Love Undecided

by Denise Wells

  I’m pretty sure I don’t like the idea of Bauer and Remi going at it or him describing it as hot.

  “And I kind of threw up all over Chance and the guys that were carrying us on their shoulders.”

  “Projectile vomit,” Bauer says laughing. “It went everywhere. Even in my mouth!”

  Well, that makes me feel a little better.

  “Ew!” Lexie says. “Did that make you throw up too?”

  “Pinkie,” he looks at her incredulously. “I’m a rugby player. We are made of way tougher stuff than that.” He punches himself a few times in the stomach as if to punctuate the sentiment.

  “So, why is she the Ice Queen? It sounds like you guys had fun. Except for the puking part,” Lexie says.

  “She froze everyone out after that. Wouldn’t talk to any of us again. Hell, we didn’t care that she threw up, it just made the party that much crazier. But she acted like none of us existed after that. I get being embarrassed, but she took it way beyond that.”

  I look at Remi, she shrugs her shoulders. “It’s not as though I had anything in common with any of you. Or that I would have gone to another one of your parties.”

  “Except that kiss was hot as hell, right up until the moment that you threw up. I still remember it,” Bauer says.

  “Eh, it was alright. I was way too drunk to know the difference,” Remi says.

  “Not too drunk to forget it happened though,” Bauer says. Remi just shrugs at him in an attempt at nonchalance. I think she is lying, but I’m not sure why. And it’s very unlike Remi to act this way. Or to just quit talking to people that she had a good time with.

  I look at Lexie, she raises her eyebrows at me in question but says nothing. I guess we’ll have to wait until Remi is ready to tell us what really happened. I notice Bauer sneaking frequent glances at Remi while she’s talking whenever he thinks none of us are looking.

  Ha, Chance Bauer still wants to thaw the Ice Queen.

  I glance over at Remi and she looks like she’s tuned everyone out, staring down at her hands fidgeting with her napkin. Remi only fidgets when she’s upset. I make a mental note to ask her about it later.

  “Hey, so, have you heard from sexy ex lately?” Lexie asks. “Or can we not talk about him in front of Mr. Rugby over here.” She motions to Bauer.

  “I won’t take offense at the Mr. Rugby comment,” he says. “But I do not want to engage in your little chick chat. Especially not if we are talking about that little pansy ass.”

  “He’s not a pansy ass!” Lexie and I both say at the same time.

  My phone rings. And as though he’s been summoned by the powers that be, I see that it’s Brad calling.

  As does Lexie. “Speak of the devil,” she says.

  I move from the table and answer.

  “Hey,” I say.

  “Hey,” he says. “I know this is your girls’ night, am I interrupting?”

  “No,” I say. “We just finished eating and are just doing the usual gab session. What’s up?”

  “We were called out to Mavis Strassburg’s house this evening —”

  “Ohmigod, is she okay?”

  “Yeah, just a head cold. Maybe you want to stop in a see her or tell Lexie to. She made a comment about Lexie caring more about her grapes than Mavis herself.”

  “Oh, poor thing. And that’s not true. It’s just a busy time for the winery. I’ll make sure we all get over to see her.”

  “Good. I also want to see if you know if she has anyone to do any maintenance around the house for her. You know, like trimming trees, cleaning rain gutters, and the such?”

  My heart skips a beat. It’s so like Brad to notice something like that and then to want to do something about it for Mavis.

  “She used to have a guy, but I’m not sure if he’s still around. I can check with Lex and see.”

  “Okay, if not, I’m going to go take care of some of it for her.”

  “That’s really nice of you, Brad.”

  “Well, some of it is a fire hazard, so really it’s like my job,” he says.

  I hear the sirens go off in the background.

  “I gotta go, be safe,” he says and hangs up. I make my way back to the table in time to hear Lexie talking about her upcoming movie night at the winery.

  “What movie are you starting with?” I ask her as I sit down.

  “Goonies!” she responds, bouncing in her chair excitedly.

  “Awesome!” Remi and I both say.

  Lexie turns to Bauer. “And you can totally come. I show movies in the barrel room at my winery, and we have popcorn.”

  “I’ve never seen it,” Bauer says. “Is it good?”

  We all look at him in disbelief.

  Remi is the first to speak. “Is it good? You really are a Neanderthal, aren’t you?”

  Bauer just shrugs his shoulders.

  “Well, don’t forget you’re totally invited,” Lexie says. “Bring some snacks and a blanket. I’ll comp your first bottle of wine, and we can introduce you to cinematic genius!”

  I catch Remi glaring at Lexie. Apparently, Bauer does too.

  “Hey, your iciness, there is no reason to be jealous, just ‘cause Pinkie invited me before you could. There is plenty of me to go around ladies, Cookie you wanna get in on this?” he asks, laughing.

  Before Remi or I can say anything, Bauer gets a call. “I’ve got to take this, excuse me.” He leaves the table and steps into the corridor leading to the bathrooms. Remi motions to the waitress to bring another round of drinks.

  Lexie turns to Remi. “So, is Mr. Bauer tickling your fancy, missy?”

  Remi blushes in response. “God no!” she says. “Been there, done that, bought the commemorative coffee mug and broke it. Maybe one of you should go for it.” She turns and looks at me.

  “Don’t look at me,” I say. “I’ve got enough trouble keeping my body cancer free, slowing down my slutty ways, and re-breaking up with my ex without bringing another guy into the equation.”

  “I’ll admit it, he is way worthy of panty dropping. Sigh,” Lexie says.

  Bauer comes back to the table looking upset. “Cookie, we’ve gotta go. Sofia Carter was returned and is in the hospital.”

  “She was returned?” I ask. “Wasn’t she just taken?”

  “Yep. And yep. Dumped back at the same place she was taken from,” Bauer replies.

  I pick up my margarita and down the rest in one gulp. The three of them all look at me with wide eyes.

  “Don’t judge,” I say. “It’s going to be a hard night.”

  Bauer digs out his wallet and hands Remi a hundred dollar bill. “Here,” he says. “This should cover what we’ve had and anything else you two ladies want to order.”

  “This is way too much,” Remi says.

  Bauer touches her shoulder, his voice husky, “I’ll collect from you later, Your Iciness.” Then he winks at her and she blushes again.

  Oh yeah, this was definitely going to be interesting. Not to mention that girl code now dictates that I stop finding him attractive.

  Which, as I think about it, makes me feel both happy and relieved.

  Problem solved.

  Chapter 24

  Kat

  We get to the hospital in a short amount of time, thanks to Bauer’s driving skills, and find out from Detective Benson that Sofia has yet to wake up. As he talks to us, it’s clear Benson is still intimidated by Bauer.

  Regardless, he tells us the doctors are hesitant to give her anything other than hydration for fear of any interactions with whatever the kidnapper has given her. Lab results to identify what is in her system won’t be back for a little while. Though they are fairly certain it was some form of Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol). But that he doesn’t have any additional information outside of that.

  I turn to head to the waiting room, when I see Brad and Ethan walking toward me.

  I smile before I can stop myself.

  “Kat, what are you doing here? Are you okay?” Br
ad asks, worry on his face.

  “I’m fine, I’m here on another case. Kidnapping. Where the girl was returned if you can believe it,” I tell them.

  “Yeah, Sofia Carter,” Brad says.

  “Word travels fast,” I say.

  “We brought her in, Kat,” Ethan says.

  Duh. That makes sense.

  They both chuckle at me.

  “I said that aloud, didn’t I?”

  “You did,” Ethan says.

  “Sofia is the one that is Stacy’s student?” I ask.

  Brad nods.

  “How’s she holding up? Stacy I mean?” I ask. Surprised that I’m asking. Brad looks at me like he’s questioning my sincerity. I don’t blame him, I am too.

  “She’s shaken up. I talked to her class, they’re tough kids. I think the kids handle it better than the adults.”

  “I’ll bet,” I say.

  Brad cups my shoulder with one hand. “Hey, how was dinner with the girls?”

  “Awesome as always. We actually just left them at Crazy B,” I say.

  “We?” he asks.

  “Bauer and me.”

  “You brought Bauer to your girls’ dinner?” he asks.

  “Well, there’s a funny story there—” I start to say.

  Both Brad and Ethan’s pagers go off. Brad curses under his breath. He looks at me, his face unreadable. “We have to get back to the station. You be careful out there tonight, okay?” He squeezes my shoulder and turns to walk away.

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” I say.

  “That’s Lieutenant to you,” Ethan says from down the hall.

  I head toward the waiting room and find where the Carter family is sitting, they were allowed in to see Sofia, but only for a brief period of time. So now they are back in the waiting area with the rest of us. I see Martina, the Carters’ nanny/housekeeper looking at us.

  I give her a small smile and am surprised when she starts walking toward us. She approaches very cautiously, looking warily at the officers.

  “Excuse me, officer?”

  “Oh, I’m not an officer,” I tell her. “I’m an investigative consultant. My name is Kat.”

  I reach my hand out to shake hers. We weren’t formally introduced when I visited the Carter household previously.

  “Kat,” she begins shakily. “I heard you just now talking about the Shower Stealer. And, well, I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but there was a day a few weeks ago when I got to the house and the shower was left on in Miss Sofia’s bathroom. I thought maybe that she meant to take one but didn’t have time and forgot to shut it off. I got to the house that day later than normal because I had a flat tire and had to wait for it to be repaired. Someone had stuck a screwdriver in it actually. I didn’t see how it was connected, but I wonder now if I was wrong. I’m so sorry.”

  She starts crying.

  I can’t handle when people cry.

  I pat her shoulder awkwardly and tell her it’s okay.

  Then I ask her, “Did you ever ask anyone in the Carter Family if they had left the shower on?”

  She shakes her head, no.

  I push her gently in the direction of Mrs. Carter and thank her for talking to me.

  I turn and walk back to Bauer. “Do you remember if any of The Shower Stealer’s pictures were of Sofia Carter’s bathroom?”

  “I didn’t look at her bathroom. They weren’t visited by The Shower Stealer. Mr. Carter already told us that in the beginning,” he says.

  “Right, but let’s say the nanny found the water on one day and didn’t say anything to anyone?”

  “Seriously?” he asks.

  “Seriously,” I say. He gets out his phone and pulls up the pictures of the bathrooms.

  “Ok, I’m going to go ask Mrs. Carter if she knows whether anyone might have left the shower on that day. Even though I’m pretty sure I already know the answer.” I look across the room at Mrs. Carter; she is sitting in one of the chairs with her hands together and pressed between her thighs, rocking back and forth slowly.

  She looks up when I approach. “Mrs. Carter, I’m so sorry to bother you, but I wonder if I could ask you a quick question.”

  I kneel in front of her, my knees cracking as I go down. I cringe, hoping she didn’t hear them. “I’m wondering if you remember the day a couple weeks ago that Martina had a flat tire and didn’t show up to the house until early afternoon?”

  “Of course. It was a terrible thing to have happen. That someone would deliberately flatten her tire is horrid.”

  “The police have been trying to catch a criminal, perhaps you’ve heard of him? The Shower Stealer. I know this is an odd question, but do you happen to remember if anyone left a shower running when you all left the house that day?”

  She stiffens, then speaks coldly, “Are you really sitting here asking me questions about a different crime and expecting me to help you solve it while my daughter lies in a hospital bed after being abducted?”

  Her voice gets increasingly loud and shrill as she speaks. “During a time when we don’t even know what happened to her while she was gone or what kind of condition she will wake up in?”

  “No!” I say. “I mean absolutely no disrespect. We believe there might be a connection between whoever abducted Sofia and the Shower Stealer.”

  She looks at me like I’m crazy. Then seeming to make a decision about that, one way or another, says, “No, I don’t think anyone accidentally left the shower on that day.”

  “Well, Martina mentioned that Sofia’s shower was on that day when she arrived, but she didn’t think anything of it.”

  Mrs. Carter’s face pales. “I didn’t know that. Well, what does this have to do with… oh God… you don’t… do you think this Shower Stealer person is the one who abducted Sofia? Why would he do that?”

  “We aren’t sure yet. But there could be a connection.”

  She sighs. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, officer, I am so upset over all of this. Whatever I can do to help, I will.”

  I start to tell her I’m not an officer, just a consultant, but decide it probably doesn’t matter right now. I wave Bauer over and have him show her the pictures on his phone. “Mrs. Carter, one more question, can you confirm that any of these photos are of Sofia’s bathroom?”

  She takes his phone and flips through the pictures. “This one is Sofia’s bathroom. Oh God! What does this mean?” She calls out to her husband and he comes rushing over.

  Not wanting to intrude on what I’m guessing is about to be an emotional time, I thank her for speaking with me, and turn away. I head to the water fountain to get a drink. My pinky finger starts to spasm as I’m taking a sip.

  I gasp in surprise, water shooting up my nose and down the back of my throat, making me cough in response. I grab a tissue from my purse and blow my nose to try and get the water out, still coughing.

  Fuck, that burns.

  Bauer comes over and pats me on the back. “You okay?”

  “Water up my nose,” I say, sounding congested. “Need to get it out.”

  My pinkie finger spasms again.

  That’s when I get it, it’s about the water.

  “It’s the water!” I tell him.

  Bauer looks at me in confusion. “That went up your nose?”

  “No. The connection. Between Sofia and The Shower Stealer, it’s the water.”

  “How?” he asks.

  “I think it cleans him. He needs it to be clean.”

  “We know that brain-stein. That’s why he showers.”

  “No, it cleanses him. You know, like spiritually and emotionally. That’s why he needs it, he’s cleansing his soul.”

  “And why does he need a spiritual cleanse?” he asks, a smirk on his face.

  “How should I know?” I ask.

  “Well then, what help is it?”

  “You don’t have to be a dick about it,” I tell him. “I had the feeling. You’re the big, fancy detective, you figure it out.”

&nb
sp; “Ok, Cookie. You’re right. I am the big, fancy detective. And I will figure it out. And I sure as shit won’t need your feelings to do it.”

  I look at him, feeling tears start to sting my eyes. I can’t tell if I’m feeling more pissed off or hurt.

  He rubs his hand over his face and lets out a big sigh.

  “Shit. I’m sorry, Cookie. It’s actually the first real thing we’ve got to go on until Sofia wakes up. And I do need you to help me figure all this out.”

  I nod at him in response.

  “Maybe we should get some sleep so we can attack this fresh in the morning. What do you say? I’ll connect with you in a few hours.”

  Realizing I’m exhausted, I tell him, “It better not be just a few, I’ve got beauty sleep to catch up on.”

  “You don’t need any beauty sleep, trust me.” He winks and motions me out the door with his hand on the small of my back. The heat from his hand feels nice.

  I’m not attracted to him.

  He’s obviously got the hots for Remi. I’m waiting to get back together with Brad.

  Wait? What did I just think?

  I stop abruptly in the doorway.

  Did I just think that I’m getting back with Brad?

  I can’t be back with Brad.

  I mean I know I still think about him all the time, but Brad and I are over. Brad has Stacy now. I can’t be with him. Where did THAT come from? That is totally ridiculous.

  Bauer bumps into me from behind. “Whoa, everything ok?”

  I shake my head to clear it.

  “Yep!” I say a little too brightly. “Just confusing myself in my own head.”

  “You definitely need sleep, rest that poor taxed brain a bit,” he teases.

  Unfortunately, at this point, I couldn’t agree more.

  Chapter 25

  Kat

  Even though I often get up early, I’m not a good early morning person. I wake up groggy and cranky until I do my morning meditation or get my coffee and preferably both. At the same time.

  Which is why when the buzzing of my phone wakes me up mere hours after I get to sleep, I’m not amused. I grab it without even looking at who is calling.

  “This had better be good, you’re interrupting my beauty sleep,” I croak.

  “He’s got another girl, he took her from her house while the family was sleeping, and patrol on the house didn’t see a fucking thing.” Bauer sounds despondent. “I’ll be there in ten to pick you up.”