For the Good of the Department #2

Finally Saturday arrived and Dan Ross decided he would not ever forgive the Chief for putting him in this impossible position. He had on a nice shirt and slacks and was tempted to put on a tie, but if they ended up somewhere more casual, he didn't want to look out of place. The Chief had been hounding him all week about tonight and he had the feeling this woman was as ugly as a dog and probably sexually starved. Well there was a limit to what he would do for the department.

He took a tie with him and put it in the back seat tucking it out of sight just in case. He knew he had reservations for an upscale restaurant later and but he wasn't sure they'd get that far. He wasn't ready to give it up the hope that it was a brief date at best. He took the address out of his pocket for the hotel she was staying at and scowled at it. He knew it by heart already.

He parked his car in the visitors space at exactly 1:00 pm and went to the front desk. "I'm looking for the guest in room number 512. Could you ring her room for me?"

"Certainly, sir." Suzy her name tag said.

The young woman at the desk looked over his shoulder for just a moment and he got the impression that she was cueing someone. His cop senses went on alert. He turned to see who she was cueing and saw several people milling around the waiting area, including a couple just getting up from the chairs. He wasn't sure who it was that he was supposed to be meeting. He only had her room number and her first name. Nelly.

A woman in a black slacks, a simple white silk blouse and a her hair pulled back low on her neck approached the desk. "Suzy, thank you. I'll take it from here." The woman spoke kindly to the girl who looked a bit embarrassed. "Please don't think too badly of her. She was only doing what I asked her to do." She said addressing Dan directly. She held out a manicured hand to shake his. "I'm Marie Collins. You must be Dan Ross."

"I am, but there must be some mistake. I'm supposed to meet a woman named Nelly." He said.

Marie laughed a merry laugh. "That's my cousin for you. It's a pet nickname and he uses it every chance he gets. He knows it drives me crazy. You can call me Marie. May I call you Dan?"

"Most people call me Danny."

"Hmph. You don't look like a Danny to me. Dannys are kids. You are much more than a Danny. I'd rather just call you Dan."

"If you prefer. So you're related to the Stuart Burke?" he let that go.

"Shhhh. Don't let it get around. Please." She shushed him with a stage whisper. "I'll never be able to hold my head up around here again." Then she grinned at him.

He found himself grinning with her. "I'll keep it under my hat." He promised.

"So do you feel better?" she switched the conversation.

"Feel better?"

"Yes. I'm sure you were expecting a hayseed from the sticks, buck tooth, knock kneed, and ugly as the back side of a barn, right?"

"No." he was embarrassed to be caught out that that was exactly what he was thinking.

She laughed. "Such a gentlemanly liar you are. That's what I would have thought. The truth is you were supposed to be off balance so I could see what you were really like. When he asked me what I was into this week I threw folk dancing at him off the top of my head. I'm sorry if you wanted to go folk dancing."

"No, I'm actually not into folk dancing. That is kind of a dirty trick to play on the blind date though."

"You are so right. Am I forgiven?" she asked solemnly.

He had the impression she was still laughing inside, but what the hell. "I forgive you. Shall we go?"

"I'm at your disposal. I know nothing about New York except it's kind of big."

That was the understatement of all understatements he thought. He held out his arm to her and she took it with a grin of mischievous camaraderie and marched with him step for step to the front door.

Marie Collins was a blast to be with. She found something amusing everywhere they went and told anecdotes from her adventures. She listened solemnly to his knowledge of New York and some of his stories and shared the expenses of munching their way through the city. She wanted to taste everything and see everything.

She wound down about 6:00 and he took her to wander through the Central Park and sit and watch some kids playing. She confessed to being hungry about 7:00 and they went back to her suite to let her change her clothes. She told him to make himself comfortable she wouldn't be long. He sat down and picked up a magazine to wait. Women usually were longer getting changed than they thought.

In ten minutes she came back and he could have sworn she was a twin. She had her hair up around the crown of her head, a slender chain and tiny pendant around her neck with matching earrings, a shimmery blue dress that showed off fabulous legs and very stylish shoes she walked on with easy grace. She was certainly no country bumpkin. She had applied a very light layer of makeup and highlighted her eyes. She would make any New Yorker think she belonged here. The word chameleon came to mind to describe her.

She stopped and looked at him inquiringly. "Did I forget to put my teeth in?" she teased.

He started. "No, I'm just…I'm sorry. I don't mean to stare."

"I do look kind of funny, don't I?" she asked looking down uncertainly.

"No, you look beautiful. I was just surprised." He hastily assured her. "You look great. I just didn't expect you to be so fast at it."

"You should see me milk a cow." She said out of left field.

"A cow?"

She laughed. "Country girl, milk a cow? Get it?"

"You probably could do it with the best of them." He said gallantly.

"Flatterer. Let me warn you. Stuart will probably stop by tonight. He usually does. Just so you aren't caught flat footed. You can expect him."

"He wants to see if I'm treating you right?"

"I'm not sure why he does it exactly, but I like you enough to want to warn you. I've had a good time today, thank you."

"And it's not over yet. Are you ready to go?"

"I don't think they'll let you in without a tie." She said gesturing to his neck.

"I have one in the car." He admitted not sure why that made him embarrassed.

"Excellent. I'm ready when you are."

Dan offered his companion his arm and they left the suite.

TBC