Chapter 28: Let Her Know
Hildy looked at the digital display on the treadmill. She had three more miles to go before she finished her run for the day. She smiled to herself as she remembered how surprise she was to receive the gift of the gym from Nana when her company took care of the interior decorating of their penthouse apartment.
She made good use of the equipment in the gym as she did her daily work outs. Hildy did not always use the treadmill to run as she preferred to run in Central Park. Seeing the grass and trees while traversing the paths added to her feeling of calm while running. However, going to the Park was not always convenient like today. She and Kami went to a Broadway show last night and followed it with a night and early morning special sheet dance. When the ladies finally fell asleep, they were both spent. Earlier, when Hildy cracked open her eyelids, she saw that it was already a little after noon, therefore a run in the Park was out of the question.
Today was the day Edgar was bringing over his twin daughters to do a repeat of the performance they did at their pre-school's recital over a week ago. The twins were disappointed that the couple could not make it to the school's show as they promised. In an attempt to pacify the little girls, the ladies opened up their home as a temporary Apollo Theatre for the girls to perform. Kami invited Ellen and her family to come over also as her children and Edgar's twins were friends. The children seldom had much opportunity to spend time together due to their respective parents' schedules. Before the ladies knew it, their work family had invited themselves over for the twins repeat performance. In the blink of an eye, the simple gathering morphed into a mini party, and all of this was supposed to occur in about one-hour time.
Finally, Hildy ended her tread mill run and made her way to the kitchen so see what her lover was doing. Kami just finished arranging the whole grain bread cheese sandwiches she made on a large platter. She also had an array of finger foods to feed their guests. Hildy walked over and picked up a sandwich to munch on only to have the back of her hand playfully slapped.
In an exaggerated voice she said; "Ouch".
"Leave the food alone Hills, it is for our guests. You know how the guys eat like there is no tomorrow", Kami gently told her.
"But I am hungry", Hildy whined.
"Hills you had breakfast not so long ago", Kami reminded her.
"True, but I burned up a lot of energy last night plus I just came off the treadmill, so what I ate barely replenished my energy", Hildy looked at her fiancée and smiled the smile that Kami always had trouble resisting.
Smiling back at her lover, Kami gave in and took a sandwich and hand fed Hildy. This lead to Hildy licking Kami's fingers, which lead to Kami moaning and before they knew it, Hildy lifted her lady and Kami wrapped her legs around her lover's waist as Hildy walked them to one of the straight back chairs in their living room. Their exploration of each other's bodies did not take long. Just as Hildy was about to plunge into her favorite flower with a possessive greed, their door bell rang.
Both ladies instantly stopped what they were doing. Hildy's face immediately took on a frustrated and annoyed look as she gazed at Kami with desire in her eyes. Ignoring the sound of the doorbell, Hildy continued to tease her lover's petals and just as she was priming herself to claim what she had the honour of possessing, the doorbell rang again and again.
"Arghh!" It is too early for any of them to be here! We told everyone 3pm! Is it 3pm as yet? No!". A very frustrated Hildy stood up causing her lover to also stand as she marched to the front door grumbling loudly.
Kami felt as frustrated as her lover but being the gracious hostess she was, she took a deep breath to calm her raging libido as she followed her partner to the door to greet their guests.
Swinging the door wide open Hildy saw David and Abbi standing there. Before she could get a word out Abbi began to apologize.
"Hi Hills, I am sorry to arrive early, but David here picked me up before the time we arranged under the pretense he had a quick errand to run before coming over. Turns out the only errand he had was to fill up his gas tank".
Before Abbi could finish apologizing David was already inside the penthouse and walking towards the dining area where he was certain Kami laid out all the finger foods and other delicacies. For a grown man, David's stomach was reminiscent of a teen aged boy, it was always hungry.
Reigning in her annoyance, Hildy said "Don't apologize Abbi, I know the only reason you are early is because of the bottomless pit there".
Faking hurt, David placed his hand on his heart and said "Hey, my pit has a bottom you know. It just keeps moving further away whenever food tries to reach it". And with that he laughed at his own joke.
After a few moments of cracking himself up, David noticed that three serious pairs of eyes were looking at him with different expressions. The pair that made him look closer was Hildy's. Her face and body language screamed annoyance and frustration. David was very perceptive and knew immediately that his arrival interrupted something. Never one to pass up an opportunity to tease the couple, he turned his attention to Kami and said;
"Hey Kami, you look a bit flushed, are you feeling alright?" David knew teasing Kami would yank Hildy's chain.
"I am fine David". Kami knew David well enough to anticipate the teasing that was going to follow so she tried to deflect his attention with food.
"David, I remembered you liked the chicken samosas I made the last time, so I made some especially for you. I was just about to put them on the table".
David knew that Kami was trying to distract him and while he intended to follow her to sample the samosas he planned to continue his light-hearted teasing. That was until he felt a hard-muscular hand grab him at the back of the neck and softly say, "Leave Kami alone, no more teasing. I am going to have a quick shower and when I return, if I hear you provoked her I will personally make sure the only thing you eat here this afternoon are the few samosas you are about to have. Do I make myself clear, buddy?", Hildy asked in a quiet voice.
David loved how Hildy always tried to physically get the best of him. They worked out together often and he knew that they were equally matched even though he was several inches taller than her. He loved to take her dares but when food was involved he willingly backed down. Joke was joke but when it came to his favorite foods that was another matter.
"No worries Hills, I am done", David quickly conceded with a cheeky grin.
"Good, I will be back in a few minutes". At with that she turned to her soon to be wife and placing both her hands at the sided of Kami's head pulled her in for a slow, long passionate kiss.
"We will continue this later", she said before running upstairs to the master bedroom and en suite, leaving Kami standing there with her mouth slightly open and David chuckling in the background.
The next two hours were spent entertaining and then being entertained by the children as they performed their song from the pre-school's program. Then, Ellen's children joined in and all the children did an impromptu ad-lib show that combined song, dance and a touch of role playing that had all the adults laughing.
As the afternoon began to wind down Terry received a phone call from Inspector Barbara Marshall. She brought him up to speed with the case involving the McPhersons. As a rule, the ladies avoided discussing work at home but they made an exception that afternoon as they too wanted to know how the case was progressing. The investigators excused themselves from everyone not attached to the firm and went into the den to discuss the case.
"An arrest was made this afternoon. Barbara and her team were able to convince William McPherson to cooperate and it lead to an arrest". Terry wasted no time in filling in his colleagues.
"What charge were they able to lay on Erica McPherson? I know Barbara said getting enough evidence to convince the district attorney's office that they should lay smuggling charges was proving to be difficult", Jim said.
"They got her on attempted murder". Terry informed them.
"What?" Kami exclaimed in surprise.
"Yep, attempted murder", Terry continued to explain. "Remember we heard their conversation when William asked Erica for the divorce, and we all were concerned for his safety. Well Barbara convinced William to tell his wife that regardless of the threats she made against him, he still wanted a divorce. Barbara had a wire on him when he insisted that Erica give him his freedom and their children. Erica once again threatened him, but this time in person not over the phone. Barbara's team had Erica under surveillance and within hours of the latest argument with William, she placed a call and ordered the hit on her husband. The police have both audio and video recording of Erica and the hired gun. The police were watching William like hawks and waited until the attempt was made on William's life and arrested the assassin. Barbara said that before they got back to the station to lay charges, the hit man was singing like a cannery, and wanted to make a deal. He gave up Erica without batting an eyelid in the hope of getting a reduced sentence".
"I am thankful to God that the husband did not end up as collateral damage in this whole affair", Hildy commented.
"What about the smuggling ring? Any hope of pinning that on her also?" Edgar asked.
"Barbara and her officers are still working on the smuggling case and intend to lay those charges as soon as they can implicate her brother and their contacts. Barbara said she suspects that Erica may have connections in the government, so she wants to tread carefully and make sure all her I's are dotted and all her T's are crossed", Terry elaborated.
Everyone stayed quiet for a few moments before Abbi turned to Jim and said "I am glad your friend is a caring teacher and an observant man. If it wasn't for him being concerned for his student, none of this would have come to light. Erica might have eventually still put a hit on William as he obviously was not happy in their marriage. Things could have ended up so differently".
"I hope William arranges counselling for his children. Judy is already crying out for help, much less when she finds out her Mom tried to have her Dad killed", Hildy mused.
"He strikes me as a loving and protective Dad, so I am sure he will do everything he can to make sure his children are helped in any way they need to be", Edgar added.
Everyone once again remained quiet for a few moments until Ellen's six-year-old son Daniel rushed into the den with a big grin on his face.
"Excuse me Aunty Kami you have to come, Jael is going to sing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and you know she always mixes up the words", and with this declaration Daniel busted out laughing.
"Oh, Danny, be nice. Don't laugh at your sister, she tries her best", Kami gently reprimanded him.
"I will try not to laugh but I am not promising anything Aunty Kami". Daniel grabbed Kami's hand and tried to pull her out of her seat. She excused herself from her workmates and accompanied Daniel back to the living room area.
"I am a grown man and I can't remember how to pronounce that ridicules word from Mary Poppins. If the kid can even come close she will get a lusty round of applause from me", David declared to his friends.
"I agree", Hildy mumbled as she got up. "Come on guys, let go and cheer little Jael on". The work family followed her back to the living room where the latest round of singing was just about to begin.
While everyone was having a fun afternoon at Hildy's and Kami's home, Dr. Joyce Amy Zachery was on a flight from Baltimore to New York City. Joyce had just successfully completed two back to back surgeries at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and was not roster for any hospital duties for the next two days. Added to this free time, she informed both administrations at Loma Linda and Johns Hopkins that she was taking a few days off to attend to personal business. She did not ask for time off but rather told the hospitals that she was taking some unscheduled time off.
This caused both hospitals to go into a tail spin as they hastily reshuffled roster schedules. Surgeries had to be reassigned to other doctors because postponing some of the surgeries could mean the difference between life and death for some patients. Follow up appointments and consultations also had to be rescheduled. Office and medical staff at both hospitals wondered what 'personal business' Dr Zachery had that needed her immediate attention? The gossip mills were ripe with theories as they wondered if she was ill and taking care of her health at another medical institution.
Some nurses believed that someone in her family was gravely ill and she had to go be with them in their final hours. All the theories revolved around illness. No one thought she was going to seek out an old lover because Dr Zachery never went after anyone. She was known for never looking back once she had discarded a romantic interest. Her staff and work colleagues would have been shocked to know that there was someone who had the power to get under Joyce's cool external composure, someone who Jaz refused to consciously think about but who was living dormant but present in the recesses of her mind.
For a moment as Joyce sat in the plane, she asked herself; "What am I doing? Being on this plane is crazy. There is nothing to be gained by seeing Kami. She walked out of my life without a backward glance". Even as those thoughts filled Joyce's mind, she knew there was a bigger part of her that never got over Kami and she needed to let her know that even though she walked away from her, Joyce would always be connected to her on a level that her new girlfriend never could.
Joyce looked at the file folder on the pull-down tray in front of her. The information in the file was quite extensive for being compiled on short notice. Hildy Imogen Mulligan was the subject of the file that Joyce perused. She had already committed the information contained in the report to memory but still she looked over the contents. Joyce had a network of persons who willingly went out of their way to help her whenever she needed assistance in any area. This network was made up by the families of grateful patients whose lives she saved. These people declared their undying gratitude to Doctor Joyce Amy Zachery and would do just about anything for her.
The architect for her California home was the son of a man she performed surgery on. The beautiful hand-crafted furniture that graced her home was made by a daughter of a former patient. Every service Joyce needed, she had someone to call. And if her contact could not do what she needed, the person always knew 'a guy who knew a guy'. It was through these contacts that she got the most skilled persons in just about any field to do her bidding.
What also endeared her to her personal network was that she insisted in paying more that the going rates for the services her unofficial team provided. This generosity motivated these people to go way beyond the call of duty and they were fiercely loyal to Joyce. Whereas the doctors, nurses and other staff at the hospitals where she worked could be reduced to tears if they did not meet her high work standards, her patients and their family were treated with the upmost respect and courtesy.
When Joyce decided that she needed to speak with Kami and get answers to questions that have laid dormant for so long, she knew immediately that she needed to learn everything about Kami's fiancée. She placed a few calls and requested information on Hildy Mulligan. In a little over a day the dossier was completed. Joyce knew everything from Hildy's weight at birth, to who took her to her high school prom. She knew all the highlights of her career, she knew about the serious injury Hildy sustained in her arm shortly before she resigned from the police service. Joyce also had a brief outline about Hildy's parents and their religious convictions. The persons who supplied Joyce with the information were not able to get much information on Hildy's past relationships, which lead Joyce to believe that Hildy either had something to hide or she did not have much of a romantic history before Kami entered her life.
Kami …. Kami.
When Joyce read the timeline of when Kami invested in Hildy's and Terry's firm to when the report appeared in a newspaper announcing they were going to get married, she noticed that Kami had known Hildy for less than a year.
"Less than one year and they are engaged to be married. We were in a relationship for four years and we never spoke about marriage or being domestic partners!" Joyce fumed inside.
Just then the flight attendant stopped and asked her if she wanted anything to drink. Joyce, the consummate model for presenting a calm looking exterior, politely declinded the offer. As the attendant turned away Joyce, returned to her inner monologue.
"Kami's fiancée, just the thought of Kami getting married to a woman makes my blood boil", Joyce thought to herself. As crazy as it may seem, if Kami fell for the sweet talk of some man and decided to get married I would be upset but not like this. The fact that she chose a woman … a woman. I do not understand that. What is it about this Hildy woman that Kami finds is better than me?I wonder if she had a second chance to be in a relationship with me if she would take it?"
With those thoughts Joyce pulled out a couple eight by eleven colour photographs of Hildy and looked at them for the umpteen time as she tried to see what Kami saw.
Joyce thought that Hildy was good looking, but she could not understand why Kami would settle for a former police officer when she had one of the top surgeons in the United States willing to give her anything she wanted.
Joyce was truly baffled, and she wanted answers. She did not have the details of her plan worked out as yet but knew she would get what she came for …. answers and to let Hildy know that while she may possess Kami now, she would never have a claim on her.
With this thought firmly fixed in her mind Joyce allowed herself to relax in the comfortable First-Class seat as the pilot announced that they would be landing shortly.
