Every Breath She Takes [CURRENTLY ON HOLD]

Chapter 14: Exposure, and Trust

A few days passed after the news announcement, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. At last, I broached the subject with Jack.

“Jack?”

“Hmm?” He was thinking, I could tell. His eyes were slightly absent, and he was looking straight through me. I sighed, wishing I didn’t have to do this.

“Jack,” I repeated, more firmly this time. It got his attention, and he blinked, looking at me now.

“Yes?”

“What the news said,” I began. “Is there anything I could do about it?”

He shrugged, eating his dinner. “What can you do?”

I sighed, toying with my own food. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I need to do something.”

He put down his fork, looking at me. “We’ll figure it out, Ro,” he said gently but firmly. “Don’t worry about it.”

I nodded, thinking. “Tomorrow’s Thursday, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be at the bookshop. Why?”

“No reason. Just getting it into my head.”

He nodded again. “Fine.” He rose, his meal finished, and dumped it in the sink. “I have about a chapter to go,” he said. “Then I’ll be done for today. That alright with you?”

I nodded. “That’s fine.”

He disappeared into his workroom, leaving me to clean up. To be honest, I didn’t mind it. It gave me some quiet time to myself, where I could think, or plan, whichever took my fancy.

When Jack left the next morning, I waited for about half an hour before picking up the phone. Shaking slightly, I dialled the number, and waited.

“Emergency Services. Which one do you need?” It was a cheerful voice on the other end, and I found myself responding to it.

“Police, please,” I replied.

“Hold on.”

I waited, and soon a policeman was on the other end. “Yes?”

“I need to see a couple of policewomen,” I said. “There’s no emergency, but they must be female. Please.”

I could hear the frown in his voice as he spoke. “Are you sure, miss?”

“Quite sure. There’s no need to be worried,” I assured him. “There’s no emergency. Can they just come to this address, please?” I rattled it off, waiting for him to write it down.

“They’re on their way, miss,” he told me.

“Thank you,” I answered, and hung up. I took a deep breath, and let it out again. I couldn’t back away now.

The doorbell ran a while later, and I went to answer it, Cam in my arms. To my relief, there were two plain-clothed policewomen standing there, and I sighed.

“Hello,” I said.

One of them nodded to me. “We received a call from this house?”

I nodded. “Yes, that would have been me.” I turned, leading them into the house. “Come in. Would you like a cup of tea?”

They came in, and sat on the lounge.  The younger one shook her head, but the one who had spoken nodded. “Yes, thanks. That would be very nice.”

I set Cam down on the floor. “Mind watching him for me, then, please?” I didn’t wait for a response, and vanished into the kitchen. I quickly made a pot of tea, and came out with two cups. I gave one to the policewoman, and set mine on the coffee table, keeping an eye on Cam.