Trial by Fire
Chapter 4
Trial by Fire
Chapter 4
After Deakins had left for the day I called the motor pool. They told me a vehicle would be ready for me in fifteen minutes, but I could pick it up at my convenience.
"Deakins said to requisition a car?" Goren asked in a puzzled tone when I was off of the phone.
"He thought it would be more efficient than us driving here and then turning around again," I explained.
"So he wants us to head straight out from home, but a motor pool vehicle is somehow less obvious?" he looked even more puzzled.
"More paperwork if we use a personal vehicle to investigate a case," I pointed out.
"Okay," he shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Are you ready to go?"
"Sorry, I still have a few calls to make," I gave him an apologetic smile.
"No problem," he patted his stack of books. "I've got plenty of reading material."
Fifteen minutes later I'd spoken with two of Heather's friends and arranged to meet them at a campus coffee shop at 11 the following morning. I finally felt like we were making some progress on this case. I was anxious to talk to Heather's missing professor. If he called in sick again, I'd have to track down his home address. By the time we'd signed out the Ford Explorer and were on our way home it was quarter to six.
"So what do you think of this Wicca stuff?" Goren had pulled out another book to read.
"It seems harmless. I don't know what I was expecting, but it's more nature based than I would've guessed," I told him.
"Ya, it seems that environmentalism and Wicca go hand in hand," he nodded. "And apparently, a lot of witches are vegetarian, too," he was talking to me and reading at the same time.
"So was she a Wiccan or a Witch?" I was confused.
"Probably only she could answer that," he looked over at me. "Some people say Wiccan, and some say Witch and some use the terms interchangeably, but both appear to be derived from the old English word for wise."
"Oh, like wise woman," I liked that idea.
"Ya, but it's gender neutral. Both male and female followers of Wicca are called Wiccan or Witches, depending on their preference. It seems there are some sticklers but most of the authors I've read say that devotees of Wicca are generally easy going."
"They sure aren't up in your face," I agreed.
"No they aren't and I've read in several places that if someone claiming to be a Witch asks for a donation, you should run in the other direction. Witches don't ask for money and they don't proselytize."
"Proselytize?"
"Try to convert you," he explained.
"They don't ask for money and they don't try to convert you? Doesn't sound like any religion I know," I chuckled. "So how would someone like Heather find out about Wicca then?"
"Most practitioners believe if Wicca is right for you, you'll find it."
"I guess that explains why most people don't know much about it," I nodded slowly.
"A lot of what they believe I have no problem with, like harming no one, reverence of nature and sex being sacred," he paused to smile at me, "But I struggle with the part about magic being real."
"You like magic," I reminded him with a grin.
"Different kind of magic, Alex," his eyes crinkled as his smile broadened. "They believe in a lot of mystical things."
"What, like virgin births and resurrections?" I had to laugh.
"I have a hard time with those things, too. That's why I'm a lapsed altar boy," he reminded me.
It was almost 6:15 when I pulled up in front of the house. Goren's hands were full of books and his binder, so I opened the door for him. I barely had it closed again when everything he was carrying thudded to the floor. In one swift motion he'd turned me around and pulled me into a kiss. I collapsed against him and was mildly surprised when I heard my keys hit the floor. I'd forgotten I was holding them. Both of his hands were on my butt and he was holding me against his erection.
"I've been thinking about your ass all day," he lifted his head to tell me. His dark eyes gleamed down at me.
"Really?" I began to undo his tie.
"Ever since I saw you pulling that chest out of the closet," he'd pushed my jacket off of my shoulders.
"Want more access?" I asked coyly as I began to unbutton my jeans.
"Ya, but in the bedroom. If we start here, I don't know how far we'd make it," he had a sly little smile on his face. We did have a tendency to end up having sex up against the wall right inside the front door.
"Okay, let's go then," I backed out of his embrace and took his hand.
"Let me get undressed first," he said halfway to the bedroom. "I want to watch you."
"Okay," I grinned at him over my shoulder.
After I turned on a couple of lights, I turned to watch him undress. As soon as he noticed that I was watching him, he slowed down. I began to walk toward him as he stripped. It was all I could do not to reach for his cock when he freed it from his boxers. Even six weeks into our relationship, I was still a little surprised that I had this affect on him.
When he sat on the edge of the bed to watch me, I wanted to take things just as slowly as he had, but I didn't have much to take off. It was hard to be sexy removing a turtleneck. When I tossed it aside and saw his eyes burning into me, I no longer cared about being slow. My bra quickly joined my turtleneck on the floor, but before I started on my jeans, I turned away from him. If it was my ass he'd been thinking about, I didn't want to deprive him any longer.
"Am I leaving my underwear on?" I looked over my shoulder to ask.
"Uh uh," he shook his head.
I lowered my jeans by sliding my hands over my ass. I wiggled more than I needed to as I pushed them down. I was about to step out of them when I felt Goren's arm around my waist. He spun around and set me down on my hands and knees. I was still reeling when he yanked my jeans off, making me drop to my stomach. My underwear soon joined the rest of my clothes on the floor.
"Can you get to your knees in the middle of the bed?" his voice sent shivers through me.
I didn't answer. Instead, I rose to my knees and made my way to the centre of the bed extremely slowly. When I turned to look at him, I discovered that his eyes had become almost black. He'd wrapped his hand around his cock and was stroking himself as he looked at me. The shot of excitement that shot through me at that sight almost made me collapse to the bed again.
"God, Bobby, you're beautiful," I breathed, my heart pounding in anticipation. His eyelids fluttered at my words. I'd said something he hadn't expected.
When he climbed onto the bed, his hand reached for my ass immediately. When I saw him begin to lean toward me, I shuddered, knowing exactly what he was going to do. At the first brush of his lips, I could no longer hold myself up. My arms felt like jelly and I fell to my elbows. As he kissed and nipped at me, his hand drifted between my legs. I'm not sure which of us groaned louder.
"Alex, you're so wet," he sounded amazed. I'm not sure what he was expecting.
I couldn't respond. I could only sigh and tremble as his fingers teased me. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the delicious bliss of his caresses. When I felt the bed move, I took a shaky breath and then moaned when I felt the head of his cock pressing against me. All I had to do was move my hips slightly and he was inside of me. I pushed myself back up onto my hands. I wanted a better range of motion. I was already close to coming and we'd barely begun.
"I love it when you move like that, Alex," I could tell his teeth were clenched.
"It feels so good, Bobby," I sighed. "I love how you make me feel."
His hands tightened on my hips before I'd finished speaking. "Yes," he almost growled.
As soon as I felt his first thrust I knew he was giving me what I wanted. He'd never fucked me that hard before. His second thrust almost made me come. His third sent me over the edge. When I moaned his name, he fucked me even harder. Each stroke sent vibrations shuddering through me. Through the white noise and blood pounding in my ears, I could hear Goren saying my name and telling me how good it felt. I think I was saying something similar, but I'm not sure if I was actually speaking. I'd come so many times, I'd lost count. Every time I peaked, I thought there was no way my body would have enough energy to climax again and then another surge would crash through me. Goren's final powerful thrusts brought me to my own last tremendous orgasm and then he pulled me with him as he collapsed to the bed. I rolled in his arms and began to kiss him despite the fact that we were both breathing heavily.
"That was-," he panted, "I've never-."
"Shh," I quieted him with a kiss. "Snuggle."
"I love having you in my arms like this as much as I love the lusty sex," he had closed his eyes as I kissed his face.
"You're cute," I chuckled.
"I thought I was beautiful," I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Bobby, when I saw you standing there, looking at me like that, you were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," I ran my hand over his ass as I spoke.
"I don't mind when you talk to me like that, either," he sighed contentedly.
"I meant your stubbornness about your choice of language is cute," I kissed his chin.
"Does it bother you?" he asked lazily.
"Nope, it's cute. You swear all the time, but you won't say fuck," I chuckled.
"I will," he corrected me. "Just not to you, about this," he kissed me softly.
"Am I too special to fuck?"
"It's a word I used when it was only about sex," he explained. "This is about infinitely more than sex to me, Alex."
"Now, see, that's why I love you," I snuggled against him more. "You say the best things."
"And for you, it's about a different kind of sex than making love. I get that," he stroked my hair.
"Ya," I yawned.
"No sleeping. I have to call my mother," he rolled to the side of the bed and I felt him get up.
"Mmm," I just lay there with my eyes closed.
"And you," he paused and I was startled when he smacked my ass, "Could take that beautiful ass of yours into the kitchen and make dinner for a change."
If he'd been trying to get a rise out of me, it didn't work. I was feeling far too mellow. I rolled to my back to look at him. He was looking fairly relaxed, too.
"Can you at least help me up?" I lifted my arm languidly toward him.
Instead of taking my hand, he knelt beside me and bent down to kiss me tenderly.
"You look too comfortable," he smiled softly at me. "Stay here. I'll cook while I talk to my mom."
"It won't be the same if you don't stay here with me," I complained. "Would it be weird if we snuggled while you talk?"
"Not at all," he smiled. "I just have to find my phone."
Once he'd retrieved his phone, he climbed back onto the bed. I draped myself over him and enjoyed the rise and fall of his chest, the rhythm of his heart and the vibration of his voice in his chest. I sighed as he began to caress my back.
"Alex," I heard Goren's voice and a hand was on my shoulder. "You need to eat."
"What?" Everything was hazy and black.
"You fell asleep," I felt the bed move as he sat. "I made dinner. C'mon."
"I would've cooked," I told him groggily.
"You were dead to the world when I got off the phone," he chuckled. "And I've been here for a couple of minutes trying to wake you up."
"Wow," I blinked my eyes. "I could fall back to sleep, no problem," I yawned.
"Come and eat, and then you can go back to sleep if you're still tired," he stood up and held out his hand to me.
As soon as I sat down at the table, I realized how hungry I was. I devoured the steak Goren had broiled in no time. Then I left him to his books while I cleaned up. When he came across something interesting, he would share it with me. Once I was done I picked up the book he'd given me earlier and read more. Wicca had a lot of rituals and mysticism that were new me, but as I'd alluded to Goren earlier, these ideas didn't seem that strange when compared to what people of other faiths accepted as part of their beliefs.
"The only Wiccan holiday that doesn't seem to have a Christian or secular equivalent is the August 1st one. Well, it's a feast day called Lammas, or loafmass in the Catholic Church, but only the most devout know about it. I can't even pronounce what Wiccans call it," Goren looked up from his book to tell me.
"There's something you can't pronounce?" I asked in genuine surprise.
"Ya, my Celtic is a little weak," he laughed. "In pagan days it was the celebration of the first harvest and was marked by the baking and eating of bread," he put his book down as he spoke.
"So the church took that one, too, but it faded into the background?" I clarified.
"Ya and the dates may not always be bang on, but the significance is. Wiccans stipulate that their holidays were absorbed by the church as a way to convert people," he continued.
"Do you believe that?" I wondered how he would feel about someone casting doubt on the religion he'd grown up believing. I knew he no longer practised but someone claiming the holidays you'd always observed were stolen, might piss a person off.
"How Christian are rabbits and eggs?" he laughed.
"Ya, not very," I'd never really thought about it.
"And if your holy days are all part of the new religion, why not join?"
"I thought the early Christians used a different kind of persuasion," I furrowed my brow.
"I'm sure they had many techniques," he noted grimly. "But they still couldn't completely eradicate the pagan traditions; Mother Earth or Mother Nature, Halloween, the Easter stuff, mistletoe and holly, it's all pagan and no one bats an eye."
"That was all out in the open, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised that the core beliefs managed to survive," I closed my book and set it on the coffee table.
"It's after 11," Goren nodded at the clock. "I should let you nap more often."
"Well, you know how to make it happen," I chuckled. "And despite my nap, tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We should go to bed," I stood up.
"Be right there," he smiled up at me.
I hadn't planned to have sex before we went to bed, but it seemed to happen of its own volition, whether I planned it or not. Maybe it was his sigh of contentment when our bodies made contact, or the way his arm wrapped around me possessively. Most likely, it was the goodnight kiss that never succeeded in being a simple exchange. One of us always deepened the kiss and the other never objected. On this occasion, it was me that took it further.
"I thought you might be too tired," he told me softly when I urged him on top of me.
"My body woke up when it touched you," I ran my fingers lightly over his back.
"I know what you mean." The evidence of his understanding was pressing against me.
"I'm glad our bodies agree," I shifted my hips to grant him the access he needed. "You feel so good, Bobby," I sighed as he eased into me.
"It feels amazing," he breathed, "Every time, Alex. I always think I'm misremembering and then it surprises me. Every time," he groaned. "It feels incredible."
"I love how you feel," I moved with him. "I love what you do to me."
"Alex, I don't even have the words-," he began.
"Shh," I put my hands on his head. "We don't need words. Kiss me."
He did as I asked as we continued to move slowly. Our kisses kept pace with our hips. I was surprised to feel his muscles tense. I usually came long before he did. For me, this had been about contact and closeness and suddenly Goren was about to come.
"Oh, Bobby," I wrapped my arms around him as I realized what was happening.
"Alex," he groaned as he began to quiver. His entire body shook above me. I could feel the muscles in his back rippling as he continued to shudder. He'd never had an orgasm like this before.
I hadn't thought I was anywhere near a climax, but when Goren came, the sheer magnitude of his ecstasy was enough to drag me with him. He began to kiss me as soon as he stopped quaking.
"Bobby," I held his head away from me so I could speak. "I am so sorry."
"Sorry?" I felt him tense as he straightened up. We'd turned the lights out when we got into bed, so I couldn't see his face.
"I am so selfish," I could feel tears stinging at my eyes.
"Alex, what are you talking about?" he sounded concerned.
"All I was worried about was myself and what I liked," my voice betrayed my tears.
"It's okay, please don't cry," he stroked my hair.
"I never once asked you what you liked, Bobby and you tried to tell me," I felt horrible.
"Alex, it's amazing for me every time we make love," he tried to console me.
"Bobby, I could feel how you reacted. You like to make love slowly and sensuously. I don't know why it took me so long to realize. Of course you want to savor it, enjoy every nuance and all I do is keep asking you to fuck me harder," I almost sobbed.
"Yes, I do want to savor you and I did, but sometimes my lust overwhelms me and I can't hold back. There are other times when it's only about my pleasure. You purposely try to make it phenomenal for me," he brushed the tears off of my cheeks. "And you enjoy that, don't you?"
"Ya," I admitted shakily.
"And you know how much I love your orgasms, so please never think you've taken anything away from me, okay?" he kissed me softly.
"Will you promise me that any time you want to savor me, you'll let me know?" I returned his kiss.
"I promise," he assured me. "C'mere and lay on top of me. It's another way I savor you."
"I love you, Bobby," I breathed as I lay my head just below his shoulder.
When he woke me early Tuesday morning, I decided to change things up. We normally just made love the way we woke up; spooning. I knew what he liked in bed. He liked slow and he liked to watch me. My pleasure was his pleasure. I wanted to do all of those things for him. After flicking the light on, I rolled to face him.
"Morning," I smiled at him.
"Hi," he smiled softly at me.
"Back, please," I pushed at his shoulder.
I caressed his chest and then let my hand drift down over his abdomen, but he didn't need any assistance. He groaned as my hand closed around his shaft. If I hadn't wanted to let him watch me, I would've continued to caress him. When I moved to straddle him, he groaned louder than when I'd been stroking him. It was my turn to moan when he slid into me. As I began to move, his hands went to my ass.
"Alex, I need to sit up more," he breathed, but when I moved to get off of him, he grabbed my hips. "Just hang on," he smiled up at me.
When he shifted his body toward the head of the bed, his hips thrust upward. I groaned at the sensation, making him chuckle. Once he was settled, I picked up where I left off, except now I could reach his mouth. Goren continued to squeeze my ass as I moved above him. As I kissed him, I felt myself beginning to peak. My breasts were aching from wanting his touch, but his hands were busy, so I straightened up to take care of it myself.
The instant my hands touched my breasts, Goren groaned and I felt him swell inside of me.
"God, Bobby," I sighed.
Watching his face intently, I began to squeeze my nipples. He let out a stuttering breath and I felt him surge inside of me again. Even though I was moving slowly, Goren's reactions were bringing me close. His hands moved to my hips and gripped me firmly, but he didn't try to change my rhythm. I could tell by how tense he'd become that he was very close. I used to be the one to rush to orgasm. His hips began to rise to meet me and his fingers tightened on my hips.
"Yes," his jaw was clenched.
The next time I squeezed my nipples he began to quake.
"Oh god," I was on the verge as well.
When he pulsed inside of me, it was all I needed and then I, too, began to shake.
"Alex, yes," he breathed. "So beautiful."
He wrapped his arms around me when I collapsed against him. He began to kiss me softly.
"That was really good," he squeezed me.
"I thought you might enjoy that," I sighed and hugged him tightly.
"I enjoy everything we do," he caressed me gently. "You don't have to do anything special."
"So you never do anything just because you know I like it?" I kissed his neck.
"Almost everything I do is because you like it," he chuckled.
"So is it okay if I do a few things, just because I know you like them?" I kissed his chin.
"Ya," he sighed. "It might just take me a while to get used to the attention."
After our shower Goren got dressed and left me to do my hair and make-up, not that I wore a lot to work.
Goren was cooking eggs when I got to the kitchen. There was coffee waiting for me on the table.
"Mmm," I sighed when I took my first sip.
"You make that same sound when we make love," he laughed and turned around from the stove. "Do I want to know which you enjoy more?"
"I love you each in your own way," I smiled and took another sip.
"Ya, I bet," he shook his head as he brought the pan to the table. "I think we need to go back to Heather Kane's apartment." He'd already moved on, apparently no longer concerned about my love of coffee.
"Why?"
"We didn't find her Book of Shadows," he explained as he retrieved bacon and toast from the oven.
"Book of Shadows?"
"Kind of like a Witch's diary," he explained as he served the food. "She would have written down her rituals and other things that were important to her."
"We went through everything. I didn't see anything that looked like a diary," I shook my head.
"Me either," he sat down and began to eat.
I looked at my watch. It was 7:30.
"Our first appointment is at 9. If you want to stop on the way, we need to leave soon."
"Okay, but I think I know where it is," he continued to eat his breakfast.
I raised my eyebrows at him as I chewed.
"I didn't take any of the books off the shelves. They were all textbooks," he told me once he'd swallowed.
"That's not like you," I laughed. "You're usually all over books."
'I read the titles, but I didn't move them. The Book of Shadows is probably tucked behind them."
He was right. We found the book behind the textbooks on the bottom shelf. When we got to the school I ended up basically conducting the interviews by myself. Goren was too busy reading. When I'd finished with the last of the three professors, I told him we were going to the administration offices.
"Okay," he stood up to follow me.
"You should've just stayed in the car if all you were going to do is read," I commented quietly once we were in the hall.
"I was listening," he closed the book and looked at me. "Heather was a good student. Her assignments were always on time, she was punctual, engaged and so far this year, she was at the top of her class, like she was last year. They were shocked by her death and knew nothing about her private life."
"I hate it when you do that," I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Sorry," he muttered. "That professor you suspect, what was his first name?"
"Mike," I wondered if he'd found something when he was reading. "Why?"
"There are a lot of references to 'M' in her Book of Shadows, so I think your suspicions about a relationship are right," he held up the book as he explained.
"Well, he called in sick again. That's why we're going to the administration offices. I guess you missed that part when you were listening."
"Oh, sorry," he looked sheepish.
"Don't worry, I'm used to it," I shook it off.
"No, I should've participated," he put his hand on my arm.
"I'm sorry," I chuckled. "I shouldn't have made you feel guilty. I really didn't mind. You enjoy reading more than I do and it didn't take both of us to conduct the interviews. We killed two birds with one stone," I shrugged.
"Okay," he nodded, "Are we going to pay the prof a visit once we get his address?"
"No, we're meeting a couple of Heather's friends at a coffee shop," I reminded him.
Goren and I must have been easy to spot when we walked into Campus Brew, because two young women waved at us immediately.
"Hi, I'm Detective Eames and this is Detective Goren," I made the introductions.
The taller of the two girls introduced herself as Cassie. The smaller girl was quieter and introduced herself as Megan.
"Do you want a coffee?" Goren asked as I sat down.
"Oh, sure, thanks," I smiled up at him.
Both girls were starring at me when I turned back toward them.
"He gets you coffee?" Cassie looked bemused.
"He learned early on in our partnership that it was in his best interest to keep my caffeine levels elevated," I joked, hoping to gain their trust. "I'm sorry to have to bother you at a time like this," I forged ahead, "But we need your help getting to know what was going on in Heather's life here at school, you know, things she might not have shared with her parents."
The girls looked at each other, but Cassie seemed to be speaking for both of them.
"She was pretty open with her parents," she smiled.
"About everything?" I prompted. "Her parents say she wasn't seeing anyone special."
"No, she wasn't," Cassie barely let me finish.
"Not even someone she wouldn't want her parents to know about?" I suggested.
"Nope," Cassie confirmed and both girls shook their heads.
"Odd that she wouldn't have told you," I opened my notebook, "Because we know she was seeing someone; someone she thought her parents wouldn't approve of."
Cassie said nothing and Megan looked at her hands.
"We aren't the campus sex police," I reminded them. "We are trying to solve your friend's murder. You want to help with that, don't you?"
"But Dr. Robinson couldn't have done it," Megan protested and then clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Why not?" I looked at both of them.
Megan looked scared, but Cassie just looked annoyed.
"Because he loved her so much," Megan's voice was small.
"You realize that this relationship would've cost him his job if the wrong people found out," I pointed out.
"They were very discreet," Cassie assured me and then looked over my shoulder.
"Here you go," Goren set a large cup topped with foam down in front of me. He set his espresso down at the empty spot, turned the chair around and sat down.
"Cassie was just telling me how discreet Heather and Dr. Robinson were," I caught him up.
"Who else knew?" Goren asked almost offhandedly as he picked up his cup.
"No one, as far as I know," Cassie shrugged and looked at Megan.
"Just us," Megan nodded.
"Was there anything else she didn't want anyone to know about?" Goren continued after he'd taken a sip.
"Nothing," Cassie shook her head. "Heather was all about school."
"Was she a spiritual person?" he looked at Megan.
"Spiritual?" Cassie answered, apparently not noticing that the question hadn't been directed at her. "Like did she go to church?"
"Ya," he nodded at Cassie, but I saw his eyes flick over at Megan .
"She mentioned that her parents still go to church every Sunday," Cassie offered. "But I never heard her talk about going."
Goren wasn't the only one who noticed that Megan was staying very quiet on this subject.
"And she wasn't into anything new agey?" I tried to put it delicately.
"I think she liked to burn incense and meditate," Cassie shrugged, "But she wasn't into crystals or any crap like that."
Megan's eyes had found something of interest in her lap. I knew she wouldn't say anything in front of her friend.
"Cassie, I was wondering if you could help me?" I pulled out Heather's class schedule. "Could you tell me who else Heather might have been friendly with in her classes?"
"Sure," she leaned in.
"I can barely read this," I squinted. "It's dark in here. Can we go closer to the windows?"
"Sure," she shrugged.
Cassie gave me three more names but she had no other contact information other than which classes they were in. One was a teaching assistant that Heather was friendly with and the other two were in their junior year with her.
When we got back to the table Cassie announced that she and Megan had a class. After thanking them for their help, I sat down to finish my coffee.
"Thanks for the cappuccino," I smiled at Goren. "So?"
"Ya, Megan knew that Heather was Wiccan, but Heather hadn't confided in Cassie," he nodded.
"Did she know who else Heather might have told," I asked as I lifted my cup to take a sip.
"Just the professor, as far as she knew," Goren reached over and wiped something off of my nose. "Foam," he informed me.
"I should check in with Deakins, but I'd feel better if I had something concrete to tell him," I sighed.
My conversation with the captain was short. He was positive that the professor was our man and I had to agree. He was our only viable suspect. He had the only motive we'd uncovered so far. Deakins was in a better mood because the Chief of Ds liked the professor/student angle far better than the possibility that Heather had been burned because of her spiritual beliefs. Cops tended to prefer simple solutions like jealously or money. Witchcraft was a far cry from a simple solution.
End chapter 4