Hillside Drive

by Graci

---

It was raining hard by the time Chris Lorenzo parked his car outside his apartment building. He grabbed the bag of groceries sitting next to him in the front seat and darted out of his car. He ran quickly, avoiding the driving rain as much as possible until he reached the front door, safe and not nearly as wet as he thought. He fumbled for his keys and upon finding them and unlocking his door, was surprised to walk into his dark and empty loft. He was alone. He was sure that Rita said she would meet him home at seven. It was a few minutes after and Rita was never late. He realized that his being worried was a sign of their new relationship. Before they’d gotten involved, Chris would not have been this worried, this fast. He would have rationalized himself to a safe level and then just waited for Rita to call and say that she was going to be a little late. But now it was different. He dropped his groceries in the kitchen and made his way to the phone to dial her cell number. As soon as he began to dial, he heard a key being inserted into the lock of his front door. He put the phone down and looked up to see a figure entering the loft.

"Chris, are you here?" Rita called out, surprised. Chris didn’t respond. Realizing that he hadn’t turned on the lights he waited a few moments before making his presence known. Rita reached for the light switch and flicked it on and off a few times before realizing that the power was out.

"Great," she said aloud. "I have no idea where he keeps the flashlight." As she stumbled her way through the darkness she jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh my god, Sam, you scared the hell out of me don’t......." she didn’t have a chance to finish when Chris covered her mouth lightly with his hand.

"Shhhhhhhh, don’t say anything," he said as he kissed her pushing her up against the kitchen counter. Dropping her purse on the floor, Rita responded to his kisses and felt an incredible surge as Chris ran his hands down toward her thighs, reaching underneath her skirt. Rita sucked in her breath as he touched her. He lifted her up onto the counter and she wrapped her legs around him.

"Right here?" she said breathlessly

"Do we have a choice?" he responded.

"I guess not," she answered.

"Kitchen, huh? she said quietly. "We’ve haven’t done this yet....."

"First time for everything Sam, first time for everything." he said. The rain seemed to pound harder against the windows as they made love to each other in the moonlit darkness of Chris Lorenzo’s kitchen.

Tom Kellinger stood alone at the foot of a white marble stairway in the entryway of his house waiting for his wife. He looked at his watch, it was nearly seven -thirty, curtain was at eight. If they didn’t hurry, they would miss the start of one of the biggest theater openings in town. Dammit, he thought to himself, why does she always take so long? It’s not as if she needed alot of work to make herself beautiful.

"Laura, we’re going to be late!" he shouted impatiently, his voice echoing throughout the large empty house.

"I’m almost ready, Tom, one more minute!" Laura responded from the upstairs bedroom. Laura Kellinger was one of the most beautiful women in town, and she knew it. Standing in front of a full-length mirror, she admired herself in the slinky white beaded gown Tom had bought her especially for this occasion. When she finished applying her lipstick, she took one last look and then wrapped a white chiffon scarf around her neck, allowing it fall loosely down her bare back.

All the impatience Tom had felt a few moments before disappeared as he watched Laura walking down the stairs toward him. He couldn’t help but catch his breath as she reached him, wrapping her delicate arms around his neck and planting a quick kiss on his lips.

"Sorry," she said, wiping red lipstick smudges from his mouth.

"It’s okay," he responded "It was worth it." As they walked out the front door and into the car waiting outside, Tom Kellinger felt he was the luckiest man in the world. When they arrived at the theater, they had but a few minutes to find their seats before the play started. They noticed familiar faces as they were escorted down the aisle to two empty seats in the third row, center orchestra. Laura might not have been up on the stage, but she certainly felt like a star as she sat, noticing the stares of all of the people around her. She knew most of them, they were neighbors and friends, some were Tom’s clients, and they all knew Laura Kellinger. As the lights began to dim, and the curtain opened to begin the first act, Laura looked over to the right side of the theater. It was then that she saw him. She couldn’t believe it, what the hell was he doing here! Was he crazy! Laura tried hard to conceal her discomfort at finding the man she was having an affair with sitting just a few feet away from her husband. At that moment, she cursed herself for ever having gotten involved with Nicholas Kellinger. It would kill Tom if he ever found out about the two of them. It would kill any man to know that his wife was sleeping with his brother. But she couldn’t think about that now, she couldn’t run the risk of Tom’s sensing there was anything wrong. No, she was going to be cool and calm throughout the evening. She wasn’t going to give in to this obvious attempt to upset her.

At the intermission, Tom and Laura made their way to the bar for drinks. Nicholas followed closely watching their every move. He waited until Tom was nowhere in sight and approached Laura, who was standing alone by the exit doors.

"Hi...."

"Nicholas, what are you doing here?" Laura whispered sternly. "I told you Tom and I were going to be here tonight, you knew better than to come here!"

"I just couldn’t stay away, can’t stand the thought of you being with him. You should be with me!" he responded, angrily taking her arm.

"Nick, stop it please! Tom will notice...please stop."

"Right now" he demanded.

"Are you crazy, we can’t do this here." she pleaded. But looking up into his eyes she knew she couldn’t fight him. Nick had that control over her. He could have her whenever she wanted and she couldn’t say no. The truth was Laura loved him. As much as she hated admitting it to herself, what started out as a simple affair had turned into something she never would have imagined, she’d fallen in love. He led her out the back exit into an alley where he had parked his car. Laura was nervous as he unlocked his car door, what if someone saw them. Before she had a chance to really think about it she found herself in Nick’s car, kissing him wildly as he hiked up her dress. She knew it wasn’t going to take long, their public dalliances never did. But it didn’t matter how long he lasted, she got more from ten minutes with Nick than she ever got in five years of marriage to Tom. She hated herself for feeling that way, but she couldn’t help it. Nick was that good.

When Laura returned to the theater, she found Tom already seated.

"Where were you, I got you a drink then came back and you were gone!"

"I’m sorry, I was feeling sick so I went into the ladies room."

"I thought that’s were you’d gone, are you okay? You look a little flushed, do you want to go home, sweetheart?" he asked, his concern showing.

"No, I’m fine. I want to see the rest of the play." she said reassuringly.

 

It was after seven when Rita woke up. She looked over at Chris, who was still sound asleep. She sat up and leaned back against the pillows, staring intently at him. She watched him for a few minutes, noticing every breath, every movement he made. She reached over and lightly ran her fingers through his hair, being careful not to wake him.

It was almost as if she was seeing him for the very first time. Every doubt she ever had about the two of them becoming lovers was immediately erased the first time he kissed her. Still, there were some obstacles to overcome. They’d been very successful at concealing their relationship from everyone at the PBPD, especially Cap. Even though Chris was sure that Lipschitz would sense something and begin sniffing around, it hadn’t happened yet. Rita was beginning to think they were in the clear and could probably get away with it a little while longer, if they were careful. She quietly pushed back the covers to get out of bed when she felt Chris’s hand brushing against her back.

"Hey, where you goin’?" he asked groggily.

"I’m gonna go make some coffee." she replied softly. "

"Come here." he said, pulling her back down onto the bed. She smiled as he quickly made his way to the spot on the back of her neck that drove her crazy.

"If we start this again, we’ll never get out of bed."

"Not a bad idea, let stay home and stay naked. What do you think, good idea right?" he said matter-of-factly.

"I’d love to but we both do have jobs...remember?"

"Yeah.......and I don’t know about you, but its getting harder pretending you’re just my best friend and partner all day long. Sometimes, during the day, I look at you and I think about the times we’ve been together and I relive every moment. How you smell, how you feel when I touch you, everything that happens when we make love. Then I’m almost positive everyone around us can see it." he said quietly, stroking her hair.

"I know, I feel the same way too. I try to stay away from you most of the time but then I’m afraid that everyone will notice that and start to get suspicious." she answered "I get so self-conscious there. I start to imagine people’s reactions if they find out.....

"It’s worth it, though isn’t it? Being together like this..." he added interrupting her. He began stroking her hair and moving so that she lay beneath him as he kissed her face, then her lips.

"Oh, yeah, it is worth it." Rita smiled as she drew him even closer so that he was exactly where she wanted him to be, her excitement growing with every kiss, every touch, every sound he made. Just when she thought she was actually getting dizzy, the phone began to ring. Chris paused for a moment, looking at her as if to say I can’t believe this is happening right now.

"Let the machine get it." he whispered and continued to kiss her.

"No, Chris, we have to get that, it could be work." Chris stopped and sighed deeply, reaching over to pick up the telephone.

"Yeah, Lorenzo......Oh Hi Cap.....what’s up.....okay we’ll be there as soon as we can....I mean... I’ll call Rita and we’ll be there," he added, quickly correcting himself.

Whey they both arrived at 1405 Hillside Drive, Captain Harry Lipschitz was already there waiting for them. He watched closely as they exited the car and that feeling that had been nagging him for weeks flared up the form of a slight pain in the center of his chest. Harry knew when that happened it usually meant something was going on that he didn’t know about. He didn’t like that; he prided himself on the fact that he knew everything that was going on with everybody in his department, especially his top homicide team. Could it be, he thought to himself, could something be going on? Nah. Chris and Rita were the most professional team he’d ever worked with and he trusted them. Sure in the past he’d seen some pretty great partnerships end up in the sack, he almost expected it in some cases. But not these two, they were close friends. They were committed to the job. They were.......they were crazy about each other and just haven’t admitted it , he thought finally.

"Hi Cap, what’d we got?" Chris asked firmly.

"Nice to see you two.....finally. What happened, traffic bad?" Harry responded sarcastically. Both Chris and Rita had grown adept at concealing their relationship over the past few weeks, so their driving up together this morning was no problem for the two of them. There was nothing in their demeanor that even remotely suggested that they’d both gotten out of the same bed that morning. Even Cap’s sarcastic remark about their slow to show approach to the crime scene didn’t sway them. They were determined to keep the department out of their private lives until the time was right.

"Yeah, traffic was horrendous." Rita said firmly. Harry stared at them a moment then led them up the marble staircase to the master bedroom. Laura Kellinger lay naked on a blood splattered bed.

"Multiple stab wounds, she never had a chance."

"Wow, this guy was pissed." Chris said, leaning over to get a closer look at the body.

"Names’ Laura Kellinger. Maid found her this morning. Husband is one Thomas Kellinger, maid said she found a note from him stating he was called away on business late last night" Harry added.

"Anything missing?" Rita asked.

"It doesn’t look like it, nothing’s been moved. We’ll know if anything was missing. Mr. Kellinger had a daughter from a previous marriage, lives down by the beach. She’s on her way now." Chris and Rita took a closer look at the crime scene while Harry talked to the cops who’d been first on the scene. After a few moments, Rita left to interview the unfortunate maid who’d made the grisly discovery. Chris stayed behind and talked to the ME while the body was tagged and bagged. Harry and Rita examined the note that stated clearly that Tom had some emergency business to attend to and that he would return as soon as possible.

"She said that she got to work at the usual time this morning, six a.m., found the note and around seven went upstairs to deliver coffee and the morning paper to Mrs. Kellinger, that’s when she found the body. She’s pretty shaken up, but has no other information about what might have happened. Apparently, she just started working here two months ago and really doesn’t know anything about them." Rita informed Chris. "Maybe we’ll get more information from the daughter." It was at that moment that they heard shrieks coming from downstairs. They ran out of the bedroom and from the top of the stairs saw as two uniforms trying to restrain a distraught Lily Kellinger.

"DADDY....OH MY GOD......DADDYYYYYY!" she cried uncontrollably. Chris and Rita ran down the stairs toward her. Harry rushed into the house from outside.

"Ms. Kellinger, please try and calm down." Rita implored, helping Lily to a side chair. Lily sat down and began to quiet herself, tears streaming down her face.

"What happened?" she demanded

"It’s not your father, it’s your stepmother Laura, she was stabbed to death early this morning." Rita answered slowly, trying hard not to upset her further.

"Oh God, she began to sob. "Who was it, who...."

"We don’t know Ms. Kellinger, we were hoping you might be able to give us some information on who might have wanted to kill your stepmother."

"No one, I don’t know of anyone who’d do this. My father was a wonderful successful man. He hardly had any enemies. He was generous and caring, they were a popular couple. I can’t imagine anyone who’d do this to her. Were they robbed? Maybe someone broke in?" she asked tearfully.

"It doesn’t appear that anything is missing." Rita responded. At that moment, Nicholas Kellinger appeared in the doorway, his face ashen. He looked as if he were going to pass out at any moment.

"Lily..." he called out slowly.

"Uncle Nicholas....!" she sobbed running into his arms.

"I’m Nicholas Kellinger, Tom is my brother." he began as he held a sobbing Lily. "What the hell happened officers?"

"That’s what we’re trying to find out." Chris responded. "I know this is a bad time....."

"Yes, it is a bad time..." Nicholas interrupted him, seating Lily into a nearby chair and kneeling by her side. "I’m afraid we’re in shock, Lily and I, we’d like a few moments, officers, please."

"Yes, I’m sure you both do. We’ll do this later." Rita responded as she and Chris turned to leave.

At the station, Chris and Rita were both silent as they sat across from one another. Chris had been doing background checks on the Kellingers, trying to gather as much information as possible. Rita had been focusing on Nicholas and Lily. So far, there was nothing in any of their lives that could remotely explain what happened to Laura Kellinger. Interviews of their neighbors turned up nothing, and as of this moment the Palm Beach Police Department had no idea why a young, beautiful and well-respected member of society was so brutally murdered. Attempts to reach Tom Kellinger had failed, his office had no idea where he was and as the moments passed simply by his unexplained absence he became their number one suspect.

"We gotta find this guy, Sam something tells me he’s got alot to do with what happened to his wife." Chris stated plainly

"I don’t know, seems kind of obvious doesn’t it? I mean the guy disappears like this, it’s just too tidy. You know me, I was never one for tidy endings to murder cases. There’s more to this one, I just have a feeling." At that moment, Harry bellowed for them to enter his office. Appearing in the doorway, they saw the George Donovan was also there and he motioned for them to close the door.

"Okay, guys this a big one. Tom Kellinger is old money in Palm Beach, and this is bound to shake alot of people up. DA wants to tie this up as quietly and as quickly as possible. So I want to know where we stand."

"Well," Rita began, "We know that the Kellingers attended the opening of that new Theater last night, apparently it was the biggest ticket in town and they had front row seats. They arrived home around 1am, ME puts the murder at anywhere from 2 am until 5. Maid found her at seven. All we have to explain Tom Kellinger’s whereabouts is a note he left saying he had urgent business to attend to and that he wanted the maid to let Mrs. Kellinger know he would return as soon as possible." Tom and Laura had been married for five years, prior to that she attended college. She also comes from an old money family up north and was a debutante, you know, coming-out balls and all that. Nicholas Kellinger, Tom’s younger brother, also lives in Palm Beach, captain of his own industry as well, and Lily, Tom’s daughter from his previous marriage. Currently attending college, and lives in expensive beachfront property bought and paid for courtesy of Daddy."

"You mentioned a previous wife," Donovan asked.

"Dead," Chris continued, "About eight years, died of cancer."

So far, all we have is that Nicholas and Lily both have solid alibi’s. Lily was at an all night Frat party, plenty of witnesses, and Nicholas was entertaining a lady all evening. We’re getting her in here later to swear to that. Unfortunately, the only person we can’t account for is Tom Kellinger and right now he is our main focus." Rita added. "His brother is trying to locate him right now."

"Okay, folks we’ve got to get this one cleaned up before the press gets a hold of it. It is priority one. Let me know when you get a hold of Tom Kellinger, will you?" he semi-shouted as he left Harry’s office. Chris and Rita looked at each other rolling their eyes.

"So, what are you waiting for? You heard the man!" Harry shouted. Chris and Rita made their way back to their desks determined to solve this murder quickly.

Tom Kellinger sat silently, staring into the nothingness of his London hotel room. He was still reeling from the phone call he received a few moments before from Nicholas. He couldn’t believe it, she was dead. Laura was dead. Some psychopath had taken her from him, stabbing the life out of her. He may just as well have plunged that knife into Tom’s heart, because at this very moment he wasn’t sure he was alive anymore. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be. She was gone and his tears flowed freely at the thought that he would never see that beautiful face again. He buried his head in his hands and sobbed softly. He was unmoved by a knock at the door. It was his driver, his car had arrived to take him to the airport and his jet. He was returning to the states, according to the same plans he made the night before, the only difference being that he was going home to bury his wife.

Nicholas sat motionless in the strained blue light of the interrogation room at the station. Chris entered after a few moments and sat across from him, placing some papers on the table between them. There were no words exchanged, only a strained silence that was broken when Rita entered, closing the door behind her and walking slowly into the room. Nicholas turned to look at her and for a moment, she reminded him of Laura. The same dark wavy hair, the same eyes almost. Although it might have been his grief, he looked at Rita and for a moment his face softened as if forgetting who she was. For a moment he thought she was Laura. He couldn’t stand the thought that she was gone. The ache within him that started when he’d found out about her death had gotten stronger, it had become unbearable.

"Mr. Kellinger, you wanna tell us where you were this morning between the hours of two and five?" Chris asked.

"I told you, I was entertaining a lady friend after the opening. Her name was.....her name was Katherine Oldham."

"Yeah, but we checked it out with her and she said she hasn’t seen you in two weeks. Can you tell us where you were?" he continued impatiently.

"That’s impossible, we were together. I can guarantee that."

"Well she denies it, and you now have no alibi." Rita added

"No, no you don’t understand, she’s married and.........she might not want to divulge that sort of information. But I can assure you, we were together." Chris and Rita looked at each other. They had both interviewed Katherine Oldham and she was married, but she denied any relationship between herself and Nicholas. Could it be that she was just protecting herself? Either way, if she said she wasn’t with him then he had no alibi. No one to swear he couldn’t have been at Hillside Drive during the hours when the murder took place. Now they had two suspects, Nicholas and Thomas Kellinger. As the exited the interrogation room, Chris and Rita began to feel as though they had stumbled on something much deeper than a murder and that it wasn’t going to be easy for them to figure out just what was going on.

Back at their desks, they knew their next move was to interview Tom and gather some more information about Nicholas. They didn’t have much to hold him on now, and had to release him.

"Well, he doesn’t have an alibi, but we don’t have a motive, Chris."

"What do we have on him anyway?"

"Well, he’s wealthy in his own right. Same blood lines as Laura’s husband. Matching mansion across town. He’s been married twice, divorced twice and no children. Usually a ladies man, but some of his friends have mentioned that they hadn’t seen him with anybody special in the past year or so. Apparently that was unusual for him."

"You thinking what I’m thinking?"

‘It’s not hard to figure out Sam, you want to check out the possibility that Nicholas and Laura were...."

".....were doin’ it." Chris exclaimed, dropping his papers onto his desk in smooth declaration of a probable fact.

"God, what a romantic thing to say Sam. "Doin’ it", you said it with all the gusto of a kid in a college, no high school, locker room."

"Well, what else do you wanna call it?" Rita glared and him and looked away. There were many things she wanted to say at the moment, but she realized where they were. She also realized that this would not have been a point before they started sleeping together. His remark wouldn’t have meant much then, but now that things were as they were it meant more to her how he viewed such matters. After all, if he thought that they were "doin’ it", how did he view their relationship. She wondered if it was with the same crassness that he described a possible affair between Nicholas and Laura. But, they couldn’t have that conversation now. She surprised herself with this sudden sensitivity, after all she was known to be much tougher than this.

"Hey, Rita...."

"Yeah, Sam?"

"What’s wrong, I didn’t mean anything by it." Chris pleaded softly. "You know me, how many times have I said stuff like that about the people we’ve investigated. It doesn’t mean that’s how I see everything. Especially in my own personal life, you know it’s different. Besides I’m talking about a man and a woman who might be having an affair. What can you say about two people who keep a secret like that?" Chris stopped for a moment, realizing what he had just said. Rita looked up at him and smiled.

"Yeah, what can you say about two people who are living a lie, being deceptive to those around them?" she said. Chris walked over and leaned close to her.

"This is different, neither one of us is married."

"True." she couldn’t argue with him there. "But we’re still being deceptive."

"Why is this bothering you all of a sudden?" he asked

"Oh, forget it. I guess, well I guess that when you say certain things now......it’s almost as if I’m hearing them for the first time."

"I guess I understand. Almost as if we’re not the same two people we were a couple of months ago."

"Definitely not the same two people, Sam." Rita said quietly.

"Sam, what are you doing tonight?" Chris asked.

"I was thinking of going home, I haven’t been there in a while. Why don’t you come along and we could have dinner there. We’ve been spending all our time at your place anyway."

"I’ve got a better idea." he paused, Rita looked at him slightly perplexed. "Why don’t I pick you up at eight, and we’ll go out to dinner."

"Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Lorenzo?" Rita smiled slyly, almost incredulously.

"As a matter of fact I am." he answered

"Alright then, I’ll see you at eight." Rita responded as she packed her briefcase and then headed out the double doors of the squadroom. Chris smiled at himself and reached over to pack his belongings before heading out the door himself. A few feet away, Harry Lipschitz stood in his office staring at Chris as he walked out. He had been watching them intently for the past few hours, including the hushed conversation they’d just had before Rita left. The pain in his chest began to nag him again and he knew that something had to be going on. He had never seen Chris smile like that since he’d known him. Not to mention the fact that Rita was practically glowing and had been for the past two months. No, he was almost positive this time. There was something going on between Chris and Rita. The only question was how to get them to admit it. He didn’t want to confront them as he normally would. After all, they’d all become such close friends. As their commander it was his obligation to confront them, but he couldn’t do it. Instead, he was going to try to get them to admit it. This, he thought, was a job for Frannie.

It was exactly eight when Rita’s doorbell rang. She walked down the spiral staircase dressed in a simple form fitting red dress with straps. Her brunette hair fell in waves barely touching her shoulders. When she opened the door, Chris stood in a tailored gray suit, holding a single red rose.

"Wow!" he said when he saw her. She was so beautiful, he wanted her so much it practically ached. "You look amazing!"

"Thanks, you look pretty amazing yourself, Sam." she said as she let him in, closing the door behind her. She thanked him as he handed her the rose. Rita looked around for a vase to put it in, Chris couldn’t take his eyes off her.

"So is this a date, Sam." she asked

"Yes, this is a date. Consider this our first date."

"We’ve gone out a million times, Chris."

"Not like this we haven’t." he said as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Chris had made reservations at a small Italian restaurant near the beach. It was brand new and there was hardly a chance they would run into anyone who knew them. They talked about the case during dinner in much the same way they had discussed all their previous cases as partners. Although their relationship had changed, it didn’t change their friendship, only solidified it. Rita couldn’t help but think that as she sat across from Chris. Everything felt so comfortable, so right between them. Chris caught her expression.

"Hey, you, what are you thinking about that’s making you smile like that?"

"I’m thinking about how happy I am, and how much I love you." she said softly, taking his hand

"I love you," he responded softly. " Boy all this romance stuff, I guess you feel as sappy as I do, Sam"

"Even sappier." Rita smiled. They left the restaurant and walked along the beach as they had dozens of times before as friends.

"Do you know, that I’ve been in love with you from day one?" Chris announced.

"You have?" Rita inquired, swinging around and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yep, the day I met you. I remember thinking how beautiful you were. I couldn’t take my eyes off you then, just like I can’t now."

"The first time I saw you, I almost fell off my chair. You remember, when Hutch introduced us in his office." Rita began. "I’ve never felt that way about anyone. It was almost too overwhelming. It’s like I knew, right at that moment. I just knew. But...."

"But then we both decided to be friends for the sake of the job, I know...." Chris said, looking away from her. "And I’m glad we were friends. But there were times when it was so hard, like watching you with other men."

"Watching me with other men, that bothered you, huh.......Rita said, brushing wind-blown strands of hair away from her face. "You acted like there was nothing wrong. You even wanted me to tell you all the intimate details, just like you never spared me any of the gory details of your relationships." Chris smiled and looked away when she said that.

"Somehow I know you were going to bring that up eventually. Rita, c’mon you know it’s always been you. Hell, every woman I’ve been involved with has always been jealous of you....and do you know how many more dates I missed out on just because you were my partner. Women took one look at you and probably realized what I was too blind to see myself. Jillian saw it, she knew you were the reason I wouldn’t move to Boston with her. As for wanting to know the gory details, it was my way of making you as uncomfortable as I was."

"Uncomfortable?" she said looking puzzled.

"I don’t know, guess it was a way of seeing your reaction and knowing where you stood with these guys, knowing if I was going to lose you. You know it was a distinct possibility that either one of us could have gotten real serious for a while there and I always wondered what that would have meant for us. I couldn’t even imagine what that would have been like."

"It would have been hell." Rita said, looking down into the sand. "Okay, since this seems to be confession time, I have one for you. I couldn’t stand Jillian! She had really bad timing."

"What do you mean?"

"Chris, when you got shot I felt like I was the one going to die. I sat in that hospital for three days praying to God that nothing would happen to you and promising that if you woke up and were okay, I’d tell you how I really felt. But when you woke up all you saw was Jillian and I decided to just let it go. Then Eric came along and it was easier to just be with him."

"Oh, God, why didn’t you tell me? Why?" Chris half demanded

"You probably know the answer to that better than anyone, think about it." Rita said looking into his eyes. "I know I’ve never loved anyone the way I’ve loved you for five years and it scared me feeling the way I did. Maybe I was afraid of getting hurt, I don’t know. But does it matter now? Does it matter that really the only thing in our relationship that has changed is that when we wake up in the morning, we can see ourselves in each other’s eyes, instead of looking for each other in someone else’s." Chris gently stroked Rita’s hair away from her face and drawing her closer to him pressed his lips to hers in a passionate embrace.

"Oh my God! Heshey, look at this!" Frannie squealed, handing a pair of binoculars to Harry who was standing right next to her. He quickly focused them on the couple standing near the shoreline.

"Oh, no.......I knew it, I just knew it! They’re necking! Can you believe this Frannie.....my two best homicide cops are necking on a beach in the middle of the night!" Harry moaned, sighing deeply.

"Isn’t it wonderful! I always knew this would happen. They’re perfect for each other. Oh this is wonderful! I can’t wait to invite them over for dinner....Oh, Harry do you think they’ll get married......wouldn’t that be........

"Married, are you crazy Frannie!" Harry continued. "They’re cops, and partners no less. Partners can’t be married! We have a rule against this sort of thing." Harry resumed looking through the binoculars. He was just in time to see Chris move his hand down Rita’s thigh and under her dress. "I can’t believe this, he’s feeling her up!"

"Let me see that," Frannie said excitedly, snatching the lenses away from Harry. He shot her a look of comic disbelief as she stared at them intently. "They’re leaving, Hesh."

"Where are they heading?" he asks.

"Looks like toward Rita’s apartment" she responded. "Oh this is sooooo romantic!"

"What romantic, Chris Lorenzo! I can’t believe Rita, after knowing him for so long I can’t believe she fell for it herself."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the man’s a hound, you know that! He’s never had a steady relationship and has dated half of Palm Beach. Now, Chris is like a son to me you know that Fran, but he’s been around."

"Yeah, so what! What does that have to do with anything?" she said sternly.

"I just think that its weird, Rita knows his history and I don’t want her to get hurt."

"Get hurt? You know Rita is tougher than you think and she’s been around too, Hesh. As far as I’m concerned they both haven’t been able to find the right person, maybe now they have!" she smiled. She paused a moment and looked at him.

"What are you going to do Harry? Don’t get them in trouble. They seem so happy."

"It’s not my rule, Frannie and I might not have any choice here." he said, looking down. "C’mon let’s get out of here, Fran."

"You mean you don’t want to follow them to Rita’s apartment?" Fran asks, disappointed.

"What do you want to do, take pictures?" he said as he led her back to the car.

 

Rita and Chris sat on her living room couch kissing. The room was dark and the only sound heard as the low murmur of music coming from the stereo. Chris had gotten very used to the way she tasted. He almost craved her. It was all very exciting to him. He began to wonder what it was like for her.

"Tell me....." he whispered to her.

"Tell you what," she paused, breathless.

"Tell me what it feels like for you, right now...."

"It feels like .......she began as she put her arms around his neck and straddled his lap. ".....like getting everything I’ve always wanted," she whispered.

"I’ve been wondering all night what you had on underneath this dress," he said reaching for her zipper." She smiled as he kissed her neck and began to undress her. "Rita, you are making me crazy..." they were interrupted by the cruel ringing of Rita’s telephone.

"Oh, no, not now! Chris moaned........"We can’t get that.....under no circumstances will I allow you to answer that phone.....!

"You’ll get no argument from me....." Rita responded as she resumed her deep open-mouthed kisses. For a moment, they were once again lost in each other and ignored the answering machine’s clicks and beeps.

"Rita, are you there? Rita......this is Captain Lipschitz. Get down to Hillside Drive as soon as you get this message. We have a situation.....its Tom Kellinger. I’m going to call Chris right now......" Chris and Rita both stopped and looked at each other.

"Talk about bad timing. Well, get up we gotta get down there." Rita said standing and zipping up her dress. Chris didn’t move. "What’s the matter?"

"Give me a second, Sam. Can’t get up just yet." he smiled. She laughed and walked away searching for her shoes. It’s always a moment of triumph, she thought, when a woman reduces a man to temporary paralysis.

 

Lily Kellinger sat alone in her beachouse, drinking red wine from an expensive crystal goblet. She sat staring into candle-lit darkness, her blue eyes bathed in numbness. The valium she’d taken, along with the wine she’d been drinking helped to dull the pain she was feeling. It was unbearable. Laura was gone. She walked over to the credenza, opened the doors and pulled out a scrapbook. In it contained all the articles, society pages, columns, anything and everything that had anything to do with Tom and Laura Kellinger. She half smiled as she ran through the pages, reading the second hand gossip and fluff pieces about her dead stepmother. But what she really wanted to see had been left in the credenza. She stood up and in a trance-like state walked over and found the photo album. She slowly opened its pages and looked at the pictures inside. There were pictures of her father and Laura, Nicholas and Laura and a whole section of pictures with only her and Laura. She smiled as she looked at the photo of them standing together on her father’s yacht. There were pictures of them together at Lily’s high school graduation. She loved Laura. Loved her in a way no one could ever understand. They were so close. Nothing could ever tear them apart. Laura was everything to her, friend, sister, mother. She sobbed as she thought this, and buried her face in her knees.

"Oh, God, no.....please....no!" she pleaded, crying uncontrollably. She curled up in a fetal position on the couch begging for mercy from an unknown entity.

Tom Kellinger was dead. He had shot himself in the very same bedroom where Laura’s body was discovered. He left a note saying only that he couldn’t go on without Laura and that he wanted to be with her forever. Chris Lorenzo sat staring at the note while Rita examined the body.

"This is getting really intense, Sam" she said, obviously concerned at this turn of events.

"Yeah, I mean he kills himself because he wants to be with her? If it wasn’t for the fact that we confirmed his plane taking off before two the other night, this would be taken as an admission of guilt."

"I guess he really loved her."

"He loved her so much he killed himself? Wow, that’s...that’s so....rare."

"Around here especially...."Rita added. "I wonder why they called us, this is an obvious suicide."

"It is part of an open murder investigation and you two are the primaries. That is procedure, isn’t it?" the Captain answered, entering the room.

"Cap...." Chris began

"Save it Lorenzo." he responded leaving the room.

"What’s going on with him" Chris asked.

"I don’t know," Rita responded. As Harry Lipschitz walked away he was completely annoyed at the fact that his best homicide team, two people he was so close to, were so hell bent on lying to him.

 

The next day, Chris, Rita and Captain Lipschitz poured over the facts of the investigation trying to come up with a new angle and new information on Nicholas Kellinger. Since his alibi came up short, all they needed was a clear motive and they had their suspect. It was their only path right now. There was nothing or no one else in Laura’s past or present that had a reason, or an opportunity to murder her. The only thing they needed now is proof that Nicholas and Laura had been involved. It would confirm Chris’ hunch that this indeed was a crime of passion and Nicholas killed her in a fit of jealousy.

"Well, who do we talk to? The current maid’s only been working for them a short while and says she knows nothing." Rita pondered.

"Yeah, and these society types can be pretty tight lipped when they wanna be, especially after Tom Kellinger’s suicide."

"The double funeral of the year...it’s amazing. That’s what they called it in the paper. Two people are dead, and they’re giving advice on what to wear." Harry spoke, leaning back in his chair, making every effort to avoid eye contact with either of his detectives.

"Oh by the way, Frannie and I want to invite the both of you to dinner Friday night. I hope you’re both available?" Chris and Rita looked at one another in a moment of sheer terror.

"Ummm, actually Cap, I think I’m busy. I had plans with some buddies of mine....."Chris began.

"Well cancel them, we are not taking no for an answer. Both of you have been working very hard and Frannie wants to you both to have a home cooked meal for a change. So, Friday at seven, see you there, right?"

"Right," Rita responded, feigning a smile. The phone rang and Harry picked it up.

"Okay, bring it right in." A few moments later, Gracie walked in with a small package addressed to Captain Harry Lipschitz of the Palm Beach Police Department. Harry looked at it for a moment and then opened the box. He reached in and pulled out a videotape. They all looked at one another and then headed for the vcr sitting in the corner of Harry’s office.

"Bingo," Chris shouted as the images from the tape appeared on the television screen. Laura Kellinger, clad only in a pink lace bra and panties sat on a king size bed in an unknown location. Nicholas Kellinger was behind her, kissing her neck and touching her body. They collapse onto the bed and he climbs on top of her......

"Well, guess we were right," Rita said as she continued looking at the tape. Harry reached over and stopped the tape.

"They were having an affair, it went bad, he killed her. Plenty of motive there." the Captain stated matter-of-factly. "No alibi and an intimate relationship with the deceased, I’d say that’s enough to bring him back in." Chris and Rita left the Captain’s office and headed back to their desks in preparation of arresting Nicholas Kellinger for suspicion of the murder of Laura Kellinger. Aside from the business at hand however, their thoughts seem to focus primarily on the dinner invitation they’d just received.

"We’re dead, Sam." Rita said, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah, I know. When Frannie gets a hold of us, we’re meat."

"Any ideas?"

"We could both get the flu before Friday."

"Don’t think so, they’ll track us down and force us over there. We have no choice. Maybe we should come clean. Maybe this is the time." Rita wondered.

"You think, I mean are you ready? he asked her

"As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. I don’t know. Let’s just play it by ear and see what happens. Meanwhile, we have work to do. Let’s go get Mr. Kellinger and wrap this up."

Nicholas Kellinger hired the best defense attorney in town. Following his advice, he didn’t put up a fight when Chris and Rita arrived to arrest him. He protested his innocence once he arrived at the station. Sitting again in the interrogation room, he felt as though he was trapped in a nightmare.

"What tape?" he asked innocently.

"Mr. Kellinger, someone sent us a videotape of you and the late Mrs. Kellinger. Chris switched on a vcr that had been brought in and played the tape. Nicholas gasped in horror. "You denied any involvement with her and now we have the proof that shows otherwise. You have no alibi. What happened? She refuse to leave her husband for you? Did you think well, if I can’t have her........" Chris probed.

"I have no idea where that tape came from, I didn’t make it! Someone obviously set it up in my bedroom. Someone is setting me up! I didn’t kill her.......I loved her.....she was everything..everything to me." he began to sob. "You don’t understand, all I wanted was to love her. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being married to Tom. She belonged to me! I’ve loved her for years. I met her way back when she was at Yale. I met her while I was at an alumni dinner and I fell for her right away. She should have married me!" he continued.

"Why didn’t she marry you?" Rita asked

"Tom happened. He was the innocent, grieving widower and she fell for it. I never had the chance to tell her how much I loved her." he wept. "I didn’t kill her, I would sooner kill myself first." Chris and Rita looked at each other and stepped outside.

"Oh, something tells me we might be barking up the wrong tree." Chris said.

"You believe him? He’s our only lead here, Chris."

"He said he loved her, why would he kill her. He really has no motive, if there’s anyone he wanted to kill it would be Tom. Then there’s the question of the tape, where did it come from?"

"New York City." Harry declared examining the postmark on the package that contained the tape. Specifically, Stuyvesant Station, at least that what’s it says here. I know where that is, its in an area called the East Village. I know the guys at the 9th Precinct there. Let’s find out if the Kellingers know anybody who might be living in that neighborhood."

"My brother owned a loft in the East Village." Nicholas confirmed. "He bought it primarily for Lily’s use during her freshman year when she attended New York University. She transferred to the university here in her sophomore year. I was under the impression that Tom had sold it when she came back home."

"Well, we can say that the postmark on that package came from that neighborhood. Whether it came from that loft you say your brother owned and Lily lived in we can’t really say." Chris thought out loud.

"Has Lily been to visit you at all since you’ve been here?" he asked him.

"Actually I haven’t heard from her since the funerals. She was pretty distraught at Tom’s suicide and said she needed some time alone. This is very hard for her, she was very close to both Tom and Laura. Even though they were close in age, Laura was like a second mother to Lily. I don’t know how she is going to cope with the loss of both of them."

Chris walked back to Captain Lipschitz’ office to update him as well as Rita. If someone was trying to set Nicholas up, they needed to find out who had sent that tape. It might even lead them to the real killer.

"Well, the only way to find out is to go up there and see who or what might be staying at that apartment." Captain declared.

"Yeah, I called the number that Nicholas gave me and there was no machine, no answer. I did some checking with the management company that owns the building and they said that the apartment had not been sold and that maintenance checks were being sent on time every month. You’ll never guess who’s been paying, Lily Kellinger."

"Can you think of a reason why she might be holding on to an apartment in a city she no longer lives in?" Rita asked.

"Maybe she wants a place to crash when she goes up there to visit friends. In any case, that’s where the tape came from and that’s where we should pick this up." Chris responded. Captain looked at both of them and reluctantly agreed that Chris and Rita should go to New York to follow up on this lead. He called his colleagues at the 9th Precinct and informed them that he was sending a homicide team to conduct an investigation.

"Okay, guys, you’ve got two days up there. Everything’s all set up, pick up your tickets, go home and pack, you leave first thing in the morning." They both left Cap’s office and headed toward the parking lot.

"You know this has some definite possibilities, Rita."

"What does?"

"Two days in New York me and you, courtesy of the Palm Beach Police Department."

"Yeah, but we’ll be working, Sam. Not much time for anything else."

"There’s always time." Chris said with a smile.

Chris and Rita arrived in New York and found they were booked into the Grammercy Park Hotel. It was a quaint, old-fashioned hotel, nothing like the glitz and glamour of midtown Manhattan or some of the hotels in Palm Beach. Instead it was cozy and had all the charm of a brownstone apartment house. Upon checking in, they both discovered that each had been booked into a separate room, on different floors.

"Ummmm, should we take this as a sign or something." Rita said smiling at Chris.

"Listen, do you have any double rooms available?" Chris asked the hotel clerk.

"Well, no. Wait the only thing we do have left is a two room suite, and I can let you have it at the same price as the double." she responded.

"We’ll take it." he said. There were shown up to their suite and each collapsed on the king size bed as soon as the door closed.

"We don’t deserve this." Rita said turning on her and propping herself up on her elbow. "This is way too decadent, we get to be in a romantic city just the two of us under the pretense of work. If the Captain only knew, he would never have sanctioned this trip."

"It’s great isn’t it. Look I know this area fairly well. As a matter of fact my father doesn’t live too far away from here."

"Benny, really. Well you’ve got to let him know you’re here."

"It would be nice if we got this wrapped up in time to see him at least once. I haven’t talked to him ever since we got together and I know he’d be real happy. He always liked you." She reached over and kissed him.

"We have to check in with Cap’s contact at the 9th precinct." Chris whispered.

"Let’s go." The 9th precinct was on Third Street and Second Avenue, smack in the middle of one of the more interesting neighborhoods in New York City. The East Village was a refuge for young artists, musicians, anyone and everyone searching for cheaper rent and a wild atmosphere. Although attempts had been made over the years to gentrify it and attract a more mainstream crowd, those attempts had failed due mainly to the undying spirit of the area’s residents. They were not about to give up their home to real estate speculators and stockbrokers. This was one of the last vestiges of the Haight-Ashbury spirit gone since the sixties. So, walking through this neighborhood Chris and Rita were greeted by the sight of many different people: newly arrived immigrants, college students, punks in leather with pierced body parts. The scent of incense from sidewalk vendors permeated the air.

"I thought green hair went out with the eighties." Rita laughed.

"Not here, Sam, not here." he laughed. They reached the precinct and met with Commander Stephen Steiner. He was Captain Harry Lipchitz’s former boss. He wasn’t unlike Harry, in his mid-fifties, medium build, slightly balding. He rose from his chair as they entered his office.

"I’ve got to tell you its a pleasure to meet you Commander." Rita said, extending her hand.

"Likewise, I’ve heard many good things about both you Sergeants from Captain Lipschitz." he responded.

"You worked together for a long time?" Rita asked

"Oh yeah, twenty-five years before he left for a warmer climate and a little more sanity. He was the best. Well, why don’t I get you up to date on what we found out about this case so far." Steiner went on to explain to them that they’d done some checking on Lily Kellinger while she’d attended NYU and lived in the neighborhood. Seemed she had been in trouble for some loud parties and there was even an arrest for possession of marijuana and cocaine. She didn’t do any time, her father came up and paid a few people off. Case was never brought to trial. The loft apartment at 50 Avenue A was still under her name and according to neighbors they do see her from time to time."

"Anybody else with her? I mean does she have any friends or boyfriends who stay with her?" Chris asked.

"Well, it seems our Ms. Kellinger prefers women. Her neighbors say they never really saw her with men, almost exclusively with women. We interviewed some of her former classmates and they indicated that she was a lesbian and frequented alot of the gay bars down here. Explains why a rich girl like that would want to live in this neighborhood."

"Guess this neighborhood is famous for it’s gay bars, huh?" Rita asked. Steiner and Chris smiled at each other.

"You think Lily sent us the tape?" Rita wondered out loud.

"It would make sense, but the only question is why would she want to set up her own uncle? Unless she was protecting somebody else." Chris said.

"There’s more," Steiner continued. "I got a call from Palm Beach a while ago and Lily Kellinger had booked a flight to New York the day before this package was sent. She might very well be here now."

"Only one way to find out," Rita said, standing. The three of them left the station and made their way to Steiner’s car. They drove over to the apartment building where Lily Kellinger’s lived her life away from Palm Beach. The name on the buzzer said Kellinger, and there was no response when they rang it. Steiner reached over and pressed some of the other buzzers and almost immediately someone else let them into the building.

"Never learn, and you wonder why we have the highest murder rate in the country. Nobody bothers to check who the hell is knocking on their door." Steiner muttered in disgust. They made their way up to the third floor loft and knocked on the door. There was no response but they could hear movements coming from inside the apartment.

"Lily, this is Sgts. Lance and Lorenzo from Palm Beach, open the door." Rita called out. There was no answer. Steiner gave the okay for them to break down the door.

As they burst their way in they entered the huge colorful space and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Chris noticed a room off to the side and motioned to Rita and Steiner to follow him in. When they entered they saw Lily sitting on bed motionless. She appeared not to even notice they were in the room.

"Look at this, Sam," Rita said, walking over to a corner where dozens of pictures of Laura Kellinger were pasted on the wall. "Oh God," she whispered. Chris knelt in front of Lily and waved his hand in front of her face to see if she was aware of anything. She barely blinked.

"Lily, can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes," she responded meekly.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Lily smiled and looked Chris dead in the face.

"I killed the bitch. Is that what you want me to tell you? I killed her. She was screwing around on my father, she was making a fool of my uncle, and, and......"

"And you were in love with her, weren’t you?" Rita asked.

"No, No I wasn’t." she responded, raising her voice. "I could never love that slut." she began crying.

"Did she turn you down? Is that what happened. Did you tell her how you felt and she turned you away?" Rita continued.

"She practically laughed at me. Told me that she didn’t like girls, that I was sick. She was going to tell my father....she was.....oh, god.....I’M GLAD SHE’S DEAD, I’M GLAD THAT BITCH IS DEAD! she began screaming. Steiner had called for backup and the officers had already arrived to take her into custody. She was handcuffed as they read her rights and then led into a waiting police car. Chris, Rita and Steiner quietly walked out of the building into the night air.

"It’s amazing, she was obsessed with her stepmother and killed her when she was rebuffed." Steiner stated. "Guess we’ll have to work on the extradition to Palm Beach, it will probably take at least 24 hours so I guess you two have a mini-vacation before this things’ over." he smiled. "Take advantage of it, if I know Lipschitz it will be a long time before you two see this city again on department time." Chris and Rita both thanked the Commander for his help. They all drove back to the station to bring Lily in and begin the extradition process. They called Captain Lipschitz to update him on the situation and he arranged for Nicholas to be freed immediately. Upon hearing of his niece’s fate, Nicholas hired the best defense attorney he could find for her. It didn’t change the fact that the Kellinger family had nearly been destroyed. Laura Kellinger had three people who loved her, but one that loved her too much and it cost her dearly. It was reminder that secrets can be deadly.

After the necessary paperwork had been completed Steiner had invited them both to dinner at his favorite Chinatown restaurant. They had a great time eating dim sum and hearing Steiner’s stories about Harry and the old days. Rita seemed to really enjoy herself, having rarely visited New York she was caught up in the sights and sounds of the bustling city. It was a romantic place, she thought and she was glad that she could share it with Chris. The last time she was here she didn’t even stay overnight and spent most of her time tracking a lead for a case she’d been working on, and she was alone. It was nearly ten when the arrived back at the hotel and upon entering the room, Rita had only one thing on her mind.

"Hey, where are you going?" she teased Chris, who was heading toward the shower.

"Umm, I was thinking of taking a shower unless you had other plans."

"I have other plans," she whispered unbuttoning his shirt. Maybe it was the wine she’d consumed at dinner, or that fact that they were away from home that had excited her so much. All she wanted right at this moment was to make love to him. She led him over the bedroom and pushed him down on the bed kissing him.

"Boy, I didn’t know MSG had this effect on you," Chris said breathlessly.

"Just shut up and take off your clothes."

 

The knock came at the door while Chris was in the shower. Wearing a pink silk robe, Rita was sitting in the living room of the suite going over the report she and Chris had begun to prepare for the Kellinger case.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"Room service, ma’am." a male voice responded. Rita hadn’t ordered any room service and was wary of opening the door. Chris had come out of the shower and clad only in a towel walked over and picked up his gun. He motioned for Rita to carefully open the door.

"Hello, Rita." Eric Russell stood on the other side of the door smiling at her. Rita was too stunned to reply for a moment, but quickly regained her composure in time to ask what he was doing there.
"I heard from some friends at the ninth that you were here. I didn’t want you to go back without my seeing you. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" he said softly, inviting himself in. Rita closed the door behind him and folded her arms in front of her.

"Yes, it has been a while Eric. I thought you understood that I really don’t want to have any contact with you. I made that clear six months ago."

"I know, it’s just that we never really talked about what happened and I’ve never really stopped thinking about you. When are you leaving, maybe we could get together and talk."

"Eric there really is nothing to talk about." Rita began. "We had something for a while, it’s over and now we go on with our lives. It’s as easy as that."

"Is it? I’ve never really stopped loving you. You know that." Rita looked down when he said that. Chris was in the bedroom listening. He wasn’t going to step in unless he thought it was necessary. He knew Rita could handle herself with Eric. Still, it burned him to know that this guy had the nerve to come here and hand her this load of bull.

"Look, I appreciate you stopping by....."Rita said walking toward the door.

"Rita, since you saw me last I’ve really cleaned up my act. I finished by book, it’s being published as we speak. I haven’t had a drink in months and I’m even thinking of going back to the job, going back to being a Detective."

"I’m glad things are going well with you." she said to him.

"I heard that Chris came with you, is he staying in the same hotel?" Rita smiled and looked down.

"Yes, as a matter of fact he is staying at the same hotel." Chris said, walking out of the bedroom in his towel. Eric Russell stood stunned for a moment. Chris was in a towel and Rita in a robe. He always knew they were close friends but.......he quickly figured out that Chris was not just in Rita’s room being friendly.
"Well, this is interesting." he said smiling. "When did this happen?"

"That’s really none of your business, Eric. I really think you should leave now." Rita said opening the door.

"Now it all makes sense to me. Friends, my ass! It was him the whole damn time you were with me! That’s the reason you could never really let yourself go with me. The reason I felt like I couldn’t reach you. Let me ask you this, were you screwing him the whole time you were with me or what?" Chris started towards him, when Rita cut him off. She pushed Chris away and turned around. Eric didn’t have a chance to see it coming when Rita swung at him and hit him square in the jaw.

"Now get out." she said angrily. She slammed the door behind him as he walked out of the room. Chris walked over and held her.

"Good shot, Sam."

"Thanks."

 

The next morning Benny Lorenzo sat in his townhouse waiting for his son to arrive. He was anxious to see him, it had been a while since they’d seen each other. The last time he’d seen his son was in Palm Beach when he’d gone down to meet Jillian DuPre and her mother. He cringed at the thought of that meeting, he couldn’t stand either of the two women and was more than happy when he heard that Chris relationship with Jillian ended when she moved up to Boston. He knew that Chris was bringing his partner, Rita Lance with him to breakfast and he was hoping that they were going to tell him what he’d been hoping to hear for a long time. The doorbell rang and Benny put down his juice and went to open the front door. He threw his arms around Chris when he saw him.

"Hey you! It so good to see you, kid!" he shouted.

"Hi Dad, good to see you too." he responded. "You remember Rita?"

"Do I remember Rita? Who could forget a face like that!" he responded reaching for Rita’s hand and bringing it up to his lips.

"Hi Benny, it’s really good seeing you again." she said as he led them into his home. They walked into the dining room and sat at beautiful dining table. The spread Benny had prepared was impressive. There were different kinds of bagels and flavored cream cheeses along with platters of fruit and lots of coffee.

"Dad, you really went all out here. I don’t think the three of us could eat all this stuff."

"Ah, just finish what you can. My son comes to see me once in a blue moon and I go all out. That’s that. So you two are up here on a case?" Chris and Rita began to talk to him about the Kellinger case. Benny seemed fascinated at the facts surrounding Laura’s death and her confessed killer.

"You know in my business you see all kinds. It doesn’t surprise me at all that it was a family member. Usually is. Shame though, that family sounds like it has had it." he paused for a moment and looked at Chris smiling. "You know, when you called you said you had some news. Well, I’m dying of suspense, what is it?" Chris and Rita looked at each other as if to ask which one was going to speak first. Turned out, neither of them had to.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Benny shouted slapping his hand down on the table. "I saw it when I was down your way last and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why you two weren’t together!"

"You saw it last time, last time I was still with Jillian." Chris said.

"A mistake I am now willing to overlook. I took one look at this partner of yours and then one look at you and I knew that sooner or later you two were going to fall in love. If you hadn’t already. I mean, she’s perfect! A gorgeous woman, who carries a gun and her own handcuffs, what more could you want?" he said matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, Benny." Rita smiled. "I really appreciate the kind words."

"Kind words? Listen sweetheart, if this lunkhead here hadn’t finally made his move I would have gone after you myself."

"Hey, hey....hands off." Chris said jokingly.

"So, are you both happy?" he asked them.

"More than happy. I love your son very much." Rita said reaching over to give Chris a peck on the cheek. They proceeded to consume the delicious breakfast Benny had for them. Chris reminded Rita that they had a 5:30 flight back to Palm Beach and the three of them sat in the living room having coffee before getting ready to leave. Chris excused himself for a moment asking Benny if he could speak with him alone. They both walked out on the Patio while Rita sat wondering what they were talking about. Upon entering the room Chris told Rita he’d meet her back at the hotel. He had some family business to attend to with his father and it wouldn’t take long. Benny and Rita said their good-byes with him promising to visit them soon. They then walked Rita out and hailed her a cab.

Rita was busy packing when she noticed the time. It was nearly three and Chris had been gone a few hours. She was wondering what family business they needed to attend to and began to worry about catching their flight. They needed to stop by the station to pick Lily up before heading to the airport. Suddenly she heard a key in the door and turned around to see Chris entering the room.

"Hey." he said simply.

"Where have you been. Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, it’s no big deal. My father had to talk to me about my grandmother’s estate. They’re getting ready to sell her old house out in Brooklyn and he needed me to sign some papers."

"Your grandmother died a few years back didn’t she?" Rita asked, suspicious

"Well, we never really got around to selling the house in Brooklyn. We’re doing it now." he said. He looked over and noticed that Rita had packed his suitcase. "Thanks, you didn’t have to do that."

"It’s okay, I wanted to make sure we didn’t miss our flight." she said. They checked out of the hotel and picked up Lily on schedule. They had no trouble making their flight. Lily was not very talkative and sat staring blankly on the plane. Rita and Chris decided not to try to talk to her.

 

When they arrived in Palm Beach they drove straight to headquarters to process Lily. Nicholas was there waiting for them along with her new defense attorney. While Lily was being booked they stopped up to see Captain Lipschitz who was waiting for them in his office.

"Good job, guys. I’m glad we wrapped this up." he said, shaking hands with both of them.

"Thanks, Cap." Chris answered.

"I also want to remind you about dinner tonight. Turns out it’s going to be a celebratory dinner since you guys solved this case." Chris looked at Rita. They had almost forgotten about the dinner. They both knew that it was time to face the music. They excused themselves saying they had to go home and unpack before going to Harry and Frannie’s place. Chris dropped Rita off at her place arranging to pick her back up at seven. He then went home and dropped off his things. He sat alone in his loft thinking about what he had planned for that evening. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box, he opened it and looked at the glittering diamond ring he had purchased for Rita while he was in New York. He’d been thinking about calling his Dad for weeks about getting a ring for Rita, the trip to the city couldn’t have come at a better time. Benny was more than happy to help his son out and introduced him to his buddies in the 47th Street Diamond District in midtown. They helped him pick out a beautiful one carat diamond set in platinum. He wanted Rita to know how much he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Chris drove up to Rita’s apartment. He rang her doorbell and instead of walking in, took her hand and led her outside. They headed toward the beach and walked along the shoreline as they’d done many times before.

"We are going to be late." Rita said.

"No, we still have some time. I wanted to talk to you before we went over to Cap’s"

"About what?" Rita looked puzzled. Chris stopped for a moment and smiled. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes.

"Um, I’ve been through alot, seen alot, been with alot of people....you know everything there is to know about me. I want you to understand that I have never been as happy as I have been the past couple of months. You’ve been the most important person in my life for a long time and I want you to know that I don’t want that to change. I want to be with you, be everything to you for the rest of our lives." He reached down and took out the box and handed it to Rita. She took a deep breath, opened it and saw the ring inside. She stood stunned for a moment.

"I love you Rita. With everything I am I love you. Will you marry me?" Rita looked up at him and then wrapped her arms around him. She held him tightly. She couldn’t believe he had just asked her to marry him. She knew things were going well between them, and she knew she loved him more than anything else in her life. Suddenly she realized that there was no other answer to give him. She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes.

"Okay." she said softly before reaching up to kiss him. He reached down and took the ring out of its velvet box and placed it on the third finger of her left hand.

"Is this the family business you had to attend to this morning?" she asked

"You got me. I wanted my Dad to help me pick it out. You should have seen him he was beaming when we were looking for it. He had every jeweler within a two block radius in New York jumping. He kept yelling, "my son is proposing to his girlfriend, I want the best damn diamond on the street! Don’t even think of ripping me off!" Rita smiled at the thought of Benny Lorenzo on one of his rampages.

"He’s real happy then." Rita said

"Oh, yeah...you could say that. So what now?" he asked her.

"Well, we still have to be at Caps." Rita responded.

"No I mean about us. I was thinking, I want you to move in."

"Move in to your apartment?"

"Well, since yours is smaller, just makes sense."

"I suppose so....I do want to move in with you. I’ve been practically living there anyway.

"So its settled then, we set up house at my place." he smiled putting his arm around her as they walked toward his car.

 

Frannie heard her doorbell ring and practically sprang to the door before Harry stopped her.

"Remember, they have got to tell us." he reminded her. They let Rita and Chris and after a few moments of strained silence Frannie decided to serve some drinks. She thought they might be needing them. Harry began by asking them details regarding their trip to New York. They answered his questions as best they could before Harry suddenly stood up and slammed his drink down on the coffee table.

"Did you think I wouldn’t find out? he shouted.

"Find out about what Cap." Chris played dumb.

"You two were booked for two single rooms and I come to find out that you stayed in one. Don’t tell me it had separate beds."

"Harry, please....." Frannie pleaded.

"This is a flagrant violation of......of our friendship." he softened. "After all we’ve been through together, why didn’t you come to me?"

"We weren’t ready yet, Cap. We had alot to figure out. This was not planned." Rita said soothingly. "I’m truly sorry for lying to you."

"We’ve got to figure out where this is going to go. You’re cops and partners. We have rules against anything physical between partners you know that."

"Yeah, we know." Chris said. Just then Frannie looked down at Rita’s hand and noticed the ring. She smiled excitedly and reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Is this what I think it is?" she said

"Yes, it is." Rita said. Frannie was bursting as she reached over and threw her arms around her and then Chris.

"Hesh isn’t this wonderful?"

"Yeah, it’s just great." he said extending his hand to Chris.

"Congratulations."

"One thing Cap, we still want to be partners." Rita said.

"We’ll see, Rita. We’ll see."