Double Play (Bishop's Run Series Book 2)

by B. D. Gates

  “Tess, would you like a glass?” she offered as she poured. Miranda had learned from previous dinners with Tess that she didn't always drink.

  “Yes, please, I'd like that.” Tess replied.

  Miranda took in the smile, the brightness on the young woman's face as she watched the activity and thought, “Oh, lawd, maybe I've been all wrong about this girl.”

  That would certainly explain things, wouldn't it?

  11

  Miranda's husband, Ernest, a firefighter, was working an extra shift this weekend. Her young teen daughter, Lynn, and her older son, the junior Ernest, arrived with only ten minutes to spare, having been out on the block with their friends. Both kids were more than happy seeing Hatch, Lynn hugging her, and Ernie smiling and nodding in greeting. Tess just smiled at them all sharing the love, saying hello to the two kids when they saw her in the kitchen.

  Dinner was served promptly at seven, Hatch jokingly looking at her watch, and it was quiet, but only briefly, as everyone dug in, getting louder as the participants' hunger was addressed.

  “Hatch has a motorcycle,” Evan announced to his brother and sister. “We're going to take a ride on it.”

  “Whoa, now, little buddy, you'd better ask your mom about that,” Hatch cautioned.

  All eyes were on Miranda while she considered it. “Once around the block. Once, Hatch, do you hear me? And slowly. You know I don't care for motorcycles, they're dangerous.” She'd worked enough accidents involving bikes versus vehicles and she'd seen the damage done to the riders. “There's no traffic this time of evening, that's the only reason I'm giving in...” her voice trailed off.

  “Mir, I love these kids like they're my own, I wouldn't do anything to hurt them.” Hatch was a little upset that Miranda would think she'd put them in harm's way.

  Miranda picked up on Hatch's wounded tone. “Honey, I know you wouldn't, I don't worry about you, it's other people that scare me. Once around the block. That's all my heart can take, even with you driving.”

  Hatch looked at Evan and they nodded at each other.

  Deal.

  “So, Tess,” Hatch began, hoping to start a conversation with the new member across the table. “Are you from Richmond?”

  “No. I'm...not.” She didn't offer anything more, and her silence surprised Hatch.

  Miranda shot a look across the table that Hatch, knowing her former partner so well, clearly read as “you're out of bounds.”

  Hatch gave a nearly-imperceptible nod to Miranda. “More salad?” she asked Lynn, holding the bowl in her direction.

  Tess sat back and looked down at her lap.

  “Oh, please, don't shut down, Tess,” thought Miranda, as she took a sip of wine, looking at the young woman over the rim of her glass, knowing how quiet Tess could get following any personal questions. Tess sipped hers, too.

  “Are you back, Hatch? Are you coming back to Richmond?” asked Earnest.

  “No, y'all, I'm here on business for a couple of weeks or so.”

  “Do you think you'll ever come back?” Evan asked, the hopefulness coming through.

  “I won't say 'never,'” replied Hatch, “cuz ya just never know, but I don't see anything on the horizon.”

  Evan looked deflated at that. Hatch was fun.

  “...but you never can tell,” added Hatch, bringing the boy's head back up. “You'll be the first to know.”

  Tess smiled at the way the woman soothed Evan's disappointment. These kids, this one especially, sure loved them some Hatch.

  Miranda saw Tess's smile and breathed a sigh of relief. “Who's up for dessert? It's cannoli...” she teased them.

  “Oh, god, cannoli,” sighed Lynn. She looked at Tess. “Half one with me? They're so rich.”

  “Sure,” agreed Tess. She didn't want to take a whole one and waste it if she found that it wasn't as delicious as it smelled.

  “Lynn, I think you can cheat at least once a week,” Hatch laughed. She knew that Lynn was like most teenage girls, focused on her weight and her figure.

  “I know,” Lynn replied. “Half is the cheat.”

  Hatch laughed. “Okay then.” She stood up with her empty plate in hand and leaned towards Tess. “You through?”

  “Oh, yes, thank you.”

  Hatch took both plates and headed for the kitchen. “Ernest, Evan, bring the rest of the plates while I serve dessert.” The two boys did as they were told, following Hatch to the kitchen.

  “Wow,” Tess quietly remarked.

  “Hatch reminds them on a regular basis that they aren't to expect to be waited on,” Miranda informed her.

  Hatch returned with small serving plates, forks, and the package of cannoli, standing at her seat while she doled out the goods. She watched Tess take her first bite of the pastry, smiling as Tess's eyes gave up her pleasure with the flavor.

  “You like it?”

  “Oh, wow, this is delicious!”

  Hatch nodded. “Yeah it is,” she agreed, sitting down and taking a bite.

  The boys blew through their servings and Evan waited impatiently while Hatch finished hers. Once done, Hatch looked over at Miranda.

  “Okay.” Miranda gave the word and they all three got up at once, carried their plates to the sink, and headed towards the front door. “Once around the block, Hatch, slowly,” she reminded the grown-up.

  “Yes, ma'am.” The door closed loudly behind them.

  Lynn studied the phone in her hand. “I've got to, uh...I'm going to my room,” she said, standing up. “Y'all gonna go watch?”

  “Yes, I suppose we are,” her mother replied. “Much as it scares me, we are.”

  “Okay, have fun,” said the girl as she headed for her bedroom.

  “Well,” sighed Miranda, sitting back in her chair and picking up her wine glass. “Another Saturday night dinner done with.”

  Tess laughed. “You make it sound like it's a chore.”

  “Oh, no, honey, I don't mean to. I guess it's just that I don't know how many we get to have, all together, and it makes me a little sad that another one is over.”

  Tess considered that and nodded.

  Who better to understand how quickly it could all change.

  12

  Miranda and Tess were standing at the curb when Hatch rolled up with Evan on the seat behind her. The boy pulled off his helmet, the thrill of the ride written all over his face.

  “Mom, that was so cool! I'm gonna get a motorcycle!”

  Miranda shook her head. “No, you're not. At least, not until you have a job and move out on your own. Hatch, look at what you've started.”

  Hatch grinned. “Now, Miranda, it'll pass. He'll see some four-wheeled sparkly thing in a week and that'll be it for the

  motorcycle.”

  Tess laughed. Hatch was probably right. She found herself blushing a bit when a smiling Hatch looked at her conspiratorily and winked.

  Miranda looked at the two of them and realized she was learning quite a bit about her young partner since Jo Hatcher had blown into town earlier that day.

  Maybe Tess didn't offer up any personal information because she was afraid she'd be judged, or ostracized, or even harassed.

  “Lawd, child,” Miranda thought to herself. “It's been over nine months. You don't think you can trust me yet?”

  She caught up with the conversation. Hatch was telling Tess about a bust she and Miranda had worked before she'd joined the DEA.

  “So, by that night, Miranda had spent about twenty hours sitting on a surveillance with me and I guess she'd had enough. It was hot, it had been raining, and we were both just done with it. We hadn't seen any activity in the house or on the street for hours and Miranda was at her wit's end. We're just about to end it when this car pulls up, a little blue sedan. We watch the driver get out and go to the trunk, take out a stack of pizzas and head to the door. We sit there watching, then Miranda says, "oh, shit."

  “She radios the other team farther down the street to stop the sedan then says "fo
llow me" and she slips out of the vehicle. I'm behind her as she crosses the street and moves through the shadows until she's down below the porch. The guy has knocked on the door and then it opens and I look at Miranda like “what?” as in “what are you doing?” and she just waits.

  The guy hands over the boxes, the dude we've been watching takes them, and then the door closes and the pizza guy's leaving. She watches him get to his car and then she's up on the porch, knocking on the door. I get up behind her.

  “The door opens, the dude is still holding the boxes, and Miranda, showing her badge, says “I sure hope there's pepperoni in there,” then just reaches over and pops the lid on the top one. I look over her shoulder and I see that the box is loaded with small bags of white powder. “Well, shit,” I think.

  The guy stands there, dumfounded. He's just violated his parole, he's holding a shitload of drugs, but the only thing he says is "Good gawdamighty, you people smell bad."

  Tess burst out laughing. Miranda was nodding her head, confirming Hatch's take on the scene. "Who'd have thought two women could smell so ripe?"

  Hatch agreed. "That was some stank. I blame the italian hoagies and the garlic chicken."

  Tess laughed again. "Well, it sure explains why Miranda won't let me eat in the car."

  "Honey, it took weeks for that smell to go away. Like Hatch said, it was hot, it had been raining, and that funk sank into the upholstery like a bad night out. Every time you'd open the door the rest of the summer, you got hit in the face with it. I still gag if I think about it too long."

  Hatch was smiling and nodding in agreement. "Weeks. And I think it got worse before it got better."

  "Well, that mystery is solved." Tess was shaking her head, still chuckling. "Y'all, it's been really nice, but I'm gonna call it an evening. Thank you, Miranda, for such a great dinner. And thank you, Hatch, for such great company."

  The two women smiled at Tess in turn.

  "You're welcome, Tess, anytime you want to join us for supper, the door's open," Miranda offered.

  "It's been fun, Tess, hope we can do it again sometime."

  Tess nodded and smiled. "We will. G'night, y'all." She waved at the two women as she started down the sidewalk towards home.

  Miranda looked over at Hatch, who was watching Tess make her way down the street. "I don't know what it is about you, but you sure have a way of bringing women out of their shell."

  "What do you mean, Mir?"

  "I mean, that girl has been here for months and that is the happiest I've seen her."

  "And you think that's because of me?"

  "I don't have anything else to hang her behavior on, Hatch. You're the only thing that's different."

  "So, you're welcome?"

  "Alright, smartass, yes, thank you. She's a puzzle piece and I think I've been trying to make her edges fit in the wrong spot."

  "Got your detective nerves all in a frazzle, huh? And what do you mean, wrong spot?"

  "She gets this look on her face sometimes and it's pensive and sad and her eyes are focused on something so far away. I know that I could coax her into talking to me, but I want her to trust me enough that she tells me her story on her own. And, honestly, the way she reacts to you, I don't think she dates men."

  "Really. You don't think she dates men. Have you taken her out drinking?"

  "Hatch," Miranda laughed. "I am not going to take her out and get her drunk just to find out who she is, where she's from, what her dating pool consists of. Besides, I don't think she's that much of a drinker."

  "Hm."

  "Hm, what?"

  "Oh, nothing."

  "Now why do I not like the sound of that?"

  "Well, gee, Miranda, I don't know."

  "Hatch..."

  "It's okay, I'm just thinking."

  "I know. That's what I'm worried about. You thinking."

  "Don't worry, Mir."

  "Says you."

  "Ha. So, I'm gonna head on out, too, got some things to unpack, get settled in. I'll see you downtown on Monday. And thank you, Mir, for dinner. Best meal I've had in a long time." Hatch leaned in and kissed Miranda's cheek. "I've missed you."

  Miranda smiled. "I've missed you, too, Hatch, but I'm glad you're doing so well."

  "I have you to thank for that. G'night, Mir." Hatch put on her helmet and took a seat on her motorcycle, watching as Miranda made her way to the apartment building lobby.

  "G'night, Hatch," Miranda called as she opened the door. Hatch waved a gloved hand, then entered the traffic lane.

  "Now," thought Hatch as she slow-rolled the big bike down the street, "I wonder which way she went."

  13

  Tess sauntered along the avenue, occasionally looking in the shop windows, and enjoying the nice evening. She'd had a good time--the first, really, since she'd moved to Richmond and she smiled as she recalled the events of the little family get-together. Up ahead, a motorcycle pulled to the curb, the rider flipping up the helmet visor and calling her name.

  Hatch.

  Of course.

  It was another pleasant surprise, but not entirely unexpected when Tess considered it. She just smiled, slightly shaking her head as she walked towards the bike and rider.

  "Hello, Hatch."

  "Hi, Tess. Can I give you a lift?"

  "Well..." There was a long pause.

  "Tess. Tess, this is a Harley. And you've got to think about it? Wait...oh my god, wait a minute. Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?"

  "Uhm, well, no."

  Hatch was smirking. "It's okay, I get it, it's your first time. Lots of things are scary when it's your first time."

  "Hatch..."

  Hatch chuckled.

  Tess shook her head, but she was smiling.

  "So, you up for it? I'll be gentle, I promise."

  "Hatch."

  "Okay, okay," Hatch laughed, her hands up. "Seriously, though, can I give you a ride home?"

  Tess looked at Hatch, then looked at the monster bike she straddled. She'd seen Hatch with the kids, knew she'd be careful, and wasn't this whole move to Richmond about new experiences and a little thrill-seeking?

  "Okay."

  "Yay!" Hatch handed her the helmet and helped her tighten the strap. "Need a hand up?"

  "No, I've got this," replied Tess, placing her hands on Hatch's shoulders and easily jumping up into the second seat. Hatch's eyebrows went up at her display of athleticism.

  "Okay, comfy?" Hatch's voice came through speakers inside Tess's helmet.

  "Wow," replied Tess.

  "Bluetooth," Hatch explained. "I like to be able to talk to my riders without yelling."

  "Nice."

  "So, just tell me where to go, okay? And if it makes you more comfortable, you can hang on to me."

  "Okay." Tess placed her hands on Hatch's shoulders and Hatch started the big bike rolling into the street.

  Hatch kept her promise, the ride was slow and careful. After a minute or two, she felt Tess relax and briefly watched her in the rearview as she began to look around.

  "Oh, right at the light." Tess had gotten distracted and nearly missed the turn. Hatch motored into it easily, though, and they continued on. Traffic was light in the early hours of the night and they rarely had the company of another vehicle in the lanes next to them.

  "You were gonna walk home? That's some walk!"

  "Oh, it's not so far. I would've run if it took too long."

  "You like to run."

  "Yeah, I do. Always have. I ran track in high school."

  "Ew."

  "What? You got something against track? Or women athletes?"

  "Oh, no, I love athletic women. Truly. I just didn't care for track and field myself. Personally. Gawd, don't make me run."

  "Did you play any sports?"

  "Yeah, softball. All four years."

  Softball. Is it a prerequisite? Tess wondered and chuckled to herself.