by Nic Saint
They’d reached the small pond at the heart of Queen Astrid Park, a statue of Neptune its most prominent feature, along with a fountain. The two candidates had just stepped into a small rowing boat together, and were posing for the cameras, arm in arm, like old friends.
“Look at that,” she said. “You would think they’re bosom buddies.”
“Kate,” said Chris, and the urgency in his voice impelled her to face him.
“There was something else I wrote in that note that day.”
“What?” she said, her throat constricting.
“I wrote that I hoped the night we spent together was the first of many to come, hopefully stretching out into the future for as long as we both should live.”
The constriction in her throat didn’t budge, as her eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Oh, Chris,” she finally managed. “Did you really write that?”
“And I meant it, too,” he said, gazing at her earnestly.
She could see it in his eyes. He really did mean it. On an impulse, she slung her arms around his neck, and reached up. Taking her into his arms, he kissed her tears away, and then suddenly her mouth was his, and for the first time in six months, they kissed.
Chills ran down her spine as their lips touched, and suddenly it was as if something hard and tight relaxed inside her. As if Chris’s touch melted something deep inside, and she clung to him, hungrily, as she let go of all her resentment and misery, and gave herself up to his embrace.
They kissed deeply, like two lovers separated for months, which they were. Finally, they had found each other, and neither wanted to let go ever again.
But then the world intruded. Loud screams erupted, and they were wrenched from their bliss.
Looking up, Kate saw that the small rowing boat containing their fathers had somehow become unmoored, and was now drifting beyond the statue of Neptune toward the fountain.
Hock and Coleen were already running to the other side of the pond, and Chris and Kate joined them.
“Help!” cried Piet frantically.
“Help us!” cried his newfound friend.
“We can’t swim!” exclaimed Piet.
They were drifting toward the fountain at a steady clip, and all would have been perfectly fine, if both candidates hadn’t been rocking the boat with their frantic waving and jostling. The moment they reached the fountain, and the first drops of water started raining down on them, they both scrambled for cover. The boat tipped over, catapulting both men into the water.
They came up sputtering, and Chris and Kate wasted no time hurling themselves into the water after them. With long strokes of his powerful arms, Chris reached the candidates first, Kate a close second. He quickly grabbed Kate’s spluttering father under the armpits and started swimming his way to shore. Kate did the same with Jacques, who willingly let himself be swum to safety, ejecting a long gurgle of pond water.
“We’re almost there,” she panted.
“Thank you, my dear,” he coughed. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“That’s all right. Just remain calm. We’re almost there.”
“Oh, right, right,” said Jacques, sputtering some more.
They reached the shore, and a dozen Brugeans awaited to help pull the unfortunate politicians and their saviors onto dry land. Kate searched around for Hock and Coleen, wondering why they hadn’t jumped in as well. They were there, all right, helping the candidates to their feet. Perhaps they couldn’t swim either, Kate thought.
Applause rang out, and it was only when she saw dozens of smiling faces turned in their direction, that she realized they were clapping for Chris and her.
They both stood shivering a bit, not used to that kind of attention, and when the TV crew also appeared, she inwardly groaned. So this was what it felt like to be the center of attention. Yikes.
Chris must have felt the same way, for he took her hand in his, and gave it a tight squeeze. Then she remembered their kiss, and she felt all warm and fuzzy inside, forgetting about the people, the candidates, the TV crew and the cold, wet clothes weighing her down. All she thought about was Chris, and how wonderful that kiss had felt. He loved her and she loved him, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Do we have the footage?” said Kate.
“We have,” Chris said triumphantly. Ever since their kiss by the lake, he’d been feeling like a million bucks. Kate loved him! She really did! He practically couldn’t believe his good fortune.
He now understood her reasons for becoming engaged to Franklin. She’d felt betrayed, and wanted nothing more to do with Chris or anyone of his ilk so she’d turned to the man who was his exact opposite. The anti-Chris. But now everything was going to be all right. All they had to do was crack the case, and they could finally start making plans for a future together.
“Let’s have it,” said Hock.
“Yes, I’m also curious to see who was behind this,” said Coleen.
They were all gathered in the big meeting room on the second floor of City Hall. Both candidates had decided to finally join forces and work together. The latest polls had indicated they were both increasingly unpopular with the Bruges masses, and they hoped by stopping the war and presenting a united front, they could stem the tide and be elected as a team.
As it turned out, their shared near-death experience out on the pond had somehow forged a bond between both men, and for the first time in their lives, they seemed to have developed a certain respect for the other.
Chris didn’t really understand how they hoped to explain their new alliance to the voting public. Like a president and his vice-president, they were going to present themselves to the voters as a team. The one who got the most votes would still become mayor, with the other becoming his co-mayor, if that was even legal. Odd, Chris felt, but at least it would make his work a lot easier.
Jacques and Piet were seated on one side of the table, Hock and Coleen on the other, and Kate and Chris were at the head of the table for a change. Chris had managed to get the footage the TV crew had shot from the incident that afternoon, and now pressed the computer spacebar, starting up the film.
Tensely, they all watched the scene unfold on the big screen. The two candidates got into the boat, and for a moment a minor scuffle broke out between the two about who was going to sit in the front and who in the back. Finally, they came to a mutually agreeable arrangement: they would both occupy the front of the boat, which was a bit of a problem since the boat was not all that wide. With some effort, they managed, and were now posing before the TV crew and the photographers.
Then suddenly there was a yell, and when both men looked down, they discovered to their horror that the boat was drifting slowly away from shore. For a brief moment, they had the chance to jump ship and still reach dry land, but by the time they had figured out who was to jump first, they’d drifted too far away, and their window of opportunity had closed.
“You should have jumped first, Piet,” said Jacques amicably, as he pointed at the screen. “With your long legs, you would have certainly made it.”
“I didn’t want to leave you all alone, my friend,” said Piet, just as amiably. “We ride together, we die together, as the saying goes.”
Chris exchanged a look of surprise with Kate. Was he hearing this right? Did the two dads really treat each other with cordiality all of a sudden?
“Can you go back?” said Coleen, gesturing at the screen. She’d been watching intently.
“Did you see something, Coleen?” said Jacques, well pleased.
“I’m not sure,” said Coleen uncertainly.
Chris scrolled back through the clip.
“Stop!” she said, pointing at the screen. “See that? She’s removing the rope!”
They all squinted at the screen, as the footage rolled on. And then suddenly Chris saw it, too. Jeanie Geyser, whom he hadn’t really paid attention to, appeared to make a throwing gesture just before the boat started edging away from sh
ore.
Scrolling back once again, Chris went through the footage image by image this time, and suddenly they all saw it: Jeanie reached for the rope, gave it a yank, and then threw it into the water.
“She pulled out the stake,” said Jacques incredulously.
“I don’t think so,” said Hock, shaking his head. “That could be anything.”
“Anything? Are you crazy?” said Jacques. “She’s clearly pulling out the stake and pushing the boat out to water.”
“Let’s ask her,” said Piet, and picked up his phone. “Jeanie?” he spoke into the cell after a moment’s pause. “Yes, honey, it’s me. Ha, ha. Are you by any chance in the neighborhood? You are? Could you swing by for a moment? Yes, something to do with the campaign. Great.”
Disconnecting, he said, “She’s coming.”
“You know, Piet,” said Jacques a little frostily. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. What is your relationship to Miss Geyser exactly?”
Uh-oh.
“She’s a really good friend of mine,” said Piet, leaning back.
“She is, is she? She’s a really good friend of me, too.”
“Isn’t that great?” said Piet. “More and more I’m discovering how much we have in common, Jacques.”
Jacques chewed on this for a moment, his face working. “Have you been sleeping with her?”
“I have,” said Piet with some hauteur. “You?”
“Yes, me too.”
Kate and Chris exchanged a meaningful glance, as did Hock and Coleen.
The two men considered this new development. “Do you mean to tell me that you’ve slept with Jeanie Geyser and so have I?” said Jacques sternly.
“Looks that way,” said Piet, perplexed.
Suddenly, Jacques burst into a loud peal of laughter, clapping his frenemy on the back. “This is priceless!” he exclaimed.
Piet, too, seemed to recognize the drollness in the situation, for he also burst into a whinny of mirth. “Gigigi,” he tittered.
“Rarara,” guffawed Jacques.
“Hoohoohoo,” ejected Piet.
“Hohoho,” boomed Jacques.
Laughter rolled through the room in thick sheets, ringing in Chris’s ears, and before he knew it, they were all laughing, and were still laughing when Jeanie Geyser waltzed in.
“Oh, young lady,” said Jacques, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Could you explain to us why you pushed our boat out into the lake this afternoon?”
“And good thing I did,” said Jeanie without missing a beat. She planted her fists on her hips, and cocked her head. “You boys have been fighting so much lately, I figured it was about time someone gave you a cold shower!”
“You wanted to do what?” said Coleen, a little incredulously.
“I don’t like my men rolling on the floor fighting,” said Jeanie, cocking her head to the other side. “So when I saw you two darlings getting in that boat together, I thought it’s now or never. I loosed you onto that pond, figuring the experience would draw you closer together.” She held up her hands. “And it did! Go figure!”
“It did indeed,” said Piet warmly, getting up and walking up to her with outstretched arms. “You’re so considerate, darling,” he said, giving her a tender hug.
Jacques, not wanting to be outdone, jumped up and quickly joined the tender scene, giving La Geyser three wet kisses on her cheeks before pressing her to his chest.
“What you did was wonderful,” he said.
“Pure genius,” agreed Piet.
“Oh, simply look at the two of you,” said Jeanie. “You are so cute together!”
Chris dropped his head onto the table. This was more than he could stand. He’d been through a lot in his life, but watching these three coo like lovebirds was simply too much.
Kate rubbed his back in sympathy. “It will all be over soon,” she assured him.
He didn’t know if she was talking about the candidates’ lives or the campaign, but her words and her touch did much to ease the mental strain.
“I hope so,” he groaned. “Oh, God, I really hope so.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kate took a sip of chamomile tea. “You know? I don’t believe a word she said.”
She and Chris were back at the Bouquets & Nosegays, enjoying that establishment’s famous Belgian waffles with whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate and going over recent events.
“Why not? It seems plausible,” Chris said, savoring his waffle.
“Of course,” she said. “That’s because you’re a guy. Anything a girl of Jeanie Geyser’s caliber says sounds plausible to you. But did you see Coleen Budget’s face when the Geyser played out her little stage performance? She didn’t believe a word of it, either.”
Chris considered this. “So you think she’s involved with The Twelve? Seems far-fetched.”
“Nothing far-fetched about it. It’s not because you’re a celebrity that you can’t hold a grudge or be a criminal mastermind as well.”
“A criminal mastermind?” he laughed. “Jeanie Geyser? I think you’re giving her more credit than she deserves, honey.”
Honey. It was the first time he’d addressed her like that. She quite liked the sound of it. She softened. “Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps Jeanie is not the one we want. But I still want to do a thorough background check on the little lady.”
“Already taken care of,” Chris said, taking a sip from his drink and looking quite smug.
“What? How?”
“I asked Kirt to check her out. He has his sources. He said he’d get right on it.” He checked his watch. “In fact he should be here any minute.”
“That’s great,” she said. “I asked Lauren to do the same. She has her sources.” She also checked her watch, mimicking him. “And she should be here any minute as well.”
“Ha, ha,” he said. “You’re funny.”
“I know,” she said. “A real hoot.” She rested her elbows on the table, her head on her arms, and gazed into Chris’s baby blues. Damn, he was gorgeous.
He leaned a little closer, and brought his head next to hers. “I had a great time at the lake,” he said.
“Which part? The getting wet part or the getting duck dung behind your ears part?”
“The kissing part,” he said, leaning a little closer still, their noses almost touching.
“What kissing part? Did I miss something?”
“I missed you,” he whispered. “For six whole months.”
“Serves you right. You should have stapled that note to my forehead.”
“I should never have left,” he said.
“No, you shouldn’t,” she breathed, and closed her eyes when his lips brushed against hers. It was tender moments such as these that she’d really missed. Franklin was a dear, but romantically, he’d always been a nonstarter.
“When are you going to tell Franklin?” he asked.
“I… soon,” she said.
“I can’t wait,” he said.
“He’s a great guy,” she said. “I really don’t want to hurt his feelings.”
“He is a great guy,” agreed Chris.
She smiled up at him. “Give me some time. I want to do right by Franklin. He’s been so wonderful to me these last couple of months…”
“How did the two of you meet?”
“At an Avon convention,” she said. “Believe it or not, but after I left the force, I was an Avon lady for a little while.”
“And Franklin? He works for Avon as well? I thought he was an accountant?”
“He is. Avon hired him to do a presentation on taxation for the self-employed.”
Chris finished his waffle, licking the last crumbs from his fingers. “Love at an Avon convention. There’s a book in there somewhere.”
“You bet,” she said, and before he could make any more cracks about Franklin, she shut him up with a kiss.
“Sorry to interrupt,” a familiar voice sounded in their rear. Looking up, Kate was confronted with Q
ueenie’s smile beaming down at them. “The two of you look so lovely,” she said, clasping her hands together in glee. “Want more tea?”
“Yes, thank you,” said Kate, feeling slightly embarrassed. Just before, she’d been discussing her fiancé with Queenie, and now here she sat kissing another man. What must she think of her?
“Hey, Queenie,” said Chris. And to Kate, he said, “I used to work here. Student job.”
“So did my father,” she said, surprised. “Did the whole town of Bruges work here at some point?”
“Oh, no,” said Queenie, giving her a wink. “I just pick the best ones.”
While her hostess went inside to fetch more tea, Kate said, “I really don’t know what to make of that woman. Sometimes I love her, sometimes I hate her.”
“Queenie’s the best,” assured Chris. “She just wants to make everybody happy.”
“Well, she sure made me happy,” said Kate, leaning back. And she proceeded to explain what had happened to Franklin. To Chris’s credit, he tried to tone down his amusement, but it was obvious he didn’t mind Kate’s fiancé being elsewhere at this moment.
His sensitiveness was rewarded with another kiss, this one lingering past the point of propriety for a public place, but Kate didn’t care, and neither, apparently, did Chris.
“Is this seat taken?”
Reluctantly interrupting their embrace, Kate saw that Lauren and Kirt had joined them. They were both staring, goggle-eyed.
“I hope we’re not interrupting something?” said Lauren, and Kate gave her a quick smirk that made her snort.
“Nope. Sit down,” said Chris, making room for the two newcomers.
“You are a fast worker, buddy,” whispered Kirt, giving Chris a reverent look.
“No comment,” said Chris stoically.
Lauren poked her friend under the table, and Kate prodded her right back. “You look good,” she whispered in her ear.
“That’s because I feel good,” Kate whispered back.
“So is this officially a double date, or officiously?” said Kirt, taking Lauren’s hand and pressing a kiss on it.