Insight

by Jennis Slaughter

  “Well, if you’d be more comfortable, I could even bring a friend of mine. That way there’s no pressure or anything,” he suggested gently.

  Rori shook his head as entered the kitchen and jumped onto his bench for his supper. “Not a very bright one is he?” he mumbled and Del actually had to look away to keep her chuckles in.

  “Umm, you don’t get turned down very often do you Agent Ryerson?” Jenny drawled. “Well, you have this time. When I say my girlfriend, I mean girlfriend, lover, and my other half.”

  Ryerson’s face flushed a bright red as he looked down at his plate. “Uh sorry, I didn’t realize. I guess whoever she is must be pretty lucky to have you. Give her my regards,” he replied, trying to preserve whatever dignity he had left.

  Del looked over at Raelin, who’d been especially quiet and saw that she hadn’t eaten much. She reached under the table and gave her knee a gentle squeeze, a questioning look on her face.

  Looking up, Raelin decided to ask about everyone else’s day. “So how did Chief Brito react when he was arrested Kasey?”

  Kasey snorted, her attention shifting from Jenny and Will and back to the rest of the table. “He resisted, started yelling about what an upstanding member of the community he’s always been. I couldn’t believe it. It took us both just to get him into the back of the SUV.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, where did you arrest him?” The witch was curious. “How many people saw it?”

  “Well, there was a town meeting going on. Something about organizing a town barbeque? Anyways, we walked right in and grabbed him. Read him his rights and then made it very clear we were only here to nab him for his bad spending habits. We didn’t let on that anything else was amiss,” Will explained.

  “Nearly the whole town was there. Regina and AJ Kingsley included. They almost looked pleased with the whole thing. There were some unimpressed townies, but they mostly settled when we read his charges,” continued Kasey.

  “Wish I’d have been there to see it,” muttered Del, standing to clear her plate, grabbing Raelin’s as well.

  Standing to put away the leftover food, Raelin asked. “So how did the interrogation go? Del really didn’t say much. Did he admit to everything? Does he know where all the girls are?”

  Del bit her lip when Will piped up. “It went pretty well. He put a stink up at first, trying to act tough, but you know he came down from that pedestal awful fast once Del sent him to the floor. It was pretty impressive to watch.”

  Kasey sighed, shaking her head. She really needed to teach him when to keep his mouth shut.

  “Yeah, Del said that she dumped him out of his chair and he had an accident. What she wasn’t clear on was the reason that she did so...either one of you want to enlighten me?” Raelin looked at Kasey and Will.

  Kasey was smart enough to know that it would probably not do Del any favors to tell Raelin what had been coming out of Brito’s mouth. Will however, had no such internal filter. “Oh, he was saying some mighty terrible things, sexual things about you. He deserved what Del gave him if you ask me. He wasn’t too thrilled about being shown up by a woman neither,” Will said, finishing his last bite of supper.

  Del stood there glaring at him and Jenny’s eyes went wide as she felt the shift in both Raelin and Del’s mood. The blonde prayed that Will had said enough, but no such luck because after he’d swallowed he continued, “You know, he asked to have the handcuffs taken off when we put him in that room. Good thing we didn’t, he’d have given you a world a trouble otherwise.” The young man said, leaning back in his chair, patting his stomach as if he hadn’t said a thing. “Thanks for dinner, that was really good.”

  Raelin turned to her lover. “Did you hurt yourself when you did that?”

  “No I’m fine,” Del said, not really wanting to worry Raelin anymore than she already was. The truth was; she had pulled her shoulder a little when she’d rounded on the Chief, but her holster was also making it ache so she really hadn’t caused any more damage than she already had been. She was okay and that was that.

  “Other than him talking trash about me, was there another reason for you to take him down...possibly, hurting yourself more? Could it have been your ego?” Crossing her arms across her chest, Raelin waited.

  “Why would you think that? You can’t honestly say he didn’t deserve that. Besides, I got the information out of him. I don’t exactly make a habit of getting rough with suspects,” Del replied. “And I don’t have an ego,” she huffed indignantly, clearing the rest of the table.

  “I don’t suppose that him causing the attack at Jasper’s had anything to do with it at all huh? You could have hurt yourself, even worse Del. What would that have gotten you?” Raelin quietly asked.

  Del sighed, seeing Raelin’s true worry. She stood in front of the taller woman, tangling their fingers together and locking her green gaze to Raelin’s copper. “I’m fine. Maybe I got a little carried away, but I knew what I was doing. He was cuffed and I knew he couldn’t get at me. I can’t put everything on hold just because I have a few cuts. My work doesn’t wait for me to get better. I know you are worried about me, but you need to trust that I can take care of myself,” she reassured her witch softly.

  The witch stepped into Del’s personal space so that she could stare down into green eyes. “I’m sorry about the ego remark; it’s just with everything that I found out today...I just can’t lose anyone else. Can you understand that? You do whatever you need to; you just make sure that you come home to me.”

  “I promise,” Del whispered and ignoring everyone in the room; drew Raelin down for a gentle kiss, keeping it short, but pouring as much love as she could into it. “Okay?”

  “Okay...folks...it was a long day today, and I just remembered that Del ate all the ice cream so Will...it’s time for you to head to Jasper’s. Kasey, I’m gonna trust you to lock up.” Raelin turned to lead the blonde upstairs.

  “Will, we’ll call you tomorrow to work out a course of action. Kasey, Jenny, sweet dreams.” Del smirked, following her witch, enjoying the gentle sway of hips as she moved.

  Kasey watched them go, and then rounded on Will. “My God, you can’t keep your mouth shut, can you? We’ll get in touch tomorrow. Now go,” she said, practically pushing him out the door and locking it behind him.

  She watched him get in the SUV and once he’d pulled out of the driveway and was on his way, she turned to Jenny. “I’m so sorry he hit on you like that. I meant to warn you that he fancies himself a ladies man,” Kasey said. Now that they were alone, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of things. They hadn’t had a chance to see each other that morning, or talk about what had happened between them aside from the little they’d discussed afterwards.

  Walking up to the Fed Jenny smiled as she put her arms around the taller woman’s waist. “Quit babbling and kiss me.” Rising up on her tiptoes, she brushed her lips against Kasey’s.

  Kasey smiled into the kiss, letting it ground her, and set her back on an even keel. She deepened the kiss as she leaned back against the door, her hands cupping Jenny’s cheeks before sliding into her hair. Finally, she pulled away when air got short. “Thanks, I think I needed that.”

  Looking up into warm chocolate eyes, Jenny smiled. “I missed you this morning, and just so you know both Rae and Del know about us.”

  Kasey’s eyes widened. “You told them?” she hissed, embarrassed.

  “I told Rae, but Del said that she heard us last night when she did a walk through, checking on the locks. She may tease us, but she won’t say anything to anyone else.” The younger woman looked up and then got scared. “You didn’t want them to know?”

  “No! It’s not that, I mean they know we are together, I guess it would be reasonable for them to assume we’d sleep together at some point. I guess it’s just that last night was amazing, and very special to me. I should know that you wouldn’t just make it into something to gossip about,” the agent replied apologetically, running her hands
down Jenny’s back to clasp them at the small of her back.

  Pulling down Kasey’s head so that she could once more brush her lips against the Agent’s. “It was more than amazing and so very special to me also. I also wanted to bop Agent Ryerson on the back of his head just to get him to shut up, but I want to ask you a question?”

  “You can ask me anything. Hopefully I’ll have an answer,” she smiled. “And I wanted to bop him too.”

  “Can we please go to bed?” Jenny smiled up at the Fed.

  “Oh God yes.” Kasey smiled. Impulsively, she grabbed Jenny and threw her over her shoulder, lugging her down the hallway and through the utility room door.

  j

  Del could see the sadness lingering in her witch, and she wished more than anything that she could take it away. She let Raelin get ready for bed in silence, letting her have whatever space she needed. She kept a close eye on the woman as she dressed for bed, only breaking away when she pulled the t-shirt she had worn earlier over her head. The detective headed for the bathroom to check over the gash in her forehead and the tear in her shoulder. Both looked well on their way to healing, but the interrogation with Brito and supper had taxed her. She was exhausted and the aches were returning. Sighing, she returned to the bedroom to find Raelin already in bed, so she climbed in next to her and gently took her witch into her arms, holding her close as they lay together.

  “Tell me what you need to be okay,” Del whispered, kissing Raelin’s head.

  “Other than holding me? Nothing. It’s just something that I need to get over.” Turning so that she could look into Del’s eyes, Raelin whispered, “I know that finding my father will be close to impossible, but you will try right?”

  “I will. I’ll do everything in my power to find him for you. I promise you that,” Del said, shifting a little to get more comfortable.

  The witch shifted her position as soon as she realized that Del was still hurting. “I’m not going to use that much,” she placed her hand above the tear and concentrated. She could feel as skin and blood vessels healed back together. Then she blew lightly against the gash on the blonde forehead. “There, you should be a bit more comfortable now. If you want, I can rub some more salve in. It would help your back.”

  “Thank you, but I’ll be okay. I just want to lay here and hold you. I’m much better than I was, so thank you.” Del smiled, letting her fingers work the tense muscles in Raelin’s own back. ”Just relax; you aren’t going to sleep all tense like this. I’ve got you and I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning too.”

  Wrapping her arm around the blonde’s waist, Raelin sighed. “I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here right now. Just holding you is helping so very much. Thank you.”

  “Anytime Darlin’. I know it’s still early, but why don’t you try to go to sleep okay? You need the rest after the last couple of days,” Del whispered, kissing Raelin’s forehead, nose and finally her lips.

  Raelin sighed into the kiss before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. She had never slept with anyone before Delaney, but she was quickly deciding that she enjoyed it.

  Del let herself watch Raelin a few minutes longer before she decided to try to get some sleep herself. After dozing for an hour or two and not being able to fall fully asleep, she decided it would be best to get up and try and get some work done. Carefully pulling herself away from a sleeping Raelin and leaving the warmth of the bed, she grabbed her laptop. She wanted the bedroom to be about her and Raelin, so she decided to work from downstairs and keep her work out of the room.

  Setting herself up in a comfortable chair in the living room, Del powered on the computer and put her brain to work. First thing she did was pull up the local newspaper articles from the days surrounding Quinlan’s death and Arthur’s disappearance. The online archive was archaic and wasn’t maintained well. She’d have to visit either the local library or newspaper office to get a hold of them. Next, she wanted to pull up anything she could about the investigation. Again, she’d have to go to the papers for that until she could have a chance to talk to Brito. Getting the case files and evidence re-opened would be the next step.

  With a town full of hunters, Del knew that a hunting accident was probable, but it’s hard to mistake a woman lounging in a clearing by a spring for a buck. She imagined she’d find out a lot based on what Brito had found at the scene.

  The blonde rubbed her tired eyes as she continued to scroll through websites. She didn’t know she’d been at this for hours, having lost all track of time, but she was determined to do this for Raelin. Rori had curled himself on the back of the chair at her head and fallen asleep several hours ago.

  Del looked up when she heard movement at the door and spotted Kasey looking at her worriedly. ”You should be sleeping Del.”

  “You should be enjoying the time you have with Jenny.” Del smiled back

  “You would be right. I got up to do a last check of the house before I went to sleep. She’s already asleep,” Kasey said, taking a seat on the arm of the chair next to Del. ”What’s so important that it’s pulled you away from your witch.”

  “Raelin found some love letters from her father to her mother today. Her father is actually Arthur Senior,” Del explained. The blonde knew that this was Rae’s personal business, but felt that the Fed would keep it quiet.

  Kasey gave a surprised look, but said nothing, allowing the detective to continue. “He was in love with her mother, wanted to be with the both of them, but was trapped by his family. Finally, he decided to tell Raelin and leave Regina. He told her to meet him at the usual spot two days from the day of the letter. Two days later, Raelin’s mother was killed in what Brito called a hunting accident.”

  “That sounds a little too convenient. Let me guess, you are looking into her mother’s death?” Kasey asked, looking at the information on the laptop.

  “Actually Raelin asked me to try and find her father. I just think her mother’s death has a lot to do with his disappearance and you and I both know that Brito probably rigged the investigation.”

  “Yes, I would look into it. The case files and evidence are probably sealed though,” Kasey said, taking a scroll through what Del had already found. ”I find it a little hard to believe that she would have been mistaken for game. This whole town lives and breathes hunting. That’s an unlikely mistake for someone to make.”

  “That’s what I thought. Maybe I’d believe it if the scene wasn’t a large well lit clearing next to a spring,” she replied, pointing to a newspaper article she’d managed to find showing a picture of the crime scene.

  Kasey nodded her agreement. ”I’ll tell you what; I’ll do my best to see if I can’t get the evidence and reports unsealed. I assume you’ll want to have another conversation with him?”

  “That would be such a huge help and yeah, if you could arrange for another chat with him that would be great. I’m hoping I’ll be able to figure out who Arthur’s attorney was. Chances are, if Arthur was serious about leaving Regina, some divorce papers would have been drawn up. If I can find those, hopefully the attorney can give me some insight into where Arthur disappeared to. Also, you think you could do me one last favor?” Del asked, smiling up at the agent.

  “For you or Raelin? I can sure try,” was the reply.

  “See if you can’t pull up any flight records in the last say five years private or otherwise under Mr. Kingsley’s name. It’s a long shot, I know. Oh also, just in case, look for anything under the name Montrose as well. He might be traveling under her last name as a sort of memorial to her,” Del asked, finally closing her laptop.

  “Yeah, I see what I can dig up. If it puts Raelin at ease, then I’ll do my best. She was so unlike herself at dinner,” Kasey said standing and stretching her arms.

  “You’re right. This whole thing has thrown her for a loop and it doesn’t help that she’s already exhausted and spread thin mentally with all the magic she’s been using. I’m going to head up to bed agai
n. I’ve been down here a while and I’ll bet soon enough she’s going to sense I’m not there and come looking for me. You go get back to your girl all right?” Del smiled, heading for the stairs.

  Kasey nodded, pausing at the utility room door. “Sure thing. I’ll let you know what I come up with.”

  With that, both women headed to bed and their respective loves, determined more than ever to figure this town out.

  As the bed dipped down, Raelin instinctively turned towards her lover, seeking comfort in her embrace. “Missed you.”

  “Sorry Darlin’, couldn’t seem to lay still. Go back to sleep,” Del whispered, dipping her head down for a quick kiss.

  “Mmm, nice kiss. Are you in pain? Did you need me to get you something?” Raelin ran her hands through golden hair.

  “Nope I’m okay, thanks anyway. Just a little stiff. I need to be careful that I don’t favor my right arm too much; otherwise the tendons will get all stiff. I’m lucky I can use my left hand as well as my right,” Del said leaning into Raelin’s touch. ”Were you getting any rest before I woke you up?”

  Smiling up at her lover, the witch joked, “So you’re saying that you are talented with both hands. Mmm. I may need to see proof of that.”

  “You get some rest now and I might show you later.” Del grinned, one hand sneaking to Raelin’s ribs to tickle her playfully.

  “Promises, promises,” Raelin groused, snuggling into Del’s embrace.

  “Well, it’s good for you that I keep my promises,” Del said, fighting back a yawn. ”Now are you going to let me sleep or keep talking all night?” she joked, holding Raelin tighter.

  “Shh, I’m sleeping here,” Del’s witch whispered.

  Del smiled and kissed the top of Raelin’s head, knowing by the sounds of her breathing she had already slipped back into sleep. ”Love you,” she whispered before she followed Raelin into sleep.

  A Chapter 20 a

  Del’s green eyes blinked open as the early morning light fell through a crack in the curtains and spread across her face. A quick glance to her right revealed that Raelin had rolled to her back in her sleep, sprawling herself haphazardly across the bed. The linens had tangled at their feet sometime in the night and Del took shameless advantage of the fact that Raelin had worn a simple tank top and matching underwear set to bed.