“I mean, I wasn’t getting any headaches, so I stopped taking the pills.”
“What the hell do you mean you stopped taking them? Have you lost your damn mind?” Roger screamed.
“Hey, stop yelling at him like that! Maybe if you paid more attention to what was going on in his life and less attention to entertaining your little slutty girlfriends, this would have never happened!”
“Amber, it’s none of your business who I keep time with! We’re not married anymore!” Amber’s nostril’s flared. She gritted her teeth and balled her fists up so tight, that her nails dug into her palms. She raised her finger to say something to Roger but balked when she saw the look on her son’s face.
“Ryan, go outside so me and your father can talk. No–– scratch that,” she said when she remembered that there were two scantily clad dressed females outside. “Go upstairs.”
“How come he can’t go back outside?” Roger asked. He knew exactly what Amber was doing and he didn’t like it. In his opinion, boys would be boys and he didn’t see anything wrong with Ryan entertaining the young girl.
“Because I told him to go upstairs!” Knowing that he wasn’t about to win this battle, Roger threw up his hands. He watched as Ryan trotted up the stairs and into his room. Before Amber could begin reading Roger the riot act, the sliding glass door opened and the woman who’d been lying next to Roger stuck her head inside.
“Roger, baby, how much longer are you going to be in here? I’m getting lonely out here?”
“Just give me a few minutes, Janice. I’ll be back out in a bit.”
The woman shrugged and headed back to the pool area. She purposely left the sliding glass door cracked, attempting to hear what was being said. Not missing a beat, Amber quickly went over and slammed it shut.
“Nosy heifer,” she said loud enough for Janice to hear it. After closing the door, Amber walked over to Roger and raised her finger. She was so close to him, that she could look up and see his nose hairs.
“Let me tell you something, Roger. I don’t give a damn what sluts you have patrolling in and out of here, as long as my son isn’t affected by it,” she hissed.
Roger folded his arms and cocked his head to the side. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were jealous.”
A low snicker emitted from Amber’s mouth. It soon turned into full-blown laughter. It continued for another ten seconds before she spoke again.
“Roger, let me tell you something. You can bring Ms. America in here and there would be no way I would be jealous, and do you know why? Because I don’t give a damn about anything you do. You know, I’m starting to regret letting him live here.”
“Regret letting him live here? Okay, Amber, now you sound crazy.”
“Why? Because I don’t want my son to pick up on your womanizing ways?” Before Roger could answer the question, the sliding doors opened again.
“Rooggerrr,” Janice said sexily.
“What the hell do you want?” Amber snapped. She didn’t have anything against the woman personally, but she was starting to get on her nerves.
“Excuse you?”
“I said, what the hell do you want? Don’t you see we’re discussing our son?”
“First of all, I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to Roger!”
“Well, bitch, I was talking to you. Take your ass back outside and wait!”
Before Roger could stop her, Janice had stomped over to Amber and got in her face. “What the hell did you just call me?” she asked.
“I think you heard me, and you need to get out of my face!”
“And what if I don’t?”
Roger extended his arms between the two women and tried to push them apart. It was a little more difficult than he anticipated, as each woman stood her ground.
“Roger, you better get your little girlfriend before I—” Amber didn’t have time to finish her sentence as Janice roared and swung a wild right hand in her direction. Being the skilled cop that she was, Amber easily ducked the oncoming blow. As fast as lightning, she grabbed Janice’s arm and twisted it behind her back. Janice howled in pain.
“Wow! Really Roger? You’re dating a chick who assaults a police officer?”
“Police officer? Roger, you didn’t tell me she was a police officer.”
“Yes, she is, and guess what? You’re going to jail for assault, Ms. Thing.”
“Oh, come on, Amber, do we really have to do this?” Roger whined.
He’d been seeing Janice for a couple of weeks and was hoping that tonight was the night she would let him score. Now, because of her temper, that didn’t seem to be in the cards. Amber smiled as she reached behind her back and pulled out a set of handcuffs. After clamping them on her wrists, Amber shoved her down into a chair.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Amber began.
“Roger, please. Don’t let her do this to me,” Janice cried.
“Okay hold up. Amber can I talk to you in the other room, please?”
Amber glared at Janice as Roger led her through a foyer and into another room. After coming to a stop, he wheeled to face her and held up his hands.
“Amber, I’m sorry. She does have a slight temper.”
“What the hell are you sorry for? She’s the one who attacked a police detective.”
“Amber, she didn’t know you were a cop.”
“And that makes it okay?”
“No, it doesn’t, and I apologize for it. Please don’t arrest her.”
Amber stared at Roger, deciding whether she would do him a favor or run the woman in. It was her sworn duty to put criminals in jail, but because she wanted to prove a point, she was going to let Janice slide. . .this time.
“I’ll tell you what, Roger. Even though I know you’re going to be banging that tramp later tonight, I’m going to cut her some slack. The last thing I want is for you to think I’m jealous of any broad you bring over here. Our marriage is done, so I don’t give a damn what you do. But just know this. If I get just one inkling that my son is being affected by you rolling your little playmates through here, I’m coming after you for custody of him. Oh, and one more thing. That young redhead has to go, or your little playmate goes to jail.”
Without saying another word, Amber turned and walked back into the room where Janice was handcuffed. She looked down at the woman’s tear-streaked face and grunted a laugh.
“Guess what? Today’s your lucky day. Because I don’t feel like filling out paperwork for the next two hours, I’m going to cut you some slack.”
Amber leaned down and got nose to nose with Janice before issuing her next statement.
“But if you ever try to attack me again, not only will I take your ass to jail. I’ll beat the brakes off you before I do. Are we clear?”
Janice’s head slowly nodded up and down.
“Good.” Amber yanked Janice up rougher than she had to. She then spun her around and took off the handcuffs.
“Now go back outside while I finish talking to my son’s father.”
Janice rubbed her wrists as she made her back outside. Every second or two, she would send a wicked glare Amber’s way. When she was completely out of the house, Amber turned to Roger and told him in no uncertain terms that she would be keeping an eye on how he behaved around her son. She then walked up the steps and knocked on Ryan’s door, and she didn’t give a care in the world whether Roger liked it or not. Five minutes into her conversation with him, her cell phone went off.
25
Dusk had nearly descended upon the Ohio streets when Amber pulled into the crowded parking lot of Johnny Blue’s. Johnny Blue’s was a sport’s bar located in the city of Beachwood, roughly ten and a half miles, or twenty-seven minutes from the city of Cleveland, provided you were driving instead off taking the bus. Beachwood was an upscale neighborhood where many white-collar workers resided. Because it was such a low crime area, the running joke for years was that the Euclid Police Department was pretty much paid just to
sit around and eat doughnuts. However, neither the mayor nor anyone on the Police Force took it personally. All parties involved knew that it was in good fun, and it actually added a sense of levity to an already dangerous and stressful occupation. Although the two Police Forces had sporadically butted heads in the past, the two divisions respected each other immensely. Franklin Stone had quite a few friends that worked in the Police Department, and the majority of them frequently visited Johnny Blues. In his opinion, it was a good a place as any to inform Amber of his newest thoughts concerning the murder investigations.
After cutting the engine, Amber took a deep breath, leaned back, and closed her eyes. It had been a long day, and instead of soaking in her tube listening to some H.E.R with a glass of wine in her hand, she was sitting in the parking lot of Johnny Blue’s, nursing a slight headache. She didn’t understand why Frank couldn’t simply give her the information over the phone but arguing with the senior detective wasn’t a wise move.
“I could use a drink,” she mumbled as she thought back to her spat with Roger. She couldn’t believe that he’d had the nerve to allow their teenage son to be hugged up with some floozy in his swimming pool. The young woman had her arms wrapped around Ryan’s neck looking like she was two seconds from sticking her tongue down his throat. Amber had seen that movie before, and it almost always ended with the girl getting pregnant.
“I am entirely too young to be a grandmother,” she’d told Ryan just before leaving her ex’s house. Five minutes had passed before Amber got out of her vehicle and made her way toward the entrance. The closer she got to the door, the more relaxed she began to feel, as the smooth sounds of jazz leaked into her ears and massaged her eardrums. A light smile creased the corners of her mouth as she entered. It had been a while since Amber had been to Johnny Blue’s, so she’d forgotten about the strict music code the owner enforced. Tow days out of the week, Johnny employed a DJ from the hours of seven to eleven. Tonight happened to be jazz night. The next night would be R&B night. However, the one hard rule Johnny had, was that under no circumstance was rap music allowed to be played. Speculation and rumors swirled about why Johnny had instituted this rule, but the simple fact of the matter was, he just didn’t like rap. To be perfectly blunt, he hated it. At a time like this, that was more than okay with Amber. Although she did have a generous amount of rap songs downloaded onto the iTunes account of her cell phone, she had no desire to listen to Drake, Trilly Hydro, or any other of the new wave artists at this moment.
The second she entered the bar, the entire ambiance of Johnny Blue’s calmed her spirit. She inhaled sharply and caught an intoxicating whiff of the barbecue wings that were being prepared for some lucky customer. It was only then that her stomach reminded her that she’d been neglecting it. She thought back to the last time she’d eaten something and realized that her last meal had been a Three Musketeer’s bar four hours earlier.
Amber’s eyes darted around the facility until she spotted Frank. He was sitting at the end of the bar, sipping a tall mug of beer. She smiled as she took in his masculine physique and confident posture. She wanted so badly to tell him how she felt about him but knew that she couldn’t. . .at least not yet. She had to wait and see if things would fall into place, but for now she would continue to be his partner in the fight against crime.
“Hey,” she said as she slid onto the stool next to him.
“Hey. You okay?” Frank asked.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Amber asked.
“I don’t know. You just sounded a little upset when I called you. That’s why I insisted that you meet me here instead of telling you on the phone. You sounded like you needed a drink.”
“Do I ever.”
Frank motioned for the bartender to come over. He chugged down the rest of his beer down and set the empty mug on the bar.
“Another one, Frank?”
“Yep. Get the lady one too.”
“No problem. Oh, hey, Amber. Long time, no see,” the bartender said when he noticed her.
“What’s going on Charlie?”
“Nothing but the rent, pretty lady.”
“Hell, Charlie, that’s going on for all of us,” Frank said, laughing.
“I guess you got a point there.”
“You know what Charlie? I don’t want a beer. Bring me a Chocolate Martini, and could you please put in an order of barbecue wings for me? I’m starving!”
“You got it, Amber.” Charlie then picked up Frank’s empty mug and scurried away to get their drinks. He’d been tending bar at Johnny Blue’s long enough to know when two officers wanted to have a private conversation.
“So, what’s this earth-shattering theory you’ve come up with?” Amber asked.
Frank smiled as he stood up from the bar stool. “I’ll tell you when I get back,” he said.
“When you get back? Where the hell are you going?”
“To the bathroom, but while I’m gone, I want you to think about the case. What’s the one thing that both of the murders have in common? If you figure it out before I get back, your drink and your wings are on me.”
Frank smiled even harder as he walked away. He loved challenging his partner in that manner. One thing he could be assured of though, was that she was up for the test. He could tell from the second he talked to her on the phone that she was under some stress, so he decided that he would get her mind off whatever was ailing her and force her to concentrate on something productive.
Frank hadn’t been gone ten seconds before a short, bald man came and plopped down next to Amber. Amber rolled her eyes and turned to look at the television hanging on the wall behind the bar. She could feel his eyes roaming over her body but continued to ignore him. She was hoping that he would get the hint and leave her alone, but unfortunately, she was his choice for the night.
“Good evening, gorgeous. What’s shaking?” he said.
“Thanks Charlie,” Amber said, shortly after the bartender set her drink down. Charlie shot a look toward the man. He tried to get his attention so that he could give him a friendly warning, but the man’s eyes continued to be glued to Amber. When the guy wouldn’t look at him, Charlie gave up, shrugged his shoulders, and walked away. Since he didn’t recognize the man, Charlie knew that he was probably either new to the area or had never visited Johnny Blues before. If he had, he would have known that it wasn’t the typical bar where you pick up women.
“Chocolate Martini, huh? Looks like someone has had a hell of a day.” The man pressed on.
Tiring of the stranger’s flirting, Amber turned to him and gave him a chilly look cold enough to freeze fire.
“Someone’s sitting there,” she said coldly.
“I know. Me,” the man said smugly. “Look baby, why don’t we get out of here and go back to my place?”
“I’d like to, but I have something more important to do tonight.”
“Now, what could you have to do that’s more important than spending time with a great guy like me?”
“Anything. Now beat it.”
The man’s smile, which was charming at first, slowly faded and was replaced by an evil grin. A vein creased the middle of his forehead, and his light skin turned red with embarrassment.
“Oh, I see you’re one of those type of broads, huh?”
“What type of broad?”
“The ones that think they’re better than everyone else.”
“Look, mister. I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but I suggest you—”
Before Amber could finish her sentence, the man grabbed her wrist. Had he taken a quick look around the place, he would have seen that every set of eyes in the bar was now staring at him. Amber stared at his hand for a few seconds and then raised her eyes to meet his.
“Mister,” she began, “you have exactly three seconds to take your hands off me.”
“Oh yeah? And what if I don’t?”
“If you don’t, by the time the ambulance gets you to the hospital, they’
ll have to piece your body back together,” Frank said, approaching the bar.
“What the hell do you have to do with it?”
The man flinched when Frank reached into his coat. His eyes got wide when he saw the gold shield clutched in Frank’s palm.
“Damn,” the man said, knowing that he’d messed up. His luck quickly went from bad to worse. Upon hearing Amber whistle, he looked back to her and saw the same kind of shield swinging from a chain clutched in her hand. The look in her eyes told him that he might have made a bad decision. Slowly, he released her wrist.
“You know, you’re the second person today to try to assault a police officer. I let the last one slide. Tell me why I should let you get away with it.”
“Officer, I—”
“Detective!” she corrected him.
“Okay, look, Detective. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were—”
The man never got a chance to finish his sentence before Amber backhanded him to the floor. It was unacceptable behavior for an officer of the law, and she knew it. Luckily, she had an out. The fact that the man had grabbed her wrist made her striking him a matter of self-defense. With a snarl on his face, the man got up and stared daggers at her.
“Buddy, I think it’s time for you to leave,” Frank said, sliding between Amber and the man. The man gave Amber one last look before exiting the bar. Frank looked back at Amber and shook his head.
“I can’t leave you alone for five minutes,” he said, sitting back down on the stool next to her.
“Hey, I was just sitting here minding my own damn business. Charlie here can vouch for me, right Charlie?”
“Absolutely, Detective.”
Amber held her hands open as if to say, “I told you.” She then reached down, picked up her drink, and took a healthy sip.
“I hope those wings are coming soon, Charlie. I’m about to starve to death.” Right on cue, a cute waitress with straight blond hair sauntered over carrying a tray filled with Amber’s food. As soon as she set it down, Amber dug in.
“Charlie, have you ever seen that guy in here before?”
“Nope.”
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