Thanks for the reviews! And thanks to IsabelMC for the very long review! SWEEPEASPATCH for helping with the grammar.
I'm finally going to finish this story, so the coming two chapters will solve a lot of the questions you have. I hope :)
Chapter 38
Police Station
Camille looked at her watch. They'd been talking to Nick the whole morning. When Dwayne and Fidel joined them they had been theorizing and thinking about what moves to make in the case next. And now Dwayne and Fidel were off on the streets again to find out where Kris had been and what she had done. To make a timeline of her activities and the people she'd gotten to know. Nick was going to tell the rest of Kris's story in an hour, but first they had needed lunch. And second there was something Camille wanted to know from Richard.
Camille stared at the sandwich in front of her. Her Maman had come with a big basket and had brought them all lunch. Very sweet. She looked at Richard and studied him. He was sitting behind his desk. His sandwich untouched as he narrowed his eyes at his computer screen. She wanted information from him. But she didn't know how to ask , without him clamming up instantly.
"You wanted Nick to fill in the blanks." Camille said after a short break of studying him.
Richard gave her a confused look. "Yes," he answered shortly.
She stood up and wandered towards his desk. Her lunch forgotten. "Richard...?" She began softly to get his attention away from the computer.
He gave her a questioning stare.
"You didn't fill in the blanks yet," she told him as she looked down at him.
"What blanks?" Richard asked confused.
Camille was afraid for his answer. She felt worry spreading through her belly. "You didn't tell us what happened to you," she measured him carefully.
Richard gave her an astonished look. "What do you mean?"
She put her hands on her upper arms as if to comfort herself as she sat down opposite Richard. "The moment I fell asleep and you were alone with Kris. You didn't drink any of her lemonade. You were alone with her for a long time. How long?" Her dark eyes tried to read him.
Richard shrugged as he looked away. "I don't know really. Maybe half an hour or so," he focused his attention on his computer screen again.
"Will you tell me what happened?" Camille asked as she bent forward in her chair.
Richard looked up at her. "Nothing of note," he shrugged.
"I disagree. I knew Kris. That's what we told Nick isn't it? That we needed details. You know that's the way it works."
Richard looked away and flushed. "Now is not the time. I'm processing all the information we got this morning."
"Did she hurt you?" She asked ever so softly. She wasn't giving up.
"Camille!" Richard warned as he gave her an irritated look. His eyes went to her untouched sandwich. It was still on her desk. "Your mother brought you food. Maybe you should eat it," his gaze swept over her slim form and then back to the screen. "Who knows how long it's been since you ate anything," he mumbled. "It was very nice of Catherine to bring us all lunch."
Richard called her Maman nice? Now she knew there really was something wrong with him.
"Why won't you tell me?" She began to feel impatient.
Richard looked at his own sandwich. Untouched also. His hand made a move towards it but hovered above it when Camille spoke again.
"I want to know. I want to know now," she blurted out bossily.
Richard's mouth fell open at that as he gave her a vile look. "Camille! Really! Is that necessary? In my book I am still your Senior Officer and I-"
"-What? Order me?" She stood up fast and towered over him easily.
"What has gotten into you?" Richard snapped annoyed as he looked up at her.
"We're a team. And all you've been doing these last hours is being pedantic, unfriendly and authoritative!" She told him curtly. "What's the matter with you? You think I wouldn't notice that something is wrong? You're as cranky as ever and you're taking it out on us. Nick's the one in pain, I'm the one in pain. What's your excuse?!"
Richard cleared his throat as he looked in front of him. He felt his cheeks started to color. "I...Err... I... Camille.. Really... I don't know what you want from me," he managed to stammer. He wanted to loosen his tie but stopped himself. She would instantly read something into that.
"What did Kris do to you Richard?" Camille asked. She put her hands to her sides and stared at him.
"I already told you. Nothing of note. And if you think your bossy behavior will get you anywhere, you're gravely mistaken," he crossed his arms in front of his chest stubbornly.
"Hi," Nick said as he walked into the station and then halted when he saw Richard and Camille facing off. The air was very thick around them. "Did I interrupt something?"
"No." Richard answered.
"Oui!" Camille answered simultaneously. "Could you please leave us for a moment?" She asked.
"Err..." Nick looked with big eyes from Richard to Camille. "Okay. I thought you wanted me to-" He pointed at his notes but then saw Camille's glare. "Okay. Should I leave the door open or-"
"-Close it." Camille instructed as her eyes were on Richard.
"Well, it seems that you have him in your pocket already," Richard mentioned snidely as he focused on his computer screen.
"Excusez-moi? What's that supposed to mean?"
Richard sighed and closed his eyes. Did he really want a fight with her right now? Because that was what was going to happen if he wouldn't let this go. He looked at her. O, yes, he wanted to fight. He wanted to fight with her after she'd taken Nick in her bed. He shrugged as he looked up at her. "I don't know? He hopes to get in your bed again? Tonight probably?"
"He... What?!" Camille's eyes widened as she stared at Richard. "What are you actually saying?" She asked confused.
"Nothing, Camille. Your love life is none of my business. But good lord! Really? Couldn't you have picked another man please? It's not very professional to pick a colleague. For God sakes Camille! We work together. Kris is gone and you two jump each other like-"
"-Like what?!" Camille barked as her eyes spat fire at him.
"Like bunnies it seems," Richard told her as he looked away from her again and pretended to further his work on the computer. "You were still at it in the morning. Was that really necessary? You knew I would come to pick you up," he looked up at her with anger.
"You are impossible!" She shouted. "How dare you?! I didn't sleep with Nick at all!"
Richard gave her a surprised look.
"What? You don't believe me? Oui! He was in my bed. That doesn't mean that we did anything! Because I AM professional and I'm grieving for my friend! And you just thought-!"
"-Well, it would have been perfectly natural and understandable!" Richard suddenly shouted as he jumped up from his chair.
Her brows rose high as she looked at him. "Why?"
"Because- Because you are grieving. You're sad and you wanted comfort. You really think it's so strange that I put two and two together? He was in your bed for crying out loud," Richard defended himself angrily.
"The man fell asleep in my bed on Kris's side with her pillow clutched to his chest. He needed the rest so I didn't wake him up." She shook her head and closed her eyes momentarily. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I don't have to explain anything to you."
Richard mumbled something.
"O! Mon Dieu! You thought that all this time? All the time when you came to inspect my room? You actually thought that I'd have sex with Nick and then I'd invite you in to inspect the room?!"
"Well... Err... You did seem hesitant to let me in that evening."
"Richard, really! For future reference; if I have sex with a man, you're coming nowhere near my bed or my bathroom! Understood?!" She snapped as she pointed an angry finger at him.
"Rest assured. That would really NOT be my intention to have a show like that." He growled chagrined as he sat down again.
"As long as we have that clear." Camille shot back heatedly as she dropped herself in the chair again and gave him a glare. She took a deep sigh and let the silence hung heavily between them for a few moments. "It's your turn to fill in the blanks, Richard." She reminded him. She looked at his left eyebrow. "She hit you? Gave you that wound on your eyebrow?"
"O...Er... Yes... That... That wasn't much. Not compared to your wounds." He said as his hand went to his brow. He felt very relieved. Relieved that she hadn't slept with Nick.
"Mon Dieu." Camille suddenly sat as she straightened herself in the chair. "That's what Kris meant with the bunny thing?"
"Excuse me?" Richard asked as he looked at Camille. He really didn't want to go into that.
"You just said that we were at it like bunnies. Nick and me. What did she say to you Richard?"
Richard swallowed as he didn't face her. Great. This was just great.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about this with me. Maybe with someone else? A man maybe? With Dwayne? Or Fidel?"
Richard cleared his throat and looked at her. "Camille... I- I owe you an apology."
She raised her brows at him. That's a first.
"It was- It wasn't right of me to- The things I just said... That I assumed you and Nick- Well, it was logical giving the fact he was in your bed, but I should have known that- It wasn't what it seemed like. And I- I jumped to conclusions too quickly."
"Oui, you did."
"I'm sorry." He mumbled as he looked at her. "And I thought you were showering with him when I arrived, I just found it weird."
"Believe me Richard..." Camille began as she bent towards him. "If I shower with a man, I'm taking my time, and it won't be when someone is coming to get me any minute for work."
Richard just stared at her and swallowed. All sorts of images were spooking through his mind, images he really shouldn't have or want. "Err... Yes... Err... Of course... Yes."
"We were talking about Kris and you," she reminded him quickly.
"O...Err.. Yes," he stammered clumsily. He felt like a young schoolboy again.
"Did she... Try anything..." Camille asked carefully.
Richard looked at her, his mouth wouldn't move for some reason.
"I mean.. anything sexual?"
Richard uttered a laugh. "No. Of course not." As if. "Nothing of the sort." Kris had seduced Nick. The Nick's of the world got seduced, not him. Not that he regretted that, in this case. But Camille asking this, with so much worry in her voice seemed proposterous. He looked at his sandwich again. He was getting kind of hungry now.
"Did she insult you?" Camille tried again.
Richard didn't answer. Camille had a point. He should fill in the blanks too.
"I know that you have trouble with talking about your feelings. So talking about even deeper things, intimate things, must be horror for you." She leaned towards him again. "But you can trust me. This isn't personal, this is professional. I won't laugh at you or tease you or mock you. I promise."
He looked at her. She sounded so sweet. So comforting. It felt like he could tell her anything he wanted to. He loved this warm, sweet side of her.
"Camille... I..." He looked away again.
"Oui? I won't judge. I promise. Did she seduce you too? Is that what you feel ashamed of? Just like Nick?" Camille pressed softly.
"No." Richard shook his head. "It's not that."
"Would you tell me what is? Richard." She pleaded. She waited until he made eye contact. "Would you trust me?" She asked softly.
"I do trust you. It's just... It's so... Shameful."
"It isn't shameful anymore if you talk about it." She soothed sweetly.
"O believe me, it is." He gave her a look.
"What could be worse than the talk we just had?" She quipped lightly. But he only looked more pale. "I've heard a lot in that department. I don't spook easily. I don't have difficulty with talking about intimacy or about sex. And I think you do. But I think it's important that I know what happened, or at least, someone does. For the case."
Of course she didn't have trouble with talking about sex. Or having it for that matter. She was a free spirit. Not ashamed of anything, so it seemed. Richard sighed defeated and nodded. "You're right. Of course you're right," And he hated that. He took a pen from the casing on his desk and stared at it.
"Before I fell to the ground... Kris acted like she was going to seduce you. Or hurt you," Camille spurred him on slowly.
Richard nodded. "Yes," He thought back of that moment until he could see it happening right in front of him. Like he was watching a movie. "She threatened me, with her knife. She put it against my cheek, I had to do as she told me. Then she sort of belittled me. I had to take Dwayne and Fidel to the cell. And then you, to the other cell. I tried to talk to her. Ask her why she was doing this. I wanted to understand. But she didn't comply. She ordered me to sit down against the bars. She said that she'd make a special place for me there. Just for me. She was mocking me. So it seemed."
"Go on." Camille urged softly as she leaned back in her chair.
"She said she'd make this time very memorable for me." He began to color red again. And she had. For the rest of his life. He would remember it. It would haunt him at night. And in the day. How could he ever forget? This was ingrained in his brain now.
"It's okay. What else?' Camille asked in a soothing voice.
"I told her that it was highly inappropriate when she put you in my lap. And it seemed like she enjoyed it. She knew that. She agreed with me and enjoyed herself immensely. I asked her why she did this and she said..." Richard stopped talking.
"What?"
"That this way my brain would be turned off. She was talking about lust," he stared at the pen in front of him. God forbid he would look at her.
"What did she say about lust?" Camille asked.
"Camille- This-" Richard looked away from her. He really didn't want to talk about things like this.
"It's not personal Richard."
"Of course it is!" He snapped as he jumped up from his chair. "I already feel ashamed of what happened when we were together... I mean.." He gestured towards her. "When you were... So close. I had hoped never to talk about that again." He walked towards the kitchen. He needed tea!
"You have nothing to be ashamed of Richard," Camille urged as she stood up slowly.
He glared at her. "Of course I do! How professional was it of me to-" He pointed at her. "I- You- I- You... You know."
"She succeeded," Camille concluded.
"What?"
Camille walked further towards him, with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Your brain got turned off. She hit you in your weakness."
"What weakness?" Richard froze in the spot. He hadn't seen it that way yet. Maybe talking about this with her was a good idea after all, even though it felt like horror.
"Your insecurity, your shame and guilt. So much so, that you still have trouble with it now," she mentioned as she leaned her left hip against the cupboard.
"I should have- I shouldn't have-" The pen broke in his hand. He looked at it shocked. He hadn't even noticed he'd been holding it. He cleared his throat as he let the remains of the broken utensil fall into the bin.
"It was so easy for her," Camille said softly as she looked away. "She could pick everyone's weakness out so easily. The intimacy thing for you, Aimee for me, seduction for Nick... She played everyone like that," she looked at Richard now. "Richard, if you keep this bottled up inside of you, she wins."
His nostrils flared as he gave her an almost aggressive look. "You know what happened! I- You saw it. Good Lord, you felt it," he blurted out honestly.
"What are you talking about?" Camille asked confused.
"The- Err.. The-..." Richard began to stammer as he leaned against the counter for support.
"Your reaction to me?" Camille guessed as she put her arms in front of her chest again.
Richard looked at her. Wordlessly.
Camille closed her eyes, sighed and then looked away. "I already told you then, it's what happens," she shrugged and tried to make eye-contact, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. "It's part of being human. That's the way I see it."
"You're my DS for crying out loud! And I longed for you! That was-" He stopped shouting immediately as his eyes grew wide at what he had just admitted. "I didn't mean- I meant- I mean- in that exact moment."
"Richard, it's okay," she soothed easily as she put her hands in the pockets of her short cream colored trousers.
"What's so okay about that?! My body betrayed me and I hate that! I'm your senior and are you really okay with the idea that I wanted to jump you?! That's almost sexual harassment! I harassed you!"
"You should cut yourself some slack. It's difficult for your body- If you're so close to someone," Camille began.
"You weren't the one making a fool of yourself! With a body that is betraying you!" He shouted at her.
Camille opened her mouth and then looked behind him. "Well... You don't know that do you?"
He fell silent immediately. All the anger flooded away suddenly. "What? What do you mean?" He asked confused.
Camille raised her brows as she crossed her arms in front of her chest nervously. "I said that you don't know if I wasn't the one making a fool of myself, you don't know how my body was reacting. Look, if it's any consolation..."She swallowed. "You were aroused..." She cleared her throat. Was she really going to say this? Admit to this? But she felt that she needed to. He was being so honest and he felt so ashamed for no good reason. "So was I."
"What?" He uttered totally astonished.
Now it was her time to flush. "You heard me right, Richard." She said in a soft tone as she stared at him.
"But I- You- I... I don't understand," he stammered as he pointed at her.
Camille bit her lower lip. "Well, maybe I think that you're a very attractive man. What's not to understand?"
Richard uttered a mocking sound. "Yes right." He shook his head angrily then looked back at her. But she was still standing there. Not laughing, not teasing. He froze. How could that be possible? It couldn't, could it? Was this really real?!
"You're selling yourself short," Camille told him softly.
Richard shook his head as he too crossed his arms in front of his chest. "No," he shook his head. "You don't know- I'm not- I'm not that- I'm not pretty and-"
"Richard, if the roles had been reversed and I had been the man, you would have felt something too... Big time," she paused for a moment. To see if her message came through. "Do you understand what I 'm trying to say with this? Or do I have to spell it out?" She asked.
Richard swallowed. 'Errr..." His gaze traveled to her trousers involuntarily.
"I see you take the hint," she smirked.
"Camille!" Richard uttered.
"We both have a human body that reacts to things. Don't make such a big deal out of it. That doesn't mean that you're not professional or not pretty-"
"-No, I didn't mean... No, I didn't mean that I'm not pretty because my body- Err... Did things I didn't want it to, it's because-" His throat constricted and words wouldn't come anymore.
Camille's arms fell to her side as she took two mugs from the cupboard. Now she wondered if he had even heard that she'd called him attractive. She wasn't going to repeat that now. It already felt too vulnerable that she had admitted to being aroused also. And even confessed to him how she was attracted to him. She was attracted to him AND his body, but he had only admitted to being attracted to her body but not to her. At least, that's what he'd told her. "Let's not go there now. This is a very heated subject." She looked up at him. "And I think Kris knew that and used it easily." She put the mugs on the counter near him.
"Yes." Richard said defeated as he filled the water kettle.
"Can you go on?" Camille asked.
"Yes," he nodded. "Certainly," This was for the case. Camille had been right. "Where were we?" Richard asked as he thought deep.
"Lust." She reminded him. The word was loaded.
"O.. Err..." He tripped on the word immediately. His throat thickened. Had she just said that she'd been aroused too? By HIM? He looked at her. She was waiting for him.
"Richard?" Camille asked when he did nothing.
"Ehm... Yes... Ehm... Let me see... She... She taunted me about you and me..."
"In what way?" Camille asked.
"She wanted me to admit that I... Liked you... Or wanted you."
Camille sighed audibly as she looked away angrily. She wanted to hit something. A string of soft French curse words left her lips as she walked away from him, towards her desk.
"Camille? Are you okay?"
"It's just that... I hate that she did that," Camille uttered.
Richard nodded. "She took a dress from the shelves; she'd obviously hidden it there earlier. And she said that she was going to have some fun. She called us horny teenagers and that's where the bunny thing came in," he looked at his hands and almost wanted to disappear. "She implied that we- We- You- Like bunnies... And then she added some humiliation by saying that I wouldn't know how to... Errrm... And that I needn't worry because you could help me out on that front because you were so experienced."
He uttered the words with trouble, but the last sentences made him curious, strangely enough. He wanted to see her reaction. Was she really that experienced?
French curse words again.
"Then she said that the other option was coming after her. And if I chose that one, she'd kill us. She slapped me and said that this way you would be worried and that would move things along. After that she started to change in that sparkle dress. Right in front of me."
Camille was boiling on the inside. Kris had interfered with something that was so intimate, so sensitive to her... "She stirred up our relationship and made it all... Awkward and uneasy," she concluded venomously as she began to pace quickly in front her desk.
"Well... We... We shouldn't let her," Richard mumbled as he poured the boiled water in the two mugs.
Camille turned towards him. "No, we shouldn't let her," She agreed.
"Then she told me she was going in as Mrs. Shaw. Which confused me," Richard mentioned as he walked towards his desk and placed the mugs down.
Camille nodded. "Because Mrs. Shaw is black. She had to know that. And why did she change again? That is what confuses me. When she was with Nick she was in her servant attire. She changed in front of you into the dress, but when she was at the party she wasn't wearing the dress. And did she go in as Mrs. Shaw?" Camille asked as she looked at Richard while she walked back to the chair in front of his desk.
Richard shrugged. "I don't know yet. Maybe Fidel and Dwayne will know this tomorrow."
Camille nodded. It felt better to talk about other things rather than the so much more intimate details. "Maybe she wanted you to think that she was going as Mrs. Shaw. But to what end? According to her plan we would only be found the next morning. She would be long gone." Camille took the warm tea and sat down again.
Richard nodded. "I tried one more time to stop her. To get her to see reason. She just laughed at me. Mocked me. She called everyone that fell for her act dumb. And she talked about the money, and how this would be her last job for it." He twisted his face.
"What?" Camille asked.
"When she walked away... She said that there would be another man if I didn't do anything."
"What did she mean?" Camille asked confused.
Richard swallowed. "She seemed to think that... We... You... That I.. It was some sort of warning that if I wouldn't do anything, She meant that you... There would be another man in your life. And then it would be too late for me."
"Woow," she looked at the ceiling. "It's almost like she wants us together romantically."
"Which is strange because we thought earlier that she wanted to play on our weaknesses and now she wants us together? Why?"
"Maybe it was just to cause more friction between us," Richard looked up at Camille in shock. "I didn't mean friction as in... I didn't mean that literally!"
Camille swallowed as she thought of how close she had been to him, how much friction there could have been. She pushed that image away quickly. "I know, Richard. Maybe she just wanted to rattle us. Because our friendship is strong. We are a strong team. And this would certainly go and fester between us. It could push us apart." she took a sip of her drink as she looked at him.
Richard nodded. "Yes, that sounds sensible. That's very manipulating. Sex breaks things..." He said deeply in thought. Then he looked up. "I didn't mean... I meant... I was just thinking about- Other people who had a close friendship and how sex ruined everything," he quickly explained.
"Oui. It ruins everything," she repeated as she studied him. Her words had almost been mechanical. Because she didn't want it to ruin everything. But that was a real fear. "She planted a seed for her manipulation that is still working now she's gone."
Richard nodded. "Yes, that must be it. That's why she would have done this. We shouldn't let her poison our relationship."
"I agree. It's awful that she did this," It hurt. She didn't know what hurt the most. That Kris had used them like this, that felt like a knife right in her heart. Or that Richard had just said aloud what her fears had been which took away all her hope of... Of what? A romantic relationship with him? She swallowed.
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And? What did you think?