Poker Face

by Noelle Winters

  Liv walked in, and relief flashed across Ryan’s face. Had she been nervous? “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Sit.” Ryan pointed to the faded green couch in the living room. “I’ll get us coffee.”

  “I take mine—”

  “Black, I know.” Ryan smiled before she darted into the kitchen, leaving Liv by herself.

  The house hadn’t changed much from when they were teenagers, which was both creepy and sort of nice. There were photos of Ryan and her parents on the far wall, then Ryan and her grandparents. Between the chaos of her parents dying in elementary school and her grandparents when she was in college, Ryan had raised herself.

  It was something Liv had admired about her.

  Ryan came back in the room, two mismatched mugs in her hands. The one she handed Liv read ‘Good Morning, Sunshine!’ With a photo of a scowling sun. It made Liv smile.

  Ryan sat on the other side of the sofa, and Liv took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes closed as it hit her tongue. It was perfect.

  “Thanks,” Liv said softly.

  “Welcome.” Ryan took a drink of her coffee, and for a moment the two of them were just looking at each other.

  Liv wasn’t certain what to say. She knew sort of what she wanted to say, but that was lost in the maelstrom of her mind. There was so much she wanted to say and so little time to say it. “So, what’s your case about?” She kept her words generic. They could get to the more personal stuff later.

  “A nineteen year old girl went missing about a week ago, and now her friend was found dead.” Ryan filled her in about the rest of the details, who she had interviewed and who she hadn’t gotten to talk to because of Cairo’s case. “It was considered lesser priority, but with discovery of a body —”

  “It’s getting bumped up?” Liv said with a nod. That made sense. She didn’t like it, but it made sense. She pulled her cell out of her pocket, pulled up the camera app and checked in. “Sorry,” she said to Ryan. There was uneasiness prickling at the corner of her awareness, and she just wanted to make sure that Gram was okay.

  “It’s okay.” Ryan smiled.

  “Do you have any idea who did it?” Liv asked.

  Ryan hesitated, then shook her head. Her eyes were distant. “I think it might be related to Cairo’s case,” she said finally.

  Liv blinked. “What?”

  Ryan exhaled. “It’s too much of a coincidence for there to be two murders in this town so close together.”

  “I’m guessing that’s another theory your Chief doesn’t like?” Liv drawled.

  “He doesn’t know about it yet.” Ryan smiled faintly.

  “This is exactly what couples talk about on their dates,” Liv teased. She liked the conversation, liked that Ryan trusted her.

  Ryan snorted. “You’ll get used to it. It happens with the spouses of police officers.” She winked.

  Liv startled a bit, but smiled. She couldn’t deny that part of her was giddy over the thought.

  They had settled down with reheated leftovers and were almost done with dinner when a soft ping drew both of their attention to Liv’s phone. Liv could see Gram peering out the door. That somewhat concerned Liv. Was someone there, or was Gram imagining someone there? She let the anxiety surge through her, then tamped it down. Gram wasn’t in danger.

  Ryan opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it. “You take care of her.”

  Liv smiled faintly. “She took care of me,” she said.

  “Let me help you.” The words were faintly pleading, but there was a heart behind them that warmed Liv to the bones.

  “With what?” It was Liv’s knee-jerk reaction to deflect, to push it away and hide from the love. If that’s what it was, anyway.

  “Your Gram. You. Your coffee shop.” Ryan kept her distance, taking another sip of her coffee.

  Had it really come to that point, were they really teetering on the edge of something, even in the midst of all of the panic they were going through? And what did Liv want? There was a lot on the line, a lot on her mind, and she wasn’t entirely certain how she was going to pull everything through.

  Where did Ryan slot into all of that? Very easily, she realized. There had always been a spot for her in Liv’s life, she had just shoved her out of it. “Okay.”

  Ryan stared at her as if she wasn’t speaking English, as if it wasn’t the answer she had been expecting. And given how high school had gone, it probably wasn’t the answer she was expecting. But Liv wanted to try.

  “I don’t know if I’ll be good at it,” Liv warned, protecting herself by keeping the coffee between her and the source of her emotional distress/happiness.

  Ryan’s smile about burst Liv’s heart into pieces. Surely that was illegal. If not, Liv was going to have to make it so. “I want to kiss you.” Ryan said, leaning towards her the tiniest bit.

  Liv’s stomach fluttered, her fingers clutching the mug tighter despite its heat. There was nothing she wanted more than to kiss her, to repay her for everything she had done when Liv was scared and alone, and to make up for what she had done. She wanted a future with this beautiful woman.

  She just didn’t know if she would get it or even if she deserved it.

  “Me too.” Liv sat the coffee down, shoving the nerves away before they got a chance to seize her up. If she let them, they would paralyze her and that was something that had bothered her for a long time.

  Ryan was the one who came closer, gently putting her hand on Liv’s face before leaning in and kissing her. It was chaste at first, then their lips moved together. The heat was building in Liv’s middle, and her head did the spinning thing it did when her mind was trying to run away.

  But she pulled her brain back into the moment, allowed herself to think and feel and enjoy the moment. It sent adrenaline surging through her, the warmth and love she held inside her threatening to bubble out in a way she couldn’t control.

  But theoretically that wasn’t a bad thing.

  The kiss deepened, their arms twining around each other. Liv loved the feeling of Ryan’s body against her. It was even better than the closet at Cairo’s, since they weren’t in such a cramped space.

  “Lay down,” Liv said, her voice husky.

  Ryan looked at her, a faint smile on her face. Then she listened, letting Liv lay on top of her. Ryan’s body was flush against hers, and despite everything that had happened Liv had to remind herself to stay in the present. But the emotions were so overwhelming, the input such an overload that she threatened to tip over.

  All she wanted was more of it. It was like a drug, one she couldn’t get enough of. She could feel warmth gathering between her legs, the need and want that had haunted her for so long. She opened her mouth to speak and stopped, not sure what to say. I need you. I want you. They all seemed so trivial.

  She slid her leg between Ryan’s and was rewarded with a little moan.

  Then a shrill alarm broke both of them out of their focus. Liv sat up, her heart threatening to race out of her body. What was that? Her phone. Her phone alarm was shrieking.

  She crawled off of Ryan and went straight to it, looking at the images. Someone had thrown a rock through a window in her house. The one that hadn’t been broken when Gram went missing. Liv looked at the image, sick to her stomach. “I’ve got to go,” she said, feeling the apology to her middle.

  “I’ll come with.” Ryan grabbed her coat.

  Liv would have been lying if she said she wasn’t relieved.

  Friday 21st October; 10pm

  Liv got out of the car first, Ryan in the passenger side. They hadn’t deliberately taken the same vehicle, it had just happened. “Gram!” Liv’s voice was filled with panic. Her heart was racing, her mind spinning in that way it always did.

  “Liv?” Gram’s voice came from inside the house.

  Liv wasn’t the melodramatic type, but to say she could have collapsed from relief was pretty accurate at that moment. She loved her Gram, and having something happen to
her while she was away was pretty much the worst thing that could happen.

  “I’ll check the outside,” Ryan said with a nod.

  Liv nodded back, then headed straight inside. It did make her feel safer that Ryan was checking the perimeter, to make sure whoever had thrown the rock wasn’t still nearby. It wasn’t something Liv had thought of. That was part of the reason Ryan complemented her so well.

  Gram was sitting on the couch, her hair fluffed up like a cloud. She seemed entirely nonplussed, which startled Liv. “Are you okay?” Liv asked.

  Gram blinked at her, her eyes owlish behind her small reading glasses. “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “The window - we heard a crash.” Liv took in the area around her. Where Gram was sitting, she may not have been able to see the rock, or the shattered window.

  “Oh, that.” Gram pursed her lips. “I assumed it was some ruffian who was being a dick, pardon my French.”

  Liv heard Ryan enter behind her, apparently just in time to hear her Gram’s words, for she was stifling a giggle. “Your French is excused,” Ryan said.

  “Oh, you brought your girlfriend.” Gram sounded delighted.

  Liv just looked at Ryan, and Ryan looked at her. Then gave a tiny shrug and her eyes said “up to you”. Was it fake? No, Liv was smart enough to know it was more than that. She turned to Gram, and made a decision. “Ryan came here with me to check on you,” she said. It wasn’t a denial, but also not a blatant lie. Liv turned to look at her. “You want to stay the weekend?”

  Ryan looked at her, surprise on her face.

  It was a bold assertion, a bold question, but Liv wanted her to stay close. They weren’t necessarily ready to go back to the way things had been, but they were moving there.

  “Yeah.” The little smile on Ryan’s lips made Liv’s stomach flip. Liv was breaking out of her shell, letting herself trust Ryan more and more. Was it enough to keep them together? She wasn’t sure.

  But she was willing to try.

  Monday 24th October; 7am

  Ryan’s phone rang, startling all occupants of the house. Ryan grimaced. How she had managed to go an entire weekend with no calls was a miracle. Now it was over. “I’ll be right back.” She headed out of the house, standing on the front porch. Her phone told her it was Dane calling. That wasn’t good.

  “Hello?” She tucked the phone to her ear, turning her back to Liv and her Gram so that they hopefully couldn’t hear.

  “You need to get to the station.” Dane’s words were grim.

  “What happened?” Ryan’s heart fell. Was it related to her case, or something else?

  “Charles is dead.” Dane exhaled loudly.

  “What?” The world ended around her. That made no sense. True, Charles had just been released, but murdered? Who would have killed him?

  “And there’s something else, too.”

  Ryan braced herself.

  “The baby wasn’t Steven’s. We just got the DNA test back.”

  No wonder Dane sounded like the world was ending. “Who was the father?”

  “We think it might be Charles.” Dane sounded even less happy about that. “But the DNA test comparing the embryo’s DNA to Charles’ will take another week or two to come back.”

  Ryan cringed. That was shattering. “How did he die?”

  “Same way that Cairo did.” Ryan could hear clicking noises in the background. He was typing.

  “Cards and all?” Ryan dreaded the answer. “Same suicide note?

  “Yup.”

  Damn. “What did the Chief do?”

  “He’s ranting and raving, the usual.” Dane grimaced. “We’ve been pulled off all other cases until we figure out what to do with this one. His publicity demands it.” Dane paused. “Steven’s being pulled in for questioning.”

  “I’ll be there.” Ryan hung up, then dialed a friend she had at the local bank. Sometimes connections came in handy, especially when the cases got this tricky. “Kat? I need to call in one of those favors.” She needed all three of their financial records, as much as could be found. Something tied the three of them together beyond relationships.

  The doubt pulled at her. Certainly Cairo’s relationship with both of them had been a factor. Maybe that was why she died.

  But she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that it was more complicated than that. The poker cards. What symbolism did they have? Was it that Cairo’s past destroyed her life? Someone else’s life? What?

  Ryan hesitated before she went back inside. Liv’s life had just been spun around. Someone had broken into her home. Someone who apparently knew where she lived, and her Gram was there by herself, with just a dog for protection.

  A very ferocious dog, that was sure, but a dog nonetheless.

  “Ry?” Liv appeared in the doorway, using the nickname she hadn’t used since they were sixteen. “Do you need to go?”

  Ryan hesitated, the nickname sending swirls of pleasure through her.

  “Go.” Liv smiled faintly. She didn’t hesitate. “Just - come back, okay?” There was a nervousness there.

  Ryan moved forward and kissed her on the lips. “I’ll get a patrol car to come by.”

  Liv nodded, and then Ryan ran to her car. What was going on?

  21

  Monday 24th October; 9am

  Ryan and Dane were at the head of the small group going to get Steven for questioning, since he had been ignoring their calls and wasn’t at home. Instead, they would go to him. The large majority of the evidence they had pointed to him, but there were some factors that Ryan just hadn’t figured out yet.

  But with the Chief on high alert, the last thing she wanted to do was get on his bad side and get kicked off the case again.

  When they arrived at his workplace, the secretary at the front desk was clearly frazzled. Her eyes were rimmed in red, as if she had been crying, and she buzzed them upstairs to Steven’s office.

  A crash inside Steven’s office gave both Ryan and Dane pause. They exchanged looks, wary, but headed inside anyway.

  Steven was standing behind his desk, chest heaving and anger and pain apparent all over his face. He had thrown a lamp across the room, and it had shattered on the floor at the limit of its electrical cord.

  Ryan raised her eyebrows, but didn’t speak.

  “Damnit!” Steven reached for a stapler.

  “I wouldn’t do that.” Dane reached for his Taser, Ryan right behind him. Steven didn’t seem to be throwing stuff in their direction, but all it would take was a flick of the wrist and they would be the targets.

  Steven looked at them, his eyes frantic.

  Ryan kept her attention on him, but out of the corner of her eyes she spotted an envelope sitting on his desk. The handwriting looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t see it from where she was standing. “Steven, we need to talk to you.” She kept her voice level.

  Something flickered in his eyes, as if he was just registering their presence. “What?” His gaze moved to the Tasers, his brow furrowing as if he didn’t understand what was going on. Was he having a psychotic break or something?

  “We just need to talk to you.” Ryan held her hands up in surrender, tucking the Taser back in her pocket. “Are you willing to talk to us?”

  The hand holding the stapler lowered, as if he was willing to consider it.

  “Charles was murdered last night,” Ryan said, her voice soft. “He was found this morning.”

  Steven’s face was blank, but Ryan thought she could see some flicker of relief. Was he relieved he had been caught? That Charles was dead?

  “Good riddance,” he spat, picking up the letter on his desk and throwing it at them. That, at least, had no potential to be lethal.

  Ryan turned the sleeve of her blazer inside out and picked up the letter, careful to keep her fingerprints from getting on it. Being up close confirmed it was Cairo’s handwriting. But it wasn’t a suicide note.

  I’m leaving you. Don’t try and find me.

  Cairo Ma
nnigan

  Ryan’s eyebrows raised towards the ceiling. Had Cairo married him? Or was it a ploy? Could Steven have written the letter and tried to pass it off as Cairo’s? No, that didn’t make sense. All the letter did was give Steven more incentive to murder both of them.

  It confirmed her thoughts that the search had been somewhat cursory. Even when Cairo’s death had been declared a murder, they didn’t go back and re-scan the house for evidence. It had long been returned to the family, and any potential evidence had been contaminated.

  “She was leaving me for that bastard.” Steven’s voice was flat. If he wasn’t having a psychotic break, then something inside him had definitely cracked. Ryan wasn’t certain which of the two was the worst outcome.

  She would have to check the county and state records to see if she could find any evidence of a marriage certificate. Maybe check with the neighboring states, too. It would have made sense for Cairo and Charles to have gotten as far away from town as they could.

  “Will you come with us to the station?” Ryan asked, keeping her voice level. She didn’t want to give him a reason to go back on the defensive or do anything he would regret later. The last thing she wanted to do was add ‘assault of an officer’ to his long list of potential charges.

  Whether he was the killer or not, he definitely had a reason to be distraught. He had just found out that his wife-to-be was cheating on him, and planned to run away. Or had he? Had he been hiding the letter?

  “I guess.” Steven deflated, the wind going out of him like a balloon that had been popped. Even his eyes darkened.

  “Where did you find the letter?” Ryan found a spare glove in her pocket and pulled it on, carefully putting the letter in an evidence bag.

  Steven sat down in his chair, hanging his head in his hands. “It was in a drawer she kept at my house,” he said finally. “I was packing her belongings up.”

  Ryan had worked long and hard to develop her poker face, so she didn’t let her expression change. Grief affected everyone differently. Maybe he was the type that couldn’t bear to see the reminders.