Finely Ground

by Jennifer Templeman

  “Dude.” Phillips grinned. “We’re in law enforcement. It’s a requirement for us to drink coffee if we smell it. You’re about to have a major run—stop whining!”

  ****

  Ellie had to put her fingers over her lips to keep her smile from showing at how the young agents basically parted to make way for the older Phil to come hobbling through to be the first one to enter Mocha Joe’s.

  He barged in, demanding, “Where is she?” Finding Ellie, he said, “You are wrecking my blood pressure.”

  “I’m right here, and I’m fine,” she tried to assure him. “Somebody stole my car. This kind of thing happens every day.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” Phil was quick to disagree, beginning to tap out a staccato pattern on the floor with this black cane decorated with checkered flags, like he had won a race. “You had security detail of two agents in a car parked next door. They’re currently unconscious. This kind of thing does not happen every day.”

  Until he mentioned it, she had forgotten about her security detail. Had she remembered that, the reality of what this must mean would have hit her sooner. A warm hand on her shoulder squeezed just enough to remind her to keep breathing. Two more people had been injured because of her. This was quickly getting ridiculous. All she’d done was come in for a cup of coffee, and because there was a crazy man out there with a grudge, agents had gotten hurt.

  “EMTs said they should be fine,” Phil continued talking. “They’re stable, so they’re going to transport them to the hospital to check them out, to verify they were only hit with a sedative. Their guess is they will possibly have a bit of a headache when they wake up, but that’s it.”

  That was good news, at least.

  “Why did Garrison want my car? It doesn’t make sense.” Ellie asked.

  “You’re trying to figure out the mind of a nut—logic doesn’t apply here,” Phil replied. “Come on.” He motioned for her to follow him outside. “Let’s see if you can pick up anything from the scene.”

  Ellie realized her skill set might not be as applicable in this setting. When she walked into the parking lot, the only detail she could see was that the space where she knew she’d parked was empty. Knowing there was nothing else to learn here, she moved over to the sedan where the agents had been drugged.

  Walking around the car, she tried to narrow her vision to see snapshots of the scene and not get lost in the vast amount of data available to her senses.

  “Here.” Phillips pressed a pair of latex gloves in her hands, which she put on so that she could move closer and touch the car without worrying about destroying any evidence.

  She knelt down and looked at the floorboard, under the seats, and even ran her fingers around the seat cushions. Before she got up, she glanced under the car and saw what she’d been looking for. “There are two hypodermics under the car.” She pointed as she reported it to Phillips.

  He moved on the information she gave him and had a couple of techs come to get the needles to enter them into evidence.

  Satisfied that it was probably safe to get in the car, she moved around to the driver’s side and sat in the seat. From her vantage point, she had an unobstructed view through the window of Mocha Joe’s to see the office door. It was a perfect spot for surveillance. She flipped the visor down and wasn’t surprised when a sheet of paper fell into her lap.

  It’s hard to know someone was hurt because of you, isn’t it? That feeling of helplessness that someone innocent was injured because they were somehow linked to you settles in your stomach and won’t go away. This is only the beginning.

  “What’s that?” Phil’s voice cut through the fog in her brain as she read the note.

  For a guy they were all referring to as crazy, he seemed to have a solid grasp on emotions, because he was describing how she felt perfectly. The fact that he ended his letter by stating this was only the beginning had her worried. She was finally forced to admit that having a security detail was probably a good idea, but now she was concerned that the ones in danger were the very ones trying to protect her. Maybe it would benefit everybody to let her go unguarded. This guy didn’t seem to want to hurt her directly.

  “Forget it,” Phil called out again, snatching the note from her hand and motioning for her to get out of the car. “I know that look on your face, and you can forget trying to convince me this guy isn’t going to hurt you.”

  “So far, he’s only after the people around me, and that note basically says he isn’t interested in attacking me but he is going to hurt anyone near me.”

  “That’s what it says, but what if he’s trying to get you to isolate yourself so it will make getting to you easier?” Phil asked. “We’re not playing his game.”

  “I don’t think he’s giving us a choice,” Ellie replied. “He’s playing with us regardless.”

  “Maybe.” Phil softened his voice a little. “But we don’t have to play by his rules.”

  “That’s the problem,” Ellie admitted. “I don’t think he has any rules.”

  Chapter 6

  By the time Phillips pulled into their parking lot, Ellie was exhausted. The idea of taking a long soak in her bathtub was more appealing than fixing dinner. And she knew it was going to be an early night. After they’d finally cleared the scene and she was satisfied she’d seen everything there was to see, she’d allowed Phillips to bring her home, knowing she still needed to deal with the loss of her car through the insurance company. That was more than she could face tonight, so she put it on her mental list of things to do the next day.

  After clearing her apartment, Phillips told her, “I’m going to check in next door. Then I’m going to have one of the guys pick us up some Chinese for dinner. Go do what you need to do, and I’ll be over in an hour with something to eat.”

  Ellie was suddenly struck with how lucky she was. She knew she tended to keep a low level of irritation with her neighbor, but hearing Joe describe them as being like siblings was an apt analogy. No sooner had she thought it than it struck her that if Joe made the connection they were like family, perhaps Garrison would as well.

  “Hey, Phillips,” she called out before he left her apartment.

  He turned to look at her.

  “I appreciate all you’re doing, but being seen around me carries a certain level of danger, and especially since I’m closer to you than most people, the way Garrison seems to want to hurt anybody near me means—”

  “It means I’m living on the edge,” Phillips interrupted her before she could finish. “And you know how much I love the idea of being in danger. Most of my cases have been routine and less than exciting lately, so you’re giving me that rush I need. Forget about trying to push me away. This is where I want to be.”

  “In danger?”

  “Yeah.” He shrugged, as though that wasn’t exactly right. “In danger and with a friend.”

  Before she could respond, he spun around and walked out. She locked the door and leaned against it. A year ago, she would have described her life as being all routine, with little interaction with others. Suddenly she felt like her routine had been completely taken away and she was surrounded by real friends. Thinking of real friends made her think of Anne, so she rushed to the bathroom to fill the tub with bubbles and grabbed her phone so she could catch up with her oldest friend and relax at the same time.

  ****

  Talking with Anne had a unique effect on Ellie. Something about having a person who had known you for virtually your entire life kept you from attempting to lie because they’d pick up on it. After Ellie caught her up on the events from the entire day, Anne responded by laughing.

  “I don’t think it’s funny,” Ellie defended.

  “No, I’m sure it’s not for you, but hearing about it sounds like a poorly written mystery novel, where there’s not much development for the character, just one crisis after another until the mystery is solved,” Anne said, explaining her amusement.

  “I’d prefer not to think about
day after day of crises,” Ellie confessed.

  “Well, you can at least fix the first part…” Anne’s voice grew more serious. “It sounds like Mack is willing to help you develop, so there could at least be some character growth in-between the explosions.”

  “Oh come on… There haven’t been any explosions,” Ellie corrected.

  “Not yet, but if this book is ever going to be made into an action movie, you’ve got to have at least one.” Anne was back to teasing, offering Ellie an escape.

  “Talking to Mack isn’t like talking to a doctor.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well…she’s a little off-balance herself, so I don’t feel like she can judge me, because it’s not like her mind is well ordered. Plus, she has this way of being crazy one minute and then saying something that is so true I can’t argue with her. It’s…unnerving.”

  “It sounds like she’s perfect,” Anne said. “She’s not judging you, and she’s pointing out stuff that you need to hear. Why would you stop talking to her?”

  “Because she said I’m going to need to talk about my past, and there are parts of it I don’t want to relive,” Ellie admitted.

  “But you do relive it,” Anne disagreed. “Every time you have a conversation with your mother and defend your job, you hang up wishing your dad was alive and thinking about how different it would be if he was still here. And every time that stud next door describes a sting he’s been a part of, you wonder what it would be like to be in on the action instead of analyzing it after the fact.”

  “You can be a real smart-ass sometimes,” Ellie pointed out, curious how Anne knew everything, even though Ellie had never confided any of that to her.

  “I prefer to be described as astute and wise, but I guess your way works too.”

  “Thanks for the chat,” Ellie said, knowing Phillips would be back soon.

  “Anytime,” Anne said. “You never have to feel like you’re alone. There’s a whole group of us who would love to help you if you’d let us.”

  The idea of being around Anne and her wonderful family while there was somebody gunning to hurt anyone close to her caused Ellie to reply, “We’ll get together soon, but we might have to satisfy ourselves with more chats on the phone.”

  “All right,” Anne reluctantly agreed. “But chats on the phone won’t include cake, so I’m not sure how many problems we can solve without the prerequisite sugar as a problem-solving agent.”

  ****

  Phillips turned off his cell phone with a satisfied-looking smile on his face. “Some days it’s so good to be me.”

  “And so hard to be around you,” Ellie responded, taking the empty take-out containers into the kitchen.

  “You know, not everybody could accept your abrasive wit as charming like I do,” Phillips declared, following her but not offering any help in cleaning up. “I just got a call from a girl I met last week, and she and I are going out Saturday night.”

  “Have a good time,” Ellie encouraged. “Are you most drawn in by her keen intellect or her complex sense of humor?”

  “Neither,” Phillips was honest enough to admit. “But I did like the way she worked her little red dress at the club.”

  Before she could insult his shallow taste in women, there was a knock at the door.

  “I think that’s my relief,” Phillips announced, moving to open the door to her apartment. “Who is it?” he called out, even though he’d already checked the peephole in the door.

  “You know full well who it is; now open the door,” Joe’s voice responded.

  “You used to be more fun,” Phillips teased as he opened the door.

  “And you used to be more mature,” Joe countered, moving past Phillips so he could smile at Ellie. “I’m here to save you from enduring this guy’s company any longer.”

  “I can’t think of a way to repay you for your kindness,” she replied, always eager to get the upper hand when Phillips was concerned.

  “I’ll get out of here, then,” Phillips replied, “since neither of you seems to appreciate my charm and Joe probably has a list of ways you could repay him.”

  “Get out!” Joe bellowed at his cousin, receiving laughter and a briefly elevated middle finger as his parting valediction.

  “It amazes me that you two are related,” Ellie laughed.

  “Our parents are related,” Joe clarified. “Cousins don’t share that much DNA, so don’t judge me based on him.” The smile he held when he spoke faded, and Ellie wondered what was causing the sudden shift. “I know you don’t want a babysitter, but after everything that happened at the shop today, I just wanted to come by and spend some time with you here. I’m afraid you’re going to start associating the shop with tragedies and quit coming to see me.”

  “I can’t see that happening,” Ellie told him honestly. “Besides, even when odd things happen there, I’ve always associated you with being there to support me. I mean, you saved my life with Lydia, and then today, your hand on my shoulder when I was getting worked up helped me to refocus.”

  He looked a little confused as she spoke but didn’t ask for more information. Instead, he looked at the couch, so she shook her head no. “If you want to hang out here tonight, that’s fine, but you’re going to have to make a pot of decaf first.”

  “I’ve never had to pay for the privilege of someone’s company before…” He grinned, moving to the kitchen. He pulled the ground beans he’d brought over the week before from her freezer and began to haphazardly scoop them into the prepared filter. Once he turned on the coffee maker, he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to explain how to make a pot of coffee in your maker?”

  Ellie shrugged. “There’s not much point. I’ve watched you do it several times, and even when I try to copy you exactly, it never tastes as good as yours. I think I’m just missing the coffee-making gene.”

  “Then I’m happy to fill that need for you,” he responded, his voice suddenly sounding lower than usual. He picked up Ellie’s hand and held it between his. “We’ve been getting to know each other for a while now…”

  She nodded and took a slight step closer to him.

  “I’ve enjoyed every minute we’ve had together,” he continued, his voice so smooth and calming.

  “So have I,” Ellie agreed, disappointed that she sounded nervous with a crack at the end of her short phrase.

  “But there’s something we haven’t done yet that I’d like to rectify,” he continued, using his hypnotic tone.

  “What’s that?” Ellie found herself moving even closer so that they were nearly touching with their joined hands between them.

  “I haven’t actually taken you out on a date,” Joe surprised her by saying.

  “A date?”

  “You know, I pick you up and take you out to dinner, then we do something afterwards, and then I bring you home.”

  “I know what a date means. I guess I’d just been defining all the time we’ve spent together as a kind of date,” Ellie said to clarify her confusion, feeling both excited about the prospect of someone wanting to take her out and a little disappointed that she’d misjudged his intention. They’d spent enough time together to prove they had a definite chemistry together. She’d been spending more time lately wondering how it would translate if he’d just kiss her.

  “It might count in a way,” Joe agreed. “But I’d like to try the old-fashioned way too.” He entwined their fingers and pulled their hands up to his face, where he placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.

  The coffee pot began to sputter, indicating it was nearly finished brewing, and Ellie knew this moment was about to end.

  Before he released her hand, he asked, “So, will you let me take you out?”

  Ellie nodded, not sure she could trust her voice. Just getting a simple chaste kiss on her hand had made her feel the need to lock her knees. She wasn’t sure what a whole night of that same kind of focused attention might cause.

  “I’ll be here Saturday at five
thirty,” he told her, still holding her hand tightly in his. Then he placed another kiss on her fingers and let her hand go, spinning around to face the coffee pot on the counter.

  Never in her life had she resented freshly brewed coffee as much as she did in the moment. The loss of the connection they’d just had made her wish he’d ignore the pot and hold her hand again.

  “Sugar?” he asked, causing Ellie to wonder why he’d suddenly use such an absurd pet name.

  “What?”

  “Where is your sugar?” he clarified. “The bowl is empty.”

  She could feel the warmth in her checks from embarrassment at the misunderstanding. Taking the bowl, she kept her back to him and efficiently moved to fill it up before setting it on the counter beside the cups he was filling with the dark beverage.

  After replacing the carafe, he cupped her check and let his thumb softly run over her skin. If she’d managed to calm down from her earlier embarrassment any, the blush was definitely returning in full force from his direct attention. “I’m going to treat you like you deserve to be treated,” he promised.

  She knew she should appreciate what he was doing. He was handling her with such respect and tenderness, but he was making it next to impossible to respond in kind. What she wanted to do was take control and close the distance between them to see how he’d respond if she kissed him instead. In the back of her mind, she could hear Janice squawking that ladies didn’t behave that way, and if she wanted a gentleman to respect her, she needed to allow him to lead.

  Fortunately, thinking about her mother made it easier to control her earlier desire to take control. Instead, she let her eyes fall to the mugs on the counter and replied, “You already do more than that.”

  He removed his hand to pick up a cup and offer it to her, but before releasing it, he responded, “I haven’t even gotten started.”

  At least Ellie had the steam from the beverage to explain the renewed flush to her face.

  Chapter 7

  “You’re looking happy this morning,” Phillips announced from her office doorway. The ease with which he carried himself was something Ellie envied. He was leaning against the doorframe, looking every bit as comfortable in her office as he did stretched out on the sofa.