Mutual Attractions

It was a dark and cold night. Tom could hear the late night noises of central New York City in the distance. There was a smell of dust and abandonment in the old deserted factory. The windows were all cracked or broken. Pieces of glass lay shattered on the dusty floor. The walls were dirty and stained and the paint was peeling off like old skin off a snake. Tom's brand new vehicle looked terribly out of contrast in this place.

He felt the cool night air lightly blowing in through the open window of his car. The darkness, abandoned factory, cool breeze and dust caused a sense of dread to settle in his stomach. Two lights appeared in front of him from the distance. His heart started pounding in his chest and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his skin. Tom got out of his vehicle and leaned against the bonnet crossing his arms over his chest.

He is a strong man, has dark brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin and has an almost square jaw line with a scar on his left cheek just below the bone. His shirt spanned tightly across his chest, upper arms and shoulders as he breathed heavily. Tom has been a police officer for twenty years.

He has done some things that he is not proud of, things that he has sworn against as an officer of the law. Tom was nervous. He has never been in this much trouble before in his whole life. A black sedan stopped in front of him; the lights shining in his eyes. The doors of the drivers and passenger's side opened slowly. Two big muscle bulging men got out and walked over towards him.

They looked like they were ready to kill anyone at that moment. The driver leaned against the bonnet of their vehicle sticking his hands in his pants pockets. The passenger stood still an arm's length away from him. Tom uncrosses his arms letting them hang next to his sides; his thin lips were sealed shut with the tell tale white signs. He nervously chewed on his lower lip.

"The Boss wants to know what happened. He is not pleased that you lost half a kilo of cocaine." The man said rubbing his chin with his right hand's thumb and index finger.

"I know. I stashed the cocaine where I thought that no-one would find it. It was gone when I went back for it. I will fix this. I just need a little more time." Tom said feeling his hands shake nervously.

"You don't get it Tom. Boss wants his money in two days or else and he wanted me to give you a message."

Without warning the man grabbed Tom by the hair and punched him in the face breaking his nose.

He then punched him in the ribs almost cracking them instantly. Tom fell to his knees in pain grabbing his nose with his right hand and his ribs with his left hand.

"You have forty eight hours to come up with the money or the drugs." He told Tom turning around and walked to the sedan.

The two men got in their vehicle leaving Tom to his own mercy. The sedan made a U-turn around Tom's vehicle and sped off spreading a cloud of dust behind them.

*****

It has been a long and treacherous day for detective Julie Swan. She was working with Internal Affairs on the Captains orders after her name was cleared. She was helping them on a case which apparently had cops involved with the drug cartel. She has been a detective for ten years and for the first time she felt like a traitor. All the officers on the force even treated her as such. Her ex-partner Tom was dismissed from the force for stealing evidence. She hasn't seen him for three years until now.

Tom was sitting at the other end of the bar with his back facing the door having a beer. He hasn't recognised her as yet. In the past three years she has grown her hair and coloured it. She now had long black hair hanging loose to the middle of her back and sunglasses on her face. Her eyes would be a dead give away. She had the most shocking crystal blue eyes. She was wearing a leather biker suite with matching boots and her helmet next to her on the counter. The detective is 5'0" in height and kept her body in perfect shape. She received an anonymous tip yesterday that this bar was being used as a selling point for drugs, so she was checking the place out while off duty. This bar was situated on the corner of the block.

It was called The Saloon, sounded a bit like something out of a western movie to her. Sitting at the far end of the bar facing the door, Julie finished her drink in one swig then signed at the bartender for another drink while she took her sunglasses off and placed it by her helmet. Placing the drink in front of the detective, the bar tender stood there mesmerised by the woman's crystal blue eyes.

The bartender was a pretty young woman; long curly blond hair, green eyes, fair skin, soft feminine facial features and a long slender curvy body. Julie estimated her height at 4'7" and about twenty five years old. She smiled blushingly at the detective then turned to her other customers.

Tom stood up after swallowing the last of his beer and blew the bartender a kiss. She pretended to catch it then winked at him. Tom opened the door stepping outside. Suddenly a gunshot was heard causing all the people in the bar to drop to the floor. Julie jumped up from her seat drawing her badge and her gun from under her jacket and yelled. "Everyone stay down!"... Then looking at the bartender she yelled ... "Call the police!"

Crouching down at the door by Tom's lifeless body, she checked his pulse; he was dead. Looking up to her left in the direction of the shooter ran, she saw a man run into the alley. She stood up straight and ran toward the alley. Standing still at the corner she peeped around it; checking to see if the coast was clear. There was no light in the alley. It looked like a dark hole ready to swallow anyone that walked into its darkness. She knew that alley; it was a dead end to anyone who wanted to use it to escape from someone.

"Drop your weapon and come out with your hands up!" A flash and a loud bang in the far right corner went off. The flash provided her with enough light to see that the shooter was unprotected. He had no cover. A bullet struck the wall next to her head causing bits of brick to splatter into her face.

'There you are. You are trapped.' She thought to herself. Remembering where the flash was, she calculated how tall the shooter was and where his gut might be. Taking a deep breath she pulled the trigger. Another flash from his weapon let her see that she had hit him. She heard his weapon fall to the ground.

Police sirens wailed in the background growing louder and louder. The flashing lights of a vehicle stopped behind her. The headlights lit up the alley proving what she heard.

The shooter sat in the corner clenching his gut taking deep shallow breaths. Two officers came running from their vehicle to her aid. The three of them walked closer to him. Julie kicked his weapon away from him.

A moment later an ambulance arrived taking care of the injured shooter. The police vehicle followed the ambulance to the hospital to make sure the shooter couldn't disappear during the night.

Walking back toward the bar she looked up to see the bartender talking to another officer explaining what had happened. The coroner was busy with Tom's body. He had a clean shot in the chest right through his heart. They rolled Tom's body away on a gurney covered with a sheet. Julie settled against the wall next to bar's entrance with her eyes closed.

After the bartender talked to the officer she turned around standing face to face with Julie. Her biker suite moulded the curves of the detective's body.

The bartenders gaze started on Julie's full lips then flowed down her soft neck, her firm breasts and settled on her perfectly rounded hips. Julie opened her eyes to find the bartender staring at her attentively with hungry eyes.

"What is your name Miss?" Startled and embarrassed the bartender looked up into Julie's eyes only to find a slight smile on the detective's face.

"My name is Jamie." She answered with her face turning crimson at the fact that she was caught staring.

"I'm Julie. Did you know Tom well?" Julie asked knowing that she had a job to do at the moment. There were other more suitable opportunities to flirt with a woman.

Jamie looked down at her hands thinking of what to say. She couldn't lie to the detective, yet she didn't want to get anyone in trouble. She had to tell her the truth.

"Could we go inside to talk about this?" Jamie asked finally meeting Julie's eyes.

"Sure we can. The officers taking the statements of your customers are just about finished anyway and the Captain should be here in a moment." Julie said pushing herself away from the wall.

Julie followed Jamie into the bar and waited for all the commotion to quiet down. There were cops everywhere taking statements, notes and photographs of everything. Julie sat back down at the far end of the bar taking out her notebook and pen. Jamie stood behind the bar tensing more than before.

"Would you like a cup of coffee Julie? It seems like we both need one." Jamie asked the female detective.

"Yes please, I have a feeling that I'm going to be here for a while." Julie retorted.

Jamie could usually read a person's face but for some reason she couldn't read Julie's face. She couldn't seem to decide whether Julie was angry, sad or just being professional.

"Yes this is going to take a while; I guess I'm going to have to start from the beginning which would be two months ago or actually three months ago." Jamie said while preparing two cups of coffee using a coffee machine standing below her top counter. Julie put her badge and weapon down on the counter next to her helmet.

After a few minutes everyone went home leaving the two women alone to talk about Tom. Most of the police vehicles pulled away and moved on, just one police vehicle stayed behind to keep an eye on the bar and crime scene for the night. Julie took the time to look around the bar with her own eyes. There was a corner in the back where anyone could do 'business' unseen, unless the person looking knew what to look for. There are three floor-to-ceiling high windows facing the street; two on the opposite of the double glass doors with wooden framing and then one window along the side of the counter. Along the front of the counter were barstools.

There were tables and chairs along the wall across from the bar and along the two windows. There was a wide open space in between the bar counter and the tables to stand around or dance. Behind Julie were three doors and a set of stairs with a steel gate leading up to the first floor from the ground floor: one door lead to the men's room, one to the lady's room and the other to the kitchen which was very small.

Only two people could work in the tiny kitchen. The bars counter spanned from about two metres from the stairs to a metre from the other floor-to-ceiling high window forming a corner.

In the corner next to the window and the bar was an old grandfather clock reminding customers of what time it was. It was a good thing the windows had burglar bars built into the wall on the outside of the building. Julie returned her gaze to Jamie who was watching her the whole time. She had a slight smile on her face. The detective returned the smile and realised that she didn't even hear Jamie put the cup of coffee down in front of her.

"I have known Tom for three months. We were just good friends but he was seeing my ... he had a relationship with my ..." Jamie's voice trailed off for a second then she continued taking a deep breath. "My cousin Jake was arrested a year ago for possession and the attempt to sell. It was his first offence so he got lucky. He got out two months ago on parole and I have been keeping him busy in the bar doing repairs. Tom has been coming here for three months. After my cousin started working for me they started hanging out a lot. I got the impression that they were in a relationship. I caught them kissing in the kitchen." Jamie took a sip of her coffee almost choking when she saw the look of shock on the detective's face.

"I never thought of Tom as being gay. I guess my gaydar is broken; I can usually spot a gay person from miles away." That said Julie saw a sparkle in Jamie's eyes and smiled widely at the young woman. "What else can you tell me about what Tom might have been doing here?" Julie took a sip of her coffee while waiting for an answer.

"Well, about a month ago I noticed him sitting in that back corner a lot of times talking to people. Honestly ... I also noticed a lot of shady and dodgy characters come in here since he started hanging around. Last week I saw him talking to a guy, go to the men's room then return handing the guy something under the table." Jamie sat down on a barstool behind the bar resting her feet against a low shelf.

"Was it you that placed the anonymous tip of drugs being sold here in this bar?" Julie asked while taking short notes.

Jamie took a deep breath and released it in a sigh while tilting her head back. "Yes it was me. I wasn't going to stand by and do nothing while someone ... even a friend or my cousin's lover use my bar as a selling point for drugs. I would have done the same thing if it was my cousin selling again."

A long silence followed while Julie wrote in her notebook. Julie could understand what this woman was feeling; the feeling of doing the right thing even if it meant hurting people around you. It was the feeling of being a traitor; a back stabber.

"Where is your cousin at the moment?" Julie asked looking up at Jamie.

"He is at the night club downtown working as a bouncer. It's called The Pink Palace. He should be back early in the morning."

"He works at the gay club ... I will talk to him tomorrow then. I know this will be a hard question to answer but I have to check all my options. Do you think your cousin would have any reason to kill Tom?"

"Somehow I knew you would ask me that. They were very happy together. I only saw them fight once; I don't know what it was about though." Thinking about it for a second, she continued. "Come to think of it; it was right after I found a stash of drugs in the men's room last week, which is why I reported it." Jamie let out a breath realising she has been holding her breath through the last sentence of her answer.

"What did you do with the drugs you found?" Jamie swallowed down the last of her coffee. Her throat felt dry and her hands felt clammy, she could feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach. Every time Jamie said something her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice.

"I left it there and started watching all of my customers, though there is a time I was busy in the kitchen. Later that same day after Tom was in the men's room he came rushing out in a frantic panic. I guessed that the drugs were his and that it disappeared."

"Do you think that any of your staff could have known about the drugs and taken it?" The detective asked.

"Sam has worked for my father for years; I would trust him alone in the bar. Carl on the other hand has been acting strange lately."

"What's up the stairs?" The detective asked turning her head in that direction. Jamie looked past the detective in that direction then back at her.

"Oh, that's just my office and the storage room for the bar's stock. I also have a bedroom up there for when I work late nights." The young woman answered the detective.

The Captain walked in the door and locked it behind him. Jamie stood up, walked over to him and hugged him. Julie looked at them with a curious look on her face.

"Hi Uncle Frank, I'm so glad you're here." Julie let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Hi my dear, are you alright?" He asked with his hands on her shoulders, looking around and then his gaze settled on Julie.

"Yes I'm alright. I'm just a bit shaken." Jamie said standing aside looking back at Julie.

"Good evening Captain." Julie said standing up to greet the Captain.

"Good evening Julie. How is your investigation going so far?" He walked over to the detective taking a seat next to her.

Jamie got behind the bar, poured the Captain a beer and set it in front of him. She took her and Julie's cups and made more coffee then took her seat again.

"I've got two good leads so far Captain but it doesn't look good for Tom at all. I need to do some more digging first."

"What do you need for your investigation Julie?" He asked getting straight to the point.

"Well Captain ... I'm going to need access to Tom's files and financial records. I'm going to see the coroner tomorrow morning early before I speak to Jake."

The Captain turned his gaze to Jamie in question. Jamie looked at the Captain for a few seconds. "Jake and Tom were in a relationship for the last month or two."

The Captain took a sip of his beer then set the glass down raising an eyebrow.

"I can get the files and financial records for you no problem." He said looking at Julie then at Jamie before continuing. "This doesn't look good for Jake at all. Has he been staying away from the drugs since he got out?" The Captain had a sudden look of concern in his eyes.

"Yes he has, I have been going with him every day to check in with his parole officer. During the day he helps me in the bar and then at night he works as a bouncer at The Pink Palace."

The Captain returned his gaze to Julie. Before he could ask the obvious question she answered him.

"I know the place Captain. I have been there a few times. I will follow up on that when I get a chance to go tomorrow." Julie said with her cheeks turning crimson.

"Good ... it sounds to me like you have a very busy day tomorrow Julie. You should go home and get some rest." The Captain took another sip of his beer.

"Are you okay to drive with your bike Julie? You had quite a few drinks before the shooting started." Jamie looked at her with a slight concern showing in her eyes.

"I will be fine, thank you Jamie. The coffee is helping a bit and I'm not even tipsy yet. It takes a lot of alcohol to get me down." Julie said with a smile tugging at her lips.

The Captain just looked at both women and shook his head while taking another sip. "I will never understand young people of today. That reminds me ... I have to get home before my wife kills me." He finished his beer then walked with Jamie to the door.

They hugged and Jamie locked the door behind him. Jamie went back behind the bar and sat down staring at the detective.

The detective stood up, put her weapon, badge and notebook and pen away then grabbed her sunglasses and her helmet.

They both walked to the door. The detective turned around to face the shorter woman. They stood nose to nose. Their eyes locked onto each other for what seemed like forever.

A whole new feeling raced through the detective's veins and body to her core. Looking down into Jamie's eyes and looking at her lips; she couldn't help but think what those lips tasted like.

"I should get going. I still have a lot of work to do before I get some sleep." Julie said taking a step back.

Jamie let out an audible sigh that made Julie smile widely. She knew that the detective has a job to do and that she can't think of a relationship at this moment, especially with a witness.

"I will make sure that you're safe before I leave." The detective thought for a moment then continued talking. "Where do you live, maybe I can take you home or follow you home?" The detective asked nervously chewing on her lower lip.

"Thank you, you are very kind." Jamie took a deep breath to steady her trembling voice. "I stay in a block of apartments on 5th avenue by central park. I always take the subway home but it is way too late for that now."

"Okay no, I will take you home to make sure that you get home safely. I live on the east side as well two streets up. You mind riding on a motorbike?" The detective stood there shocked at what she was doing. For some reason she had an attraction toward this young woman; like magnetism. She knew she couldn't get personally involved with someone who could be involved with her current case.