by Melissa Good
“Hi,” the taller woman answered briefly. “Anyone see anything?”
352 Melissa Good Colleen snorted. “These self-absorbed yuppies? They wouldn’t have seen anything if Fox Mulder had landed a frigging alien spacecraft in the parking lot and gotten out to do the hula.”
Dar had to suppress a grim chuckle at this description. “C’mon, let’s see what the deal is.” She gave Kerry a tiny nudge. “You have renter’s insurance?”
Kerry had to think through what Dar was asking. “Yes, State Farm,” she answered absently as they moved through the lot and up to her front door, peering inside. She was vaguely aware of Dar’s voice muttering into her cell phone as she tried to make her mind see order where there was only…
Colleen had been right. It was a mess. Things were torn apart and thrown everywhere. Her eyes flicked to the television, then to the computer, both of which were still in place. A policeman came towards her. “Ma’am?”
“I live here,” Kerry said quietly. “What happened?”
The officer shook his head. “Beats the hell out of me. Looks like whoever it is, was looking for something pretty bad. You keep cash in the apartment?”
She shook her head. “No. Well, five or six bucks in change, sure—on the dresser. That kind of thing.”
He nodded. “Yeah, gotcha. Any jewelry?”
She felt her neck and pulled out her single gold chain. “This, a few pairs of earrings, and a ring are all I have.” She glanced over. “Nothing seems to be missing.”
The cop was writing furiously on his pad. “Probably druggies looking for cash for a buy, Ms.—” His eyes questioned her.
“Stuart,” she answered. “You think so? I guess they went away empty, then, huh?” She moved into the room and peered around. Cushions were scattered everywhere from the couch, and she crossed to her bedroom and pushed the door open. Every drawer was emptied, and the bedding was torn from the bed. Pooh was thrown against the wall and she picked him up, hugging him to her in reflex. Kerry walked back into the living room.
“Everything looks like it’s here.” She told the policeman quietly.
He glanced at her, then at Pooh, and gave her a pat on the shoulder.
“Listen, sorry about your fish there. Looks like some chemical can fell in the tank.”
Kerry’s eyes tracked to the glass enclosure and saw the floating forms.
Dar’s eyes went the same way, then went to her face in quiet compassion. The blonde woman walked over and stood staring at them, bobbing lifelessly on top of the water. A half empty container of kitchen cleaner bobbed next to them. With exaggerated care, she pulled the container out and closed the lid, aware of Dar’s close presence behind her. “I keep that cleaner in the cupboard in the kitchen,” she said quietly.
Dar’s hands closed on her shoulders. “Go siddown. I’ll take care of this.”
“Dar, someone killed my fish,” she whispered sadly.
“I know,” came the low, vibrant response. “First, we’re going to get this place cleaned up, and then we’re going to get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, I’m going to take you to get more fish.”
Kerry exhaled. “Maybe that’s not a good idea.”
“Yes, it is,” Dar insisted quietly. “Don’t let them win, Kerry.” She Tropical Storm 353
squeezed her friend’s shoulders. “Go sit down, I’m going to take care of this and dump the water.”
Kerry stared at the fish. “Look, Dar. I…”
“It’s okay, I’ve got this. Go sit down for a while, okay?”
Kerry felt exhausted, and she complied, mechanically putting the cushions back into place before she sat down on them. She faced the officer, who was still getting details. She tried not to watch what Dar was doing, and concentrated on the questions instead. Colleen came over and sat down next to her, and she gave the redhead a grateful smile.
Dar scooped the dead fish out of the water, putting them in a small container. She was carefully controlling her breathing and focusing on remaining calm when her first and most immediate instincts were to be yelling her fool head off. The random destruction in the room didn’t bother her. This pointed, deliberate, vicious cruelty to helpless creatures, on the other hand, made her so angry it was a wonder her hands weren’t vibrating from the force of it. Bastard.
She disposed of the dead fish, then dipped out a good portion of the water before she lifted the tank up and drained out the rest of it, removing the gravel and decorations and running them under clean tap water. Then she mixed a saline solution and cleaned the tank out, using the motion to calm herself. She did a thorough job of it, scrubbing the inside out to get out all the traces of chemical. Bastard. She rinsed the ferns and then ran water through the filter . Son of a bitch. Then she carried the tank back and filled it three quarters full with clean tap water, adding the rinsed gravel to it and putting in a few drops of water cleaner Kerry had in a bottle near the tank itself. Which she sniffed first, just in case. When she’d gotten it to her satisfaction, she turned to see Kerry shaking the officer’s hand and watching him leave, taking his partner with him, both of them giving Kerry looks of professional sympathy.
The door closed, and Kerry turned to look at her, the haunted green eyes beseeching. Dar crossed to her immediately. “C’mere.” She pulled Kerry into a hug, feeling her whole body jerk with a sob. “Shhh, I’ve got you.” Over the blonde woman’s shoulder, she met Colleen’s eyes, and the redhead glanced down, then back up with a faint smile as Kerry buried her face into Dar’s shirt and clung to her with desperate strength. “Give us a hand getting this place straightened up?” she asked Colleen.
“You bet your…uh, sorry, I mean…” Colleen blushed.
“I’ve heard the term,” Dar replied dryly. She felt Kerry take a deep, shaky breath, and released her a little, so she could pull back and look up.
“Sorry.” The blonde woman sniffled a little, disengaging one hand and rubbing at her eyes. “It’s just late, I guess.”
Dar pulled a handkerchief from her inner jacket pocket and handed it to Kerry. “Here.” She patted her back and left her arm draped over the blonde’s shoulders. “All right, let’s start in the kitchen, I guess—that seemed to be the least messed up—then do in here, then the bedroom.”
They started picking things up, and worked in mostly silence until Colleen trotted over, picked up all the CDs thrown around on the floor, and popped one into the changer. The soft strands of the Disney tune “Circle of 354 Melissa Good Life” drifted across the room. “ I know you like this.” The redhead gave her friend a smile, which Kerry half-heartedly returned.
It didn’t take as long as she feared, until the apartment began to resemble its former state, only the quiet waters of the fish tank a glaring testimony to the invasion. Kerry stood in the center of the room after they finished, listening to Dar putter around in the kitchen, and folded her arms across her chest. Colleen entered from the bedroom and went to her, giving her a little pat on the back.
“All done. Got you some fresh sheets on.” Her eyes twinkled gently at Kerry, who looked down and blushed. “Ah, c’mon now, Ker. For what it’s worth, I think you’ve got a real winner in there.”
That got a smile from Kerry, who glanced at the kitchen door, then back at her. “Think so, huh?”
“Yep. Someone who knows when to give a hug when it’s needed.”
Colleen nodded firmly. “That’s a very good sign.” She was glad to see Dar’s unquestioning support of her friend, which had surprised her a little, given the executive’s reputation.
The dark-haired woman interrupted the conversation by reappearing with three mugs of something hot and handing one to each of them. She then motioned Kerry and Colleen to sit down. Dar took a seat on the end of the couch and stretched her legs out, patting the cushion next to her, which got her a compliant Kerry. The blonde woman tucked her legs up under her, and she sipped her chocolate with a sigh. “Well, this has been a night.”
Dar dropped a
hand to her knee and gently stroked it. “It’s over,” she said simply, before she took out her cell phone and dialed a number. “Mark?”
A pause. “I know what time it is. Get the light on and put on your glasses, because I need you to write something down.”
Dar waited, as ideas and plans started clicking into view. “All right, I need you to run a full profile. I need everything…on a Kyle Lewis. He’s an employee of Senator Roger Stuart of Michigan.” She waited. “You’ll probably have to tap Milnet.” Another pause. “Let’s just say I have a feeling about him, okay? Route the results to my inbox.”
Mark left the phone for a moment, and she sat waiting, drumming her fingers against her thigh. “You did? Thanks. Oh, one more thing, I need you to put a scope on the outbound router for Miami Dade, and filter any packets that contain the following number.” She read it off. “Just discard them…on the federal transfer.” She waited. “I know. It would be from the Kendall substation IP if that helps.” Another pause. “Good. Thanks, Mark. I’ll fill you in tomorrow.” She hung up and glanced at her audience, who was watching her with interest. She smiled. “Welcome to the information age.”
“Jesus, can you do that?” Colleen blurted. “I mean, why are you… That was the report number the cops gave us.”
Kerry nodded in understanding. “It will exist locally here, but not be updated to the federal system. That was really smart, Dar, thank you.”
Dar smiled briefly. “When you move the data, you control it,” she told Colleen quietly.
“Wow.” Colleen regarded her respectfully. “Remind me not to piss you off, you do our payroll transfer.”
Tropical Storm 355
That got a chuckle from Dar and a smile from Kerry. “I don’t generally do that sort of thing, but I think it would be better for Kerry. And it doesn’t hurt anything, since they didn’t find any fingerprints or MO, and that’s what the federal database checks.”
Kerry leaned her head against Dar’s shoulder. “My hero.” She dared Dar to refute her in front of Colleen, and was pleased when all the taller woman did was reach out and tweak her nose.
“You really think it was that stinker Kyle?” Colleen asked, watching them with a gentle smile.
Kerry sighed. “The fish…and the door wasn’t forced open. Did you notice that? Someone keyed in. And when I checked the doorlock, it had my code in it.”
“Ew, change it,” Colleen advised.
The blonde woman nodded wearily. “I did. But the only people with it are the building manager, you, and my family.” She paused and glanced up.
“And Dar, but she was with me the whole night, so that knocks her out as a suspect.”
“Only that?” Dar’s brows lifted teasingly.
“Well, that and a few other things,” Kerry admitted. with a smile. “But…
Well, I told my mother I wasn’t going to move back home last night. The timing’s just too coincidental.”
“Mmm.” Colleen pulled her lip. “Kerry, that sucks.”
Kerry sighed. “No kidding.” She sipped her chocolate, enjoying the smooth taste as it warmed her insides. “This is the only thing you can cook, isn’t it?” she asked Dar, who laughed softly. “I knew it. This, coffee, and what else?”
“Eggs,” Dar supplied briefly. “And ice cream.”
Kerry smiled. “Dar, ice cream doesn’t require cooking.” She shook her head in disbelief, then flicked on the television. “Oh, look, the crocodile guy!”
“Good gravy, what is he doing to that fish?” Colleen yelped.
Kerry settled back to watch, feeling a lot better. It was good to have friends around, she decided as she felt Dar’s arm slip around her waist and tug her closer. She leaned back and gazed at Dar. “Thanks.” She sighed.
“Thanks for being here, and helping, and cheering me up.”
A wink of a very blue eye. “That’s what friends are for, right?” Dar replied softly.
“You bet,” Kerry replied, then she hesitated. “Listen, Dar, you don’t have to get involved in all this. It’s not your business, really.”
“Sure it is,” Dar replied, her voice shielded by the rounded vowels of the TV character they were watching. “You are my business.”
Kerry felt a gentle chill run down her spine. “Am I?”
“Of course.” Pale blue engulfed her. “I love you,” Dar stated with quiet sincerity. “That makes you my business.”
Kerry just sat there, breathing for a long moment. “Oh,” she finally said, faintly.
“Does that bother you?” Dar inquired.
Kerry shook her head. “No.” She studied Dar’s face. “I guess that means you’re very much my business, too.” She exhaled, then settled into the crook 356 Melissa Good of Dar’s arm as the crocodile man went through his antics. It had been Kyle, she knew it. She felt his slimy fingers in the whole thing, and she knew he’d be back. Her eyes lifted to see the sharp profile above her, and she smiled grimly.
He didn’t know what he was getting into this time, though, and she was glad.
He’ll lose. This time.
Chapter
Twenty-eight
KERRY WOKE UP with a sure, comfortable grip around her, and she kept her eyes closed as she absorbed the sensation of being naked and tangled in Dar’s embrace. It was warm, and she could feel the gentle rhythm of the taller woman’s breathing moving against her where Dar was pressed up against her back. She thought about her dream. It was strange; she’d had a few of these weird ones lately, where she seemed to be seeing through someone else’s eyes, in situations completely unfamiliar to her, but which seemed as comfortable as the nice well of contentment she found herself in right now. Weird. She exhaled, feeling Dar’s grip tighten a little, and she lifted a hand to lazily stroke the powerful thigh tucked in back of her own . It felt nice, the skin all soft and velvety over the strong muscles that shifted a tiny bit under her touch. She felt Dar’s skin pressing against hers, the contact increasing and relaxing ever so gently as her lover breathed in a comforting rhythm she found almost hypnotic. Nice.
Kerry let her eyes drift open a bit, taking in the morning sunlight that bathed the room and judging it to be about nine o’clock. She glanced around, remembering what the room had looked like last night, and managed to retain a good feeling about how her friends had so carefully returned it to its original state. Even the clothes pulled out of her drawers had been neatly folded and put back. Probably more neatly than they were originally, she wryly admitted. She should feel horrible, she knew that—and her poor fish. Kerry imagined coming home to all that alone, and she shivered, glad of Dar’s close presence.
It was nice to have someone she could share things with.
A tiny tickle edged around her ear, and she giggled in startlement. That was followed by a low, almost soundless chuckle that echoed perfectly the one in her dream. “That tickles,” she accused, enjoying the sensation thoroughly.
“I know,” Dar replied, nibbling further. “How are you feeling?”
Kerry hummed deep in her throat. “Nice,” she replied dreamily. “I like waking up like this.” She sighed contentedly. “Especially after last night.”
“Glad you postponed your scuba lesson,” Dar commented, moving further down her neck and smiling a little as the blonde woman’s body arched against her. “We have fish buying to do.”
Kerry rolled over and snuggled closer, letting her hands roam freely over Dar’s body, curiously exploring the planes and curves of it. “What’s that from?” She traced a long, thin scar that started just below the taller woman’s breast and ended near her hip.
“I was tree climbing,” Dar admitted, glancing down wryly. “I went to 358 Melissa Good jump for a branch and missed. I scraped up against the trunk. There was an old nail there and I sliced myself up pretty good.”
“Oh.” Kerry ducked her head and kissed the spot. “Bet that hurt.”
“I was screaming like a banshee, yeah.” Dar chuckled. “I’ve never liked
hospitals—had to go get stitches and a tetanus shot the size of a harpoon.”
“Ouch.” Kerry winced, then continued her exploration. “Can I ask you a personal question?” She peered up at her companion, who raised an eyebrow at her. “Well?”
“Sure,” Dar replied with a grin. “How much more personal can we get here?” She traced a line down Kerry’s throat, tickling her pulse point.
“How old are you?” Kerry rested her cheek on Dar’s belly and blinked at her.
A sheepish grin covered the dark-haired woman’s face. “I’ll be thirty in about a month or so.”
“Son of a bitch.” Kerry laughed. “I knew it. You just act like you’ve been running the world for years.” She paused. “When’s your birthday?” she coaxed.
“Uh-uh, I never tell anyone what day it is.” Dar shook her head.
“Why?”
“Just because.” The pale blue eyes flickered. “I don’t like fusses.”
“Mmm.” Kerry drew a circle on the soft surface she was resting on.
“Please tell me?” she asked quietly. “It’s no fair, you know mine.”
Life isn’t fair, Dar almost retorted, then she sighed. After all, what did it matter if Kerry knew? She’d probably actually get a card or something from her. That would be different. “Christmas Day.”
The blonde blinked in surprise. “Really?”
Dar nodded. “Yep. So you could say I’ve never really had a birthday, because there’s no point in making anything separate. You know?” She’d gotten over feeling bad about that years and years ago. Right?
“Hmm.” Kerry drew another circle, then watched her hand move in idle patterns on the tanned skin. “Would you be really pissed off at me if I made you a party?”
Dar remained quiet for a bit, then she raked her fingers through Kerry’s pale hair. “It’d be a pretty damn small party,” she told her friend. “I think I’d rather celebrate Christmas.”
Kerry held her peace. For now. “Okay. Well, I guess some breakfast is in order. I think I have some cinnamon toast left.” She rubbed Dar’s skin.