Vasquez gulped the last of her drink and sat back in her chair. Maybe the word was right. Maybe it would be a relief to give up on this case. She pursed her lips, not liking the idea. Then she looked back at Johansen and a new idea formed.
“What were you about to suggest before they arrived?” she asked him.
He glanced at her and blinked for a moment in confusion. “Oh, that maybe we should go to the bar for another drink.”
“An excellent suggestion,” she smiled.
His face slowly melted as they eyed one another for several quiet seconds. Then she felt another hot flash of embarrassment over what she was thinking. She got up and headed for the bar. He picked up the bill and followed her.
Events flowed smoothly and naturally for the rest of the evening. First, they had more drinks. They stuck to margaritas, and by the time she had finished her third he was done with his fifth. She didn’t drink much, and as she was small, the effects left her floating somewhere just above the surface of her barstool.
Together, without any planning conversation, they headed across the street to the Ramada where they were currently staying. The flowing river of white headlights and red taillights that formed I-80 looked surreal and almost magical. Johansen stood beside her as they looked down the grassy embankment at the roaring swooshing cars. A breeze came up and ruffled her hair, which had somehow come down and now hung all around her face in a soft circle.
She looked at him, smiled and put her finger to her lips. He smiled back, looking mildly perplexed and curious. She knew this was absolutely not like her, but she didn’t care. She thought that Johansen must be all but baffled at any kind of playfulness, and the thought made her smile.
She took his hand and led him up the concrete steps to her room. After a few seconds of fumbling with the key and giggling, they slipped into the room and shut the door behind them.
In the dark room he reached for the light switch, but she put a hand on his to stop him. At that moment-at that touch-she felt a real electric tingle. It was strong, almost magnetic. There, in the dark, her fingers felt incredibly small and delicate against his blocky hand. She took his hand away from the light switch and guided it up to cup her left breast. That one was slightly larger than her right and she hoped like a high-schooler that he would be impressed by the weight and firmness of it. She could hear his breathing now. It had grown heavy with desire.
Johansen needed no more encouragement. He swept her up for their first kiss. It was hot, wet and suffocatingly long. When it was over, she wondered how they had possibly held out for so many months.
After that, things progressed quickly. Soon he was on the bed with her, and she was glad she was still on the pill, despite nearly a year’s worth of abstinence. As gently and delicately as he could with his great weight and strength, he ravaged her.
They kissed hotly for a time, still saying not a word. It was much better that way, she knew. To hear his voice might ruin everything, might make her freeze up and realize what she was doing, how crazy it was.
She learned that his belly wasn’t flabby. It was as rock-hard and ribbed as his back. Years of habitually working out in the gym had given him a body beneath those ill-fitting suits that was a pleasure to her senses.
When she finally realized that her panties were off and he was entering her, she gave a gasp of surprise and mild pain. He was big, even bigger than she had expected. She was a small woman, and out of practice. She knew that if he thrust with abandon it was going to hurt a lot.
He seemed to sense this and proceeded to move his bulk over her slowly and probed only shallowly at first. Only when she began to moan and clutch at him did he allow himself the luxury of sinking in more deeply.
He came quickly, but she beat him to it. She surprised herself, as she rarely had an orgasm during just straight intercourse without additional stimulation. It felt wonderful.
After he sighed and slid off of her, she spooned herself up against him and finally felt fully relaxed. She grunted as she checked the alarm. It was set for six, which would have to do.
She feared that he would want to begin pillow-talking, that he would want to know what this all meant, and many other questions that she had no answers to. She was greatly relieved when he kept up their pact of silence.
For the first time in years, she fell asleep without fussing with her hair nor brushing her teeth.
Her last thought was of a single word: Relieved.
… 12 Hours and Counting…
The time for “the talk” didn’t come in the morning, either. Sex again, instead. Even before the alarm went off, she found him gently touching her back and leaving tiny cold spots with his kisses. He entered her again and soon she was clutching the sheets and thrusting herself back onto him with an animal rhythm.
He went back to his room later to dress, leaving her only with a long kiss at the door. She smiled after him, letting her head loll to one side. She couldn’t believe a man could be so smart. He had said nothing. Nothing at all. There was simply nothing for her to attach her fears to, nothing to worry about all day. He had voiced no expectations or concerns. The warm glow of the night was complete, and it was up to her to decide when she wanted to talk.
She concluded that the man was a genius. Chuckling to herself as she showered and dressed, she wondered if she might be in love.
After a gulped breakfast, they headed for the police station, not wanting to be late. They beat Verr and his partner by a long shot. At first, she was pleased when they didn’t show up right away. Better that the other team should be late, that gave them an advantage.
By the time the eight o’clock shift of cops arrived and they were still waiting in the conference room, however, she was furious. Uniforms walked by the open door with their coffee and donuts and casually gave them a look of mixed amusement and pity.
She saw two of them nudge one another and rudely point their way. One of them raised his eyebrows as he delivered a punch line. The other guffawed so violently that he coffee dribbled onto his pants. Setting the white Styrofoam cup on a desk, he continued to laugh as he brushed off his pants.
She got up and slammed the conference room door.
“This is intolerable. They plan to screw us good with this one.”
“Yep,” said Johansen. He leaned back in his chair and watched her stalk about the room. She noticed that he was leering and underneath she enjoyed it, but was too pissed off to let that come to the surface.
“What exactly does that relief order say?” she demanded for perhaps the twelfth time in the last hour.
He somehow had managed to keep from becoming ruffled throughout this entire affair. She knew it had a great deal to do with last night, with her. He positively looked like the coyote that had finally caught and eaten that damned road-runner. It both gratified her and slightly irritated her to know this.
“We are summarily relieved of this case,” he greatly paraphrased.
“What case?”
“The location and apprehension of suspects in the release of a new, hitherto unknown virus upon the internet.”
She paced again, nodding. “Okay, okay.”
“Okay what?”
“It didn’t say anything about the missing kid case.”
“So?”
“So they missed the meeting. We’re going to do something,” she said, grabbing up her purse and briefcase.
“What?”
“Screw them instead.”
… 8 Hours and Counting…
Ray knew the end was near when the water entered the trunk. It was cold, but it actually felt good as it soaked his back. He had managed to roll onto his back so that he wouldn’t drowned immediately. He thought seriously about trying to get a drink. He had been raging with thirst all night long, but he dared not turn his face into the water lest he slip and die writhing like a slug that inches too close to the edge of a swimming pool and drowns.