14 Beef Ragout

Serina entered her apartment, closing the door behind her. She dropped her bag on the floor behind the door, and hung her coat up on one of the hooks on the wall. She kicked her shoes off, before picking them up and placing them in the shoe rack that lay beneath the line of coat hooks. Picking up her bag again, she headed through the doorway into her well-appointed lounge.

She looked around. She couldn't see Karla, but she could hear her moving about in the kitchen to the rear. "Hi, honey! I'm home!" she shouted wearily. There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She giggled to herself.

"I'm in the kitchen!" came the reply.

Serina placed her bag on the sofa, and walked towards the doorway leading into the kitchen. She felt slightly nervous. She was worried how Karla would react to her news.

Karla suddenly appeared through the bead curtain that covered the doorway into the kitchen. Serina stepped back in surprise. Karla smiled, and stepped forward to embrace her. She returned the embrace, and planted a light kiss on Karla's lips.

Gently, Karla pulled away from the embrace, still holding Serina's hands, and looked at her critically. "So, how has your day been?" she asked.

Serina sighed, and averted her gaze. She looked around the room – anywhere to avoid making eye contact with Karla. "Not bad, I suppose." she replied, hesitantly.

Karla frowned, and shook Serina's arms in an attempt to get her to make eye contact. Serina guessed that Karla would be slightly worried by her evasive behaviour. She briefly relented, glancing at Karla with a faint smile on her lips, to try and reassure her. She then turned away and stared at the wall. "No new murders to investigate." she said glumly.

Karla smiled and briefly embraced Serina again, rubbing her hands up and down Serina's back. "You sound almost disappointed." she said, her amusement dancing across her words. Serina guessed that Karla was concerned something was wrong, and was trying to comfort her. She shook her head and carefully extricated herself from Karla's embrace. Karla stepped backwards towards the kitchen, a look of surprise on her face.

Serina glanced towards Karla again, the faint smile still stuck on her lips. She was still trying to avoid making proper eye contact. Karla stuck her tongue out at her in frustration. "So how's life without Michele?" she asked. "Getting lonely in the office?"

Serina laughed hollowly, while continuing to look around the room. "No, no. Not at all." she said, shaking her head nervously. At that moment, she felt really uncomfortable. She wasn't sure she really wanted to tell Karla about Cahill. She knew that Karla wasn't overly fond of men, and was worried that she might react badly to the news. But she knew that if she didn't tell her, Karla would start to get suspicious. And possibly a little jealous, she thought, smiling to herself.

Karla looked surprised. "What? They found you a new partner already?" she asked.

Serina finally found the courage to look Karla straight in the eyes. She nodded hesitantly. Karla giggled expectantly. "Ooh! A new girl for me to meet?" she asked.

Serina shook her head. "No, a man." she replied.

Karla raised her eyebrows and took a step backwards. "A man‽" she echoed. Her surprise was clear in her voice, as was her disappointment.

Serina nodded nervously. "Yes. And a rookie as well." she sighed. "Well, not quite a rookie, I suppose. He started a month or so ago. He was part of Martin's team. Before... well, you know."

Karla's mouth dropped open with shock. Serina looked at her nervously, still uncertain. She had expected Karla to be more upset than she appeared to be. Either because her new partner was a man, or because he had been mixed up with Martin and his... activities.

Karla's mouth snapped shut and the two women stood in silence for a moment, just staring at one another. Eventually, Karla breached the impasse. "So, what's his name?" she asked, frowning.

Serina almost jumped in surprise at the silence being broken. She took a moment to steel herself before replying. "Um... Cahill." she said, hesitantly. "Well, Marcus Cahill. But he prefers Cahill."

As Karla stepped forward and grabbed Serina's hands again, a concerned expression appeared on her face. Serina looked at her nervously. Was she upset and just hiding it? At moments like this, her inability to read Karla properly really annoyed her. She sighed. Karla frowned at her.

Suddenly, Karla started giggling, and playfully swung Serina's arms around. Serina stared at her, puzzled. What had just happened?

"What‽ You thought I'd get upset because your new partner is a man‽" Karla asked, still giggling playfully.

Serina sighed with relief, and looked down at the floor. "Well... I wasn't sure." she replied. "You know how I have trouble reading you."

Karla smiled warmly. "That's because you love me." she replied, before embracing Serina again. "And I love you too." she concluded, kissing Serina passionately on the lips.

Serina wrapped her arms around Karla's shoulders. "So... You don't mind?" she asked.

Karla looked at her sternly, and shook her head. "Not as long as you two keep it purely professional." she replied.

Serina giggled, the relief washing over her body like a refreshing breeze on a hot day. She slid her hands down from Karla's shoulders to her waist. "Oh, don't you worry about Cahill." she said. She pulled Karla in tightly. "He's far too young for me." she added playfully.

Karla removed her hands from Serina's waist and pushed her away in mock anger. "What‽ Are you saying I'm old‽" she asked.

Serina shook her head and grabbed Karla's arm, pulling her back into an embrace with a smile. "No, you're not old. You're just right." she replied.

They kissed once more, then Karla delicately extricated herself from the embrace. She looked at Serina, curious. "So... What's he like?" she asked.

Serina shrugged her shoulders."Oh, mid-twenties, I guess." she replied non-committally. "White, blonde, blue eyes. That sort of thing."

Karla screwed up her face. Serina knew she wouldn't be interested in what Cahill looked like physically. She smiled to herself, and continued undeterred. "Pretty handsome, I suppose." she sighed. She glanced playfully at Karla. "If you like that sort of thing."

"Come on, you know I didn't mean that." Karla exclaimed with exasperation. "What's he really like?"

A new wave of uncertainly coursed through Serina's body. What if her powers of intuition were actually failing? She knew she was a good detective, but her success had been mainly based on her ability to read people, to sense their emotions and whether they were lying. If she couldn't do that any more, would she still be a good detective? "I... don't know." she replied, shaking her head. "I can't read him."

Karla looked incredulous. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "You always know!"

Serina looked annoyed with herself. "Oh, I don't know!" she sighed. "He just doesn't seem to have any emotions at all."

Karla looked at her, worried. Serina returned her gaze, and they stared at each other silently for a few seconds. Eventually, Serina sighed again. "Or, at least, he doesn't show them." she added.

Karla frowned. "Come on babe, you're better than that!" she exclaimed with annoyance. "Don't tell me your powers of intuition have stopped working?"

Serina shook her head. "No, I don't think so." she replied, attempting to sound reassuring. "I just can't read him, for some reason. Not sure why. Maybe because I've only just met him today?"

Karla smiled playfully. "Or maybe you do fancy him..." she suggested.

Serina shook her head and sighed. "No." she replied insistently. "There's just something odd about him."

Karla frowned. "Odd? What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I don't know!" Serina exclaimed. She looked around the lounge, having suddenly remembered something. "You know that photo from Walmingford?" she asked. "The one of us on the hotel balcony? When I..."

Her voice tailed off, and she looked at Karla uncertainly. They had promised not to mention... that... ever again. Karla pulled a face and nodded. "Yes, I know the one you mean."

Serina frowned. She was suddenly conscious of the fact that there weren't any photographs of them on display in their apartment. "It's a nice photo." she continued, absent-mindedly. "We should print it off and put it up on the wall or something."

Karla glared at her. Although she had never been able to read her than well, Serina was aware that Karla was becoming increasingly annoyed with her continued evasiveness. She smiled to herself. Wasn't it ironic that she, as a detective, was avoiding giving straight answers to Karla's questions?

Wanting to avoid pushing Karla to explode with anger, Serina sighed and looked her squarely in the eye. Perhaps she had better start giving proper answers. "It's on my computer." she said. "It came up in the screen-saver. Cahill saw it, and asked who you were. So I told him. And he didn't react."

"So?" Karla asked, frowning.

Serina shrugged her shoulders. "It's just a bit strange." she replied. "I mean, everybody else has reacted in some way. Whether they have been surprised, angry, disappointed, disgusted, offended, or something else."

"But not him?" Karla asked.

"No, not Cahill." Serina sighed. "He just went 'Oh. I see.' And that was it."

Serina looked hopefully at Karla, wondering if she had understood. Had she explained herself clearly enough?

Karla looked at Serina thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. That is strange." she replied with a smile. "You'll have to introduce us at some point."

"And his voice." Serina added. "It's so weird. Almost mechanical."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get to know him." Karla replied, as she turned to head back into the kitchen. She suddenly stopped, and looked back over her shoulder at Serina, a cheeky grin on her face. "Professionally, I mean." she added, as she stepped through the bead curtain into the kitchen.

A moment later, Serina followed her, sniffing the air. "Ooh, something smells good." she remarked, looking around.

Karla was standing with her back to Serina, checking that the pots on the stove weren't boiling dry. "Beef Ragout." she announced, without turning around. "With rice."

Serina walked over and placed her arms around Karla's waist. This made Karla jump slightly, and she emitted a brief squeal.

"Smells delicious." Serina said, kissing the back of Karla's neck.

Karla slapped Serina's hands in a vain attempt to make to let go. "Get off me!" she exclaimed in mock indignation.

Serina continued undeterred. "So what's this about a contract and a celebration?"

Karla turned around, and threw her arms around Serina's shoulders. "The new housing development by the cinema." she replied, smiling happily.

Serina frowned. There were a number of developments in that area of town. She wasn't entirely certain which one Karla was referring to.

"You know, the bit of wasteland next to the river." Karla added, sensing Serina's confusion.

A look of realisation crossed Serina's face. "Oh! By the main road." she exclaimed. "Where the path goes under the bridge."

Karla nodded. "That's it." she replied. "They're going to move the road north, crossing the river by the footbridge. And there's going to be a new housing estate around where the old culvert is at the moment."

Serina squealed with excitement. "You're going to design the houses‽"

Karla nodded and smiled. Serina squealed again, this time with delight. She hugged Karla, planting another kiss on her lips.

Karla pushed Serina away in mock indignation. "Now go away and let me finish cooking." she snapped, turning her attention back to the pots on the stove. "We can celebrate properly tomorrow night. I've booked a table."

Serina stepped back, and put her hand in her skirt pocket, searching for her phone, before remembering that she had left it in her bag in the lounge. "You said you would." she nodded. "Where was it again?"

"Eastern Promise." Karla replied. "The new place on the High Street."

"Not sure I know that one." Serina frowned.

Karla shook her head. "It's only been open a week or so. Where the old gym was." she replied, twisting her head to look at Serina. "You know. The old guy's place. The one who died."

Serina nodded with realisation. "Oh, there!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know they were turning it into a restaurant!"

"Yes. A posh one, too." Karla replied with a nod. She looked back at the pots on the stove. "Well, posher than that place on the edge of town." she added, stirring one of the pots with a wooden spoon.

"The Wolf and Dog?" Serina frowned. "It's not too bad there now. Better than it used to be. New management."

"Wasn't there trouble there almost every weekend?" Karla asked.

"That was when it was the Brown Bear." Serina replied, shaking her head. "We got it shut down. Eventually."

Karla turned to look at Serina again. "That's right. I remember now. A couple of guys got glassed." she said, waving the wooden spoon at Serina. "Didn't you get called out there?"

"Yes." Serina replied, nodding. "One of them got beaten up so badly they thought he was going to die."

Karla nodded, and returned to stirring the pots with the spoon.

"That was the last straw, basically." Serina continued. "Frank wrote to the Council, and they shut the place down."

Karla stopped stirring the pots, and looked up at the ceiling. "Hmm... Wasn't there some great hoo-ha about the place being shut down?" she asked.

Serina nodded. "Yes." she replied. "People were worried that it might lead to trouble in other parts of town."

Karla turned to look at Serina again. "That was it." she noted. "Seemed like people were happy for drunks to cause trouble over there, but not in the middle of town when they were out enjoying a nice meal."

Serina laughed briefly. "Anyway, the place was bought by some new people a couple of months ago." she continued. "From abroad, I think. Anyway, they've apparently tarted the place up a bit, changed the name, you know, that kind of thing."

Karla laughed sarcastically. "Trying to attract a different class of patron?" she asked, turning back to the pots on the stove. "Good luck with that."

Serina smiled. "Oh, I don't know. Seems to be doing quite decent business nowadays, from what I hear." she replied. "Not that I've been there since it re-opened."

Karla looked at her, surprised. The oven suddenly started beeping. "Sounds like dinner's nearly ready." she remarked.

Serina looked across at the small dining table on the far side of the room. "Suppose I'd better lay the table, then." she sighed.

She opened the drawer next to the sink, and retrieved some cutlery and a couple of place-mats. "Plates?" she asked, looking across at Karla, who had just finished donning the oven gloves.

"In the oven." Karla replied. She opened the oven door and took out a small casserole dish full of beef stew, followed by two plates.

Serina nodded, and walked over to the dining table. As Karla spooned the stew on to the plates, along with the rice and vegetables from the pots on the stove, Serina laid the table. Once dinner was served, they sat down together at the table, and ate.