Lorraine Bartlett - Tori Cannon-Kathy Grant 00.5 - Panty Raid by Lorraine Bartlett

 
    PANTY RAID
    By Lorraine Bartlett
     
    Classmates. That’s what they’d been at SUNY Brockport (otherwise known as State University of New York at Brockport).
    Kathy and Tori. Best friends for four wonderful years. Then, upon graduation, they’d drifted out of each other’s lives. Email kept them connected, but jobs and distance—albeit not that much—had kept them from daily, face-to-face contact.
    “Let’s do lunch” happened at longer and longer intervals until it became just a Christmastime thing, so Kathryn Blake was surprised when she glanced at the caller ID on her cell phone to see the call was from Tori Cannon on a Thursday evening in late May.
    “ Kathy?” the voice on the other end of the wireless connection asked tentatively.
    “Oh , my God! Tori, is that you?”
    “It’s me all right.”
    “What a wonderful surprise,” Kathy said and sat back in her chair in the manager’s office at the Batavia, NY, Hampton Inn. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
    “We’re coming up on a holiday weekend. I know I’m asking you kind of late, but Billy’s out of town this weekend and I wondered if you’d like to come into town for a girl’s weekend.”
    Kathy ’s lips quirked upward. “You mean a sleepover—like when we were roommates back in college?”
    “I can’t bake like you can, but I know a great bakery that does. And getting a bottle of wine isn’t as hard as it was back in those days.”
    Kathy ’s smile widened. “Fattening treats, wine, and staying up half the night talking—sounds like heaven to me.”
    “Come for a day or two. We can talk, shop, talk, eat, talk, and maybe discuss the future.”
    The future? Now that was a scary topic.
    “ Aw, Tor, I’d love to. But my circumstances don’t exactly allow me that kind of freedom. To get a day off around here—let alone two—means calling in favors. I’ve just started a new job and I’m low man on the totem pole.”
    “Would you be willing to impose upon them? I really could use your expertise.”
    “Me? Expertise?”
    “In your line of work, you come across a lot of weird stuff. Maybe you could advise me on a problem I’ve been having.”
    “ Weird is the word all right. What’s your problem?” Kathy asked.
    Tori gave a mirthless laugh. “Things have been disappearing around my apartment complex. The cops here have no interest in petit larceny when they can bag a speeder going forty in a thirty-five mile zone less than half a mile away. The town loves that kind of income, but it doesn’t help me .”
    Kathy could believe that. “Okay, I’ll see if I can get coverage for tomorrow night. I’ll email or text you as soon as I know.”
    “Great. It was wonderful talking to you.”
    “You, too!”
    They rang off and Kathy slid her phone back into her slacks pocket. Something was up. Tori was the most laid-back, competent person Kathy had ever met. That she needed help with something—anything—was unusual, and the fact that she’d invited Kathy for the weekend and that Billy, the guy she’d been living with for the past three years, was away, was suspicious, too. But maybe that was part of the reason she’d wanted to get together—to bear her soul knowing Kathy would listen without judgment. And what had she said about her apartment complex—that things had been disappearing? Hopefully between the two of them, they would soon find out the cause. But right now Kathy needed to find coverage—oh, and on a holiday weekend! She might have to sweeten the offer by offering to give up her next day off. Of course, the chance to connect with Tori for more than a couple of hours would be worth it. Lately she’d felt the pang of loneliness herself.
    Tori had been and still was the best friend Kathy had ever had. Though they weren’t as close as they’d once been, no way did Kathy want to refuse her friend’s request for assistance. If nothing else, she could give Tori at least an entire evening of her undivided