker jerk her hamper to the side of the laundry closet and shut the doors. Sydney’s hands jammed in the pockets of her worn jeans.

  “Haven’t I already heard what you have to say, Sydney? As my personal decision maker and given my obvious cognitive handicaps, it’s just so lucky for me you were there.” Parker’s voice was not quite a yell but she seemed to vibrate with anger.

  “Parker, please. Will you listen to m
e for a second? Please?” Sydney’s breath caught and her voice faltered. She had never seen the look currently on Parker’s face, certainly not directed at her. She bit her lip in a weak effort to quell the emotion that pounded over her body.

  “Of course, but be sure you get me flash cards in case I miss something. I can study while I’m up in my padded room.” She crossed her arms defiantly and stared at Sydney as if daring her to speak.

  Sydney walked toward her and Parker leaned back against the kitchen island. She held out her hand to stop Syd from reaching her.

  “Stay there.” Parker seemed to be planning to stay furious.

  “Baby, I didn’t mean it to come out like that.” She raked her fingers through her hair, a habit usually inspired by deep thought or abundant stress. Despite the roaring river of adrenaline coursing through her veins, she forced her unsteady voice to continue.

  “The thought of you being hurt again makes me crazy. Do you not understand that I have a picture of you bleeding or standing there with a knife to your throat flashing through my mind a hundred times a day, even now?” Sydney pointed to the doorway where she first saw Parker that night. She forced herself to continue. “I have nightmares about not being able to protect you from that crazy woman, and the fact that she got to you at all was my fault. Do you not understand that?” Her words escaped in a rush.

  “I’m not made of glass, Sydney.” Parker thought how many times she had told people that in her lifetime. For some reason someone was always trying to insulate her world and it made her feel like a child.

  “I know you’re not, but what if something happened to you and I couldn’t stop it? Or I didn’t do anything to protect you before something happened and I knew I should have?”

  Parker suddenly screamed at Sydney, more out of frustration than anger now. “The Becky thing wasn’t your fault and it’s not your job to take care of me!” As soon as she finished the sentence she willed the words back. She knew they had been wrong. She hadn’t meant to sound so callous.

  Sydney’s face leapt from sadness and hurt to all-out fury. She moved toward Parker, this time not waiting for permission.

  “Then whose job is it, Parker? If something happens to me, whose job is it to take care of me?” She locked her arms against the counter and around Parker, still not touching her.

  Parker fought the urge to let Syd cover every inch of her with her body.

  “Mine.” Parker’s voice was quiet and measured now. She suddenly felt small and petty but she still wasn’t ready to surrender. “It’s just that you told everyone that Darcy could take care of herself. But as soon as I said that I wanted to help, you shut me down like some misguided kid who doesn’t know the bike is too big or the wall is too high. You embarrassed me in front of her.” Parker’s voice trembled involuntarily as she searched for the words to further explain.

  “Sydney, she’s already hitting on you behind my back. Hell, in front of my face at the Pride. And it just made me feel humiliated and…insignificant, I guess.” The fight had left her voice but the core foundation of the combat still lingered. “Maybe I can’t bench press a person or engage in mortal martial arts combat, but I’m not insignificant, I’m not weak, and I am not helpless.” A bit of her anger rose again as she bunched her fists at her sides. Her cheeks felt hot and she battled the warring emotions.

  “Are you kidding me, Parker? First of all, I wouldn’t touch Darcy Dean with someone else’s hand. I told her about that bullshit stunt at the Pride, by the way. If it happens again, she’s done. I can’t wait until this is over so she isn’t in our home anymore or around you.

  “And for the record, I think you’re the most resilient and capable person I know. But these people dropped a veteran officer with one bullet over some stolen computers. Do you really think they’ll hesitate to end someone else if it feels too hot for them? I couldn’t live with that, Parker. I couldn’t live knowing that I did nothing to stop it, because I can’t live without you. You and I both saw what it did to Mia. I don’t think I would handle it even half as well as she is.” She looked directly at Parker now, her eyes welling with tears.

  Parker watched her resolutely refuse to let them spill.

  “Every time we’re together, you curl into me and tell me not to let go, yet every time you could be hurt or could be in danger, that’s all you want me to do—to let you go—and I can’t.” Syd’s jaw clenched as if she was trying not to lose control of the precarious hold she had on her emotions.

  The last time she had seen Sydney cry was when Parker was being wheeled into an emergency room. She knew the pain from that day would never be far from her soul.

  “It sounds cliché,” Syd said quietly, “but even the thought of you being hurt…I told you, I can’t breathe, Park.”

  She stared at Sydney for a few seconds before she took the step that closed the remaining distance between them. “I’m sorry. I just let her get to me.” Parker gripped Sydney’s shoulders and pressed her face against her chest.

  Sydney crushed her into an almost painful embrace and pushed her mouth near Parker’s ear. “I cannot lose you. I just can’t. Please don’t ask me to not try to protect you.”

  “Okay.” She looked up at Syd and wished she could take everything back. “I guess it was just her.” Her tears came in earnest as she laughed. “I’m being ridiculous.”

  “No, you aren’t. It wasn’t my finest moment. I’m sorry I embarrassed you.” Syd kissed her and said softly, “I may not always say things the way I should—my heart just took over my brain. I will fix it tomorrow.”

  “You don’t have to.” Parker tilted her head onto Syd’s arm which was still locked around her shoulders.

  “Yes, I do. I love you with everything I am. I should have seen the potential fallout from this and fixed it before. I never expected to see Darcy again, let alone have to host her every other night in our home.” She was still visibly angry. “There is no excuse for me not handling this sooner.”

  “I love you, Syd.” Parker wanted to wash the past few moments away as she buried herself against the person who had become the touchstone of stability in her life.

  “Please come home with me,” Sydney nearly whispered the words, not holding her quite as tightly. Her fingers were tangled in Parker’s hair as she spoke.

  “Okay.” She gripped Sydney’s waist as they walked.

  “What about your laundry?” Syd looked down at her, taking in the sheepish grin Parker fought to hide.

  “It’s three dust cloths and some pink boxers I wore when I was painting the bedroom. I think they’ll be okay.” Her serious matter-of-fact delivery made it harder not to laugh. “Tomorrow I’ll be washing a rusty towel and the hamper liner.”

  Syd laughed until they slid the door closed and headed to their bed. Syd wrapped her body over Parker protectively as a peaceful sleep washed over them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Finally home from a long shift, Darcy twisted the sheets around her red-tipped toes as she dialed the phone. She worried the drawstring on her blue cotton sleep shorts as she listened to the phone ring in her ear.

  Taylor Westin’s voice sounded happy as she answered, “Hey, you.”

  “Is it too late to call?” Darcy felt her pulse race at the charming sound of Taylor’s voice.

  “Not for you. I was hoping I would hear from you today.”

  Darcy stared at her bedroom ceiling and corralled the stomach flutters courtesy of the breezy first weeks of a promising relationship. They had seen each other for a brief coffee date only the day before but she couldn’t stop thinking about the enchanting woman who’d fallen into her life at a bar.

  “It’s just been a crazy day and this is the first chance I’ve had to call you.” She breathed heavily into the phone before she noticed it. She hoped Taylor hadn’t heard it. “I wish I could see you.”

  “What’s stopping you then? I’m just lying here watching TV,” Taylor answered coolly.

  “Is that an invit
ation, Taylor?” Darcy worked hard to quell the eager tone in her voice and hoped she didn’t sound as if she was rushing things.

  “Indeed it is. Want me to come pick you up?” Taylor asked.

  “No, I can find you, you aren’t far from me—just text me the address. See you in fifteen minutes?” Darcy danced out of her sleep shorts and replaced them with a black miniskirt and flip-flops while raking fingers and then a brush through her long hair, hoping for a miracle. She thought of trying to dust some makeup over her face but opted instead for the natural look. She hoped Taylor would see it one morning soon, anyway.

  “I’ll be here.” Taylor’s voice sent chills over Darcy’s skin as she walked through a light spray of perfume and collected her keys. She sped the few miles to Taylor’s and talked to herself reassuringly, hoping to calm her nerves.

  Darcy rang the doorbell and could hear the hems of Taylor’s jeans dragging along carpet before she stood there, barefoot, at the open apartment door.

  Darcy breathed in the sight of a casual Taylor Westin leaning on the door before she reached to pull her inside.

  “Hi,” Taylor offered.

  Darcy exhaled as electricity pricked over her arms.

  “Hi.” Darcy stepped to slide her fingers up the side seams of the black tank top stretched taut over Taylor’s chest, and Taylor placed a firm kiss against Darcy’s mouth in greeting.

  Taylor pushed the door closed behind her guest and abruptly pressed Darcy’s body between hers and the door, apparently unwilling to temper the desire that burned between them. The next kiss was deep and hot and thirsty. Darcy couldn’t have pinpointed who had started it. She dropped her bag at her feet and scraped her fingers up through Taylor’s hair as she felt the fascinating woman press her wiry frame harder onto Darcy’s torso. The pressure was glorious and tantalizing, stirring a smoldering heat that spread through her. They spent another few fiery minutes exploring each other when the kisses became more desperate.