Gail returned a few minutes later wearing a hot pink sports-bra, a black spandex leotard accented with hot pink stars and moons and hot pink tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled back and tied in a ponytail.
"This will be a first. I've never exercised in front of an audience before. Marla and I used to exercise together but she was exercising too and... It was just different," she said and became silent for a moment. She stepped to the CD player and made a selection from the storage rack beside it. Moments later, slow paced music filled the room.
"I usually go to the gym myself, but since I'm on duty, that's out. Maybe I'll join you tomorrow if you don't mind." He watched her lithe body go through her routine on the different machines.
"That would be nice," she said, not even breathing hard. "Right now I feel like you're watching my every move."
I AM watching your every move. Pretty good workout, although I think you could do more since you aren't even exerting yourself, judging from your breathing.
An hour later she finished her routine on the machines and was not even sweating. He noticed the air coming from the room vent was almost cold. Gail went to the CD player and put another CD in. She took up station on the exercise mat and waited for the music to start. It started out slow and she danced gracefully to it, stretching her muscles more.
The music changed to a fast beat. One after another fast songs played. "Very impressive," he shouted to be heard over the music.
"Not done yet," she answered loudly and smiled.
He could feel his jaw drop in amazement when the music changed again to an even faster beat. Gail spun, twirled, kicked, leaped and twisted in near frantic motion to the song "She's a Maniac" from the movie Flashdance. The scene from the movie did not hold a candle to the way Gail danced. Her arms and legs were a blur of motion.
After twenty minutes, the music ended and she stopped. Several strands of her hair had come loose from her ponytail and were plastered to her face. She was covered in sweat and panting. "Now I'm definitely impressed. I'm in good shape and I work out a lot, but in comparison, you're the queen of the workout," he quipped.
After taking a big swig from her bottle of water, she told him, "I'm going to take a shower."
Jeff followed her, but stopped in the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch while she disappeared into her bedroom. He turned on the television but paid little attention to what was on. It was more for background noise to block out the faint sound of the shower, though his thoughts would not be deterred. He could picture her agile, naked body standing beneath the stream of hot water, washing off from her amazing workout. He pictured rivulets of soap cascading down over her creamy soft breasts… Keep your mind focused on keeping her alive, Jeff, and not on her attractiveness, he reminded himself.
A short time later, Gail came into the living room wearing a silk black robe that flowed to her ankles. It reminded Jeff of the ones worn as part of a Halloween costume.
"That was a very strenuous workout. You say you do that every day?"
"Every day, although maybe today I worked out just a little bit harder to impress my audience. Not much harder, but maybe a little." She smiled brightly and winked.
"Wow. No wonder you're in such good shape. Why the black robe?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Normally I do Circle, a Wiccan religious ceremony, once a week. I usually do it in the backyard when it's warm outside. When it's cold, like now, I do it in here." She indicated the living room. "Marla used to come over and we'd do them together, but..." she hung her head and paused momentarily as she remembered Marla, tears forming in her eyes. "You aren't Wiccan though and I wouldn't feel comfortable performing one in front of you."
"How long does the ceremony last?"
"About an hour."
"Why don't I go exercise for awhile and take a shower. That should give you the privacy to perform your ceremony. I won't disturb you and you can let me know when you're done."
"Sounds perfect." She smiled and added, "Fresh towels and wash cloths are in the hall closet."
****
Gail cooked a supper of baked fish, steamed vegetables and salad. "I'm afraid this is not really a male cuisine," she apologized.
He laughed, "This is fine. You don't have to make anything special for me."
With supper finished, Gail collected their dishes and put them in the dishwasher. He followed her into the living room and at her indication, seated himself on the couch. Gail turned on the television.
"Tell me a little more about Wicca if you don't feel I'm being too nosy."
Gail turned the television volume down. "What would you like to know?"
"Since I don't know much more about it other than a name, I don't know what to ask. Just tell me what ever you feel comfortable discussing."
"I'll start then by telling you our basic beliefs then. More lemonade?" She asked.
"Not right now, thanks. Go ahead."
Clearing her throat, Gail proceeded to explain. He paid close attention to her words while at the same time studying her.
"And that gives you a little idea of what I'm about," Gail said a few hours later. "Now I think maybe we should turn in. Are you certain you want to sleep on the couch? The bed would be more comfortable."
"Thanks for the offer but I'll be fine," he said.
She slid gracefully from the couch and disappeared down the hall. When she returned, she had a blanket and pillow in her hands. She handed them to him. Gail yawned and stretched. "Goodnight, Jeff. See you in the morning." Padding softly across the floor, Gail went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Jeff fluffed the pillow and pulled the blanket over him. He lay in the dark thinking of what she had told him. He was just dozing off when a rattle of the front door lock brought him to alert.
In a flash, he was wide-awake and rolled to the floor, drawing his gun from its holster on the coffee table. The door opened and two men stood silhouetted in the doorway.
"Stop right there," he ordered, not knowing who the newcomers were and not wanting to accidentally hurt one of Gail's friends. He could not think of a friend who would come over in the middle of the night unannounced and let themselves in, but the remote possibility did exist. His indecision was answered seconds later when the man in front drew his weapon and fired.
Jeff heard two bullets hit the couch with a thunk where he had been asleep moments before. An instant before he fired back, the man dropped to a crouch and the round missed. The man's partner was not as lucky. The round meant for the lead man struck his chest.
"Oomph," the man grunted in surprise as the round punched him back and sent him tumbling off the steps. Just then, Gail's bedroom door opened. In a voice thick with sleep, she asked, "What was that noise..."
Jeff scrambled to his feet and dashed across the intervening space. He tackled Gail to the floor and covered her body with his own just as two more bullets splintered the bedroom door above.
"Shhh, keep quiet and stay down," Jeff ordered in a low, terse voice
There was a commotion at the front door and the assailant vanished.
"Stay here and keep low," Jeff growled again at the terrified and now fully awake Gail.
He crawled across the floor, grabbed an extra magazine and peeked outside just in time to see two men scrambling into a car. One of the men was holding his chest and staggering. For just a moment, the streetlight illuminated them and Jeff saw both were wearing police uniforms. At first glance, the car appeared to be a police cruiser but to his educated eye it was not. It was the wrong make and model. Both men scrambled into the auto and it sped away, tires squealing.
Jeff leapt to his feet and began to shoot at the receding car. The loud reports of his gun shattered the early morning stillness. Jeff's lips tightened in satisfaction when he saw the back window of the fleeing car explode into tiny pieces. Bullets continued to pepper the car as he emptied his entire twelve round clip into it. The car rounded the corner and was lost to vi
ew. Without even thinking, Jeff ejected the spent magazine, slid in a fresh one and chambered a round.
He turned just in time to be assaulted by the terrified woman who threw herself into his arms. He held the still smoking pistol away from her while wrapping his free arm around her. "I thought I told you to stay put and stay down," he growled. His voice softened. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, at least I think so. Are you?"
"I'm fine," he started then noticed she was completely nude. Gently, he forced her back into the house. Lights in the neighborhood had begun to come on.
"Get dressed. I'm sure we're going to have company soon," he said in a calm voice that belied his actual feelings at seeing her this way.
Gail looked down at herself and her eyes filled with horror when she realized she was nude. With a tiny shriek, she placed one arm over her breasts and a hand over her sex. She dashed across the living room, into her bedroom and closed the door. He shook his head and grinned.
Minutes later, a squad car rounded the corner with lights flashing. Jeff placed his gun on the coffee table and flipped on the porch light. When the squad car approached, he stepped out on the porch with his hands in the air. The police car pulled to the curb and two officers cautiously approached with guns drawn.
The officers gazed around warily then focused attention on him. "I'm not armed. My pistol is on the table inside," Jeff said. One of the uniformed officers approached while the other remained behind to provide cover. "My name is Jeff Larkin. I'm reaching into my pocket to get my identification, officer."
"Slowly," the man advised and moved closer.
With two fingers, he handed the police officer his wallet. The officer stepped back to a safe distance and spoke to his partner. "Watch him."
"Watching," his partner answered.
The officer holding his wallet found Jeff's id and radioed in the information. Jeff knew he had checked out when the man lowered his weapon. "His papers are in order. He's a PI and has a license to carry," he said to his partner. The two men came close and while one hung back the other took his statement. Gail, now dressed, also joined them on the porch and gave her statement. The officer's radio buzzed for attention and he stepped away to answer.
In his absence, Gail looked up at Jeff and stammered quietly, "I'm sorry I didn't follow your orders to stay down and... and... I'm sorry for my being nude."
"The important thing is you're all right. I hope you got enough rest, because I don't think we're going to get more until later this morning." They had just finished speaking when the officer rejoined them.
Another car pulled up just as the officer completed filling out his report. An investigating team piled out of the car and began checking the crime scene. They searched inside the house and carelessly retrieved slugs from the couch and door. After stepping in it, one of the investigators took samples of the blood on the sidewalk. He watched them from Gail's porch in disgust. "Damned sloppy," he mumbled under his breath. One of the investigators sauntered his way. The expression on the man's face was one of arrogance and contempt.
His walk alone raises my blood pressure, Jeff thought. I was more impressed with the uniformed cops than this bozo.
The suited man scratched his head. "I need to verify something Mr. PI Larkin," the investigator sneered at him. "You said you fired a whole clip at the car as it was speeding away?"
Sometimes I hate when my first impressions prove right. "Yes, a twelve round clip. I hit one of the intruders with one but I shot the remaining eleven into the car. Why?"
"Well, it's just that we've been unable to find any stray rounds from your weapon."
"I think you got my statement a little wrong, detective. I said I fired the remaining rounds into the car, not at the car. I hit what I aim at," he told him smugly. "If and when you find the car, you'll find all eleven rounds." I can play the arrogance game too.
The investigator harrumphed. "And you said the two men were wearing police uniforms?"
"That's what I said, but I've never heard of police using silencers, so I doubt you'll find they're members of the force. What about the slugs you retrieved from in here? Think you'll find any leads there?"
The investigator shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Jeff was sure it was because the man was used to asking questions and not answering them.
At last he said, "I doubt it. More than likely the gun wasn't registered."
"Imagine that. Officer, is there anything else? Otherwise I have things to do," he said in a dismissive voice. He intended on doing his own investigating and was sure his would be much more thorough.
"Not at this time…" the investigator started.
"Are you finished inside?"
"For now…" the investigator started again.
"Good night then." Jeff turned on his heel, walked into Gail's house and closed the door. He was not overly impressed with the police force. He knew there was a slim possibility they would ever find the car, much less the men. When he turned from the door, Gail was standing behind him.
"You hit that car eleven times while it was speeding away in the dark?" she asked with incredulity in her voice.
"Yes, although I wish I had one of my rifles, then the car would have never gotten away."
"Cocky, aren't you?" she teased.
"Not cocky, confident. As I told you before, I'm damn good at what I do. Shooting is one of those things," he answered matter-of-factly.
Chapter 3
"I can't afford it," Gail said. "I can't even afford to pay you. I'm just a poor working woman."
"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."
"I can't allow…"
"You can and you will. Don't argue." Jeff opened his phone and started making calls, ending the conversation.
In exasperation she turned and walked away, saying over her shoulder, "I'll be in the kitchen. I'll pour you a glass of lemonade if you care for some… sir!"
Hours later, a flurry of activity began. She watched as her house was transformed. By the end of the day she had new door locks and the latest in alarms protecting all entrances, including windows.
Walking around her house, he pointed out the motion activated floodlights. "If someone tries to approach at night, this place is going to light up like a Christmas tree. If they try to get in, alarms are going to go off that are loud enough to wake the dead."
"I don't know what to say."
"How about thanks? That will do. Now, if you'll excuse me." He walked into the other room and made a call. Though his tone was low, she caught snippets of his conversation.
"…I know it's highly irregular but that is the number you'll contact if the alarm is tripped. Not the police." He was silent while the person at the other end talked. Jeff responded, "With the money I'm paying, don't argue. Do we need the okay of your supervisor?" Again a pause. "I thought not." He ended the conversation and dialed another number.
Again, though she listened intently, she only heard part of the conversation. Jeff carefully avoided mentioning a name. He talked about a package he was sending with blood samples, fingerprints and a hair sample. He named the local police department and something about tapping into the system to get a ballistics report.
She entered the living room and he turned to face her.
"Who was that?" she asked.
He looked at her as if debating how much information to provide. "You were eavesdropping?"
"My house. Besides, the last time I checked, you work for me and your conversations concerned me."
He chuckled. "Fair enough. The first, as you no doubt surmised, was the alarm company. The second was no one you need to be concerned with. Let's just say we should know the identities of last night's attackers soon, along with other details about them."
"I'm impressed. My house has been transformed into a regular Fort Knox. Do you afford all your clients such attention with lavish personal expenditures?"
Jeff gave her an ambiguous look. "No."
Not satisfied with a simple 'no',
she dug for more information. "So am I to believe that maybe I'm a special case?"
"Yes, you are."
"Special in what way?"
"I know where you're going with this interrogation, Gail. You're digging to find out if I care about you personally. You're special to me. That is the end of this conversation." With a frown, he walked away from her to attend to the final details of her alarm installation.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. He hates to admit it, but he cares. Does he care for me because he considers me a woman in need or does he care for me in other ways?
The last installation tech left. She handed Jeff a plate of food. "So, what now?"
"Now we wait for the information I requested. In the meantime, we see if they make another move."
A Witch and Her Man (Jeff and Gail) Page 3
