Good Chemistry (20 page)

“Well, Java for sure. Maybe Australia. We could disappear into the Outback and no one would ever find us.”

Rick sat back and listened with rapt attention. His eyes took on a child-like glimmer, like they did whenever Heidi started talking about all the places they would go.

“Definitely Japan. Tokyo. And one of those Zen temples. I want to see one of those.”

Chapter 21

One week earlier

Bernie and Joanna pulled up to the main gate of the sanitarium. They were expected but the guard looked them over warily. For an escapee, Bernie was awfully relaxed.

Dr. Rodero had locked Judy up just long enough to save face and then he wanted her the hell out of his sanitarium. Given the choice between pressing charges or never seeing her again, he quickly picked the latter.

“Oh thank God. Finally.” Judy came hustling down the corridor still buttoning the last button on her jeans as she went. Judy threw her arms around Bernie’s neck.

“Man, you’ve got to get me out of here. These people are nuts.” Judy pulled Bernie along by the arm as they dashed out the door.

“Hey, Judy, guess what?” Bernie turned to face Judy, who was in the center of the backseat of Joanna’s car.

“What?”

“We got you out for a very special reason.” Judy’s mind went to work on it immediately but came up empty.

“For what? Tell me.” Bernie’s smile stretched from ear–to-ear. She gave a quick, knowing glance to Joanna, who apparently already knew the secret.

“I need you to be my maid of honor.” Bernie said with a burst of joy.

“Oh my God. You mean Andrew, right?” Judy asked, only half joking.

“Of course Andrew. Who else would I mean?”

“See. My plan worked perfectly just like I said it would.”

Bernie blushed as she wiggled her ring finger under Judy’s nose for inspection.

“So when are you guys going to do it?” Judy looked from one to the other and back again.

Bernie cracked up first, and then Joanna couldn’t help herself.

“Right now. Today,” Bernie finally blurted out.

“But I can’t today. I just got out of the loony bin.” Judy didn’t seem to notice they’d pulled up in front of a wedding dress store.

After trying on her fourth dress, Judy settled on the only one that hid her slight beer belly. After they paid, they headed over to Joanna’s house where everyone was waiting.

“So what about Heidi?” Judy whispered from the back seat.

“Heidi is just a memory.” Bernie dusted her hands off on one another with a note of triumph in her voice.

If only it were true. Unfortunately, as Joanna, Bernie, and Judy went to get the wedding underway, across the city Rick and Heidi were anything but forgotten.

Heidi finished cleaning her gun then expertly reassembled it.

“Focus on this.” Heidi held up a snapshot of Andrew’s leather attaché case. “The research has got to be in there.

Rick dug around in a black gym bag, double-checking to make sure they had everything.

“I’m ready. Let’s do this thing.”

Heidi smiled judgmentally. Rick was getting into his gung-ho action-figure mode he developed watching TV. While Rick played with his gun and then fiddled with the detonator cord, Heidi coolly stared at him.

The guy was decent in bed. She’d miss that about him. But if this score turned out to be half as sweet as it looked, then it would be time for Heidi to get an upgrade. She could almost see the finish line coming into view. Just a few more strides and she’d have Rick out of her life and out of her way.

The constant nagging worry that the imbecile would come home one day with a parade of cops trailing behind him was now a three-alarm fire since Rick had murdered Keith.

“All right. Let’s do it.” Heidi got up and headed for the car, Rick close on her heels.

After he tossed the gym bag in the back seat, he climbed in behind the wheel. They headed over to the small laboratory in the dark of night.

Meanwhile, back at Andrew’s parents’ house, Joanna had the entire backyard decorated with ribbons and streamers. There were huge bouquets of flowers all around their white gazebo. Bernie was glowing. Her dress was a simple white silk with spaghetti straps. Her skin was so soft and white it was hard to make out the lines of her dress.

Andrew looked regal in his gray tuxedo. As the minister finished up and they exchanged vows Andrew slipped his ring on Bernie’s slender finger and she did the same. Bernie’s eyes twinkled as she said ‘I do.’

Andrew drew her up close to him and pressed his lips to hers. A spark jumped between them. Andrew held Bernie close as they danced their first dance as husband and wife.

After they cut the cake and posed for a million pictures, Andrew had one final surprise for Bernie. The ride to the honeymoon suite downtown arrived: a mammoth horse-drawn carriage pulled up alongside the curb.

Andrew opened the white, hand-tooled door to the carriage and then presented his arm for Bernie to balance herself as she took the two quick steps.

Inside, Bernie sat down in the deep black velvet seat. Andrew squeezed in next to her. The horseman gave a gentle snap on the reins and they were off at a trot. When they arrived at the Fairmont and got up to their suite, Andrew swept Bernie off her feet and carried her over the threshold.

With a little toss, Andrew dropped Bernie on the bed. Andrew’s eyes were alive with a burning passion that Bernie had never seen before. Andrew slipped off his tuxedo jacket and went to work popping his buttons. Finally, down to his birthday suit, he looked at Bernie like a beast. A wild hunger burned in his eyes.

Bernie purred softly as Andrew pulled her dress off. Andrew pinned Bernie to the bed and went to work massaging her full bouncy breasts. Bernie moaned with pleasure as Andrew showered her neck with kisses. Working his way down he left a trail of hot, wet kisses from Bernie’s sweet mouth all the way to the silky soft skin of her belly.

Bernie’s sweet aroma filled Andrew’s senses as his tongue flickered back and forth on her clitoris. Working his fingers in deeper and deeper, Bernie began to moan and buck. Her back spasmed in one violent arch after another.

Bernie’s hands were buried in Andrew’s hair. One hand pushing him away and the other pulling him in deeper like a cat working out a stretch. Then Andrew mounted her.

“Ah . . . ah . . . ahhh.” Bernie was holding on for dear life as orgasm after orgasm flashed through her. As Andrew finally began to soften inside of her, Bernie pushed him off and onto his back. But Andrew returned to a full state of arousal as Bernie began breathing hot pants of air on his ear and neck.

Bernie kissed Andrew all over his neck and chest as she used two fingers to walk down his stomach. Bernie playfully massaged her fingertips in Andrew’s pubic hair. Gradually, she inched her fingers bit by bit until she closed her hand around his throbbing erection.

Bernie guided Andrew back inside of her. Slowly she began to rock back and forth. With each stroke, Bernie bounced herself off Andrew’s groin until the entire bed was bouncing along with every rhythmic jolt.

“Oh . . . oh . . . oh, God. Yes. Yes. Yes.” Bernie’s words trailed off to a hard breathing mutter as her orgasm played itself out. Collapsing down on Andrew’s chest, she felt as though she were melting into his arms. It felt like they were merging into one.

Just at that moment, the alarm started going off on Andrew’s watch, warning him of a problem at the lab. Then Bernie’s started going off as well. They tried to ignore them for a moment but Bernie gave in and picked up her phone.

“Oh my God. Someone’s breaking into the lab.” Bernie turned to Andrew.

After a few minutes of fumbling to get their clothes back on, the newlyweds were in their car and headed for the lab in the wee hours of the morning. Neither of them could have known it then, but the honeymoon was over.

Debra looked out over the calm waters of the Caribbean. It was their last night in Cuba before they had to head back to Miami and deal with Kane and Meacham.

“Here.” Alex touched Debra on the shoulder with an ice-cold beer.

“Thanks.” Alex scooted himself in next to her on the deck. The band of the Milky Way shimmered over their heads.

“Pretty nice, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess I could get used to it.” Alex smiled and wrinkled his nose up in disbelief.

“So, Belize . . . you want to do it?”

“Let’s just see what happens tomorrow first.”

It was bad enough when Debra thought she would have to let Kane and Meacham get away with stealing the blue diamond. But shooting a cop? And right in front of Debra. This brought something into play for Debra that she didn’t think Alex would be able to understand.

Debra was a cop and she couldn’t let these scumbags waste a fellow officer. Even if she were quitting she’d see to it that they went down for it. No matter what the cost to her or her career.

“I understand.” Alex ran the back of his fingers up and down, gently across her cheek causing goose bumps to rise in the cool Atlantic spray.

“And just what exactly do you understand?” Debra said playfully.

“That you have to go back for him. The officer who was shot. Just tell me what you need me to do.”

Debra sat there stunned. Hmmm, maybe he did understand.

“Well I’ll tell you what I need right now. . .” Debra purred as she got up and pulled Alex up to his feet. “. . . is for us not to talk about what we have to do tomorrow anymore.” Debra pulled Alex along behind her as she led him below deck.

There was no telling what might happen tomorrow. This might be their last night together for all they knew. And Debra didn’t want to waste it. Debra pushed Alex back onto the bed and started tickling the tip of his nose with her tongue.

Debra only had on an orange two-piece bikini. Alex’s fingers quickly found their way to either hip and pulled the string on each side sending the bikini bottoms tumbling down to be lost in the sheets.

Alex cupped Debra’s face and looked deeply into her eyes.

His fingers caressed the delicate curve of her waist. Debra’s mouth work in unison with Alex’s. His fingers gently tugged at the roundest part of her butt. Debra kissed him passionately as their bodies pulsed together to the same beat.

For most of the night, the two well-honed athletic bodies ground away at each other until they finally dozed off a few hours before sunrise. Alex was up with the first rays of morning. He rested his hand lazily over the wheel as he sailed them home.

Debra was still asleep below deck. Enjoying some well-deserved rest. Alex kept turning things over in his mind. He couldn’t see another way around it. Debra wouldn’t like it. He knew that. However, he didn’t see any other way. Quietly, as Debra lay sleeping, Alex pulled the boat in and tied it off.

By the time Debra even roused, he was already halfway across the city. On his way to Kane’s house. Alex had no trouble finding the place. Kane and Meacham had been the primary detectives on his case for well over a year before they turned it over to Debra.

So he’d been in Kane’s house a few times before. Once, just to get a feel for the guy and then again a few months later. Kane kept running him mouth about a clue in the Doc Robber case. So Alex gave the place the once-over just to be sure. Now Kane was sleeping alone in his giant king-size bed that he had drove his wife from. Alex crept past silently.

After having a quiet look around, Alex reached in behind the television set into the void space filled with dust bunnies. He came out with a carefully folded handkerchief. Folded up inside, the blue diamond felt cold as it fell into Alex’s hand. In its place, he substituted a cheap cubic zirconium imitation. He replaced it exactly as he found it.

Alex paused at the foot of Kane’s bed. As Kane softly snored, Alex could only look down and shake his head. This poor bastard was so far out of his league . . . oh well. Alex slipped out of Kane’s house as easily as he’d entered.

Alex made the early morning drive over to police headquarters where Debra worked. Bounding up the stairs two at a time Alex had a bounce in his step as he casually walked into the squad room, greeting every officer he passed along the way.

“Excuse me.” Alex took an officer gently by the arm as he tried to hurry past. “Would you mind pointing out officer Kane’s desk for me?”

The officer pointed out the right desk and grunted something unintelligible as he marched away. Alex ambled over to Kane’s desk and sat behind it as if he owned the place. Pulling open the center drawer, Alex plopped the blue diamond in from the handkerchief he used to keep his prints off it. Wiping as he pushed the drawer shut Alex got up casually and bounded across the room to the door. Alex disappeared around a corner and no one ever noticed that he was there.

Debra was just getting in to see Franklin as Alex got back to the boat to finish the last details of his plan. Debra lowered herself down in the black-leather wing chair as she’d done a dozen times before. Except this time, Debra knew she wouldn’t be taking a job with them.

This wasn’t even official police business Debra knew deep down. This was Debra playing on all the good will she’d banked with Franklin down through the years. This was to save her own ass and put them off the trail of Alex.

“So what can the Federalies help the local fuzz with this fine day?” Franklin put his hands behind his head interlocking his knuckles.

“Well you’re sure in a good mood today.”

“I’m getting promoted. I’ll be back in D.C. this time next week. I’d like to make my last official act here your hiring, if you’re ready.” There was a hint of finality in his voice. It was ‘put up or shut up’ time as far as he was concerned.

“Franklin, I can’t even think about that right now. I’ve got an emergency.”

The concern in Debra’s voice pulled Franklin to the edge of his seat. He frowned. “What is it? What do you need?”

Debra took a long deep breath before she plowed ahead.

“I need the FBI to do a sting operation on some bad cops.”

Franklin’s expression lost all of its ponderousness for once. He knew about Debra’s history of cleaning out the trash at work. The cops kept the whole thing under wraps at HQ. But even if Franklin knew Debra was under suspicion for shooting Williams he would never have believed it. He knew Debra better than that.