Death by Chocolate

“good” mom. She had Shirley. And
Shirley was Shirley. End of story.
    Apparently, Cordele hadn’t
realized that yet. She was still hoping. And as a result, she was still
hurting.
    Savannah glanced across the
table at John, then to her right at Ryan. She saw the compassion in their eyes
as they studied Cordele’s face and mulled over her words. They knew, too.
    “You may very well be
right, my dear,” John said as he reached over and covered Cordele’s hand with
his own. “An excellent insight,” Ryan agreed.
    Savannah smiled at her
sister. “Yes, thanks, Cordele.... for your input. We’ll have to think about
that one.”
    Cordele looked up as a
waiter passed by with the dessert tray, displaying a plethora of orgasmically
rich treats. “Dessert?” she said, brightening. “Do you think they have some
kind of cheesecake? I love cheesecake.”
    “I’m absolutely certain I
saw a praline-caramel cheesecake on that tray,” John said.
    “Good. I’m going to have a
piece.” Cordele smiled at Savannah, looked around the posh restaurant and at
her handsome hosts. “After all,” she said, “this is definitely a special
occasion!”
    Savannah nodded. Looking at
her sister, she understood a little bit better, she loved a little bit more.
‘Yes, it certainly is,” she said.

Chapter

19
     
     
     
    T he next morning when
Savannah visited Dirk at the
station house, she wasn’t so lucky as before. Rather than having the place to themselves,
it was teeming with charcoal gray suits and monochromatic shirts and ties.
    Her least favorite member
of the brass, Police Chief Norman Hillquist, walked by her chair, which was
next to Dirk’s desk, and said, “Have you got business here, Reid? ‘Cause if you
don’t, get moving.”
    “Yes sir, Chief Hillquist,”
she said, far too brightly. She gave him a dimpled grin, but her eyes were ice.
“I’m reporting a crime to this here detective. He’s taking my statement.”
    She turned to Dirk. “As I
was saying, Detective Coulter, last night my home was invaded by some little
green guys with antennae on their heads. I think they said they were from
Neptune. They told me they were going to help me get revenge on anybody who’d
ever screwed me over in the past. Then they beamed me up to their mother ship
where their leader had his way with me. And what a way it was, I tell you! A
whole new way, like I’ll bet you never even thought of! I know I sure hadn’t.”
Hillquist glared at her another moment, then walked away, disappearing into his
office with the other stuffed suits. Just before they closed the door behind
them, she heard somebody mention something about it being the fourth “budget
meeting” of the month.
    “Eh, may he fall down a
flight o’ stairs,” she muttered before turning to Dirk, who was sitting there,
grinning at her. “Where were we?”
    “You were drinking my
coffee, eating my donuts, and telling me that you’re going to track down
Kaitlin Dover today and have a girl-to-girl talk with her.”
    She reached over, nabbed his
cup, and drank the last sip. “And you’re running background checks on Louise,
Marie, and Sydney.”
    “Right. And Kaitlin and the
ex-hubby, too.”
    “What a busy boy you are.
I’ll call you later.”
    He didn’t answer; he already
had his nose buried in the computer screen and was cursing it again.
    On her way out, Savannah
passed by the chief s office and looked in the large window. The blinds were
open, and she could see the ring of execs sitting around, discussing the dismal
subject of San Carmelita’s fiscal budget. She paused at the glass and waited
for Hillquist to look up.
    When she caught his eye,
she stuck her forefingers up on either side of her head and wiggled them like
antennae.
    If looks could have killed,
she’d have been gasping her last breath. Chief Hillquist was not amused.
    “Ah, get over yourself,”
she mumbled, then walked away. “Some guys just got no sense of humor. Too much
starch in the shorts, I suspect, givin’ their wienies a rash.”
    Dirk had gone into the DMV
records and retrieved Kaitlin Dover’s address for Savannah. She decided to just
drop by her house and take a chance that she might find her there. If not, she
figured that a little look around the place wouldn’t hurt. At least, not if she
didn’t get caught.
    Kaitlin lived in the
pleasant town of Arroyo Verde, which was about halfway between San Carmelita
and Hollywood. Twenty minutes on the freeway, and she