Toast

Chapter 6

I hit 'send' on the list of Warren Shimmin's transactions. Sighing and putting my head in my hands, I leant my elbows in the sharp edges of the desk, causing a shooting pain to go down my arm. I ignored it.

Anne had been constantly flirting with Magnus all day and he looked like he didn't know what the hell he was supposed to make it. Initially, I thought that he was surprised by how different she was acting, but by the looks of bewilderment he was giving her, maybe she had gotten a wrong message.

I shook the thoughts from my mind. An e-mail came through from Kurt. They'd managed to get hold of Shimmin's mobile number, the one thing that had been missing off my profile of him. Just as I finished reading, and stood up to visit Kurt to get the information (I knew for a fact that he didn't know how to attach files), he appeared behind me.

I jumped about a foot in the air.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump." His face was expressionless, as usual. "Can you trace his number?" He handed me the paper.

I nodded and tapped the info into the computer. Magnus had strolled in and now stood beside Kurt.

At first I hadn't recognised the number, but seeing the house address appear on the screen, I realised. A look of horror appeared on my face.

"No.. this number.. it can't be right." I screwed up my face. "No, really... it can't." I flipped open my phone and entered the first few digits into my contacts, waiting for the screen to tell me I was wrong. But sure enough, it was true. I couldn't quite fathom it. I was completely baffled. No... no... no...

"Well." Kurt didn't know why I was reacting the way I was. "Can you print it off? We need to bring him in." I heard the words, but didn't move.

"E? Are you okay?" Magnus asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Kurt, something's really wrong."

"Well we need to go and get him. He might be packing right now." I started hyperventilating.

"It's... it's Peter?" I said in disbelief. It was more of a question than a statement.

"Peter? Who's Peter?" Magnus asked. I had forgotten that I'd told Anne that I had broken up with my boyfriend.

"Uhh... my boyfriend. Sort of... well..."

"What? The one you broke up with the other day?" 'Damn his bloody good memory.' I thought.

"No.. I didn't actually break up with him. I'd just started going out with him... I mean... yeah."

Unfortunately, Anne had heard the whole thing.

"So you lied?!" She exclaimed. This was not the time.

My so-called boyfriend had lied to me the whole time. I'd actually done something that, to me, was quite outrageous and slept with him on the very first... well, it wasn't even a date. I'd trusted him, told him things about me and it had been the most open I had ever been. It had been less than a week for God's sake.

"Let me go... I'll... pretend I'm visiting him as a surprise or something..." I looked up at Kurt. "You can... yeah. It'll be easier than bursting in there. He'll probably run out or something." I started babbling, not knowing what the hell to do or how to react.

"We can't... you're..." Kurt began.

"Yes, a computer, techy person thing... But he's my boyfriend.. he trusts me, for the most part. I mean... yeah." I seriously didn't understand what was going on around me.

Had he been tapping me for information then? We never talked about work that much... maybe I was his 'way in' or something... Or... he was finding out our movements through me.