For a long time after it was over, we lay together on Jocelyn's bed, panting softly to the darkened room as the sweat on our flesh evaporated. I felt good and contented, and as I usually felt after a satisfying sexual experience, slightly hungry. Jocelyn was over in one comer of the bed, with her back against the headboard. She was smoking a vita-cig, staring straight ahead, looking somewhat preoccupied. The sweet citrusy smell of smoke filled the air. Her breasts heaved softly up and down, the nipples pink and wet-looking.
"Can I rustle myself up something to eat?" I asked. There was a food-dispenser extension in the bedroom, implanted in the wall just to the left of the wall screen. "If you don't mind?"
Jocelyn shook her head, apparently still preoccupied. "Of course I don't mind. Order whatever you like."
Groaning from the effort, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and I stood up. My limp cock slapped wetly against my thighs, and the plasteel floors were cold under my naked foot. The thermal equalizer tripped on almost instantly, triggered by my body's weight, and by the time I reached the dispenser unit, it was nice and warm and pleasant.
"Would you like me to get you anything?" I asked.
For a moment she didn't answer. "Hum… what? Oh. No, no thank you."
I checked out the machine. It was a moderately priced unit, much in keeping with her social status, with a fairly wide selection of choices. I decided not to order anything too exotic. I pushed the activator button and spoke into the request box.
"A bacon and egg sandwich, and a cup of caffnil. No sweetener. Are you sure you don't want anything."
"No. Nothing."
Instantly the chamber door slid back and there was my sandwich and caffnil. It was still a little warm from preparation, and I held it gingerly on my fingertips. I carried the food back over to the bed, dragging over a levitab to place it down upon. I suspended the levitab at the side of the bed, and I sat on the edge of the mattress, looking at Jocelyn while I ate.
"You certainly are talkative," I said, sipping the caffnil tentatively. It tasted strong and bitter.
"What? Oh. I'm sorry." Jocelyn sucked on her vita-cig, exhaling the sweet smoke in a thinning orange cloud. "I was just thinking."
"What about?"
"The case," she lied.
"It was your first time, wasn't it?" I asked, chewing into my sandwich. "I mean since your husband…"
"Yes, it was, if you must know."
"I was just curious. Did you enjoy it."
She turned toward me and studied my face a long moment or two before she answered. "Yes, I did, as a matter of fact. I enjoyed it very much. You certainly lived up to your departmental reputation, if that's what's bothering you."
"My reputation…" I laughed softly.
"Don't be coy with me. You know damn well what I'm talking about. And I'm not talking about your reputation as a detective either."
"Yes, I guess I do know what you're talking about." I smiled modestly.
"Did you enjoy it?" Jocelyn asked.
"Yes. Yes, indeed. I did." I bit into my sandwich. "You're quite good. Quite accomplished."
Jocelyn smiled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. It's nice to know that I haven't lost anything over the months. Do you think you've gotten it out of your system?"
I sipped the caffnil and looked down at my limp cock. "For the time being, at least."
"No, not for the time being. For good. Thai's the last time it will ever happen between us. Is that clear? The last time."
I shook my head, confused. "I don't think I understand what you're getting at?"
"All right, then let me tell it to you very plainly." Jocelyn flipped the vita-cig into the air. It made a lazy, graceful arc, toward the plasteel floor, and just before it hit, a robocleaner zoomed from the floorboard of the far wall and caught the cig in its open funnel. Just as quickly the roboclean returned to its place in the wall. Jocelyn said: "You see, Mal, you didn't seduce me. I allowed you to seduce me."
"You mean you weren't…?"
"Drunk? Well, slightly, but that wouldn't have altered anything. When I say that's the last time you and I are going to make love, I mean that literally."
"But why?"
Something changed in her face. It grew harder, almost angry. Her eyes narrowed into tiny points, and her tone was clearly bitter and resentful.
"I'm sure by now," she said, "you're quite familiar with my so-called 'case history'. No doubt that's what Commissioner Moran called you back for. I'm not stupid, you know. And I don't want you to think that you're carrying me or anything. What happened to me in the past, Detective Malachi Browne, is quite over. I'm fully recovered. I'm as capable as you are, and I'm on this assignment for one reason, and one reason only – to solve this crime."
I stared at her, my mouth dropping open in disbelief. Her anger was barely controlled, and she was striking out at me, as if I were responsible for what had happened to her.
"This case is my last chance," she said, stabbing her finger through the air at me, making her point emphatic. "You know that as well as I do. My last chance, and I'm not about to let anything stand in my way."
"I'm not going to stand in your way. I'm your partner. I'm on your side."
"If I can beat you at your own game – and, admittedly, the great Malachi Browne is the best man on the force – and discover the rapist's identity before you do, then I'll have my career back. But if I fail, I'm out. It's as simple as that."
"You make it sound as though we were in competition. We're not, you know. We're both after the same thing: we both want to solve, this case."
Jocelyn shook her head. "No, now, no tricks," she said softly, slyly. "I'm not about to compete with you – not officially, at least. I'm willing to work with you. But I want you to remember one thing – I'm in this for myself. I have a personal stake in this case. So, from now on, our relationship is one of strict professionalism. We work together, but that's all we do together."
Now, here is a cold-blooded bitch. I thought my ego wincing with the realization that she had indeed tricked me by permitting me to seduce her. Still, I had to admire her courage and professionalism. She was quite determined, even if it is for the wrong reasons.
I took a stab back at her. "Allowing your personal feelings to influence your behavior in this case, in any case, for that matter, is a dangerous thing. You should know that by now."
She laughed cynically. "Oh, no, you're not going to get me thrown off this case that easily. I know you didn't want me as a partner, but you're stuck with me, and I'm stuck with you. I'm too much of a professional for any one to believe that kind of accusation."
"Jesus, you're really paranoid about my intentions. Pr not your enemy."
"And I'm not emotionally involved in this case." She smiled, softening somewhat. "How I feel about my exhusband, or my father, or you, or just men in genera will not influence my performance as a professional policewoman. But, as for my prejudices about rape an rapists… well, I can't help those. I'm a woman, and if women who've been raped. As a man, I can't expect you to understand that."
My God, I thought, shaking my head. She's almost fanatical about this case. Too enthusiastic… pressing much too hard. Is it just her background or could it be something else?
"I hope I've made things clear for you now," she said smiling sweetly, sardonically at me.
"Well, there is one more thing," I said, trying to lighten the hostile mood which was settling heavily upon us. "Who is Auggie? You never answered me."
"Well, if you really must know, he was my psychiatrist…"
I changed the subject quickly. I didn't want to go down that path again. Once was quite enough for me.