The Investigator

We Have A Lead

It had been a few weeks of searching in between his other work for Alicia, and Jason had been having a hard time trying to track down Ellie's father. Just like she had said, he walked out of her life, and it was like the man practically disappeared all together. Any trail of John Cartwright just went cold.

Every few days Ellie and Jason would meet for coffee and he would tell her any new information he had found or any new leads he was chasing. Although the information was scarce and a phone call would probably have been sufficient, she enjoyed his company, and she got the feeling that he enjoyed hers too.

Ellie had just got home from work when her phone began to ring.

"Hi Jason" she said as she answered the call.

"Hey Ellie, I got some good news for you"

"You do?" She replied excitedly.

"I do. You free?"

"Yeah, just got in".

"Can I swing by in say... twenty minutes?"

"Sure, I'll see you then" she replied before ending the call.

She took a quick shower, and hurried around her apartment tidying things up before the doorbell chimed. Opening the door she saw Jason standing there holding a pizza box, that signature charming smile plastered on his face.

"I brought pizza" he grinned.

"Oh then you can definitely come in" she chuckled.

"Is that what it takes for you to let a man in your apartment?" He teased.

"What girl can say no to a good looking man with pizza?" She laughed before realising she had just told Jason he was good looking. Her cheeks flushed pink and he just smiled somewhat shyly at her. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sure"

"Beer or whiskey?"

"Whiskey please"

Ellie poured a couple of small glasses and took a seat on the stool next to him at the counter, digging in to a slice of pizza. "So what do you have?" She asked.

"Well as you know I haven't been having much luck, but I finally caught a break. Turns out you father changed his name. Whatever he was running from, he sure made it difficult to be found"

"But you did it? You found him?"

"Hopefully. After a lot of detective work and some help from friends in the right places I tracked down a last known address for an Arthur Griffin, that is your father's new name" Jason told her.

"How did you find out he changed his name?"

"Apparently he wasn't smart enough to not use the same social security number. The address is at least a few years old but it's our only lead so it's worth checking out".

"How far away is it?" Ellie asked as she took a sip of whiskey.

"Few hours drive. If you're free tomorrow do you want to come with me to check it out?" Jason offered as he finished off a slice of pizza.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Thank you Jason".

"No problem. I just hope this pans out and you get some answers".

"Whether I do or not, I appreciate all the work you've done. Speaking of, have you got a total of your hours this week so I can pay you?" Ellie asked.

"Oh right, yeah" he replied as he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Thanks, I'll get that done tonight. Want a top up?" She asked as she gently shook the bottle of whiskey.

"Sure why not" Jason smiled.

They talked for a couple of hours before Ellie suddenly realised what the time was. She found Jason so easy to talk to that it wasn't hard to lose track of time. "We should probably call it a night" she suggested.

"Of course. We have an important road trip tomorrow" he smiled as he got up and threw on his jacket. "Shall I pick you up say around 8? Thats not too early for you?"

"Sounds great" Ellie smiled as she walked with him to her door. Turning to face her he shoved his hands in his pockets, giving her that almost shy smile she loved so much.

"So I'll see you tomorrow then" he said, his voice low and rumbling.

She wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, maybe it was the liquid courage of the whiskey, or his irresistible smile but Ellie found herself reaching up on the tips of her toes to plant a kiss to Jason's cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked a little stunned.

"I'm sorry... it must be the whiskey" she half laughed, hoping she hadn't just made a complete fool of herself.

"Don't be sorry Ellie... I'm not" he said with a grin as he gave her a cheeky wink before heading down the corridor to the elevator. "See you tomorrow" he called out before he stepped in.

Ellie was still in shock at his response to her kiss that she couldn't reply to him beyond a small wave. She slowly slinked back into her apartment with a huge smile on her face before dragging herself off to bed. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.