What About The Waffles?!
**DISCLAIMER** I do not own Witchblade, nor do I claim to. None of the characters belong to me. They are all property of the Warner Bros. network and Top Cow, with the exception of Elri, who belongs to, well, Elri. So please, don't sue me for having a little fun!
Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to write such a short chapter, you guys! ;_; My sincerest apologies. Unfortunately I've been utterly un-inspired with this one, probably because I had no idea where it was going in the first place. So, here's this chapter while I go work on the next one.
"Time to make the waffles!"
It was Jake this time who gave Gabriel a puzzled stare as the youth wandered dreamily out of the room. He cocked an eyebrow at Sara. "That kid ok?"
Sara rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "When I figure out what qualifies as "ok" I'll tell you."
Jake grinned. "Fair enough."
The office door opened. Neither detective looked up, assuming that it was Gabriel returning. Sara was almost growing accustomed to his random references to breakfast items; she'd been hearing them at unexpected moments for nearly a week. And they were inevitably followed by his disappearing out of whatever room he currently occupied, and returning a few moments later with a vaguely puzzled look on his face. As if he couldn't find the waffle mix, Sara thought with a snort.
"Heya, Jakey-boy! Miss me?" Sara's head snapped up at the sound of a female voice. So did Jake's.
There was a young woman leaning languidly against the doorframe with a broad grin on her face. She was small, a few inches shorter than Sara, with close-cropped dark hair and black clothing that accented every curve she had. Her high-heeled boots clunked on the cement floor as she crossed the room and gave Jake a very emphatic kiss. Sara averted her eyes after a moment, knowing it was impolite to stare.
"Uh, Sara, this is my girlfriend," Jake said a minute later in an apologetic tone of voice.
"Girlfriend? Really…" Sara said sarcastically, cocking an eyebrow at him. Then she held out a hand to the girl. "Sara Pezzini."
"Elrianra Stargata," said the younger woman, returning the shake with a firm grip. "Most people call me Elri."
"Nice to meet you," Sara said – but she was glaring at Jake as she said it.
Displaying remarkable observational skills, Jake took the blatant hint and sat down at his desk, riffling through papers. "So what are we looking for?" he asked.
"Waffles?" Gabriel had reappeared, wearing a slightly quizzical expression.
Sara threw down her pen. "Enough already!" she snapped, turning on him. "Will you quit talking about the damned waffles?!"
Gabriel stared at her, looking startled and vaguely affronted. "I only meant to bring you breakfast…" he muttered, setting down the box he was carrying and pulling out plates of Eggos for Sara and Jake. "I'd have brought you some too if I'd known you were coming," he told Elri shyly.
He was rewarded with a wide grin. "Don't worry about it," she told him lightly. "I didn't even tell Jakey-boy here that I was coming." She wrapped her arms around Jake's shoulders and nibbled playfully at his neck, which made both Sara and Gabriel blush and turn away.
"Have we met before?" Gabriel asked Elri suddenly.
She looked up and then shook her head. "Not officially, but I was in your shop the other day looking at a sword called Elenlinde. You were talking about waffles then, too," she added, her mischievous grin returning.
"Was I really?" Gabriel scratched his head. "I don't remember that…"
"You're kidding! I thought they were some sort of fetish or something," Elri added flippantly. Gabriel turned so red that they wouldn't have been surprised to see steam coming out his ears.
Trying to contain a snigger, Sara changed the subject by answering Jake's original question. "We're looking for anything that might connect the victims," she said. "Aside from the fact that they're female, they don't appear to have anything in common. The first was fifteen, tomboyish, dark-haired, shy, very rich family. The second was seventy-two, a little old Russian woman with eight grandchildren. And the most recent—" She broke off as the phone rang.
"Pezzini, go," she said, picking it up. Then her face went pale. Gabriel, Jake, and Elri stopped and stared at her as she scribbled something on a piece of paper and said, "Got it. Be there in twenty. Right."
"Gabriel, get your cameras," she snapped, dropping the phone into its holster. "And where the hell is Danny?"
"Not here yet," said Jake. "What's up?"
Her face was cold and deadly serious as she announced, "There's been another murder."