Inglewood

Chapter 21 - The Office

As I fell to my knees, Jake left.

I hadn't even felt this broken when I thought he was dead, but now, as the car pulled down the drive, not only had he left me, but he had defied me. For the first time in all our years of trust and blind faith, he had walked away from me.
I stayed on the floor till the tears dried up. I gave myself an internal pep talk and got to my feet.

I grabbed my bag and phone and headed to my car. My head wasn't focusing properly and if I had been in a calmer, more pulled together state, I would of called the police straight away, but I couldn't risk Jake being caught up in all of this, I didn't know what he was doing, but I knew in my heart that it wasn't going to be a good thing. I sat for a few minutes and as I stared at my keys, I knew where I wanted to be.

Robs house was dark, all the lights were off but as I entered the security code to the gate, an automated floodlight at the top of the drive came on.
I let myself in with the keys he had given me and walked into the hallway. I walked around the ground floor, putting on a light in each room, I needed to find paperwork, to see if he had any formal funeral plans put in place. His will hadn't given me much information, other than what would happen to the business and his house in the event of his death.
As I made my way to his office, thoughts of our short time together crossed my mind, how happy he had made me in such little time, how sweet and kind he was, how he had been so trusting to let me into his life so easily.
The office door stood before me, my hand rested on the handle, "Oh Rob, I'm so sorry for everything, I wish I had stayed with you that night, maybe I could of saved you. Maybe it would of made no difference, but at least I would of been there, I could of told you how good you had been for me."

Inside his office, his desk stood in front of the window, files and paperwork still out, documents ready to be signed and sent off. His computer was on standby and the small light from the screen blinked every few seconds.
The bottom draw of a filing cabinet sat slightly ajar. I pulled it open fully and started looking for something, anything that might be important enough to take away.
The files were each labelled, that made my job slightly easier, at least I wouldn't have to go through each file individually.
I reached for the top draw, I hadn't found anything helpfully in any of the others, they all appeared to hold documents relating to Robs employees, pensions, bonuses, emergency contacts etc. As I moved the files forward so that they were closer, a box behind them caught my eye, I reached in and grabbed hold of the handle, pulling it out and placing it on the desk, I sat in his chair and tried to lift the lid. Unfortunately the box was locked. The keyhole looked small, as I searched through his desk drawers, I tried to think where I would hide a key, the box was hidden so clearly he wouldn't leave the key just laying around for anyone to find.
I sat back feeling a little defeated, my phone buzzed in my bag, I checked it and saw Jakes name, I put it on the desk and let it ring out. I wasn't in the best of moods with him right now and the last thing I wanted to do was say something I might end up regretting later on.

Key.... Right, it must be easy to reach, somewhere hidden yet accessible....

The banging on the door interrupted my train of thought. I jumped up, and as I wondered who it could be, my eyes settled on the letter opener on the desk. I grabbed it and slipped it up my sleeve. I walked to the door, I could see flashlights shining through the window next to the door. "I see you moving in there, it's the police, open up."
Shit, my heart racing, I turned the lock on the door and pulled it open,"Hi there, how can I help you officers?"
"We were asked to check the building by the security company. Apparently nobody should be in the building at this time."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm Mr Archers girlfriend, well, ex girlfriend, I mean, he passed away and I'm just here checking for paperwork. I have keys, I can show you."
"I see, yes if we could see them please, I need to run your name aswell, just so we can verify who you are."
"Of course, that's absolutely no problem, I didn't even think to let anyone know I was coming over, it's just I was passing and thought I would just pop in. Ermmm, all my stuff is in the office, am I OK to go and grab it?", I suddenly became very aware that I had a sharp object secreted on my person's, and that I had two very heavily armed police officers in front of me as I stood in a house that had no ties to me whatsoever.
"Yes, but we will have to go with you."
"Of course, of course, it's this way."