Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos (2 page)

The group of insomniacs she referred to as ‘her girls’ were members of an online police wives’ group she belonged to. Internet was the one real splurge neither she nor Jason could give up, no matter how frugal they tried to be. Grabbing a blanket off the back of a chair, she curled up in the corner of the sofa and waited for the familiar login screen. The clock on the microwave had read 2:56 when she passed through the kitchen for a glass of water. So many years of Jason working the night shift had drastically altered her sleeping patterns. Even when he was home, she never slept all the way through the night. Three a.m. was the witching hour for her. Without fail, every single night, three hundred and sixty-five nights a year, she awoke at the same time. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she believed that if something was going to happen out on Jason’s patrol, it would be at three in the morning. Her subconscious obviously believed that if Cyndi were awake, she could somehow prevent the horrible thing that was supposed to happen to the man she had loved for fifteen years.

The familiar blue background of the site filled her computer screen. Cyndi joined the secret group of police wives immediately. As far as she could tell, they were all there. She greeted the group with her usual conversation starter.

Cyndi: Good evening, ladies. It’s 3 a.m. Do you know where your husbands are?

Angela: With a hooker…AND her john! LOL.

Diana: Crack house!

Jessy: Jail!

Cyndi: Ah, so all the usual places, then? LOL.

Diana: Jason on duty tonight?

Cyndi: Nope. It was my work night.

Angela: How’s that new job of yours going?

Cyndi: Made three hundred bucks tonight…

Diana: That’s something like $150 an hour!

Cyndi: I know.

Jessy: Does Jason know yet?

Cyndi: No. And he isn’t going to.

Diana: How do you explain all the extra money?

Cyndi: *sigh* I don’t…I only give him about $100 of it every two weeks. What I would make if I was still cleaning offices.

Angela: What about the rest?

Cyndi: Right now? It’s in an oatmeal container in the back of the pantry. Jason hates oatmeal! LMAO.

Diana: LMAO I might have to steal that idea. Donnie has no idea that all those calls coming in on Saturday night aren’t actually from shopping network customers. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Detective Massey discovered what his wife really did while he was working the night shift?

Jessy: Maybe he’ll think it’s hot that his wife moonlights as a phone sex operator? LOL.

Diana: I totally doubt that! LOL. Hard to give up though, been doing it since Jackson was a baby. I think I am as addicted to it as much as those creepers who call in every night!

Jessy: Eeewww! LOL

Angela: So what y’all are saying is that your husbands work their asses off worrying about money and they have no idea you two sexy things are raking in the dough?

Cyndi: Trust me when I say Jason doesn’t give a damn about money. All he worries about are perps…and potential perps…and people who don’t even know they might qualify as potential perps…

Jessy: Your boy needs to get over himself, Cyn…not everyone is out to get him.

Cyndi: Try telling that to him! LOL. I’ve been unsuccessful at getting through to him for too many years.

Diana: Donnie doesn’t care about money either. As long as he has clean socks and underwear and his next meal is always waiting he could care less about what comes in or goes out.

Angela: Yeah, my Jake is the same way. As far as he is concerned there is a money tree growing in the basement…oh wait…we live in the south, we don’t have a basement.

Jessy: LOL. Sam thinks we have a tree too, I swear!

Angela: Not to change the subject or anything, but a weird call came in to dispatch tonight when I was on shift.

Diana: Weird how?

Angela: Some heavy breathing dude called in from one of those dump phones, you know the pay-as-you-go cell phones? Yeah, he called in, said, “The girl is dead,” and hung up.

Cyndi: That was all he said?

Angela: Yup. He didn’t say anything else, just hung up. I couldn’t even dispatch a unit to check it out, we had no idea where he was calling from. The number came up as “cell phone.”

Diana: Hmmm…maybe a drunk playing games?

Angela: He sounded pretty sober and lucid to me, but who knows? He could have been an escaped mental patient or something. I passed the information on to Jake. He was on duty tonight so he and his partner did a little digging but nothing turned up.

Jessy: Because there are so many escaped mental patients wandering around the streets of Virginia Beach…you are more likely to run into a fox! LOL

Cyndi: OMG! Jason and I were talking about the foxes tonight too! He thinks I give too much credit to that stupid article.

Diana: The beach has foxes all right, but they are more the two-legged variety waiting to pounce on all the pretty bikini-clad sheep!

Cyndi let out a big yawn. Harper would be awake in another three hours.

Cyndi: I am gonna call it a night, ladies. Little one will be up with the sun.

Diana: Yeah, I’m pretty beat too. Night, all!

The other ladies bid farewell and Cyndi shut her computer down. In no time at all, the sun was shining, and little Harper was standing by her bed. The nightstand clock read 6:30, much too early to get up.

“I’m hungry, Mommy.”

“Of course you are, my little sweet pea,” Cyndi muttered. “How about you cuddle Mommy for a minute or two first?”

“Okay!” Harper wasted no time climbing in between her and Jason. Her husband never even stirred, and it wasn’t long before she and Harper both drifted back to sleep.

Chapter Two

Sunday evening they were walking along the boardwalk at Atlantic Avenue, enjoying the off season climate of the resort area, when out of nowhere, Jason brought up her job again. “I think we should get someone to watch Harper, and I will go to work with you on Friday night.”

“Absolutely not.” Hopefully she didn’t sound as panicked as she felt. Apparently she did, because Jason stopped walking. He was wearing his cop look when he stepped in front of her.

“And why not?” he demanded in his cop voice sternly.

“Stop talking to me like you just arrested me!” Cyndi snapped, scrambling to buy a little time while she could come up with a believable response.

“Cyndi…” There was a warning in his voice she had heard many times over the years. It used to drive her crazy, but now she was only mildly annoyed.

“Wouldn’t it be sort of pointless to pay a babysitter for Harper so I can work? The sitter will cost more than I make.”

“Quit your job.”

“You know that’s not going to happen.” She started moving again, walking around the stoic figure of her husband. She prayed Jason would let the subject drop, but she should have known better. In two long strides, he was in front of her again, arms crossed, boot-covered feet shoulder-width apart. His interrogation stance. She had seen a couple of videos of him doing interrogations, and Jason always took that position when he was close to getting the information he wanted. He wore military style boots everywhere. It was one of his ‘readiness’ things. He always had to be prepared for anything, and flip-flops wouldn’t be good survival footwear.

“You make fifty bucks a week. I am pretty sure we could survive without it.”

“It’s not about the money, Jason. I told you that before.”

“Then what’s it about?”

His piercing gaze bore straight into her, but Cyndi stood her ground. “I’m not one of your suspects you need to interrogate. I am your wife.” He needed to listen to her, and she wasn’t going to back down.

“It is about
me
having something all my own. My days and nights revolve around you and Harper, and I wouldn’t ever want to change a thing. I love you both with all my heart, but I still need something that is mine. Please try and understand that, J.J.”

“Can’t you get a day job, then? Maybe work in a supermarket or something?”

“And then there would be the problem of who would watch Harper. Friday nights are perfect. You’re home, she is with you, and the money I make is actually a contribution to our household.”

“I don’t like it. You’re too vulnerable.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not weak, and I’m not a child.”

“You don’t know what men are capable of, Cyn. I’ve seen…”

“I know. You’ve seen some terrible things. I get that. But you can’t keep Harper and me locked away in a tower.”

His face softened slightly with a half-smile as he reached up and pushed her wind-blown hair behind her ear. “I know I can’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

Standing on tip-toe, she kissed her husband on the cheek. A series of cat calls and whistles sounded from the beach where a group of middle school boys were playing sand soccer. Jason growled but Cyndi laughed and waved as they walked on. Maybe it was time to start thinking about another child.

“Hey, Jay, you ever think about us having another baby?”

“Would you quit your job if we did?”

She thought about that for a second. Quitting her job would be an absolute. No one wanted to see a clumsy pregnant woman with bloated ankles pole-dancing or shaking her tassels, despite how big her boobs would get.

“I suppose I would.”

Jason looked at his watch. “Well, let’s go home and get started, then.”

Cyndi laughed and kissed her husband on the cheek. “I didn’t mean right this minute. I simply meant it was something we should think about.”

“I thought about it. I like the idea. Harper needs a little brother.”

“A little brother? You think the next one will be a boy?”

“Why not? We already have a perfect daughter. I’d like a son. Maybe we will get lucky.”

“I think good luck would be a strong, healthy baby.” They got to the car, and Cyndi set about situating Harper in her booster seat.

“I definitely agree. You know what’s good for making strong, healthy baby boys?” Jason grinned, a devilish look in his blue eyes.

Cyndi closed the door and headed to the front seat. “I don’t, but I am sure you are going to tell me.”

“Practice!” Jason laughed heartily as he climbed in to the driver’s side. As usual, the car had been parked so that he could pull out nose first. Tactical parking, Jason called it. The best way to get away in a bad situation was to drive away and not worry about having to back up. Gave you the advantage in a tactical situation, Jason always liked to remind her. Sometimes, when she was alone, Cyndi purposely pulled into a parking spot, instead of backing in. It was her own little secret rebellion. Cyndi slipped into the passenger seat, smiling to herself. Jason waited patiently while she snapped her seatbelt closed, like she knew he would, and then he eased the car out of the spot and quickly joined the traffic on Atlantic Avenue.

They spent the evening having dinner and playing with Harper. Cyndi treasured family time. Jason’s hours were always so unpredictable, and sometimes days passed before they had any quality time together. As she tucked Harper into bed that night, she sighed contentedly. Life was good.

Closing the door to her daughter’s room quietly, she turned straight into her husband’s arms.

“Jason! What are you doing?”

“Holding my wife.” He nibbled her earlobe, his breath warm and tantalizing against her skin. “Do you have a problem with that?”

She melted against the hardness of his chest. “Mmm…no. No problem at all.”

“I believe we have a job to do.” His lips worked their way from her ear down to the sensitive spot on the side of her neck that always drove her crazy. One pass from Jason’s tongue, and her knees went weak.

“What job?” Cyndi managed to gasp.

“You wanted to practice making a baby. I’m volunteering.” His fingertips trailed slowly down her spine, his palms flattening against her lower back and pulling her toward him. His willingness to do the job pressed hard against her thigh.

“What are you waiting for?” she whispered against the lips that had finally made their way to hers.

Without another word, Jason scooped her up and carried her down the hall to the master bedroom. Jason tripped over the pair of boots he had kicked off earlier in the evening, stumbling forward. They landed on the bed in a tumbled heap, giggling like teenagers hiding from their parents.

“Shhhh!” Cyndi warned. “We’re going to wake Harper!”

“Nah. That little lady sleeps like her old man. A bomb outside her window wouldn’t wake her.”

Cyndi fumbled with the button on Jason’s jeans while he wildly tore at her top, trying to get it up over Cyndi’s head, simultaneously working on the hooks on her bra.

“Why do you even bother with these things?” Jason growled in exasperation.

Cyndi laughed. “How sexy would it be if my breasts sagged to my waist?”

“At least they would be a hell of a lot easier to access!”

Reaching behind her back, Cyndi tripped the simple hooks and tossed her bra across the room. Jason’s hands were everywhere, burning a trail of desire across her skin as he freed her from her jeans and panties. Every time with her husband was like their first for Cyndi. Except for all the embarrassed giggling and fumbling around.

“Stop frisking me, Officer, and lock me up already. I can’t wait anymore!” She dropped back on her pillow, pulling Jason down on top of her.

“You have the right to remain sexy…” Jason’s mouth found its way to her right breast.

“Anything you do will be considered sexy…” He moved to her left breast. Cyndi moaned as his tongue worked its magic on her skin.

“If you do not understand these rights…” His hands wandered low below her waist while his lips continued to torture her.

“Come on, J.J., please…” Cyndi moaned. “Stop teasing.”

One thing about her cop husband, he knew how to follow directions. In ten seconds flat, she was soaring with the angels. “Ohhhh…J.J.!”

Jason chuckled as he collapsed on top of her, looking very satisfied with himself. “Just like when we used to park behind the old library, huh, Cyn?”

She could feel his heart racing against her own. “Except we don’t have to worry about my father finding us.”

Planting tiny kisses across her cheeks, Jason made his way back to that one spot on her neck, right behind her ear that never failed to excite her. “J.J.? What are you doing?”

“Like you said, it’s not like your dad’s gonna find us,” he whispered gruffly against her ear.

She arched her back against the heat of his hands travelling across her abdomen. “No…” She breathed. “I don’t suppose he is.”

“I’ve got all night, and you are under arrest.”

“I confess, or give up, or whatever…” She moaned as desire built deep in her abdomen once again.

After a couple of rounds of ‘practice,’ her husband snored softly beside her. Cyndi lay in the dark, wide awake as usual. The insomnia thing was really getting old. Between the fresh air, long walk, and Jason’s ‘practice’ sessions, she should have been exhausted. Instead, all she wanted was to get up and go chat with her girls on the computer. Slipping out of bed as quietly as she could, Cyndi passed through the hall and into the living room. Finding her favorite blanket for such clandestine meetings, she settled herself on the sofa while the laptop booted up. In minutes, she was logged in. The girls were already involved in a deep conversation about the evening’s episode of
Law and Order: SVU
. She and Jason had been otherwise engaged during the episode, so she read up on what was going on before greeting her friends with her usual line.

Cyndi: Hello, ladies! It’s 3 a.m., do you know where your husbands are?

Jessy: Hey, Cyn! Didn’t think you would make it tonight. For a change, Sam is actually home tonight! Sleeping, of course, but home.

Diana: Last I heard, sitting on a flop house waiting to see what sort of hand-to-hand “transactions” take place.

Angela: Hospital duty. Brought in a DUI, waiting to take him to booking after a blood draw. Not very exciting…

Cyndi: Got some news. Jason tried to get me to quit my job. Well, first he wanted to go to work with me to protect me from the evils that lurk in the shadows.

Jessy: What did you say?

Diana: Oh, man, I don’t think that’s gonna work!

Cyndi: Don’t worry, I talked him out of it.

Angela: Oh good. What did you say?

Cyndi: That we should have another baby.

Diana: Damn, Cyn! A little extreme, don’t you think?

Cyndi: Not at all. I told him I still needed some time though and he suggested we practice.

Angela: Practice?

Diana: You know, have S-E-X! LOL

Angela: Oh…practice…!

Jessy: Ah…so the truth comes out…you were late to log on tonight because you were talking your husband out of stalking you at work by having sex with him to distract him.

Cyndi: Absolutely. It worked like a charm too. He is asleep and I am still going to work on Friday.

Angela: Well, you be careful either way. We had another call tonight.

Jessy: Same guy as the other night?

Angela: I think so. He said the same thing about a girl being dead. This time he called from a payphone though.

Diana: Must have been the last remaining payphone in Virginia Beach. I didn’t even know those things still existed.

Angela: Apparently they still pop up at the occasional convenience store. By the time a patrol unit got to the store the guy was long gone.

Cyndi: Damn. I hope Jason doesn’t hear about this. He will get all over me about quitting again.

Jessy: It’s probably nothing, Cyndi. More than likely some dude with too much time on his hands. Even Jason would have to realize that.

Cyndi: I hope you are right.

A light turned on in the hallway. Harper appeared in the door to the living room, rubbing her sleepy eyes with little fists. “Mommy? Is it time to wake up?”