Page 62 of Heat of Justice

“Are you okay with that?”

Kim watched her intently, and Cody did not hesitate.

“Very okay, yes. Surprised,” she admitted. “I really was not looking for a relationship. But when I saw you at the station for the first time… Looking so gorgeous and totally pissed off.” She grinned again. “Temper can be alluring, and it sure was the case with you. Then you told me about your psychic ability... I was intrigued and pretty helplessly attracted to you, Kim.”

“I felt the same way.”

“You hid it extremely well.”

“Mm. Yes. I’m glad I don’t have to hide my feelings for you anymore.”

“Right. And I’m glad I didn’t have to throw you in jail for murder, that’s for sure.”

“Oh yeah.” Kim laughed. “That too.”

???

Quinn was both adamant and unyielding this time.

“No, Lia,” she stated. “The café around the corner is too far. I’ll wait for you outside the apartment door. That’s compromise enough.”

“Okay.” Lia sighed. “Okay, fine.”

“Remember what I do for a living? You think of her as Brooke, your ex-fiancée, who may have just gone a bit loopy in the head temporarily. Which is bad enough, given the tone of her emails and blogs. But on top of that, I see a full-on stalker with the potential for a lot worse.”

“I understand.”

“I’m your backup. I’ll stay within shouting distance. Don’t hesitate.”

“Okay, fine,” Lia repeated, and she kissed her. “Thank you, Wife. You excel at this negotiating thing.”

This got a reluctant grin out of Quinn.

“I’ll be watching.” She nodded. “Go on.”

Lia walked down the end of the hallway to Apartment #20, in a luxury building that included 24/7 security, a private gym, a swimming pool, and luscious, deep carpeting throughout. So, it looked like Brooke was still doing very well for herself. Why in the world, then, did she seem to have gone ‘loopy in the head’? Determined to find out the answer to that mystery, Lia knocked on the door. She was, she would confess, a little nervous about doing this. She took a deep breath to steady herself when she heard movement behind the door, then frowned when the voice came through.

“Go away.”

Baffled, Lia frowned at the door, then knocked again.

“Brooke, it’s Lia.”

“Go away, Lia.”

A sideways glance revealed Quinn in the distance, standing tall with both arms crossed over her chest. Eyes bright and alert, attentive. Cop-ready.

“Brooke, I do need to talk to you,” Lia insisted. She knocked again as only silence ensued. “Brooke! I know about the blogs, okay? We need to discuss this. Please, open the door and—”

She stopped abruptly as the door was flung open.

“Lia. Please go away.”

Lia stared in renewed astonishment at the woman she used to know so intimately but now struggled to recognize. Brooke was always on the lanky side with a lithe, androgynous body. She used to be beautiful, full of spark and vibrancy. Only now, she looked more like she had spent the last few months at a Russian gulag. She was so gaunt! Her shoulder-length black hair had lost its luster and hung limp around her pale face. For sure, there was no longer any spark in her once bright grey eyes. Just pain and sorrow, and she was using a cane.

“Brooke.” Lia exhaled. “What—"

“Lia, I am deeply sorry,” her former partner murmured in a ghostly voice. “I apologize for everything. For these awful blogs and… Everything, okay? Don’t worry, it won’t happen again. But you have to go.”

---