013

The next day, Cole occupied his desk and waited for the inevitable circus to commence. Several hours had elapsed since Frank led his team to search Markus Santana's house. They would not find what they were looking for there, but they were certainly in for a few surprises if everything went to plan.

Penny, the cute young front desk receptionist, approached Cole. "Hello, Detective Harvey! I brought you some fresh coffee."

Cole looked up to see the blonde bob cut-girl in tasteful gray suit-pants, suit jacket, and white button-up shirt. She had the look of a successful, confident lawyer, not a receptionist. Cole accepted her offering, hooking the warm styrofoam cup from her hand.

"Thanks! What brings you up here?" Cole asked.

"Well, I heard about the search this morning and thought maybe you could use a little something to perk you up. I know it must be very stressful," Penny said, smiling innocently at him.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. I hope they find what they need so I can have closure. This whole thing has haunted me for far too long."

"They will, I just know it! The good guys always win, right?" Penny said reassuringly.

Cole shook his head, "Not always, Penny."

Just then Frank barged through the door with a dark haired woman in handcuffs, her eyeliner smeared with tears. Vince hound-dogged the pair, stopping at the Cole's desk while Frank took the woman to an interrogation room. Cole glanced up as Frank led the woman past his desk.

"Is that the woman? The one from the nightclub?" Vince asked.

Everything was going exactly like Zafira had planned. All Cole had to do was play his part.

"Yeah, that's her!" Cole said, lying through his teeth. "How did you find her? I thought you were after Markus?"

"Interesting story," the pathologist said. "When we got there, we searched the place but couldn't find the revolver. What we did find was a full confession supposedly written by his brother, Antonio. I still have to check the prints on the letter as well as cross-reference the handwriting to be sure."

Vince sat on the edge of Cole's desk. "Anyway, Markus said his brother should have the gun. We got the go-ahead from the judge to search his house. We found the gun there, but we also found another dead body like the one you found at the night club. Completely dried out, except for his penis. We found that woman, Antonio's wife, lying on the bed next to the corpse, passed out from too much alcohol. I think the victim is Antonio, but I'll need to perform an autopsy first before I can confirm that."

"Interesting is an understatement," Cole said. "That's a strange change of events. Think there is any connection between him and Maria's murder?"

"Hard to say at this point," Vince said. "But we now have more to go on than ever before. Though it still remains a mystery how she killed the victims. Hopefully when I examine this new body I'll find some new clues."...

It's going to be an open-and-shut case!" Frank said, returning from the interrogation room. He turned his gaze to Penny. "Well, hello there, beautiful."

Penny scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Frank stepped in closer to her. "You know, me and some of the guys are going to hit up the bar later tonight to celebrate. You should come join us."

"I'd rather not," she replied bluntly. "I'll see ya around, Detective Harvey."

"Thanks again for the coffee," Cole said as Penny walked away towards the elevator.

"It was my pleasure," she said, smiling over her shoulder.

"Would you look at the ass on her," Frank said after Penny disappeared behind the elevator doors.

"Are you always a douchebag like that?" Cole asked. "It's a wonder how you get as many women as you claim."

"Don't hate the player, Cole, hate the game," Frank said arrogantly. "Besides, she's a virgin, not really my type."

"And how do you know this?" Vince asked.

Frank stood with a smug look on his face. "If you two were in the game for as long as I have, you would know these things. First of all, no woman who looks that good dresses so conservatively for a receptionist unless she is a virgin. Secondly, the only person she gives the time of day to, is Cole. An attractive single woman who wasn't a virgin would be flirting with everyone."

Frank turned to Cole. "Speaking of, she has the biggest crush on you. You should ask her out. Maybe it's finally time for you to move on with your life? It could take your mind off things if nothing else."

Yeah, right. Like anything could take his mind off the fact that Maria's killer was still out there, or off the demon succubus who invades his every thought. The less people in his life right now, the better.

"Nah," Cole said. "I'm not ready to date again just yet."

"It's your call," Frank said. "Personally, I think it's an offense to the 'man code' to pass up such prime pussy."

Frank walked towards his desk and then turned back around. "Oh, I almost forgot. Due to the nature of this suspect having possible connections to Maria's murder, Captain Finnegan has turned the night club murder case over to me. I'll need you to sign an affidavit stating she was the one who you saw that night. You understand, right?"

Normally Cole would have a huge problem with someone else taking over one of his cases, especially if that someone was Frank. On the other hand, this should keep the CPD chasing their tail while he and Zafira found the real killer.

"I totally get it, Frank. It's all yours," Cole said.

Frank cracked his smug smile once more, then returned to his desk.

"Well, I have a shitload of work piled up so I better get to it," Vince said. "Before I go, listen -- I was planning on hitting up a strip club this weekend. Do you want to come along? It'll be like our old college days."

"I don't know if I'll be up for it, Vince," Cole replied.

Oh come on!" Vince pleaded. "You've got to start living a little. Seeing some tits would do you some good."

He has already seen some tits recently -- Zafira's perfect pair. But yeah, he did need to liven up some, he admitted to himself.

"I'll... think about it," Cole answered.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Vince said as he left for his lab.

Everything turned out as planned; even got a free coffee out of the deal. He looked at his watch -- end of his shift already. He grabbed his trench coat and headed for the main exit. He passed Penny at the front desk. "Detective Harvey!" she waved for him to come over. He walked to her, curious.

"I didn't want to ask earlier because of all the guys around," Penny said bashfully. "But I have no plans for tomorrow night and was wondering if you'd like to go see a movie with me."

Cole was caught completely off guard and unsure of how to respond. He had not been on a date since before Maria's death. Plus there was the not-so-little matter of Zafira.

"Well, I may have plans then, so..."

"It's okay, Detective Harvey," Penny said as she scribbled on a piece of paper. "Here's my number. Just give me a call if you're ever free or just want someone to talk to, okay?"

Cole took her note and smiled. "Thanks. I'll do that."

She smiled back as he left for his car. He did not have time to chat with her more -- he already had a date with a super-sexy succubus.