24 Dreams Of You And Me

5) You Don't Know Me Yet

"Wanderlust consumed her; foreign hearts and exotic minds compelled her. She had a gypsy soul and a vibrant hope for the unknown."

- d. marie

***

October 2004

Dallas, Texas.

"Ruby, it's not here." Alyssa sighed as she closed the drawers and got up to her feet.

"Didn't Donna say the diary would be here?" Ruby asked as she searched the house for the red book.

Alyssa checked the time while removing her gloves. "She did, but let's get out of here. Jake's back by 10PM every night. We have 5 minutes left."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up." Ruby extended her arm towards Alyssa. "We don't find that diary, we can't prove Donna was meeting up with this Jake guy. All her entries are in that book, it's the biggest clue that suggests Donna didn't commit suicide! Jake can be brought into the scene only by that book and we gotta find it."

Alyssa grabbed her bag. "Yes but not by being arrested for breaking in. Come on, move it!"

.....

Jake Walsh walked out of the elevator and stopped right at his house door.

He frowned when he noticed the door already open. His heart started racing.

Did anyone find out?

He leaned against the door and pulled out a gun from his waistband. He slowly made his way inside.

The living room was dark but he could see the bedroom light illuminated. He heard two female voices arguing but they were indistinct.

With one swift motion, he switched on the lights and aimed his gun at the blonde girl who was holding some papers in her hand.

"Who are you?" Jake screamed and cocked his gun.

Both the girls jerked up and raised their hands in surrender.

"Sir, put the gun down. We're from the sheriff's department. No one's going to hurt you." The black haired girl replied. "My name is Corin, that's my partner Rub-Reece you're holding the gun at."

"Rub-Reece?" Jake asked.

Damnit, he heard that, Alyssa thought.

"She meant Reece." Ruby covered quickly. "I'm Reece Corbett. We can show you our IDs."

Jake nodded.

The girls pulled out their badges and Jake pulled the gun down as she studied them skeptically.

"Aren't you two too young to be cops?"

"Apparently not. I'm 25. Legal age in this area is 23." Alyssa answered and looked over her surroundings to make sure nothing could expose their alias.

Jake, now calmed down and sure they hadn't found anything, smirked. "You don't look 25."

Because I'm not, Alyssa thought and mentally rolled her eyes.

"I am."

"Why would cops break into my apartment? What work did you have here?" Jake asked and looked over at Ruby, who placed the papers back in their place.

"We, uh, had a call that someone had broken into this apartment, so we came but there was no one here. We thought you might have been kidnapped." Alyssa spoke the first lie that came to her mind.

"What?" Jake's blood froze. "Who-Who called you? I was out the whole day.."

"Well then you better check for your possessions." Ruby said.