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From: "Wine Maker" <wine_maker@eknifeshop.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - Chapter 7 (MF, FF, Slow, Romantic Mystery) REPOST
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Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:10:03 -0400
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I'm told chapters 6 & 7 never made it out. Here are the requested
reposts.

Author's Note:

All,

A couple of award nominations sites are up and I urge everyone to go
nominate the stories and authors they like. If that happens to include
me, I would be thrilled.

My links, if you need them, are:

The Lady in Blue: http://storiesonline.net/story/46048
Finding Elvis: http://storiesonline.net/story/47292
Playing Doctor: http://storiesonline.net/story/48677

With any luck, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea will be done before the
end of the year. And perhaps more stories.

The 2006 Golden Clitorides are open for nominations until January 17,
2007.

/~Clitorides/nominations2006.html

or email nominations to: golden.clits@gmail.com

Check the eligibility rules and make sure your favorites are elegible.

Nominate everyone you like for whatever categories you think they fit
in and let the voters sort them out.

And, the nominating site for the Silver Clitorides is back up and
accepting nominations until October 7, 2006. I, of course, urge those
that like my work to nominate Playing Doctor and will shamelessly use
it as an example. Please go to the following site to nominate any story
you like that was finished in July, August or September of 2006.

/files/Collections/Clitorides/www/SCA_Current.htm#nom


or if the form fails, vote via email to: silver-clt@hotmail.com

with a subject of: Silver Clitorides Awards Nomination for July, August
or September 2006.

Please include the following information for your vote:

Wine Maker
Playing Doctor
http://storiesonline.net/story/48677
July, 2006

Thanks all,

Wine

Hawk and Gretchen are finally going to take the cruise they've been
waiting almost a year to take. Join them as they rejoin Ted and Lisa,
as well as make new friends to form a spider's web of passionate heat.
And, of course, Death wants to join the party.

This has a real plot and three dimensional characters. It's more than
just a wanker.

Read this story on several sites and vote on each for me. Voting for my
stories encourages me to write more. Remember to vote for each chapter
on Literotica and on the last chapter on Storiesonline.

http://storiesonline.net/auth/Wine_Maker

http://english.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=560253&page=submissions


The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

(c) 2006 by Wine Maker. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter Seven: Obstruction

Hawk

By the time we got to the medical center, Ted had to help me walk. I
didn't fall behind Gretchen and the paramedics, but I would've without
help. Gretchen went straight into the first room, and the doctor
consulted briefly with Sandy before he came in.

"Miss Hawkins, I didn't expect to see you quite so soon," he said
blandly.

"You're not seeing me," I pointed out. "You're seeing my wife. That
makes me Mrs. Hawkins. So, let's cut the chit-chat and get focused on
the right patient, shall we?"

"Oh, I will," he said, "but I'll be checking you again before you
leave. Stress can accelerate labor."

I rolled my eyes as he helped Gretchen sit up and he gently felt her
shoulder. "I think if I was in labor, I'd notice," I said dryly. "Focus
on Gretchen, and let me worry about myself."

"Gretchen," he said, ignoring me, "Doctor Craig told me that she reset
your shoulder. How does it feel now? Can you move your arm? Do you have
any pain?"

Gretchen was able to get full motion out of her arm but her face
grimaced in pain. "I can move it, but it hurts. My back hurts a little
where I hit the railing and my ribs are sore where I hit the deck."

"I'll want to some x-rays to be sure you have no fractures," he said in
the same monotone he seemed to speak in all the time. He put his
stethoscope on and listened to her heart and breathing. "There's no
sound of fluid in the lungs. That's good. I'm going to have the nurse
come and take you to x-ray now. If there are no broken bones, you'll
still be sore all over tomorrow. Actually, you're already starting to
come up with what I suspect will be a set of spectacular bruises. I'll
have some pain medicine ready for you when you get back."

Gretchen didn't argue with him, and that, more than anything else,
convinced me that she was in more pain than she had just implied. The
fear - no, the absolute terror - I'd been feeling was changing into
rage. Someone had tried to kill my wife, my lover, my best friend, and
I was going to make them pay for that.

The doctor stopped me from following Gretchen as the nurse that came in
and wheeled her bed out. "I need to check you over, Mrs. Hawkins. It
will only take a few minutes."

I ground my teeth in frustration. I didn't have time for this. The real
question was 'would it take longer to fight about it or just to give
in?' Knowing the answer, I grudgingly gave in. "Fine, just please make
it snappy. I have places to be and people to deal with." Gretchen would
be happy, I thought. I'd actually said please. She'd been trying to
convince me about how useful the word could be, sometimes.

As boring as the doc might be, he didn't waste more time yapping at me.
His exam told him I wasn't in labor. Duh! Didn't I just tell him that?

When he was done, I very politely said 'thank you,' walked out into the
hall and started in the direction that the nurse had taken my wife.
There was a waiting room on the right hand side of the hall and I saw
everyone else sitting there. They weren't alone, either. Several of the
ship's officers were asking questions of Trish, who was sitting there
with all the women in support around her. Someone had cleaned the blood
from her face and done something for her cut. It might not have been
bad enough for stitches, though. Even minor head wounds bled like
someone had taken a machete to you.

I felt a deep sense of gratitude to her. The tangle of emotions that I
couldn't readily put a name to had me all mixed up. One thing I did
know was that I owed Trish big time. I'd seen the looks she'd been
giving Gretchen, and I knew something would likely happen between them.
That had initially raised my jealousy bar about as high as it could go.
However, that wasn't true any more. Whatever reservations I'd had about
Gretchen taking her on as a trainee were gone. She could have anything
I could give her, including time with my wife. Now was the right time
to thank her, but I wanted to be with Gretchen, and those cops - what
else could they be? - would corner me if I went in now. I hurried to
try to get by unseen.

Ted, Keven and Earl intercepted me before I could slip by. Since Ted
knew me, the other two deferred to him, but I could see that they all
shared the same rage that burned in my heart. "Trish said someone tried
to shove Gretchen over the side of the ship," Ted said grimly. "She
said they were looking for something, so we're going to get a light and
see if we can find anything."

"Let the cops handle it," I said, taking a deep breath. "They have the
training, and you don't."

Earl snorted. "Hellfire and damnation, woman! I don't think those
yahoos are gonna be of any help. I can tell they don't believe the
girl. They think it was some kind of accident and Gretchen is just too
embarrassed to own up to it."

The part about Gretchen making it up made my blood boil even more, but
the rest matched all too well with their reaction when I brought Skip's
jacket in to them. They weren't ready to believe someone went overboard
just because someone tore up his jacket. They dismissed the blood out
of hand. "It could've ended up there by accident," they said. The best
I could get out of them was that they would call the ship behind them
and have them look out for anyone in the water. Like I expected him to
be still floating.

"Fine," I growled, more frustrated by the events and ship's idiots than
Ted, Keven or Earl. "Go keep an eye on the place and get some lights,
but do not go into the dark area until I get there. If these bozos
won't take care of this, then it's my case, but we'll give them a
chance first."

"I don't understand how they can be so good in everything else and then
be this thick-headed about a serious crime," Keven complained.

I laughed humorlessly. "Gretchen did some research, and you'd be
stunned at how often people vanish at sea. Every single cruise line
seems to come up short when there's a serious crime committed, or
possibly committed. Give them something simple like contraband or theft
and they're all over it. Rape, homicide and anything else dunks them
pretty fast. Add to that the facts that the lines don't want bad
publicity and that it's happening in international waters. That
provides incentive to not look too hard so that they can either avoid
any hue and cry or hush up what they can't avoid."

They all looked pissed as hell, and I thought it just as well to get
them out of here and give them something to do. With a nod, Ted led
them out, and I made my way to the x-ray room. It was clearly marked
and had a sign that told everyone, especially pregnant women, to stay
the hell out of there. I parked my wide load in the chair by the door
and waited.

My conscience nagged me. I should call Hans and let him know that his
little girl was hurt. That didn't mean I didn't dread doing it. She was
all he had left in the world, until the babies got here. He was going
to freak out. I sighed and pulled out my cell phone. There wasn't any
use in avoiding the inevitable. I hit the speed-dial and waited.

"Werner residence," the stilted tones of Ivan, the snooty butler
answered the phone. Great.

"Evening, Lurch," I drawled. "Is the boss in?"

Ivan sniffed disdainfully at me. I could see it in my head as if I was
standing right there. I still wondered what kind of relationship the
two of us had. I respected him as a man, and he loved Gretchen like his
own daughter, but I just couldn't get past the need to spar with him
like this. I doubt either of us really thought the barbs we traded were
serious. It had become a game by now, and I wondered if that meant we
actually liked each other on some level. Where the hell these weird ass
stray thoughts kept coming from was enough to drive me crazy. I only
hoped to God that it was just because I was pregnant.

"Mister Warner is always in at this hour, Detective," he said
haughtily, thankfully interrupting my train of thought. "But he's busy
with dinner and can't be disturbed. Important guests, you see. Perhaps
you should call back in a few hours."

I sighed. It wasn't fair to have to use the easy way through him. I
wanted to make him give up, and he wanted to dominate me into backing
down. I was going to violate the rules and part of me didn't want to.
"Not this time, Ivan. This is serious and I need to talk to him right
now, no bullshit."

His voice sharpened with worry. I never missed the chance to argue with
him. Never. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with you or the
children? I knew you should never have gone on this foolish trip."

That left me speechless. He'd never shown any concern about me or the
children before. Well, sure, he bitched about me never taking care of
myself and doing things no normal woman 'in my condition' would ever
consider, but I'd thought it was all a way to poke at me. I guessed I
was wrong. In one minute, my world was once again tossed upside down.
My desire for Keven and Earl, my jealousy about Ted, my whatever it was
about Trish, the stupid puns and goofy ponderous thoughts: every time I
turned around there was something there to upset the way I saw the
world. Now even Lurch was concerned about me. I shook my head and
forced myself to focus. I did not have time for this crap.

"No, the three of us are fine," I said, avoiding the usual counter
attack. "It's Gretchen. She's going to be okay, but there was an
incident."

"Tell me," his commanded, his voice filled with worry.

On any other subject, I'd have reacted to that tone like a cat to a
dog, but not about Gretchen. She was sacred ground for both of us.

"I can't go into the details - I don't have some and don't have the
time, regardless - but she almost went over the side of the ship. I'm
still waiting for the doctor to look at the x-rays, but her shoulder
was dislocated and she might have cracked some ribs. Maybe I should
wait until I have more information to give Hans before I worry him," I
said with uncertainty.

"No," Ivan said firmly. "He needs to know now. The details can come
when they do. However, I do think you should cancel the trip and return
home at once. Gretchen will need someone to care for her as she
recovers, and you simply are not in condition to do so."

That got my back up. "I can so, and if I need help I have Ted and Lisa
and some other friends, right here. We're not running away. You got
that, Lurch? Get me the big cheese and go do whatever butlers do. Butle
something."

"Ah," he said with satisfaction, "there is some kind of trouble. A
simple accident wouldn't be something the vaunted detective would be
'running away from', now would it? Some human agency is involved." The
line filled with a pregnant pause. "And the great detective wouldn't be
afraid to leave a simple assault behind her, either. She would let the
authorities have the scoundrel. There's more, I believe, than you've
told me."

I'd thought I'd be the one not playing fair, but so far, Ivan was one
keeping me on the defensive. He implied he cared about me, and then he
deduced my real reason for wanting to stay. He was one smart son of a
bitch! I felt adrift and reverted back into my 'game' mode with him.
"Of course there's more than I've told you. I don't go around
explaining my actions to the hired help. That, and I told you up front
I wasn't going into details with you. Hello? Are you listening to me,
Lurch?"

"How could anyone avoid hearing you when you raise your voice?" he
snapped at me. "There's been a killing, hasn't there? And Gretchen is
involved." He gets me to start playing the game again, and then he
jumps back out of game mode. I was out of practice against this guy.

I thought maybe Gretchen's ideas about winning friends and influencing
people might help. "I'm sorry, Ivan, I said, firmly bringing my voice
back to a normal tone. "You're right. To answer your questions, there
may have been a murder and no, Gretchen had nothing to do with it. But
that's beside the point. I need to tell her father about what happened
and you're holding me up. Get the old man on the horn and you can drag
the details out him at your leisure."

I grinned to myself. I wondered if it was shock over my apology, or a
measure of his concern that Ivan didn't argue with me. He had Hans on
the phone in less than a minute.

"Shauna, how is the cruise?" he asked jovially. I'd tolerate that name
from him and Gretchen, but I still didn't like it. I pushed the
sensation I'd felt when Gretchen used it to tell me that she loved me
to the back of my mind.

"There's been some trouble," I said without preamble. "Gretchen's a bit
bruised and battered, but she'll be okay." I filled him in on the
particulars and could hear his growing fear and anger in his questions.

I'd just finished relating the basic details when I saw the two
detectives coming out of the waiting room and walking up the hall
toward me. "Hans, I'll need to call you back. The detectives are here."

"No," he pleaded. "Just set the phone down and I'll listen in. When
they leave, I'll still be here. I want to hear what they have to say."

"Okay," I agreed. "Hang on." I slipped the open phone onto the seat
beside me and watched the men as they approached.

Their Italian heritage was obvious at a glance. Olive-skinned and dark
haired, they might have exchanged their uniforms for those of Roman
Centurions without looking out of place. Perhaps the boys were mistaken
and they'd only heard the detectives making sure that there was nothing
hinky going on. We'd see.

"Miss Hawkins?" One of them asked politely, his voice only mildly
accented. "I'm Lieutenant de Luca and this is Lieutenant Colombo. We'd
like to ask you a few questions before we speak with, ahem, your wife."

I was about to go on the offensive when the second man's last name
threw me off. "Excuse me, did you say Lieutenant Colombo?"

The man in question barely restrained a sigh of exasperation. "Yes," he
said, his voice surprisingly deep for his size. "It's not an uncommon
name in Italy. No, I'm not related in any way with the fictional
television character."

"I know that," I said with a small smile. "It just startled me. I'm
sure you get a lot of ribbing, so I won't make any of the same tired
wisecracks."

"Thank you," he said. "Now, Miss Hawkins..." he started.

"Mrs. Hawkins," I said firmly without rancor. "I'm married, as you've
already said. She's Mrs. Werner. I realize it's complicated, but it's
what we decided to go with."

De Luca nodded. "Of course. You came to the Passenger Safety Department
with a coat you claim may have indicated that someone met with foul
play?"

"That's basically correct," I agreed, "except I didn't 'claim' that it
might indicate a crime. I said it."

"And then your wife and her friend supposedly see someone at the scene
of this 'so called' crime and he tries to throw her overboard?" Colombo
asked.

Their keywords were starting to steam me. "'Claim' implies I'm making
this stuff up. So does 'supposedly' and 'so called.' Are you
insinuating that Trish and my wife lied? Because that would really
upset me." I fought the growing urge to get really pissed off. "The
jacket was definitely indicative that someone was attacked; and since I
know who it belongs to, and what a jerk he is, the possibility can't be
ignored." I shifted my cold gaze to de Luca. "And if Trish said
Gretchen was attacked, it happened. There's no reason to make up that
kind of shit."

De Luca smiled, a trace of condescension in his eyes. "I'm sure it must
seem that way to you, Mrs. Hawkins, but until we get to the bottom of
what the facts tell us we cannot allow ourselves to be swayed. Perhaps
your young friend and your wife got into a scuffle and now they're
embarrassed."

"Bullshit! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," I
snarled. "A four-year old might do that, but not these two, and you
should know better."

That wiped the smile right off his face. "I think that we have more
experience in such matters than you, Mrs. Hawkins. I'm sure that this
seems very complicated..." he said before I cut him off.

"Don't even go there," I said coldly. "I'm not the pregnant 'little
woman' all blown over with hormones. Let's set the record straight,
shall we? Until I got pregnant, I was a Homicide Detective in the
Houston Police Department. Seventeen years as a cop and seven of those
in Homicide. Most recently as a Lieutenant in said Homicide
Department." They both recoiled in surprise. "I know what is and what
isn't a crime scene, and I sure as hell know if someone is trustworthy
or not. Let's not compare body counts and conviction rates."

"I see," de Luca said with neutral nod, his expression closing up. "Be
that as it may, there's still no evidence that any homicide has
occurred. As yet, there's no body. We'll investigate what happened and
if we determine there was a crime, we'll attempt to locate the party
responsible. We'll then deal with this situation according to the
appropriate laws. Thank you for your time."

The anger in his voice was subtle, but it was there. Rent-a-cops hated
the real deal confronting them. These rent-a-cops might dress well, but
I could tell that they didn't have the experience to deal with this
crisis, even if de Luca thought they did.

"And you think you'll find something before someone has a chance to get
off the ship?" I asked, the disbelief I felt coloring my tone against
my will. "We dock in San Juan, Puerto Rico in just a little more than a
day and a half. Three PM, the day after tomorrow, to be precise. If you
dick around, whoever did this will walk off this ship, and you'll never
see them again."

"Mrs. Hawkins," he almost sneered. "Please don't presume to tell us how
to do our jobs. This matter will be dealt with in a speedy and
efficient manner. I recommend that you focus on your wife, and your
obvious condition, and we'll deal with this issue."

I sneered right back. "I'd tell you how to do your jobs, except that I
doubt either of you are smart enough or humble enough to learn anything
from me!"

His anger was now plainly evident and I kicked myself for not listening
to Gretchen's lessons on courtesy. I certainly hadn't made any friends
today. Whatever retort de Luca was going to make was interrupted by the
sound of the x-ray room's door opening.

The nurse was about to wheel Gretchen out when Abbott and Costello
stopped her. I rose to my feet as they went in, but Colombo stopped me.
Unlike de Luca, he didn't seem quite as angry, but I could tell he
wasn't going to do me any favors, either. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hawkins, but
I'm sure you understand that we'll need some privacy to question your
wife. I promise that we'll be brief." He closed the door in my face,
and I snarled wordlessly, smashing my fist into the back of my chair,
sending my phone clattering to the floor. Assholes.

I managed to pick up the phone without falling over myself and brought
it to my ear. "Hans? Did you hear that?"

"I certainly did," he said coolly, "and I'm not pleased about it in the
least. My dear, it sounds like you have your hands full, so I should
let you go. I'll be making some calls to see if I can motivate more
cooperation from the cruise line. I'm the majority shareholder and if I
can't get some action I'll see heads roll. If Gretchen is able to, I'd
like her to call me, no matter the time. If not, please call me as soon
as you have a full diagnosis of her condition."

The old man was a tough bird, I thought with a wry grin. I wouldn't
want to be on the receiving end of his next phone call. "Hans, she'll
be alright. One of us will call as soon as we can. And," I said,
allowing my 'cop voice' to seep in, "one way or another, I promise you
that I'll find the scumbag that hurt my wife and make them pay."

"Good," he said with satisfaction. "I'll wake some people up and see
that no one tries to stop you." He hesitated, and for a moment, I
thought he was going to simply hang up. Then he said, "Shauna, you
probably know this, but I need to say it aloud. I've had my
reservations about Gretchen marrying you."

I took a deep breath and let it out. "I'd have been an idiot not to
suspect you might have reservations. I'd have had a hell of a lot of
reservations if I were you. Not just over the whole girl-girl thing,
but about how fast it happened, and yeah, most especially about my
motives, whether I was actually in love with Gretchen or with her
money. So, yeah, I understand your reservations. They don't bother me,
not coming from you. We both love your little girl, we both want to
protect her and we'll manage."

"Yes," he said, "we'll manage, but I wanted to make sure that you knew
that over the last eight months or so, you've more than allayed my
reservations. I know that the two of you truly love one another, and
that's the only reason you're with her. I've even realized that I don't
have to understand why or how you love one another. All I need to
understand is that you make my baby happy, and that she does the same
for you. With that, I'm content. Do what you have to do to protect our
girl and I'll do the same."

My throat closed and I couldn't speak because of all the emotion
running through me. His unexpected words arrowed through me and left a
warmth I never expected to feel. He was everything I wish my own father
had been. I swallowed heavily and coughed. "That means a lot to me,
Hans. More than you can know. I'll handle this. You have my word."

"You have my love as does Gretchen," he said quietly. "I'll be waiting
for your call."

I swallowed again. I was going to have a lot of thinking to do about
Hans and me. I wanted to tell him I loved him back, but the words
seemed to stick in my throat. I wasn't sure why, because I more than
suspected that when I dug down I'd find that I did love him, in a
fatherly way. I just couldn't force the words out.

"Thank you," I finally managed. "We need to talk more, but I need..." I
struggled in vain to find the right words to tell him how I felt
without offending him. I wished I had paid more attention to Gretchen's
lessons on how to talk to people. This was one time where I didn't want
my lack of diplomacy to screw things up. This was too important.

"I understand," he said, gently cutting me off. "We don't have to force
or rush things between us, Shauna. When you're ready to talk about
anything at all, I'll be here. Take care, my dear."

"I will," I said hoarsely. I swallowed again as I put my phone away and
sank slowly into the seat. What had just happened? I felt almost
befuddled at the shock of emotion running through me. Then it hit me.
Hormones. It was just hormones from the pregnancy making me crazy. I
sighed with relief. I wasn't losing my mind. I could blame all my
befuddlement on being pregnant. I just hoped I could convince myself
that was all it was.

Only a few minutes had passed when the two detectives came out and
nodded to me as they silently left me sitting there. I guess they
thought they were through with me. Idiots. I levered myself up and out
of the chair as the nurse was pushing Gretchen out of the x-ray room,
and I gave her face a good look. She looked tired and annoyed, but her
smile at seeing me lit up my heart.

"I see that you got run through the wringer by the local dicks," I said
as fell in beside her. The nurse was kind enough to slow down for me
and I smiled my appreciation at her.

"Those two..." Gretchen said, anger tingeing her voice. "They all but
said I made the whole thing up. I smell a cover-up in the making. I
don't think they want to dig too deeply."

Gretchen and I were on the same page, then. Those guys might or might
not be smart enough to handle this, but I was starting to think that
there were some things best looked into by someone that wasn't a
company man. They had a vested interest in making the line look good
and, no doubt, they would have superiors breathing down their necks if
they made too many waves. Management idiots were probably a lot like
political idiots. They didn't want someone upsetting the masses on
their watch. They just wanted things to be smooth and look good.

Well, I'd taken heat from people more powerful than this before. I
quirked my lips in a smile. Since I didn't work for them, I had a lot
more freedom to dig after the answers and ask troubling questions. And
when I stepped on toes and people started screaming, I'd deal with
that, too. This time, I knew I had backup and friends in high places.

"Hawk?" Gretchen asked, knocking me out of the little world I'd
wandered off into. I was doing it again. Focus, dammit!

"Sorry," I said apologetically. "I wandered off for a second. I think
this requires a more experienced, outside approach."

She shook her head. "Oh, no! This isn't your fight. I'll live and
you're not a cop anymore. I can't risk you or the babies getting hurt."

I grabbed the bed and stopped it in the hall. The nurse looked at me
with wide eyes and I gestured for her to go on. "We'll be along in a
second. You just go on ahead." I watched the defiant resolve in
Gretchen's face, and the tinge of worry that she probably didn't expect
me to notice. Or, at least hoped I wouldn't see.

"That comment about me not being a cop is playing dirty, and I refuse
to let you drag this argument down into the muck, Sweetheart," I said
with as neutral a voice as I could manage. "They made this my business.
I can't stand around and let someone get away with murder, even if I
can't stand the victim. And I'll be damned if I let someone try to kill
you and have them walk away." I put my face in front of hers and glared
at her coldly. "Don't try to head me off by making me feel guilty or
worried about the babies. I'm not going to back down to you, either. I
love you with every fiber of my being. I love our children just as
much, but I'm who I am. You knew that when you married me, so don't try
changing me now."

Gretchen broke our locked gazed with a nod. A tear slid down her cheek
and she closed her eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry. I love you. I don't
want to see you get hurt."

I put my arms around her and kissed the tears away. "I'm sorry, too. I
could have said that better and not have been such a bitch. I guess I'm
not housebroken yet, or I'd be a dutiful wife and do as Daddy tells me
to."

She laughed in spite of herself and smiled at me. I knew she forgave me
even before she spoke. Once again, the almost uncanny connection
between us was back in full force. We might fight, but we never stayed
angry for long. "Don't think you can call me Daddy once and then back
up, Mommy. Now you've done it."

I chuckled in spite of myself. She was right. I'd slipped up there, and
it was too late to back up. "Ah, well. At least I'm Mommy until we get
you knocked up. Then I can take back my alpha status."

"Are you planning to get me knocked up soon?" she asked with a smirk.
"Lisa might object."

"We'll see," I said. "That's one of the things we all need to talk
about. Do you want to be pregnant?"

Slowly she nodded. "I think I do."

"Then we'll all talk about it this week." I said and hugged her. "You
don't need to do that just for me."

She laughed. "I want it for myself, too."

"Come on," I said, grabbing the bed and wheeling it down the hall.
"Let's get you out of here and back to our room."

-----

The doc looked over the x-rays and pronounced her battered and bruised.
He gave her some pain medication and told her to rest for a day and
then to take it easy. He didn't know her like I did. She'd be up
tomorrow as sure as anything.

Sandy and the girls took her back to the suite, and I made my way back
to the scene of the crime. The boys were sitting in the chairs and
keeping an eye on the darkened area. They stood when I arrived.

"They never came back down to look the place over," Ted said
disgustedly.

I nodded and picked up the flashlight from the table. "They don't take
this as seriously as I do. Stay behind me and if you see something,
tell me. Touch nothing."

Clicking on the light, I started quartering the area, starting with the
lamp that was supposed to be illuminating the area. The bulb was
broken. Not burned out. Broken. As clear a sign of something hinky as
you could get.

With the boys help, we shortly had the area searched. When we got near
the rail, Ted pointed. "There!"

Lying on the deck was a pair of glasses. I pulled a handkerchief from
my purse and picked the glasses up gently. They were ugly. Black
plastic frames and clear lenses. We used to call them 'birth control
glasses' in high school. They differed from the standard by having a
watch battery on the inside of one of the earpieces.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion and took a closer look at the front of
the glasses. Sure enough, there was a tiny lens on the nosepiece.

"Well, well," I drawled. "What have we here?"

"What is it," Ted asked, peering over my shoulder.

"Spy glasses," I said, looking into the lens coldly. "The kind that let
someone else see what you're looking at. Like the ones Tom Cruise had
in Mission Impossible. Pretty unusual stuff."

"What do we do with it?" Keven asked.

"We find the other end." I put the lens close to my face. "I don't know
if you can hear me or not, but I'm coming for you, you bastard."

-- 
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