The Crime of Seduction

by Nadine LaForet

  “Oh Alex, you feel so damn good,” he panted. “Oh man, oh yeah.” Cody was rubbing her with his right hand and grabbing her ass hard with his left and filling her and fucking her and she felt so good and she knew she was about to cum again. She raised her ass to meet Cody’s thrusting hips and cried out, “I’m cumming Cody, oh my God, I’m cumming again.”

  As Alex came Cody slid his right hand off of her pussy and around to her right hip and she could feel his legs stiffen against her and she could tell he was cumming too when she felt his cock grow even fuller and begin to throb inside of her.

  Cody tried to muffle his cry as he came, fighting the urge to thrust himself even deeper into Alex. His body convulsed and shivered and he found himself lying over her, kissing her neck and trying to slow his breath.

  “Are you OK?” he asked, his spent cock sliding out of Alex’s cunt.

  “Mmmhmm,” Alex purred.

  “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked, gently running his hand down her left side.

  “I’m OK,” she said. “But ask me again tomorrow.”

  Cody laughed and stood up, pulling the condom off of his penis and dropping it on the ground. Alex stood up, looking around for her underwear. She found them behind the front tire and used them to wipe the wetness off of her thighs. She pulled up her jeans and stuck her soaked panties in her back pocket. She found her bra and top and finished getting dressed as Cody picked up the condom and walked over to throw it away in a nearby garbage can.

  Alex was trying to comb her hair with her fingers as Cody walked back towards her, smiling. He stopped when he got to her and he took her face in his hands and said, “I am so happy you stopped by.”

  “I’m glad I came too,” she said, laughing.

  Cody smiled again, took Alex’s hand and walked her back through the corp yard and to the hole in the fence. He held the loose chain link up for her and helped her step through, back into the police department parking lot. They walked back to her car in silence and stopped at her door.

  “Good night,” he said, leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips. She could smell herself on him. She pulled away, smiled, and unlocked her car. As she opened the door and got in, Cody said, “Sweet dreams, Alex.”

  She drove home, her mind clear and her body tired. She slept the best she had in weeks.

  * * *

  15

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alex awoke Thursday morning feeling rested, despite her late night. It felt like she hadn’t moved at all once she got into the sheets; they were hardly disturbed and she was in the same position she fell asleep in.

  On her way into work she tried to psyche herself up to talk to Bev. She had to come clean about her involvement with Heath—even though it was clearly over.

  If there was a good side to her hideous reunion with Heath, it was that there was no chance in hell she would ever see him again. How could she¸ after his treatment in the bar and then catching him with the slut waitress mere moments after he walked out on her? She was flabbergasted by his behavior. It was deeply disturbing and made it totally clear that her time with him was over and done with.

  There was relief in that certainty.

  Alex, like some of her friends, had a tendency to second-guess herself when she ended things with a man—from a casual hook-up to a more serious ongoing relationship. Oftentimes her “cut and dried” endings would drag on, fueled by drunk texts, moments of weakness, or chance meetings. She had heard of people who were able to just “cut, run and be done,” but she thought of them more as urban legends than real people. She didn’t know any of them personally.

  Perhaps I am one of the few now. Like the mythical Unicorn or Jackalope. The Cut and Run Girl lives! She smiled to herself.

  She felt light, her mood improved by the second half of her night, the half spent with Cody in the corp yard. He was an incredible lover, adventurous in a way that pushed her boundaries in a way that felt safe. She appreciated that. Especially after her experience with Heath. She had to admit she wasn’t completely surprised he wasn’t what he had seemed—Mari’s concerns had made her consider he wasn’t being totally truthful with her. But she had never expected him to be lying to her at that level: internationally wanted criminal and, almost worse, total man-slut.

  As she walked into the reception area at the Prosecutor’s Office she waved to Mari. Mari smiled at her as she helped the first person in her morning line, which was comprised of an unlikely combination of defense attorneys and random people off the street who wanted to know where to pay their traffic ticket, or talk to the Prosecutor herself. Alex hadn’t told Mari anything about Heath over the last day, not about his texting her and certainly not about going to meet him. Mari was very clear on her feelings not only about Heath pre-arrest, but even more so after his arrest. She was upset with Alex for not telling Bev about her connection to one of the office’s prime suspects.

  Alex dropped her stuff of at her desk and walked right up to Bev’s office. Bev was already in work mode but she stopped what she was doing to give Alex her full attention. Alex smiled tensely and said, “I need to talk to you about something. When would be a good time?”

  Bev took a deep breath and, glancing at the clock said, “Go check in with Sheila and get a coffee. I’ll see you back here in thirty minutes.”

  Alex nodded, “OK,” and walked down the hall to Sheila’s office.

  Sheila was in work mode too—her glasses were halfway down her nose and she had one finger on a stack of papers on her left and her right hand on the computer keyboard. “Good morning, Alex!” she called out.

  “Good morning, Sheila,” Alex replied. “How are things this morning?”

  “Oh good, good,” she said, absentmindedly. “I have a project for you but I need to respond to this motion this morning. Can you find something to keep you busy for an hour? I can brief you then.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Alex nodded again. “Perfect, see you in a bit.”

  Sheila was so absorbed in her response to the motion she didn’t even acknowledge Alex. Alex wasn’t offended, though; she knew how hard the Deputy Prosecutors worked—and they didn’t only have one case to work at a time. They had to juggle several cases in different stages of the legal process. They worked long, hard hours, and sometimes Alex wondered if she really wanted to become a lawyer or if she would be just as happy staying in the background as a paralegal with a life, rather than a prosecutor on center stage without one.

  After she got a coffee she went back to her desk and waited for Bev to give her the signal that she was ready to talk. I should have gotten decaf, she thought. Her stomach was twisted into a knot and felt plenty acidic without the coffee sloshing around in it too. She had just opened her email and was getting caught up on the administrative goings-on of the office when Bev called out, “OK, Alex!” She took a deep breath, held it for a second, and let it go as she stood up, readying herself for her conversation with Bev.

  “Come on in, close the door if you need to,” Bev said, gesturing to an open chair in the corner of her office.

  Alex closed the door quietly and sat down on the edge of the seat, her hands folded in her lap. Bev smiled at her and nodded, her eyebrows raised. “What’s up?” she asked.

  Alex knew that nothing surprised Bev. In her time at the office she had definitely seen it all, heard it all, and lived through quite a bit as well. She had been there through the careers of many prosecutors and was familiar with the dark side of human nature to a level Alex didn’t envy. So she knew what she had to say wouldn’t shock Bev. But Alex hated to disappoint people she looked up to—and she looked up to Bev.

  Alex cleared her throat. “So,” she started, unevenly. “I need to tell you about my involvement in a case.” Alex stared at her hands in her lap. She looked up at Bev who was watching her impassively.

  “Go on.”

  “I know one of the art theft suspects,” she blurted out. “I know him well. At least I thought I did, I mean, I date
d him. Briefly.” Alex watched Bev for a reaction. There was none. She took another deep breath and tried to speak more slowly. “I dated him for a couple of weeks until he stood me up. He stood me up because he had been arrested, as it turns out.” Alex felt deeply ashamed and embarrassed.

  “And since his arrest?” Bev asked, her voice even.

  “Since the arrest he has texted me, and I met with him because I wanted to hear his excuse. That meeting didn’t last long, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

  “Well, thank you for telling me,” Bev said. “Although I wish you would have said something sooner.”

  “I know, Bev, I’m very sorry,” Alex said, looking down at her lap.

  “You know, I have to let Shayna know. And I have to lock you out of the case. She may also want to audit your computer use to see if you have accessed any of the files associated with this. It’s a big case, an international one, and she will want to be 100 percent sure there have been no breaches.”

  Alex felt horrible. The Shayna Bev referred to was Shayna Shaver, the Chief Prosecutor. Shayna was technically her boss, although she never worked directly with her. As one of only a handful of female chief prosecutors in the state, she was in high demand for speaking engagements at conferences around the world. She was know to be tough, but anytime Alex had seen her in the office she had a smile on her face and was impeccably dressed.

  “I know, and I understand. I can assure you that I have not seen anything associated with the case other than his mugshot that morning Rachel was processing custodies.”

  “Ahhh,” Bev said, a slight smile on her lips. “Of course, he’s the one Rachel was talking about, right? What’s his name? Valentino?”

  “Valentine,” Alex said, feeling sick to her stomach.

  “Well, I don’t care how handsome he is; it goes without saying at this point that any contact between you and him is not a good idea.”

  “I understand.”

  “I mean, a ‘disciplinary action’ kind of bad idea.” Bev looked at Alex, unblinking.

  “I do, I understand.” Alex assured her.

  “Alright. Well, I know Sheila has a lot for you to do—and she, for one, is very pleased with your work—so get back to it.” Bev picked up a file and opened it, signaling the end of their meeting.

  “Thank you,” Alex said, as she got up and walked out of Bev’s office, leaving the door open.

  * * *

  The rest of the morning dragged for Alex, even as she worked her way through her latest assignment for Sheila’s case. When Mari stopped by to see if she could go to lunch she was happy to take a break. They decided to walk to town and get a sandwich at their favorite deli. It was a beautiful summer day and they sat outside enjoying the sun and fresh air. Once they settled into their lunch, Alex told Mari that she had met with Bev that morning and come clean about Valentine.

  “Oh Alex, I am so relieved! How did it go?”

  “It was fine. I could tell she was pissed at me, but she didn’t show it too much,” Alex said.

  “Good. Do you feel better?”

  “A little, at least until she tells Shayna.” Alex said, feeling worried. “Do you?”

  “Yes, actually. I am so glad you finally came clean,” Mari said, her face relaxing. She gave Alex a genuine smile—the first one Alex had seen since she told Mari about Valentine getting arrested. “Oh my gosh, you wouldn’t believe how many calls we are getting about this case.”

  “What do mean? Calls from whom?” Alex asked.

  “I mean all the network news shows, like 48 Hours, Dateline, the Today Show. They all want to do stories on it. International intrigue, handsome guys, and all that.”

  Alex chewed her food, though her appetite had just disappeared. “Bev said they might audit my computer use to make sure I didn’t access any files related to the case.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Mari said, licking her fork. “This is serious business Alex, and with all this media attention they have to make sure things are tight.”

  Alex put the lid back on her pasta salad and wiped her fingers with her napkin. “Do you think the investigators are going to want to question me? Since I knew him? I mean, I was seeing him when he got arrested.”

  “That’s a good question. I would imagine so.”

  Alex took a sip of water. Not only was her appetite gone, her churning, bubbling stomach was back.

  “Oh, hey, I almost forgot,” Mari said. “Something strange happened yesterday.”

  “What’s that?” Alex asked.

  “Someone called asking for you. At least, I think they were asking for you.”

  “Who was it?”

  “That’s just it, he wouldn’t give me his name, and he asked for “Alex the prosecutor,” like he didn’t really know you—or who he was asking for. I tried to get some information from him but he wouldn’t give me his name or anything.”

  “Really?” Alex finished her water.

  “Yeah, the thing that made it stick out was his accent.”

  “Accent?” Alex gathered her garbage and stood up to take it to the trash can.

  “Yeah, it sounded French or something.”

  “Huh,” Alex said, picking up Mari’s sandwich wrapper and throwing their garbage away as Mari gathered her things.

  They continued to enjoy the weather and took the long way back to the office. Mari got Alex caught up on the girls’ latest adventures. While Alex was concerned about Shayna’s reaction to her knowing Heath, she didn’t give Mari’s story about the mysterious call for her a second thought.

  * * *

  Alex was able to get out of work at a decent time, and decided to go for a run. She changed out of her work clothes, grabbed her iPod, and stuffed a spare key and a $5 bill in a tiny built-in pocket in her shorts. As she crossed the street in front of her apartment building she noticed a gorgeous, extra-large black Mercedes Benz sedan parked on the street.

  It stood out because the windows were tinted so heavily they were nearly black, even the front ones. She knew that was illegal in California, but ever since she had gone on vacation in Phoenix, Arizona, where everyone had heavily tinted windows because of the powerful sun, she noticed when cars had them. She started to jog and glanced at the car’s license plates as she passed by, looking for the telltale cactus, but it had California plates.

  She felt good, light on her feet, and the playlist had kept her motivation up so she decided to run a little further than normal, down to the shore. The walkway along the sand was filled with families wrapping up their day at the beach, dragging sandy, empty coolers and exhausted children behind them. The offshore breeze had kicked up and the temperature was beginning to drop as Alex dodged the exhausted parents on their way back to their cars and vacation rentals. She slowed her jog and popped into a mom-and-pop shop on the corner for a bottle of water.

  As she stepped back out into the cooling evening air she took a big gulp of water and stepped into the crosswalk just as a big black sedan with dark tinted windows went by like a shark in the water. The hair on Alex’s neck stood up, as she stopped herself with one foot still on the curb. Shit, that was close! she thought, as the car went by her without slowing. I almost got hit! Alex attributed the involuntary shiver and the hair standing on end to the close call, and it took a moment for her to register that the car that nearly hit her was the same one she had seen outside of her apartment building.

  She blew it off as a coincidence, and continued across the street to sit on the seawall as she finished her water. She watched the number of families on the beach dwindle and the number of dog-walkers and couples walking hand in hand grow. She tossed the empty bottle in the trash, put her earbuds back in, and headed home at a slow jog.

  By the time she got home the sun was low in the sky. She kicked her sandy shoes off, peeled off her socks, and left them both on the front porch. She unlocked the front door, pulled her ear buds out and plopped down on the couch, pleasantly tired from her extra-long run. She lay
there for a moment, and contemplated what to do next, as her eyes fluttered shut. Her stomach growled.

  Eat. That’s what I need to do next, eat. She got up, walked into the kitchen and opened her refrigerator door. As she stood there, staring at half empty condiment bottles and a package of questionably colored salami, her phone began to vibrate on the counter. It was an incoming call from a number she didn’t recognize.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Alex, it’s Cody.”

  “Hi Cody,” she said, surprised to find herself smiling broadly.

  “Are you free for dinner?”

  She liked that he was so straight and to the point. “Actually, you just caught me staring at my empty fridge listening to my stomach growl,” she said, laughing.

  “Perfect! I’m just wrapping up at work, I’ll come get you.”

  “OK,” she said. “Don’t rush, I just got back from a run so I need to shower.”

  “Hmmm, maybe I will rush then…”

  Alex closed the door to her empty fridge, “Eat first, fuck later,” she laughed.

  “I like a woman who knows what she wants!” He laughed with her. “Alright, be there in half an hour.”

  “OK,” she said, hanging up. She was smiling, excited to see Cody, and very hungry.

  * * *

  16

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cody knocked on her door just as Alex was zipping up her sundress. She answered the door barefoot, her hair still damp. “Hey, handsome,” she said, opening the door wide for him to come in.

  “So this is what the inside looks like,” he said, looking around the room.

  “Oh, yeah, this is what I was trying to hide from you. Don’t you envy my yard-sale-chic decorating?”

  “It’s not that bad, Alex,” he said, looking at her sweetly.

  “When I broke up with my boyfriend he took all the good stuff, and I just haven’t made the effort. I’ll probably move when my lease is up in the fall anyways. I’ll get furniture then.”