I gripped a strong, sure arm around her midsection, there on the sidewalk. My eyes closed and I pressed my mouth against hers. She met my kiss with no hesitation. Her tongue snuck out to swab against my bottom lip, and I tasted the clean mint of her toothpaste.
She pulled back slightly, but only to rest her forehead against mine. “You’re incorrigible,” she murmured.
I leaned down to peck the end of her nose. “I love you,” I countered.
“I’ll be back,” she promised.
I reluctantly let her go, even though the hostess stand was only a few feet away. After such a string of bad luck and tragedies, things were finally looking up. I didn’t want it to end, even though I knew it was only a matter of time before we came crashing back to reality. That’s what Mondays were for, after all.
I hung back and waited for Julia to return with a time for our estimated wait. From this distance, I couldn’t make out the words, but I watched her speak with her hands, like conducting an orchestra while the young woman behind the podium nodded enthusiastically. Julia had a particular skill in convincing timid restaurant workers to seat us sooner than promised.
I leaned against a short wrought-iron fence and scanned the diners seated at the front patio. Shaded under bright red and yellow patio umbrellas, happy couples shared pancake flights and new families with small children tried to convince their toddler to take one more bite. They appeared as blissful as I felt.
One diner in particular gave me pause.
“Is that …” I pushed my sunglasses up for a better view. “Rich?”
I stared longer, sure that I was wrong. But there was his big, dumb, bald head and his douchey aviator glasses. He sat by himself at a table for two, but there were two champagne flutes at the table.
I stalked closer to the noisy patio. “Rich?”
My friend’s head snapped up from the menu he’d been examining. “Cass! Uh, hey.”
“You eat brunch?” A teasing smile curled onto my mouth. “How very domesticated.”
Rich gestured to the empty chair across from him. “It was, uh, it was Grace Kelly’s idea. We had a late start this morning.” His thin lips twisted into a leer. “If you know what I mean.”
“Uh huh.” I could tell what he was trying to do—downplay the fact that he was engaging in perhaps the most couple-y activity outside of farmers markets by talking about sex.
I cleared my throat. “Nice shirt.”
Rich tilted his head down to appraise his salmon-colored polo. He looked like he’d forgotten he was even wearing a shirt at all. “It was a present.”
“I bet.”
An exuberant tone rose above the cacophony of conversations and utensils striking plates. “Look who I ran into on the way back from the bathroom!”
Grace Kelly Donovan had her arm wrapped around my girlfriend’s waist.
“The wait is over an hour,” Julia clipped. “We should probably find someplace else to eat,” she instructed me.
Grace Kelly bubbled like the champagne in their glasses. “You two should join us!”
Rich and Julia both made the same horrified face.
“Oh, I’m sure you don’t want us to interrupt your date,” Julia quickly dismissed.
“Yeah, and we don’t want to intrude on your day, either,” Rich added.
I ignored both protests. I was hungry. “Sure,” I agreed with a shrug. “Why not?”
Julia snatched my elbow. “You really want to turn this into a double date?” she hissed for only my ears.
I knew Grace Kelly wasn’t her favorite person, not because of Grace herself, but because of what she represented—her old, closeted life in Embarrass.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Rich having a similar conversation with Grace Kelly. He had less ammunition, however. He probably just wanted to avoid all the ball busting he’d get from me later.
“But I’m hungry!” I uncharacteristically whined. “You wore me out, you cougar. I need to replenish my energy.”
Julia exhaled. “Fine,” she said between clenched teeth.
I gave her a quick peck on her angry mouth. “Thank you.”
We foraged two more chairs from the vicinity and crowded around the table meant for two. It took a moment of shuffling and rearranging and elbows bumping before we determined our boundaries.
“This is an interesting development,” I observed. “Grace Kelly, I never pegged Rich as a brunch kind of guy.”
Grace Kelly smiled shrewdly. “He’s full of surprises.”
“You should talk, Rookie,” Rich snorted. “Don’t tell me this was ever your scene before.”
I held up my hands. “Hey, I just like to eat. Point me in the direction of food, and I’m happy as a clam.”
Grace Kelly squinted between us. “Why do you call her ‘Rookie’?”
“Rich was police before I joined the force,” I explained. I grabbed his champagne glass and helped myself to a drink. “He’s getting on in years, you know.”
Rich leaned forward. “Whatever, Rook. I can still take you.”
“Still?” I barked out a laugh. “That suggests you could ever beat me.”
Julia cleared her throat and laid her napkin on her lap. Without having to say or do much more, Rich and I both settled down.
“How’s work at the paper?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, as glamorous as ever,” Grace sighed. “I wrote a Pulitzer just last week about breaking ground at a new senior citizen complex. Things are really hopping up there,” she chuckled. “Rich tells me you’re working Cold Cases now though. That’s got to be interesting.”
“Not as much as it sounds,” I admitted. “It’s been an adjustment, that’s for sure.”
We paused our conversation momentarily so our server could take Julia and my drink orders.
Grace waited until the waitress left before pouncing. “You can ask, Julia, you know.”
“I can’t even imagine what you’re prattling about, dear,” Julia sniffed.
I loved my girlfriend dearly, and she had made great strides to warming and opening up since we’d met, but there were still times when she retreated to her mental mansion on the outskirts of town. Old habits and all that.
Grace Kelly didn’t back down. She’d known Julia longer than any of us. “So you’re not at all curious about how your family is getting along? How your mom’s doing?”
Julia’s cheeks hollowed as she bit back what I was sure was a reflexive and defensive retort. “Well, since you brought it up: how are my parents?”
Her question sounded forced as though she was having difficulty pronouncing the words.
“I saw them grocery shopping the other day. Your mom was all smiles. Looked very healthy and happy,” she added.
Julia leaned forward. “Lucid?”
Grace Kelly nodded. “She knew who I was, at least. Didn’t confuse me for one of my sisters, which is better than half the town.”
Julia leaned back in her chair. Her normally rigid shoulders visibly slumped. “That’s good.”
I reached for my girlfriend’s hand beneath the table and gave it a squeeze. She flashed me a quick smile, but it was clear that the easiness from earlier that morning had left.
“How’s the new unit treating you?” Rich asked.
“About to make my first arrest.” I didn’t want to brag, but it was Rich. I could. He would have, too.
“Fuck, Miller.” Rich threw an apologetic glance in Grace Kelly’s direction. “I mean—dang, Miller. I knew you were good police, but I never figured you’d close a case so soon.”
“Did Cassidy ever tell you she earned the Navy Cross when she was a Marine?” Grace Kelly posed.
“Is that something I should be impressed by?” he posed.
“They gave out less than twenty for all of Operation Enduring Freedom,” she educated him.
Normally I didn’t like to talk about my accolades, but beneath the table, Julia rested her hand on my knee. I felt that ha
nd slowly travel up my thigh. I didn’t pay any attention to it until she’d reached where my leg connected to my pelvic bone. Her fingers dipped into the crevice between my thighs.
I shot a look in her direction, but her face was totally neutral as she pretended to listen to whatever Grace was talking about.
Her fingers continued to move. I had a decision to make—I could trap her hand between my thighs, or let her keep up this game of chicken. How far was she willing to take this in the middle of brunch?
I subtly shifted in my chair and let my thighs fall open, calling her bluff.
She scratched a single fingernail up and down my covered sex. If I focused my hearing, I thought I might have been able to hear it.
“What do you think, Cassidy?”
I snapped back to brunch conversation when I realized Grace had asked me something.
“Sorry, what?”
If I dared look in Julia’s direction I knew she’d be smirking.
“What do you think about legalizing marijuana?” Grace repeated.
“Oh, uh, isn’t that a little serious for breakfast talk?”
“Rich hates the idea—thinks everyone will be high all the time. But I’ve pointed out that alcohol is legal and people aren’t drunk all the time.”
Rich snorted into his glass. “Speak for yourself.”
His cheeky retort earned him a playful slap on the arm.
I couldn’t care less about what they were debating. Julia had pressed her fingers into the center seam of my jeans. The rough denim pressed into my clit.
But when her fingers sought out my zipper, I jerked away and the tops of my thighs connected with our table. Our drink glasses shuddered, but thankfully didn’t topple over.
“Are you okay, dear?” Julia asked.
I gave my girlfriend a shrewd look. “Yeah. Leg cramp, I guess.”
It was the kind of stunt I would try, not her.
Brunch continued amicably. I thought even Julia might have had fun, especially once she had a few mimosas in her. We squabbled briefly over the check—Julia in the habit of always paying for things and Rich being too macho to allow it. We ended up splitting the bill down the middle, a solution that satisfied both parties.
I gave Grace Kelly a long hug goodbye. Even though we’d only briefly been neighbors in Embarrass, I found myself missing her kind intensity. She was Minnesota-Nice personified.
“We should do this more,” I found myself saying.
Grace Kelly smiled. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to freak Rich out.”
I laughed. “You’re probably right about that. Maybe we could come up to see you sometime instead.”
Grace looked in Julia’s direction. My girlfriend and Rich looked appropriately awkward, left alone together. “I don’t know; it might not be as fun up there. Julia seems happy here.” She gave me a wry smile. “Or maybe it’s just your influence on her.”
I dropped my eyes to the cracks in the sidewalk, embarrassed by the suggestion. The road went both ways. Julia and I had been good for each other, but I didn’t have the words to tell Grace Kelly that.
“Think you’d ever leave Embarrass? For the right person?” I asked.
“I don’t know if I could live anyplace other than Embarrass for too long. It’s my home, you know?”
“I guess,” I said noncommittally. I worried for Rich. I couldn’t see him leaving the city for a place as remote and isolated as Embarrass.
Grace Kelly cocked her head to the side. “Where’s your home, Cassidy?”
I looked back over at my girlfriend. Julia and Rich had abandoned any pretense at forcing a conversation. They were both on their phones.
“Right here.”
+ + +
There was a bounce in my step on Monday morning. Julia and I had had an amazing weekend together, and I had a meeting with the Assistant D.A. later to get the paperwork started on a warrant for Victoria LeVitre’s arrest. I skipped down the stairs to the Fourth Precinct basement and nearly collided with my supervisor as I turned a blind corner. I grabbed tightly to the light pink cardboard box I held in my arms so as to not drop the precious cargo inside.
“Miller,” Captain Forrester barked. “I’ve been looking for you. Our day starts at 8:00 a.m.”
“Sorry I’m late, sir. I was getting energy for the troops.” I flipped open the top of the box. “Donut?”
Forrester stood on his tiptoes and peered into the box.
“I’m just going to drop these off in the office, and then I’m heading over to the federal building for an arrest warrant.”
Forrester grabbed a jelly-filled donut. “You won’t need that. Victoria LeVitre confessed.”
“She did?”
“She called the Police Commissioner herself. Signed confession. She snuck Botox from her husband’s office and injected it into her stomach.”
“Wait.” My jubilation turned to confusion. “But what about Tracey Green?”
Forrester shoved half of the donut into his mouth. “Who?” he mumbled around the mouthful.
I cleared my throat to cover my irritation. “Jane Doe.”
I had to wait until Forrester finished chewing. “Oh. She didn’t say anything about that.”
“So what does that mean for the case?” I asked.
“It’s not against the law to shoot yourself up with Botox, but it is a crime to frame your husband for attempted murder.”
“So she goes to jail.”
Forrester nodded. “Get in touch with the D.A.’s office and make sure they have everything they need to close the case. LeVitre will be under police guard at Regions Hospital in St. Paul in the meantime.”
“Yes, sir.”
Captain Forrester headed in the direction of his office, but stopped and spun on his heel. “Miller.”
“Yeah?”
He held up the remnants of his donut. “Good work.”
I didn’t know if he was referring to the case or the free pastry. I numbly nodded.
I tossed the box of donuts onto the central office table. The container slid several feet before coming to a stop.
“I brought donuts,” I announced without feeling.
Stanley stood from his desk and surveyed the breakfast treats and then my face. “So I guess you heard the news?”
“Yep.”
“Forrester wants a report on his desk before the end of the workday. Then we’ll turn over all we have to the District Attorney’s office, and they’ll take it from there.”
“Okay.”
“One of us will probably be subpoenaed to testify, but it may not even go to court if Mrs. LeVitre cooperates and the lawyers can agree on time served.”
“Uh huh.”
I only half-listened to my colleague. I checked my desk to see if I had any messages. Finding none, I headed back out the door through which I’d just entered.
“Where are you going?” I heard Stanley call after me.
“Regions Hospital.”
+ + +
A uniformed police officer stood outside of room 107. His brass buttons shone and his uniform was crisply pressed. I took him for a Rookie. The low officer on the totem pole usually got assigned babysitting duties like this one. I showed him my badge, and he nodded for me to go in.
Victoria LeVitre was still in her hospital bed. The curtains had been drawn, allowing no natural sunlight into the room. A morning talk show blared on the TV. Unlike what I assumed I’d find in adjacent rooms, there were no flowers, no balloons, no cards that urged her to Get Well Soon. I would have felt sorry for her, but she’d purposely poisoned herself and had attempted to frame her husband for murder. And I needed to know why.
“Was it worth it?”
Mrs. LeVitre used her arms to pull herself into a seated position. “Good morning to you, too, Detective.”
I ignored the nicety.
“You sat in this hospital room knowing there was poison swimming around in your body while the doctors couldn’t figure out what was
wrong. If it hadn’t been for a lucky guess, you could be dead.”
She curled her lip. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Dramatic?” I raised my voice. “I’m not the one who injected a biological weapon into her body to frame someone for murder.”
“If you would have been better at your job, I wouldn’t have had to do it!” she tossed back.
“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that,” I exploded with equal venom.
“You don’t know anything about me or my life,” she seethed.
I had no patience for her behavior or attitude. The more I let the scenario knock around inside my brain, the angrier I became.
“Poor little rich girl. So bored with your life you decided to play with other people’s.”
Mrs. LeVitre bristled, while I continued my verbal assault.
“So bored that you cheated on your husband and took advantage of a homeless queer girl. Yeah,” I snorted, “you’ve had it really rough.”
“I didn’t take advantage of Tracey,” she vehemently protested. “We were in love.”
“Did you even know why Tracey was homeless in the first place?” I demanded. “Did know her family kicked her out of the house when she was still in high school? Simply because she liked girls?”
For the first time since I’d interacted with her, Victoria LeVitre looked truly uncomfortable. “No. She never talked about that.”
“No, she probably wouldn’t have. And you never cared enough to ask.”
The door swung open, and the police officer who’d been keeping guard walked inside. I was surprised he hadn’t come in earlier.
He looked between the prisoner and me. “Is everything okay in here?”
Mrs. LeVitre had shifted her body in the hospital bed so she no longer had to look at me.
The red that had veiled my vision began to fade. “Yeah,” I grunted. “I was just leaving.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Stanley was probably expecting my return, but I was in no mood to go back to the Fourth Precinct. I had a full tank of gas in my motorcycle and a supervisor who didn’t really care if I showed up to work or not. I needed to get out.
Cold Blooded Lover Page 20
