No Cops!

Chapter 4

Jake loved his mamma, but man, the woman was a most determined talker. Did she have the good sense to hang up when she knew her son was on a date?

No siree!

She yakked his ear off and before Jake knew it, Suzy and his mom were chatting up like old pals.

Some promise to turn up at the Larson home for Thanksgiving was given and the next thing Jake knew, they were standing in front of Suzy's apartment. It was a two-family home and Suzy occupied a small studio on the top.

But did he get to see it?

Nope.

Before he could satisfactorily close out the evening with a kiss, a thin, scowling woman with rollers in the hair and wearing a tattered robe over her nightgown appeared out of nowhere.

Suzy waved to the crusty crone and explained that she was her landlord, someone named Mrs. Nader.

And then Suzy was gone, her sweet and shy thanks for the evening barely registering on him.

And Jake was left staring at her back with a scowling Mrs. Nader for company.

#

The next morning, forced to do a tedious report, Jake was in a sour mood. Teddy perched with his coffee on his desk at his usual time.

"So, how was the date? Did you get any action?" He waggled his brows and leaned in conspiratorially.

Not even a peck goodnight, Jake thought, but said, "Don't you have work to do?"

Teddy just laughed. "That bad, huh? Well, there's a surprise waiting for you in Sturgis's office. Maybe that will cheer you up."

Jake hurried over to his Chief's office and was only mildly surprised to see his ex-girlfriend, Chloe, cozying up to his Chief. Chloe Darlington was wearing a tight corset-styled top and a tight skirt. The only thing missing was the fishnet stockings and she would have passed for a hooker. Chloe had always been an over-the-top dresser, but seeing her after so long brought back a forceful reminder.

She was sitting in the swivel chair in front of his Chief's desk, with the chair half-turned to face the door. Presumably, like a cat waiting for her prey to walk in. She even licked her lips when he walked in, reminding him even more of a cat.

Dating Chloe had been a whirlwind affair, with a lot of ups and downs. She was a tough cookie and a survivor, he had liked that about her. She was a freelance detective for the NYPD and it wasn't a job for the faint-hearted. But Chloe was also flighty. The reason their relationship ended was the fact that she had no qualms for sleeping around to get any information that would further her case. In fact, she was astonished that he had a problem with her sleeping around and she was the one who broke off with Jake. She had said that Jake didn't "support her career."

Jake didn't regret his time with her. He chalked up his time with Chloe as his relationship experience. They still had to work together though, and were on polite, if a bit frosty, terms.

"Hello Jake, you took your sweet time coming." Chloe purred languidly, her long limbs stretching in the chair.

"I came as soon as I got the message. I thought that the Chief was interrogating a hooker," Jake shot back with a grin. He ignored Chloe's scowl and greeted his Chief, not bothering to take a seat. The Chief rarely wasted time on pleasantries.

"I was hoping you two would be professional about this," his Chief was frowning. The news of their break-up had been gossip-fodder for weeks. They hastened to convince the Chief that they would be.