“And she’s trained better than Gorecki ever was,” Gene Demetrius shot back. “You know who her uncle was; you can damn well better be sure he got her the best hand to hand training money could buy. She was a cop, for cryin’ out loud. A crooked one, but still.”
“Well, that’s just it,” Ames pointed out. “Past tense on that ‘cop’ thing. She screwed up, and she knows it. I think maybe she just needs a friend, and thought that, given she has some good memories of Nick, and I married him, maybe I’d be as nice as Nick.”
“Or maybe she wants Nick back so she can ride his coattails, and she’s looking to bump you off… and the baby, along with,” Adrian Mott said.
“Guys, at least give her a chance,” Ames protested. “Give me an opportunity to meet with her and see how she reacts. I hardly think she’s gonna pull a gun on me in the middle of a busy café, right off the bat, here.”
“Give her a chance? I wouldn’t trust that one with a pet kitten,” Demetrius said. “Let alone Nick’s beloved and their unborn baby.”
“Does Nick know?” Stefan Gorski asked.
“Um, meant to tell him last night, but Paul was kicking like crazy, and it was all I could do to get settled.”
“Then tell him!” Peterson said. “Now, before you go. Better yet, have him meet you there!”
“Back off, guys,” Ames said, growing irritated. “This is a girl’s afternoon out. I’ve got this under control.”
“Where are you going?” Peterson asked.
Ames, already irked, simply turned and walked out.
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING??” Peterson yelled after her, but got no response save the distant sound of a door closing.
“That ain’t good,” Mott decreed when Ames was gone. “Anybody think we need to be pinging Nick, like right away?”
“I think that’s a damn good plan, and I’m all over it,” Peterson declared. “Get ready to go tail her, guys.”
“I got that,” Mott said, grabbing a couple of items out of his disguise kit and donning them as he headed after Ames. “You guys get Nick on this, and I’ll tell you where to meet me for backup. Assuming she doesn’t recognize me and give me the slip.”
“She better not,” Demetrius warned. “This is Cally’s life we’re talking, here, Adrian. And her baby’s life.”
“I know. I’ll do my dead-level best,” Mott said, and he was gone.
“IPD Investigations. Detective Ashton here,” Ashton answered the call that came in on the official VR line.
“Nick, it’s Maia. Did you know that Cally was going to be meeting Tabby Koch today for coffee?”
“She WHAT?!” Nick shouted out loud; outside his office, several of the investigators perked up, looking at their lead’s office door. Stone and Peabody exchanged worried glances, then Peabody nodded at the door, and they both rose and eased over to the doorframe, to see a pale, upset Ashton sitting in VR.
“That’s kind of our reaction,” Maia said then. “Evidently Koch made some sort of friendship offer to your wife, and Cal accepted it – or swallowed it, one; I’m more inclined to the latter, and so is the rest of The Team. The problem is, Cally thinks she can handle it; she’s got that reputation as the top of her Academy class at hand-to-hand, and with the baby and the hormones, I dunno. She thinks she’s Super Mom or something, I guess. I’m worried she’s overestimating her abilities, especially with that huge baby bump, never mind the hormones starting to loosen the joints…”
“Yeah, she was having some issues with her hips the other night. And Tabby was top of her class at hand-to-hand, too,” Ashton pointed out, “and she doesn’t have a baby on the way. This isn’t good, Maia.”
“I know, sweetie, I know. Listen, if you know of a coffee shop she likes or frequents, I’d say to hightail it over there. You might just be in time to stop something bad happening.”
“Shit, shit, shit, and hellfire,” Ashton cursed aloud, to the dismay of Peabody and Stone, before dropping back into the VR call. “No, I have no clue on that, Maia. She doesn’t have a favorite, because she tends to prefer brewing it at home; we have a French press…”
“Oh, I get it,” Maia said then. “And no, that’s even worse, because that means that Koch suggested the place.”
“Did she give you any clues?”
“Mmm, lemme think.”
“Hurry, Maia.”
“My brain only goes so fast, hon. Now hush and lemme replay her conversation.”
Ashton silenced and waited. Only then did he glance up and see Stone and Peabody in his door, and a goodly part of the rest of The Gang, behind them. He held up a finger in the classic wait gesture, then pointed to his temple, and they nodded understanding.
“Cally?” Peabody mouthed, and Ashton nodded.
“With Tabby Koch, right now,” he murmured in response.
“Oh shit, oh damn,” Stone cursed under his breath.
“What possessed the woman?” Peabody wondered, and Ashton shook his head, closing his eyes.
Just then, Peterson came back on the channel.
“Nick? You still there, honey?”
“I’m here, Maia. Whatcha got for me?”
“Not much. It’s a café, not a diner or other restaurant, and she called it a busy one. So it’s probably on the main drag someplace, in one of the arcades, and she didn’t take the mobility scooter thing, so it can’t be too far from here…”
“Okay, Maia, thanks. I’m gonna get some of my people and see what we can find.”
“Adrian Mott went after her, trying to tail her,” Peterson told him. “If we hear from him, I’ll tell you, and The Team will come along for backup.”
“It’s a plan,” Ashton said. “Talk later, Maia.”
“Later, baby boy. I’ll notify Lee for
