Kyla’s Secret

Kyla slept on and off all day and all night. Once she finally began to regain her energy, she felt both bad and grateful. She felt like she was imposing on Corrine but was otherwise immensely grateful for her kindness and generosity. Still feeling a bit weak, she pushed herself up and out of bed on Sunday morning. After using the bathroom across the hall, she crept down the hall and into the sunken living room, where Corrine sat facing her large-screen computer. In the split second it took Corrine to realize she’d come up behind her, Kyla saw what appeared to be four split views of people in front of webcams, one in each corner of the screen. Corrine spun around to face her so quickly that what she’d seen didn’t have a chance to register and form into opinions or ideas. “You’re up! My goodness, you scared me.” “Sorry about that. I just woke up.” “Gut geschlafen?” “Huh?” “Oh, sorry. Speaking German again out of habit. I asked if you slept well?” “Much better, yes.” Kyla assured Corrine she could fix her own breakfast, but Corrine insisted on spoiling her with a lavish breakfast of bacon, eggs, home fries, and biscuits. “Oh well, why not?” Kyla relented. “But the deal is you gotta let me help you as best I can with one arm.” Corrine laughed. “Ok, you can help me.” They focused on preparing breakfast. Once it was cooked and they were seated at the round table by the sliding glass door, Kyla asked, “So did you say you were more French than German?” “Kind of.” “Joe said he thought you were German.” Corrine waved a hand dismissively. “Joe doesn’t know as much as he likes to think he does, but that’s ok.” “What language are you more knowledgeable in—French or German?” “Probably French, though I’m fluent enough in both.” “Which is the more difficult language?” Corrine thought about it for a moment. “That’s really hard to say. In French, many words in plural form sound the same as their singular form. But with German, the grammar is much harder. There are twelve possible ways to pluralize German words, and there isn’t always a set rule for which is correct.” “Oh, I see,” Kyla said, listening with interest. “German is both harder and easier than English. It makes more sounds than English and has more complex grammar, but there aren't as many sound irregularities. The rules of pronunciation are pretty standard and straightforward in German. It’s also structured much like English.” Kyla took a bite of her scrambled eggs. “This is delicious. You’re a fabulous cook.” “I love cooking. Hate cleaning, but love cooking.” “I don’t mind cleaning. As soon as I have two arms again, you’ve got a housekeeper.” Corrine smiled. “You can have that job, lady. It’s all yours. In the meantime, do you speak any of your native Hawaiian?” “Not much,” Kyla admitted. “My parents know more than I do.” “Have you ever considered learning another language?” “Not seriously.” “Oh, but you should let me teach you German. You never know if you’re good at something until you try. Unless you’re not interested.” “To be perfectly honest with you…” “Yes?” “German’s pretty ugly.” Corrine laughed heartily. “Indeed it is.” “But I wouldn’t mind you teaching me a few words here and there.” “Ok then, ein paar Wörter hier und dort.” Kyla drank down the last of her grapefruit juice. “What do you usually do on weekends?” “Dies und das. This and that.” “Yeah?” “Cleaning, cooking, shopping, yard work… whatever needs to be done.” “Tell me about your family back home. Do you miss them? How often do you visit?” “Sure, I miss them. I usually go to them in the winter for a week or two, and they come here in the summer for a week or two. It’s just my parents and a brother there now.” “You see your sister and brother-in-law here much?” “No, not really. My sister and I don’t always get along. She is stubborn and sometimes we just don’t see eye to eye. And what about your family, Prinzessin Kyla? Mom, Dad, siblings?” “No siblings. Just a great pair of parents and some damn good friends.” “Oh, gut für dich. Would you like anything else? More juice, perhaps?” “No, I’m fine. This was great. I’m stuffed for life.” Corrine laughed. “As soon as I get this loaded in the dishwasher, I will help you with your bath, ja?” Kyla nodded and studied the officer as she tidied up the kitchen. She looked just as good out of uniform. Her snug jeans showed off her curves, and Kyla liked her long red layered waves down loose just as much as she liked them up or in a braid. She felt a stirring within that she tried to shake off. You’re thousands of miles away from home, she reminded herself. A few minutes later, Kyla was undressed, stepping cautiously into a steamy tub with Corrine’s guidance, and feeling as self-conscious as ever. “Comfortable?” Corrine asked once Kyla was seated in the tub. Kyla nodded. “I don’t mean to embarrass you or anything like that, but you have a great little body.” “Yeah, someone was making me run my ass off before these motherfuckers got to me,” Kyla said, motioning to her injured shoulder. Corrine smiled. “Ah, but it’s only a matter of time before they make a mistake and we get to them.” “I hope you’re right.” “Would you like your back washed, ma’am?” Kyla felt herself blush warmer than the jasmine-scented water she sat in. “Sure.” Corrine helped bathe and wash her hair, and Kyla almost wished she’d never regain use of her arm as much as she couldn’t wait to be able to use it again. They spent the rest of the day just hanging out together. They chatted, watched movies, ate, and cuddled up on the living room couch. “Tomorrow morning, an officer will be staying with you during the daytime while I’m at work,” Corrine informed her. “Will they? You going back to work on campus?” “I am,” Corrine said with a nod. “You’ll be with Harvey tomorrow. Old Harv’s a nice guy, so you’ll be in good hands.” Shortly after they ate a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches, the phone rang. Corrine spoke with a sense of urgency but didn’t seem concerned. Kyla sensed she was discussing a case she was working on. When she hung up, about five minutes later, she said, “You know that mistake I assured you those thugs would make?” “Yeah?” “Well, they just made it. They were dumb enough to use a stolen credit card that was traceable.” “Oh, wow, really?” Corrine nodded. “They were brought into custody barely an hour ago. One led us right to the other.” “That’s awesome news! Now I can finally have my life back—just as soon as I get my shoulder back.” Corrine crossed the room and sat down next to Kyla. She gently pulled her face toward her and kissed her on the lips. Kyla smiled, both surprised and not surprised. “You have your life,” Corrine told her. “Also, you need to come to the station with me and make an official ID, ok?” Kyla nodded. “I’m ready.” Corrine kissed her sweetly once more and then they were off. Kyla was surprised at how hard it was to walk at her usual speed once they entered the police station. It was her first real walk since getting shot. Corrine, who appeared to be well known around the station, exchanged greetings with several other officers both in and out of uniform. Detective Mason, from the night she was rescued from the warehouse, came up to greet them. “Hello again, Miss Rembler.” “Hello,” Kyla said with a small smile. “I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. On the bright side, however, we’ve caught the perps and each one is being placed in their own lineup for you to identify. You up to that?” Kyla nodded, angered by the thought of what these men had put her through. She was willing to do what it took to see to it that justice—however vengeful it might seem to some—was delivered. “Very much so.” “Ok, then. Come this way, please.” She and Corrine followed Mason to a small room. “They can’t see me, right?” Kyla asked. “Correct. There’s a two-way mirror between you and them. They can only see a mirror and nothing else, so no worries there.” Mason hit a button on the wall. “Ok, bring ‘em in.” A few seconds later, six creepy-looking guys walked single file into the room beyond the two-way mirror. The detective hit the button again. “Face forward.” Kyla studied the criminals all lined up against the wall and quickly pointed to number four. “That’s him. Number four.” “Are you sure?” “Positive,” Kyla said with a nod of confidence. Mason pressed the button. “Ok, take ‘em out and bring in the next group.” Six more suspects entered the room, one by one, and were also ordered to face forward. “Number two,” Kyla said. “You sure?” “Absolutely.” Kyla signed some papers and she and Corrine spoke with the detective for a few minutes. “What’s next?” Kyla asked. “They’ll be arraigned in court and then asked how they want to plead. Hopefully, they’ll take a deal and plead guilty. Speeds things up that way. If not, we could end up having to go to trial, and that could take several months.” “Several months?” Kyla groaned. “God, I hope not.” “We hope not, too. Meanwhile, you can sleep a lot easier at night now that they’re off the streets and locked up tight.” That’s exactly what Kyla did that night. She was just dozing off when she had a fleeting memory of the strange images on Corrine’s monitor. What in the world had that been about, anyway?