"Have a great night! Phone me if you're going to be later than eleven!" Sonja says as we leave the apartment. She's got Cody and Astor setting up a board game while she makes them supper.
"We will. Thanks, Sonja." I wave to the kids who look up and smile.
"Oh, Dexter, I forgot to say, Colleen called today, she wanted to know if they wanted to go over there for a sleepover tomorrow night? Cody's friends from school have been asking about when he's coming back to Miami, so she thought they could all spend some time together. I said I'd ask you. What do you think?" This is perfect; not only will Cody and Astor get chance to be with their old friends but Lumen and I can scope out Greco and DiMarco without worrying about a babysitter.
"Yeah, that's fine. Does she really mean Harrison too?" Colleen helped Rita out so many times when we first got together, the kids see her as an extra family member, it's nice that she's remembered them.
"Mm, she said that she might as well have all three so you can have a night off. She already has two children, is that right?"
"Yep, Davey was in Cody's class and I think the girl was the year above Astor. They were friends anyhow. That's really kind of her, will you ring her? Night guys!" Cody and Astor wave and Sonja closes the door.
"Who's Colleen?" Lumen asks as we get into the SUV and I start the engine.
"A neighbour of Rita's from the old house. I think she pretty much helped Rita through the split with Paul. She's a good woman." Lumen nods and plays with the strap of her bag.
"Will she be ok when she hears about us? If she was a friend of Rita's?" I frown, I hadn't thought of that.
"I guess so, she'll be ok if the kids are ok." This reminds me of something. "What was Cody showing you when we were leaving?" Lumen laughs and turns to me with her fingers pinched together, it's like some greeting from a sci-fi movie.
"How to hold a bowling ball, he said it'd be embarrassing if I got there and I didn't know." I laugh.
Deb and Quinn meet us in the parking lot of the bowling alley. Next door is a pizza place and Deb tells us she's booked us a table.
"Have you heard from Masuka?" she asks, as we walk to the door.
"Nope," I shake my head and look at Quinn, who frowns and shakes his head too. Deb tells the waitress the name of the reservation and we are led to a broad table at which Angel is already sitting, looking at the menu.
"Hey!" He half stands and nods his hello to us, then he holds out his hand to Lumen. She smiles and puts out her hand which Angel kisses and she laughs. "I've heard lots about you; you've made our boy here very happy. Very tired, but very happy." Deb laughs and so does Quinn. Lumen blushes a little and giggles. I don't know what to do.
"Great. Thanks Angel. Lumen, this is Angel Batista, good cop, terrible confidant." I shake my head and sit down, passing the menus out and trying to change the subject.
"Do I know you? You look really familiar?" Lumen is frowning. Angel looks at Deb and Deb nods.
"Well, that's because we have met before, chica bonita," Angel nods and smiles reassuringly. I look at Lumen to judge her reaction. Does she realise that being with me means much more than being with a serial killer? All my 'friends' are cops and cops look out for their own. As if things weren't complicated enough.
"Where?" Lumen looks at Angel seriously, the atmosphere at the table shifts slightly.
"I asked Angel to talk to you after I met you at Rita's house," Deb interrupts the silence. "I was just worried about Dex, and he'd not mentioned you and it just seemed, I dunno, weird, I guess. So Angel met you in a store. Nothing serious, he said you seemed nice..."
"And hot too, I think I mentioned the hotness," Angel grins disarmingly and Lumen laughs.
"Look, it wasn't anything sinister, I was just worried about my bro, you know?" Deb looks at Lumen earnestly and I see Lumen weigh this up and nod.
"It's ok, I understand. You guys do this for a living; you're bound to check people out. I'm glad I passed the test." She looks back to the menu and holds my hand under the table.
"So, where the fuck is Masuka?" Deb says scanning the restaurant. It's populated with families, couples. The only loner is a guy with a hooded sweatshirt on sitting in the corner. He must be baking, even with the A/C on, it's warm inside. Angel follows my gaze and grins.
"Well, he looks suspicious enough to be on the run from a sword wielding, ninja ex," he exclaims, shaking his head. Lumen frowns.
"Masuka thinks his ex is out to get him. There was a beheading in a South Beach Nightclub this week and Vince thinks it was meant for him," Deb grins and shakes her head, laughing. Lumen looks alarmed and glances at me, her hand tightens on my fingers.
"None of the evidence points to Vince's theory being true," I tell her, as though I am going along with the joke but really I'm informing her that she shouldn't worry, we aren't looking for female, blade wielding, serial killers. "And what are the chances of her not realising it was him before she started swinging the blade about?" Lumen looks at me and nods, we both know that is unlikely.
"Uh oh, here he comes," Quinn mumbles under his breath and we all look back to the menu.
The hooded figure slides in to the chair next to Deb and leans on the table. We look at him and he slips the hood back a little so we can see the round face and round glasses of Vince Masuka. It's like something out of a spy novel.
"Hey," he whispers, "I need to check we weren't followed." He looks at me and I raise my eyebrows and nod.
"Amigo, we got your back," Angel leans back in the chair and lifts his thin jacket so we can see his holster and his police issue gun. Quinn pats a pocket and Deb points down her back to where she keeps her weapon. Masuka looks back to me and I lift the knife from its place beside the fork on the table. Everyone sniggers. Everyone, except Masuka who frowns and nods seriously.
"Thanks, dudes. I need all the backup I can get, you know?" he sounds tired, like he's not sleeping.
"Have you heard anything new?" Angel asks him, leaning across the table and whispering because Vince's mood has got to us all now. Vince shakes his head and looks at me, an eyebrow raised.
"Nothing. The blood came back negative for matches. We don't even know if Su Lin is on the database."
"What does she do? For a job?" Lumen asks him and Vince's eyes swivel to her and then back to me. He grins; this is something of the old Masuka.
"Lumen? A pleasure to meet you. I believe you are expanding the horizons of my young padawan apprentice, Dexter, here." He waggles his eyebrows under his hood, Lumen frowns. Deb looks at me and slaps Masuka's arm. He yelps and sits back. "Hey! I was only, you know, making nice!"
"Yeah, well, Dex is fed up with that kind of teasing now, right Dex?" I nod mildly; I don't want to start a row, especially about my nonexistent deviancy. Vince grins at me and I shrug.
"My lips are sealed, dude," he nods slowly, like we're in some secret society. Angel makes a noise that sounds like he's trying not to laugh. Everyone looks at him and he turns to the menu.
"Do we know what we're ordering?" He waves the waitress over and we tell her what we want.
When the food arrives there's silence while we all start eating. Deb and Quinn share some private joke about the stringy cheese on their pizza and Masuka sniggers in a frankly alarming way so none of us ask him what the joke is about.
"So, do you think I'm safe to take this off? It's fucking hot in here and I don't just mean in my pants," he says finally, grinning widely. Deb fakes a choking sound.
"Masuka, dude, eating here, ya know? Man! Yeah, there's no psychos in here so take the fucking sweatshirt off, you freak!" She goes back to eating pizza and Lumen squeezes my hand under the table. Deb's right, apart from the two psychos sharing a pepperoni thin crust and sitting right opposite her. I smile into my next mouthful.
Masuka scowls and shrugs off his sweatshirt to reveal his pale blue bowling shirt.
"I hope you're wearing yours," he says seriously to Angel and I. Angel opens his jacket to show the same pale blue, I point to my bag on the floor.
"What's the name of your team?" Lumen asks, leaning forward to read the writing on the back of Vince's shirt as she finishes her last slice of pizza.
"Bowl 'til you Bleed," Vince shows her the logo on the chest of the shirt. Lumen starts to laugh. "It's a reference to the forensics, you know." Vince tells her, not understanding why Lumen is pink in the face and clutching her stomach.
"I know," Deb is laughing too, "lame right, but, that's my boys!" She ruffles my hair and Lumen looks at me, eyes streaming. I grin and nod. I know, crazy, right? It's strange how this is such a normal night out. It occurs to me that this is the most human I think I've ever felt. We're having fun, out with our buddies and in a way I never thought would happen. Lumen gets all the jokes, even my dark humour.
"Dex picked it!" says Vince defensively and Lumen just laughs more.
"Yeah, well, Dex is a geek too isn't he?" Quinn grins. I look at him, his face goes blank.
"I thought it gave us an edge of danger, you know, cos we're dangerous guys," I say in my mildest tone, only Lumen gets the real humour of the statement. She clutches my hand under the table.
"Dangerous? Dex, bro, you are only dangerous to pancakes!" Deb is giggling.
"Or donuts!" adds Lumen and Deb high fives her. I purse my lips, nod and admit defeat. It feels good to have them tease me.
So, we pay up, leave the pizza place and get ready to bowl. Deb and Lumen grab a table just behind our lane and order some beers for everyone. Quinn and I change into our shirts; his is a little too big. I guess that guy from Vice works out more than Quinn. Deb laughs at how the shirt hangs off of him.
"Hey, it's not my shirt ok? I'm not a regular at this geekfest, remember?" He grumbles as Vince gathers us in for a team talk. I catch Lumen's eye and she smiles.
The girls talk most of the way through the match; the conversation looks really serious for a while. Deb is drinking and ordering more pitchers for everyone, topping up our glasses while we bowl. The opposite team, some women from records called 'Filing Foxes', are good and Vince is desperate that we beat them, but they're on top form and Deb is not helping.
Quinn picks up his ball and makes for the lane. He polishes it briefly against his borrowed shirt and this earns him a lewd mumble from Deb. He grins, turns and flips her the finger.
"Just one? What a disappointment!" She crows, and he shakes his head and bites his lip. Nice, Deb. Lumen catches my eye and smiles; I can see that she and Deb are getting along famously.
Quinn bends to bring his arm back, the ball ready for his strike.
"Nice ass Quinn!" Deb laughs and he shakes his butt, causing her to laugh even louder. The 'Filing Foxes' are grinning, no wonder, they're going to beat us easily at this rate. Vince sighs.
"Cute though your sexual banter is, Morgan, it's going to cost us the game if you don't rein it in a little!" he snaps. This just earns him more guffaws from Deb and Quinn sniggers.
Finally, Quinn bowls and hits all the pins. Deb stands and cheers and he makes a point of walking by Masuka to high five her. Vince scowls and looks at me.
"You're up Dex; at least I know I won't have to worry about one Morgan's inappropriate humour." I smile briefly and go to collect my ball. It's one that used to belong to Joe Driscoll, my biological father. I didn't take much from his house when he died but I figured the balls were worth some money and I needed a spare set.
I slip my fingers into the holes and hear a snigger from Deb. Instinctively I look up and see Lumen blushing, what has Deb just said to her? Lumen nods and bites her lip and laughs like she shouldn't be joining in. I look down at my hand, three fingers deep in the ball. Oh, right. I sigh and shake my head.
"Detective Morgan can you please show some decorum?" Vince sound exasperated and it's not like him to miss a crude joke, he must be feeling the pressure from this Su Lin chick. "This is our last ball and Dexter's got to get them all down this time." Deb tries to stifle her laugh but then I reposition my fingers in the ball and she snorts again, Lumen has her head in her hands, laughing. Even Angel is chortling to himself, his mouth hidden behind his hand. I grin and then straighten my face when Vince glares at me. I shrug and move towards the lane, hearing the slight sniggering from behind me.
I let go of all the distractions, the ridiculous urge I feel to be good at this because Lumen is here, Deb's giggling and the pressure from Vince. I make everything in my head silent and I focus on the pins. I'm good at this, avoiding distraction and feeling the moment. I'm better with a knife in my hand.
I let go of the ball on my forward swing and it slides smoothly down the polished wood and strikes out all the pins. I hear Lumen cheering and Deb clapping. I turn to find the whole team grinning at me and the women of the opposition nodding appreciatively, if a little regretfully. I make a mock bow.
"I think this calls for tequila!" says Masuka, grinning now we've won and he doesn't feel the need to play the harsh team captain. Quinn goes to the bar with Angel. "Gotta squirt," Vince tells us as he makes for the restrooms. Lumen, Deb and I all grimace.
"Eww," Deb shakes her head and then puts up her hand, "go Dexter Morgan, killer strike there!" I raise my hand and she slaps it enthusiastically. I grin and take Lumen's beer and finish it for her. She just smiles.
"So, have you ladies had a nice night?" I ask, as I look at the array of empty glasses on the table. Deb nods and laughs and Lumen points to the majority of the glasses.
"These are Deb's," she says, "but yeah, we've had a good night, right Deb?" Deb nods.
"Yep, we've talked all about you. I've told Lumen what a pain of an older brother you were when we were kids, about how you snitched to dad when I borrowed his gun, how you threw hay at me anytime we ever got near a farm, you know, that stuff." She grins at me and I smile back, the side of my mouth lifted.
"Oh right, did you tell her about all the boys I had to turn away from the house too? Some of them with more force than others? Tommy Pedersen?" I cock my head and watch Deb bite her lip.
"I might have missed those events out, you know," she grins. Lumen laughs.
The boys come back with tequila and it's three more shots before we get chance to get away. We decide to share a cab with Deb and Quinn; the apartment's a short walk from where Quinn lives.
"I can drive you to pick up the SUV tomorrow before work if you like?" Deb suggests as we get out at their house and Quinn pays the driver. I hand him our half of the fare and he nods to me.
"Thanks, that'd be great," I grab Lumen's hand and we start to walk. "Thanks for a good night, see you tomorrow!"
"Hey, Dex! What are you doing with your free night tomorrow? Lumen said the kids were staying over at Colleen's?" Quinn is unlocking the door and Deb has her hand on his back as he bends to the lock.
"We're going out!" I call back, aware that the neighbours might be sleeping.
"Want company?" Deb says and Quinn straightens and says something and she hits him lightly on the arm. I look at Lumen.
"Er... it's a thing, Deb, you know, members only." Even from here I see Deb's eyebrows raised in the streetlight at my response; she nods, eyes wide.
"Ok, well, have fun guys! Don't tie the knots too tight!" Quinn barks a laugh and they stumble inside. Lumen looks at me and smiles, her eyebrow raised.
"Well, at least it's cover I suppose," she grins and I nod.
"Yep, Deb's not going to ask about that... well, not yet anyway."
"She will though, eventually, some of the things she asked me tonight!" Lumen laughs. "Honestly, do you two never talk? She had so many questions. And she told me about Rudy." She looks up at me, "Did you kill him?"
I stop walking and look up at the moon. The night sky is clear apart from some pale clouds which scud across the sky; there must be wind up there, high above Miami. Biney, Brian, Rudy, whatever we're going to call him, my brother, has been in my thoughts a lot since I met Lumen. When I slit his throat I thought that I had just killed the last chance I had to be really close to someone, have someone really love me, all of me. It's looking like I was wrong.
So many times I've nearly told her about my brother but when is the time right for that kind of revelation? I sigh and she squeezes my hand.
"Yes. Yes, I killed him. He was a monster, he'd killed lots of innocent people and he had to go." Even to me my voice sounds far away.
"Well, of course, he kidnapped your sister, he was going to kill her, Dexter," Lumen has no trouble understanding this part of the situation but will she understand it all? I nod and turn to face her, looking her right in the eye.
"There's more to it than just this, he'd planned it all, the murders, the clues, the whole 'Ice Truck Killer' thing, just to get my attention. He was courting me, luring me in. Even kidnapping Deb was for me, he wanted us to kill her together." Lumen looks at me, her eyes widening, I think she understands but then her next words show that she doesn't get my point at all.
"You were lovers?" She frowns and I can see her trying to fit this in to the picture she has of me. I grimace, the idea, the kernel of truth behind it is right.
"No, he was my brother." I hear her take a sharp breath but she doesn't look away. "I didn't know I had a brother, he was older than me and I was only three when Mom was killed. Harry took me in and Brian went into care. He found me eventually, realised we both had the same...needs and then he set about getting my attention." Lumen releases my hand; for a minute I'm free falling, no one holding the string of my balloon. Then she grips my arm.
"He wanted you to kill Deb? So that there was just you and him?" She understands, it seems so simple and yet it's so fucking momentous that for a second I can't quite take it in. I nod. "Oh god, Dexter." She reaches up and pulls my head down to hers. She kisses me, a slow burn which builds and builds until the noise in my head of Brian's life gurgling away is scorched away by the feel of her lips on mine. I put my hands on her waist and pull her flush against me.
I really enjoyed writing this chapter! It was fun to take the guys out and be a little normal, if only a little. Thanks for your lovely reviews so far. It makes my day when I get to hear what you think so far! Thanks to Lostie17 for Angel translations and to VB for being the best friend a strange obsessive could ever have. Cx