2-in-1 Read online

  Johanna grabbed her arm. “Wait. I’m the one who owes you an apology. You’re only trying to be friendly.” Her face softened. “Would you like to get a drink somewhere? Maybe it’s time I got to know my partner.” She smiled shyly.

  Frankie grinned. “I know just the place.”

  A few minutes later they were seated in a small bar two blocks from the park where the picnic was held.

  “No special man in your life?” Johanna asked as she toyed with the edge of her paper coaster. “Oh that’s right. Your significant other is stationed overseas. A couple of the guys told me. They weren’t really gossiping. I asked about you.” She raised her eyebrows. “So when will he be home? You must get lonely.”

  Frankie was silent and sipped her glass of wine. “I made that story up so the guys would leave me alone. I’ve been flying solo for a long time now.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Well, we have something in common besides work then.”

  They spent the next hour chatting about their experiences on the police force, gossiping about their co-workers, then drifted to their current cases before lapsing into a few minutes of comfortable silence.

  Frankie relaxed and enjoyed the conversation, but even more enjoyed learning about Johanna’s likes and dislikes. She was pleasantly surprised with how similar their tastes were in books, music and movies and the resemblances in their personal lives. They were both only children and their mothers were widows. As she looked at Johanna, Frankie yearned for a part of her she knew she could never have. She’d have to settle for friendship, but at this point, just spending time with Johanna was a joy she hadn’t known for a long time.

  Frankie saw a sadness creep into Johanna’s eyes as their eyes met and briefly locked. “Is something wrong?” she asked quietly. Johanna’s hand trembled as she set her wineglass down.

  Johanna bit her bottom lip. She peered cautiously at Frankie. “Do you remember when we were called to that bar a couple of months ago because of a gay bashing?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, that was rough.”

  “How did you really feel about the gay guy? I mean if you weren’t in uniform would you have still tried to protect him?”

  “He didn’t deserve to be beaten regardless of his sexual orientation. I’m glad the judge threw the book at the bastards who did it.”

  “The point is they simply beat him because he is gay. I doubt they would have touched him if he were straight. How would you have reacted out of uniform?”

  “The same way I did in uniform. It disgusts me. He’s a human being for God’s sake.”

  Johanna looked at her. “I like you, Frankie. This is a nice break for me, talking to you like this outside of work. I should have done this a long time ago “ She twisted her hands together. “I want to tell you something and I pray to God that I can trust you. Trust doesn’t come easy to me, but I’m going to take the plunge.”

  “We’re partners and I hope now, also friends. If you can’t trust me on or off-duty, then we’d have a serious problem.” She smiled. “I don’t think trust comes easily to most people, but I trusted you to have my back the minute we were partnered.”

  “This isn’t about the trust we have while we’re working together. This is about trust when a friend confides in you.”

  Frankie was elated that Johanna considered her a close enough friend to share her confidences. She was eager to hear what Johanna wanted to tell her, but had to stay calm. “I’m listening,” she replied softly.

  Johanna picked up her wineglass and held it for a moment before setting it back down. “You asked me earlier if I was involved with a co-worker before I came here.” She picked up her wineglass again, took a sip, and then set it down. “I was.” She raised her eyes level with Frankie’s. “When we broke up it didn’t end well and I put in for a transfer.” She cautiously eyed Frankie. “I hope you don’t think too badly of me. That was the first time I ever got involved with someone I worked with. Now I know why it’s not recommended. It’s great when things are going well, but when it sours…well, you know.”

  Frankie saw the pain in her eyes. “I’m sorry. Breakups are never easy under any circumstances. Your secret is safe with me and I would never judge you.” She cleared her throat. “Now I’ll tell you something to prove you can trust me. No one on the force knows this.” She hesitated and bit her bottom lip. “My last girlfriend was a real bitch. She walked out on me when I entered the police academy and I’ve been single ever since.”

  Johanna’s eyes widened. “Did I hear you right?”

  She nodded as her face grew warm. She lowered her eyes not daring to see the reaction in Johanna’s eyes. “If you want another partner I’ll understand, but please keep what I said only between us. There are a couple of guys on the force who are real homophobic assholes.”

  “Wow!” Johanna grinned. “That’s a relief. I promise not to tell if you don’t.”

  Frankie raised her eyes and smiled weakly. “Excuse me?”

  Johanna grabbed Frankie’s hand and squeezed it. “My ex was a woman. When we drifted apart she threatened to tell everyone I came on to her when in reality she was the one who did the pursuing. The tension and her threats became so unbearable that I elected to leave. I wanted to get as far away from her as I could, so here I am.”

  A tremor shot through Frankie’s body as Johanna took her time releasing her hand. “It must have been rough leaving your friends and everything you’ve known,” she said in a wobbly voice.

  “It was, but in retrospect most of my friendships were superficial. My mother still lives in Sacramento. I try to visit her a couple of times a year, but for the most part, I’m a loner and I put all of my energy into my work.”

  “I’ve been a loner most of my life, too. I never thought about it, but I suppose I have more acquaintances than real friends, also. I’m happy so that’s all that matters.”

  “Are you really happy, Frankie?”

  “Yes. I am.”

  Johanna smiled. “I can now say that I have a new friend.”

  Frankie’s heart was beating so fast she thought it would pop out of her chest.

  Their working relationship improved and they enjoyed discussing the latest movies and books, but Johanna made no mention, either verbally or physically, of taking their friendship to the next level. At the end of their shift they went their separate ways.

  At first Frankie assumed Johanna just wasn’t attracted to her in any way other than friendship. It made their working relationship more pleasant and after a while, she concluded that Johanna might be afraid to get involved with someone she worked with, because of what had happened in California. Even though she knew it was a risk for both of them, it was a risk she was willing to take. Sometimes she caught Johanna gazing at her with a strange look in her eyes. In any event, Frankie was undeniably interested in her and needed to find out, one way or the other, if she stood a chance. The not knowing was driving her crazy. One chilly night, weeks later, she got up the courage to ask Johanna out on an official date.

  Johanna smiled. “I wondered when you’d get around to it.”

  Frankie frowned. “If I’d waited for you to make a move I’d be old and gray.”

  Johanna laughed. “I’m not good at making the first move. Okay, that’s not true. I’m scared, but I’m willing to take a chance. Just promise me that if things don’t work out for us we won’t let it destroy our working relationship.”

  Frankie’s joy was so acute that it rendered her speechless and all she could do was numbly nod.

  “How about tomorrow night?”

  After their first date they were almost inseparable, having dinner out or at each other’s apartments and going to movies and the theater. There was still a part of Johanna that Frankie couldn’t reach, though, and she began to worry that Johanna’s feelings for her weren’t going to amount to anything more than a deep friendship with a few quick sisterly-type kisses thrown in every so often. Frankie tried to pull in the reins and g
ain control over her own emotions, but it was to no avail. She had fallen in love, but was smart enough to know she had to let Johanna take things to the next level if Johanna felt the same way.

  If Johanna didn’t, and had decided that she did indeed only want a close friendship, then Frankie would have to accept things as they were. She’d relish every moment she could with the woman who’d captured her heart without doing anything that would damage their friendship.

  Several weeks later they’d returned to Johanna’s apartment after seeing a movie and were sitting on the sofa enjoying a glass of wine when, much to Frankie’s delight, Johanna took their relationship to a new level, also taking Frankie by surprise.

  Johanna took Frankie’s glass of wine and set it next to hers on the coffee table. Neither said a word as Johanna looked into her eyes. All Frankie knew was that those lips she longed to kiss were almost upon hers. She slightly parted her lips as Johanna’s moved closer. A surging heat coursed through her body when their lips finally met and Johanna’s tongue eagerly sought hers. Frankie had never felt such desire and her hands trembled as she wrapped her arms around Johanna’s neck. When the kiss ended, Frankie’s body was visibly shaking with desire.

  Johanna leaned her head on Frankie’s shoulder. Frankie smelled the scent of her perfume and wanted to taste her lips again. Her fingertips lightly caressed Johanna’s arm. Johanna shifted her body, and without saying a word, pulled Frankie down on top of her. Her lips hungrily sought Frankie’s, causing Frankie’s passion to erupt as her hands, at last, were allowed to seek the treasures she’d waited so patiently for. Trembling, she stared in awe at Johanna’s beautiful nakedness.

  They maintained a low profile at work, but when they were alone, they fell into one another’s arms, their desire for one another insatiable. For the next two years they kept their relationship private, then mutually decided to leave the police force, pool their resources, move out of the city, and open their own private detective agency. Neither had regretted the decision and their love and respect for one another had blossomed and grown through the years.

  * * * *

  Frankie snapped back to the present, stifling a yawn, as she trained her eyes on Graham McHenry. She didn’t like him. Something was off. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it would eventually come to her. It always did. He was arrogant, and by the looks of his expensive tailor-made suit, it was apparent that he expected others to bow to his every whim.

  Johanna handed McHenry a contract. He looked it over for a minute, signed it, and then slid it across the desk to her with a check. “Here’s five thousand dollars to start. Let me know when it runs out.” He rose abruptly. “I’ll call you in a couple of days. I’ve got to go out of town on business.”

  “When are you leaving?” Frankie asked.

  He flicked a piece of lint from his suit coat. “Late this evening.” He handed her a business card. “If you need to contact me, my answering service will put your call through.” He stood up, nodded, then turned and swiftly made his way to the door, exiting as swiftly as he had entered.

  Johanna leaned back in her soft leather chair and frowned at Frankie. “I don’t like him. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something off about him.”

  Frankie laughed. “You’ve read my mind. Great minds think alike.”

  “Ah, that’s why we work so well together.” She glanced at the notes she’d taken. “So, any ideas? Or were you tuning him out? You seemed to be daydreaming.”

  “I can’t help myself when you’re dressed the way you are today. All I have to do is look at your legs and…well you know.”

  Johanna threw her head back and laughed. “I never dreamed I’d ever find someone who still turned me on as much as the day we first met.”

  Frankie grinned. “That’s what I was daydreaming about. It was torture waiting and hoping that you’d want me as much as I did you when we first met. I knew the first time we made love that I’d never get enough of you.”

  “That goes double for me, baby. So, where do you want to start with the Cassandra McHenry case?”

  “I suppose tonight we should stakeout the mansion and see if Cassandra leaves and where she goes.”

  Chapter 2

  McHenry’s secluded mansion was nestled far back from the road making it almost invisible from the cars passing by. A row of trees lined either side of a long driveway that was enclosed in a locked security fence. In the distance, dim lights from the mansion showed through the gray night, giving the illusion of far-off stars in the ominous-looking sky.

  Frankie parked the car as far as she could off the shoulder of the road obscuring it from view by overgrown brush. She turned off the engine. “Now we wait.”

  Johanna patted Frankie’s knee. “Let’s make ourselves comfortable. This could be a long night.” She settled back in her seat. “I’m glad we got out of the office at a decent hour so you were able to cook that fantastic dinner. I love when you cook.”

  Frankie grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t forget it’s your turn to cook tomorrow night. I’m thinking I may be in the mood for something hot and spicy, like Mexican.”

  “Then afterwards maybe we’ll get a chance to go for that moonlight swim we’ve been aiming for all summer, before the nice weather disappears.” She sighed deeply. “In a couple of weeks it’s going to be too chilly to swim at night.”

  Frankie ran her tongue seductively over her lips. “I can’t wait to see your naked body shimmering in the moonlight. Remember last summer, making love in the pool and on the deck?”

  “Stop or we’re going to end up in the backseat,” Johanna warned.

  “And that’s a bad thing?” She cocked an eye.

  Johanna laughed. “Just wait until we get home tonight. I’m still not finished making up for all those lonely nights we spent apart. Do you know how much I hate being away from you?”

  “Not half as much as I hate being away from you.”

  “No, you’re wrong there, babe. I can’t even explain the emptiness. You’re so much a part of me. I don’t know how so many couples lose the feeling that first attracted them to someone.” She squeezed Frankie’s hand. “I can’t remember ever not being in love with you.”

  Frankie leaned over and brushed the hair from Johanna’s cheek. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

  “Not in the last ten minutes,” Johanna teased.

  She sighed contentedly. “I never dreamed I could be so happy. Twelve years and I still can’t get enough of you.”

  “And the best is yet to come,” she promised.

  “I don’t know what could be better than this,” Frankie replied as her eyes shifted to the driveway. The faint glow of headlights became visible as a car moved down the driveway. “Here comes someone. I hope it’s Cassandra McHenry.”

  Johanna peered into the darkness at the headlights and watched them grow brighter as the car drew closer. The car stopped a few feet from the end of the driveway and waited as the massive gates swung open, then peeled out of the driveway and made a sharp right-hand turn and sped down the road.

  Frankie started Johanna’s car and pulled onto the road, following at a safe distance behind the red Porsche, so Cassandra McHenry wouldn’t become suspicious.

  “Wonder what her hurry is,” Johanna said. “She must be doing seventy.”

  “Getting away from her husband would be my guess.”

  “You’re terrible! Besides he’s supposed to be in New York on business.” Johanna giggled. “But I have to admit spending any length of time with him would make me crazy. I’ve never met anyone so self-absorbed and boring.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Frankie. “You at least could tune him out since he was directing his questions to me.”

  Frankie laughed. “I had one ear tuned in just in case. I always do.”

  “Thanks. Leave the dirty work to me.”

  “That’s because you have so much more patience listening to all the bullshit than I do. I
just want to get the facts and get to work. I don’t need to know all the boring little details that have nothing to do with what we’re hired for.” She squeezed Johanna’s knee.

  “Somehow I’m not buying that. But I’ll let you off the hook this time because you’re right. All he did for ten minutes was complain about his wife, but didn’t seem to know how she spent her free time other than his assumptions. For all we know she may really have a friend she’s helping out.”

  “He’s a piece of work.” She slowed the Chevy when Cassandra cut her speed to forty. “Got the camera ready?”

  “Right here, set to go.”

  “Hmmm, wonder where she’s going?” The Porsche’s turn signal came on and Frankie stayed two cars behind, giving Cassandra McHenry time to make her turn. Frankie turned Johanna’s car into the entrance of the almost deserted parking lot of The Overlook Motel. She pulled into a slot where the overhead lights had either burned out or had been broken out, four spaces from Cassandra’s Porsche, and cut the engine.

  The women watched as the Porsche’s driver side door opened and Cassandra stepped out. She quietly closed the door behind her, then pushed the remote to lock the car.

  Johanna snapped a few discreet pictures.

  Cassandra’s blonde hair glistened in the motel’s overhead lights. She wore a tight, short, red dress, which showed off her curvy well-endowed body. Her spike heels made clicking sounds on the pavement as she headed toward the far end of the motel then turned the corner.

  “She looks more like a hooker than the heiress to the Reynolds’ fortune, and the wife of a wealthy financial advisor,” Frankie observed as she pulled out of the parking space and drove in the opposite direction to the back of the motel. Cassandra wasn’t in sight.

  “I wonder where she went,” Johanna said. “It couldn’t have been too far.” She squinted as she read the sign. “These rooms in the back are equipped with kitchenettes, an extra room, and are available for long-term lease.”