Authors: Sim & Cam
Disclaimer: Hey Sim, maybe we should do April’s Fool a bit early and tell them Rach and Frank are ours? I mean, it’s not like Hal actually read this stuff… So we could claim ownership, and I would even let you have Frank the first month, provided you didn’t wear him out…
Author’s Note: And quickly following February, here comes March! The infamous Cam and acclaimed Sim strikes again!
*******
“Perfect,” Rachel Goldstein muttered as looked down at the chalk marks. She had been looking forward to a nice evening of dining and wining with Ben, when the call had come. She hadn’t even had time to change, bloody great timing indeed.
“Nice,” came the voice of her partner Frank Holloway, and she turned to look at him. Even if they had started to establish a hint of normality in February, things were still a bit strained between them, a trace of unresolved tension.
“Nice what?” she snapped.
“The outfit,” he remarked.. She just gave a small shrug, her mind elsewhere.
“The Ben guy again?” he asked nonchalant.
“Maybe,” she admitted, the quickly changed the subject. “Lisa Adams. A 25 year old hooker. What was she doing on the wharf?”
Frank shrugged his shoulder, looking around. Except for the police cars and officers, the place looked pretty abandoned.
“Who found her?”
“Daniel Richards. A local fisherman.”
“Yeah?,” he remarked, “what was he doing here?”
“Apparently he owns a boat here, and well, had some company he didn’t want the missus to know about.”
Frank gave a small whistle, then stared at her outfit again.
“So you like the guy?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“I mean, with an outfit like that you must like him a lot.”
“Just drop it Frank,” she said with a sigh.
“Sorry, just keeping a healthy interest in your life, partner.”
“Don’t..”
“But I’ll just add that to the rulebook and never ask again.”
“Oh please Frank!” she snapped, “drop the ‘poor me’ attitude already! It doesn’t suit ya and it’s getting old..”
“Excuse me..”
“Detectives?” One of the crime scene technicians approached them carefully, looking ready to duck flying objects.
“What?!” both snapped at him.
“We found this at the scene,” he explained, lifting up a paper knife.
“The murder weapon, ya reckon?” Frank asked.
“A good bet. I will have to run some tests to confirm it, but I’m 90% sure this is what was used to kill her.”
“An unusual choice for a murder weapon,” Frank remarked
“It’s very expensive looking as well,” Rachel observed, “silver and carved rather delicately. Not something ya see every day.”
“It’s got a little mark on it,” the technician added, “Times Gifts Co.”
“Times Gifts Co.,” Frank repeated, “worth checking out who they sell to.”
“You can do that,” Rachel said in a far too sweet tone, the one that said, ‘argue-and-I-will-rip-your-tonsils-out’.
“And what are you going to do in the meantime?”
“Tell Ben I’m gonna be caught up at work.”
Frank resisted smiling. If he did, he knew he would be in grave bodily harm.
But he smiled broadly on the inside.
*******
“Morning Rachel!” he called out the morning after as she entered the office.
“Morning,” she muttered back, looking tired. She didn’t even seem aware that he was staring, she just sank down on her chair.
“What’s new?” she asked without looking up.
“The paper knife has been sold in 5000 copies to about 15 different shops just in the Sydney area. It’s about 100 dollars. The prize varies just a tad from shop to shop.”
“A needle in a haystack,” she muttered.
“Yeah, but I asked them to give us a list over how many the shops have actually sold.”
“Good,” she said absently.
“And the coroner says she was killed between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. the body was discovered at 7.15 p.m.”
“Yeah..”
“And I have a tree growing out of my head..”
“Great…”
“… and my pants are on fire under the desk, causing all the fish I have there to run for cover.”
She finally looked up at him.
“I’m sorry, would ya prefer if I had lobsters?”
“Very funny, Francis,” she remarked.
“I’m a funny guy,” he replied, leaning back in his chair, “what’s going on with you?”
“None of your business!” she snapped back
He put his hand up in an apologizing manner, and she seemed to relax a bit.
“Anyways, our cheating fisherman is coming to give his statement soon,” he added, and she nodded.
She really did look tired, he observed. Trouble in paradise with Doctor Wonderful perhaps?
“Did the coroner have anything else to tell us?” she finally asked.
“16 stabs. 4 were deadly just by themselves. Whoever did this, did not like the victim. I have a feeling it’s a woman’s work.”
"Why?”
“The choice of weapon. It’s a rather female thing to have.” She snickered at his argument.
“Care to put your money where your mouth is?” she asked, and he looked at her questionably.
“ Meaning..?”
“I say it’s a guy who couldn’t perform.. got a bit angry, ya know..”
“It’s a woman,” Frank said confidently.
“Okay.. if it turns out to be a guy, you clean the office AND my house for a month!”
“Fine.. but if I’m right…” he paused to think, “I get a date.”
"What?”
“You and me, a date. And no mention of Ben or rules the whole evening.”
“I really don’t think…”
“Fine, if you don’t dare..”
“It’s a deal!” she snapped. He smiled.
“Better dig up something smashing to wear,” he remarked.
“Better get ready to do some serious cleaning,” she replied.
“Guys, Mr. Daniel Richards is here,” Helen announced, poking her head in.
“Right,” Rachel replied, and headed after Frank out the office.
*******
“That was a wasted hour,” Frank remarked as they were driving to check out the victim’s apartment which Helen had managed to dig up the address of.
“Yeah, he saw nothing, heard nothing and knew nothing,” Rachel replied.
“It’s almost like he was too stupid.”
“Hmmm, maybe,” she said as she pulled up in front of the building. Windows were broken, and the house looked like it had been through a storm and not since been fixed.
“Not the best neighborhood,” he observed, shutting the car door.
“Feeling at home Frank?” she asked sarcastically. He sent her a ‘got-me-there’ look, and she smiled. They walked in silence up the stairs, and as they opened the door to Lisa Adams apartment. It was not an impressive sight. Painting were keeling of the walls, and all the furniture she had, was a small table, a chair, a refrigerator, and a bed.
“Not much to look at, is it?” Rachel asked quietly, looking around
“And not much telling us anything. Who was this girl, and who wanted her dead?”
“Yeah.. both her parents are dead, we haven’t been able to trace any other family yet. It seems she had no one.”
“You from the Police?” a old man asked, stepping into the room.
Rachel flashed her badge in reply, assuming it was the building owner.
“I own this building.. I have something for you,” the man continued, and vanished out the door. The two detectives exchanged glances when the man reappeared a few seconds later, and Frank found his arms full of cat. A small black and gray striped one to be exact.
“He was hers. I have no room. You take her,” the man exclaimed and vanished again.
“But….” Frank tried to protest, but too late.
“Looks like you got yourself a cat,” Rachel smirked. Frank looked down at the small kitten in his arms, with a pink collar no less! who meowed up at him.
“Guess so,” he replied. Rachel reached down to pat the small animal, who rubbed against her hand. She smiled, and Frank could barely withhold a smile of his own.
Maybe a cat was just what he needed.
********
“Nothing, nada, zil, zip, zero!” Rachel exclaimed a few days later as they were looking over the sparse information they had once more.
“No one knew her very well, no one saw her leave that night..” she continued.
“Yeah, and the only one who could tell us anything, only speaks cat language,” Frank remarked.
“I can’t believe you named him It,” she grinned. He gave a small shrug as the phone rang. With a sigh, she picked it up.
“Goldstein,” she answered, the lowered her voice a bit. “hey Ben.. Listen I can talk just now..”
Frank mouthed ‘Doctor Wonderful’ at her, but she ignored it.
“Yeah, I’m still at work.. I dunno.. Ben, can we talk about this later.. yeah, I’ll call you. C ya,” and with that she hung up.
"So..” he said.
“I’m heading home,” she announced, getting up.
“Yeah, so am I. It’s probably waiting.” She shook her head as they headed out of the office.
“Poor cat.”
“He likes the name,” Frank insists, “and he just seems to sleep and eat and cuddle.”
She chuckled softly as they went down the stairs, imagining Frank cuddle the kitten.
“Not getting enough cuddles elsewhere Francis?” she teased, and he looked up at her.
“No,” he said honestly, and she flinched a bit.
“Well, c ya,” she called out as she went towards the car.
“Sure you don’t wanna stop by and say hey to It?” he asked hopefully. She hesitated.
“I shouldn’t…”
“He likes you,” Frank offered.
“How about I drop in later with some left overs from a fish casserole me and David had yesterday. Has to be better than whatever you’re feeding It.”
“He would love that,” Frank grinned, and she gave him a small nod as she got into the car.
“You beauty!” he called out as soon as she had driven out of hearing range. The cat deserved all the fish he could buy It! He hurried home, better clean up the place a bit.
“It!” he called out as he entered his home not long after. The cat came running at once, as fast as it little legs could carry it, rubbing against his feet.
“You’re a piece of beauty!” he exclaimed, lifting it up, “he may be a doctor, but I got you! We’ll beat that nasty little doc out of the picture won’t we? Now if we only could find your previous owners killer and prove my theory..”
He put the cat down at the table, stroking it affectionately.
“She obviously liked you, giving you this collar and everything,” he observed, looking at the fluffy pink collar.
“It’s even got a little locker on it,” he smiled, then reached out to touch the small heart dingling from the collar.
“If you could talk..” The cat meowed at him, and he looked into It’s eyes.
“Maybe you can..” he said thoughtfully, then gently let his nail trace the heart until he found a crack. It opened to reveal a small key.. like one to safe deposit box.
“Rachel’s gonna like you even more now,” he remarked, smug, “and we can only hope it rubs of on your current owner.”
Picking up the car keys, he gave the cat one last pat, then headed out the door.
*****
“Oh please, don’t give me that!” Rachel’s angry voice greeted Frank as he stepped out of his car in front of her place.
“I was only..” came another angry voice, he recognized it to be Ben’s.
“I can take care of myself! And I do have a partner..”
“Yes, the infamous Frank Holloway! I treated one of your colleagues the other day, and he had several interesting stories to tell me about you two!”
“Is that what this is about? You listen to rumors, and actually believed..”
“I recall you dropping everything as soon as he calls!”
“Because it’s work!!”
Frank shifted a bit, wondering if he should reveal his presence.
“And I assume that bowl of food you were bringing him was work related?”
“Just go Ben!!”
“Look, Rach..”
“Go!”
The door slammed open, and Ben nearly ran Frank over, who was standing outside, his face blank.
“G’Day,” Frank said politely.
“Hello Frank,” Ben replied, “why am I don’t surprised to see you here?”
“You tell me..”
“Frank?” came Rachel’s voice, and she appeared in the hallway. He held up the key smugly.
“A gift from It,” he declared.
******
“The cat had the key to her life all along;” Frank smiled, opening the small deposit box at the train station. They had tracked down the origin of the key pretty fast, finding the small box paid for out the year.
“Let’s see why she went to the trouble of hiding this,” Rachel declared, peeking in to see several audio tapes and a pink, fluffy book.
“A diary,” she announced, opening the book.
“She really had a thing for pink,” he remarked.
“Yeah.. looks like her last entry was a day before she died.. Listen to this: ‘He agreed to meet me today. I hope his money is enough so that Dan can get the bike he wanted. I dreamt of him last night again. He’s such a good kid, the only good thing in my life. With the money Christopher Marlin will pay me for these tapes, I can give Dan a good life.’”
“Christopher Marlin,” Frank said with a small whistle, “the multi-millionaire?!”
“Seems so,” she replied, skipping back a few pages.
“And this kid.. she gave it up for adoption or something ya reckon?”
“Yeah.. and these tapes should be an interesting listen,” she remarked.
*******
“What a guy!” Frank declared a few hours later, “3 hours straight!”
“Envious Francis?” she asked.
“Oh, I dunno..” he said with a small smile, “I don’t recall hearing any complaints.” She snickered, but let the remark pass. Maybe things were finally back to the good old days indeed, Frank pondered. If only the doctor would take a hike, life would be the same again. That was what he wanted after all. Wasn’t it?
“So she blackmailed him,” Rachel said, and he turned his focus back on the case, “gives him a strong motive.”
“Or the missus,” Frank replied.
“Hmmm. Trying to avoid the fact that ya better get ready to do some serious washing?” He gave a smirk.
“Ya just find a sexy outfit,” he replied, eyeing her.
“Guys a certain Mr. Christopher Marlin wants to see you,” Helen announced.
“How him in,” Rachel offered, then turned to look at Frank
“Talk about the mountain coming to Mohammed,” he remarked
A second later an elderly man appeared in the doorway, dressed expensively.
“Detectives.. I understand you two are investigating the murder of Lisa Adams?”
“Yes, we are,” Rachel replied, “you knew her?”
“Yes, I’m… I trust this is between us?”
“Of course. This is a murder investigation,” Frank replied.
“I have been paying for her services. She was a good girl whom life had treated harshly. I paid her well.”
“When did you last see her?”
“The evening before she was murdered. I took her to a nice hotel. I’m sure the hotel porter can confirm she left alive and alone.”
“That night.. did she discuss a certain pair of tapes with you?”
“Yes. I paid her 50 00 to keep them away from the press.”
“She blackmailed you?”
“Not really. I was willing to pay. She didn’t threat me or anything.”
“Do you own a silver paper knife?”
“No, why?”
“It was the murder weapon.”
“Can I see it?”
“Why?”
“Because I gave my wife a silver paper knife from Times Gifts Co. on her birthday last month.”
******
“You found a dress yet?” Frank said smugly later that day, as they were looking at the report clearly matching Mrs. LeAnne Marlin’s fingerprints with one on the knife. She gave him a look.
“It doesn’t prove she did it,” she protested.
“Damn well nearly does,” he replied, “not to mention the 50 000 in 100 dollars bills we found in her briefcase.. if those have Lisa Adams fingerprints on, we have a closed case, and I have a date!”
“He could have set her up!” she insisted.
“What for?”
“Think about it.. she had the money in the family.. if this came out, he would be ruined, probably kicked out.”
He considered it for a moment, and had to admit it made sense.
“Maybe..” he finally replied.
“Rachel, you have delivery,” Helen smirked, entering the office with her arms filled with tons of red roses. Rachel stared wide-eyed at them, then gave Frank a pleading look.
“I’ll go check out those fingerprints,” he replied, heading out to leave them to have a girl chat
“So… the good doctor seems like a good man,” Helen replied, smiling.
“Hell… I dunno Helen. We keep fighting lately…” she closed her eyes.
“Lately?”
“Yeah, at first it worked fine, then Frank found out and.. Oh..” her voice fell.
“Yeah.. the Frank factor again,” Helen said gently, “Rach.. look, either you take him or you don’t. There’s no compromise.”
“You know?”
“I’m not blind,” Helen grinned, “and even if I were, I would still have noticed. Listen Rach, you’re not being fair to either one this way.”
Rachel sighed, and looked at the roses, then Frank’s desk.
“Bloody hell!” she cursed.
“Fingerprints came through!” Frank exclaimed, entering the office, “they match Lisa Adams.”
********
“Mrs. Marlin..”
“Not for long!” the woman snapped at them. In her 40s, she was a mirror of her husband’s elegance and practically oozing of money.
“The bastard set me up!” she added after a seconds silence.
“Why do you say that?”
“Oh please, like I would have left evidence lying around if I had really killed her!”
“Maybe you thought we wouldn’t make the connection?” Frank suggested
“I do have confidence in the police, detective! And why would I risk it anyway? I tell you, that bastard found out about the divorce plans and decided to set me up!”
“You were going to divorce him?” Rachel asked surprised.
“Didn’t mention that, did he? Yes, I was!”
Rachel and Frank exchanged looks.
“Speak to my lawyer, he’ll confirm it!” the woman snapped when either detectives said anything for a while.
“We will,” Rachel assured her.
“As for that bloody paper knife, it may have been mine, but I hardly touched it! It got put away with the rest of the presents, and God knows who could have taken it.”
“We will look into it, Mrs. Marlin.”
“You do that, and you nail that bastard for what he has done. Am I free to go in the meantime?”
“Yes… but you will hear from us again,” Rachel explained, and the woman snickered a bit as she walked out.
“I smell something fishy here,” Frank muttered.
“Hell yeah. We better have a talk with Mr. Marlin tomorrow.”
“Yeah.. it’s almost ten.”
“What?” she shot at him, “ten? Shit! Bloody hell!!”
“You late for something?” he asked
“I was supposed to meet Ben at eight! Bloody crap!”
“Oh,” he muttered, “ya better go then.”
“Yeah.. c ya!” she exclaimed and almost ran out. Frank went the same way, albeit much slower a few seconds later. He nearly ran into Helen who was going upstairs.
“Frank!”
“Yeah?”
“Rachel still here?”
“Nope, she just left.”
“Darn. There’s someone to see her and you here.”
“Yeah, who?”
“Lisa Adams’ grandparents.”
*******
“I’m so sorry,” Rachel offered as she entered the living room, “we were interviewing a suspect, and…”
“Yeah, I understand,” Ben replied, “look, I’m really sorry I’ve been acting so territorial. I just.. There was this part of you that I couldn’t seem to reach.”
“I understand, Ben.. but it’s not just that, is it?”
“No.. I like you Rachel, but I don’t think I am the one you want.”
“What? Don’t tell me Frank had a chat with you?!”
“No, I just see the way you look at each other.”
“Frank and I are just partners!” she insisted, taking a seat in the sofa beside him.
“I don’t know what you call it, but I’m causing problems there ain’t I?”
“Yeah,” she admitted.
“So I need to know.. can you give it all up for me?” He stared intently at her, his face an equal show of fear and hope. She reached out to touch his cheek gently.
“I can’t… I’m sorry,” she replied. He gave her a weak smile.
“That’s it then?” he asked, but the ringing of her phone cut her reply short.
“Goldstein,” she snapped into the phone, annoyed, then her face softened, “her grandparents? I’ll be there in a sec.. yeah.. c ya.”
“Ben, I have to go,” she turned to Ben. He nodded, then gave her a quick kiss.
“Take care Rachel,” he said gently, and walked out of her life. She stared after him, not sure how to feel at all.
******
“Ah, here’s my partner now,” Frank exclaimed, as Rachel entered their office to see an old looking couple sitting there. They looked like they were in the 70s, so fragile she was afraid they would fall over if she breathed at them.
“This is my partner Rachel Goldstein. Rach, this is Peter and Myrna Nigel.”
“Hey,” she greeted.
“We have been in Brisbane, so we didn’t know until we came home to read the newspapers,” Myrna explained, “we were stunned. I have no idea what to say to Dan.”
“Dan. That’s Lisa’s kid?” Rachel asked.
“Yes. She had him when she was 17. She was afraid to tell her dad.. he was quite violent.. so we took him. He’s our joy.”
“The mother died when she was young?” Frank asked.
“Yes. Our daughter died when Lisa was just 4. And the father.. We suspect he.. ‘used’ her.”
“Sexually, you mean?”
“Yes. She was always afraid of him. He died 3 years ago, but the damage he did to her..”
Rachel reached out a hand to squeeze the old lady’s arm sympathetically.
“But she loved Dan.. she kept an account for him, in his name.. here,” Myrna said, giving Frank a piece of paper. He threw a quick glance at it, the his eyes widened.
“100 000 dollars?!!” he exclaimed.
“Yes.. we had no idea how much it was… we thought it was just pennies.. Where did Lisa get all this money?”
“She lived pretty cheap.. and worked hard,” Frank said as tactfully as he could.
“I see..” the old woman said.
“She wanted a good future for her son,” Rachel added tactfully, giving Frank a glare
“Yes, she loved him very much..” the man spoke for the first time, shedding a single tear.
“Mr. and Mrs. Nigel.. we recovered Lisa’s diary. Would you like it?”
“Yes…”
“We’ll have it arranged to be released to you. Did you know anything about Lisa’s line of work?”
“We suspected, but she never said anything.”
“I see. Thank you for your time.”
“We had to come,” Peter said, and offered a hand to Frank, then Rachel. “Please find who did this.” And with that the old couple walked out.
“Poor kid,” Rachel muttered, heading for her chair.
“Don’t!” Frank yelled, jumping up. She stopped, and sent him a funny glare.
“It’s asleep there,” he explained.
“You brought the cat to work?”
“He was so lonely at home….”
“Looks like that cat won your heart,” she grinned, and peaked over the desk to find the kitten sound asleep on her chair. Frank peaked too, she felt his body press against hers as he leaned down. Neither moved, not wanting to break the magic as they stared down at the small cat who had fallen asleep on its front paws.
Frank felt a bit of Rachel’s hair tickle his cheek, and he slowly moved an arm to go around her shoulders.
“He’s adorable,” she said gently, leaning her face on his shoulder, making them stand in a half-embrace.
“Yeah..” he replied, looking at her lips. He wondered what she would do if he kissed her. Deck him, probably. Yeah, most definitely.
“Frank..” she said softly. He had almost convinced himself to just do it, when a breaking sound from downstairs interrupted them.
“What the hell..?” he muttered, and they both ran out of the office, downstairs. Even It woke up, stretching his legs annoyed, then trotted out of the office to follow his owner.
They reached the end of the stairs, looking down to see most of the glass door broken, and Tayler lying unconscious on the floor.
“Tayler!” Rachel exclaimed, running down the stairs, checking the pulse as soon as she got down.
“She’s breathing,” she reported up to Frank, the flinched as she felt something cold against her neck. Frank froze, seeing the man pressing a gun to his partner’s neck.
“Well, well, this is even better than I hoped.. both of ya. LeAnne surely won’t get away with this!” Christopher Marlin grinned, taking of his blond wig.
“The girl thought I was a woman.. when she wakes up and sees you dead, they will all go after my wife, the cop killer,” he declared.
“They’ll get on to you,” Frank countered, taking a step down the stairs.
“Aah, hold it detective, another step and you hafta see her die. Or she will see you die,” Chris shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t care which one dies first, as long as it rids me of that stone around my neck.”
“Your wife?”
“She was gonna leave me! Leave me! As if I didn’t know about her affair.. The hooker was just a mean to an end.. I felt kind of bad for her, but she thought she could get money out of me.”
“So you killed her,” Frank concluded, trying to drag on the conversation, knowing cops could be here anywhere.
“Yes.. but now I really must dash, I assume your colleagues will be here any second. So which will it be… the lady or the gentleman first?”
Frank locked gazes with Rachel. She was tensed, ready to move.
Christopher suddenly jumped, loosening his grip on the gun for just a second as he looked down on the floor where It was rubbing against his feet and meowing. It was a second too much. Rachel grabbed the gun while using her knee to kick his in the groin. Frank grimaced at the sight, knowing that *had* to hurt!
“No!” Christopher Marlin shouted, trying to fight back, but Rachel was on a roll, using both her arms to knock all the air out of him, and then pining him to the floor with her legs, and handcuffing him before he realized what had happened.
Frank walked down the stairs, stopping beside her to applaud.
“Another bad guy takes a fall from the amazing Detective Goldstein,” he grinned. She took a bow, and picked up It at the same time.
“This little bugger distracted him,” she announced, handing the cat over to Frank, who smiled broadly.
“Would you like to read this bad guy his rights then It?”
*******
“How’s Tayler?” Rachel asked the morning after, as Helen came through the door some entrepreneurs were replacing.
“A bit of an aching head, but otherwise fine,” Helen declared.
“That’s good,” Frank replied, “we were just heading out to tell the grandparents the news.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right out,” Rachel said, and he gave her a nod as he walked out.
“How’s you and the doctor then?” Helen asked.
“Ah.. well…”
“No more then?”
“Nope.”
“Now what?”
“I dunno Helen.. take it as it comes, I guess. I really liked Ben though, but… Hell, I’ve been feeling lousy all morning.”
“Yeah, you don’t look that good,” Helen remarked, “maybe you should take a day off?”
“Maybe.. if it lasts, I’ll go see a doctor.. Listen, Frank’s waiting, so I better head off. C ya!”
“Yeah,” Helen replied, before heading into her office as Rachel headed for the car park, where Frank was waiting patiently.
“Let’s go!” she declared, getting into the drivers seat. He got in on the other side.
“Hey, can we stop by my place?” he asked as he put on the safety belt.
“What for?” she countered, starting the car
“I hafta pick up something,” he explained.
“What?”
“You’ll see,” he said mysteriously, and she sighed, but did stop by his place. He was gone for a minute, then reappeared, looking ready to burst with smugness. And his jacket had a strange bump. She shook her head slightly, then continued towards the Nigel’s house. As they reached it, Frank jumped out of the car first, indicating he would like to take the lead.
She walked after him thoughtfully, wondering what the hell he was up to. He rang the doorbell energetic, and it was opened a few seconds later.
“Mrs. Nigel,” Frank greeted
“Detective Holloway.. You have some news?”
“Yes, we do,” Rachel cut in.
“You found who it was?” the woman asked.
“Yes.. we have apprehended your granddaughter’s killer.”
“Good.. would you like to see Dan?”
“Yes,” Frank said before Rachel could open her mouth. She shot him a questionable look. He just gave her a wink in return.
“Follow me,” Mrs. Nigel replied, leading them through the house and into the small, secluded backyard.
“Hey Dan? These are cops.. The ones I told you about..” the old woman said gently, and the kid looked up at Frank and Rachel through tears.
“You found who killed my mommy?” he asked.
“Yeah.. we did,” Frank said gently, sitting down beside him.
“I miss her..”
“I know you do.. and she misses you too.”
“She didn’t leave me anything,” the kid said, ripping up some grass.
“Listen kid… your mom did leave you something,” Frank said softly, and Rachel looked surprised at him. The young boy looked up at him with big teary eyes, and he reached inside his jacket to pull out a little sleeping kitten.
“This is.. umm.. It,” he explained, “your mom would want you to have it, so…”
He held out the furred animal, and the kid took it carefully, smiling through his tears. Frank got up, and Rachel gave him a warm smile.
“She would probably have wanted it,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as they walked away.
“Mr. Cop!” came the young boy’s voice, and Frank turned.
“It’s Frank, mate.”
“Mr. Frank.. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Frank replied, and as he walked off, Rachel gave him a gentle squeeze.
“Ya ready to wash then?” she asked.
“What?”
“I won the bet! It was a he!”
“But he made it look like it was a she, so I were right!”
“You were not!”
“I were too!”
“Okay, compromise, we were both right,” he offered.
“Yeah.. so who won?”
“We both did!” he exclaimed.
“Okay.. one date.. and you wash my house for a week!”
“Done deal, Goldstein!” and they shook on it, before walking to the car, getting in.
“So what about.. you know who and the date?” he asked as they fasten their seatbelts.
“Nah,” she simply said, putting the car in gear, “he’s not your type, so I don’t think he’ll come!”
He chuckled as they drove of, the future looking bright and doctor-free. Life was good! Even if he had to wash her house the next week, it was all worth it. Plus it would give him an excuse to hang around her house, which was nearly as good as the date itself.
Yep, it had been a good month.
*****
April
Please take some time to fill out this feedback form on my writing!
