Emmett and I were running an errand together, so we'd left Detective Black cooling his heels at my office. He didn't seem thrilled; he was an Indiana Jones type that needed to be experiencing action at all times.
Doing my best not to worry about him, I focused on the white haired woman waiting for us in front of the tiny cottages dotted around in a semi circle.
"Mr. and Mrs. Swan, it's lovely to meet you. Let me show you the rental."
She unlocked the door of one of the buildings in the back, and Emmett and I walked around, making noises about closet space and the dishwasher.
"So, what do you think?" she asked hopefully.
I let Emmett do the talking. After all, my role was to be the quiet wife.
"Ms. Marshall, the wife and I, we just want to make sure there are no…"
"Unsavories," I supplied. Meekly, of course.
"That's a good term for it," Emmett agreed, beaming at me before returning his attention to the landlady. "Do you know what we mean?" He leaned in, giving her his most charming smile.
The older lady leaned in too, her wiry hair swinging forward as she gave us a conspiratorial look. "Just between the three of us, I don't like to rent to the certain type of person that will drive away, or even frighten, upstanding citizens such as yourselves."
"Right, right," Emmett agreed. "If I'm working late, I need to know that my wife won't be bothered, isn't that right, Bella?"
I nodded vehemently, trying to look nervous.
"I tend to find fault with the applications of such undesirables as those of color, or them gays, or felons. There's always something I can find that just isn't suited for this community."
"That's what I was hoping you'd say, Ms. Marshall." Emmett reached behind him and under his blazer, where he kept his handcuffs at the waistband. "Katherine Marshall, you're under arrest for violating the Fair Housing Act, by refusing to rent to an individual with a conviction reversal, and by admitting to an officer of the law that you deny tenancy to those protected under said law."
The lady looked stunned, more so when a squad car came around the corner and Emmett read her the Revised Miranda. He looked smug as he came back to where I was waiting for him.
"You know that won't stick, don't you?" I asked. Usually a fine was in order, since Edward wasn't interested in suing.
"Maybe not, but I can at least make her day suck like she made Edward's day suck."
"I admit, it was a brilliant idea, which it pains me to say due to your already giant ego." At least this way, Edward's girlfriend wasn't the one defending him.
"I do not have a giant ego, little sis, I just know how good I am." He and I headed to his vehicle as we spoke.
"Not compared to my new detail, Jake. Talk about inflation. He was not at all happy to be left behind while we came here."
"Did you know he had to be warned not to hit on you?" He snorted, and I stopped in my tracks.
"Are you serious?" He tugged on my hand and I matched his pace again.
"Yeah, I'm serious. He wanted your 'digits', he said. He didn't know you're my sister when he asked, and he was shocked when I suggested he shouldn't flirt with his charge. It was priceless when I added in our father as the pièce de résistance."
I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes. "He's such an arrogant asshole. I'm glad Cheney is the evening shift. I couldn't let him hang out in the hallway, so I let him come inside. I genuinely admire him, and I'm thinking of introducing him to my para."
"The cutie with the black hair and glasses?" he asked as we drove away. He continued at my nod, "I think you should. She's freakin' smart, and so is Ben."
He and I chatted on the way back to the office, where he had to hand me off to Detective Black.
"Ah, there she is. Good to see you, Bella. That skirt really flatters your legs." He was leaning against his company car, wearing sunglasses and looking me up and down over the top. I spoke up before my brother could even get his mouth open.
"First off, it's Ms. Swan to you. Second, you're on duty. Stop trying to flirt with me, because you're awful at it, and I'm in a relationship."
I continued past him to the door, and heard Emmett behind me. "What she said."
My brother caught up to me as I was about to go inside. "Just remember, Ben comes on at four. I'll see you when you get up in the morning."
We exchanged hugs and I headed back to work. I hoped Dad could get this guy soon, because I was about ready to swap Jake for Mike.
The rest of my day flew by, as was normal for me. The busier I was, the more work seemed to appear. I spent a few moments texting with Jasper, who'd asked about the outcome of my sojourn with our brother. He sent me several laughing emojis, so I figured I had both boys on Edward's side. I wanted to bring him home for Sunday dinner soon, but I wasn't sure how Edward would feel about it.
Ben drove me home, and I invited him inside as I had started doing since the switch up. I didn't feel right making him stand out in the hallway, and I really didn't want the neighbors wondering why Mission Impossible was playing out in their apartment building. I called for Chinese delivery, because I felt awkward cooking for this guy I hardly knew. He was trustworthy as far as my father's office was concerned, so I never worried about my safety. I knew he wasn't looking to hook up like Black was, so that didn't worry me either. This time, I went out on that shaky limb and talked about my paralegal, Angela. She was smart and pretty and single, and based on some things he'd told me, they had movies in common at least. He thought it sounded like a good idea.
Ben made himself comfortable on my couch while I finished up clearing out my emails. Emmett would be relieving him in about an hour, and I finally headed to bed. There was no way anything could happen in that time if he dozed off, but I was pretty sure he stayed awake. Emmett slept on my couch; I thought it would be cruel to insist he stay awake for my sake. No one was going to make it inside and past him.
I don't think I'd been asleep for very long before I felt a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me.
"Bella," came the deep, familiar voice.
"Em?" I mumbled.
"Yeah, Bella, it's me. I need you to get up," he urged.
"What?" I blinked a few times, trying to see his face in the darkness of my room.
"I need you, it's important. Come on, I have your robe. Ben is still here."
I let him help me into my robe, pulling the plush lapels closer to me as I shivered. I was confused, but trying to work my way out of the fog caused by sleeping for less than an hour.
Only one lamp and the stove light were on, which I was grateful for as I entered the living room. There were papers spread across my table along with an evidence box.
"Ms. Swan, I'm so sorry to wake you," Ben said apologetically.
"It must be important, so it's fine." I looked to my brother. "Is it big enough to make coffee?"
"It's big, B. I'll do that, Ben can fill you in."
I sat next to Ben at the dining table as Emmett disappeared into the kitchen. I could soon smell the deep, warm notes of brewing coffee. I turned my attention to Detective Cheney as he picked up a DD-5 form.
"A woman was brought in to the hospital after she called for an ambulance in a panic. The officer that took the statement, if you can call it that, gathered the evidence and brought it to Emmett's attention.
The woman insisted it was just rough sex and that she didn't want to press charges."
He paused as Emmett came back with coffee mugs.
"So, Collins comes to me and says, the woman was clearly raped and then sodomized with an unknown object. She's terrified, but wants nobody called, no report filed. She called 911 because she was bleeding profusely."
I put up a hand, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths. "Just give me a sec, okay?"
The only sound in the room was our breathing and the spoon in Emmett's mug as he swirled it around. When I thought I had control over my emotions, I opened my eyes again. Ben picked the story back up.
"Your brother went to the hospital to speak to her personally. After some cajoling, she admitted that she knew who it was but that he'd threatened her little boy."
"She's not talking, B. She let slip that he was with the police department, and that he doesn't have a street uniform."
"The rape kit?"
"Nothing. Not a hair, not a tiny speck of spittle, and definitely no sperm."
"Are you expecting me to prosecute a ghost without a witness?" I asked in exasperation. Hey, it's the middle of the night and I'm no angel.
"Of course not, Ms. Swan." I could tell Ben was trying to placate me.
"Just call me Bella, okay?" I said in a nicer tone, pulling my fleece robe tighter again.
"Okay. Bella, we need you to speak to the victim. See if she'll tell you for sure that it's who we think it is. Convince her to identify him in a lineup, at least. A written statement. Anything."
"I know in my gut it's him, Bella," Emmett said forcefully. "We're so close to nailing him."
I sighed, rubbing my tired eyes. "Show me what you've got."
Thoughts about Jake or the new victim?
No comments:
Post a Comment