After the first case was moved, Jessica tossed her hair back in dramatic fashion only to pin it up into the messy bun Gina had seen at the club. Occasionally, Jessica would tilt her head and smile coyly, which was the same expression she had when she gave Gina her business card. Was she flirting with me?
Gina shook off that thought and went back to the tape. After the driver left with a wave, Jessica let her shoulders slump in defeat. Then, the van came into view. The events that followed didn’t deviate from Jessica’s statement an inch.
In her few years of working with the Theft division, Gina had seen a fair amount of robberies. They ranged from professional to amateur, extremely violent to borderline peaceful, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Mercedes to a toy car that had been taken after show and tell. The latter had been Stevie’s and she had neglected to inform him that she never formally filed the report.
Based on what was stolen, the model of the van and its registered owner, Gina leaned towards this crime being amateur. But what struck her as unique was the precision. The precision of how everyone was placed in reference to the cameras.
“Inside job,” she said to herself then strode purposefully from the AV room to Jack’s desk. He was on the phone following up the van angle. “Jack, we need to check out something back at the scene.” Jack gestured to the phone and made a shooing motion with his hand to indicate his feelings.
“Alright then. I’ll be back in an hour. I’ll bring back lunch.”
***
“I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon, Detective,” Jessica said and then tossed a trash bag into the dumpster behind the club.
“I could say the same thing about you.” Gina stood from her crouched position and placed her chalky latex glove into an evidence bag. “I would have thought that after the stressful morning you had you would have wanted to spend the day at home.”
“Had I done that, I would have spent the whole day worrying. Plus, like I told you earlier, I practically live here.” Jessica pointed to the sealed bag. “Looks like you have some new evidence.”
“Maybe. I came to check out something that wasn’t entirely clear on the tape.”
“Well, I don’t want to hold you up from doing your job, but you should come in and have a drink before you go. On the house.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m here on duty. I’ll have to pass.”
“And what if you weren’t here on duty?” Jessica asked with a slight smirk.
Gina smiled at Jessica’s persistence. “Then I’d take a beer or a Scotch. Which one would depend on the day I had. But instead of a drink,” Gina tilted her neck to look up at the security camera, “could I get your help with something? I want to run a little experiment.”
Gina’s experiment proved her earlier suspicions. Whoever robbed the club clearly knew the exact range of the security cameras and was mindful to stay out of view. The subtle lines of chalk she had found outside added supporting evidence to that hypothesis.
Jessica was heartbroken to learn that it was almost guaranteed that an employee she handpicked would betray her in such a way. “I just can’t believe it. Don’t people have loyalty anymore?” she asked Gina.
“I suppose,” Gina looked away from the black and white video to Jessica’s earnest face, “sometimes the temptation’s too great.”
Jessica’s eyes drifted down to Gina’s left hand. “It certainly is.”
***
“You weren’t lying when you said you’d be home late,” Roni commented as she handed Stevie his next action figure. Superheroes, Marvel and D.C. alike, were going to protect the vault of Pokémon cards from being stolen by the villainous wrestlers.
“Did you catch the bad guys?” asked Stevie.
Gina kissed the crown of Stevie’s head. “I didn’t catch them yet, but I’m hoping to by tomorrow. I have it narrowed down to two people.”
“What happened?” The only aspect of the new case Roni knew was that there was information late in the day that prevented Gina from coming home on time. Eight p.m. was even later than usual—not that she was counting.
“Armed robbery.”
“With guns?” When Gina nodded, Stevie shouted with delight, “Cool!”
“No, not ‘cool’, Stevie,” Roni admonished slightly. “There could have been people seriously hurt. Was anybody hurt? I didn’t see anything on the news and Steven didn’t say anything.”
“No, no one was hurt and the value of the stolen goods was only a couple of thousand dollars. Not a very newsworthy event for the public.”
“Well, I’m glad no one was hurt. Where was it?” Roni asked, turning away from Gina and back to Stevie.
“It was...It was just some dive bar in the city.”
NINE MONTHS LATER, MARCH 2002
RONI STARED THOUGHTFULLY INTO THE closet, hands on her hips.
“You should go with the green dress you wore to Allison and Paul’s wedding. It really brings out your eyes.” The emerald dress that stopped above Roni’s knees and included a tasteful, but tantalizing v-neckline was Gina’s favorite.
Roni’s eyes shifted to the garment in question. “Then I could wear this,” she tugged slightly on a gold crop jacket, “if I got cold.” She shot a smile towards Gina who was reading in bed. “Thanks, babe.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” She marked her page in Life of Pi and put it aside. “I’m still shocked David invited Steven to his wedding.”
“You and me both.” She held up two different pairs of black strappy pumps in each hand for Gina’s opinion.
Gina didn’t see how the shoes were different in any way. “The ones on the left. Can you please make sure that one of you gets pictures of Stevie in his suit? He looks so adorable when he’s dressed up.”
Roni put the heels in her shoe pile and went to Gina. “I promise,” she murmured into Gina’s lips and gave her a brief kiss before she returned to her task of packing. “So, what are your plans while we’re gone?”
“Well, I have to go back to court tomorrow for that bar robbery.”
“Again?”
“Yeah. There was a trial delay because the defense attorney had emergency surgery. It’d make my life so much easier if suspects would just plead guilty.” Testifying in court and meeting with district attorneys took more time than Jack had let on. “I don’t really know what I’ll do this weekend. Early said he fired a bunch of people so he’ll be at the restaurant most of the time. Maybe I’ll do a long run along the river?”
Roni thought of Gina’s toned physique and smiled. “I think you’ll be fine if you skip a day. Besides, the house is getting really dusty. I caught Stevie writing his name on top of the cable box yesterday. You could clean,” Roni suggested. It had been ages since Gina did anything that resembled a chore.
Gina grimaced. If she was desperate for something to do, she supposed she could do that. “Point taken.”
“Really?” Roni asked, delighted by the idea. She approached her partner with an extra sway to her hips. “If you promise to vacuum, I could make it really worth your while.”
“I’ll make those tracks in the carpet and everything,” Gina added in a suggestive tone.
Roni smirked and climbed seductively over Gina. She could finish packing later.
***
Stevie turned in his folded metal chair to scan the wedding venue. The lack of windows and the wood paneling made the men’s club very dark, but it was still light enough for him to see that the walls were decorated either with large black and white photos of white men or mounted animal heads. He whispered, “Daddy, where are the mooses? I thought there’d be mooses.”
Steven smiled at his son. “Just moose, Stevie, and that’s just the name of the club.” He saw a colorful DJ light start to spin a variety of colors around the room and a small group of preteen girls step out onto the small, parquet dance floor. “Want to go dance?”
Stevie gasped in anticipation and turned away from his father. “Can I go dance,
Mommy? Please.”
“Absolutely.” If she couldn’t easily escape the awkwardness of the table’s dynamic, then the least she could do was spare her son. “But, before you go out...” Roni loosened his green tie, unbuttoned the top of his crisp white shirt, and put his fedora back on to complete his suave-dancer look. Gina was going to love this picture of him.
She watched as he joined in the dance circle. Just like at Allison’s wedding, he was not going to run out of dance partners any time soon.
“That little boy is going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up,” commented Roni’s cousin from across the long cafeteria-style table. “You can just tell he’s going to be so handsome. Plus, he’s a very good dancer. Did you teach him or is it because of his...you know, natural tendencies?” she asked Steven.
One hour before someone said something vaguely prejudicial to me. Progress. “I don’t really dance, but Roni is a great dancer and so is Early. Stevie’s learned from them.”
Roni’s intoxicated, obese uncle Skip made a, “Hmph,” in disapproval. “That’s the fellow that lives with you all?”
“Yes,” Roni answered through clenched teeth. In the past two days, she had explained this five times. “Early is married to Gina. They live with us. It’s very economical.”
“Hmph.” He took another swig of his drink. “Sounds funny.”
Steven took a deep drink from his pint glass so he wouldn’t have to look at the doughy, hate-filled man, or comment.
Roni sighed. “There’s nothing funny about it, Uncle Skip. Many different cultures accept multiple people in one home for practicality reasons.”
Skip put his drink down forcefully, causing his bourbon to slosh out on the linen tablecloth. “Dammit, this is America! What about American culture?” He took another drink before saying, to no one in particular, “Everything in this country is going to hell.”
One hour before Uncle Skip launched into a conservative diatribe. Progress. “Uncle Skip, I can assure you that Stevie is very American. He goes to church every Sunday. Steven’s teaching him how to play baseball. He reads often and he’s only allowed one hour of television per weekday, two on the weekends. I can assure you that he’s not being influenced by...communists.”
Skip’s anger waned. “Well, that’s good to hear, because television these days is an abomination. Damn liberal media. When I was a kid, television was clean and wholesome. It had values. Now, it’s full of murder, the occult, and homosexuals. There’re a few shows that combine all three at the same time!”
“Come on, Skip. I think you’re exaggerating a bit.” Steven could only bite his tongue so much.
“I am not. And you know what? You should join the Citizens Television Council since you’re a school teacher and you’re a police officer.”
“Actually, I’m a principal now,” Roni said.
Skip was briefly taken aback. They were letting women do all kinds of things these days. “Well, then you can tell your staff and parents to join.” He took another drink before looking around to check for innocent ears. “Did you know there’s a show where this unmarried young thing has sex with vampires while her lesbian friends do witchcraft? It’s called Buffy, of all ridiculous things. And don’t even get me started on Will & Grace.”
But he did start on Will & Grace and Roni and Steven learned all about the depraved degenerates who made up the homosexual agenda. Thank God, Stevie was occupied and dancing up a storm.
***
Gina’s run proved to be very therapeutic. Her mind had replayed the events of the trial over and over. The defense attorney was terrible and the defendant was the definition of smarmy. A quick conviction was guaranteed. But she kept thinking about Jessica.
Jessica had been so grateful for all Gina had done to help her. She even offered drinks on the house for her and Early. It was a kind offer, but Gina had declined. There was no way Gina could go to the Box and Whisker as a patron without Roni by her side and not feel any guilt.
After she finished her tenth mile, she jogged back to the house with a clearer head. Her regular routine of doing a few stretches in the yard was halted when she saw Roni’s car in the driveway. Gina thought they were going to have a leisurely brunch with the family and then come home.
She opened the door and was greeted with the aroma of bacon. “Roni?”
“In the kitchen.”
Gina walked into the kitchen and moved her sweat-matted hair from her face before kissing Roni’s cheek. “You’re home early. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s...” Roni didn’t feel like getting into it at the moment. She flipped a pancake and suggested, “Why don’t you get your shower and then I’ll tell you about it over brunch.”
After a very quick shower, Gina took all of five minutes to fill the trio in on her weekend. She finished Life of Pi and got called to help with a VFW charity event, which distracted her from cleaning. Stevie shared that he liked dancing with the girls at the reception and learned that soda was also called “pop”. He found the latter to be fascinating. Roni and Steven glossed over the major events before Stevie finished his chocolate chip pancakes and asked to play.
“Okay. Now that Stevie’s outside, why’d you come back so early?” Gina wondered.
Roni spoke over her coffee cup. “Everyone wanted us to go to church with them this morning.”
Gina pursed her lips. There had to be more to the story. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Their church is the largest donor to the Citizens Television Council in the Pittsburgh area,” Steven added.
“The nut bag group?” Gina asked with both alarm and delight.
“The one and the same. Uncle Skip started in on values at the reception and it just escalated from there.”
“We learned all about the homosexual agenda,” Steven added. “Did you know that there are homosexuals out there whose job it is to recruit upstanding members of society and take them away from their families?”
Gina looked to Roni whose head was lowered in embarrassment. “I’ll be honest. I did not know that.”
Steven continued, “How about that not only is AIDS God’s punishment for homosexuality, but so was the attack on the Twin Towers?”
That was enough to make Gina forget she was about to eat another piece of bacon. “You’re kidding?”
“He’s not.” Roni lifted her head to join in the conversation. “We couldn’t stay and subject Stevie to that. I told him if we left early, I’d make him his favorite breakfast when we got home since he was sad we were missing brunch. Although, I think he just wanted to hang around the girls again.”
“The chocolate chip pancakes make more sense now,” Gina smiled as she saw mere crumbs left on Stevie’s plate. “I’m sorry you two had to go through all of that.”
Roni shook her head sadly. “I will never be able to be myself around them. Ever.”
“You have your real family here,” said Gina.
“I know.” Roni held onto Gina’s hand and marveled at how beautiful she found the sight. She would give anything in the world for others to see their love the way she did. “I just wish society was making progress.”
Gina didn’t want to lecture, but she felt that Roni lived in a bubble. “Society is coming around. We have a local gay bar that isn’t getting pelted with bad press or hate crimes. The Netherlands passed gay marriage last year—”
“Seriously, Gina? The Netherlands?” Even Steven thought that was a weak argument.
“What? It’s a real place. Well, the Box and Whiskers is doing well, so I hear,” Gina amended. “We should go so you can—we can see that it’s just a regular place without protestors or asshole frat boys hanging outside.”
“You want to go the Box and Whiskers?” Roni asked in disbelief.
“I may have looked at their website while you were gone. Today is Bingo Night.”
Roni sent a look to Steven to see if he had the same reaction she did, but he was wearing his poker face when it came t
o his thoughts on bingo. “You want me to go to a gay bar with you and play bingo?”
“Yes!” Gina adamantly exclaimed. “And you’ll see that it’s no big deal to be out—just a tiny bit out.”
“But what if—”
“Someone sees?” Gina asked, progressively raising her voice. “Who cares?”
“I care—like I keep telling you. I could lose my job on the off chance someone saw me. I don’t understand why you don’t get that work is important to me, especially since that’s all you do,” Roni said firmly and slid back from the table to get up. “It’s your turn to clean up. Supplies are under the sink, in case you forgot.”
Gina sat in silence, stunned by Roni’s abrupt departure.
“You really should have cleaned the house,” Steven concluded and sipped his orange juice.
“What just happened?”
“Well, let me start by saying that Roni is more hurt by this weekend than she is letting on.”
“I just don’t understand why she cares so much about what other people think.”
“Put yourself in her shoes. If your folks hadn’t found out, would you ever have told them you’re a lesbian?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“But you can’t say so with one hundred percent certainty.” Steven thought about what had happened between him and Monica. “For whatever reason, being blood creates a bond you don’t want to see severed even though you see the world in completely different ways. And even now that my sister knows, I’m still not as out there gay as I could be. You don’t see me dying to go to the Box and Whiskers either or at work telling the guys not to say ‘faggot’, but you don’t hassle me about it.”
“That’s different, you’re a guy. You hate to dance and being a male homosexual cop is a lot different, a lot less accepted.”
Beards Page 18