"A Shift of Axis"
Copyright 2006 Penn O'Hara
M
Usual disclaimers apply.
Chapter Four
Drumming his fingers on his desk, Logan looked around the squad room for what had to be the hundredth time. Checking his watch, he noticed the hands hadn't moved far off their location since last time he looked.
Barek was over an hour late to work this morning and he had no idea why. After succumbing to another round of sexual calisthenics last night in the locker room, they had reluctantly parted company and gone home to their own apartments. Logan tried to talk Carolyn into spending the night with him, but she suggested it would be a bad start to keeping their change in status circumspect.
She hadn't said anything about not showing up for work though. He looked in at Deakins' office and saw his CO on the phone. Hoping it was Barek explaining her absence, Logan jumped up from his desk and strode over to Deakins' office. After a perfunctory knock and a beckoning wave from his CO, Logan let himself in.
"Fine, yeah. Right then." Deakins hung up the phone and looked questioningly at Logan.
"Barek?" Logan asked, trying not to look eager.
"No, why." Deakins' brows knitted. "She's not with you?"
Logan shook his head, worried. "Nope. Hasn't come in yet. Not answering her cell either."
"Ring her at home if you want. That was Eames. She and Bobby are following a lead on a pyromaniac that's been operating out of the borough with an MO similar to your crime scene from yesterday. It's gonna take them out of the office for the day. She wants you and Barek to pick up the slack on the building owner's contacts."
"If Barek comes in–"
Deakins nodded past him. "That looks like her now. Looks fine to–"
Logan whipped round and was out of the office before Deakins finished the sentence. Hurrying back to their desks, he grabbed Carolyn's arm, preventing her from sitting down.
"Are you all right?" he asked, urgency making him reckless. "What happened? Was there an accident?"
Barek looked pointedly at his hand on her arm. "Cool it, Mike," she said, her voice low but firm. Her gaze held his meaningfully until he got the hint.
"Sorry," he mumbled, letting her go. "I was… concerned."
She smiled slightly. "Thank you for your… concern, but I'm fine. And sorry I'm late. I overslept." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I felt so good, I slept like a baby. Best night's sleep since I can remember. Does that please you?"
He grinned. "Yeah, it does."
"Good. Now go sit at your desk like a good boy and act… normal. For you, anyway."
She grinned back at him and Logan felt as if someone had opened the office blinds and let the sunshine in. He looked around guiltily in case someone was watching them.
Barek rolled her eyes. "Mike. You're doing it again. Just act like you do every other day. Scowl at me. Drink my coffee when I leave my desk and steal a bite of my muffin when I'm not looking, but for God's sake, don't look so damned pleased with yourself."
"Can't help it, Barek." He grinned self-consciously. "I feel damned pleased with myself. I feel different. Happier. Content. More centered than I've ever been."
Heading toward his side of their desks, Logan landed in his chair and pushed himself back so that it balanced on two legs. Swinging a heel up on his desk at the same time, he crossed the other leg over an ankle, supported the back of his head with his hands and settled in to look at her. Just look at her. Belatedly remembering, he fixed a deep scowl on his face as he watched her sip her coffee.
'Where's mine?" he asked.
Mouth twisting, she handed hers over to him.
Drinking a large gulp of it, he watched her straighten some files on her desk.
"Quit it, Mike!" she hissed.
He raised his brows but kept on looking.
"Goren and Eames aren't coming in," he said as an afterthought.
"What!"
"You must've been right." He grinned, then remembered to frown again. "Only they decided to keep it goin' and took the day off to do it. Now, why didn't we think of that?"
"That's not fair," she mumbled. "They'd better be careful though."
"Oh, they're careful. So careful in fact they are delegating their work to us."
Eyes widening, Barek's brows shot up.
"We've been instructed, by Eames," Logan said, mirroring her reaction, "to follow up on more contacts for the building owner." His chair came down on all fours as he picked up a file and threw it to her.
Carolyn scowled at him before opening it and flicking through its contents. "Wendell doesn't have any other living relatives, except for a sister-in-law. Alicia Mateus. I've got the address if you've got the time."
Logan leaned over his desk toward her. "Always got the time for you, Barek. 'Specially now."
"I don't know what I see in you," she said, pushing back her chair.
Logan joined Carolyn on her side of the desk, tucking his hands in his pockets and leaning in as he walked past her.
"You told me last night it was what you felt on me."
oOo
As promised, Logan let Carolyn drive, and was glad that had been part of the typing deal. It gave him more opportunity to sit and stare at her and define for himself what it was about her that had sneaked up and grabbed him.
"Your hair," he said, lounging back in the corner of the passenger seat.
"Huh?" Her head flicked round to look at him before returning to the traffic ahead.
"I like your hair."
"That's nice."
"And your eyelashes. Long, spiky eyelashes. Nice."
Carolyn's mouth twisted.
"You gotta work on your mouth though. Very kissable, but it does horrible stuff when you're annoyed. And the Lord knows how often you get annoyed at me."
Carolyn pasted a false grin on her mouth, but kept watching the traffic.
"And you have skin that looks like a rich cappuccino, feels like warm dough and tastes like musk."
Her head spun back to him. "Warm dough, huh?"
He held out his hands in apology. "I'm no poet, Barek. Live with it." He mouthed a kiss. "Now, say something nice about me."
Sighing heavily, she turned to the front again. "I've always had a thing for cocky Irish sons-of-bitches."
"Ugh." Logan winced theatrically. "She's getting literal on me."
Carolyn's head snapped round. "Oh, geez, Mike, I'm sorry, I didn't mean–"
He waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, it's okay. But is that really the best you can do?"
She sighed again. "I like your self-assurance. Your 'I don't care if you don't like me. Get over it.' attitude. You've got a personable mug and a great body which you know how to use to the satisfaction of all. I like the vulnerable little boy inside that can be naughty or be hurt, depending on how you're approached. Will that do?"
Logan pursed his lips. "Yeah. For starters. I think there's a compliment in there somewhere." He sat up, glancing out the window. "This has to be the place." Checking out the well-preserved brownstone, his gaze took in the bloom-filled window boxes, fresh paint, and ornate fence and hand rails and knew money lived there.
"Let's get this over with and then we can take an extended lunch hour," he said, opening his car door and winking.
"Where do you suggest, Mike?" Carolyn gripped the steering wheel to face him. "In the back of the car? Both of our apartments are on the other side of town."
Logan leaned back into the cabin, his hand holding the door open. "I can get creative, Barek. Just you wait and see."
Closing the door before she could answer, he waited for her on the pavement, then tripped lightly up the stairs. Knocking on the door, Logan stood back, hand ready to produce his badge.
Accustomed to waiting for residents to take their time in opening their doors to callers, Logan amused himself by checking out Carolyn's spiky lashes and the way they shadowed her cheeks. He never realized how fascinating eyelashes could be.
With a heavy click, the door opened and Logan looked up.
The blood drained from his head to his toes, his hand freezing on his badge, squeezing the metal into the leather until it hurt.
"Alicia…"
The heavy oak door adorned with what Logan bet was a twenty-four carat gold knob and knocker opened to reveal a pretty long-haired blonde dressed in the latest fashion of ruffled collar and cuffs and figure-hugging polyester. She couldn't have been more than eighteen and he doubted she would be of any use to their investigation.
Logan raised a brow at his partner and turned back to the girl. "Excuse me, miss. Detective Mike Logan. Twenty-seventh Precinct." He flashed his badge at her and nodded at his partner. "This is Sergeant Max Greevy. Are your parents at home?"
The girl shook her head, the blow-dried waves of her hair falling softly about her shoulders. "I'm sorry, officers, they're overseas." Her voice was surprisingly mature, melodic but firm, not in the least awed by two detectives at her doorstep.
Logan frowned. "Are you alone?" If she were, she should have answered the door with the safety chain on.
"May I see your partner's badge before I answer that question?" she said, proving she was more canny than he thought. The absence of the safety chain surprised him more.
Greevy pulled out his badge and held it up and the girl nodded. "I'm alone at the moment, gentlemen, so you'll forgive me if I don't invite you in. My brother is out, but he will be returning this evening sometime."
"You're the daughter of the house?"
"That's correct."
"In the er, absence of your parents," Greevy said gently, "Detective Logan and I need to speak with you."
"Then I'm afraid it will have to be in the offices of my family's law firm."
"You're gonna lawyer up?" Logan asked in astonishment. "You don't even know why we're here."
She arched a brow at him. "I have strict instructions from my parents not to speak to any law enforcement without the presence of our lawyers."
She didn't strike Logan as the meek and mild type, despite her petiteness. "You always do what your parents tell you?" he asked.
The girl smiled and went from pretty to breathtakingly beautiful, her eyes lighting with a twinkle that seemed to focus solely on him. "Only when I consider it wise to do so, Detective Mike Logan."
oOo
Less than thirty-six hours later, Alicia was sitting outside her home in the passenger seat of Mike's car looking up at him with stars in her eyes.
"I enjoyed the evening, Mike. Thank you for introducing me to the Yankees, even though they don't seem to be very good ball-players. Do you always take a first date to a baseball game?"
He smiled down at her, nestled in the crook of his arm. "Only the ones that go to the opera and ballet once a week. Oh, and the art gallery every other week."
She put a hand to her stomach. "And what did you say they put in hotdogs? Minced–?"
"Don't go there again. Please." He laughed, putting up a hand and she took it, placing it against her cheek.
With that and the raised invitation of her mouth, Mike Logan wasn't going to disappoint a lady. Bending down, he placed his lips on hers and waited for her reaction. Instinct warned him to take this one slowly. She was older than he had at first guessed, but experience told him that, although Alicia had just turned twenty and been introduced into high society for nearly four years, she was still a virgin.
That didn't so much amaze him as the fact that the daughter of a New York Circuit Judge was here in his car, inviting him, one of New York's youngest Detectives, to kiss her. He'd hate to think what her parents would say when they got back from overseas. Greevy had already hauled his ass over the coals when Logan had casually mentioned he was taking her out, but Mike figured his older partner was just sour that being married with three kids prevented he himself from grabbing opportunity when it presented itself.
Alicia's hand behind Logan's head encouraged him to explore deeper and she responded tentatively, then with more confidence. She was a quick learner and he let the lesson go further by pulling her more fully to him, feeling her body vibrate against his and letting her feel his own need.
"Mikey–" Her fingers fluttered at his waist, dug in, then grew more adventurous. Pushing him into the corner of his car, Alicia dug her hand into the waistband of his jeans.
Grunting, Mike grabbed her arm and gently pulled her hand out. Firmly pushing her back, he held her at arm's length. "Whoa, Alicia. Slow down. Not like this. I'm past doing it in a car and you deserve better."
"Let's go inside," she breathed, straining to get back to him.
He shook his head. "You got a housekeeper in there and I'm bettin' your parents don't know about me yet. I'm not risking your father gettin' me fired from my job when he finds out I've slept with his daughter."
Alicia pouted. "Mom and Dad let me have boyfriends when they're away."
"Boyfriends, maybe. Lovers, no." Logan regretfully kissed her trembling lips and leaned across her to push open the door. "I'll call you tomorrow. Good night and…" He smiled to lessen the sting of his harsh, but necessary, dismissal. "…sweet dreams, princess."
oOo
Despite his deliberate cruelty, Alicia continued to see Logan on a regular basis. He managed to skirt around her growing sexual demands on him, holding fast to the belief that he was too smart to deflower Judges' daughters.
It worked for him for over a week, but Logan hadn't counted on her using her family's law firm to extract his home address. After Greevy dropped him at his apartment at the end of a grueling day of hitting the pavements questioning possible witnesses, Mike opened his door to find Alicia perched on his sofa watching his television and drinking his beer.
He forwent the instinctive 'what are you doing here?' knowing full well what she was doing there. She was dressed in a black lace teddy and nothing else. Upon seeing him, Alicia squealed, dumped the beer on the coffee table and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.
He accepted the kiss, even returned it – hell, who wouldn't? She was beautiful, she was half-naked and she was in his apartment, but he put a stop to her eager hands as they started working at the buttons of his shirt.
"Alicia. Don't. I gotta take you home."
"Mikey," she pleaded. "Don't be mean. I did what you asked. I told my parents about you."
"They're back?" he asked, alarm reinforcing his belief that she shouldn't be here.
"No, silly. They're still on their cruise. I rang them. Shore to ship."
"And you told them you were seein' a cop."
"Yes."
"And they're okay with that."
"Yes. They want me to be happy."
Suspicion made him cautious. "Alicia. Let's face it. You're a twenty year old virgin, which means you've lived a sheltered life. I'm guessing your father and mother vetted all your boyfriends and made you keep a curfew. Now you're tryin' to tell me they're happy you've been let loose in New York and dating a cop while they're thousands of miles away and unable to er, keep you pure."
"Mikey," she chided, "don't be so… Puritan."
Alicia raised her hands to the straps of her lace teddy and peeled them from her shoulders. Logan's eyes followed the movement, and when she pushed the bodice to her waist, squirming her hips as she did so, he forgot what his argument was.
oOo
After securing the condom, Logan rolled back to push the sweat-dampened hair from Alicia's cheek. He kissed her panting mouth and pulled back to study her face. "You ready?" he asked. "Are you sure?"
Her eyes were wide with wonder. "You mean, there's more?"
He smiled. "Yeah, there's more. More for you. And a little somethin' for me this time."
Alicia nodded vigorously. "I'm sure."
Logan positioned himself between her already lax legs. Sliding in gently, he paused, waiting for her to accommodate him. She whimpered and he tenderly kissed her. "It's all right," he said. "Relax."
She made a sound that was half-laugh, half-pant. "Relax? After what… you just did… I'm so relaxed… I feel like a blob of jelly."
He smiled. "That's good. Now, what would you say if I said it gets better? A lot better?"
Eyes wide, her mouth formed a perfect 'O'. "I don't believe it."
"Allow me to make you eat those words."
Now sixteen years older but more beautiful than he remembered and, judging by the surname of Mateus, married, Alicia invited Logan and Barek into her home.
"Mikey," she breathed, "I don't believe it."
"Alicia," Logan said again, because he didn't know what else to say.
"You look wonderful." She reached up and kissed him. Not the chaste kiss of a friend, but the lingering kiss of a long-time lover. "I didn't realize until now how much I've missed you."
"Ms Mateus." Barek stepped in between them. "I wonder if we could ask you a few questions."
"Why, of course, and then Mike and I have so much to catch up on." She laid her hand on his arm and led him into the den of her apartment. "Fancy you walking through my door after all these years. What time do you finish work? You can call in on your way home."
Walking the other side of Logan, Barek looked meaningfully at him.
Logan was an expert at Carolyn's non-verbal signals by now, if nothing else. "Alicia… I'm sorry. That's not gonna happen. I'm er, seeing someone."
Alicia laughed, drawing him down beside her on the sofa. "Well, of course, I don't doubt it. Good-looking guy like you. But your girlfriend won't mind if I borrow you for one night. You needn't even tell her if you're afraid of what she might think."
"Um," he glanced nervously at Barek, "that's not possible. She's… actually, listening."
"Listen–?" Alicia's eyes swung up to Barek, still standing. "Oh, Mike, your partner? Is that wise?"
"Dating Judge Haynes' daughter wasn't exactly wise, but I did it."
Alicia laughed. "So you did." She put a hand on his thigh. "And very brave it was of you, too. I've never forgiven my father for throwing you out of our house that night and shipping me off to Switzerland. Nor my brother for ratting us out."
Logan swallowed hard and avoided looking at Barek.
But Carolyn was pointedly watching him, not missing the nuance. "And how did your brother find out about you two dating?" Barek asked innocently.
Alicia looked at Logan and smiled. "How else do brothers manage to find out? He caught us in my bed. Mike didn't want to be there, but I was very… persuasive." She laughed, a melodic trill that Logan remembered well. "I swore my brother to secrecy, but of course, you might know, Detective Barek, what brothers are like. Couldn't wait to spill the news when our parents came home."
"I see. I wonder, Ms Mateus, if you would mind providing me with a glass of water."
Alicia hesitated, then smiled and winked at Logan. "I understand. Your… partner wants to talk to you alone, Mike. I hope I haven't made things difficult for you." She left the room gracefully and Logan watched her go without realizing he was staring.
"If I could steal a minute of your attention, Detective Logan?" Barek said testily.
"Huh? Yeah? Sure." He swung his gaze back to her.
"While you've been feted by an old girlfriend, I've been studying the room. I want you to have a close look at the photo on the lamp table."
Logan squinted at a small portrait of two blonde women, arm in arm, and a man standing a little aside from them. One of the blondes was Alicia and the other… "Holy shit!" Logan's heart did a flip in his chest.
"Isn't that Bobby's nemesis, Nicole Wallace?" Barek asked. "The one we've been hearing so much about?"
"Yeah. And that's Gavin Haynes beside her. Ex-husband and attempted murder victim."
"What's the bet Gavin Haynes is your old girlfriend's brother?"
Logan whistled through his teeth. "No bet, I'd lose my money. She's the daughter of Judge Haynes. I only met the brother that once–"
"…in your girlfriend's bedroom. I can imagine it was a harrowing experience you wanted to forget."
Logan's eyes dropped. "I never even got the connection."
"Plot thickens, Sherlock?"
Logan stood up from the sofa and went to the window, his fingers pulling at his bottom lip as he thought this through. A noise behind him alerted him to Alicia's return.
"Here you are, Detective," Alicia trilled, entering the room with a crystal glass. "Did you manage to sort things out with Mike? I'm sorry if I came on strong before, but we were, well, rather close. I didn't want to give him up, and I could have killed my brother for telling Father, but…" She sighed. "I'm afraid I did deserve it though. I wasn't totally honest with Mike either."
"Heh?" Logan dug his hands in his pockets.
"Remember the night in your apartment?" Alicia smiled. "Our first… time together? I told you I'd rung my parents and they were okay with it."
"You lied," he said simply.
"I'm afraid so."
"Ya think I didn't know?"
"Um, well, you still made love–"
"I was weak, Alicia." Logan shifted on his feet, embarrassed by discussing it. "That's all. Not the first time or the last time for me either. I don't have much resistance when it comes to…" He glanced at Barek and trailed off, uncomfortable with the glare she was giving him.
"Ms Mateus, if you don't mind," Barek said, turning her back on Logan, "I wonder if we could forgo the trip down memory lane and prevail upon you to answer some questions. Your connection with Arthur Wendell. You are his sister-in-law?"
"Yes, that's right." Alicia sat herself down on the sofa again and looked up at them, her face lit with an open directness. "Arthur is my first and late husband's brother. I've since remarried. And divorced."
Alicia directed the last statement at Logan. If she were hinting that she was available, Mike had the feeling he was going to pay for it later when Barek got him alone.
"We don't keep in touch, if that's what you're asking," Alicia added helpfully.
"No, actually," Barek murmured, "he was a casualty of a fire in the building he owned yesterday. I'm sorry to be the bearer of disturbing news."
"Oh, I see. Thank you. That is tragic, but…well, we weren't close. I can't really help you with much information."
"You have a closer relationship with your brother's ex-wife?" Barek indicated the photo highlighting the two women with linked arms.
"Elizabeth?" She laughed. "Well, yes, we were good friends. I was very fond of Elizabeth, but it seemed she wasn't what she appeared to be and was quite nasty to my brother. You'll know about her attempted murder of him?"
"Yes, I'm afraid we do. Are you still in contact with Ms… Hitchens?"
"No, of course not. Should I be? She quite betrayed our trust."
Barek glanced at Mike and he moved toward her. "Thank you, Alicia," he said. "That's enough for now. It was… good to see you again."
"Any time, Mike. Any time. Just call. I presume you have my number if you have my address."
She followed them out and closed the door as they made their way down the stairs. Opening the driver's door of the car for Barek, Logan ducked in time to miss her swing at him with her fist.
"Hey, I'm getting used to your love-pats, Barek, but I didn't deserve that one. Alicia Haynes is ancient history."
"See that she stays that way, Mike." He closed her door and sloped around the car to the passenger side. Getting in, he tugged on his seat belt, before facing Carolyn to gauge her thoughts.
"You believe her?" Barek asked him, looking back at the brownstone.
"She lied to me before. She can lie to me again."
Carolyn nodded. "And the fact that she had a relationship with Arthur Wendell and Nicole Wallace, and Bobby and Alex are out of town following a lead similar to the Wendell fire?" She looked pointedly at him. "Coincidences?"
Logan frowned, his jaw set. "I don't believe in coincidences."
oOo
TBC…