A Legal Trap - Chapter 5 free porn video

Author retains all rights to this original work of fiction. After Chapter 4, I was biting at trying to get this next chapter done. So many things in focus and hiding in the background for this story - I got on a roll and put this chapter together. Hope you enjoy! As always, interested in your thoughts. Keep going or wrap this one up in a nice pretty bow and move on? Thank You!!! XOXO Rachel... March 10th 5:12 AM I had managed to catch ten minutes of sleep on the way to the Scottsdale police station. I was instantly awake when the car engine was turned off. Paul looked over his shoulder at me to see if I was ready to go, I nodded and followed Jacob out of the car. No one was talking and when we got to the building Paul moved ahead to get the door for us, I smiled a 'Thanks' - Jacob was still silent. At the front desk, Jacob told the officer behind the Plexiglas that we were here to meet with FBI Director Keith, who was working with Captain Barrett. The officer made a call and within a minute, a Sergeant was leading us back to a command room. We entered a brightly lit room, with computers around one-half of the large table in the center of the room. There was tactical radio chatter coming from speakers embedded in the paneled ceiling, which made me jump the first time it crackled to life. Paul and I held back as Jacob shook hands with who we assumed was Captain Barrett, then the FBI Director. They talked for a couple minutes, while Paul looked over the computer systems in the room. I could tell the police officers easily enough in the crowd of eleven people crowded around in groups of two or three - they had uniforms on, but the people in suits were either FBI agents or Scottsdale PD detectives. Paul slipped away and began talking to a suit - I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Elizabeth, this is FBI Director Landon Keith..." We shook hands, and while he was a nice looking man, his eyes and the way he carried himself told me he was a serious law enforcement professional that didn't put up with a bunch of crap - he commanded the room, even though this wasn't his turf to command. "Nice to meet you Elizabeth. Jacob's told me about your work on this, we should have brought you on board sooner." "Thank You sir... really Paul is the brains... and was... he got us access to the email account that got us on the right track..." I was trying to control my emotions, the cadence of my voice, enunciations, and any nervous twitching I'm sure I was exhibiting. I'm sure I sounded stupid but tried to look confident I knew the score. "Excellent... I see he's already talking with one of my guys," Landon was saying. I looked to my right and could see Paul in conversation about something with one of the FBI agents. I smiled at the Director with nothing to add. "So, I was telling Jacob that since this is a multiagency investigation and there is a lot of coordination we had to get lined up. I think we have done a damn good job at that in such a short amount of time. Our office in Santa Fe has triangulated, pin pointed the location, of the cell phone number you provided. We have had someone on the house since after hearing from Jacob earlier this morning with that number. The Santa Fe PD team will be executing the extraction, shortly. We facilitated a search warrant request with judge..." "Com-check B-one-one... Ops channel 3. Copy..." a voice above us interrupted the Director. "Eleven is 5 by... Holding outer orbit Charles... Tact 1 - we are clear - viz twenty-five..." "That's the air support. Sounds like they are probably getting close, excuse me..." and the Director walked toward Paul, introducing himself and shaking hands. "I'm a little nervous..." Jacob said softly. The energy in the room was thick and bristled with every radio transmission. I could only imagine what it was like wherever Amber was right now having all these people gather to go in after her. "Everything will work out Mr. Wentz, this will be over soon..." "I certainly hope so..." March 10th 6:16 AM "Command - Green... Go..." The group of us in the conference room were now along for the ride, blindly trying to make sense of the chatter coming from the speakers overhead. With all the technology - why weren't we watching video from officer POV cameras or some kind of drone feed from above? I could feel the goose bumps on my arms rise and felt chilled in the crowded room. Please be all right... Let no bad happen... "POLICE! SEARCH WARRANT!" "Breach! Breach!" "Clear! Right! Go!" Silence... Then. "Left... Clear! POLICE! SEARCH WARRANT!" There was a long stretch of silence. "Got a basement..." The different voices made me wonder how many people were on scene. A calm voice began speaking. "Second floor, heat-signature moving... Back room south, small room, bathroom... Still just the one..." Silence for five seconds - "POLICE! SEARCH WARRANT!" "Ander's, down with Mink's - Go!... Bowl's, Jenner, up stairs, on me..." Silence... I wondered what was going on, where in the house they were. Did Amber know we were coming for her? Would she be relieved? Would she put up a fight? If they had the ability to pick up heat-signatures, why weren't they just rushing toward it? Were there any others in the house? There should be two people there... I sensed Paul leaning into me. "Intense... They've got someone outside the house, sniper probably, with the ability to see heat-signatures through the walls. That's some futuristic shit... Not foolproof, but some kind of magic..." His voice was low and I could feel the heat of his breath on my neck. I wished he was holding me... I resisted the urge to take his hand. He moved a half step away. Oh well, at least he explained why they were not rushing toward whatever they could see upstairs as a heat-signature. They knew what they were doing and to error on the side of caution was probably their mandate. I just wanted this to be over and I looked at Jacob, he looked worried. The professionals in the room all looked like they were listening to a commercial between football plays - calm, but on edge as if ready to react. "Down is clear! Securing one... Back..." No reply. What had just been said made no sense to me and I had no idea which group of officers was which now. A hushed voice, lower than the previous ones. "Three doors... Sig left South..." A pause followed by, "Confirmed, left South... Advised - sig is prone now... No movement in 30..." The reply, "Left South, prone..." There were two clicking sounds... "POLICE!" "Clear... One unconscious... Bowl's hold with the woman. Jenner on me." The speakers were silent for nearly a full minute. "Clear up... Command, we are clear... Repeat - clear... We have secured one... House is clear, one mark. Mink's - EMS up here now - left South... Fire hold..." As if on cue the entire room finally took a breath. Paul and I hugged, I could see a relieved look wash over Jacob's face over Paul's shoulder. There were many smiles, but some serious faces were still working at computers. The FBI Director was on his phone, the Scottsdale PD Captain was going over something with another officer - wasn't this over? There was plenty of chatter from the speakers above us now, but much more calm - almost matter of fact. I tried to follow, but I checked out pretty much after hearing they had 'the woman' - Amber was safe. It's over... I could feel the tears well in my eyes. March 10th 6:33 AM It seemed like it took forever to get a status on Amber, but the FBI Director relayed that the extraction team had found Amber unconscious in the upstairs bathroom - we had heard that report live just minutes ago. The initial report from the EMS on scene had been she was heavily drugged - possibly sedated, her chest area was heavily bandaged, and she was being transported to a hospital - nothing further. Jacob was on speaker phone with Stephanie, letting her listen in to the FBI Director. Stephanie interrupted to get the hospital name so they could be there when she was arrived. The FBI Director explained the guy we were looking for - was not found - which I'm sure angered the Carson's and Jacob. It angered me... How could this person do this to a child and leave her alone? The Director said the Santa Fe PD would be processing the house and when they had more information, he would be in touch with Jacob. Jacob spoke a few words to the Carson's and said he would call them back. Then as quickly as the call ended the Director shook our hands, Thanked everyone in the room for a job well done, and walked out with Jacob. I stood there relieved, but totally spent. This was hour what, twenty- seven for me with barely any food or sleep. Augh... Not having captured our 'Daddy' was disheartening. Where had he gone and why would he leave Amber there alone? Did he know we were on to him? I looked around for Paul, finding him with one of the FBI agents looking at something on his computer. I took a step toward him as my phone began to ring... I pulled it from my purse - it was a number I didn't recognize, but had a Seattle area code '206'. "Hello?" "Elizabeth, I'm going to get a ride with Landon. I will catch up with you and Paul later." "Yes... Sure Mr. Wentz. I'll let Paul know." I was confused as to why he was calling me. "Thank You for everything today Elizabeth, my family and I very much appreciates everything you've contributed. Please call Janet, let her know we found Amber - but nothing else." "Oh, sure... Yes, I will... I can call her, sir..." And the line went dead. Now I was twice as confused. Why hadn't he called Paul to say he was catching a ride with the FBI Director? And, why did he want me to let Janet know about Amber? How did he get my phone number? Janet? Paul? I did not want to make the call to Janet... I looked toward Paul who was still deep in conversation with two FBI agents now. Great! I don't want to make this call... I looked at my phone and pulled up my recent calls. I clicked on Janet's number from last night... I was sure I would be waking her, but she answered on the first ring and sounded wide-awake. "Elizabeth, is there news?" "Yes... Ah, Ms. Larson we have Amber. The police were able to get her..." "That's amazing news! Oh, I bet the Carson's are so relieved. Thank God..." she said cutting me off. "Yes, I'm sure... they are relieved..." Janet sounded truly excited, why was I so nervous right now? "Is there something else Elizabeth?" "No, I mean... well they've taken her to the hospital to be checked out. I'm sure everything will be fine..." "Oh... Yes, I can see where that might be a standard practice. What hospital? I would like to send flowers." "Ah, I'm not really sure. The police really didn't let me in on everything going on and Jacob has already left. I can try to get that information and call you back..." It was a lie. I knew the hospital in Santa Fe Amber was being taken to, would Janet know I was lying? "OK, do that Please. I would like to send flowers. How is Jacob?" "Mr. Wentz is relieved, as are the Carson's. I think once Amber is checked out they will be ready to move on." I felt like I was repeating myself to at least provide Janet content on what was going on - as I was required by her - but not Jacob. This was so screwed up... "Well this is great news, really great... Do what you can to get the hospital information for me." "Yes Ms. Larson, I'll be sure to do that." "Thanks for calling Elizabeth, talk to you shortly..." March 10th 7:46 AM Paul hadn't figured out I'd had enough standing around and wanted to go back to the hotel, so I interrupted his little FBI computer boy love fest and asked for the keys to the car. Twenty minutes later, he was tapping on the driver's side window to wake me up and let him in. "Sorry, was going over some stuff. Learned a few things too..." He seemed very aroused with his FBI run in. "That's good..." I replied sleepily. I rubbed my eyes and was surprised how warm the car had gotten already. "Warm in here, eh?" Was he back to that mind reading shit again? "Yeah..." When he started the car, I turned the AC up to high, which was going to make it hard to talk - unless we yelled at each other. "Oe humge?" I looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language - it was hard to hear anything. He turned the AC down. "You hungry?" "Yeah, but I just want to go to sleep... Can we just go back to the hotel?" "Sure... Be there in ten minutes." He was smiling. I wasn't in the mood for cheer, though we had plenty to cheer about. When we got to the hotel we went our separate ways, politely as I was a little more awake now, but I still just wanted to see big 'Z's' over my head. When I got to my room I wasted no time cranking up the AC, stripping down to just panties - tossing clothes and my bra wherever they may land. My head hit the pillow and... March 10th 4:18 PM I was awakened at 11:00 AM by house cleaning - but they were smart enough to see it wasn't a good time and left without having any conversation about it with me. I was back to sleep within thirty seconds probably and I looked through blurry eyes at the clock - after 4 PM... Augh... I sat up slowly and just stared at the floor. I couldn't remember anything I had dreamt, but I did like the color I had painted my toenails - there was glitter in the polish and I could see the shimmer even in the dimly lit room. I flexed my little piggies a back and forth and then felt chilled. Crap, it was cold in here! I made my way to the thermostat and turned off the AC - Yikes! Sixty degrees! I remembered seeing a thick fluffy resort monogrammed robe in the closet and pulled it on, it took some of the sting out of being cold. I headed for the kitchen, grabbing a water, and plopped down on the couch. Turned the TV on to see if I could catch the news, maybe Amber was mentioned. Flipping through too many channels, I gave up. No news, at least not local, so I settled on Judge Judy and really began to space out. I could sleep a couple more hours I thought... Judy was ripping the plaintive apart - what an idiot - you should just keep your mouth shut dude... I noticed the telephone message light was flashing and leaned over to pick up the receiver, pressing 1 for messages. "Message 1...", a short pause. "Hey, call me. Got some updates..." It was Paul, at least I was pretty sure it was him. "Message 2...", pause. "Elizabeth... Please call me as soon as you get this - I called your cell and there was no answer. I would like the name of the hospital Amber is staying in, Thank You..." That was Janet and she did not sound happy. I would have to deal with that sooner than later. Augh! I dialed Paul's room... He answered on the third ring. "Hey, you finally up?" I stared at Judge Judy blankly wondering how he knew it was me though I hadn't spoke. "Yeah... I could use something to eat." "Want me to pick something up and bring it to you?" He sounded way to chipper and NO! seeing me in my current state was NOT going to work. Was he out somewhere? No, I called his room. Come one brain wake up! "No... Thank You though... You said you had updates..." I tried to move the focus of the call elsewhere. "Oh, yeah..." He sounded as if he was a little disappointed. "Amber's probably back home by now I would guess. They checked out at the hospital, no problems with the surgery or expected recovery. She was released to the Carson's and according to Jacob boarded a medical flight at around one-o'clock. The FBI was able to find the doctor who had done her implant surgery, no charges are expected to be leveled as Amber was of legal age. He is board certified, runs a respected plastic surgery clinic. He's also being very cooperative - so that's a plus for him - probably doesn't want bad press. He had to have met with Amber prior to surgery you would think - so something still doesn't feel quite right about that whole chain of events. I'm hoping there's more to the story, but I guess the bottom line is the procedure wasn't done in some backroom by a hack using pig intestines filed with used motor oil... " My sleepiness was wearing off and I felt a pang of excitement hearing Amber was probably home. I was happy to hear that she wasn't mutilated either. "Good point about a pre-consult likely happening - no one mentioned that? Is she talking about what happened at all?" I was going to mention the pig intestine thing wasn't funny, but I didn't have the energy. I mean really, how is that even remotely funny? "Not that Jacob mentioned. Guess our 'Daddy' paid for the procedure with a cashier's check last week - I'm sure the police or FBI will be looking into that at some point. Still... I agree that whole chain of events is off a bit. Surgery was done first thing Wednesday, so there were a few days she could have met the doctor. Something to ask Jacob next time I talk to him." There was a long pause, and when I didn't speak, he kept the update rolling. "Interesting twist - the police were able to pull a number of prints from the house they found her in - which was an Air BNB. Matches on three sets of prints found - of four sets they recovered. One woman identified via her concealed carry permit prints - she had rented the place two weekends ago. There were prints from two Mexican nationals - but they had rented the place for two nights mid-week last week. The people cleared via alibi and the Air BNB rentals owner. And finally a good number of prints from the bedroom and kitchen they think is our guy - problem is he's a ghost. No record of him found anywhere... I think they pulled some DNA and were going to run with that, but if he's not on any grid with fingerprints, then I doubt he's in some database based on DNA. Who knows..." Huh? How can someone be off the grid? I thought about it a little more - guess that is not that big of a stretch. Stay out of legal troubles, what are they going to have on him? "Do they have a description, a picture, anything? Are they talking to Amber? Can she identify him?" "Nope, nothing. Guess there will be a sketch artist working with the Air BNB rental owner and one will eventually make it to the staff at the plastic surgeons office. I'm sure Amber will go through the same kind of thing when she's up to it... I haven't heard if she's said much to the police yet." He paused. "Only thing in the house were clothes for Amber, some with tags on them still. The guy didn't leave anything in the house - it's like he didn't stay there or something. I'm curious as to whether the Pateon video was shot in that house or some other location." "Did Amber have a phone with her, like a burner thing or whatever... Like you see on spy shows?" "I think Jacob mentioned a second phone, but I don't know if they recovered anything. Our guys phone was recovered obviously, but I don't know what was recovered from it - like pictures or other phone numbers. Lot of investigation to come... This guy was awfully stealthy for your run of the mill pedophile. That Pateon video did not to get his face on film, so he's one spooky dude when you add all this up..." I knew what he was alluding too - Transgender abductions, missing persons, murders, or just young girls in general sold into the sex trade - this was really some scary shit and our guy was certainly spooky and more. "Are you working on any of this?" "No, pretty much Santa Fe PD, Phoenix PD, and the FBI are now doing all the heavy lifting now. I'm just waiting to hear what Jacob needs me to do, if anything, then, back to the real world..." It struck me that I really didn't know much about Paul besides his focus on finding Amber. Obviously he had a life outside of finding a Tansgendered kid. I didn't even know where he lived, did he have family, a girlfriend? Kids? How did he know Jacob? He didn't wear a ring - but these days that didn't mean shit... Is this his business - private investigations via computer forensics? I did know about his brother, that was something, and that he knew a great deal about me - too much about me... "So, I'm probably done here also... Did Jacob mention anything about me?" "No, I don't know much else... Any chance you'd be up for dinner later?" Yes... I'd like to have more of a connection, more... Did he know I wanted that or was he trying to be polite? "Sure, that would be nice..." "Great, wanna meet in the lobby... Say five-o'clock?" What? No... I'd barely have makeup applied by five! Meet in the lobby - that's casual, friends meeting stuff, right? "How about five-forty-five? I literally just crawled out of bed." "It's a date then... I'll see you in the lobby at five-forty-five." A date? Was he just saying that as a colloquial interpretation for two people meeting? This wasn't like a 'date' date thing, right? He wasn't picking me up at my room, so casual - like friends hanging out. "I'll see you then..." The line went dead and I felt a flutter in my stomach, a nervous energy building quickly. Augh! Why is this so confusing?! I know it's new, but does it have to be so riddled with newyness. I rolled my eyes, not a real word dummy... I needed to get moving! March 10th 5:39 PM I had changed my outfit twice. Going from business casual to comfortable - dressy jeans and a top. The skirt I had put on first was flirty, but none of my tops really seemed to match and totally blew the vibe. Did I want a vibe? What is my vibe? Was I trying to be flirty? No, I just need to relax, be me. STOP OVER THINKING EVERYTHING!! In the end, I went with the dressy jeans, flirty top, and heels. I prayed I wasn't under dressed and when I rounded the corner to the lobby Paul was waiting - he was dressed in jeans also, with a nice polo shirt and loafers. Thank God! "You look great..." He awkwardly tried to hug me. I patted his back a couple times and the hug ended as awkwardly as it began. "Thanks, I was hoping we weren't going on a dress-up date." He chuckled. "I probably should have said something about where I wanted to take you. That probably would have set the tone." Huh? Tone? What does that mean? I felt defensive and afraid I was going to look that way also. I reached into my purse for some lip-gloss, which would hopefully mask my feelings as I tried to apply it and replied. "Where we going?" He was obviously excited. "I read some Yelp reviews on this hole in the wall Mexican place - it sounds amazing! I really like Mexican food, you do..." He looked uncomfortable. "I... I hope you do..." He already knew I did. How? Facebook or some blog post I'd made? Don't freak out... It's not bad that he knows this, relax... "I think you already know I like Mexican food, don't you?" Paul was squirming a little. "I... I saw a post you were tagged in on Facebook. So, yes, I know you like Mexican food. I..." I put a finger to his lips. "It's OK... We're good, let's go enjoy some amazing Mexican food. I could use a drink after the last twenty-whatever hours." I was smiling and Paul looked relieved I had let him off the hook. Choose your battles was all I could think. In the scope of things, it was somewhat nice he had found that out and wanted to make dinner special on our 'date'. All good... March 10th 7:13 PM Dinner was amazing. The hole in the wall really wasn't much more than four walls, a kitchen, bathrooms - which I think were out back. It took us longer than expect to get here, but it turned out to be worth it - I was stuffed. From the fresh tortilla's made by three old women near the kitchen entrance, to salsa I could literally drink out of the little bowl provided - it was that good, to the loud salsa music blaring on tiny speaks placed in fake plastic trees - saying this place was amazing really didn't do it justice. We had to wait about ten minutes for a table, but it really didn't feel like that much of a wait. There wasn't a bar, so we milled around the entrance with eight to ten others trying to get a table. Once seated we agreed to ordering a mammoth margarita, which took up a lot of space on the rickety steel table with wobbly legs. All the tables looked like dumpster dive saves and I noticed several others with the same wobble issue and the same margarita space problem... When our food arrived - which was enough to feed four people - I could tell things were loosening up a little, but the conversation needed a different direction... "OK mister, no more Amber talk until... Until tomorrow, agreed?" I blurted that out because he was starting to tell me again about the same computer surveillance crap he'd told me once in the car on the way here and again while we were waiting for the table. He smiled. "Yeah, I can do that. Drink on it?" I nodded and leaned in as he did to slurp the soupy mix of margarita with two Dose Eques beers sitting upside down in the massive glass bowl of the drink. I was smiling when I sat back, grabbing a chip and some salsa. Damn this stuff was good! "So, what do you do for fun?" I looked at Paul and decided to mess with him. "Don't you know already?" He laughed, not uncomfortably, more heartfelt... Too much alcohol in you Mr. Kline? I could feel a very nice buzz working a nice warmth all over my body. "I deserved that... To be honest, I don't know a lot about your present day activities - you run right?" "Yeah, I burn off a lot of aggressions running." "Probably sucks in the rain," he said biting into a street taco. "I don't mind, it really frees up my brain cells after a long day of legal research..." "That stuff boring? I mean do you like it?" He leaned in to suck some more margarita. "Eh, it's a job. The people at Jacob's firm are nice. The money is okay for now..." The look on his face made me think about being interviewed by Jacob - was this conversation between friends or was he doing research? I needed to flip this back on him. "You know, I don't even know where you are from and you know more than enough about me... Tell me about you." He was still smiling, maybe contemplating my request. "Well, I'm Paul..." He reached across the table and we shook hands, I giggled - I had better watch my margarita intake. "How old do you think I am?" That threw me, but I guessed. "Thirty... Thirty-five..." "Not bad... I'm thirty-six," a pause. "Do you think I'm single, married, or divorced?" Oh... He was younger than I had originally thought - which was about the forty mark - but you always guessed less, right? Single or married? I gave him a mock raised eyebrow look, like I was studying him. "Single now, never married, had a long term relationship though that just didn't work out." "Really? What happened to that long term relationship?" He looked genuinely interested now. "I don't know, maybe you didn't do the laundry?" I replied, trying to lighten this back up. "Actually, I was married. She's a flight attendant, lives here in Phoenix. We made it about three good years, six in total being married, but we dated two before getting married. She remarried now - he's a pilot. I'm over it, but still a little sore she took the dog." "Oh, I'm sorry... I..." "It's OK, I'm really over it. The dog thing bugs me now and then..." "So you lived here in Phoenix?" "No, what gave you that impression?" Paul still had an interested look on his face, not sad or annoyed, interested in whether or not I could read him - maybe? "I just thought... Well, since she was here in Phoenix..." I was beginning to feel uncomfortable and I knew my guard was down due to the alcohol. "Nah, I live in West Seattle. Born and raised. That's why I asked you about running in the rain." He was smiling. "You look surprised by that." I was, all this time I just assumed he was from, I don't know - New York - then Phoenix because of this ex-wife? My heart soared a little... I felt a little more relaxed and the conversation really began to pick up. We knew all the local stuff, so it made talking about ourselves easier I think, well until politics crept into being the subject. We agreed to disagree and moved on to other topics that were easier to discuss. I learned more about Paul in the next hour than I ever thought I would - like he played hockey, Sounders season ticket holder, his parents lived in West Seattle, he liked all sorts of music, and still liked walking through the Pike Place Market. He was so normal and made me laugh so much at one point I was crying from laughing so hard. "What do you think? Want to share another margarita?" My eyes gave him a conspirator's look. "Yeah, but I doubt I would be able to walk out of here..." He got serious. "Agreed... I'm feeling it a little too and I gotta drive us back. How about we check out the groovy hotel bar scene?" I nodded and he made a gesture toward our server. We had been talking so much I hadn't noticed the place was half-empty. What time was it? March 10th 9:26 PM I had tried to pay my share of the dinner bill, but Paul wasn't having any of it - so as we entered the hotel bar I told him the drinks were on me. I had picked up my shiny new American Express Corporate card and was hell- bent on breaking it in I told him. He laughed, told me to surprise him with a 'fancy' rum drink, and excused himself, heading toward the restroom. I ordered two top-shelf rum and Coke's, then sat at the same booth we'd sat in the night before. "Our booth... So nice of them to keep it reserved for us." He pick his drink up, raised it in a salute, and then took a sip. I could tell he was thinking about it. "Tastes like a rum and Coke to me..." I laughed a little, took a sip of my drink. "Do this..." I clucked my tongue on the roof of my mouth. He did the same. We probably looked stupid making clucking sounds, but he played along. "Any after taste in your mouth?" "No, should there be?" "A good rum will go down smoothly, no harsh tingle in your mouth, but you should have a nice after-glow. That's not scientific by any means, but I've always found it to be true..." "I always thought good liquor was served neat... I got no glow in my mouth," he said smiling. "Yeah, but they only had middle of the road stuff, so the Coke helps to mask that it's really not the best stuff." He laughed, which I appreciated. Paul was funny, could carry on a conversation about anything and make you feel special the whole time he was batting those hazel colored eyes at you. I've had way too much to drink tonight... Don't think anything he might do that mindreading shit on me... March 10th 10:59 PM We weren't the last to leave the bar, but I had yawned a couple times over the last fifteen minutes - apologizing profusely each time - but we decided to call it a night. In total, I had two decent rum and Coke's, while Paul had finished his one, then switched to beer - finishing two before we headed back to our rooms. He insisted on walking me back and when we were past the front desk, and in the hall to my room, I stopped. I put a hand on his shoulder. "These babies need to go..." And I slipped off my heels. I shrunk a couple inches and he was looking down at me. I think he said he was 5' 11" - that was probably about right. I wasn't sloppy drunk or anything, but I was giddy and feeling playful. "You sir, may walk me to my room, if and only if you can..." I dropped my heels, gave him a grin before I bolted down the hallway! "Can catch me...." I made it to the first corner and looked back to see he had just picked up my second shoe and was trying to recover from being left in the dust. The race was on! Nearing the elevators, I looked back and he was closing on me... Stairs! I hit the door at half-speed, taking them two at a time. I was at the second floor landing when I heard him entering the stairway. "Not fair..." he complained, but I was through to the hallway, sprinting to the end like some rowdy kid and made it to my door as he popped out into the hallway. He dropped a shoe, and looking at me. "Yeah, you cheat..." he said loud enough for me to hear him and not wake the entire floor. He walked the rest of the way, stopping a couple feet from me to curtsey with my heels extended. "Why, Thank You good sir..." I wasn't winded, but I was certainly wide awake, heart thumping out of my chest, and pretty sure I was feeling that alcohol buzz now. "Your Welcome my lady..." We chuckled a little, and I fished my key card from my purse. "I had to run with my purse, if that's any consolation..." "It's not...." He looked to be about to say something. "This was a lot of fun. I needed the break from this past week of working this case... See you in the morning?" And as high, alive, alert, tingling with the buzz from too much alcohol I was feeling - wishing he would just read my mind - it didn't look like he was getting the message. I was trying to think as loudly as I could - 'Ask to come in...' - or - 'Kiss me...' I considered asking him to come in, but resigned myself to his 'See you in the morning?' question was him turning down what I was thinking - it was the end of the night. My mood was broken now anyway, my spirit, I was crashing - crap... "Yeah," I turned to swipe the keycard in the door, holding it ajar with my foot, I turned my head toward him and smiled my best 'I'm so happy' smile. "I had a nice time. Goodnight Paul..." The door clunked heavily behind me and I was in an empty room, with crushing silence blanketing me, sucking the best of the evening away... March 10th 11:02 PM I physically jumped at the tap on my door. I had been standing there leaning against it for maybe fifteen seconds sinking into a dark, dark place. I looked out the peephole - it was Paul. I tried to gain my composure, confidence, opening the door slowly. "You forget something?" Paul looked... He stepped to me, his hands reached to my waist, pulled me to him, and kissed me...