Flashpoint: Reed Series

by M. C. Cerny

  “Really…” Katie rolled her eyes.

  “Indeed because you happy means I get more kisses later.” Jacob kissed her on the nose. She took the section he was done reading and continued to sip her coffee. He perused the financial section, and she stuck with the local news and political school board election articles.

  “I guess I should get ready and head to the office. Our meeting is at 9:00 and my boss always has other things he wants to cover.”

  “Do you want a car to take you over? Or I could walk with you.” Jacob kept his hold on her. He was getting more paranoid when she was out of his sight.

  “I’ll be okay walking over, but thank-you.” Katie took a bite of a pastry and licked her top lip.

  She could hear Jacob groan. “Must you do that this early? How am I going to get through the day now?” Katie could feel the telltale rise in Jacob’s sweatpants as she slipped off his lap.

  “I imagine you’ll survive.” She tweaked him on the nose, and headed into the bathroom. Jacob shifted uncomfortably as he watched her walk away. He couldn’t imagine Katie being coy but, if she tried it, it might very well be his undoing.

  Katie grabbed a few toiletries and her clothes, and headed for the shower. She was quick under the water, mostly because she was nervous that Jacob was going to surprise her in there. She was ready to be with him and the waiting was getting to her. She sensed that he was on edge and ready to pounce when she turned things around on him and gave him some of his own medicine. Toweling her body off, then quickly blowing her hair out, she got herself ready in record time. A touch of makeup and lip gloss, and she was ready to go. She tidied up the bathroom and met Jacob back out in the kitchen.

  “Do you mind bringing my bag back over when I see you tonight?”

  “I sure can. I can be there around 8:30-9:00 o’clock. I know it’s late for dinner, but I have a meeting beforehand that I can’t get out of since I just got back.”

  “That would be perfect.” Katie kissed Jacob briefly on the lips, then ran her thumb over his, wiping the lip gloss off. He stood up and put his hands on either side of her, trapping her between his frame and the kitchen island. He bent down and kissed her again, tilting her head back to open her mouth. He could have cared less if she was wearing sticky lip gloss. Both groaned into the kiss and Katie whimpered, leaning into Jacob and tasting his mouth and tongue inside her own.

  “I-I have some time before I-I leave,” Katie stammered. Her brain ceased functioning and she squeezed her eyes closed. She was more than ready to throw in the towel. She didn’t care if being assertive like this made her easy right now.

  “No, you don’t. I wish you did, but just give it two more days.” Jacob leaned his forehead into hers, sighing with frustration.

  Jacob’s hands lingered around her waist and under her suit jacket, dancing tiny circles around her back and under her breasts. Before he could be compelled to strip her naked and pop her up on the island to have his way with her, he turned her around and walked her to the elevator. He pushed the call button and the door opened. Jacob stood back and crossed his arms over his chest, his breathing was deep and labored. If she turned around, she would have seen his massive erection.

  “I-I…” Katie tried to speak. Luckily for Jacob, she didn’t turn around. She couldn’t see Jacob’s hooded eyes and the level of his need that was raging out of control.

  “Go before I change my mind, sweetheart.” Katie took a step forward and, as she turned around, the door to the elevator closed. Her breathing was out of sync and her chest was heaving in anticipation. She put one hand up onto the wall of the elevator and the other over her belly. Her womb clenched in response to her own needs. How was she going to hold out for two more days?

  Jacob heaved a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. Hauk looked at him and barked. “I know, boy. Daddy is running on pure need at this point and she’s driving me crazy. This calls for a long, cold shower and maybe a good fight.” Jacob was walking to the bathroom which still had Katie’s lightly fragranced scent, when his phone rang. It was Eli. Damn. “Hello, brother.”

  Katie finished work and hurried home to get ready, walking from the subway station to her apartment. She was lost in thought, thinking about dinner and this coming weekend. She planned to be wearing a very conservative outfit tonight so as not to drive Jacob, or herself, crazy. It was a dark, camel-colored dress with a non-revealing, V-shaped neckline and a black checked pattern. It hugged her body, but didn’t show too much skin. The three-quarter length sleeves and knee-length hemline should save them from temptation. She had black platform heels that she could wear, the wedge soles would make walking to dinner easy. Jacob told her that he had an old stone farmhouse near the Lake George area, and getting away from the city would be a nice change.

  Katie ran through what she would bring with her this weekend and what they might plan to do…when they weren’t worn out by shagging each other. Whoa, Trevor really needed to stop influencing her vocabulary and wicked thoughts.

  She walked up to her building, fishing out her key for the front door, and noticed that it was already slightly ajar. She could hear her hipster neighbors on the first floor hosting a dinner party. Glad that she and Jacob would be going out, she continued up the stairs to her apartment. Fishing out her own key, she didn’t notice that her own door was slightly ajar.

  She gasped, her door swinging open into the darkness of her apartment. Two men in masks came out at her and pushed her aside, rushing from the doorway. Katie screamed and one pushed her against the wall, knocking her down. She just missed going head first back down the stairs, the breath knocked right out of her body. Her head hit the wall and bounced forward. Dazed, she looked up and they were gone. Her neighbors never even opened their door when she screamed, probably because they couldn’t hear her over the jazz music and loud conversation. Katie tried to breathe deeply and collect herself. She needed to call Jacob; she needed to call the police; she needed to get to safety and in the presence of other people. Her home had been violated. Who knew what could have happened to her had she come home minutes before. Shock was setting in and she rubbed her temple, wincing at the tenderness there and on the back of her head. Was she going to get attacked and mugged once a week now?

  Struggling to stand up, her ankle sore from being pushed and landing awkwardly, she made her way back downstairs and knocked on her neighbor’s door. One of the guests gasped at Katie’s disheveled appearance. He helped her in and called for the couple hosting the party, June and Johnny…their last name escaping her at the moment. June rushed over and helped her sit on the couch, yelling for her friend to get a glass of water. Johnny looked out the door to see if anyone else was there, then called the police. The other guests were clearly shocked. This was a safe neighborhood, they said. This was Brooklyn, they repeated. Small, vapid conversations about how in awe they were that Katie was left unmolested followed; others remarked how lucky she was. These people didn’t even know the half of it.

  Once the police arrived, everything quickly escalated. A pair of detectives arrived, one of them named Lopez. He asked Katie if she wanted to see an EMT, which she refused. He asked her to stay put while they had a look around the building and her apartment. She blocked everything out and slowly sipped the water, putting the cold glass up to her forehead to numb things. One of the officers was holding her purse and getting her information. She didn’t even have her cellphone to call Jacob. Squeezing her eyes shut, a single tear escaped. She quickly wiped it away and tried to focus on breathing slowly.

  Jacob pulled up to Katie’s brownstone apartment a little before 9:00 o’clock. The building was swarming with police vehicles, and the front door was wide open. People were milling about outside, with officers trying to disperse them. Jacob felt unease in the pit of his stomach and parked his jaguar. He checked his phone, no messages, and jogged up to the building. A young officer held his hand up and stood in front of him. “Sorry, sir. You need to wait outside.” The officer
looked back inside, then back at Jacob, suspiciously.

  “Officer, my girlfriend lives here. Katie Wilson. Is everything alright? I’m supposed to meet her for dinner. What’s going on?”

  “Sir, I need you to step aside. This is official police business.”

  “Let me talk to a detective then. My name is Jacob Reed and my girlfriend lives in this building,” he repeated.

  As Jacob was getting ready to push his way in, a detective stepped outside and caught his eye. “Mr. Reed? Come with me. Miss Wilson is inside.”

  He followed the detective inside and they made their way into the first floor apartment, the second floor being taped off. As he walked in, he saw Katie sitting on the sofa, drinking water. She looked pale, shaken up, and a small bruise was forming on her temple but, otherwise, she was unhurt. Jacob rushed over to her and knelt in front of her. “Baby? Katie? It’s me, I’m here. What happened?” Jacob put his hands around her face to get her to look at him. Her body was cold, and her eyes looked glassy and unfocused. Katie choked back a cry, put her glass down, and hugged Jacob, who stood up to hold her fully against him. Her body trembled and neither said a word for several moments.

  “Talk to me, Katie. Tell me what happened? Are you hurt anywhere?” Jacob gently rubbed her back.

  “N-no, I don’t think so. I-I’m just shaken up.” Katie held onto Jacob like a lifeline.

  “What happened?”

  “Men were in my apartment, my home. They came running out and pushed me to the ground. I don’t even know if they stole anything. I never went inside. I just came downstairs when they left, and knocked on June and Johnny’s door.”

  “Good. Did you talk to the detective yet?”

  “Only for a minute. They just got here; everything happened so quickly. I c-couldn’t even call you. I don’t know where my phone is.” Katie was shaking from the shock, and Jacob sat her back down on the couch.

  “Let me talk to the detective and see what needs to be done, then I’m taking you back to my place.” Jacob nodded over to June who sat with Katie, holding her hand.

  Jacob went back to the foyer and found the detective on the landing. “Detective Lopez, what have you found so far?”

  “Mr. Reed, it appears as if there’s been a robbery in Miss Wilson’s apartment. We’ll need her to come upstairs and assess the damages. Of course she can’t take anything from it, except maybe a few items of clothing, until we release the crime scene. I also need her to make a statement back at the precinct.”

  “Alright. I’d like to take her back to my place when everything is finished, though. I live downtown, across the bridge, and my building has really good security.” This detective would never know how well, either.

  “Good idea. If you can bring her upstairs, I’d like for her to walk through, see if she can identify anything out of place.”

  “There’re no surprises?”

  “Ah, well, I don’t know exactly what you mean by that. Perhaps you’ll need to take a look first, and you let me know if anything is out of place. It could be a fan stalker based on some of the damages to her personal items.”

  “Shit. I think you better show me first.” Jacob let the detective lead the way upstairs. Walking in, he remembered the cute colorful space that she had carefully decorated. What he saw was so different; destroyed and ugly.

  The pale walls, once decorated with black-and-white family photos, now stood empty as all the frames had been knocked to the floor and crushed. The cream-colored couch and colorful pillows had been slashed, the stuffing ripped out and tossed around the apartment. The television was bashed in and had a huge hole in the center, the glass shattered. On the wall where Katie’s prized painting had hung with a place of pride, it now hung precariously, slashed into jagged edges, the bold colors like confetti after the fall. Jacob felt sick to his stomach. What if Katie had been moments earlier in arriving and caught them in the act of destruction? His beautiful Katie.

  “This will be hard enough for her.” Jacob turned around and walked back downstairs. Katie looked up and stood. “Let’s go upstairs, sweetheart.” He held her hand in his and walked up with her.

  Katie felt as if she was in a dream, a trance where she could tell people were walking and talking around her, but were slow and full of echoes. Police officers got out of her way and let her pass. She let go of Jacob’s hand and walked in, and just stood there. Her personal space had been violated. She looked down to see broken pieces of pottery knick-knacks and picture frames. She picked one up, a black-and-white photo of her and Sam in the arms of her grandparents. Katie was a toddler and Sam wasn’t not much older and was holding a small wooden rocking horse that their grandfather had made. Katie brushed her fingertips lightly over the photo and winced as the pad of her thumb caught a tiny sliver of glass. The cut began to bleed and reality rushed in from all angles, loud and bright.

  “Easy, sweetheart. You nicked your thumb.” Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out a silk handkerchief, wrapping it around the wound and applying pressure. Katie looked up at him and blinked her eyes. Jacob could tell she was shocked. She kept looking past him and he realized what she saw. He tried to pull her back but she pushed through to look at the wall where her painting once hung. “Baby? It’s a painting. I know you loved, it but I am so grateful you’re alive and okay. Please talk to me,” Jacob begged, but she shook his hand off her shoulder. She stood still for a moment, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She loved that ridiculous painting. She kneeled down amidst the broken frame and Jacob knelt down with her. “Baby? Come on, let’s get out of here.” Jacob watched Katie pick up a piece of the canvas, still colored bright crimson and ultramarine blue. She rubbed it between her fingers until a smear of blood from her cut finger marred the ripped cloth.

  “Who would do something like this?” she whispered. Katie looked around and saw more things ripped off the walls, the television busted up.

  Slowly standing, Jacob helped her up, supporting her. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Detective Lopez has asked us to walk through so you can assess the damages and make a formal statement.”

  “Okay.” Katie nodded and followed the detective, repeating what was broken and missing. The kitchen and bathroom had been pulled apart, food smashed on walls and counters, makeup used to write ugly things on mirrors, spray paint covered the hallway. Katie felt sick to her stomach and tried to detach herself from the violence her home had suffered. Detective Lopez opened the bedroom door, which hung precariously on one hinge. Officers were taking photos, and red paint was used to write “Reed’s Whore” on the wall. Dark stains were visible on her bed. As Jacob and Detective Lopez were talking, Katie walked over to the bed and grabbed the edge of the coverlet. She heard Jacob yell “No!”, but pulled it back. A dozen dead pigeons lay in her bed. They were arranged in a circular fashion, their blood pooled in the center. The last time she had been in this room, in her bed, she and Jacob had been about to make love. Katie turned back around to face the men in her room. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

  She walked out of her apartment and stood in the building hallway. She rested her hands on the banister and took deep breaths. She could hear Jacob behind her speaking with the detective, then on his phone with someone else.

  “Eli, it’s me. I need you to run surveillance at Katie’s…There was a break-in. It looks pretty bad, maybe a stalker. They used my name so it’s personal…Yeah, she’s okay. If you can get the police reports, we’ll go over those at the farm. Can you call Julian and have him come over to my place, just to check her out?...Thanks.”

  Hanging up, he rubbed Katie’s back and guided her downstairs, putting her into his car. She was quiet as he drove to the precinct. She didn’t ask questions about his phone call, and just stared blankly out the car’s tinted window.

  Making the statement at the police station felt like a blur, as if it had all happened to someone else and she was watching it from afar. No, she didn’t have any enemies that she co
uld think of. She had one zealous teenage boy last year sending her love notes and emails at the station, but nothing in person. His parents had been contacted and the boy had stopped. She couldn’t think of anyone with which she had any real problems. Work was fine except for Lindsey, but she was a colleague and that was based on professional differences. An ex-boyfriend, whom she hadn’t seen in years, wasn’t much in the way of stalker material. She had heard that he might be married with a kid or something. Her mugger had never been found, but the detective saw that as an isolated incident. Plus, how would he have gotten her personal info because her purse hadn’t been stolen? She’d gotten everything back.

  Jacob sat next to Katie the whole time. He could probably have been considered a suspect based on his past history and current connection to her. After all, this shit only started happening after he “met” her. However, he didn’t want to criticize the detective on his lack of questioning regarding their relationship. Better to not draw any attention to that fact. It was close to 1:30am before she was done with her statement. Detective Lopez told her to wait a few days to go back to her apartment, but Katie insisted on grabbing a few things. Jacob agreed to be with her the whole time and her apartment was relinquished back to her, no longer an active crime scene.

  Jacob drove her back to her apartment. The party at June and Johnny’s was long over and the hipsters were finally quiet downstairs. Katie pulled the police tape away from the door to her apartment, a door which was now hanging on its hinges. She walked around each room, silently picking up a few odds and ends and placing them on her coffee table.

  “I should call Sam. He’ll want to know what happened, and I have to prepare my parents in case they hear something about it on the news. Sometimes I hate my job being so out in the public.”

  “Sweetheart, you look ready to collapse.”