Who Killed Cupid?

"We need to know where you were, Aurora," Jake urged quietly.

"Here." She ran one red tipped finger across the table, her eyes watching it. "I got on shift at 7 p.m. tonight. Had fifteen at around nine. My lunch breaks coming up. You can't think I had anything to do with it?"

"We have to ask," Kate said.

Aurora looked over at Kate and then back at Jake. "Reggie was a taker." Her hand closed into a tight fist and she dropped it into her lap. "He'd take until he took it all and then he'd move on to the next and the next. When I wouldn't hook for him, he dumped me. Said I didn't love him if I'd let some shark's guys rough him up over some money that I could get for him easily."

Jake patted the hand that she had fisted. "Who was the shark, Aurora?"

"Bobby Barker. Reggie liked to play poker, got himself enough cash somehow to get into one of the high stake games that they have up at the Rough Diamond, Bobby's casino." She smirked. "Reggie couldn't play poker worth a damn. Had too many of them...tells? Is that what they call it?"

Jake nodded.

"Anyway, he got wiped out and I guess Bobby realized what a sucker Reggie was and gave him some credit. Reggie lost it all." She shook her head, not in pity but in wonder at the stupidity of it all.

"And he couldn't pay it back." Kate picked up her coffee and took a drink. "Do you know how much?"

"Fifty grand." Aurora smiled as Kate almost choked. "Yeah, I did about the same thing when I found out. Couldn't believe that anyone could be such a schmuck to get that far into it."

"When was the last time you saw Reggie, Aurora?"

"Hmm, must've been about two weeks ago." She stood and took the rag off the side of her apron, wiping up the coffee spill and picking up the pot. "He came sneaking back here when the rich bitch let him off his leash. Wanted a quickie for old time's sake. I told him what he could do with his old time and he left. I ain't seen him since."

Kate took out her card and handed it to the beautiful redhead. "If you think of anything, anything at all, you can reach either myself or Detective Temple at that number."

The smile Aurora gave Jake was of the cat who ate the cream. "Detective Temple? I'll make sure I hold on to this card."

Kate rolled her eyes behind the girl's back and watched as Jake preened in the attention, smiling and holding out his hand as he too rose. She took some money out of her coat pocket and threw it on the table, more than enough to cover the coffee and tip. And then ignoring the two, she started out of the diner.

Jake caught up before she got half way to the car. "Hey, wait up."

"I didn't want to interrupt your moment," she snarled at him, jealousy eating at her.

"Hey, just because you're not interested..." Before he could finish the sentence, she'd knocked him backwards and into an alley pushing him against the brick wall of a closed dry cleaner.

"We aren't talking about that," she growled at him, punching her finger into his chest. "Remember?"

"Fine," he growled right back, his tone matching hers. He knocked her finger away and grabbed her arms, twisting and pushing her against the wall he was just backed up against. "We won't talk about it." His lips came down, capturing hers before she could evade them.

For one instant, shock kept her still. And then all those feelings that she'd kept tamped down, passion, lust, pure heat, roared to the surface. Her mouth didn't surrender under the rough attack of his, it provoked, biting and twisting, opening so that her tongue could duel with his.

He felt her response and it enflamed him even more. Jake grabbed her hard, dragging her against his body before slamming them both against the wall. He held her there, his hands groping under the leather jacket she wore, feeling the cool cotton of her shirt over the taut flesh beneath. His hands filled with the soft globes of her breasts, such a beautiful contrast to the rest of her. But it wasn't enough, he wanted to feel her hot skin in his hands.

Kate felt his hands tugging at her shirt and sucked in her stomach as it came untucked. Then his fingers were on her skin, moving over her ribs, the calloused tips rough against her sensitive flesh. Her bra was pushed up, the band at the bottom rubbing against nipples already hardened by his touch. She shivered, a little at the chill but more because of the need that pulsed through her, a need she hadn't felt since that weekend.

And when he finally captured the naked beauty of her breasts, she felt her knees give in pleasure, held up only by the pressure of his hips against her own. His hands were cold on her hot skin, as they molded and shaped her softness.

His lips tore from hers, his breathing harsh in the silence surrounding them. He stared down at her, taking in the picture of her eyes, green in passion, her lips swollen from his kisses. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair mussed and curling riotously around her face. Her head was thrown back, her back arched to push her sweet breasts further into his capturing hands.

He noticed the smell, not the intoxicating scent of her arousal he'd expected, but the harsh smell of rotting garbage that sat in the dumpster next to them. It penetrated the fog of need that had surrounded them. He couldn't do this here, tear at her clothing and rut with her like a dog in heat. He pulled her bra back down gently, stepping back as she looked at him in confusion.

The confusion didn't last, emotions swam across her face before finally the control that she used as a shield slammed down, shutting him out. He held out his hand, trying to stop her from moving after she'd pulled down her clothing.

"Wait, Kate, it's not what you think. I want you. You don't know how much I want you," he said with a derisive laugh. "But we can't, not here..."

Kate walked around his hand. Her posture stiff with a don't touch me attitude, she stalked to the car. How could she have let him do this to her again. He touched her and she melted. She'd have gone down in the muck in the alley and willingly allowed him, no she had to be honest at least with herself. She'd have taken him down into the filth in that alley and made love to him willingly.

What did that say about her? That he affected her so physically that she'd do anything to have his hands on her body. She cringed with shame inside. Outside, she was cool as she clicked off the locks on the car and opened her door. She stared at him across the roof of the car. "If you're going with me, get in the car."

There was an icy silence in the car on the drive to the casino, a silence that Jake wasn't sure how to break. She hadn't taken the time to fix her hair, hair mussed from his hands. It flowed around her face in tawny waves that brought back memories. Her hair seemed to have a life of its own, curling around her body, caressing his skin as she rode him or lay under him, her body straining against his own as they sought that same intense pleasure.

Now, her hair beckoned his hand and he found himself almost reaching out to her. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that he'd probably pull back a stump in the mood she was in right now. And she'd be right. They had a case to finish. But when it was done, this time, he would find a way around that huge wall she'd built. Or he'd knock the damn thing down. There was something between them, something that he damn well wanted to explore, whether she was willing or not.

Kate pulled into the casino parking lot, the neon lights coming from the building making her head lights superfluous. She pulled up close to the doors, ignoring the valet who came forward. Instead she turned to Jake. "This is my show."

He nodded. "No problem."

Her eyes narrowed for an instant as if she could bore her will into the man who seemed to be able to steal it at his own whim. Then she got out of the car. She flashed her badge at the valet, staring him down. "It stays right there," she said, indicating her car. "Or when I come out, I'll come looking for you."

The valet backed off, his hands out. He went back to his stand, mumbling under his breath words she couldn't hear. And for some reason, it made her feel better.

Opening the doors into the Rough Diamond Casino was like opening the doors into another world. A world full of lights and whistles, chimes and dings, shouts of triumph and moans of despair. There were people everywhere, some dressed to the nines, tuxes and floor length gowns that brushed against people dressed in jeans and tee shirts. People laughed and talked, cursed and cried.

Kate walked in and ignored it all, seeking out the first person she could to get to what she wanted. She grabbed a man dressed in the Casino's uniform of black shirt and pants, a bright white nametag on his chest that read simply, Tony.

"Tony," she said softly, making him lean forward to be able to hear her. She flipped her badge out, keeping it low so that it remained between the two of them. "I need to speak to your boss, Bobby Barker. Get him for me and I won't have to flash this out for everyone to see."

Tony went to a phone against a wall and spoke into it briefly, looking nervously back at where Kate waited, her eyes calm and steady as she looked around the casino. He was back quickly, standing at his post while a man in a black suit, his shirt and tie the same dapper shade of gray, hurried forward, his hand out.

"Detective, what can we here at the Rough Diamond do to help you?"

Kate ignored the hand and stared up at the man. His suit fit well across broad shoulders, tapered down to slender hips. His hair was as black as the shirt, his eyes a bright and amazing blue.

"Where's your boss?"

"He's busy," he dropped his hand. "I am his personal assistant, James Dandridge. What can I do to help you, Detective?"

"I need to speak with your boss, Jimmy." Kate watched as his eyes grew cold at the nickname. "Now, we can do this here, nice and civilized, or I can have him taken downtown and we can do it in a nice interrogation room. Either way, I will have a conversation with the man." Jake started to step forward and she turned hard eyes toward him, the hint of a warning clearly evident.

"I'm afraid, Detective, that..."

"It's okay, James." Bobby Barker said, stepping out of an elevator just behind the man. "I know Detective Cambridge, we're old friends. Ain't that right, Kate?"

"Yeah, Bobby," Kate said, stressing the familiarity. "See, Jimmy, it's okay." She smacked the man lightly on the cheek with her badge wallet, ignoring his scowl. "So, Bobby, where you want to do this, here or downtown?"

"My office?" he asked, maintaining the same light hearted repartee that they had started. He led the way to his private elevator and she watched as he hit the button. When the car came, she got in first, followed by Jake. Just as the doors closed, sirens went off, and a scream could be heard from the other side of the casino.

Bobby growled and grabbed a phone on the side of the car. He spoke into it rapidly and then hung up. "Damn slots are paying out left and right tonight. That's the sixth machine to go over."

"Life's rough all over, Bobby."

The doors opened into an office unlike anything she'd ever seen before. A glass wall that ran the entire length of the west side of the office overlooked the casino, giving them a bird's eye view of almost the entire establishment. The rest of the room was decorated befitting a man of his stature. Chrome and glass were predominant, and with black leather furniture and a desk the size of a lake, Kate decided it was a room meant to impress.

Too bad the man wasn't. Short and with a figure that one could only describe as pear-like, Bobby Barker looked more like a skinnier Dom Deluise then a businessman. Thinning dark hair combed over a bald spot made him look older than Kate knew he actually was. He was shrewd and he was cunning. But he was lazy and hated to get his hands dirty when someone else could so easily be paid to do it for him. Kate knew if Bobby killed Reggie, the blood wasn't going to be on his hands but those of a flunky.

She sat in the chair she was waved to, declining his offer of refreshments. "This isn't a social call, Bobby. My partner and I are here about one Reginald Holton."

Bobby sat behind his desk, his fingers steepled and tapping against his chin, making the double chin under it wag slightly. "Reggie? What does that low life have to do with me?"

"We hear he owes you some money, Bobby. Quite a bit of money, actually." Kate sat forward slightly, watching the man intently.

"Yeah. The idiot got himself involved in high stakes Texas Hold Em. He got cleaned out and wanted a line of credit. It was a business decision to grant him that credit. Can I help it if he can't play poker?" Bobby smiled easily. "He asked for some time to get the money together, with interest accrued of course. Again, a business decision to give him that time."

"Not a very smart one this time, Bobby." She watched the man as she spoke the words, watched his eyes for even a flicker that he knew. And saw nothing but confusion.

"What are you talking about, Kate?"

"Reggie Holton was shot tonight," Jake said, speaking up for the first time.

"Shot? And you think I had something to do with it?"

"Did you?" Jake asked, intentionally baiting the man.

"Hell no. Is he dead?" Bobby looked from Kate to Jake, his expression changing from irritation to annoyance to just plain pissed off.

"Yeah, Bobby, he's dead."

"And you think I did it? God, Kate. You know me, all those times you run me in for something, was it ever violent? No, running drugs, shop lifting, maybe some B & E, but nothing heavy. I never carried. You know that or I couldn't run this place. Besides, him dead leaves me out a pile of money."

"Then play me straight here, Bobby. You knew Reggie, you knew who he was when he came in that night to play, didn't you?" Kate pushed, she wanted to know exactly what Bobby knew. He'd had a reason for granting that credit and then for giving Bobby time to pay it back. She knew he did.

"Yeah, I remembered him from the streets. We didn't run together, but I'd seen him. He wanted in the game, asked me himself. He had the stake so I agreed."

"And when he lost all of it, the original stake? Why grant him credit, Bobby? That's not like you." Kate watched the big man, trying to read him. His eyes were inscrutable, his hands still steepled but he no longer looked so cocky.

"He was a patron of my establishment. He asked for a line of credit. The run we did on him came back clear. It was a business decision." Bobby shrugged his shoulders. "A bad one, as it seems, but that's the breaks sometimes in business."

"Oh, come on, Bobby. Fifty thousand's not just a bad break. That's a huge sum of money," Jake said, his voice incredulous. "You can't tell me it didn't make you mad when he came whining to you, telling you he couldn't pay the money back."

"Fifty thousand may seem like a lot to a couple of cops, but that's won and lost here every night," Bobby shrugged again, a mean smile on his face.

"What do one of those quarter slot machines pay out? Five thousand? Ten? You were pissed off on the way up here because another paid out. And you're telling me that with Reggie, it was just bad business?" Kate pushed, and she pushed hard. She didn't want to take him downtown. He'd lawyer up in a second if she tried it. This was there one shot to talk to him, to get information from him, without counsel fucking up the works.

"Okay, so maybe he pissed me off some, but why'd I want to kill him. He said he was getting the money, plus the interest. He said he had something in the wind. Reggie, he always had some scheme. He told me I'd have it by next week."

"And you believed him, Bobby? Knowing Reggie from the streets, you knew what he was like and you actually believed him?"

"There are circumstances a person can get into where it isn't in their best interest to lie, if you know what I mean. He told me he was going to be sittin' pretty." Bobby put his hands down on his desk and leaned forward. "He knew the consequences of crossing me. I gave him til next week. I had no reason to kill him."

"He didn't tell you what it was?" Kate sat back in her chair, seemingly at ease, but her eyes were trained on Bobby.

"If I know Reggie, it wasn't legal." Bobby stood, signaling an end to their conversation.

"One last question," Jake said, standing as well.

"Fine," Bobby said impatiently.

"You got a permit for that piece you slipped into your desk when you sat down?"

Kate just smiled.

Bobby sank back down in his chair. "You know I can't carry a weapon in this state."

"Yeah, Bobby," Kate said, "we do know that. So if I open that drawer, am I gonna find the piece my partner here mentioned?"

Bobby eyed them both, searching their faces. "Okay, listen. Reggie said he was going to be getting a pay off, something big. He said it was going to set him up for a long time, but he'd have to leave town for a while."

"From who?" Jake asked.

"He didn't say, only that this guy was a sucker. And that either way it went, he'd be rolling in the dough before long." Bobby looked up. "And that's all I know. Honest."

Kate stared him down for a second and then rose. "Okay, Bobby. Ditch the piece. If I have to come back here and I see it, I'm running you in and closing you down. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Now get out of my joint, you make the cliental nervous." He keyed the code into the elevator but didn't see them out. Instead he went back to his desk and sat, taking a big white handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his face with it.

"Fucking cops," he muttered before picking up the phone to call down to make sure they left.

Kate heard the wall phone ring as they walked away from the elevator and headed across the red and gold swirled carpet towards the wide front doors. To her left she could hear a croupier, his voice pitched high to be heard above the milling masses, "New shooter coming out, folks. Place your bets!"

To her right was the constant sound of coins clinking and rattling, slot machine handles being pulled. The chimes of the machines as they sang to the person using it was melodic and catchy. A roulette wheel spun, the ratcheting noise of the wheel spinning, the whirling of the ball as it made it's way around the wheel, the excited noises of the people who won and lost, all were lost on Kate as she ran what they had learned through her head.

By the time they reached the car, she was smiling.

"Care to tell me what has you so happy all of a sudden?" Jake asked carefully.

"We need to check out Reggie's apartment. I'm betting we'll find out that Reggie was blackmailing someone." Kate got in her car after giving the valet she'd bullied earlier a smile.

"Who?" Jake asked.

"We figure that out and I think we've got our murderer." She put the car in gear and they headed back across town towards the harbor. Reggie's apartment was in an older section of town, not dilapidated as yet, but slowly going to seed. Most of the people in Reggie's building were still up, after all, it was Valentine's Day.

Kate got a hold of the super and they got into Reggie's apartment.

It was a pigsty. Half empty food containers littered the floor and coffee table, unopened mail spilled across the table and onto the floor. Ashtrays were full, the stale smell of cigarette smoke and rotten food pungent in the closed up rooms.

Kate walked in, waving a hand in front of her face. "Geesh, Reggie, would it have killed you to clean up every once in a while." Her face twisted in a grimace, she grabbed a pair of latex gloves out of her pocket and pulled them on.

"I've seen you at a crime scene where the victim had his head bashed open and blood and brains were everywhere. You didn't even flinch. This bugs you?" Jake asked, amazed. He pulled on his own gloves and picked up the mail that was on the floor.