Read Love Bite (Just One Bite #1) for Free Online Page B

“Bulldog” among the rest of
the team- as soon as she sank her teeth into a case, she worried at it until it
was solved. She had a unique way of looking at things, and would twist and turn
a case in her head, imagining it as a puzzle board. Each piece of data she
accumulated was another puzzle piece, and she worked until the whole picture
was visible. She compiled the data- it was the district attorney's office that
had the responsibility of making sure the puzzle wouldn't fall apart.
    But, contrary
to what went on during normal working hours, one case still eluded her, and she
spent all her spare time trying to solve it- the case that had gotten her
kicked off the force. She'd uncovered a trail of intrigue leading all the way
up to an assistant district attorney. The problem was she had no actual proof,
only hearsay. Snitches confided in her, but no one would go on the record. They
were terrified at the thought of being forced to testify. Everyone talked about
doing their civic duty, but no one wanted to be the first to make sure the duty
was complete. No one could tell her how the drugs were getting smuggled into
the country, and she still had to identify all the cops in on the corruption.
She needed real evidence to close this case, not just her own gut and a few
snitches who wouldn't even testify if the case made it to court.
    Lizbeth knew
her own former chief was in on the drug smuggling up to his bushy gray
eyebrows. The head of Internal Affairs was clean but too easily swayed. He'd
swiftly shifted his focus from Lizbeth's case to compiling false evidence
against her with a gentle push from the head of the Narcotics division. She
still burned with righteous anger when she remembered being called on the
carpet before them both, being reprimanded, fired, and then escorted out of the
precinct by her own colleagues. IAB had a lot to answer for, but it wasn’t
corruption- the real crime there was incompetence.
    Lizbeth had
spent her spare time watching the cops she thought were corrupt. She'd narrowed
her list to two men from Narcotics- Detective Ronald Michaels and Sergeant
Miguel Rodriguez. Both men had many years on the job and they had more money
than their positions warranted. Detective Michaels' wife was a neurosurgeon, so
Lizbeth felt pretty confident that her income explained the “extras” in their
lives. Although she was keeping her eye on both men for the moment, Sergeant
Rodriguez was the one she was most concerned with. The man drove a year-old BMW
that his income should not have been able to purchase for him. He shouldn’t be
able to afford loan payments as well as his other bills, and he certainly
couldn’t afford to buy brand new on his income. No, Miguel Rodriguez definitely
stayed on her short list.
    After putting
in long days on their respective jobs, both women looked forward to coming
home. Margaret prepared lovely meals that they shared by candlelight in the
dining room. Most evenings the women then curled up in the parlor together,
each with a book in her hand. Other evenings they preferred lying in Diandra's
bed to watch some television before Lizbeth retired to her own bedroom for the
evening. The lingering kisses they exchanged before parting gave them something
sweet to dream on.
    The women also
used a few weekends during these last several months to turn the spare bedroom
next to the master suite into a nursery. They decorated the crib in soothing
blues, greens and yellows. Lizbeth took a day off of work and surprised Diandra
by painting jungle scenes on the walls. All the baby clothes were washed,
folded and put away in the oak dresser. The matching changing table was already
stocked with diapers, baby wipes and other necessities. A coordinating oak
rocking chair was in the corner in the room. The cushions matched the jungle-
themed bedroom, and the chair sat waiting for the day Diandra would sit
rocking, nursing her newborn baby.
    Lizbeth also
either went in to work late or left work