by K. C. Crowne
“Hey, Rene,” he said, smiling nonchalantly at me, then glancing at Jenny. “Hey there. I’m Martin.” He held his hand out, and Jenny shook it.
“I’m Jenny. Are you my mom’s friend?” Jenny asked, glancing at me curiously.
“He works with me,” I said through clenched teeth before he could answer. I glared at him, furious that he had shoved himself into my daughter’s awareness. “I’ll see you at work, Martin.”
He smirked at me, completely unbothered by my rudeness. “What are you two up to today?”
“We had breakfast with Bobby and Dante,” Jenny answered, aware of my discomfort and not caring in the slightest. “They have lemon cupcakes that are so good!”
“I’ll have to go in and try one,” he said.
I almost told him Bobby would knock him out if he walked in, but I held my tongue. I sucked in a breath and said, “C’mon Jenny, you’re supposed to be at your friend’s.” I steered her away from him, opening her door for her.
Before she climbed in, she called, “Nice to meet you, Martin!”
He waved as I shut the door and turned on him. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I saw you and wanted to say hi,” he said, feigning innocence, though the smirk on his face told a different story.
I nearly clawed his eyes out. “Goodbye, Martin.” I turned and stomped around the car, but his voice stopped me.
“Why don’t you want me around your daughter?” he asked, his curiosity clear in his tone.
When I looked at him, he was watching me carefully. I had to be careful how I answered or the suspicious gleam I saw in his eye might become more than passing curiosity. “I don’t like Jenny around anything to do with my job.”
He nodded as his eyes slipped to Jenny, who was watching us wide-eyed. He stared at her for a moment, smiling at her. “She’s pretty. Looks just like you.”
“Yes she is,” I said quickly, needing to get her away from him before he saw the resemblance. He must suspect! “Bye.”
I climbed in my car and quickly started the ignition. I barely glanced behind me as I hurried to back up and get the hell away from him. When I looked forward again, he was staring at the car, but not at me. He was looking at Jenny.
Martin
I paced the floor of the cottage, staring out the window at the trees and the birds flying around. For nearly a week I’d been there, and I was going stir crazy. The boredom was killing me, and so was not knowing what was going on with my case.
But what was even more pressing in my mind was little Jenny. Now that I’d met her, seen her up close, the nagging thought in my head that she might be mine was closer to being confirmed. She might look like Rene, but her hair was the exact same shade as mine. Had Rene kept my daughter from me all these years? Why? I wasn’t a terrible human being. She must have had some reason, and I would find out what that was.
The stress of boredom, of worrying about whether or not I would go to prison, and the addition of possible fatherhood was weighing heavily on my mind. I hadn’t seen Rene in a few days, since I’d confronted her and Jenny in front of the bakery, though every time I sat at the kitchen table, I remembered fucking her on it and would get hard as a rock.
I couldn’t focus on anything for more than a few minutes. I needed to get out of the cabin or I would lose my mind completely.
“Screw it,” I mumbled to myself, picking up my keys.
I went out to the truck and hopped inside, feeling good being behind the wheel again. I wasn’t going to do anything crazy, just go check my mail, enjoy the ride, and come back and resume my boredom. Maybe I would pick up a deck of cards or something on the way back so I could play solitaire. And a book or two wouldn’t hurt. I hadn’t read a good spy novel in years; this was a good time to reclaim that hobby. The cabin didn’t have Wi-Fi, so getting my computer would be pointless. What could it really hurt for me to run into town?
The drive to my apartment was nice, and I rolled down my window and breathed in the warm air. I didn’t even listen to music on the way. I relaxed into the driving, letting the wind blow the stress out of my brain as I watched the country turn into Mapleton. When I pulled up into the parking lot of my apartment building, I looked around, making sure no weirdos were creeping in the bushes. I walked to the mailbox and smiled at a passing neighbor as I unlocked it. It was full to the brim, and about halfway through, was another white envelope.
I cursed under my breath as I grabbed the stack of mail and returned to my truck, shaking my head. I’d had a feeling I was going to find another envelope. I climbed inside, threw the other mail in the seat next to me, and pulled a pair of rubber gloves from the detective set in the backseat. Here we fucking go again.
Carefully, I lifted the flap of the envelope and pulled out the pictures inside. They were of Rene and I together on the park bench where we had looked at the first photos, the two of us walking together. My blood pressure rose as I looked at them, especially the last one: the two of us nude and entwined, her legs around my waist. Shocked, I realized this one had been taken through the window of the cabin.
I set the pictures to the side and looked in the envelope, finding a folded piece of yellow paper. I carefully opened it up and read it. “Take the fall or I’ll ruin her too.”
Flashes of Rene’s face ran through my head, memories of how I’d hurt her once in the past, and now I’d brought her into something that could topple her career and her life. I pictured her daughter, possibly my daughter, and felt a painful clenching in my stomach. This wouldn’t just affect Rene, but her young daughter as well. This is as much my fault as the perp’s.
My guilt quickly mixed with rage. Who did this asshole think he was? Rene hadn’t seemed worried after the first note, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t. Even if the blackmail letters and photos proved I wasn’t guilty, there was a serious possibility she would lose everything if our sexual relationship got out. And now he or she had photos of us actually fucking.
I pulled out my cell phone and laid the pictures out in the seat next to me. I snapped a photo of them and sent it to Rene. She needed to know there was more evidence and that this person was tracking us everywhere we went. Either way, she needed to add it to evidence or burn them like she had the other ones.
My phone rang, and I sighed, wondering how badly this phone call would go. “Hello?”
“What the hell are you doing away from the cabin?” she yelled. “There is a specific reason you’re supposed to stay there. You didn’t even call to make sure you were good first.”
“I was going fucking crazy,” I defended, my voice even and calm to counter her anger, which almost certainly wasn’t all about the fact that I was out and about. “Besides, Dirty Cop left another envelope. And the one of us having sex was taken at the cabin, so it’s obviously not as private as we thought.”
“Give me a second,” she grumbled. After a few moments, she sighed. “You have a point. Bag them in an evidence bag but wear gloves.”
“I know the drill,” I said with irritation. “You’re acting like I’m an idiot.”
“You’re acting like an idiot,” she snapped, startling me. “I gave you explicit instructions not to come out of the cabin, not to come to town, and not to contact anyone with your cell. Why are you in front of your apartment on your cell phone?”
“You try being trapped in the middle of nowhere for that long, damn it.” I hit the steering wheel. “I needed to see the world for a damn second before I really started to lose my fucking mind.”
“I’m going to lose my fucking patience,” she snarled. “Bag the pictures and Lopez and I will be over there in a minute to pick them up.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” she snapped, hanging up the phone.
I put my phone on my lap and looked around, feeling like I was in the Twilight Zone. I grabbed an evidence bag and put everything into it. I was confused, and not just because I didn’t know the plan, but because it felt like I was purpos
efully being kept in the dark.
When had Rene started working with my partner? The last thing I remembered was them not liking each other very much. What the hell was going on with the case while I was locked up in the cabin, twiddling my thumbs? Instead of getting answers, I was being ordered around, and I was pissed.
I sat in my truck watching some kids playing on the swing set at the corner of the apartment complex, the people coming in and out of the building, and the apartment security patrolling the grounds. The day seemed like any other normal day, but I knew better. I looked to the left as the women arrived in our unmarked car. I climbed out of my truck and walked around to greet them.
“Hey, buddy,” Lopez said with a grimace on her face. “I’ll take the evidence bag.”
“Thanks,” I said without smiling.
“Good luck,” she mumbled as she executed an abrupt about face and walked back to the car.
“Martin,” Rene seethed, walking up to me and getting in my face. “I didn’t jump through hoops, push Captain Riggs, and get some help from out of town to solve this case, just for you to piss on what I asked you to do and come out of hiding. Do you not get that I’m trying to help you?”
“You don’t talk to me about any damn thing,” I snapped. “You don’t tell me what’s going on.” I threw my hand in the direction of the mountains. “You left me out there in the woods with no communication for days, and I’m not okay with that. Besides, you wouldn’t even have that evidence if I hadn’t come to check my mail. You have to keep me in the fucking loop if you want my cooperation.”
She threw her arms up in the air and growled. I could see it in her eyes that she was more than livid. All I did was come to grab the mail out of my mailbox. I’d gotten her more evidence in the process, so what was the problem?
“What’s the problem here, Rene? The real problem?” We needed to talk about Jenny, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to say it. I gave her this opening to see if she’d take it.
She put her hands on her hips and stared at me, her eyes piercing my soul. She was so fucking hot when she was angry, but she was also absolutely frightening in her silence. Her scowl showed a hint of fear before shutting down into frustration. Her answer was about the case, as I’d suspected, and I realized if I wanted to know about Jenny, I’d have to push her.
“I fucking put surveillance on your place, asshat. Now you may have just screwed it all up.”
“How was I supposed to know that?” I said, exasperated.
“You didn’t need to know because you were supposed to be in the fucking cabin,” she yelled. “Go back there, and I’ll call you when it’s all clear.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but she had spun around and stomped back to the car. Lopez shot me an apologetic look and shrugged her shoulders as she climbed in the car and slammed the door. Rene, white-faced, wouldn’t even look at me.
They pulled out of the complex and drove away. I wanted to go with them so badly my teeth hurt from clenching my jaw. I hung my head and sighed, walking back around and climbing into my truck. Maybe she was right; I needed to stay hidden. I might have messed with all the work she’d done. If I’d been in her spot, I would have freaked out on me too.
I pulled out and headed back to the cabin, not even stopping for those cards or books like I’d planned. This shit needed to end, and it needed to end soon. I didn’t know how much more I could take out there in the middle of the woods.
Rene
Son of a bitch! My heart was beating as fast as it had when we’d fucked on the table, but it certainly wasn’t caused by lust. He knows, I thought, my throat constricting. He hadn’t said it, but he’d figured out Jenny was his daughter, or at the very least, he was so sure he was fishing. What the fuck am I gonna do? I had to put that aside for now and focus on the case.
Sitting next to me, questions radiated off Lopez like an aura of suspicion. I cleared my throat and glanced at her. “Sorry about that. He just doesn’t listen.”
Lopez shrugged. “Men don’t listen. Even if it’s best for them.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “If he fucked up the surveillance, he won’t have to worry about some dirty cop killing him.”
She glanced my way and said, “Not tryin’ to slam your plan or anything, but if I were you, I’d keep him more in the loop or he’s just gonna keep fuckin’ it up.”
I sighed as I entered the highway. “I guess you’re right.” Then I added jokingly, “Do you think I need to tell him we’re gonna pull surveillance tapes and see if we got anything?”
She laughed and said, “If anybody can fuck that up, it’d be him.”
We laughed together, and I was grateful to be riding with someone again. I had missed having a partner, and she was a damn good cop. I had judged her a little too harshly when I first met her, assuming she was charmed by Martin. But she truly believed he was a good cop, and I felt the same way now that all the evidence pointed at dirty cop framing him.
But that didn’t mean I wanted him to enter my daughter’s life. We were doing fine on our own. If he fucked up an investigation, I couldn’t imagine how he might fuck up our lives.
Back at the station, I pulled the surveillance and plopped down in the privacy of my office to watch. I hoped I’d see something useful, and as I fast-forwarded past useless footage, I felt kind of bad for sending Martin back after scolding him like an overzealous child, but he was severely compromising the plan—and he’d done it out of boredom, rebelliousness, thoughtlessness, and ego. Apparently, he hasn’t grown up that much at all. He won’t cooperate even when his job and freedom are on the line. Huffing in irritation, I refocused on the screen in front of me.
When I finally reached the most important part of the footage, I watched several times, but all I could see was a black sedan pulling up to the mailboxes. The person who got out was definitely a cop wearing plain clothes, his gun and shield clipped to his belt giving him away. The perp quickly dropped the white envelope in the mailbox and jumped back into the black sedan and pulled off.
I rewound it several times, looking for any clue that might identify this person, but I could see nothing more. The guy knew exactly how to avoid the cameras; no matter which way he turned, there was a branch, his own arm, his hat or a shadow over his features. Even the enhancement software we had didn’t make his face any clearer. On top of that, there was no license plate, and the car badges were taped over with black tape.
There were no fingerprints on the envelope. We had no information on the perp except for the fact he was a cop. The clothes and how he hid most of his body was the only indication that he was even a man. If he’d worked a little harder, he could have disguised that as well.
I put my hands up to my face and groaned after turning off the playback. We had absolutely nothing, except maybe a splitting headache for everyone involved. I slammed my hands down on the desk and stood up, grabbing my jacket and keys and heading out of the precinct. I needed some air, some space away from the damn case for a minute. However, as I started to drive, I found myself heading toward the cabin instead of home. I was pissed and stressed, and I knew exactly what I needed to feel better.
I called my dad on the way. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, honey,” he said. “What’s goin’ on? You sound weird.”
“Just tired and frustrated. This damn case is killing me,” I confessed. “Listen, would you mind if Jenny stayed over tonight? I’m not sure how late I’m gonna be.”
“She’s always welcome, but Rene,” he said, and I heard his fatherly advice tone. “You need to take of yourself. You can’t work twenty-four hours a day.”
I sighed. “I know, Dad. When this case breaks, which I hope is soon, I’m gonna be swamped with paperwork. I’ll be sitting at my desk for a month.”
“Well, that sounds awful,” he joked. “And not all that relaxing, but better than never getting to sit, I guess.”
“I’ll probably sleep for an entire weekend too.”
; “That would make your old man feel better,” he said. “I’ll pick up Jenny and take her to the café for dinner.”
“She’ll love that,” I said with a chuckle. “She likes the attention.”
“Us old coots love havin’ the grandchildren around,” he assured her.
“Thanks, Dad. Love you.”
I ended the call and stared out the windshield, feeling lighter since I knew Jenny would be taken care of. I reached the cabin in forty-five minutes, which had given me plenty of time to think about everything I needed to think about. I’d decided the discussion about Jenny would have to wait until the case was over, but I couldn’t continue to keep that secret. Jenny deserved better; I just hoped Martin would step up to the plate and be the type of dad she needed. If not, I’d kick him out of our lives again and never look back, with Jenny’s okay, of course.
Determined to focus on the case, I got out of the car when I arrived at the cabin, leaving my jacket behind. I marched up to the front door and knocked loudly. Martin opened the door and looked down at me as I pushed him inside and slammed the door shut.
“Well, come on in,” he invited, irritatingly amused. “Something I can do for you?”
“You can stop fucking up this case,” I said scathingly. “But I do have good news.”
“Oh really?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Decided to keep me in the loop?”
“Not if you’re gonna be an asshole,” I retorted. “Do you have a bottle of water?”
He smirked and walked to the fridge. He pulled out two bottles and handed one to me. After I sipped, he said, “Okay, now that you’ve had a drink, you wanna share?” I glared at him, and he lifted his hand defensively. “Sorry, sorry. Detective Cole, would you be so kind as to share the new details about the case?”
I wanted to punch the smirk off his incredibly sexy face. I shifted and said, “Before you nearly screwed up the investigation” –his smirk transformed into a smile, and I nearly blushed— “we managed to capture the perp on camera.”