EIGHTEEN

The young detective wandered slowly down the hall, scanning the document in his hands.  The FAX he had been waiting for all afternoon had finally arrived, and it appeared to contain the information he needed.  That meant he could lock up his files and get an early start on the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Flipping back to the front page of the stapled document, Detective Stevens looked up and quickened his pace.  He strode purposefully down the long, narrow hall toward the back of the building.  There was one last thing he needed to check before he departed.

Stevens was surprised to find the Evidence Room door ajar.  Aside from the motherly secretary he had just left at the front desk, he thought he was the only person left in the building.  He quickly realized his error when he stepped into the cluttered room.  Sitting at a document-strewn table by the back wall was the auburn-haired female Fed who had come to visit last week.

Cate looked up at the door’s motion.  A tired smile curved her lips as she pulled the reading glasses from her face and dropped them onto the file she had been perusing.

“Hey.  Stevens, right?”

The detective nodded.  “Zac.”

“Right.”  Cate nodded and shrugged.  “Sorry, I’m better with last names.  Years of training.”

Stevens chuckled.  He recalled hearing their visitor had been an instructor at the Federal Training Center.  In that environment everyone was known by their last name.

“And you’re Agent Sullivan, right?”

“Call me Cate.”

“Alright then.  Cate.” Zac looked at his watch, noting it was nearly four o’clock.  “I didn’t know you were still here.”

Cate nodded and gestured toward the table.  “Yeah.  I’m just working through this last box of documents you guys seized in the EnviroDyn search.”  She reached up to pinch at the bridge of her nose as she squinted her tired eyes.  “I figured I’d better finish them up before the weekend, just so I didn’t have to get back in the groove on Monday.  Sorry if I’m holding you up.”

“Nah.”  Stevens shrugged.  “No worries.  I’ve been waiting on this.”  He waved the papers in his hand as he moved toward a bank of lockers and safes.  “And I need to pull a box, check some tags against this list from the prosecutor.”

“That your smuggling case?”

“Yup.”  Zac grinned.  “Got a cooperating witness.  We flipped one of the partners in the principal Target’s auto dealership.  State’s Attorney just inked the immunity deal.”

“Awesome.”  Cate chuckled quietly to herself as she read the officer’s body language.  His step held a little swagger, his chest was puffed with pride.  Stevens’ case was clearly going well.

Cate slid the glasses back onto her face, perching them on the end of her nose.  “Well, let me slog through this last file, then I’ll get out of here so you can close up shop.”

“Take your time.”   Zac carefully turned the dial on the safe, then cranked the handle.  The door opened with a loud metallic clank.  “I’m gonna be here a little while.”

Cate saw through his nonchalant fib.  She could tell her young colleague wanted to get out of the office as soon as possible.  Hell, so did she.  She still had an hour-plus drive to Red Bank, which would probably be more like a two-hour drive on this pre-holiday afternoon.

“I’ll only be about another fifteen minutes.”  Cate again turned her attention to the file in front of her.

“No hurry,” Zac repeated distractedly.

Silence fell over the room as both officers focused their concentration on the tasks at hand.  Cate skimmed the contents of the thick sheaf of papers in the file, her mind processing the information as she slowly leafed through the pages.   Her brow furrowed as she squinted at a sloppy hand-scrawled note in the margin of an invoice.

VDlo  743K.  WM Bergen

“Hmm.”  Cate’s murmur was barely audible as she mused over the notation.  For some reason the comment had triggered her attention.  Her mind raced to make sense of the vague reference.

Detective Stevens noticed Cate’s thoughtful hum.  He pushed the safe’s drawer closed and spun the dial, then strolled over to the desk where Cate was paging back through the document in her hand.

“You look like you’re on to something.”

Cate tilted her head at his comment.  “No… Well, I don’t know.  Just something that caught my eye.”

“What?”  Zac pulled out the chair opposite Cate’s and flipped it around before straddling it.  “EnviroDyn’s not my case, but I might be able to shed some light on whatever it is.  I was on the search team.”

Cate flipped back to the page she had marked with a paperclip.  “This.”  She pointed at the inked scrawl.

Stevens squinted at the writing, then shrugged.  “Huh.  Not sure.  I guess Bergen means Bergen County.  And since that invoice is from an environmental services company, I’d guess WM means waste management?”

Cate nodded slowly, the wheels in her brain still turning.  “Yeah.  That’s what I made of it too.  And the number could mean anything.  But the first part…”

“V-D-L-O?”  The detective spelled out the letters.  “Some kinda acronym?  EPA, maybe?”

“Maybe…”  Unconsciously Cate pulled her lower lip between her teeth.  She nibbled lightly as her eyes narrowed in concentration.  She mentally ran through every list of Environmental Protection Agency programs and acronyms she could recall, to no avail.

Her gaze dropped again to the writing.  “But the ‘L’ and ‘O’ are lower-case…”

Stevens tilted his head again to take another look.  “Veed-Lo?”  He chuckled.  “Kinda like J-Lo?”

"Hmmm..."  Cate hummed again as she considered the phoenetics.  She stared unseeing at the paper for a long moment, trying hard to place the letters in some sort of meaningful context.

Suddenly, it clicked.  Cate's blue eyes widened as a visual image of a handsome, swarthy man flashed in her brain.  With his half-joking observation her young colleague had prodded her mind outside the parameters of its acronym search, leading her to the answer.  “Fuck me,” she growled.

Zac’s brows lifted in surprise at her sudden reaction.  “What?”  He automatically shrunk back just bit as Cate’s laser-like sapphire gaze locked on him.   “I was just kidding around…”

“Veed-Lo.”  Cate repeated.  “V-D-Lo.  It’s not a thing, or a program.  It’s a person.”

Stevens frowned.  “Who?”

“Fuck,” Cate breathed again, shaking her head at the revelation as she stared down at the note.  Suddenly it made perfect sense.  “Zac, I’m gonna need to use your office for a minute.”

“Sure.  Why?”

“I need a secure phone.”  Cate looked up at the detective, ensuring he could see the seriousness of the situation.  “To call back to my office in Manhattan.”

Zac nodded.  “Okay.  About Veed-Lo?”

“Yeah.”  Cate felt a surge of adrenaline course through her body, accelerating her pulse and kicking her mind into gear again.  A self-satisfied smirk curved her mouth as she relished the feeling, the thrill she always got when she discovered a break in a case.  “Detective Stevens, you ever hear of a gentleman named Valentin DiCarlo?”

“Val DiCarlo?  Sure.  He’s a Ward Boss up North somewhere.  Paterson, maybe?”

“Elizabeth, actually.  And he’s a known associate of a number of organizations.  One in particular, with a long and storied past.”  Cate’s voice was low and even as she stared intently at Detective Stevens.

“You mean…?” The officer felt his jaw drop.  He was Jersey-born and raised, but he had lived his entire young life oblivious to the more notorious element of the State’s population.  Until he had become a cop, that is.

Cate nodded, then looked down at the file.  She carefully re-marked the page and closed the folder.  “I need to make that call.  You should probably call your Lieutenant, too.  Tell him we’re gonna need to have a sit-down with your Case Officer, the guys from the Organized Crime Task Force, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

*****
Jon looked up from his phone at the glare of approaching headlights.  Recognizing the nondescript dark blue sedan, he sighed with relief.  He was just about to call again.

He climbed out of the SUV and swung the door shut, then tugged the zipper of his jacket up a little higher.  The night was clear and cold, foretelling a chilly holiday tomorrow.  Jon shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched the car slowly roll across the parking lot, then drift to a stop two spaces over from where he stood.

Jon wandered over to the vehicle and reached for the door.  He had to tug twice at the handle before he heard the locks disengage.  On the third attempt he pulled open the door and swung it aside.  He ducked his head to give Cate a welcoming smile.

“Finally.  I was beginning to worry.”

Cate reached across to grab her bag from the passenger seat, then gave Jon an apologetic look.  “Sorry, Baby.  The Parkway was all backed up.  Everybody’s on their way to Grandma’s House.”

“Even at this time of night?”

“Especially at this time of night.  We working stiffs have to put in a full day before we get to start our long weekend.”  Cate’s words were only half-teasing.  She had wanted to get an early start on her holiday as well, but duty called.

Jon frowned at the subtle note of chastisement in her tone.  “Everything okay?”  He stepped aside as Cate climbed out of her duty car and slammed the heavy door shut.

Cate sighed, then gave Jon a tired smile.  “Yeah.  More than okay, actually.  Sorry.”  She raised a hand to drag it through her thick auburn locks, leaving them slightly mussed.  “I’m just a little fried.”

Jon reached for her hand as he leaned in to brush a kiss across her cheek.  “S’okay.  I figured something big was up when you texted earlier that you didn’t have time to call.”  He chuckled softly.  “Fucking criminals can’t even take a day off, huh?”

Cate giggled quietly, then sighed again.  “Well, that’s not exactly it.  I just had to do a last-minute dash over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Some new information… came up.”

“C’mon.”  Jon tugged at Cate’s hand and tipped his head toward the brightly-lit store.  “You can tell me more inside where it’s warm.”

“Jon, I can’t…”

“Or not,” Jon interrupted, rolling his eyes.  “I know the drill. You can't tell me or you'll have to kill me, yadda yadda yadda.  Okay, we’ll just talk about artichokes or yams or what the fuck ever it is you have to get in there.”  He started to walk toward the supermarket’s entrance, towing Cate behind him.

Cate sighed tiredly as she followed Jon’s brisk trot across the parking lot.  When they were safely inside Jon released her hand to yank a cart from the corral at the entrance, then pointed it toward the produce section.  “This is gonna be a quick in-and-out, right?  What first?”

“I thought you liked to go to the market with me?”  Cate challenged, a little sarcastically.  She pulled her phone out of her pocket and swiped the screen to bring up the grocery list she had compiled last weekend.

“I do.  But not at nine o’clock the night before Thanksgiving, when I haven’t seen my wife all week,” Jon replied, just a bit snarkily.  “Seriously, Cate.  Why don’t you just forget about cooking and we’ll order from a restaurant or something?”

“Because, Jon,”  Cate sighed again.  “I already told you.  I like to cook Thanksgiving dinner.  It’s my tradition.  Besides, you can’t just call up a restaurant on Thanksgiving Day and order a full feast for twenty.  You have to order ahead of time.”

Jon growled quietly to himself, knowing he couldn’t argue that point.  He started to push the cart forward, following Cate between the produce displays.  “I just want you to enjoy the day tomorrow, Baby.  Not stress out because you have all this shit to do.  You’re already tired; you need to relax.”

Cate picked up a large carton of grapes and placed them in the basket, then looked up at Jon.  The concern in his expression made her melt.  “I know.  But Jon, cooking will help me relax.  I love to cook.  I don’t get to do it often enough.  Not like this, anyway.”

She gave him a small smile, then stepped around the cart.  Cate covered Jon’s hand on the buggy’s push-bar with hers and squeezed gently.  “Besides, we’ll get to spend plenty of time together.  You can be my sous-chef.”

“Oh, great.”  Jon rolled his eyes again, but his own little smile gave away his faux-indignation.  “Make me slave away in the kitchen all day too.”

“Oh, stop it,” Cate commanded mildly.  She pulled her hand from Jon’s and dropped it to smack him lightly on the derriere.  “You’re gonna be hanging around the kitchen anyway, since the kids won’t be around.  May as well make yourself useful.”  She turned and moved over to a nearby row of potato-piled bins.

Jon shrugged and followed her, pushing the cart.  “If that’s what I gotta do to spend some time with you, then I guess so.”

Cate heard the underlying snark in his comment, but didn’t respond.  She was too tired to argue, and she didn’t want to start off her first real break in a couple weeks with a meaningless row.  Jon had already made it clear that he was less than thrilled with her spending the short work week in a Trenton hotel while she pursued her casework there.  She hoped he was over his snit, ready to share an enjoyable weekend with her.

“What time are the kids coming over?”  Choosing to ignore Jon’s jab, Cate changed the subject.

“Dorothea’s bringing them over around four.  They’re having brunch at her sister’s at eleven.  Then I guess she and Linda are going out somewhere so she said she’ll drop them off on the way.”

“Steph too?”

Jon shrugged.  “Unless she comes to pick up her car in the morning.  She left it at the house.  Brendan came out last night, they went into the City today.  She’s at Dorothea’s tonight.”

“Ah.”  Cate studied a large sweet potato, then dropped it into a paper bag.  She continued to pick through the pile as she spoke.  “You must have had a nice time this week, having her all to yourself.”

Jon’s expression softened.  “Yeah, it was nice.  We went in to town Monday, did a little early Christmas shopping, had lunch, went to a movie.”

Cate smiled at his response as she deposited the bag in the basket.  “That all?  Just Monday?”

“She had some projects to work on for school, so she did that while I worked with Obie in the studio on Tuesday.  She made us dinner that night.”  Jon chuckled softly.  “She could use a few pointers from you.

Cate giggled.  “Inherited her Daddy’s talent for cooking, did she?”  She consulted her list, then moved toward a wall cooler of leafy greens.

“Yeah.  You could say that.”  Jon pushed the cart after Cate, pausing to pop an olive in his mouth as he passed by a sample tray.  “Mmm,” he observed.  “We should get some of these.”

Cate snickered as she watched Jon drop two plastic containers of gourmet olives in the cart.  “How about your parents?  What time are they coming over?”

Jon leaned on the cart, watching Cate sort through leafy bunches of spinach.  “About the same time, I guess.  Maybe a little earlier.  Second football game starts at four.  I figure Matty and Dad will want to be on the couch by then.”

“Me too.”  Cate turned away from Jon to hide her little cringe at the thought of being stuck in the kitchen with her mother-in-law.  She would have to be certain to have dinner prep finished before Carol’s arrival, then hope Jon's mother would focus all her attention on her grandchildren.

Jon noticed Cate’s reaction and chuckled softly.  “Mom’s looking forward to spending some time with you,” he announced casually.  The statement was a fib, but he felt like poking at his wife a bit.

“I’m sure she is.”  Cate couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her reply.  She stuffed two large bunches of spinach into a bag and tossed it into the cart before moving toward the tomatoes.

“Naw, seriously, Baby.  She feels guilty that she hasn’t talked to you in a long time.  I’m sure she has all kinds of stuff to talk about.  She’s always asking me questions about you:  how’s your job, are you being careful, are you eating right…”

Cate snorted, recognizing the glee in Jon’s voice.  Now she was sure he was teasing.  “More like ‘are you still married to her’, you mean?”

Jon chuckled softly at Cate’s retort.  “You know she’d never say that, Cate.  Besides, I’m sure her attitude toward you will change when we give her another grandbaby.”

Cate froze, then turned her head to give Jon a stern look.  “You didn’t tell her, did you?”

Jon saw the seriousness in Cate’s expression.  Recognizing it was time to back off, he shook his head.  “No.  Of course not.  God, no.”  He let go of the cart and stepped over to Cate, gazing intently at her as he took her hand.  “I swear, Baby.  I don’t want her in the middle of this anymore than you do.”

“Okay.  Good.”  Cate smiled weakly.  “Sorry.  I just… Jon, you know it’s hard for me to deal with her.”

“Nah, my fault.  I shoulda kept my big yap shut.”  Jon gave Cate an apologetic smile.  “But, all kidding aside… Mom really will be happy when she’s got a new pair of booties to knit.”

“I know.  And with any luck…” Cate’s smile gentled as she dropped her gaze to her and Jon’s entwined hands.  “Maybe next Thanksgiving …”

Jon’s blue eyes sparkled as his brows arched at Cate’s hopeful comment.  “You think so?  Baby, do you really think you might be…?”

Cate shrugged slightly, then raised her gaze to meet Jon’s.  “I’m not sure.  Maybe.  I mean… it’s really early.  Too early for a test, even.  But I don’t know… I just feel… different.”

Jon nodded as his lips parted in an excited grin.  “Our timing was right, with your ovulation.  That was… What?  A week ago?”

“Eight days.”  Cate’s eyes glowed as she smiled back at Jon.  “Like I said, it’s too early to know, but… But maybe the test kinda helped move things along, like Dr. Klein said it might.”

Jon chortled huskily, his eyes following his free hand as it moved to Cate’s belly.  “Someday we’ll tell her how Mama first told Daddy about her in the dead of night in the Whole Foods produce department.”

Cate laughed quietly.  “It’s not the ‘dead of night,’ Jon.  Stop being so dramatic.”  Her smile betrayed her own excitement.  “But yeah, this might be a cute story someday.”

Jon slipped his hand from Cate’s abdomen and pulled her into an embrace.  He grinned again as he felt Cate’s arms slide around his waist and squeeze.  Jon hugged her tightly for a moment, then dropped a kiss on the crown of her head.

“Okay, we better get a move on.  This place is gonna close soon.  And I wanna get you home… it’s been too quiet there this week.”

Cate’s heart squeezed at Jon’s sweet sentiment.  She had missed him too, had counted the hours until she could share her news.  Cate had wanted to wait until she and Jon were home to tell him of her suspicion, but she couldn’t help herself.  The conversation had given her an opening, and she was too excited to hold back.

If there was one thing Cate had learned about herself through the trials and tribulations of her career, it was to trust her instincts.  To trust her gut.  In this case, quite literally.  For the past couple days she had been quietly excited and happy and cautiously optimistic, that this time it was real.

She just felt pregnant.

Cate gave Jon another squeeze before she stepped out of his embrace.  They exchanged a sweet smile, then Cate sighed.  She again raised her phone to check her grocery list, which was now only five items shorter than it was when they walked into the store.

“Okay, so… the turkey was delivered earlier this week, right?”

Jon nodded.  “Tuesday.  Big sucker.  It’s in the fridge.”

Cate chuckled.  “And you have enough oil for the fryer?”

“Roger.”  Jon gave Cate a thumbs-up and a goofy grin.  “Baby, I got that covered.  Don’t you worry your pretty little head about my turkey fryer.”

Cate laughed aloud at his silliness.  “Okay, then.  You go get some walnuts and pecans.  I’ll head over to the deli and grab what we need for the antipasti, then I’ll meet you in the bakery.”

“Ten-four.”  Jon grinned and leaned in to nuzzle at Cate’s cheek.  “Then let’s blow this joint and go home and  celebrate.”

“Deal.”  Cate watched Jon strut away, toward the middle of the store.   The bounce in his step made her smile.  She sighed gently and moved behind the cart, pointing it toward the nearby cheese case.

*****

Cate groaned blissfully and braced her hands against the smooth slate wall.  She squeezed her eyes shut tight and lowered her head, then slid her feet back to elongate her dorsal muscles.  Her long tresses slipped forward to curtain her face, baring her shoulders and back to the pulsing barrage of the multiple water jets.

She breathed deeply, inhaling the steamy air.  She felt the moist warmth creep through her body before letting her lungs slowly contract, pushing out her spent breath.  Cate groaned again as she felt her tired muscles succumb to the kneading of the shower massage.  It felt wonderful.

After a long few minutes Cate levered herself away from the wall.  Careful to find her footing, she paused for a moment before turning around.  She raised her face to the spray, squinting as the water rained down on her head, neck, and torso.

After a minute Cate stepped back and wiped the water from her eyes, then reached for the control.  With just a touch a different set of nozzles engaged, massaging her from both sides with a gentler, warmer spray. Cate stretched out her arms to her sides, raised them slowly over her head, then let them drop to her sides as again she lowered her head.  She rolled it slowly from side to side, gently stretching her neck muscles, then let it rest, chin to her chest.

Cate sighed contentedly.  Her arms crossed over her abdomen, responding to her happy thoughts.

Jon paused in the doorway and smiled.  His gaze roved slowly over the silhouette of his wife’s naked body behind the steam-frosted glass.  He chuckled softly as he realized this scene was much more stimulating than the many erotic shower-stripteases he had witnessed in his youth.

Jon moved over to the vanity and slid open a small drawer.  He extracted the butane torch Cate kept in the utility tray, then flicked the switch.  A small flame glowed at the end of the long tip.  Quietly Jon touched the flame to the wicks of the cluster of candles on the countertop.  He glanced again at the shower before moving to the raised jacuzzi and lighting the candles surrounding the tub’s edge.

Smirking as he saw that Cate still hadn’t noticed his presence, Jon dropped the torch on the ledge and flicked the light switch.  The front half of the enormous bathroom darkened, leaving only the shower niche light illuminated.  Still Cate didn’t move, continuing to stand motionless in the shower, her head bowed and her arms cradling her womb.

Jon reached behind his head to grab the neck of his t-shirt.  A quick yank pulled it up and over his head, uncovering his torso.  He dropped the garment on the floor, then bent to shed his jeans and briefs.  Nude, Jon paused for another moment to gaze at his wife.  He smiled gently, then stepped over to the bathroom’s master control panel.  He pushed at a pair of buttons before padding over to the shower door.

The room filled with quiet piano music and a purplish glow as the stereo and LED lighting systems engaged.  Noticing the change in atmosphere, Cate raised her head and opened her eyes.  She blinked for a moment at the violet-tinged light, wondering hazily what was happening.

When she heard the soft click of the opening shower door she knew.  She let her eyes again drift closed, then shivered lightly as a wisp of cooler air swirled through the steam and brushed over her skin.  Seconds later she felt his warm, firm body against hers, his muscular front molding seamlessly to her sleek back. His strong arms encircled her, crossing over her own as his smooth cheek slid alongside hers.

Cate leaned back against Jon, relishing the feel of him wrapped around her.  She tipped her head back against his shoulder and sighed contentedly.  Across her middle her arms loosened, allowing his palm to settle between them, pressing gently against her flesh over her womb.

Cate smiled as her hand curved over Jon’s, sharing his silent gesture of hope.