A Dozen Deadly Roses (8 page)

“The little boy was about the same age my daughter would be, if Ashley were alive.  I wasn’t around to save her, but I was there for this little boy.”

Jade bit the inside of her lip, ordering herself not to cry at his words.

Mac moved out of the kitchen into the living room.  He turned to her, his eyes pleading with her to understand.  “There was no conscious decision on my part to go after the kid.  I’m a cop.  Helping people is what we do.  That’s why I became a cop, to help people - especially those who can’t help themselves.  And as long as I’ve got a breath left in me, no child will die on my watch.”  He sighed.  “I don’t care about the rules or policy.  If I see someone who needs my help, I’m going to respond.  If supervision doesn’t like it, screw ‘em.”

He was right.  Helping people was what being a cop was all about.  Mac had been trained ‘old school.’  He did the right thing even if the brass and society were so out of touch they didn’t remember what the right thing was in the first place.  A good cop did the right thing and asked for forgiveness later.

Mac started moving toward the door.  “I just thought you should know.  And by the way, I appreciate you standing up to the lieutenant.  I know I put you in a bad spot.”

Before Jade could reply, the doorbell rang.  Mac was so close he opened the door.  It was the pizza man.  He wore a clear plastic raincoat, baseball cap and heavy rubber boots.

Jade moved to the door, pulling some bills from her pocket and handed them to the deliveryman.  He gave her the flat cardboard box and hurried away, leaving a trail of soggy footprints behind.

“I’ll be going, too,” Mac said.

He looked so beaten and tired.  “Wouldn’t you like to stay for some pizza?  We have plenty.”  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to take them back.  Maybe he’ll refuse, she thought.

“Are you sure?”

Tell him no
.  What if he saw the resemblance between Donnie and himself?  What if he questioned her about her son’s father?  She still hadn’t established the best way to tell him
he
was Donnie’s dad.

Proper manners won out over common sense.  She forced a smile.  “Of course I’m sure.  I hope you don’t mind having an inside picnic on the floor.”  She moved to the kitchen set the pizza down.  Quickly filling the cupcake pan, she slipped the treats in the oven.

“Just let me get my son,” she said walking down the hall and entering one of the doors.

While she was gone Mac surveyed the apartment.  It was neat and clean but there was no evidence a man lived here or ever had.  He’d been surprised by the child.  Not once since they’d started working together had she ever mentioned a son.  He knew some cops were fanatics about keeping their personal lives to themselves, and apparently, Jade fell into that category.  Thinking of the flower boxes and her ‘hidden’ son, she appeared to be a woman with secrets.  And he found that interesting.  Very interesting.

Mac smiled to himself as he heard the little boy’s protests that their picnic was just supposed to be him and his mother.  He couldn’t hear Jade’s reply, but her coaxing tones carried through the closed door.

In a few minutes Jade returned holding the hand of a small boy.  The child appeared to be about four or five.  He walked behind his mother, hiding behind the curves of her thighs.

“Mac, I’d like you to meet my son, Donald.  I call him Donnie.”

Mac tried to peer around Jade’s leg, but the little boy scrunched further away.

“Donnie, we talked about this in your room.  This is Mommy’s friend from work.  Say hello to Mr. Stryker.”

“Hello,” the child said, from behind her.

Jade motioned for Mac to sit on the blanket spread out on the floor.

“Sit down, Donnie.  Our pizza is getting cold.”

Jade moved to the kitchen to grab the pizza and paper plates.  Her son clung like a leech to her leg.

“Donnie, let go,” she ordered.  She gently pulled away.  Her sweater rode above her waist, and Mac was surprised to see she was wearing a firearm in the house.  Most cops carried a weapon in public when off-duty, but it was rare to wear one in your own home.  Somebody must have really spooked her.  His mind flashed back on the box of flowers she’d gotten yesterday and then the box today.  He wondered if the flowers and wearing the gun in the house were connected.  Maybe he’d get the chance to ask her later.

“Hey, champ, would you like me to tell you how the firemen rescued me today?”

Bingo!  The boy’s eyes lit up like fireworks, but he stayed put, warily eyeing Mac’s discolored face.

Mac patted the blanket beside him.  “Come sit down and I’ll tell you how my face got all banged up and bruised.”   He was pleased when Donnie plopped right down next to him.

While Mac told a watered-down version of the rescue, Jade placed large pieces of pizza onto the plates.

Donnie sat transfixed while his new friend finished the story.

“So you see,” Mac said, wiping a spot of tomato sauce from the boy’s mouth, “you must never ever play near a flood control channel.”

“I won’t.  I promise,” Donnie said, crossing his heart with his index finger.

Mac and Jade made small talk while they ate.  Afterward, they all went to the kitchen and took part in icing the cupcakes.  Pretty soon, Donnie was yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“I’d better get going.  I’ve stayed too long,” Mac said, stretching.

“Can’t you visit a little longer?” Jade asked.  “There’s something I need to talk to you about.  Just let me give Donnie a quick bath and put him to bed.”

Mac was surprised.  He’d never intended to stay this long.  He wondered what she wanted.  “Sure, I’ve got a few more minutes.”

“I wanna eat a cupcake,” Donnie whined.

“You can take them to Grandpa’s house tomorrow,” Jade quickly replied.

“No,” Donnie said, scowling.  He crossed his arms across his small chest.  “I didn’t get no cookies at Grandpa’s and I want a cupcake now.”

Jade sighed and wordlessly went to the kitchen and grabbed a still-warm treat from the tray, then hustled the little boy into the bathroom.

Mac heard the water filling the tub as well as the muffled sounds of Jade and Donnie talking.

Looking around the apartment, Mac sighed.  Jade had made a nice home.  Pictures of her and Donnie were prominently displayed around the room.  The furniture wasn’t cold and sterile-looking like the furnishings at his place.  Her sofa showed areas where the fabric was worn thin, and the bookcases had their share of dings, but her home was comfortable and lived in.  He’d had a home like this once, but some scumbag had stolen that life away from him.

Recognizing he was driving himself into a dark mood, Mac descended on the paper plates and napkins strewn across the blanket, and carried them to the kitchen trash.  Then he carried the plastic bottle of root beer to the refrigerator.  He closed the door harder than he intended.  The florist’s box, perched on top of the icebox, slid to the floor with a dull thud.  The crimson ribbon snapped and the top of the package became dislodged.

He started to place the carton on top of the refrigerator, but broken pieces of dried petals sifted from the box to the floor.

Carefully using his fingers to peer inside the box, he discovered dead roses inside.

What’s up with this?
  He scanned the box quickly for a card.  Not seeing one, he replaced the lid, and set the carton back on top of the fridge.  Something was definitely weird about the flower boxes Jade was getting.  Did they all contain dead flowers?  If so, why?

He returned to the living room and folded the blanket.  Seeing nothing else to put away, he sat on the navy sofa and turned on the TV to the local news.

Although his eyes focused on the images on the screen, his mind was racing.  This was the second box of flowers Jade had received in two days.  She looked like hell yesterday when she got the first box, and she didn’t look much better when he’d showed her the package tonight.  She also wore a gun in her own home.  Something wasn’t right.

An ex-boyfriend might send one box of dead roses as a joke, but certainly not two.  The whole scenario stunk, but would she tell him what was going on?  His cop instincts were on full alert.  He’d have to come up with a plan to get her to tell him what was going on.

A few minutes later, Jade returned to the front room and sank into the recliner.  Mac saw her gaze dart around the room and acknowledge the cleaning he’d done.

“Thanks for picking up the picnic.  Sometimes Donnie wears me out,” she said.

“He’s a great kid.  You’ve done well with him.  I’d always hoped to have a little boy someday.”

Jade’s head snapped up and her mouth was set in a hard line.  “You know, it was a bad idea for you to come here.  I don’t let my work life and my personal life overlap.  You’re risking your job and jeopardizing mine, too.”

Mac leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.  His hands were clasped comfortably.  “Jade, you worry too much.  Do you think the department has Internal Affairs following probationers to see if they share a meal with their training officer?  From what you’ve told me, they’re overworked as it is.  We’ve done nothing wrong.”

She shook her head.  “I’m your immediate supervisor.  You being at my house could be distorted as misconduct.  You really should leave.”

Her attitude had totally changed from when she asked him to stay.  What had set her off?  Mac sat back and gave her a hard stare.  “You’re forgetting you’re the one who asked me to stay.  What was that all about?  Or, are you afraid that whoever sent you the flowers will show up and get mad if he finds me here?  Is it the boy's father?”  She gave him a blank look.  “Maybe if you put them in a vase, he won’t be quite so upset when he sees me here.”  Mac stood and walked toward the kitchen.

“Stop!  What do you think you’re doing?” she cried.  She darted to the refrigerator, pushing in front of him.  She placed herself between him and the heavy appliance.

Well, this was getting cozy
.  He couldn’t help the corners of his mouth lifting into a slight smile.  His plan to shake her up was working perfectly.  His gaze searched her face.  “I’d say you really don’t want me to see who sent you those flowers.”

Jade’s breathing was distracting him.  He was standing so close her breasts threatened to graze the front of his chest with every breath. 
But would that necessarily be a bad thing?

“It...It’s none of your business who sent the flowers.”

“Is it someone from work?” he whispered.  “Is someone there bothering you?”

He could feel the warmth of her breath on his face.  His heart beat with the staccato of rapid gunfire.  Her face was so close to his.  Ever so gently he placed his lips on hers.  She froze in place.  He worried she might push him away, but her hands hung at her sides as though weighted.  He slanted his mouth slightly, deepening the kiss.  He felt her relax.  He pulled away.  Her eyes flew open with a look of surprise.

“Now,
this
could border on misconduct,” he said.  “So what do you say we get these flowers in some water and then you can tell me why you asked me to stay.”

He’d really gotten her flustered.  Still she didn’t move, but her eyes darted around the room occasionally landing on his face.  She had a funny look on her face.  He hoped she didn’t start crying.  He hated it when women cried.

“So where’s a vase?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“A vase.  A glass container that holds water and you put flowers in it.”  He started to open some of the upper cupboard doors.

“Mac, stop it!”  She swatted his hands away from the cabinet.  “You just can’t come in here and start wiping chocolate from my face, telling me you want a son, asking questions about my life, and kissing me.  You’ve got to leave.”

“I thought you wanted to tell me something,” he prodded.

“No. There’s nothing.  Forget about the flowers.  You’ve got to go home.”

“Hey, I’m sorry.  I upset you.”  Maybe the kiss had been too much.

“No, no.  I just realized how late it’s getting.  I get up early to take Donnie to his grandfather’s.”  She moved to the living room and retrieved his bulky jacket from the chair.

He took the garment from her and laid it back on the chair.  Then he placed his hands on each side of her head.  “You asked me to stay because you had something to tell me.  I’m giving you my undivided attention.  What is it you want?”

For a split second a softness filled her eyes; but then she jerked her head from his grasp.

“I’m telling you I want you to leave.  I don’t remember what I wanted to talk to you about and neither of can afford to lose our jobs.  So, please…just go.”

Looking at her narrowed eyes and mouth set in a line, he saw raw fear in her face.  She was really afraid; and she seemed to be afraid of him.  She wasn’t going to tell him anything tonight…if ever.

Wanting her to relax he picked up his jacket and slipped it on.  “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”  He walked to the door.  He eyed the three deadbolts - a little excessive, even in crime-ridden Los Angeles.

“The last few tenants all wanted their own lock.”  She shrugged.  “Go figure.”

His gaze searched hers.  She squirmed, but said nothing.  He didn’t believe her.  He brought his hand to her cheek.  “Be safe, Jade.”

He wanted to kiss her again, but he left instead.  As soon as he was out the door he heard her immediately secure all the deadbolts in place.

Mac drove home with his stomach in turmoil.  His plan had started well.  He’d wanted to shake her up and get her to tell him who was sending her dead roses.  Maybe that’s why she asked him to stay so she could tell him about the gold boxes.  He struck his steering wheel in frustration.

Instead of letting her tell him about the boxes he’d tried to force her hand and wound up kissing her.  That’s when she got flustered and hustled him out of the house.  Now he had no clue who was sending her the flowers.  Could it be the father of the little boy?  He was a cute kid.  Suddenly, overwhelming sadness fell over him.  He missed his daughter.  He missed being a father.  He missed his wife.

His thoughts turned to kissing Jade.  He hadn’t intended to kiss her, but when she’d wedged herself in front of him, he hadn’t been able to resist.  It had been absolute agony to pull away from her, but he’d needed to.  He was getting way too aroused, and she was right, they both could get in big trouble if someone thought they were involved.  Of course, he still didn’t know who sent her the flowers or why.  The most likely answer was a ticked off boyfriend.  Maybe tomorrow she’d open up.  At work he could focus on getting information and not be distracted by her green eyes and her full round breasts.  At least he hoped so.