Chapter 14

Charlotte spread out over the long table a map. Ken got small tabs and Connie walked in with water and glared at everyone that was about to ask for something else to drink.

Claire slid in the chair near the door exhausted and dozed off. Her thoughts were busy as she tried to figure out where Maria Rodriguez, the twins mother, whose only serious job was to be married, got the money to buy four of apartment complexes in Los Angeles and rent primarily to immigrants.

Claire sat up suddenly in the chair. Oh shit! Emanuel Rodriguez is or was the FBI director of San Diego. Sammie called him dad in a conversation he had with… with… damn! Who was the conversation with?

The others around the table looked up startled.

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I just momentarily felt like I left the water running at my place," she sheepishly lied.

"Are you doing okay, Claire? You're looking a bit pale."

"Yeah, just tired. Sorry, I bothered you." She snuggled into the comfortable chair and went back to sleep.

****
It was dark outside when Charlotte prodded Claire gently. "Hey, a nice comfortable bed is waiting for you up stairs," she coaxed. "I'm going to be going out, but Connie will be here if you need anything."

"Huh?" Claire groggily opened her eyes, glancing around her trying to place where she was. What moments ago were vivid images, faded to remnants of desire and then even they were nothing. It left her hot and frustrated. Wet dreams. It must be that time of the month.

A tone sounded and Claire could hear footsteps in other rooms suddenly moving rapidly in different directions. Charlotte did not need to tell Claire trouble was afoot.

"Come on. Everyone knows what to do," she explained as she went to a wall and pushed on a panel. The proverbial hidden door opened and both women disappeared into the corridor behind it, clicking shut behind them. Tiny lights lit up in the floor and these Charlotte followed as fast as Claire could go. They went downstairs and into a room that had a small elevator lift that took them into a garage. Before entering, Charlotte checked to make sure it was secured and then gestured for Claire to get in the passenger side of a stretch limo. A uniform coat and cap were tossed across her lap. She gathered she was to dress in them.

When Charlotte joined her she was dressed in a similar chauffeur's uniform coat and cap, her hair neatly pulled back into a pony tail. The garage door opened and she pulled out, carefully maneuvering onto the road that ran behind someone's property and then crossed onto their driveway and out the gates to the adjoining property.

Claire glanced in the mirror. She was startled to see Janey on the other side of the glassed partition dressed in drag and talking to someone on her cell with dramatic gestures of her hand. The partition was soundproofed.

Charlotte was also talking softly to someone on her hands-free cell. The ride was not for long. They dropped Janey and her suitcase off at the back of a club where she was greeted by a tuxedoed good looking man who was also the guard to the backdoor. Charlotte's next stop was to a hamburger stand where she picked up an order for one person.

"Janey has this tradition of ordering a plain fishwich before each show," Charlotte explained. "And here are our relief drivers."

Two people slid into the back seat.

"Toss your coat and hat into the back. We'll switch at the corner," Charlotte explained as drove through busy streets with people glancing at the car. Near the bar they made the switch where there were a lot of limos waiting to let off their passengers.

"What's going on?"

"Lorraine was staffing the front gate and she recognized a few gang members hanging around outside. Since we usually don't get those type of visitors we guessed it was you they are interested in. Since I don't want my neighbors upset with us, I thought it would be better if we left."

"How are they going to know I left…and how did they know I was there?"

"Maybe it was just a lucky guess or they had someone following Sammie and you were spotted at the library. When we left the house, about five cars with passengers left the estate."

"That would certainly frustrate them. I would have followed the limo."

****
Twenty minutes later, they were street bums. She was grateful the clothes did not stink of urine though they did smell used. It did not help when Charlotte explained as she sprayed something on her that it was merely a manufactured scent called sweat. Claire was suspicious and walked awkwardly as she hated to feel the dirty clothing against her skin.

"That's good. You're walking about right. Hunch over…no that's too much. Can't you remember how a street person walks?"

"Oh. Right."

"Don't think about how unpleasant this is…you're in a role. Be the street person."

Charlotte was looking like a street person. Even her fingers were blackened with dirt and were reddened.

"Where are we going?" she asked softly, as Charlotte by-passed a convenient shopping cart that she thought all street people sought to own, and then remembered some cities passed laws against that.

"To a house that is being rented by one of those names on a witness list. She's attractive enough to have a visitor from the landlord."

"Your mark is the landlord?"

"Maybe."

The house was not in a nice neighborhood, though it could be if people on the block would start watering their lawns and remove the debris and battered vehicles from their yards. By the light of the few street lamps, Claire could see a ragged awning that once hung above the front window, lying in dying bushes. The porch looked like someone was interested enough in its appearance to have placed a couch on it to watch whoever passed by. Charlotte joined a figure that was leaning against a building across the street. Businesses were on one side and residences were on the other. The businesses looked about as beat up as the residences.

"What do you have?" Charlotte asked.

"Agent Emanuel Rodriguez is in there. Our target joined him about an hour ago."

"Anyone else?"

He shook his head. "We got a thermal on the house…just them two. The woman that's usually there left early this morning and hasn't returned."

"That's not good. Anyone follow her?"

He smiled. "Yolanda. She called in about five minutes ago. The woman's still in an apartment that her sister lives in."

"We'll take this. Go back Yolanda up and give her a break. Then take one yourself. And find out what's going on in that apartment. Stay in touch."

He nodded and left.

"Just how much are you getting for his capture?"

"A million and a half."

Claire's eyes opened wide. "Why so damn much?"

"Haven't you wondered about the diamond and why it may be so important that an FBI team risked blowing their neutrality?"

"Yeah, but I haven't been able to come up with anything and then I got busy with daily work."

Charlotte laughed, "That happens. Diamonds…big huge D diamonds with all four cs making the grade. Four groups invested in that collection. You probably remember hearing about it…eight years ago. A cool billion dollar heist. The package arrived in New York under guard. A custom officer at the airport wanted the suitcase of the dealer opened. A rather interesting request but the case was not x-rayable. So on the surface, it was a valid request. They took the case to a secured room…everyone, including the custom agent was found dead. Case of diamonds missing."

"I do remember that. I was a rookie. Didn't they suspect a gas was released when the case was opened?"

"That was one of the theories. The twins were believed to have been involved. The FBI was called in and Agent Rodriguez, who just so happens to specialize in gems was part of the team the bureau put together. Supposedly, a few of these diamonds showed up in Canada, Europe and parts of South America but they disappeared almost as soon as they appeared. Purchased by buyers that did not want to be identified. All the more suspicious to my way of thinking…but that's not our concern."

"So Sammie and his brother Stewart had to disappear because someone found out they were involved?"

"They both claimed they had nothing to do with the heist. However, Stewart was executed and Samuel disappeared…so someone important didn't believe them. The papers reported the shooting wrong. I can only guess that whoever gave them the information did it on purpose…which leads me to think the Bureau, who has that much pull. Samuel, who had a face change, resurfaced, and I think it was because of that diamond you had in the box. Someone that has access to the stolen diamonds had one stolen from him and to smuggle it past guards, put it in the box with the drugs, that were meant to be planted on you. That messenger and would be thief, Jesus Juarez. You know him as John Cesar."

There's that j and ez. "So, why were they planting it on me?"

"I don't know. Someone keeps trying to involve you in something you don't seem to want to be involved with. It leads to interesting speculation."

Claire glared at her. "I'm not interested…if I can think of how to make them go away and leave me alone…I would. So, how did you get involved?"

"My significant other was the custom agent."

"I'm sorry."

Charlotte shook her head, looking amused. "Nothing to be sorry about. Our relationship wasn't so hot after my operation. He was always spending money he didn't have on drag Queen's."

Charlotte was quiet for a while, studying the house they had under surveillance. "He left enough information for me to figure out he was just a messenger and a foolish one at that. If our apartment had not been trashed I would have not taken his role seriously. Anyway, since everything was pointing out here and there was a nice reward for getting the brains and diamonds, I moved out here and set up house and a business."

"You don't own that house, do you?"

"Nope. Rent it. Got a good deal," she smiled over at Claire.

Claire was about to say something when she heard a car door slam.

A SUV with tinted windows in the back, rolled quickly down the driveway and out onto the street. Charlotte looked at the heat signatures, verifying that there were only two people and they were in the front seat. No one was in the house. Not trusting what she was seeing she moved casually along the walk and between another building. She flashed the thermal reader at the garage in the back.

"Gottcha!" she hummed triumphantly.

Twenty minutes later, another car, a VW bug, came rolling down the driveway with one person driving but the heat signature was of two people.

"What are we going to chase them with?" Claire asked frantically.

"A motorcycle. Are you okay with that?"

She was already moving to another building where a motorcycle was leaning against a wall. There were two helmets, one of which Claire grabbed and plopped on top of her head. It was a black cap and very loose. She hopped onto the back as Charlotte started it and pulled quickly onto the road.

"Two huh?"

"Always carry a spare!" Charlotte yelled back at her as she banked the bike and followed the VW two blocks away. Claire wrapped one arm around Charlotte and held on. Charlotte reached into her coat and handed Claire her cell phone. "Just say pick up," she shouted back.

"Pickup!" she dutifully shouted. She handed the cell back to Charlotte. The bike banked around another corner as she raced ahead of the VW taking a turn that put them on Santa Monica Blvd.

The building Charlotte took them too was a used clothing store. They went in the back way and thankfully, Charlotte let her change into something clean.

Changed, Charlotte headed to a coffee shop where she gestured for Claire to sit while she ordered coffee and something to eat. It was a late night crowd most likely from the small theaters along the street and from shops and bars that were still open.

"Are we waiting for someone?" Claire asked nervously, looking around them.

"Yeah. Your tail. Whoever it is, is good."

"Great. Just why am I being tailed if we have figured out what this is all about?"

"Though your business is not my business, my business does overlap yours."

If Claire was not so nervous of sitting out in the open, she would have pressed Charlotte to explain what she meant. "Why are we trying to find out who is tailing me?"

"Don't you want to meet him or her and ask why?"

"In case you've forgotten, someone is shooting at me. This is a public place. I'm not the only one that could get hurt."

"Okay, you're nervous. Let's go inside then. I could use the restroom."

"Right. Me too."

As they moved through the crowd to the restrooms, Claire was wondering about how much money Charlotte was spending to collect her million and a half. They were separated in the crowd as a group got up to leave. Claire continued her way to the restroom and by the time Charlotte was in line, there were plenty of women between them with milling customers breaking between the line.

When Claire finished her business, she went to wait outside for Charlotte. Turning slightly to look around her she spotted two familiar faces scanning the customers. Claire panicked when one of the men reached inside his coat. She disappeared out a side door and ran.

Two hours later, Claire was back to her apartment. She climbed the alley stairs. Both cats were meowing their dismay at her long absence. Quickly she fed them and while glancing around for anything that she may trip over in the dark, she made her way into her bedroom. She packed her favorite backpack with clothing and food. Checked her toy box and pulled out NV goggles and a warm jacket with many pockets.

She picked up her car keys and exited out the front. Claire suspected everyone that was interested in her knew she was in. Her car had a parking ticket on it which she tossed onto the car seat. At the Seven Eleven only one person was buying coffee…someone she recognized as on his way to a part time job. She easily found the GPS attached to her tail pipe and moved it to the other vehicle in the lot. While she waited for the other car's driver to get back in and take off, she chewed on the sandwich she had purchased. As the other vehicle moved out of the parking lot she followed for a block and then peeled off in another direction. Northern California was where she thought she would head. Before she went too far, she stopped at a friend whose spare key she had to her vacation vehicle. It was a beat up Datsun pickup that saw many trips up to the mountains and had a lot of engine replacements. The reason why Judy liked it was because no one wanted to steal it and it could carry camping equipment and supplies without worrying about putting dents or scratches in it. She pulled out the pickup and replaced hers in the garage.

Claire entertained hiding out in Judy's cabin but she did not know just what she was getting any of her friends into and who was being watched and who was watching. What she needed to do was think about the story Charlotte told her. She wondered how much of it was just filler and where did they think she was going to lead them?

At a rest stop she pulled over and took a nap. The sound of rain woke her. She did not feel refreshed. In her dreams everyone was chasing her with a piece of paper demanding some of the reward money.

"Well, Claire, you wanted to be a detective so figure it out," she told herself firmly. She sipped from the water bottle as she thought about what to do. "Well, the restroom would be a good start." She glanced out of the fogged windows wanting to locate where she was. She turned on the truck's engine to drive closer to the restrooms when she noticed a light come on behind her and then it quickly went out.

"Oh, hell! Well, if they're following me I can at least give them a merry chase with an empty bladder." Parking closer to the restrooms, she slid out into the rain and ran to the building. Her business was done quickly and she was hoping too quick for anyone to bug the truck.

Back on the freeway she headed for the nearest gas station. In the light she planned on looking the truck over. Someone knew her too well and was a step ahead of her. Was it Charlotte and her team? They were organized. Were they interested in collecting the jewels?

"I'll bet it's the jewels. Everyone seems to think I know where the jewels are. If so damn many people believe that…including Sammie…they would take the time to study my habits and friends…but why would Sammie tail me? If he had the jewels he would know where he hid them …unless it was his brother that hid them and he thinks…oh gawds. Who all knows about me having Judy's keys. Hm. The girls, Rey and Sandy, the cat sitter, Angie…no, Sammie wouldn't know. I didn't start going up to Judy's until…Sandy suggested I needed to get away and relax because of the investigation."

She shook her head slowly. Suspicion was now covering everyone. She pulled over to the first gas station and parked the truck in a space far from the store. She put the backpack on and ran through the rain towards the underpass. Cold and wet, huddling under the freeway bridge she pulled out her NV binoculars and watched the truck. About an hour passed, according to her watch, when someone approached it. About thirty minutes later it was dragged onto a tow truck. An official ATF vehicle pulled up and four people got out and began their investigation. It did not last long and the vehicle headed in her direction, but by then she was gone.

****
The truck driver that she caught a ride with was an old man that listened to country western CDs and loved to sing along. He was on his way home and was barreling along when he noticed she was walking in the rain. His rig was waiting for her up the road and she was very suspicious of him. He was more than accommodating by stepping out into the rain to let her inspect the truck before he got into his cab. He explained he was lonely and needed someone to keep him awake. After singing along for two CDs with him, she fell asleep. A gentle shake woke her up where he was going to be going in another direction. With some food and two cans of caffeinated soft drinks she was back on the road.

Claire looked over the building she found. It had three walls standing and a partial roof. By the looks of it, in its previous life it was an equipment shack. It gave her just enough shelter. Day was just beginning to break and she was somewhere in San Bernardino along the freeway that had empty stretches of land that farms and ranches covered with stretches of urban dwellings taking over. She could see the outline of a handful of horses as they plodded towards a barn in the near distance. She wondered if she passed by here next year if homes would be crowding the landscape rather than open fields and farms.

She curled up in a corner after making sure she was not disturbing anything that may crawl or bite her. Picking up a stick she drew in the dirt, trying to relax and let her legs and shoulders ease from tension. That did not help. She leaned against her pack and closed her eyes, tuning into the rain that beat a steady and soothing tattoo around her. She noted the differences of the sound of rain on the ground, side of the building and on the roof. Her thoughts however, kept returning to her problem. Why was she being hunted?

Okay, you've had a few weeks to think about this…what have you come up with? Don't hold back…just say anything that comes to mind.

She sighed heavily when nothing happened.

Let's start with the most current events. I go on vacation…find drugs in my possession and then get mugged by the FBI…I return to work and I'm promoted…and then get blown away…Just one steady down hill plunge.

She rubbed her head irritated. I can't see how meeting Charlotte was planned. That means if she's part of this mess…she's a new player. So, can I rule out her planting the box in my stuff? She groaned to herself silently. This is not going to be one of those pencil and paper problems. If not her…then it has to be before I left for vacation. Everything was stacked in the front room. Who has a key to my apartment? Hm. Mr. Neighborhood Watch John would know who was up there. Oh, joy. I'm never sure if I'm on his bad person list or good person list. I need to find a pay phone…and change. And I have got to wind down and sleep!

Her brain actually stopped for a moment, and then…

It has to be the diamonds everyone is interested in…and for some reason they think I know something about their whereabouts…or something that points to their whereabouts. But what? Okay, I gotta back track to that day. Starting with the morning. Okay. Sammie…I mean Stewart or whoever he was…was his usual asshole self…yeah…until lunch. Then he was nervous. I told Sandy he was nervous, yeah…he was. When did he get nervous? He was driving around Warren Street, and cut…hm. Was someone following us? Lunch was early…Must have been someone following us. So maybe it was those cops he was talking to at the stand. So, were they the ones that told him to speak with the juvie? Wait a moment…my drink had to have been drugged because things get fuzzy after the drink. So were they setting him up, me or both of us? Why? Hm. What were the names of the cops investigating? I didn't recognize them from our department.

Finally Claire slept and again her dream became frantic with people chasing around in a scattered mess. At first she thought they were chasing her but she was also chasing something.

When Claire woke the wind was blowing. The rain had stopped but clouds darkened the sky as far as her eyes could see. Her drying clothes were fluttering in the breeze. Rolling them up, she stored them damp into her bag. Gazing out over the road she was going to be taking, she tried to determine how far she would get before it started to rain again. In the distance she could see a black and white taking a turn onto a dirt road. It was enough to send her sprinting across the road and through the barbwire. Her run was further onto the ranch land where a car would not be able to go. A muddy gully was hopped over and into the side of dripping trees she used as she made her way further inland. Why she was running she did not give any thought to. What she wanted to do was call Gail.

She reconnected with a back road further along her walk and grabbed a lift from a trucker that just unloaded bales of hay to a cattle ranch. He seemed pleased to have someone to talk to and he talked. If she dozed off during his chatter he did not stop. When she did wake she noticed that he had not stopped where she asked him. Suspicious she did not say anything but rather waited until he slowed at one of the truck check points. She jumped out before he could say anything. Since he did not stop she suspected he was nervous about whatever he had planned.

A husband and wife team gave her a lift to the next city where she got a hotel room and showered, washed her clothes and got a decent eight hours of sleep. Her dreams were even more frantic. When she got up, she found a pay phone and called Gail's cell.

[Girl! You have everyone going nuts! Tell me you're okay!]

"I'm not okay. Listen Gail, do you remember the diamond heist that took place at the New York airport seven or eight years ago?"

[Hm. No. Not really. You found some diamonds? Give them back and get home.]

"I wish on all counts. I think though, someone thinks I have some evidence of their whereabouts or know where they are."

[Why would you know? I thought you were in the service seven years ago?]

"I was just out and doing my rookie thing. You remember I told you about the bounty hunter? Well she said Sammie and his twin were involved in that heist and there is over a million dollar reward for finding Sammie and or the diamonds."

[Oh, girl. I don't like the way this is sounding. I thought you met her walking along a lonely stretch of the road?]

"I did. No one knew I was going to take that route because I didn't until traffic backed up with an accident. I think she just happened to be in the right place at the right time and she jumped at the opportunity."

[Eh? You need to change phones or something.]

"I'll call ya later. ATF is tailing me for some reason." As she hung up, the tone of Gail's disbelief at her mentioning the coincidence of meeting up with Charlotte had her just as doubtful. When it came to life and death situations, believing in coincidences was not healthy. But how could Charlotte have known she was going to be there? Unless someone was monitoring her cell calls. "Fuck," she muttered disgustedly. Her refusal for seeing that she was mixed up in something so convoluted as a criminal's business for the last few years was reluctantly acknowledged.

"If I were looking at this from the outside…I would suspect me," she murmured dismayed.

Claire purchased a bus ticket and seat where she could sleep without worrying about being seen through a window. It was dark when the bus pulled into the Los Angeles station. She made a phone call to an ex-military girlfriend that lived in Long Beach. From there she took a tram into the city.

Emma was heavier and very happy. Her soulmate's children were young enough to love back anyone that loved them. The couple gave her the kid's room and the kids got to sleep in the front room in their sleeping bags, which was an adventure for them. Emma worked for the city as a prosecutor and her lover worked in the law office library, going to school at night to be a computer designer.

Claire was not a stranger to Emma and Tammy. She just could not understand their relationship. Tammy was bisexual and went out with men every now and then and with Emma's blessing. As long as Tammy did not spend the night and did her once a month thing, besides taking precautions, Emma considered it was part of who Tammy was and she would live with it.

"So, you look like shit, soldier. Are you being chased by someone's significant other that caught you where you shouldn't be?" Emma teased as she helped change the bedding on her borrowed bunk bed.

"Hm. I don't have that rich of sexual life. I like the safe things. I'm more the type that gets shit faced all in love and then jumps in a relationship."

"Now that may take a long time. Do you test your batteries now and then to make sure things are working? Tammy teased.

"Ha. Do you two still have that toy box…"

"Toy box!" a little voice piped up.

"You can't play with my toys," another small voice told her seriously. "You can play with Dora's. She's got more than me."

"Girls," warned Emma. "If I hear that again…we're going through both your toys and count out ten and whatever is left goes to children that don't have toys."

That set off two wails.

"Emma. Don't stress them like this before bedtime," Tammy groaned. "They're gonna have nightmares."

Tammy went into the front room to calm the kids and Emma sat on the made bed and patted for Claire to sit.

"What happened?"

"I'm being hunted. I know ATF is one. It's left over from Sammie's business…"

"That jerk-off partner of yours? I thought he was dead?"

"Supposedly it was his evil twin," she started, and then quickly recounted for Emma what she had been through the last few months. "So, it seems," she finished, "before he died he parted some important information my way, which I have not the slightest idea of what, and everyone now thinks I'm going to lead them to whatever it is."

"ATF," she shook her head. "Now that they're part of the Fed's homeland group no telling who's really after you. They may just happen to have the resources needed and were sent."

"Great."

"You don't have any idea what it is?"

"Nope. But there are a lot of people trying to get me to remember and some people dropping hints in my lap. Exploding ones too."

Emma shook her head. "Well, get some sleep. If you leave early…" she pulled out the envelope and some other papers Claire had given her to keep for her.

For a few moments Claire held the small package, recalling why she had given it to Emma to hold for her. It was shortly after her partner's shooting and she was paranoid to the point that she wanted to be able to disappear for a while. It did not come to that with Sandy's help, but she always felt safe knowing that if there ever came a time when she needed to disappear she had that opportunity.

"Thanks. I hope you aren't in my profile. So far, they've been one step ahead of me. Always knew what I was going to do…even using Judy's truck."

Emma shook her head frowning. "I think what they may have done is just covered everything they could think of and waited. As for us," she thought about it for a few moments. "Nope. We only met in bars and kept real cool on base. No one from the bar was from the base. We left the service at different times…had different friends and only met once after we were discharged. This package you sent can't even be traced to you. You were one very paranoid chick then." Emma leaned forward, "and you had a damn good reason to be, soldier.' Her voice whispered her reassurance with intensity.

Claire sighed. "Well, about them finding me…I've changed clothes, watches, backpack, phones…I can't think of anything else that tells them where I'm going."

"Go to sleep. A fresher mind will figure it out."

Chapter 15

The next morning, Claire was on the family PC doing research on the three letters in the witnesses names. Her search was on diamond stores in the Los Angeles area. There were more than what she wanted to go through, however, she glanced quickly down the pages, clicking on next page and only realizing something of interest a few pages later. She backed up and found: EZ purchases. J. J. Muller. The seller had a store in two major shopping malls one in L. A. and the other in New York.

Muller…that was one of the names listed that lost out with the diamond theft. Hm. J and EZ. So…how desperate am I to take this as a long shot? I'm desperate.

After two changes on public transportation Claire was at the L.A. mall wondering if this was a bazaar search. She purchased coffee, bagel and newspaper and setup to watch the store that had not opened yet. The shop had no back door and it's neighbors were a bookstore on the left and a suede and leather store to the right.

She was reading the want adds when her eyes glanced up to see Manuel Rodriguez and the guy whom everyone was calling Sammie walk to the closed store. The owner was opening up.

Claire's interest was finding out from someone why she was on a hit list. She decided a soft person would be easier to find that out from, and the owner of the diamond store was that person.

Less than ten minutes later the two left the diamond store. Her eyes easily spotted two people interested in their departure. She leaned back and continued with her reading.

"You're like that cat that keeps coming back, you know that?" Charlotte's voice told her.

"Leave me alone," grumbled Claire as she paged back to another part of the newspaper she had no interest in.

"You're a sore spot in our contract."

Claire put the newspaper down and frowned at the young man dressed in a suit. For more than a few heart beats she studied the image before her.

"If you were after who you said you were after…why haven't you picked him up?" Claire demanded, ignoring the quickening she was feeling at Charlotte's latest dress.

"It's a complicated case," she replied, bemused.

"I don't know where the damn diamonds are."

"I agree…."

"I'm not interested in your business. I'm out on workman's comp and I'm just sipping coffee and…"

"And doing nothing to get yourself shot at?"

For some reason Charlotte was annoying her. However, when the man that opened up the store exited Claire rose quickly to follow.

"I've got a car…what to borrow it?"

"Damn. Alright," she grumped. How the hell did she know I don't have a car?

"Not that way. He's parked over in the lot this way. He's just making sure he's not followed."

"Well I want to follow him," Claire told her and was on his heels with only four teens separating them on the escalator up to the next level. He quickly entered another store. A toy store.

He left the toy store with two stuffed animals and he headed to the hamburger place. There he was met by a woman and her two children. Each child was given a stuffed animal. The man dutifully kissed the woman on the cheek and paid for their food. Though he sat with them while they ate breakfast Claire did not feel any connection between him and the family. Even the kids and woman had no connection.

"Maybe the babysitter…" Claire mumbled as she moved to the exit, anticipating the woman's departure.

"Hm." Charlotte pulled out her cell. "Hey, Bo. How's your mark?"

[They know they're being followed.]

"Something stinks here. Break off and come on back to the mall. Let Tommy pick it up."

[Okay.]

"At the east side behind the bookstore," she instructed before signing off.

"I don't think that guy you've pegged for Sammie is Sammie," Claire told her. "Have you ever thought that someone is using you to put pressure on the remaining gang members to flush out the real holder of the diamonds?"

"His finger prints match Samuel James."

The Hummer came around the corner and picked the two up.

"Hi, Bo," Claire greeted him.

"Hi ya, Girl. You're back, huh? You two have something going?"

"See that woman with the two kids? We're following her." Charlotte told him, ignoring his comment.

****
An hour later they were back to Aveneida where Acela's daughter spent her days at a childcare. The same one they dug up drugs from under the children's playhouse.

"Look familiar?" Charlotte asked.

"How do you know so much about this place?"

"I read the morning and evening papers. Research," Charlotte told her looking over at Bo. He nodded at her and went around the block. As he drove around the block Charlotte pulled off her suit and had another costume to dress in.

She looked back at Claire and lifted a brow in askance.

"Ready whenever you are. This Hummer would be conspicuous. But, shouldn't we be calling in someone legal?"

"Who would that be?"

Claire sighed. "I have no idea. You guys are the one's that keep popping up…and the ATF."

As the two women walked to the block they could see a familiar car turn the corner and pull in front of the childcare house. The same two men from the mall stepped out of the car with bodyguards.

"Oh, shit!" Claire muttered. "We have to keep walking." Oh, joy. More cars. Okay, two white women walking down a neighborhood that is Hispanic. We should be talking. "You looked nice in the suit. Dress up often?"

Charlotte turned to her startled, and then smiled at the blush that crept up Claire's neck. "Whatever the job calls for."

"Uh, huh. Well…" oh gawds Claire don't say something stupid. "One of these evenings, if you want to go out to a play or something…" she stumbled.

"One of these evenings," Charlotte agreed. The conversation took them past the house with the four cars accompanied with bodyguards and chauffeurs. "I just happen to have tickets to a performance…this Thursday night. Would you like to go?"

"Thursday, yeah. You driving or me?"

"I'll drive. Come this way," Charlotte turned left and crossed the street. She walked up the street passing the back of the house, not looking at Claire as she spoke. Claire could see her speaking to someone else and guessed it was via her cell-hands free. Her voice was so low Claire did not hear so her thoughts went to Thursday night.

Claire's feet thumped up the sidewalk, feeling like her heart. Thoughts of Charlotte dressed as a man excited her, and thinking about her in other apparel was also distracting. It was as if a part of her knew she was attracted to Charlotte, but… She did not want to think about why she was hesitant to think of her beyond a friend consciously…her dreams were another matter. Then she remembered that Charlotte liked men…so why was she even letting herself get bothered?

"We'll watch from up there," Charlotte pointed to the top of the slope. "My guess is every agency involved will be here in a few moments.

They both could hear the muffled sound of a copter. They made it to the top just as black and whites and unmarked cars burst out of various streets and converged on the house.

"A daylight raid. I've only seen them on sitcoms," Claire mentioned. "You turned them in, so what's your take?"

"I told you, we get a million and a half for turning one of the James in. ATF said we have officially turned him in and we were asked to step back and let them handle the rest."

"Only…"

"Only nothing. We get our reward. If my guess is right…inside of those stuffed animals, I bet are parts of a map to the treasure."

"The diamonds. I still don't know where I fit in this mess," she grumbled.

Police dogs were barking and people were yelling from the houses below them.

"Come-on. Let's go find our ride. What to come back with me? One of our contacts will be calling in what happened."

"No, just drop me off at my place…if you don't mind."

"Nope."

A less noticeable vehicle, than the Hum V stopped in front of them and both women got in. Claire sat in the back. The driver was dropped at a parking lot where the Hum V was waiting. Charlotte drove Claire home.

****
Tiredly Claire unlocked her door and looked around for the cats. Neither was around.

"Hey, guys! I'm home. Want dinner?" She kicked her shoes off and picked them up to take into the bedroom. Her reflexes prevented the door from doing any damage and her roll back to kick the person behind her would have worked except a third person hit her with a billy club in the gut and she was down.

A fist grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up. The guy's breath stunk. His accent was too thick for her to understand. She knew he was Hispanic and by the tattoo across his forehead, she knew unless someone rescued her soon, she was going to be dead.

The question was asked again and still she could not make out what was being asked. Another voice asked. "Where's the map, bitch."

She shook her head and got a kick in her ribs. She dropped to the floor and was beginning to wonder if maybe she was in the wrong type of job.

The voice she could understand asked again, "We're gonna pound on you bitch until you tell us where the fuckin' map is."

"I…don't know what map."

"Your partner gave it to you before he was shot…"

She shook her head. Her head was pulled up and one of the faces she remembered as a cop at the stand the day Sammie was shot.

"He showed it to me at the stand…he didn't have it where he got shot. We checked the car, bitch and it wasn't there. That means you've got it."

She shook her head. "I don't remember anything…" She was hit again and this brought tears to her eyes and stars, and then blackness.

****

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Charlotte's voice asked.

Claire groaned and opened one eye when she felt weight behind her shift and step on her hip. King George clambered over her and went to curl up against Charlotte who was sitting in the reading chair.

"I'm doing better. I'm starting to wake up in my own apartment."

"Not for long. I'm afraid your landlord is evicting you. Too much noise." She held up the envelope marked plainly, Eviction Notification.

"Shit."

"There's always a bright side to seemingly bad news."

"Yeah, right. So, what happened to the guys that were beating me up?"

"There was only one of me…so they got away. No police report unless you want to call it in."

"The bright side…is that I now know what everyone finds me so interesting about."

"What's that?"

"They think I have one of those treasure maps you spoke about." Claire laughed without humor. "I don't have any stuffed animals," and then quickly asked perplexed. "Why would he give it to me?"

"Hm. Maybe you were handy."

"Ah." Truthfully, she could not remember much of that day. "So, how did you know to come back?"

"There were two cars with suspicious people guarding them at the end of your block."

"At this rate, I'm not only out of an apartment, I may have to look for another job. If these guys keep hanging around me, guilt by association is going to creep in."

Charlotte rose from her seat. "Are we still on for Thursday evening?"

"Yeah. I just hope nothing happens that night. When is Thursday?"

"Tomorrow. I'll going to leave now. I need to clean up our business. You have some friends that should be by soon. I called them."

"Great," Claire mumbled and fell asleep. She was going to have to report this to Harrison, as embarrassing as it was.

Chapter 16

Charlotte picked her up at five thirty, with dinner as their first stop. She wore a dress and low heels. Charlotte drove a black crown royal that could easily have been a chauffeured driven car with it's exterior polished so that even in the night it looked spotless. Her rain coat was in the back seat, just in case the smell of rain in the air did progress to actual rain fall.

Dinner was filled with meaningless chatter and it was as they were returning to the car that Claire found out that they were going to see a standup comedian by the name of Lily.

"You know, I didn't see anything with Lily playing," Claire mentioned as she snapped on the seat belt.

"She's in town but she's doing a private one night appearance. It's done at a friend's place to test out her material."

"Oooh. You have connections, huh?" she grinned at Charlotte as she laid her own coat across her lap.

"They aren't going to like you with that gun on your hip," Charlotte mentioned as she pulled away from the curb and headed for the freeway.

"I can always impress them and flash them my detective's badge," she joked.

"More than likely they'll wonder if shooting up in the restrooms will be safe," Charlotte told her.

"You have got to be kidding." Claire told her disappointed.

"Yeah."

"Great. How do you know these people?"

"They've hired me for various jobs."

"Hm. Is there anything I should know before I make a fool of myself?"

"Just don't ask for autographs. Don't take pictures or get in the way if a bodyguard should get nervous."

"Okay. Any of your people going to be there?"

"Some."

****
The showing was in one of the Hollywood homes near to where Charlotte had her residence and business. The people that attended were a mixture of celebrities Claire recognized and people Claire did not know. She was happy that Charlotte did not leave her alone except to go to the restroom. Her sidearm was checked in at the door, where Bo was acting as the doorman. Claire removed her sidearm but kept her clip. Since it was her backup weapon and not official sidearm she did not feel as averse to checking it in. Each sidearm was wrapped in a sack with a name on it and carefully locked into a safe that looked like it was here for that reason. There were a lot of sacks besides hers.

Lily spoke with everyone that was there including Claire which she had no idea what was said, but it did not matter. The small show was for a cause which Claire missed hearing. She was too busy trying to be casual with all the stars that were around her. At the break she stepped out onto the balcony for a break from the star power around her.

"Too much?" She turned to look at Connie who had two drinks in her hand. She held one out to Claire. "It's non alcoholic. I noticed you weren't drinking anything with alcohol."

"No. I'm not much of a drinker. Thanks. Do you come to many of these?"

"These?"

"Private shows."

"We work a lot of them so we know a lot of these people as friends and employers," she explained as she sipped her drink. "You like Charlotte?" she asked casually.

Claire looked at her startled. "Ah. Yeah. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Hm. Just curious," she lifted her glass to someone that was on the other side of Claire.

"What do you mean by like?" Claire was beginning to feel pressure.

"I'm just curious why you two keep bumping into each other."

"Why don't you ask her?" Claire saw no point in pointing out that she had been minding her own business and it was Charlotte that kept popping up in her life.

"Hi. The second part is ready to begin," Charlotte's voice from behind her had Claire turning around. She looked curious at what had Connie frowning but did not ask.

The second part was Lily interacting with a flower and her concerns with it's health as an avid gardener that spoke to all her plants. It became funny when the flowers started to make social commentaries.

****
To Claire there was nothing romantic in her relationship with Charlotte, it was more of a friendship and occasionally an odd sexual twinge but nothing that would go beyond friendship and she wondered if Charlotte felt that way.

So, when Charlotte stopped in front of her apartment to leave her off, Claire paused, wondering if she should ask Charlotte if she thought she was leading her on to thinking her going out with her was anything more than friendship.

"Thanks for the evening Charlotte. It was nice if not…"

"You felt uncomfortable with the celebs."

"Yeah. I'm not used to being around people like that. I don't even know what to talk about."

Charlotte smiled. "Well, you didn't say anything that ruffled any feathers and you even managed to get out 'hello, how are you' without getting tongue-tied when Lily shook your hand."

"It was easy. I didn't say anything else. Charlotte, how do you see us?" she asked suddenly.

"As friends."

Claire nodded relieved. "I…didn't want to mislead you."

"You're not putting out any vibes otherwise."

"Well, good night. And thanks again. Next one is on me."

Chapter 17

Claire and Gail were packing her books in boxes while both cats, stressed out at the packing of their home, were crouched in their carriers, peering out at them. Occasionally a plaintive meow came from King George. Claire made cooing noises and spoke to them while continuing with her packing. She was determined to be moved out that day and have at least one room in their new residence ready for the cats to hide in.

"Did you make sure they changed my name to the utilities?"

"Yeap," Gail told her as she pulled the box to the middle of the room and went for another empty one to fill. "Believe me, I made sure everything is under your name….except the deed to the house," she joked.

Claire gave a short laugh. "Probably going to cost more but my pay took a sudden leap with my promotion. It's going to be soooo nice to have a garden to dig in and…"

Gail started to laugh heartily.

"What?"

"I just pictured you and the cats digging in the dirt, you planting flowers and them fertilizing the plants!" she continued to giggle with Claire joining her.

"Well, we'll love the space."

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to Lynn across the street and Connie on the left of you. They are home all day and keep an eye on the neighborhood. Lynn has a business at home and Connie's between jobs. They are really nice people. When we're alone, I'll show you the alarm system to the house…I'd appreciate it if you don't mention it to anyone."

Claire looked up at her, holding a rubber banded packet of her old pocket sized notebooks she used for taking patrol notes. "Sure," she agreed and then went through the books wondering if she should destroy them. They were over five years old. Her fingers paused at one book that did not match the others. A flat piece of clear plastic slipped out and onto the carpet.

Gail glanced at the stack of notebooks. "What are those?"

"I…oh," she noted Gail was looking at the notebooks rather than the plastic that she would not be able to see. "My notes from patrol. I kept two. One was the official book which was open for the judge and these are more like my journal. I liked to make personal observations on my work…what I needed to focus on and so on. But…" her voice trailed off as she shuffled to the one that was out of place. It was newer and looked like it had been dropped in a puddle.

"You got gloves?" Gail asked quickly.

"Under the sink…no. Try that box with the dish soap peeking out."

Gail came back with the bulky yellow scrub gloves, handing a pair to Claire. She slipped them on and picked up the notebook.

"The only thing I understand is this map….but I don't recognize any of the names. 8241 is written here."

"A map? Shit,' Claire whispered disappointed.

Gail nodded. "You are in a whole lot of trouble. Now what?"

"Hell, I don't know. I don't even know how I ended up with it. Let's see…" she took the notebook and inspected it herself. "No dates on these notes. Geeze but the handwriting is awful. Hm. Maybe it's in another language." Is this Sammie's and if so, how did I get this? She rubbed her head irritably.

The knock on the door and then it opening had both women jumping into a defensive position.

Marge and Charlotte, holding boxes of pizza and drinks looked surprised.

"What's with you two? Necking while we were gone?"

"In matching gloves too," Charlotte observed.

"Didn't want to leave finger prints," Gail explained.

"You scared the hell out of me," Claire grumbled, willing her heart to stop beating so hard..

The food was set on the table and while the women ate, Claire quietly informed them of their recent find…though she did not mention the plastic card to any of them.

"When is this going to end?" Marge asked exasperated, wiping her fingers on a napkin, then taking a deep drink from her beer.

Claire looked at her surprised, suddenly realizing it must be hard on Marge and Gail. They were the closest she had to family. "Don't know. Tomorrow I'll tag it as evidence and then whoever is interested will rob the evidence room. I'll let Harvard know when he gets here."

"When's he coming by with his truck?"

Claire looked at her watch. "'Bout an hour. He had a late golf game. The loading will go fast." She looked around at how much work they had gotten done. "We have everything but…that bookcase to go," she pointed at the only piece of furniture not ready to be moved. "And then we just move what's here to my new place."

"I'll take that notebook," a deep voice from behind them demanded.

Four startled women looked toward the door to find five masked men dressed in dark clothing, holding semiautomatics pointed at them. Claire pointed at the box near his feet. The notebook was sitting on top of the box of books. Claire reproached herself silently for being so cynical and expecting this. After glancing in the notebook, he departed with his friends.

"Well…who do we call?" Gail asked, her tone reflecting she also was not surprised.

Claire pulled out her cell phone from her hip and pressed her auto-dialer. "Hi, Harrison…no, no. That's not what I'm calling about. I think I found a notebook that belonged to my ex-partner with an interesting map drawn in it…I don't know and I don't care…nope. I don't have the notebook in my possession anymore, 'cause five men with semiautomatics and dressed in black showed up and they now have it…Right." She snapped the cell closed and slid it back onto her hip.

"What did he say?"

"I have bad luck and I may have to find a new partner if I keep losing essential things," she answered as she picked up a slice of pizza.

"You don't seem to be that upset," Marge mentioned, looking perplexed.

"It means I won't be bothered anymore. That should make my new landlord happy."

Gail smiled. "It will make our insurance agent happy. Just don't get any of those dogs on that list I gave you and we'll all be happy."

"Just cats," Claire agreed, taking another bite out of the cheesy pizza.

The house Claire was renting was owned by Gail and Marge and not too far from where they lived. It was a nice small cottage with two bedrooms and a backyard for the cats to play in.

"Ever thought of getting another type of job?" Marge asked as she peeled off the cheese from the pizza lid.

"I'm just getting into this detective thing. Why do you want to see me out of it?"

"I just thought you were ready for a job change," Marge told her.

"This is a job change. From clerk to detective. I'm just getting the sleep rhythm down, too. I can now catnap wherever possible, I bless the nights where I can sleep eight hours…really, I won't forget to water the lawn. I gotta wonderful life."

"Hm. Well when you start looking for a motorcycle we'll know you've reached that crazy point," Gail remarked.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Claire objected.

Marge and Gail groaned and in unison waggled fingers at her.

"Problem is, you keep on riding and call a day later to ask someone to feed the cats and then you appear two days later with a big smirk on your face and not telling anyone why."

"Ah," Claire and Charlotte said together.

"You think there's a story behind the smirk," Claire asked giving them the smirk they were alluding to.

"Is there?" Charlotte asked Claire. Three women waited for an answer.

"It's a natural high," Claire told them. "Think about it. Legs clamped around a vibrating beast that I can feel all the way to my crouch, air rushing past me changing temperatures and the world around me moving in a blurr."

"I think it's the big vibrator you straddle,' Gail mentioned.

"Do you still ride?" Charlotte asked.

Three voices, two louder than one chorused, "NO!"

"Her last bike was squashed beneath a rig that swerved to avoid a pedestrian that jay-walked to get to the beach. She was lucky she wasn't driving fast and parted company with the bike that went up in flames," Gail recounted.

"And that we were close behind," Marge added.

"I haven't gotten on a bike since. Not out of fear," Claire added quickly, "just haven't had the time to go looking for another bike."

"If you need a rush…just let us know and we'll all go bungie jumping," Marge told her firmly.

"They're my big sisters," Claire told Charlotte with an embarrassed smile.

"If we were, you would be nagged to get out of this police business," Gail told her.

"Like I said…they're my big sisters."

*****
Four days later Claire unpacked the last of her belongings and found the plastic card she had forgotten about.

"Ah. That's where you went." She suspected one of the women had found it and tossed it in the box with her camping gear. As it laid on one of her topographical maps it occurred to her that maybe the dots were places on a map. Talk about wild ideas, she snickered to herself. But it was the only think she could come up. She pulled out her Thomas Guide of Los Angeles River and held the dotted plastic this way and that.

"This is not it…hmm." She lifted the card higher and watched the light from the ceiling fan barely shine through the holes in the plastic. "Ah! Like one of those kids star gazers!" She hopped up and ran into the bedroom to get a lamp. Hooking it up over the table edge she shinned the light downward over the Thomas Guide Book and held the card near the light. She moved the map around and was thinking of maybe getting a flashlight when it dawned on her that a Thomas Guide would be too cumbersome for someone to store or carry around in a back pocket. She moved to her bookcase and pulled out the box of well used folded maps.

"Okay…hmm." Reinspired, she looked for points on the map of known territory, the police station. The PD station was marked with a small dot. Her finger looked for other places her partner was known to frequent. When she was finished she started to manipulate the card to see if she could find something.

"Well…now, look at this. Claire you are so smart you're going to get yourself hurt," she muttered to herself. Five of the dots matched places that her partner frequented on their tour of his street contacts…however, she knew it could be just a fluke. "So, what do I do with this now? Hm. What does each represent? PD station…" She studied the other five not knowing them as anything special. "Hm. This one is the odd one. Once a day he visited this place to see if his contact was there and he never was."

She gathered everything and put them back in their places, not wanting to leave a mess. She looked in on the two cats. One was still in his carrying case only coming out to relieve himself and eat, and the other was in the cat pole's rug padded tube. After refreshing their water and cleaning the litter box she left out the back door. She walked to Gail and Margie's and thought about what she wanted to do.

Her knock was answered by Jackie, Margie's cousin that ran a local cleaning company. "Hey girl!" she quickly pulled a surprised Claire in and gave her a hard hug. "Cuz told me you have not been taking good care of yourself," Jackie informed her when she released her.

"What does that mean? I'm renting their damn house, I have my garden marked for planting when the weather is right, I have a better paying job, I even eat at better restaurants," Claire joked.

"Uh huh," she looked her up and down and noted that Claire did look better than the last time she had seen her so maybe the experiences were not as bad as Margie felt they were.

"Where's Marge or Gail?"

"They went out. They hate to be here when I'm cleaning…I'm running late today. Come-on in. What's up?"

"Whose Vespa is that out there?"

"Mine! Like it? I got it as payment from a customer that was behind on his payments. I picked it up this evening. That's why I'm late. I had to get it registered."

"Would you mind if I borrowed it?"

"Not at all. I was going to ask the girls if I could store it in their garage. If the kids see it they'll be fighting over who is going to be the first to ride it," she told her disgustedly. Her 'kids' were her roommates who acted more like siblings than friends.

Claire laughed. "I can't see them putting anything more in their garage. I have plenty of room in MY new garage. You can keep it there. You know the code," she added in a lower voice.

"That's great. But, no. I don't know the code. Keeping it at your place would be great. I'm probably going to end up selling it."

"Really? I might be interested in buying it. If you want, I can ride it back to my place," Claire quickly offered, already making plans on how to get around without using her car.

After the keys were handed over, Jackie finally thought to ask. "So what did you want to see the gals for?"

"I just wanted to run something by them and borrow a tape or two."

Jackie laughed. "I don't bother buying CDs or tapes anymore. They got them all."

"So you borrow too."

"Hell, no," Jackie told her. "I take anything home and the kids think it's community property."

Claire shook her head. She could not understand what Jackie found in rooming with two totally weird individuals that had more metal pierced in their bodies than it was healthy. Claire did not keep up with their tattoos but she was sure they were adding to their collection every pay week. The only thing Jackie seemed to have in common with them was their morbid interest in dark clothing and anything else that went with it.

"Well, I'll come back at another time. I would rather borrow something when they are here. Thanks for the keys," she told Jackie mischievously.

"Uh huh. You want to take her for a spin," Jackie laughed. "Go right ahead. For free rental space…I'll let you use her anytime I'm not using her."

"Sounds like a good deal…I'll even keep the tank filled."

"You'd better!" Jackie told her in a mock threatening tone. "Or I'll tie you up and flog that white behind of yours."

"Ohhh. And she thinks she's threatening me," Claire mocked back. Claire thought it would be better to leave now, knowing that the jibes would quickly progress to things she did not understand.

The Vespa was a 2000 and was kept in reasonable condition. She listened to the engine as it started up. It probably had a recent tune up. As she turned onto the street she mentally went over in her mind the back streets to one of the points on the map. It took her thirty minutes to get to the side of the river Sammie or Stewart, came to meet someone that never showed. It was during this time, Sammie would get out of the car, walk around it, looking around and not saying anything. He would wait, each time, for ten minutes. Claire had timed it because she hated just sitting there. She always felt like she was a sitting duck in the passenger seat. He always told her to stay in the car because he did not want his contact to get spooked with seeing two people standing outside of the car.

As she turned onto the cull de sac that ended with a fence that protected the LA river from easily tossed trash or bodies down it's concrete sidewalls, the darkness crowded around her. Barely seen were the boarded up houses and small buildings once used for storage. The small buildings were either in various stages of collapse or had boards across whatever could give access into them. She shut the motor off and wheeled behind one of the still standing buildings, closest to the river. Standing where she remembered her partner would stand, she faced the direction she was sure he was more interested in. The most vandalized of the houses leaned at a dangerous angle.

Did he expect his contact to come out of the house? Who lived there then? Or was he looking at the place to side of it?

A car was approaching slowly from the freeway off-ramp. Claire moved quickly to the side of the building where she left the Vespa. The car was a patrol car. It's lamp flashed over the buildings and then cautiously moved along the short road. Then it moved on.

Yeah. It's easily reached by the freeway…but if someone wanted to hop back on the freeway…that's further up.

As she wheeled the bike from behind the building her eyes caught the numbers spray painted on the backside of the building. 8241.

Pulling the small light from her key chain she studied the area then moved to look closer at the junk that was piled around and the overgrown weeds.

So, someone had marked this place…or is that the address? She turned to stare across the river but did not see much. Street lights no longer lit up the abandoned area. There was a rusted metal bar that stood alone in what could have once been a back yard. A rusted chain was attached to it.

Leaning closer to see what her small light showed, she could see the numbers 8241 again on it.

What the hell do those numbers represent? She looked around her nervously and decided she was pushing her luck, considering how things were going for her lately.

She was half-way home when she could feel her cell vibrate against her hip. She pulled into a gas station and pulled it out.

"Yeah?"

[Hey, where are you?] Marge demanded.

"It's NOT a motorcycle and I'm at a gas station on…PCH and…I can't read it from here. You're just jealous because I got it first," she taunted.

[Just wanted to be sure some nut did not kidnap you. We have Chinese food. Want to join us?]

"Love to. I'll be over in about…ten minutes," she glanced at her watch.

[Ten! By then there will be nothing left,] Marge teased. [See ya then.]

Claire folded her phone and glanced around her. She was more than ten minutes away and no where near PCH. She no longer trusted her cell phone calls were private.

Back on the road she made a right then left then right just out of habit, wishing she had a more powerful engine between her legs.
*****

The gang was watching a movie when she arrived.

"Hey," Gail greeted her with a hug. "Foods on the table, empty chair over there. Not the best seat in the house…but you're late."

While Claire piled her plate with fried rice her thoughts went over the numbers and what they could be alluding to. Deciding, she had not the faintest idea what it was all about.

Jackie and Gail were making comments about the movie Blood Work and Margie had left to answer the phone. The movie was at the part where Eastwood's character, McCaleb, realized who the killer was.

"Claire, it's for you."

Claire looked up in surprise.

"Your partner, Harvard," she supplied.

She went into the kitchen and picked up the extension. "This is Claire….no you're not bothering me…what's up?...Damn. Yeah…I'll be at my place." She hung up the phone and mentally went over a drug case the two had been covering. The two drug dealers they had picked up had been released on bail and were found dead a few hours later. They had been executed and rolled down the cement sides of the LA river.

"Hey I have to go…don't even have time to eat," she picked up her plate and moved to take it into the kitchen but Gail took it from her and waved her out.

"Don't worry, we'll save it for you. Not as good as cold pizza but better than your own cooking."

"Good night and thanks. Talk to ya later," she mumbled as she hopped onto the Vespa and headed for her house. She rolled the machine into the backyard and then into the side garage door rather than opening up the larger door. She locked the door and went to the front of her house to wait for Harvard, guessing he had called her on his cell and was already on his way to pick her up.

His blue SUV truck swung around the corner and pulled up into her drive way. Claire looked into the cab first and then opened the door before climbing in.

"So…why are we being called in?" she asked as she buckled her belt.

"Cause it's our case. Can you think of why they would be executed?"

"If they have a connection with the 'good ole boys' group that may be a reason though I'm not sure why they would kill them. Who found their bodies?"

"Night patrol. They found a portion of the fence cut and blood around the area. They called it in and there the bodies were. A nice big message to someone."

"Hm. You know…they were only mentioned once in the old files. The only reason why we rearrested them was we caught them selling when we went to talk to them," Claire mentioned.

She pulled out her notepad she always carried and paged back to that bust, using the nightlight to read what she had noted.

"Shit!" There was 1428 Madison written for the address. The reverse of the four numbers she kept finding.

"Misspelled something?"

"No. This combination of numbers keeps coming up. 1, 4, 2 and 8, only not always in that order."

"Hm. Not 8, 2, 4 and 1?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just an inside joke, 'Eight to four with one to spare.'" He glanced at her and then grinned. "I'll tell you the joke later…you have to know the story the joke was about. Anyway…where does this number keep coming up from?"

"I visited one of the places my ex- would visit on a daily basis…Sammie or Stewart…it was where he was supposed to visit with a street contact only the contact never showed. Anyway, on the side of the building was the 8241 and on a metal stake in the yard it was written. I also found it in his notebook…the one those masked gunman stole from me."

"Hmm. I don't think this joke would have anything to do with what you keep coming up with…as I said, it's an inside joke."

"It could be a street address…and the metal stake could be identifying who a dog belonged to that was chained in the back…" Claire ventured. She looked around them as they neared the crime scene where the area was lit up. There were civilians standing around catching up on the latest happening in their neighborhood. There were also gang types.

"Hey, isn't that group and the group at the other end rivals?" Harvard asked.

Claire nodded. "Makes it interesting. They actually show their faces when the cops are around. I bet they have all sorts of weapons on them too." She was handed Harvard's radio and she called their observation in. The two gangs immediately melted into the darkness.

"I guess they have our codes down good," Claire mentioned as she signed off.

"Looks it."

As the parked Claire unbuckled her belt and slid out the cab, noting what was around them and looking nervously about for any snipers. She hated being so exposed.

"What have you got?" She heard Harvard ask. She moved over to where the coroner was filling out a form.

"Lindy?" she called. The med student looked up at her. "Hey, girl. Heard you've been someone's prime target," white teeth flashed at her.

"Yeah. Anything of interest with these two?"

"They were hacked before a bullet ended their agony. That's why all the blood. The crime guys are looking over where the bodies came to rest. Seems someone went down to take a look and left their stomach contents and a PDA."

Claire looked around the area in disbelief. The people that lived around here did not look like they would be carrying PDAs and they would be the most likely types to be curious and take a look before or while calling the cops.

"Maybe one of the cops that found them?" she suggested.

"Well," Lindy laughed, "they are going to be very embarrassed when their police chief hands them their PDA and asks why they were messing up the crime scene." She stored her notes and walked to the van's driver door. "You take care of yourself," Lindy told her firmly. "I don't want to be picking you up."

"I hear ya," she agreed. She pulled out her notebook and scribbled what Lindy had told her.

"This is not in our jurisdiction," Harvard informed her when she joined him. "We're here only to observe."

"Okay by me. Lindy said they were hacked up before someone shot them in the head."

"Hacked. Hm."

"Yeah. We have two drug cases that have victims hacked. Salvadorian drugs lords operating out of the prison."

"These two guys are connected to the good old boys club…some of those cops are in jail…the Salvadorian group is in jail…could be they are fighting for territory," Harvard guessed.

"Yeah."

"Come on. Since we're not wanted here…let's go look at this place of your partners with those numbers. So where are we headed?"

She gave him the off-ramp. They drove in silence. As he rolled to the stop sign she pointed in the direction.

"Looks like someone's over there," she mentioned, catching what looked like a flashlight moving around the building she had found the numbers sprayed on.

"Yeah. Maybe we should call for some additional troops. I would hate to have to fight off someone with long sharp blades."

"Me too. You think it's the diamonds everyone is looking for?"

"Won't know until we take a look," he glanced at her. He pulled out his cell and made sure his voice scrambler was activated. "Suspected bobcat treed." Then he hung up.

"Can I ask who you are working for?"

"Same person as you."

"Right."

"Looks like they saw my lights." He parked where he could quickly follow someone should they need to chase. From the back he pulled a set of NV goggles on. "Sorry I only carry one pair." He gestured for her to follow him.

She pulled her semiautomatic out and held it in front of her pointed at the ground.

Harvard paused and pointed to the ground near the weeds that grew between what used to have been concrete steps up to a residence.

Claire leaned over it and touched it. It was sticky. "Could be blood," she whispered.

They both heard something move to the left of them.

"You stay here and make sure no one gets past you," Harvard whispered.

"No way am I going to let you step into a situation we don't know anything about, alone," she whispered intensely back. "We wait for backup! You called for someone, right?"

"Yeah, but they…"

"We wait, Harvard. We keep an eye on the place and wait," she repeated firmly. She pulled on his shoulder and moved him to another position where they could stand nearly back to back, keeping any eye on the area around them.

A helicopter with a light shinning from its underside was fast approaching them and then she could hear cars. She did not realize that there were that many patrol cars available at this time of night. But she did not let her get distracted and that was probably why she saw the movement to her right.

"Got a sighting to my right," she whispered to Harvard.

"Yeap. They're splitting up." He pulled out his radio and quietly mumbled something Claire did not understand, but her attention was on the figure that was making its way toward the freeway.

Two plain clothes figures joined them. "You guys go with Detective Claire, you two with me," Harvard directed.

Claire did not wait for any introductions, her eyes still on where she last had seen her quarry. She took off, using the sidewalk for as long as she could. She cut across the yard when she had to, keeping close to the ground.

"I see him," a voice near her whispered. "To the left of the fence. He's got a machete in one hand a gun in the other," he warned.

"Let's box him in," Claire suggested.

"Right," the second voice of a woman agreed.

Claire took the direct line to the figure that was running along the fence probably looking for a break. She took a quick glance at her new partners and cursed to herself. They had NV goggles.

She was the first at the break in the fence. It was near the under pass and a gathering for taggers, homeless and whatever else cared to gather. Only with the copter over head with its light, no one was there. By the looks of the place it was recently inhabited. The three spread out, careful to not stumble on their quarry.

A figure came darting out at her and Claire raised her gun struggling to quickly assess as to whether it was someone armed or not. She easily pushed the person down and with one hand shoving her gun into its holster she was being handed a plastic cord to bind the person. The other two waited as she subdued her capture, ignoring the screams of rage and focused only on what could come rushing out at them.

When she had the legs and arms tied she pulled her weapon out again. The three moved further into the darkened area. Suddenly the place was lit up from the police light…and there was their prey pointing his weapon at them. Claire did not wait but pulled her trigger. She felt confident that she could hit a bulls-eye at 100 yards and that is what she concentrated on seeing.

The echo of her shot seemed to boom and the figure fell back. Dark bodies suddenly exploded from different places under the underpass and then they were alone with one vagrant bound up and a dead body shot three times.

Claire could feel someone tugging at her arm. "We got it, Detective!" a voice shouted at her over the noise of the copter than was now over them.

Numbly she slid her weapon in her back holster and tried to take in what was around her. A familiar face of Harvard kicked her body into action.

"Claire!" he waved to her. When she joined him he held up a notebook. "This look familiar?"

She took it from him and opened up to one of the pages. "Yeah. Same illegible scrawls as the one that was stolen from me."

"Well, looks like some of this is getting close to ending. Come-on, and let me introduce you to Agent Smith. He's with ATF and has been assigned to the diamond case…it's got drug overtones and the FBI has been tainted so he's been given the assignment," he explained as he walked her over to a short woman that had an ATF coat on.

"Agent Smith - Detective Hudson, Hudson-Smith," he gestured as he introduced.

The agent had slipped on rubber gloves and took the notebook from Claire. "Here, hold this will ya?" she handed Harvard her flashlight.

The three huddled around the notebook where it had a smudged bloody finger print.

"Well, there's that number of yours again," Harvard mentioned.

The three returned to the building with the 8241 and now bathed in lights, Claire was able to get a better view of the littered yard. Harvard and her watched as people moved around and digging commenced. In a pipe, buried shallowly, was an overnight case. Whatever was in it, Harvard and Claire was not told but Agent Smith came over to tell them they were no longer needed.

"Gee, I sure like the flick off we got," Claire muttered.

"Some things never change," Harvard laughed. "By tomorrow, the Feds will let us know if it was the diamonds or just none of our business."

"Yeah. Will I see you in the morning?"

"Yeap. Though maybe about noon. This late night stuff tends to drag on my old bones."

Rather than taking the freeway, Harvard chose the side streets, giving them both a chance to wind down.

"Harrison, can I ask you a question that's going to sound odd?"

"You can ask," he replied.

"Have you done a profile on Charlotte?"

"Whitman? That gal you're seeing?"

"Yeah. That one." She wanted to add that it was just a friendship but she actually did not know what she was feeling about Charlotte.

"Can't say one way or another. I'll see you tomorrow."

If Claire thought throwing a temper tantrum would do any good she would have. Did this mean there was more to this game? What had Charlotte to do with it besides being the friend of the airport security guard? Oh, that's right…she and her group got the reward.
****
At home there was a message on her answering service.

[Hi, Claire. It's Charlotte. I have tickets for a piano and guitar recital on Friday. Do you want to go? You either wear a tux or formal. It will give you a chance to dress in drag either way.]

Claire laughed. Picking up her mail, Claire sat on her couch and looked out the back sliding glass door that gave her a view of the garden she had partially planted, but she did not see this. Instead, the image of Charlotte dressed as a man came back to her. She rubbed her forehead wearily.

Why did that image come up? If she dresses wouldn't she dress in something more feminine? So, what do I dress in? She didn't give me a hint how she wants me to dress.

Claire leaned her head against the couch's back and groaned. Weren't they just friends?

Oh, gawds. I'm gonna play head trips on myself. What would Charlotte dress in? Well, she is a transgender so probably in heels and dress. She sighed. She had no idea where this relationship with Charlotte was taking her but she was sure it was headed into something she was not willing to explore at the moment. Then she became uncomfortable with Harrison's not telling her what he knew of Charlotte Whitman.

Getting up she trudged into her bedroom thinking that all this wondering about the future could wait for another day.
*****
The week was busy with new cases and they were still reviewing the old cases to see if there were any discrepancies. Claire spent time going through the mug shots of the witnesses, noting that many of them were missing from the files. She also spent time at the newspaper archives looking up information on the diamond heist eight years ago. It hardly made front page news in California.

She gave a call to the PD in New York and used the buddy system to see if someone could dig up information for her on the people involved in the diamond heist. In return, she was asked to look up information on a Doug Green of Richmond.

Friday morning an envelope was on her desk and a note from the mailroom that it came right after she had left the day before. She looked at the envelope carefully, wondering if anyone opened it. It did not appear to have been tampered with.

"Hey, Hudson. You get coffee yet?" Harvard's voice asked her as she caught the smell of fresh coffee.

"Hm." She waved the envelope at him. "I asked for some information on that diamond heist from New York."

He handed her a coffee and sat at his desk. "Well, open it and stop teasing me with it," he encouraged.

For a few moments she stared at the photos of the dead and then handed them to Harrison. She read the report.

"Says one person survived," he mentioned.

"Yeah, but the note on the photo says he was found dead a week later from a drug overdose. What's smelly about that?" Claire asked.

"Hm. Since he had old tracks on his arm…nothing," Harrison told her.

Claire did not answer him as she read the note the clerk wrote to her. "It says here…that the boyfriend of his swore he was off drugs. However, the detective that noted that in his notes was moved to another case and the detective that took over the case felt with the stress of the killings he had gone back to drugs." She flipped over to another page. "This must have been Charlotte's boyfriend." She flipped the photo of a man with a bullet between his eyes.

"Yeah," Harrison agreed.

"This case is not finished…is it?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't get your big fish," Claire pointed out.

"Big fish left town."

"So…what am I missing…and don't get weird on me. I check this room out for bugs everyday and in between," she warned.

"I don't know what you're missing, Hudson."

She sighed. "Shit," she muttered. "Okay…did ATF say they have the missing diamonds?"

"Yeah. They actually parted with that information," he grinned at her.

"So, most of the players are dead or gone… but, I'm still being watched. That means…" her voice trailed off. She looked up at Harvard. "I bet it's about the two cops the night of Sammie or his brother's hit. One or both of them. I haven't seen either of them since…though, I don't know if I would recognize either of them." She was quiet as she thought more on it.

"Hm. The only reason either of them would be interested in me, is if they were in a public office and any suspicion of their character would put a snag in an important game. So, that means one or both is somewhere where I would recognize them."

Harrison gave no indication of whether she was right or wrong or if she was even talking sense.

"Damn, Harrison! I'm going to go nuts here," she told him in an intense and low voice.

"I don't have any answers for you." He held up a file. "We have two cases to work on. Shall we get to them before noon? And…better put that somewhere no one can get to." He nodded to the envelope from New York.

"Yeah, right. My purse," she told him sarcastically. Since she did not carry a purse, he knew how frustrated she was feeling. He did not blame her but at least she was not refusing to go along with whatever was coming down.

*****
Friday came and Claire was looking at her tux hanging on a coat tree. She glanced at her watch and realized she had three hours.

A nap. Sounds like a good way to take care of these nerves. Blast it! Why am I so damn nervous?

She had just fallen asleep when she heard the doorbell ring. She stumbled into the front room and pulled open the small peep door.

"Hey! You're early! Or am I late?" Claire quickly pulled the door open and Charlotte walked in at Claire's sweep of the hand. Charlotte had a dress bag and overnight case.

"Sorry to barge in like this. But do you mind if I use your place to get ready?"

"No, of course not. So, what are you going to wear?" she asked curious.

"Since you don't know, I'll keep you guessing."

Claire laughed. "Alright. So, would you like to take your shower first?"

"No. I'll let you go first. Just to keep the surprise going."

Claire glanced at the clock. "It's still kinda early…"

"We'll be unfashionably early."

Claire shrugged her shoulders and wondered why something did not feel right. "Well, get comfortable. There's drinks in the frig and something to nibble on I'm sure. Help yourself."

She went into the bedroom and grabbed up her robe and underwear. Pausing for a moment she thought she heard Charlotte moving around in the kitchen. Her extra gun was slipped in her waist band, if only to help settle her nerves. Since she was feeling too jittery, she could not figure out if it was the date or something else. It was not that time of the moon so maybe it was just too much coffee. She tossed her things onto the counter in the bathroom and went into the front room to let the cats in. From the sliding glass window, she could see three of Charlotte's colleges jumping over the fence into her back yard. A clothing bag was tossed over the fence and caught by one of them.

"Get the picture yet?" Charlotte's voice asked.

Claire turned to look at her. She was dressed from head to foot in a lab suit, with even her hands and feet covered. The idea of someone trying to commit the perfect murder, leaving no trace for forensics to pick up came to mind.

"No," Claire glanced quickly to the men that cautiously crossed the backyard. She had not disengaged the alarms. She wondered if Charlotte had. Claire could hear Charlotte move and she moved too. Her defense moves that Gail and Marge drilled with her at their Saturday night classes gave her enough speed to get out of the way of a dart that sped her way. She kicked out at a surprised Charlotte who landed on her back, made awkward in her strange apparel. Claire pulled the dart that entangled in her hair and plunged it into Charlotte's leg. She grabbed the gun from her nerveless hands and could hear someone trying to open the sliding door and simultaneously the back door. She grabbed up her keys from the hook near the door and flung open the front door glancing up and down the street. She was sure Charlotte's group would have the front monitored. A pop and she fell forward and then was knocked sideways from another pop.

Claire crashed sideways into the hedges and rolled over them and behind the old brick border that the hedges overgrew. Panting she tried to figure out how not to scream from the pain and not worry about bleeding to death. She could hear the silencer's muffled pops and the hits the bricks and house were taking. Fortunately, whoever was shooting thought that she was scooting or dragging herself along because they were not shooting at her.

Soon she heard the blades of a copter and sirens over her house alarm that was now going off. Gail did not believe a silent alarm would do what is expedient, get rid of the intruder, making the resident safe, so she made sure it made just enough noise to alert the neighbors to call the police and scare off the intruder.

Claire felt the ground tremble as booted feet ran up the walk way and into the house. She was too weak to call out and fainted into darkness. Just before she let the darkness overtake her, she was thinking that she was a big woose.

Chapter 18

Claire became aware of hospital sounds, beeping and calls for doctors over a loudspeaker. She groaned her objection at being awakened and was promptly encouraged to drink something.

Claire opened one eye and found Sandy looking at her with a sad look. "I'm not doing so well here, am I? I think the bad guys have more points than me," she croaked.

"Nope. According to your partner, Harvard, they got everyone they were aiming to get."

"Can someone tell me what the hell was going on?" she whined.

"Well, that's my job."

"Oh, gawds. Sandy when they pick you…it means I'm in trouble."

"No, no. Not necessarily. It's just the finish up with that diamond heist in New York stuff."

"Okay, tell me before I die of curiosity."

"You know that Sammie and his brother were involved in a heist about eight years ago. Charlotte's boyfriend was not a partner but he was paid for his part and for some reason, they killed him. Charlotte figured out who pulled it off and decided to head to California and see what she could do with that information. She found a gold mine. With a legitimate business as a front she did jobs for the ring leader of the heist, biding her time. She played both sides of the game. She got her reward for finding the last few members and turning them over and she kept an eye on the lead guy without telling anyone.

"He wants to run for the senate and you were his one last obstacle. He hired her group to get rid of you. From what I understand, there were only half a dozen people that knew he was the mastermind. Once the job was done, he took his cut in cash and split. One by one, people who knew about him were executed. Since he had his money, no one thought it was him. The other partners of the heist thought it was one of them. They were going to keep the diamonds hidden for about eleven years and then split them. They figured they got a good investment because diamonds go up in price."

Claire stared at the picture Sandy was showing her. "Isn't that the guy that's running for Senator?"

"The same."

Claire slapped her forehead weakly. "He was the other police officer," she whispered. "What about Charlotte?"

"She's not talking, nor are her cohorts. They have a good lawyer so it's going to be interesting what story they come up with. I think you can finally sleep without worrying about people taking pot shots at you."

"I think I'm gonna move."

"Where?"

"I don't know yet. But far, far away…and somewhere where it's normal to carry a rifle or gun and where I can shoot back."

"You'd end up shooting one of your kitties," Sandy told her not believing her. Claire was too comfortable being surrounded with her friends and the city life comforts.