Breaking Point

I took a quick look at the floor plan and then closed the brochure. The price of the unit was listed on the back. $399,000.

"It's too expensive," I said dismissively.

"That's the retail price," she said. "We have 15% of our inventory allocated to low-income purchasers. Sky was good enough to share with me your current salary, $78,000. We have an $85,000 threshold, so you should qualify. The reduced price is $275,000. You have to sign an agreement to live in it at least two years, otherwise the discount is forfeited."

"Is there a waiting list?" I asked. I knew there wasn't a free lunch here.

"We're taking applications now. The units are awarded on the strength of the applications."

"Who makes that determination?" I asked.

"Well, we do. I mean the management of Worthington Greens."

"How many units are discounted?"

"27."

"And how many applications have you received?"

She paused for a moment. "About 500, so far."

"So far?"

"We're taking applications through the end of the month, so a few more days."

"How do I know I'll be selected?"

"I'm pretty confident you'll be one of the finalists," she said. There was no doubt in her voice.

Being a detective, I couldn't resist testing my powers. "Let me take a wild guess. Your last name is St. Cyr?"

Her eyes brightened. She was cute. "Why yes, did you look me up?" she asked.

"No," I said, although I should have but was too lazy and thought I could just blow her off. "Just thought that might be the case."

"So what's the down payment?" I asked.

"It's 20%."

"So if my math's right, that's about $55,000," I said, suggesting that it was a lot of money.

She one upped me, suggesting for someone living there that it wasn't that much money, and sounding like I didn't belong.

"Well, in truth, it's closer to $70,000, with the closing costs."

"$70,000," I said with a sigh. "I have about $1,500 in savings."

She was nonplussed by my reaction. She'd obviously discussed this point with Sky and had a quick rejoinder.

"Sky said you have about $100,000 in your 401(k)."

"But that's my entire retirement savings," I protested.

"This is a qualified purchase. You can borrow the money out of your 401(k) without incurring the usual 10% early withdrawal penalty if you take it out as a loan."

"What if I don't want to?" I asked.

"That's up to you Max. But I can assure you that an investment in Worthington Greens, especially at the reduced price, is a sound one."

"Can you now?" I asked, being a bit snarky.

She seemed genuinely offended by my comment. "Officer Pemberton. Sky's very confident. She told me she's willing to co-sign on the mortgage."

"That's kind of her," I said sarcastically. Bibi missed my sarcasm.

"It is. Sky's a great person. But you know that."

"Yeah, I know that."

"I'll start your application. If I have some follow-up questions, can I call your cell?"

"Of course Bibi. Just out of curiosity, why are you sharing a two-bedroom apartment with Sky and two other girls. You must be well off."

She smiled. "Daddy wants me to work my way up, just like he did. I'm working as a sales associate and living off my salary."

"Well, Daddy seems to be doing a good job with you."

"Why thank you Max."

Again she missed my sarcasm, or maybe she didn't want to dignify my remark.

"Say hi to Sky when you see her tonight," I said.

"I'll do that. So we'll see you soon for an in-person visit to your unit? We can arrange it once your application is complete."

"You call me," I said.

Bibi seemed like a nice and well-meaning person. My commitment issues were making me an asshole. I didn't like that feeling, but I also didn't like making a commitment, especially one as big as that.

* * *

The Landing Point was a crusty bar on the south bank of the Ohio river. I'd been going there ever since I was a cadet. It was close to the station, and the favored gathering place for off-duty cops. My visits there were less frequent because Maddy was my best friend and Bailey's was my preferred hangout. Her recent death, though, made Bailey's a bittersweet visit. The Landing Point was more neutral ground for me, and I was good buddies with Kris, a longtime waitress who had a soft spot for me. I got there a bit early to get my thoughts together before Sky showed up.

"Max!" Kris called out when she saw me enter. She came up to me a gave me a bear hug. Kris was a big woman with a big heart, a lot like Nicky. She knew everyone at the station and knew everything that was going on.

She held me at arm's length. "It's been a while since you've been here," she said to me. "I've missed you."

"I know. I've been busy," I said, offering a lame excuse. She knew the real reasons.

"I'm sorry about Maddy."

That was one of them.

"Thank you."

"That must have been hard on you."

"It was."

"I liked her. I only met her once. Nice gal. God that's a shame."

"Thanks Kris."

"I also heard about the Kreshnevsky thing. Terrible business. Are the Russians really in Cincinnati?"

"That's what we think."

"I'm sorry," she said, leading me to an empty table. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Hudepohl draft?"

"Coming right up."

I sat at a familiar small round table. My initials along with Courtney's were carved into the heavily marred dark brown wood. I ran my finger across the carving, thinking about Courtney and how crazy she was. For her eighteenth birthday her father gave her a platinum card with a $10,000 credit limit that he paid in full every month. I met her when she was in her mid-20's. She spent 100% of her time picking up women at bars... until she met me.

We were exclusive for almost a year, which was probably eleven months longer than we both expected. She was always happy go lucky. I was the worrier, and I was worried about her. We found Kreshnevsky at her father's main warehouse. He clearly had access to the security cameras (which were turned off) and the door codes (the front door was open for Sky), so that meant her father, or someone senior in his organization, was in cahoots with the Russians. Someone was in some very, very deep shit.

Kris broke my train of thought when she returned with my beer. It was delicious in an ice-cold mug. I thought about what I'd say to Sky. I still hadn't resolved it in my mind and decided to wing it. Like I did with the rest of my life. I didn't have to wait long. The front door squeaked as it opened, and the last bit of sunshine that day came into the bar to announce her arrival. She saw me and waved.

So cute. Dark hair, thick dark eyebrows and bright green eyes. A small, compact curvy body. She was wearing her uniform, which she filled out quite nicely. I stood up and kissed her when she came up to me. The kiss lingered. The flame was still alive.

She sat down. I signaled Kris to bring another for Sky.

"So you wanted to talk Max?" she asked, eager to have the conversation.

The ball was in my court.

"Where do you want this to go Sky?" I asked, throwing the ball back to her.

"You tell me Max, that's why I'm here. I think I've made my feelings clear."

Smart girl. She wasn't going to let me off that easy.

I thought I'd start with what I knew.

"I love you Sky."

"I love you too Max."

Kris came over and served Sky. She took a sip of her beer and waited.

I let it flow, and God help me, I hoped I could live up to what I was going to say.

"I met with Bibi. I'm going to visit Worthington Greens."

She smiled. That was real progress, and a commitment.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"I want to try, Sky. I really do. I know I fucked up last time, but I have to know if I'm capable of changing. I can't change if I live in a flophouse."

"No you can't Max."

"Will you help me?"

She reached across the table and took my hand.

"Of course I will."

I was adrift at sea, but I finally saw a beacon of light. And that light was Skylar Hobson. We finished our beers and went to the Royal Palms, maybe for a farewell tour.

* * *

"We're here again," said Sky, looking at familiar surroundings. At least I'd cleaned the place up and the bed was made.

"We are," I said, opening the mini-fridge and pulling out two beers. I gave one to her.

Sky twisted the cap off and drank.

"Max, let's make love instead of having sex."

I knew what she meant. We usually had hot sex. I was her first lover, and she was an eager and enthusiastic student. But we were past that phase. This was going to be new for both of us. I took her beer away from her and kissed her, lightly but with passion.

"Ummm Max. I missed this. We don't kiss enough."

We sat on the bed and resumed the kiss. She caressed the back of my neck, and I had my arms around her narrow waist. We lost ourselves in the kiss and at that moment I felt love, and not lust.

"I love you Sky."

"Show me."

I unbuttoned her shirt while she watched me. I was deliberate with each button, kissing her bare skin as it was revealed, all the way to her belly button. I helped her take it off. I reached behind her and unclasped her bra. She shrugged it off. Her breasts were small and firm. I kissed each of her nipples, leaving them shiny. I blew on them and watched goosebumps appear. She shivered. I did too.

We fell together on the bed as I unbuttoned her pants. She lifted her hips and helped me take them down to her ankles. She kicked them off. She only had her panties on, but not for long. I kissed her on the damp material of her gusset, tasting and smelling her once again.

Sky wanted it to be romantic, but we'd been apart for too long. I doubted she'd had sex since the last time we were together, which was months. It was going to be impossible to take this slow.

She did a sexy shimmy of her hips when she slid her panties off.

"Please Max."

She spread her legs open. She was wet. She couldn't wait, and neither could I. I eagerly licked her hairless pussy, dragging my tongue up and down the glistening furrow between her swollen lips. It was heavenly, and I felt the same wetness between my legs.

"Oh God Max..." she moaned. Her hands rubbed the back of my head as I ate her slippery wet pussy.

Then she started to cry.

I stopped and looked at her. "Don't cry baby," I said to her.

"I can't help it. It's so good." She pushed my head lower. I licked her again. She used her hands to grind my face into her wetness. I sucked and licked. Her smell and taste were intoxicating. The frenzy that ensued was unavoidable. Her hips raised up as she started to cum.

"Fuck me Max. Fuck me now."

I thrust two fingers into her spasming pussy. Her slick walls pulsed with life as I fucked her.

"Ahh... ahhhh... ahhhhh" she panted as she went higher and higher and I went faster and faster.

"Max... M...M... Max!"

She started crying hard as she came.

"Ohhhhhh... ohhhhhhhh."

My fingers eased out of her as her hips sank into the bed. All I heard was her labored breathing.

I went up and gave her a sloppy kiss with her tasting herself. She threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight against her.

She kissed my ear and said "I love you Max."

* * *

Even though I didn't have to go into work until noon, my body told me to wake up at 4:30 a.m. Sky was sound asleep, and I didn't want to disturb her. I went into the nightstand drawer and retrieved a crumpled half pack of cigarettes and a disposable lighter and stepped out onto the concrete walkway in front of my room. The blackness of the night was punctuated by the security lights mounted on the walls of the building.

I was in a robe and slippers and drew the drawstring tight to keep out the cool night air. I lit a cigarette and took the first rewarding puff, blowing a smoke ring that drifted over the parking lot. I'd miss the Royal Palms, the noise, the action in the parking lot, and the debauchery. I dreaded the life in an antiseptic apartment in some white bread neighborhood in suburban Cincinnati. But I made a promise to Sky and to Lesley and it was a promise I intended to keep.

As the cigarette drew down to ash I thought about the arc of my life, from a married woman to a serial philanderer to a woman in love with another woman. It was strange to contemplate the loves won and lost, the people I'd helped and the people I'd hurt. I wanted more control over my life, rather than pinballing through it, not knowing what would happen from one day to the next. Yet the profession I chose ran against the grain of what I wanted, and I knew that my veins bled police blue.

Then I thought about Sky and a smile came to my face. How could I be so lucky as to cast her aside, and then win her back? She was the best thing that ever happened in my life. I wanted desperately not to fuck this up, for once.

I stubbed the butt out and went back into the room. Sky stirred and then rolled over on her left side. I got under the covers and spooned against her, my cold skin touching her warmth.

"Ummm, Max, is that you?" she said sleepily.

"Expecting someone else?" I asked.

"No... I just wondered where you went."

"Just out for a smoke honey," I answered.

"Come closer and hold me."

I draped my arm over her side and let my hand rest in the valley between her breasts.

She was already fast asleep.

* * *

The next day at the station I got a text from Sky telling me that she'd found something good. I grabbed Lesley and we made the trek to the other side of the station, to Homicide. Sky was in her cubicle staring intently at her screen and deep in thought.

"Hey Lesley," Sky said, looking up from her computer screen to see my partner's face. "Nice to see you in my neck of the woods." Her almond shaped eyes found their way to me.

"Hey Max."

"Sky," I said. I got lost in her deep green eyes.

Lesley interrupted our connection.

"So Max tells me that you've found something interesting."

Sky snapped to attention. "I think so. Come over here."

We crowded around her to see what was on her monitor. She scrolled through a website and stopped, pointing to the screen. I could smell her perfume. Lilacs?

I could hear that Sky was excited as she recited her find to us.

"See here? The owners of the restaurant are listed as Golden Spirit Ventures, LLC and Collins Holdings, LLC. Golden Spirit is a Delaware limited liability company. It's in turn owned by two other holding companies in Panama and the Cayman Islands. I was able to locate the formation documents and determine that the owners of Golden Spirit are Mikhail and Anya Volkov."

We'd found out earlier that Mikhail and Anya Volkov were associated with Kreshnevsky. Sky was starting to make the connection between Bratva and Cincinnati concrete. I knew she'd come through.

"The Russians. Bratva," I said.

"Precisely," Sky said in agreement. "The couple we've been looking for. Golden Spirit owns 50% of Barkov... the restaurant in the West End. Now we know it's being used as the front for their operations. We need to sit on that location and see how they're smuggling in the drugs."

"What about Collins Holdings?" I asked. Half of the puzzle was missing.

Sky showed frustration on her face. "I'm stuck on that one. It's owned in turn by three different shell companies through the British Virgin Islands, Luxembourg and Malta. I'm having a bitch of a time getting information on the ownership of those companies, so I don't have an answer."

I wasn't discouraged. I had a hunch, and my hunches were usually right.

"Somehow I've got to believe Jumbo Williams is involved in Collins. Who else could it be?" I asked rhetorically. Jumbo was the obvious partner since he had a drug distribution network in place. The Russians handled the wholesale. Jumbo handled the retail. Nice and neat.

"You're right Max," Sky fired back. "I've been looking at Jumbo's other real estate holdings in Cincinnati and none of them have Collins as an owner, so maybe it's a dead end."

"You'll figure it out," I said assuredly. Sky was a wizard at research. It was just a matter of time.

"That's great work Sky," said Lesley. Sky smiled at receiving the accolade. I rested my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

"So Max tells me she's moving soon," Lesley said, saying what was really on her mind. The personal stuff was much more interesting than chasing a bunch of drug dealers.

Sky stood up and put her arm around me. "She's finally biting the bullet and getting out of the Royal Palms."

"Thank God," said Lesley, looking skeptically at me. "I thought you'd never do it."

"It's not a done deal yet," I said, much to Sky's chagrin.

Lesley knew I was a worm wiggling on the end of a hook.

"It ain't over till it's over," Lesley said, repeating her favorite Yogi Berra-ism.

* * *

"Good work," Odette said to me, looking at the screen prints from Sky's research. "Campos called me and authorized Hobson to stay on this project a few more weeks to track down the Russian connection."

"We're going to need more manpower for the surveillance, and maybe a tap," I said. I was going to strike while the iron was hot.

"I've already thought about it," said Billie. "I can free up Martinez and Kennedy, but that's it. We're stretched a bit thin already, and I don't have enough budget for the overtime you need."

"We can put in some extra hours... off the clock. Isn't that right Lesley?" I said to her, looking for her support.

My erstwhile partner shrugged her shoulders. "I love sitting in a freezing cold car drinking shitty coffee and talking to you Max," she said sarcastically. But behind the complaining, she was a gamer like me. She could smell blood and so could I. We were sharks, and it was feeding time.

Billie made sure to temper our enthusiasm. "You guys be careful out there. You saw what happened to Lily."

I was all too aware of what happened to Lily. These folks were vicious and unforgiving. Lily was dead, and Sky had almost joined her. But this was my job, and I couldn't help but do it well. I had too much skin in this game to give up now.

"We will be Lieutenant," I said. I'd give my life to protect Sky and Lesley.

"One last thing. We've heard some buzz that there's a big shipment coming in next week. The heroin on the street is coming in weak, and that means the dealers are cutting the potency of what they've got left until the new shipment arrives. See if you can find out if that's true. And find out if somehow Jumbo Williams is involved in this mess."

"We're on it," I said. "And thank you for the resource."

Odette and I both had Jumbo on our minds. He was out of prison and somehow had to generate income. He only knew how to do one thing, deal drugs.

* * *

I didn't want to get near the restaurant until I had the resources to do it right. I didn't want to tip our hand, like I did last time when Kreshnevsky spotted us and set us up at the warehouse. There was one other angle I wanted to explore. Possibly their weak link. Kreshnevsky had some sort of tie to Jim Landry.

Landry was the biggest car dealer in Cincinnati, and it was Landry's warehouse where my shootout with Kreshnevsky occurred. Kreshnevsky was fencing new cars, and it was our working theory that Landry was moving cars out the back door and claiming they were stolen, thus collecting twice on the same vehicle. We knew that Landry was behind on his debt that supported his collection of dealerships. I was discussing how we'd approach the Landry angle with Lesley in the breakroom when Sky made an unexpected appearance.

"Looks like you two are thick as thieves," she said, seeing us with papers scattered all over a break room table.

"Not thieves, we're the good guys," said Lesley. "We're looking over the intel I've collected on Jim Landry."

Sky's face flashed recognition, and brief horror. "He owns the warehouse."

"Right," said Lesley. "And he's in trouble. And trouble spells opportunity. Max and I are just trying to figure out how to get inside and see if he knows something. I'm pretty sure he's fencing his unsold inventory to raise cash, but it's only a theory."