Chapter Two
Several hours later, Inspector Robbie Lewis stood in front of his bathroom mirror and adjusted the bow tie of his tuxedo. He studied his appearance thoughtfully and observed that he looked very odd in a tuxedo—not bad, per sé, just out of place. Tuxedos were for movie stars, waiters, politicians, and secret agents—not for middle-aged Geordie policemen.
A knock on the door caught his attention.
"I've already combed my hair, James."
"It's not that, Sir. I've something for you. Dr. Hobson just dropped it off."
"Come in, then."
Hathaway opened the door and walked into the bathroom, a single yellow carnation in his hand.
"For you, Sir," he said, handing the carnation to Lewis. "Something to remember the good doctor by while you're blinded by 'Innocence.'"
"Did Laura really say that?" Robbie asked, raising his eyebrows as he took the flower.
"Not in so many words, but her intent was clear enough. She bought it so that she could mark you as her property."
"Why would she need to do that?"
"She thinks that you and Jean secretly fancy each other."
Lewis cast a bemused glance in Hathaway's direction. The sergeant just shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I can't really explain it, Sir. Women-even women as intelligent as Dr. Hobson-are completely irrational at times. That's why…" Hathaway took a deep breath. "That's why… I've… I've decided to give them up for the time being."
Lewis snorted skeptically. "You, giving up women? That's about as likely as Innocent giving up her bad temper!"
"Nevertheless, I'm going to try it," James said decisively. He silently resolved to give up men as well; he'd be able to get so much more work done if he wasn't constantly thinking about that 'special someone.'
"Good Luck," Lewis said sincerely. To himself he thought, 'He won't last a week.'
"Thank you, Sir," Hathaway said brightly. "Are you going to put on your flower, Sir? I promised Dr. Hobson you'd wear it."
Lewis placed the yellow carnation in his button-hole and studied the effect it made by glancing into the mirror. He turned to James.
"How do I look, Sergeant?"
Hathaway briefly placed a hand over his mouth to cover a laugh. Then, he removed his hand and replied after a moment. "Very dapper, Sir."
A loud knock attracted their attention. Lewis groaned.
"I'll reckon that's the Super now."
The two men exited the bathroom and went to open the front door. As Innocent stepped into the room, Lewis felt his jaw drop. The Chief Superintendent looked—there was no other word for it—beautiful. She was dressed in a floor-length, figure-hugging gown of dark crimson silk. She also wore a ruby choker and a pair of dangling ruby earrings that complemented the dress perfectly. Her light brown hair that had so often been pulled back in a no-nonsense twist now rested in loose graceful waves on her shoulders. Lewis heard Hathaway let out a low whistle beside him and noticed that the sergeant was positively gaping at Innocent.
"Ma'am, you look… absolutely incredible," James said finally, still staring at the chief superintendent in awe.
"Don't patronize me, Sergeant," Innocent said brusquely, but the self-satisfied smile on the Super's face suggested that she was actually flattered.
Lewis struggled to form a coherent sentence; he was still dazed by how attractive the chief superintendent looked.
"Hathaway's right, Ma'am. You do look… very nice." Glancing nervously at Jean, he continued stammering. "…Not that you don't always… look nice, I mean. It's just… Wow!"
"You look nice as well, Robbie," Jean said, sounding quite shocked.
"Always the tone of surprise," Lewis said.
Innocent turned pink. "I didn't mean it like that. Of course, I'm not surprised that you look nice. I'm just not used to seeing you so dressed up."
"Oh, right."
Innocent returned her gaze to Hathaway. "I see you managed to get him to comb his hair this time, James," she said.
Hathaway placed a hand on her shoulder, a gesture that might have been innocent enough-ifthe shoulder in question hadn't been bare due to the superintendent's strapless gown.
"Did you really think I'd let you down?" James asked, his eyes twinkling.
"No, I had full confidence in you."
Hathaway shot her one of his most charming smiles. "Well, I'm glad to know that I don't disappoint."
Lewis coughed violently in an attempt to attract the others' attention. James was acting far too flirtatious for someone who claimed to have sworn off women. He'd never be able to achieve his goal if Lewis wasn't there to constantly prod him in the right direction. Flushing in embarrassment, James promptly took his hand off of Innocent's shoulder, and he and Jean returned their attention to Lewis.
"All you all right, Robbie?" Jean asked, looking concerned.
"I'm fine. I just had a bit of a frog in my throat," Lewis said quickly.
"That's a nice carnation," Innocent remarked, glancing at the yellow flower still tucked into Lewis's button-hole.
"Dr. Hobson brought it over."
Innocent nodded slightly. "Ah, yes. Laura mentioned that she was thinking of doing that." The chief superintendent's brow furrowed in thought. "I thought I had advised her to get red." Finally Innocent responded, "She must have forgotten," although her face indicated that she didn't really believe what she was saying.
"I suppose that must be it," Lewis said weakly.
"Do you mind if I use your powder room just to freshen up a bit?" the Super asked Robbie.
Lewis once again questioned the sanity of the female mind. There was no way that Innocent could possibly look more attractive than she currently did. Yet, she evidently thought that improvement was needed.
"No, I don't mind. It's the second door on the right."
"Thank you," Innocent said as she followed Robbie's directions and disappeared into the powder room.
After she'd gone, Lewis turned to Hathaway.
"Just so you know, Sergeant, I no longer have any desire to trade jobs with you."
"I don't blame you, Sir." James removed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He took a long, slow drag. "I don't blame you one bit."
"For someone who swears that he's sworn off women, you seem awfully aware of their attractiveness tonight."
Hathaway lifted up his hands in a placating gesture. "When I said that I was swearing off women for the time being, I didn't mean that I was returning to the seminary. I only meant that I didn't want to get involved in any serious relationships. Surely, I'm allowed to look at women."
"Just so long as looking is all you do where the Super is concerned. I hear the real Mr. Innocent is not nearly as nice as I am."
"Assuming that he does exist, I'd advise you to follow your own advice where the Super is concerned."
Lewis stared at him, incredulously. Surely, James of all people didn't subscribe to Laura's ridiculous theory about him fancying Jean. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Hathaway merely shrugged and took another drag on his cigarette. Lewis frowned at him.
"I thought I told you not to smoke those ghastly things in my house."
"I don't remember you saying that."
Lewis folded his arms across his chest."Well, I'm saying it now."
"All right, then, I'll go. I really should be getting back to work on our report," James said, shooting a jealous look at Lewis. "Have fun, Sir, and remember what I've said. For a very wise man once wrote, 'The whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind.' I'm sure if he had known both of you, he'd have added 'and the inspector's heart' to the end of that line."
"Just out of curiously, which wise man was that?"
Hathaway walked over to the front door and turned to face Lewis. "King Solomon, Sir. It's from the Book of Wisdom-a book that I'd consider perusing every so often if I were you." With a laugh at the scowl on his inspector's face, James opened the door and walked out of the house.
Lewis stared at the closed door, fervently wishing for the first time in a long time that James Hathaway had continued his studies in theology in lieu of joining the police force. The damned cheek of that boy! Lewis often wondered why he let Hathaway continue to tease and torment him in this manner. Maybe, it was because deep down, Lewis knew that needed Hathaway's brains in order to do his job properly and Hathaway's brains came with the added pleasure/burden of the sergeant's sharp wit. Lewis heard the door of the bathroom shut and walking toward him, he saw the lovely stranger who still bore a remarkable resemblance to DCS Jean Innocent of the Oxford police.
"Where's James?" Innocent asked, glancing around.
"He went home."
"Ah. So… are you ready to leave for the party?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Lewis said aloud. To himself, he muttered "If only."
He took a deep breath and followed his superintendent out the door.