A Measure of Trouble (Alex Warren Murder Mysteries Book 2)

by Zach Abrams

  Chapter 16

  Alex checked his watch and saw it was approaching eight-fifteen as the taxi pulled up outside Sandra's flat. He had hoped to make it by eight but, all in all, he felt he'd done quite well.

  He pressed the button on the entry system and was about to announce his arrival, but there was a buzz and the door opened almost immediately.

  He resisted his first inclination to bound up the stairs, instead taking them at a steady pace and preserving more of his strength.

  Sandra's front door was already open before he reached the first floor and she was standing just inside. Alex caught his breath at the vision. She was wearing a fine velvet evening gown. It was azure blue in colour which perfectly matched her eyes. It hung from one shoulder and clung to her slender, athletic figure as if it was a second skin. In length it came far below her knee but had a slit along the side rising to halfway up her thigh and, from the angle Alex was approaching, he was treated to the sight of her shapely leg. Sandra's rich dark hair was shining, having been freshly washed, and although she was wearing hardly any make up, Alex detected the slight waft of Angel perfume. He recollected the fragrance as Helen had purchased it once, but it hadn't suited her, whether because of her natural body oils or her character, but the delicate flowery sweetness just didn't seem right. On Sandra, however, it was perfect. She was wearing high heels and Alex could see her toenails had been varnished and he could tell she wasn't wearing tights or stockings. Alex's eyes opened wide and he consciously had to stop his jaw from dropping. He'd never seen Sandra clothed in anything other than either casual or work-wear before and he was completely captivated by her appearance. He stopped, frozen, a couple of steps from the landing and just gazed at her in admiration.

  Sandra, thinking he was play acting, laughed at his reaction. “Cat got your tongue?” she enquired while reaching down for Alex's hand to guide him inwards to the flat. “Mind you, from what I've heard, cat's already had some impact on Phil, maybe not his tongue, just his eyes and nose.”

  Alex partially recovered his senses. “I'm sorry, you caught me unaware. I've never seen you in a dress before.”

  “I can take it off if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

  “I'm not joking, you are stunningly beautiful, and as you know I don't give complements lightly.”

  Sandra's smile in response was beaming. “Well, thank you, kind sir,” she leaned over and gently brushed her lips across his. Although it wasn't a passionate kiss, it was comfortable and right for the moment, betraying their true closeness. “Now, come on in and I'll show you round.”

  The flat was warm and comfortable and Alex slipped off his jacket and hung it on a hook in the hallway, also depositing his bag before progressing.

  Sandra led Alex through the lounge, kitchen and bathroom pointing out how excellently appointed and decorated the flat was. Their tour continued as she swung open the door to the bedroom. The dark drapes were already drawn over shutting out the darkness. Within, the room was brightly, if plainly, decorated and it had built-in, teak coloured wardrobes and a free standing dressing table. Alex's suspicions were confirmed when he looked on this and saw amongst an assemblage of cosmetics there was a bottle of Angel. Against the opposite wall was a king-size bed already made up with pillows and a duvet. The pillow cases, duvet cover and sheets were all black satin and looked soft, comfortable and alluring.

  Remembering his bag, Alex stated, “I've brought some things.”

  “Oh, your overnight clothes, just hang them in a cupboard.”

  “No, I brought some wine and stuff. I didn't bring an overnight bag. I wasn't expecting…” the missing words hung in the air.

  “I didn't know if you would, but in case you decide to, I bought some disposable razors, foam and a spare toothbrush you can keep here. Extra hard, okay?” Sandra winked and reached over to stroke the side of Alex's face. She brought her face closer and this time their embrace lacked no intensity. Their bodies collided in a lustful hug and their lips attached then they used their teeth and tongues to explore each other's faces, necks and ears. Their shapes moulded together as their arms encircled each other with hands roaming over backs and limbs. They could feel the warmth emanating from each other's bodies and Alex could feel Sandra's firm breasts pressed against his chest. From the sensation, he was certain she wasn't wearing a bra. Squeezing her back and pulling her even closer to him, he was left in no doubt and he luxuriated in the heat from the closeness of their skins.

  It was several seconds before Sandra came up for air, enquiring in a mimicked child-like voice, “What have you brought me?”

  Alex recovered his bag from the hall, first presenting the flowers. “Here's a card to welcome you to your new home and some flowers to brighten the place, not that they're needed.” Digging deeper, he extracted the dessert.

  “Mmm, that looks yummy,” Sandra acknowledged.

  “And now so you can celebrate,” Alex lifted the champagne then said, “or if you'd like to have this with dinner?” The bottle of red wine followed.

  “My, my, Mr Policeman. I think you might be trying to get me drunk.”

  “No, no,” Alex replied defensively. “I didn't mean you had to drink them all at once.”

  “Well, we'll see. You open the bubbly and I'll find us some glasses.” Alex followed Sandra into the kitchen, tearing off the foil wrapper and detaching the wire cover as he walked.

  Sandra produced two `ballons' and stated, “These will have to do, I don't have champagne flutes.”

  “I'm sure they'll be absolutely fine,” Alex prized the cork upwards until, with a loud pop it, exploded suddenly from the bottle, bounced off the ceiling and the kitchen units then fell spinning a couple of times before coming to rest on the floor. As Alex watched the cork's movements, frothy liquid flowed out and cascaded down the side of the bottle.

  “Damn, I didn't have time to chill it properly,” he cursed as he reached across to fill the glasses, hoping to minimise the loss from liquid escaping. The green tinged, bubbly liquid frothed out and quickly filled the glass.

  Sandra laughed gleefully as Alex filled the second glass. She lifted one, clinked it off the other and called, “Here's to us,” before swallowing a mouthful. The effervescence bubbled in her mouth and throat and she coughed a couple of times while simultaneously laughing.

  Alex raised his glass in the air and toasted, “Here's wishing you everything you want for yourself and good luck in your new home,” before swallowing a mouthful and following Sandra's example.

  As Alex lifted the bottle to refill their glasses, they heard a bang followed by a loud scuffing noise from the flat above. They both looked upwards as if they expected to use X-ray vision to see through to what was happening.

  “I'd better check it out while I'm still sober enough,” Alex volunteered.

  “I'll come with,” Sandra replied.

  “No, you wait, I'll handle this, just listen out at the door.”

  Alex's appearance had become slightly dishevelled from their intimate embrace and he straightened his clothes as he walked.

  By the time he reached the upper floor, he was happier that he looked sufficiently sombre and threatening. He was about to hammer on the door when he realised it was slightly ajar so instead pushed it open another few inches. In the hallway, he could see three black bin sacks overflowing with clothes, bedding, DVD's and other unrecognisable paraphernalia, and beside them sat a microwave oven and a ghetto-blaster style music centre. Alex clipped the knocker and his voice boomed out, “Hey, anyone in there? What's going on?” Judging from the size and shape of the hallway, the flat was the same as Sandra's apartment below. Unlike Sandra's it was dark and dingy and unwelcoming.

  A head popped out from what Alex judged to be a bedroom door. “Yeah, what is it?” It was the same young man he'd seen earlier in the day. He had a worried look on his face. He stepped into the hall and was followed by two others. One of them was holding a knife.

  “We heard a lot
of noise from downstairs, what's going on?”

  “Nothing for you to worry about, we're just packing up and moving out.”

  Alex kept his gaze on the lad with the knife, carefully monitoring his movements.

  “I think you should put that down, Son, before someone gets hurt.”

  The boy said nothing but withdrew back into the bedroom.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I'm just moving in with my mates for the time being.”

  “You'd better leave me your forwarding address. Your landlord might need to contact you.”

  “What's it to you? I'll be seeing the agent,” he replied unconvincingly.

  Alex said nothing. He just raised his eyebrows and remained where he was, looking menacing.

  “It's just along the road in Scotstoun, Larchfield Avenue.”

  “Number?”

  “67, opposite the Kingsway flats.”

  “That's okay then. Make sure you don't take anything that doesn't belong to you and keep the noise down. How are you getting there?”

  “We've got the wee, blue van downstairs.”

  “Did you clean up the mess out back yet?”

  “I'm moving out, I don't need to.”

  “That's where you're wrong. Sergeant Mackinnon gave you until Sunday to clean it up so you have all day tomorrow before we come looking for you. Do I make myself understood?”

  The boy nodded miserably.

  Alex took careful note of the appearance of the three lads and then went downstairs and out the front of the building to write down the van's description and registration before returning satisfied, to find Sandra standing in her doorway.

  “That was a good job done. It took you less than twelve hours to get rid of him and now you have your perfect flat and at an enormous discount. The only problem I see is that upstairs will likely need a bit of renovation so there could be a bit of noise and to'ing and fro'ing while that goes on, but hopefully you'll get some decent neighbours as a result.”

  They listened and watched for the next few minutes as the boys loaded up the van and then drove off.

  “I put a stopper in the bottle. Hopefully it won't have lost too much fizz.”

  Alex tried to judge if he should interpret her words literally of whether she was alluding to the lost spontaneity of their evening, after the interruption. He needn't have worried, for as he turned to reopen the bottle and refill the glasses, he felt her hands on his shoulders and the ever so gentle embrace of Sandra's lips on the back of his neck.

  He slowly moved to return the caress. “Maybe we should leave the wine for later.”

  Sandra eased slightly away, “No, we have the whole evening, go ahead and pour and I'll get us some food. I'm famished. There's a few business matters we need to discuss as well, so maybe we should get that all out of the way first then we'll be able to sit and relax.”

  “I don't like the sound of that, but you're right, we should deal with anything we have to first and then our time will be our own. While we're dealing with serious matters, there's some important things we need to discuss.”

  The smile disappeared from Sandra's face. “Should I be worried?” she asked.

  “No way, but I'd like us to discuss where we're going. Maybe this is the worst time to bring this up. We're meant to be having a celebration.”

  “We'll still be having our celebration, don't you worry, but you've started something and there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. Now pour us some more bubbly and I'll get our starters out of the fridge.”

  Alex did as he was asked and sat at the table as Sandra placed a plate in front of each of them along with cutlery. She then sat a salad bowl between them, stacked with mixed green leaves, cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced pieces of red pepper. A slab of pâté was then produced along with a jar of epicurean onion marmalade and a plate of rough oatcakes. The table was completed when she added bottles of balsamic vinegar, virgin olive oil and matching battery operated mills to freshly grind sea salt and black pepper.

  “Would you like butter or Flora with it?”

  “No, I'm fine with it just as it is. This looks really good.”

  “And easy too. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time so I just popped into Morrisons on the way home.” Realising the meaning of her own words, Sandra smiled then added, “And it is my home now. It feels right”.

  Alex smiled back, genuinely pleased to see her so content. He looked closely at the crockery and cutlery and saw they were good quality, Denby and Viners respectively. “I wanted to buy you a housewarming present but I'll need to be inventive, you seem to have everything you need.”

  “Yes, you have to remember I had a flat years ago, with my then partner. I bought or was gifted everything I needed back then. When the relationship broke up, I packed all my stuff away in my parents' basement so it was all ready for me when I needed it. There's nothing I need so don't bother thinking about a gift. You've already brought the champers and the flowers.”

  Alex cut a slice of pâté and lifted it onto his plate then added the accompaniments.

  “The pâté's a Forestiere with wild mushrooms, I think you'll like it.”

  Alex thickly spread one cracker then he bit into it. The oatcake broke apart in his hand and he clumsily managed to cram the crumbling pieces into his mouth. “Yes, it's delicious,” he managed to splutter with his mouth half full.

  Sandra lifted some food to her own plate. “Okay, out with it. What's on your mind?”

  Alex swallowed another mouthful of wine to give him courage.

  “You know I really care about you.”

  “Oh Christ, where's this going? Is this the big push off?”

  “No, no, certainly not. I care for you and I want to be with you. I want to take you out, to date you, but the way things are, we can't do that.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “We're both police and that isn't an issue, but we work in the same department and on the same cases and you work under me and that's not acceptable.”

  “Would you rather I worked on top of you? No sorry, I shouldn't be joking.”

  Alex tried to ignore the comment but his face was creased, unable to hide his amusement.

  “If the top brass find out, then we'll both be in trouble, particularly me as I'll be seen to be taking advantage of a subordinate. It's not right that we should be working together if we have an intimate personal relationship. You know the rules, the risk of collusion and all that tosh.”

  “Well, what can we do?”

  “There's no easy answer. We both love our jobs, we're both ambitious and neither of us would want it to change.”

  “Can't we go on as we are?”

  “I don't think that would work either. People are bound to suspect. I'm sure they already do suspect. Even Craig was asking me questions about you being my girlfriend. We can't keep it a secret much longer, and besides, I don't think it's fair to you, to either of us. We should be able to go out and about together, to mix with other couples, and if things work out I'd like you to meet the boys properly and not be hiding from them. I'd like to meet your family too.”

  “You might think differently if you do. So what's the answer?”

  “There's not a simple one. Maybe if one of us was to get a transfer.”

  “But I enjoy working with you and the rest of the team. Mind you, if I'm to get my promotion to Inspector, I'll most likely have to move anyway. I've already turned down an opportunity to move back to uniform because I don't want to leave CID. I could maybe move to a different unit.”

  “I don't want you to move either, but it might be the only solution and it may be the best thing for your career as well. There could be some new opportunities coming up with the Forces unification.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You're already only too well aware of the havoc that's going on. From next April, Scotland will have one police force, merging the eight constabularies. You can see all the bitching and back
stabbing that's going on in the top corridors as they're jostling for position. Strathclyde and Lothian each think they're entitled to rule the roost but who's to say what might happen and where the new top man will come from. There's a fair chance someone totally new could be foisted over the top.”

  “Do you think it will be an improvement?”

  “In the long term, yes, it has to make sense and be more efficient to have one set of systems over the whole country and it will allow for more specialisation. In the short term though, I can see difficulties because each area has its own systems and methods and they need to be made able to talk to each other. There's the other problem of personal egos and individuals wanting to keep control of their own petty kingdoms. That's why I think there might be opportunities, there has to be some slimming down at the top, but there needs to be a lot of people working on the consolidation and anyone involved in that will have more opportunity to get seen and known. Look out for any positions being advertised in that area. I don't know where they might be based though.”

  “I don't want to move away, I've only just found this flat. Besides, if I moved away, how would we be able to be together?”

  “Let's just take this slowly and carefully.”

  While talking, they'd devoured the rest of the food on the table and finished the champagne.

  Alex leaned across and put his hand over Sandra's and gently squeezed. In response, she intertwined her fingers. “We have tonight with no restrictions and nobody to look out for. We don't even have to worry about disturbing the neighbours,” she chuckled. “Now, you've brought another bottle so I'll get you a corkscrew to open it and I've slices of Country Pork Pie to put out as well. Would you like it hot or cold?”