Dissociative Psyche ✦ J. Riley | ✓ [book 2]

15~ Danger of Delay

"The scriptures make the danger of delay clear. It is that we may discover that we have run out of time. The God who gives us each day as a treasure will require an accounting."

~ Henry B. Eyring

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Jenna sighed as she entered the lecture hall, feeling overall on edge. Once she left the precinct, something was gnawing at the bottom of her gut. Maybe it was seeing Jake at such an uneasy place, or maybe she was just being paranoid? Either way, she was not ready to focus all her attention on her professor.

She took a seat off the side of the class, waiting patiently for class to start. That was until another student took a seat next to her; Lorraine Lakefield. She wasn't one of Jenna's closest friends; but she was close enough that they were able to work together in class.

"Hey," she smiled as she sat next to her, "You look awful," she said. Jenna shrugged back.

"I haven't been sleeping much," she replied.

"Is it because of Jake?" she asked.

"Has something to do with it," she replied.

As the instructor walked in, while Jenna was grabbing her notes and pens, Lorraine leaned over,

"Have you seen Ken today?" she asked. Jenna looked around the room, skimming each face in the crowded lecture hall, but she didn't see Ken.

"No, I haven't heard from him all week, actually," 

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"The city is on high alert and tensions are running high between Atlanta PD and the public community, as activists have continued mass protests in lue of the recent shootings of three young boys and police officers. The lead investigators have suspicions that a third party may be involved in the shootings, but nobody can confirm. For now, the police commissioner has released a statement to warn everybody to remain vigilant in the night, and for police officers to follow proper code of conduct when it comes to their stop-and-frisk protocols,"

Jake watched the news cast from his desk, eyes glazing over as he stared at the cell phone footage of rioting and crime scenes from the last few weeks. He grabbed the remote off the other side of the desk and shut off the broadcast.

"I was watching that," Dave said.

"Now you're getting back to work," Jake replied, "Did you track down the seller of this newspaper ad?"

"I've been hitting a stone wall at every turn I've taken. Either nobody will talk to the cops, or they aren't returning my phone calls, or they just hang up all together," he replied, "Nobody is going to help the cops on a case like this," 

"That's what scares me," he said. 

The door to Lex's office swung open, and he charged out, "Fellas! Burgess and Romand just made notification of a triple homicide all in one apartment building, a fourth woman hanging on," he said, "Family of four, the father and son were cops,"

"How do we know it's out guy?" Dave asked.

"Because the wall was tagged; Las Cuernas," he replied. That was enough for Jake.

"What's a street gang doing barging into apartments?" 

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The first thing Jake picked off was the smell of bacon grease, shortly followed by plaster dust and bleach. 

"A meter reader called it in," the responding officer lead them through the eight story walk-up to the apartment door, "He knocked, and the door pushed open to this," inside was laced with blood, hair, smashed glass; Jake had to keep his jaw clenched as they stepped inside.