Compulsion Read online

  “This place needs some work,” Toni said quietly, “but it’s got good bones.” She was picturing how it could be and determined they could make it so. “The layout is perfect and the location is the best we’ve seen.” She looked at Boggs. “It’s going to take some time, and a lot of elbow grease, but we can do it, don’t you think?”

  “You’d be willing?” Boggs asked.

  Toni looked into Boggs’s eyes and saw an almost unbelievable amount of emotion, a mixture of hope, love and tenderness. She loved this woman so deeply and she could feel how much Boggs loved her. No matter how hard the work was, she was absolutely willing to put in the time to make this their home. “I’ll do whatever needs to be done, hon.” She saw a tear roll down Boggs’s cheek and she got up to hug her. “Whatever needs to be done,” she whispered.

  Boggs brushed the tear from her face. “I love you.” She kissed Toni, then looked at Francine and nodded slightly. “Let’s go see the last one.”

  Francine drove them three blocks over and stopped in front of a beautiful huge brick building. There were several steps that led up to a double door, which was painted a dark red with brushed nickel hardware. A brushed nickel light hung above the door.

  “This is breathtaking,” Toni said. “I can’t wait to see the inside, but I’m afraid we’re a bit out of our league.”

  “A girl can always dream,” Boggs said, grinning.

  “There’s a two-car garage with this one,” Francine said as she opened the front door. “You can access that from the alley. This place has all the bells and whistles, not to mention a pretty complicated security system. There are cameras outside and monitors in almost every room. Let me give you girls the tour.”

  Off the foyer was a small bathroom and there were stairs leading up to the second floor. The kitchen was to the left and as Francine led them from room to room, Toni was speechless. It was the most beautiful place she’d ever seen. The kitchen featured stainless steel appliances, including a double oven, gas range, dishwasher, microwave, side-by-side refrigerator, wine cooler and sink. The floor was tiled with gray slate. The walls, painted a deep red, contrasted with the white cabinets. Some of the upper cabinets had glass insets. There was a huge center island with a matching sparkling black granite countertop. A wrought-iron pot rack hung above the island on one side with three pendant lights hanging on the other side. Five counter-height stools sat on one side.

  “This looks like a picture out of a magazine.” Toni was finally able to speak. She just kept shaking her head and caressing the countertop, which was cool to the touch. “Unbelievable.”

  The kitchen opened up to a large living area. Polished hardwood floors gleamed throughout, a light maple with a dark inlay around the edges. The walls were painted a soft sage accented by white crown molding in every room. On one side of the living room, an exposed brick wall surrounded a large fireplace. The far side had sliding glass doors that opened up to a spacious deck. Toni poked her head outside and noticed a gas grill the size of her car at the end of the deck. Stairs led down to a manicured yard that was bordered by a tall privacy fence.

  “This is fabulous. I feel like I’m on some kind of house tour.” She closed the sliding glass doors and followed Francine upstairs.

  Boggs was right behind her. “Do you like it?” she whispered.

  Toni turned around and rolled her eyes in response. Francine showed them the master suite and a second bedroom and bath on that floor. The third floor had a study, complete with built-in bookcases and yet a third bedroom and bath. Off the hall were stairs that led to a rooftop deck. A Jacuzzi was in the corner with bench seating all around.

  Back in the kitchen, Francine pointed to her left. “Out this doorway is the garage and basement.”

  Going down a few stairs to a landing, Francine unlocked a heavy steel door that opened out to the garage. Toni had never seen a garage so clean. Back at the landing, they took the stairs that led down to the basement. Not far from the steps was a laundry room with top-of-the-line washer and dryer, with room for an ironing board.

  “Wow.” Toni was impressed. “This beats my twenty-year-old washer by a mile.”

  “Wait until you see this.” Francine guided her around a corner. “This is the game room.”

  “Holy shit.” Toni’s jaw dropped once again. There was a stone fireplace in one corner and a beautiful mahogany bar adjacent to it. An oak pool table with red felt was placed across the room and a pinball machine stood nearby. Even though this was a basement, plenty of light streamed in from upper windows and the room felt warm and cozy.

  “So, ladies. What do you think? Pretty nice place, huh?”

  Toni could only nod as Francine led them back up to the kitchen and slid onto one of the stools. She sat next to Francine. “It’s beautiful, Francine. I don’t think I’d change a thing. It’s just, wow.”

  Francine smiled. “I thought you might like it. It comes with everything you see, even the pool table and the stools we’re sitting on. And I know she loves it.” She nodded toward Boggs.

  Toni looked from Francine to Boggs, both of them grinning like kids on Christmas morning. “What am I missing?”

  “So you really like it?” Boggs’s grin widened into a smile.

  “Of course,” Toni said, not sure what was going on. She adored the place, but it was way out of their price range. Boggs was acting peculiar. Something wasn’t right.

  “What about the kitchen? Do you like the appliances?” Boggs was pointing to the range top. “Is gas okay?”

  Suspicious, Toni turned her gaze from Boggs to Francine. They both looked almost giddy.

  “Have you been here before?” she asked Boggs, who shrugged. Toni eyed Francine.

  “I showed it to her last week,” Francine finally admitted. “She thought you’d like it.”

  Toni went over to Boggs. “What’s going on?” she whispered. “Are you nuts? We can’t afford a place like this. I’m not sure we can afford the last one.”

  “But if we could afford it,” Boggs whispered back, “would you want to live here?”

  “Not if it meant we couldn’t afford to eat. Honey, listen, I’m fine with doing the work ourselves. This place probably costs a million dollars.”

  “A million two,” Francine said. Both Toni and Boggs turned to look at her. “I’m sixty-two years old, but I’m not deaf.”

  They joined Francine at the island. She had her portfolio open and her pen in hand. She had a look of expectation.

  “A million two hundred thousand, huh?” Boggs put her arm around Toni, who felt uncomfortable and confused about Boggs’s nonchalance regarding the price. “Do you think they’ll take nine hundred, cash?”

  Toni’s mouth opened on its own accord. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? Did Boggs actually say nine hundred thousands dollars? In cash? What the hell?

  “I don’t know,” Francine said as she began to fill out an offer, “but we can give it a shot.”

  Boggs did say she had money in savings, but nine hundred thousand? No way. This had to be a joke, but Francine was scribbling away. Her head was spinning. She tried to focus.

  “Are you serious?” She looked at Boggs, who was still grinning.

  Boggs nodded. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like us to live here. It’s everything we want and we wouldn’t have to do all the work.”

  “I, um, it’s beautiful, but, we don’t have the money. I mean, I don’t have the money.” She still couldn’t fathom that Boggs had nine hundred thousand dollars. Did she win the frickin’ Powerball or something? “Boggs, I can’t let you spend all your money. We can get the fixer-upper and split the costs.” She kissed Boggs gently. “I love that you would empty your savings for a home for us, but you don’t have to do that. Honest.”

  Boggs jumped up and grabbed Toni, pulling her from the stool. She held her close, lifting her off the floor and twirled her around several times. When she set Toni down, she kissed her firmly on the lips. “I love you so mu
ch. It means the world to me that you’d rather we get the less expensive loft so that I wouldn’t spend all my savings. I think that’s amazing and fantastic.” She looked at Francine. “I picked a winner, didn’t I, Aunt Francie.”

  “You sure did, sweetie. And it’s about time.” Francine got up and gave Toni a big hug. “Welcome to the family, sweetie.”

  “What?” Toni gaped at her with disbelief. “You’re her aunt? Really?”

  “Yes, sweetie. I’m Victoria’s aunt.”

  Boggs lowered her eyes and shook her head.

  “Sorry.” Francine reached out and touched Boggs’s cheek. “I mean Boggs.”

  Toni felt relieved. “So you guys were putting me on, huh? Very funny.”

  “I am a realtor, though.” Francine went back to her paperwork. “Both names?” she asked Boggs, who nodded.

  Toni was feeling dazed and confused. How did an investigator in the prosecuting attorney’s office save that much money? Lord knows they weren’t paid that well. Did she really win the lottery? Or maybe an inheritance? Why hadn’t Boggs told her this before? Of course she’d always been rather private about her finances. Maybe that was why.

  “You better tell her the rest,” Francine said to Boggs. “Take her out on the deck while I finish this offer. I want to get it in before noon.”

  Boggs did as she was told and gently led her outside on the deck. Toni was shaking and Boggs sat her down on the built-in bench along the side. “Are you okay?”

  Toni nodded and blinked several times. She wasn’t sure what “the rest” was.

  “I guess I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid.” Boggs sat down beside her. “Anytime in my past, when I would tell anyone, well, they always acted differently toward me. It’s like they didn’t like me for me, but liked me only for the money.”

  “Oh, honey. I don’t care if you have money.” Toni sensed that Boggs had really been hurt in the past. Her heart went out to her and she held her hand. “And you don’t need to spend all your money.” She pulled her hand to her lips and kissed it lightly. “Why don’t you just keep that money in the bank, save it for some other time.”

  Boggs laughed and Toni felt puzzled.

  “What’s so funny? I’m serious.”

  “I know you’re serious and that makes me love you even more.” Boggs held both of Toni’s hands. “It’s not like that’s all I have, babe.”

  Toni’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean you’ve got more than nine hundred thousand? I mean, well, I don’t want to pry or anything, but there’s more?”

  Boggs grinned broadly. “Yeah, babe. Quite a bit more.”

  “Quite a bit more?” Toni echoed, her voice barely more than a squeak.

  Boggs nodded. “Oh, yeah. Many millions more. So, what do you think? How about we call this home?”

  “If you’re sure, then yes. I’d love to live with you in your new house. It’s beautiful and I absolutely love it.” Toni kissed her, then looked down at her shoes. “Um, I don’t mean to pry or anything, but where in the hell did you get all that money?”

  Boggs touched Toni’s face, lifting it so their eyes met. “I didn’t want to keep this from you, but I wanted to be sure. Vicky is the only other person that knows, aside from my family of course.” She kissed Toni lightly. “My great aunt left me a little over five hundred thousand dollars when I was eighteen. I guess I have a knack for investing. This is the first time I’ve ever used any of the money. It’s mostly in mutual funds right now and some real estate. This was the first time I ever wanted to spend any of it. I love you and I love this house.”

  Toni wrapped her arms around Boggs.

  “Our house.” Boggs squeezed her tightly. “Our house. It will belong to both of us and the kids. Of course their names won’t be on the deed, but I’m sure they’ll get over that.”

  “I can’t let you do that,” Toni said seriously, pulling away. No one had ever done so much for her. “It’s your money, Boggs.”

  “And we’re a team now,” Boggs countered. “So this will be ours, not mine or yours, okay? Is it a deal?”

  Toni nodded, still dumbfounded. Boggs led her back into the kitchen.

  “Are you girls ready? I need to drop you off and get to the office.” Francine gathered her things and headed to the door. “I’ll put this in as a twelve-hour offer. I know the selling agent and I’ll give her a call, just to see what her gut feeling is.”

  An hour later Toni and Boggs were sitting in her living room with Mr. Rupert. Toni was still shaking her head. “I still can’t believe this. So you saw this place last week?”

  “Yeah. Aunt Francie showed it to me and I fell in love with the place.” Boggs opened a bottle of water. “But after you said you’d move in with me, I wanted to see a couple others, just to make sure.”

  “I can’t believe you never told me you had a few dollars tucked away.” Toni shook her head again and laughed. “Is there anything else I should know about you?”

  Boggs thought for a moment. “Well, I don’t like onions. Or sushi.”

  Toni laughed again. “I think I can handle that.” She hugged Boggs. “You know, it still doesn’t matter to me whether or not you have money, but I’m thrilled at just the possibility that we could get that loft. It doesn’t even seem real.”

  “I know,” Boggs said. “It seems perfect for us, don’t you think?”

  Before Toni could respond, Boggs’s cell phone rang.

  Boggs looked at the display. “It’s Aunt Francie.” She listened for several minutes. “I agree. Right. We’d like to close on June twenty-ninth so we can move our stuff on the thirtieth. Yeah, so we can be out of our places by the first. No sense in paying rent for July if we don’t have to. Okay, thanks, Aunt Francie. Call me when it’s a go.” She closed her phone. “They countered with nine hundred and fifty. We’re a go.”

  “What?” Toni’s jaw dropped for the third time that day. “That quick? You mean it’s ours?”

  “Just a couple details and the paperwork, and yup, it’s ours.” Boggs was beaming.

  “Don’t we need to get it inspected or something?”

  “Aunt Francie told me it was inspected last month and passed with flying colors. The buyer’s financing fell through. I doubt if anything has changed in four weeks. Aunt Francie showed me the inspection report.”

  Toni got up and began to pace. “What do we do now? We have to pack. I need to give notice here. Oh, wait. My year’s lease is up anyway. Okay.” She looked around the room. “I need to find some boxes.”

  Boggs stretched out on the couch, just smiling and watching her pace around the room. “Slow down, babe. We’ve got some time here. Well, we’ve got about three weeks. Let’s make a list of what we need to do.”

  “Okay.” Toni grabbed a pad of paper from the bookcase and sat back down. She couldn’t believe this had all happened so fast. She was still on a high from the thought of living with Boggs and now they just bought a loft. One that cost close to a million dollars, for God’s sake. She didn’t know what to do. She sat with her pencil poised above the pad.

  “I don’t know about you,” Boggs said, putting her feet on the coffee table, “but I for one don’t want to move shit myself. I say we have movers do the heavy work.”

  “That would probably cost us a few hundred dollars.” Toni put the tip of the pencil in her mouth and began to mentally check off pieces of furniture. “We don’t have a whole lot of stuff so we could probably do it ourselves.” She looked at Boggs, who was shaking her head.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “A lot of the things we have are pretty heavy, or at least bulky to carry. Why don’t we throw caution to the wind and splurge. Let’s hire someone to do the heavy stuff.”

  “You’re right. It’s worth it. Just the thought of having to carry this giant sectional couch is enough to convince me. A couple hundred apiece for not having a sore back is a small price to pay.”

  Boggs turned serious. “We’re partners, right?”
/>   “Absolutely.” Toni wasn’t sure where Boggs was going with this.

  “Okay. Then let me ask you this. If you won twenty million dollars in the lottery tonight, how would you feel about that? Would you consider it your money or our money?”

  “It would be ours. No question. What are you getting at?” Toni believed that wholeheartedly. “We’re partners,” she continued. “If you have a problem, that means we have a problem. If I won money, that means we won money. We’re in this together.”

  Boggs let out a deep sigh and smiled. “That’s exactly how I feel. I’ve never felt that way before with anyone, but I feel that way now. My money is your money and vice versa. This is our life.”

  Toni felt the tears begin to well in her eyes. She noticed that Boggs was starting to cry too. She put down her pad and crawled into Boggs’s arms. They held each other silently for a long time. Toni never felt happier or more content than she did at that moment.

  After almost a half-hour, Boggs finally spoke. “Now let’s think about getting some new furniture, beginning with a new bed.”

  Toni giggled. She knew she was the luckiest person in the whole world.

  Chapter 6

  On Saturday afternoon Jan came in to find her boss pacing the study. Not unusual, she thought, given the circumstances.

  “Hi, boss.” Jan put her backpack down and made herself a rum and Coke at the bar. She picked up the ashtray and sat down in one of the leather club chairs. She watched her boss continue to pace while she lit a cigarette. “I just dropped off some more samples for Doug. He’s going to hit the gay bars tonight and then go to the strip clubs after midnight. I think he’ll do okay. He knows that Kevin usually went on Fridays and Sundays, but he wants to get started.”