Pale Wings Protecting

by Lesley Davis

  Blythe cocked her head and favored Daryl with a sparkling gaze. “You’d be amazed at what the DDU can do.”

  “Your funding must be astronomical.”

  “Our funding is something I don’t care to think about. I just do my job the best I can and apprehend the bad guys.”

  Daryl held up her beer bottle and they toasted to that.

  “So,” Blythe said, “do you think they’ll get us an apartment or a house to live in?”

  “I gave locations for both. I’m not sure.”

  “I’d prefer something with a yard.”

  Daryl blinked at her. “You like gardening?” She smiled when Blythe laughed at her. Blythe really did have a pretty laugh.

  “No, but it would give us the extra something of having a yard so a child can play in it.”

  Daryl considered this. “There were some apartment buildings that seemed to be communities in their own right. They had a communal garden area and a playground all in one place. That would work too.”

  “We have to think like a family would. Where would we want our child to grow up? Can she run and play safely there? Is it near a good school?”

  Daryl nodded, amazed at how much Blythe had already thought this through. “All I was thinking was to catch this person. I didn’t even think past a rudimentary cover story other than we wanted a kid together.”

  “That’s because you’re a detective. You think only in terms of discover, gather evidence, and arrest. At the DDU, it’s a little more…expansive. It’s going to be all about creating the illusion others have to be taken in by. We have to be the couple we say we are—wealthy, independent, wanting a child so badly to seal our love. Being desperate, at any cost, to get one.”

  “Your agents are going to do the follow-up work at the hospital for the kidnapper, yes?”

  “There are two investigations here. The kidnapper who takes the children is one, but then there’s also the baby broker angle. The kidnapper is dealing out babies. Taking them and selling them. Browning and Caldow will be checking into histories of the agencies in the Heights and seeing what the hospitals have to do with all this. I can’t help but wonder if the kidnapper pre-orders babies. We were talking about this in our meeting. What if they pick specific mothers out because of their coloring?”

  Daryl considered this. “Kind of like if one of the couple is a redhead, you pick a redheaded mother-to-be?”

  “Exactly.”

  “That’s a creepy thought. That’s a premeditated and borderline stalker M.O.”

  “I think we should ask for a baby that resembles you,” Blythe said. “Just imagine a baby with such spectacular coloring.”

  Daryl knew her face was burning like a beacon under Blythe’s direct scrutiny. “Why not want one to resemble you? You’re the dark to my light. Why wouldn’t we want a child who would follow your midnight shades?”

  Blythe smiled sweetly at her. “Midnight shades, eh? I usually get the Goth comments.”

  “Granted, your hair is black and you do have skin the color of fine porcelain. I don’t doubt you could carry off the Gothic look incredibly well if you so desired, but I don’t see that style on you.”

  “You’re a charmer, Detective Kent. I can see I’m going to have my work cut out with you,” Blythe murmured under her breath just loud enough for Daryl to hear. “I’d go for your coloring because it’s so unusual. You’re fair to the point of being almost white. That’s got to be specific enough to catch their attention. Either of our colorings would though.”

  “Have you ever wanted kids for real?”

  Blythe didn’t answer right away. “I’ve never really considered them, to be honest. I knew very early on I was a lesbian, so I knew I wouldn’t have children the old-fashioned way. I don’t think I’ve ever found someone I wanted to share such a commitment with.” She tilted her head slightly. “How about you?”

  Daryl laughed. “I’m not exactly the maternal type, but I like other people’s kids. I like holding them and handing them back. Besides, in this line of work you wonder if it’s worth bringing kids into a world like we see. One full of monsters…but of the human variety.”

  “How are your bosses with you taking so much time off to organize this operation in another state?”

  “They’re just thankful that when word gets out that there’s been a kidnapping ring operating for years right under everyone’s noses, at least it wasn’t in their state. Because these babies have been taken from single mothers who usually stay pretty low on the radar, and two of the mothers were prostitutes. Law enforcement in Connecticut has been sweeping it under the carpet so as not to cause panic. No one wants the mayor to have to announce that they have a baby snatcher in their fair city. I was called in to consult with the FBI, but once the feds got wind of that I was politely informed my type of investigating wasn’t required at this time.”

  “And just what is your type of investigating?” The light in Blythe’s eyes challenged Daryl to reveal all her secrets

  “Apparently different to everyone else’s. But no one brings these kind of cases to my door and then can honestly expect me to sit back and do nothing. Once I started to see a pattern forming in the abductions, I knew I couldn’t wait for any more children to be taken. The five I had already were plenty to warrant an investigation.”

  “You’re not looking to get promoted any time soon, then?”

  “I can’t play the team game they want me to. Not for the sake of these kids. Those women lost their babies. I don’t care if they are hardworking single mothers or prostitutes working the streets, they don’t deserve to have their babies snatched away from them.” Daryl took a deep breath to dampen her growing ire. “A couple of the women were frightened to come forward. They didn’t know who had taken their babies or if the police would even listen because of their jobs. When I began looking into it, the biggest rumor was an adoption agency was taking the kids to use for their clients. I have to hope that’s the right assumption because contemplating the other uses some people have for children keeps me awake at night. But that’s the direction the feds are taking. They don’t see the Cranston Heights connection; they’re following a trail that runs through each state instead.”

  Blythe rested her hand on top of Daryl’s shoulder. “You’ve got the DDU behind you now. We chase only facts and leave the politics to the politicians.”

  “Something tells me Nathan doesn’t stand for anyone interfering in his investigations. That’s why I decided to come to him.”

  “No, SSA Lake is not a man to mess with. He’s the best man to have guarding your back.”

  “I knew I had picked the right team to take this to. Maybe now I can start getting some concrete answers.”

  “And bring the guilty to trial.”

  “How long before we can take this assignment on the road?”

  “You’re awfully eager to set up home with me, Detective. I’ll take that as a positive sign,” Blythe teased her as she started to clean up the empty cartons.

  Daryl jumped up to help. “The police work I can handle. I’m more uncertain about the domestic bliss part. I haven’t exactly had much experience in that department.” She caught Blythe’s look. “But I promise I will treat you with the utmost respect.”

  “I have no doubt of that, Daryl, and you really need to stop worrying about my virtue in your hands.” She flashed Daryl a sly grin. “So to speak.” She stuffed the empty cartons into the trash can. “I can’t say I have any more experience in that department either. And yet here we are wanting to have a baby together. Guess we just skipped the U-Haul altogether.”

  Daryl laughed and finished helping Blythe clean up. “I’ve never even gotten that far.”

  “You don’t strike me as the player type.”

  “I’m not. I’m too job fixated to have the time to play the field.” Daryl wondered what it was about Blythe that made her feel comfortable telling her anything she asked. “It’s a lot to expect a woman to put up with the deman
ds of my job. Sometimes it’s easier to be alone.”

  Blythe nodded. “My traveling blows many a chance of a long-term relationship well out of the water. I can’t count the times I’ve gotten text messages complaining about my missing a date when I’m on the plane heading out to the next case.”

  “Do you regret that?”

  “I figure you can’t regret what you’ve never had,” Blythe said simply. “Or, at least, I never get the time to regret it.”

  Daryl just nodded. She wanted nothing less than what her mother and father had shared. His job had been police work, her mother was a teacher until her illness, but they had held their family together bound in love. Daryl wanted that for herself.

  Blythe reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. “Want to spend the night watching Nikita reruns?” She waved the bottle enticingly.

  “You like espionage?” Daryl followed after her, picking up the two glasses Blythe waved her toward.

  “Well, it doesn’t hurt that the leading lady is beautiful as well as smart.”

  Daryl couldn’t agree more, but her attention wasn’t on the TV. She tried not to be too obvious staring at Blythe and instead her eye caught a photograph on one of the shelves. She leaned in closer to inspect it. “Who’s the cat lady?” she asked, smiling in reaction to the comically exasperated look on the woman’s face in the photo. An obviously rambunctious black kitten was perched on her shoulder with a paw placed squarely on the woman’s cheek.

  Blythe peered over Daryl’s shoulder. “God, she’d be mad if she heard you call her that. That is my best friend with the cat I got her.”

  “You gave her a cat?”

  Blythe picked up the photo and handed it to Daryl for closer inspection. “She’s a detective in charge of the Chicago DDU now, but when she was a cop she seemed so…” Blythe hesitated, apparently searching for just the right word, “lonely, I guess. I wanted her to have a friendly face to come home to, and after a really bad case she was involved in, I decided a pet would fit the bill.”

  “She obviously didn’t mind.”

  “Oh, she complained and fussed for a good hour about what in the hell she was supposed to do with some damn furball, but once the cat sat in her lap and purred, she was sold.” Blythe pointed to the photo. “This is Trinity with her pet, Detective Rafe Douglas. Rafe and I went through the academy together. She is a sweetheart, underneath her strictly by the book way of policing.”

  “A stickler for the rules? I like her already.”

  “Everything is black or white with Rafe and the law is absolute.” Blythe turned away and sat down.

  Daryl put the picture back and joined her on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”

  “She was attacked recently by a suspect in a murder, and he almost killed her. Since then, when we’ve talked she seems different, knocked off center almost.”

  “A trauma will do that to a person. Sometimes something bad will make you question your purpose in the world. Losing my mother did it for me. Before she died, I was tied to my desk, passing paperwork back and forth. Then these cases came along, and I knew I had to act on it. Losing your mother, whatever age you do it, is the cruelest blow, and I knew I couldn’t sit back and let this happen to these kids. So here I am, a year later, out of my comfort zone about to embark on an operation that I have instigated against the feds’ wishes. It’s a scary venture and I’m sorry for dragging you into it. But I need your team’s help. Those children do too.” She settled on the sofa next to Blythe as if it was something she did every night. Blythe filled her glass with wine. “So here’s to us and this partnership.”

  “To our being successful partners in every sense of the word.”

  *

  After finishing up a call with Trace who, much to Blythe’s amusement, was on a fact-finding mission to see what Blythe had found out about Daryl already, Blythe settled down to sleep. She listened to the unfamiliar sounds of someone else moving around her house. She pictured Daryl’s solid frame trying to fit into her small bathroom and had to grin. Her mind drifted as she tried to imagine what Daryl chose to sleep in, and she wasn’t surprised when her breathing sped up at the thought of Daryl naked.

  Groaning softly, Blythe put a hand on her stomach to quell the butterflies stirring. Like this case isn’t going to be difficult enough without me fantasizing about the woman I have to work with and pretend to be her lover. She shivered as a thought struck her. I’m going to have to kiss her.

  Her hand shifted a little lower, and her body twitched at the thought of their lips touching. “God,” Blythe grumbled. “Just a few hours in her company and I’m all hot and bothered over her. Some professional I am.” Her ears strained to hear Daryl’s footsteps padding across the landing leading to the spare bedroom. She hardly breathed as she listened to the soft shuffles from the room next to her own. The sound of the bed springs depressing finally let Blythe release a soft breath. She curled up on her side and screwed her eyes shut tight. Please let us solve this case fast before I make an absolute fool of myself over her.

  Chapter Five

  Daryl was up early the next morning, fixing coffee and poring over the morning newspaper. When Blythe came downstairs to join her, Daryl was already working her way through the cryptic crossword puzzle. She looked up and greeted Blythe. “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind.” She held up the newspaper. “I availed myself of your puzzle page.”

  “I never do them so knock yourself out.”

  Daryl had prepared enough coffee for both of them and watched as Blythe liberally laced hers with cream and sugar. “I like tackling a puzzle in a morning. It gets my brain cells working.”

  Blythe moved to see what Daryl was doing. “Oh my God, it’s way too early to be attempting cryptic clues.”

  “But they’re the best sort.”

  “Don’t you get enough of solving things at work?” Blythe drank deeply from her mug and let out an appreciative moan. “God, this is good coffee.”

  Daryl’s body tingled at the sound Blythe released. Daryl wondered if that sound would be anything like Blythe sounded in more intimate surroundings. She forced herself to act normal and not give in to the urge to lick away the slight remains of cream that clung to Blythe’s lips. “I’ve always been fascinated by puzzles. I like the ones you have to work out mentally more than the ones you work by hand. I still can’t figure out a Rubik’s cube.”

  “I’ll make sure we have a newspaper delivered to our assigned home so you have a crossword regularly to start your day.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you.”

  “I figure if I’m asking for cable TV, the least we can do for you is supply you with a newspaper.”

  “This assignment is a whole lot bigger than I probably imagined, yes?”

  “I think it’s safe to say that this isn’t going to be an easy assignment where we just go in, find the bad guy, and move on to the next case. We’ve got to create a whole relationship between us and make it wholly believable. The people of the Heights have to believe we’re a couple with no hidden agenda or secrets to hide. Then we have to sell that same story to the adoption agencies because we have to be convincing that, more than anything in the world, we want a child together.”

  “Is there anything you want that much?” Daryl asked.

  “Contentment,” Blythe said. “I think I’d like to be happy with all aspects of my life. So how about you, Detective? What’s your heart’s desire?”

  “I want these kidnappings solved.”

  “But what about you?”

  Daryl hesitated, not really sure how to answer. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself outside of my job, to be honest. I’m the daughter of a cop whose only dream in life was to follow in her father’s footsteps.”

  “Well, you have to convince people that you want to be a mommy with me so I think we need to see more of who Daryl is without the badge.”

  “I knew I should have delegated this job.”

  “And miss out
on all the fun we’re going to have?” Blythe patted her on the shoulder. “No way, sweetheart. You and I are going to be partners in every sense of its definition for this assignment.”

  Daryl’s head snapped up at the endearment that so easily rolled from Blythe’s tongue. She fought against the blush she knew was coloring her cheeks.

  “Do you mind being called sweetheart?” Blythe moved around the kitchen gathering up fruit while Daryl sat watching her. “Or would you prefer lover? Or there’s honey?”

  The words captured Daryl’s imagination as she listened to each one spoken in Blythe’s rich tones.

  “Daryl?”

  Daryl jerked and felt foolish at her attention visibly wandering as she met Blythe’s concerned look. “I’ll answer to anything you call me,” she said.

  Blythe shot her a warm smile. “Really? Well then, I’ll have to try them all on you until we find one that fits you just right. Not everyone is a honeypie.”

  Daryl knew she was staring as Blythe continued to putter around the kitchen. Oh God, I think this investigation might be more than I can handle. I’ll end up demoted back to a beat cop busting careless drivers. I haven’t been anyone’s honey for a long time. How can I convince people I’m worthy of being someone’s lover when I’m not sure of it myself?

  “Stuck on a clue there?” Blythe asked, glancing over her shoulder at Daryl.

  “I’m realizing things aren’t as simple as I’d imagined.”

  “You’re not talking about your crossword, are you?”

  Daryl wasn’t surprised by how astute Blythe could be. “Am I going to regret being partnered with a very proficient profiler? Does this mean I’m going to have no secrets whatsoever around you?”

  Blythe laughed softly. “Profiling is just one part of my job. If I can’t work out all your secrets with that skill, I’ll just employ one of the other investigative talents I possess to wheedle it out of you instead.”