Chapter 13
Alex drove home from Latigo Beach, lost in thought. This morning had spun her mind into a jumble of confused thoughts. She liked Tobin, she was sure of that. Tobin was attractive, sweet to her, obviously interested, and intense, but in a good way. But there was something not quite right. Something was holding Tobin back. Alex had called Tobin ‘baby’ last night, and Tobin hadn’t returned it. Now, that didn’t necessarily mean that something was wrong, but Alex could feel that Tobin was keeping a part of her life a secret. Yes, Alex knew that there were things about Tobin’s job that Tobin couldn’t talk about, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something just felt off. Especially after Tobin had suddenly up and left the beach this morning, right when they were about to get in the water. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe random behavior was just the way Tobin was, but after what Alex had been through in her life, she didn’t want to start anything with Tobin only to have Tobin up and leave her without warning. I’m going to press her the next time I see her, Alex thought, as she pulled into her driveway.
********
“What do you have?” Abby asked.
“I’ve been following them for the last few days, ever since you and I talked”, Tobin said. After she had left Latigo Beach in a hurry a few mornings ago, she had gone straight to the office and found Abby, and the two had discussed Tobin’s thoughts. Abby agreed it was possible that Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy were the Queen Team, even though none of them had prior arrests. “So, they go here, they go there”, Tobin continued. “They go to a surf shop, buy some clothes and some new boards. They go out to eat. They go surfing.”
“Have you still been hanging out with them? I mean, you’ve been spending a lot of time with them. You all of a sudden not hanging out might look suspicious”, Abby said.
“I told them I have a real heavy workload this week. I told Alex the same thing.”
“Alex...your surfing contact, right? Anything I need to know about with you and her?”
“No, uh, we’re…” Tobin trailed off.
“You’re not together, is what you're going to tell me?” Abby questioned, edge in her voice.
“Yeah, I mean no. I mean, yeah, what I was going to tell you is no, we’re not together”, Tobin said. In truth she didn’t know what they were, since feelings were developing, at least on her end, and she was pretty sure on Alex’s end too, and as of two nights ago they were sleeping together, but she didn’t want to get into that with Abby, so she kept that to herself.
“Good. Remember – she’s just a part of the job. That’s it”, Abby said, pointing her finger at Tobin for emphasis, and at that mention, Tobin’s gut clenched. For some reason, that sounded so much more shallow now than it had a couple weeks ago. “So, what else?” Abby asked.
“Okay, get this”, Tobin said. “Yesterday, Ashlyn and Whitney stop at Southwest Savings And Credit Union on Santa Monica Boulevard. They’re inside for twenty minutes.”
“They’re scoping out the joint”, Abby theorized.
“Yep, that’s my bet. Then, Ashlyn and Whitney leave the bank and go right to their house. Morgan and Amy are there, and the four of them box up all of their stuff and take it to a storage unit. Then I lost them.”
“Shit”, Abby said. “Do you think they’ve fled the coup?”
“No. Not yet”, Tobin said, shaking her head. I bet they hit Southwest tomorrow for some travel money.”
“I hear that”, Abby said and looked at her watch. “Okay - it’s 6pm, so the bank is already closed for the day. We can stake it out starting tomorrow morning.” Abby was silent for a moment and then said, “You really think these women are the Queens?”
Tobin looked at Abby for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I do.” Then she said, “I know I was wrong on the last one, but I’m right this time. I can feel it.”
********
“Hey stranger, it’s nice to spend sometime with you”, Alex said, as she linked her fingers into Tobin’s. She and Tobin had met for ice cream on the Santa Monica Promenade and were now walking in a nearby park.
“I know, I’m really sorry. I just got slammed at work this week”, Tobin said.
Alex gave Tobin a wry smile. They walked in silence for a moment and then Alex said, “Ashlyn’s been asking about you.”
“Oh no – you’re not jealous of our friendship, are you?” Tobin groaned with a grin.
“No, silly. We’ve been through this, remember?" Alex said with a wink. "And I’m okay with you guys being friends, as long as you’re careful. Speaking of friendship, though, Ashlyn's wondering what your deal is. You haven’t hung out with the crew in like three or four days, ever since you bailed out on our surfing trip at Latigo Beach.”
“I know, and again, I’m sorry. I’ve just been so slammed”, Tobin said. She looked at Alex with apologetic eyes. I wish I could tell her, Tobin thought. I wish I could tell her the truth.
“What...?” Alex said, letting it hang.
“Huh?” Tobin said back.
“What were you thinking about just now?”
“Um…”
“No”, Alex said. She stopped walking and faced Tobin.
“What?”
“Not this time, Tobin.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, whenever I ask you what you’re thinking about, you always mumble back some half-baked answer. Now, I’m not a lawyer, but I can tell when someone’s holding something back. I’ve let it slide before, but now I want to know. What are you thinking about?”
Tobin stared at Alex. I want to tell her so bad, but I just can’t. I’ll tell her after we bust the Queens. I’ll come clean, and hopefully she’ll not be mad, and we can still have a future together. “It’s just work stuff, and I’m sorry Alex, but I told you: I can’t always talk about everything that I do at work.”
Alex narrowed her eyes at Tobin. “Remind me again, what kind of work do you do?” she asked as she let go of Tobin’s hand.
“Alex, you know – I’m a lawyer.”
“Really? And exactly what kind of law do you practice, Tobin?” Alex asked, crossing her arms.
“Uh…criminal law”, Tobin sputtered out.
“Hmmmm…okay, well, I swear you have the weirdest lawyer hours. Like you go surfing during normal business hours, you hang out late at night, and then sometimes you just have to take off spontaneously right when we’re in the middle of something.”
Tobin couldn't come up with anything to say, so she just looked at Alex and shrugged.
“I thought we agreed that honesty was the best policy, Tobin.”
Tobin looked at Alex for a moment and then sighed. “Look, Alex, okay - I do have a lot on my mind right now, and a lot going on, and I really do want to tell you everything I’m thinking and doing, but I just can’t right now. Not while my case is going on. Once it’s over, I swear, I will tell you”, she said. “Is that okay?” she asked, and when Alex didn’t answer she said, “Please, Lex – I swear, I will tell you, but I just can’t talk about it right now.”
Alex looked at Tobin and sighed a put-out sigh. “Okay, Tobin. You can tell me later, I guess.” She stared at Tobin for a moment and then started to back up.
“Wait, Alex – where are you going?” Tobin asked.
“I’m going home, Tobin. You can call me when you’re ready to talk.”
“Alex…” Tobin said. She could tell Alex wasn’t happy with her. She also registered that Alex hadn’t called her ‘baby’ once tonight, which is what Tobin wanted so badly to call Alex, which I will, she thought, as soon as I can come clean about everything that’s going on.
“Bye, Tobin”, Alex said. She looked at Tobin for one more moment and then turned around and walked off.