house felt strange.  Keiko had been checking on it from time to
time since he went into hiding at her home, and it always brought back
memories.  She still vividly remembered hanging out there when she
first moved to Garden City, while Sean and Lisa were both at work.
getting there this time was a little more complicated than she
expected.  It was located almost right behind her house...but it
was pouring rain and cold.  With all the delicate equipment and
tools she needed to bring, walking the distance wasn’t an option.
seemed so wasteful and decadent, but she had no choice but to load her
car in her warm, dry garage...and then drive it to Sean’s home. 
Fortunately she remembered that she still had one of his opener
remotes, so she could simply drive up to the house and into the garage,
where she could bring the equipment in safe and dry.
paused when she stepped inside the home from the garage, and looked
around - it brought back so many warm memories.  She gently put
down the box of equipment and small cooler she brought and headed
downstairs silently.  With the click of a switch, she felt like
she did the day she moved into that house - the basement bedroom was
still just as she left it.  The den was too, set up as a lounge
and home theater.  Everything was a little dusty, but still lively.
returned to the entrance after her tour of the place, where she left a
box of equipment, a toolkit, cordless drill, and a spool of wire when
she first entered.  She wore comfortable jeans, sneakers, a long
sleeved shirt, baseball cap, and mechanic’s gloves - prepared to
install Sean’s security system.
sat on the floor next to the living room television and switched it on
as if she’d done it a hundred times before.  She began assembling
the security system equipment - batteries and such - as she listened to
the background noise so the work wouldn’t feel so lonely.  After
that she picked up the cordless drill and began hooking up and wiring
the three control pads - one the front and back of the main floor, and
one in the upstairs hallway.
was a method to the way she was working.  Starting with the
control pads and then the system hub in the basement, quickly followed
by motion detectors with full coverage.  Within the hour she had a
security system that wasn’t perfect, but would operate well enough to
suffice if she had to abandon the job for the day for some reason.
had more time, fortunately, so she planned to install the door and
window and glass sensors next.  But first, she timed it so she
could have a light lunch she brought from home to give herself a break
and renew her energy.  She ate at the kitchen table after dusting
it briefly.
she resumed her work installing the door, window, and glass
sensors.  Once they were all installed, she stopped to admire her
work.  Then she went for one final upgrade - armoring the windows
with a shatter-resistant laminate to slow down anyone who might be very
determined to break in and possibly harm Sean.  It would take them
so long to break in, she would be there before they managed it.
she made one more pass through the house to make sure she didn’t miss
anything.  During that pass she started to think about things she
didn’t notice earlier, because she was too focused on the work. 
Like she realized that she couldn’t look into Sean’s bedroom for too
long...it brought back memories of heartbreak.
went back to the living room and pulled off the mechanics gloves,
tossing them in the box with her cordless drill and leftover cabling,
and then following up by tossing in the baseball cap and freeing her
hair.  She took a deep breath and surveyed the room with her hands
on her hips.  “He’s going to be surprised,”  she whispered to
herself.
collected all of the things she brought with her and loaded it all into
her car, in the garage.  Then she went back inside to turn off the
television and take one last look before arming the security system and
leaving.  Keiko knew she would probably be visiting Sean
frequently - or vice versa - but there was something warm feeling about
having a hand in bringing his house back to life after such a long
hiatus.
arrived at home as dry as when she left, having driven directly from
Sean’s garage to her own.  As she entered her house, she checked
the front window to make sure it was still raining.
also noticed something else was still there, something that she didn’t
want to tell Sean about, and thankfully he didn’t notice.  A
large, dark colored sedan, parked on the street a few doors down. 
It was one of two that was always in that spot - one brown, and one
dark blue.  Keiko recognized it as a police stakeout.  For a
change, she didn’t care, since she was doing nothing illegal. 
With two possible enemies in the police department - definitely Anthony
Wilder, and perhaps Matt Kreeger - it was no surprise.  It amused
her, allowing them to waste their own time.
she started thinking about Sean, and how she was becoming less and less
relevant to his life.  Every effort she made to improve him
failed, and in fact he continually tried to drag her into his
problems.  She kept trying to convince herself that he needed her,
when in fact, it was she who needed him.  Without Sean, she really
didn’t have any friends.
least she had a developing friendship with Lisa.  Perhaps, Keiko
thought, it was time to introduce herself to Lisa’s circle of
friends.  They might not be as close as Sean...but someday Sean
may just find a girl who takes a lot of his time and interest, and she
would be left virtually alone without new friends.  It already
happened once, after all.  Besides, only having one friend in all
her time in Garden City seemed rather sad.
detective business was good for that, Keiko thought to herself
finally.  Being Sean’s partner, it was fun and comfortable, but it
was also rather isolating.  She saw and talked to the same people
every day, and anyone new she met was either a criminal or a witness
who felt too intimidated to socialize.  As a private detective,
she would meet a lot more people who were in a more sociable mood.
cell phone rang, and she checked the display.  Ron Clancy was
calling?  What could he want?  She answered the phone. 
“Hello?”
the job?”  Keiko asked.  She tried to be honest with him and
trust him, but she couldn’t help her suspicious nature.  “I’m
working on another assignment, you know.  Real estate scam.”
me about it.”  Keiko chuckled a little.  The conversation was
cheering her up.  “So what’s the job?”  she asked again.
fencing operation.”  Ron explained.  “But not the kind the
cops stick their noses into.  This is cars that are in
transit...repos, trades, deliveries...disappearing before they reach
their destination.  Dealer files an insurance claim, and then the
car mysteriously turns up at another lot.”
question.  Your instincts are getting sharper.”  Ron
complimented again.  “I set up a dummy transaction and got a car
with a tracker nabbed.  Didn’t tell anyone it had a tracker...but
I followed it.”
took a deep, saddened breath.  “I had to back off.”  he
said.  “I didn’t survive this business for so many years without
being able to smell danger.  This job has gang written all over
it, Keiko.”
a relatively small town, Garden City had a lot of organized crime,
Keiko thought to herself.  When she arrived she found that the
Intelligence Agency had offices there.  Then she had to deal with
Matt’s mild corruption leaning toward his political aspirations,
Anthony Wilder and The Bishop, and now these real estate mobsters and a
stolen car fencing gang.
she were still an assassin, she thought, this city would be just the
place she would be sent for lots and lots of work.  Quite
alarming, it was, thinking about that.  She had to wonder if there
were local small-time assassins running around town somewhere, and if
she would start to meet them soon.  Keiko hated dueling with
amateurs, they always insisted on proving themselves.  There’s no
professional courtesy among those ranks.
went to her computer and checked her email.  Ron had sent her a
few photos and some address information she needed for the new
case.  It would save her some time with surveillance.
heard Sean enter her house - she could tell it was him because she
could hear his keys.  Since she figured he knew she was home by
now, she continued reading her email as he could be heard checking the
small pile of mail and putting his jacket away.  Then his
footsteps walked to the stairway, to the back of the house, and then
toward Keiko’s small office.
have a new case.”  Keiko told him as soon as he stepped into the
doorway.  She spoke without looking at him, and he was a little
taken aback that she knew he was there.
car scam.”  Keiko slid out of her chair and met Sean at the door,
standing as close to eye to eye as she could, considering that she was
much shorter.  With a sly smile she added, “And your house is
ready.”
nodded.  “I’m serious about getting you and Karen some
privacy,”  she said, still smiling.  “It’ll be lonely here
without you, but it’s far less awkward this way.”  She stared at
him for a moment, and then elaborated to intercept the first question
she guessed he would ask.  “For you, it is.  You can
entertain whoever you wish in your own home without having to answer to
me.”
couldn’t help but smile at that.  Sean was so used to flirting he
practically couldn’t help himself.  Fortunately she was merely
entertained by it - he would have to save it for Karen, or someone else
who was more easily impressed.
go out to dinner to celebrate,”  Sean said, placing one arm across
Keiko’s shoulders.  “I had a good day today.”
did I.”  Keiko replied.  “But it was a long day, too.  I
think I’ll stay in this evening.”  She smirked and added,
“Besides, I think you have someone you’d like to take out to
dinner...and probably reap the benefits well into the night.”
usual, Sean was a little shocked to hear that from Keiko.  But she
was also right, in a way.  “Are you sure?”  he asked. 
“I like hanging out with you.”
he left, Keiko was a little surprised with herself, that she had the
distinct feeling like the pressure was off.  It would take some
getting used to, trying to separate herself from Sean as more than a
friend.  In the long run, her friendship with him would become
stronger.  But in the mean time it would be difficult.
watched him drive away, and then she pulled her boots off and settled
in for a movie on her large flat screen television.  She deserved
a reward she could call her own.