16

It was almost noon when Tessa reached her apartment. She had wandered in town, doing some window-shopping, looking at all the little things she thought about buying when she would move in for good. But her mind could not really concentrate on what she was looking at. She kept thinking about the conversation she had with Dobey in the morning and then with his men. The image of the brunet detective somehow imposed itself in her mind. But it felt like holding to an anchor; it was a bit weird in fact. She tried to ascertain what had triggered this sensation. Was it just that she had always been attracted to brunet guys more than to blonde ones? Maybe. But the truth was eluding her. It simply had to do with the fact that, after their verbal fight, she had inexplicably felt safe to know he was on the good side.

She absent-mindedly put a frozen pizza in the oven and turned the swtiches. She then headed for the couch and let her body fall on the cushions. She looked at the microphone under the lamp and smiled. She closed her eyes and started to sing, very softly, she was not even sure that whoever was listening at the other end of the line could make it out.

But she soon stopped whispering the melody. She tried to summarize all that happened during the last few hours. She was a cop undercover on a case in a strange city. Two more cops were on the same case. Fuentes was not clear regarding his intentions to run the business for long in the area. Rico was up to something she could not figure out yet, but it certainly was nothing sweet and gentle. Matt was like a mosquito, buzzing around Rico and spying on everyone. Seb was too quiet and uneventful to worry her. The only one she felt at ease with was Bernie. How she hated to have been forced to lie to him. He was the one she trusted implicitly and she promised herself to make it up to him, when the case would be closed, when she was out of that mess, when... if...

The small of melted mozzarella snapped her awake and she put the pizza on a large plate and started to eat. When she was done, she cleaned the dishes. Looking around her, she suddenly felt more than before she was in somebody else's place; this was not hers. She remembered her own furniture, the plants she had bought over the years and made her own place almost look like a jungle. She remembered the big poster she had had printed from one of her own photos she took when on a trip to San Francisco and representing the Bridge at dawn, surrounded by a delicate pink fog...She let an ironic smile escape her lips when she also remembered there were no microphones in her own apartment, spying on her day and night, installed by someone she had not yet identified. This last thought brought her mind back to reality. Or was it the persistent knock on the door?

When she opened the door, she saw the last person she wanted to see right now.

S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~

Rico was smiling his fake gentle smile and did not wait for her invitation to penetrate in the apartment.

Tessa made a slow turn, still standing by the open door, as if she was actually seeing him out.

Rico turned to face her, saw he was obviously not welcome, smiled a large content smile and installed in the couch, with both arms extended on the head rest on each side.

Tessa closed the door, gave Rico a somewhat contained nasty look. She could not help herself, but even if she knew all this circus would be over soon, the only thing she wanted to do in this instant was to slap him in the face real hard.

"Why are you so nervous, Tessie?"

She felt a shiver down her spine and forced herself to answer as gently as she could. No need to get him angry and provoke him, I don't know how far he could get...

"I'm not. It's just that I did not expect you visit, Rico and... I've got some things to take care of before going to The Rose."

"What kind of things?" Rico said in a paused tone, looking around. "The apartment's just fine, you look great... Why don't you come here and sit next to me?" he added, tapping the couch next to him to invite her closer.

"Rico... I... don't think so." she felt stuck and wanted to find an excuse to make him leave.

As he saw she was determined to avoid him, he stood up and walked to her. Tessa felt a glacial shiver all over her body and her muscles hardened, preparing for an assault or an escape, depending on what Rico had in mind. When he was close enough, he reached for her and softly caressed her cheek with his right hand, while he tried to take her right hand in his left one. She could not avoid to start back and he tightened his grip on her right hand.

"Don't fight me, Tessie, the last thing I have in mind is hurting you, Babe. Come closer. Don't be afraid."

And saying so, he pulled her close to his chest and searched for her lips. Unable to stand the proximity of this man she had hated from the start and because, most of all, she was not who she was supposed to be, she violently turned her head away from him but his right hand, still in her cheek, forced her to face him and he pressed his lips against hers. She squeezed her mouth shut to avoid any further exploration and tried to pull away from his embrace.

She felt a wave of great relief when she felt his body pull way from her. He was still smiling that wicked smile and completely let go of his grip.

"Another time, Babe. You'll see, you'll like it, I promise."

And without another word or look at Tessa, who was now breathing heavily, he left, smashing the door behind him.

S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~

When Rico reached the car, he somehow let his long contained frustration spill on Matt who was patiently waiting behind the wheel.

He thought some news would bring a bit of peace in Rico's heart.

"Boss, I've got some news about the Burnett and Collins guys."

"Not now!" the short man shouted. "She's nothing more than a high class whore and I'm gonna have her, one away or another."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"WHAT?!" Rico's face was turning red. He was so imbedded in his fury that he did not understand that Matt wanted to speak about the new guys on the deal. "What do you mean?"

"Burnett and Collins. I got a phone call from someone who saw them this morning."

"Oh yeah? And why am I supposed to be interested in that kinda news, huh?"

"Because they were seen... at the Metropolitan Police Department."

Rico turned his head, very slowly, to face Matt and his eyes went cold as ice, half shut, his jaws were suddenly very tensed.

"At BCPD? That's... interesting. And how do you know?"

"They're cops, Rico! A friend of mine is working there and he called me to inform me as soon as he found out who they were talking to. Their real names are Starsky and Hutchinson. There was... there was something familiar about that Burnett guy, but I could not put my finger on it. I'm sure I met him before, but I still can't remember where."

"Hmm, so we need to change our strategy a bit about these guys... Don't say a word of this to my dear Uncle, you understand me?"

"Yess, Boss, but..."

"But what? Oh yeah, who were they talking to, by the way?" Rico was now more than exasperated.

"Tessa. They were talking to Tessa."

Rico almost choked hearing the last bit of information.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. He described her and it matches perfectly."

"May be they arrested her for another reason than being the girlfriend of a drug lord, huh?"

"I don't think so. From what my informant told me, they were having a casual if not amicable conversation."

Rico stared in front of him, at nothing, trying to organize the thoughts in his head.

"So, apart from being a hard-to-please bitch, she is an informant too. Damn her!" he almost shouted, turning his head and looking at the apartment where the young woman had just turned him down.

After a long moment of silence, he had found his composure again.

"I'm gonna nail this little bitch. And I'm gonna talk to these two dummies. They'll never see the trap until they fall into it, head and toes! Drive! I need to think straight about this. Yeah... This could be the perfect opportunity to get rid of all who stand in my way... in just one single trip. What do you know? Chance will serve me this time. Yes... Drive now!"

Matt started the ignition and drove Rico back to his place.

When he dropped Ricardo, Matt Perkins headed for his own place and, while driving, remembered the face of the one he had met as Mike Burnett. There was something about the curly hair detective which was vaguely familiar. He had sensed something during their first encounter but had not been able to put his finger on it. All of a sudden, something clicked and he almost lost control of the car.

"Shit! That's him!" he exclaimed.

Now all the memories were invading his mind. The little curly haired boy. The streets of New York. The fights between little kids in the neighborhood. Everything was coming into place like all the pieces of a puzzle.

S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~