Murder in the City

by ~lorikitty

Nina leaned forward, her foot tapping rapidly on the plush red carpet beneath the cozy table she shared with her boyfriend.
Tom glanced at Nina, tilting his head to one side and raising a brow.
"You're tapping again, Darling. Is something bothering you?"
She lifted her gaze, then quickly focused on her food again. "What makes you think something is bothering me?"
Her bottom lip found its way between her teeth, as she rearranged her mashed potatos.
"I thought the potatos looked better on the other side, to be honest. Maybe you could add some of my peas as decoration."
Abruptly Nina straightened, her fork clattering on her plate as she grabbed the sides of her chair.
"Tom, I can't see you anymore."
Tom's eyebrows raised, almost comically. Considering how close he and Nina had become over the past few months, this was
a huge shock. He slowly placed his fork on the table near his plate, jumping slightly when it banged loudly against his water glass.
"What brought this on, Darling? There aren't any other men, and things have been going so well. Why, just last week, we all but..."
"Enough. I couldn't, I just can't. Tom -- I haven't been completely honest with you."
She leaned forward again, and Tom found himself struggling to focus on her almond-shaped dark-blue eyes. A tantalizing display of cleavage
was on full display, but he had a feeling she hadn't intended for him to take advantage of it just then.
Covering his hand with hers, she looked searchingly into his eyes, her teeth still chewing away at her bottom lip.
"Tom. There's, well -- it's not another man. I wouldn't do that to you. I have, well...feelings...for you." She looked down as she said the last,
pulling in a gulp of air. Reaching down into her clutch, she pulled out her wallet. She rested her elbows on the table, then opened the picture fold.
"This is Angela. She just turned 8 years old last week." Nina smiled at Tom then, really smiled. Her eyes sparkled, and she pulled her wallet back
and protectively replaced it in her clutch. "Her daddy doesn't know about her, though I've told her all about him. Tom, I can't be with you. Not
because I don't like you," again, she found herself unable to look at hime when she said that, "but my daughter needs me and I can't be with
another man while she's so young."
Nina stood up quickly, glancing around the restaurant, then raced for the front door. She'd never been good with confrontations, and this
was about as confrontational as one got.
Stepping outside, she found herself in another downpour, completely typical of a New York winter. Cursing herself for being duped by the
morning's bright warmth, she moved to a curb and waved desperately for a cab.


Tom, still seated at the table Nina had just vacated, stared at the spot in the air where her wallet had hoovered mere minutes before. He
was dumbfounded. He knew she had no other boyfriends, but a daughter was not something he'd ever suspected. Her body certainly showed none
of the typical clues, not that he'd ever managed to take her to bed. Her breasts were still round and buoyant. He'd concentrated on those glorious
orbs often enough in the course of their dates, as she'd offered them almost freely in those distracting outfits she wore. Most certainly he'd never
noticed a daughter whenever he'd stood behind the row of trees near Nina's apartment, and none of the detectives he'd hired had ever mentioned one.
In all honesty, he'd only asked them to look out for strange men. A daughter, as they no doubt assumed, that he should've known of.
"Excuse me, sir. Your check," a young waitress leaned near him, placing the check near his plate, "will you be needing anything else?"
He shook his head, leaning into his back pocket for his wallet. He stared off, forcing himself to recall the daughter in any of his
observations, as he placed the plastic card on the check. It was dumbfounding, the things Nina had kept from him. She claimed she'd still
be with him if not for this other man's child, though. He held to that, hoping she would, also.

The sound of gunshots woke Nina up on Saturday, March 12th, 2005. She glanced at her alarm clock, its large green lights illuminating the digits 9:45.
She'd slept in this weekend, since Angela was staying with her best-friend, Carla. Now she was too terrified to think. She reached for the phone on her night-stand, shaking as she punched in the numbers "9-1-1"
"Operater, is this an emergency?" A nasally female inquired. Nina stuttered, quickly relaying the events as she'd heard them. The gunshot, followed by the sound of a child's scream, and even now a mother's wail could be heard clearly over the phone.
"An emergency vehicle is on its way, ma'am. Will you be alright, or do I need to stay on the phone?" Nina quickly denied the need, letting the phone fall back into its base.
She struggled out of bed, her hands still shaking uncontrollably. Wrapping her lilac terry robe around herself, she quickly raced from her apartment. She ran down the stairs, then stopped at the side-walk.
Keely, the daughter of her neighbor Leena, lay prone near the edge of the walk. Her mother was leaning over her, crying and wailing, her face a mass of pain.
Keely's blood was pooling near Leena's knees, but Leena remained oblivious. She was sobbing, touching Keely's face, chanting over and over, "no no no, don't die sweetheart, no no no"
she shrieked the last no as an ambulance came screeching to a halt in the middle of the road, and several paramedics hurried over with their heart monitors and respirators.
Two carried a stretcher, and they gently placed Keely onto it, covering her small mouth with an oxygen mask before they pushed the stretcher into the back of the ambulance.
Leena glanced at Nina as she ran to the ambulance, letting out one last sob before the ambulance took her with her daughter.
Nina stared at the blood, wrapping her arms around herself. So sinister, and in this supposedly "good" part of town. How had it happened? Why? Who could possibly harm someone so innocent?
She turned away, the image burned into her mind, as she numbly walked back up the stairs to her apartment.

"IT WAS THE WRONG GIRL, YOU MORON!" he shouted into his cell-phone. He quickly glanced around, hoping nobody had heard him.
"You said blond, blue eyes, that's what I shot."
"Well you shot her neighbor's daughter. Make sure to get the right girl next time."
he shut his phone, leaning back into a comfortable position behind the bushes, keeping his sights on the window upstairs and to the left.

She babbled into the phone, picking at the polish on her toes.
"So that's why I'm coming home. Can you put us up at your place for a while?"
"Of course, Nina. C'mon, we were the three musketeers when we were kids, how can I deny either of you anything?"
Nina settled a bit, laughing into the reciever, "Oh c'mon Len, you can't possibly still remember that!"
"Of course I do," came the reply, Lenny's familiar voice sounding tinny in her ear, "we had some wild times, didn't we. Well, when will you be down?"
"Can we come today? We'll be there by tonight," Nina said, her eyes darting across the living-room as her daughter appeared.
"Of course! Of course! I'll get your rooms ready. Now you be careful, Nina, and don't let that horrible person do anything to our precious Angela."
"Right. Okay. We'll be there soon. I'll keep you posted on the road. I gave you the new cell-phone number, right?"
"Got it right here hon. Just get yourself and your daughter here, and we'll be in business."
Nina laughed as she disconnected, smiling despite herself.
"All packed, sweetie?" She said, looking up at her daughter. Angela's hair bounced as she nodded, the gleam of excitement causing her eyes to lean toward a wicked green.
"I can't wait to see Lenny again! He took us to the zoo, and then we played games all night last time he visited. Does he have a Gamecube too? Maybe we can network them and play games together," Angela said, her small body jumping up and down with excitement.
Nina laughed again, kneeling near her daughter and wrapping her arms around her. "I love you, Angela. Don't you ever forget it."
Angela gently patted her mother's head, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you too mommy. Don't YOU ever forget it!"
They laughed together, smiling into eachother's eyes.

"Are we there yet Mommy?" Angela asked, grinning mischievously at her mother in the rear-view mirror.
Nina glanced at her daughter, grinning back, "Did you finish your video game already?"
"No! I just want to know how much longer before food!"
Nina's stomach rumbled at the reminder, and the familiar golden arches of the next exit had her leaving the freeway.

It was nearly midnight by the time they reached Lenny's house, but every light was on. She parked in the drive-way, smiling as Len appeared.
He opened the back door of the car, gathering Angela into his arms. Nina grabbed the essential suitcases from the trunk, then followed the two into the house.
She glanced around the front hall, smiling at the familiar furniture. He'd had the same during his college days, and had lovingly furnished his home with them, despite the fact he could well afford better.
"I see you went all out with the furnishing," Nina said, grinning at Len as he grinned back. He walked toward one of his guest rooms, gently placing Angela on a large, pink-canopied bed.
Angela was a common visitor here, so he kept a room specially for her. Nina gently dressed Angela in her favorite nightgown, the one with pink and purple penguins.
Tugging the covers under her chin, she leaned down and kissed her daughter gently on the forehead.

As she wandered into the living room, Len looked up from his book, smiling at Nina. He was draped in his usual pose on the drooping couch, one foot resting on his "coffee table", two crates holding up a piece of glass.
"I see you upgraded the coffee table," Nina said, plopping down next to him, grabbing his book. She turned to the last page, reading it thoroughly.
"I know whodunit," she offered a few minutes later, grinning up at Len. He tapped her on the nose before snatching his book back.
"So do I. But you cheated," he said, leaning an arm around her shoulder. Nina rested her head on his shoulder, leaning up against him and stretching her legs out next to his.
Len gently stroked her hair, checking his book for the page-number before setting it near his feet on the table.
"So tell me about it," he said, turning his head to look at her.
She moved her fingers to his sleeve, fiddling with some loose threads.
"I told Tom I couldn't see him, and told him about Angela," she said, her lip finding its way between her teeth again.
"How did he take it?" he asked, arching a brow at her. She always failed to mention Angela to her dates, and was eternally disconcerted when they discontinued all relations with her after learning of Angela.
"I don't know, I didn't wait to find out. I ran out into the worst rain-storm ever, found a cab, and went home."
Len nodded against her head, then straightened before standing up. Nina sighed, knowing a lecture was coming.
"I know, Len. I'm supposed to tell them before they get emotionally invested, and especially before I do, so nobody gets hurt. I'm so used to not mentioning her, though. Maybe I don't really want to find a guy."
She smiled up at Len, trying for a seductive look, "After all, Len, I've got you. You're all the man I need."
Len shook his head, his crooked grin appearing. "Sweetheart, if I'm the only man in your life, you'll be eternally frustrated."
Nina stuck her tongue out at him, grinning back. "I can make you want women, Len. Well, woman. Just me."
Len stuck his tongue out in reply, then wandered into the kitchen. Nina jumped up to follow him. The kitchen was her favorite room of a house. Well, next to the bedroom. Sleep was sometimes better than food.
Sticking her head into his fridge, she pulled out sandwich fixings, starting up a constant chatter.
"She was only 10 years old, Len. How could someone do that to a child? Her mother was a mess. I didn't know how to comfort her, it was a shock to me and I imagine it was so much worse for her."
Len smeared mustard on a slice of whole-wheat bread, glancing up at Nina before coating another piece of bread. He didn't say anything, knowing she'd fill the space with words.
"I couldn't help worrying, thinking, it could've been Angela. She means so much to me, you know? She's my heart, my angel...I don't know what I'd do without her."
Cleaning out one of the pouches of cold-cuts, she piled meat and cheese on her sandwich. Len stole some of the meat, placing it on his sandwich. She didn't notice, just kept jabbering.
"I'm so glad you don't mind us being here, Len. I had to call work and ask for a leave of absence, but you know me. I was already hating the job and trying to find another one."
She smashed her sandwich together, then stuck her head in his fridge, pulling a couple of cokes out. She popped the top, took a deep drag, then set the can on the blue tile of his kitchen counter. She handed him his, then settled on one of the matching blue stools by the counter.
"What are we going to tell Mark, Len? He's going to notice Angela. I haven't seen him in over 8 years, Len. 8 years, 9 months, more or less. If he finds out about Angela he's going to kill me!"
she paused at her last statement, then ammended, "I mean, he'll probably be really upset. What should I do?"
Len leaned on the counter, stuffing his sandwich into his mouth.
"I guess I can call him in the morning. Invite him out to lunch. I'll tell him then," she said, stuffing the last bit of crust into her mouth. Tilting her head back, she finished off the can of soda.
Len nodded, taking a sip from his soda. Nina leaned her elbows on the counter, clasping her hands together. Quiet descended on the kitchen as she sat there, thinking of how to approach the subject of Mark's daughter.