Rae stopped at a deli on the way back to the station and got herself and Steve some lunch. As she walked in through the door she thought about Martin. He had been so kind to her when she was in the hospital, both times. She walked over to the desk sergeant. "Bob, do you have a telephone number of a florist so that I can send a plant to Martin?"
The desk sergeant looked at her a little strangely, but pulled out a file from under the desk. "Sure, but you don't normally send flowers to men." He sighed, "Must be a British thing!"
Rae stuck her tongue out at him, and he stared. She realised that it was probably the first time he had seen her do that. "He likes to grow plants, so I thought that I would send him one, an unusual one preferably!" She took a note of the number that Bob showed her and carried on towards the stairs.
Steve sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He knew he should talk to Rae, but he felt such a fool. He had no right to take out his problems on her, and if he told her that he knew she would agree with him. He jumped as a brown bag was put down in front of him.
"Ham salad on rye, I hope that will do you. We don't have so many choices of fillings and types of bread in London." Rae smiled at him. She couldn't hold a bad mood for long. "Hey, partner, look at me. What's up?"
"Nothing, I'm sorry I was a grump."
"Hey, I thought we booked him!"
Steve smiled and continued. "I had no right to take my temper out on you, I know that."
"Good, don't do it again!" Rae had her hand over his, she squeezed it gently and let go.
"After you left Bob's last night I saw Lucy." He stopped, feeling a little foolish.
"And… There must be more to it than that, you said you hadn't been together long. She was hardly the love of your life." Rae waited.
"She was with somebody else! I know she only came into Bob's to rub my nose in it. She was all over him like a rash!"
"Oh, Steve, I'm so sorry. Listen; there are two things to remember. One, the girl obviously doesn't know what she just passed up, and two, if she can behave like that then you are well shot of her. Now eat up, we have to go interview Mr. Worthington."
Rae sat down and took a salad roll out of her brown bag.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Worthington, I have to talk to you about him." As they ate Steve filled her in on everything that the Chief had said. Including the bit about her doing her job by the book, which got a reaction, just as he had known it would.
"By the book, by the book? For goodness sake, how am I supposed to work by the book when so far I've been strangled by a deranged schoolteacher, and stalked by the kook of the year? I also have to contend with the fact that I am partner to a cop who takes a police consultant, a medical examiner and a doctor along on his cases! What chance do I have to work by the book? Rae stood up, stuck her tongue out at Steve and brushed the crumbs off her sweatshirt and jeans then she reached into her desk and took out a new pad, picked up her purse and turned to Steve. "So, are you ready, Lieutenant? I think we have work to do."
"Hold on a minute. I haven't finished my lunch, and I have to ring first to make sure it is convenient to see him. You could check with … ah Miss Walters to find out where he was last night, and then call them."
Rae said nothing; she picked up the phone on her desk, checked the number on her pad and dialled.
"This is Worthington Laboratories. I'm sorry but due to unforeseen circumstances, the offices are closed today. Please try again later."
Rae heard Jo's voice as it played in her ear. She checked the pad again, and found her home number. "Hello… Is that Miss Walters…? This is Detective Yeager… Yes, it's me, hi, Jo, are you all right?"
Jo had been sitting on the sofa in her lounge almost all morning. She hadn't known Mrs Worthington well, she only saw her at the Christmas party, but she liked Mr. Worthington, and felt incredibly sad for him. Her thoughts were broken by the ringing of the phone. "Hello…? Yep…Rae, is that you…? No, not really. Mr. Worthington phoned to tell me about his wife and that he was gonna shut the office. I went in, checked the mail and put a message on the answerin' machine, then I came back. Now I am just sittin' here, thinkin' and wonderin'. What can I do for you, Rae…? I think it was the Las Rosas…why…Oh, I guess you do… Yep, I'm still plannin' on meetin' you at nine fifteen… Bye."
Rae went across the room and picked up the phone book. Once she had got all the information she needed from the reservation clerk she turned back to her partner. "He was there, Steve, there is no way he could be involved." She breathed a sigh of relief. The thought of anybody doing what they had done to Mrs Worthington was almost unthinkable, but for a husband to do it to a wife. She shuddered. "Nor Jo for that matter. She couldn't have surprised the thief and murdered Candi, she didn't have time. I guess we'd better get going then, huh? Did you get a hold of him?"
"Yes, he's still at Mrs Barraclough's daughter's house, so we'll have to interview him there. Come on, I get the feeling you don't want to do this any more than I do." They left the room together and headed for the parking lot. Rae walked over to Steve's blue car, she ran her fingers through her hair and wished she could sleep for a week.
As they started to get into the car Steve saw Bob come running out of the station. He straightened back up and walked over to him. Rae saw them deep in conversation.
Steve listened intently to what Bob was saying before turning and walking back to his car after thanking him for catching them. He took a deep breath as he shut his door. "The jury just came back, Rae."
She felt her heart shoot up into her throat. She didn't need to ask what jury, in her mind there was only one. Uncertain whether or not her voice would work she turned to him, "and…?"
"He got twenty years." Steve said nothing else. He watched as Rae's eyes filled with tears that spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Steve." Rae tried to brush the tears away. "Do you think you could see Worthington on your own? I … I need to go see Jesse." Rae looked down, her hands were shaking. It hadn't occurred to her that the verdict would be back so soon. Levington had been charming and perfectly believable on the witness stand, as he had described how Rae's actions were those of a woman infatuated with him, not the other way around. She knew he was guilty, but she couldn't be certain that the jury had felt the same. Now it was obvious that they did.
"It was unanimous, Rae. Now it really is over." Steve turned slightly and put his arms out and they hugged tightly.
"Thank you, Steve, I couldn't have gotten through it without you, your dad, Amanda and of course, Jess." She relaxed into his chest and let her breathing become deep and even. The feeling of relief was almost overwhelming, and she fought to regain her normal composure. Slowly she moved back from him and smiled. "How about a meal at Bob's tomorrow night, my treat? I know you're working tonight, but it would be nice if we could all meet up there to celebrate."
"Ok, yeah, tomorrow is fine by me. Now, go and see Jess, I'll interview Worthington, and when I'm finished I'll call you and you can come back, ok?" Steve looked at her, he could tell that underneath all her tumultuous emotions she was delighted, so was he. He watched as she undid her seatbelt and got out of the car. Then he waved and headed off towards Venice Beach.
Rae got into Tom and drove to Community General. It was just after two in the afternoon and she felt wonderful. She pulled into an empty space next to Jesse's car and headed for the elevator.
Jesse was sitting on a chair in reception trying to read some of the notes left by Dr. Collins before he headed off to Europe for a month. Doctor's handwriting, jeez! He heard the bell ping as the elevator doors opened, and looked up to see Rae come bounding out. "Hey, honey, what are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you until tonight. Are you ok?" Jesse walked over to her. He could see tears in her eyes, and knew she was having trouble keeping her emotions in check. "Let's go to the Doctor's Lounge, come on." He took her by the hand and they walked down the hallway.
As soon as the door was shut Rae started to talk. "Oh, Jess, it's over, it's all over. He got twenty years. Twenty years!" She stopped talking, and taking a step closer found Jesse in her arms.
Jesse could feel the blood pounding in his head. He grabbed at Rae as the room started to swim. The next thing he knew he was on the sofa with his head down and he could hear Rae's concerned voice floating somewhere above him.
"Jess, darling, it's all right, just sit a while. You'll be fine."
He tried to move and felt her hand on his shoulder.
"No, keep your head down just for a minute. I sent for Mark, he'll be here real soon." Rae sat down next to Jesse and he leant against her. She could kick herself. In her excitement she had given him no warning of what she was going to say, and he had suffered physically more than anyone at the hands of Philip Levington. She shuddered as she remembered him chained to a radiator at Levington's store. He had nearly died; she should have considered his feelings. She looked up as the door opened and Mark rushed in.
"Rae, what happened, is Jess all right?" He moved over to his young friend and started to take his pulse.
"I had some news to tell him, Mark, but I did it all wrong and the shock was too much for him." Rae looked at the two men in front of her, Jesse with his head resting on his knees and Mark kindly and concerned.
"What sort of news? Rae, you're not?"
"Not what …? Good grief, Mark, no! Whoah, I'd be the one flat out if that were the case. No. It's Levington, the jury returned a verdict."
Mark smiled, "Twenty years, I'll bet."
Rae smiled back, "I never could get anything past you, could I? Yes, exactly right, twenty years. But I didn't think of what he had done to Jess, it was just too much. Are you all right now, honey?" She looked down as she saw him begin to move.
"Yeah, it was just a bit of a shock. I didn't think it would happen that fast. I guess they believed us then, huh? Chalk another one up for the good guys." Jesse had his colour back now, and was enjoying the news as much as Mark and Rae. His face was split by a huge smile, and he stood, slowly, and put his arms out to Rae. She moved into them and felt herself being enveloped by all the love and commitment she could ever need.
Mark looked at them both and smiled. They had been through so much together in such a short space of time, but they had survived. He was delighted to see Jesse so happy with Rae, now if only Steve… he let the thought hang.
Rae pulled away from Jesse and turned to the older doctor. "We're gonna celebrate tomorrow night at Bob's, you will be able to come won't you?" She was relieved to see him nod.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, sweetie. Did you ask Amanda and Alex yet? Oh, and don't forget Jan." Mark was getting caught up in the emotion himself now.
"I'm going to go and see Amanda in a minute, and I'll call Jan later. If you spot Alex could you tell him? Eight o'clock tomorrow night then?"
Mark nodded and headed for the door, he turned to speak as he got there, but Jesse and Rae were already lost in each other, and he had a feeling that neither of them knew that he had even left.
Steve headed towards the address in Venice Beach with his mind on Levington instead of Worthington. The relief was almost overpowering. He had nearly lost his best friend, and Rae as well, it had been lucky she was as strong as she was. Not for the first time he wondered how Cheryl was getting on in London. From her e-mails she was having a great time and thankfully it hadn't been as traumatic as Rae's time here. As he got nearer to the address he gave himself a mental shake and began to go over what they knew so far, which is precious little!
Candi Worthington had been thirty-eight and married to James Worthington for twenty years. She had been his secretary when he had worked as a scientist for a large pharmaceutical corporation, and when he had started his own business she had left the company and married him. They had no children, for which Steve was extremely grateful. The way she had died was almost beyond belief and explaining that to a child would be impossible.
By the time these thoughts had run through his head he was pulling up outside a small neat detached house with pale blue shutters and a large butterfly attached to the wall. He walked up to the door and rang the bell. There was silence. For a minute he wondered whether he had the wrong house, and then he heard a throat being cleared behind him.
"May I help you?"
A small blonde woman in her early thirties was standing behind Steve. He turned and taking out his ID began to speak. "I'm Lieutenant Steve Sloan, LAPD, I believe I'm expected, Ms…?
"Foster, Mrs Foster, and yes, Lieutenant, you are expected. We are all in the garden, won't you come through?"
Steve followed the young woman through the garage and into a small neat garden, which had children's play equipment in one half of it, and garden furniture in the other. Mrs Barraclough and Mr. Worthington were sitting under a large willow tree, and it was clear that both of them had been crying. Steve took a deep breath and moved over to them.
"Mr. Worthington, Mrs Barraclough, I'm sorry to intrude on your grief, but I really do need to speak to you, Sir."
"Certainly, Lieutenant, I understand that. I spoke to your Chief this morning, and he said that you and… er, Detective Yeager… were his two best officers. Good man, Masters, good man. Ah, where is Detective Yeager, Lieutenant?"
"She had to finish up some business on a previous case, Sir, but you can rest assured that we will be working on this case together, to the very best of our ability. Is there somewhere private that we could go to talk do you think?" Steve looked around, he didn't want to conduct his interview in the garden, it was a bit too open for him.
Mrs Foster stood up and smiled. "If you would like to follow me, James, Lieutenant, you can use the breakfast room."
A couple of minutes later they entered a fresh and bright pale lemon room, which was furnished entirely in blue. "Can I get either of you a drink? Coffee, soda?" Seeing both men shake their heads she quietly left the room, and went back to offer some solace to her mother.
"Now, Lieutenant, what can I tell you? You'll have to excuse me if I get a bit emotional, but we had been together a long time, and I loved my wife very much."
Steve suddenly liked this big brusque man, and could see why he would get on well with the Chief. "Some of the things I have to ask may be painful for you, Mr. Worthington, but you can be assured that I won't ask anything that I don't think is absolutely necessary."
"I understand that. But first of all, Lieutenant, can you tell me when I will be able to go and formally identify her."
Steve thought for a minute. "I can take you back with me, Sir, if you would like."
Mr. Worthington nodded. "It's James, call me James."
Steve held his hand out. "Steve. Ok, Mr…James. Have you been given any details about how your wife died?"
"No, I know that she was killed, but nothing more than that." Steve could see that James Worthington was trying very hard to keep his emotions in check.
"I see," Steve decided to leave that. He had a feeling that he wouldn't get any more information from Mr. Worthington if he knew the details of his wife's death immediately. "Did she have any enemies that you would know of, James?"
There was silence and Steve watched as the man in front of him tried to put his muddled thoughts into order. "No, no, I don't think so. Any enemies would be mine, Lieutenant."
"Yours, Sir, why?"
"Because of my line of business. We are an animal research laboratory. It is a field of experimentation that most people have very strong views about. Whether they are for it or against it. I will not undertake research for cosmetic companies, or for anything that I think is dubious, but for medical research I feel that the service we offer is invaluable."
Steve looked at this man, who had just lost his wife, and had to accept the fact that his job most probably had been the cause of that. "I have to say, James, that I share your feelings. I think that the same people probably carried out the attack on your wife and your laboratory. I have officers back at the station checking the alibi's of the men who were arrested at your lab yesterday, we don't have that much information on them yet, but we're working on it. I can offer you protection until this is over, Sir, it would be no problem to arrange."
"No, thank you, Lieutenant. You have far more important things to use your resources on than me." He stopped talking and took a deep breath. "I wonder how they would feel about it if they had a loved one who was suffering from a serious and possibly fatal disease and they were saved because of drugs that'd had their safety proven during clinical trials on animals."
Steve decided not to answer that. Although he knew how he felt, this wasn't the time or the place for that kind of discussion. "Is your home address public knowledge, James, or your daily routine, for that matter?"
"We are a public company so the details of myself and my board are available. My address isn't there, but if somebody were determined I imagine they could find out. As for my daily routine, I finish work every night at six, I wouldn't think to check if I was being followed, so it wouldn't have been hard to find out where I live. As for my schedule yesterday, well, until mid morning even I didn't know I would be going to Baja."
"Does your house have an alarm system?"
"Of course, young man, what do you take me for? Nobody lives in Los Angeles and doesn't have an alarm."
Wanna bet! "No, Sir, I guess not. Did your wife or your housekeeper have any plans to go out last night, or have guests in?"
"No, no, not that I know of, as I said before, I had planned to be home myself last night." This time the realisation that he had left his wife alone to meet her death was too much for James Worthington, and he reached into his pocket for a large white handkerchief and hid his face in it.
Steve used the time to go over what he had written already and make sure that it was legible and of use. Then he sat quietly and waited. He watched as the big man gradually pulled himself together and braced himself to ask some difficult questions.
"Did your wife, to your knowledge, ever have an affair, or a liaison with anyone?" Steve hated these questions. Sometimes it didn't bother him at all, but today he wished he didn't have to ask.
"No, no. Not that I knew of. We were happy together. I thought that when I retired next year we would spend the rest of our lives together." He sniffed loudly and looked over at Steve. "How did she die, Lieutenant?"
Steve took a deep breath. "She had her throat and wrists cut, Mr. Worthington, I think that her murderers were trying to make a point." Realising that he had already said more than he should have Steve stopped talking.
"Make a point?" James Worthington asked. Steve sat silently, hoping the distraught man would let it pass, but James would not let it be. "Detective, just what point were they trying to make?"
Mentally cursing himself for his rambling, I sound like Jesse! Steve decided his only option was to tell Mr. Worthington the truth. "Before she was killed they put a broom handle through the sleeves of her top and suspended her from a hook placed in the ceiling." He stopped talking. There was nothing else he could say.
James Worthington had turned grey. He sat trying to control his anger, and emotion. "I want to see her, now. And I want to know when her body can be released for burial."
"We can sort all those things out once we get to Community General. Would you like me to drive you, or do you have somebody else you would prefer do it?"
"I think that I would like Mrs Barraclough to come with me. Then we can come back together, we won't be causing you any more problems than we have to."
Steve smiled. "It's no problem, Sir, but if that is what you prefer then that's what we'll do. If you'd like to go and get ready, I'll call my partner and arrange to meet with her there."
James Worthington left the room and Steve took his cell phone out of his pocket. He punched in the number for Rae's phone and waited…
Rae and Jesse had walked hand in hand down to Amanda's path lab to tell her the good news. Then they had decided to visit with Martin Robertson for a little while. They were talking to him when…
"Detective Yeager…Oh, hi, Steve…No, I'm still here…Ok, I'll meet with you in a little while. I'm in with Martin at the moment…Yeah, bye." She shut her phone.
"Steve is coming in with Mr. Worthington, he'll be about twenty minutes. So in a while we'll head back down to Amanda. Do you know when they will let you out Martin?"
"Yes, tomorrow afternoon. Then I have to stay home until the stitches come out, next Monday."
"Do you want any books, or anything, I have accumulated quite a few now and I would be happy to share." Rae turned to see the vibrantly coloured plant that the florists had sent. It was a brilliant green, and had a blue middle. She had no idea what it was, but she liked it.
Martin saw her admiring his plant. "I did thank you for that didn't I, Rae? It's a glorious colour."
"Do you know what it is?" Rae looked to see if it had a care label on it, it didn't.
"Not a clue. But I'll look it up when I get home."
"You could use the time to tend to your garden couldn't you?"
"I might. I haven't had any time off for a while, so I may take you up on the book reading. I like anything as long as it isn't love or mush!"
"You won't find any of that. I like mysteries, and history. I'll get some sorted out for you and get Jesse to bring them in for you in the morning, ok?" Rae got up and headed for the door. "Take care of yourself, Martin. I'm sorry you won't be able to come tomorrow night, I owe you a beer and some ribs some time."
Jesse took her hand and they left the room. As they walked down the hallway Rae tried to bring her thoughts back to her current case. Jesse was going to come along with her; neither of them knew how Mr. Worthington would react to the sight of his wife's body.
Amanda was busy with the aftermath of a shooting in a convenience store, so Jesse and Rae waited outside in the hallway and sat quietly. They were both quite content with each other's company. They'd had an incredible ride together since Rae had come to Los Angeles. Now that Levington was in jail they could concentrate on being together and enjoy the time that she had left here. Neither of them spoke but they didn't need to.
Steve strode down the hallway, James Worthington was walking like a man possessed. His emotion was coming out in his actions, and in the end Steve put his hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Worthington, Mrs Barraclough can't keep up, Sir." He stopped and waited and the distraught man slowed his step. "Moira, I am so sorry. I didn't realise." He put his hand out and his housekeeper took it. "Let's walk together."
Rae saw them as they turned the corner and stood up. She moved towards the three people her hand outstretched. "Mrs Barraclough, Mr. Worthington, this is Doctor Jesse Travis."
Jesse smiled slightly at the group of people before him. "Would you like to follow me, Sir?" He entered the room with Mr. Worthington, and Rae. Steve put his hand on Mrs Barraclough's shoulder, and indicated that she should remain with him.
As they stood together, neither of them knowing what to say to each other, they heard a gasp and a sob come from inside the room. She tried once again to get to her employer and friend, but Steve stopped her. "No, ma'am, you must wait here just a little while longer."
Rae looked at the distraught man. "Is this your wife, Mr. Worthington?"
He just nodded. Then he started to talk to her. "Candi, I am so sorry. My darling, please forgive me for not being there when you needed me." His body sagged and he laid his head on her chest. The sound of his sobbing could be heard throughout the room. Rae and Jesse moved back and let him have some time with his wife. They both knew they could say nothing to help.
Steve sat on a chair by the doorway he hated this. There was no easy way to get through an ordeal like this. Somebody always suffered, and it was left to people like Rae, Jesse and himself to pick up the pieces, legally and medically, and for their families if they were lucky enough to have one to do the same thing emotionally. James had Mrs Barraclough who had joined her employer inside the room.
After just over half an hour Rae moved over to Mr. Worthington and put her hand on his shoulder. "Sir, I think we should be going now."
"No, no. I have to stay with her; she has no one to stay with her. I left her, I won't leave her again." Rae looked helplessly at Jesse. James Worthington was a big man; she knew that if he refused to leave the room there was nothing that she could do about it. Mrs Barraclough was sitting slightly away from everybody else, tears streaming down her face. Rae had tried to comfort her but she knew she had failed.
"Sir, I really think that you should come with me now." Jesse walked up to him, and to his relief saw the man stand up.
There was a long pause and then the man turned and seemed to pull himself together slightly. "Yes, Doctor, I will. I'm sorry, Detective, please forgive my behaviour."
Rae smiled at this man, who was still trying to be a gentleman when his whole world had collapsed around him. "There is nothing to apologise for, Mr. Worthington." Rae indicated towards the door and the four of them moved towards it together.
Steve stood up, looked over to his partner, and saw her nod. Mr. Worthington walked over with his housekeeper, and they stood together.
"Now that the formalities have been dealt with, you may get in touch with the funeral home and arrange for your wife's body to be taken there." Steve felt a little awkward, he wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that Mrs Barraclough was holding James Worthington's hand once again. She is like his nanny! The thought shocked him, but also comforted him, as strangely, did the fact that she seemed so upset. Until now she had seemed almost devoid of feelings, Steve was relieved to see that wasn't the case.
"Thank you, Lieutenant, Detective, and ah, Doctor Travis. I will let you know when the arrangements have been made."
The three friends stood together and watched as Mr Worthington left the hospital with his housekeeper. Rae turned to Steve and smiled. "He seems so upset by her death, but at least he won't be alone with Mrs Barraclough around. She is almost mothering him isn't she?"
"You could say that. Come on, I'm starved. Let's go down to the cafeteria and we can go over what I found out from Mr. Worthington this morning." Which wasn't much, but I need food.
Steve tucked into a plateful of macaroni and cheese, while Rae looked over his notes.
"Poor man, he is always going to blame himself isn't he?"
Steve nodded, his mouth full of food.
"So, what time do you start at Bob's, nine isn't it?"
"I may cry off. It's been a long time since I had an early night, and Jess is on tonight, it doesn't need both of us to work."
"Oh, Steve, no, please don't." She paused, her mind racing. "Jesse was gonna finish just after you started, so that we could spend some time together. Please, I know we are all going to celebrate together tomorrow, but, well you know…" Rae finished, hoping that her excuse rang true. Her love life could do with a little livening up, but it was Steve's she was more interested in right now.
"Oh, Rae, I'm sorry, I didn't think. Sure, that won't be a problem, but I don't know how long I'll be able to stay for tomorrow night, ok? I'm getting to forget what my bed actually feels like!"
Rae breathed a huge sigh of relief, and took a drink of her soda. "I'm going to go back to the station. I'll finish up and have a word with the Chief. Then I'll see you at about nineish tonight. I think I'll come and meet up with Jess." With that she got up from the table and headed for the exit. Steve waved his fork at her and carried on eating.
The Chief was on the phone when Rae got back to the station but he held up his hand and gestured for her to come in. He replaced the handset and looked over his desk at her. "Well, Detective, I take it that you have heard that Mr. Levington is to be detained, how would you say it? At Her Majesty's Pleasure, for twenty years."
Rae smiled. "Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir. We are having a celebratory meal at BBQ Bob's tomorrow night, you are welcome to join us."
"Thank you, Detective, but I have ah a prior engagement. Now, how have you and Lieutenant Sloan got on today?"
"Well, Steve interviewed Mr. Worthington." Rae paused. She knew that she was supposed to be working by the book, and straight away she had veered off and gone to the hospital leaving Steve by himself. "I had to go and see Doctor Travis. I only heard the news as we left the precinct."
"That is quite understandable. I did know that Mr. Worthington was only interviewed by one of you. Please continue."
"He feels that his wife was probably killed due to his line of work. Unfortunately we think that he's right. We'll do a background check into his wife's business dealings, financial position and all the normal things, but at the moment, from the items found at the scene I think that Mr. Worthington's assumption is correct." Rae stopped talking. Once again she felt that she should have more to say. She had been dealing with the Chief for almost six months and he still made her feel inadequate.
"Thank you Detective. I suggest that you get on then."
"Ah, I have actually finished for today, Sir. We'll start again tomorrow. It's too late to contact any of the people we need to speak to." Rae looked across the desk at her boss. And I have to sort out my partner's love life, but I guess that is way too much information!
"Very well, Detective, enjoy your evening."
Rae knew that she had been dismissed, so she left the room, cleared her desk and headed for her little car. Jesse was going straight to Bob's, and he knew that she was coming with Jo. By the time she arrived home she was humming and really looking forward to the evening.
But as Rae opened the door to her apartment, she realised that it was a quiet and lonely place. She picked up the local paper and checked through the advertisements. She found the one she was looking for and picked up the phone. Ten minutes later she was back in Tom and heading towards a house about a half mile from the apartment building, and half an hour after that she was on her way back home with a small travel cage on the back seat and a bag of groceries next to it.
With a big smile on her face, she once again opened the door to her apartment and put her purchases down. Then she took the travel cage and put it down in front of the sofa. She got on the floor next to it and opened the front. Slowly and cautiously a little head appeared, Rae laughed and the head disappeared straight back in again.
Trying not to laugh any more she sat quietly and waited. After a few minutes curiosity won out and the little head reappeared. This time Rae made no sound and the rest of the body followed. A little ginger kitten stood, shakily, in the doorway of its temporary refuge and looked around its new home. "Hey, baby, you're a sweet thing aren't you? Will you let me pick you up so we can take a look around together?" She gently placed her hand underneath its front paws, and then the other one behind its back legs and lifted her up. She weighed nothing at all.
Once Rae had picked her up she could hold her in one hand. She rubbed a finger underneath her throat and heard a tiny little purr. She walked around the apartment, talking to her all the time, and ended up back in the kitchen. Rae got out the kitten food that she had bought and put a little bit on a saucer. Then she put the kitten down and watched. First of all the little thing just stood there, then she sniffed. Then to Rae's delight she looked up at her and she ate it. Rae had purposely only put a little bit down, and after the kitten had eaten it, she put the kitty litter tray down by the rubbish bin, which was just outside her kitchen area. She then picked up the kitten and put her in it. Once again she looked at her, but this time she was not happy and just walked straight out of the box.
Rae checked her watch, it was twenty past eight. "Ok, baby, I have to go out and sort a few things. I think it would probably be a good thing if you went back into your box for now." Rae gently placed the kitten back in the box and headed for the shower. Then she got dressed and sorted out some books for Martin. When she was done she looked in the front of the cage and smiled. Her new pet was fast asleep.
Jo was standing in the parking lot when Rae arrived. She was just out of sight of the restaurant, and she stood next to a dark blue jeep. Rae pulled Tom up next to her and got out of her car. "Hey, you haven't been standing out here very long have you? It's not that safe an area."
"No, mom, I just got here. But this a pretty safe part of LA. If any of it is really safe. I must have been out of my car ooh about ten seconds. An' don't worry, honey, I can look after myself."
"I'm from London remember, which is way safer than here, and I wouldn't stand by my car on my own there either."
Jo smiled at Rae and then took a deep breath. "So, did he agree of his own free will to meet with me tonight?"
"Ah, he doesn't actually know that you're coming… I thought it would be a nice surprise."
"Rae!" Jo's face changed from a friendly smile to a look of horror. "He'll think I'm playin' him for a fool!"
"It's ok, Jesse is supposed to finish about now, and Steve take over."
"Jesse?"
"Jesse is his partner in Bob's. He's a doctor at Community General hospital and my boyfriend. He knows you're coming. We've arranged it between us so that we'll stay on. You and Steve can go off somewhere else, or eat here, whichever you choose. But trust me, once he gets over the shock and embarrassment he'll be fine." Or I'll be walking a beat by morning. "Come on, let's go in. It's cold out here. You look very nice by the way."
Jo smiled at her. She had black jeans on with a deep green cashmere top under a black leather jacket. Her hair was piled up on her head, hurriedly it looked, but Rae had a feeling that it had been done with care. Her black boots obviously had quite high heels, because Jo was now about seven inches taller than Rae. They looked at each other at the same moment, laughed and headed for the door.
Rae went in first, Steve turned and smiled at her, but the smile froze on his lips as he saw Jo walk in behind her.
Jo nearly let her courage fail her as she saw Steve's reaction. She was ready to turn and hightail it out the door, but Rae grabbed her hand and carried on walking into the restaurant.
"Steve, look who I found outside." Rae moved across the floor bringing Jo with her. As she passed in front of Steve she let go of Jo's hand and turned to her partner. "I'm sure that there is something you need to say to Jo, maybe at that reserved table over there. Jess and I will cover for you. Then she carried on walking over to where Jesse was standing, put her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips. "Hey sweetie, miss me?"
"Always, think we're gonna get away with this?"
Steve looked over to where his partner and his best friend were standing, watching him warily. Then he turned back to Jo. "I think I have been set up." He wasn't sure if he was delighted or furious, so he decided to go with delighted. He undid his apron, walked round from behind the counter and smiled at Jo. "Would you like to come with me, ma'am?" Jo nodded and they walked over towards the most discrete table in the place, the table that Jesse had surreptitiously placed a reserved sign on. "Unless you would like to eat somewhere else?"
"Yeah, Jess, I think we'll get away with it." Rae smiled, picked up a pad and went to work.
Jo looked around the restaurant. "Nope, this is fine with me, I just love barbeque, reminds me of home!"
Steve held out the chair and Jo sank gratefully onto it. She'd had no idea how Steve would react when she walked in with Rae, but now she thought that the evening would probably be a success.
"I'm sorry about this. I guess Rae has something to do with you being here?" Steve looked across at Jo, she was a beautiful woman, and now that they were away from everybody else he had a feeling that they would get on well.
Jesse came across, beaming. "Would you like something to drink? Wine, soda, mineral water?" He looked at Jo as he spoke.
"A beer would be nice. Anythin' as long as it's ice cold."
Steve was grinning as he looked across at Jesse. "I'll have the same, Jess, and could we have a menu?"
With a flourish Jesse produced two menus from behind his back, and laid them on the table. Then he went off to get the drinks. Rae was working tables at the other end of the restaurant and she saw Jo begin to talk as Jesse moved away.
"So, you had nothin' to do with this then?" Jo didn't seem convinced.
"No, until you walked in the door I thought that I'd blown it with you the other night. What made you change your mind? … If you don't mind me asking?" Steve wiped his hands down the legs of his jeans and hoped she wouldn't notice.
"No I don't mind. Your partner is a real nice lady. She told me that if you had asked me out it wasn't because you did it all the time, but because you really wanted me to say yes. So I decided to give you a second chance."
Jesse returned with the drinks and waited. "Yes, Jesse, was there something?"
"Do you know what you want yet?"
"Oh, Jess, no, sorry. Give us a minute, huh?"
"Ok. But we close in about 2 hours y'know!" Jesse grinned and headed over to another table.
"Jo, what would you like? I can recommend everything… I know the chef." He smiled across at her.
"Hey, I'm an expert in barbeque, why don't we just have a bit of everythin' an' I'll give you my opinion on the chef, later!" Jo smiled at him, and was relieved to see him smile back. He seemed real nervous.
Steve waved Jesse over and gave their order, then he turned back to her. "If you're an expert in barbeque how come I haven't seen you in here before?"
"Maybe you missed me… I've been here, but I don't remember seein' you or Jesse, guess you must have been someplace else that night. I had a nice meal, I'm happy to try it again."
"Besides, can you imagine what Rae and Jesse would have done if we'd gone somewhere else." Steve smiled over at her, and decided that delight was definitely the right feeling, when she gave a peal of laughter.
"She's a cop isn't she? I get the feelin' wherever we went she would have followed. Just to make sure we didn't mess things up this time."
After that the conversation flowed, the meal was good and before either of them knew it they were the only two customers left in the place. Jesse and Rae had sat at a table closer to the door and were also chatting quietly.
"I have somebody for you to meet when you are free." Rae looked at Jesse with a glint in her eye. "I've got a houseguest."
"Who, one of your children? I didn't think they were due over for a couple more months. After that trip to Disneyland we took with CJ and Dion we really need to save up!"
"No, no, not one of my family, but she will be part of our family here. This little soul is about six weeks old, and really cute." After that she would say no more. Jesse looked at her and shrugged.
"Guess I'd better cash up. You wanna go and make sure that the dishwasher is ready. Then when we can get those two lovebirds to leave their table we can all head for home."
Jesse stood up, making sure that his chair scraped across the floor as he did so.
"Jess!" Rae hissed, "stop it, leave them be."
Steve turned at the sound, and checked his watch. "Ah, I think that they are waiting to close up shop. Can I drive you home?"
"No, thank you, Steve, I brought my car. But you sure can walk me to it, if you'd like." She smiled up at him as he stood and pulled her chair out for her. He held her jacket for her and she slipped her arms in. "Thank you. Your daddy taught you good manners. You are a gentleman."
"Hey, I try." They walked towards the exit, and Jesse's eyes followed them every step of the way. "We're going, Jess. Tell Rae I'll see her tomorrow. Bright and early." With that he held the door and they walked outside.
Jo shivered. "Ooh, the night's are gettin' a bit chilly. This is my car." She stopped by the blue jeep and turned to Steve. "Thank you, Steve, for a nice night. Rae was right, I made a mistake. I'm glad you were man enough to give me a second chance." Steve gave her a smile that made her heart leap.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
"I sure did." Jo said, "We may have gotten off to an awkward start, Steve, but it turned out to be a perfect evening."
Steve looked at her, took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge. "How about a third chance, I'm not working Thursday night, maybe you could recommend somewhere to go then."
"I'd love to. How about we meet at Musso and Frank's on Hollywood Boulevard at eight? I'll call and book."
"You want to do the tourist thing, huh? Ok. I'll meet you there at eight on Thursday."
Jo moved over to him and kissed him quickly on the cheek, then she got into her car, waving as she pulled out of her parking space.
Steve smiled. He went back towards the restaurant and opened the door. "Are you all right for sauce, Jesse, or do you want me to make some before I call it a night?"
"Hey, I thought you'd gone already. Yeah, the sauce is fine, I made a new batch up earlier. We're covered 'til the weekend. See ya, buddy."
Steve went back out and got into his car. For a while on Thursday he would play tourist, he couldn't remember the last time he'd got to do that. He pushed a Billy Joel cd into the player and headed for home.