Kenneth walked behind the bar and poured himself a shot of brandy to ease his nerves.  Sipping the burning liquid he noted that Raymond was watching him and the steadiness of his eyes made Kenneth uneasy.  “What?” he asked as he placed his glass down.

Raymond looked at him with interest and said mildly, “You look very pale.  Is everything alright?”

With a brittle laugh Kenneth poured more brandy into the glass and brought it to his lips, “Everything is fine.  Why did you think anything was wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Raymond said lightly as he perched on top of a stool, “You looked very nervous before when the cops were searching the place.”

Kenneth shrugged and said with a shrill in his tone, “Cops make me nervous.  You know that.”

Seeming to accept the answer Raymond said, “But if we have nothing to hide then there’s no reason for us to be nervous around them.”

“Still,” Kenneth said unable to meet Raymond’s probing eyes.  “You know how cops are.  They could get pushy at times, not to mention overbearing and extremely annoying.”

Raymond agreed wholeheartedly with that assumption and thought of Madame Sheh and said, “Yes I know.  Even the female cops are getting bolder than usual.”

Kenneth read his thoughts and said with a hint of a smile, “That Madame Sheh is pretty isn’t she?”

Raymond gave him a look of disbelief and said, “Please don’t tell me you have the hots for that Madame?”

Kenneth chuckled and with an air of arrogance said, “I have an appreciation for all females.  More so the beautiful ones just like that Madame Sheh.  Damn, I should have asked her for her phone number.  I wonder does she have a boyfriend.”

“You’re crazy,” Raymond commented shaking his head.  “She’s a cop and you should know by now the less we have to do with them the better.  Hopefully our clubs remain free of drugs so that we can keep those cops away.  I don't want them paying more visits than necessary.”

Kenneth knew that Raymond was right but he couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t tell me that you didn’t find her beautiful.”

“Okay I won’t,” and with those parting words, Raymond jumped off the stool and returned to his office in the back of the bar.

When Raymond was out of sight, Kenneth let out a long heavy sigh and visibly sagged against the counter.  Luckily, he stashed the pills in advance.  When news broke that a young girl died behind the bar he knew that cops would head their way to investigate.  Next time, he thought with a grimace, he would be more careful.

---------------------------------

“I’m home,” Charmaine called out from the door and kicked it closed with her shoes.  She dropped her keys and bag on a small table next to the door and jumped onto the couch immediately closing her eyes.

Selena walked out from the kitchen, her hands untying the apron from around her waist and inquired in an affectionate motherly voice, “Did you eat yet?”

Without opening her eyes, Charmaine mumbled, “Not yet.  I’ve been busy all day.”

“Good,” Selena said then pulled Charmaine up into a sitting position.  “I just made some spaghetti and you could help me finish it.”

Charmaine pulled away from Selena and lay back down on the couch, “Too tired.  All I want to do is sleep.”

With persistence, Selena grabbed Charmaine’s arm again and dragged her up, “When was your last meal?”  Without waiting for a response, she continued, “I bet it was this morning and probably just a bagel and a cup of coffee.  Your eating habits are unhealthy and you need to keep up your strength if you’re going to catch all the bad guys.”

Charmaine opened an eye to look at her, “Remind me again why I asked you to move in with me.”

Ignoring the rudeness of the words, Selena happily answered, “Because I’m your only best friend in the whole wide world and you love me.  Now up.”

Charmaine stood up with a cheeky smile and muttered, “I feel like I’m living with my mom all over again.”

Selena giggled at the truth of it and said smartly, “Your mom specifically told me to take care of you before she left for Australia.  You may be a great cop and all but you seriously don’t know how to take care of yourself and that’s what I’m here for.”

Charmaine walked into the kitchen and began setting up plates and utensils on the table, “You’re a worse nag than my mom.  If you keep it up, no man would ever want you.  You’ll drive them away with your constant nagging.”  She then began making a buzzing sound and rolling her eyes in motion with the droning sound.

Selena saw her comical expression and lightly slapped her arm, “Stop that!  It’s annoying.”

Charmaine laughed as she served the spaghetti.  When they were both seated Selena looked up from her plate with a sly smile and said, “And who said I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Charmaine dropped her fork and with wide eyes asked, “You’re seeing someone?  Since when?”

Averting her eyes, Selena answered with a hidden smile, “We’ve gone out on a couple of dates but we haven’t made any commitments to each other yet.  But I can tell he’s serious about me.”

“So when do I get to meet him?” Charmaine asked as she resumed her eating.

“I’ll ask him,” Selena replied then felt the need to add, “He’s a very busy guy and spends most of his time managing his bars.  I’ll see if he can break free for a few hours one night to have dinner with us.”

Charmaine scooped another portion of spaghetti onto her plate and nodded, “Sure.  Let me know when.”