A Thousand Oceans - Ch. 12
Fandom: Nikki & Nora
Pairing: Nikki/Nora
Rating: PG-13 to R (depends on the chapter)
Title: A Thousand Oceans - Ch.12 - Tie That Binds
Disclaimer: These characters well, Nikki, Nora, Dan, Darius, Georgia, Charlie, Arthur, Bobby and Mrs. Delaney are so not mine (dammit!), but Ann and Jill and other characters not mentioned in the pilot are (Ha!). The ones in the “dammit!” category belong to Nancylee Myatt and other’s I don’t know. I’m here for a bit of fun, and for this story, angst. No profit is being made here, and if it is, I’m not seeing a dime.
A/N: Correction INSANE Month. I’ve been pushing to participate in Nanowrimo. With also starting grad school and then work…I’m a bit crazy, but I’m still trying to maintain the once weekly posting schedule. Sorry for the bit of delay. Dirk had this back to me yesterday, but I couldn’t get it to it until this morning. Thanks everyone and I hope everyone has a great weekend!
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds.
Because you're mine, I walk the line
Ch. 12 - Tie That Binds
“Well, detective, you were saying something about us being able to finish off the stack of files on our desks?” Nikki looks over at me, arms folded across her chest, the latex gloves on her hands contrasting with the royal blue blouse she’s wearing.
I sigh, running a glove covered hand over my chin and look around. Things were going well; the evening was shaping up to be all right. Nikki and I had gotten back to going through files together and had developed a rhythm. Then dispatch called thirty minutes ago with an address.
So here we are at nearly two in the morning, looking at the body of a dead house wife. The on-call M.E. for the evening, Buddy Talbot, has already moved the body and the scene techs are breaking everything down. The victim is Kathy Thorpe, a run of the mill house wife who, from what it looks like, had the misfortune of being home during an attempted robbery.
The house has been tossed. Kind of.
It was haphazard to say the least and looking over at Nikki, she feels the same.
“Yeah, well, what’s that saying about plans and mice?” I ask, looking at the marks on the victim’s neck. The bruises are starting to show well and livor mortis has just started to set in; that tells me that she hasn’t been dead long. Under three hours. Hopefully, Buddy or Charlie, if he does the post, can tell us a bit more. I’d like to know if they can at least give me the size of the perp.
“It’s actually, ‘The best laid schemes of mice and men do oft' times go awry.’” Talbot cuts in smiling up from the body.
Nikki clucks her tongue and shrugs. Smiling always seems inappropriate over a dead body so I turn around and motion Nikki to follow me into the dining room where the husband, Brian, sits.
Approaching the man, slumped over the kitchen table, I sit down as Nikki flanks him on the right.
“Mr. Thorpe, I’m Detective Delaney and this is Detective Beaumont,” I start off quietly, “We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Mutely, he nods and sits up a bit straighter. I look him over, khaki’s with loafers, a blue sweater vest over a white button down shirt. He looks rumpled but in all honesty, no worse for the wear.
“What time did you come home?” Nikki asks gently.
He swallows and tries to speak, but ends up coughing on his words. I nudge the glass of water by his hand and he takes a sip. Clearing his throat, he tries again, “Uh, hmm, twelve, twelve thirty. I, uh, I was at my buddy’s house for poker night. Some buddies of mine get together twice a month or so.”
“And was anything off when you came in?” I ask.
His eyes grow large and he snaps, “My wife’s dead, what the hell kind of question is that!”
“Mr. Thorpe,” I say evenly, “not like that, was there anything that you initially noticed? Was anything out of place, did you notice anything as soon as you stepped into the house?”
His mouth snaps shut and I look to Nikki. She quirks her eyebrow as he answers, “No, I mean the T.V. was on which was weird. Kathy never leaves the T.V. on. She’s usually in bed by eleven. So I thought she was awake. Then, I…,” He trails off and looks towards the living room where several techs pass by.
“So you came and…” Nikki urges him to walk us through what he did when he came home.
His head swivels in her direction when he says, “I came in, noticed the T.V. and went to the living room to see why Kathy was awake. I saw her; she was just lying there, staring up at the ceiling.” He reaches for the glass of water and takes a sip. Nikki and I give him time and before long he starts up again, “So I started asking her why she was up, but then I noticed…she…she wasn’t moving, or breathing and that’s when I saw her neck.”
I nod and Nikki asks, “So then you called nine-one-one?”
He nods and I remove my notepad and pen from my hip pocket and slide it to him. “Mr. Thorpe, if you can give us the name and phone number of the friend you were with tonight, it would be appreciated also, leave us your cell number so we can touch base with you tomorrow.”
He says nothing as he takes the pen and pad and scribbles the requested information down.
Nikki nods and I pocket the pad and paper while she says, “They’ll be done here shortly. Would you like us to call someone and have them come get you?”
He shakes his head. “I, uh, I think I’ll go stay at a motel.”
“Would you like one of the officers to drive you?” Nikki asks.
Again, he shakes his head. “No, I…I’d like to drive myself.”
“Okay, then tomorrow, we’ll call you get some more information and I’m also going to need you to come back here and see if anything is missing, jewelry, electronics, loose cash and valuables that may have been taken,” Nikki explains as we stand.
The techs are nearly done. Since the place has been tossed there’s not a whole lot we can do. We need to find out if anything important is missing, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
“Here’s my card and Detective Beaumont’s. If you think of anything, please call,” I offer him and set two business cards down on the kitchen table.
“We’re sorry for you loss, Mr. Thorpe,” Nikki says and I lead us out the front door and down the steps.
We come to rest next to June Lee and lean against her bed. Nikki’s arms fold across her chest as my thumbs hook into my belt loops. We stand there watching the scene techs move around, until finally, Talbot and two E.M.T.s file out with a stretcher and a body bag.
“Thoughts?” Nikki asks, gently shoulder checking me.
I shrug. “It looks like a robbery gone wrong, but I dunno…”
“Seems off doesn’t it?” she mirrors my thoughts in the question.
I nod and she sighs pushing off against June. “Well, we can’t do much until the morning. We can come back around in a few hours and start questioning the neighbors.”
“Yeah,” I say moving around to the driver’s side. “I also wanna check out Thorpe’s alibi. Then we can see if there is anything missing. The perp didn’t look like they were searching for much.”
We slide into the car and I crank the engine while Nikki turns the heater on. “Noticed that too?”
“When we did the walk through, it just wasn’t like any of the other robbery’s I’ve worked,” I offer as I pull away from the curb and head back to the station.
Nikki’s hand finds mine in the center of the seat, lacing our fingers together and she groans, “It’s gonna be a long day.”
The squad room’s pretty sedate this morning. The early morning team has been here for a while and the mid-shift team, just started. Nora and I pulled preliminary data on the victim and her husband while we waited for the A.D.A. to drop off the financials that we had to secure a warrant for.
The big shock to both our systems came when Mr. Thorpe had his lawyer call us with some information along with a list of things in the house. Mr. Thorpe stated that he didn't want to go back to the house so he sent us a list. Nora and I went back and did a search, nothing really came up missing. We have a box of items that piqued our curiosity and will go through them a little bit at a time.
So far, the Thorpe's were in good financial shape, the marriage, on paper at least seems healthy.
"You want to start on that list?" Nora asks standing from her desk.
I follow suit. May as well. We need to start somewhere and looking for stolen goods seems like the best place to begin ruling out that this was actually a robbery gone wrong.
I follow my partner towards one of the interview rooms where a uniform was kind enough put the things that were brought back from the scene. Nora waits for me at the door, holding it open until I step inside. She shuts it and flips the lock.
I quirk an eyebrow at her in question and she shrugs. "Didn't really want an interruption."
"Uh, huh," I say, not really believing her words as she steps into my personal space and her left hand reaches out, grips my hip and pulls me to her. She angles up to reach my lips and plants a soft, but smoldering kiss on my closed lips.
I eagerly lean into her and the embrace. While this isn't common for Nora, there have been one or three times where her hormones have gotten the better of her. It appears that this is one of those times as she backs me up against the steel table that sits in the center of the room.
Gently, she pushes me back so that I'm resting on the top of it so that she can move between my open legs. Deciding to go for it, I open my mouth and deepen the kiss. Her tongue eagerly greets mine and the haze that usually descends when I kiss Nora does not disappoint this time.
I lose my sense of surroundings and allow her to consume me. It's only for lack of breath that we break apart, letting our foreheads rest together as we catch our breath. I'm the first to speak as I moan, "And what brought that on?"
She chuckles a little before answering, "Uh, really just needed it. You've been looking way too sexy sitting across from me."
Sighing, I pull back and run a hand through my hair. "As much as I want this to continue, we have a homicide wanting to be solved sugga."
She nods and pulls away. For a brief moment I curse my big mouth, but only for a moment before I refocus on the case.
She moves to grab the first box as I grab the itemized list from the lawyer. Quickly we go through it, guessing at a few of the items listed. It takes us about a half hour to go through the list and both of us look at each other…
There’s nothing missing. Not from the house and not from the boxes that were brought back from the scene. Nora doesn’t look pleased by this, but I’m not shocked. We both agreed that the scene felt off.
Her hands go to her waist, her hip juts out to the left and her gun pushes forward on belt. The tight jeans she’s wearing and tight hunter green t-shirt look really good on her and the look she’s got on her face well…it’s distracting. It’s her concentration face and it’s sexy.
I need to pull my mind out of the gutter. I need to focus.
Deciding that looking at anything but my partner is a good idea right now, I scan the list of items for what seems like the millionth time. All of it’s too neat in a way that makes me a little nervous. Last night Thorpe was obviously shaken, in shock at finding his wife’s strangled corpse, but today when we briefly spoke on the phone, it was all business. He was professional and curt.
Not something that a grieving husband should be. At least not one that I’ve ever seen. “We really need to look at the husband,” I say.
“What?” Nora comes up behind me and looks over my shoulder. “Why?”
I look back her and say, “Because you didn’t talk with him today. Something’s not right with him.”
“Nikki, he just lost his wife. He walked in to find her murdered corpse and it’s barely been ten hours. Who would be ‘right’?” She turns me to face her and I give her my best hear me out look.
“We both know it’s Homicide One-Oh-One to look at the person closest to the victim. That’s the mister,” I try to reason.
“I’m not sure. What we do know is that nothing’s missing and that leaves us with a couple of questions.” She begins a walk around the small seven-foot by seven-foot room.
“You break into a home to rob the place, kill the home owner, toss it, but take nothing of value. Those watches are five grand a piece easy Nora. The intent of the break in, which is debatable given no signs of forced entry, is to take items of value. There’s nothing missing,” I press.
Her lips purse before she finishes my thought, “Which leads us to reason that the actual intent was to kill the person home or kill the mister, but he wasn’t home. “
“So the wife is killed instead?” I go back to resting against the table. “We need to talk to Thorpe again, check his alibi and start knocking on doors.”
Nora nods and I can tell she doesn’t like the turn the case has taken. Finally, she comes to rest in front of me. I push back some of her hair and smile. “Where you wanna start?”
“Let’s check Thorpe’s alibi and then go from there.” Her tongue darts out, moistening her lips.
“Lead the way sugga,” I purr, giving her a light shove for good measure. She leads the way out of the room and I don’t mind the view at all.
I rub my eyes as I follow Nikki back into the station. They burn and I feel more than a little bit sluggish. Coffee will be needed shortly, along with some type of food. I don’t care what at this point, but the last thing I had to eat was with Dan and Nikki yesterday afternoon and well…
Yesterday was crazy enough before work. First the skanky realtor, then the fight, then Dan with his wanting to get to know me, which I’ll come back to, then sex and then Nikki and I putting a bid on a place.
Where to even begin to sort through that mess is beyond me. I mean part of me is glad that Dan’s being cool. I was more than worried, but he’s making an effort when I’ve given him every reason not to. He’s definitely earning a new level of respect from me, that much is clear.
And the condo or apartment or whatever, what was I thinking, agreeing to Nikki’s insanity? She spins around to me, walking backwards and says, “I’m going to go for coffee, meet you at our desks.” She smiles at me then. A bright smile that should be forced given the time that we’ve been awake, but it’s not. It’s genuine and heartfelt.
Right, that’s why I caved.
I nod and start up the steps. She goes in the opposite direction and back outside. I shake my head and trot the rest of the way up the stairs, thinking over the case. Thorpe’s alibi checks and that doesn’t leave us much. If the dead wife was the intended target, then it wasn’t her husband that strangled her. If she wasn’t, Thorpe is still in danger. Neither option is entirely appealing right now. This was supposed to be a run of the mill, home invasion gone wrong case.
Oh, how naïve was I?
I hit my desk and slump into my seat. Dan’s had his door closed since this morning that could mean trouble in paradise or he may just not want to be bothered. We’ve already updated him on the case on our way back. I need to call Thorpe and have him come down here to talk. Picking up my phone, I place the call. It rings and rings and rings. Finally the voicemail picks up and I say, “Mr. Thorpe, this is Detective Delaney. I need you to call me. We’d like to go over a few things with you and would appreciate you coming down to the station. We’ll be expecting you tomorrow around nine a.m.” I disconnect after that. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to set the expectation. We’ll see if he shows.
Nikki comes breezing in then with two cardboard cups from the café down street in hand. She sets one on my desk and I moan at the aroma. “I owe you,” I say, grinning up at her.
“I know,” she purrs winking at me.
I take a much needed sip and stop the second moan. I really really love her right now. The vibrating at my hip stops that train of thought though. I pull the phone from my hip and answer, “Delaney.”
“Hello,” the woman’s voice asks on the other end, “May I please speak with Nora or Nikki?”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “This is Nora.” Do people not listen when you answer the phone?
“Oh, hello dear, this is Mary. I need to talk to you or Nikki about some paperwork. There’s been a small snafu concerning the apartment that I wanted to discuss.”
“Oh, uh, of course. Hold on for me.” I rest the phone against my shoulder and whisper over at my partner, “Mary’s on the phone. Says there’s a problem. You want to…”
Nikki nods and reaches for my cell that I was stretching out for her to take. Bringing it to her ear, she smiles as she says, “This is Nikki.”
I motion her off the floor and she disappears as she rounds the corner.
It’s then that I pick up on two other detective’s, Georgia and her partner, Jesse, conversation. “That doesn’t make any sense. Who kills the robbee, but doesn’t take anything?” Georgia snips from her desk.
My eyebrow rises of its own and I stand, wandering over to rest a hip against her desk.
“Nora, good to see you,” Jesse says and I give a wave.
“What have you guys landed?” I ask.
“A B and E gone wrong,” Jesse answers.
Georgia shakes her head and says, “That’s a load of bull.”
“Partner, just because nothing was taken doesn’t mean that wasn’t what was supposed to happen,” Jesse chides and Georgia rolls her eyes.
“Lay it out for us then,” Georgia retorts.
“Georgia and me get called to a scene this afternoon, simple B & E gone wrong. The guy was shot, point blank,” Jesse jams his index finger right between his eyes to punctuate the placement of the bullet, “The place was kind of tossed and the wife came home from the gym to find the husband dead.” He folds his arms across his chest and leans back in his chair. “See my thoughts are this, it’s mid-morning on a work day, the perp start tossing the place, but the husband interrupts and the perp panics, shoots the hubby and dashes out.”
I bite my lip and nod. His thoughts about his case very similar to mine. It’s a logical conclusion and one that I’ve been trying to argue with Nikki all day.
“I still say that if I’m going to take the time to break into a place and kill someone I want to make sure I can fence something for my troubles,” Georgia says matter of factly.
Nikki steps back into the bull pen and catches my eye. I nod and hold up a finger. “Partner’s back, need to go, but here’s some food for thought. Nikki and I caught a case very similar, but the vic was strangled and it was the reverse, wife was killed, husband found the body. Keep us in the loop and when we get back we can compare notes.”
Georgia nods at this and Jesse says, “Sure, but I doubt it’ll do any good.”
“Humor me,” I say over my shoulder.
Shutting the car door, I slump back into my seat. Well this is turning out to be a big waste of time. Not only did the neighbors that we talked to see absolutely nothing, they all seem to hold the Thorpe’s in high regard.
Nice couple, one neighbor said, very friendly.
Another said that they were just the sweetest people you’d ever wanna meet.
And the last one said that they were so loving.
I roll my eyes. No one is that nice. I’m sorry, but it’s just the truth.
But maybe Nora’s right. Maybe this is going to turn into a sting of botched B and E’s. With the other case Georgia and Jesse caught, it may be a theme. Weirder things have happened. I purse my lips and Nora smirks as she shuts the door on the driver’s side.
“Well everyone was really nice,” she says, “but damn unhelpful.”
I screw my mouth to the side and decide to follow up on Nora’s thoughts. I hit two on my speed dial and bring the phone to my ear, Darius picks up on the third ring, “Hey kouz’.”
“Hey you, how’s the day going?” I ask.
“Alright. A little slow. What have you got burnin’?” he asks as I strain to hear where he is at.
“Have a case, a couple of B & E’s that have gone wrong. You feel like keeping an ear out?” I ask, looking at Nora.
She smirks and I stick my tongue out at her.
“Will do. I’ll hit you back if I hear anything. I need to go, but tell Nor, I said what’s up. Love ya,” he says before disconnecting.
I shake my head and slip my phone back in my pocket. The dull ache that started twelve hours ago has become a pounding headache and I can’t decide if I want food or sleep more.
“Darius says hello,” I tell my partner.
Nora nods as I feel my pocket start to vibrate and ring. I sigh and grab it. “Beaumont,” I answer.
“Nikki, dear,” my father’s voice is entirely too cheerful.
“Hi daddy,” I greet and let my head fall back against the seat. Closing my eyes, I ask, “How are you?”
“Alright, just returning the message my assistant left me,” he says. “Something about you needing a favor.”
I feel Nora put June in to drive and pull away from the curb.
“Yeah,” I say, not bothering to open my eyes as she ferries me off to where we’re headed next. “Uh, Nora and I found this place that’s just perfect for us, but it’s a co-op and for purchase not for rent.”
“So you two are buying a place together?” he asks, sounding not as pleased as I would like him to.
“Yes, I spoke with the realtor earlier this afternoon and another couple put a bid on it, but that’s actually been cleared up. What I need is some help on the short sale. The building managers want to finish this up in short order and we’re more than willing to oblige. I just need to get a check cut, but don’t really have the time.”
“Uh-huh, I see,” he says, using a tone that I’ve come to loathe. It’s the one where he tells me without telling me he’s less than impressed with my decision making ability.
“There’s still a lot that needs doing, but making sure they had the down payment before there are any more offers would help. Also,” and I know I’m pressing my luck, but ask anyhow, “when things firm up, do you know how we can pass the paperwork through the system quicker?”
“Nicolette,” he starts and I clench my jaw, “While I think it’s a wonderful thing that you are wanting to invest in real estate, I don’t think this is such a great idea.”
“Daddy,” I start.
“No, now listen here young lady, it wasn’t more than three weeks ago, you were staying home, balling your eyes out over the woman that you are now going to purchase a home with. Moreover, what do you know of the building? Neighborhood? Condition and specifications on the unit you two are purchasing? Setting aside my hesitancy to help you further a relationship that doesn’t seem stable, let alone, when I’ve yet to actually sit down and have a proper conversation with your partner, seems more than rash. It seems downright foolish.”
“You done?” I ask. When I get no reply, I continue arguing, “I appreciate the concern, but this isn’t open for your supposed rational diatribe. Nora and I want this which means that it’s happening. I’m asking you for assistance because we’ve been working a case for the past twenty-four hours and I want to get the wheels turning. For this,” I say, and sigh, “I’m asking you to go to the bank, since you are the only one that has access to my funds, besides myself and a deceased partner, to obtain the cashier’s check.”
“So what you’re telling me is to either get on board or…” he trails off in that way that lets me know he’s being too much of a gentleman to finish off the thought.
“In a nicer more respectful fashion, yes,” I answer.
He gives me a long suffering sigh. “Okay, but there are conditions for my involvement.”
“And they would be?” I ask a little more terse than intended.
“If you want to rush into this, that’s fine. It’s your money, Nikki and it is very clear that you have made up your mind which tells me God himself would have a rough time of it convincing you otherwise. But, after I do your bidding I want you and that partner of yours to come around so that I may be properly introduced,” he bargains.
I look at Nora, she’s worrying her lower lip and looking at me out of the corner of her eye as she drives. I actually think that it’s a wonderful idea. I just have to make sure that when I tell Nora she will as well.
“Fine,” I relent.
“Splendid. I’ll call you later so we can set up the date and time, now please give me the amount and whatever else I’m supposed to do,” he sounds marginally better and I feel a little bit relieved.
I rattle off instructions and he takes notes. Finally, I’m able to get off the phone and instead of just locking it, I turn the blasted thing off and look up as the car comes to a stop.
We’re outside Nora’s apartment and I raise an eyebrow.
She smiles at me before killing the engine and hopping out of the car. I watch slightly amused as she runs around to my side and opens the door for me. Extending her hand, I take it as she helps me out.
“Dan said to knock off and get some sleep,” she explains at my look.
Nodding, we lock up and support each other on our walk to her apartment. We stumble inside and head straight for the bed. I lay down and close my eyes, the feeling of Nora removing my shoes and kissing me the last memories I have of the day.