| The Detectives investigate the crime, while Jack and Kate tour the city Tuesday 9/18/2001 |
| She woke up slightly disoriented, not sure where she was. The bed was way too comfortable, for one thing. Gradually, she came fully awake and remembered where she was � her father�s apartment. She smiled. OK, this hadn�t started quite the way she had planned it, but it was turning out pretty good. Her dad was a LOT cooler than she had expected. But then, never in a million years would she have considered that he�d be gay. It might just be worth talking to mother just for the pleasure of telling her that one fact. She got up and threw open the curtains, letting in the sunlight. Much better than waking up in prison yesterday. She would be eternally grateful to Lennie Briscoe for recognizing her and bringing her father in; without him, she�d surely still be in jail, and probably working with a public defender instead of Jamie Ross. And the fact that he obviously loved her father very much didn�t hurt either. She really hoped she�d have a chance to get to know him better. The room was a bit of a mess � not surprising for two guys. Dad had said they had been roommates before they fell in love � this had probably been Lennie�s room. So all this stuff was probably his. There was a box of photographs sitting on the dresser � her curiosity got the better of her. Family photos, looked pretty old, 70�s era by the clothes. Mostly a woman with two little girls. They looked happy. But their family hadn�t worked either. Her dad had said Lennie moved in when his daughter was killed � she wondered which of the two little girls she had been. Her conscience finally reminded her that she was snooping into his personal things, so she put the box aside and ducked out to the bathroom. The rest of the apartment was still quiet; Lennie had already gone to work, and she guessed her dad wasn�t up yet, so she indulged in an extra long hot shower. She liked the bathroom � it was a huge oversized stall shower rather than the tub/shower combinations in most places. Easily room for two. She started to imagine them together in here, then shook her head. Parents weren�t supposed to have sex lives. Then she had to laugh at herself. She finished her shower, dried off, and went out to the kitchen to find some coffee. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ �Nah, Lennie, you�re puttin� me on, right?� Lennie had to laugh at Ed�s reaction. �Nope. She�s gay too. Yet another reason why Blake was NOT her lover.� �Why didn�t she say something sooner?� Ana at least got it. �Oh, come ON, Eddie. She meets her dad for the first time in how long, she has no idea how he�s going to react. You�d think it�d be enough to say that Blake was gay.� �Yeah, face it Ed. Even if she had said something the first day, would you have believed her? When the rest of the crime scene looked so much like a lovers� quarrel?� �OK, OK, you win. So we gonna check this Andi � with an I out?� �Jack was pretty beat last night when he told me, said he�d call this morning when they got up with more details.� VanBuren nodded. �OK, so who do we like at this point?� Ed shrugged. �There�s still Kate�s fingerprints on the murder weapon. But then again there was evidence of sleeping pills in her blood work. I want to talk to Andi, but I�m willing to believe it was a setup made to look like a lovers� quarrel. But we have no proof of that yet, so we really can�t drop the charges against her yet.� �Rella�s awfully nervous,� Ana chimed in. �He�s involved somehow.� �Yesterday I requested his credit card records; I want to see what he�s been buying online that might confirm that they were lovers.� Anita grinned. �OK, Lennie, you poke through his shopping records. When Jack calls, Ed and Ana can check out Andi. What about his other clients � David�s trading records were clean, but you�d expect that if Rella was helping him trade illegally. Check Rella�s other clients, see if any of them were trading stock of any PHC clients.� Ed shook his head. �Rella�s not going to give up his client info without a fight, especially if he�s hiding something. Can we get a subpoena first?� �OK, I�ll call Serena and get that in the works. For now you can help Lennie dig through his financials, see if anything looks interesting.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first thought in Jack�s head when he woke up was that Lennie wasn�t there. He hated mornings when his lover had to leave early for work and he didn�t. He felt cheated. But then he remembered WHY he was home this week. // oh, yeah, wouldn�t have been doing anything anyway � // he mused. He was overjoyed at having Kate back in his life, but he could see that after a while she�d be cramping their style. Well, hopefully this mess would clear up and she could get her own apartment soon. He yawned, stretched and rolled out of bed, then grabbed his robe and headed toward the kitchen. Kate was sitting in the living room, wearing blue gym shorts and a faded tee-shirt that looked like an old friend. Her short dark hair was still damp from a shower. She was sipping a cup of coffee and reading a book � she must have picked it off the bookshelf. �Morning, Kate.� She looked up from the book and smiled at him. �Hi, Dad!� She held up the book. �Didn�t know you were into mysteries!� Jack laughed. �I think that�s actually one of Lennie�s. You�d think that being a cop, he�d be too jaded for those, but I think he likes the old-fashioned stories, simpler times.� // Chalk one more up for Lennie! // she thought with a smile. Jack wandered into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. �You want some breakfast?� She shook her head. �Nah, not much of a breakfast person. I�d rather wait till lunch.� �OK.� Jack grabbed a sweet roll and came out to sit with her. �So what�s the agenda for today, Dad? Am I under �house arrest� or can we go out and have some fun?� �House arrest? You do read too many crime novels! No, we can go out. It�s just that after last week, a lot of the touristy stuff is still closed.� �You know what I�d really like to do?� �What?� �Ride your motorcycle.� Jack laughed. �That we can accommodate. Tell you what. I promised Lennie I�d call him with Andi�s information so they can confirm what you told us. I also didn�t get a chance to ask him about the laptop, or mention what you said about Karen. So why don�t you call him � his number�s on speed dial � while I go grab a shower?� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie and Ed were up to their ears in Howard Rella�s financial information. It wasn�t long before Lennie spotted some familiar names. �Here�s one: Open Exchange. Nice generic sounding name. They ship the goods in ordinary brown boxes, no indication what�s inside. Very discrete.� Ed grinned at him, resisting the impulse to tweak his partner. �Yeah, I�ve got several of those. You�re right, I�d never have pegged that as something �interesting.� So we�ve got evidence that he�s lying about being gay.� Lennie shook his head. �Not necessarily. These folks are �equal opportunity� entertainers � gay, straight, seriously kinky, some stuff targeted specifically at women who are bored with �traditional� porn, stuff for couples, you name it. We�d need to know WHAT he bought. Oh, now wait a minute. This is better. This one�s a strictly gay catalog.� Ed wasn�t entirely sure he wanted to know, but � �What do they sell?� �The usual videos, magazines, g-strings, thongs �� Lennie couldn�t keep the smirk off his face as he watched Ed grossing out at the thought of Lennie in a thong. �You�re not into that stuff, are you?� He had to laugh. �Nah, but the toys can be fun sometimes �� Ed shuddered. �TMI, Lennie!� Luckily for Ed, Lennie�s phone rang. �Briscoe.� �Lennie? Hi, it�s Kate.� �Hey! You guys finally up?� �Yeah, Dad just went to take a shower, but he asked me to call and give you some information.� Lennie grabbed his notepad and a pen. �OK, shoot.� �The person you want to talk to is Andrea McKenna. She works over at Lady Fitness on 34th street � she�s an aerobics instructor. She should be there today.� �Great, thanks Kate. Would she have any reservations talking about this?� �Nah, we�re both out. It�s not like it�s anything serious yet, we�ve gone out a couple of times.� �Got it.� �Oh, and Lennie? When we were talking with Jamie yesterday, it occurred to me that if something funny was going on with the books for one of our clients, Karen would almost have to know about it. Somebody at PHC was giving David his inside info, I just don�t know who. But Karen would be a good place to start.� �Excellent. We�ll check that out too.� �One other thing. Did you pick up a notebook computer from David�s apartment?� �I�d have to check the CSU inventory. But I don�t think so.� �Then whoever killed him probably took it � that�s where he probably had his records of his trading.� �Well, that should keep us busy for a while! Anything else?� �I don�t think so. But if I think of anything, I�ll call. And Lennie?� �Yeah?� �Thanks for believing in me. And thanks for bringing me my Dad. I owe you big time.� He couldn�t help smiling. �My pleasure, Kate.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack sighed as the warm water poured over him. Things were still up in the air, but it was looking more and more like Kate would be cleared of this mess. Once again, he was glad for Lennie�s constant support. He really wished he could have let Lennie continue last night � as much to say thank you as for his own pleasure. He remembered the feel of Lennie�s hand on his hip, caressing, and felt himself starting to get aroused. // what the hell, // he thought, // she�s not going to hear anything over the shower. // So he grabbed the soap, worked up a good lather, and imagined it was Lennie spreading it over his body, down his arms and legs, back up his chest. Fingers pinched at his already tight nipples as his lover held him from behind. �Ohhhh,� he sighed. When he couldn�t take any more stimulation there, his hands slid down, caressing his stiff cock. He started out teasing lightly, but couldn�t keep it up long. He leaned back against the cool tile wall of the shower and jerked off, imagining Lennie�s hands on his cock and his mouth on Jack�s neck. It wasn�t long before the orgasm shook him, leaving him leaning against the wall, gasping for breath. A small smile curved his lips. �Love you, Lennie,� he whispered to his phantom lover. He shook himself back to the present and stepped back under the shower to wash away the mess, then reached for the shampoo. Shortly thereafter, he emerged, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. Kate had also changed, trading the shorts for jeans and a tank top. She grinned at him. She wouldn�t say anything, but most guys she knew took really quick showers; she had a feeling she knew what had taken him so long �! He just had that �sated� look on his face that guys didn�t realize they had. She could always tell when Scott and CJ had been going at it back in Frisco. They had been part of her �family� there; they were like a couple of big brothers. She suddenly realized how much she missed them � �Ok, let�s see. You can use Lennie�s helmet. Do you have a denim jacket or something? I know it�s hot out there, but I won�t ride without at least some good sturdy denim. Wiped out once quite a while back, do NOT want you to go through that. Road rash hurts. Bad.� He looked at her, and realized she wasn�t hearing him. �Kate? You ok?� She shook her head. �Sorry Dad.� �What�s on you mind?� �Oh, I was just thinking about some friends back in Frisco. Gay couple, older, maybe 40�ish. Thinking about you and Lennie reminded me of them. They were kind of like big brothers to me. I miss them.� He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. �Good friends are worth whatever it takes. You want to call them?� She shook her head. �Maybe tonight. Three hour time difference, remember?� He nodded. Then suddenly: �Why now? What were you thinking about me and Lennie that reminded you of them?� //ok, he asked for it! // She grinned. �Dad, you were in the shower for half an hour. There�s only one reason guys ever take that long �� He closed his eyes and groaned. She laughed. �It�s ok, Dad. Really. You�re human � you�re allowed.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lady Fitness � 34th Street Ed and Ana found the fitness club and went in to check on Andi. The girl at the front desk gave Ed an angry glare. �No men allowed here.� Ed flashed his badge. �Hey, I promise I�m not here to oogle the clients. You have an Andrea McKenna working here?� She scowled, not happy even having him in the front lobby. �Yeah, she�s teaching a class right now. Should be done in about 10 minutes.� Ed looked at Ana, and she nodded. �Could I go in to talk with her?� �Oh, all right.� She pointed Ana toward a door. �That�s the locker room; the classroom is on the other side.� Ana came out into the main room of the gym. The eternally �up� music of an aerobics class was blaring. A very fit looking blond woman was leading the class, shouting instructions as she bounced through the routine. It made Ana tired just watching her; she�d never been fond of the hyperactivity of aerobics. She walked up to the group and caught Andi�s attention, beconing her away from the group, which went on well enough without her. �Ms. McKenna?� �Yes� �I�m Det. Ana Cordova with the NYPD. Can I ask you a couple of questions?� �Uh, yeah, I guess.� �Do you know Katherine Michaels?� �Kate? Sure. Why � is something wrong?� �Do you know her boyfriend, David Blake?� That got a nasty expression. �Roommate, maybe, but he�s not her boyfriend. Who told you that?� �People they work with.� Andi shook her head. �I told Kate she shouldn�t have gone along with that charade. Did the moron do something stupid?� �He got himself killed.� �Oh.� Andi looked genuinely surprised. �Is Kate OK? I wondered why I hadn�t heard from her for a while.� �She was arrested for his murder, but it�s looking more and more like it was a frame-up, made to look like a lovers� quarrel.� �Oh my god! No, there�s no way they were lovers. Kate�s gay.� �Are you sure about that?� Andi grinned. �Oh, yeah. We�ve gone out a couple of times.� �Did you know Mr. Blake?� �No, never met him. Just what Kate told me.� �So you wouldn�t know anything about his life?� She shrugged. �Again, just what Kate said. That he was gay, but in the closet. Wanted people to think she was his girl to help hide it.� �I see. All right, Ms. McKenna, I�ll let you get back to your class.� Back in the lobby, she found Ed sullenly staring at the receptionist. �Come on, grumpy. We�re done here.� Back in the car, Ed looked at her expectantly. �Well?� Ana smiled at him. �She confirmed everything Kate said. I tried to lead her in the other direction, and she wasn�t going. No way Kate and David were lovers. Ed grinned. �Good work.� Ana blushed, happy at winning praise from Ed. �Thanks, Eddie.� Ed sighed. It had been kind of cute at first, they way she looked at him, called him Eddie. But it was starting to get on his nerves. �Ana, please, just Ed, ok?� She looked at him, her good mood immediately broken. �Is something wrong?� He decided to try to keep it light. �You know how much grief Lennie gives me about that? He thinks you�ve got a crush on me.� �Oh.� Ed tried to look sideways at her while still keeping his eyes on the road. She looked crestfallen. He sighed again. �You do, don�t you?� She looked at him. �Would it be such a bad thing?� He took a deep breath. �Ana, I have a strict rule � no romantic entanglements at work. I did that once, I�m NOT going to make that mistake again. I�m sorry. And especially now that we�re partners, even if only for this one case. We have to work together, and we owe it to Lennie and Jack to do our best here, and we can�t do that if we�re dancing around like a couple of teenagers.� Ana realized he was right, but it didn�t make it any easier. She just nodded, then realized he might not be able to see. �OK, Eddie � Ed. I�m sorry.� He could hear the disappointment in her voice. �Hey, it�s OK, Ana. Let�s just focus on the case for now, huh? You know how important this is to Lennie.� She managed a small laugh. �Win one for the gipper?� �Ow! Man, don�t let HIM hear you say that!� They both ended up laughing. When they entered the precinct, Ed went straight to Lennie. �Andi confirms Kate�s story, man. Finally one for the good guys.� Lennie sighed with relief. �About damn time.� Serena was in VanBuren�s office with the subpoena, getting an update. �So for now we�re focusing on Rella, and maybe the boss, Karen Salerno.� Anita saw Ed and Ana and waved them into her office, handed them the subpoena. �So what are you waiting for � go get Rella�s records!� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Office of Todd Ryan, Stevenson & Ryan, stockbrokers. �Mr. Ryan, I�m Det. Greene, this is Det. Cordova. I�m afraid we�re going to need access to some of your client records.� Ryan looked at them, confused and concerned. �What is this about?� �One of your clients, David Blake, was killed last Thursday. It�s been suggested that he was involved in an insider trading scam, possibly in conjunction with his broker here, Howard Rella. We think it may have had something to do with his murder. We have a subpoena.� Ed pulled it out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Ryan.� Ryan looked it over. �I�ll want to have this checked by our legal department. These are confidential investment records. I�ll not release them on a whim.� Ed glared at him. �I�m not leaving without them, Mr. Ryan. This is evidence in a murder case. I can have a forensic team over here in 20 minutes if you make us do this the hard way.� They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity to Ana, then finally Ryan backed down. �All right, Detective, you�ll have your files.� An hour later, they carried several boxes of computer printouts out to the car. Lennie was going to have plenty to keep him busy after lunch! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack took Kate on a tour of the city. The Statue of Liberty was still closed to the public, but the Empire State Building was mostly offices, so they were at least able to go up to the first observation level, if not the top. They rode down Broadway, and 42nd Street, and all the famous places. Kate was having a blast riding behind her dad on his motorcycle. She�d been fascinated by them as long as she could remember, and her mother seemed to have an unexplained hatred of them. Well, not unexplained any more. Just off Broadway, they stopped at a little coffee shop for lunch. �Dad? What are you grinning about?� He laughed. �This is where I proposed to Lennie. Haven�t been here since then, almost forgot about it until we were driving past.� It wasn�t very crowded � he led her to the very same table, caught in the nostalgia of the moment. Kate could see it in his eyes. �Tell me about it.� Jack bit his lip, remembering. �We�d actually had a fight � he had moved out, said we needed to do it right this time. Since he was already my roommate when we got involved, we never had that moment of choosing to make a real commitment. It was our second date � we called in sick and played hookey on a Wednesday, came over to see a matinee show. We stopped in here afterward to let the traffic thin out, and I don�t know, suddenly everything just snapped into focus. I knew I wanted him to be part of my life forever.� Kate was smiling, wrapped up in the romance. �So what happened after you proposed?� �We wandered down the street to a couple of jewelry shops and bought these,� holding up his left hand �then got the bike and went somewhere special. Tell you what, finish your sandwich and we�ll take a ride up there.� They came around the curve at the top of the hill, revealing the spectacular view. Jack parked the bike, and led her to the very spot. �Of course, it was sunset then. Most beautiful one I�ve ever seen.� Kate laughed. �Of course it was. Don�t you know that sunsets are more spectacular when you�re with your true love?� �Oh, is that how it works?� he chuckled. �Then it got dark and the city lights looked like a fairyland. Beautiful.� They stood there for a few minutes, content in the silence. Finally, Jack spoke up. �So what about you, Kate? Anybody special in your life?� She shook her head. �Nah, still looking for Ms. Right.� �Pretty sure you�re in the all-girl camp?� �Oh, yeah. No way I would have put up with all the grief Mom�s given me if there was an option.� Jack sighed. �Dad? You disappointed?� He shook his head. �No, of course not. I guess I was just hoping there might be a chance somewhere for a grandchild. But Lennie has a grandson, and a week ago I thought that was more than I ever had a chance for �� Kate hugged him. �Dad, just because I�m a lesbian, it doesn�t mean I�ll never have a child. This is the 21st century, after all. When I find the right person, I want to have a family. And I promise you, you and Lennie will be part of it.� A slow smile spread across his face. �You know, I never even considered that. Thanks, Katie.� Continue on to Daughters Ch 7 Send me some feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Daughters Chapter 6 |