Dinner Date Ch. 05

I asked the Chief why this person had been rejected twice before. He took one look at the name on the folder and paled. Turns out the officer was his daughter and she was using her mother's maiden name to prevent any sign of nepotism. I told the Chief to inform his daughter she got the promotion and was now my new liaison officer.

The Chief did everything he could to try and persuade me to pick someone else. Anyone else other than his daughter. I could feel for the Chief but parents need to learn to let their children grow up. Especially, Fathers looking out for their daughters.

I informed the Chief my decision was made. He could move her to whatever division he wished except Homicide or Vice with the understanding I took precedent over any case she was working on. "Tell her to expect me to be in touch Monday morning." With that I stood and escorted Kelly out the door.

Once back in the car I told Kelly she had done a good job being as observant as she was spotting the promotion folders. She beamed as she drove us back to the house.

The next morning arrived earlier than any of us expected. A phone call from Kelly's former teammate had us running. Kelly and I got ready and headed out the door with cash in hand. Her "friend" had set up the meeting at the same donut shop I visited my first morning in town after my altercation with Stephanie's brother. The same donut shop I first met Officer Carpenter. I guess you could call it a 'not so subtle way' of letting me know it wasn't impossible to reach out and touch me. Two could play that game as well. I just hoped what she had for us was worth the price and the risk involved.

As we walked in, I ordered two coffees, four doughnuts and a couple of cheeses pigs. I needed my coffee this early in the morning. Tammy was sipping on her coffee when she tapped my foot with hers and pointed to the cash register with her eyes. I looked over and saw the owner I remembered from my first trip here talking to a young lady with blue hair. They were speaking what sounded like Vietnamese and after looking closer I could see they had a striking family resemblance. While I don't speak a lot of Vietnamese, I did recognize the word for dad. I looked back to Kelly and she informed me blue hair was our contact. Little Miss Blue Hair was a computer hacker and her family owned a doughnut shop which made coffee good enough to wake me up. I think I'm in love with her. The only thing that could possibly make this place any better would be if they sold guns as well. Kelly didn't find my joke funny. I told her I wasn't joking.

Once the owner went to the back and I had sufficiently drained my cup of coffee, I had Kelly go up and order a couple of dozen doughnuts, a couple of dozen cheese pigs and four more cups of coffee to go along with the special item. I walked over to the counter and caught the owner's attention who surprisingly remembered me. I chuckled as not many businesses nowadays put forth the effort to cater to repeat customers. He smiled and told me he remembered me because I was a special customer that day. My purchase was the first purchase of a record setting day for him. I was glad to hear I had done some good that morning considering just how bad it had started for me.

I told him I was grabbing another load of his goodies and hoped it was another record sales day for him. If he only knew how much this trip was really costing me. I kept him talking for a while longer until Kelly and Smurfette finished up their business then we left. I wonder if the father knew what kind of business his daughter was really up to. I decided it was sometimes better to leave the illusion in place instead of asking.

I told Kelly it was my turn to drive and she gave me a quizzical look. I asked her what time Smurfette got off work today as we headed back towards the house. She told me Nin was supposed to get off around 1pm. I thought that should work out perfectly. I had her to get in touch with her and have her meet us at the house about a future job I was looking at. I then had her give me a run down on the rest of her former team. I wanted to know their pros, cons, additional skills and just how well she trusted them. She was naming off the third member as we pulled up into the driveway.

Once we got settled back into the dining room with the coffee and food, I called a family meeting and had Tammy grab a legal pad and pen. I asked Kelly to list her former teammates again along with all their information for Tammy. She started categorizing each person by the time Kelly finished and made a list of the ones I could utilize. Two of them didn't make the cut. And by the sound of it, Kelly really wasn't all that broken up about it either.

I let the family know the reason for the list was to diversify and gather intel while in town. If the shooting out west had taught me anything, it was I needed more of a team for in the future. There was already a growing number of people I wanted under surveillance; Debby's former employer being at the top of the list; and I wouldn't be able to accomplish this by myself.

I went on and told Kelly and Debby how I had insulated Tammy in order to try and keep her as safe as I could. I let them know I was going to do the same for Debby as well. When they asked about Kelly, I told them she was my assistant for now, so her being in the line of fire was now an occupational hazard we would face together. I did remind them of Percy's criminal ties and reminded them to always be aware of their surroundings as this cartel was not known for mercy.

Kelly asked if I had heard anything in regards to Percy? I told her I hadn't and with the recent turn of events in regards to my former liaison officer it was probably best if we didn't, at least for now.

It was a little after one in the afternoon when Smurfette showed up. I made sure the ladies were dressed as we had company coming. She was nervous walking in and honestly, I couldn't say I blamed her. She stuck close to Kelly at the beginning of the meeting so I got right to business.

I told her I was looking for someone who could do some freelance work for me. I praised her for her work on gathering the information she had and in such a timely fashion. I asked if she would be interested in continuing some side work as I had a couple of people, I wanted to find out information on. Some of it was very simple research work. Some..., might be a little more in depth.

She asked some questions but I could tell she was still too worried to open up. Finally, after a few more minutes of wasting each other's time I told her bluntly, "Let's quite wasting each other's time. I don't have time for this and right now you are about to blow this interview. What is the question you really want to ask?"

Nin was stunned for a moment but collected herself and asked while shyly casting her eyes to Kelly. "Did you really rape Lady Hilda and take her anally in her own house?"

"What?" The question stunned me into speechlessness for a minute. When I finally found my voice, I looked at my wife who was aghast.

"Who told you that bullshit." I demanded. "Never mind a name. Which House did this garbage come from?"

Nin looked down at the table in front of her, too ashamed to look me in the eyes. "Pasadena House." she answered meekly.

I grabbed the phone and called Thom. Rumors were one thing but something on this level could destroy lives and reputations forever. As soon as he answered I didn't give him a chance. "Thom, this is Patrick. I just heard from someone there is a rumor floating around your House I raped Lady Hilda." I made sure my tone reflected my displeasure at having to deal with this.

"Patrick, I'm not sure what I can do to shut some of these people up." he answered a little too nonchalant for my liking.

"Have you spoken with Lady Hilda?" I asked forcefully.

"Well yes, but she's been a little over emotional about how you set up a date between her and Dr Jack."

I cut him off. "Think Thom. Really think. How in the Hell do you think I could rape Hilda? In her own House? In front of a room full of people?"

"Probably not a very likely scenario." He commented distractedly.

"Probably? Probably?!?" I yelled. "Do you have any idea how many lives a lie like this can destroy?"

"Patrick, I'm sorry if you've mistaken my mood for something it isn't. I think it was my wife's doing who started the rumor. I'm just not sure what to do about it." he admitted defeatedly.

Tammy couldn't contain herself any longer. "Thom, it sounds like your wife needs to learn that if she is going to try and stir up some shit, she's going to have to lick the spoon."

I looked at my wife with both shock and a newfound admiration. She never used language like that. Yet here she was sitting next to me telling a man, we both had come to consider a friend, his wife was a piece of shit. I had to agree with her though and gave her hand a squeeze in support.

"Tammy, I need to apologize for letting it get this far out of hand."

"I'll accept your apology Thom but it's your wife who's responsible for her own actions and she needs to be taught a lesson." Tammy added. "When is the next council meeting being held?"

"This coming Tuesday night. We're supposed to have an update on Percy from that Accountant your husband hired for us."

"Where's it being held at?" I asked.

"It's usually being held at the Spring House. Why?"

"See if you can get it moved to the Pasadena House this time but don't tell anyone it's at my request. Especially your wife." I added.

"I'll do what I can." he replied then hung up.

Tammy looked at Nin and told her in no uncertain terms, "My husband has not, did not, nor could not ever rape someone. Anyone who would suggest otherwise better be ready to have their face rearranged for spreading lies like that. Do I make myself clear?"

Nin looked at Tammy in shock. "Yes ma'am." she replied quietly.

"Nin, this conversation must remain private. No one, not even the person you are sharing your bed with, must know about what happened here. Is that understood?" I demanded.

"Yes sir." She responded back at once then added as an afterthought, "And I'm not sharing my bed with anyone either."

I was too pissed off to catch any meaning from her last comment and proceeded on as if she hadn't made it. "Are there any more questions or rumors we need to take care of or can we finally get on with our business?"

Nin shook her head no. I stared at her hard causing her to turn to Kelly.

"I think you need to answer his question. A head nod isn't going to cut it around here."

"Sorry sir. No more questions or rumors."

Good. The rest of the meeting went better but "Smurfette" or Nin was still darting eyes in my direction when she thought no one would notice.

I wanted her to do a complete background on Debby's former employer. Something in his attitude just pissed me off. It was time to let him know I don't like being pissed off.

I also tasked her with doing a complete financial check on Det Juarez and checking out any possible associates within the department. I needed to find out who and just how deep the pockets were of the group reaching into HPD. I had my suspicions but without evidence that was all it was. If she did well enough on these assignments I was going to let her have fun going after the leak within the AG's office which led to me being shot.

I gave Nin one last instruction. She was not to come in contact with or be seen by any of the people I asked her to track. If she couldn't do it from behind a computer, I didn't want her involved. She looked hurt at my rebuke until I reminded her there weren't a lot of blue haired smurfs running around Houston and the potential for someone to retaliate against her or her family was a possibility I wasn't willing to accept. She looked as if she was about to argue with me until I brought her family's protection into the equation. She agreed for their sake.

I had Kelly walk Nin to the door at the end of our meeting. I had a couple of phone calls to make and thought it best if they were private. Checking where Nin was sitting, I examined both the table and chairs in the surrounding area. I found the first two bugs pretty quickly. It was the third one which blended into the wood grain of the table leg which took the most time to find. Very clever young lady. Very stupid too. I would have to correct her later.

The first call was to Jack. I needed him to back Thom's request to move the meeting this coming Tuesday night. I asked him to not ask any questions about why the move. He'd known me long enough to know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't for a reason. I also informed him of the most recent rumor floating around. This was beyond just spitefulness. He informed me this was at a whole new level and I needed to keep my eyes and ears open at all times.

I let him know I had an idea who had started the rumor and was going to take care of it shortly.

After hanging up with Jack, I called Hilda to let her know about the rumor and to go along with the request to move the meeting to Pasadena House also. She told me she had already spoken to Thom and had agreed to the move. The news of the rumor was new to her but she admitted to being a little distracted while getting ready for her date. I was positive I was going to have to see about having Jack committed to a long-term care facility if he screwed this up.

Finally, I put a call in to the Chief to see if word had reached my new liaison officer yet. He told me he had informed her about both her promotion as well as being assigned to me as a liaison. While she was excited about the promotion, she didn't sound all that impressed with being assigned to me. I told the Chief some things had come up and I was going to be calling on her shortly in hopes of bringing her up to speed and seeing how well she would do. The Chief begged me to keep his daughter safe. I informed him I had no intention of seeing her injured in any way then hung up.

As expected, my call went to voicemail when I called HPD's newest Detective. I left a brief message and number for her to call me back immediately as she was about to hit the ground running. Two minutes later my phone rang.

"Detective, thank you for returning my call so promptly. I'll save the pleasantries for when we meet in person once you get here. I need you to swing by my home so I can bring you up to speed on what your new duties entail as well as introduce you to the rest of the team. Dress casual. I don't stand on formality. But I must warn you ahead of time, be prepared for an interrogation from my wife when you get here. She grills everyone I work with."

"Mr. Coats, is it. I'm sorry but I have to get ready for my last day on patrol."

I cut her off. "First, you will call me Robert. Second, I've already called the Chief and told him something has come up and I need your assistance starting today. Your pay raise also starts today as well in case you're wondering. Do you need a pen and paper to write the address down?"

"Who are you really?" The skepticism in her voice made it clear she didn't believe me at all.

It wasn't difficult to guess where the skepticism was coming from. "Detective. I am the one person on this planet right now that holds the keys to your future. You can come along kicking and screaming and miss the ride of a lifetime or you can step up and help more people in one day than you did on your best year of patrol. What's it going to be?" I stated flatly.

"If something sounds too good to be true it usually is." she said.

"And normally I would agree with you. But this time..." I changed tactics on her. "Bring your sidearm with you. I don't have time for games any more. There is too much work to be done and it's better if we meet face to face. I'm sending you the address. Call your Chief if you don't believe me. Better yet. Call him anyway. He'll probably try and talk you out of it and keep you stuck in patrol while wrapped up in body armor like the overprotective father he is." With that I hung up and sent her the address. If she showed up or not it was going to have to be her decision alone.

Walking back into the family room I handed the three bugs to Kelly. "If this is the level of skill, she thinks will impress me she's sadly mistaken. She was sloppy in her placement of them and she was clumsy in her execution. It took me less than two minutes to find all three. And I did it without the aid of a surveillance sweep. If I had been a bad guy, she would be dead and her family would be in serious danger if not already collateral damage. Inform her this isn't amateur hour. The people we come in contact with and investigate play for keeps. I want you to stress to her, not even blue-haired little old ladies are safe from them. Let alone a late twenty-year-old, blue-haired smurf."

The look of shock on Kelly's face told me she had no idea of what Nin had done or planned. "I also want you to stress to her this is her second strike with me. There had better not be a third."

Kelly nodded almost in tears. "Kelly. If you get nothing else out of our experience from West Texas, make sure you understand this. Look at how close I came to losing my life. I do this for a living. If it hadn't of been for you and your knife throwing abilities, I very well may be in a casket instead of just walking around with a cane. From what I've seen of Nin's abilities with computers, she's a phenom. She needs to focus on that. Not this wanna be James Bond garbage. If she is your friend then explain it to her. I don't want to see her dead and I don't want to have to live with the guilt of her death or any harm coming to one of her family members."

Kelly hung her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. I pulled her into a hug and held her until she calmed down enough to gather herself. Once she did, I told her to go tell Tammy we might have company coming and then she needed to call Smurfette. She gave an overly emotional giggle to my joke as the tension drained off and ran out of the room.

As I was sitting at my desk looking over my notes Debby walked in with her hands behind her back. "Master." she started weakly. "I haven't changed my mind." she stated as she pulled her collar from behind her back.

"And what did I say? I said tonight, if you still want to then we would do this as a family. Right now, we have company coming over. A new Liaison Officer and I'm not sure how she would respond seeing you naked and tied to the bed while I tease you to multiple orgasms until you pass out." I think she almost had an orgasm just thinking about it.

I stood up and took her in my arms and gave her a kiss as a persistent banging started at the front door. I growled at both the interruption and the volume of the banging. I grabbed my.45 and headed towards the front door. Tammy met me in the hallway and gestured for me to wait just out of sight. I looked at her quizzically but did as she requested. Her instincts were rarely ever wrong.

I listened as she opened the door and welcomed a young woman in. Tammy had the ability to calm any situation and apparently this situation needed her touch. Tammy welcomed the visitor in and had her stuttering for words. And just like that, she had my new liaison under her spell. I just chuckled as I walked around the corner holstering my weapon while leaning heavier on the cane than I needed to for show.

Det Julia Carpenter was a very good-looking young woman. Maybe a year or two older than Kelly but she was definitely her father's daughter. Every inch a cop through and through. She had shoulder length honey brown hair and wore very little makeup not that she needed it. I could tell she possessed a very athletic body under her clothes while blessed with a solid D cup breast. I'm not sure why but in the past my mind almost went first to assess any potential threat and how to neutralize it but this time I was checking her out like some adolescent teenager. I really needed to get my head back in the game.