“You know I had nothing to do with robbing that bank. It’s not like we’re pretending to be Bonnie and Clyde. I wouldn’t even be here if they weren’t my family heirlooms.”
We stared at each other as the moments ticked past. I was trying to look as innocent as possible which was almost impossible considering the constable had been in on my interrogation only a day before.
Finally, he opened the gate. “Come on through.”
I followed him into a small meeting room, similar to the interrogation rooms but this one had no windows – or cameras. It was just an empty box, as void of character as much as furniture. A sole table and two chairs sat in the room. I took one of them while I waited for Constable Heron to return.
Less than a minute later, he carried in a plastic zip-lock bag. I instantly recognized Ryan’s wallet. How many times had I seen it left on the coffee table, the night stand, the bathroom counter? The sight of it actually made me sad, l wouldn’t see it ever again after today. I wasn’t going to go back to our apartment and have takeaway in the living room while Ryan played his guitar. I had been too angry at him to think about the future and it suddenly all came crashing into me like a tidal wave. We were done.
But that was a good thing, right? Ryan wasn’t good for me. He tricked me into robbing a bank for God’s sake. He never thought about me, never considered the consequences of anything, and his future was going to be doing hard time in prison. So why did it have to hurt so much? Because I knew he wouldn’t be bringing me coffee in the morning, he wouldn’t be cupping my face in his rough hands, and he wouldn’t be giving me that ‘baby it’s alright’ smile that only he could.
“Are you okay?” Constable Heron looked at me like I was suddenly growing tentacles. I was equally as taken back by my reaction.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, trying to push all my emotions to the side. I would have to deal with them later, cry into my ice cream in a more private setting. “Can I please see his wallet?”
The constable took the seat beside me and handed over the bag. I started going through his stuff, trying not to get emotional. I was still angry with the guy, after all. Now was not a time to focus on all Ryan’s pros.
“So, I have to ask, how do you really find yourself robbing a bank?” Constable Heron asked, before quickly adding: “We’re completely off the record here. I ask out of personal curiosity, not professionally.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, it starts off with your boyfriend – now ex – asking you to go to the bank with him. Then, he says to hold this while you unsuspectingly realize he’s putting a gun in your hand. Next thing you know, you’re the only one still standing in the middle of the bank.”
“And you really had no idea?” He seemed amused at my complete innocence in the entire plan. It brought out his dimples. He could tease me if it meant I could see those dimples for longer.
“None. I guess love really is blind.”
“There were no clues about him being such a loser before then?”
“Oh, there were plenty. I just don’t have a good loser radar. I seem to attract them instead of being warned about them,” I chanced a look into his blue eyes, yep still incredibly alluring. “I’m sure you see it a lot in here.”
He nodded. “I do. But you seem different, smarter. You really should have known better.” The sparkle in his eyes was betraying his amusement.
“I know. What can I say? I have no excuse. What about your girlfriends, I’m sure they haven’t all been entirely sane.” I was shamelessly fishing for information, I knew I shouldn’t be.
“There have been a few odd ones, I have to admit. None that made me rob a bank though. That is something else entirely.”
“Tell me about it.”
I’d gone through Ryan’s wallet four times by then so I didn’t have to leave the constable’s company but I couldn’t delay it any longer. The pawn ticket wasn’t in there. It was officially lost, disposed of for good.
“Find what you’re looking for?”
I shook my head sadly. “No, he doesn’t have the ticket.”
“You could report the jewelry stolen, that way I can force the pawn shop to hand it over to you,” Constable Heron suggested.
I looked at the one photo Ryan kept in his wallet, it was of the two of us last Christmas. He’d surprised me by taking me to the carnival. We ate fairy floss and rode the merry-go-round until we felt ill. Then we went home and didn’t get any sleep all night.
I thought about what Constable Heron was saying but it would only mean more charges against Ryan. As much as I wanted to hate him, sentimental feelings were creeping in. I couldn’t do it to him.
“I can’t kick him while he’s down.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ll just have to be adopted by another grandmother and get some new jewelry, I suppose.”
“He doesn’t deserve you,” the constable’s eyes were sincere, he wasn’t teasing me this time.
“No, he doesn’t,” I agreed. “I should get going then, it’s been a long day.”
Constable Heron was seemingly thinking something over, he was biting ever so slightly on his bottom lip. It was adorable.
“There is one more thing we can try to get back your jewelry,” he said, a cheeky glint to his wonderful eyes.
CHAPTER 5
“Wait here,” Constable Lucas instructed me. I was sitting in his police vehicle, it felt nice to be in the front seat for a change. The doors opened from the inside and everything – unlike the back seats.
I could see the counter of Siegfried’s Pawn Shop through the grilled windows. The same guy as this morning was manning the place, the one who had told me to come back with a ticket. His moustache was still twitching.
I watched as Constable Heron approached the counter, he didn’t bother waiting in line. His blue uniform gave him a free pass to the front. I liked the way he moved with such confidence, he was so sure of himself but not in an arrogant type of way. He knew he was good at his job, but he wasn’t trying to show off and convince others of it. It was kind of sexy.
The police officer started talking with the man, his hands gesturing as he spoke. The guy listened with a look on his face that bespoke his unwillingness to help. I didn’t know the legality of what Constable Heron was doing, but I didn’t much care.
The only concern I had was for the constable’s job. I hoped he wasn’t going to get into trouble for doing me a favor. He hadn’t mentioned the consequences and I didn’t dare ask. Sometimes it was far better not knowing. Unless the plan was to rob a bank, that was always better to know.
Suddenly, Constable Heron grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close to his own face. His eyes grew wide with the surprise of the action. Mine did too. I didn’t breathe until he dropped him back to the floor.
From then onwards, the man seemed to be more co-operative. He hurried to the back room, disappearing from sight. Constable Heron stood there resolutely, refusing to move any.
Minutes later, the guy returned with a plastic bag full of stuff. I couldn’t dare hope it was my jewelry, I learnt a long time ago not to get my hopes up. Now I needed to see things with my own eyes before I believed in them.
He handed the entire bag to Constable Heron who then turned and left with a satisfied grin on his face. I quickly looked away as he walked through the entry doors, I didn’t want him knowing I had been watching his every move. I still had some dignity, a teeny tiny bit anyway.
The constable climbed into the car beside me. “Is this your jewelry?” He held open the bag for me. My heart stopped while I glanced at the necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. I recognized each and every one of the pieces. It was all there, every last piece. I wanted to hug him.
“It’s my grandmother’s jewelry,” I confirmed. A large part of me never thought I would see it again. I was embarrassed as the tears starting to well in my eyes but I couldn’t stop them. I wiped at my cheeks before he could notice. “I can’t than
k you enough for this.”
“Just doing my duty.”
I stopped staring at the jewelry to look at Constable Heron instead. He was smiling, reveling in my happiness - the emotion he had caused me.
“Thank you,” were the only words that would come to me. So I’d lost a boyfriend and was facing a hefty jail sentence for a crime I didn’t commit, at least I had the only connection to my grandmother that still existed.
CHAPTER 6
“And you need to sign there too,” Constable Heron pointed to the last page in the stack of paperwork I had just gone through. My hand was getting tired of signing my name.
“There, all done,” I said, relieved to have the whole ordeal over and done with. Finally, the police decided to drop the charges against me. Somewhere along the road, Ryan must have grown a conscience and told them the truth. I bet his solicitor had something to say about it.
“You’re a free woman,” he said as the dimples formed in his cheeks. They were like his secret weapon, they could turn all the thoughts in my head into mush in just a flash. “What are you going to do now?”
“I think I’m going to have a serious think about my choice of boyfriends,” I replied honestly. Being with Ryan had taught me many things. I had invested almost a year in him and there was no payoff – unless you counted life experience (and I didn’t). At least I now knew what the holding cells looked like in the police station.
But I realized something bigger, there was a definite type of man I continued to make mistakes with. They were all hopeless cases, it was like I felt the need to rescue them or something – like they were stranded puppies. I needed to find someone who was good for me, someone who had their head screwed on right. I think I deserved it.
Constable Heron shifted his weight to his other foot, a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. He wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how. I didn’t know whether I should just leave before he had a chance to.
“I guess I should get going then, preferably not come back,” I said awkwardly. It was true, I never wanted to come near the police station again. I’d had a lifetime fill of the place.
Finally, Constable Heron placed a hand on my arm, stopping me. “I was wondering if you’d like to get dinner some time? You know, now you’re free and everything.”
I was worried he would say something stupid like that. I did want to go out with him, he was the type of man I should date. But I didn’t want to hurt him. Every relationship I’d ever had ended so terribly, I didn’t want him to suffer like that. He was too nice.
I didn’t even know if I was ready to start dating again. It had only been two weeks since I broke up with Ryan and I was still dealing with the aftermath of being arrested. My mother for one was only just starting to talk to me again. Everything was happening so fast, I felt like I was spinning twice as fast as the rest of the world.
But then again, Constable Lucas Heron wasn’t like anyone I had ever been with before. For a start, he had a steady job. That was like a huge tick in the plus column and a completely new concept to me. He was sensible and kind, nice and… very good looking.
Oh well, at the end of the day I was still Tessa Cressly, the girl who made terrible mistakes. Nobody expected me to be anything else. I wasn’t my sister and I would never be.
“That would be nice, I’d like to have dinner with you sometime,” I smiled, buckled up, and got ready to do it all again.
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jamie Campbell grew up in the New South Wales town of Port Macquarie as the youngest of six children. A qualified Chartered Accountant, she now resides on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Writing since she could hold a pencil, Jamie’s passion for storytelling and wild imagination were often a cause for concern with her school teachers. Now that imagination is used for good instead of mischief.
Visit www.jamiecampbell.com.au now for more entertaining reading.
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