5 Conditioner and a Corpse (8 page)

Bekki smiled at him and felt relieved. She hadn't exactly told him everything, but it was
enough. When Nick returned he was carrying two plates to the table. Bekki joined him with her glass of wine. As they sat across from each other, Bekki thought about what Nick had said the other day when they woke up together. She was feeling the same sensation as they shared dinner. She reached across the table and lightly rubbed the back of his hand until his fingers uncurled and intertwined with hers. For a long silent moment they sat this way, their eyes locked, their hands held, and it was, despite all of the chaos, a perfect moment.

“
Things will be back to normal soon,” he murmured as he gave her hand a light squeeze. “I can't wait for us to be able to share a little peace.”

“
You know something, Nick,” she smiled and tilted her head slightly to the side, a few strands of her dark waves tumbling forward into her eyes as she did. “I am always at peace when I am with you.”

“
Same here,” he replied and drew her hand to his lips. The soft kiss he placed against her knuckles was a caress that she planned to savor for a very long time. But before she could close her eyes to enjoy it, Nick's cell phone began to ring. He winced and drew his lips away from her hand.

“
I'm sorry, I asked to be notified of any changes in the case, do you mind?” he frowned and held up his phone.

“
Go ahead,” Bekki nodded and took a sip of her wine. She was eager to hear any new development.

“
And you're certain?” Nick asked, his eyes wide and his lips poised to curve upward into a smile. “Fantastic. That is fantastic. No don't wait, go and pick them up now, I'll be in there in twenty minutes,” he stole a glance at Bekki and sighed. “Thirty, make that thirty minutes, okay?” When he hung up the phone Bekki was staring at him curiously.

“
Is it about the case?” she asked hopefully.

“
Yes,” Nick said as he leaned closer across the table. “They found some prints that matched Jeff Barnes' bodyguards in the back of the salon, and there was also a witness, a night jogger, placing them at the scene at the time of the crime.”

“
Wonderful!” Bekki said happily and clapped her hands lightly. “Finally a break.”

“
It is a break,” Nick agreed as he met her eyes. “But we still have nothing on Jeff. Unless I can break these two, he's still going to be on the loose.”

“
Then go,” Bekki tilted her head towards the door. “I know you can do it.”

“
No,” Nick said firmly as he held her gaze. “It'll take some time for them to be picked up, and once they are, they can cool their heels for a little while. I asked you to dinner, and I'm not leaving until we're done.”

Bekki smiled slowly at his determined voice. She loved the way he always made sure she knew how much she meant to him. He was right. This was one encounter that the crime, the chaos, didn't have to ruin. She took his hand in hers again and warmth coursed through her body.

“This is delicious you know,” Bekki said, breaking the silence. She pulled her hand away and took a bite of the pasta he had prepared. “I don't think I remembered to tell you that.”

“
Thanks,” Nick smiled. “I guess next time I should try something without red sauce.”

“
Maybe so,” Bekki laughed a little and shook her head. “No matter what, the company makes the meal.”

“
Yes it does,” he agreed. When their meal was finished Bekki began to clear the dishes.

“
Hey, I said no cleaning,” he warned her.

“
Listen, I'm not going to let you wash the dishes when there are two criminals waiting to be interrogated,” she pointed out and winked at him. “I'll take care of these, just call me when you break them.”

“
Will do,” he smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. The soft, slow kiss that followed was one that made Bekki want to forget about the dishes, the crime, and everything but Nick's arms around her. But when he pulled away, the reality came crashing back. Until Jeff Barnes was in handcuffs, she was not going to be safe, no matter how many people wanted to protect her. As Nick left she stepped into the kitchen to wash up the dishes. She hoped that by the time he came back the entire case would be solved.

When two hours had passed and Nick still hadn't returned, Bekki decided to head home. She locked up his house and headed to hers. With only a few driveways between them it was a quick walk. Bekki unlocked her door and stepped inside. The moment she did, she paused. Something felt a little off. Maybe it was because there were no lights on. Or maybe her run-in with Jeff had left her more on edge than she realized. Either way she suddenly hesitated to move further into the house. In the shadows she thought she sensed movement. Every creak of the house sounded like a footstep to her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she found herself very uncomfortable.

“
Pull it together, Bekki,” she whispered to herself and was able to coax herself the few inches to the light switch. When she turned it on the living room blazed into view. Everything was in place. There was nothing that looked abnormal. But Bekki still didn't feel any better. She sat down on the edge of the couch and remained there, watching for any little movement. She kept expecting someone to pop out of the closet, or walk down the stairs, but neither happened. With her cell phone in her hand she braved walking into the kitchen. Again, when she switched on the light, everything appeared to be as it should be. However, that did not alleviate the feeling she had. She had just decided to call Nick when her phone began to ring. It was Nick.

“
Hello?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“
Bekki, listen, we're still holding the two suspects in the break in, but I couldn't get them to flip on Barnes. We still have nothing on him. Where are you?”

“
I'm at home,” Bekki murmured, her heart pounding. “Do you think he could be here?”

“
I don't know,” Nick replied honestly. “I sent a patrol car out to check on him at the motel, and there's no sign of him.”

“
What should I do?” Bekki asked, her breath short. “I feel like someone might be in the house with me,” she admitted nervously.

“
I'm already on my way,” Nick promised her. “Just stay on the phone with me, okay?”

“
Yes, I will,” Bekki clung to her cell phone tighter than she ever had in the past. There was nothing about the house that indicated anyone else was there, but the message she had read on the phone was haunting her. When she heard Nick's car pull up she sighed with relief and ran to the front door. She threw it open, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Only then did she realize that she had been shaking.

“
Shh,” Nick murmured beside her ear. “It's all right, I'm here, you're safe,” he kissed her cheek gently and trailed his fingers over the back of her head, smoothing her hair. “We know where Barnes is. He's at a club outside of town. We're still holding the two men in custody, so it's okay,” he promised her.

“
I just want this to be over,” she sighed against his shoulder.

“
I know,” he whispered. “It will be soon,” he hugged her tighter. “Why don't I take a look around, just to be safe?”

“
Please,” Bekki nodded. She followed along behind him watching the way he skillfully ducked around corners and knew exactly where to look. It was still a little hard to think of him as the young man she used to sneak beers with. Back then, when anything was possible, Bekki never would have dreamed of this moment.

“
All clear,” Nick said with a small smile as he turned to face her.

“
I'm sorry,” she flushed, feeling embarrassed. “I guess I was just on edge.”

“
Of course you were,” he replied soothingly. “Would you mind if I camped out on your couch again tonight?” he suggested with ample warmth in his tone.

“
I don't think that's a good idea,” Bekki replied coolly.

Nick was a little surprised, his eyes widening at her words.
“Are you sure?”

“
Yes, that's going to be way too far away,” Bekki squeaked out and tugged him into her bedroom.

“
Oh, I see,” he laughed shortly and nodded. “This will be a bit more comfortable.”

Once Nick had alerted his fellow officers that Bekki was safe, he joined her in her bed. She was snuggled up with one of her big pillows and staring aimlessly into space.

“What's wrong?” he murmured, and then realized how silly he might sound. “I mean, other than the obvious,” he added with a shake of his head.

“
It's just this crime,” she frowned. “You know, sometimes I forget how hard your job is,” she said with admiration. “I mean how do you do this every single day? I can't figure out one murder, and yet you handle so many more cases.”

“
Well, it is Harroway,” he reminded her as he swept his hand gently back through her hair, pulling it away from her eyes. “It's not like we handle much more than a few purse snatchings and some domestic disturbances.”

“
Don't lie to me,” Bekki grinned. “I know you're always trying to solve something.”

He smiled
a little as she knew his secret about him reviewing cold cases as often as possible. “The thing is sometimes a case can get inside your brain,” Nick explained calmly. “You get one idea of what happened, and you get stuck on it. The answer can be right in front of you, but your mind, it's still playing that idea that you got stuck on. Nothing else can get through. And then,” he sighed as he rubbed his hand gently over the curve of her shoulder and down along her arm to her fingertips. “There's the frustration of having your hands tied. Like Barnes, you are certain that he's the murderer, and I'm certain that you're right,” he arched a brow slightly and met her eyes. “You usually are aren't you?”

Bekki smil
ed playfully. “Well, I try,” she said with a light laugh.

“
But as a detective, I have to follow certain rules, I can't just coax the owner of the motel into letting me into the suspect's room so I can have a look…”

“
You knew!” Bekki gasped and glared at him.

“
Well,” he smiled lopsidedly. “I am a detective, after all.”

“
A great detective,” she replied and lightly kissed his lips.

“
Not great enough to solve this, unfortunately,” Nick frowned and shook his head. “I'm sorry Bekki, I wish I had already closed the case.”

“
Well, then there would be no excuse for cuddling,” she pointed out and curled her body close to his. He sighed, the sweetest contented sigh and wrapped his body around hers in return.

“
We don't need an excuse you know,” he whispered beside her ear. “We can cuddle as much as you want.”

Bekki smiled a little and closed her eyes.
“What about all those rules and laws?” she reminded him.

“
Sometimes they just don't apply,” he replied huskily and kissed the side of her neck.

As the warmth of his closeness spread throughout her body, Bekki remembered all those firsts she'd had with him when they were just teenagers. When love, was everything. When she was with him, it was hard not to think that it was still everything. Nick's gentle massaging touches along her shoulders, her upper back, and eventually her lower back, eased her into one of the most relaxed states she had ever been in. She felt as if she was floating, and the only thing anchoring her was his slow and steady touch. It reminded her of the way the dock would
lull by the water when she lay on it, just slightly side to side. Thinking of the dock, reminded her of the story she had shared with Jasmine. Thinking of Jasmine made all of her muscles tense right back up. She was sure there was only one way to tie everything together. Find the supplies. She fell asleep beneath Nick's soothing touch.

***

The next morning when Bekki woke, Nick had left her some toast and eggs along with a note. He was called into the station first thing in the morning as one of the men had offered some new information on the case. Bekki hoped it meant that Barnes would soon be in jail. She enjoyed her breakfast, all the while planning to do a real search for the supplies that were missing. But first she was going to open the shop. Nick was right. She was so focused on the crime that she couldn't see past it. She was hoping if she settled into her usual routine that she would be able to relax enough to see more.

When she arrived at the salon and opened it up she was relieved to find that everything was in place. No one had broken in again, that she could tell. The only issue was getting
the new lock to actually unlock as it still kept sticking. Sammy arrived a few minutes later, looking pretty pale.

“
Are you okay?” Bekki asked her the moment she saw her.

“
I'll be fine,” Sammy promised her. “Just have a touch of something upsetting my stomach.”

“
Are you sure? You can go home and rest you know,” Bekki pointed out with concern as she stepped closer to her.

“
I'll be fine,” Sammy repeated firmly. “Do we have many customers today?”

“
Well, we've had to shuffle quite a few appointments lately so we are pretty booked today,” Bekki admitted. “But if you start feeling worse, you're going home young lady, no argument. Got me?” she smiled.

“
Got it,” Sammy replied, and then hesitated, her eyes lingering on the light smile playing on Bekki's lips. “I see that dinner must have gone well?”

“
It did,” Bekki nodded. “And the two men who broke in here are in custody. Not Jeff Barnes though, not yet. Nick is working on that.”

“
That must be why Morris is circling the street,” Sammy managed a grin as she pointed out the window. A patrol car was making a regular loop up and down the main street.

“
Oh good,” Bekki smiled, but inside she cringed. She had hoped that she could leave the salon early and hunt for the supplies, but with Sammy being ill, and Morris watching the salon, the chances of her being able to sneak off and do her own investigation were pretty slim.

“
Morning ladies,” Marie's cheerful voice called out as she walked into the salon.

“
Mama, what are you doing here?” Bekki asked with surprise as she hugged her.

“
Oh, your father is on a bit of a rampage,” she smiled at Bekki. “I thought I'd put everyone at ease and just spend the day here helping out.”

“
That's good,” Bekki said with a nod towards Sammy's pale features. “Sammy isn't feeling very well, but she won't go home.”

“
Well, just rest a bit,” Marie told Sammy in a motherly tone. Bekki's parents had been surrogate parents in many ways for Sammy who had not had the most stable childhood.

“
I'm fine, I'm fine,” Sammy insisted again, but Marie's narrowed eyes pushed her right into a chair. “Okay, I'll just rest until the customers start coming in.”

With Bekki's mother there to help when the customers began arriving they were able to get through them rather quickly.
Customers were still curious about the break in. Once they discovered that nothing had been stolen and no one was injured, the novelty wore off a bit, and the great main street Christmas light debate began again.

“
I think it makes things very mystical,” Bekki volunteered as she combed through a younger woman's hair. She was on the decorative committee for the town.

“
So do I,” she said with a sigh. “Who would have thought that lights could stir up so much controversy?” she grinned. Bekki knew she had 'married into' Harroway, and had not grown up with all of the sweet but dramatic interactions of the locals.

“
Oh, it's just their way of having fun,” Bekki assured her. “Nothing to be too concerned about. If they didn't have the lights to squabble over it would be something else.”

“
I guess,” the woman sighed again, but when Bekki spun her around in her chair to face the mirror, she gasped. “Oh, it's perfect!” she smiled at the waterfall style that Bekki had cut the sides of her hair into. “It's just what I wanted.”

“
You look beautiful,” Bekki said with genuine admiration.

“
Thanks so much,” she gushed and hurried to the reception desk where Marie was checking out customers. Bekki breathed a long slow sigh as she glanced around the salon. There were only two customers remaining, and it was getting late. She knew her chances of searching for the supplies were quickly disappearing. Sammy had just finished her last customer, and Bekki's last customer was sitting under the hair dryer. As Bekki studied her friend, she saw her dizzily step to the side.

“
Sammy?” Bekki lunged forward as Sammy caught her balance on one of the stations.

“
Oh, I am really not feeling well,” Sammy moaned as she clutched at her stomach. “Morris took me for Sushi last night,” she admitted. Her face was quite pale. She looked like she was ready to curl up and stay in bed for a few weeks.

“
Just go on home,” Bekki said gently as she looked at her friend with sympathy. “You need some serious rest.”