The Love Trials: Ashley

Chapter Nine

True to my word, I got up quietly the next morning, taking down my chocolate mug and rinsing it out while I made a fresh flask of coffee to take with me to work. I then left.

I tried to ring Cathy again on my lunch break and then again when I finished at two. Nothing so my decision was made. I called Caitlin and then Amelia to let them know. Caitlin's phone went straight to voicemail which meant she was visiting her family however Amelia wished me luck.

I went down to the police station and parked in the parking lot. Inside the station, it was clean and the air was warm. The man at the desk was Officer Stemp. He was a nice man, a family man with two little boys aged seven and eight years. I had met them and his wife, Saffron at a Police BBQ. Officer Stemp looked up when I entered and smiled at me.

"Hi Ashley."

"Hi Officer Stemp."

"Here to see Officer Johnson?"

"Ah you know me well. Is he here?" Officer Stemp shrugged.

"I've just come off my lunch break."

"Okay well can I go through?"

"Just sign in first." I signed in then left. It was quite quiet in the station today. Nobody was sat on any of the benches waiting to be questioned. A corridor led down towards the cells but you had to have an I.D to get into there. A closed door led down to a corridor of questioning rooms. The final door led down to a corridor of offices. The door at the very end was the chief of police and it was closed. However the door I wanted was the second one in on the left and on the door it said on a gold plaque 'Officer Johnson, Officer Clarke.'

I knocked and opened the door.

The office for Officers Clarke and Johnson was just a small room with filing cabinets against the walls. There was a window opposite the door with a potted plant on the window sill. Two desks were in the room, pushed up against each other. Officer Johnson's desk was the desk closest to the door. His desk had a laptop on it, a picture of himself and Cathy and a dog that they used to have. Cathy was only about ten years old in this picture, taken not long after her mother had passed away. The rest of his desk was a mess, files and folders all over the place.

Officer Clarke's desk was very neat. He had a mini cactus plant on the corner of his desk. In front of him was his laptop which he was using to type something up. There was a open folder beside his laptop which he closed as I entered the room.

"Ash! Good to see you. What can I do for you?" Officer Clarke was a man aged only twenty-five, four years older than me. He was extraordinarily attractive with brown floppy hair and green eyes that truly stood out when he was smiling. He was also quite lean. He was smart too, having graduated at school and university with three diplomas.

"I'm worried about Cathy." Officer Clarke frowned and gestured for me to take a seat opposite him. I sat in Officer Johnson's desk chair.

"What about Cathy?"

"I haven't seen her since Saturday night. Her phone is always switched off. She was acting dead weird the other day. I just want to know that she is okay..." Officer Clarke frowned.

"Cathy's fine. You literally just missed her. She came in here not long ago, saying she needed her dad's help with something. She looked quite worried so of course he left with her." I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"I don't understand why she hasn't contacted anybody to let us know that she was alive..."

"I don't know why but she's alright, Ash. I promise. Just a bit worried about something."

"Okay well thank you anyway, Officer Clarke." Officer Clarke smiled and rolled his eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jackson?" I smiled too.

"Jackson. Thank you."

"How are you doing anyway, Ashley?"

"I'm good. Nothing too interesting happening in my life. You?"

"Same old, same old. We should meet up sometime, have a coffee."

"We should. Are you free Wednesday? We could meet up then?"

"Absolutely. Should we meet at the Crispin' Cookie? They do fantastic cappuccinos." I nodded, smiling.

"Sure." Jackson reached into his top desk drawer and took out a business card. Just a small card of paper with the police logo in the corner and Jackson's e-mail address, personal mobile phone and business phone typed onto it.

"See you then." I waved goodbye and left, signing out of the log book before officially leaving the building.