Ah, hell, I have nothing much better to do right now than miss Kelsey and get depressed about the future. Getting to know Kels’ best friend isn’t a bad thing. Still, "Are you sure you should?"
"Hey, it’s my story too." He lets out a little laugh.
I can tell by his nervous laugh that this is something very important to him. Thus, it’s important to Kels. "Sure, I’ve got the time, if you do."
"For you, I’ll make the time. I think you need to know."
Interesting. I settle into the bed and grip Kels’ pillow closer to my body as I listen to the voice on the other end of the line.
"I ran away from home when I was fifteen. My father drank too much and beat me, and my mother sold her body for drugs. I wanted to get away from it. I ended up in L.A. Big dreams for a stupid kid. You know the story."
"Un-huh." I have seen it one too many times, played out at some crime scene or the other.
"Well, true to form, I fell right into the Sunset Strip pit. Hooked and hooking. I didn’t give a damn who I sold my body to as long as I got enough for a fix."
"Jesus. I’m sorry, Erik." It never ceases to amaze me how adults are willing to fuck over kids for their own pleasure.
"One night this beautiful, young, blonde woman stops at a red light. I don’t know why, but I went over and gave her my pitch. Normally, I didn’t approach the real attractive ladies. They don’t need to pay for sex, you know. But, she just looked so … inviting. That’s not the right word. But, something drew me to her. I gave my speech and she told me to get in. That was another thing. I never would get into a buyer’s car. Kids who did very often died. But, something about her made me get in. She took me home and never let me go back to the Strip. She cleaned me up, and put me in rehab to clean me out. She held on to me for dear life. She saved my life."
"And she made you the centerpiece of her story on child porn and prostitution," I venture.
"Yeah, but under a different name since I was minor. The station paid for my rehab and a couple other incidentals. Look, I was happy to help with her story. And she did everything for me without expecting it."
"So, how old was Kels when you first met her?"
"Twenty-two. She was brand-spanking new in Los Angeles, a little cub reporter for KNBC. She wanted something juicy to start off with and she found me."
That makes Erik my age. I never would have thought. He seems so much older. So serious.
"She was living with a cop at the time. Although the station, of course, thought they were just roommates. CJ was a few years older than Kels and had been around the block a few times. She managed to get guardianship from my parents, her brother was a lawyer and he helped out. My parents were only too happy to be rid of me. CJ, and Kels, put me in school and kept me on the straight and narrow. Three years later, I graduated at the top of my class and entered UCLA on a scholarship."
So, I think Beth was first, then came the cop, then Susan, now me. How many more have there been? Not that I have a right to be asking, but I am curious. I also want to know what happened to the cop, but I don’t ask. If Erik wanted to tell me, he would.
"They didn’t make it past my freshman year together," he offers as if he has read my mind. "Don’t get me wrong, Kels loved her and CJ was wild about Kels. It nearly killed them both to give each other up. But Kels couldn’t stand watching CJ put on a bullet proof vest every night to go to work."
"If they loved each other so much, why didn’t the cop give it up?" Not, why didn’t Kels get over it? But, why didn’t this CJ make her happy?
"She would have, if she’d been asked, I think. Kels didn’t go that route. She loved CJ and didn’t want her to give up what made her happy. I don’t think Kels realized that she was what made CJ the happiest."
So she loved this woman, huh?
"They managed to make a good split. They don’t see much of each other nowadays. But when you see them together, you can tell they loved each other and maybe, to some extent, still do."
You don’t pull any punches do you, Erik, boy?
"The point is, there are a few of us out here who really love Kels, and we don’t want to see her hurt anymore. She’s been badly hurt in the past and she doesn’t deserve it. I’m really, truly sincere when I say if things were different for us, I’d marry her in a heartbeat. I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life."
So CJ saved your soul but Kels won your heart, eh? "Yeah, well, we have that in common at least, Erik." I’ll let him decide for himself whether I’m referring to not wanting to see Kelsey get hurt, loving her more than anyone else in my life, or wishing I could marry her.
In fact, maybe I should decide on that for myself.
"Go!" I grumble at her very quietly, giving her another little shove. "I can handle this." We’re arguing in the middle of the FBI field offices. We’ve been working from here all morning, and now she doesn’t want to leave for her lunch appointment.
"That is not my point, Kels. I know you can handle this. Just like you handled SA Donovan."
Oh, she’s so cute when she’s jealous. I think I’ll keep her.
"Look, I handled him well enough to get us a desk and a phone. Now, I want you to go to lunch with CBS and order the most expensive thing on the menu," I tease, giving her another nudge.
"I don’t like leaving you alone."
"Christ, Harper, I’m surrounded by forty heavily armed FBI agents, who somehow found out about my little problem back in LA." I cross my arms and give her a slightly accusing look. "How do you suppose that happened, hmmm?"
"I wouldn’t know." She kicks the floor with her shoe. It’s adorable.
"Please, go to lunch and enjoy it. I’ll be fine and I’ll be right here when you get back."
"All right, but if you need me, I’m a call away."
"Yeah, well, so am I." I wink, taking a seat at the desk in the corner. "Go!" I smile, shooing her away. I hear her grouse as she turns on her heels to leave for lunch.
A little while later, I’m finishing up a call on the professor’s’ background when Kyle comes up and tosses a notepad and a sandwich down in front of me.
"Well," he pulls up a chair, flips it around backwards straddling it as he unwraps his own sandwich, "we know where he was."
"Was?"
He gestures to the notepad. "After arriving in New York very late last night, he took a taxi to the Best Western near Times Square."
I groan. "Of course he did. What other hotel would he stay at?" I unwrap the sandwich, continuing to look over Kyle’s notes, careful not to make a lot of eye contact with him. He might get the wrong idea and I’d rather Harper not kill him. It could be bad for our relationship if she gets convicted of killing a FBI agent. "But he’s not there now?"
"Nope, but if he comes back, we have a man waiting for him. Right now, as best we know, he’s out wandering around New York City. We’re also following up on a few calls he made from his room."
Great, just great. He’s out there and so is Harper.
With our luck they’ll run smack dab into each other while she’s at lunch.
I used to hate hotel room beds. Until I found a better way to wake up in them. I smile as I struggle into consciousness, feeling Kels cuddled up against my back with her arm around my waist. I run my hand over her arm and inhale deeply, feeling totally satisfied. Very content. This is an interesting sensation. One I could get used to.
She stretches behind me and groans. This is the way she wakes up in the mornings. Funny, I not only know that she has tea every morning, but I also know what signals the fact she waking up. This is definitely a first in my life. I’ve never had time to learn anyone else’s habits.