Walking sluggishly into the foyer, he reached the door, unlocked the deadbolt, and slowly pulled it open. Sam stood on the other side with a concerned look on her face. He looked at her and said nothing.
Her blue eyes peered up at him from under her black bangs. Shrugging her shoulders she said, “I thought you could use some company.” She lifted a brown bag in front of him and pulled out the bottle enough for him to see the black label. Opening the door a little more, he moved to the side to allow her entry.
She walked straight to the kitchen and set the bottle on the island. Brandon returned to his place on the sofa and she grabbed his glass to fill it for him. She opened a few cabinets before finding the rocks glasses and poured herself a drink as well before sitting next to him on the plush cushions.
Looking around for a moment she thought to herself how nice his place was. Large picture windows facing the lake, which allowed plenty of natural light to showcase the original brick; antiquated piping lined the corners of the walls and ceiling for a stylish, vintage feel against the new granite countertops and expensive tile and hard wood floors. After taking a sip of whiskey she asked, “So, how you holding up?”
Raising his glass he said, “Johnnie’s doin’ me right so far.”
Grabbing her hair, she pulled it over her left shoulder. “I wanted to check on you but I also wanted to fill you in on what’s going to appear in tomorrows run.”
Rubbing the stress from his neck he said, “Please tell me he didn’t...”
She set her glass down on the coffee table and placed her hands on his forearm. “Brandon, trust me. It’s best if we get ahead of this. Jim did the right thing. He had me work the write up. Right now, you’re the grieving husband, not suspect number one. Of course, according to Silverton Police, her death is still under investigation and they are not willing to make a statement at this time. That only helps you.” She reached in her bag and pulled out a paper, setting it on the table in front of him. “I brought it with me in case you wanted to read it.”
He eyed the paper for a moment before picking it up and glancing over it. “That’s a nice write up, Sam. I appreciate it. But it doesn’t change the fact that they are looking at me for this. That damn cop showed up at the cemetery,” he said handing it back to her.
Flinging her hair behind her back she said, “Yeah, well, I took care of that.”
As his eyes welled with tears he took a hard breath in and slowly let it out. Sam put her drink down placing one hand on his knee and the other on his cheek, turning his face towards hers. “Hey – hey, hey… everything is gonna be alright, Brandon.”
As he placed his hand on hers and looked into her eyes, she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. Stopping for a second to gauge the other’s emotion, they latched onto each other in a sexual frenzy. Brandon pushed her onto her back and ripped open his shirt before unbuckling his belt and pulling down his pants. Sam lifted her dress over her head and flung it onto the floor. Her panties and bra followed.
Kissing his chest, she removed his shirt and grabbed him from behind, aligning their bodies. Once he entered her, they became imprisoned in a web of passion.
Peggy was busy with a phone call when Elizabeth arrived, but she saw her pass by her door as she walked down the hallway. As soon as she hung up the phone she scurried to Elizabeth’s office. No sooner had she sat in her chair, Peggy was standing in the doorway. “I need to see you in my office,” she said sternly before quickly disappearing.
Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth pushed herself out of her chair and walked towards Peggy’s office, passing China along the way. China gave her a look of indignation and Elizabeth took a deep breath before entering the dragon’s lair. “Yes -”
“Shut the door and sit down.”
Her eyes grew wide at Peggy’s crudeness. “O-kay...”
As Elizabeth sat in one of the chairs across the desk, Peggy remained standing with both hands on her desktop. “I just got off the phone with Chief Holden.” She cocked her head a little. “Would you like to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to show up at Pam DeFranco’s funeral with Detective Martinez?”
Oh shit. Unsure of how to respond, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “I really didn’t think it was a good or bad idea to be honest.”
“Bad idea. It was a bad idea, Liz.”
She remained calm. “It’s Elizabeth.” You are far from having earned that right, lady.
Biting her bottom lip and then releasing it, she took a deep breath and continued as she looked down her nose, “Eliza-beth, you are seriously out of line here. How dare you show up to the funeral of a victim! Do you know how bad that makes this office look?”
“I paid my respects to a woman I was trying to help, Peggy.”
The color in her cheeks became a rose color. “Chief Holden received a complaint that Detective Martinez was ‘staking out the funeral’ with a blonde woman from the prosecutor’s office. They found it offensive and intrusive and frankly, I couldn’t agree more. There is
