Chapter 6
Thursday, April 30, 1999
9:15 pm
>>>>>>

"You are, what happened between us..." Cassy broke off, unable to find the words to explain what it was herself.

"You don't need to try and explain things to me Cass, I started it. I know what I did and I know how wrong it was. I'm engaged to be married and I should have...I should have resisted," Tom balled hands into fists at his side.

Cassy stood up and studied Tom's tense back silently for a few moments.

"Is that the only reason that it was wrong?" Cassy asked quietly.

"What?" Tom swung around to face her.

"Is the fact that you're engaged to someone else what made it wrong?" she repeated softly.

Tom stared at her, his mouth opening and closing as he searched for an answer to her question.

"I don't understand what you want to know," Tom finally said, his eyes boring into Cassy's.

"I think maybe you don't want to, but I think you do," Cassy took a step towards him.

"What do you want from me? What have you ever wanted from me?" he asked.

Cassy paused and looked at him fearfully before looking away, no more ready than her ex-husband to be the one put on the spot first.

"We have a case to solve," was all she finally said and she turned back towards the table and resumed her seat. All signs of the emotional minefield they almost trod upon gone from her face.

"I need some fresh air first," Tom bit out with barely restrained rage and slammed outside to the beach.

Cassy closed her eyes and took a shaky breath.

>>>>>>

"What's wrong? Missing your fiancé?"

"He's a good cop, he's going to catch you," Virginia tightened the sheet around her naked body as she stood in front of the windows in the darkened hotel room at the Black Palm Hotel and Casino on Key Nuevo Island.

"Don't you mean us?" the male voice from the bed mocked.

Virginia shivered and rubbed her bare shoulders.

"Come on, don't tell me you're getting cold feet on me now. I know you enjoy it. Luring those sweet things to those raves, drugging their drinks and leading them to me. I watch you stripping them down for me. I know you watch me. If you're so worried that he's going to catch us what are you doing here with me? Why aren't you stopping him?"

"He's still in love with his ex-wife. I think he's cheating on me with her," she admitted.

"That's rich. You're worried that he's cheating on you. What are you beginning to like this guy? That wasn't part of the deal. You were just supposed to be able to keep an eye on the cops and warn me. But I notice you're getting a little too involved here. Is that why you gave the tip to the partner? Perhaps you were thinking of making her my next one? I certainly wouldn't mind. She's hotter than any of the marks you've gotten for me in the past."

Virginia just fluffed her hair around her shoulders and dropped her sheet.

"Why don't you have another look, that's all you can do with a woman like me."

>>>>>>>>
10:05 pm

"Have we gotten that list of pharmacists yet?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, I picked up a copy after you left the station," Cassy tossed him a file. "I already sent out blues to start questioning their former employers and to track them down themselves. I thought I told you this already."

"You did, I forgot," Tom shrugged.

"Tom, we're not going to get anywhere with you like this," Cassy said angrily.

"Like what Cass, why don't you tell me how I am, like you always do," Tom snapped at her.

"Dammit Tom. Enough with the guilt complex already. We agreed we're not going to deal with this until this case is closed and if you're in such a hurry to do that maybe you should get your mind back into the game," Cassy was officially annoyed.

"I'm sorry if I'm not used to dealing with guilt as well as you do," he accused.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Cassy went from annoyed to perplexed.

"Nothing, I didn't mean anything by it," Tom stood up and walked to the kitchen to refill his glass.

"Obviously you did mean something and we're not going to get anything done until we deal with what happened last night. So why don't we just do that and get this over with so we can get this case closed," Cassy stood up and followed him into the kitchen.

"Maybe we should," Tom agreed angrily as he slammed the refrigerator door closed.

"Why did you kiss me?" she crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him.

Tom put his glass down and ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"I've been trying to figure that out Cass. Obviously I desired you, but I'm very happily engaged," Tom began, albeit a bit shakily.

"Are you happy Tom?" she interrupted him to ask.

"Of course, why do you ask?" Tom narrowed his eyes and waited for her answer.

"Aside from the fact that you were all over me last night?" she asked.

"You've been uncharacteristically silent in offering your opinion about Virginia," Tom observed.

"That has nothing to do with this discussion," Cassy waved her hand. "You...you grabbed me last night and if your cell phone hadn't rung who knows how much further things might have gotten. Why?" Cassy's cheeks were flushed as she looked up at Tom and remembered just where and how they had found themselves when the phone had rung and Virginia had been on the other end.

Almost like she had been watching them.

From the look in Tom's eyes he too was remembering the scene.

A red dress flung over a bannister.

His lips pressed to hers.

His pants down to his knees.

Her legs locked around his hips as he prepared...

"Why did you?" Tom rasped out.

"Something almost happened, but it didn't. If you feel the need to confess to Virginia, that's up to you. But this is isn't getting us anywhere," Cassy sighed and turned away.

"No, I'm tired of dancing around this. Let's finish this," Tom's voice whipped out. "I saw you in that dress and I couldn't help myself. All I could imagine was touching and tasting you. I didn't even think about Virginia, not for a second, not until I heard the phone ring. And you wanted me just as badly. You can't deny that. What's hanging between us are a few relationships Cass. Mine and Virginia's. Yours and Brett's. Ours. And one of those is over, at least as far as lovemaking goes."

"We were married once. When we became partners again there was undeniably still passion between us, but we both decided we couldn't make it work. I admit that all these years I wondered whether we could try again, whether you still loved me. But I gave up those thoughts after I was shot. I waited for weeks for you to say something about the wedding band the nurse found under my pillow. But you didn't say anything and I knew that you never would," Tom said in a hoarse voice.

"Why didn't you ask me?" Cassy looked at him curiously.

"You left me. You wanted the divorce. I'd asked you until I was blue in the face back then and I wasn't going to do it this time. If I pushed the issue maybe you would have temporarily acquiesced, but you would have just run away again. I'm done with that Cass. I'm not going to wait around for the rest of our lives for you to get the courage to let yourself trust someone for the long haul. I want a wife, I want children. I want a family. And I want that with Virginia, not you."

"I trust you," Cassy whispered.

"You trust me with your life, every day on this job. You don't trust me with your heart Cass. We don't work because you think that every disagreement, every fight will be the end of the relationship. It breaks you. It broke us. I can't fight that," Tom swore.

"I know that's not true," Cassy said through the lump in her throat.

"Maybe now you do? But it's too late. I love Virginia and she's going to be my wife," Tom swallowed hard and looked away momentarily.

"So why?" Cassy lifted her chin and Tom saw the tears glistening in her crystalline blue eyes.

"One last time, I guess I needed one last time," he whispered, his own eyes glittering.

"Then there we are," Cassy said, a tear sliding down her left cheek. She didn't bother to brush it away.

"So why did you want me?" Tom asked.

"Like you said, one last time. Not something worth risking your engagement or our partnership. Now can we get back to work?" Cassy's face stiffened as she visibly fought back her sobs.

"Sure, we have a couple of murderers to catch," Tom agreed.

"And you don't need to stay here tonight," she told him before walking away.

>>>>>>>>
Friday, April 30, 1999
8:45am

"We're still questioning pharmacists along the coast and we're widening our computer searches to doctors, nurses and perps with raps sheets involving roofies and rape. Nothing turned up last night at the local bar scene. We figure we won't be able to get anything until Monday, but we're going to keep trying. More of you will be sent out tonight to hang around at the beaches where the bodies have turned up," Cassy, wearing a peach pants suit, gave the morning briefing to the team assembled in the Palm Beach bull pen and the other teams who attended via telephone conference.

"We're going to redo interviews with family and friends of the victims to see if there were any new people in their lives in the months, weeks or days leading up to the murders. That's it for now."

Tom was still leaning, stiffly, against a desk in the background when Harry approached him.

"You look terrible Ryan. And I'm not talking about that horrid turquoise jacket. I thought part of the benefit of staying with Cass is that you would be getting some sleep," Harry remarked. "Anything suspicious?"

"Nothing," Tom said.

"Good. If I had time I might ask you what's wrong, but there's not supposed to be anything wrong. The only thing that's supposed to be on your mind is this case and your partner's safety. Got me Ryan? Good, now get back to work. And get some sleep tonight," Harry barked out before heading back to his office.

"Gee, I didn't know you cared," Tom was joking when his partner approached.

"You're sitting on the file I need," Cassy informed him.

Tom grimaced and lifted himself off her desk and watched her retrieve the file and begin to read through it.

"Are you going to speak to me?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I'm not not speaking to you," she said, not looking up from the file.

"That's the longest sentence you've said to me all morning. For all of last night for that matter," Tom sounded accusatory.

"I don't have time for this crap Tom," Cassy glared at him and walked away.

"Crap, so now my feelings are crap?" Tom yelled loud enough for the entire room to hear him.

In the midst of the silence Harry growled for the two officers to get to his office. Now!

Cassy stalked into the office.

"I guess I wasn't clear Ryan. I said to put this away until the case is over. My squad room isn't the place for your domestic battles. What's going on her St. John?" he looked at the party that he hadn't warned.

"We just could never live together," she said weakly.

Harry didn't look like he was buying it.

"I don't know what it is with you two. You're engaged to someone else and you have a boyfriend. If there are personal issues you need to work out then do it quickly or put them away. I fought to have you two as lead in this investigation and I expect you not to let me down. One more incident and I'm pulling out of lead and locking you two in a room together. Understood this time?" Harry asked. Then his face softened. "You're a good team and good friends, don't ruin it by being too prideful."

"Yes, Sir," Cassy's own face softened as she thanked their Captain for the personal touch.

The chastened pair left the office with their tails hanging between their legs.

Harry opened his desk drawer and took out a large bottle of Excederin.

>>>>>>>>

"I'm sorry," Tom whispered to his partner as they headed for the interrogation room where they were scheduled to meet Pat Brown, the boyfriend of Nancy Pedron, in a few minutes.

"Me too. Listen Tom," Cassy put her hand on Tom's arm. "We had our shot and it didn't work out. Let's not let all this ruin our partnership. Personal is personal. Work is work."

"You got a deal," Tom squeezed her hand.

>>>>>>

"She was talking about becoming a model, that was strange. I mean Nancy was beautiful, but she never expressed any interest in that kind of thing. She was working towards her degree in early childhood education, she just did the secretarial thing for money. Someone convinced her she could do a few shoots and have enough money for school and have more time to study. She said some woman, some model, approached her on the street one day a few weeks ago. I never met her or anything," Pat told the officers.

"Do you know what she looked like?" Tom asked.

"No, like I said, I never met her, Nan just told me about her. I think her name was Jessica Archer, Arthur, something like that. But definitely Jessica. Nan just said she was exotic looking, I didn't really care, frankly," Pat shrugged.

"How come you never mentioned this before?" Cassy asked.

"Nothing came of it. It was just an idea she was toying with. She didn't even get any head shots done or anything. I think she was really flattered but Nancy had a good head on her shoulders, I didn't think she was serious. Do you think this might have anything to do with what happened to Nancy?" Pat asked, his brown eyes had a pleading look in them that the pair had seen so many times before. The friends and family of the victims, more than vengeance, often just wanted answers.

"We don't know, but we wanted to make sure we covered every angle. Thank you for coming in again. We appreciate it," Tom stood up, signaling that the interview was over.

"The papers say that Nancy might be the victim of a serial killer," Pat stood up also, but still wanted answers.

"We ask that you don't talk to the papers or tell anyone what we talked about today. We won't be able to catch the person who is doing this if they're inadvertently tipped off. As soon as we make an arrest we will let you know," Cassy said gently.

"Thank you, thank you so much, for Nancy," Pat shook her hand before turning to leave.

"I'll never get used to that," Cassy admitted and looked at her partner.

"I know," Tom said empathetically. The pain of the loved ones of a victim was something that had kept both of them awake many, many nights over the years.

"Maybe this model that approached Nancy is the accomplice," Cassy said out loud what they were both thinking.

"Let's look up this Jessica Arthur," Tom nodded in agreement.

"Or Archer," Cassy said as they walked out of the interrogation room.

>>>>>>>>

"Must be a stage name," Tom said fifteen minutes later.

"Or she's from out-of-state? Let's hit the modeling agencies," Cassy suggested.

"We have another interview scheduled in fifteen minutes. Let's have someone else do the leg work," Tom looked at his watch and then looked up with a grin.

"Harry must love this," Cassy waggled her eyebrows at her partner before turning to look for someone to send out.

"The intoxicating nature of power," Tom sighed and exited the Department computer system and picked up his telephone to see if they could get the FBI to run a check on the name. "Might as well get something from the feds besides a hassle."

Tom's cell phone rang a minute later, while he was still on with the feds. Tom tossed the phone to Cassy to answer.

"Ryan's phone," Cassy said absently as she held the phone between her ear and shoulder. As she identified the person on the other end her face paled and she almost dropped the phone. Quickly clasping the phone in her hand she looked up at Tom.

Tom caught site of her white face. "Who?" he mouthed.

"Tom is on the phone, can you call back in a few minutes?" Cassy asked. Closing the phone she dropped it on the desk and sat back in her seat.

"What's wrong Cass? Is there another body? It's only Thursday," he looked at his watch again.

"Cass?" he prompted when he realized she hadn't responded yet.

"That was Virginia, she's calling back in a few minutes," Cassy tossed him back the phone.

"Oh," Tom said and looked away.

"No, it's not that," Cassy said.

"Then what?" Tom asked.

"I recognized the voice," she explained, a strange expression on her face.

"Of course, you know her," Tom was confused.

"No, I mean, yes. I know her, but I never heard her over the phone before. I should have put it together sooner, but I had no reason to think about it. To put it together," Cassy babbled.

"Slow down, what are you talking about?" Tom held up his hand to signal her to stop.

"She's the person who called me and gave me the tip about Sally Taylor Tuesday morning," Cassy told him.

"What? Are you crazy?" Tom asked and put his hand across his partner's forehead.

"I know you won't believe me, let's not discuss this out here or else Harry will have our badges," Cassy stood up.

"Fine," Tom rolled his eyes and rose to follow her.

"Do you seriously believe that my fiancé called you and told you that there was a body on the beach? How in the world am I supposed to believe that? Aside from the fact that she's the woman I love and trust, Virginia was out of town until Tuesday morning. Even if she was in on this don't you think she knows you would recognize her voice?" Tom said patiently as if he was speaking to a particularly stupid person.

"Maybe she wanted to me to recognize her? Maybe she wants us to ask her what's going on? I"m not saying she's in on this with the killer, but maybe the killer's accomplice is really a model and Virginia somehow found out about what was going on but is too afraid to tell us directly because of her connection to you? What if she's afraid?" Cassy suggested, although deep inside she didn't really believe what she was saying. But if she told Tom what she really felt he wouldn't believe her and would only accuse her of being jealous. 'I'm starting to sound like Tom now, I have a hunch!'

"She would tell me," Tom insisted, but Cassy could see he wasn't dismissing her suspicion out of hand anymore. "Didn't you say the person who gave you the tip was calling from a pay phone in Palm Beach and was disguising their voice?"

"A pay phone by the beach, by Lantana Muni in fact. And the person was whispering," Cassy corrected him.

"Whispering? I doubt that Virginia was just whispering to you on the phone," Tom looked satisfied with himself. "Besides, you probably were woken up and I know how groggy you are first thing in the morning. If Bill Clinton called early in the morning you probably wouldn't have recognized the voice or remembered it."

"I would too remember it, I am a cop! Anyway, like I said, I had no reason to connect Virginia to this. And I have heard her whispering, she always does it when I'm around and I can always hear what she says," Cassy informed him, this time unable to keep her dislike of the woman out of her tone. Tom would be right if he told her that being rude to the ex-wife didn't make someone a killer or an accomplice to one, but Cassy knew that it was her and if she couldn't get Tom to buy into this she would pursue it on her own. And find some way to keep Tom from tipping his fiancé off.

"I'm not going to ask her about this. Maybe you should go home and get some more sleep?" Tom suggested with a hint of condescension.

"Maybe you're right. I must be tired. We have a few more interviews to get through this morning, then maybe I'll go home and get some sleep," Cassy sighed, feigning tiredness. Then she flashed him a smile as he walked out of the room.

"And if those interviews and the others being held turn up something about a model approaching the victims then I'll go home and sleep," Cassy promised.

End of Chapter 6