Conflict of Interest

by Jae

  Aiden smiled in an effort to help Dawn lighten the mood. "Or maybe you could just sic the cops on them."

  "Speaking of cops... where has your partner disappeared to?" Dawn sat down in the rocking chair and gestured toward the couch for Aiden to sit, too. "Don't tell me you left him in the car."

  "Hey, I even cracked a window," Aiden defended herself.

  Dawn laughed. "I'm sure he'd appreciate that – if he was a dog."

  "Okay, okay, he went home to spend some quality time with the family."

  Dawn studied her. "He's a good man and a good partner, huh?"

  Aiden thought about the way Ray had shown up in front of Dawn's apartment building tonight without her even telling him that she planned to watch over it. He'd known the only thing it could earn him was a reprimand from their lieutenant and Aiden's gratitude, but he'd packed a thermos of coffee and driven downtown anyway. "Best I ever had and the best I'll ever work with," Aiden confirmed.

  "I bet you could tell a lot of stories. There are still some cops who don't react kindly to being partnered with a woman."

  Aiden nodded. "True. But most of the detectives with the Sexual Assault Detail know that there are some things a female officer is better equipped to handle than a male one. If you're good at your job, you get the respect you deserve." She leaned back against the couch, more relaxed now that they were back on the safe topic of her work.

  "The Sexual Assault Detail is... well... special," Dawn confirmed. "I, for one, was very glad that it was you who held my hand during the exam in the hospital and not one of your male colleagues."

  Aiden inclined her head. She understood the sentiment but didn't want to bring the conversation back to a more personal level.

  "My dad's last partner was a woman, too," Dawn said, going back to the original topic as if she had sensed Aiden's unease. "At first, I think my mother had some doubts about him spending so much time with a female partner. But after Dad invited her home for dinner a few times and she saw that they interacted more like siblings, Mom was okay with it."

  Aiden thought back to the first dinner she had shared with the Bennets. She had sensed Susan's gaze resting on her all the way from the entree to dessert. Slowly, they had gotten to know each other. Aiden knew that Susan respected her and trusted her to keep her husband safe. From time to time, she could still sense some jealousy from Susan, but that was not because she suspected them of having an affair but rather because the overprotective Ray refused to share his thoughts and feelings about his job with his family, only talking about them with Aiden.

  "She's still a very close friend of the family," Dawn continued. "She was my maid of honor when I married Caleb and the first person I came out to."

  Aiden wanted to ask a thousand questions, curious about Dawn's friend, her marriage, and her coming out, but once again she held herself back. "I think I'll go now," she said with a glance at her watch.

  Dawn rocked forward in her chair, directing a piercing glance at her. "So you can sit down there in the car for the rest of the night?" She shook her blond head. "There's no sense in that when I have a perfectly fine couch here. Or is there some rule demanding a police officer has to be cold and uncomfortable during surveillance?"

  "Not that I know of," Aiden admitted hesitantly.

  "Okay, it's settled, then. You sleep on the couch," Dawn decided in a voice that left no room for objections. She measured the couch, then Aiden with a long gaze. "Unless you'd be more comfortable in the bed?"

  "No!" Aiden said so quickly that she almost choked on her own tongue. "No, the couch will be fine, thanks," she added a little more politely.

  Dawn lifted the cat from her lap and stood. "The couch it is, then. I'll see if I can find you something to sleep in."

  Sleep sounded really good to Aiden because she hadn't gotten much since the break in the case. Without further protest, she took the pillow and the blanket Dawn handed her. She heard Dawn rummage around in her closet while she made her bed on the couch. Like the week before, when Dawn had stayed at her apartment overnight, she found that she liked Dawn's presence, liked hearing her in the background while she did everyday things. This is not an everyday activity, she strictly reminded herself. You're here to protect her, not to play house with her.

  "This okay?" Dawn had returned from the bedroom, holding out an oversized T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for her.

  Aiden turned. Immediately, her gaze fell onto the long-sleeved shirt into which Dawn had changed. Two of the buttons were done incorrectly, showing a hint of skin. Aiden bit her lip, hesitant to point it out to Dawn.

  "Something wrong with my choice of nightclothes?" Dawn asked.

  Aiden quickly looked up, not wanting her to think that she had been staring at her chest. "No, no. It's just..." She gestured in the general direction of the shirt. "You left a button out."

  Dawn looked down. "Oh. That happens frequently since... since I had my finger broken." She reached up and clumsily started to undo the buttons without the use of her splinted index finger.

  Without thought, Aiden stepped closer and reached out a hand to help, then stopped when she noticed what she was doing. "Sorry." Quickly, she drew back her hands.

  "It's okay," Dawn said. "I'm not too proud to accept a little help."

  Aiden had no other choice now. She took another step toward Dawn and reached out her hands, willing them not to tremble. This close, she couldn't help noticing the elegant curve of Dawn's collarbone and the charming freckles that dusted the fair skin until they disappeared under the shirt.

  Dawn stood still. She looked down and watched Aiden's fingers button the shirt properly.

  Aiden had undressed her fair share of attractive women in her life, but somehow the innocent buttoning of a shirt was the most erotic thing she had experienced in some time. "There," she finally said, her voice rough and uneven in her own ears, "all done."

  "Thanks." Dawn licked her lips and stepped back, looking a little flustered herself.

  No more sleepovers with this woman, Aiden ordered and busied herself with checking the door and the windows. If I have to do this again, I'll park the car a few buildings away.

  * * *

  A small sound woke Aiden, but she kept her eyes closed, orienting herself to her surroundings by sound alone at first. The quiet breathing of another human being told her that she was not alone in the room. When she felt the warmth and the subtle movements of another body against her abdomen, she quickly opened her eyes, almost afraid of what she would find.

  She exhaled sharply. It was only the cat that had joined her on the couch somewhere during the night.

  "I hope she didn't disturb you?" Dawn's voice came from directly behind her.

  Aiden sat up, one hand automatically making sure that the cat wouldn't fall off.

  Dawn was leaning next to the window behind the couch, already dressed in a sweatshirt that didn't require buttoning. Her hair, still damp from her shower, was combed back and accentuated the attractive angles of her face.

  How long has she been standing there? Aiden wondered. She was surprised that her finely honed senses hadn't alerted her to Dawn's presence in the room but blamed it on the exhausted sleep into which she had fallen after she had lain awake for hours.

  "Um... no, she didn't," Aiden answered belatedly, giving herself a mental slap against the back of her head. "I'm a little surprised because I had the impression she couldn't stand me." She stroked the lazily stretching cat, glad to have an excuse to look away from its owner.

  "Well, by trying to put her into the hated transport box you probably didn't leave a stellar first impression, but once she gets to know you, Kia tends to be a certified cuddleholic," Dawn said.

  Aiden climbed out from under the purring cat and gathered her clothes. When she came back from the bathroom, Dawn was still standing next to the window, but there was a cup of what Aiden suspected to be tea in one hand and a second cup in the other.

  Aiden stepped next to her and silen
tly accepted the mug of coffee Dawn held out for her. Taking careful sips of the hot liquid, Aiden looked out of the window. It was dawning outside; the light not yet reaching the small street on which Dawn lived.

  Aiden found herself thinking about Dawn – not the one lighting up the streets of Portland but the woman carrying the same name, standing beside her at the window. Their shoulders were touching, but Aiden was hesitant to step back, afraid that this would draw unnecessary attention to the innocent touch.

  "I have to get going," she finally said when her cup was almost empty. "I have to be in court at nine."

  Dawn turned away from the window to face her. "How long until I have to be there? In court?"

  "Last I heard from Kade, probably not before the end of next week. Kade will call you for trial preparation."

  Dawn nodded thoughtfully. "She'll handle my case, won't she?"

  "Yes, she will."

  "Good," Dawn said. "I like her, and I think I'll feel comfortable with her."

  Aiden lifted her head to study Dawn. She found herself wondering whether it was the competent lawyer Dawn admired or the woman behind it. Jealous, Carlisle? She smirked at herself but didn't want to take a closer look and discover who it was she might be jealous of, Kade or Dawn.

  "She has this air of confidence," Dawn continued, "like nothing can touch her. I'd like to have that for myself." Dawn looked down into her cup.

  Aiden admired Kade's regal bearing, too, but it was Dawn's honest openness, her easy, approachable way, and the hint of vulnerability that she was strong enough to show, that she valued most about Dawn.

  "Nothing can touch you," she promised Dawn. "Kade, Ray, and I will be there to make sure of that."

  "Have I ever really thanked you for –?"

  "No," Aiden didn't want to hear the words of gratitude, "and you don't need to. I'm just –"

  This time Dawn interrupted her. "If this is going to be the 'Just doing my job, ma'am' speech, you can save it for the next victim because I know for sure that hand-holding and tear-drying are not in your job description, Detective."

  "They are," Aiden insisted. "Right there on page ninety-seven, somewhere between paper-pushing and political ass-kissing."

  "Ah." Dawn chuckled. "So I belong to the highlights of your day, huh?"

  Starting the day to the sound of Dawn's voice and the smell of coffee that someone else had prepared for her had been a highlight, but she would never admit that to Dawn, so she just smiled and carried her empty cup to the kitchen. Not wanting to take the risk of being hugged again, she slipped out of the door with a quick good-bye.

  CHAPTER 15

  AT FIRST SIGHT, this case seemed to be a pretty ordinary one. A man breaking into apartments at night and raping women in their own bedrooms was nothing Kade Matheson hadn't seen before in her two years with the sex crimes unit. But whenever she had entered the squad room, she had gotten the feeling that the Kinsley case was somehow personal for the SAD detectives. Kade had to admit that she was beginning to take it personally, too – she didn't take kindly to suspects hitting one of her detectives.

  Murphy's Law dictated that they had to draw Judge Ruth Linehan, the strictest judge in the city, as the judge who would hear the case. Kade hoped that the evidence they had would prove to be solid and that no witnesses would begin to waver, because she knew that Linehan wouldn't let her get away with anything. On the plus side, Linehan wasn't likely to go easy on her opposing counsel either.

  "Mr. D'Aquino, Kadence." Judge Linehan nodded at the two lawyers entering her chambers for the motions hearing.

  Only her mother and Ruth Linehan ever called Kade by her full first name – and she didn't particularly like it from either one of them. Kade kept quiet nonetheless, preferring not to alienate the judge who would soon decide what evidence she would be taking into trial.

  The judge leaned back in the chair behind her desk and motioned for the two attorneys to take a seat in front of it. Linehan pointed to the pile of written motions the defense attorney had submitted. "I hope this is not just your contribution to deforestation, Mr. D'Aquino."

  Kade suppressed a smirk, glad to know that Linehan's no-nonsense behavior wasn't limited to her.

  "No, Your Honor, it's a little more than that." Defense counsel was experienced enough not to let the comment fluster him. "Defense moves for a dismissal of all charges."

  "On what grounds?" Judge Linehan asked.

  Yes, I'd like to know that, too. Kade could see no reasons for a dismissal. She had won cases with less evidence.

  "The warrants to arrest my client and to search his home were obtained based on information that had been received in violation of patient-doctor confidentiality," D'Aquino stated. "Any evidence obtained thereafter is fruit from the forbidden tree and has to be excluded, leaving the DA's office with nothing to link my client to any crime."

  Linehan turned to look at Kade, a stern expression on her face. "Ms. Matheson?"

  "That's a clear misinterpretation on Mr. D'Aquino's part, Your Honor," Kade answered. "Dr. Kinsley, one of the victims and a rape counselor, noticed the resemblance of her own case to that of one of her patients, but she obtained a waiver of client-doctor confidentiality before she approached the detectives. Here's her affidavit and that of her patient confirming it." Kade handed the papers across the table. She had prepared herself for the possibility of this particular motion.

  Linehan scanned the documents. "The motion is denied."

  "Then I move to dismiss the charges for failure to properly mirandize my client," D'Aquino said.

  "Did the arresting officers read Mr. Ballard his rights, Ms. Matheson?"

  Kade nodded vigorously. "I assure you, the arrest and the reading of his Miranda rights were by the book – except for the interruption caused by the defendant's assault on Detective Carlisle and Detective Bennet. You're not trying to blame the detectives for that, are you?" She directed a sharp gaze at the defense attorney.

  "I'd be thankful if you could leave the posing of questions to me, Counselor," Linehan interrupted.

  Kade held her gaze for a second and then nodded.

  "The arresting officers are experienced detectives, and I believe them when they say that they resumed the reading of his rights as soon as they had Mr. Ballard under control." The judge tapped the arresting reports Kade had provided. "You'll have a chance to question them about the arrest during cross. The motion is dismissed. I trust that you have a motion of some value, Mr. D'Aquino, and you're not just wasting my time."

  "Of course, Your Honor. Defense moves to suppress the bracelets, pins, and key-ring pendants found in my client's apartment," D'Aquino said. "They weren't in the scope of the search warrant."

  "They were in plain view, Your Honor," Kade objected as confidently as possible, "no warrant needed." She knew that it didn't matter anyway. Because of the evidence she had presented to Judge Gilmartin, including the positive ID by not one, but three victims, there had been no limits specified in the search warrant. The warrant had covered anything related to the crime.

  The defense attorney laughed sarcastically. "Plain view? You want me to believe your detectives have x-ray vision? They unlawfully removed the objects from a box in my client's closet, Your Honor."

  "Is that true, Ms. Matheson?" Linehan's piercing brown eyes looked at Kade over the rim of her glasses.

  "The items could have been wrapped in a blanket and shoved into a drawer; it still wouldn't have mattered. Mr. D'Aquino's client is facing multiple rape charges and has been positively identified by the victims. As such, the police were well within their rights to search Mr. Ballard's home for any evidence linking him to the crimes, as stated in the warrant signed by Judge Gilmartin." Kade defended her detectives.

  "Alleged crimes," the defense counsel just had to put in.

  Linehan read through a copy of the search warrant and shook her head. "Mr. D'Aquino, this is not the time for semantics. I find that the police detectives on the scene were justified
in searching for any personal items of the previous victims. The motion to suppress the objects in question is denied."

  "Then I move to dismiss the –"

  Linehan held up her hand in a clearly irritated gesture. "Mr. D'Aquino, so far we've gone through three motions that have clearly been without merit, and I'm loath to continue, so let me make this short. Your remaining motions are denied as they have no basis in the facts presented to me. However, I am dismissing the second count of assaulting a public safety officer."

  "Your Honor, with all due respect –" Kade began to protest.

  "Ms. Matheson, while I concede that Mr. Ballard did assault Detective Carlisle, Detective Bennet didn't sustain an injury nor suffer significant pain. Now, is there anything else?"