Summary: Set during the scene where Naomi meets the MC in Chapter 5, and just before the MC gets to meet Grant and Scarlett. Naomi is upset about being taken off the case after the murder of Tanner Sterling, and Faith knows just the thing that will cheer her up.
Author’s Note: It’s no secret that I think Naomi is not getting the attention she deserves in the book. I felt the scene where she meets the MC and tells her she’s been taken off the case would have been the perfect opportunity for a diamond scene, but unfortunately we weren’t given that opportunity. This is what I believe we could have seen if we were really given a diamond scene there.
My faceclaims are Raye Zaragoza (for Naomi) and Sarah Jane Dias (for Faith).
“Birchport’s own Prince Charming murdered, Cinderella missing…and it’s up to Walsh and Duffy to save the day.”
The thought itself made the two women shudder. Faith hadn’t known any of these people for more than a day, and still she was pretty sure she’d never trust Walsh to find his way around his own office, much less a case as convoluted as this one was turning out to be. Naomi, on the other hand…
“Might as well get going,” Naomi murmured. She was staring down at the half-empty coffee cup, yet not quite looking at it.
Funny place, this, Faith thought to herself, People get fired here for doing their job.
Not that it surprised Faith, not in the slightest. She’d seen and heard enough in her line of work to understand that that there were Walshes everywhere in America…but it didn’t make each revelation of the racism rampant in that department any less shocking.
It took a lot to get Faith to care about people she hardly met, but Naomi Silverhawk had managed that feat in less than an hour.
“Psst…Faith.” Miss Harlenay whispered. Or at least, she seemed to believe she was whispering. “Faith.”
“Yes, Miss Harlenay?”
“Your girlfriend seems a little…down, don’t you think?”
“Friend,” Faith whispered back, trying hard to ignore the heat creeping up her cheeks, “We just met.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she replied, silently chuckling. Or not so silently. It was Miss Harlenay after all. “There’s a cozy little coffee shop three streets down. Take her. Looks like she could use a pick-me-up, poor girl.“
Faith shook her head. Much as she loved the idea, she’d already taken up way too much of Deputy Silverhawk’s time. She didn’t want to eat further into whatever was left of the poor woman’s day.
“Oh, and their carrot cupcakes are divine!” Miss Harlenay elongated her ‘i’s so Faith knew what she was missing. For some reason, she seemed to think great cake would convince her guest if nothing else could.
Faith sneaked a look towards Naomi, hoping the other woman wouldn’t catch her staring. Her eyes were bloodshot, the bags beneath them a mirror of Faith’s own. It couldn’t have been easy, being a woman of colour in a racist police department, making double the effort to earn half the respect men like Walsh got. Naomi looked tired, beaten down. Defeated.
No way am I leaving you like this. No way in hell.
She turned back to the cheery older woman.
“Say, Miss Harlenay,” her voice dripping honey, “Is the coffee there any good?”
–
Rich and dark, Eleanor Harlenay had said. Like a shot in the arm, she’d said. A sip of that and a bite of that cake could take you straight to heaven, she’d said.
Well, she was right.
The Bean was a homey little café located at the end of a narrow lane, and seemed to have a limited clientele. The decor was warm and inviting, all wood and rustic decor, the day’s specials listed out on a blackboard. It smelled like buttered baked goods and freshly-ground coffee.
Just looking at it brought half the sparkle back in Naomi’s eyes.
“Feel better?” Faith asked her once they found themselves a table.
“Much,” Naomi replied, smiling and setting her bag – where her uniform lay, neatly folded – down. The silk of her newly-purchased outfit slid down her legs before resting on her seat. It was a loosely-fit black dress, brightened up with bursts of colour shaped like flowers, the skirts swishing around Naomi’s legs as she walked.
“So. How many people does Miss Harlenay insist on dressing up in a day?”
Naomi seemed like a different person altogether as she walked down the road without her uniform: laughing delightedly at the feel of the fabric over her skin, her hair loosened and her movements so much freer.
(“Are you sure you’re going to let her go in that?”
Faith sighed, avoiding Naomi’s questioning gaze as she turned to the owner of this B&B. It had become a daily ritual now, coyly refusing then grudgingly accepting her offers of clothing. The clothes looked like they belonged on a fashion ramp, Eleanor Harlenay was nothing if not persistent, and it was often hard to get away with just a simple ‘no’.
“Miss Harlenay it’s alright really you don’t need to –”
But she was already rifling through her closet, not waiting for an answer. Before either woman could protest, she’d pulled out a flowy black thing, thrusting it into their hands.
“No way am I allowing a pretty girl like her to go out on a first date in her khakis.”
“Miss Harlenay,” she hissed, nose scrunched up in irritation. She’d faced enough embarrassment for the day.
But the older woman went back to work like Faith had said nothing).
Faith giggled now, remembering the look on Naomi’s face when Miss Harlenay opened her makeshift clothes closet. “Only me so far. Or people I -”
Like. People I like. She stopped herself in time, but nothing escaped Naomi, really. Faith bit her bottom lip and looked away as the woman opposite her raised an eyebrow.
Damn this hopelessly expressive face. You didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to tell when Faith Maria Gomes had a serious crush on someone, and that definitely was the case right now. Were Kate here right now she’d be teasing and leaving hints about matching them up – hints the size of Tanner’s mansion. Were Kate here…
“Your spiced carrot cupcakes and coffee, Miss.”
Faith sighed and shook her head. They’d find her in time, she was sure they would. They’d have to, before Birchport lost more lives. Tanner may have been the only one for now, but she doubted he would be the last.
The cupcakes were a work of art: moist and subtly spiced, studded with chopped walnuts and raisins. The cream cheese frosting was rich and not too sweet, and it went so incredibly well with the coffee. Naomi seemed to agree, laughing as she tried to lick away crumbs from her bottom lip.
“I don’t remember how you convinced me into doing this but I’m glad you did,” she said, eyes glistening. “Carrot cake wouldn’t be our first choice of dessert back home, but this might very well change my mind.”
From a radio at the opposite corner of the room, Bobby Darin’s baritone was singing odes to a lover somewhere…beyond the sea. she’s there, watchin’ for me.
It was ridiculous, how incredibly aware she was getting of every move Naomi made on just their second day together. A tiny spot of cream cheese stayed on her top lip, driving Faith to distraction, making her want to reach out across the table and –
But Naomi noticed her staring, and gave her a questioning look. She pointed to her own lip, eyes never leaving Naomi. Naomi nodded in understanding and dabbed the cream off with a napkin. Faith let out an involuntary sigh.
if I could fly like birds on high then straight to her arms I’d go sailin’…
“What would you recommend if I were ever to visit Wyoming?”
“Hmm…I’m not sure. Whiskey truffles from Meeteetse’s Chocolates?” Naomi replied, eyes rolling to the back of her head, probably at the memory of how it must have tasted, “I’ve tried it only once. Heady and smooth. You can never stop at just one.”
I should nickname you Whiskey Truffle, then.“Do you miss home?”
“Now more than ever.” Naomi toyed with her fork absently, not really looking at the food. She let out a deep, shuddering breath. “No matter how bad things got, I had people to go home to. I didn’t have to keep explaining. I didn’t have to say anything. They’d just…know.”
It stung, imagining how frightening the first few weeks must have been for this woman she barely knew. How happy Naomi must have been, getting this post on her own merits. How disappointed she must have felt, knowing exactly what she was worth and exactly how little that mattered to these men.
Knowing how important it was to all of them that she be less than what she really was.
“Naomi?”
“Mmm?” she murmured, taking a sip of her coffee now.
“I was…remembering the first time we met outside Tanner’s home, and I’ve been wondering since.”
“What?”
“What really got you to listen to me that day? You seemed so resigned to taking the backseat just ten minutes before that. You seemed to be my only hope, but I was sure I would fail.”
“You knew there was a chance I’d say no, and yet…you reached out to me anyway?” Naomi replied, her eyes never leaving Faith’s.
“I’d hoped.”
Naomi stayed silent for a few minutes. Turned to the window nearby, looking lost. Enough to make her worry whether she overstepped a little by asking.
When she finally spoke, it was in a tone so quiet Faith had to strain to hear her. Almost like she was speaking more to herself than to the woman in front of her.
“I’d almost forgotten why I’d left home and started afresh over here.” she said, swallowing, “You made me remember.”
She paused before she spoke again. “Perhaps you made me hope too, Faith.”
–
They didn’t speak about the case again until they’d started walking back to Faith’s B&B. The air was cool and salty on their skin, and the silence companionable, punctured only by the distant wails of seagulls.
“Faith,” Naomi said suddenly, placing her had on Faith’s arm so they could stop walking. “I just remembered why I came here in the first place…I got a call from tech about the tire tracks we found.”
“And?” Naomi had her undivided attention now, budding attraction be damned.
“The car. It was a mid-90s Dusk Avalon.”
“Any idea who the owner might be?”
She shook her head, her face already falling. “Not yet. None of those have been registered anywhere within a hundred miles.”
They resumed walking, the silence now heavy with worry, and dread. How were they going to go forward now? The department weren’t taking them seriously, the Sterlings were constantly breathing down their necks, Kate was nowhere, Tanner was dead, Scarlett was…
Scarlett!
Faith caught Naomi’s look of concern as she searched her bag for her phone.
“We need to talk to Scarlett now,” she was speaking a mile a dozen now. They didn’t have time. “Before her lawyers get there and convince her to clam up.”
Naomi looked doubtful. “I told you, Faith, she’s not talking.”
“Maybe not to the police.”
Naomi opened her mouth as if to say something, then nodded, taking a step backwards so she could talk freely to Grant. Faith was way more pumped with adrenaline by the time she got off the phone, almost seeing a way out. Some sense of a concrete, tangible clue. All thanks to Naomi.
She turned to her, grinning. “We might get a lead now! I couldn’t have done this without you.” Before she could stop to think about what she was doing, Faith threw her arms around Naomi, kissing her soundly on the cheek before she ran.
“I’ll call you tomorrow!” She called out as she half-walked, half-sprinted to Grant’s mansion.
Unbidden, the lyrics to the song she heard at The Bean made their insidious way to her head. There was no reason why that song should be etched this deep in her mind, why the words wouldn’t leave. We’ll meet. Beyond the shore. We’ll kiss. Just as before. Happy we’ll be beyond the sea and never again, I’ll go sailin’…
Her lips were still tingling from where they touched Naomi’s skin, but that was something for later. She wanted so badly to look back, to see if Naomi was still there, but now was not the time.
Perhaps if she had, she’d have noticed a shadowy figure standing outside her B&B, tracing her fingers over the spot where Faith’s lips touched, just minutes ago. She would have caught Naomi smiling her first genuine smile since she’d left Wyoming for Birchport.
Faith would never understand how much today meant to Naomi, and Naomi would never forget.
–