by B. L Wilson
Liz sighed, then handed the plastic bags containing the notes to Ingrams.
Ingrams grinned at Liz. “I’ll get her working on them soon as I leave here.” The young cop looked relieved. He grinned at Liz.
Liz clapped his shoulder. “Be careful with those, Ingrams. Okay?” God, I hope I’m doing the right thing using him and his friend, she thought. I’d better tell Jake about this. Damn, she was suddenly so tired. It felt like she had been running in sand for an hour. Every muscle she could think of was achy and tired.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Ingrams saluted her.
Liz nodded and wearily walked into the foyer area. She plopped down in the nearest chair in what looked like a dining area.
“You look dead on your feet. What were you doing? Holding a prayer meeting out there or something?” Susan said as she studied Liz from the top of her head to her sneakered feet. “Come on, Sarge. Follow me back to the room you changed in the last time you were here. It’d be easier for you than climbing the stairs right now.” She walked back to the guestroom.
Liz collapsed on the bed. Within two minutes, she was in a deep sleep.
Susan stood at the doorway, watching her chest rise and fall. “Lizzie must be tired. She didn’t even move when I took her shoes off and unzipped her jeans. I think I’ll just remove those jeans, Sarge. You’ll sleep better without them on,” she murmured as she returned to the bed. She slid the jeans down to Liz’s ankles, then pulled them off.
“Your legs are firm and muscular but not overly developed, Sarge. What’s this?” Susan’s finger traced a bruise area that started from Liz’s waist down to the top of one knee. The purplish-looking area continued upward across her belly when Susan lifted Liz’s shirt. It probably involved one breast as well, although it was hard to tell because Liz’s brassiere hid the area. She must have been in severe pain, which meant she lied to the doctor so he’d release her today. She certainly was determined to start the investigation to put up with that much discomfort, Susan thought, studying the bruises.
“I’m glad that strong body of yours fell apart enough to force you to rest, Lizzie. I need that intuitive mind of yours rested and clear if we’re going to find out who’s doing this to my father and me,” she remarked, studying Liz for a moment, then wondering how long she’d sleep. She covered her with a blanket and left her sleeping soundly. The phone in the dining room rang just as Susan walked out of the room. She hurried to catch it before the machine did.
“Hello?”
“Susan?” Delta asked.
“Hey, Sugar.” Susan smiled with pleasure. “How are you?”
“I should be asking how you’re doing, Suzie,” Delta said, sighing. “The girls and I heard about your daddy, Susan. I hope he’s gonna be all right.”
“It was tough going for the first few days, but he’s home. Thanks for asking.”
“That’s good, Honey,” Delta replied, then whispered conspiratorially, “We heard your sergeant almost died at your father’s site. Is it true, Suzie?”
Susan hesitated, wondering how to answer Delta’s question without telling her too much about the investigation. She cleared her throat. “Yes, the sergeant was in the same hospital as my father, Delta. But she’s not my sergeant.” Not by a long shot, she almost muttered aloud.
“We miss you at the club, Suzie. Our weekly dinners just aren’t the same without you. When are you coming back to us?” Delta asked, almost whining.
“With my father still bedridden, I have to see to his company, Sweetie.” Susan sighed. “I’d love to have dinner with you and the girls. I miss you.” She thought about how carefree she’d been a mere three weeks ago. Her biggest worry was a speeding ticket from the woman sleeping comfortably in one of her bedrooms. Why did all this drama have to happen when her life was just how she liked it…free and easy? “Why don’t I call you in a few days, Delta? I’m sure it’ll all blow over by then and things will be back to normal.”
“Okay, Suzie.” Delta said, satisfied that she’d see her friend soon. “I’ll tell the girls you said hey.”
Susan sighed. “Thanks, Sugar. I’ll call you in a few days.” That should buy me some time before the girls start pestering me to hang out with them, she thought as she hung up the phone. She glanced at her watch. It was two hours before show time. I should get dressed. She walked upstairs to her bedroom and looked through her closet. She needed to find something businesslike but fashionable for the board meeting.
The cell phone in Liz’s jeans chirped. She reached down to unclip the phone and discovered she wasn’t wearing pants. “What the hell?” Her hand searched for the phone and brushed her naked bruised thigh. “Damn, that hurt. Christ!” She sat up in the darkness. “What time is it?” She searched in the darkness for the annoying chirp. She felt the bulge in the pocket of her jeans, which lay across a chair.
“Hello!” Liz shouted into the phone.
“Calm down, Liz. There’s no need to take my head off.”
“Are you all right, Susan? Where are you? You didn’t go to the board meeting alone, did you? You did, didn’t you?” She didn’t wait for Susan to respond before she started in with the next series of questions. “Goddamn it, Drummond. Didn’t I say I’d go with you? Why didn’t you wait for me? I coulda taken you. All you had to do was ask. I thought we settled all this last night. Damn it, you know how I feel about you going anywhere alone!”
“Lizzie, stop a minute. Catch your breath.” Susan put her hand over the receiver. “Here, you talk to her. I told you she’d be pissed!” she hissed at Jake.
“Hey, Sis!”
“Damn it, Jake! You knew I wanted to be there. Don’t cut me out, Jake. I need to do this for Danny’s sake and mine.”
Jake could hear the misery in her voice. “I’m sorry, Lizzie. It won’t happen again. You were so tired. We didn’t want to wake you. How do you feel, by the way?”
“Sore.”
“Do you mean sore as in pissed or sore like your muscles ache?”
Liz thought for a moment. “I suspect it’s a little of each.” She sighed. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s just that I feel so damn guilty about Danny’s death, Jake.”
“I know, Lizzie. I know. We’ll be home in about fifteen minutes. Do you want us bring you something?”
“No, I’m not hungry. How’s she doing, Jake?”
“Oh, she’s holding up better than I thought.” Jake eyed Susan pacing in front of him. “I think you really pissed her off again, Lizzie. What did you say this time?” He hunched a shoulder, then turned away to cup the phone and whisper.
“Nothing, I swear.” Liz shrugged her shoulders before adding, “Okay, maybe I yelled a little.”
“Christ, Lizzie, you should learn to shut up sometimes. What is it with you and her, anyway? You two are like fire and ice or oil and water. I’d be afraid to leave you two alone in a room together. I know you’d kill each other within two minutes.”
“I heard that, Jake Gilmore! If you’re gonna talk about me, say it loud enough so I can hear everything!” Susan said, glaring at Jake’s back.
“You heard that, Liz?”
Liz sighed. “Yeah, I heard. She’s not in a good mood. I’ll see you in fifteen.”
“Sooner if I can manage it.” Jake nervously eyed Susan, who was standing with hands on her hips. She glared at him through narrowed eyes.
Fifteen minutes later, Liz heard Jake’s car outside the front entrance.
“Good evening, Sergeant,” Susan remarked coldly as she glared at Liz, then stalked past her to head for the stairs.
Jake looked at his sister and winked. “Remember what I said about shutting up and listening. This might be one of those times, Sis.”
They watched Susan stomp up the carpeted staircase and turn left, heading for her father’s remodeled room, which was a combination hospital room and home office. The third floor where his bedroom actually was located was too far away from everything. Jake Sr. suggested the move downstairs and Susan agreed, then had i
t done.
Jake watched his sister limp over to one of the couches in the living room and stiffly ease into it. “It hurts, huh?”
“Yeah, it does a little.” Lizzie bit into her lower lip. “The doctor said it’d be a few weeks before the stiffness went away.”
Jake came over and squeezed a shoulder.
Lizzie jerked away from his touch. “Christ, that hurt, Jake!”
“Sorry, Kiddo, why don’t you ask Susan if you can use the Jacuzzi? I think I saw one in the back of the house. I know I saw a whirlpool upstairs when Dad and I were checking the grounds last night.”
“I don’t think she wants to talk to me right now. I can’t ask her something like that, Jake. I don’t know her that well.”
“Don’t know me well enough for what, Sergeant?” Susan asked as she drew closer.
Liz could see she was carrying a bathing suit.
Susan held it out to Liz. “Here. Put this on when you get upstairs.”
“Why?”
“It’s for the whirlpool. We know you’re one of those modest people who doesn’t want anybody to see her nude.”
Liz blushed while Jake could barely contain his laughter as he watched his sister’s reaction to Susan Drummond’s accurate observation.
“And you, Jake Gilmore,” Susan added as she pinched his arm, “are gonna carry your sister upstairs. I don’t think she should be walking up and down.”
Liz sputtered, “But I’m not. I mean, I’m not crippled. I can walk.”
Jake glanced at his sister and raised an eyebrow. He shook his head to silence her. “Come on, Sis, let’s go.” Jake scooped her up and followed Susan up the stairs.
Liz wiggled in his arms. “Damn it, Jake, put me down!”
“Lizzie, be still or I’ll drop you on that hard head of yours.”
“Humph!”
Susan led the way into her bedroom. “In here, Jake. I guess my room is as good as any place.”
Jake nodded at the large brass bed. “Here?”
“Yes.”
Jake started to dump Liz on the bed, then remembered how she yelped when he squeezed her shoulder and gently sat her down on the bed. “Be good, Kiddo,” he remarked and kissed Liz’s forehead. “I’ll see you later. Dad’s gonna take the first watch tonight.”
“I forgot to tell you about Ingrams and his friend in the lab.”
“Ingrams called and told me the deal.” Jake read his sister’s frown correctly.
“Yeah, I know. I didn’t want him involved either. It could get ugly. He wanted to do something to make up for mistreating Miss Drummond, er, I mean, Susan at the hospital the other day.” Liz warily eyed Susan, who was standing in the doorway listening,
Jake nodded. “We’re gonna need all the help we can get after that board meeting today.” Liz wanted to ask her brother about it, but he stopped her with a hand raised. “Ask Susan. She was there. She can give you the blow by blow account.” He looked at his watch. “I’m going to see how Jen and little Danny are doing. That kid’s something else. He just started walking a couple of weeks ago. He reminds me of how you looked when you took your first steps, Lizzie.”
Liz cleared her throat when she realized Susan remained at the door listening to everything. “I’m sure Susan has more important things to do than listen to us reminisce about our childhood, Jake.”
Susan walked into the bedroom and sat in one of the chairs that faced Jake and Liz. “Oh, I don’t know. I’d love to hear what the illustrious Sergeant Elizabeth Gilmore was like as a little girl. Was she headstrong then too, Jake?” she asked, glancing at Liz and then giving Jake an engaging grin.
Jake nodded. “Oh, yeah, she was just like that! It didn’t matter what Dad said. If she wanted something, she did it and took the punishment. I remember one time...”
Liz groaned. “God! If you tell that story to one more person, I’ll kill you, Jake, or maybe tell Dad a secret or two about your stuff.”
Jake anxiously rubbed his goatee and stared at his sister. “You wouldn’t, would you?”
Liz glared at her brother. “Some people should learn when to shut up.”
Jake held up a hand. “Okay, okay, I’m going. You know where to reach me if you need anything, Lizzie. Let me out, Susan, and reset the alarm.”
Susan nodded.
They walked down the stairs together.
“One of these days, you’re gonna have to tell me about your sister, Jake. I want to know everything about her.”
Jake looked at Susan and raised an eyebrow. “I see. Well, one thing I can tell you about her. Be honest with her. She values that quality above everything. The second thing is that she likes you, Susan, to the point of risking her job for your safety. Third, she loves police work, probably more than I do, so that’s saying a lot. Anything else you want to know, you’ll have to ask her. See ya.” He waited until Susan shut off the system before he left the house. Then he stood outside to wait until she turned it back on before he climbed into his car and drove off.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Liz struggled to get into the bathing suit.
“Need some help, Sarge?” Susan leaned against the door, watching her attempt to pull the suit up without bending a sore leg and a stiff back.
Liz looked at Susan and blushed as she tried to cover her partial nudity with her hands. “I …you’re right, I am a bit modest.”
“I have the same thing you do, Liz, so I’ve seen it all before,” Susan said, drawing closer to her. “May I?” She knelt down to pull the swimsuit carefully up the big woman’s bruised body.
Liz tried not to think about what Susan was doing and managed to keep her mind occupied until a hand gently touched the bruise running across her belly. She jerked involuntarily and then pulled away from Susan’s touch.
Susan watched with fascination as a chocolate-colored nipple hardened under her gaze.
“That’s a sensitive … spot,” Liz rasped as she held back a groan.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t.” Brown eyes glittered at her.
“Oh.”
Liz felt a warm hand brush against her lightly.
Susan pulled the suit up to her waist and stopped. “There. I think you can manage the rest.” She backed out the door as she watched Liz’s eyes grow darker. “I’ll just wait for you outside.” She collapsed against the wall a few feet outside the door to her bedroom. Whew, that was close, she thought, fanning her chest. An image of Liz Gilmore in her bed making love flashed in her mind for a moment. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned aloud. Lizzie was turning her on. If she’d just stay quiet long enough for Susan to touch her again, things could be fine… very fine.
The jingling of the cell phone broke into her reverie. She glanced at the number. “Hello, Johnny?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“I should hang up on you, you son of bitch!” Susan almost yelled into the phone as she went further down the hallway to talk. “How could you do that to me at the board meeting today? You’re supposed to be my friend. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Johnny sighed loudly as he listened to her angry shouts. “Aw come on, Suzie Q. There’s no point in crying over spilt milk. It’s done already, so just move on.” He sighed. “I didn’t think we should be spending more money on a lost cause, Baby. Even the sheriff agrees the explosion was an unfortunate accident. The medical examiner’s office says the same thing. At least your old man came out of it alive. It coulda been worse. He coulda died, you know. We’d be attending his funeral today rather than a board meeting. How’s he doing, by the way?”
Susan considered the logic of his remarks and sighed. He was right. Her investigation was going nowhere fast. She didn’t have proof the explosions were anything more than gas leaks right now. When she thought about it that way, she couldn’t blame the board for not voting to spend twenty thousand dollars to hire a private investigator. “You’re right. God, Johnny, if he’d died, I don’t know what I do!
”
“You’d marry me. That’s what you’d do.”
“Johnny, I’m not ready to marry anyone right now. You know that.”
“It never hurts to ask, Babe. Can I come over tonight?”
Susan sighed. “No, I have a guest. Call me tomorrow and you can take me to the country club for lunch, okay?”
“See you then. Suzie, I love you.”
“I love you too, Johnny. Call me tomorrow.”
Johnny was ecstatic with the way the board backed him. The alliance that he spent days creating held up long enough to give him an almost unanimous vote of six to one. All that pressure was worth it. The deals he made with the other board members and the sheriff might cost him, but he owned Flint Industries. He could afford it, especially if things went as well with Susan as he anticipated. He’d already re-invited his friends to meet her. Marrying Susan Drummond would be the crowning achievement in his life. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough for him. He grinned at his thoughts and went back to reading the board minutes again.
He chuckled when he remembered Susan’s surprise and then anger as she watched her own company’s board members vote against her. Even when she asked to poll the board, each member gave concrete reasons for voting against the investigator. She and the big man left quickly after the vote. They didn’t stay for the small talk over coffee and the catered lunch the board usually engaged in after the board meetings. He’d anticipated Susan’s inclination to leave quickly after the disappointing vote. He breathed a sigh of relief when she hastily left. He knew it was asking a little too much of the board’s members not tell what he’d done behind the scenes. He could play the soothing friend with Susan Drummond a little while longer until he got what he wanted.
Liz strode grimly out of the bedroom, scowling. She tried hard not to limp. Who did Susan Drummond think she was anyway? Playing her and then telling some man named Johnny that she loved him. Wait minute. Susan wasn’t her woman. Why did she feel betrayed by her? She rubbed the bridge of her nose. What was she going to do? Treat Susan Drummond like the rich bitch she was! Hard dark brown eyes locked onto Susan’s face. “Which way to your whirlpool?”