by Jamie Hill
He looked at her suspiciously. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“Hell no!” She sat up in bed. “I just love the feel of your rough beard against my soft skin.” She ran a hand up her thigh.
“Solves that dilemma.” He dropped his razor back on the sink ledge. He slipped into his briefs and a pair of jeans. “Good morning.”
She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him gently. “Good morning.” She grinned. “Very good morning.”
“Oh, yeah.” His hand drifted down to her breast and massaged it. “And we’re going to make it a very good day. I decided that work can wait. I have one stop to make, then I’m going to take you wherever you want to go.”
“Anywhere?” She beamed at him.
“You bet.” He worked her nipple into a firm bud.
“You’re going to be taking me on a quick side trip if you don’t stop that.”
He grinned and released her breast. “That wouldn’t be all bad, except we’ve got little people waiting on us for food. I’m not sure if we call it breakfast or lunch.”
“Rich people call it brunch.” She lay back on the bed and stretched.
“Hate to break it to you, but that ain’t us.” He reached for a clean sweatshirt and pulled it over his head. “Got any ideas where you’d like to go today?”
“Yeah.” She smiled and ran a hand over her stomach lightly. “Rio. I hear they have these naked beaches, with the silkiest white sand…”
Jack chuckled. “I’m not as hip to this naked business as you are, I guess. The only place I want to see you naked is alone with me, in private. And as for the sand, haven’t you heard what happens when you make love on a sandy beach? Sand gets in places that sand should never be in.”
She gave him a disappointed look. “Say it isn’t so. Every woman wants to be made love to on a beautiful sandy beach.”
He leaned over on top of her, holding himself up with his arms. “When it warms up, I’ll haul your ass out to the lake and we’ll do it there. But you have to be on the bottom.”
“Deal.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “God, Jack, you’re such a romantic.”
He grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “I try, sugar. Now get that beautiful naked body into the shower, and I’ll go make some coffee and scrounge up some food.”
* * * *
They ate, helped the boys get dressed, and left the house. Crystal didn’t care where they went, she was just glad to be out in the world again. It was a cold, crisp day and she felt alive, and happy.
The boys were in good moods. She figured getting out would help them as well. Last night had been rough, but they had cleared the air a little and it seemed like things were going to be okay.
“Where are we going?” She looked at Jack as he drove through familiar territory.
“I had an idea, and I want to run by the apartment and check it out.”
“Ooh, major buzz kill,” she pouted. “I don’t want to go up.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Suck it up, kiddo. I’m not leaving you behind. It’ll only take a minute.”
She motioned toward the back seat. “But they shouldn’t—”
“They’ll be fine.” He squeezed her hand again. “The four of us are sticking together, like it or not.”
She looked out the window and smiled the tiniest smile. “I like it,” she said softly, and Jack grinned.
He parked in front of the building and they got out and looked around. Ralph was nowhere in sight. “Come on.” Jack took Crystal by the hand. “Let’s go, guys. This will be fast, I promise.” They climbed the stairs and found both apartment doors standing wide open. “What a frigging nightmare,” he muttered, and looked in Dave’s place cautiously before he motioned everyone else in.
“Mark gave me an idea,” he announced and led Mark to the bathroom. “You told me your dad hid his fancy box in here. The one with the crown on it. Do you know where?”
The boy got a funny look on his face.
Jack knelt down in front of him. “It’s okay, buddy. Nothing’s going to happen to you. But if you know where he hid it, that might be real helpful information to my case. Do you have any idea?”
Mark thought about it for a moment, and then gave a slight nod. He opened the cabinet under the sink and pointed.
Jack looked inside. “I don’t see anything, buddy.”
Crystal and Devon stood in the doorway watching. She was uncomfortable being there, and wanted to leave. She held Devon by the shoulders in front of her.
Mark crawled over next to Jack and reached to the back of the cabinet. There was a water stain and Mark poked at it.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Jack muttered, and pried the piece of sheetrock out of the wall. The water stain had hidden the door perfectly. He pulled a little flashlight out of his pocket and shined it in the hole. “Bingo!”
“What is it?” Crystal asked, leaning in to see what he saw.
Jack reached in and pulled out a Crown Royal box exactly like the one he had at home. Mark had been right on. Jack opened the box and blinked at what he saw. He leafed through it to be sure, then glanced up at Crystal.
“What?” she repeated.
He lifted the box and showed her. There was a bundle of hundred-dollar bills on top, and what appeared to be more beneath it.
Crystal gasped.
Jack said, “I think we just figured out how to pay for that trip to Rio.”
Chapter Nine
Crystal finished counting, “Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” She stuffed the last bundle of hundreds back into the sack they'd grabbed from the apartment.
Jack took one hand off the steering wheel and rubbed it though his hair. “Holy Christ. A quarter of a mill. No wonder someone wanted to find it so badly.”
“Where are we going?” she asked him softly.
“I don’t know.” He drove without a destination. Crystal knew he just needed some time to think. It had all happened so quickly.
After he found the box, he discovered more stacks of hundreds that had spilled out and practically filled the little hole in the wall. Jack looked around the apartment and found a plastic bag that would hold all the money. He zipped the bag up in his jacket and got them out of there as fast as he could. Now he was trying to figure out what to do. “Not to Rio, obviously.”
She smiled. “I knew that. You’ve been a cop for eighteen years. You’d never do anything that wacky.”
He glanced sideways at her. “I’m about sick enough of my job that I might do something wacky just to piss ’em off. But I would never put you guys in that kind of danger. Anyone who could misplace a quarter of a million dollars has the resources to chase us to the ends of the earth. I don’t want to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders.”
Crystal looked at him and nodded. “So the two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar question is: what do we do?”
He slapped his palm against the steering wheel and muttered, “I’ve got to call my lieutenant. If I’m going to turn in this kind of money, I want as many people there as possible to witness it.” He pulled over to the side of the road and got out his cell phone. He dialed. Crystal heard his side of the conversation. “Yeah, lieutenant, this is Dunlevy. Sorry to bother you at home, but I’ve got a situation here. Yeah, I found out what my perps were after in the apartment complex. You remember…” he glanced quickly back at the boys and lowered his voice a notch. “the two dead guys and two trashed apartments? Yeah. A box full of money. To the tune of a quarter of a mill. Uh-huh. I think you should. Great. Thanks.” He disconnected and looked at Crystal.
“He’s going to meet you at the department?” she asked.
“Us. I’m still not letting you out of my sight. We’re all going.”
The boys leaned forward. “We’re going to the police department?” Mark asked.
“Yep.” Jack looked back at them. “And I need to tell you a couple things before we get there. I had to tell a couple little white lies, and I want y
ou to know what they are. First of all, nobody knows you’re staying at my house. I told them I found you a safe place, but that’s it. They might not understand that the safest place I can think of is where Zeus and I can watch over you ourselves.”
The boys nodded and Crystal gave Jack a smile.
He went on, “I also told them Crystal is your mother. They definitely wouldn’t understand our keeping you when both of your parents are gone. I want to help Crystal figure that situation out before we get anyone else involved.”
They nodded again, and Jack looked at the three of them. “Everybody got it?”
“We got it, detective,” she said quietly and rubbed her hand over his.
“Then we’re off to the homicide department. You’ll get to see where I work.” He drove there, parked in the lot, and walked them inside. “Come on this way.” He led them up the elevator to the sixth floor, and then through a maze of desks and people.
The boys were wide eyed with all the activity—phones ringing, people milling around, and police in uniforms and regular clothes everywhere. They had never been so close to so many police officers in their lives, Crystal thought, and found the place a little on the creepy side herself.
“This is my desk.” He motioned as they passed it by.
“What are you doing here, Dunlevy?” A woman at the next desk over looked at him.
Crystal surmised this woman must be another detective from her dark jacket and slacks, with a gold shield at her hip. She was pretty, Crystal decided, and very shapely. Her long dark hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she had a beautiful porcelain complexion. Crystal fought back a jolt of jealousy. She wondered if this female detective was Jack’s type. Maybe they'd even had a relationship at one time. She couldn’t tell by his demeanor, since he barely glanced at the woman. So maybe, maybe not, Crystal thought. Then wondered if she were going nuts. Why was she thinking about this? She looked at Jack.
“I’m turning in some evidence,” he told the woman, and kept walking straight ahead to a small conference room with a table and chairs in it.
Crystal guided the boys and followed him, and the woman stepped in behind them.
“Come on in,” Jack said to Crystal. “Have a seat. We may be here a while.” He looked at the other detective. “Is Reeder here yet?”
“He’s not on today.”
“He is now.” Jack pulled the bag from his jacket and dumped the contents on the table.
“Holy sh—” The woman glanced at the children and reconsidered her words. “Holy smokes! Where did that come from?”
“Case I’m working on,” was all Jack would offer.
Crystal eyed the ashtray in the center of the table. Jack noticed, and scooted it over in front of her. “Go ahead,” he told her. “Light one up for me, too.”
She smiled and pulled out her cigarettes. She lit one up and passed it to him, then lit her own and took a puff.
The woman’s cell phone rang, and she stepped out of the room to answer it. Jack took a long drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke up toward the ceiling.
Crystal grinned at him. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
He snorted. “Friend is extreme.” He glanced up as his lieutenant came into the room. “Lieutenant, this is Crystal Cartwright, and Mark and Devon.” He looked at them. “This is my supervisor, Lieutenant Reeder.”
The lieutenant extended his hand to Crystal and she shook it. “Hello,” she said softly.
“Ms. Cartwright, boys, pleasure to meet you. Sorry you got mixed up in the middle of this.”
She chuckled. “We are too. It’s pretty scary.” She looked at the money.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God.” Reeder fingered the cash. “Well, first thing, Dunlevy, let’s get this fingerprinted and then signed over to the evidence room. I put in a call to Special Investigations, and they’re sending over Brady Marshall to work with you on this.”
“Finally got somebody’s attention.” Jack smiled grimly and crushed out his cigarette.
“Oh yes, you did, in a major way. Marshall’s coming over shortly, so if you could stick around to touch base with him…”
Jack nodded.
“Curtis!” the lieutenant barked, and the woman detective reappeared. “Stay with the folks here, would you please, while Dunlevy and I get this evidence marked? Get them some Cokes and snacks or something.”
“Yes sir,” she replied.
Jack looked at Crystal. “This is Detective Melanie Curtis.” He looked at Curtis. “Crystal, Mark and Devon.”
“Hello.” Curtis nodded to Crystal, who nodded back.
Jack loaded up the cash and gave Crystal a quick wink as he walked out.
Curtis asked, “Who’s Mark and who’s Devon?”
“I’m Devon,” the boy answered. Mark just looked at her. Crystal bit her lip and tried not to chuckle at his stubbornness. His face clearly read: You’re the detective. You should be able to figure out the rest. Mark was just old enough to have a little distrust in people, Crystal realized. Probably for good reason. He had seen a lot in his eight short years. She ground out her cigarette.
“So you’d be Mark then,” Curtis finally said. Mark remained stoic.
“Pretty good detective work there,” Crystal said quietly, and he looked at her and laughed. She offered an apologetic look to Curtis. “Sorry. It’s been quite a week for us. We’re a little punchy.”
Detective Curtis smiled and replied, “I would imagine so. Can I get you all something to drink, or eat? We don’t have much, but the vending machine is pretty well stocked.”
“I could drink a Coke,” Crystal said.
Curtis looked at the boys. “If it’s okay with your mom, I’ll take you down the hall to the machines with me. You can see what they have and pick something out.”
They glanced at Crystal, who inhaled slightly. Mark asked, “Is it okay, Mom?”
She batted her eyes at him and smiled. “Of course, son. Stay with Detective Curtis, though.” She lit up another cigarette and watched them go.
They returned with four cans and an assortment of crackers and cookies from the machine. “Wow, thanks,” Crystal told the policewoman.
“No problem. Hard to tell how long you’ll be here. After some random fingerprinting, they have to count those bills individually twice, and that could take a while.”
“Great,” Crystal muttered. That would take a while. She settled back into her chair and opened her Coke.
“Sorry you got stuck with Dunlevy on this case,” Curtis commented. “He’s not Mr. Personality.”
Crystal raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? I guess I hadn’t noticed. We haven’t seen that much of him.”
“He’s close to retirement, and you know how people can get when they’re in that position. Do things kind of half-assed, and all that…” She seemed to remember the children were sitting there listening and said quickly, “Oh, sorry.”
Crystal chuckled. “No problem.” What she did think was a problem was Detective Curtis’ attitude toward Jack. If that’s how his co-workers saw him, he did need to quit. She hated to think of him being mentally beaten down day after day in this place. He was such a smart, caring man. Why didn’t other people see him that way? She had a feeling it all revolved around the death of his partner. Tragic, but wasn’t that also a part of police work?
Crystal considered that as she sipped her drink and puffed her smoke. It bothered her to hear someone knock Jack. She had strong feelings for him, but she hadn't realized how strong until Detective Curtis started spewing her garbage. It almost gave Crystal a stomach ache, similar to the torn-up-gut feeling she got when Jack looked at her angrily the night before. She didn’t like that feeling, and wasn’t interested in incurring his wrath again.
She glanced at Curtis. “What do you know about this Marshall guy, from Vice? Is he going to be cool, or a dickhead?”
Curtis choked on the cracker she'd shoved in her mouth, and took a drink to wash it down.
She finally said, “Detective Hottie? He’s definitely cool. You’ll appreciate what I mean when he gets here.”
Crystal thought about that and blew a puff of smoke toward the ceiling. She had her own hot detective. Curtis could have “Detective Hottie.”
Curtis waved smoke away from her face and moved a chair away from Crystal. She looked at her testily and demanded, “Do you think your boys should be exposed to second-hand smoke like that?”
Crystal inhaled a long drag and expelled it slowly. “Probably not.” She turned her face away and continued to smoke.
A tall, good-looking man wearing jeans and a corduroy jacket appeared in the doorway. His blonde hair was shaggy and streaked with various shades. Crystal knew that while he was attractive, those hair shades did not appear in nature. That seemed funny to her. She tried to imagine Jack sitting in a hair salon, getting a foil-weave highlighting, and had to bite back a laugh.
“Hey Mel,” the man addressed Detective Curtis smoothly. “Hear you stumbled on to an interesting case.”
“Oh, yeah,” Curtis replied, and smiled sweetly at him.
Crystal flicked ashes in the ashtray and looked at the man who had to be Curtis’ Detective Hottie. The look on the female detective’s face all but confirmed it. Crystal said, “It’s Detective Dunlevy’s case, actually. And nobody stumbled on anything, except me and my kids over a dead body.”
He stepped in and extended his hand. “I’m Brady Marshall from Special Investigations, and you are…?”
“Bored and tired of spending my Saturday in this place.” Crystal extinguished her cigarette and looked at him, then gave him a break and shook his hand. “Crystal Cartwright. Mark and Devon.”
Marshall smiled at her and hiked one hip on the edge of the table next to her. “Pleasure to meet you, Crystal. Sorry this is taking so long.” He glanced over at the kids and then back at Curtis. “Melanie, I wonder if you might take the boys out for a walk around the bullpen? I have a few questions for Ms. Cartwright.”
“Sure,” Curtis said, though it was obvious she’d rather stay where Marshall was. “Come on fellas, I’ll show you around a little bit.”