"Oh, fuck…" Aubrey moaned as she leaned over her bed partner. Her hands gripped the pillow behind his head and her knuckles quickly lost color from the grip. His hands grasped her sides and he quickly thrust back into her as she lowered her face into his neck.
"God, you feel amazing, Aubrey" he said lustfully into her ear. His right hand reached up and grabbed the back of her head as he continued to make her moan into his neck. His left handed dragged his nails down her back and to her hips as he made her keep in rhythm. Eventually he rolled her and himself over with him on top as it was his turn to bury his face into her. He smelled her, her lotion and perfume, driving him to get closer to her, though he can't. He lifted Aubrey's left leg over his hip for a new angle and she cried out in pleasure as he drew her closer for an orgasm. He refused to stop until he was able to hear her cry his name out with relief. "Cum for me, baby… Cum for me, Aubrey. Say my fucking name when you do it."
She loved hearing him talk dirty. Between that and his steady thrusting, Aubrey tipped over the edge and finally received the sweet release she was hoping he could give her. She melted around him and moaned his name in his ear as she herself melted into her bed.
"Ricardo…"
OOO
Aubrey Pierce jolted awake with her head facing her window. Her eyes wide and adjusting to the lights of L.A. through the blinds. Is was still dark out, her clock read 2 a.m. She groaned and rolled over, stopping halfway as she noticed a light trickling in between her legs. She groaned again as she figured out what it was. That dirty dream had been able to get her to orgasm in her sleep. It felt so real, every touch, every thrust, every word whispered into her ear. She got herself up and dragged herself to her bathroom that was off the bedroom to clean up. She felt like an embarrassed 13 year old girl that just found out about masturbating. The worse thing about it was it was all about her partner at work. She swore to herself quietly.
OOO
Pierce sat at her desk in the LA precinct. Per usual, her desk cluttered with files and paperwork that wouldn't be cleaned up until the end of the day. Her light business jacket hung over the back of her chair and she sported a light green blouse, stopped at the elbows of course. This was the only time her tattoos ever showed at work. Most of the art stopped below her elbows so they only stuck out a bit. Out in the field they were always covered with her jacket. Even in the 95 degree heat.
"This is Detective Pierce again. Please call me back as soon as possible" she hung up the phone with a sigh. She looked up at Morales as he approached their neighboring desks. "We hit the only medical supply store with banker's hours"
"It's Friday afternoon, maybe owner's Jewish and he went home already" he replied setting his coffee cup down "I talked to the boat builder in Costa Rica. He said George told him he'd be down there in two weeks with the rest of the money for the boat. They're emailing a picture of it" He slid his readers on as he sat down. Aubrey observed and thought they were kind of cute. Made him look smart, not that he was stupid. He just said a lot of dumb shit. He was a well educated man, but some of the stuff he said to her was stupid. Funny, but stupid. It was nice entertainment.
"Two weeks. So the heist would be sometime between now and then"
"Yeah, if his accomplices stay on schedule" he replied looking over his readers. Morales's computer dinged and he looked at his email that was opened on the screen "Maybe this is the boat." Aubrey got up and looked over his shoulder.
"Huh… Teacher's Pet" she said as she looked at the image of the boat. It's name was on the side in white over a green stripe. "So… Liz Bennett was gonna be part of George's world after all. It's late afternoon, she would be at home by now". Pierce went back to her desk and dug through her papers on her desk. "Bennett… home address, 618 Granada Street… Glendale".
"Up for a ride?" Morales asked looking at the boat.
OOO
"Bedroom closets empty, she cleared out" Pierce said annoyed walking into the kitchen where Morales stood looking at the counter. He tossed some papers back onto the counter and turned towards Pierce.
"She's got a laminating machine. Always handy for making fake ID's" Pierce headed to the desk between the living room and the kitchen.
"Jesus… Internet routers for days. Somebody took them apart. This girl's got strange habits"
"Don't we all?" Morales said digging through a drawer "She's got deadly ones too. Factory-issued grip for a Beretta. Maybe she switched it out for a custom grip" he held it out for Pierce to see "I think we found our accomplice."
OOO
"Better put on the reds. An armored truck just disappeared from George's casino with one and a half million in the back" Morales told Pierce as they drove "Look who was driving". Pierce glanced down and saw Liz's face on the paperwork.
"I guess nosebleeds weren't exciting enough" She flipped on the lights of her Charger and pressed the gas down.
OOO
Pierce stood in front of John from the previous day in front of the casino looking up at the building and all its lights. "The printers went offline and the guards had to wait for a receipt".
"The printers are connected to a router?" Pierced asked tilting her head.
"Yeah" John responded. Pierce sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"She hacked it. She bought herself 15 minutes" Pierce quickly walked off and headed over to Morales who was talking to another man. "She hacked the casino's routers. George probably gave her the codes." Morales shook his head and crossed his arms.
"Fatal mistake. He outlived his usefulness, she drew him a hot bath and sliced him up" Morales replied.
"We just got a GPS hit on the truck, two miles from here" the owner of the money delivery truck business said looking at his phone. All three of them jogged off to their cars and drove to the trucks location.
"She's going to be gone by the time we get there" Morales said looking out the window "She kind of got me with the sob story of being a teacher and leading a boring life"
"You're not alone. How are we supposed to know though" Pierce replied pulling up next to the car they were following. They hopped out and approached the building the truck was parked in. They waited while the SWAT team entered for the sweep and followed behind them with their guns drawn. Pierce and Morales both grabbed a door on the back of the truck and swung them open. Empty.
"Damn, she's fast" Pierce said putting her gun back in it's holster.
"Maybe she had a car parked on the street.
"There's security cameras down the block. Maybe we can catch a license plate" she replied turning to him with a disappointed look. They headed out with the SWAT team to the car. "Unbelievable" Pierce muttered.
OOO
"Our favorite sucker George rented the garage a month ago" Morales said entering the detectives office "Anything?" he asked sitting down next to Pierce. She rubbed her eyes and leaned back into her chair.
"No one matching our girl" she said with a sigh at the end. Morales watched as she gave a stretch avoiding looking at her bust. Morales slipped his readers on and watched the surveillance video with Pierce for a few minutes.
"Rewind to the woman in the wheelchair" he requested pointing at the screen. Pierce rewound the footage to where a woman entered the video and went down the sidewalk in a powered wheel chair "for an old gal, she's rolling along at a pretty good clip".
"How much do you think an electric wheelchair costs at a medical supply store?" Pierce asked looking over at Morales.
"I'm going to guess fifteen hundred bucks" he said looking back at her.
"Me too… She's probably got the money from the truck stacked under the seat hidden by the blanket" She looked back at the screen and switched to another angle "Isn't that one of the units that responded to the garage location?" she asked pointing out the cop car that drove past her.
"Nice. Hide in plain site. Maybe the MTA can find off where she got off" Morales said looking at the bus that pulled up. He picked up the phone and dialed in a number.
OOO
"The suspect was tracked to a park and ride in that car. A car registered to you" Pierce said handing Dan Rathman a photo of a black four door sedan.
"It shouldn't be" he said handing the photo back "I sold it three months ago."
"Who did you sell it to?"
"I need to make a call."
"Something pressing, Mr. Rathman?" Morales asked staring down the young man. Pierce tilted her head to the left waiting for a reply.
"My sister. I sold my sister the car. I need to make sure she's okay."
"Is this your sister?" Morales asked him pulling out a photo of Liz.
"Yes…" He replied looking at the photo in confusion "what's she doing in that get-up?"
"She worked part-time as an armored truck driver"
"Is she okay?" He asked quickly. Pierce clicked her tongue.
"When was the last time you talked to her?" She asked.
"When I sold her the car. Please, if she's hurt, I need to contact our mother"
"She looks fine to us" Morales said handing Dan another photo "In this picture, she's about to drive off in your car with over one million of stolen money." He scoffed.
"That's crazy, she's a teacher."
"And a thief" Pierce cut in "and possibly a murderer. If you have any information I recommend you tell us now"
"You should know better than to intimidate a lawyer. I have nothing more to say." he said and handed back the photo. Neither Detectives said anything and walked out of the office.
"Maybe he has something to say to someone else" Morales said looking at Pierce. She shook her head in agreement and sighed.
OOO
"12 minutes after we left, brother Dan called his sister's cell." Pierce said holding up a paper walking up to the break area where Morales stood. He gave her a smug smile and sipped at his coffee. She rolled her blue eyes. "I know. Props to you." A smile also crossed her face as she looked over his behind his cup. "He was on the phone just long enough to leave a message. Now five minutes later, he got a call from a no-name cell."
"That could be anyone."
"Yeah, except that same no-name cell also called Liz's school two hours earlier. It also called Kennedy and Associates, a law firm up in San Francisco. Someone you might know?" Pierce said tilting her head. Morales had been a lawyer before going back to being a detective. He knew quite a bit of people in the city.
"Charles Kennedy. Big-time criminal lawyer. Maybe Liz is setting up representation" he said walking to their desks.
"There was a third call from that no-name cell." Pierce said looking at her paper again while trailing after Morales. "To a Joseph Silman up in the town of Folsom." Morales turned around quickly at that information.
"Johnny Cash country. Now that's very interesting" he said sitting down in his chair with his chin in his hand.
OOO
"Joe Silman's Captain of the guards in charge of "A" Block…" The Warden said handing Pierce papers on him. She wiped her brow and flipped through them. It was surprisingly warm today for March. The warden had the heat blasting in his office. Just a few minutes in after sitting down in front of his desk and Pierce broke sweat. She adjusted herself in her seat and looked up at the Warden. "Now, are you sure this woman contacted him?"
"Sure enough to fly all the way up here." Pierce replied handing the papers over to Morales on her left. "It's possible she plans to use the money she stole to bust someone out."
"We sent you her name" Morales said barely looking at the paperwork she handed him. He forgot his readers in the car Pierce noticed. "Has she had any contact with an inmate here?" Morales eyes quickly darted up to the Warden. His gaze was set upon Pierces chest. She had unbuttoned a couple of buttons on her blouse to cool down. The heat was intense in this office. When Pierce finally looked away from the window, the Warden cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair behind the desk.
"There's no record of it. And there's no one by that name listed as a relative of any of our inmates."
"What about Joe Silman? Can you vouch for him?" Morales asked crossing his legs. The Warden sighed and rotated his chair towards the office window. Morales glanced at Pierce who had turned her head to see what he was looking at out the window. He looked at her neck and down to the top of where her blouse closed. Just from this angle he saw the littlest show of cleavage. He felt his nether regions twitch as he saw a bead of sweat fall between her breasts. Morales lowered the papers onto his lap to cover the mild swelling in his pants.
"Joe's been captain for ten years. His record's clean. He's got three kids…" Pierces phone beeped a few times and she removed it from her blazer. "and his wife's got M.S."
"So a little extra income on the side wouldn't hurt."
"She just called him again 20 minutes ago" Pierce pipped in looking at the text on her phone. "The cell pinged off a tower near Stockton. She's headed this way."
"What time does Joe Silman get off work?" Morales asked leaning forward with his brow furrowed.
"In about twenty minutes" The Warden replied.
"We'll follow him out to see if he meets with Liz. Do you have a place we can change? Dress down a little"
"Sure. There's a guard locker room a few doors down. You can change in there"
"Perfect, thank you for your time" Pierce said standing up "Let's go, I want to be out in the car before Silman gets off duty." Both of the Detectives headed out to the car and pulled their day bags out of the trunk. Pierce wondered if there was a male and female locker room or if it was joint. It was the latter of the two as a guard held the door open for them and she peered in. Gray lockers stood on both walls and farther down their was a couple of urinals and a stall. The stall door was on an angle. Walking over she pushed on it and it closed with a creak before opening again. It didn't lock.
"How the hell do they shit in privacy if it doesn't lock?" She mumbled to herself as she threw her bag on the bench between the lockers. Morales had already begun to remove his tie. She looked away and pulled out a t-shirt and sweater. A pair of jeans sat underneath.
"Any thoughts on how this will go down?" Morales asked. Pierce turned away and slid her blazer off her shoulders.
"My guess is that they're going to meet up at a restaurant or coffee shop." she set it down and started unbuttoning her blouse. She thought about her tattoos that went up and down her arms to her elbows, her back piece and the one on her chest. 90 percent was covered during work hours, she hoped Morales wouldn't see how much she actually had. She wasn't sure why she cared so much. "Exchange info and or money on whatever he or she has most likely."
Pierce now stood with just her black bra and pants on. She worked on unclipping her gun holster and badge off her belt. She set those down as well and worked on her boots and slacks. "After that, with her track record, I wouldn't be surprised if she offed him." Morales gave a quiet chuckle behind her. Pierce's ear tips flamed and she quickly threw her slacks into her day bag. That sound was close to what she heard in her dream earlier that morning. She didn't hear Morales moving anymore and looked over her shoulder as she started buttoning up her jeans. He was now sitting on the other end of the bench facing away towards the entry door quietly with his head down a little. She looked at the door and saw that there was a mirror next to it. She could see her reflection. She turned away and hurriedly threw her shirt, a light jacket and jogging shoes on. Grabbing her bag the only comment she made was "Let's go" as she headed for the door.
OOO
"My marriage was cursed from the get-go." Morales said looking over to the windows. They stood in front of the salad bar of a buffet diner. They had followed Silman here right after he had left the prison, straight shot with no other stops. "At the church's parking lot, somebody found a rattlesnake under a car. Now, it's mostly cops so everybody pulls out a gun to shoot the snake. I don't believe in omens, but that… that was an omen". He pointed the salad tongs at Pierce as he shook his head in disbelief at that memory. Pierce was only half paying attention to him. She cleared her throat and jerked her head to the direction of the other side of the diner. Morales turned around and saw Liz walking over to booths near the windows. She had dyed her hair or was wearing a blonde wig and had heavy make up on. Morales went around to the bar next to Pierce and they watched the two out of the corner of their eyes while putting salad toppings on their plates.
Liz gave Silman a kiss on the cheek and had a big grin on her face as she sat down right next to him in the booth. Pierce watched as she handed him a medium size envelope under the table. She quickly got up right after and started heading out. Both detectives set their plates down and followed her out.
"You tag her, I'll wait out here for Silman" Pierce directed. They split and she flagged down the cops that were waiting on the side of the building. "Wait until I go, draw your weapon" she told them. She quickly removed her gun from the holster and waited until he exited the building. "Police! Put your hands on your head" she yelled as he turned in the other direction. He had seen Morales and a female cop handcuffing Liz. She pointed the gun at him and just stared him down. He followed her instructions and she tucked the gun back into her holster behind her.
Pierce zipped his jacket down quickly and pulled out the envelope that Liz had given him. She held it up. "What do we have here?" she quietly said as she opened it. She smirked as a huge bundle of money slipped out. "Contribution to your pension plan?"
"Officer, I spend my day with people who are too dumb to lawyer up. Not me" he said snarkly as a cop handcuffed him. "I'm invoking right now."
"Get him out of here" Pierce said rolling her eyes. She handed the money and envelope to another cop and headed to Morales.
"Enjoy your ride back to L.A." he said as the door to the cruiser closed and began to drive off. "I tell you, if I had her as a third-grade teacher, my life would have been very different." Pierce gave a light laugh and headed to the car that Liz had bought from her brother. "Here we go." Morales lifted the trunk door, empty.
"Oh, bummer" Pierce said shining her flashlight into the trunk "Too much to hope she'd have the money on her, huh?"
"Well, let's hope she didn't spend it on municipal bonds." Pierce went around to the front of the car and opened the driver door. Nothing of interest as she looked over the front and back of the car. "Jackpot" Morales said as he held her purse opened. "Motel room key, Silman's cell phone number and CDC inmate number."
"The inmate she was going to bust out… let's head back to the prison."
OOO
"No… this can't be right" the Warden said staring at his computer screen. He looked confused as his eyes read back and forth "One of our better-known inmates. And he is in Silman's cell block. Take a look" He got up and Pierced walked over to look at the screen.
"Walter Calvin… swindler."
"Yup. Now on the ninth year of a 50-year sentence"
"That's what you get for swindling $30 billion. He has kids, doesn't he?" Morales asked.
"Yeah. His oldest son committed suicide four years ago. He's got another son Dan and a daughter Elizabeth." He said smiling and looking over to Pierce. She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
"She was going to bust dearest daddy out of jail. What a chip off the old block" she said looking at the screen again.
OOO
"What time did you set up for having Calvin sent to us for the interview?" Morales asked Pierce as they drove back to L.A.
"Nine. Hopefully anyways. I'm sure he'll have a lawyer with him, they'll waste our time before that" she replied rubbing her eyes.
"Tired?"
"Just of this case. It's one for the books like you said"
"That's for sure"
"You want to do dinner?" Pierce glanced at him and turned back towards the road. He had his head down reading over her notes and some papers.
"I, uh… I actually have plans" she replied.
"Chasing another suspect without me?"
"No, an actual social event." she said to his remark. They never really talked much about what she did outside of work. When he would ask how her off days was it was usually about spending time at home with some drawer cases she worked on. There was something about a couple of cold cases that got to her and she looked into them when she was off. As she thought about it, Morales didn't really know much about her hobbies or that she actually did have a couple of friends. And a guy she had been seeing on and off. It was hard to date in this line of work. Having to be up at different times, away from home a lot with long hours, undercover stints, restless sleep from fucked up cases. No time for romantic relationships. No time for a family.
"Care to share with the rest of the class?" His go to saying with her.
"Nothing to really say, just hanging out."
Pierce dropped him off at the precinct and drove home to her apartment to get ready. She was going out with the on and off guy and her friend, Jess. She had been begging her to let her meet him. Jess and her had been friends for about two years. They met at a dance studio that she signed up for on a whim when passing by it a few days after she moved to L.A. A ballroom dancing studio. One of her newer hobbies that she enjoyed Tuesdays, Fridays and every Saturday if she missed one of those days due to work.
OOO
"So, is he cute, Aubrey?" Jess asked walking next to Pierce. She held her jacket tightly around her, the temperature had a dropped a bit as the evening fell.
"Which one? You've been asking about Ralph and Morales since you got to my place"
"Either one? Wait, which ones your partner? And which ones the boy toy?"
"Oh my God" Pierce laughed throwing her head back "Ralph. And he's not a boy toy. He's just… I don't know, we're not dating-dating. You know?" She asked looking at her friend.
"I get it, new territory. Can't say boyfriend because you're too busy for a relationship, blah, blah, blah" she said mockingly. Pierce sighed. "Is he cute though?" she asked excitedly grabbing her arm "Did you guys do it!?" Pierce's brain flickered to her dream from the morning.
"Yes, he's actually quite handsome and no. Just been out a handful of times over the last few months. He slept over once two weeks ago but I fell asleep. I had just finished a week long case with Morales"
"Oooo, yeah! Is he cute?" Pierce thought before answering, wanting to choose her words carefully.
"I really haven't thought about him that way" That was a lie. The last two days he had been on her mind. "I think his personality is very appealing. He's average? He's not ugly I suppose"
"Hey, sometimes it's the personality first before you really like someone. Like a friend that you've had for a long time and then BOOM! Like those Lifetime movies, best friends growing up"
"Jesus, Jess. I'm not trying to get with him, he's my partner at work. I don't think-"
"What's this place called again? I've never been to a cop bar before!" Jess asked. She always seemed excited. Jess had told Pierce previously that she had ADHD. It fit the bill with her. One thing to another, rapidly. She reminded her of a tornado, moving fast and big. Always the center of attention, but in a cute and funny way. She radiated happiness, that's why Pierce almost always enjoyed her company. She just made her want to be happy too.
"It's Cliffs, it's on the corner. Brooks Avenue." Pierce pointed to the next street sign "Just on the left." Jess ran up ahead and ripped the door open. She acted like she had not been out of her house in years. Pierce couldn't help but giggle and she waved her over.
"Look! They're hot! And they're in uniform!" Pierce followed her as she bounced in and looked around. Jess introduced herself with the a large amount of charisma to the bartender right away, she stepped aside as people passed by. It was really busy for a Wednesday night. Pierce quickly saw Ralph waving at her from across the bar. He stood with his cruiser partner, Hal Haliday, and their supervisor Mark Whittenberg. Pierce grabbed Jess's hand and pulled her along. She had gotten the attention of a couple of cops that were next to her before while she was talking to the bartender. Jess was a stand out. Long brown hair, dark brown eyes, flawless sun kissed skin and a perfect set of pearly white teeth. Her bubbly personality mixed in just finished her all up as a dumb knock out. Dumb because well, she was a brunette dumb blonde.
"Hey gorgeous, and beautiful friend. You must be Jess?" Ralph asked sticking his hand out. Jess beamed and shook it.
"Jess Stark" She said blushing.
"I'm Ralph Pheneich, this is my partner Hal and my boss Mark" he pointed to the men next to him.
"Hello, hello, how do you do?" Jess said walking up to them. Pierce gave Ralph a side hug and waved at Mark and Hal. She had met them two weeks ago when Ralph and her had gone out. Hal looked at her with a smirk as Jess talked up Mark. Mark was quite quiet so it was funny for them to see Jess try to pry answers out of him with question after question. Hal walked up to the bar and ordered a round of beers for them. Ralph and Pierce moved over to make room for more people coming near the back. It was getting busy.
"How's work?"
"One hell of a case. Dead body in a tub, he got tossed after he was used up. Casino heist" Pierce replied grabbing for a pint that the bartender poured them.
"Get out" Ralph reaction had huge eyes "A man being thrown to the side after a woman used him?" Ralph said in disbelief. Pierce playfully punched him in the shoulder as she took a swig of her beer.
"Who said it was a woman?" She asked him eye brows raised.
"So, I'm right?" He asked back laughing. Pierce shook her head yes and tilted her head watching Jess show Mark pictures on her phone. Ralph cranked his head over Jess's shoulder.
"Does she have a parrot?" he asked "That's what's on the phone"
"Several. 6 I think. I don't think the landlord knows about the 4, and I lost count. I don't think he knows about the 4 parakeets, 2 dogs, the cat and 7 budgies" Pierce says with a straight face.
"I think her and Mark will hit it off well then, he's got two dogs"
"She's talking about getting snakes" Ralph whistles a low tone.
"Okay, maybe not… She's interesting"
"Very much so"
An hour passed as they had another couple of rounds. Hal left to go home to his wife and kids and for some reason Mark was still talking with Jess. Ralph and Pierce talked to them on and off but were more entertained watching Mark come out of his shell with Jess. Neither of them had expected that. They seemed to have a lot in common, regardless of their personalities. Opposites attract Pierce offered as her answer when Ralph asked about how well they were getting.
"So then I ask my partner if she wants to have dinner and she says no but follows me to the bar!" Pierce turned around to see Morales standing behind her. "Good evening, fancy meeting you here" he said raising a glass.
"My GPS tracker battery in your car died when you got into this neighborhood, I figured you'd be here" she replied with a half smile. Morales laughed and stepped aside to introduce the men he was with.
"This is Phil Litham, we passed the bar at the same time and this is an old colleague of mine, Mike Wallace from when I was in practice" Pierce tucked some hair behind her ear and shook each mans hand. "Gentleman, my partner, Detective Aubrey Pierce. Started off as one of New York's finest".
"Welcome to the West Side" Mike said. Over his shoulder she could see Phil say something to Morales that had him smirk and shake his head. She could figure out it was about her, annoyed she looked over at her group. Ralph just stood next to Mark and looked at her. She waved him over and Jess followed.
"My friends, Jess and Ralph and his boss, Mark" she said pointing past them.
"I can tell that you and him are law, what do you do?" Morales asked leaning in towards Jess. The bars noise had picked up with a full crowd.
"I work at Sunnyslope View. It's a recreational building by West Hollywood for people with mental impairments" She replied. She looked over at Pierce.
"That's Morales, my partner" Jess smirked and leaned over to her "Ralph is here, this ought to be good"
"Shut up" she laughed rolling her eyes. Jess pulled her arm and led her over away from the men.
"You didn't say that he was going to be here too" she said looking over at them. Morales started a conversation with Ralph and Mark, seemed light banter.
"I didn't know he was going to be here. He had asked about going to dinner and I said I had plans." Jess eyed her suspiciously then put her finger to her lips like she was thinking. Any harder and steam would have started coming from her ears. "What?"
"Nothing" she said walking past her back to the men. She grabbed at Mark's arm and took him to the bar for another beer. At this point Pierce was done drinking. Leaving sounded good at this point with the awkwardness of both men talking to each other. Though in reality, it wasn't really awkward. Only to her.
"Ugh" was all Pierce could muster as she stood alone. Ralph sauntered over and pointed to the entrance.
"I'm going to go. I got some stuff to do before I sleep tonight" he yelled over the crowd. Pierce raised an eyebrow. She wondered if Morales had something to do with him ditching out early.
"I thought you had the night free?" Ralph rolled his neck to crack it and shrugged his shoulders.
"I just want to call it an early night" he said giving a new excuse.
"Okay…" Pierce said looking at Morales. He looked over his shoulder at her and waved. He initially was smiling but when he saw her eyebrows on an angle and Ralph standing next to her he quickly turned away. Ralph walked to the group and said his goodbyes, not bothering to say anything to Pierce. He raised his hand at her as he set his empty pint down and went out the door. "What the… hell" Annoyance was displayed on her face as she sipped at her beer. She walked to the bar and sat down.
"Beer fine or can I get you something else, Aubrey?" Scott the bartender asked leaning his elbows down.
"I'll take a white Russian if you have the ingredients"
"You got it" He slapped the bar lightly and looked next to her "Ricardo" he acknowledged. Scott was pushing 70 now. Age showing on his face. He had worked in LA's Special Victims Unit for years until he retired a few years back. He worked nights at Cliff's now to keep himself busy and away from his wife. Scott was always open to share his life, usually it was the opposite in bars.
Pierce turned to her right so her back was against the wall and she leaned against it.
"What did you say to Ralph? He left right after you were talking to him" she asked. Pierce was a pretty straight forward and blunt individual. She didn't waste time beating around the bush on certain things. Morales stirred his drink with the stir stick. He could feel her staring at him. He clicked his teeth and moved closer to her.
"It was in your best interest, Aubrey" Morales mumbled. He almost never used her first name unless it was something serious. She couldn't recall the last time she used him in conversation. They were so used to introducing themselves side by side to different people. Detective Morales and Detective Pierce. An image from her dream flickered in her brain again, when he said her name in her ear. She looked away from him, heat crawling up her neck.
Scott set her white Russian down in front of her and felt the tension between the two. "On the house" he said quietly to her and walked away down to the other end of the bar not wanting to hang around for the time being.
"How so?" Pierce asked sliding her drink towards him. Morales turned himself to face her and sighed.
"Phil knows him… and… his wife… and… his son..." he held her gaze when she looked up at him surprised. He had his fingers laced and he was leaning on his right elbow on the bar. She looked for a glimpse of a tell that he was lying to her but he was sincere. Pierce looked down and scratched the back of her neck. Morales noticed she did that when she didn't have anything to say. "It's not your fault. He's a smooth talker" He added taking a sip of his drink. He licked his lips quick. "You can't blame yourself."
"Am I considered a homewrecker?" She asked lifting her eyebrow. Morales laughed quietly.
"No. Well… how long have you been seeing each other? Have you guys… you know?" Pierce was a bit surprised at his prying on this topic. She shrugged.
"Couple of months. We went out a few times… and no. He came over once but I fell asleep" Morales focused on Pierce's face as she spoke looking for a glimpse of a tell-tale sign of a lie. He imagined her and Ralph sitting together on her couch and didn't like it. "It wasn't serious at all, I guess that was a good thing?"
"Yes. If it was, then you'd have the title of a homewrecker. That's if you knew that he had a wife. Who knows if he even would of told you at all. You would of found out yourself eventually"
"True. Super Sleuth" Pierce sighed and looked around the bar. It was trickling out slowly, not nearly as much of a crowd as before. She took a swig of her drink and pulled her phone out after she felt it vibrate. She looked at Morales with a frown "Would you able to give me a lift home? Jess said she's leaving with Mark."
"Sure. That's the guy she's been talking to for most of the time?"
"Yeah"
Morales slid his drink towards the inside of the bar and set a $20 down for Scott. "From you and I" he said referring to her not needing to tip.
"Thanks" Pierce followed behind him as they exited Cliff's. This was how it usually went, Morales first and then Pierce following. She didn't mind it, he had the personality to be a leader. Pierce was more quiet and was fine with just trailing. Sure she could step-up when needed, but with Morales as her partner, it didn't happen a whole lot. And that was just fine.
"Looked like they were about to start sucking face before they left. I caught a glimpse over my shoulder."
"That sounds like her" Pierce said looking around for Morales's car.
"I'm on Brittany" he said putting a hand on her lower back and gently pushing her to walk with him. "I'm surprised she didn't say goodbye when she left." Morales lowered his hands and put them in the pockets of his jacket.
"Probably didn't want to interrupt our discussion. She thinks my job is hush-hush. Like I'm always undercover" Morales laughed.
"She could have still said goodbye. Not like it was intense… just a little serious with the topic. I'm glad you're not too upset"
"What? You expected me to start bawling?" He shrugged as they turned the corner.
"No. You're just not showing a lot of the same emotions that someone would show when they found out a romantic interest of theirs were a cheater"
"As I said, we weren't serious"
"Ah, makes sense of what Jess said then. I thought she might have been trying to see if I was single or Ralph was" Pierce stopped walking. Morales had taken a few steps and turned around when he noticed she stopped.
"What did she say?" Morales shrugged and started walking again.
"Nothing much. Just asked about me and if I knew about Ralph and you. Almost felt like she was trying to read me on my answer." Pierce didn't say anything. They walked the rest of the block and approached his car.
"Why would she have asked me if I knew about you two?" Morales asked looking at Pierce over the top of his car. He held the car keys in his hand but hadn't unlocked it. Pierce leaned against the car and looked down the dark street.
"She was asking about Ralph and you while we were heading to the bar. Hadn't met you two before so she was just asking questions. Nosy"
"What kind of questions?"
"Just the general girl ones... What your personalities were like, if you two were handsome, that kind of stuff" Morales could tell Pierce was starting to get uncomfortable, she wouldn't look at him. But it was funny to him, trying to dig into her world a bit.
"Well, considering she went home with that Mark guy, I guess Ralph and I weren't good enough for her if she was interested by asking all that" he replied jokingly, Morales knew Jess wasn't. He unlocked the doors and opened his. "And as for you, if Ralph is now out of the running, I guess I'm the only handsome one left" he added climbing into the car. Uncalled for Pierce thought. She held the door handle and watched Morales clicking his seat belt in through the window. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
They chatted about the case as he drove to Carthy Square to Pierce's apartment. Thanking him she got out, Morales quickly rolled down the window as she closed the car door. She bent over to look at him through the door.
"Yes, Detective Morales?" she said sarcastically "My John isn't going to be happy that we're talking again". Morales laughed and leaned over, his arm around the back of the passenger head rest. The street light accented his features and smile. It made Pierce's gut flip. This was ridiculous she thought. She only hoped that he wasn't going to say anything else besides goodnight.
"You want me to walk you up?" he asked quietly.
"I'll be alright, thank you... I'll see you in the morning." she turned quickly and headed to her complex doors. Morales usually sat and waited until he no longer saw her feet going up the stairs, but tonight he waited until he saw her living room light go on on the third floor. He drove off towards the direction of his own place. Eventually he squeezed the bridge of his nose, mentally yelling at himself for staying out later than usual on a weeknight. The end of the evening was a bit strained due to him prying but he just wanted to know. He wanted to know what was in her head and her thoughts about him. Something was going on with her and it involved him.
Pierce's behavior towards him had him wondering. All the times he noticed her looking at him had him wondering. If it was what he thought, it wasn't good. It was good, but it wasn't good. Tonight is going to be another restless evening for Morales.
