The morning sun made shadows on Colin's oatmeal as he ate, trying to work up some sort of positivity for the day. He just wanted to forget about the Whelan case. But forgetting about the Whelan case would mean forgetting about Bonnie, and he wasn't sure he wanted to do that.
He had about one spoonful of oatmeal left when the phone rang. He jumped and swore in surprise, his leg getting caught on the leg of his chair as he stood. Ignoring the loud scraping of the chair on the floor, he hurried to the phone.
"Hello?"
"Everton." It was Hudson. Colin closed his eyes in exasperation.
"What is it?"
"There's been another murder."
"What! Chief, it's..." Colin glanced at his watch. "It's seven in the morning! You couldn't have waited to tell me when I came in later?"
Hudson huffed. "I'm well aware of what time it is, thank you. This murder happened less than an hour ago."
"Really? You're not just saying that to get me to come in?" Colin asked belligerently.
"Would I tell you something like that if it wasn't true?" Hudson sounded so hurt that Colin almost cringed. Almost.
"I really don't know anymore," he sighed. "Have you sent anyone there yet?"
"A couple of guys, but I wanted to wait for you and Miss Taylor before I sent anyone else."
"Have you called her yet?"
"No. I wanted you to know first."
"Well, call her and tell her. She's part of this case, too."
"All right, all right, cool it. No need to get all up in arms about it." Colin could hear the curiosity in Hudson's voice.
He tried to backpedal. "I mean, if we have to work together, we both need to know everything that's going on. Right?"
"Sure, sure." There was a slight creaking noise. Colin could envision Hudson leaning back in his chair, smiling indulgently. "I'll call Miss Taylor and get her to come down, too. She's not with you, though?"
Colin frowned. "No, she's not. We're partners, Chief, not lovers."
"Sure, sure," Hudson said again, too quickly. "But you must be blind if you can't see that she's a real looker."
"Believe me, I'm not blind. I know what she looks like." Colin sighed. "Well, I'll see you in a bit, Chief."
"See you, Everton."
Colin hung up the phone and stared at it. So he expected us to be together, did he? At least I didn't give him that satisfaction. He went back into the kitchen, depositing his mostly-empty bowl in the sink on the way through to his bedroom.
As he grabbed a shirt from his closet and slid into it, he tried to focus. Two murders in two days. If this keeps up, I won't be able to eat breakfast anymore. Then all of a sudden he was wide awake. Another morning murder! He finished dressing quickly and hurried to the station.
He walked up the steps of the station and was about to go in when he heard Bonnie calling him.
"Colin!"
He turned and waited until she reached the top of the steps. "'Morning."
"Good morning," she returned briskly. "Did Hudson call you about the m-"
"Yes." Colin held the door for her as they went in. "Wait here while I go see what's on our agenda for today." He rapped on the door to Hudson's office and entered.
"Ah, Everton. Is Miss Taylor here as well?"
"Yeah, she's here." Colin crossed his arms. "So who do we get to take with us?"
"I'll send a guy who's good with the bodies and the two guys I sent earlier should still be there. Here's the address." Hudson handed Colin a slip of paper. "Good luck."
"Thanks." Colin turned to leave.
"Oh, how's the Whelan case coming?" Hudson waited until he was halfway out the door before he leaned forward curiously.
Colin turned on his heel. "I'll let you know later," he said shortly, letting the door thump sullenly behind him. He glanced at the address on the paper and thrust it into his pocket, approaching Bonnie. She looked up as he neared.
"Well, what's our first order of business?" She flashed him a smile.
Colin attempted to return the smile. "We head to the scene." He opened the door and held it for her, then started down the stairs.
***
They reached the address without too much trouble and went up to the two cops at the door. Colin had worked with both of them before, and they greeted each other warmly.
"Everton! Long time, no see!" There was some back-patting and handshaking, then Colin stood back.
"Well, what have you got for me?"
"It's a woman."
"A woman?" Bonnie took a step forward and the two cops gaped.
"Why did you bring a dame, Everton?"
Colin sighed. "She's an associate."
One of the men snorted. "I bet she is."
Colin sent him an icy glare. "Where's the body?"
"Sheesh, Everton. This way." They led him inside the house. Another residence. Another woman. Another morning. Colin's mind was racing.
"We left everything the way it was."
"Good. That's more than the morons that did the last place did." Colin stood in the doorway of the living room and took in the scene, Bonnie close beside him.
"I happened to be one of the morons." One of the men said with a laugh.
"Oh, my apologies. You did a rotten job of searching the place." Colin went over to the body lying on the sofa. It was a woman, her hair still in curlers. He glanced at Bonnie, who elbowed him as if to further prove her point about the ridiculous expectations placed on housewives.
He pulled aside the fabric of the woman's robe to reveal the wound in her chest. "Knife wound." He turned to the cops. "You didn't find a knife, did you?"
"Nope."
Colin turned to Bonnie, who was looking slightly pale but seeming steady. "Same thing."
She nodded. "Almost exactly the same." Her voice quavered slightly, but she seemed in no danger of fainting.
Colin paced the length of the sofa. "Well...not much more we can do here, I guess. What did the husband have to say?"
"How'd you know there's a man?" One of the cops asked curiously.
"I...uh...had a hunch." Colin gestured impatiently. "Well?"
"He said it came as a shock. Didn't expect her to be down here."
Bonnie took a deep breath. "He expected her to be in the kitchen, didn't he?"
The men looked at her in surprise. "He did. I bet that came as a nasty shock to him. No breakfast and no wife, either."
Bonnie frowned. "That's absolutely heartless."
Both men chuckled. "You can't have much of a heart in this business, babydoll."
Colin saw Bonnie's lips tighten and cleared his throat. "Okay, guys, I want to get the report on this later today. All right?" He took a few steps in the direction of the door, then stopped. "Wait. Was there a window open?"
The cops shook their heads. "Nah. The front door was unlocked, so we think that's how he got away."
Colin nodded. "Thanks. Come on, Bonnie." They left the house and he turned to her once they were outside. "You all right?"
She raised her eyes to the sky, twisting her mouth to one side. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I just haven't ever...seen a body before."
"That wasn't bad for a first one. And you handled yourself pretty well."
She smiled wryly. "I might not have handled it so well if those goons hadn't been there. They took my mind off of the body."
"Good." Colin started down the sidewalk. "You don't think you'll be sick or anything, do you?"
"I hope not." Bonnie caught up to him and breathed in deeply. "What would you do if I did?"
"Uh...stay back. That's what I'd do."
She laughed. "Really? You wouldn't try to help me?"
"There's not much you can do for someone who's puking. Except maybe ask you out for a drink afterward."
"Touché." She glanced at him. "You really are taking this partner thing seriously, aren't you?"
"I thought I was supposed to." He stopped under a tree and stared at her. "Unless...you've changed your mind?"
"About...us?" She played with the tie on her coat, then stuck her hands in her coat pockets. "I think I am. Am changing my mind, I mean."
"Why?" Colin tilted his head to one side. "Is that good or bad? What does that mean going forward?"
"Hey, who's doing the interrogating now?" Bonnie flashed him a smile.
"Sorry." Colin twisted the toe of his shoe back and forth on the concrete. "But...why?"
She looked him in the eye. "Maybe just curiosity. I'm not exactly sure yet."
"Curiosity killed the cat," Colin said in a low voice. "What aren't you sure about?"
"You." She took a step closer. "I'm not sure if you're any better for me than Jesse is. And...I want to find out."
"Why don't we find out right now, then?" Colin took several steps toward Bonnie until she had her back against the tree.
Bonnie's lips parted and a surprised sound found its way out of her throat. But she recovered and swept her hat off her head. "Right now? All right." She tilted her face upwards.
Colin bent his head and kissed Bonnie's lips slowly. He felt her arms slide around him and slid his own around her, the rough bark of the tree softly scraping his arms.
She smiled and pulled back. "I think...that I might like to...investigate further, Colin. Later."
Colin ran his fingers down Bonnie's arms until he found her hat clasped in her fingers. He plucked it from her grasp and set it back on top of her head. "Later tonight?"
"Mm-hm." She smiled again, her eyes aglow with excitement. "Tonight."
"What will you tell Jesse?"
She grinned, looking suddenly mischievous. "I'll tell him I'm busy. And I will be."
Colin laughed. "You're devilish."
"Be glad I'm on your side." Bonnie stuck her arm through his and they headed down the street.