The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (25 page)

             
Julie shook her head firmly.  “Mama is from Italy.  Born and raised in the Catholic faith.”

             
“I see,” Cassie nodded, “And what about your father?  How did he take the news?”

             
“In stride,” Julie answered honestly.  “See homosexuality was not exactly a big problem among our tribe.  In fact, among some tribes a woman who was a great hunter could also be a warrior.  She was considered dual-spirited, someone imbued with both a man and a woman’s spirit.  And if she was a good enough provider, she’d be given wives of her own.”

             
Cassandra looked surprised and took another glance around the living room at the various Native American artifacts that lined the walls and tables. 

             
Julie was watching her and smiled, “They’re all genuine, if that’s what you were wondering.  They’ve all been handed down among my family from generation to generation.”

             
The heiress turned to face her again, “What tribe is your father from?”

             
“Seneca.”

             
“One of the original members of the
Haudenosaunee
or Iroquois League,” Cassandra smiled. 

             
“Very good,” Julie applauded. “Do you know the other name we’re called?”

             
“The Five Nations,” Cassie answered, “Until the Tuscarora joined and then it was the Six Nations.”

             
Impressed and pleased by this Julie said, “And for that, you can have another white chocolate chip muffin.”

             
“Actually, I’d like to talk now.  If you don’t mind,” the heiress replied quietly.

             
“Of course,” Julie told her and sat down next to her.  She had purposely waited for the girl to give her a hint as to when she was ready to talk.  “Do you want to start, or have me ask questions?”

             
“You start please,” replied Cassie without looking at her.

             
“All right,” Julie agreed and leaned back in her chair, “Can you remember when you first knew you liked girls?”

             
“Not really,” Cassandra replied, “I guess I always felt more comfortable around other girls.  But I do know when I first got turned on by one.”

             
“When was that?” Julie asked gently.

             
“When I was sixteen,” Cassie paused and became even more embarrassed.  “I got into a fight with another girl and…” her voice trailed off. 

             
Obviously this was hard on her so Julie said, “Take your time.  Don’t rush yourself.”

             
“We didn’t grab at each other’s boobs, or anywhere private,” Cassie explained quickly, “it was mostly hair pulling and pushing each other up against the wall, but both of us being naked at the time didn’t help.”

             
This took Julie by surprise. “Where did this happen?”

             
“Girl’s shower room back in high school,” the smaller woman replied turning red. 

             
‘You poor thing,’ Julie thought and decided to try and lighten the moment.  “Hey, don’t feel bad about how turned you on.  I’m getting excited just thinking about it.”

             
“Seriously?” asked Cassie.

             
“No, but I thought it would take your mind off of how you’re feeling for a moment,” Julie told her honestly.  “So what happened afterwards?  Did you have any other encounters?”

             
“Not with her,” Cassandra shook her head, “But I did find myself checking out other girls more and more.  Mind you I only dated and went to bed with guys, but that never felt right.”  

             
Julie nodded.  “I know what you mean.  I thought about trying a guy once or twice but I felt icky just thinking about it.”

             
This time the heiress stared at her speculatively, “You’re trying to make me laugh by saying boys are ‘icky’ aren’t you?”

             
“Depends, is it working?”

             
A smile started to break out across Cassie’s face, but then her cell phone rang.  Reluctantly she pulled the device out and then frowned.  “It’s Alex’s girlfriend Veronica!” she exclaimed. “Why would she want to talk to me?”

             
“One way to find out,” Julie told her and waited as her guest took the call. 

             
After some brief pleasantries, Cassandra’s expression became more and more confused.  She ended the call with, “I’ll come right away.”  Then she turned to Julie and said, “I’m sorry I have to go.  The police want to talk to me about last night.  Apparently there’s been another death and they think Alex may be involved somehow.”

             
“What?” cried Julie, then her own phone started ringing.  Picking it up she immediately saw Ronnie’s number.  “Do you want a wait a moment,” she told Cassandra, “I think I might be going your way.”

Questions

              They arrived at the station in Cassandra’s limousine.  The two of them had spent the entire drive talking about the odd-looking walking hanging on the back of the driver’s seat.  It had a ball-shaped handle of white metal which was also affixed to the woodwork of the stick.  Just below the handle, on one side was a curved lip.

             
Cassandra had just finished explaining that it had belonged to one of her ancestors and that she occasionally needed it from time to time.

             
Curiosity got the better of Julie. “May I ask why?” she inquired.

             
“I have Epstein-Barr Syndrome,” her friend admitted with embarrassment.  “I can seem perfectly normal for days, weeks, even months.  But then it rears its ugly head and I’m the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  I can barely get around, I ache like crazy, maybe have a fever, you name it.”

             
Julie nodded in sympathy.  Having a degree in Physical Therapy she’d studied up on a number of atypical conditions and the one Cassandra had just described was familiar to her.  “You poor thing,” she sighed patting the girl’s hand.

             
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Cassie assured her and opened the car door.  “Feel sorry for whoever ends up dating me in the future.  They’ll have their hands full.”

             
‘Especially with your chest,’ Julie thought surprising herself.  Except for the day they first met, she hadn’t thought about making a play for Cassandra.  And now, knowing as much as she did about the girl, she wasn’t sure it would be a good idea.  The heiress was going through a difficult phase with coming out to herself and then others.  What she was going to need more than anything else was support, not a romantic entanglement.

             
‘Besides, you only intended to go on a couple of dates and then get her into bed for a good time.  You don’t want a serious relationship remember? Not after what happened with your last girlfriend.’

             
Julie frowned as she got out of the car.  These thoughts had come from a part of her brain that had an annoying habit of pointing out the truth whenever possible.  She thought of it as the “Chatty” part of her brain, since it never seemed to shut up.

             
‘Hey, you’re the one who chose to be aloof and unattached, Honey.  Don’t blame me.’

             
This time she mentally told her brain to fuck off as she and Cassie entered the station. 

             
Veronica was waiting at the front desk and did a double-take upon seeing them together.  “You two know each other?” she said as they reached the desk.

             
“We met a couple of days ago at my aunt’s restaurant,” Julie explained, planning on leaving it at that.  But Cassandra had other ideas.

             
“Julie’s helping me with some personal issues involving closets,” the girl added pointedly.

             
“I see,” Ronnie nodded.  It was obvious she caught the meaning and was a bit relieved.  “Well, since you’re here together we might as well have my boss talk to you both at the same time.  Follow me.”

             
She led them down the hallway to Roy’s office where they were greeted by the man himself, and offered seats. 

             
After warning them both that what they were about to hear was not to go beyond these walls the police chief got straight down to business by saying, “Now Julie, I know you’re aware of the recent deaths of two teenagers who tried to run you down.  What you may not know is one of my people was killed that same day while checking out the vehicle they had been driving.”

             
This was news to Julie, “What happened?”

             
“He got trapped inside the car and it somehow filled with water,” Peterson explained, “Now during the autopsies the Medical Examiner discovered that the water used to drown all three victims contained some unknown mineral, which is still being investigated at a lab in New York.”

             
“Do you know where the water came from?” asked Cassandra studying him carefully.

             
“The stream on the Graham estate,” Veronica answered, breaking her silence. “We got word that was the last place the teenagers were seen alive.  Roy took a sample from the stream and tests revealed the presence of the unknown mineral.”

             
“Which is why Alex said no one was supposed to go down there last night during the Open House,” Cassie nodded.  “And that explains why he got so worked up when I saw that girl down by the bridge.  The area was a crime scene.  But how come it wasn’t taped off?”

             
“We searched the area a few days ago and came up with nothing,” Roy explained, “but we were still waiting for results on the mineral to see if it had anything to do with why those kids tried to drown themselves.”

             
“Do you think it had anything to do with what happened?” asked Julie, as a sense of worry crept over her.  Uncle Jason lived near that stream.

             
Roy hesitated before answering, “Yes, I do.  You see I received a voicemail from the medical examiner last night.”  Here he turned to Cassandra, “Which is why I left the party so suddenly last night.  It seems Dr. Wells started experiencing terrifying hallucinations after inhaling fumes coming from a water sample Sergeant Ross took from the stream in question.  When I got to the Morgue he was dead.  Drowned just like the others.  Only this time it had happened in a completely dry room.”

             
“When did he die?” asked Cassandra. 

             
“Sometime between 9:30 and 10:30,” Roy told her, “the same time Alex dropped out of sight from the party.”

             
“And we found him an hour later, wandering around near the stream with his jacket all messed up and smelling of the tainted water,” she nodded uneasily.  “How far away was the hospital?”

             
“About a ten to fifteen minute walk,” Peterson answered.

             
“You don’t seriously believe he had anything to do with it?” Julie exclaimed.  “I mean come on, Ronnie, tell him…”

             
But the chief cut her off, “Sergeant Ross has been removed from this investigation pending the outcome of this interview.”

             
“I don’t believe this…” the muscular beauty began, when she felt a hand on one of her big biceps.  “Easy,” Cassandra told her, “He’s just thinking in terms of what a lawyer might bring up in a courtroom.

             
Julie glared at her companion and then turned to Ronnie who sighed and said, “She’s right.  I can’t be seen possibly trying to protect someone I’m personally involved with.”

             
Roy cleared his throat meaningfully and she became quiet again.  Then he continued, “We have no way of proving Alex’s whereabouts the night the two teens died.  Sergeant Ross was on the late shift and he was home alone working on his laptop.”