Chapter 2

The next day he stood by his car waiting. His investigation had revealed that the woman that was having an affair with Swift parked her car in this parking garage every day. He had waited until he could park next to her car and had then pulled into the parking spot next to her car. Within minutes after getting out of his car he saw her walking toward her car and he put his key in the lock; like he was getting ready to leave.

As she stuck her key in the lock he looked over at her and said, "Nice car. I've always had a thing for BMWs. Are they really as good as they say they are?"

She got a big grin on her face. "I love it. I'll never own any car other than a BMW. Once you own one it spoils you."

Don flashed her a big grin, "Well once I get a job like yours I'll get one. I don't make anywhere near the money you do."

She grunted like she knew a secret that she wasn't going to share with him.

"Do you work around here?" she asked.

Don pulled back his coat and showed his gun that he was now licensed to carry, "No, I'm a cop."

Don saw the look. Some women have a thing for cops. He never figured out if they just wanted to be around someone with authority or if they loved being around danger.

She stopped getting into her car, "Are you working right now?"

He flashed her his best smile, "Just finishing up an investigation. I'm going to get something to eat and then go home."

She hesitated getting in the car and Don made his move, "I hate eating alone. If I'm not being too pushy would you consider having dinner with me? I promise that I won't hit on you. Just a nice dinner and some pleasant conversation, I promise."

She smiled at him, "Where do you have in mind?"

"You name it. Cops don't get to eat out that often."

"My name is Don Clark," he added.

"Hannah Wright."

She started to get into the car, "Follow me."

He had trouble keeping up with her after they pulled out of the parking garage. She led him to a nice restaurant several miles out of town. She pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant much too fast and almost hit the car in front of her parking spot. Don figured that she was trying to impress him with her BMW.

As they got out of their cars she asked, "Can you afford this one?"

Don grinned and nodded. He thought to himself that Mrs. Swift was going to pay for it anyway.

They sat in the cocktail lounge and had two drinks before they went into the dining room. When Don saw the prices he was glad that he had gotten an advance from Mrs. Swift. He ordered another drink for them and asked the waiter to give them a few minutes before taking their order.

"You sure you can afford this?" she asked.

He smiled, "Who do you think is paying for this?"

She looked at him for a minute, "You mean that you're going to make the police force pay for this?"

He nodded and gave her a sly smile, "Sure, you look like a dangerous criminal and I'm going to see if I can get any information out of you. I'll probably have to arrest you right after we finish eating."

She chuckled, "Isn't charging this to the police force illegal?"

"Not if they don't know about it. I'm sure that you know that cops don't make a lot of money. I take care of myself. I'm not hurting. You have to look out for yourself. No one else is going to do it for you."

"You sound like me," she said, "I look out for myself. A woman has to look out for herself. It's a man's world."

It was her third drink and she was already getting loose.

"You know I'm a cop. What do you do?"

"I'm a receptionist. I answer phones all day and try to make people think that I really care."

"Yeah, sure," he said feigning incredulity, "That's how you can drive a BMW."

"That's what I do. Like you said, you have to look out for yourself. There's this old guy that thinks that I'm pretty special. He likes to buy me things. He bought the BMW out there."

The waiter came back and they ordered dinner and he searched the menu for something that would take a while to prepare. Don asked that a bottle of wine be brought to the table while they waited for the meal to be prepared. The waiter brought the bottle of wine and then left. Don poured them each a glass of wine.

"What are you, a beat cop or a detective?" she asked.

"I found out real fast that the money just isn't there for a beat cop. I made detective as soon as I could. The opportunities are so much better for a detective."

She looked at him seriously, "I've never met a cop like you. What do you mean that there are more opportunities?"

"Like I said, you have to watch out for yourself. A detective comes across the right opportunities and makes the right contacts. Let's just say that I've got a nice start on my retirement fund."

The conversation was making him uneasy. He had never taken any money illegally but he sensed that this was what she wanted to hear.