Detective Partners (27 page)

Releasing his mother, he grinned at Nicole. "I can arrange that."

She blushed. "Okay, I walked into that one. I'm just going to shut up now."

Galen chuckled.

"Don't laugh at me, Maxwell." She grabbed the container and thrust it into his hands. "Have a cookie. I don't-" The ringing of her phone cut into what she was going to say next. She gave Olivia back the picture and leaned across her desk to snatch up the receiver. "Goodwin."

"Good afternoon, Nicole."

Feeling as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head, Nicole moved around her desk and sat down. She took a deep breath to calm her shaky nerves and pressed the button on the side of the phone to activate the trace. The trace would go through automatically. She just had to keep him on the line long enough for dispatch to track his location. "Good afternoon, Judas." She watched as Galen's expression went from amused to serious. "Thank you for calling."

"Are you surprised to hear from me?" he inquired.

"Yes," she answered. "When we last talked you mentioned that you were busy. I assumed it would be a while before you called back."

"Mom," Galen said in a low voice. "Sit down and please don't say anything."

"The reason I am calling again so soon is to check on you and your partner," Judas stated. "I understand Detective Maxwell was shot at last night and that you were there when it happened. Are you all right?"

"I - I'm f-fine," Nicole stuttered. From the corner of her eye, she saw Galen perch on the corner of her desk. She locked eyes with him. His gaze spoke of his confidence in her and it gave her that extra bit of strength that she needed to keep going. "May I ask how you knew about last night?"

"Let's just say that I know the right people," he said. "I am glad to hear that you are doing well. You have been through so much with the deaths of your Mother and Sister and your rape. I worry-"

"No!" Nicole said forcibly, her heart leaping into her throat. "You can't know about that. How can you know about that?"

"I have upset you," Judas muttered. "Please forgive me. It must be painful for you to talk about the past, especially the assault. I imagine you haven't told anyone about that, not even your partner."

The phone on Galen's desk rang. He got up and hurried over to answer it. "Maxwell," he said quietly.

Nicole forced herself to concentrate on Judas and not on Galen and his phone call. "I - I haven't told anyone about it. How did you find out?"

"Like I said, my dear friend, I know the right people," he reminded her. "I am sorry if it seems as though I am prying into your personal life. It's just that I like to know about my friends."

"I do too," she said. "Why don't you tell me about yourself? I feel as though I know nothing about you."

"It will have to keep for another time," Judas informed her. "I must say goodbye for now. I won't be calling back for a while. There is much to do. Until next time may God shine upon you in all that you do. Goodbye, Nicole."

"Goodbye Judas." She hung up the phone.

"Are you all right, dear?" Olivia asked with concern.

Nicole wanted to tell her
that no she wasn't fine
and that she doubted she would be any time soon. Instead she said, "Yes."

Galen slammed the receiver back in the cradle with a muttered curse. "That was dispatch. They can't trace the call. The son of a bitch-" He grimaced at his mother.
"Sorry, Mom.
Judas has to be using a disposable phone. There's no other explanation for why the call can't be traced."

"Are you really surprised?" Nicole said weakly. "You and I both know he's not going to do anything to get caught."

Galen retraced his steps and looked down at her. "What did he say to you?"

Not wanting to speak in front of Olivia, she got to her feet and motioned for him to follow her. Leading him to a quiet corner, she stopped and turned to gaze up at him. "He called to check on us and see how we were doing. He found out about last night. When I asked him how he knew he told me that he knows the right people." She passed a shaky hand across her forehead. "He also knows about the deaths of my Mom and Sister, and - and-"

"And what?"
He caressed her cheek lightly. "You can tell me, honey."

"H-he k-knows
th
-that I was r-raped," she whispered. Her eyes searched his face for a sign that he was disgusted by what she just told him. She didn't see one. Nor did she see a look of shock. "You knew?"

"No," Galen murmured, "but I had a feeling you were ever since you told me that you were afraid of sex. You've never talked about it, have you?"

"Not since the night it happened." Painful memories came back to haunt her and she shook her head as though she was trying to shake them from her mind. "I - I want to - need to talk about it, but-"

"You're afraid," he guessed.

"Yes," Nicole croaked.

"I'm here, sweetheart," Galen said, his eyes bright with emotion. "When you're ready to talk, I'm here."

C
hapter  27

Nicole had just finished breakfast, on Saturday, when the doorbell rang. She left the kitchen, walked through the living room, and into the entry hall. A quick peek through the peephole revealed to her that it was Galen. She deactivated the alarm and unlocked the door. Opening the door, she saw he was dressed casually in jeans and a blue button down shirt. He wasn't wearing his gun. Before she could say anything, he presented her with a long stemmed red rose.

"A rose for a rose," he said.

"It's beautiful." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Galen glanced at the pantsuit she wore. "You look lovely, but you're overdressed. I have plans for us and-"

"What do you mean you have plans for us?" Nicole frowned. "We have to go to work."

"We have the day off." He dropped a kiss on her upturned face and brushed past her.
"Correction.
As long as there are no murders, we have the day off. Now give me your flower and I'll put it in water while you change your clothes. Dress comfortably because we have a busy day ahead of us. Don't even think about asking me what I have planned. Today is about surprises."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked softly.

Galen grasped her chin gently and ran his thumb across her lower lip. "It dawned on me last night that we haven't been on a date yet. We've been so busy with the case and everything that we haven't made time for us. So today is about us. No talking about work or anything unpleasant. Get moving, Goodwin." He checked his watch. "You have ten minutes to get ready."

Feeling giddy all of a sudden, Nicole handed him the rose, told him where he could find a vase in the kitchen, and hurried off to her bedroom to change her clothes. She chose a pair of faded jeans and a long sleeved white blouse. Once she was dressed, she ran a hairbrush through her hair and grabbed a light blue sweater in case the weather turned chilly. Picking up her gun, ID and badge, she left the bedroom.

"Ready to go?"
Galen asked when she joined him in the living room.

"Yes." Nicole stepped to the coffee table, bent down, and put her gun, ID and badge in her purse. "I just wish I knew where we were going."

"You'll find out soon enough."

She dropped her sweater on the table and turned toward him. Sliding her hands up his chest, she smiled up at him. "Can't you give me a hint?"

His eyes twinkling, he said, "No."

"Just a little hint."
She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body against his. "Please."

Galen lowered his head and kissed her jaw. He trailed his lips along her jaw line to her ear. Nuzzling her ear, he breathed, "No." He felt her shiver.
"Cold?"

"N-no," Nicole croaked.

Shaking with laughter, he kissed her ear and released her. "Come on, little one. Let's go."

.

"Honestly, Galen," Nicole muttered, fingering the blindfold that covered her eyes. "Is this really necessary?"

"Hush and hold on to my arm," he told her. "When you can tell me where we are I'll remove the blindfold."

Sighing heavily, she tightened her grip on his arm and allowed him to lead her. With her sight temporarily gone her other senses became sharper. She breathed in deeply and caught a whiff of something pungent. She wrinkled her nose. Listening intently, she heard a child complaining to his mother that he wanted to see the giraffe's.
Strong odors and a giraffe,
she thought. A smile lit up her face. She knew exactly where she was. "You brought me to the zoo."

"Very good, sweetheart."
Galen removed the blindfold and Nicole found herself gazing at a pack of elephants. "The last time I was here I was eleven," he said. "Dad and Mom brought me. It's one of my fondest memories. I wanted to bring you."

"My Mom brought me and Joanna here on my eighth birthday." Nicole's heart ached as she remembered. "Joanna tried to climb into the pen with a leopard and threw a temper tantrum when Mom wouldn't let her." She smiled at him. "I asked her why she wanted to get into the pen and she told me that she wanted to pat the big kitty. Mom had to explain to her that we don't touch those kinds of kitties."

He smiled. "Something tells me your sister was a piece of work."

"She was." She got a
far away
look in her eyes. "I miss her."

"I know you do." Galen reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You'll see her again
some day
, angel. In the mean time no sadness allowed."

"Sorry." Nicole took his hand.
"Favorite animal?"