Hurt (5 page)

“Yeah. I gotta hand it to these guys, they certainly know what pawn shops to unload their haul at. No cameras, shop not on the regional database, and the copy machine just happens to be ‘broken’ the day they bring in the stuff so the owner can’t get a copy of their driver’s license.”

Samuels swore under his breath as a green Honda Civic abruptly shifted lanes in front of them, causing him to brake sharply in order to avoid a collision.

“Jesus, can you not kill us today? I swear if you crash this car, I am not going to be the one to fill out the accident report,” Jamie snapped from the passenger seat, wincing as the seatbelt bit into her shoulder.

“She changed lanes in front of me,” Samuels said, motioning at the Honda in front of them. “And don’t get all high and mighty, you’re the one who wrecked the last one.”

“The
deer
wrecked the last one,” she growled back at him. “Anyway…even without a camera, I don’t think we could have gotten a better description on the guy. Heavy set, short black hair, missing two fingers on one hand, and a prosthetic right leg. Assuming Bubba back there wasn’t jerking us around, our home invader should be relatively easy to spot.”

“Mm-hmm. Just screams ex-military. I’ll put a call into the Army Criminal Investigations over in Quantico. They were able to help with that case we had last summer, so maybe they’ll be able to find something on this guy.”

“I’m never that lucky,” Jamie snorted. “Speaking of which, take us back by Northgate Mall, will you? I need to stop by that bath and beauty store.”

Samuels arched one eyebrow.

“Do I even want to know?”

“I need to pick something up for Nicole.” Jamie didn’t elaborate and was hopeful that Samuels would leave it at that.

“For Nicole? It’s not her birthday and your anniversary was in August. I seem to recall you saying that the two of you agreed to not exchange Christmas gifts this year since you’re planning on taking a big trip in the spring. What’s the occasion?”

So much for leaving it at that
, Jamie thought.

“What are you, the C.I.A.? I suppose next you can tell me what I had for breakfast this morning?”

Samuels checked the lane beside them and then signaled a turn.

“If I had to guess, I would say one of those stinking-ass coffees of yours. And I’m a detective. It’s my job to keep up with details like that.”

“Oh, please. If you must know, I was thinking of getting her a little ‘I love you’ gift, and she has a thing for bubble bath.”

“Is that a little ‘I love you’ gift similar to the flowers I used to bring to my ex-wife after I’d fucked something up?” When Jamie chose not to answer the question, instead turning to look out the passenger side window, Samuels nodded his head. “Uh-huh, just as I thought.”

“No, it’s not like that,” she said. “Well, maybe it is. The real estate agent called this morning and has someone lined up to look at the house already. Nicole walked in while I was on the phone to her. She asked who I was talking to and while I didn’t exactly lie to her…”

“You didn’t exactly tell the truth either?” Samuels finished for her.

Jamie nodded.

“Exactly. So, I’ve been feeling guilty about it all day.”

“Mmm, just be careful there, partner,” he said, turning to look at her as they stopped for a red light. “You know what they say about the road to hell.”

Jamie chewed her bottom lip, but didn’t respond as the light turned green and they continued on. Early on in their relationship, Nicole had kept herself guarded. Even though they connected right from the beginning, in those first few months after they began dating, Jamie always felt that Nicole was holding back, keeping a part of herself distant. Then finally, on their trip to the mountains last Christmas, Nicole had finally broken down and let Jamie in.

Fire crackled behind the black mesh screen draped across the front of the slightly charred, stone fireplace. It was well past midnight and the glow of the fire was the only light in the small living room of the cabin. Nicole lay snuggled up in front of Jamie on the cool leather of the couch, basking in the afterglow of their earlier lovemaking. Jamie absently ran her fingers up and down the length of Nicole’s arm as she watched the smoldering fire.

“Jamie,” Nicole whispered.

“Yes, darlin’,” Jamie murmured and then was met with a long silence.

“I…I don’t know. Maybe now isn’t the right time to say this.”

“Is everything okay?” Jamie shifted and pulled Nicole closer to her. “You know you can tell me anything.”

From the way she was breathing, Jamie could tell that the blonde woman was trying to pick her words carefully.

“When you and I first got together…” Nicole finally said softly, her voice trailing off.

“Mm-hmm…” Jamie continued to caress Nicole’s arm, anxious to hear what she had to say, but not wanting to push.

“I…I lived every day in the beginning as if you weren’t going to stay. Sometimes when you called and said you had to work late, I thought to myself, ‘Well, this it.’”

“This is what?” Jamie asked, frowning.

“The day that you wouldn’t…” Nicole sighed. “You know that before you I hadn’t dated anyone for a long time. A little over a year…nobody since Carol.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jamie repeated, shifting on the couch slightly. She knew of Carol, but Nicole had never gone into any great detail about her ex-girlfriend with Jamie.

“I had an appointment one Saturday. I had arranged to show the clients several houses and be gone most of the afternoon. It was one of those rare times when the couple fell in love with the first house we saw and then were ready to call it a day.” Jamie noticed that Nicole’s voice had taken on an almost wistful tone. “I came home and Carol’s car was in the driveway, but I didn’t see her when I first walked in the house. I…I found them back in the bedroom. She was in our bed—my bed—with a girl she worked with. They—”

“Nicole,” Jamie interrupted, sitting up on the couch, drawing Nicole with her. Jamie turned Nicole by the chin to face her. “I can’t promise you that I’m never going to do anything to piss you off.” She brushed back Nicole’s hair and looked into her eyes. “I’m not Carol and I never will be. I will never lie to you. I will never do anything to hurt you.”

“All right, here we are. Just make it quick,” Samuels’ gruff tones broke into Jamie’s thoughts, bringing her back into the present.

Jamie unbuckled her seatbelt as Samuels turned into the parking lot of a small strip mall. She was probably going a little overboard feeling the way she did now, but if a little bubble bath would ease her guilt and make Nicole happy at the same time, then why not? And maybe, Jamie thought, flashing back briefly to the other evening’s activity with a small smile, Nicole would be inclined to put the bubble bath to good use again this weekend.

She tossed Samuels the evidence bag as he turned off the ignition.

“I’ll make it quick,” she quipped at him, reaching for the door handle. “I assume that you don’t want to come with me.”

“You assume correctly,” he answered, pulling his phone from a clip on his belt. “Go knock yourself out. I’ve got some calls to make, anyway.”

Jamie stepped out of the car and headed across the parking lot toward the corner shop with a bright blue and white façade, wondering as she walked if it would have been possible for Samuels to have parked any farther away. Just as she reached the door, Jamie heard a high pitch screech and then a voice call her name.

“Oh my God, tell me I am not seeing Jamie Tate!”

Jamie turned toward the voice hesitantly. In her line of work, it wasn’t always a good thing to see someone you recognized on the street. She narrowed her eyes at the short blonde woman standing a few feet in front of her with hands on her hips and then gasped in recognition.

“Sundae? Sundae Adams?”

“The one and only,” the woman said smiling and then rushed forward, throwing her arms around Jamie in a quick embrace. “How the hell have you been?”

“Great. Not as great as you, apparently. Oh my God, you look fantastic!”

Jamie grinned at the woman, still slightly in shock. Jamie had grown up a few houses down from Sundae on the east side of Chattanooga and they had played together off and on as children. Once they got to high school, however, the two became close friends. Sundae constantly struggling with her weight and Jamie wrestling with her sexual identity, neither ever quite fitting in with the popular crowd. The two had bonded after an incident sophomore year in the girls’ locker room that began with a group of preppy cheerleaders calling Jamie a dyke and popping her with wet towels, and ended with Sundae getting suspended for two days for giving one of said cheerleaders a black eye.

“Me? How about you?”

“Lord, how long has it been? Five? Six years?”

“At least,” Sundae answered. “I think I had just moved to Birmingham and was back in town for my sister’s wedding.”

“That’s right,” Jamie said nodding. “I seem to remember a horrible pink taffeta dress…”

“Oh God, I had repressed that memory.”

“I’m glad you could,” Jamie smiled. “So are you back in the city now or just here for a visit?”

“Little of both. Tom—my husband, you remember him?—is being transferred to an office in East Ridge, so we’re in the process of moving back. We’re staying with my mother while we house hunt.”

“That’s gotta be fun,” Jamie said. “We have got to get together and do lunch or dinner or something. I would love for you to meet my girlfriend Nicole.” She reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out a business card. “Here, this has my cell number on it.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Sundae said, taking the card from Jamie. “Detective Tate? Look at you, moving up in the world.”

Jamie smiled and shook her head.

“Yeah, yeah.” A thought suddenly occurred to her. “Hey, I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I’ve actually just put my house on the market. It’s a two bedroom in East Brainerd. My girlfriend and I have been wanting to move in together, so I’m looking to just move the house more than make any kind of profit off the sale.” Jamie took the card back and, pulling a pen from her pocket, wrote down the address. She handed the card back to Sundae. “I’ve got somebody coming to look at it on Saturday. If you think you might be interested, give me a call.”

“Let me talk to Tom tonight. We may actually take you up on that offer.”

Both women jumped as a car horn blew loudly. Jamie looked in the direction of the noise to see Samuels gesturing impatiently from the front seat of the Ford.

“That’s my partner,” she said, twisting her lips. “Apparently he’s getting tired of waiting.” Jamie leaned forward and hugged Sundae. “Either way, call me or text me and we can make plans.”

Jamie waved at Sundae as the other woman said goodbye and headed out into the parking lot in the direction of a green mini-van. Glaring briefly back at Samuels, Jamie swung open the door to the bath store and stepped inside.

Chapter Seven

Nicole sang along with a Michael Bublé song playing on the radio as she turned her green Honda Passport into the parking lot of the professional court that housed her real estate office. Just as she pulled into her parking spot in front of the office, the car’s Bluetooth began to chime and she cast a glance at the small LCD monitor in the center of the Honda’s dash to see Jamie’s name displayed. Smiling, she placed the vehicle in park and then pushed a small button on the steering wheel to answer the call.

“Hi Jamie,” she said, probably louder than she needed to. Nicole always felt awkward speaking over the Bluetooth system and Jamie often complained that she didn’t so much speak as she did shout.

“Hey darlin’,” Jamie drawled. Nicole smiled as she felt the little shiver she always got when Jamie said the word just
that
way. “How was the open house?”

“Meh, it was an open house,” she answered, mimicking Jamie’s reply from the other day. “How is your day so far?”

“Long. That’s why I’m calling. I need to get some of this paperwork done before we head into the weekend. It may be close to six when I get off. Do you want me to stop and pick up some Chinese take-out?”

“Hmm.” Nicole weighed her options. While she really could go for some General Tso’s chicken, it would probably not be the healthiest of dinner options. Finally deciding that she could just start going to the gym on Monday, she answered, “Sure, let’s go with take-out. You know what I like.”

“I certainly do…” Jamie said suggestively. At Nicole’s laugh, Jamie continued. “General Tso’s, medium heat, no green peppers. Right?”

“That’s it. Hey, since you’re going to be late, do you want to just meet at your place tonight? I don’t have any showings scheduled, so we could sleep in and just bum around all day.”

“Um…” Jamie began and then there was a silence. Nicole raised one eyebrow and glanced at the screen on the dash while she waited for the answer. “You know what, I’d rather go to your house. I don’t think there’s anything to drink in the refrigerator and I know I didn’t leave it in the best shape the other day. Would that be okay?”

“Uh, sure.”

“And besides,” Jamie added, “I’m going to have to go in for a little while in the morning, so we wouldn’t be able to sleep in anyway.”

“Okay,” Nicole said. “I guess I’ll see you after while then.”

“Great. Bye darlin’,” Jamie said and hung up before Nicole had the chance to reply.

“Bye, love you,” Nicole said quietly, frowning at the blank screen. She sat in the driver’s seat for a few moments and then, heaving a sigh, opened the door and stepped out. Walking around to the rear of the vehicle, she opened the back hatch and began to pull out the yard signs from the open house, trying not to think about the weird vibe she had gotten from the call just now. Nicole had all the signs leaned against the brick of the building and was walking back to close the hatch when a black BMW pulled into the parking spot next to hers.