Pizza and more!

Chapter 12

Daniel's club soda had accidentally spilled down the front of Kate's blouse and now he made it worse by trying to wipe the blouse with her in it. He looked at her, horrified, at what he had done. Kate took a step backwards as she too, felt a blush coming.

"Don't worry, Daniel," she managed to say, "It's just club soda -it'll dry on its own."

"I'm sorry, Kate...I guess you don't need me to do any more wiping, either..." Daniel felt his cheeks getting even hotter.

"No," Kate's cheeks were burning.

Before all this started, Kate had been so excited because she was about to tell Daniel that she knew the whereabouts of Trey Canto. But right now, as she watched Daniel, paralyzed in her spot, that was the last thing on her mind. Kate was absurdly aware of her own breathing as she watched Daniel who still had the towel in his hand, the one he had used to try and wipe the water off of Kate's wet blouse.

"I just meant to..." Daniel began, "that is...I didn't mean to..."

Kate was the first to recover, "No, Daniel, that's fine..."

Both stood spellbound.

By now, Sam Baxter had returned to their end of the bar.

"Well, what have we here?" Sam Baxter took in the situation as both Daniel and Kate felt flushed with uneasiness, "If I were you, I'd go and changed that blouse, Missy, because you're putting on quite a show now," he stated, "and don't forget to take the Mister with you. He'll maybe want to help you clean up," he added with a wink.

Kate felt she just died of embarrassment.

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It was evening. Kate had told Daniel she needed to do some other work on her laptop and would not be able to see him for the rest of the afternoon. In truth it was because she could not face him yet.

The minute she stepped into her hotel room, she took a quick shower. It felt good. letting the water run through her body, even without the soap. The hot sprays seemed to relax not only her muscles, but her mind as well.

She recalled the tension she felt earlier as Daniel dabbed at her wet blouse. The water continued to jet out from the shower head as she recalled her reaction to his contact at the pub. Even now, her body was tightening as she thought of Daniel's hand so close to touching her yet not quite. And of course, it was difficult not to recall the kiss they had shared much earlier. How her whole body had quivered and her wild response. A tingle went down her spine as more warm water dripped down her body, and it wasn't due to the temperature of the water spray.

Maybe what she really needed was a cold shower, she ruefully thought.

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Kate had been so busy doing some work on her computer, she hadn't realized how quickly night had fallen. After she and Daniel separated, they hadn't spoken the rest of the afternoon, and she just figured he was busy doing his schoolwork. Taking a break, she looked around her hotel room. It really was quite spacious, she thought. She had already started a fire in the fireplace. As she looked out the large hotel window, Boston's lights twinkled and the moon looked as though it was perched atop a distant high-rise.

R-r-ring!

The silence in her room was broken up by the ringing of her hotel phone, startling her slightly. There were only two people who knew she was here. One was her FBI partner, Roger Probert. The other was Daniel.

The second thought made her run to the phone and quickly pick it up.

"Hello?" Kate quietly berated herself for sounding breathless. as she brought the phone to her ear, hoping against hope that it was Daniel.

"Kate? It's Daniel," he said as Kate felt elation. His voice sounded inviting and comforting in contrast to the solitude of her night.

"Yes...hi..." Kate responded.

"I've just completed my lecture notes and I hope... you've finished cleaning up."

"Oh yes, I feel so good after taking a lengthy hot shower," Kate said, and then realizing the intimacy the image must have brought, she added, "and of course, I had been busy with my paperwork...is that the reason for your call?"

"Yes, I mean no!" Daniel corrected himself. He facepalmed himself, wondering why he lately has been sounding like a lovesick school boy.

"Then why did you call, Daniel?"

Daniel cleared his throat. Enough of this

"It's just..." Daniel only paused time he would tell the truth, "...I just...wanted to hear your voice."

Kate closed her eyes in total bliss before opening them again, "It's good to hear you, too, Daniel."

"Really?" Daniel asked, "I'm glad..." his mind was spinning, "because I was worried that I was calling too late."

"Not at all," Kate insisted. She thought for a second before asking, "Have you eaten already?"

"Yes," he responded before correcting himself, "I mean, no...NO, if you haven't, that is."

"Since I've settled down for the night," Kate explained, " I've just ordered some pizza from room service half an hour ago ...you wouldn't happen to want to come over and share it with me, would you?"

"Really?"

"Yes...so we can discuss the case..." Kate faltered, thinking she sounded so lame.

She held her breath. It seemed to take forever for him to answer.

"I'll be right over," he quietly stated.

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Daniel arrived at the same time as the pizza, which is saying a lot since the pizza came within five minutes of their phone conversation. He wheeled in the cart and they had decided to have their version of a picnic on the hotel room floor. Kate had already spread out one of the bedspreads on the floor. Daniel had placed the dome-shaped silver container on the floor between them.

Before they partook of the pizza, Daniel had raised his wine goblet, filled with sparkling water.

"I'd like to make a toast, if I may," he announced.

Kate smiled, quite pleased. She lifted her glass also, "What shall we toast to?" she asked.

"How about to solving the letters?" Daniel asked.

Kate nodded, "Tosolving the letters, it is!" she responded as they clinked glasses . For a space of a second their eyes met and desire was reflected in both of theirs. Kate then reached for the pizza in the silver serving place.

"Ta-dah!" Kate announced as she lifted the dome top. The aroma of the mouthwatering pizza filled the room. Daniel peered over at the pizza. Although it looked delicious, it was something he rarely ate.

"You do know that pepperoni contains plenty of preservatives, which isn't healthy for us, internally, don't you?" he asked.

"Don't worry," Kate said, as she placed one slice on a plate for Daniel and the other for herself, "there's plenty of Italians still walking around the planet."

"You've got me there," Daniel smiled. He now stared at the pizza slice in front of him, "I wonder how much fat and sodium this single slice contains?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, Daniel, are we actually going to analyze pizza?" Kate asked, "This isn't zen. You don't need to become one with the pizza, you just have to eat it, So are you going to or not?" Kate asked.

"I can eat the crust, I suppose, but I'm not sure how to proceed with all the other stuff...the hidden fats in the cheese, the sugar in the sauce and the preservatives in the meat. Plus its shape is confusing. First it's in a square box and it comes out round and then it's sliced triangular...what gives?"

"I've just realized something, Daniel... you're the first person I know who's paranoid about pizza!" Kate declared.

"I am not!" Daniel insisted, "I think there some good things about pizza, too!"

"Oh, really? Like what?" Kate challenged.

Daniel actually didn't have an answer for that, so he made one up.

"I'll have you know that pizza has been proven to be effective in...uh, calming down people with tempers," Daniel claimed, his head held high.

"I didn't know that!" she stated sardonically, "How?"

"How?" he repeated, "Isn't it obvious?" his mind was spinning, "why, If you get mad at someone, you can give that person apizza your mind!"

Kate laughed merrily. Daniel loved the sound of her laughter; it sounded like music to his ears.

"Oh, Daniel!" she was still chuckling, "Just...stop delaying and try the pizza! Because I'm going to enjoy mine!"

She then turned her attention to the pizza and took a bite. Parts of the gooey cheese stretched out from her hand to her mouth, almost slapping her in the face when she stretched it long enough so that it broke. Instead of being repelled by her manner of eating, Daniel found it almost sensual, especially when she moaned as her taste buds became alive.

"Hmmmmmm...this is great!...Go ahead, Daniel," she encouraged, "sometimes your healthy body needs to have fun, too".

Hesitantly, Daniel slowly lifted his piece and took his first bite. Immediately he enjoyed the tantalizing mix of cheese, mushrooms and pepperoni atop the chewy flavorful crust. He fought against enjoying it, but what is there not to love about pizza?

"Oh, thisis great!" he declared, "I almost got teary-eyed with that first bite!"

"See? you should never be afraid to try something new, Daniel," Kate told him, "after all, amateurs built the ark, while professionals built the Titanic."

"That's a wonderful analogy," Daniel announced, "If I were ashipbuilder."

They both laughed. Kate was pleased that Daniel seemed to be enjoying himself. She certainly was having fun at their little makeshift pizza picnic.

"So," Daniel said, as he took another bite, "you were about to tell me something important."

"Something important?" Kate looked puzzled, "about the pizza?"

Daniel stared at her.

"Yes, pizza is always a matter of life and death" Daniel stated drolly, "No, about the case, Kate! Earlier at the bar, you had grabbed my arm, as if you wanted to tell me something about the case...before the soda water spilled on you and I tried to wipe you-"

"Oh, yes!" Kate interrupted, not wanting to relive the embarrassment she had felt earlier with Daniel in the bar, "I think I know the whereabouts of that mobster, Trey Canto, who turned state evidence against his own cronies; the ones who had attacked Hilda Jones when she owned that bar!"

"Really You know where the witness protection guy could be stashed?" Daniel made a grab for another piece of pizza, "go on."

"When the FBI needs to put people in the Witness Protection Program, " Kate explained, "there is a system we adhere to. It is actually very well thought out and works quite efficiently. Identities, of course, are kept secret except to the local law enforcement agencies. Our responsibility is to protect the cooperating witness, including choosing new names for the informant who goes into witness protection."

"And how does this all involve Trey Canto?" Daniel asked.

"When we choose the names for the new identity, we always recommend choosing a name with the same first and last initials as their real name, to make it easier for them to remember it."

Daniel knew immediately what she was inferring to.

"I get it," Daniel almost whispered it reverently as he looked directly at Kate, "Trey Canto...Tom Clayton!"

Kate's response was to nod, "My conclusion exactly!"

"And what that also means," Daniel realized, "was that Hilda Jones was not stalking me at all...she was watching the neighborsnext door, or more specifically, Trey Canto!"

Daniel's eyes lit with excitement at the new discovery.

Kate tilted her head, "I hope you're not too disappointed, Daniel, that you were not the center of Hilda Jones's affections; that she had actually been stalking someone else."

"Well, stalking's rather a harsh term, Kate."

"Oh,so NOW it's not considered stalking," Kate stated, with a twinkle in her eye, "Now because it wasn't you, Hilda Jones was actually doingcontinual,harmless,fluffy observationsof the Claytons."

Now it was Daniel's turn to laugh.

"Okay, but no more joking around," he told her, as he took another large bite of his pizza, "I need to concentrate on finishing up the rest of my second slice!"

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They had finished the pizza in no time. Darkness had shrouded the room, with the fireplace providing the only light, it's flames dancing and cackling in a sensual manner. Suddenly the ambiance took on an intimate feeling as both recalled the touch earlier this afternoon.

As Kate watched Daniel take the last sip of his drink, she was mesmerized by the fire-swept brooding in his eyes.

Daniel placed his drink goblet down and held very still, as if encouraging her to make the next move. Instead she clenched her fist in her lap to keep from reaching out.

His face changed as his desire rose.

"Kate," his voice was a velvety rasp.

Daniel seemed to hold a power over her, for she could not stop watching him, desiring him.

As a little girl she read wished for a handsome prince of her own, and as an impressionable teenager, she dreamed of being wooed and charmed by a TV idol. Then as a young woman in college, she had crushes on real men, one college professor, in particular. But those fantasies had faded when she got married and real life came up and slapped her in the face. But sometimes when she looked at Daniel, she wanted to believe once again how wonderful it felt to wish for a possibility.

She started to get up and tried to make her voice sound casual, "Perhaps I should start cleaning up all of this-"

But Daniel had stopped anything she was saying, anything she was thinking, by gently touching her arm.

"Kate," he lowered his voice and murmured in the stillness of the night, "Please...not yet...don't go...stay."

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Don't worry-only a few more chapters and this case (and the letters) will be solved!

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