by Anne Hagan
Wow...nothing like being ganged up on...This is crazy! “Yes Director?”
“Sarah is fine Agent Rossi.”
“Yes ma’am...Sarah.”
“It’s not possible for us to keep you in the field as a Special Agent, given your medical condition. There are though a couple of other options available to you.”
I was hunched over the desk now and leaning hard into the phone. I don’t like her tone.
She continued, “With reasonable accommodation we can put you into an administrative or screening position. You would retain your current rate of pay.”
“Screening as in, checking baggage for drugs?”
“That’s one of the functions of our screening personnel, yes.”
“What’s the other option, Sarah?”, because the first one is completely unacceptable. I was getting angry. I took a deep breath and blew it out hard.
“You can opt for medical disability retirement, a settlement and full medical coverage at the expense of the Secret Service.”
“Pardon me, did I miss something? Did Secret Service agree that one of their agents was the trigger man that shot me?”
“Agent, its Deputy Director Stover. The Secret Service has admitted to no wrongdoing. Based on our preliminary findings they have agreed to fund the cost of your medical bills no matter what your decision is on your future with the Customs Service. Should you opt for medical retirement, you have the option to sue them for pain and suffering. To avoid a lawsuit, if you waive your right to sue, they’re prepared to fund your disability retirement and offer you a settlement.”
Wow! “What type of settlement? Are we talking money here Director or am I misunderstanding?”
“The settlement is calculated by an actuarial formula Agent. It’s based on your expected lost earnings, expected wage increases, pain and suffering and a few other factors. They’re offering $1.2 million dollars.”
I almost fell out of Mel’s chair. “You said million?” I just shook my head, dumbfounded.
“Yes Agent Rossi and, if I may be so frank: if you sue, it could take years to get through the courts and you may lose. If you’re considering medical retirement over an administrative position rather than a field position, this is likely the best offer you’re going to receive from them.”
I covered the receiver and took a couple of more deep breaths. They didn’t help to clear my head. $1.2 million dollars! I realized they were all waiting on the line for my response. I tried to speak but what came out was more like a croak.
“Agent Rossi, are you all right?” It was Sarah Evans.
I cleared my throat, “I’m fine. Can you tell me when I have to make a decision?”
“It’s Director Royer again Agent. We need to continue to move forward on the smuggling case. If you choose to stay with customs, you’ll be tasked to brief up a backup Agent and then you’ll be moved into a new position. You’ll be reassigned away from the investigation and only used for court testimony should that become absolutely unavoidable. The bottom line is, we need to know something this week.”
Chapter 4 – Money, Money, Money
Tuesday Afternoon, June 10th, 2014
Morning turned into afternoon. I moved about in a crutches aided daze. Everything Mel and I had talked about came rushing back to me. If I take the disability and the settlement, I’ll be secure and I can start my own security firm if I want to, we can buy a house... Dozens of possibilities ran through my mind.
“I need to talk to Mel!” I said aloud, to no one in particular.
Biting the bullet, I called her office. Holly, her assistant, put me through to her.
“Hey Dana, I’m glad you called. Were your ears burning?”
“Well no, why?”
“Ryan McClarnan and Levi Jones were arraigned this morning. They’re both facing multiple felony charges including drug trafficking and moonshine counts plus they’re facing assault, battery, kidnapping, and attempted murder charges for you. McClarnan is also charged with murder in the death of Dallas Granger and with accessory charges in the death of Ben Tracy. The DA doesn’t know if he can make the accessory charge stick but he’s going to give it a shot.”
“That’s great Mel.”
“Great? That’s an odd choice of word after what I just told you. Are you okay?”
“Yes...no...I don’t know. I did a little work by phone this morning and then I got pulled into a conference call that shook my whole world up. I’ve got to...we’ve got to talk. When will you be home?”
“I can leave right now.” Her voice took on an urgent tone.
“No, no. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to alarm you. We can talk later. I just wanted to know when you figured on being out of there.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I can wait.”
“Well...” now she sounded sheepish, “Honestly, the DA called a press conference for 2:30. I don’t have to be there but typically I am and, in this case, it makes good publicity...”
“For your campaign,” I finished the sentence. “I know baby and I totally understand.”
“How about we shoot for me being there by 4:00?”
“Sure. What channel can I catch the press conference on in the meantime?”
“Hopefully all of them!”
I went to the store and got all of the ingredients I needed to make Grandma Rossi’s famous Chicken Caccitore. It wasn’t easy shopping on crutches but I was on a mission and I refused to use one of those electric chairs the old people drive around in stores that terrorize other shoppers.
I’ve never had much time to cook but I enjoy it and Grandma taught me a couple of her dishes well, lasagna and the chicken. Mel might be a hard nut to crack with money but I might just be able to win over her stomach.
By the time the DA’s press conference ended and my triumphant Sheriff girlfriend walked through the door a few minutes before 4:00, the house smelled delicious.
“What is that amazing smell?” Mel had her nose in the air feigning sniffing like a hungry family dog would do at dinner time.
“It’s Chicken Caccitore. I hope you like it.”
“Never had it before but if it tastes half as good as it smells, I’m in there!”
I hopped the few feet to her on one foot rather than reach for my crutches. She pulled me close and held me firm as I laid a lip lock on her in a more personal greeting. It was a couple of minutes before we finally came up for air. Mel was still riding a high after the arraignments and the official press conference and it showed in the intensity of her kiss and in her whole demeanor.
“Whoa!” I blew out a breath and then smacked her shoulder. “Look, I need to finish this up. Why don’t you go and change but make it fast? It’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“Okay. And, I have to say, I was worried about you when I called. I’m glad to see that you’re happy. You seem to be brimming over with excitement about something?” Her tone was curious.
“I’m fine. Better than fine, even. We’ve both had big days and we’ll talk about them over dinner; now go change!”
“I watched the press conference. I was surprised that there was no mention of your former Detective, Kelly Rice. Wasn’t she arraigned too?”
Mel wiped her mouth and then shoveled in another bite of her chicken. “Dana, honey, this is so good! You say you don’t cook much but I think you’re fibbing there. Wow!” She took a sip of her water while I beamed.
She put her fork down and shook her head, “I got sidetracked there; I’m sorry! You were asking about Kelly Rice, right?”
I nodded.
“The DA has decided to have a Grand Jury weigh in on her. So far, all we have is her on video breaking department policy by moving a prisoner alone without a jailer escort and, on the criminal side a possible accessory after the fact charge for warning a moonshine runner, said prisoner Ethan Funk, not to say anything during an official interrogation. We’re investigating but so far we don’t have any evidence to tie her d
irectly to McClarnan, Jones or even to Funk.”
“What about the file full of information you found that she was keeping about you?”
“I turned that over to the DA. There’s a boatload of crap in there but there’s no law against her collecting it even though it is a little creepy and beyond suspect.”
“Your other Detective...what’s his name?”
“Shane Harding,” Mel supplied.
“Yes, Shane. Did he or did he not come into my hospital room on Sunday and show us an engagement announcement for Kelly and Noland Troutman, your competition for Sheriff in the election?”
“He did.”
“And that’s not suspicious to you?”
“It’s very suspicious! Everything about it smacks of some sort of insider campaign to get to me prior to the election. Unfortunately, we can only charge her with what we can prove and that’s accessory after the fact on the mum warning to McClarnan’s ‘shine runner, Ethan Funk.”
“Is the video of that enough to nail her?”
“With the enhanced audio, the DA thinks so but, in a move that surprised me and the DA who’s very familiar with his history, Funk’s family stepped up and got him an attorney. He’s taking a deal to turn State’s Evidence and that should help to nail the charges on her.”
“Hmm. I have to wonder about the wisdom of that from his perspective. He probably thinks the only person he should fear is McClarnan who’s in jail and who isn’t going anywhere. What if he’s wrong and he has to fear Kelly Rice or whoever is behind her order to him?”
“That’s a good point but it’s not really my problem now is it? Besides, do you really think if Noland Troutman were behind what she did, he’d jeopardize himself by pulling something else right now? We’re less than two months from the election.”
“True, I guess. So what do you think is going to happen to Rice?”
“It really depends on the Grand Jury but I think they’ll indict. Regardless, she’s lawyered up. She’s signed Boswell Bates out of Cleveland on. He’s a high dollar mouthpiece and a royal pain in the ass. He’ll do everything in his power to tie it all up in court forever, if it gets that far.”
After that pronouncement, Mel stood and made another one, “I’m dishing up seconds of your amazing chicken if you want more and then we need to start talking about your day today and what’s going on with you.” She eyeballed me pointedly.
“Don’t give me your cop glare!” I couldn’t help but laugh at her though. She was even cute when she scowled.
“Dana, honey, I’m not going to tell you what to do.” Mel was at the sink taking care of the dinner dishes while I sat at the table sipping the one Diet Pepsi I allow myself a day.
“I want my leg back to normal...”
She turned from her task and looked at me, “I know baby but we both know that’s not going to happen. You’ll eventually have to come to terms with that. What you’ve got to do is you have to decide what the next best option for you is.”
“So, you’re saying I should take the money?”
“No, that’s not what I said. I said you should weigh all of your options. We’ve talked about this though. I know that you really don’t want a desk job or a screener job or whatever it is that they’re calling it.”
“If it were you in my position, would you take the disability and the settlement?”
“It’s not me Dana, it’s you, and so it does no good to speculate like that.”
“You just aren’t going to budge off of that stance are you?” It was my turn to give her the evil eye. “Mel, think about what that money could do for us.”
“Us? Dana, if you decide to go for the settlement, great. I support you; but I don’t want your money. You take that to start a business and to put back for medical bills and...”
I waved my hand and interrupted her, “My medical bills will be paid...at least as far as my leg is concerned. Frankly, that’s more money than I’ll ever need. And I’m just not sure about the whole starting a business idea. No matter what I would want to do in the fields where I’ve been the happiest, I’d have to be pretty mobile. I don’t want to be the owner sitting behind a desk. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, of course.”
“If I decide to go for the money, I’d like to share it with the woman that I love. Am I missing something there?”
Mel stopped what she was doing and walked over to stand behind my chair. She looped her arms over my shoulders and pulled me back into her. Bending and laying her cheek against mine, she whispered, “I love you Dana and I’m sorry.” She pulled back up and away and then took the seat adjacent to mine.
Taking one of my hands in hers, she said, “I’m a Crane. The Cranes are a long line of self-sufficient people. We accept help for things that we aren’t capable of doing for ourselves and we help our neighbors when we can.”
“It sounds like that’s been drilled into you over a lifetime!”
“That was Grandpa Crane at his finest; may he forever rest in peace. I was raised that way by my dad who was raised that way by Grandpa. It’s hard for me to deviate from that.”
“I see. What about in this case? What about us if I accept the settlement offer?”
She stared at me for several long seconds. “Well, I suppose when we’re talking about an ‘us’ instead of a ‘me’ it isn’t just a Crane thing.”
“So, there’d be an exception to the Crane rule of living then?” I grinned my brightest at her.
She shook her head and grinned back at me, “I guess!”
“And you’re sure?”
Mel leaned toward me and kissed me. Putting my hands on her shoulders, I hauled her closer. This wasn’t a simple kiss, a loving kiss. I attacked her with a full-blown cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die kiss. I rubbed my lips across hers building an incredible tingling friction. My tongue peeked from my lips and I tasted her seam. She hummed in response, the vibration only adding to the intensity of our closed-mouth kiss.
I dipped and opened up just enough to suck her bottom lip between my teeth. Nibbling and biting, I teased her resolve. She was a woman of depth, loving the bits of pain along with her pleasure. I nipped harder and she finally relented. She grasped the side of my head in both palms and tilted my head up to take my mouth more fully.
She swiped her tongue through my mouth tasting me. She completely took over and sealing her lips to mine, had me moaning and sighing down her throat.
When she finally pulled back and eased her hands around my neck, I gasped for air. A Cheshire cat grin spread my lips. My cheeks warm with the blush of desire.
“I’m absolutely sure!”
Reclining in bed, I rested my head on Mel’s shoulder. She was stroking my hair, long calming, slightly arousing strokes from my scalp down the length of my long hair. My scalp was tingling with her touch, my eyes already closing. The worries of the day eased from my mind.
Her other hand rubbed up and down my arm, slowly. My muscles warmed and loosened, my arm comfortably heavy. Absently, I wished she would do the same to my thigh. The dull ache of the wound still bothered me more than I was willing to admit. I leaned back against her more. Her arms wrapped around me. I sighed and she kissed the side of my cheek.
We sat there in silence. I had no idea what she was thinking about, but I was happy for the quiet. It was as soothing as her touch.
Lifting my hair away from my neck, she kissed me again and I moaned. The soft press of her lips brought back the earlier kiss we’d shared in the kitchen. It was heat and passion, love and respect. It was everything I adored in Mel.
I shifted in her embrace and twisted my neck to return the love. She stopped me with a palm to my cheek. I blinked at her and opened my mouth to protest. She shook her head and eased down, her back flat on the bed, head propped on her pillow. While keeping me within her arms, she eased me down as well.
The bedroom light was already out, the door shut even though we were blissfully alone in the house again. The window was open
and a cool breeze brushed over us.
After pulling me more on top of her to lie on my back, Mel yanked the covers up and once again began to caress and stroke every bit of my skin she could reach. I was dressed in a simple cotton tank and a pair of flannel shorts. Even through the clothing, I could feel the heat of her body and I melted into its coziness.
Mel slipped her hand under the elastic of my shorts and sifted her fingers in my curls. I sighed, stretching my muscles as I spread my legs a bit and dropped one knee over her leg. My thigh tingled as the muscles pulled at the injury and I sucked a sharp breath. She slowed her touch.
“Just my wound,” I told her. I pasted a smile on my face and turned toward her. “I’m fine.”
Her doubt didn’t need words; it showed on her face. She already knew me better than I knew myself.
“I promise I’m fine.” I tried to assure her a second time and she nodded, though it was for my benefit alone.
She shushed me and began to move her fingers again under my shorts. Her other palm found my breast and she kneaded the flesh, rubbing tiny circles over my nipples. I moaned and arched a bit. I could feel the hard tips of her own nipples brushing against my back and shoulders as I writhed atop her.
“Touch yourself,” she whispered in my ear and I whimpered as her warm breath tickled the whorls of my ear and caressed the tiny hairs within. I lifted a nearly asleep arm and did as she requested, treating my other breast to the same ministrations she made upon the other. As she quickened her circles, so I mimicked. When she rolled my peaked nipple between her thumb and forefinger that too, I repeated.
The strange combination of my touch and her touch had me panting with need.
Her fingers teased my clit gently at first but grew bolder with my husky breaths. She stroked my slit, spreading my moisture up and around my clit with torturous caresses. A fingertip slipped between my folds and pushed up and into me. My ass ground and squirmed above her mound and I felt the flutter of her stomach along my spine.
She worked her digit inside me, petting my inner walls and tapping on the spongy nerves of my G-spot. Adding a second finger, she swirled her wrist and flexed her hand. A third finger and I was bucking wildly atop her.