by Jenny Allen
She chuckled despite herself. “First off, weren’t you the one that said this car would be fine?” Chance just flipped her off as she continued. “Secondly, I think you meant roomS” She amended.
All the humor fell from his face and he shook his head. “Oh, hell no. This is one step from the Bates Motel, there’s no room for prim and proper. I’m not letting you out of my sight in a place like this. We’ll get a room with twin beds or something, but only one room.”
Lilith opened her mouth to protest, but the thought of staying in a room by herself in this place sent chills up her spine. Just having another person, any person, in the room would make her feel better. She could take one night. They would only be staying long enough to nap anyway. Finally she nodded and dug her wallet out of her coat and handed him a fifty dollar bill. “Shouldn’t be any more than that. We’ll share a room, this once.” Lilith emphasized the last bit which only made Chance smile and wink at her.
“You say that now.” He grabbed the fifty, slowly pulled himself out of the car and jogged up to the office. While he was busy getting their room, she stared across the gloomy parking lot and rubbed goose bumps from her arms. She spent most of her time around dead bodies and crime scenes, but lately she just felt like her nerves were raw and frayed. It was like some nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was definitely horribly wrong. Now Spencer was missing too it seemed. What the hell was going on here in Eastern Tennessee?
Lilith decided to take advantage of the time she had to herself and called Gregor’s cell. He should be asleep so she could leave a voicemail without worrying about an interrogation. His voicemail message was the standard robot reciting the phone number, completely impersonal. “Spencer didn’t show at the airport so we swung by the Madisonville house. We’ll take a closer look tonight but we’re just going to get a hotel room and relax until then. I’ll call with more later.” She didn’t want to leave anything too specific. All cell phones could be monitored by simple scanners. Besides, if Gregor was willing to be precautious to the extreme in New York just to talk to her, then she figured she could be understandably vague with her voicemail.
As soon as she hung up, Chance emerged from the office. He stopped just outside and turned back to lean in the door, as if answering a question. After a moment he was tapping on her window. She didn’t have the key to the car and of course it had power windows, so she just cracked the door open.
Chance rested an arm across the hood and leaned down so he could talk quietly, but his vigilant eyes never left the parking lot. If she was expecting something important, she was disappointed. “I swear to God, I don’t know what the hell that man just said to me. I think it was something about guns and raccoons.” Lilith choked back a laugh.
“Are you sure he said raccoon?” Lilith didn’t consider herself a racist person and she didn’t like to make assumptions, but this was the south and well off the beaten path.
“It’s entirely possible he said he makes a mean Chicken Florentine for all I know.” Lilith coughed on a laugh, completely forgetting about the dreary parking lot.
“You’re from the south, can’t you interpret.”
Chance’s eyes caught hers for a second, all full of warmth and then they continued to scan the area. “I’m from Cajun country, cher, not whatever the hell country this is.” After Lilith stopped chuckling, his voice dropped down to business mode. “We have the first room.” He nodded behind him. “I want to give it a once over real quick. Stay in the car, fiddle with your phone and then I’ll come out and grab the bags.”
“Who’s the sneaky mastermind now?” Lilith grinned and pulled the door closed while Chance pushed away from the car and cautiously stalked over to the door. He made it look casual as he unlocked the door, but she knew he was absorbing all of his surroundings. Tension pulled at every muscle in his body. Once he disappeared into the room, she held up her phone pretending to push buttons, and just stared intensely at the door.
Minutes passed torturously slow. She had her hand on the door handle when Chance finally came out. She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. He calmly strolled toward the back of the car, with the slightest nod to her as he passed. Lilith visibly put her phone in her pocket, opened up the door and stepped out of the car. She looked down at her rumpled dress pants, wrinkled blouse and high heels and suddenly couldn’t wait to change. She’d need something more… casual for tonight anyway.
She grabbed her aluminum kit and the biohazard cooler while Chance started hauling the luggage and the last bag of equipment. A few minutes later the car was completely unloaded and Lilith was staring at the queen size bed. “I thought you were getting two twins?”
Chance stepped out of the bathroom. “I tried, all the rooms are single queens.” He shrugged and stepped back out of sight.
Lilith let out a frustrated sigh and suddenly felt exhausted. She looked around the tiny room with increasing despair. The yellowing wall paper was mostly still intact. A sixties style dresser with plastic “wood” molding took up the entire wall on the right. There was a tiny round table stuffed into the corner by the window, sadly not leaving enough room for any chairs. An ancient TV with actual push buttons on the front stood on the far edge of the dresser. If nothing else it’d make a hefty self-defense weapon.
The Queen-size bed was covered in a horrendous comforter with swirl designs in salmon pink and melon green. Her skin itched just looking at it. Right above the bed was a painting of a beach scene with the same colors as the bed. Yay for color co-ordination.
Lilith dropped her aluminum case on the dresser and cracked it open. In the bottom of her case, she found what she was looking for. When Chance walked out of the bathroom, all the lights were off and Lilith was leaning over the bed with a purple light, meticulously running it over the pulled back sheets, while sporting some stylish orange glasses.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Lilith glanced over the rim of the glasses with a frown. “It’s a UV light. I’m just checking the bed.”
Chance strolled up to her with a curious look. “Checking it for what?”
“You can see all kinds of stains that you wouldn’t see with the naked eye, Blood, Urine, all kinds of body fluids.” She continued to move the light over the sheets.
“Why would you even check for that?” He sounded disgusted almost to the point of being offended.
Lilith huffed and looked up at him. “Maybe you don’t care, but I don’t want to sleep in a redneck sperm bank, okay?”
Chance leaned back against the wall laughing. “Holy hell, Lily. You sure do have a way with words.” He was grinning at her, watching her every move. “So what’s the verdict? We cuddling in the tub?” Lilith glanced up just in time to catch him wink.
“You wish.” She flicked off the UV light and turned on the overhead light. “Surprisingly clean. Either no one ever stays here or these sheets are new.”
“I’m voting option one. You definitely aren’t the ‘ignorance is bliss’ sort are ya?” Chance flopped down on the bed, stretching out and folding his arms behind his head. Her eyes drifted to the bare bit of skin between his shirt and his jeans and she caught the very edge of the tattoo again. She sat cross legged on the edge of the bed and leaned forward a tiny bit to keep from falling off it.
“Seriously, Chance. What’s the tattoo? I’m curious.”
She didn’t miss the slight frown on his face. “I told you it’s nothing. Just let it go, Lily.” Lilith just looked at him expectantly. He released a frustrated sigh and stared at her. “I’m serious. Just let it go. Damn, I don’t remember you ever being this stubborn with Gregor.”
“Fine, be defensive, and I’ve always been this stubborn. You’ve just never noticed.”
Chance lifted an eyebrow and let out a soft snort of disbelief. “Not like we normally have group therapy sessions where we share our feelings. I think the car today was the first time we’ve actually had a conversation that wasn’t
just banter or discussions about Gregor.”
It was Lilith’s turn to look surprised, not because he was right, but because he’d noticed. “I suppose it was.” She was trying for a nonchalant tone and was pretty sure she’d failed. In a quick recovery, she grabbed her suitcase, fished out some clothes and sauntered off to the bathroom without another word. Chance suddenly had a way of making her feel off balance and prickly since they left the safe familiarity of New York. She wasn’t really sure why, he was just getting under her skin. Maybe it was just the processes of getting to know someone that you’ve “known” for 13 years or maybe it was because he was the only thing familiar, the only tie to her life back at home. Sure she’d traveled for work before, but somehow this time was different.
The shower, which was cramped but surprisingly clean, melted away the stress and raw ends of the day. The hot water rained against her face and seemed to wash away the thousands of thoughts milling around in her mind. For a moment it just felt like peace. Water always had a calming effect on her. If she actually believed in astrology, she’d chalk it up to being a water sign. Too bad she’d met plenty of people that didn’t fit the star charts. There is no astrological sign that says, “One day you’ll be a serial rapist that enjoys seeing the light die in people’s eyes. Success will find you today.”
After throwing on a comfy pair of jeans and tugging on a navy blue tank top, Lilith stepped out of the steam filled bathroom into the comfortably cool room. She peeked around the corner to see Chance passed out and twisted up in the sheets. The smooth lines of his face looked peaceful and instantly younger. She smiled secretly, pulled her hair into a loose bun and tip toed to her side of the bed.
Lilith curled around a pillow and let the magic of the shower lull her to an instant sleep. For once there were no dreams, no nightmares, just blissful, mind-numbing sleep.
She woke to the sound of her phone ringing. Lilith blindly grabbed for her phone and reached for a lamp that wasn’t there. Suddenly she realized she wasn’t in her room and there was a drowsy moment of disorientation before she remembered where she was. The room was completely dark so she fumbled her hand along the wall to find a light switch while she answered the phone.
“Hello?” She was still trying to shake the drowsiness from her voice.
“Lilith?”
“Philippe. Is something wrong? Gloria and the kids okay?”
“They are fine, nothing’s wrong. Gloria insisted I call and make sure you’re still surviving the south. She would have called herself but she’s forcing Erica to bake cookies for the cheerleader’s fundraiser. Guess it’s better than handcuffing her at this point. How’s the conference going?” Her cover story, a conference on reading people’s micro-expressions and recertifying herself on Facial Feedback Analysis. She’d actually been to a conference on the subject a couple years back. It was a fascinating field of research. College had only brushed on the ways to read faces and body language. The research of micro-expressions was becoming increasingly popular, even making its way to TV. It was truly amazing how certain expressions were used all over the world, displaying identical emotions. She suddenly remembered she was on the phone with Alvarez and shook herself from the inner monologue.
“It doesn’t start till Friday.” Lilith rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and heard a groan next to her as Chance rolled over. “How’s the case load. Anything interesting?”
Beside her, Chance blinked at the bright light of the lamp, groaned again and hesitantly rolled off the bed to stumble into the bathroom.
“More of the same for the most part. There is one case of interest that popped up early this morning.” Lilith listened passively while she grabbed for the biohazard cooler. Of course the room didn’t come with a microwave, so the blood packs were out for now. She couldn’t take the stuff cold, it was just repulsive.
She grunted something in agreement and dug out four of the gel caplets. It would hold her over until she could borrow a microwave somewhere. Alvarez was still droning on about the case and Lilith was only half listening as she downed the pills. She heard the groaning of the ancient pipes as the shower started up.
“So the place is finally going to be gutted. It’s about time I say. That damn Italian pit is a hazard, just a haven for squatters and gang members. So when is this conference over? I’m not used to doing the legwork.”
A deep yawn interrupted her. “Sorry, Alvarez. The trip wore me out. I should be back after the weekend but I’m hoping to be back by Sunday. You just can’t tell how these things will go. I’ll keep you posted and tell Gloria to stop worrying about me. She has her hands full with Erica anyway. Oh and if you want me to take a look at that case, just email me the report and crime scene photos.”
“That’s my girl. Take care, Lil.” Alvarez hung up before she could say anything else. Lilith flipped through her messages on her phone, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It was eleven o’clock at night and she still felt exhausted. The shower stopped while she was digging through her suitcase.
The bathroom door opened releasing a cloud of steam and Chance strolled out with a towel wrapped high around his waist. All his lean muscles glinted with water and his skin was flushed pink beneath the even tan. Lilith quickly glanced down at the pair of comfortable black flats in her hands as if they were the most fascinating thing on the planet and not the incredibly handsome, half-naked man standing in the middle of the room.
“So who the hell calls you at eleven o’clock at night?” Chance growled as he shook a second towel through his auburn-flecked hair. “Boyfriend checking up on you?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and finally made her muscles move. “Alvarez. He just wanted advice on a case.” She grabbed a long sleeve black t-shirt, a darker pair of jeans and the black shoes before closing her suitcase. “I do typically work nights, so it’s not that unusual.”
“Oh?” There was a curious tone in his voice as he threw his duffle bag up on the bed. “So what’s the case?”
Lilith slowly stood with her armful of clothes and started for the bathroom completely avoiding looking in his general direction. “I can’t discuss open cases, Chance. Protocol.”
Chance huffed and rooted around in his bag. “Oh come on. We’re all the way in Tennessee. Besides, what am I gonna do? Go run screaming to the reporters for a tell-all?”
“Good point. I still can’t tell you. I was half asleep and didn’t pay attention to a word he said. I’ll look at the files when he gets around to emailing them.”
Chance let out a howl of laughter that followed her into the bathroom. “And here I thought you were some sort of perfect computer. Wow… I’m so disillusioned right now. Hey, before we play mission impossible out at Duncan’s place we should rustle up some food.”
Lilith peeked out of the cracked door to see Chance’s muscled back leaning over his suitcase. The casual t-shirts didn’t do him justice. “Um, yeah. That’s probably a good idea. Maybe we can find an all-night diner or something.” Reluctantly, she pulled herself away from the door and finished wiggling into her jeans.
After grabbing a greasy breakfast with coffee strong enough to burn through linoleum, they were back in the clown car. The food may have been horrible but the conversation was surprisingly comfortable. Apparently, Chance had a very keen interest in photography. Seeing as that was a hobby of hers, they’d had plenty to talk about. She’d even promised to brave photographing his building, during daylight hours of course.
An hour later they had the car packed and were weaving slowly through the dark country roads toward Duncan’s house again. Chance cut the lights as soon as they turned onto the last street. The car slowed to a crawl and Lilith scanned the neighboring houses. They were all dark. The night was quiet except for the faint echoes of dogs barking and cows mooing off in the distance. They parked the car on the opposite side of the shed, shielding it from the view of most of the houses.
“Okay. I’ll go in, check the house and if it’s clear I�
��ll signal you. Then you can do your thing.” Chance reached for the door handle but Lilith stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“I need to go in first.”
Chance turned to look at her in disbelief. “Oh hell no.”
She sighed and grabbed a hair tie from her pocket. As she pulled up her wild auburn curls into a bun she looked at him seriously. “Look. Spencer and Miriah have probably trampled all through there, but there might still be something important I can find. I can’t take the chance that you might compromise something that would tell me what is going on and I don’t exactly have time to teach you the basics of forensics.”
His hand left the door handle and his face became all hard, serious lines. “I cannot take the risk that something or someone might be in there. If you’re dead then you won’t find anything anyway. Besides, Spencer and Miriah have probably done more damage than I ever could. I promise I’ll be careful but I can’t let you in first.”
“Stop right there.” Her voice was iron strong and her mouth set in a hard line. The surprised look on Chance’s face seemed to indicate he wasn’t used to people disagreeing with him. He better get used to it fast. When it came to her work, she never let anyone compromise her scene. “I know Gregor sent you to keep me safe and I appreciate that, but this is me drawing the line.” She held up a hand to cut off his protest. “I investigate crime scenes every single day without macho backup. Gregor sent me to do a job too and I can’t do that with you underfoot. I’m going in. You can stand at the door. I am willing to indulge you’re overprotective attitude, but not when it comes to work.”
Chance glared out the windshield sightlessly, every muscle in his face flexed and strained. She could feel the anger roiling off of him in waves. She could almost see the internal battle waging as he gripped the steering wheel so tight she thought he’d rip it right out of the car. Lilith sat perfectly still and tried not to show how nervous she was. Finally, he glanced at her and there was an entire novel of emotions in his face. His voice came out thin and forced. “Fine, but you maintain voice contact at all times so I know you’re okay. You clear a room, then I move in. You are to be within one room from me at all times.”