CHAPTER ONE
1:00 a.m. A lone woman struggled through the darkness that seemed to encompass her. With gun drawn, she cautiously searched for any sign of life around her. She could feel the presence of someone around her, but no one was there. Her head ached and her vision reeled. Something was definitely wrong. As she came into the entrance way of the lush Eaton estate, she found the door unlocked. She opened the door and entered, somehow expecting the haze to lighten. Surprisingly, the haze was in her head. It was now growing worse. It was becoming even more difficult for her to remain standing, the room seemed to melt away. As she began to slip into a dark canyon of unconsciousness, she saw movement, felt a touch, heard gunfire and then ....nothing.
Chris Lorenzo was having a difficult time sleeping. He had tried reading, watching TV with warm milk and even aerobics to tire himself. He had cleaned his gun, organized his CD collection, tuned his sax, and still he could not sleep. "What 's going on?" He said to himself out loud. He knew the answer. Rita. He had spent his whole life looking for her and was able to sleep alone. Now, in just a few short weeks, his entire world seemed to change. The very thought of being without her was making him crazy. Rita Lance, his partner of four and a half years, best friend and now lover and confidant, was there with him every day. She kept him together, she was his balance that never forsook him when his love life was in shambles, not even when she was involved in relationships of her own. Rita was helping out a friend in the department, Amy Ross. She was just recently graduated from the Palm Beach Police Academy, finishing number 2 in her class. Rita met Amy when she was invited to talk to a group of college students about her career in law Enforcement. She was asked to speak on the emerging role of women and the challenges and benefits involved. Amy had been instantly excited about a career in law enforcement, and changed her major from History to Criminology.
Chris began to feel uneasy. Something in his gut told him that there was something that was just not right. He reached over to pick up the phone and dialed Rita's cellular. The phone rang ten times or more before he hung up the phone. Sitting in the floor in front of the bed, he dialed the Palm Beach Police Department, or "The Shop". He asked the night commander what the last call was that Rita and Amy went out on. The Commander reviewed the log and told Chris that they had radioed in to report a domestic dispute and that they were going to try to intervene before it escalated.
"What time was that?" Chris asked. " About 12:30. Been gone almost an hour. I'll radio to see what is happening." The Commander added. Chris waited patiently for a response. The Commander returned back to the phone and told Chris that there was no answer to their radio. He was sending uniforms out to investigate. Chris was frantic. "Where was the call?" He shouted.
"2114 Crestview. Ritzy part of town." answered the commander. Before he could finish the conversation, Chris slammed the phone down and dressed. He bolted out of the door, and with his light and siren going, made his way to the call.
When Chris arrived at the scene, a cold chill went up his spine. His heart began to pound when he saw the ambulance and Coroner's van. He slipped his badge onto his waistband and headed to the scene. He tried to remain calm, not to let out any suspicion of the romance. The scene was a frenzy. People from all departments were scrambling around. As he turned the corner and into the entrance of the Eaton estate, his heart almost stopped. Rita was lying in the floor, unconscious. The Paramedics were assessing her, starting an IV and oxygen. Chris wanted to run over and be with her, but did not want to get in the way of the Paramedics. He stood about five feet from her, and tried to look around the room for some sense of what happened. At just that time, Kiesha came from around the corner with a somber look.
"Chris, how's Rita?" Kiesha asked with concern for her friend.
"I Dunno. They're working on her still. Wait, why are you here?"
"A young cop got killed. name's, um.."
"Amy Ross?" Chris finished. "Yeah, " said Kiesha.
"You know her?" Chris said, "Sort of. This was her first week in the field. Rita was her mentor."
At that time, the Paramedics slid Rita's body onto the stretcher and wheeled past Chris. His heart and his thoughts followed her. He said, "Hey, I'm going to see if I can ride with her." He made for the ambulance when Captain Harry Lipshitz grabbed his arm.
"Lorenzo, how's my Detective?" He asked. "Hanging in, Cap. She's hanging in there. Gotta go." Chris said as he climbed into the ambulance. As the doors closed, Harry yelled, "I'll follow." When the doors closed, Chris grabbed Rita's hand. He stroked her head and said, "Rita, I love you, don't you dare leave me. We're forever."
The ride to the hospital seemed the longest ride in his life. It seemed as if the ten minute ride to Palm Beach Medical Center took an hour. As the ambulance arrived, Chris kissed Rita on the forehead. The doors opened and Rita's hand was ripped away from Chris' as the Paramedics met the hospital staff at the emergency entrance.
The paramedics wheeled her through the entrance as Chris stayed right at the head of the stretcher. He didn't move until one of the nurses stepped right in front of him and asked him to wait there, so they could work on her and so they could ask him some questions. He could see Rita's face through a small opening in the curtains. The nurse continued asking him a few more questions and then asked him to wait there. Harry arrived a short time later. He had a gravely serious look on his face. He looked around, saw Chris and came over to him. "Seems like Rita and I were doing this for you not too long ago. How is she?" He asked.
"I don't know, they're not saying much yet." Chris answered as he leaned forward and held his head with his hands. The Capt. put his hand on Chris' shoulder. "Chris, we have to talk. On the way over, your friend, Kiesha, the Medical Examiner called. The bullet that killed Ross had gone through her and entered a wall behind her. She never knew what hit her. Her gun wasn't even unholstered. Chris, Rita's gun had one bullet missing from the clip. I squelched some ideas that maybe Rita capped her. It doesn't look good.." Chris was outraged. He rose to his feet and shouted, "What! There's no way Rita could have done anything like that! What would be her motive!" Harry tried to calm him.
"Look, I only said that it doesn't look good. You and I both know Rita could never had done anything like this. Ballistics is running the bullet in the morning for a match. We'll be checking Rita's hands for powder residue. I'm just saying that when she comes through this, she may have some explaining to do."
A man in scrubs came out and removed his gloves as he made his way to the two men. He looked at Chris and asked, "Are you her husband?" Chris instinctively smiled, but instantly set his mind back and answered, "No, but we are the only family she has."
"I'm Dr. Jennings. She's going to be fine. It appears someone gave her some powerful medication. She was almost in respiratory failure when we got to her." Chris' face filled with relief. He smiled. "When can I see her?" Instantly came out of his mouth. "We are going to keep her here overnight for observation. Give us a little time to transfer her."
"What do you think happened?" Harry asked. "Well, unless she usually took large and dangerous amounts of sedatives before going out on a call, I would say that someone didn't want her to be in the way." Replied the Doctor. He added, "We should have her lab work back in the next few hours. I'll check in on her first thing in the morning. Why don't you two go and get some rest."
"Thanks, but I'm not leaving here." Chris quickly responded. Harry said, "OK, Chris, I'm heading back out to the scene. Call me the minute she wakes up, you got that? I'm putting a guard at the door. Nobody's gonna get a second chance at her."
"Thank you Capt. You know I'll call as soon as she wakes." Chris replied.
The hospital room they placed Rita in was alot like the one where Chris had laid just a few months before. Very plain, quiet and calm. When Chris saw the room, he remembered the very first thing he saw when he woke: Rita, as usual, watching out for him. He wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke. He wanted to be there for her, to be her strength. He saw her there, she looked so peaceful. Almost like a statue. No movement but the steady rise and fall of her chest. Chris laid down on the bed next to her and gently slipped his arm under her neck as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Wake up soon, my sleeping beauty." He said as he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Rita's eyes slowly opened. She squinted at the brightness of the sun through the blinds at the foot of her bed. She didn't quite know where she was and seemed a little groggy still. She was weak and felt that just holding her head up would be a task. Rita felt Chris' strong chest next to her and looked at him. She looked down and saw the IV in her arm and realized where she was. She then moved just slightly to get a better look at Chris. He felt her move and awoke. "Morning sunshine." He spoke softly to her as he kissed her on the forehead. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've either just had twins or I have been hit by a truck." She replied. "Well, you were asleep, so I took the liberty of naming the twins." She smiled as Chris spoke. "How does Sam and Sam sound?" he added.
"Come here you." Rita said as Chris moved back over on his side next to her. He placed his arm around her waist. "How long have I been asleep?" She asked, still a little dazed, but coming around.
"About 8 hours. You will probably sleep a little more and then I can take you home a little later." Chris answered her.
"Christopher, you haven't been here the whole time have you?" Rita asked, concerned.
"Sammy," He began, "I told you I didn't want to spend another day without you. Wild horses could not have moved me away from you. I never want to spend a night without you, ever." He kissed her on the cheek as she snuggled against him and began to go back to sleep. When she was asleep, he went out, said hello to the guard and then called Captain Lipshitz to let him know she was OK.
CHAPTER TWO
The door swung open to Rita's apartment as Chris carried Rita over the threshold. He thought how much he would love to be able to officially carry her over the threshold, and hoped that one day soon he would get the chance to do just that.
"Here you go, ma'am. Safe and sound. How are you feeling?" Chris spoke softly as he studied her for a response. Rita smiled and stroked his chin with her fingers, "I'm doing fine, I think. Hope I wasn't too much trouble."
"You have been pretty tough to take. If I say so myself, I could really start getting tired of it in fifteen or 20 years." Chris said as he sat her down on her couch. Rita laughed at his response and kissed him softly on the lips. The kiss excited Chris, but he knew not to push her too much, as she was still very tired and weak. He let the kiss linger just a second, and held her face in his hands, and said, "Sweetheart, you sleep well tonight and I promise I will make it up to you. Get ready for bed. You are on a week's medical leave and I have been assigned to protect you. I am also in Cap's way, because he knows that I can't be desk bound or strapped to some incompetent partner till you came back. So, he went ahead before he had to deal with me."
Rita started to rise and felt a little dizzy. Chris slid over and held on to her. He picked her back up and carried her to the bedroom to lie down. He lay there with her till she fell back to sleep. When he was sure she was sleeping, he slipped quietly out and called Capt.
"Hey Cap!" Chris started. "What did ballistics come up with on the bullet?" Harry sighed and said, "Lorenzo, are you anywhere near Rita?"
"No, she's sleeping, why?" Chris asked. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. The bullet that killed Officer Ross was from Rita's gun. She also had residue of gun powder on her hands. They finished testing about an hour ago."
"Capt, there is NO way that Rita could have ever done anything like that! You know that as well as I." Chris said loudly at first, then lowering his voice to keep from waking Rita. Harry replied, "Look, Chris, we know that she didn't do it. I'm afraid I may have to suspend Rita pending investigation from IA. I'm trying to buy her some time. I think that because she was drugged may keep the noose from around her neck just yet." Chris said, "I told her that she is on a week's medical leave. Grant her that, Capt. The Doc said she would need at least that long to get back up to par. I'm going to get to the bottom of things. Something's not right here, and I intend to figure it out."
Harry said, "OK, she's got the leave. I'm putting you on administrative leave as well. No one can look out for her the way you could, and besides, it will free you from your caseload to find out just what's what here."
Chris said, "Good, because I already told her you had done that. Talk to you when I hear anything."
"I'll fax you a copy of the scene report, photos and all. Get to work, Lorenzo. Hey, take care of her." Harry said with a concerned voice.
"Capt, you know I will." answered Chris.
A few minutes later, the files and photos came pouring in over the fax machine. Chris sat down at the dining room table and began going over the scene and various reports, witness' accounts of what they heard, evidence lists, and photos that covered every inch of the first floor. He carefully studied every page and wrote his notes and thoughts down on a legal pad. He arranged the photos on the table to resemble the layout of the house as best he could remember, and carefully studied every inch of the photos. He read where Amy Ross had never even unholstered her gun, but Rita had her gun drawn. She was in a house, investigating a scene and never drew her gun? Something seemed wrong. As he wrote his thoughts down on his pad, he looked up at the clock.
"5:30. Time to whip up something for dinner. Rita's got to be starving."
Chris went in and looked in on Rita. She was fast asleep. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to him. His feelings for her were so deep, it frightened him at times. He had never felt about any woman the way he felt for Rita. As he started cooking dinner, he ran through in his mind some of his daydreams about Rita. He ran in his mind their first night together. He hurt just thinking that someone tried to hurt her. He felt her pain and knew that keeping her safe was paramount to him. Chris tossed a salad and had made Rigatoni. He went in to check on Rita and get her up for dinner. He stroked her cheek and smiled. Rita slowly opened her eyes and said, "Hey there, partner. What's up?"
"Dinner is up. Ready for something to eat?" Chris inquired. Rita answered, "I'm famished. I'll go to the-" Chris interrupted, "Wait just a minute, stay right there. We'll have it here. Don't move."
He went back to the kitchen and began getting a tray made up for her, including a single red rosebud in a vase. He poured her some juice and water and put her vinaigrette in the side, just the way she liked it. He brought in the tray and said, "Voila!" His smile sank a little when he saw Rita there. She had drifted back off to sleep. He knew not to wake her, for she needed her rest. So he enjoyed the dinner alone. He watched the a movie while he ate and curled up next to Rita and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Rita woke up at 7:30 the next morning. She saw Chris there and remembered that he had promised to make up to her for the day before. She sat there for just a moment, laughed naughtily to herself, and began kissing Chris on the neck. Chris squirmed a little at first and as Rita worked up to his cheek, he opened his eyes and realized that he wasn't having a good dream, it was for real. "Morning Rita, I trust you are rested?" Chris spoke as Rita began unbuttoning his shirt. As he leaned up to remove it she grabbed him and kissed him passionately. When the kiss ended, he asked, "Are you up to it?" Rita chuckled and said, "I am, but the question is, will you be 'up' to it." Chris was surprised at how spry she was this morning. It was as if she had been recharged. He stood up, and removed his shirt and answered, "Oh, I think I can rise to the occasion." Rita came over to the edge of the bed where he was and began kissing him on the chest. Chris was becoming more and more excited and began to remove Rita's nightshirt. She raised her arms and he slipped the shirt off. Rita began unfastening his belt and pants as she began giving him baby kisses on the stomach. He was going crazy with passion. Her touch sent him reeling. He wanted to take her and wrap himself around her to keep her safe and to join themselves together forever. Chris and Rita finished removing his pants and he pulled her close to him tightly in his arms and so effortlessly placed her down on the bed under him. He kissed her long and firmly, and was soon fighting for air. He released and began running his kisses down her neck, onto her shoulders and to her breasts. She arched back in pleasure. It was like electricity running though her. Chris slid further down and began returning the baby kisses on her stomach. His beard tickled a little and it added to the pleasure. She began to arch up and felt the surges of electricity even stronger. He was touching, caressing, fondling and pleasuring her in a place where she would let only him. He began to come back up to her and felt her ready for him. Their bodies came together and she wrapped her arms tightly around him as they moved together. Chris was so enraptured, he could only muster up a gasping "Rita". She knew and felt this was so right. She felt as if they were made for each other. Rita let her hands explore his body as he did hers. Rita shuddered from pleasure and felt her entire body quake. She kissed him as it started and let out, "Oh Chris I love you!" Chris began to kiss her on the neck as he felt the explosion within himself and felt himself sink into her and both their naked bodies were glistening with perspiration. Chris rolled over and they lay side by side. Chris looked over at Rita after a few seconds of silence and they both began laughing at their intensity. "Wow, baby you were fantastic. I love making love with you." Chris said, winded. Rita smiled and said, "Chris, I love you more than anything in this world. I want you to be happy and I intend on keeping you 'happy'." Chris laughed at her statement, picked up her hand, kissed it and said, "Sam, if we keep this up, we are both going to be the 'happiest' people in the world. You do make me happy. I wish I could stay here in bed with you for the rest of my life. I never want to be apart from you. I think about you, about us, all the time. You get me hot and bothered just by making coffee or briefing me on a case." Rita laughed out loud at that. As Chris spoke, Rita was rubbing his chest with her fingers. As she stroked his chest, she stared intently and lustily at him. He felt it all over again. He said, "You do know what you are doing, don't you?" Rita answered as she squeezed him tightly, "Well, if I remember correctly, yeah, I do. I have a firm grasp on the situation." She lustily laughed as she continued, "I am trying my best to get you back over here. I'm lonely already." Chris smiled a big Lorenzo grin, moved the sheet around and kissed her all over again. He slid over and again attempted to keep his love happy.
When they had finished, Rita lay on the bed and watched Chris making breakfast. She was thoroughly mesmerized by him. Not only was he hot to look at, and his body was so gorgeous, it was more than that. He was her best friend. Never until the last few weeks could she have ever imagined it possible to act on the love that she had for him. She never thought that they could become lovers and remain best friends, but the best part was that because they were best friends, it heightened them as lovers. Because they had no secrets, because they knew each other's qwerks, each other's fantasies and desires, it was a special added bonus for them as lovers that most couples never had. She was frightened at first, but she realized that they were meant to be together, she could protest no more. From that point on, she had given herself over to him, to their love wholeheartedly, with no regrets. As she lay there in her thoughts, Chris approached the bed and sat the tray down, again with a red rose bud. He had made breakfast for two, and had made extra portions, since she was probably starving. "Good morning, Sam. I thought we could have a little picnic here on the floor." Said Chris as he motioned with his head over to the blanket he had spread at the foot of the bed. Rita looked at the food, and answered, "You can read my mind, can't you? How did you know I wanted pancakes?" Chris smiled and said, "Well, when we were in the midst of our 'bliss', I called you darling, and you called me pancake. I took no offense at it whatsoever, though." Rita's mouth widened as she threw a pillow at him and said, "I did not! Cupcake maybe, pancake, I don't think so!" Chris took her by the hand and she wrapped herself with a sheet and eased down to the floor. Chris sat next to her and handed her a plate. She was a little surprised when he began serving her. "Gee Lorenzo, did I break my arms too?" Rita playfully asked. Chris didn't skip a beat. He continued placing food on her plate and said, "No, but if you don't let me take care of you, you won't get this wonderful, terrific food." He wafted the plate under her nose and she sighed as she got the wonderful aroma. He handed her the plate, and she ate rather quickly as he began fixing his plate. When they finished, he said, "Rita, we have to talk. We have no secrets and I intend to keep it that way. It's about the night before last. Rita, Amy is dead." Rita stopped everything. Chris took the plate from her as he saw the color drain out of her face. She began to hear the gunshot in her head. She had that same sense of disorientation all over again. Chris said, "Rita, are you OK?" Rita struggled to get words out, and said, "Yeah. Capt said she was OK, but somehow I knew she was...dead. I could hear a gunshot." Chris swallowed his heart as he knew what he was about to tell her would rip her apart. "Rita, I need you to listen to this." He held her hand as he spoke. "Rita," he continued, "Amy was shot about ten feet from you in the hallway of the house. She never unholstered her gun. You had your gun drawn. Rita, Oh God this is confusing!" Rita sensed that whatever it was that Chris was about to tell her was killing him. She squeezed his hand to offer support to continue. He continued, "Rita, there was a bullet missing from your gun. They found it in the wall behind Amy. Ballistics matched it up from your gun. They tested your hands, you had fresh powder residue on your hands. Rita, say something, please." He added as he saw Rita sitting there, her face blank, although her mind was racing. She searched for something to say. A single tear streamed down her cheek as Chris reached up and wiped it away. Chris spoke, "Rita, slow and easy, I need you to tell me what you can remember, OK?" Chris reached over in the bedside table and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen to take notes. Rita rested her hand on his thigh for comfort as she searched through her memory.
Rita began, "It was a little before one when we heard a domestic dispute call come in over the radio. We were only a few blocks from it, so I told Amy to take it. I radioed in our arrival." She wiped more tears away and sniffed as she continued. "I thought it would be a good opener for her to take. It would give her a chance to use some of that Police psychology she loved so much." She gave a small laugh as she sniffed again. "We got there and it was dark, quiet. It didn't seem like anything much was happening at all, much less a domestic dispute. Usually, the whole neighborhood knows about it before it is finished. But this was different. We went to the front door. I knocked and got no answer. I checked the door and it was unlocked. We heard nothing. I was afraid something may have already happened, so we went in to check it out. We called out that we were police officers, but got no response. She turned on the light switch by the doorway in the entrance to the hallway. We looked around and found nothing. My head was pounding, so I went back to radio in a possible false alarm and take something for it. I told Amy to stay there and not to do anything until I got back. I went to radio in my report, but before I got out to the car, I began to feel very strange. I became confused, dizzy and sleepy all at the same time. I thought either that I had been drugged, or that something was happening with my aneurysm. Amy called out for me to come back. I was afraid something was wrong, and tried to make it back inside. The more I moved, the worse it got. I drew my gun because I thought that if something was wrong, perhaps it would be wise to be as prepared as I could, under the circumstances. I got back, opened the door and when I got inside, it was as if the room started to disappear, almost as if it was melting away. It was becoming harder to breathe. I tried to find Amy, but I didn't see her. I could hardly keep my eyes open. The last thing I can remember is something tickling my hand, and then a gunshot." Rita wiped the last of her tears away as she finished. She sat there for a second and what Chris saw alarmed him. Her face filled with absolute terror. It was eerie to see her like that. At that second, she screamed out,
"Oh my God! I killed Amy!"
No infringement to anyone or anything intended. SILK STALKINGS and its characters are the creation of the producers and creators and the USA television network. No intent to infringe upon these parties is meant in anyway whatsoever!
My E-Mail is LindaSusanMcCauley@msn.com
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