Deception

"Sorry. It's all I got," I told her. I wanted her to understand who I was and where I came from. It would come out eventually anyway.

"It's fine Max. I've . . . I've just never been in a place like this."

I would have guessed that, given she wasn't a prostitute or a junkie.

Then she came up to me close. She pulled up her skirt to her waist. Her panties were long gone, probably still on the floor of the car. Clearly her desire for me outweighed her nervousness.

"I've never been touched like that before," she admitted.

I thrust my finger inside her and started rubbing her "g" spot.

"You mean like this?"

"Uh huh," she said dreamily.

"You're naughty Leah, do you know that?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you want me to make you cum again?"

"Uh huh."

"Tell me Leah."

I liked hearing it. She had to come out of her shell. I wanted her to say it to me.

She laid on her back on the bed and raised her knees, opening them for me.

"I want you to fuck me Max. Fuck me hard."

That's my girl.

I put two fingers inside her and curled them. My fingertips raked the upper wall of her pussy. Her hips were moving in time with my hand so I knew it was what she wanted. I felt the muscles inside her pussy twitch, and then clamp down hard. That's what I wanted to feel. .

I knew where to find that special place inside her. I found it the first time I fingered her. I could feel the small blood vessels in her pussy pulse with life. Her first orgasm in the backseat of the car was just a warm-up. I wanted to make her cum again and cum harder.

"Max . . . too . . . intense . . ." she said between panting breaths. Her legs locked together and she arched her back in an inverted "U" as her body heaved. I started to pull out and she grabbed my wrist.

"No, not yet," she huffed.

She wanted more. I wanted more.

I tapped on her foot. "Raise your knees and your feet at the same level."

She did. Her ass was mine.

"What are you . . " she started to ask. Then she thought better of it. She knew what I wanted. I was going to finger myself to an orgasm while I tongue fucked her ass. I could see her plump ass cheeks quivering in anticipation.

The tip of my tongue was inside her. Her anal ring winked.

"Oh . . . fuck . . .yeah . . ." she said in her slutty voice.

I promised her the gutter.

I always keep my promises.

* * *

It's always weird waking up next to somebody you just met the night before. At first you have to remember who it was. I woke up first, 4:30 a.m. sharp. Leah of course was sound asleep facing away from me and softly snoring. I pulled the covers back just a bit so I could look at the smooth skin on her back and the pleasing flare from her narrow waist to her wide hips. A gentle curve that rose and fell with each measured breath. I ran my hand through her fine strands of hair, eliciting a contented sigh.

"Leah, you're a beautiful woman," I told her below a whisper as I traced my finger along the line of her hip.

She rolled over. "I heard that," she said sleepily.

"Yeah? Are you sure you're not dreaming?" I asked her, letting the back of my hand brush against her nipple.

She reached over and touched my face.

"No. You're real."

"Want to do something?" I asked.

"Like what?" she asked back, opening her eyes wide and propping herself up on her elbows.

"Like it's my turn?" I suggested. It was always the right time for sex.

She sat straight up, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll tell you what. Let's take a shower together and I'll take my turn."

I was wearing a men's medium size plain white t-shirt as my pajama top, well-worn so it was practically see through. I think it belonged to my ex-husband. She couldn't resist cupping my breast through it.

"I thought we were going to take a shower first," I said, playfully scolding her.

"I couldn't help myself," she confessed.

"Most can't when it comes to my tits."

"So big," she said, helping herself to more.

"You like them that way, don't you?" I asked rhetorically.

I pulled the tee over my head. "Want a sample now?"

Her eyes said "yes."

"Uh huh," she muttered.

She cupped my breast and sucked on the nipple at the same time.

"Ummmm," I moaned. She wasn't as experienced as Courtney, but she made up for it with her enthusiasm. It was feeling too good. I forgot about the shower. I laid on my back and opened my knees wide. We'd already gone past the point of no return.

"Leah, please," I implored her.

"You're naughty," she said to me as if it was a fact in dispute.

"I know I am," I told her. "Now show me how naughty you are."

Leah didn't seem to have any more inhibitions with me.

She pushed my knees further apart and started licking me, pushing the soft, wet folds of my labia apart and then spearing me with her tongue.

"Uh huh," I grunted back at her in a hoarse voice. Bullseye.

She pinched my nipples while she was licking me. I locked my knees around her head.

"Fuck yes." She wasn't just eating me, she was devouring me.

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and heard the familiar roar of the ocean in my ears. She was making me cum hard. I couldn't breathe. The pleasure came in ripples from my ass to my head.

"Please . . . Leah."

I pleaded with her when it was too sensitive, making me squirm under her. Even though I begged her she wouldn't stop.

I had to push her head away. She whined when I did it. Her faced was smeared with my pussy juice.

"Was that naughty enough Max?" she asked me, flashing devilish eyes.

"It was extra naughty. You ready for more?" I asked her back.

I put my hand on her thigh. It was evident she worked out. Hard muscles under that soft looking exterior.

She took my wrist and placed my hand over her sopping wet pussy.

"You tell me."

There was a lot more to Leah than met the eye.

* * *

I was restless and wide awake when Leah went back to asleep. I got dressed and left her a note to call me. I slipped out the door for a walk around the neighborhood. At 5:30 a.m. there wasn't a whole lot of action. A few junkies passed out on flattened cardboard boxes on the sidewalk and a stray dog or two sniffing around for scraps. There was a small amount of pre-dawn light and the streetlights hadn't gone off.

I walked three blocks to Happy Donut, an all-night donut and coffee shop, figuring I'd hang out there until Leah woke up. The shop was owned by a nice Vietnamese couple who I'd helped out when they were being harassed by some local teenagers. Fortunately, they were too small to attract the attention of the Vietnamese gang that still controlled the neighborhood. When I walked in there was no one in the front of the shop. The door chime sounded and the wife, a diminutive woman in her 50's, came out from behind a beaded curtain.

"Good morning Max. Haven't seen you around lately," she said, pouring a cup of coffee from the Bunn coffee maker without me asking.

"Usual?" she asked me. She brought the coffee to a small table I sat at next to the shop's large plate glass window.

"Make it two. Might take one back to the room."

Her given name was Binh, but everyone called her Bea. Her eyes twinkled when I said it. She knew me too well.

"Company back in the room?" she asked me with her back to me.

"That's very perceptive of you Bea."

"You only order two when you have a lady friend in your room."

"Am I that obvious?"

She went behind the counter to retrieve my donut. She put it on a small plate and came around to my table, sliding it in front of me.

"Yes," she answered.

I guess I was.

"New one?" she asked, hovering over me like my mother would do.

"Uh huh," I answered, as if I was still a teenager.

"The other one too young for you," she told me, not being able to help herself from offering me unsolicited advice.

I'd brought Courtney in after one of our fuck-a-thons. Everyone judges, even the owner of the donut shop.

"You're right," I conceded.

"She dump you?"

I'd been going to this donut shop for five years. Bea was never known for her tact.

"Uh huh."

"Figures. I told you she too young for you."

"Thanks mom," I said, mocking her.

She reached to take the donut away from me.

"Hey!"

"Don't make fun of me. I try to give you good advice." She let go of the plate.

I held up my hands in surrender. "OK."

"So who this new girl?"

She was clearly bored, but so was I.

I broke off the crispy edge of the donut, ate it, and washed it down with hot coffee. Heaven.

"I met her at Bailey's. She runs some sort of health food business in the city."

"Funny with you eating donut," she observed. She cackled at her own joke. "Bailey's? Maddy a good girl. How she doing?"

Bea had a good memory. Maddy and I used to frequent the donut shop when I was still in the Academy and had some free time on the weekends.

"Good, good."

Bea leaned closer to look at my bloodshot eyes.

"You don't look so good."

I wanted to tell her that when you are up all night fucking and drinking it will do that to you. I resisted.

"Yeah, been up late at night."

She rolled her eyes. New stayover girlfriend. Bloodshot eyes. She got the picture even though I didn't draw it for her.

"I pack up the other donut for your friend," she said.

* * *

Leah texted me at six. I went back to the room with the donut and a hot cup of coffee for her. She was sitting up in bed going through her emails on her phone.

I handed her the white wax paper bag and the cardboard coffee cup.

"Breakfast in bed. You shouldn't have," she told me, though clearly I should have.

She opened the bag. "Ohhh. Chocolate old fashioned. My favorite."

"Nothing but the best for my new girl."

She looked up at me.

"Am I your new girl?" she asked me.

"Only if you want to be."

"Based on a limited sample size of one night, I would say yes."

Spoken like a nerd. But I appreciated the affirmation.

"I really like you," I told her.

"I'm still deciding," she said, taking her first sip of coffee.

"Shut up."

She held her thumb and forefinger an inch apart. "Maybe I like you just a little bit."

I slipped my hand under the covers and found her sex, still sticky and the hairs matted from the thorough attention from my tongue.

"Whoa, isn't it a bit soon for another round?"

"Not for me."

She broke off a piece of the donut and gave it to me.

"Why don't you eat this instead of me? I need to get up and take a shower. I've got a client meeting at eight."

"It's a poor second," I said as I munched on the donut fragment.

* * *

Leah and I decided to get together again for dinner in a day or two at Nicky's. I'd been bragging about the fried chicken so of course she wanted to sample it. The sting of Courtney's abrupt departure had lessened with Leah's arrival, but it was too raw of a loose end to leave it where it was. I still had about an hour before my noon shift started so I decided to give my former lover a call.

"Max," she said when answering.

"Courtney. The other night was a bit of a shock."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm really not like that. It's just that DaVanna is . . .". She paused to find the right word.

"Captivating?" I said, completing her thought.

"Yes, that's it. I felt like I was caught up in a whirlwind."

"And did you ..."

"We did."

"I figured as much." There was no way that it wasn't going to end up in either Courtney's bed or DaVanna's.

"So Max. Apologies. The sex was great. I really like you. But I'm not interested in a relationship with anyone right now, including DaVanna. I'd like to see you again sometime if you're willing."

If I had any pride I would have said no. But I couldn't give a flat "no" to world class sex.

"Let me think on that one," I said instead.

"I saw you were with someone else at Bailey's. Is that working out?"

"So far."

"Good. I'm happy for you. We good?"

"I'm working on it, but we should be," I told her. I was a wimp. I admit it.

"Great. You've got my number. If you're interested in seeing me again, just call."

Complicated. You must know that everything Max touches becomes complicated.

Chapter Five

Gay or Straight?

Lesley and I were tasked with routine surveillance of a drug dealer's safe house in the West End. Our informant told us there was going to be a significant drop of drugs and money that night. Our job was to watch the residence from a distance and call in when there was activity. We got there at four in the afternoon and brought a cooler filled with sandwiches and drinks.

We settled in for what promised to be a long night. About an hour into it I finally got up the nerve to ask Lesley about her personal life. Even though we'd been partners for a while, Lesley was tight lipped about her love life. I knew she wasn't married, but that was about it. She was too cute not to attract attention, but she never surrendered a name. I usually respected my partner's desire for privacy, but curiosity got the best of me.

"So Lesley, seeing anyone lately?"

"You mean like a date?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

"Finally got up the courage to ask me?"

"I guess."

"The answer is no."

"OK."

She reached into the cooler to retrieve a Diet Coke. She had an open bag of potato chips and started to eat one.

Talk about tight with information. "So that's it?" I asked her.

"That's what?" she asked back, playing dumb, and making my questioning increasingly uncomfortable for me.

"That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Well Max, that's all you asked me."

"All right Miss Tight Lips, are you straight or gay?"

Surprisingly, she wasn't offended by my question and instead thought about it.

"I'm not sure," she answered.

"That could mean a lot of things," I observed, then stealing a chip from her bag.

"Max, I'll spell it out to you," she blurted. "You know I'm not one to talk about these things, but given that I'm going to be cooped up in the car with you for God knows how long and that you're going to peck away at me until I talk, here's where I am. I've dated both guys and girls. I like both. I don't like labels. I don't think of myself as bisexual. I think of myself as open minded. I want to find someone that I can relate to and can love. It could be man. It could be a woman. Satisfied?"

That was a mouthful and more than I expected.

"I am."

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure."

We ended up talking mostly about me. About Courtney. About Leah. About my fucked up personal life. I think Lesley enjoyed hearing about me. She could live vicariously through someone who lived on the razor's edge. Much more in her comfort zone than talking about herself.

We were there for about another couple hours when we saw a black SUV with heavily tinted windows pull up to the curb in front of the safe house. I looked through my binoculars to see a large Asian man with a menacing dragon tattoo wrapping around his arm.

"I recognize him," I said to Lesley.

"From where?"

"He was one of Trong's bodyguards." I handed her the binoculars so she could have a look.

"I don't recognize him," she said back. She was briefly held hostage by Trong, but was on the inside of Trong's secure room. The man we were looking at was guarding the door to the room on the outside.

"You wouldn't," I told her. "Call it in."

She did.

We left before we saw what happened. I heard the bust was successful, though the man with the tattoo wasn't one of the persons caught in the dragnet.

Chapter Six

Sondra

So Lesley finally loosened her lips to let me in on her personal life. Of course my first impulse was to run through my list of single friends to see if there was anyone I could fix her up with. My next impulse was to banish that thought. Meddling in other people's personal lives was rarely a good idea. Of course I was unable to banish the thought. Alessandra came to mind.

The business card in DaVanna's purse had been eating at me since I saw it. I checked my computer and my phone for Sondra's name. No luck. I racked my brain. Sondra Karlsson . . . Saylor, Browning and Bair. How the devil were they connected with DaVanna Caruso?

Then something clicked in my mind.

I remembered seeing that law firm name on the police report in Alessandra's file. It was the name of the law firm that DaVanna had her sister steal the laptops from. My guess was Sondra Karlsson was one of the persons whose laptop was taken. I went into my personal notes on Trong Lai that were still in my desk drawer.

I found the list of names of the attorneys who reported missing laptops: Adams . . . Blinker . . . Karlsson.

Bingo.

Why would DaVanna have Sondra's card in her purse?

I tackled the question the Max way, which was the direct way. Why sneak around to the back door when you can kick in the front one? I picked up my desk phone. I called Sondra's direct dial office line. I was sure that caller ID would show the call originated from the Cincinnati police department.

"Sondra Karlsson's office," a female voice answered.

"Hi, my name is Max Pemberton. I'm a detective with the Cincinnati police."

"Ms. Karlsson is out of the office right now. How can I help you?" her assistant asked me in a sweet voice.

"It's official police business. Could you share her cell phone number with me?"

Ordinarily an assistant would do no such thing. But being it was a call from the police . . .

"Just a moment. 513-555-2584."

"Thank you."

* * *

I reached Sondra Karlsson on her cell. She had taken the day off to go shopping and seemed annoyed that her assistant gave out her private mobile number. When I told her it was official police business she reluctantly agreed to meet with me for coffee at a Starbucks not far from her downtown office. I had her picture from her firm's website. She was a tall Scandinavian blonde with striking powder blue eyes. Hard to miss.

I got there a few minutes early, and right on time she came in toting two shopping bags bearing the logo of a high end boutique shoe store. I waved to her and she joined me at a table for two.

"Coffee?" I asked her. She was even more stunning in person than her picture. If Leah was out of my league, Sondra was out of my universe.

"I'll go up there and get one. Be back in a second." She dropped her bags next to her chair and left. I watched her from behind as her hips swayed back and forth.

I glanced in the bags. Two shoeboxes in each bag. She was wearing expensive designer heels, and I had no doubt more were in the bags. She came back a minute later with a latte.

"Can I see some identification?" she asked. I was temporarily distracted by her eyes.

I showed her my badge. I appreciated that she was being careful. I needed to be as well.

"So what can I do for you Officer Pemberton?" she asked me curtly. She made it clear this was not going to be a social conversation.

"I'm here to talk about the laptop that was stolen from your office about three years ago."

Her mood soured even more.

"What would you like to know?"

"Was it ever recovered?"

"No."

"Was there sensitive information on the hard drive?"

"Are you asking me to disclose attorney -- client privileged information?" she asked, now highly aggravated.

"No, no, of course not. But you can tell me if there was sensitive client information on it."

"Yes there was."

"Are you willing to share any details of the nature of the information you had?"

"No."

I tried a different tact.

"Do you know DaVanna Caruso?"

She laughed. "Everyone knows DaVanna. You'd have to be living under a rock for the last five years to not know who she was."

"I mean personally."

"No."

Dead end there. But I knew she was lying. Why else would DaVanna have Sondra's card in her purse?

I decided to go fishing. "Do you know anyone else in the prosecutor's office? Personally I mean."