Betrayal

She went lower again, planting a row of kisses from my navel to my pussy, spending time kissing and licking each lip before delving into the center of pleasure. My hips arched towards her, searching for her lips. Instead, I was rewarded with her fingers, gliding across my wet skin and gently massaging my clitoral hood. I let go of a sigh when she put two fingers inside me, copious moisture allowing her immediate and full penetration.

All of our mutual baggage was cast aside so we could enjoy the pleasures of each other's flesh. She fucked me with her fingers while lashing my nipple with her tongue. Her experience in matters of sex became evident when my orgasm was an explosion of color. Powerful waves of muscular contraction made my body shake.

"Oh God... Brianna," was all I could force out before pleasure blocked out all of my other receptors.

She rested her head on the inside of my thigh, capturing a stray drop of moisture on the hairs of my pussy with a flick of her tongue. Random spasms continued to course through me. It was same kind of bliss Brianna undoubtedly felt with the poke of a needle. I didn't think I was in love with Brianna, but I was in love with what she could do with me and to me.

The exhilaration and exhaustion of the ride, and the drag of the drugs, quickly brought her to a woozy state as she rested her head against me, for once in the loving arms of someone she could trust. She fell asleep, and I too after not too long, the lights in the room burning bright until deep into the night.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with Brianna's head cradled in my arm. The bright morning sun had pulled me out of the first restful slumber I'd had in months. Brianna sat up and stretched her arms, long lean limbs that I instantly wanted to kiss. Even without make-up she was beautiful, and I tried to enjoy her natural look before the cravings of her dark soul needed to be fed.

I sat up with her and kissed her. We were both naked, and our skin, still clammy from a deep sleep, stuck against each other as we embraced. It was almost painful to pull apart. I stared at her nude body, easily the most beautiful woman I'd been with, and that included Rachel. Then the ugly red marks scarring her arms and the sallowness of the skin on her face reminded me that her body had never healed from the abuse she undoubtedly suffered during her life.

Her craving took priority over everything else in her life, including most certainly me. As an alcoholic, I knew the price everyone around me paid for my behavior, and she was extracting the same price from me. Now unabashed, she measured out the white powder in her discolored spoon, heating the mixture with a lighter, and then dipping the needle in the bubbling froth. I couldn't bear to watch any more. I just knew that for the next few hours I'd lose her to another world that I wasn't allowing into.

I needed to get ready for work. I had perfect attendance since I returned and I wanted to keep my record unblemished. I had no idea if she would be there when I returned, or for that matter if I'd ever see her again. That kind of instability made it impossible to consider the possibility of a relationship. I just had to experience my time with her as found money.

I was trying hard not to fall in love with her. That was a dead end road.

* * *

Chapter Six

Trying to Find the Road Home

Lanny was in a frisky mood. He'd bought a dozen donuts and had already brewed a pot of coffee using my select beans.

"Why the happy face?" I asked him. This was out of the ordinary.

"Message from a Senior Special Agent Carl Banks to call him."

"You know what that means?" I was excited, and I hadn't yet had my coffee.

"It means we've snagged our prey."

He handed me a mug of coffee and a chocolate old fashioned donut. I took a sip of the piping hot beverage and broke off a crispy edge of the doughnut and called my old friend from college. It didn't hurt to have a college roommate who became an FBI agent.

"You want to know who called me." I liked Carl. He was straight to the point.

"You can't imagine."

"Lieutenant Raymond Driscoll."

I blinked my eyes hard. I reported directly to Driscoll. He was of course privy to all the goings on at the station given his rank. Why him? And why was he connected to Alan Parsons? I had a hard time believing he was the leak.

"Did he ask about Lester?"

"He did."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him that Lester was a person of interest in our investigation and that's all I was able to disclose."

"Did he accept your answer?"

"He had to."

"Oh Max."

"Yeah?"

"Rachel."

"What about her?"

"We're pretty sure it was it was a military style knife with a serrated edge. In the armpit area where the vest doesn't cover."

"How could that have happened?"

"Maybe someone Rachel recognized. That's the only way the perp could get that close.

The answer came to me instantly. Who would have knowledge of the soft spots around a bulletproof vest, and who could get that close to Rachel? There was only one person that fit that bill. Steph. She was formerly with our force, and knew Rachel well. That moment of recognition would make Rachel lower her guard for just a second -- long enough for Steph to get close.

"Max... you OK?"

"Yeah... just thinking about what you just said. Thanks for fielding the call."

"It was nothing. Anything for you Max. You know that."

"I owe you."

"Forget about it."

* * *

"So what did Carl say?" Lanny asked, after hovering over me. I thought he was close enough to hear both sides of the conversation.

I looked around. There was no one in the room except us. "It was Driscoll."

"No fucking way."

I looked at Lanny with the "I'm not shitting you" look.

His eyes rolled upward as he was processing this information.

"So Banks stonewalled him."

"Of course. He doesn't really know anything about Lester."

"So there's a good chance that Parsons and Driscoll suspect you fed them false information to smoke out their relationship with each other."

"A very good chance. Parsons is a rat, but a smart one."

"Shit, Max. Driscoll is your supervisor. This is like the situation with Steph."

"Worse. Steph didn't have someone covering for her in City Hall."

"Right."

"What are we going to do?"

"I'm working on it."

In truth, I never anticipated it would be Driscoll. I thought it would be some line officer or someone in the front office. I had a hard time accepting that my boss was a dirty cop.

* * *

I didn't get back to my room until late that night. Brianna wasn't there and her bag was gone. Just like a wisp of wind. I didn't want to feel an emotional connection to her but I couldn't help it. I wondered where she was and whether she was safe. I'm sure her parents, and whoever else loved her, had reluctantly severed that emotional connection because of her drug use.

I thought about the convenience store, and the vodka that had my name on it, but decided again to take a pass. Sobriety was a day to day proposition. It had been thirty-five days since my last drink.

This information about Driscoll was eating away at me. In the little time that I knew him he seemed like a stand up guy. He'd been with the department less than a year, so how could he become enmeshed with Jumbo's organization in so short a time? And how was he connected to Alan Parsons? It didn't add up.

I spent a sleepless night thinking about Brianna and Driscoll. Two enigmas. Just like me.

* * *

Lanny was still in a good mood. Coffee and donuts again. He was joking with a couple of the female officers when I came into the breakroom. He cut off his conversation and poured me a cup of coffee. I rifled through the donut box. All the chocolate old fashioneds were already gone. I cursed under my breath.

Lanny was always watching my back. He was holding small white wax paper bag that he handed to me. There was a chocolate old fashioned in it. I smiled.

"Saved one for you boss. Had to protect it from all the vultures."

"Bless you Lanny." I broke off a piece and washed it down with hot coffee.

"So how did your date with Chelsea go? Judging by the coffee and donuts, I'd say it went well."

Lanny gave me his goofy smile. "I don't kiss and tell."

"That means it went well."

He pursed his lips and ran his finger across them indicating they were zipped.

"Fine... fine," I said to him. "No details."

I sat in the breakroom and enjoyed my unhealthy breakfast when an idea came to me. I waited until Lanny and I were sitting in our patrol car.

"Do you think Chelsea would do a favor for us?"

He gave me a dirty look. "What kind of favor?"

"I'd like to take a peek at Driscoll's personnel file."

"Ohhh," Lanny replied. "You mean the kind of favor that could get her, you and me fired."

"When you put it that way...". I know it didn't sound good.

"That's a heavy lift, Max. Are you sure we need to do this?"

"I'm not sure how else we're going to be sure that Driscoll is the leak and we have no idea how he's connected to Parsons."

Lanny balked. "Before we consider a career ending decision, why don't we find out why Driscoll left Columbus?"

Lanny had a point.

"I agree," I told him. "Why don't I make a phone call?" I had history with a detective in homicide there.

* * *

At the end of the day I had a few minutes to give Detective Lehka Singh a call. A few years back I was working a double homicide, and there was a related murder in Columbus that she connected with my case. I ended up spending a couple months working with her. Lehka was a closeted lesbian, and she and I had a brief, but memorable affair.

Lehka was first generation Indian, her parents emigrating from Hyderabad so her father could accept a position as an engineer with a local auto parts manufacturer. She shunned her parents attempt at an arranged marriage, and also forsook medical school to become a police officer. At the time I knew her, she hadn't yet told her parents about her sexual orientation, as she feared that revelation might have been the final straw in their strained relationship.

Lehka was a very attractive woman, with a pleasing olive complexion and long dark, wavy hair. She was unusually full breasted, which made her advancement in the police force a constant topic of speculation. We were very discreet with our relationship, and I doubt that many on the force knew her true proclivities.

I missed her, and always wondered if I was living in Columbus whether we would have gotten together.

She was still in my contacts list, and I hit the number for her mobile.

"Max! Good to hear your voice," she said. Her voice was as sweet and melodious as I remembered.

"What's new?" I asked her.

"Rina's starting kindergarten."

Rina was Lehka's goddaughter, and the apple of her eye. Time was passing quickly. "It seemed like yesterday that she was just a baby."

"I know. Jey and Darika are trying for number two."

I remembered meeting them. "I wish them success."

"Hey, sorry about Rachel."

"Thanks."

"I'm sure she was a sweet girl." I shared pictures with Lehka but she never had a chance to meet her.

"Uh huh." I'm sure Lehka could hear the sadness in my voice.

"So what's up?" she asked, thankfully changing the subject.

"Raymond Driscoll."

There was a pause on the line. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did he leave?"

"The official version?"

"Of course not. I want to know what really happened."

"Not to be repeated."

"Only to my partner."

"Lanny?"

"Uh huh."

"Officially, he resigned. Unofficially, he was pushed out. I heard there was an IA investigation into corruption in the force. Three officers resigned, including Driscoll. You draw your own conclusion."

"Driscoll seems like a stand up guy."

"Everyone knew he had a gambling problem."

Now the pieces were fitting together.

"I'll make it up there for an OSU game sometime," I told her. Lehka's family had tickets on the forty yard line.

"Anytime Max. You know you're always welcome here."

"Thanks for the information."

"Max."

"Yeah."

"Are you seeing anyone?"

I wasn't really seeing Brianna, not in that sense. "No," I answered.

There was a long pause.

"I miss you," she said.

Was that door still open? I hadn't thought about it, not until that moment.

"I'll call you when this case is over."

"I'd like that. You take care of yourself Max."

"You too."

* * *

I told Lanny all about my conversation with Lehka. Driscoll was no choir boy. Looked like he was a problem that moved on to us. There was one more piece of the puzzle we needed.

"Lanny, you need to ask Chelsea. Do you think she's up to it?"

"She can always say no," I added.

"You know what's at stake. Your call Lanny."

* * *

Chapter Seven

Betrayal

I'd fastidiously avoided H.R. my whole career. Yet here I was, in the belly of the beast. Chelsea had drawn the blinds on her office window while Lanny and I camped out there. Chelsea was a sweetheart of a girl, much too good for my partner. A petite blonde, smart and curvy. Lanny did a good job prepping her, telling her that there was a serious leak in the department, and that it likely contributed to the death of one of our officers. We chatted for a bit, and then she took Lanny to the breakroom for a cup of coffee.

"Want anything Max?" she asked.

"Lanny knows what I want," I told her.

They stepped out of the office. Chelsea "forgot" to lock her computer, and her screen was coincidentally on Ray Driscoll's file. I got behind her desk and scrolled through the page, looking for a connection. I went partway down the page and found what I was looking for. "Referred by Alan Parsons."

So it was Alan who forwarded Ray's resume to H.R. as a potential hire. One of the attachments was a letter of reference signed by Alan. In it, he recited that they worked together at a regional police association. I printed out the relevant pages. I had what I needed.

I locked the computer and scooted over to a guest chair, having tucked the printed pages into my carry bag. Lanny and Chelsea came in with their coffees. Lanny had one for me.

"So what possessed you to date this goof?" I asked her. I tasted the coffee. My blend and perfectly brewed.

She tugged on his ear. "I have no idea."

"He is capable of making a good cup of coffee, but I think little else," I noted for her benefit.

"You guys know I'm here, don't you?" my much maligned partner asked.

"We hadn't noticed, but it's good to have you," I said.

We continued giving Lanny a hard time until our coffees were gone. I gave Chelsea a wink on the way out.

"He's a good kid. I'm the bad influence," I told her.

She winked back. "I know."

* * *

I was fresh out of ideas. I was sure that Driscoll was the leak and that Parsons running the show. I just didn't know how to expose Parsons. He was crafty, and likely didn't leave his fingerprints many places (though I'm sure he never dreamed someone would access Driscoll's personnel file). I figured something would come to me.

It was a typical hot and muggy summer night. I was drinking a Vernor's ginger ale and fidgeting with a cigarette on the balcony outside of my motel room. I spotted Brianna strolling across the parking lot as if she didn't have a care in the world. She was wearing her work clothes, which meant she was hardly wearing anything.

I swear to God that Brianna must have been a cat in a prior life. Aloof, shows up when she wants to, but when she wants to be petted, she's all over you. Apparently she was craving attention at that moment.

"Hey Max," she called up. She held up a white paper bag. "Got Graeter's."

She knew Graeter's was my weak spot. Best ice cream in Cincinnati. I was an old fashioned girl. Just give me vanilla. Brianna clomped up the stairs in her platform heels and handed me the bag.

"Rent money."

I opened the bag. A pint of hand packed vanilla and a spoon. Her eyes were a bit glazed. Must have done her thing before she arrived. I opened the carton and starting eating straight out of it, leaning on the balcony railing. She reached in the bag and pulled out a second spoon. I held the carton between us and we both were eating out of it.

"You've ruined me Max." I introduced Brianna to Graeter's. Now she wouldn't eat any other brand.

"Yeah, in more ways than one." I slid my hand across her skin tight hot pants, cupping her cute tushy.

"Now Max. Do you think I'm that kind of girl?"

I moved my hand between her legs and rubbed her camel toe. "I know you are." I took her inside and licked the rest of the ice cream off her body.

* * *

I was still sweating and sticky after we had sex. I found out that the idea of licking ice cream off a woman's private parts was better than the reality. It was really messy. We spent more time laughing than anything else.

I ran my finger across her bare leg. "... so we're kind of stuck right now."

I was explaining to Brianna that I was trying to figure out how to extract information from Alan Parsons. I needed someone on the inside.

"I can do it," she said.

.

"No."

"Really. I can do it. Does he like girls?"

"I think so," I replied.

As far as I knew, Alan was heterosexual. There was no doubt that Brianna was sexy. But my gut told me this wasn't a good idea.

Brianna was surprisingly persistent. "Max, I've never done anything important in my whole life. Is this important... getting information from this Alan Parsons guy?"

"Yes," I admitted. But I wanted to reiterate my reservations, "But that doesn't make it a good idea."

"Let me try."

I figured there was another way to discourage her. "What about those?" I pointed to the needle tracks on her arms.

She took a deep breath. "I can wear long sleeves."

"But what about..." I started to ask.

"Look Max, the most he's going to get is a blowjob out of me."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"So here's what I think we should do...". I went on to explain how I thought we could get her in front of Alan and what I needed from him. She was going to ad lib her approach. I wanted to shake my bad feeling.

* * *

"So what's this meeting about?" Alan asked me. I was surprised he took my call. Maybe he liked to keep his enemies close.

"We're doing a profile on the Mayor's office for our police newsletter. I want to bring a freelance writer we've hired to prepare the article. I was hoping she could interview you."

"I'm really busy...".

"I'd consider it a favor to the police department...". I held my breath.

"Well... um... ok... let me check my calendar." I gave him a few seconds. "I could meet tomorrow after my last appointment... 5:30?"

"Perfect."

Brianna was standing next to me while I made the call. "Max, you'll get me a list of questions?" she asked after I hung up.

"Of course." I knew somebody at the Enquirer who owed me a favor.

* * *

I was finishing some paperwork at my desk when my burner phone rang. The one tied to the one I gave the comely Heather Murtaugh. It took her a while, but she finally got up the courage to call me.

"Max, it's Heather... Heather Murtaugh." How many Heathers did I give this phone number to? She was it. But I appreciated the fact that she thought I could somehow forget her sizzling hot body.

"Yeah, Heather, what's up?" I asked as casually as I could. I was actually dying to hear what she wanted to tell me.

"You asked me about Alan. I... uh..."

I could sense a lot of hesitancy in her voice. "Heather, this is just between you and me. No one will know about this phone call."

"OK... yeah... so Alan... he's been hiding this guy... I think his name is Lester something... anyway I wanted to let you know that Lester slipped away and they're looking for him."