SUNSET
This winter day couldn't be more perfect with plenty of sun and a slight breeze off the ocean. Joe smiles as he makes his way through the admission gates at the Saugus speedway track. He pauses a moment to read over a sign proclaiming the big race, which is scheduled to start later today. He maneuvers through the pre-race crowds that have come to get a closer look at their favorite cars and drivers. They are all crowded around the pit area retaining wall, which is as far as the fans are allowed to go. Joe, however, walks up to the gate, flashing the guard his visitor's pass. The guard steps aside and waves him through to the private pit area.
Joe makes his way past several of the drivers and pit crews working on their cars. He heads towards the last pit area in this row to find his friend, J.J. Wilkes. At the door he hears an argument between J.J. and his lead mechanic, Jerry Kraft going on inside.
"No way! I won't do it!""It's a hundred extra horsepower!"
"Damn it! I said no! You're not going to do that to me!"
"What are you afraid of! We'll slip it in after the tech inspection is done… who'll know?"
"I will. I want to win this thing under my own ability."
"Well… what have we got here! A star! You think you're that good, J.J.?"
"I'll go back to dirt tracks before I'll run with a bottle, Jerry… and that's final!"
Jerry is still angry and grips a large wrench tightly in his hand as if thinking about using it on J.J. He is about to snap back at his driver and partner, but Joe decides he's heard enough and steps into the garage.
"Hey, guys."
"Hi, Joe." Jerry Kraft slams the wrench down and glares at J.J., warning him to keep quiet before storming out of the garage.
Both men watch him go in silence, Jerry walks with a noticeable limp. When Joe turns back to his friend, J.J. is rubbing his temple tenderly and wincing in pain. He dismisses it as pre-race tension.
"What was that all about?"
"Lets go outside… it was nothing."
"Nothing? He was about to belt you with that wrench. Don't give me that 'nothing' crap, buddy."
"He wanted to install a nitrous-oxide bottle in my car."
"Laughing gas?"
"Yea, it purifies the gas mixture and boosts the horsepower. If I won with that stuff and they found out, I'd be banned from the circuit."
"You can't afford to let that happen, J.J. How did you do in the inspection this morning?"
"We weighed in a little light so we had to add some ballast."
"And was Jerry also responsible for the car being a little light?"
"He was ticked off when he had to put it back on. To make up for it he went lean on the carburetor. We still set a fast time in the speed trials… 17.02. Now I know why he went light this morning. He was gonna add the nitrous tank."
"Still, not bad… not bad, at all."
"I thought so."
"No, I mean that… not bad… they get to kiss the winner?"
J.J. follows his gaze and sees the two pretty, young girls walking by in their short, sexy skirts. One girl is white and one is black, but both knew exactly what it took to get the men's attention. They hear a few cat calls, but when they see Joe and J.J. watching them, the black girl smiles and winks. Both men smile in return and continue to watch them walk away.
"No wonder you want to win so bad."
"How do you think I met my girlfriend, brother."
"She was a trophy girl?"
"Yep, until I got my hands on her… now she's strictly my trophy girl."
They walk off towards the refreshments counter as Joe turns the conversation to the reason for his visit. "J.J., how's your little brother doing? He getting it together?"
"Andre has a lot of problems, Joe. I just don't know how to help him."
"He been in trouble again?"
"He's always into something. It seems like he's a trouble magnet. If its out there he finds it. Lets not talk about him, ok?"
Both men stop at the concession counter and order a couple of sodas. Joe is curious why J.J almost acts like he's hiding something. Joe understands the tension J.J. has when it comes to Andre, though. As long as he's known him, J.J. has been trying to keep his little brother out of one form of trouble or another. They have barely paid for their drinks when Jerry Kraft appears beside them. Except for his limp Jerry is a handsome, well built man. He is much calmer now, having gotten his temper under control, but he still speaks gruffly to J.J.
"J.J., we got work to do before the race. Lets get on it, huh?"
"Duty calls. Hey, stick around and I'll let you buy me a beer after the race is over, ok?"
"You got it. You just remember why you need to win that race, all right?"
J.J. laughs as he jogs away after his lead mechanic. Joe stands there sipping his drink and then goes up into the stands where he can have a good view of the race.
The stands quickly fill with fans as race time gets closer and Joe feels the excitement in the air as the high powered cars are brought out onto the track for their warm up laps. He smiles as he watches J.J's car move around the track with the other drivers. He knows how hard his friend has worked to be here competing against the big boys and he is glad for him.
When the race finally gets under way all the brightly colored race cars go thundering past, causing a deafening roar in the stands as the crowd cheers excitedly. This race is scheduled for three hundred miles, which means there won't be too much excitement until closer to the end, but Joe still enjoys watching his long time friend drive. As they now round the first turn in lap number fifteen Joe sees that several of the cars in the pack have bunched up around J.J's car. A look of concern crosses his face as he mumbles a warning to J.J. to get clear of the pack.
Before the words are even out of his mouth J.J's car slows suddenly and gets bumped from behind, causing it to veer sharply across the track. It is struck by three other cars before careening into the concrete retaining wall along the back side of the track. Joe is instantly on his feet as the crowd lets out a collective gasp. Joe is already moving towards the exit when J.J's car suddenly bursts into flames. He stops momentarily to stare in horror at the flames engulfing his friend's car, then bolts from the stands and back to the track entrance. The guard holds him back, refusing to let him in as several emergency vehicles race by with red lights and siren going. Once they are past, the guard steps aside and lets Joe in. He knows they won't allow him out on the track so he races towards J.J's pit area so he can listen in on the radio. Deep inside he already knows the news won't be good.
Later that evening, Pepper comes strolling into the office wearing her new Thai kimono outfit she bought today. She has to give a demonstration on Thai cooking in her class and wanted to look the part. Her hair is pulled up in a black onyx fan clip and the white satin kimono is a halter cut and reveals her neck and shoulders. It has only one strap which ties around behind her neck, then drops down to wrap sarong style around her waist. Her back, shoulders and arms are bare, which only adds to the mystic of the oriental dragons embroidered on the slim outfit. As she makes her way into the room a uniformed officer steps aside and lets out a low whistle of appreciation.
"Why thank you, Charlie."
Everyone in the room is now watching and she enjoys every second as she moves slowly towards her office. Pete, who's desk sits across from her office door now leans out to let his gaze drop all the way down the long white satin skirt to the floor. She stops, allowing him to examine her as she turns around in a circle… striking up modeling poses as she does. Pete grins, knowing she used to be a model.
"You look… aahh… cold."
"That's what I like about you, Pete… you're so… practical."
She stops modeling and stands there with her hands on her hips, showing her disappointment that he didn't comment more favorably on her outfit. He knows what she was hoping to hear and lowers his voice to tease, "Now, Pepp… you know I'd be back writing traffic tickets if William caught me commenting on that dress. So, why are you dressed like an albino geisha girl?"
"What? You don't think I'll fit in down in china town?"
"Not a chance. You'd never pass as one of those China Dolls. You better give it up now."
"Oh well… I guess it's a good thing this isn't for work then, huh? Its for my Thai cooking class. I have to give a demonstration so I thought I should dress the part."
"Oh, yea… how's your class going? Is the Thai food spicy?"
"Spicy? Try hot! Hot! Hot! You could eat a glowing ember and not know the difference."
Just then their conversation is interrupted as Bill steps out of his office down the hall and calls out to them. "Pete, Pepper…"
They both turn as he motions for them to come to his office. They exchange a glance and Pete jumps up as he offers her his arm as an escort. She playfully takes it and they walk down the hall as if they are entering a grand ballroom. Bill watches them come with a frown on his face. He allows his eyes to travel slowly down over her body and back up. She stops before him, waiting for his comment on her outfit, but all he does is frown and repeat Pete's comment.
"Aren't you cold?"
Pepper pretends to be outraged as she now turns to Pete, pushing his arm away from her as she accuses, "You men are all alike!"
She walks on into his office to find Joe seated there. He seems subdued and doesn't bother to join in with their teasing. They all know about the death of his friend last weekend. She sits down beside him and pats his arm as Bill and Pete follow her in. Bill moves back behind his desk and sits down with a sigh as he becomes serious again.
"Ok, Joe has asked me if our team can investigate the death of his friend, J.J. Wilkes. I've checked it with Captain Sparks and we're good to go."
"Obviously you still think it was no accident, huh, buddy?"
"The preliminary inspection of his car hasn't turned up anything. The rumor circulating around the circuit is he was loaded. He was ok an hour before the race. He wasn't drunk and he hadn't been drinking… I was with him. And I know he's not a pill popper. J.J. was too careful a driver to let anything impair his driving skills… no way, he was loaded."
"Didn't one of the other drivers clip his car?"
"It looked that way from the stands, but I went over the race report. All the other drivers deny coming into contact with J.J's car until after he suddenly slowed down. Then he got bumped and began to spin out of control. The problem is, the other driver says he didn't hit him hard enough for him to lose control like that. This is personal to me… and I loved that man enough to want to know what happened."
They continue to discuss the details of the accident and how they will best go about investigating the death of this up and coming star of the car racing circuit.
Outside, in the main hallway, the elevator doors slide open and an elegant woman steps out. She is well dressed, but overly thin and her eyes have a sadness about them. She nervously straightens her clothing and looks both ways down the hallway; unsure which direction to go. She finally approaches a uniformed officer behind the desk.
"Excuse me. Can you tell me where I might find Sergeant Crowley?"
The officer turns around to point down the hallway, giving her directions on how to get to the Criminal Conspiracy Division. She thanks him and heads off in the direction he indicated. She is just entering the squad area when she hears several voices laughing and joking. She sees three men and a pretty woman come out of an office not far away and suddenly she is frozen in fear. She recognizes Bill immediately and watches now as he comes down the hall with the pretty woman. He is obviously very well acquainted with her as he places his jacket around her shoulders and teases her.
"Honey, you may say you're not cold, but put this on anyway. You're causing everyone else's' temperatures to rise just looking at…"
He has his hands possessively on Pepper's shoulders, but his words trail off as his eyes move to the person standing just inside the door. Pepper is smiling as she reaches up to place her hand over Bill's on her shoulder, but the look on his face stops her. He looks as if he's just seen a ghost and Pepper follows his gaze to the petite blonde staring back at him in the same manner. Pete and Joe also realize something is wrong with their boss and stop. For several long seconds they all stand there motionless in the hall, just staring at each other.
Pepper finally gives his hand a gentle squeeze, getting his attention as she softly asks, "Bill?"
Her voice brings him out of his stunned trance and his hands fall away from her in a guilty reflex. His eyes are still glued to the woman as he now takes a couple of steps towards her, stops, then holds out a hand to her as he stammers an awkward greeting.
"Jackie! What are… how did… my God, you're here!"
She takes his outstretched hand and steps closer for a quick hug. Bill doesn't resist and returns the gesture as he kisses her cheek. "Eloquence was never your best trait, was it William?"
"This is just… a surprise! Aahh… how are you?"
"I'm fine, but please… try to control your enthusiasm." They are still standing there holding hands and everyone else in the room seems to have been forgotten.
Pepper is stunned over the arrival of this other woman… who knows him very well. She pulls his jacket a little closer around her shoulders, as if that will bring him back to her. Pete comes to stand beside her and she glances over at him with bewildered eyes. Pete is just as confused and simply shrugs before they turn back to watch this drama unfold. Jackie saw the look that passed between the two onlookers and remembers her manners. She steps back from Bill now and motions towards the others.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your… co-workers, William?"
Bill suddenly remembers the others behind him and turns to stand beside Jackie as he tries to pull his jumbled thoughts together and introduce her to his friends. "This is Sergeant Pepper Anderson, my partner… Detectives Pete Royster and Joe Styles. This is… Jackie… aahh…"
He hesitates, unsure which name she is using these days and looks down at her for confirmation. She merely smiles at his confusion before she graciously turns to look Pepper in the eye and quietly say, "Jackie Crowley."
At this, three sets of eyes snap to Bill, but he only sees one. The look in Pepper's eye makes him even more nervous as he explains, "My wife… my ex-wife."
There is another moment of shocked silence as Pepper suddenly comes face to face with the woman Bill has always refused to talk about. Her fingers curl into the fabric of Bill's jacket and she suddenly feels uncomfortable. Wearing it makes her feel as if Bill is cheating on his wife with her. She quickly removes the jacket as Pete tries to lighten the mood by joking.
"Hey, Bill, how'd you ever let her get away from you?"
"What I want to know is how did you ever catch her in the first place? She's way too classy for a guy like you."
"Don't you two have some work to do? Like right now?"
Pete bumps Joe with his elbow and they begin to saunter away as Pete pretends to be indignant. "We can take a subtle hint. Come on, Joe… our presence is obviously desired elsewhere."
Jackie is smiling at the friendly banter and watches the two detectives walk away arm in arm. When she brings her attention back to the man beside her she sees that his eyes are still riveted on the woman holding his jacket. Pepper finally notices Jackie looking from one to the other and takes a deep breath as she forces herself to sound calm.
"Well, you two probably have lots to catch up on. Its nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Crowley."
"Jackie, please."
Pepper acknowledges this with a smile and then steps forward to hand Bill back his jacket. "I'll just go get started on those calls."
"Keep it. You may need it."
"No thanks… it doesn't go with my outfit."
Her hand is outstretched, but Bill refuses to take the jacket from her as his eyes silently plead with her not to be angry. She keeps all emotion hidden because his wife is watching her closely. She simply drops his jacket on a desk beside him and turns to leave. Bill watches her until she disappears into her own office, knowing he has some explaining to do. He sighs and looks down at his ex-wife as he ushers her into his office; closing the door so they can talk in private. Jackie sits down in the seat Pepper so recently vacated and Bill is once again struck by how strange this situation is. He pulls himself back to the present and offers, "Would you like a cup of coffee? Tea? Water?"
"Coffee is fine. Do you still make horribly strong coffee?"
"Yes, but no one will drink it. Pepper usually makes this for me…" He cuts off as he is pouring two cups of coffee, feeling uncomfortable talking about Pepper now.
Jackie realizes how uncomfortable this must be for him and tries to ease the tension as she comments, "She's lovely, William. How did you ever manage to get a partner like her?"
"I've been asking myself the same thing for the past three years now."
"She seems very nice."
"Well… she can be meaner than hell too. She keeps me in line most of the time." He
brings her the cup of coffee and then goes around to sit behind his desk. He doesn't want
to discuss Pepper right now and quickly changes the subject. "You look terrific."
"That's because you're seeing the new me…" She hands him a business card "Jacqueline Aiello Crowley, Interior Designer."
"Hey, that's great! You finally did it."
"Uh-huh. You were right all along… people love my work. And, you know how much?"
"How much?"
"I won't be needing any more alimony after this month. How's that for success?"
Bill is studying the fancy parchment paper card with the gold embossed letters on it. He hears her comment about the alimony, but something else catches his attention.
"This month, huh? Is that the magic number?"
"I figure I'm financially set now… and remember, I know how much a cop makes."
"Well, I make a little more now than I did in those days."
"Oh, so you don't want to stop writing me checks every month? I guess you don't have any other use for that money?"
"Look, if you're really serious… I can find something else to do with my money. Really, I can."
She doesn't say it, but the image of Pepper pops into her head. There is another moment of silence as they both sip their coffee. Bill is feeling more relaxed with her now and finally asks, "Knowing you, I'd say you have all the money I've paid you stashed in your underwear drawer. I bet you still have that little stash of money tucked in your bra, don't you?"
"That's my mad money! Of course its still there, but I don't carry cash any more, William… I'm a new woman... I use plastic."
"Yes you are… and I don't think I've ever seen you looking happier."
"I am, William… I am. But what about you… are you happy?"
"Yes, I am. I'm doing good."
Just then Bill's eyes move past Jackie's to look through the window at the detective area. He sees Pepper standing by Joe's desk, talking to him, but her eyes are on him. Even from here he can see the uncertainty in her eyes and an idea suddenly comes to him. He gets up and goes to open his door. He steps out and motions for her to join them in his office. Jackie turns to see who is coming when Pepper stops beside him and he suggests a way for them to get to know each other.
"Pepp, I was just about to ask Jackie to join us for dinner tonight. Is that all right?"
"Oh… Bill, I don't know… I have that presentation and… you know… maybe you two should just go on without me."
"I told you I'd come watch your presentation, Pepp. We'll just do dinner afterwards.
Ok?"
Pepper isn't sure she wants to spend much time around Bill while his wife is here because she feels like 'the other woman'. She hesitates to answer and darts a quick glance over at Jackie. Bill sees her glance and turns his attention to Jackie also.
"Jackie? Do you mind sitting through Pepper's Thai cooking presentation first?"
"Of course not… if she doesn't mind a third wheel. I think Thai cooking is fabulous."
"Third wheel, hell! You're the guest of honor." He doesn't see the twinge of doubt his
comment brought to Pepper's eyes and she quickly hides it before he looks back to her.
"Ok, so its settled then. We'll watch Madame Pepper Thai one on and then we'll go have
a nice dinner… just the three of us."
He places his hand on Pepper's shoulder to silently urge her to look up at him as he searches for her agreement. Pepper doesn't know how to get out of this without looking like a jealous girlfriend so she finally sighs, "Well, since you put it that way…"
Pepper is uneasy about this arrangement, but when her eyes once again meet the other woman's, she is smiling sweetly and Pepper can't help but like her... until her next comment turns the knife of doubt in her chest once more. "That's my William… always getting his way."
Its almost quitting time so Pepper decides to leave a little early and head over to her cooking class so she can get ready for her presentation. She had been looking forward to this night when she gets to show off her love of cooking, but now she is apprehensive and hopes she won't make any mistakes in front of the woman she's always believed to be perfect. At least that's the impression she got from Bill's pained looks every time she asked about his ex-wife. On those few occasions when he spoke about her in hushed tones, Pepper believed he wasn't over the pain of the divorce yet. She knew he'd been divorced for close to six years now, but he would never say more.
Bill on the other hand is feeling better now that he has his two favorite women together. He knows once they get to know each other they'll get along fine. He also wants to reassure Pepper she has nothing to fear from Jackie showing up unexpectedly like this. He saw the emotion flickering across her face when he introduced them earlier. She had gone from shock, to jealousy, to worry, to guilt before she masked her emotions behind her best courtroom smile. He knew her well enough to know she was upset about the arrival of his ex-wife… and she had a right to be. If Pepper's ex-husband suddenly showed up acting all friendly, he would be filled with jealous rage. He makes a mental note to spend some quiet time with her later so they can talk.
After Pepper's cooking class, Bill takes them to a quiet little Italian restaurant. He and Pepper come here often and the waiter knows they like the corner table. Bill, being the gentleman he is, seats both women on opposite sides, not so they can study each other, but to avoid having to decide if he should sit beside Jackie or Pepper. This way he is between them. By now they are more relaxed with each other and Jackie does her best to ease the tension by telling funny stories about Bill from when they were married. They order drinks and then sit around laughing and talking until their dinner arrives.
"You should have seen him then… with a crew cut and weighing all of a hundred thirty-five pounds. He looked like he should have still been in high school."
"I looked a hell of a lot better when I got out of the academy. I was much more fit then."
"I bet you really took some ribbing over that."
"Pepper, he looked so young they immediately snatched him up to work in vice! They used to dress him up in a sailor suit and those women couldn't wait to get in his car! Bill, what was that line you used on them that worked so well?"
"I'd just drive up beside her and ask if she knew where I could find Cahuenga Drive. I'd mispronounce it so bad they all thought I was fresh in from a ship. Everyone knew all the new sailors in town headed straight for the Cahuenga strip to find women. Some times, before I could even get my question out they were propositioning me!"
"And did any of them ever just give you directions?"
"I never gave them the chance. I always busted them first."
"Fortunately for all of us he outgrew that baby face look. In our current assignment it wouldn't do for him to be posing as a hit man for hire with a face like that."
Bill frowns at her and they both laugh at his obvious disapproval of their amusement. Just then their dinner arrives and they lapse into a silence for a few minutes. Jackie finds herself truly liking this new woman in Bill's life and she hopes he is happy now. She tries not to dwell on the mistakes of her past, especially now, but she never should have walked out on him like she did. She'd been young and insecure and every time he left for work she was sure he wasn't coming home alive. After a while the tension got so bad she almost had a nervous breakdown. She selfishly thought only of herself when she made the rash decision to leave him. Now, in light of her new challenge those days don't seem all that scary to her. She suddenly snaps back to the present and forces the bad memories from her mind as she smiles brightly.
"Pepper? Has Bill ever told you about how we were married?"
"Oh, please! Jackie… I'm sure Pepper doesn't want to hear about that!"
"No… I think I do. So, was he terribly romantic back then?"
Both women glance over to see him blushing again as he scowls before dropping his eyes to concentrate on his dinner. Jackie grins over at Pepper and winks.
"I wouldn't call him… romantic... exactly. You see, we dated all through high school and everyone just expected us to get married after graduation. Well, one day Bill comes to my home and announces that he's going to be serving his country. He was very serious and made this big speech about how he was embarking on this dangerous mission in life… and how he might not make it through…"
"Bill? You were in the marines, right?"
"I meant that I'd signed up for the police academy... But yes, I did serve four years during the gulf war too."
"And the police academy was this terribly dangerous mission he told you about!"
"Well, I didn't know it was the police academy until later."
"And that's when he proposed?"
Jackie rolls her eyes and chuckles as Bill again scowls. "Proposed? Lets just say he proposed everything but marriage!"
"That I can believe!"
"But it back fired on him because I insisted we had to get married first… since he would be leaving on this dangerous career and all. So we got married… and we lived in this
one room garage apartment in the valley while he was in the academy. God, we were such innocents back then."
"We made out all right, didn't we?"
"Yes, we did, but we never did take a honeymoon. We couldn't afford it then and we always planned to take one later… maybe a trip to Italy… we never got there either."
She finishes on a slightly sad note and Pepper no longer thinks this conversation is amusing. She can see there are still strong feelings between Bill and Jackie and she wonders what really happened to cause their divorce. Bill is now serious as he and Jackie's eyes meet. Jackie quickly hides her sadness and forces another smile to her lips as she tears her eyes away from Bill's to continue her story.
"You see, Bill and I are both Italian. That's why we wanted to see Italy."
"Only one of us is Italian… the other is a renegade Greek."
"Here we go again. Pepper, in the entire five years we were married… I've never been able to convince him that Sicilians are Italians!"
"I know, Jackie… since we've been partners I haven't been able to convince him of much either. Especially when it comes to women."
She meets Bill's eyes across the table and he smiles in return, catching her hidden joke about how protective he is of her. Jackie also notices the private glance and wonders what Pepper meant by that last statement. She once again realizes how close these two are and feels a twinge of guilt for intruding on their life now. Then she remembers her reason for coming here and it justifies her actions. The rest of their evening is more subdued as they all realize things were getting just a little too personal. Neither woman wants to get into her relationship with Bill… and Bill is stuck in the middle praying they won't.
As predicted they did seem to hit it off after they got to know each other, but he hadn't anticipated them sitting here discussing him. It made him uneasy because he didn't want to say anything to offend either woman. So, in being diplomatic Bill simply agreed with them for the most part and kept his mouth shut the rest of the time.
After dinner, Jackie professed to being tired after a long day of travel and asked Bill to see her back to her hotel. Pepper immediately agreed it would be best if Bill escorted Jackie and she would grab a cab back to the station where her car was parked. Bill didn't like this idea for several reasons… first, they were only blocks from Pepper's house now and it would be easier to just drop her off at home. Second, he would then have a reason to come by in the morning to pick her up and they could have a long talk. He escorts both women out to his car and ignores Pepper's request as he firmly puts her in the car.
He drives to her house as she sits in the back seat, silently fuming. When they arrive Pepper wants only to be alone and doesn't have to strain to keep this pleasant smile on her face. When the car pulls to a stop she opens the door and says her quick good-bye.
"Jackie, it was a pleasure meeting you. Bill, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Likewise, Pepper. I hope I get to see you again while I'm here. Good night."
Pepper is already out of the car and half way to her front door when Bill sprints after her. "Pepper! Wait…"
He falls into stride beside her, intent on walking her to the door. On any other occasion Pepper would have appreciated his manners, but tonight it only makes her more raw because Jackie is watching them. Pepper is torn between genuinely liking Bill's ex-wife and still feeling like the other woman who got caught cheating with a married man. They don't speak on the way to her door, but when Pepper pulls out her keys to unlock the door she tensely comments on it.
"It would have been easier to let me go to the station."
"It was completely out of the way and you know it."
"Well, maybe I need my car."
"I'll pick you up in the morning."
Her control finally snaps as she lowers her voice to angrily enlighten him. "Well, maybe
I didn't want your wife to know where I live… did you ever think about that?"
"Why?… and she's my ex-wife, Pepp."
"Yea." Pepper has opened her door and is about to step inside when Bill's hand on her arm stops her. She looks up at him for a long moment and he can once again see the worry in her eyes. He would like nothing better than to spend the rest of the night reassuring her, but he can't. Jackie is sitting in his car waiting for him to return. He knows Jackie can see them from the driveway, but he doesn't care as he leans down to warmly kiss Pepper's lips. She starts to draw back, but his fingers close around her arm, holding her still until she finally returns his brief caress.
When he pulls back their eyes meet and he honestly says, "Honey, I know this is strange… and I'm not sure what its all about yet, but don't worry."
"What's there to worry about? She just shows up here after six years to find you..."
"Pepp, don't … I'll come back and we can talk. I'll tell you all about it then, ok?
Right now, I've got to get her back to her hotel."
"No… don't come back tonight, Bill. Just go on… take her home."
He sighs in frustration. "I'll pick you up in the morning then, all right? We can talk
then."
"Sure… good night."
He is just leaning in to kiss her again when her hand comes up to press against his chest
and stop him. Then she goes inside without another word and closes the door. He stares
at it for a moment, hoping she won't let this worry her too much, but knowing it already
does. With a sigh he returns to his car and slips behind the wheel as Jackie purposely
avoids looking at him. He is thankful for that as he pulls out of Pepper's driveway and
heads for the hotel where Jackie is staying.
On the way, Jackie glances cautiously over at him several times, wondering if she's caused problems between Bill and his girlfriend by showing up here. She doesn't want there to be any hostilities between them or herself and decides to get things out in the open. She tries to sound cheerful and positive as she throws out a vague comment.
"So, how did it go?"
"What?"
"Your partner, Pepper? You know… the gorgeous blonde we just dropped off? Is she upset?"
"No, not at all."
"So things are okay for you?"
"Things are fine. She's a good cop… a great cop."
"Bill, I mean with your love life. She's lovely… how do you feel about her?"
"You're being very direct. Look, lets just leave that topic alone, all right?"
"Fine, but answer me this… is it serious?"
"Jackie, please…"
"Okay, just tell me… are you happy?"
"Yes." His fingers tightly grip the steering wheel and she decides to let it go at that.
She just wanted to make sure he was happy with his new life… to ease some of her guilt for what she did to them six years ago. Bill may not say it, but his actions showed his serious feelings for his partner. If it weren't serious between them he wouldn't be so worried about her feelings, or so considerate, or so reluctant to discuss her. There is a tense silence between them for some time and then Bill finally speaks.
"So tell me about you? Anyone special?"
"Oh, there's this guy I've been seeing. He's in insurance. Nothing dramatic to report, but I can't complain."
"And are you happy?"
"Of course I am."
Bill can tell by the quickness of her answer and her overly bright smile now that she isn't being completely truthful with him. It makes him wonder again why she decided to show up here after all these years. If all she wanted to do was let him know he could stop the alimony payments she could have sent a letter. After all, they haven't even spoken since the day she disappeared from his home six years ago. Now she was here, acting like they parted as friends. When they arrive at her hotel, Bill parks and gets out to come around and help her from the car. His manners bring back pleasant memories of when they were married and he treated her like some kind of a porcelain doll. He walks her into the lobby.
"I'd forgotten…"
"What?"
"What a gentleman you are." She turns to face him as she reaches out to place her hand on his arm. Their eyes meet and there is a long tense silence between them. Jackie finally lowers her eyes and softly admits, "Its been a lovely evening. I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing by coming here, but I'm glad I looked you up now."
"I'm glad too. Its nice to see you again, Jackie. I've often wondered…"
When he leaves his words hanging her eyes again come up to his and she can see the old emotion they once shared. She can see all the old pain and frustration he felt when she vanished, but she refuses to dwell on the bad as she forces a smile to her lips.
"I hope that means you've missed me."
Their eyes hold for a long moment as Bill sees for the first time her true reason for coming back to find him. Could she really want to reconcile with him after all this time? And did he really want to consider it? She is looking both scared and hopeful and he has only to think of Pepper to know his answer. He doesn't want to hurt Jackie, so he purposely turns her words into a joke.
"Of course I have… every time I write out your alimony check. You get some sleep… and I'll call you tomorrow."
Jackie fights hard to hide her disappointment because she knows he purposely misunderstood her words. He is just too polite to hurt her feelings by telling her he has another woman in his life now. She doesn't trust herself to speak so she just nods and steps back with a smile and a wave. Bill also steps away, as if eager to put some distance between them as he watches her head for the elevators. When she is gone he sighs heavily and goes back to his car. He is mentally tired, but sleep won't come easily to him tonight.
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