Street Dreams

38

The William Tell Overturewas never my favorite piece to begin with. It was especially obnoxious as a jingle coming from my cell phone. I wanted to pull the covers over my head and keep sleeping, but because my current work situation was tenuous, I reconsidered. I reached down to the floor, rooted through my handbag, and came up with the infernal machine.

Koby shifted onto his stomach, then pulled the covers over his head. “Ignore it.”

I depressed the call button. “Hello?”

“It’s Brill.”

I sat up, my heart reminding me I was alive. “What’s going on?”

“Just giving you a heads-up and it’s all good. Shooting team is just about done. You’re fine.”

Suddenly, I could breathe easily. “Oh my God, that’s great! Did Forensics pull anything from the Nova?”

“Lots of prints. We’ll run through the electronic file by midafternoon.”

“Thanks, Justice. That’s a real load off.”

“That’s why I called.”

Koby yanked the covers off and bolted up. My eyes followed his body-upright as well as erect-as he walked to the bathroom.

“Someone will officially call you,” Justice told me. “You want to know where the shots landed?”

“Where?”

“All in the hood of the car, nothing through the windshield. Your aim was good. Except you fired six and the team only recovered four.”

“I must have shot a couple of wild ones,” I lied.

“Yeah, so long as they didn’t land in the wrong place. So far, so good.”

“Thanks again, Justice. Call me as soon as the prints go through, even if there isn’t a hit.”

A pause. “Maybe we should have that cup of coffee, Decker.”

“Whenever you’re ready to talk about the Sarah Sanders rape case-with Russ MacGregor’s permission, of course-I’m up for it.”

“Yeah, that too. You have the day off. How about a drink when I get off-around six. I should know something about the car’s prints by then.”

“Can I get back to you? I’ve got to arrange my schedule with my boyfriend. He’s still half-asleep right now.”

“Sure, Decker. Call me back.”

“Thanks, Justice. Bye.”

Koby slithered back into bed. “What schedule are we arranging?”

“Detective Brill wants to talk to me.”

“About what?”

“Prints in the Nova. He’s running them through this afternoon. He suggested talking over drinks when he gets off from work.”

“He asked youout?”

“He’s married, Koby.”

“A ring on the finger is not a ring on the gonads.”

“And that’s why I mentioned my boyfriend. He’s not stupid.”

“Are you going?” He sulked.

“I’ll call and find out what popped up on National Register. If it’s legit, yes, I’m going. I’ve been in this position before. I know these guys and I know how to steer it to business. Our dating makes it that much easier. Plus, Brill’s a superior. I need a jump start on the Sarah Sanders rape case, and if he can help me, great.”

“There are sexual-harassment laws in this country, you know.”

“He’s not harassing me, he’s throwing out feelers. Don’t worry.”

But his face held resentment. He waited a moment; then his long fingers skittered over my nipples.

“Let me brush my teeth,” I told him. As soon as I returned to bed, he turned to his side and propped himself up onto an elbow. He took in my nakedness.

“You are so gorgeous.”

I stroked his cheek. “So are you. Please don’t doubt me.”

He brought my hand to his erection. “I don’t doubt you, but I know men.”

My cell went off again.

“Let itring,” Koby snapped.

“It might be important.”

Koby plopped down onto his back, smoldering eyes on the ceiling, and said nothing. This time, it was Rina.

“I just wanted to know when you’re going to pick up the old Volvo.”

“Oh… hold on.” I turned to my bedmate. “When do you want to pick up the Volvo?”

He exhaled loudly. “What time is it?”

“Around nine.”

“I have to be in at three. Twelve, twelve-thirty?”

“How about twelve-thirty?” I asked Rina.

“That’s fine. I’ll see you then.”

I hung up.

“Turn it off,” Koby said. “If it goes again, I will break it.”

I turned it off.

He leaned over and kissed me.

Within moments, there was another annoying jingle-Für Eliseand it was his phone.

“Oh my God!” he snarled.

“You can answer it,” I told him. “Iwon’t get cranky.”

He glared at me and picked up his phone. “Yes?… Mikal!… Shit!” He sat up. “Sorry, mon, I forgot to call. I can’t come down; my car’s wrecked… No, no, I’m fine. Some dude ran a light… No, it’s totaled, utterly gone. My woman has another set of wheels… Her old man does. Look, just run without me today. I see you on Thursday, mon… When? Saturday?… Maybe. I’ll talk to the woman. Okay. Bye.”

I stared at him. “When did you become Jamaican?”

“What?”

“Never mind. Talk to me about what?”

“A party Saturday night. Do you want to go?”

“Do you?”

“If you want.” He eyed me hungrily. “I think I’d rather be alone with you.” He put his phone on his nightstand. No sooner did he lay it down than it rang again. He started to laugh and so did I.

“Go ahead,” I told him.

“Yes?” His voice was hard. “What time?… I can’t… I can’t… You’re not hearing me, Marnie, I can’t. I have no car. I have to pick one up… I’m picking it up at twelve-thirty, so one-thirty at the earliest. Why not call Lisa?… When?… How long?… So call up Pat and insist that she come in or you shall report her. You have to control the people on your shift, Marnie. I keep telling you this. She’s missed more days than all of us together… I know she’s a single mother, but I have a life, too. I am sick of covering for her… No, I am not yelling, I am frustrated!”

He rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I know it’s not your fault, but certainly it is not my fault. Look, I try to make it by two. That is the best I can do… It’s okay… I know… I know you do… No problem, Marnie… Yes, I will… I must go.” He clicked the phone off. “Marnie says hello.” He lobbed the cell across the room. It didn’t break, but the battery fell out.

He stared at me with appetite. “Shall we try once more?”

“Are you sure you want to attempt this?” I asked him.

“If we don’t, I shall truly be foul.”

“I don’t think I want to see that.”

“It would not be good.”

An hour later, he had done a one-eighty: a completely different man-relaxed and smiling and joking. After we showered, he insisted on preparing us breakfast. He turned on his stereo, zydeco music pumping out of the speakers. Nifty accordion playing. I heard him singing along with the vocals.

By the time I had dressed and walked into his kitchen, he was almost done cooking.

“Coffee’s ready.”

“You work fast.”

He kissed me as he poured eggs into a pan sizzling with chopped peppers, tomatoes, and onions. “I set up outside on the patio. It is a beautiful day.”

“That looks good.”

“Shakshuka.”

“Ethiopian?”

“Israeli. Moroccan, I think. You are depleted. You need protein. We both do.”

“I thought it was good to eat carbs when you’re depleted.”

“No, carbs are for immediate rise in blood sugar. Protein is digested slowly. It does not give you the rush, but you don’t crash, either. Take the paper and go outside.”

Five minutes later, he brought out food, drink, and my cell phone. He kissed my lips, then sat down. “Ah… this is nice.” He leaned back in the chair, hands behind his neck. “It is good to breathe.”

I poured a refill of coffee. “Very nice.” I started in on my plate of eggs. “Delicious. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

It wasn’t the first thing he had made for me. He was a good cook-simple dishes but with lots of spice. He favored red chili flakes. My mouth was burning after a few forkfuls. I washed it down with juice, then sipped coffee. I regarded his face. “Sex is really important to you.”

He eyed me behind a coffee cup. “Yes… I hope it’s important to you, too.”

“Of course. It just doesn’t seem to… alter my disposition as much.”

“I am very moody. I told you that.”

“Yes, you did.”

“We are reversed, Cynthia. I work with women; you work with men. It is early in the relationship, so I am not so secure. And with recent circumstances, we’ve been dealing with a lot.”

“I’ve dragged you into a lot of muck. Sorry.”

“If you come with muck, I will take the muck.” He took my hand and kissed it. “When it’s my turn to drag you into muck, then you will remember this.”

“Fair enough.” I bit into a piece of rye toast and stared at the rosebushes. “Well, since sex seems to be a very big factor here, for both of us, I guess I could go on the pill. Make it a little more spontaneous.”

His smile was wide. “That would be very nice.”

“You don’t like condoms.”

“No man does. But it’s your body.” He slathered butter onto the bread. “I do what you want.”

“I have no problem with the pill, but if we stop using condoms, you’ve got to be absolutely monogamous.”

“I know.”

“Like one hundred percent. I can’t be worrying about… things.”

“Disease, you mean. I understand, my love. I am thirty-two, not sixteen.”

“I couldn’t even imagine you at sixteen.”

“It never slept.”

I smiled. “So it’s not a problem for you?”

His laughter was musical. “I ammadfor you, Cynthia. I don’t eventhinkabout being with another woman. Is it a problem foryou?”

“Being with another woman?” I shook my head. “Not at all.”

He tossed me a disgusted look.

“No, it’s not a problem.” I smiled. “I’m fine with it.”

“Good. So go see your doctor and give me the prescription. I can probably pick up some free samples for you from one of the drug companies.”

“At achildren’shospital.”

“We treat teenagers.”

“Ah.” I finished my eggs. “So how easy is it to get drugs?”

He looked at me. “Pardon?”

“Like hard drugs. How easy would it be to filch them?”

“With the classified narcotics, everything is kept under lock and we all know who has the keys. It is not simple. I don’t do drugs, I’ve never done drugs, but those at the hospital who do usually suck nitrous oxide because it is very accessible and usually wears off immediately. It is stupid. Every year we have at least one of our own staff unconscious because of improper mix of oxygen and nitrogen. Why do you ask about drugs?”

“Cop’s curiosity. You can get the pill so easily. I just wondered.”

“I cannot easily get narcotics from lockup, but if I was desperate enough, I would know ways. Almost anything else-antibiotics; cold medicines; antihistamines; analgesics, both OTC and some low-dose prescription pain medications like Percocet; even Percodan or Vicodin, which have codeine in them. The hospital has closets filled with samples from the drug companies. It’s a perk of the job… like free coffee for you.”

“I don’t get free coffee.”

“Well, here you do.” He picked up part of the paper and handed it to me. “So let’s enjoy our time together before reality intrudes.”

I scanned the front page of the Arts and Entertainment section-vintage ’50s musicals on stage, movie remakes, TV reunion specials. Didn’t anyone have an original thought anymore? I looked at Koby’s face, his eyes focused on the morning news, his brow furrowed with tension as he read the articles about our troops overseas. He was much more familiar with that region than average Joe American. I wondered how much he identified with our soldiers.

Bad news wasn’t good for either of us. We were both highly intense people, and even though I had astrongfeeling that he often used sex like an opiate, as long as he wasn’t pushy and he was faithful, what did it matter? He had been shot at two days ago, his car had been totaled, and still he cooked me breakfast.

This was a wonderful man.

“Kiss me,” I told him.

He put down the paper. “That’s a nice invitation.” He leaned over, took my face in his hands, and brought my mouth to his-a slow and passionate and edible kiss.

“Now that wassogood,” he told me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his lips to mine, my fingers massaging the back of his scalp as our tongues did a slow dance.

We became more and more amorous.

A few minutes later, we got up and headed for the bedroom.

?

I wiped foam from my lips with the back of my hand. The beer was ice cold, in contrast to the hot, smoky room. Seven in the evening and Bellini’s was thick with cigarette carcinogens. It was a step up from the usual cop’s bar, offering a pretty good selection for dinner-nothing fancy, but good and filling. Hayley and I had often gone there after shift when we still did Day watch. The place was small in size, dimly lit with background jazz: This time, it was Miles Davis doing the honors. Baseball was on the big screen-Dodgers versus the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

Brill found us a booth in the back. By choosing Bellini’s, making us visible, he was making some sort of a statement, though I wasn’t clear on the message. I did know it wasn’t pure altruism. Not with the way he was sipping his beer and eyeing me with those baby blues. I nursed my drink and I let him do it. He looked sharp-shadow pinstripe suit, white shirt, red-and-gold tie. Big gold ring on his left finger. Gold watch on his wrist.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m fine.” I added, “I had a big lunch.”

“With the boyfriend?”

“Exactly.” I could see the TV from where we were sitting. Shawn Green just got a stand-up double. Randy Johnson looked pissed.

“What’s his name?” Brill asked.

He knew the answer to the question. He had interviewed Koby for over an hour. “Yaakov Kutiel.”

“Seemed like a good guy,” Brill said. “Especially considering the circumstances. Does he have insurance for his car?”

“Yes, but you know how that works. Blue book on it isn’t going to be much.”

“Lucky for him he found a girl with a Lexus.”

“You’ve noticed.”

“Only the best for Daddy’s little princess.”

“Now you’re getting nasty.”

Brill smiled, signaled over the waitress. “Wanna clarify something for me?”

“If I can.”

“You have any idea where that phone call came from?”

“Not a clue.”

“For something to go through the grapevine that fast”-he gave me the “cop stare”-“it defies logic.”

I didn’t deny it. On the TV, the throw to the plate was too late. Green scored on McGriff’s perfect, long single. Fred McGriff had advanced to second. One out, Dodgers up by three at the top of the third. A close-up of a disgusted Johnson. The waitress came over. Brill ordered lamb chops with roasted potatoes; I settled for another beer.

“Any ideas?”

I thought long and hard. Anything I’d say could be used against me. “No.”

Brill smiled. “All right. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Let’s.”

“Prints-we found a lot of those. Stop me when you’re interested.”

“I’m interested in whatever you have to tell me.”

He pulled out his notebook. “Here goes: Bobby Cantrell, Mohammed Nelson, Benny Rodriguez, Tomas Marin, Mabibi Ralson, Joseph Fedek-”

“Stop.”

“Yeah, I thought so. Let me finish with the rest: Leonard Chatlin, Mike Robinson, Cristofer Anez, and Ted Bass. Now, Cantrell, Rodriguez, and Anez have been officially logged into our penal system. Tomas Marin lives out of state, but that don’t mean he can’t travel. Mabibi Ralson is dead. So that leaves Joseph Fedek, Mohammed Nelson, Leonard Chatlin, Robinson, and Bass. The good news is, there are addresses for Mohammed Nelson, Mike Robinson, and Ted Bass. The bad news? None for Chatlin and Fedek. Since a cop discharged her weapon, it’s a serious offense. Stone gave the case to me. So I gotta check out all these dudes. I’m not pleased.”

Pepe Renaldes hadn’t made the list. That made me feel a little better. I said, “What can I help you with, Justice?”

“You’re not allowed to help me. Conflict of interest.”

McGriff had scored on another double by Brian Jordan. There was action in the Arizona bull pen. I said, “What would it hurt if I made a couple of phone calls?”

“A lot if Stone found out.”

“I can be discreet.”

“In that case, you can check outeveryoneon the list, including our prison buddies, except for Chatlin and Fedek-especially not Fedek. I’ll take the heavy stuff. You just verify the obvious. I repeat, don’t you dare go after Fedek.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to find him.”

“Yeah, just like you wouldn’t know how to find the car.”

“You give me an awful lot of credit.”

“I give your father a lot of credit.”

My beer came. I thanked the waitress. Brill gave the server a wink and me a wry smile. “You go back on active duty tomorrow. How long do you think it’s going to take you to realistically check out the names?”

There were seven names, including the cons, but not including the dead guy. “I could probably do it in a couple of days. But I want to be careful. How about a week?”

“Sounds good. We’ll meet next Tuesday and you can give me an update.”

“What time and where?”

“Somewhere private. How about your place?”

“What time and where?” I repeated without expression.

Brill frowned. “Are you comfortable here?”

“Sure. Bellini’s opens at twelve,” I told him. “Is that good for you?”

“We’ll meet at one.”

“Done. Now can we talk about Sarah Sanders?”

“Why? Do you have anything new?”

“Since Joseph Fedek made the fingerprint list, I’m assuming the attack wasn’t random. Maybe El Paso contacted Fedek from prison and said something to him about my investigation of Sarah Sanders. Maybe Fedek got scared.”

“Cindy, how would he know where to find you? You weren’t even driving your car.”

I thought a moment. “El Paso could have seen Koby’s car when he drove away.”

“Koby?”

“Yaakov. My boyfriend.”

“You call him Koby?”

“He calls himself Koby. It’s an Israeli nickname for Yaakov.”

“He’sIsraeli?”

Here we go again. “Yes. He’s black and he’s Jewish. Hollywood’s our area, Justice. We both work there, and since we’re both night owls, we play there as well. Maybe Fedek was hanging around the streets, just waiting for our paths to cross.”

“Could be you’re right. But we can’t do a damn thing with Sarah Sanders until Fedek’s in custody. Right now, that’s the big problem.”

His food came. He rubbed his hands together. “Looks good.” Slowly, his eyes rose from his plate to my face. We regarded each other for a few moments. “Sure I can’ttemptyou?”

He was pointing with his knife to his food, but the implication was obvious. I sipped my second beer. “Justice, I’m reallynothungry. But I thank you for the offer.” I stood up and left thirty bucks on the table. “My treat.”

Brill smiled. “You got class.”

“We’ll talk later.” I started to walk away.

“I hear you applied to Detectives,” Brill said.

I turned around. My face got warm. “Yeah, I know it’s a little early, but I did well on the exams. I figure, what do I have to lose?”

“Yeah, I was talking to Stone about you. For what it’s worth, I told him I think you’d season well.”

“That was very nice of you.” I smiled as the heat under my cheeks spread across my face. “Really. Thanks a lot.”

“Course you’d need the right rabbi.”

“Of course.” Was Justice setting me up to be his partner? I didn’t dare dream that high. Then he winked at me. “Thanks for dinner. Lunch’ll be on me.”

“Great.”

Sharing the tab… that was good.