Take a Breath (Take 1)

by Jaimie Roberts

  I’m dying to tell her so get straight to it, “Jessie I think I just died with utter humiliation.”

  “What’s up baby girl, did you leave some toilet roll hanging out your ass or something?”

  I snort, “No, no nothing like that. I was introduced to this new detective today…”

  “Really, is he hot?”

  I huff impatience settling in. “No, in fact he’s probably right up Tom’s alley on first impressions, but that’s not why I’m calling Jessie,” I say in frustration. “Sorry Ana, go ahead.”

  I continue, “When he asked me what my last name was, right in front of Jake and Tom I said Bennett. I nearly died Jessie.” She gasped first then laughter erupts down my ear. I have to pull it away until she calms down. “Not helping Jessie.”

  “Sorry missy, I wished I had been there. What did Jake say?”

  “Well a little while after, he came up to me and said Ana Bennett has a certain ring to it.” Jessie went crazy down the phone.

  “Do you know what this means, he wants to marry you girl?”

  “No, I think he was just making fun of the situation. We haven’t even told each how we feel yet. We haven’t said I love you, so how could marriage be on the agenda so soon?” I say.

  “I’m sure he’ll pick the right moment. It seems pretty obvious to me and anyone else watching you two together, how you feel about each other. Sometimes words don’t mean a thing.”

  I think for a moment about what she says and I know Jake makes all the right noises, but sometimes you just need to hear it. “I know what you’re saying Jessie, but I still need something, anything.”

  “Oh my god Ana, listen to yourself, he just practically told you that you should take on the Bennett name. There’s only one way you can do that. Unless he is planning to adopt you of course, and I highly doubt he has that on his mind. This is big Ana, huge,” she screams.

  “Ok, ok thanks. I’ll take all you said on board. What are you up to with Jerry today?” I wanted to change the subject. I’m reading too much into things and need to just go with the flow again.

  “Jerry’s just gone to pay the bill; I’m waiting in the lobby. We’ll be driving back once he’s done. I may want to lock him up in the apartment when I get back and never let him out. Ana, the sex last night, I mean it normally is great but last night was fantastic. Oh, he’s coming over I’m going to have to go.” “Ok, well I hope you don’t wear Jerry out too much today.” I start laughing.

  “I fully intend to girl.”

  We both laugh saying our goodbyes, and I get back to work looking at these burglaries again.

  I begin to shift through the endless cases of burglaries we’ve had from 4 years ago onwards, knowing I’ve already tried to look at more recent ones, and nothing has compared to what has been happening in these cases. I’ve been at it for a couple of hours and my head starts to hurt, and my eyes begin to blur a little. Just when I think I’m about ready for a break, I come across this case that happened around five years ago. An elderly couple, just the same as the others were held at gunpoint, whilst two others raided their home. It all sounds a little too coincidental for me, so I rub my eyes and read on. The names Adrian Simmons, Clark Baxter and Brent Maxwell, all from the Roanoke area were caught tried and convicted. Adrian Simmons for Armed Common Law Burglary, was given 10 years custodial sentence whilst the other two were convicted of Breaking and Entering with Intent to Commit Burglary, and given 4 years a piece. Heart pumping, I start to look to see when each one was released. As far as my records were concerned Adrian Simmons was still in jail, whilst the other two were released 6 months ago. I find their addresses, which are still in Roanoke and gather all the details for Jake.

  I quickly head over to his office and knock on the door, still feeling the embarrassment of my earlier slip up, but pumped at now finding this information.

  “Come in.”

  I open the door and find Jake sat at his computer looking serious. He sees me standing there with a file in my hand.

  “What you got for me Ana?”

  I clear my throat before I begin, “Well, I’ve been looking back through these burglaries and I think I may have found something.” His interest is piqued so I begin telling him what I’ve found, giving him all the details, names and dates. He smiles looking proud of what I’ve done, his chest bulging out of his shirt as he inhales.

  “That’s a good job Ana, well done.”

  I blush and thank him.

  “I’ll get some people on to this right away, you did well.”

  My god I love this man. He sits there one solid hunk of a sexy beast. There should be a law against looking like him. He’s just way too much. I want and need every single molecule of him.

  “I must say you’re very sexy right now Miss Sinclair. You don’t know how tempting it is to grab you and pull you over to me, throw my things aside and ravish you on my desk.”

  I almost purr in anticipation. A different kind of heat reaches my face now, and down towards my legs. I shift in the chair and uncross, then cross my legs, Jake staring at me intently, watching my every move. I manage to stutter out “Ok,” and Jake laughs at my eagerness.

  “Now, now Ana. You know that’s one rule I cannot break, even for you. As much as I would love to lick every part of that beautiful body of yours, I have work to do.”

  I frown at him and he laughs. “Now go on Ana, leave that file on my desk and get. You’re too much of a distraction in here.”

  I swing my heels and leave his office, despite the desperate aching need between my legs. How am I going to get through the rest of the day now?

  I return to my desk and find a chicken salad bought from my favourite ‘Take a Pick,’ sandwich bar across the road from us. Jake again, he won’t let me out in broad daylight, just to walk a few metres across a road. He’s managed to get people to be my gofer now. I sit down and bury my head in my hands.

  “I’m sorry, I thought you liked the chicken Mrs Bennett?”

  Tom the asshole takes a seat on my desk. “Yes, very funny Tom. I’m never going to live this down now, am I?”

  He shakes his head and laughs, “I’m afraid not Mrs Bennett.”

  I glare at him which makes him laugh even louder. “Where’s your new sidekick? Has he grown sick of looking at you already and put in for a transfer? I wouldn’t blame him.”

  He places a hand on his chest. “Now that hurt Ana. I have very delicate feelings that you’re stamping all over right now.”

  He pulls a pouty sad face and I start laughing. No matter how much of a slime ball Tom is, I must hand it to him; he’s a funny slime ball.

  “He’s gone for some lunch. I thought I’d let him loose for a little bit.”

  I squeeze his arm, “Thanks for the salad Tom. It is appreciated.”

  He looks down to where my hand is placed, “You know if you just move your hand a few more inches to your left, that would be perfect.”

  I yank my hand away. “Eww Tom, that’s gross, piss off you little sick piece of shit. Just think I was trying to be nice to you as well.” He rises from my desk laughing hysterically as he makes his way back to his desk. Everyone is looking now, wondering what on earth has just happened.

  I’m about to tuck into my salad feeling drawn from staring at the computer practically all morning, when one of the other Analysts Mandy comes over.

  “Hey Ana, how are you? Do you want some coffee; I’m going to make one?”

  I smile but I’m a bit wary. Normally she doesn’t speak to me that often, let alone make me coffee. “That would be lovely Mandy, thank you.” She beams at me, grabs my mug and heads for the coffee room. Now that was weird. A couple of minutes later and a few bites into my salad, she comes bouncing back. Here you go Ana, black isn’t it?” I nod and say thank you.

  “I just wanted to say that I feel bad you know, what you must be going through. We’ve been kind of told to leave you alone but if it were me, I would want someone to talk to.”
r />   They’ve been told to leave me alone? When did that happen? I’m not a leper. Jake and his over protectiveness. “You were all told this?” She sees the mortified look on my face and blushes, realising she may have made a bit of a blunder.

  “Erm, well yes. I think Mr Bennett thought that maybe you would be better off not having people fuss around you. Sorry, I thought you knew.”

  I grab and squeeze at Mandy’s arm. I’m shocked, when I realise just how thin she is underneath her blouse. I look up to her deep brown eyes and for the first time really see Mandy. She has the sincerity there that I hoped for, which immediately puts me at ease. I ask her to sit in Jessie’s chair so I can have a chat with her whilst on my break. I learnt a lot about Mandy in that half an hour. She is not that much older than me, born and raised in Sterling, and has been living on her own in an apartment for the last five years. She has a lovely young man in her life, which she has been dating for the last year. They are now talking about moving in together. She has two sisters and three brothers so quite a family, but they lost their father two years ago, which I could see was still fresh in her mind. She obviously loved him a great deal. I realised as she was talking, just how jealous I was of Mandy. I had never had any brother’s and sister’s growing up, or a father, well a true father in all sense of the word. Just one numpty after another, that my mother seemed to like jumping to. Apart from Jake of course. I became aware from talking to her that she was just a very shy girl, but all that seems to disappear when she speaks of the ones she loved. I was really warming to Mandy now. After she had finished talking about her family, and told me she was there if ever she needed me, she got ready to move back to her desk. “You know when all this is over it would be really nice if we went out for a drink one day after work. That’s if you want to?” Her face lit up which made me feel bad that I’ve never bothered with this lovely girl before.

  “That would be great. I would really like that.”

  She gives me a real genuine smile, which I return wholeheartedly. “So would I Mandy.” She then scurries back to her desk whilst I finish off my salad, and the rest of my coffee.

  Shortly after our talk, I glanced a look at the time on my computer and realised just how late it was. It’s after 3pm, where has the day gone? Michael comes over a little while later handing me a case of Indecent Exposure.

  “This one’s a sick bastard. He goes to the public parks where children play and exposes himself. I hope you can devote some time to this?”

  I eagerly nod my head, “Of course Michael, I’ll look into it straight away. Why hasn’t he been caught yet?” I ask.

  “Well, he seems to go to different areas and when the police are called he’s nowhere to be found.”

  I thank him and get to work straight away, looking into crimes of a similar nature where the perpetrator has been caught. The man is described as scruffy with long brown hair and in his 40’s. I look back nine years and a possible name comes up, which I jot down. This man, Jacob Rawlings was caught after his 9 year old niece complained to her parents that she was being touched by Uncle Jacob in ways he shouldn’t be. I felt sudden nausea reading it, I don’t know how people could want to do things like that to children. I list him down, as he would be in his 40’s now and out of jail the last couple of years with no fixed abode. This would definitely explain the reason for this man's appearance. I wander over to Michael to let him know what I had found.

  “Wow that was quick Ana.”

  I smile, “I seem to be on a roll today Michael. I’ll look into it further, but for now you’ve got this to go on. It might be a good idea to have a word with the homeless people round where he used to live in Herndon; I believe there are some shelters round there too.” He gives me a look as if to say, don’t tell me what I already know, and I blush. “Sorry, I’m kinda teaching you to suck eggs aren’t I?” He frowns at me. “I’m trying to teach you what you already know.” He nods his head, finally getting the meaning behind what I’m saying. Sometimes I forget where I am.

  “Don’t worry Ana; I’ll be sure to look into it. You did a good job.” I smile politely, thanking him, thinking that this seems to be my day today, and I head on back to my desk.

  As I approach my seat a flurry of activity seems to erupt round Jake’s office. Jake comes sprinting over to me looking pissed. Oh shit, what now?

  “Ana, we’ve just had an anonymous tip off about the Blonde Killer. We’ve been given an address for a warehouse in the Manassas area. I don’t want to leave you Ana, but I have to go. I want to nail this son of a bitch.”

  I smile at his anxious stare. “You go, I’ll be fine. I’ll get a taxi back or something.”

  Jake’s not amused, “Oh no you don’t. I’ve called Joe over to come and collect you. He’s the best man seeing as he knows the house so well now. He’s heading over to the station now to take you back home,” he says.

  “But I don’t finish for another hour,” I challenge.

  “No arguments, he’ll take you home, check the house and wait outside until I come home, or someone else relives him, depending on how long I’m gone. Matthew should be home by now, so I would feel safer knowing you’re both together. Just don’t forget to switch the alarm on ok?”

  I nod my head vigorously, nervous about what’s going on around me. He kisses my forehead and turns round. “Jake?” I ask.

  “Yes?”

  Tears are now threatening my eyes as the fear begins to take over. “Please be careful.” He strides back and gives me a big bear hug.

  “Don’t worry about me Ana, I’m always careful. Just make sure you’re safe. I will check on you regularly until we hopefully catch the bastard.”

  I nod my head resigned, as he heads off with his team.

  I’m not sitting very long when Joe enters the offices and greets me with a beaming grin on his face.

  “Hi Ana, how you doing today?” He asks cheerfully.

  “I could be better Joe, I must admit.” He gives me a sympathetic smile and asks if I’m ready. I gather my things, shut my computer down and we head off towards the car.

  We’re driving on our way back when I ask Joe a question. “They had an anonymous tip about some warehouse in Manassas; do you happen to know where it came from Joe?” He keeps his eyes steady on the road and shakes his head.

  “I’m not sure where this tip came from, all I know is we’ve had months of nothing and now all of a sudden we have a possible lead. I think Mr Bennett obviously feels any lead at this stage is worth a look.”

  The thought of Jake in possible danger sends a little knot in my stomach. I decide to change the subject, “How’s your wife doing Joe?” He smiles obviously happy to change topic to his loved one.

  “She’s just about perfect. She’s pregnant with our third child now and glowing. It’s great to be a daddy again.”

  The little sentiment touches me. “Congratulations Joe, how far gone is she now?”

  “She’s four months; in fact we go for a scan tomorrow. Looking forward to finding out if we’re having a boy or a girl. I’m not fussed which, I just want to stop calling the baby ‘The baby,’ or ‘It,’ which is an even more of a horrible word.”

  “Well, you must tell me all about it Joe. I’m really happy for you both. Send her my love, will you?” I implore.

  “Of course, thank you Ana. It will all come to you one day you know.”

  I briefly think about how wonderful it would feel to carry Jake’s child, having a part of him growing inside me, but I’m still too young and Jake and I have never had a conversation like this. He may think now that he has Matthew, he doesn’t need any more kids. “It is a nice thought Joe, but not quite just yet.” He winks at me and we laugh, heading the rest of the way in silence.

  Chapter 25

  We get to the house and I let us both in. I head over to the alarm and quickly shut it off, whilst Joe searches the house. I run upstairs and knock on Matthew’s door, which he opens quickly after.

  “Hi An
a, you’re back early?” He asks.

  “Hi Matthew, your fathers gone to check out a warehouse in Manassas, he’s had a tip off about this killer and he wanted me to come home and be with you, whilst he heads off down there. Joe’s in the house at the moment searching the place.”

  “That’s great. I hope they find him Ana, I really do. It’s about time he was caught.”

  He gives me a hug towering over me with his big frame. “How’s Cindy? When are we going to meet this nice young lady properly?”

  He chuckles, “Actually I was going to ask dad if she can come over for dinner the weekend after next, when school’s finally finished. She can’t this weekend as she is going to some function in New York with her parents. Her dad’s some big hot shot lawyer, so they get invited to all the big parties and such.”

  “Well, it sounds great to me Matthew. We’ll see what your dad says, but I’ll look forward to getting to know her a little more.” I make my excuses to leave as Joe comes marching up the stairs.

  “Hey kiddo, how are you?”

  “Well, I would be better if it weren’t for the ton of homework I got to do,” he grumbles.

  “Well that sucks kid, but if you work hard it all pays off well in the end.” Matthew smiles at Joe and heads back into his room.

  He checks the remaining bedrooms upstairs and when he’s happy, he leaves assuring me he’ll be right outside if I need anything. Once Joe heads outside, I place the alarm on and suddenly feel very lonely down here all by myself. The urge to pull Matthew out of his room to watch a movie with me is quickly taken over by the fact that he has lots of homework to do, so I should leave him be. He’s also at that age now where teenagers like to hide in their rooms a lot. I did it, but that was mainly to get away from my mother and her overbearing boyfriends. I’m sure that’s not the case for Matthew.

  I sit on the sofa a few minutes twiddling my thumbs, when I think I should just pour myself a glass of wine and settle for a movie. Resigned to the fact I’m on my own for a little while, I head for the kitchen. Half way there I suddenly stop in my tracks at the sound of the doorbell. It must be Joe. I felt silly as I never offered him anything to eat or drink whilst sitting out there on his own. I shake my head and make my way to the door. I look through the peep hole as Jake would never forgive me if I just opened the door to anyone. To my surprise, it’s Tony. “Hold on a Sec Tony,” I shout as I quickly switch the alarm off to open the door. “Hey Tony.” I look over to the car to wave at Joe, but he’s not there. “Where’s Joe?” I pull myself over to the door to let him pass.