by Jae
Kade shook her head and saw Victor D'Aquino do the same.
"All right. Jury selection in my courtroom, tomorrow at nine a.m.," Linehan said, dismissing them.
Sparing D'Aquino a cool glance, Kade strode past him and left Linehan's chambers.
"Kade!"
The DDA slowed her stride when she recognized Aiden Carlisle's voice. "Loitering in the courthouse hallways, Detective?" she teased Aiden. It had taken them a while to get comfortable with each other, mainly because the detectives had seen Kade as a political opportunist who didn't care about the cases or the victims – and maybe at the beginning, they had been right. But now, dozens of cases and a few shared sandwiches later, Kade couldn't keep an emotional distance from her cases or her detectives anymore. She now considered Aiden one of her best detectives. She appreciated Aiden's strength because it had helped pave Kade's way without her having to prove time after time that a woman could be successful in their line of work. And after having to deal with testosterone-laden cops all week, she was usually grateful to work with another woman for a change.
"Not with criminal intent," Aiden answered her joke. "I just wanted to see how the motion hearing on Ballard went."
Kade didn't ask how Aiden knew about the time the hearing had been scheduled. She had learned long ago that rumors traveled faster than a patrol car with lights and sirens. What did surprise her, though, was that Aiden had made her way to the courthouse just to ask about the motion hearing in person. "Why the sudden interest? Don't you trust me to do my job?"
"Of course I do." Aiden was quick to assure her, probably well aware of the consequences it could have to doubt a Matheson's abilities in his or her chosen line of work. "It's just that..."
Kade had to smile at the awkward shrug, reminding her of the teenager the confident detective must have once been. "You want to keep tabs on proceedings on the man who graced you with that lovely bruise," she guessed, pointing at the fading marks on Aiden's jaw.
Automatically, Aiden's hand went up to her jaw. "Um... yes, something like that. So?"
Kade resumed her fast clip, her high heels echoing down the hallway. "We're going to trial. Linehan denied the motion for dismissal."
Aiden nodded with satisfaction and followed. "Good."
"It's a start," Kade said a little more cautiously. "My favorite judge also threw out the second assault charge because Ray didn't sustain an injury when Ballard hit him in the stomach."
"But the charge for assaulting me is solid, right?" Aiden asked, pointing to her jaw.
Kade nodded. "If I can prove that Ballard knew you were a police officer on duty when he hit you. That knowledge is a condition of the 'assaulting a public safety officer' charge."
"He knew who I was and why I was there."
"You know that and I know that, but my job is to make sure the jury knows it, too," Kade said. "I'm sure his lawyer will come up with an idiotic, but plausible sounding explanation."
Aiden frowned. "And that would be?"
"You were standing in line in front of a lesbian club, and excuse me for saying so, but you don't exactly look out of place." She directed a rare full-blown Kade Matheson smile at Aiden.
Aiden stared at her.
Kade suppressed another smile. She knew they had never openly discussed Aiden's sexual orientation, but that didn't mean she wasn't aware of it.
"Are you saying I look butch?" Aiden asked when she had recovered from her surprise.
"Are you saying you don't?" Kade shot back.
Aiden had to laugh. "I shouldn't try to argue with a woman who does it for a living." Then her expression turned serious again. "Are you worried about the case?"
Kade shrugged and then absentmindedly prevented her briefcase from slipping off her shoulder with one hand. "I really want to nail this guy for everything I possibly can. We have a pretty solid case if the witnesses hold up. D'Aquino has already filed motion after motion. He's going to do whatever he can to stall us so he can buy himself more time to dig up dirt on our victims."
Aiden grimaced and stopped to hold the courthouse door open for Kade.
Kade stepped outside and smiled, knowing Aiden didn't even notice that she was mirroring her male colleagues' gentlemanly gestures. "Are you going back to the precinct?"
"Yeah."
"Do me a favor and see if you can find someone to bring Ms. Kinsley a copy of her written statement. She needs to review it today so I can meet with her for trial prep tomorrow."
"No problem," Aiden said immediately. "Consider it done."
* * *
Aiden rang the doorbell for the fifth time, bouncing on the balls of her feet when once again no one opened the door. She knew Dawn was home. She had seen the lights in the living room and the bedroom before she had slipped into the building with one of Dawn's neighbors.
Increasingly concerned, she reached for the cell phone clipped to her belt. It almost fell to the floor when Dawn's apartment door was belatedly cracked open, the chain latch still in place.
Instead of Dawn, a girl of maybe nine or ten years peeked at her through the small gap between the door and the doorframe. What was visible of the child – red-blond hair, light skin, and intelligent green eyes – was enough for Aiden to be reasonably sure that she was face to face – or rather face to belly – with Dawn's niece. "Hi. You must be Jamie, right?"
The girl stared at her through the narrow gap left by the safety chain and nodded suspiciously.
Aiden noticed with satisfaction that she left the door latched, not letting the stranger into the apartment. "And who are you?" Jamie demanded to know, one tiny fist on her hip.
Aiden bit her lip to hide her amusement. She could clearly see the resemblance to her feisty aunt. "My name is Aiden. I'm a police officer."
"Really?" The girl looked interested but still didn't open the door. "My dad and my grandpa Jim were police officers, too. Did you work with them?"
"No, regrettably I didn't, but I know your aunt." Aiden tried to get a peek into the apartment, hoping to see Dawn and be let in, but she could only see the empty hallway behind Jamie.
The girl hesitated. "Do you have a gold shield?"
Aiden handed over her badge through the narrow gap. "Can I come in now?"
After a thorough examination of the gold shield, Jamie lifted herself up onto her tiptoes to pull the chain back from the door.
"Where's your aunt?" Aiden asked, not seeing Dawn as she entered the apartment.
Jamie shrugged. "Don't know."
"You don't know where she is?" Aiden became instantly alert. She was sure that Dawn would never leave a child alone in her apartment without an emergency.
"We're playing hide and seek. You can help me find her if you want," the nine-year-old offered. She had the same friendly way of relating to people that her aunt had.
Aiden smiled down at the girl. "Thanks, I'd like to." She wanted to find Dawn, if only to make sure that everything was all right and to give her the formal statement she had promised to deliver.
"I'll search in the bathroom," Jamie announced, already running toward it. "Maybe Auntie Dawn is hiding behind the shower curtain again."
Aiden waited until the girl had closed the door behind her and then moved to the bedroom, which she assumed to be the most likely hiding place. "Dawn?" she asked loudly, not wanting to startle her with her sudden appearance.
There was a small sound behind the bedroom door. Was that a whimper? Without further hesitation, Aiden entered the bedroom.
Dawn was sitting on the floor, her trembling back against the wall and her head between her knees. Aiden could hear her desperate panting even from five steps away. She quickly closed the door behind her and crossed the room to kneel down beside Dawn.
"Dawn, hey. It's Detective Carlisle... Aiden..." She hesitated to touch the trembling woman, but then the urge to see her face, her eyes, to make a connection and find out what was wrong was too strong. Gently, she touched her shoulder, noticing that the shirt was
wet with perspiration. "Dawn?"
Finally, Dawn lifted her head and looked up at her with wide, scared eyes. Beads of sweat were running down her pale cheeks.
"Easy, easy!" Aiden tried for her most soothing voice even though Dawn's state scared her, too. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"P-p..." Dawn was still fighting for breath. "Panic attack."
Aiden stared down at her helplessly. "What can I do?"
"H-hold me."
Aiden sank down onto the floor. She closed her arms around Dawn and protectively drew her against her body. She could feel Dawn trembling and panting against her. "What happened?" she whispered when she felt Dawn calm down a little.
"I was playing with my niece," Dawn said, her voice rough and shaky, "and I had the glorious idea of hiding under the covers of the bed... where I had a flashback. My niece!" Suddenly, the body in Aiden's arms tensed again. "God! Can you make sure she's okay?"
"She's okay," Aiden said. "She probably thinks you found the world's best hiding place."
"Would you go and look after her, please?"
Aiden hesitated. She didn't want to leave Dawn.
"I'm okay now. I'll be out in a minute," Dawn promised. "I just need to change my shirt." She tugged at the damp garment. "Please, I don't want my niece to see me like this."
One last squeeze, and then Aiden loosened her embrace and stood. "You sure that you're okay?"
"Yeah. It just took me by surprise. I thought the worst of those flashbacks were behind me. But I'll be fine."
Aiden stepped backward, not lifting her concerned gaze from Dawn until she reached the door. Just when she reached to open it, the door began to move. Aiden quickly prevented it from opening fully and slipped outside, blocking Dawn's niece from entering the bedroom.
"I can't find her anywhere. Is Aunt Dawn in there?"
Aiden nodded, not knowing what to tell the child. "Yes, I found her."
"Is she okay?" The girl stared up at Aiden with concerned eyes.
Her compassion and the intuitive understanding that something wasn't quite all right with her aunt reminded Aiden once again of Dawn. "Yes, she is. She's just a little tired from all the hiding and seeking. She'll join us as soon as she's rested for a bit, okay? How about we set up the Parcheesi board so we can play when she comes out?" She had seen the game board lying on the table when she came in.
Jamie hesitated to leave her place next to the bedroom door. "Auntie Dawn isn't very good at that."
Aiden grinned. "All the better for us, don't you think?"
Now the girl giggled and joined Aiden at the table. "Do you know how to play?"
"I used to, but it's been a long time," Aiden answered, trying to keep the bedroom door within her sight without Jamie noticing. "You may have to remind me about the rules."
"I can do that," Jamie eagerly agreed. "I'll take the red ones. You can have green or yellow."
"What about blue?" Aiden asked. "Why can't I have those?"
"Because they're mine," Dawn said from the doorway.
"Aunt Dawn!" Jamie jumped up from the table, raced across the room, and hugged her aunt around the waist. "Are you sad again?"
Dawn caressed the red-blond hair. "How can I be sad when my favorite niece is here? Although I won't be very happy if I lose at Parcheesi again." She smiled at Aiden over the head of the giggling child, conveying her gratitude in silence.
Aiden admired her self-control. If she hadn't seen her trembling and hyperventilating just minutes before, she would never have believed that this was the same woman.
"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked while she took the blue pawns. "And how did you get in?"
"Kade wanted me to bring you a copy of your statement. Your niece let me in," Aiden said, very aware that the girl was listening to every word she said.
Dawn directed a reproachful glance at Jamie. "Jamie, we talked about this before. Letting strangers in can be dangerous even if they look nice," she added with an almost imperceptible smile in Aiden's direction.
"But, Auntie Dawn, she had a gold shield," Jamie protested.
"Which could be fake," Dawn said.
Jamie stared at Aiden with wide eyes. "Is it?"
"No. It's real, but your aunt is right."
"Okay. Next time, I won't let her in," Jamie promised her aunt.
Dawn gave her a gentle nudge to the chin. "You can let Aiden in since she's not a stranger anymore. Everyone else has to stay outside and wait until an adult lets her or him in, okay?"
Jamie nodded. "Can we play now?"
Half an hour later, Aiden watched as Jamie walked her fourth and last piece around the game board. "Do something, Dawn," she demanded. "Your niece is about to win my paycheck."
"We're not playing for money," Dawn reminded, "and even if we were, I can't influence how the dice fall. My field of expertise is psychology, not telekinesis."
The ringing doorbell interrupted before Dawn could throw the dice.
"Uh-oh!" Jamie looked up reluctantly.
Dawn nodded. "I think that's your mom, rug rat," she said with affection.
"Can't I stay just a little longer?" Jamie whined. "I was winnin'!"
"You can beat us again next time, okay?" Dawn opened the door, unaware that she had included Aiden in her plans for future Parcheesi games.
Aiden busied herself with clearing the game board, one eye on the two women greeting each other in the hallway.
Jamie's mother was a tall brunette, with the telltale energetic voice of a mother and the warm smile of a true friend. When she stepped back from the hug she had shared with Dawn, Aiden could see that she was balancing a baby on her hip.
The baby, who Aiden guessed to be less than a year old, immediately held his little arms out in Dawn's direction.
Dawn didn't hesitate in taking him from his mother, cuddling him against her body as she walked back into the living room. "This is Eliza, the little cheater's mother," she announced with a smile.
Jamie giggled. "I didn't cheat, Aunt Dawn!"
"Yeah, yeah." Dawn laughed. "Eliza, this is Detective Aiden Carlisle."
"Ah." Eliza stepped past Dawn, her gaze resting on Aiden's face. "Very pleased to finally meet you."
Aiden shook her hand, wondering what Dawn might have told her almost sister-in-law about her.
"And this little guy here is Tim, my nephew." Dawn leaned down to press a soft kiss against the baby's head.
Aiden finally understood. So, Eliza has a new partner and a new baby – and Dawn accepted both willingly into the family. Amazing.
Eliza studied the woman softly bouncing her son. "Are you okay? You're looking a little –"
"Everything's all right," Dawn said. "Your daughter just ran her favorite aunt a little ragged, that's all."
God, she's gotten really good at hiding her feelings. Aiden knew that this was something at which most rape and abuse survivors were very adept.
"Her only aunt," Eliza corrected.
"Details, details," Dawn teased back.
Eliza stepped forward and softly touched Dawn's arm. "Thanks for agreeing to babysit her."
"Mom!" Jamie protested. "I'm not a baby."
Her mother smiled. "Oh, sorry, your ladyship. Must have been a momentary confusion on my part."
Jamie nodded in satisfaction. "I'm almost a teenager now."
Eliza crossed herself. "Yeah, God help me. Maybe your aunt can keep you a little longer..." she looked at Dawn. "...until she's say eighteen or nineteen."
Aiden had to laugh. In moments like this, she really regretted having no family and no close female friends.
Dawn handed Jamie's backpack to her mother but kept the baby until the very last second. It was easy to see that she loved him as much as she loved her niece even if he wasn't related to her by blood. "Listen, if you and Rick want me to take the kids overnight, just give me a call."
"Like you don't already have enough on your plate without a nine-month-old and a nine-year-old vying for your attention."
"My plate will never be too full for them," Dawn objected.
Eliza nodded. "You'll call us when you know the court date, right? We want to come."
Dawn hesitated, playing with her nephew's tiny foot. "I'm not sure about that."
"About the date?"
"About you coming to watch the trial," Dawn admitted.