Chapter 13

Sly snuggled down in the couch in the living room, a big bowl of popcorn ready, along with a couple of soft drinks for two on the coffee table. The TV was on, and he patiently awaited his Carmelita's appearance. He didn't have very long to wait, fortunately, as a couple minutes or so before the show was set to begin, Carmelita made her way in on her crutches.

Carmelita side-stepped over to the couch, then leaned her crutches against the arm of the sofa, and took her seat beside Sly. "Sorry, I'm late. I ran into your pal, Bentley, during one of my rest periods off of these blasted crutches. He and I played a few games of chess, it was fun...I haven't played in a while, you know..." she explained, a part of her not understanding why she was doing so.

Sly nodded, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and sat there thinking. When finished munching his popcorn, he turned to her, lifting an inquisitive eyebrow her way. "Okay, you and Bentley...playing chess," he mused aloud, unable to stifle a weak grin. He then grinned more obviously, his expression now curious. "So...did you win? Or, are you just lucky when I'm around, most beautiful lady?" He waggled an eyebrow at her, a sly grin on his face .

Carmelita said nothing at first, then gave him a most mysterious grin. "Just you never mind, Cooper. In case you're wondering though, you'll find I am lucky…most of the time. So, just you hush now, and watch the show," she told him, taking a handful of popcorn, munching on it as the show started.

Not surprisingly, both the master thief and the intrepid Inspector enjoyed watching the same show, and in the process consumed most of the popcorn, all of their soft drinks, and managed to have any number of spirited conversations during the commercial breaks.

Carmelita, during one of those far too numerous breaks, turned to Sly, a smug grin lighting her lovely features. "Okay, Cooper...I'll betcha ten francs I know who did it!" she ventured confidently.

Sly, unable to resist her charms...which are numerous, turned to meet her gaze. "Okay, who do you think did it then? Tell you what, if we have different answers, you've got yourself a bet, clever lady!"

Carmelita grinned with anticipation, positive that she knew the answer to tonight's episode. "Okay, smart guy! I say it was the brother that killed him. So…do I have a bet?" she challenged, holding out her hand to shake on the deal.

Sly´s brown eyes lit up...but he just had to make a drama out of it, sighing as he turned to Carmelita. "So young...so naive! C'mon, it's pretty obvious to everyone, my dear Carmelita, that the killer just had to be the father-in-law. So, yes...we have ourselves a bet, my pretty!" he replied, shaking her outstretched hand once firmly. "You're on! Now, let's see who's right."

Both Sly and Carmelita eagerly turned back as the show came back on. Fifteen minutes later, the show concluded with a very happy Carmelita...who had won yet another bet. Poor Sly…he just can't seem to win around this lucky vixen!

Carmelita grinned, counting her newly won francs happily, and with great relish. "Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seises, siete, ocho, nueve and diez!" she crowed softly, smiling cleverly at Sly, who merely shook his head in wonder. "Sorry, Ringtail, but you really should learn to refrain from betting when your observational skills appear to be so sorely lacking..." she added, chuckling.

Sly could only smile, but he did try to appear indignant. "Sorely lacking? Moi?" he protested with vehemence…but then laughed, which caused Carmelita to nearly giggle. "Hey! Just how did you know that the brother was the killer, Carmelita?"

Carmelita smiled mysteriously, and shrugged. "I suppose you could call it woman's intuition, Cooper," she replied, then broke down and giggled briefly, a soft rich sound that made Sly fall in love with her all over again. She sobered quickly, her eyes twinkling. "Truth be known, Cooper...I never told you that I worked for a year in the crime lab, right along side those CSI guys. Although, they don't call them that in France, you understand. You know, it really helped. Now, the only bad thing about it was...I can't seem to put down a mystery novel until I read the whole thing."

Sly shook his head at her, impressed and surprised. She's one amazing woman, Carmelita was. "All right, O Mighty Detective...you ready to eat dinner yet?"

Carmelia´s stomach rumbled, and she groaned with hunger. "You better believe it, buster! I am starving, Cooper!" she informed him. She then retrieved her crutches, and with Sly's assistance got to her feet, and crutched herself toward the kitchen. Carmelita sighed when she arrived at the door, and Cooper wasn't there to open it for her. She was about to open the door for herself, when she realized that Cooper was not beside her, as she thought him to be. She frowned, turning about to look for him, and finally caught sight of him still on the couch, a warm smile on his face, his head canted slightly to the right. "Yo, Cooper! You coming or not?" she demanded.

Sly blinked, recovering from his trance, then smiled. "Oh, absolutely, O Bewitching One! I do beg your pardon, however. I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity of sneaking a good long look at your lovely derriere, mi querera," he mischievously informed her, arching his left eyebrow twice, a grin lighting his face.

Carmelita blushed at his brazenness, but was secretly pleased that he found her so alluring. "Hmph! Remind me to have you walk in front of me from now on, Cooper," she grumbled, though none too convincingly. She then shook her head, trying hard not to grin. "You're impossible, mister!"

Sly smiled, then opened the door for Carmelita to allow her into the kitchen. He moved beside her, then over to the table, where he eased her chair out for her---ever the gentleman. "Ah, here we are, madesmoiselle. Your table is ready, no?" he announced in a very poor French accent.

Carmelita clumped in on her crutches, taking her seat…even allowing Sly to move her seat in for her. She watched as Sly took her crutches and stood them against the nearby wall. She grinned at hearing his cheesy maitre'd impersonation, rolling her eyes at his dramatics. "Thanks, but realize you're not getting a tip, Cooper," she informed him with a clever grin.

Bentley then entered, giving Carmelita a small shy smile as he sat down at his usual place, which was left of where Carmelita now sat. "So, you two…how was that CSI show you're forever going on about?" he asked politely.

Carmelita smiled, giving Sly an obvious look. "Well, let's say it proved rather lucrative, Bentley," she observed, flickng her eyes over to Sly a moment. "Well, at least for me it did. Wouldn't you agree with that assessment, Cooper?"

Sly chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Oh, absolutely! Ten francs is ten francs, eh my sweet?" he replied grandly, grinning as she blushed. Carmelita silently fumed at him for using such words in front of the others.

Murray, from his seat on the other side of Bentley, looked over to Sly. "So, what's for supper, Sly? The Murray is starving!" he professed hungrily.

Sly gave Carmelita a sly wink, which she promptly ignored, then moved over to review the contents of the refrigerator. "Hmm, let's see. Well, we're in luck, cuz we still have leftover pizza, folks! Won't take but a jiff to warm up, and we're in business! Hmm, though, that appears to be it, at least food-wise. I guess we'd better think about a trip to the market soon, boys..." he smiled and gave Carmelita a special look, "...and our lovely lady, of course."

Carmelita can't help but smile...Cooper was such a flirt! She decided he needed a lesson, and who better to deliver it than herself? "Charmed, I'm sure," she replied in vapid sounding voice, batting her long lovely lashes at him coquettishly, grinning.

Sly was definitely unprepared for that! He nearly dropped the pizza box at her stunning performance, chuckling as he slipped the remainder of the pizza into the microwave, and sets it in motion. He turned and bowed deeply to Carmelita. "Oh, bravo, Carmelita! That was an outstanding performance...why, you very nearly had me convinced, you did!" He gracefully took his seat to Carmelita's right, and he then scooted his chair over again and again, so that he was sitting very close to her now. Sly picked up his cane, which had been leaning against one of the unused chairs, and continued polishing it as he waited.

Carmelita felt decidedly uncomfortable with how close he now sat to her. She couldn't seem to make up her mind…did his action leave her irritated with him? Or, dare she admit it to herself even, excited by him? She decided not think about it at all, and gazed over curiously at his cane. This was the closest she'd ever been to the curious thing before. "Say, Cooper? Just what sort of metal is that thing made of anyway? I've never seen anything like it before."

Sly turned, accidentally brushing her with his arm, which made her quiver ever so slightly from his touch. Sly grinned inwardly at this, pleased by her subconscious reaction. He then shrugged, looking over at her. "My cane? Hmm, you know, I don't really know, dear lady. If I had to take a guess though, I'd say it was some sort of bronze alloy, but that's only a guess, mind." He was then interrupted as the microwave beeped, indicating the pizza is now ready to serve. "Ah, our repaste is ready to serve, everyone." He then turned to his guest, and smiled his most charming of smiles at Carmelita, making her cheeks just a bit pink. "Would you be a dear, Carmelita my love, and hold this for me until I return?" he inquired gallantly. Not waiting for her response, he handed her the cane, then grabbed up a pair of oven mitts, and headed over to retrieve the pizza from the microwave.

Carmelita thought to herself, damn him! why must he flirt with me so in front of the others? Now, in private, she really didn't mind...er, that is, very much, she quickly told herself. But in front of the other two? Really! she grumped. She resolved to set him straight, maybe with a sharp elbow to the ribs, next time they were alone. But, for now at least, she held the cane in her hands and distracted herself by looking it over. It's so light, she tells herself, quite surprised. But, she added a moment later, that only makes sense really...if it were heavy, it would only slow Cooper down. And, if Cooper was anything, it was dazzingly quick and impressively acrobatic. She was startled as she felt Sly reach across her to place the plate with the pizza on it on the table, gasping in surprise. She frowned at him, growling softly at him. "Watch it, Cooper! You're lucky I didn't whack you one with this stick of yours, buster!" She was still a bit grumpy with him for embarrassing her in front of Bentley and Murray.

Sly served her the first slice, as she is the guest, you know, smiling as he retrieved his cane from her to lay it back on the empty chair. "Bon appetit, Carmelita. And...I shall be more careful next time, dear," he replied, giving her yet another smile. "I promise."

Carmelita looked away from those alluring brown eyes of his, concentrating instead on her slice of pizza. "Yeah, you do that, Cooper. Now, give me a little room to eat, would you?" she grumbled, glaring at him.

Sly nodded, and slid over an infinitesmal amount, giving her a roguish wink. "How's that, querera...better, yes?"

Carmelita rolled her eyes, but took a quick bite of her pizza, which much to her surprise, proved most delicious! "Much. You know, this is wonderful, Cooper! Just where can you get pizza like this in Paris?" she wondered aloud. But, not for long as she made short work of her first slice. She then looked over to him, slightly embarrassed by her savage appetite. "Um, may I...have another, please? I'm starved!"

Sly chuckled, replying, "But of course. Here." He gave her a slice from his portion of the leftovers, happy to see her enjoying herself so well.