Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop
The coffee that she had left in her car was cold by the time she pulled into the garage that the precinct rented for officers to use. Kate debated bringing the cup up to the break room and microwaving it. It wouldn't be the same but she had paid an obscene amount of money for the latte to just toss it. So she grabbed up the cup, that silly cardboard ring she had complained about earlier utterly useless now, and left the garage for the sidewalk.
Peters was still reading at the front desk, though he had progressed rather quickly to the middle of the novel from his place in the beginning when Kate had chatted with him earlier.
"Must be pretty good," she remarked.
"Yeah, it is. Wanna borrow this copy when I'm done?" he asked, taking a sip from his bottle of fruit punch with a grin.
She shook her head. "I'll get my own. I like having the whole collection. But thanks." Kate tipped the coffee cup instinctively and winced when the cold milk and espresso hit her tongue. Definitely need to re-heat this, she thought as she went back up the stairs, unwrapping her scarf from her neck and looping it over her arm as she opened the door.
Ryan and Esposito weren't back; they had mentioned something about stopping for their own coffee as an upgrade from the faux coffee the precinct must have bought stock in. Kate couldn't blame them. She dropped her scarf at her desk, unbuttoning her coat and draping it over the back of the chair before going to see what she could do with this latte. The microwave wasn't tall enough to accommodate the to-go cup so she transferred some of the liquid into her mug and used that. The rest of the coffee could be trashed.
Kate sat at the table in the break room, watching the mug revolve in the microwave. She hated this case. Over the last two weeks, three girls had been found strangled in their beds. If the pattern followed, Molly Sergeant would have been sexually assaulted before the man killed her. Lanie would let her know by the end of the day, tomorrow at the latest, if that was the case.
The microwave beeped and Kate tested the temperature of the coffee by sticking her pointer finger into the milky brown liquid. It wasn't hot, but it was better than nothing and Kate didn't have the patience to continue waiting. She sipped at it as she went back to her desk.
The board was getting crowded. There was nothing more that she wanted than to be able to put all of the photos and reports and bits of evidence into a banker's box and hand it over to the district attorney. Not yet, though. Molly and the two other girls needed the assurance of a conviction almost as much as Kate needed it.
Kate set the coffee mug down to pick up the whiteboard marker and start filling in Molly's basic information in a corner of the board that remained blank. They didn't have a photo of the girl yet, so Kate left a spot for it next to the age and description of her. The other two had completely different appearances and age ranges. Jenna had a mess of black curls and warm brown eyes, a second grader. Olivia, the girl in sixth grade, was all blonde hair and blue eyes. Molly's red hair and green eyes stood out and she was only in fifth grade. The man didn't have a set type he went for, making the search even more difficult.
She was pulling her hand through her hair when the boys stepped off the elevator with coffee cups in their hands. Kate leaned her lower back against the side of her desk, tapping the whiteboard marker on her chin, her eyes scanning the board in the hopes that something, anything, would jump out at her.
"Got anything yet, Beckett?"
She shook her head at Ryan's question. "Still searching. Hopefully the lab reports will give us something else to go off of." Kate sat heavily in her chair, opening the inter-department site and checking to see if by some minor miracle, the crime scene techs had processed the findings from the scene. Nope. She knew they were backlogged, as always, and that it might be a day until she got that message with the results.
Lanie wouldn't have started the autopsy yet, so a trip to the medical examiner's office would be pointless.
"Okay, so all three of the girls lived in the same area," she started, crossing her legs and leaning on them as she sat forward, waving the marker at the board. "Lower East Side. Maybe their parents brought them to play at the same park."
"Or went to the same after-school organizations," added Esposito. When Kate glanced over at him, he shrugged. "Does Alex go to some clubs or something after she gets out of school?"
Kate nodded slowly. "You're right, though I think I've told you about her name."
"She likes it. Besides, you should have expected it to pop up at some point." Esposito drank another sip of his coffee, watching Kate over the rim. "When do I get to see the heartbreaker next?"
"Never if you keep calling her Alex," Kate shot back. "Sooth your wounds over the fact you'll never see her again by checking with Parks and Rec about local parks on the Lower East Side. Make up a list and we'll start a canvass."
Esposito rolled his eyes with a grin as he sat and turned to face his computer monitor.
Ryan blinked between his partner and his co-worker. "Do I get to see Al?"
"Of course," she said with a shrug. "Why don't you take the after-school activities, Ryan. See if we can talk to some of the coordinators or whoever. I'm going to go bother Lanie about the autopsy. Call me with any updates."
She downed the rest of her coffee, not wanting to waste the tiny bit she had salvaged, before putting her coat back on and heading out. Kate didn't bother chatting with Peters as she went by this time. She did notice he was a little further in. She vowed to carve out the time to start the book; it was obviously pretty good for the man to be flying through it the way he was.
The medical examiner's office was housed across the city, but traffic had decreased from rush hour and made the drive easier. She was stopped at a red light when she hit the power button on the radio and burst out laughing when one of Al's CDs started playing, sending the music from Winnie the Pooh into the car. She didn't change over to the radio, but let herself hear "Heffolumps and Woozles" for the thousandth time as she traversed the city.
The theme song for the show about the bear and his forest friends was stuck in her head and Kate found herself humming it as she walked through the lobby of the office.
"Willy nilly silly old bear," she sang as she opened the door to the autopsy suite.
Lanie looked up from her desk, swinging her feet down from where they were perched on the corner. "Girl, you have been spending too much time in Disney movies."
"Can't really help it. Al loves Winnie the Pooh. They sort of get engrained in your brain." Kate picked out a Skittle from the bowl on her friend's desk, popping it into her mouth. "She misses you, you know."
"Miss my little chica, too. I'll just have to kidnap her so we can spend time together," Lanie decided. "Now, what brings you down here? Because I haven't started the autopsy yet."
"Maybe I missed your sparkling personality. Oh, no. That's not it," Kate joked as Lanie gave her a shove. "I was hoping to pester you to get started." She turned to walk across the room, pulling her hair over her shoulder and playing with the dead ends she had been procrastinating cutting off. "They get to me, Lanie. These three especially."
Lanie scooped up a handful of the Skittles and got up to hand half to her friend. "I know, sweetie. I'll start right now. The drug addict I got yesterday can wait until tomorrow."
She was surprised when Kate grabbed her up in a tight hug. Lanie squeezed back until Kate released her to eat a few of the candies.
"Thanks, Lanie. Seriously, I'll owe you."
"You don't owe me anything except a girl's night with Al. I haven't seen Beauty and the Beast in years."
"Al could probably recite it line-for-line if you wanted. Along with the voices." Kate shook her head but the smile that took over whenever her daughter was mentioned in conversation. "Between her drawings and the mini-production she puts on when a Disney movie is on, that girl is headed toward starving artist or starving actress as a career."
"Whatever she chooses, I know you'll support her," Lanie said, taking gloves from one of the boxes along the wall. "Mind if I bring the popcorn and juice, you provide the child and movies tonight?"
Kate hesitated. "I want to finish this case. Might be better to hold off until-"
"Uh huh, girl. Tonight, say around five, I will be showing up at your doorstep with my friends Orville and Welch expecting to see my goddaughter singing 'Be Our Guest' to me. No excuses." Lanie didn't pull the white sheet back on the girl yet, not while Kate was still standing there. "I need the break as much as you do and I want to see Al. Now shoo so I can get you some results to nail the bastard before our date."
Kate left, eating the Skittles from her hand as she went. Lanie was right; she needed the time to unwind and watching Disney movies with her daughter and best friend was the perfect solution. Hopefully they'd be further on the case by the time the three of them curled up in their pajamas on Kate's couch tonight which would dramatically ease Kate's mind about the whole situation.
She parked outside of the school, right along the edge of the curb near the playground. Some parents stayed in their cars, in the heat and comfort, and waited for their children to run over to the back door and climb in.
Kate was different. She huddled into her coat, pulled her scarf a little tighter, and braved the wind to walk over to the entrance to the school. There were a few other parents gathered at the doors, but Kate stopped just short of the crowd to lean against the fence separating the street from the playground. It was their meeting spot, the one place Al knew to look for her mother.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket and Kate dipped her hand in to take it out. A message from Ryan about the canvass of the parks near Molly's apartment that had come up with two people who had seen someone talking to the girl. He also mentioned that Esposito found something about the after-school idea and would relay it tomorrow when she got to the precinct. Kate was typing out a response when something hit her leg.
She looked down and saw the head full of brown curls pressed to her thigh. Kate sent the message and then reached down to ruffle the curls. "Hey, Al!"
The girl jerked away, running her hand over her hair. "Mom, you keep ruining my hair!"
"Well then, I guess braiding it after painting our toenails with Lanie tonight will have to be postponed. Wouldn't want to ruin your do," Kate said with a poker face as she took Al's hand and started back toward the car.
"Lanie's coming over?" Alexandra Beckett practically bounced her way to the car, opening the back door to toss her backpack in before running to the passenger seat, leaning on the console toward Kate's seat. "Mom, keep messing up my hair!"
Kate laughed, tucking a stray strand behind Al's ear before putting the car into gear. "No need. Lanie demanded a girl's night."
Al kicked at the dashboard in excitement until Kate shot a glare at her and her feet stilled. "Does this mean I can stay up?"
"Only until the movie is over and the popcorn is eaten," Kate said, turning down their street and searching for a parking spot along the side of the road. A car up ahead was pulling out of their spot and Kate parallel parked in a single try. "Even without school tomorrow, you don't need to be staying up too late."
The girl had long ago learned not to argue with her mother. The woman knew all the tricks in the book and knew how to take away certain privileges that had Al whining for days on end. Al got out of the car as Kate twisted to get the backpack from the backseat as well as her own bag of files from work. Lanie would scold her for bringing work home, but she needed the comfort of having the information nearby if something struck her.
Al slipped her hand into Kate's for the walk from the car to the front door of the apartment building. "What movie are we going to watch?"
"I think Lanie's looking forward to hearing you sing 'Be Our Guest' tonight. But I think we could do any of the princesses if you wanted." Kate found her keys, dangling them in front of Al's face and watching her blue eyes light up.
"You have my keychain!"
Kate tapped Al's nose as she unlocked the first door. "Uh, duh. Need it if there are any mice out there committing crimes." She herded Al into the vestibule before unlocking the second door to the lobby. "But before we do movie night, we need dinner. What're you feeling?"
"Pizza!" the girl exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air with a grin as they went up the stairs. "It's the only good movie night dinner."
"Salad first, pizza after."
"Deal."
Kate opened the door to the apartment, flipped the light on for the hallway even as Al barreled down it in the dark for her room. "You want a snack or you going to hold out for dinner?"
Her head popped out from her room. "Do we have apples left?"
"I'll cut one up for you." Kate dropped Al's backpack next to the dining room table, bringing her bag into the office to leave against the desk. No telling if she'd get to look at the files tonight, but better safe than sorry. She stopped in her room to take her gun out of the holster and lock it in the safe in her drawer. Kate took off her sneakers and tossed them into her closet, deciding to change out of her work clothes after getting Al's snack. Pajamas would be more comfortable than trousers and a button-up.
Al was sitting on the ground next to the DVD shelf, thumbing through the collection of Disney movies. She was in her pajamas, her hair in a messy ponytail that was off-center and already falling out of the elastic.
Kate found two apples that didn't look too bad and cut them up into wedges. "Peanut butter or are we eating these straight?"
"Peanut butter!" she exclaimed, a DVD in either hand. Looked like the competition was between Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Al was biting her lower lip, a habit she had certainly picked up from her mother, as she studied the DVD cases. It was endearing and a little creepy. Minus the blue eyes, Al was a carbon copy of Kate.
With the bowl of apple wedges in one hand and a little bowl of peanut butter in the other, Kate sat on the couch. "Here we are."
Al spun on her butt, placing the two cases on the coffee table and grabbing up an apple wedge, pulling it through the peanut butter before biting into it. Kate took a piece of apple and crunched into it, sitting back into the cushions. Al scrambled to her feet to flop on the couch next to her, her head in Kate's lap as she looked up at her mother.
"Are Espo and Ryan coming too?"
Kate gave Al a little shove off her lap, twisting her finger so the girl turned. She pulled the hair elastic out to fix her ponytail. "What part of 'girl's night' includes the boys, Al?"
"Right."
"Besides, Espo isn't allowed to see you anymore," Kate remarked as she ran her hand through the curls before separating it into three sections to braid.
"What? Why?" Al asked, trying to turn her head but failing when Kate gave her hair a gentle tug.
She shrugged. "He called you Alex today."
Al pouted as Kate braided her hair, securing the plait at the bottom with the elastic. Some of the strands were shorter than others and stuck out in the middle of the braid. Kate tried to tuck some of them back into order, but gave up. "I don't mind!"
"Yes, well, I hope you enjoyed his last visit. I'm getting a restraining order and everything."
"Mom!" Al said, twisting to face Kate with a face that looked oddly familiar. Another thing the girl was picking up. "That's not a good use of police resources. You wouldn't do it."
Goodness, the girl had a grip of protocol. Kate had to be more careful about things she mentioned around her daughter. "Guess we'll just have to wait and find out, won't we?" she said as she got up to get the phone to call in the pizza order.