It had been one hell of a long day, with some major ups and downs. David walked home from the Inn slowly. He went inside when he reached the Zen Building. Immediately, he heard music. Some kind of dance music, the sort with the fast beat. He glanced in through one of the big windows at angle, looking into the studio, and froze. It was Riley dancing. His breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a brief pair of Lycra shorts, and a sports bra, and that was all. She looked totally edible.
Riley was in the zone, letting the pumping, driving bass line guide her body, move her through the steps of her dance.? She was combining ballet with some of the modern and hip-hop moves she'd learned from the other teachers - turning pirouettes and jumping grand jet?s and rocking her hips in a sexy kitten walk.? Her eyes were closed, her mind blank, her body coated in a sheen of sweat.
David stood there at the window, all but gaping. He could no more have looked away than he could have flown to the moon, either one. A warm flush spread through him as he watched her move to the music. Strangely, one of the first thoughts he had was to hope she hadn't changed her mind about being trained in baguazhang after what had happened yesterday. After watching her dance what could have been five minutes or fifty, he shook himself and turned to the door of the office. He really did need to talk her; about business if nothing else, although he hoped she'd be willing to talk about more than just the Watch. He opened the door and walked through the office, stopping at the archway into the studio. She was so caught up in her dance that she still didn't notice him, so he just waited. Finally, when she seemed to be winding down, he took another step, entering the room itself.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and froze, immediately crouching down into a defensive pose and turning to face whatever it was that moved.? When she saw that it was David, she straightened and with a look of chagrin, smoothed a hand over her hair.? She moved to the stereo and cut it off in mid-song.? The room filled with a thunderous silence and she said, "Hi."
"Hi," he replied. He looked a little chagrined himself; he had been hoping not to startle her by waiting. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to scare you."
She shook her head and moved to the opposite side of the studio, closer to him, where there was a couple of chairs and a small coffee table.? She snatched a towel off one of the chairs and blotted the sweat from her face before grabbing a bottle of water and chugging down half of it.? "What's up?" she said as she turned to face him, the towel hung round her neck.
He wondered how and why it was that every little movement she made, even one as mundane as taking a drink of water just served to make him want her more. He paused for a moment, trying to force his brain into thinking about something other than taking her right there on the dance floor. "Uh," he said, "I wanted to let you know about what happened tonight."
She nodded and fell to the floor in a graceful heap.? She began stretching out her muscles, cooling them down and giving herself something physical to think about that wasn't how hot he was, how he'd felt last night...? She shook her head to clear it and asked, "After you took Bishop to the Watch House, you mean?"
He nodded, sitting down a couple of feet away from her. "Yes," he replied. "At first, he didn't remember anything. Jin asked him his name, address, etc, and he responded with 'I don't know' to all of it. Jin said he'd cast a spell called Zone of Truth, and that Judah wasn't lying."
"He cast a spell?"? She blinked in shock.? She had no idea Jin was capable of that.
"So he said. I didn't actually test it. He said it was impossible to lie within the bounds of his spell.? Riley made a thoughtful moue and nodded for him to continue. "Judah said he did not know what his occupation was, other than that it was something physical. He deduced that from the callouses on his hands. He then stated he didn't know why he was there, and asked what murder, presumably meaning what murder were we questioning him about. Jin told him it was his murder, Judah's, I mean. He laughed, until Jin showed him the autopsy photos from the other two bodies."
Her brows rose at this.? It was a little unorthodox, but hell, the entire city was a little unorthodox.? She moved into the splits to stretch her leg muscles and leaned over, her chest touching the wooden floor in front of her as she reached for her toes.? "Go on," she said.
His eyes traveled along the impossible lengths of her legs for several long seconds before he replied. That kind of flexibility had some great possibilities bubbling up in his mind. Blinking and surfacing from his thoughts, he said, "He reacted as though his brain was hurting when he looked at the photos. Then...he changed. His whole personality shifted. Before, he was sitting up straight in the chair, looking confused and angry. After the photos, he slouched back, grinning like he didn't have a care in the world and wasn't handcuffed to a chair. Then he asked if he was being charged with something."
"Huh.? So chances are he remembered something, right?"
He nodded. "Definitely. I'm pretty good at reading people, and I'd bet my badge he remembered a lot after seeing those photos. A lot more than he said."
"Did he say anything else of value?? Still holding him now?"? She straightened and folded one leg parallel to her body, the other bent at the knee, bare foot flat on the ground.
"He said he remembered dying twice, but did not see who did it either time, because they attacked from behind. He then stated that if we were holding him, he wanted a lawyer. He also said he wanted to speak to someone named Aoife. Jin told him we'd get him a lawyer, but talking to Aoife was not going to happen."
Her brows rose in surprise.? "Damn.? I was hoping she wasn't involved."? She sighed softly and folded herself into the half-lotus position and chugged down the rest of her water.? "We need to bring her in.? I want to talk to her."
He nodded. "So you do know her. Good. It was my thought to bring her in as well, but I don't know who she is. After Jin said no to speaking to Aoife, Judah mocked him. Said something odd."
"Odd?? Odd how?"
"He said 'You should have grown a pair when you had the chance. It's too late to come all white knight now.'" It was clearly aimed at Jin personally. Riley nodded slowly.? She had a pretty good guess what was meant by it but didn't want to air dirty laundry until it was obvious that said laundry had some bearing on her cases. "After that, at Jin's request," David continued, "I escorted Judah to one of the anti-magic holding cells and personally witnessed him secured there."
She nodded again, impressed and happy that he and Jin had been so professional and thorough in their night's duty.? "Thank you.? Is that all?"
"Not quite," he said. "There was something else, later on. "After I left the Watch House, I went back to the Inn. Jin went back as well. I was sitting on the porch, and when Jin left, he was with a woman. As they were walking away, I heard him tell her that we, the Watch, had taken Judah into custody."
She frowned, Kitty Sense tingling.? "Describe her for me."
He thought for a moment, recalling the woman's appearance. "Small, about 5'4". Very pale skin. Black hair. Blue-gray eyes, I think. Very striking, those eyes."
"Damn it."
"What?" David asked.
"That's Aoife.? Did Jin say anything else to her?"
"F*ck," he said. He shook his head, and muttered, "I almost stopped them, too."
"It's okay.? You couldn't have known." she reassured him.
"I should have stopped him, though, to tell him not to discuss a case. The only reason I didn't was because he outranks me."
She chuckled and shook her head.? "I'm serious.? It's fine.? I trust Jin not to talk about an open case.? He's far too professional for that."? She laid back on the studio floor and stretched out, arms above her head, legs straight out, toes pointed, a fullly involved body stretch.
He stared at the muscles of her stomach as they tensed and relaxed, and sighed very softly. "Christ," he muttered, shifting a bit on the floor.
She caught that mutter and the scent of pheromones and immediately sat up.? She'd forgotten herself for a moment, forgotten the tension and the awkwardness of the night.? She began chewing absently on her lower lip before saying at length, "Is that it??
He nodded slowly. That was it for Watch business, at least. There was a lot more he wanted to say, but he had no idea if she had any interest in hearing it.
"Okay, well...? Night, then...? I guess."? She didn't move to stand up though, didn't move at all in fact.
Riley was in the zone, letting the pumping, driving bass line guide her body, move her through the steps of her dance.? She was combining ballet with some of the modern and hip-hop moves she'd learned from the other teachers - turning pirouettes and jumping grand jet?s and rocking her hips in a sexy kitten walk.? Her eyes were closed, her mind blank, her body coated in a sheen of sweat.
David stood there at the window, all but gaping. He could no more have looked away than he could have flown to the moon, either one. A warm flush spread through him as he watched her move to the music. Strangely, one of the first thoughts he had was to hope she hadn't changed her mind about being trained in baguazhang after what had happened yesterday. After watching her dance what could have been five minutes or fifty, he shook himself and turned to the door of the office. He really did need to talk her; about business if nothing else, although he hoped she'd be willing to talk about more than just the Watch. He opened the door and walked through the office, stopping at the archway into the studio. She was so caught up in her dance that she still didn't notice him, so he just waited. Finally, when she seemed to be winding down, he took another step, entering the room itself.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and froze, immediately crouching down into a defensive pose and turning to face whatever it was that moved.? When she saw that it was David, she straightened and with a look of chagrin, smoothed a hand over her hair.? She moved to the stereo and cut it off in mid-song.? The room filled with a thunderous silence and she said, "Hi."
"Hi," he replied. He looked a little chagrined himself; he had been hoping not to startle her by waiting. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to scare you."
She shook her head and moved to the opposite side of the studio, closer to him, where there was a couple of chairs and a small coffee table.? She snatched a towel off one of the chairs and blotted the sweat from her face before grabbing a bottle of water and chugging down half of it.? "What's up?" she said as she turned to face him, the towel hung round her neck.
He wondered how and why it was that every little movement she made, even one as mundane as taking a drink of water just served to make him want her more. He paused for a moment, trying to force his brain into thinking about something other than taking her right there on the dance floor. "Uh," he said, "I wanted to let you know about what happened tonight."
She nodded and fell to the floor in a graceful heap.? She began stretching out her muscles, cooling them down and giving herself something physical to think about that wasn't how hot he was, how he'd felt last night...? She shook her head to clear it and asked, "After you took Bishop to the Watch House, you mean?"
He nodded, sitting down a couple of feet away from her. "Yes," he replied. "At first, he didn't remember anything. Jin asked him his name, address, etc, and he responded with 'I don't know' to all of it. Jin said he'd cast a spell called Zone of Truth, and that Judah wasn't lying."
"He cast a spell?"? She blinked in shock.? She had no idea Jin was capable of that.
"So he said. I didn't actually test it. He said it was impossible to lie within the bounds of his spell.? Riley made a thoughtful moue and nodded for him to continue. "Judah said he did not know what his occupation was, other than that it was something physical. He deduced that from the callouses on his hands. He then stated he didn't know why he was there, and asked what murder, presumably meaning what murder were we questioning him about. Jin told him it was his murder, Judah's, I mean. He laughed, until Jin showed him the autopsy photos from the other two bodies."
Her brows rose at this.? It was a little unorthodox, but hell, the entire city was a little unorthodox.? She moved into the splits to stretch her leg muscles and leaned over, her chest touching the wooden floor in front of her as she reached for her toes.? "Go on," she said.
His eyes traveled along the impossible lengths of her legs for several long seconds before he replied. That kind of flexibility had some great possibilities bubbling up in his mind. Blinking and surfacing from his thoughts, he said, "He reacted as though his brain was hurting when he looked at the photos. Then...he changed. His whole personality shifted. Before, he was sitting up straight in the chair, looking confused and angry. After the photos, he slouched back, grinning like he didn't have a care in the world and wasn't handcuffed to a chair. Then he asked if he was being charged with something."
"Huh.? So chances are he remembered something, right?"
He nodded. "Definitely. I'm pretty good at reading people, and I'd bet my badge he remembered a lot after seeing those photos. A lot more than he said."
"Did he say anything else of value?? Still holding him now?"? She straightened and folded one leg parallel to her body, the other bent at the knee, bare foot flat on the ground.
"He said he remembered dying twice, but did not see who did it either time, because they attacked from behind. He then stated that if we were holding him, he wanted a lawyer. He also said he wanted to speak to someone named Aoife. Jin told him we'd get him a lawyer, but talking to Aoife was not going to happen."
Her brows rose in surprise.? "Damn.? I was hoping she wasn't involved."? She sighed softly and folded herself into the half-lotus position and chugged down the rest of her water.? "We need to bring her in.? I want to talk to her."
He nodded. "So you do know her. Good. It was my thought to bring her in as well, but I don't know who she is. After Jin said no to speaking to Aoife, Judah mocked him. Said something odd."
"Odd?? Odd how?"
"He said 'You should have grown a pair when you had the chance. It's too late to come all white knight now.'" It was clearly aimed at Jin personally. Riley nodded slowly.? She had a pretty good guess what was meant by it but didn't want to air dirty laundry until it was obvious that said laundry had some bearing on her cases. "After that, at Jin's request," David continued, "I escorted Judah to one of the anti-magic holding cells and personally witnessed him secured there."
She nodded again, impressed and happy that he and Jin had been so professional and thorough in their night's duty.? "Thank you.? Is that all?"
"Not quite," he said. "There was something else, later on. "After I left the Watch House, I went back to the Inn. Jin went back as well. I was sitting on the porch, and when Jin left, he was with a woman. As they were walking away, I heard him tell her that we, the Watch, had taken Judah into custody."
She frowned, Kitty Sense tingling.? "Describe her for me."
He thought for a moment, recalling the woman's appearance. "Small, about 5'4". Very pale skin. Black hair. Blue-gray eyes, I think. Very striking, those eyes."
"Damn it."
"What?" David asked.
"That's Aoife.? Did Jin say anything else to her?"
"F*ck," he said. He shook his head, and muttered, "I almost stopped them, too."
"It's okay.? You couldn't have known." she reassured him.
"I should have stopped him, though, to tell him not to discuss a case. The only reason I didn't was because he outranks me."
She chuckled and shook her head.? "I'm serious.? It's fine.? I trust Jin not to talk about an open case.? He's far too professional for that."? She laid back on the studio floor and stretched out, arms above her head, legs straight out, toes pointed, a fullly involved body stretch.
He stared at the muscles of her stomach as they tensed and relaxed, and sighed very softly. "Christ," he muttered, shifting a bit on the floor.
She caught that mutter and the scent of pheromones and immediately sat up.? She'd forgotten herself for a moment, forgotten the tension and the awkwardness of the night.? She began chewing absently on her lower lip before saying at length, "Is that it??
He nodded slowly. That was it for Watch business, at least. There was a lot more he wanted to say, but he had no idea if she had any interest in hearing it.
"Okay, well...? Night, then...? I guess."? She didn't move to stand up though, didn't move at all in fact.