The Main Arcade is usually my beat, if I hadn't been pulled away for that 041 call, I would have been in position to catch the guy. I hesitated at that thought. Had the harassment call been a diversion? It was at the farthest point of the Market from the Post Street Alley buildings. Had Miss Stone's cart been targeted? I jotted a quick note to check dispatch calls in the Market during the other times this guy had hit. A long shot I know, but hey, it pays to be thorough.
I glanced over to the street vendor's table. She was speaking with Eve. The little red head glanced back at me with a look full of mischief. She and her sister were like lit sticks of dynamite being passed around in a circle when they got those looks.
Eve moved behind the counter, and I kept one eye on her, curious as to what hijinks she was up to this time. She popped her head in the kitchen door, then Zoey came out, and they had an animated discussion. I just barely caught Zoey, the more level-headed of the two, warning her sister, “No meddling.”
Eve seemed to deflate but then was calling out in a whine, “Hey! Cheat!” When a chuckling Zoey came motoring over to me.
The smile on her face spelled my doom more clearly than if a meteor was speeding toward the bakery at that moment. There were shenanigans pending, and I was apparently right in the path of them without protective gear. I was quite sure I'd need to radio in an officer in distress call at any moment.
She stopped directly in front of me, bouncing on her toes with a self-satisfied grin on her flour streaked face. It had a devastating effect. The ring on her finger made you curse the lucky person who had landed the beguiling redhead. I sighed in defeat, knowing I was lost to whatever mischief her and her sister had dreamed up now, and asked, “What's up Zoey?”
She acted a little coy and coltish as she swung side to side. “You're off duty after you wrap things up here aren't you, Officer O'Brien?”
Yup, my doom approach-eth. The sisters always called me Officer O'Brien while I was on duty. Even after I got comfortable with them as they always chatted with me when I stopped in for my coffee breaks and lunch here in the Pike.
I had asked once to just call me Dani, though I actually preferred Officer O'Brien or just O'Brien. But Eve shook her head and said in a silly high-pitched, sing-song voice “Un-i-form.” Whatever that meant.
I cocked my head and prompted, “Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this? Yes, I am. Why do you ask? I know it is going to be something evil if it is something you and Eve cooked up.”
She squeaked out a genuinely amused laugh then shook her head. “No, nothing evil I assure you. Just playing off your serve and protect sensibilities.” She fluttered her eyelashes exaggeratedly then nudged her chin toward Miss Stone. “Madelyn over there is waiting for her ride, but her ride won't get off work until after six to come pick her and the cart up with their truck...”
She shrugged as I realized where this was heading. “And you have that big black monster of a truck in the parking garage...”
I sighed and looked between her and the girl at the table by the window. There was something about that woman in the hat, even though she most likely had a past run-in with the law, which made it hard for me to tear my eyes away. For how tough and put together she seemed while speaking with me, there was something else, something unspoiled about her that...
“Earth to Dani.” Zoey was waving a hand in front of my face, and I turned back to her, my cheeks warming in embarrassment.
I chuckled. “Sure, now you call me Dani when you need something.” She just grinned, I caved.
I mumbled to her as I looked back over to the girl in the cute floppy brim hat. “Fine, you win. I'll ask her if I can give her a ride. But I doubt she'll accept, she doesn't seem to like the police very much.”
Zoey blew back an errant lock of red hair which fell down out of the hairnet into her eyes. She looked overly smug, and I rolled my eyes at her, and she dashed off saying, “I've things in the ovens. Thanks, Officer O'Brien, you're a lifesaver.” She giggled at her own joke, and I swear I heard her mumbling “Zoom,” under her breath as she headed back to the kitchen. Eve snapped her with her hand towel as she passed by.
Those two got along so well, and I absently wondered what it would have been like growing up with siblings. Looks like it would have been a blast. I shook my head at their antics and headed over to Madelyn Stone.
I hesitated when she again stiffened when she saw me approaching. Having that guilty look almost everyone gets when I was around. I sort of hated that reaction, people shouldn't feel defensive when an officer was around, they should feel safe. It shows how just a few bad apples in the department can spoil the whole bushel.
I stopped in front of her and said, “The sisters running the bakery say that you might be in need of a ride. I'm just getting off duty and have a truck that can haul your cart.”
She looked down at her hands quickly and started wringing them again. I had already figured out it was a nervous habit of hers and I disliked that I made her nervous. She shook her head and said without looking up at me, “Thank you for the offer, but my ride will be by soon with our truck.”
I exhaled slowly and supplied, “At six. Are you sure you want to be just sitting here for the next three hours, keeping an eye on your cart?” She chanced a look up at me and I prompted with a slight smile I hoped would show her I was earnest. “Let me help. It's really no problem at all. I'm heading that way anyway.”
I almost winced, what the hell Dani? She latched onto it. “What way? You don't even know where I live.”
Thinking fast I flipped out my notepad and held it up. “Got your address right here.”
My triumph didn't last long as she cocked an eyebrow that looked... ah! That was what was slightly off about her eyes. She had no eyebrows, they were drawn on, and quite expertly. I half asked as I tried to remember, “Sunset Hill?”
She finally smiled, and that smile almost knocked me back ten paces, I was pleased that I was able to bring it out of her as she prodded, “Lucky guess.”
I gave her a cocky grin, pleased with my recall, and I nudged my chin toward the door. She looked down at her hands then back up at me. She seemed to be studying me, and I felt suddenly small under her gaze. Then she sighed and said, “Fine. Thank you.”
I chided with a grin, “Don't go gushing all over about the offer or anything, it might make me feel self-conscious.”
She chuckled and stood, grabbing her things. “You're funny for...” She stopped.
I finished for her, already knowing her discomfort around me, “For a cop?”
She got brave and stood tall-ish – she was little bigger than Eve after all – and said in good humor, “Yeah, for a cop.” Ok, I liked this version of her, much more sure of herself, and I could imagine the tackle now.
I prompted, “Just hang out by your cart, I'll go get my beast from the parking structure. I won't be a minute.” She nodded and headed out the opposite door I went to. I noted the sisters high-fiveing before getting into a shoving match back in the Pike.
I quickly made my way to the parking structure and down to my Dodge Ram. I looked at my laptop and my notepad. I still had to file my reports for the day. How did I let Zoey talk me into this? I thought about Madelyn Stone, the woman intrigued me, even if she had a problem with me. Of course, she does, the cute ones always do, Dani.
I looked one last time at the laptop then started up Courtney and headed up to street level. A minute later I was backing slowly through the crowd to the damaged vendor cart. I absently wondered what it was that she sold, the display door flaps were all pulled down and locked, and she didn't have any external signage on the cart. There was some red paint mismatch where the prior owner's signage had been painted over poorly.
I absently wondered if she had a vendor's permit. I didn't see one, and one had to be displayed in public view. Maybe it was inside the flaps? I sighed at myself. Come on Dani, you're here to help the girl, so drop the cop.
She seemed to pe
rk up when she saw me backing up. I stopped my beast and got out and dropped the tailgate then stared at the cart then the truck. Didn't think this through now did I? I grinned at the woman and asked, “Umm, how do you normally load it?”
She cocked her head, looking between the cart and the truck bed, then scrunched up her face cutely as she saw my conundrum. She said almost apologetically, “Well, normally she has two good wheels, and we just roll her up some boards and secure her in the bed.”
I nodded as I stepped over to it and experimentally lifted the corner of the severely leaning pushcart. It couldn't have weighed more that two or three hundred pounds. I looked at the crowd of people looking at us, composed mostly of tourists and a few locals mixed in. It amazed me how easy it was to differentiate between them.
I just looked around at the people and made an ushering motion with my hands as I shrugged? “A little help?” That was all it took. Damn, I frickin' love Seattle.
A couple men stepped forward, one a genuine Seattle native, judging by his attire. The other was a slightly portly, balding, middle-aged man wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the Space Needle and “I heart Seattle” written in bold print.
The guy had two cameras hanging from his shoulders. Dude, they actually put cameras in cell phones you know? Well, I wasn't going to point that out to him since the man was helping us at the drop of a hat. He inclined his head to me as he grabbed the two push handles and said in a midwestern accent, “Chicago PD.”
I gave him a smiling smirk as I inclined my head back to him. A fellow member of the thin blue line. The other man took the damaged side of the cart, and I grabbed the other, then we heaved. It lifted easily, and a wooden spoke fell out of the damaged wheel and clattered on the ground, sounding like a baseball bat.
We slid it into the bed of the truck as Miss Stone retrieved the spoke and hugged it to her chest, looking consternated, like she felt helpless. I was such a sap, I felt for her, it was her bread and butter after all. So I prompted her, “There are some tie downs in the truck box.” I pointed to the bed box snugged up against the cab.
She seemed to smile a little at that, and she scrambled up into the bed and scurried around her cart to retrieve the tie down straps. I was happy I could alleviate her helpless feeling as I shook each man's hand, “Thanks for the assist.”
The vacationing officer gave a silly two finger salute and wink, “To serve and protect.” I grinned back, and he joined his wife and kids. The other man just nodded and walked back into the crowd without fanfare... Seattle through and through.
I helped the suddenly shy girl secure her cart. Her moods seemed almost fluid, and it was hard for me to keep up. She kept looking at me warily, though, so at least that was consistent. I tried to make small talk but fell into the hazard of the job before I could stop myself. “Do you have a vendor's permit.”
She stiffened, and her distrust of all things police was apparent again. Way to go, Dani, smooth as a porcupine's butt as usual. She looked away to the ratcheting handle of the strap, “Of course. It's on the inside door flap.”
I sighed. Fix it fool. “Umm... what kind of wares do you hawk?”
This got a slight smirk on her face. “Wares? Hawk? Are we in an old Cagney film here?”
I furrowed my brow. “Cagney?”
This seemed to shock her as her eyes went wide, forgetting I was her sworn enemy, and she almost laughed. “Were you born under a rock? No time for the classics? James Cagney. Only one of the influential actors of all time, from the golden era of cinema.”
I looked quickly side to side. “Ohhh.. that Cagney. Of course.”
She paused and turned those deep hazel eyes on me and asked in an amused tone, “You have no clue who I'm talking about do you?”
No, no I did not. I gave her a toothy grin that made her chuckle. It was a smoky sound that seemed to tie my insides up in delightful knots, and I could see the stress of her earlier ordeal melting away as she teased, “Steroids addle the mind.”
I was about to protest and point out that my muscles were all natural when she winked. Dear lord of all fuzzy platypus deities, that was too cute for human consumption. I felt a blush burning my cheeks, over the fact that I allowed her to bait me like that... twice.
I growled out with humor, “Get in the cab, or I'm leaving your ass here.”
She seemed pleased that she was able to rattle me and asked as she hopped lithely over the side of the truck to land on the ground gracefully, “You sort of need me to know where to drop off the cart.”
It was my turn to grin as I countered as I checked the straps and hopped down to close the tailgate, “Au contraire, mon ami. I have your address written in my notes, remember?”
She cocked her head and slid into the passenger side as I got into the driver's seat. “Ah, parlez-vous français.”
I smirked and pulled my seatbelt on. “Nope, not a word of it. Buckle up.”
She seemed amused, and I was happy she was putting her animosity aside. She nodded and offered, “Safety first and all of that.” She buckled up.
I shook my head and countered, “That and it's the law.”
I could have kicked myself as a shadow came over her face like a door had just shut. She muttered, “Oh yeah, cop.”
I sighed. Why do I care what she thinks? I placed my cover between us on top of my laptop, then started the truck in an awkward silence. She seemed to be uncomfortable too so she tried to lighten the gloomy mood that had descended as I slowly moved through the crowd toward Pine, by needling me, “With a guy, having a huge truck like this, I'd say he was compensating for something. But since you're not a guy...” She gave me a forced, corny grin.
I ignored her and patted the dashboard with a smug and satisfied look on my face. “Don't listen to her Courtney.”
She blinked at me and screwed up her face. “Wow. Courtney? Really? Who calls a truck Courtney? Who calls anything Courtney? Way to emasculate the monster.”
I defended in a petulant tone, realizing only after I spoke that I had been dropping the professional facade that I try to show the world as a defense for the stigma of being a female police officer. When did I let my guard down? “Courtney is a pretty name. A pretty name for a pretty truck.”
She rolled her eyes and looked out the window as I pulled us onto the street and then stopped at the side of the road. She quipped, “Says you.”
I nodded. “Yes, I did. Just now. You were sitting right there when I said it.”
She agreed, “I was.” Then she added, “You're a strange woman.”
I countered automatically as I reached for my laptop, “Says you.”
She chuckled and threw my own words back at me in a highly amused tone, “Yes, I did. Just now. You were sitting right there when I said it.”
Damn, the cute one was also funny.
I felt suddenly small and inadequate talking to this woman. Where had my confidence and bravado, which I had built up in the academy, gone? I asked, “Is it ok if I take a minute to file my reports? I usually do them in the parking garage at the end of shift.”
She looked at me and my laptop in genuine curiosity and just shrugged. “No complaints from this side of Courtney. You're the one doing me a favor.”
Then she screwed up her face again and asked, “Why were you doing this for me again? If you're off duty, you don't need to be helping strangers.”
I blushed and said as I scrunched my shoulders down in embarrassment in a pathetic attempt to hide behind the screen. “The owner of the Pike, Zoey, asked me to. It's seriously impossible not to do what those sisters ask. I mean, that red hair is like my kryptonite...”
I paused and almost slammed my head against the steering wheel over and over until I was unconscious. Yeah, just advertise to the world that you're gay, Dani. That won't make things awkward at all.
To my surprise, she grinned and said with a shrug, “I guess if red hair is your thing. That Eve would be a heartbreaker if it weren't for the red hair. That
is like a crazy beacon right there, warning you away from the rocks by the shore.”
She had suddenly just got twice as fascinating to me. I had to force my eyes to stay on the screen as I diligently filled out the various reports. Not knowing what to say now. Seriously, where the hell was my confidence? I wasn't intimidated by anyone or anything, not even perps twice my size. I didn't back down from any challenge, but here I was, wondering if I had hat hair from wearing my cover all day as I sat next to this girl.
I mumbled, “I'll be done in a moment, Miss Stone.”
She sighed and deflated and said almost as if it pained her, “You're off duty, and doing me a favor. The least you could do is call me Madelyn.”
I fought off an excited smile, we were working though her animosity to the badge, even if I felt like an awkward schoolgirl around her. “Deal, call me Danielle then.” She nodded and then looked back into the bed of the truck, worried creases forming between her eyes.
I looked in the rearview mirror and squinted one eye and asked, “The down time going to hurt that much?”
She looked back out the windshield at the people milling about, coming to and from the Market, like the pulse of a great living being. The Market was alive to me, and I loved walking the beat, I was going to miss it when I was finally promoted to a cruiser with a partner.
Most officers looked at a foot beat as the bottom of the heap. What probies and those who really fucked up were assigned. I felt the same when I was first assigned here. That I was being punished for some unknown offense in the Academy. But after a few days, I found that I loved the Market, it had that life of its own and the people and things I see every day never cease to amaze me.
I had the chance to take the foot beat down in Ballard, I hear it is the most sought after beat for those of us in the dregs of the department. I guess it would have been a step up to my goal, but I requested to stay at Pike Place. I was one of the community there, and the vendors and street performers saw me as one of them now. I felt the same way. I was Pike Place through and through.
The Pike_Right To Remain Silent Page 3