by Gerri Hill
"You have a sister?" Casey asked. "Not a brother, but a sister?"
He nodded.
"What's her name?" Leslie asked.
"Patty."
Casey and Leslie exchanged glances. "Patty? Does she have a last name?" Casey asked.
He made a face. "Duh. She's my sister."
Leslie hid a smile. "Patty Doe."
Sikes laughed. "Look at them. Do they have a clue yet?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on, Tori. I've already been through this with you and Sam, remember? Watch how they look at each other. They don't even know they're doing it."
"Yeah, I see what you mean."
"So? Do they have a clue?"
She shrugged. "Leslie's engaged."
There was a quick knock on the door and Malone stuck his head in. "Buzz them. He's posted bail."
"How?"
"I don't know. But his attorney is waiting. Kill the interview."
"He's homeless. What attorney?" Tori asked as Sikes buzzed into the interrogation room. Casey looked up at the window, then went to the phone.
"O'Connor, Malone says to cut him loose. His attorney is here."
They watched Casey's face, saw her what the fuck look as she hung up the phone. "God, I love her," Tori said without thinking. She looked at Malone and Sikes. "What?"
"I'll never understand you women," Malone muttered as he walked away.
"Hey, I didn't mean love like love, you know."
"Whatever."
She turned to Sikes. "Now he's going to think I'm having an affair with O'Connor."
"Yeah. Wait until he gets a clue about O'Connor and Tucker. That'll really spin his head." He grinned. "I know it's already spinning mine."
They walked out into the hallway just as Casey and Leslie came out with John Doe. Before Tori could say anything, two men in suits walked up behind them.
"Well, well. Detective Hunter. I should have known."
Tori turned, standing face to face with Robert, of all people. Wonderful.
"I understand you've been questioning my client without representation."
"He waived his right to an attorney."
Robert plastered a false smile on his face. "Let's see. Since when does indecent exposure require jail time? Or have you taken to harassing the homeless now?"
Tori tilted her head, aware of everyone watching them. "I wasn't the arresting officer." She took a step closer. "But I understand he was exposing himself while he watched a young lady in her apartment."
"I didn't expose nothing," John said. Then he smiled sheepishly. "Well, maybe just a little."
"You don't have to say another word. Let's get you out of here," Robert said. "I'll take you home."
"Who are you?" John took a step back. "Miss Leslie, who is he?"
"He's your attorney."
"I don't have no attorney. No. I don't want to go with him."
"Who posted his bail?" Tori asked.
"You're the detective," Robert said. "It'll give you something to do." He looked at John again. "John, I'm going to take you down to the shelter so you can get something to eat, okay? Then you can stay. You can go back to the street. You're not in trouble."
John looked at Leslie and she nodded. "It's all right, John. You go with him."
"Will I see you again?"
She smiled and touched his arm affectionately. "I think so. Don't you?"
"I hope so." He turned. "Miss Casey, I'm glad you didn't have to tie me up again."
"Yeah, me too." She looked at the others. "But for the record, it was just handcuffs."
Sikes nudged Tori as Leslie reached out and squeezed Casey's arm. He leaned closer. "Told you."
They walked back to their desks in silence, then Leslie turned, facing them. "Who the hell was that?" she asked.
Tori stared as all eyes were on her. She shrugged. "Robert."
"Robert who?"
Sikes grinned. "Yeah. Robert who?"
"Shut up, Sikes."
Casey finally came to her rescue. "Robert is the defense attorney Sam was dating when...well, when...you know, when Tori and Sam...when they first...well, when they first..."
"You're a big help," Tori murmured. She looked directly at Leslie. "For the record, Sam broke up with Robert before we...well, before we, you know...before the first time we...well, we ever..."
Leslie laughed, looking at Casey then Tori with a shake of her head. "Good grief, you two are a pair, aren't you?"
Sikes stepped forward. "They were flirting with each other shamelessly, then Sam dumped Robert. I'd venture to say it was a very short time later that Tori and Sam slept together for the first time, making their affair official."
"Sikes!"
"What? I was here. I guess I know."
Chapter Twenty-Two
They sat at their desks--burger wrappers, chip bags and drinks littering each--as they tossed ideas about.
"Remember how some of the witnesses said the Peeping Tom was a woman," Casey reminded them. "Could have been this Patty."
"You're not seriously thinking that his brother Patrick is really his sister in drag and goes by Patty?" Sikes held up a chip. "I think that's too far-fetched."
"Oh, so you think it's just a coincidence that he calls his sister Patty? Come on, we told you what Mac said about the DNA. A relative. His brother."
"But he said he didn't have a brother," Sikes said.
"I think we're forgetting something here," Leslie said. "John is simpleminded." She grinned. "And I don't mean you, Sikes."
Tori laughed. "Good one, Tucker."
"Anyway, John sees things in black and white. So if this person in his life wears a dress and goes by Patty, to him, it's his sister. It may very well be his biological brother and most likely is, but he answered the question honestly. He doesn't have a brother, he has a sister."
Casey leaned back and folded her arms behind her head, staring at the ceiling. "But why would Patrick feel the need to dress up like Patty? And does he do it all the time? Obviously not. He must have been Patrick when he killed Rudy Bobby. They didn't say Patty killed him. They said Patrick."
"And who all knows that he dresses up?" Tori asked. "If it's something that he does once in a while, then John wouldn't say he had a sister. John said he had a sister as if he dresses like Patty all the time."
Casey closed her eyes, still thinking. They had more questions than answers. But at least they had questions. At least they had somewhere to go now.
"Oh, I had Sam make some calls. The Homeless Alliance bailed him out. Seems Robert volunteers there," Tori said.
"How would the Homeless Alliance even know he was arrested?"
"Sharon down in booking. She's a volunteer too."
"What? It's like a little network of volunteers? All waiting around for us to arrest one of them so they can send in the troops?" Casey shook her head. "Amazing."
"Everybody's got a cause, O'Connor," Tori said as she wadded up her foil wrapper and tossed it at her. "What do you guys think of canning the surveillance of the apartments? I think it may be a waste of time."
"I don't agree," Leslie said. "If Patrick is our killer, then he has to do some kind of reconnaissance on his victims. They're not random."
"Actually, it makes sense," Casey said. "He's a lot less likely to cause suspicions if he's a she, you know. You see a woman walking around, you don't think anything of it. You see a guy snooping in apartments, you call the cops."
"But there's too much ground to cover. And you guys just lucked into John Doe. If you hadn't, then he'd have been at Cascades doing the dirty and no one would have been the wiser. We were cruising six blocks away."
"And maybe we'll luck into Patrick doing surveillance," Leslie said. "At least we'll be out there. If not, then we're just waiting on his next murder."
"Let's all do it every night," Casey said. "With both of us out, we can cover more ground." Her suggestion was met with a groan from both Hunter and Sikes. "Oh, I forgot. I'm the
only one without a life."
"No, no. It's a good idea," Tori said. "Sam will understand." She glanced at Leslie. "Can you swing it? I mean, your fiance might--"
"I can swing it," she said without hesitation.
"Okay then. John? Will it mess up your new love life?"
"Hell, yeah, it will. But I guess if Sam can handle it, Kristi can."
"Kristi? How sweet," Casey teased.
"But Friday nights, no, waste of time," Tori said. "There's too much activity on the weekends. I can't imagine he'd take a chance at scouting out apartments then. Too many people around." She looked at Leslie. "When you pulled your Peeping Tom reports, what days had the most hits?"
"Wednesdays and Thursdays."
"But I think we should still go out on Monday and Tuesday too," Casey said. "Don't you guys agree?"
"Yeah, yeah. Every damn day, O'Connor. By the way, we're going out on the boat tomorrow, spend the night. Sam wanted me to invite you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. She made up a big pan of lasagna last night. Come on. We've got to take advantage of the lingering summer weather while we can."
"Cool. I'm in." Casey glanced at Leslie. "You guys have big plans?"
"We're going to Austin. A college friend of Michael's is getting married. I don't really know them."
Casey looked away. "Well, you can maybe get some pointers for your wedding then."
"Not necessary. Michael's mother already has it all planned, remember?"
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, then Sikes cleared his throat. "So, have you set a date yet?"
Chapter Twenty-Three
The sun was high and hot, and Sam shaded her eyes as she watched Casey climb on board. She smiled, shaking her head. Tori and Casey greeted each other with an arm bump. She walked over, wrapping her arms around Casey in a hug instead.
"Glad you could come." She kissed her cheek affectionately, pleased to see the slight blush that covered Casey's face.
"Thanks for including me." Casey pulled out a bottle of red wine from her bag. "For dinner."
"Excellent. Thanks. Now go put your cooler in the shade. Tori's anxious to get out on the water."
"I'm going to start her up. You guys ready?" Tori called from the control deck.
"See what I mean?" Sam looked at Tori and gave her the thumbs-up.
They sat in the anchored deck chairs while Tori sped across the lake. She accepted the beer Casey offered her, then slipped her sunglasses on her head. She wanted to talk to Casey and she wanted to do it now, in private. She was dying to know about Leslie.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"You seem a little...well, quiet. Distracted."
"Do I?"
Sam smiled. "Want to talk about it?"
"Oh, I'm okay. It's nothing really."
Sam reached over and squeezed her knee. "You know, I don't tell Tori everything. And I'm a good listener."
Casey took a deep breath. "It's just...I'm an idiot," she finally said.
Sam laughed. "Okay. So I'm going to guess it involves a woman."
"Yeah." Casey nervously twisted her beer bottle in her hand. "Actually, it's Leslie," she said quietly.
"Your partner?"
"Yeah."
Sam nodded, wondering how many questions she could ask without Casey clamming up. "Want to elaborate?"
"I've committed the ultimate sin." Casey looked at her, meeting her eyes. "I've got a crush on my partner."
"Not to burst your bubble, but I can relate."
"No, you can't. Tori wasn't straight."
"No, but I was. Or I thought I was."
Casey sighed. "I don't know what it is. We just clicked. We can talk, you know? Stuck in a car every night, we can talk. We're comfortable together."
"Friends can talk too. Friends can be comfortable together."
Casey grinned. "Yeah. But I want to jump her bones."
Sam laughed. "Yes, that does cross that friendship line."
"And of course, she's engaged to be married. That kinda puts a damper on things."
"Does it?"
"It would, if she didn't touch me all the time. And God, Sam, sometimes she looks at me and...well, I feel something."
"Like what?"
"Like...well, like my heart does the pitter-patter thing. It's disgusting."
Sam bit back a smile, knowing how vulnerable Casey must feel at the moment. So she tried another approach. "You know, you've only known her a few weeks. Maybe--"
"I know," Casey said quickly. "That's why I'm telling you I'm an idiot."
This time Sam couldn't hold back her smile and she leaned over and hugged Casey. "You're not an idiot." You're just falling in love. But she couldn't say that without Casey jumping overboard. "Maybe it's just...I don't know--"
"A phase?" She rolled her eyes. "I'm attracted to my partner, who's engaged to be married. To a man. And instead of coming to my senses, I'm jealous."
"Okay, let's change gears. What about Leslie?"
"I think she knows. I'm pretty sure she knows. I mean, like I said, I'm an idiot."
"I see. So do you think she feels anything too?"
"Christ, Sam, when I was holding her, I swear she felt something. And she said she--"
"Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean, when you were holding her?"
But Casey didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on Tori as she made her way down the ladder to the deck. She turned to Sam. "I'll be fine. Thanks for letting me talk."
"But--"
"Isn't this great?" Tori asked, spreading her arms. "I love late summer weekends like this. Not many boats on the water, don't have to fight anyone for our favorite cove. It's perfect."
"More perfect if you had a beer, though, right?" Casey asked, going to their cooler.
"A beer and fishing pole." She walked to Sam. "And a kiss."
Sam's lips lingered, then moved to Tori's ear. "I love you," she whispered. She pulled away. "Now, go enjoy yourself. I'm going to sit here in the sun and read."
She pulled a lounge chair out and laid a towel on it, then relaxed, slipping her sunglasses back on. But the crime novel couldn't hold her attention as much as the two women within her sight. She loved times like this. It made her feel as if her world were perfect. Tori and Casey had stripped off their shirts. They both stood at the railing--clad in skimpy sports bras and shorts, their feet bare--holding a rod and reel in one hand and a beer in the other.
She was so happy Casey came into their life. Casey and Tori, while so different, were so much alike. They were good for each other. More importantly, they knew they were good for each other. Tori finally had that best buddy she needed, and Casey, well, Casey had the big sister--and the family--that had been missing in her life.
Now if we could only get her love life settled. Sam smiled and opened the book again. She liked Leslie. She didn't envy her having to go through what Sam suspected she was going through. Sam remembered how difficult if had been. The uncertainties, the fear. And the excitement of falling in love.
But falling in love with a woman for the first time could be shocking. Not only to yourself, but to those who knew you.
She should know.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Leslie twirled the wineglass methodically between her fingers, trying so hard to listen to the conversation--to be interested in the conversation--but truthfully, she was bored to tears. She'd obviously been to weddings before, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember there being this endless discussion of weddings and proceedings. And honeymoons. My God. They'd dissected it to death. Surely there were more interesting topics to discuss?
Like famine in Africa, for instance. She smiled to herself, glad she hadn't lost her sense of humor this evening, even if her feet hurt from the high heels she'd chosen to wear.
She watched those around her, all cute couples paired up nicely, talking animatedly in groups. The bride and groom were the perfect match. Or so she'
d been told a hundred times. And you and Michael look so happy. When's your big day? She swore if one more of Michael's friends asked her that question, she was going to throw up.
And there he was, chatting away with his buddies from college. They all hung on his every word as he was no doubt describing a new computer game he was working on. Suddenly, she couldn't take it any longer. She bypassed the wine table, which was free to the wedding party, and headed to the bar instead.
Who has a wedding at a bar anyway?
"I'm complaining?" She shook her head. No.
She chose a barstool on the corner, away from people, away from the TV where a group sat watching a college football game. Instead, she stared into the mirror behind the bar, meeting her eyes, not surprised at what she saw.
Confusion, and just a hint of depression. These were Michael's friends, Michael's people. Not hers. She didn't know them. And judging from the conversations she'd been subjected to, she didn't want to know them.
"What can I get for you?"
She leaned her elbows on the bar and rested her chin in her hands, smiling at the bartender. Yes, indeed. What could he get for her? She lifted a corner of her mouth in a smile, trying at least. "Something strong," she said.
"Straight up on the rocks?"
She shook her head. "Better kill it with something."
"Double Crown with a shot of Coke?"
"Perfect. And run me a tab."
"Sure thing."
She turned, watching the wedding guests through the double doors. Good Lord. Again, who has a wedding at a bar?
"Are you with the wedding?" he asked as he placed the glass in front of her.
"Sort of." She picked up the glass and took a sip, nodding at him. "Perfect. What's your name?"
"Thank you. It's Paul." He pulled a rag out and wiped the wet spot in front of her, then tossed the rag behind him. "So, are you in the wedding?"
"God, no." She leaned closer. "Who gets married in a bar anyway?"
"They met here."
"So?"
"They come here a lot."
"His family owns the hotel, right?"
He laughed. "No. But I think it's kinda romantic. You know, they meet here as strangers one night, fall in love, then come back often for dinner, a few drinks, a room upstairs in the hotel. Why not tie the knot here too?"