Incisions

by Barbara Winkes

  “Yep.” Derek gave her an affirmative nod.

  “All right then. It won’t be too late, I made the latest appointment for 4:00 p.m.

  “The latest? How many were you planning to look at?”

  Jordan who had returned, laid an arm around her shoulders. “Hi.”

  Ellie had escaped from a dangerous situation, not once but twice. Her friends were there for her, and she actually had a future with Jordan, something that hadn’t been so certain in the beginning. She didn’t know if she could blame Bethany for stirring up these emotions, but there was still this dark cloud, like a shadow swirling in her mind. The man in the police sweatshirt. Texting her, lying in wait.

  What was he waiting for now?

  She couldn’t even begin to think about scrawny guy and the C4. That case was in the hands of the FBI for the most parts, but all of them would have to work at least a part of the holiday weekend.

  “…a few options depending on what we can afford.” It didn’t register with her until then that Kate was talking to her.

  “Wow. Sorry. Say that again.”

  She caught Jordan’s concerned look and shook her head. There was no need to worry about anything. She just needed a moment.

  “Anyway, those are good places, close to work and with space for guests.”

  “I hope not all your guests will have to sleep in the guest room,” Jordan said only for her to hear, making Ellie blush.

  “Um, okay, that’s great to hear,” she said. “Thank you, Kate, I really look forward to seeing them. I think I want another drink. Jordan?”

  “Yes, sure.”

  They made their way to the bar, where Ellie ordered another Cosmopolitan, and a beer for Jordan.

  “I just wanted to say…I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”

  “I understand. It’s a lot to take in…” Jordan didn’t continue her sentence, just wrapped her arms around Ellie as she leaned into her. “It’s okay.”

  Ellie would chalk it up to sheer exhaustion, but all of a sudden, she had to giggle.

  “Okay, help me out here,” Jordan said, amused.

  “PDAs in front of our colleagues? We’ve come a long way since that night we had to hide in the bathroom.”

  “Yeah, and I’m not at all sure you should have another drink, but here it comes.”

  “You’re really okay with me moving in with Kate?”

  “I told you, it’s a good idea.”

  There was a different tone to Jordan’s voice as she no doubt remembered those moments in the bathroom stall, and funny was not the first thought that came to mind.

  “It is, but I’m glad you’re taking me home tonight.”

  Whatever she’d make of this, Ellie was fine with every possible interpretation.

  It turned out that none of those possible interpretations was put to action—Ellie fell asleep during the time Jordan spent in the bathroom, and didn’t wake up until the alarm she had set to meet with Kate on time.

  “I’m so sorry.” She sighed. “I imagined something different for last night. I think you were right about the second drink. Maybe it was the third.”

  “That’s okay. I need to go in, to see where we are with Wes. We’ve got five minutes.”

  “Five minutes are not—” Enough, Ellie meant to say, though she realized soon that a close embrace was all Jordan had on her mind, and she appreciated it. In the beginning of their relationship, there’d been so much pressure, every shared moment borrowed time. They didn’t have to continue that way.

  “I’d like to buy a new bed, too. Not today, I mean, but once Kate and I found the apartment. You can maybe help me with that.”

  “I’d love to,” Jordan said. “After all, it’s for the both of us, right?”

  That dark shadow of half-clear memories would disappear eventually, Ellie reflected. They’d been extremely lucky, both of them, and they were building a life together on those second chances.

  “Definitely. Do you have time to have breakfast with me?”

  Jordan brushed a strand of hair away from her face, kissing her softly. “That depends entirely on how long you want those five minutes to be…”

  * * * *

  “Too early?” Kate asked, amused, when Ellie got into the car with her.

  “Not what you think,” Ellie mumbled, pretty sure she was right. She couldn’t help smiling, which Kate would probably interpret as evidence for her theory, but in truth, she and Jordan had saved the best for last. They’d spent more than five minutes in bed though. Right now, between them everything was good and clear. She hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.

  The first apartment they saw had rather spacious bedrooms for both of them, one of them with a small balcony, and a shared living/kitchen area. A ten minute drive to work.

  “I don’t know,” Kate said. “The balcony is nice, but it’s tiny. I was hoping for something a little bigger, a deck or a patio. We’ll have friends over sometimes.”

  Ellie realized that in all the time in that big apartment, first with Rhonda and then by herself, she hadn’t been that much into hosting anyone, kept to herself when she wasn’t hanging out with her friends at the Code 7. “I like that little balcony.”

  “Yeah, we’ll have to talk about that. If we take this one, we need to toss a coin or something.”

  The saw three more apartments, and while she was aware the decision would not be an easy one, Ellie felt more confident than she had earlier. This was a step both she and Kate needed to take in order to move forward, a new untainted space that wasn’t haunted by previous traumas or sins.

  “The one with the balcony, do you think I could fit a King bed in one of those rooms?”

  “You have a one-track-mind, Ellie, but yes, you totally could. But, with ten minutes more commute, we could get a big backyard.”

  “Do you really want to take care of that? I used to walk home from work, so maybe ten minutes is the limit.”

  “If I get the balcony, we’re all set,” Kate promised.

  * * * *

  So far, all they could prove was that Officer Wes Martin had delivered some rather sloppy reports, and that he had preferred working one particular neighborhood. All in all, those facts raised some questions, but they hadn’t found any connection to Ward or the mysterious man in the PD’s sweatshirt…or the one who had possibly used the Code 7 to stalk his victims. Martin seemed to have come to that conclusion himself, because he had changed his mind on answering questions.

  “Hey, I’m sorry, okay? You caught me off guard. My reports might not have been so great, but I’ve been working lots of overtime. My sister and I are both working hard to keep her in college.”

  Jordan remembered Ellie mentioning his sister.

  “Anyway, I realized how this had to look to you. I can’t let her down.”

  “Okay, Wes,” she said. “We’ve learned a few things in the meantime. Did you ever see a man with a dice tattoo, watching the women there?”

  Martin had shook his head. “No, not that I can remember. Besides, you guys hang out there, you don’t think anyone would have noticed? Who told you that, Danny? He might have made up that guy, to divert attention from him. Some of the girls said he was creeping them out.”

  “You’re talking about Daniel Roth?” Derek asked, frowning. “The owner’s son?”

  “Well, yes, just because his father used to be a cop, doesn’t mean he’s cut from the same cloth, right? Ask Miranda and Kelly from the ninth. I mean, it’s not enough to arrest him or anything, but he’s kinda…strange. They both had the same feeling.”

  Derek gave her a thoughtful look as if asking for confirmation. Jordan hadn’t had enough of an exchange with Daniel to judge him on being strange or creepy, but Roth had mentioned that there had been some interaction with Ward. Had they kept in touch without Roth senior’s knowledge? Maybe Daniel had decided one day that watching the female officers wasn’t enough. After Ellie was attacked the first time, all employees of the bar had been
questioned in case anyone had witnessed anything, but he hadn’t been a suspect.

  This was the first time Daniel had brought up the mysterious tall blond man with the dice tattoo, and no one had ever mentioned him before. The more they talked to Wes, the more she thought he had some issues which were probably unrelated to the case. His work performance was for Sergeant Bristol to judge. Everything else…

  “We’ll follow up on this. Can you give us the last names of the officers?”

  “Sure. Miranda Clayton and Kelly Hamel. They’ll be on the nightshift this weekend, you can ask them when they come in.”

  “We will. Thank you for your cooperation, Officer Martin.”

  Back at her desk, Jordan went over the reports Casey and Ellie had filed, the most promising information from a Jay Easton about someone hiring Ward for a job. Scapegoat, was probably the best description. They were all connected somehow…and one of them was the yet unidentified buyer of the C4, as well as the man who had taken Ellie from her apartment.

  She wanted to talk to Clayton and Hamel herself, and she had to call Ellie too, to tell her she’d be late, and to ask her opinion about Carl Roth’s son.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Her call to Ellie went to voicemail, and Jordan told herself firmly not to go with the knee-jerk reaction. Instead, she texted her and asked to meet at Jack and Pauline’s. They’d have to take a few minutes out of family dinner to talk shop.

  Speaking of which…she was surprised to realize she hadn’t received any texts from Kathryn in a couple of days. Even better. Maybe Kathryn had understood that Jordan was nowhere near ready to let her birthmother be a part of her life. Probably, she had given up—like the last time. There was no point in being disappointed either, because that’s what she wanted, right?

  Officers Clayton and Hamel confirmed Martin’s statement, and also that there was nothing much to follow up with, though Kelly Hamel had a surprising piece of information: She and Roth junior had gone to the academy together, only briefly, because he dropped out after less than two weeks.

  “We already knew each other, so I guess that’s why I noticed it more,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t think he was actually interested in dating me, but he tried to make friends, and really hard. It didn’t seem genuine. I heard his Dad was a cop, maybe that’s the whole reason. He’s still trying to make friends.”

  From the 9th division, Jordan drove home as quickly as speed limits allowed, to change and get to Jack and Pauline’s house.

  She arrived on time to witness a rather heart-warming scene, Ellie in conversation with Jack and Pauline, sharing a glass of wine. It was a stark contrast to the few awkward moments that had occurred every time she brought Bethany. It was nobody’s fault. They didn’t click, and maybe that should have told her something years ago. It didn’t matter now.

  “I see you got started on the weekend,” she said, unable to suppress the smile.

  “Hey. You made it.” Ellie got up to greet her with a kiss. She was wearing a knee-length red dress, the sight warming more than just Jordan’s heart. Maybe tonight, she wouldn’t fall asleep right away…

  “Yes—and I’m afraid I need to borrow you for a moment, about work.”

  Ellie nodded. “I saw your message, but I was already at the door. You didn’t see the text I sent back.”

  “No. Sorry, Jack, Pauline, this won’t take long.”

  “It’s okay, Jordan,” Pauline said. “Just get a glass for yourself, okay? The bottle is in the kitchen.”

  “I will, thanks.”

  In the kitchen, she took a glass out of the cabinet and poured herself some wine. Ellie had brought her glass with her, waiting.

  “First of all…you look amazing. It will be really hard to keep my hands off you all evening.”

  Ellie laughed. “Not that I don’t love to hear that, but…You just lied?”

  “No.” Jordan sighed. “There’s something I wanted to ask you, about Daniel Roth.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Carl’s son, from Code 7,” Jordan explained. “I talked to two female officers from the 9th. They said he’s been acting creepy around them, keeping a little too close. Did you ever notice anything like that? Did he do the same with you or any female officer you know?”

  “To be frank, the guy barely registered with me. He isn’t there often, but when he is, he always seems in a bad mood.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that too. He told us he saw someone else watching the women in the room, a tall blond guy with a dice tattoo on his forearm. Did you ever see anyone like that?”

  “No, but…” Ellie looked thoughtful. “I don’t know, I think someone once mentioned that dice tattoo, I don’t remember where. Wow. That was a while ago.”

  “Oh no, don’t say that. I was kind of hoping he had made him up.”

  “You think Roth has anything to do with…well, any of this? He knows the guy in the sweatshirt?”

  “For all we know, he could be the guy in the sweatshirt. I don’t know yet. There is something strange about him, and I take seriously what Clayton and Hamel said.”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you know that he tried for the academy, quit after a couple of weeks? Hamel was in his class.”

  “I didn’t know,” Ellie said. “He seems…I don’t know, quiet, when he’s there, almost annoyed when someone bothers him by buying a drink. I bet working there wasn’t his first choice.”

  “Yeah, well, all of this isn’t a crime, obviously. Martin messed up some reports, but other than that, we couldn’t tie him to anything related to your abduction or the C4 deal.” Jordan regretted saying this out loud when she saw Ellie shiver and put an arm on her shoulder. “Sorry. I should call Bethany about this and see if there’s anything about the Roth family we should know.”

  “They came to Jensen’s funeral.”

  “Yes, I know, and I don’t want to make accusations as long as…”

  “I’m really sorry,” Jack said, walking into the kitchen. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but if I don’t, dinner’s going to burn.”

  “That’s okay. I just need to make a quick phone call, and I’ll be good.”

  “Did you schedule your vacation yet?” he asked.

  “Not yet. We will do that soon. Excuse me for a moment?”

  She went no farther than the other corner of the room. Working this closely with Bethany, she needed Ellie to trust her. It took five rings before Bethany picked up.

  “Hey. I need a favor. Could you see what you can find on Daniel Roth? And maybe show it to Haynes. If Ward made his deals around the time he was hanging with Ellie’s kidnapper, he might remember him. Maybe a name was mentioned.”

  “Jordan,” Bethany said, mildly amused. “Sure I can do that, but not before tomorrow.”

  “That’s fine. We’ll check with other sources in the meantime. You let me know the moment you find…”

  “Is that all?”

  “This is important. Please get to it as soon as you can.”

  “Okay, this is a bit awkward, but I’m actually on a date. I’ll make sure you get what you need. If you excuse me now?”

  The next moment, Jordan stood, holding her phone, somewhat speechless in light of the news. She shouldn’t be surprised. Bethany deserved to be happy too, and it seemed like they were doing a much better job apart than they had trying for nine years. Bethany had probably tried harder, she had to give her that.

  “Is everything okay?” Ellie asked.

  “Yes. Perfect. She’s going to follow up on this.”

  “Great timing. Dinner’s ready,” Jack announced. “Would you like more wine, Ellie?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  However, when they left for the dining room, she whispered to Jordan, “Don’t worry, I’ll observe my limits tonight. Because…you know.”

  Jordan didn’t need to hear the words for her body to react to them. She didn’t want to break the spell by asking how the apartment hunt had gone. Come to th
ink of it, she didn’t want to talk about it at all in front of Jack and Pauline, and why would they? Everything was fine.

  * * * *

  “Did you hear from the young woman who’s having the baby?” Pauline asked over coffee and dessert.

  “Oh yes. She’ll be okay.”

  On a relaxed evening like this, Jordan didn’t think it was necessary to elaborate, how she’d overreacted and felt like crap about it. Pauline could probably read between the lines that Darla had accepted her apology.

  “That’s good to hear. So…please forgive me, but I need to ask. Have you thought about parenthood some more?”

  Jordan almost choked on her wine, while Ellie was quicker to see the humor in that question, even though she had to be blindsided by it. She cast a quick questioning look at Jordan.

  “I will chalk this up to the amount of wine you all had before I even arrived. No, we have not talked about this yet.”

  “It’s okay,” Ellie said. “I don’t mind the subject. The truth is, I haven’t really made up my mind yet. I could very well imagine, with the right person…and I believe I found her, but…” She blushed. “Okay, I wasn’t exactly prepared. Maybe ask me next time, and I can give you a better answer.”

  How can you even think about this when you decided not to live with me? The words were on the tip of Jordan’s tongue, but she held them back, knowing they would only sound bitter and petty. Ellie had made that decision because Jordan had conveyed to her time and again that she needed space, and how little she’d felt she had with Bethany. However, Bethany was moving on.

  “Yeah, I agree,” she said, “we’ll get back to this another time. We don’t exactly have the job schedule to raise children.”

  “We know that,” Jack assured. “And Pauline is only kidding…well, mostly. The subject of grandchildren has come up lately.”

  “Of course you decide what’s right for you, but…if your decision goes that way, you know that we would babysit anytime.”

  “Oh boy,” Jack said.

  “That’s right,” Ellie agreed. “I think I’ll have one more glass—and I promise we’ll give this some thought, right, Jordan?”

  “We sure will.”