by Kay Bigelow
“Thank you for inviting me. Since it’s almost noon, why don’t we let the girls finish their cupcake project and have lunch. We probably should eat something as well,” Dani said.
“Good idea.”
“If we reconvene at two, you’ll be able to see the vid before you interview the girls, and see just how bad it was,” Leah said.
“Thanks,” Fujiyama said.
They said goodbye to the girls and left them to decorate their cupcakes. The four women walked the short distance to the big house, which was a hive of activity. Leah and Dani excused themselves and went to the office.
“I’m sorry,” Dani said. “I couldn’t say no to being in on the interviews.”
“Not to worry. I wouldn’t have said no either,” Leah said.
“This isn’t the vacation I had envisioned for either of us.”
“Neither did I envision a murder and four young girls kept captive by a sadist until she could sell them to the highest bidder.”
“I thought we’d have languid days and nights spent making love,” Dani said.
“We haven’t done too badly thus far,” Leah said with a smile as she moved into Dani’s arms.
There was a discreet knock on the door. “Drude,” Dani murmured. “I was just beginning to think maybe we’d be able to make love for a little while.”
“No such luck, but now we have something to look forward to tonight,” Leah said before saying, “Enter.”
Peony entered the office, followed by Alex. “Hey, Boss,” Peony said.
“Where have you been?”
“We overslept.”
“I need you to set up a viewing of the video you took at both of Cooper’s houses. The DA from Xing needs to view them this afternoon at two.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Peony said. “Anything else?”
“Yes. I needed you to film the interview with McDonald. You didn’t answer your phone nor did you check in with me. I want you to accompany the girls on the shuttle to Xing tomorrow. And I want you to get your head back in the game. Have you written your notes up yet?”
“I was going to do that this afternoon, but I guess I’ll have to do it this evening.”
“I want a copy on the murder board by seven this evening.”
“You’ve got it. Anything else, Boss?”
“Don’t be late again. Oh, and call Cots. He’s been looking for you since early last evening.”
Peony’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. “Yes, Boss,” Peony said, and turned for the door.
“Hold up, Peony,” Leah said as she accompanied Peony from the office. “I want you—and not Alex—to determine which of the vids are from Jardain’s bungalow. I want the originals, not copies. And don’t send them to Cots. Bring Alex with you to the meeting; I want her to record it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Peony said and hurried away from Leah before she could give her another job to do in the two hours before the meeting.
When she returned to the office, Dani said, “You went easy on her. Are you losing your tough-cop patina?”
“I could hardly send her to her room for doing what I wish we’d been doing, could I? I do want her to copy the vids. And, added to that, she is part owner of BOI, so I can’t really beat her up.”
“Point taken. If I weren’t hungry, I’d have my way with you on that couch over there.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure whether I should be insulted that eating is more important to you than making love with me.”
“The time to be insulted would be if I fainted from hunger in the middle of making love, don’t you think?”
“I hadn’t thought it through when you put it in those terms,” Leah said, smiling.
“Come on, let’s have lunch. I need to talk to the girls before Fujiyama talks to them. What will you do while I work?”
“I’m going to write notes on what I did and what I saw in case I’m called to testify when Fujiyama prosecutes Cooper and McDonald.”
“Is there any way you won’t be called?” Dani asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on, babe, let’s grab a table before the lunch crowd gets here.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The maître d’ started toward the side of the restaurant where Garrison and Fujiyama were seated. From the looks of the two women, they weren’t speaking, let alone comparing notes with one another.
“Melody, seat us as far from those two women as is possible, please.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Melody said, steering them to the opposite side of the dining room from the attorneys.
Leah was disappointed they wouldn’t be spending the afternoon making love, but she understood Fujiyama wanting Dani with her in the interviews. She kept telling herself they’d at least have the next several days together. She had begun wondering what it was going to be like when they got back to Xing. Would reality hit Dani that she’d proposed to Leah? Will she freak out and run away? Will I? Why wouldn’t she run, considering her opinions on relationships and marriage? None of the prospective answers were positive. And I’m getting way ahead of myself and being unfair to Dani in the bargain. She’s quite capable of speaking for herself, and there’s definitely no need for me to put words in her mouth.
Chapter Twenty-six
While Dani met with the young girls along with DA Fujiyama, Leah returned to the bungalow. She changed clothes and made herself a lemon squash and went out to the lanai. She sat enjoying the muted heat. The water of the lap pool called to her, but she knew if she didn’t write her notes now, her memory would begin letting go of the details of Natalie’s murder and the horror she felt when she first saw the three survivors. She took a deep breath and a sip of her lemon squash, and began writing about the events of the last four days. She finished a first draft in two hours. She hadn’t gotten much sleep over the past five days, and now she yawned widely. She decided to get up and move to wake herself up. She headed to the bathroom to throw cold water on her face, but got no farther than the bed. She sat down just for a minute, then lay down just to rest her eyes for a few minutes. She told herself napping for a few minutes wasn’t the end of the world.
She jerked awake when she felt something on her left foot. She nearly kicked out to hopefully injure her attacker, be it eight-legged or two-legged, and pulled back just in time not to kick Dani.
“Want company?”
“Come here,” Leah mumbled, still not quite awake.
Dani crawled into bed with Leah and pulled her into her arms. Leah laid her head on Dani’s shoulder and nuzzled her neck. “God, you smell good,” Leah murmured as she put her hand on Dani’s stomach. She worked her hand beneath the bottom of her shirt and smiled when she felt Dani’s stomach quiver at her touch. She moved her hand down toward the waistband of Dani’s slacks. She undid the belt buckle and then the button of the slacks. When Leah moved her hand beneath Dani’s slacks and boy shorts, Dani moaned. Leah moved her hand until she was cupping Dani and began stroking Dani’s clit.
“Leah,” Dani whispered.
“What, my love?”
“I love you so much. Please make me come.”
“Soon.”
Leah unzipped Dani’s slacks as slowly as she could. She moved them out of her way and moved her hand so she could insert a finger into Dani’s wetness.
“Take your clothes off, love,” Leah said.
Leah couldn’t remember seeing Dani move so quickly to rid herself of her slacks, boy shorts, blouse, and bra. When she was naked, she lay back, and Leah crawled her way up Dani’s body to kiss her, stopping to stroke her clit with her tongue. When her hair dropped forward, Dani took it and held it away from her face.
Leah deepened the kiss until Dani was all but panting.
“I swear if someone bangs on the door or calls, I’m going to kill them,” Dani said as she guided Leah’s hand downward.
Leah smiled. She felt the same way. Never had she ever ignored a call in her adult life, but today, right then, there w
as no way she was going to stop making love to Dani for anyone or any reason.
After Leah had made Dani come over and over, Dani finally had stilled Leah’s hand. “Enough, my body cannot handle one more orgasm like those. This may not be the time to say this, but I’ll say it anyway. Quinn was a phucking fool for not loving you with every molecule of her being. Come here, I want to hold you.”
As Leah laid her head once more on Dani’s shoulder, she could feel Dani slip slowly into a deep sleep. She couldn’t help but wonder if Dani loved her with every molecule of her being. Time would tell. The thought of returning to Xing and their everyday reality filled her with dread.
When they awoke, Dani said, “I’m hungry. Do you want to go to the big house for dinner or to one of the smaller venues?”
Where does she put all those calories? If I ate as much as she does as often as she does, every one of those calories would end up on my thighs and ass.
“Which do you recommend?”
“Let’s try one of the smaller restaurants. It’s early enough they won’t be really crowded,” Dani said.
After showering and dressing, they were out the door in near-record time. They decided to walk to the closest restaurant. “That way we can walk some of the calories off on the way back,” Dani said, smiling.
Once again, Dani took Leah’s hand. “You know, when we’re old and gray, I’m still going to need to touch you as often as I can. I know we’ll still be making love when we’re both in our seventies and eighties—maybe not as vigorously, but still…”
“I certainly hope that’s true.”
“You can count on it,” Dani said.
God, I hope so. I hope I can count on her to stay. Leah hadn’t had a vacation as an adult, but she had read about them and knew they could lull you into thinking something that was temporary could last a lifetime. However, more often than not the relationship began dissolving almost at once when the vacation was over. That won’t be the case with Dani and me. I am so hopelessly in love with her and she says she feels the same, so how could it not become a lasting thing?
The restaurant Dani had chosen for them was small, cozy, and intimate. She didn’t recognize any of the women eating there. There was one woman, though, who kept staring at Dani like she wanted to devour her.
“Who’s the woman in the corner who keeps looking like she wants to eat you alive?” Leah finally asked.
Dani glanced at the woman. “Her name is Shelley. She’s a psychiatrist in private practice in Victoria.”
When Dani didn’t add anything to the woman’s descriptions, Leah couldn’t help herself, and asked, “One of your one-night stands?”
“Yes.”
“She doesn’t look like it was only a one-night stand for her.”
“None of them did.”
Leah wasn’t sure what to do with that so she remained quiet.
“Sweetie, that phase of my life is over. I’m a one-woman woman now. I want only you.”
Leah wasn’t yet sure that was true, so again she didn’t say anything and focused on her meal instead.
“Leah, look at me. I’m telling you the truth. I don’t want to be with the Shelleys of the world. I don’t need variety. I’ve come to understand I’ve been searching for you all my adult life. Now that I’ve found you, I want only one woman in my bed, and that woman is you.”
Leah resisted saying, “So you say.” She didn’t want to ruin what was sure to be a beautiful evening. Why in the world can’t I believe Dani? Have I become so cynical I can’t believe anyone? Or is it just Dani I can’t believe or trust? Do I have Quinn to thank for not being able to trust in love? No, it’s neither Dani nor Quinn. This is all on me. If I blame Quinn, then all the hard work I did with my therapist was for nothing if two years later I end up blaming Quinn for not being able to trust Dani. I can’t blame Dani, either. She’s done nothing wrong other than being herself. And if being herself means she wants to bed every woman who approaches her? Oh, stop! I’m so tired of all this negative thinking. Get your own shit together and deal with it.
“Where did you go?” Dani asked.
Leah smiled at her and put her hand on Dani’s. “Down a rabbit hole of self-doubt.” Did I just confess my own insecurity? Yep. Way to go.
“I sense you’re not completely trusting me yet. I even understand why. But if you’ll give me the benefit of the doubt while you process that I love you more than anyone I’ve ever loved in this world, I will prove to you that I can be trusted and faithful.”
“I don’t want anyone but you, Dani. But if you break my heart, I may not survive.”
“I won’t break your heart, Leah. I promise.”
Before Leah could make the retort that popped into her mind, Dani wisely changed the subject. They took their time eating dinner. Their conversation ranged over several topics, none of which had anything to do with Cooper and McDonald. They didn’t notice the café emptying. When they did look around, they, too, left the café so the staff could clean up and go home.
“I want to stop by the girls’ bungalow to see how they’re doing. Is that okay?” Dani asked.
“Of course,” Leah said.
Knowing Dani wanted to check on the girls made Leah feel all gooey inside. It said so much about how kind and compassionate she was.
Leah and Dani walked back to the center of the compound holding hands. As they entered the girls’ temporary home, Leah got yet another hug from the ever-more-effusive Tasha. Maria nodded toward the door. Leah took it to mean she wanted to speak to them in private. She gave Tasha another hug, and said, “We just came by to say goodnight to you, Fiona, and Nicole. And now we’re going to leave so you can get some sleep.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tasha said shyly.
Dani joined Leah and Maria at the far end of the sidewalk near the street. Maria said, “First, I have a message for you from the DA. She asked me to tell you she will be leaving tomorrow afternoon as planned. She and the girls will take the first shuttle back to Xing. The ADA will follow on the next shuttle with the two prisoners. Sojourner will be traveling with the prisoners. Sojourner asked that if she kills Garrison on the way back to Victoria, you should hire her the best attorney in the galaxy and she’ll pay you back.”
Dani and Leah both laughed. Leah was pretty sure that everyone who had come into contact with Garrison felt that way.
“Tell Sojourner not to worry about a lawyer. I got that covered,” Dani said.
“This next is personal. Dr. Bensington, I’d like permission to go with the girls to Xing. I think my presence will be beneficial to them in this next phase of their lives.”
“I agree. Leah, do you think Fujiyama would allow that?” Dani asked.
“If I were her, I’d put those girls in protective custody and not let the state take them. If they’re putting them into protective custody you could be with them, otherwise you won’t be allowed to see them. Dani, can you find out where Fujiyama is?”
“That’s easy. She’s coming toward us as we speak,” Dani said.
Maria and Leah turned toward the street behind them and saw Fujiyama. When she reached the group, she asked, “Did I miss the memo about the meeting?”
“We were just discussing…” Leah said.
At the same time, Fujiyama said, “I’ve been thinking…”
The two women laughed. “Let’s hope we’re thinking the same thing,” Leah said.
“I’m going to put the girls into protective custody. When this story breaks, there will be some women who will want to shut up both the girls and the prisoners. The prisoners will be in solitary confinement in jail without bail, so they’re about as safe as we can make them. But the only alternative to protective custody is to place each girl in a foster home where they will be sitting targets for the women who buy from Cooper. I won’t let that happen. Maria, I’d appreciate it if you would once again provide protection and your strength to the girls. They’ll need an adult they know and trust with them through the end
of the trial.”
“Surprisingly, that was exactly what we were discussing,” Leah said. “Maria has asked permission to accompany the girls to Xing.”
The three women standing with Dani all looked at her to see what her response was going to be.
“I think that’s an excellent solution to the problem. To jerk these girls from Maria’s care now could be disastrous for the older girls, and I don’t know whether Tasha would survive. I’ll give Maria a paid leave to help the girls.”
“Then it’s done. I’m sure Maria has told you I’ll be taking the girls back to Xing with me tomorrow when the shuttle arrives. Garrison will be staying for another day and will accompany Cooper and McDonald when the shuttle returns for them,” Fujiyama said.
“I’d like the four Victoria police officers to return with Garrison, too.”
“Not a problem. Are you okay with Garrison staying the extra time here, Dani?”
“As long as she’s not bullying anyone, she’s welcome. But what if I can arrange for the shuttle to drop you and the girls off and hire a private shuttle to pick up Garrison and her charges? They could leave late tomorrow afternoon.”
“I think that’s best for all concerned,” Fujiyama said with a smile.
“Thank goodness,” Leah murmured.
“By the way, I’ve got a colleague who is an outstanding child psychiatrist at the Peseshet Medical Institute. I can give her a call and see if she’d be able to work with you and the girls. She would be very helpful. I know she’s testified in several abuse cases,” Dani said.
“I need all the expert help I can find. Thank you.”
“I better get back in there. Leaving those three alone in the kitchen is a dangerous proposition,” Maria said with a smile.
Dani held out her hand to Maria and said, “Thank you, Maria, for stepping up to help with the girls.”
Maria all but dug her toes into the ground as if to say, “Aw, shucks, ma’am.”