Part 5
"Stop gloating." Tom blew a lock of sweaty hair off his forehead, or at least he tried. With a jerky movement he brushed the hair away with his hand.
"I didn't say a word." Cassy waved a spoonful of melon as she spoke, before putting it into her mouth and savoring the tangy and refreshing food.
"You were about to," he growled into his cold drink.
Cassy shrugged and feigned deep interest in her plate as she lamely attempted to hide her grin.
The "couple" was sitting on the outdoor terrace in the late afternoon resting after a day filled with activities with their new "friends." More accurately, they were former suspects, if what had been said was true as it gave them an airtight alibi.
"And don't tell me I'm getting old!" he said.
"Boy, are you defensive." She dropped her spoon and rested her chin on her hands and studied his face.
"I know you!" he pointed at her.
"I told you I'm better than you at golf..." she began.
"And tennis. And swimming." He sighed and slumped down in his seat and closed his eyes.
"I bet if we ran you'd win," she offered.
"At least we've now met everyone on our list," he said quietly. "Not that it's been all that illuminating." While he was glad they had found out what they had and narrowed the suspect list, they were no closer to discovering any evidence - or even a motive.
"This wasn't my idea. Do the feds expect that the guilty party will like us so much they'll jump up and confess?" Cassy's grin had faded. "At least we've been able to eliminate some suspects who were out of the country at the time of the murders since the profile indicates that the killer is doing it herself and not using a hired hand."
"Neither of us were complaining when Harry assigned us," he reminded her. "But we have made some progress, though our list of suspects needs to be expanded to include some more women." That was the craw that was really eating at Tom. He had been so proud of the leg work he had done on the case early on, but now it appeared it wasn't panning out and they were back at the drawing board. The only suspect on his list that was left was the tennis pro - and he clearly wasn't a woman!
Tom opened his eyes as he spoke and seeing his barely tempered frustration Cassy remembered the last time they had worked with an FBI profile. That time too the subject was a woman. She wondered if that was what he was thinking about.
"I'm going to call Harry and tell him what we found," Tom pushed himself away from the table abruptly and limped his way inside.
"Damn," Cassy swore under her breath. Would they ever be free of that woman's damage?
Despite Cassy's earlier concerns, the rest of the day and evening were not only fruitful, but enjoyable. After returning from his call to Harry, Tom was relaxed and playful.
>>>>>
"You look lovely tonight Mrs. Ryan," one of the valets, Brian Taylor the nineteen-year old son of the club's tennis pro and their prime suspect, said to Cassy as she and Tom waited for their car to be driven up. Cassy had felt an immediate liking for the young boy when they had been introduced the day before. He was a college student at U of Miami who was studying psychology and was working at the Club for the summer. Despite the rumored hard childhood he had endured, he seemed a rather well adjusted kid. Having her own family fall apart at a young age herself, Cassy knew how difficult that could be.
"Thank you, Brian." Cassy smiled in genuine appreciation of the compliment.
"If you weren't a married woman..." he winked at her and cast a sly glance at Tom who stood on her other side.
"Watch it young man, she's mine," Tom placed his hand on his wife's shoulder. "I don't like to share."
"Then you'd best treat me right or Brian might just steal me away." Cassy elbowed Tom lightly, her grin matching his.
"She's right, or I might just slip my way past you," Brian warned, a twinkle in his eyes.
"So, young Brian might steal the older woman away from me," Tom teased as they drove away from the club. "I guess I'll have to watch it."
"Older woman!" Cassy glared at him. "I"m not that old!"
"You might not be that old, but if he were any younger he could be our son," Tom snorted, his eyes on the road.
Cassy's grin faded and she looked away. "I know he's just being polite, Tom," she said to cover her unwelcome and unexpected, distress. Ever since that question the other night she'd had this knot in her chest. She hadn't always wanted children out of fear that she would be like her own mother, but she had defeated most of those fears in the past couple of years and now...now her time was running out.
Unless she accepted Brett's proposal.
She wasn't sure why she hadn't accepted it already. He was perfect. Charming, handsome, kind, strong, intelligent, and a doctor, for goodness sakes. Not to mention rich. Everything she wanted in a husband. Or so Evelyn told her she did.
"I didn't mean anything by it," Tom said. "He's right, you look lovely tonight and I'm sure he'd more than happy to take you off my hands."
"Tom, I am old compared to him," she said, wistfully.
Tom didn't reply, just shot Cassy a quick, worried look before looking back at the road.
>>>>>
"Speaking of old," Tom thought to himself as he pushed his tired body up the stairs to his room. Thank goodness Cassy hadn't wanted to do a Salsa dance tonight! "You're no three sport man these days, Ryan," he chided himself.
"But you looked good trying!" Cassy said as she passed him and flounced to her room.
"Great," Tom paused and watched her door close before finishing the last few steps.
"Tom," Cassy called him.
"If you're going to rag on me," Tom began to say as he opened her door and entered her room.
"Someone was here," Cassy's serious tone interjected. She was pointing to a bundle of flowers that were lying on her bed. They were obviously fresh picked from the garden behind the house.
"Those are for you," Tom said, his brow smoothing out.
"I got that, but from whom?" she took a leery step forward, her gun tightly in her grasp, the purse from which it was drawn tossed by the wall and out of the way.
"From me, Cass. I didn't mean to scare you." He put his hand on her bare shoulder.
"You?" Cassy's arms dropped and she looked at him in confusion.
"I had Sam drop them off," he explained.
"Don't tell me, in his aging pool boy outfit," Cassy said, looking curiously at her partner. "Why?"
"He needed to drop off some files from Harry and...well...I wanted to surprise you. Not scare you, but make you smile," he said, his finger reaching up to brush over her lips.
"Why?" she asked, again.
"Because without you the past few months I would have been lost," he said.
"I doubt that." Cassy looked away, but she didn't pull away as his arm slid down her back and wrapped around her waist.
"For a lot longer than the past few months, actually," Tom whispered in her ear before leaning down and brushing his lips down her neck.
Cassy's eyes closed as she swayed back so her side was pressed against him.
"We shouldn't," she said.
"Don't marry him," he pleaded, pressing his lips against her hair.
"What?" her eyes opened. "How did you know?"
""If you wanted it, you wouldn't hesitate," Tom whispered before turning and walking out the door.
Cassy took a deep breath as the door closed behind him. She stood immobile for a moment before checking to make sure the safety was set on her gun, putting it on the bedside stand and lifting up the flowers.
She brought them up to her face and sniffed them. A large smile spread across her face.
End Part 5