by Lesley Davis
“Guess I’ll be packing my Spear of Light,” Rafe sighed.
“If we can just banish this demon we won’t even have to disturb Blythe’s reality.”
“Can we still go see her though?” Rafe thought about how long it had been since she’d seen Blythe and was aware she’d really like to catch up. She was excited to introduce her to Ashley too. She made a mental note to take a new picture of Trinity with her phone so she could show Blythe that the damn cat she’d gotten her was still the best gift she’d ever received.
As if reading her thoughts, Ashley asked, “Have you got someone to look after Trinity while we’re away?”
“God damn it!” was answer enough.
“That’s okay; I’ve asked a friend to do it.”
“You’ve roped in Eli, haven’t you?” Rafe shook her head at Ashley’s unrepentant nod. “You can’t make an angel feed a cat while we’re away!”
“Why not? He knows how to use a can opener.”
“He’s an angel!”
“And Trinity is one of God’s creatures.” Ashley stepped out of the elevator as it reached the necessary floor. “Besides, Trinity loves Eli.”
“That’s because she thinks he’s a fucking huge bird with those massive wings he sports. She’s just waiting to pounce on him like prey when he’s not looking.” Rafe had seen the cat eyeing Eli when he came to visit with Ashley. She knew Trinity didn’t just rub on him for cat treats.
“They’ll bond. It will be sweet.”
“You make it sound like we’re trying to integrate our kids so they’ll get along and we can have peace.”
Ashley laughed and sat in a seat outside Detective Stephanie Powell’s office. She settled in to wait. “Go get your boss to sign you over to my team for a few days. We have things to do, places to be, demons to banish.”
“This is so not the dirty weekend Dean wished for me.”
“I’ll see what I can do to fulfill your quota of down and dirty, Detective.”
Rafe was thankful for the appearance of DS Powell’s secretary who came out of one office and ushered her into another to be seen. Rafe hastily gathered her thoughts to find the most suitable way to ask for a few days off that didn’t involve too much of the truth.
Chapter Thirteen
Serena Miller of Miller’s Adoptions took copious notes. Daryl watched her as everything they said was written down. She liked how Serena listened, that she wasn’t condescending, and was friendly but still entirely professional. Daryl felt herself relax as the tight band in her chest she had endured in every agency before loosened a little in Serena’s presence. They’d gone over many of the same details that the previous agencies had requested. Here their bank balance had been given a cursory glance, noted, then moved past. Daryl took in the details of Serena Miler. She was small, slender, and had blond hair several shades darker than Daryl’s. She was pretty, well dressed but not too showy for a woman well into her forties. Daryl liked that for all her professionalism she could still smile and make the intense interrogation not so much of the trial it had been at the previous agencies.
“Well, there’s no doubt in my mind that you two are in love,” Serena said, laughing softly at Daryl’s flush of embarrassment at being caught staring at Blythe while she answered a question.
“Oh, it’s been obvious right from the start for us,” Blythe said, clasping Daryl’s hand in her own.
Serena picked up their medical files, and her eyes were filled with sympathy. “Oh, you poor dears. How much pain you had to go through, both of you, to know neither of you could have children.”
Daryl knew what was written in the files. Blythe had been diagnosed with endometriosis. The report spoke of the mass of scarring that affected Blythe’s eggs from going to her fallopian tubes. For herself, she’d been given polycystic ovarian syndrome, with its irregular menstrual cycles and an increase in male hormones. Daryl thought that was a nice touch with her being so much more masculine looking than Blythe. She heard Blythe’s voice hitch as she told Serena about how much they’d both wished for a baby but had realized that physically, for both of them, it was never meant to be. The pain in Blythe’s voice tore at Daryl’s heart, and she couldn’t look away from her. Just hearing the distress in Blythe’s tone and watching her fight back tears upset Daryl immensely. She was startled as tears welled up in her own eyes and she had to swallow hard against a sob that threatened to break free from her chest. She brushed at her face quickly, but her actions were spotted.
“I’m sorry this is so rough on you both.” Serena leaned over her desk toward them.
Blythe snagged a tissue from her purse and handed it to Daryl. “You’d think we’d be used to it, but knowing how much we want a child together and having neither of us able to carry one is the cruelest thing of all.” She brushed at her own face and lifted Daryl’s hand to her cheek. “It’s okay, baby, I promise. We’ll be okay.”
Blythe’s soft voice was nearly Daryl’s undoing. She blinked back a fresh wave of tears and scrambled to her feet abruptly. “Is there a bathroom I can use, please?” she asked gruffly, not trusting her voice any further.
“Down the hallway to the right, Daryl,” Serena said. “Take your time.”
Daryl squeezed Blythe’s hand, gave her a watery smile, and escaped the room. She was mortified by her reaction in the interview. The medical files aren’t even real. Blythe getting upset on their behalf had obviously touched a nerve in Daryl she wasn’t aware she had exposed. She found the women’s bathroom easily and rushed inside. She forced the tap on and splashed her face with cold water, wondering where the emotion had come from. She wasn’t known for getting upset easily. Was she taking the undercover role too far? Daryl soaked her face again and reached for a handful of paper towels.
The door behind her swung open, startling Daryl.
“Oh, sorry!” A small, mousey blond woman halted in the middle of the bathroom. “Are you okay?”
Daryl finished wiping her face dry. “Yes, thank you. I’m just a little…overwhelmed by this whole adoption process.”
The woman stepped closer and patted Daryl’s arm. “I understand. I’ve worked here a while. It’s not an easy process to get to what you want most.”
“I just needed to clear my head a little.” Daryl threw away the towels and tried to get herself back together. She felt curiously calm again, as if nothing had happened.
“I know that feeling.” The woman tapped at the dark glasses she wore. “I’ve been skirting a migraine all day. This is the only room in the whole building where the lights aren’t incessantly bright.” She shuffled closer to Daryl to impart a secret. “But there are only so many times I can leave my desk to escape into here without someone drawing attention to it and asking about my bladder weakness.”
Daryl smiled. “I hope your headache eases soon.”
“And I hope you get the child you deserve.”
As Daryl left the bathroom, she paused at the woman’s parting words. She turned to thank her, but she had ducked into a bathroom stall so Daryl left her in her privacy.
*
“You were brilliant!” Blythe crowed, hugging her tightly as they reached their car after leaving the agency. “Absolutely brilliant!” Her face shone with her happiness and Daryl was dazzled by her beauty once again. She melted into the hug and accepted it, for whatever reason she was receiving it.
“Why? What did I do?”
Blythe leaned back in Daryl’s arms and beamed. “Getting emotional was a stroke of genius. Serena thought you were so sweet. She loved that you were as emotionally involved as I am.”
“She didn’t say anything when I came back.”
“She’d told me that people who can show their emotions are the better parents.” Blythe squeezed Daryl close once more then took the alarm off their car. She guided Daryl inside solicitously, leaving her a little confused and unsure what had transpired.
“If they have parking lot cameras, I’m making sure they see how swee
t we are together,” Blythe explained once seated in the driver’s seat. “What kind of lover would I be if I didn’t give my girl a reassuring hug?” She patted Daryl’s knee with glee. “You totally blew me away. I never thought to use your tears as leverage.”
“Glad to have helped,” Daryl muttered. “I don’t honestly know what came over me.” She was still confused by her reaction. She couldn’t remember the last time she had cried. It had to have been at the loss of her mother. She wasn’t known to show much emotion, especially one that ended with her in tears.
“Well, you made quite the impression on Serena. She told me I was lucky to have such a tender sweetheart.” Blythe guided the car out of the lot and onto the main road.
“She was the nicest of all the agencies we’ve investigated. I noticed she didn’t make as big a deal of our finances like the other two did. She was more interested in us as a couple.”
“Yes, she asked a lot of personal questions, which I think we aced, by the way.”
Daryl had to laugh at how smug Blythe was acting. “You do realize that we’re not really trying to adopt a child here?”
“If we were, we would be a shoo-in at that agency. I can tell.” Momentarily, Blythe took her eye off the road ahead. “What upset you so much, Daryl?”
“I honestly have no idea. I never react like I did in that office. It was…a touch bizarre.”
“You’re not a big crier?”
“Nope, I didn’t even shed a tear at the movie Titanic.”
Blythe acted scandalized. “You are heartless!”
“It was hard to be shocked by the film when you kind of knew the ship was going to sink no matter how attractive Kate Winslet was.”
“So today was what? PMS?”
“Not that I’m aware of. I just must have bought into the story and emotion of our apparent inability to have children.”
“It breaks my heart to think that there really are women out there that suffer with the symptoms you had mocked up for us.” Blythe stopped at a traffic light. “Do you know I have no idea if I can actually have children myself? I’ve never considered being a mother so it never even crossed my mind that I might not be able to.”
“My dad would love grandkids,” Daryl mused. “But he figured very early on that he’d never get them from me.”
“This case is making me want too many things that I never thought I’d want,” Blythe said then seemed to realize she’d spoken aloud. Daryl laid a hand on Blythe’s thigh to reassure her.
“It’s okay. I’m all twisted up and bent out of shape with this assignment too. At least you’re not the one having an unexpected crying episode while trying to be professional undercover.”
“I’ll protect your butch image and tell the team you faked it to leave the room so I could talk alone with Ms. Miller.”
Daryl squeezed Blythe’s thigh in thanks. “Maybe my blood sugar is low. Could you eat pizza?”
“I’ve never known anyone to eat so much and stay so buff. You want pizza now?”
“We could eat early then report to Lake afterward. I think we deserve a treat after being placed under the microscope by three agencies in as many days.”
“Pizza it is.”
“With ice cream to follow?”
“I guess I can pander to your sweet tooth too,” Blythe said with a smile.
“You’re the best wife ever. “
“You bet I am, sweetie. Your momma would be proud of your choice.”
My mother would have loved you as much as I’m starting to. Daryl stared out the windshield blindly as her words sunk into her brain. God, my hormones must be wreaking havoc today. I feel like I’m acting so out of character that I don’t know who I am anymore. She closed her eyes against the sunlight as it streamed into the car. Or, it would seem, who I want to really be when I’m around Blythe.
Chapter Fourteen
Daryl clicked open another e-mail from her inbox. There were still no results back from the DNA testing of Heather’s pacifier as yet. Lake had also forwarded all the findings on the background checks on the adoption agencies. She rested her chin on her fist and scoured every word for a clue.
“I can hear you sighing from the kitchen.” Blythe entered the office carrying cups of freshly brewed coffee. She set one down before Daryl and leaned over her shoulder to read what was on the screen. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised to see that Mr. Grace has had employees reporting him for sexual harassment.”
“The guy was a sleazeball, but it says here he was never charged.”
“He’s in a position of power and has quite a standing in the community. He’s not going to let that kind of mud stick to his reputation. I bet Trace had to dig deep to unearth it.”
“A man who covers up this many reports could be hiding other stuff too.” Daryl took a sip of her drink. “Thank you for this. I was beginning to run on empty.” She felt the warmth of Blythe’s hand on her shoulder. She swore the touch seared right through to her skin. “Hunt seems squeaky clean. I’m kind of disappointed. I’d expected a little vigilante work on the side from her. You know, crashing Gay Pride rallies, that kind of thing.”
“She’s probably afraid that if she got close to that many gays and lesbians it would be contagious.”
Daryl searched more of the report, but it didn’t tell them anything more they could use. “There’s very little on Miller here either. I think I’m going to have to do a little follow-up of my own.”
“Who are you going to investigate, fair detective?” Blythe ran her fingers gently through Daryl’s hair.
“Claire.” Daryl was distracted by the hypnotizing brush of Blythe’s fingers across her scalp. She wanted to close her eyes in bliss and turn into a boneless mass under every touch. She tried to keep her focus on the job, but it was proving less important with every pass of Blythe’s gentle hand.
“She did seem to be trying not to have Liz say anything too damning, didn’t she?”
“But I didn’t get the impression Liz knew anything. So what does Claire know about the adoption that Liz was kept in the dark about?” Daryl knew if she were a cat she’d be purring up a storm as Blythe never stopped her soft caress.
“How would you play it? You can’t exactly tell her that you could pick out every tell she had that gave her away.”
Daryl chuckled. “Every tell. You’re such a profiler, noting every tic and twitch that gives away that a person is lying.”
“You noticed it too. You’re wasted in Vermont, Detective. You’d be a valuable asset to my team.”
“Has Lake given you instructions to soften me up toward that possibility?” She couldn’t help herself; she leaned her head further into Blythe’s touch.
“No, my softening you up is all for my own benefit.” Blythe removed her hand, but before Daryl could protest, Blythe’s soft lips captured her own. Daryl moaned into the gentle kiss.
“No one’s watching us here, Agent,” Daryl whispered as they finally drew apart.
“Then that kiss must have been just between you and me.” With a smile that caused Daryl’s body to tighten in desire, Blythe moved away to her own seat. “You said you were going to talk with Claire? When do you intend to do that?”
Daryl stared at her, feeling the lingering touch of Blythe’s lips imprinted on her own. “I suddenly find I have other ideas running through my head.”
Blythe smiled at her. “What happened to putting the case first?”
“I was all set to do that, but then you kissed me out of character. Now all I want is to carry you upstairs to that big bed of yours and make you mine for real.” Daryl watched Blythe’s face warm, and her eyes grew smoky with desire. Daryl thought she looked more beautiful than ever. Seduced by her scent and mesmerized by the half smile that curved her lips, Daryl wanted her. She was half out of her seat when the phone rang beside her. The glare she leveled at it should have blown the offending object into smithereens. It was Blythe who reached over to answer it.
“C
aldow, what do you have?”
Daryl sank back onto her chair. She surprised herself by how much she needed Blythe and needed her right this second. She concentrated on bringing her breathing back to a normal rate and tried to listen objectively to Blythe’s side of the conversation. She and Caldow were discussing Claire and Liz.
“Thanks for that. I think Daryl is going to see if she can get Claire to open up a little more. She was obviously hiding something and that withdrawal would support it.” Blythe replaced the receiver. “Eighty thousand dollars was withdrawn from Claire’s private account the day before they got Justin. There is no record of what that money was used for. They didn’t have any work done to their home, there was no new cars purchased, and Caldow says there is no proof whatsoever of Claire leading a double life with another woman. There’s nothing to show for where it went.”
“You think it was payment for a stolen baby? That’s some serious money to lay down.”
“You’d pay the highest asking price to get what you desire the most. What was it Liz said? Some agencies charge double, sometimes triple if they sense you’re desperate enough. So was she aware of the money being used to buy their child? Liz wanted a baby desperately; Claire got one for her. She wiped out her savings for that child of theirs.”
“It’s the price of building a family. I don’t have that kind of money, and I doubt the credit cards furnished by the DDU would stretch to that kind of purchase.”
“If we need the money, then we’ll find it. Looks like it’s the price you pay to get the child of your dreams.”
“While unknowingly taking it away from its real mother.” Daryl looked up at Blythe’s silence and found her studying her. “What?”
“I’m not sorry for kissing you. It seemed natural and necessary. I can’t help myself around you.”
“I’m finding it hard too. We’re blurring the lines between what we’re portraying and what I’d like us to be doing together in reality.”
Blythe reached across the desk and rested her hand on top of Daryl’s. “Would you think less of me if I admitted I’m actually dreading this case coming to a close?”