"Excellent. Chips and salsa will be right out."

"I hope Fran didn't make you uncomfortable," Sam said. "She's always playing matchmaker with Casey."

"No, it's okay."

43.

*"I understand you're engaged." Sam smiled. "I don't know how it is with you, but when I was dating Robert, he thought being a female cop had to be the most dangerous job on the planet."

"You know, it's funny. Michael really has never had much to say about my job in the years I've known him. Not until the other night when he found out my partner was another woman. Then he started on the shouldn't at least one of you be a guy in case you need to shoot somebody argument," she said.

"You're kidding?" Tori shook her head. "Men," she murmured, which drew laughs from around the table.

Casey nudged her with her elbow, then wiggled her eyebrows teasingly. "I'll be the guy."

Leslie laughed. "Only if you beat me to it."

They all reached for chips at the same time when their waiter placed the basket within reach.

"Mmm, excellent salsa," Leslie said as she sampled from both the red and green bowls. "There's this little dive in Fort Worth-El Lugar-and they serve only wrapped burritos. I think eight different varieties. Anyway, their green salsa is to die for." She glanced at Casey. "Their margaritas aren't so hot though."

"Well, then what's the point?"

"Do you like Dallas? I mean, compared to Fort Worth," Sam asked before biting into a chip.

"You wouldn't think the attitudes of two cities could be so different, would you? I was in Homicide there six years, with pretty much the same guys the whole time. I think I did a good job, despite the limitations. To the public, equality was the word.

But in my squad, I was the woman, period. They politely held doors open for me, and were quick to pass me their empty coffee cup for a refill."

"How did you stand it?" Tori asked. "I would have shot someone."

She laughed. "The thought did cross my mind. But after six or eight broken coffee mugs, they learned to get their own, so I didn't have to pull my weapon."

"Ladies, here we go. Three Rios Ritas and a...beer," he said, eliciting a dour look from Hunter. "Have you decided on dinner?"

Casey turned to her, eyebrows raised, and Leslie nodded. "Yes, I'll try the famous chicken enchiladas."

"Us too," Sam said.

"All the way around," Casey said. "Thanks."

44.

*"You were right. This is fabulous," Leslie said, sipping from her drink.

"Mmm, we don't come here enough," Sam said.

"Not for lack of my trying," Casey said.

Sam grabbed another chip and loaded it with salsa, but paused before eating. "By the way, what do you think about us buying a house?"

Casey's eyebrows shot up and she stared at Tori. "What?"

Sam also glanced at Tori. "You didn't tell her?"

"No. And this is why."

Casey looked from one to the other. "You guys want to move? Like away from me?"

"Not far, Casey."

"But still."

Sam reached across the table and squeezed Casey's hand. "Not far, I promise." She looked at Leslie. "We live on White Rock Lake, as does Casey. But we're in an apartment and Casey is in this cute little house."

"Little being the key word," Casey said.

"Aren't homes around there expensive?" Leslie asked.

"Well, there's the good side of the lake and the bad side."

"Currently, we're on the cheap side," Casey said.

Sam leaned forward and smiled at Casey. "How does the country club sound to you?"

"Oh, my God! You're not serious?" She stared at Tori. "The country club, Hunter?

What the hell?"

"I told Sam as long as we were still near work and still near the lake, I didn't care."

"Yeah, but the country club?" She lowered her voice. "Do they allow lesbians there?"

Leslie laughed, enjoying the conversation.

"We found a house that's somewhat reasonable," Sam said. "And compared to the prices of those new homes they're building on the north side, this is like a bargain."

"But the country club. That's just not right." She tapped the table with her fingers.

"So like, we have to take up golf now?"

45.

*"I doubt they'd let you and me out on the course, O'Connor."

Casey grinned. "Yeah, but we could ride around in a golf cart, drink a beer or two, and check out the ladies. You know, drive by the pool, things like that."

Sam grabbed Tori's arm and laughed. "You will not."

Leslie found herself laughing along with them, then was surprised to find her shoulder pressing playfully against Casey. "Sounds like you're a troublemaker," she teased.

"Me?" Casey grinned. "Not at all."

"Don't believe her," Sam said. "Get the two of them together and they're quite a handful."

Leslie sipped from her drink, thoroughly enjoying the evening and the company. They made her feel at ease and never once excluded her from the conversation, always making it a point to explain to her what they were talking about. By the time dinner was served, they were all chatting like old friends. And she remembered what Casey had told her about Tori and Sam. All you had to do was take one look at them and know they were deeply in love. Sam's hand was never far from Tori, touching her frequently when she talked. And Tori, well Casey was right. She turned into a big mush ball around Sam. It was obvious how much they cared for each other.

She let her eyes drift to Casey, again wondering why she was alone. She was delightful to be around, charming and funny, talkative. Why hadn't she found someone to love?

Casey turned then, meeting her eyes. Leslie was surprised by the gentle gaze. She returned her smile, then motioned to the stack of hot tortillas with her head. "May I?"

"You may, Detective Tucker," Casey said with a grin, grabbing one and handing it to her. "Okay?"

"Excellent."

Chapter Thirteen.

"I can't believe you hung out here over the weekend," Leslie said.

"Why not? I'm the only one without a life," Casey said as she pulled into a parking space.

"It's not like I was doing anything exciting. You could have called me."

"No sense in both of us driving around until midnight. Besides, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"And there were no Peeping Tom calls from this area."

46.

*"So there you go. A wasted weekend stakeout." Casey stretched her legs out and tried to get comfortable. It would be a long three hours. That was the plan, anyway. She and Leslie would take Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hunter and Sikes would take Tuesday and Thursday. They would decide weekends later, but Casey wouldn't mind volunteering. Like she'd said, she was the only one without a life, even though it was boring as hell over the weekend by herself.

Leslie unfolded the spreadsheet she'd brought along, then pointed her small penlight at it. "Did you do Brookhaven?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it requires walking. The parking lot is away from the building. But the interior common area opens up to all the ground floor units."

"Sliding door patios?"

"Yeah. Brookhaven is one of the most accessible. We can go there next."

"We thought Creekside would be tough," she reminded her. "Did you check it out?"

"Yeah. Ground floor units, but they all have tiny privacy fences around the patios, so you can't see in. And all the front doors face the opposite building. I don't think our guy is going to target Creekside."

"And I'm sure you did Twin Peaks," she said with a smile.

"I did. And I don't think our guy will choose a Friday or Saturday night for his business. There's just way too much activity. He would have a hard time sneaking around. Not to mention, most people are out on Friday and Saturday nights."

"The first murder was on a Monday night, the second on a Sunday."

"Yes, the two quietest nights. Yet most of our Peeping Tom calls have been on Wednesdays and Thursdays."

Leslie folded up the spreadsheet and put it aside. "Maybe that's when he's doing his surveillance. And it's just going to be a matter if we luck upon him."

"Afraid so."

They were quiet and Casey let her eyes slip closed for a second. She was tired. She'd been out until midnight the last two nights cruising around the apartments. By the time she'd gotten home and taken time to unwind, it'd been nearly two before she crawled into bed. Unfortunately, her internal clock had her wide awake by five thirty, the normal time she got up.

"I really enjoyed dinner with you guys the other night," Leslie said after a while.

Casey opened her eyes and rolled her head along the seat. "Yeah? Good."

Their eyes met for a moment. "You're exhausted."

47.

*Casey nodded. She was too tired to lie. "Yeah, not a lot of sleep this weekend."

"You surely didn't patrol around here all night, did you?"

"No. Just until about midnight." She sighed. "I've got the habit of...well, to unwind, I sit out on my deck in the dark and watch the lake, and just enjoy the quiet and all."