Erased, page 13
Gemma put her fork down, finished with her tiramisu. “You won the argument this time, then?”
“After a few sofa pillows flew around the room, Rachel intervened and put her foot down. She said it was her wedding and she would decide. So I’m wearing pants.” Dani felt her smile fade as she recalled that she was no longer a part of that wedding. She wasn’t even a part of the family. “Rachel’s always been terrific, a lot of support. She was there for me when I first came out to my parents. It wasn’t easy. Nobody could have a better kid sister.” The serious, compassionate look on Gemma’s face told Dani she was heading down the wrong path. She wanted to keep it lighthearted, so she changed the subject back to Gemma’s job.
“At work, do you have an office or do you work in a cubicle?”
“Cubicle.” Now it was Gemma’s turn to roll her eyes. “With a cube mate named Lois. Older woman. She drives me nuts every day. I don’t want to talk about her.”
Fine with me, Dani thought. I had my fill of hearing about Lois back at the beginning of our relationship. “Do you ever think about a different kind of career, about working more independently?”
“It’s funny you should ask that. Yes, I’ve thought about it a lot. My mother has been in nearly every memory care facility in the city, and almost all of them serve practically inedible food. Nothing fresh anyway. There are a lot of bad things about institutionalized living—lack of privacy, no quiet, living among strangers, many of them sick and nuts. No closet space. I don’t see how to fix most of that. But it seems like something could be done about the food, to bring a little zing into the mostly dismal lives of the patients.”
“So why don’t you go for it? Why shouldn’t it be you who transforms institution food? After all, you’d be starting a revolution just by sticking an orange or a bunch of fresh grapes on their plates, right?”
Gemma’s mouth fell open. “Right! That’s exactly it. That’s what I always say to myself. Just a piece of fresh fruit. How hard could that be? And then an actual salad, a fresh salad. They’re already prepackaged in all the stores. Why not in the nursing homes?”
Dani smiled to herself, seeing Gemma’s enthusiasm. They’d been through all of this before, a long time ago. Back then, Dani had persuaded Gemma to follow this dream, to take a risk and believe in herself. She’d needed the push. Maybe nobody else had given her one in this reality.
“I’m sure it could be done,” said Dani. “I’m sure you could do it.”
Gemma smiled self-consciously. Dani knew it would take more than one conversation along these lines to persuade Gemma to take the leap of faith. It would take several. Dani didn’t have time for that, but she hoped the short time she had here would at least get Gemma to think more seriously about starting her own business. Her life was so much better because of it. Her work was important to her and it gave her a powerful sense of self-worth.
When it was time to go, Dani reached into her pocket for one of the hundred-dollar bills she’d brought with her. Her fingers contacted the smooth metal casing of the transporter beacon as she did so. Always carry it, she’d been told. It could save your life if you get into a tight spot.
After leaving the restaurant, they went to a club where they used to go dancing. They didn’t go out dancing anymore, she realized. They both liked it, so why had they stopped?
“It’s so strange,” Gemma said when they walked onto the dance floor. “It’s like you know all about me, the way you get everything right.”
“We’re destined to be together,” Dani said with a smile.
They danced close and slow, and she could tell Gemma was projecting herself ahead to the moment when they got back to the apartment. She would ask Dani to stay, she could tell. Dani pressed her close and nuzzled her neck, wanting her more and more. The heat between them rose to a palpable level as they moved their feet in perfect synchronicity. That’s how it would be with their bodies too, Dani knew, later when she would make love to Gemma in a way that would blow her mind. It would be perfect, as if they had been lovers for years.
After they’d danced through three songs, Gemma looked into her eyes and said, in her bedroom voice, “Take me home.”
Dani was happy to do so. Gemma talked about her dream career on the way, but Dani barely listened. She didn’t have to. She had heard it all before. Her mind was busy on what was to come, and her body was humming in anticipation.
As soon as they were inside the apartment with the door closed, Gemma approached Dani, offering her lips, and Dani took her in her arms and kissed her passionately. Gemma wasted no time taking Dani’s clothes off, and they left a trail of clothing from the entryway to the bedroom where Gemma fell onto the bed laughing. Dani knelt beside her and took her legs in her hands, one at a time, and slid off her boots. She caressed Gemma’s silky smooth calves as she finished undressing her, admiring her body in the dim light from the hallway. Gemma lay with her hands over her head, grinning, her gorgeous body quivering with anticipation and desire. Tonight Gemma was smooth, sculpted, buffed and polished. She’d served herself up like dessert, and Dani tingled with excitement at the thought of taking her for the first time all over again.
With Gemma’s foot still in her hand, she kissed her ankle softly, then got into bed, covering Gemma’s body and mouth with her own. They kissed, both of them needy and urgent. Gemma’s body rose up to meet her, and they were soon overcome with desire. Dani touched Gemma the way she knew she liked to be touched. She kissed her where she liked to be kissed.
Be very careful, Dani reminded herself, not to say, “I love you.”
* * *
Dani woke to the sound of an unfamiliar phone ringing. She opened her eyes, seeing that it was daylight. She was in her bedroom, the bedroom she and Gemma shared. Gemma wasn’t in bed, but she could hear her in the kitchen and smelled coffee. Was everything back to normal then? Had it all been a horrible nightmare after all? For a split second, she was euphoric. Until, with dismay, she saw the burner phone she had just bought on the nightstand beside her. She glanced around the room, seeing the old quilt folded on a chair, the quilt they had gotten rid of a couple of years ago. The chair was white, not yellow as it should have been. And the dresser was neat and well organized. None of her stuff was there. Her heart sank. She answered the phone just as Gemma appeared in the doorway in a pink nylon bathrobe.
“Hello,” she said into the phone, smiling purposefully at Gemma, who placed a mug of coffee on the nightstand next to her elbow.
“Is this Officer Barsetti?” asked the woman on the phone.
“Yes.”
“This is Gail Littleton. I’m calling to let you know that the package arrived. It must have come yesterday afternoon, but it didn’t make it to my campus mailbox until late. I found it there this morning.”
Gemma crawled into bed and snuggled up close to Dani’s side.
“Great. I’ll be over to get it. What time will you be available?”
“I have class until ten thirty. Then I have an hour free. I’ll be in my office.”
Gemma kissed the back of Dani’s neck softly.
“See you then,” Dani said, then clicked off the call.
“Good morning,” Gemma said. “Do you take milk or sugar?”
“Nothing, thanks.”
The bathrobe fell open above the belt to reveal Gemma’s naked body underneath. The full roundness of her breasts presented themselves to Dani, the nipples barely out of view behind the cloth.
“Was that business?” Gemma asked.
“Yes. I have an appointment about eleven in Berkeley.”
“That gives us just under an hour. Unless you have to go home to get your uniform.”
Dani tasted the coffee. It was the same brew Gemma had been drinking when they met. “Actually, my uniform is in the car.”
“Oooh!” Gemma frowned. “You were very sure of yourself, weren’t you?”
“I just like to be prepared.” Dani chuckled.
The look Gemma gave then, full of tender affection, warmed Dani through. That expression was the one she’d been waiting for. Gemma was falling in love all over again. Dani took her hand, pressed it to her lips, then clutched it between them.
“Good coffee,” Dani said. “You’re good at so many things.”
“You too.” She laughed lightly.
Dani put down the mug and kissed her, then slipped her hand inside the robe to caress her cool skin. Gemma pressed herself closer, kissing her mouth hungrily. Coming up for air, Dani said, “Don’t you have to be to work too?”
She nodded, a soft smile on her lips. “I called in to say I’d be late. I wish I could stay here all day with you.”
“Maybe we can meet up tonight?”
“I’d like that.” She kissed Dani once more before rolling out of bed.
Dani showered quickly and got dressed, and the two of them left the apartment at the same time. Gemma left in her car and Dani in the Jetta after one more lingering, reluctant good-bye kiss. Gemma was clearly in the magic haze of new love and Dani felt some of the same. It was a new love for one of them, and that made it thrilling for both.
Chapter Thirteen
When Dani arrived, Professor Littleton’s office door stood open wide enough for Dani to see a young woman sitting in what Dani thought of as the underling’s chair. She sat straight-backed and attentive, her eyes large and focused on the woman speaking to her. A student, no doubt. Dani waited in the hallway, looking out the second-story window at the sprawling UC campus teeming with young people and at the Berkeley hills beyond. Her thoughts were all on Gemma and how anxious she was to be back in her arms. Last night had been magical. It couldn’t have gone any better.
When the student left, Dani peeked through the doorway to see Littleton seated before her computer monitor, typing on the keyboard. She looked as elegant today as she had yesterday, similarly attired in a pantsuit with a long silky blouse. It was apparently her standard costume.
“Hello,” she said, noticing Dani. She swiveled to face her.
“How are you today, Dr. Littleton?”
“I’m fine.” She stood and opened a filing cabinet. “I have your package.” She took a large padded envelope from the drawer. “I spoke to Dr. Ruben before I called you this morning and tried to talk him into splitting this treasure with me, but he refused. There are only ten seeds here. And some of them may not germinate, so he’s feeling nearly desperate about them. I can’t blame him, especially after everything he’s lost.” She smiled ruefully and handed over the envelope. “Oh, well, perhaps one day he’ll be able to spare them again for science. For now, I assume these, and anything else that escaped destruction in the explosion, will be secreted away in a vault somewhere until they can rebuild. That could be a while.”
“So what will you do instead?” Dani asked, peeking into the envelope at a clear plastic box inside.
“I’ll go on to the next thing. I’m sorry to lose this opportunity, but the truth is that there’s no shortage of interesting plants in the world to study. There’s a yam from western Africa, for example, that I’ve had my eye on. Fortunately, I don’t have to rely on Genepac or any other seed bank for that one. The yam is not extinct or even all that rare.”
Dani pulled the plastic box out of the envelope to see a zippered bag inside containing ten shiny black beans. “Ever since I heard about these, I can’t stop thinking about Jack and the Beanstalk.”
Littleton smiled. “You never know. The magic bullet against cancer? Or just another legume for your sixteen-bean soup?”
Dani tucked the box back into the envelope. “Thanks. I’ll get these back to Ruben. If anything else comes up, call me.”
“I will, but is the number you gave me still good? I called you back earlier to let you know you could come this afternoon if it was more convenient, but you didn’t answer and it didn’t go to voice mail. Just kept ringing.”
Dani fished her phone out of her pocket and saw that it was dead. She tried to turn it on, but it didn’t respond. “Damn cheap burner,” she muttered. “But even if the battery’s dead, it should have given you voice mail. I don’t know. Something might be wrong with this. I’ll give you another number. I’ll be at the alternate number tonight for sure.” Dani wrote down Gemma’s home number. “I’m staying with a friend. This is the land line. Her name’s Gemma, so if she answers, you can give her a message for me or leave it on voice mail.”
“A friend?” Littleton smiled slyly as she took the paper. “Are you taken then? I didn’t see a ring.”
Caught off guard, Dani felt her face flush. “Oh, uh, yes, I’m taken. Gemma and I…” She stopped, trying to decide how to end her sentence.
Littleton nodded knowingly. “Take good care of those seeds, Barsetti.”
After hiking back to her car, Dani drove across the Bay Bridge and headed south to the Peninsula with the seeds. She couldn’t call Ruben because of her dead phone, but she figured he’d be on site at Genepac. When she got there, she saw a scene much like the one she’d seen yesterday—cops going about their investigation. She checked her DNA watch. No green dot.
She walked up to the building and found Sergeant Tyler standing by the door, taking a cigarette out of her pack.
“Hey,” she said.
She recognized Dani and returned her greeting.
“Is Dr. Ruben upstairs?” Dani asked.
“He’s not here. He’s meeting with some eggheads in the East Bay today.”
“Damn!” She wanted to unload the magic beans as fast as she could. It made her nervous being responsible for them, the only ten of their kind in existence.
“What’d you need to see him for?” Tyler asked.
She didn’t want to get into the long explanation of the beans, so she said, “Nothing important. I just thought I’d give him a hand again.”
“They’re pretty much done with the salvage operation. In fact, we’re wrapping things up here. We’ve spent enough time on this guy.”
“Nothing new about Darius?”
She shook her head. “Not a peep. He’s laying low. But at least we have a description of him now, thanks to Dr. Ruben. He spent some time last night with our artist. We’ve got the sketch out there. Now we just wait for his next move.”
“I hope he doesn’t get a chance to make a next move.”
Tyler nodded. “I heard you were the one who went after him yesterday.” She looked at Dani as if she were trying to see into her head. Tyler was perpetually suspicious. “What tipped you off?”
“He ran. I ran after him.”
“I’d like to get you to sit down with the sketch artist too. Where did you run off to yesterday anyway? Also, where’s your report?”
“Sorry. I had something personal. My CO approved it. I’ll get right on that report, Sarge. As soon as I get back to the station.”
She nodded, looking halfway satisfied. “I was just going to have a smoke. Want to join me?”
“No thanks.” The last thing Dani needed was more questioning from Tyler. “Another time. I’ve gotta get going. I’ve got a report to write.”
On the way back to the City, she noticed she had a headache. She never got headaches, normally, but nothing was normal these days.
When she got back to her room at the hotel, she plugged in her phone to charge the battery, then changed into civvies and went out to find something to eat and buy a few more changes of clothing. Even if Gemma was going to immediately rip them off, she had to show up tonight wearing something different.
On the walk to the Westfield Mall on Market, she tried to imagine what her next move would be with Darius. When Tyler saw there was no report from her, she’d check her out. She’d discover that Dani was an imposter, and her naturally suspicious nature would come up with two possible conclusions. Either Dani was in cahoots with Darius, disguised as a cop to keep an eye on them, or Dani was Darius. Nobody but Bryan had known what Darius looked like before yesterday and Tyler already had doubts about Bryan. Dani had been the one who fingered Darius. Tyler might conclude that was a smokescreen. Since they hadn’t caught the guy, they couldn’t find out one way or another if he really was Darius or, as he had said, just some science geek commiserating with Dr. Ruben. It wouldn’t be long, Dani concluded, before her description was out on the streets. Maybe even as soon as tomorrow. She had to be careful, lie low and go it alone from here on out.
She hit the food court at the mall before clothes shopping, sitting among the throng of shoppers with her shish kebab plate—grilled chicken, peppers, onions, tomatoes and saffron rice. The place was noisy and crowded, but it was handy and the food was great. She glanced at her wrist gadget every few minutes. She was getting obsessive about it now, hoping against reason that Darius would walk into Bristol Farms to buy himself a bouquet of tiger lilies and a Black Forest ham and brie sandwich.
She knew that wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to come to her. She had to figure out how to find him. In the meantime, maybe she’d just move in with Gemma and resume their life together. She could live with that. She sucked up the last of her soda, dumped off her trash and headed for Victoria’s Secret. That huge wad of bills was burning a hole in her pocket. She may as well pick up something nice for Gemma while she was shopping. Something red and lacy. She smiled to herself.
Chapter Fourteen
Every time Gemma called Dani’s cell, it rang like an old-fashioned land line. No answer, no voice mail. She needed to get hold of her because she was going to be late coming home. She hadn’t finished the report she was working on, and it had to be to the director when he arrived in the morning.
Damn! Why today? She’d been so looking forward to seeing Dani again. She was so cute and so fun. And she was so incredible in bed! Gemma’s body ached to be touched by her again. Oh, well, she thought, it’s only a couple hours later. I can survive that, even if I haven’t been laid in a couple of years, as Miko continually reminds me. But she didn’t want Dani sitting on her doorstep wondering where she was.
