Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop - Part 6

"We have some copies of the official police department releases of arrests that your sister was involved in and a few headline articles. Including the one where she shot the Reverend Driscoll."





Vince barely managed to maintain a facade of neutrality and Jennifer could have sworn he seemed pleased that Driscoll was dead. Dave had even less success concealing his pleasure that the man was dead and Jennifer dismissed her suspicions that either of them were wearing the strange tattoo.

"And, here is the article and photograph of Ms. Lucy Ripley. Do you, like your sister, think that Lucy was Audrey's mother as well?"

"Given the physical similarity, it seems really likely. Do you happen to know anything about Lucy yourselves?"

"Very little," Dave answered "She was here for a relatively short time and made a few friends but when she was gone.... She was gone. People move in and out of Haven, like any other town, if anyone maintained contact of any sort with her after her departure they didn't make it public."

Jennifer felt Duke move behind her and turned to look at him. His mouth was open slightly as though he wanted to say something but he didn't. Instead he stared into her eyes and she realized he was trying to communicate to her, with a flick of his eyes toward Dave she knew that he was trying to tell her that Dave was lying. She nodded in understanding but she didn't really know what to do with the information. It didn't seem wise to turn back to Dave and call him a liar. She would have to finesse the situation some more.

"What about you? What kind of relationship with Lucy did you have?"

"Oh!" Vince and Dave exclaimed together and both exchanged glances. Their expressions then both seemed to close up.

"Well... ah... We both knew of her,  of course," Dave admitted.

"And we spoke a few times in public and of course for that article," Vince concluded.

There was no point in trying to get past their stonewalling right now. She took a moment to look over the folder they had given her with the collection of photo-copied news clippings and photographs. In several of the photographs Audrey was standing with the Detective Wuornos and in one photo, the two were standing close together and looking at each other in a way that suggested they might have more than a working relationship.

"Well, thanks!" She looked up at them with a bright smile. "If you can think of anything else, just let me know." She wrote down her name and mobile number.

"That looks like a Massachusetts area code," Dave remarked.

"It is. And if you call me, I'll make arrangements for you to fax or mail anything else you find. I really appreciate what you've done. Audrey is important to me and so is any information I can collect about her."

"I can understand that," Vince's sympathy appeared genuine and Dave seemed to truly mirror that feeling. It made her warm to them, if just a little bit.

"Well... Thanks for your help. I'll keep in touch." Jennifer smiled even as she turned and left the office, Duke right behind her.

"You know they're lying through their teeth, right?"

"Yeah." She sighed in frustration and despair and pushed her fingers through her hair. "It doesn't really matter though." She looked up and her smile was warm and genuine but regretful. "You ready to go?" Her eyes and her voice matched her smile.

"Back to your hotel room?" He teased.

"You won't find the hotel safe in my room," she rose to the bait with a drawl.

Duke smiled, shrugged and pulled on the line.

"What will I find in your hotel room?"

He liked the way her mouth parted as her cheeks reddened and her eyes darkened.

Jennifer couldn't breathe and couldn't answer. She couldn't think of an answer. All the world evaporated except for the space between them, and that seemed a vast and terrifying crossing. And Duke was crossing it.

Finally, she answered; "the rest of my new underwear?"

This time it was his cheeks that reddened, if only a little, even as his smile broadened. Jennifer fought the urge to clap her hand over her mouth and wondered when she had developed such a flair for flirtation.

"Sounds..." Duke really wanted to be able to come up with something cool to say. He leaned in close and felt his confidence surge when she lifted her face and opened her mouth just slightly for a kiss. Instead of kissing her though, he tipped his head and whispered in her ear, "tempting."

Jennifer shivered and tried swallowing as a way to get her heart out of her throat. She backed away just enough to resume eye contact with him.

"Okay. Then... I'll meet you there. The, ah, the Best Western on South19."

Duke nodded and left her there to get on his bike. Jennifer shook herself out of her trance and got into her car.

From the window of the Herald, Dave and Vince watched the young couple on the sidewalk.

"Should I tell them to get a room?" Dave quipped.

"No," Vince answered. "But I'm really glad I had to delay getting the rest of those emeralds into place. Looks like that young man could be useful in keeping Jennifer safe and OUT of this business."

His cell phone rang and he sighed when he saw who was calling. "Yes, Wade? Oh. Really?"

Dave noticed that his brother looked sad and a little tired.

"Well, set the trap then. Call Dwight."

"What is it?"

"Remind me not to have a private conversation at the Grey Gull," Vince began with a sigh. "Wade Osborne apparently has listening devices all over the place."

"Charming," Dave commented. "What did he overhear?"

"Unless Duke can talk her out of it, Jennifer is headed into Audrey's apartment tonight. And the Guard is going to be waiting for her."

"Vince! You can't let anything happen to her!"

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she gets out of this alive. And that young man is going to help."

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"So membership has its privileges, huh?" Duke teased lightly as they entered her hotel room, his silver box of emeralds still in the bag from the candy store.

"It's not like it's a top tier hotel or anything."

"Still nicer than a lot of the dumps I've been in." He sat at the table, withdrew the box and started counting the emeralds.

"You're really going to count those? Right in front of me?"

He couldn't stop himself from laughing at her expression of indignation.

"No offense, Sweetheart, but I am a business man."

"So is that why you wanted to come to my room?" She shrugged out of her coat and hung it in the closet and dropped her bag just underneath.

Duke dropped the remaining emeralds and turned his full attention onto her.

"No. At least, it's not the only reason." He stood and approached her. "I recall the allure of seeing your underwear as part of the deal." he lifted his hand and caressed along her cheek, finally indulging himself in threading his fingers through her hair as he tucked those errant strands into place, before trailing his fingertips down the side of her neck and then along the line of her collar bone. When he reached the hollow of her throat he moved his hand lower still, until he was fingering the neckline of her camisole. He could feel her staring at him, but kept his gaze trained on the skin he had been touching. When he was ready he raised his eyes to hers and smiled.

Jennifer reminded herself to breathe and smile back at him while keeping eye contact with him. She wanted some expression, some sign from him that she had this same dizzying effect on him somehow. That her stare affected his breathing the way that his did to her. That if she touched his skin it would feel the way that sparks looked. His hands were cupping her shoulders now and gliding down her arms, warming her skin under the cardigan.

"You are so pretty." His eyes were traveling over her face, and his hands came up to hold her face and head. She didn't think it was possible for her heart to beat faster or harder, but when his fingers threaded through her hair again she shivered and closed her eyes before relaxing into his hold. She brought her own hands up and slipped under his jacket, fluttering over his chest before clutching his shirt into her fists.

Duke watched her quietly yield in his hands and forced himself to slow his breathing. He leaned in close to kiss her cheek and she shuddered again slightly and leaned in closer to him herself. He moved a hand to the small of her back to hold her there, bringing her into an embrace and resting his chin on the top of her head. He wanted to try and get himself under control before going further. She didn't give him very long as she released her grip on his shirt and slid her hands up around his neck, her breath warming his neck before he felt her raise up on her toes to press a kiss just below his ear. His grasp around her tightened when she repeated the kiss and sucked lightly on his earlobe. EVERYTHING in him tightened and he gave up on going slow for the moment.

"Jennifer."

"Hm?" She left his earlobe and kissed down along his neck, using his own height against him as she sucked gently on his neck and nuzzled at the stubble of beard along his jaw line.

So much for her yielding in his hands, it felt like she had mounted her own assault on his senses. He used the leverage he had with his hand in her hair and tipped her head back to kiss her and try to even out the playing field. This woman was wreaking havoc with his ability to breathe right or think straight.

His phone rang. It took a couple of seconds for him to really register that's what it was. It was Jennifer leaning back and frowning down at his pants pocket that clued him in. He wasn't accustomed to women frowning at that general area. He didn't want to answer but she was already backing away and the interruption was already in place. Besides, the way things had been going lately, though he was sure to regret the upcoming conversation, he was going to have to know about it.

"Crocker."

That goddamned annoying electronic voice on the other end started up. Jennifer was plainly close enough to hear it because she looked up at him with a puzzled expression. He stepped away and turned his back to her, retreating to the bathroom for privacy.

"There is a problem with the last delivery."

He clenched his jaw. He really hated this asshole. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I'm sure you can imagine the sort of difficulty involved in moving this kind of cargo around."

"I've never seen it this goddamned difficult."

"Time and coordinates will be sent as a text message to you." The line went dead.

Duke let loose a litany that would do his fellow sailors proud.

Jennifer, standing by her bed, was frozen in place. She could hear him speaking in hushed but angry tones in the bathroom but couldn't make out what he was saying and was too busy processing her own thoughts to try.

"Oh my God. I just almost became the "ma'am" in a 'wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am. What the hell am I thinking? He's leaving within hours! We hardly know each other!" She berated herself with a litany that might or might not do her mother proud as she buttoned her blazer.  She saw her reflection in the mirror and quickly looked away. Her reflection looked like the wham and bam might have happened already. Her hair was a mess, her lipstick gone with lips slightly swollen and her cheeks pink with blush. She fussed at the buttons on her cuffs, still trying to straighten her appearance and regain her composure.

When Duke walked back into the bedroom he could see her from the reflection in the mirror and cursed again, silently. Their moment was apparently gone. Everything she'd ever learned about being a nice girl had come to the fore and she was buttoning up her jacket when it had previously been left open. As frustrated as he was, he couldn't help but smile as she fussed at the cuffs. Choosing to give her space he stepped around her and went to the table to retrieve his stones. When he turned back to her she looked down and blushed. She didn't look at him until he stood in front of her and even then, she had to take a deep breath before she would look back up at him.

"Thanks again.... For trying to help. I won't... I really appreciate it." She offered her had to shake on it and looked up at him again with her good girl smile and direct eye contact.

When he took her hand this time, he turned it and raised to his mouth, and gave her a lingering kiss on her knuckles. Enjoying the change in her complexion as she paled and then blushed again as well as the trace of gardenia perfume on her wrist.

"It was really sweet getting to know you, Jennifer Mason." He leaned a little closer, keeping hold of her hand. "Take care of yourself, okay? Stay out of trouble? And if you want, look me up. I'd love to hear the rest of your adventure."

Jennifer's tongue was still too big for her mouth and her heart too far into her throat. And when he smiled like that and kissed her hand like that most of what she was thinking simply evaporated.

"How would I find you?"

"Sweetheart, you come lookin' for me, and I'll find you."