Marked for Love

by Hannah West

  “I’m not the only one who swears.” Noelle rolled over so she was more comfortable, her attention on both Sara’s hands and her face. She couldn’t touch Sara, but she could catalog what she liked. The flickers of her eyelids, the gasps, the arching of her back – next time, when Noelle was allowed to touch, she would know what to do.

  Sara came with a long, drawn-out sigh, twitching as she worked herself through it, finger just nudging her clit.

  “It’s…” Noelle stared, unable to find words. “Hotter than I thought to watch you do that.”

  “It can be.” Sara’s smile was lazy. “C’mere.” She crooked a finger at Noelle, who moved to lay next to her. Sara kissed her, something that sent a pang of arousal through Noelle. She could taste herself. What would it be like next time, when she ate Sara out in return?

  “Do you want –”

  “One’s enough for me,” Sara said, an arm around Noelle. “Sleep?”

  Noelle curled closer, minding less that she was naked and all of her was exposed for Sara to see. “Love you.”

  Sara twitched, but it faded so quickly Noelle wasn’t certain she had seen it. “Love you too.”

  Noelle woke up first, nude, curled up against Sara’s side. She yawned, a hand covering her mouth as she rolled to check the time. She still had a half hour.

  “Good morning,” Sara said, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

  Noelle pouted.

  “Brush your teeth,” Sara said, curling closer, her eyes half-closed.

  Noelle stroked a hand through Sara’s hair, watching her breathe in and out. It was quiet and intimate, spending some time curled up together with no other demands on their time.

  Eventually she rolled out of bed, leaving its comfortable warmth behind. Stifling a yawn, she rooted around for her clothes, wanting to at least be warm enough that she could tolerate making breakfast. She would shower here, but she would still have to go home and change anyway.

  Still. She was hungry. It was time for breakfast.

  Before too long Sara came out of the bedroom, dressed in a t-shirt and underwear. Noelle raised her eyebrows, and Sara smiled languidly, apparently not bothered.

  “You’re cooking next time,” Noelle informed her.

  Sara shrugged as if that thought didn’t concern her, turning on the coffee maker and staring at it as if her staring would make it drip coffee faster.

  They ate breakfast together, quiet, but their feet brushed underneath the table. Noelle smiled to herself, as she ate her toast and eggs. It may not have been what society wanted, but what she had was pretty good.

  “What are you thinking about?” Sara asked, between bites of scrambled eggs.

  “You,” Noelle answered, nudging Sara’s foot with her own. “How nice this is.”

  Sara raised her eyebrows, then lowered them, smiling. “You’re adorable.”

  Noelle scowled, then laughed. “I hope none of my coworkers think that.”

  Sara grinned, seemingly pleased with herself, and finished her breakfast.

  Noelle stifled a yawn, setting aside her notepad. She had just finished her third meeting of the day. Far too many meetings to have on Mondays, that was for sure. “Long night?” Riley asked.

  Noelle shook her head, half-smiling, half-yawning. “Not in the way you think,” she answered.

  Riley plopped down next to her, a grin on his face. “Shame.”

  Noelle rolled her eyes. “Any update on the three hours of updates I just got?”

  “Yup.” Riley flipped through a couple pages on his legal pad. “We might have a potential witness for the Kennedy case. Contradicts Samantha’s account.”

  Noelle leaned forward, interested. “We have several witnesses.”

  “This one saw one of the cousins - Derek - with the murder weapons three days before the murder.” Riley consulted his notes.

  Noelle raised her eyebrows. “Were they sure?”

  Riley shrugged. “Isaac didn’t ask, apparently.”

  Noelle didn’t change her expression, but she scowled inwardly. Him. “I still wonder how he got promoted.”

  Riley leaned in and whispered, conspiratory. “You and half the department.” He leaned back. “Get ready, we’re going to go interview a witness.”

  “Let me guess - I’m driving?” Noelle closed the file, looking at Riley expectantly.

  He tapped his file against the side of her cubicle. “You read my mind.”

  Noelle rolled her eyes and followed him out of the department.

  “So what do we have on this witness?” Noelle asked as she checked the GPS. It was a twenty minute trip. Plenty of time for conversation, then.

  “Mid-twenties, Samantha’s sister’s daughter. Widowed, re-married.” Riley glanced her way.

  Noelle couldn’t blame him. Remarried? Someone from that class? Maybe it was more common than she thought.

  Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

  Noelle pushed the thought out of her mind, but she couldn’t shake off the guilt. She was doing something wrong, by dating Sara - going against the basic principles of nature. Life had given her Lydia, and fate had taken her away before she had even met her.

  “You okay?” Riley’s voice was gentle. Noelle thanked several years of driving practice to keep her on the road.

  “Yeah. Mid twenties, re-married. Who did she marry?” Noelle kept her voice steady.

  “Lawyer, name of Nic Thomas.” Riley flipped through his notes. “Steady practice, patent law.”

  “Sounds boring.” Noelle made a face.

  “At least he’s not a criminal lawyer,” Riley pointed out.

  Noelle conceded the point. “Who do you want to take the lead?”

  “You,” Riley said firmly. He left no room for an argument.

  “Sounds good to me.” Noelle rather liked witness interviews. It was especially good that it was a potential lead for something that had been niggling at her since she had gotten the case.

  “So how is your friend?” Riley kept his voice even.

  “Who?” Noelle knew he was asking about Sara. It was obvious. But maybe he wasn’t. Not that she was embarrassed about Sara - mostly she wasn’t - but. Riley had his soulmate. He had his happily ever after. Why did he want to talk about her lack of it?

  “I’m happy that you have her,” Riley said. “Look, I know it’s not traditional. But you never knew Lydia.”

  Noelle was surprised that Riley remembered Lydia’s name. “Sara’s good. Back to work full time after her car accident.”

  “Good.” Riley smiled. “Maybe you two could come over for dinner one night?”

  Noelle didn’t know what to say. She swallowed over the knot of emotion in her throat. Riley was being kinder than she had anticipated, especially after - well, bygones were bygones. She hated the department’s policy on trial attendance. The fewer people that had witnessed her trial embarrassment, the better.

  “I think we’d like that,” she said finally. She tried to sound cool, collected, but in all honesty she sounded like she was going to cry.

  Riley reached over and patted her on the back. “How long has it been for you two, now?”

  Noelle shrugged. “Six months, I think?”

  Riley whistled. “Still going strong?”

  Noelle didn’t look at him. All she could think of was the addresses in her purse, the photo of Clark and Sara. “I don’t know.”

  Riley studied her. “Anything you want to talk about?”

  Was it illegal? She didn’t know. Besides. She had no evidence, nothing against Sara’s ex-boyfriends. It wasn’t relevant if there was a technical glitch in the system. “Not really.”

  “There’s always bumps in the road,” Riley said, turning back to his file as if it was an everyday type of conversation. It really wasn’t.

  “Thanks,” Noelle said, and she meant it. She just wasn’t sure if she could keep moving forward before tripping herself up.

  Noelle knocked on the door, her hand on her badge.
“Dahra?” she asked.

  “Yes?” The dark-haired, light-skinned woman on the other side of the door seemed wary.

  “Detectives Hanson and Richards, Stendale PD.” Noelle and Riley showed their badges. “We’re here to talk to you about -”

  “Yes, yes. Come in.” Dahra ushered them inside, glancing outside warily.

  “Are you okay?” Riley asked. His hand went to his belt, where his gun and radio were.

  She nodded. “I’m fine. Just - the press, is all.” She smiled, but it wasn’t a reassuring smile. Noelle and Riley exchanged glances.

  “We just have a couple questions for you,” Noelle said, smiling, reassuring.

  “Follow me.” Dahra led the way to a spacious living room, waved a hand and gestured for them to sit on the sofa.

  Noelle sat first, followed by Riley. “Are you alone?” she asked. “Or is your husband here?”

  Dahra settled in a chair across from them, her hand rubbing her wrist absently. It was a gesture Noelle was quite familiar with. “He’s at work.”

  Noelle nodded, reassuring. “So you said that you saw one of Samantha’s friends with the pipe?”

  Dahra swallowed, and then nodded. “Yes. His name is Derek.”

  “Can you tell us a bit more about that?” Noelle pulled her small notepad out of her pocket, clicking a pen and readying to take notes.

  “It was three days before - before Nathan died. Derek had came over when I was visiting Samantha. He seemed agitated, and I could see a holster on his hip.” Dahra’s gaze flickered between Riley and Noelle before she settled on Noelle. “He didn’t have a gun before then.”

  “Did he threaten Nathan with the gun?” Noelle asked.

  Dahra hesitated, thinking. “I don’t think so.”

  “Was your husband with you?” Noelle scribbled a few notes down. If Nic had been there, she would need to talk to him, too.

  “Yes, but he was in the kitchen.” A slight smile slipped onto Dahra’s face. “He was making us dinner. We were going to eat together as a family.”

  “The four of you?” Noelle could see Riley scribbling down notes out of the corner of her eye. He wasn’t talking, just observing.

  “Yes. Myself, Nic, Samantha and Nathan.” Dahra smiled faintly. “Nic’s a lawyer, but he’s also a damned good cook.”

  “Do you know when he’ll be home?” Noelle noted this down. “We’ll need to talk to him in case he heard anything.”

  Dahra glanced at the clock, considering it for a moment. “Within the hour, I think. Work doesn’t keep him late, not anymore.” She looked proud. “He’s a partner now.”

  Noelle smiled in response. Dahra seemed quite attached to her husband. “How did you meet?”

  Dahra’s smiled slipped slightly. She looked more anxious. Was she worried that they would judge her? “My last year of graduate school,” she said. “Nic was a guest lecturer.”

  “What kind of degree did you get?” Noelle tilted her head to the side. Building rapport was almost as important as getting information.

  “Masters in Computer Science.” Dahra glanced away, and then back at Noelle. “I went back to school after Erik died.”

  “Was that your soulmate?” Noelle asked, her voice as compassionate as she could make it. She felt sympathy for Dahra, her heart ached. She understood some, at least, of what Dahra was thinking and probably feeling.

  “Yes.” She twisted her hands together, not looking at either of them. “I had only known him a few months. He was hit by a car and killed.” She smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile.

  Noelle swallowed. She wanted to reach out and pat Dahra’s arm, show some kind of sympathy, but instead she stayed where she was, maintaining her professional distance. The last thing she wanted was to be accused of intimidating or manipulating a witness. “That must have been very hard.”

  There was that flash of guilt, the one Noelle often saw on her own face. Hard, yes, but not hard enough. “Yes.”

  Noelle nodded, reassuring, and then consulted her notes so that she had something to do. “Has Derek ever threatened Nathan in the past?”

  Dahra thought about it for a moment, leaning back in her chair. She seemed to have relaxed a bit, now that the conversation was off of her and her choices. “He fought with Samantha, but I don’t remember him ever threatening Nathan in the past.”

  “He fought with Samantha?” Noelle leaned forward. “When was this?”

  She frowned slightly, her eyes off in the distance. “Two weeks ago. And then a few months before that.”

  “Do you go and visit Samantha often?” Noelle noted a few more things down.

  Dahra shrugged. “Once a week. We meet for drinks.” She smiled but didn’t speak. Drinks and venting, Noelle guessed. That seemed about right for her social stature.

  There was a noise near the door, a key turning, and all turned to look at the door. A tall, blonde-haired man strode into the room, dressed in a neat, tailored suit. He stopped when he saw Riley and Noelle. “We have company?”

  HIs voice was lower than Noelle expected. Dahra rose, a shaky smile on her lips. She walked over, gave him a kiss. “They’re Detectives, honey.” She glanced over at them. “Detectives -”

  When she paused, Riley stood and smiled. “Hanson and Richards.” Noelle stood next to him, following his signal. “I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.”

  Nic sat down his work bag, offering them a tired smile. “As long as I can have a glass of wine, you can ask me whatever you want.”

  Dahra seemed reluctant to let go of him, but Nic carefully disengaged her. “We’ll talk in a bit, darling,” he said, kissing her quickly.

  Reluctantly she returned to the chair. Noelle sat down to stay with her, and Riley accompanied Nic to another room, presumably the kitchen. “Thank you for being so cooperative,” she said, smiling at Dahra.

  Dahra smiled uncertainly back. Nic came out of the kitchen, offering her a glass of wine. She took it from him, turning her gaze back to Noelle. “Sorry.”

  Noelle shook her head. “Not a problem. I understand that what you’re going through is quite stressful.”

  Dahra let out a short laugh. “That’s one way to put it.” She smiled, her stress easing. “Are you married?”

  Noelle glanced down at her bare hand. “No.”

  “Do you -” Dahra hesitated. “You know.”

  Small talk. It was particularly the small talk Noelle despised. Although Dahra was a less scary target to talk to, considering she had presumably gone through some of the same things. “My soulmate died.” Noelle smiled faintly. “I do have a girlfriend, now.”

  Surprise flickered across Dahra’s face. Noelle felt slightly gratified, and saddened, at the same time. There was no judgment, just recognition. Acknowledgment of a shared status, a hidden one. “I am glad.”

  Noelle smiled. “Thank you.” There wasn’t much else she could share without risking violating confidentiality. It wasn’t right, sharing all the details of her personal life with someone she barely knew. But she wanted Dahra to know she wasn’t alone.

  Dahra was quiet for a moment. “Is there anything else that you need?”

  Noelle thought for a moment, consulted her notes. “Is there anything else you want to say? About Nathan, Derek, or Samantha?”

  Dahra looked at her, her eyes solemn. “My sister isn’t guilty.”

  Noelle couldn’t say she was surprised. Most of the relatives of their suspects said the same thing. “What makes you think that?” she asked, her voice gentle. “She did confess.”

  Dahra sighed. “I’ve known Samantha since she was little. I’m the older sister, you know. She’s too gentle to murder someone.” Her eyes were distant. “We had problems growing up, just like every family. But she was well-tempered. She wouldn’t even kill a fly, as much as she hated them.” She let out a short laugh. “There’s no way she could have -” her voice faltered. “There’s no way she could have killed Nathan. She loved him.”

&
nbsp; Noelle hesitated, and then followed her instinct. “What about Derek? Did he harbor ill will towards Nathan?”

  Dahra shook her head. “Not - not really.” She hesitated. “I don’t know. I never really saw them together, just him and Samantha.”

  “When he fought with Samantha - when Derek fought with Samantha - what were the fights like?” Noelle unclicked her pen, wanting to focus on listening for now.

  “I couldn’t hear what they said,” Dahra admitted. “But I heard the shouting.”

  “You couldn’t hear what they said?” Noelle asked.

  Dahra nodded. “It was in her bedroom, most of the time. Improper, I know, but Samantha was never very conventional.”

  Noelle could believe that. It seemed like the more money someone had, the less sense they exhibited. Dahra sipped her wine. “I hate to ask this, Mrs. Thomas, but is there any way that Samantha and Derek were involved in a relationship?” Cheating was such a foreign concept in a world where everyone was destined to be with someone else. But people were only human.

  Dahra shook her head the moment the words left Noelle’s mouth. “Never. Samantha was loyal to Nathan.”

  Noelle scribbled this down. Of course Samantha was loyal. They were soulmates, after all. “Right.” She glanced up, seeing Riley and Nic come back into the room. Riley was talking quietly, Nic focused on him. “I think we’re about done here.” She smiled. “If you think of anything else, please give us a call.” Digging a business card out of her bag, she offered it to Dahra. “You can get in touch with both Detective Hanson and I through this number.”

  Dahra took it, glancing at it before she sat it and her glass of wine aside. “Thank you for coming. I hope we have been helpful.”

  Noelle stood, nodded. “You have.” She offered Dahra a polite smile, and then turned to Riley, who was looking at her.

  “Thank you for taking the time to talk to us,” Riley said, shaking Nic’s hand and then coming over to shake Dahra’s. “We’ll be in touch.” He glanced at Noelle, his head tilting towards the door.

  “Call us if you have any more questions.” Noelle smiled at them both, and then turned and led the way out of the door.