“Yes, sir, I understand.”
“You were cleared in the investigation. Here’s your gun back.” He grabbed it from his desk and handed it to her.
“Thank you, Captain,” Kelsey said, glad she just got a slap in the wrist. She stood up to leave, turning to the door.
“Oh, and Taylor?” When Kelsey turned around to give him her undivided attention, he continued, “Good job on catching that scum bag. Apparently, he was a drug addict and was desperate for some money. Good shot by the way. It didn’t hit any major vessels, so he’ll be fine.”
“That’s good to hear. I didn’t want to have to shoot, but he left me no choice.”
“Yeah, like I said, it was a good decision under pressure. Listen, I’d like to take you out for drinks to celebrate,” Kevin said.
Surprised, Kelsey wasn’t sure how to respond at first.
“It’s not a big deal. I understand if you’re busy,” he interrupted her thoughts.
“No, no. I’d love to go for some drinks. There’s a bar just a few block from my place. We can meet there. I need to unwind anyway.”
“Perfect! Are you talking about Joe’s Sports Bar?” When Kelsey nodded, he continued, “Since you’re off this Friday, you wanna meet there around eight?”
“Sure,” Kelsey muttered and turned back to the door to retreat. Wondering what that was about, she nearly ran Sammy over as she was heading to her desk.
“What happened? What did he say to you?” he asked. “I’m supposed to meet with him in half an hour.”
“He gave me a lecture at first. Then, he said he’d like to take me for some drinks.”
His eyes becoming wide, Sammy said, “I knew he had a thing for you!”
“Sammy, shhh! Stop spreading stupid rumors. Of course he doesn’t. He’s taking me out to celebrate the capture of that guy. It’s that simple.” Kelsey headed to her desk, but Sammy followed her.
“Really? Interesting, because I don’t remember him taking anybody else out for drinks after their successful arrests.”
“I’m fairly new here. Maybe it’s his way of welcoming me?” she suggested, still refusing to read anything into the drink offer.
Friday evening, Kelsey put on her favorite pair of jeans, black boots, and her short leather jacket with a brown, fitted shirt. Although it was a casual outfit, she knew it made her look good. When she felt Tom rub against her leg, she picked him up.
“Hey, boy! I know! I have no idea why my boss is meeting me for drinks. Maybe he’ll tell me what I need to work on or something. Who knows?” She planted a kiss on his head just before he leaped off.
Kelsey glanced around her apartment. This one was much bigger and nicer than her old place. Now that she was making a little more money, she was able to move to a safer neighborhood and into an apartment with an actual view of the city.
Grabbing her purse, Kelsey headed to the bar. Since it was only couple of blocks away, she arrived a little earlier than eight. She was surprised to see that Kevin was already sitting at the bar waiting for her.
“Hey!” she said when she reached him. “How long have you been waiting, Captain?”
Smiling, he said, “I just got here about ten minutes ago. Let’s lose the formalities, though. Call me Kevin. I’m sure you don’t mind if I call you Kelsey?”
“No, not at all,” Kelsey answered and sat on the stool next to him.
“What would you like?” Kevin asked.
“Gin and tonic please. Did you already eat? I’m going to order some appetizers.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll help you munch on it.”
Kelsey smiled. “So, how long you’ve been doing this? You know, being on the force and all?”
Kevin took a swig of his beer. “Around fifteen years. Sometimes I feel completely burnt out, and other times, I can’t get enough of the adrenalin rush. How about you? What made you decide to join NYPD?”
By then, Kelsey’s drink arrived. “Maybe it was partly the rush, partly to help catch the bad guys, and partly because I was hoping to solve the mysteries of the world.”
“Mysteries of the world, huh? I like the sound of that. I’m gonna have to steal that line sometime.”
They both laughed, and Kelsey was surprised how easy it was to relax with him outside of work setting. “What about you? Why did you join?” she asked.
Downing his beer, Kevin said, “My sister was a victim of foul play. I was eighteen at the time. She just disappeared. There was an intense search, but her body was never found. So, I decided to become a cop. I wanted to catch all the predators out there.”
“I’m so sorry, Kevin. Gosh, I had no idea,” Kelsey said, shaking her head.
“It was a long time ago. Let’s not talk about anything depressing tonight, deal?”
Kelsey smiled and raised her glass to him. “Deal! Let me ask you this. Why did you invite me for a drink?”
Kevin signaled the bartender for another beer. “Frankly, I’m intrigued by you. You’re a brave girl, considering you’re young and new. Just wanted to get to know you better. You know, get inside that pretty head of yours.” Grinning, he lifted his beer to her.
“To friendship, then,” Kelsey said, meeting her glass to his raised beer.
“To friendship it is.”
Just then, they noticed a ruckus near them. A guy had a death grip on the girl’s arm and was yelling something to her. The girl looked clearly uncomfortable, if not scared. She tried to free herself, but he wouldn’t release her.
Kevin immediately jumped off of his stool. “Excuse me, Kelsey.”
She watched him approach the couple and say something. Kelsey decided to go there in case he needed help.
“Get your hands off of the girl,” Kevin said, his voice calm.
“This doesn’t concern you. Get the fuck out of my face!” the guy yelled, apparently very drunk.
“I’m not going to repeat myself,” Kevin answered.
“Who the hell are you? You gonna call the cops?”
“I am the cops. Now, I suggest you leave her alone,” Kevin said, daring the guy to challenge him.
“What the fuck! You gonna arrest me now?” By then, he had released the girl’s arm, and she quickly took her place behind Kevin.
“I want you to leave this place and leave her alone. Do I make myself clear?”
The guy contemplated for several seconds before making the wise decision and heading toward the exit.
Turning toward the girl, Kevin asked, “You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, thank you for helping,” she said, immediately embarrassed.
“You know you can file charges against that guy. It looks like you guys know each other. You can even get a restraining order against him. Don’t wait until he really ends up hurting you.” Kevin’s voice was full of concern, as he gave her guidance.
“Thank you again,” she replied and slipped away.
Kevin shook his head and turned back toward Kelsey.
Once they were both seated on their stools again, Kelsey said, “That was cool of you to intervene.”
Swallowing a mouthful of his beer, he said, “I can’t watch things like that and not do anything about it. I’m not sure why some men feel the need to be bullies to someone weaker than them. What’s worse, I don’t know why these women put up with it.”
“I don’t know either. Guess they just become victims and feel helpless. Or they just don’t know where to turn,” Kelsey answered.
“Let’s not let that incident ruin the night for us, Kelsey. You ready for another drink?” Kevin asked, waving the bartender over.
“Sure, thanks.” Kelsey smiled, enjoying Kevin’s company.
The rest of the evening went well. Their conversation remained light, and Kelsey was surprised how much she liked getting to know this other side of her captain. When she noticed how quickly the evening passed, she said, “I gotta go, Kevin. It’s almost midnight.”
“You’re used to staying up all night, though.” Kev
in smirked, raising his eyebrow.
Kelsey smiled back. “Yeah, but on my nights off, I like to get my rest. Gotta go.”
“Want me to walk you home?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
“Thanks for your company. It was my pleasure,” Kevin responded, taking her hand and planting a light kiss.
Maybe it was the wine or maybe it was the atmosphere of the evening, but Kelsey walked away with a smile. She hadn’t realized that beneath all of the hard exterior her captain portrayed at work, he was truly a charming person.
Lost in thought, Kelsey squeezed through the crowd to reach the exit. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling unusually giddy at that moment, but refused to analyze it further. When she reached the door, before she could push it to exit, it swung open by somebody who was entering.
“Oh, excuse me,” she said, trying to get around the broad shoulders. Smiling politely, she glanced up to his face. She stopped dead in her tracks, losing herself into the depth of the mysterious, yet familiar, brown eyes. Damien was blocking her path, grinning down at her.
“Kelsey! Fancy running into you,” he said, looking astonished.
“Damien?” Completely shocked, she was having difficulty moving or speaking. “What? Where?”
“Can’t believe I run into you as soon as I come into town. I’ve been gone for a while now. This must be fate. We were meant to see each other tonight. You look fantastic by the way.” Damien continued to joke as if it was the most natural thing in the world to see one another at a random bar.
“Damien, I thought you were dead. You just disappeared.” Kelsey finally found her voice. “I mean this is all weird to me…running into you and all. Why are you acting like everything is normal?”
“What’s not normal? Look, we’re blocking this door. Let’s step out.”
Feeling like she had no other choice, Kelsey followed him outside, irritated with his behavior. She also was annoyed with herself for her heart quickening at the sight of him. Somehow, Damien had managed to look even more gorgeous.
“Well, the good news is I’m alive and well. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you,” Damien continued.
“Will you stop with the phony act? Are you nuts? I haven’t seen you in four years. I looked all over for you. Do you make a habit of disappearing like that?”
Damien sighed. “I’m sorry. I know everything must seem very confusing to you.”
“And you’re speaking differently than how I remember.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” Damien continued to play the innocent act.
“You’re talking more normal, not so proper. Oh, never mind! This is just crazy. Why am I even bothering?” Kelsey narrowed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest.
“Well, I’ve been working on that actually. You once told me I spoke too proper. Glad you noticed.” Damien flashed her another heart stopping smile.
Kelsey released a frustrating breath, shaking her head. Walking away, she mumbled, “I’m out of here.”
“Let me explain. Where are you heading? Can I please take you there, and we can catch up?” Damien was already walking next to her.
Coming to a halt, Kelsey faced him. “I’m going home and no, I don’t want you to go with me.” Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she continued, “Just tell me what happened that night.”
“What night?” Damien looked puzzled.
“The night I jumped off of the museum!” she hissed.
“You jumped off of a museum? Why would you do that? How high was this museum? You could have died, Kelsey! What happened?” Damien appeared shocked.
“You’re unbelievable! I know you know what happened. You left me the note for heaven’s sake!” Kelsey grinded her teeth to force herself to calm down because all she wanted to do was hit him on the side of his head.
“A note? What are you talking about? The last I saw you was that night when we…well you know…when things got out of hand.”
“You’re lying! I don’t believe you, Damien. Oh, whatever! If that’s how you want to play this game of yours…Look, nice to see you’re alive and well. Take care.” Kelsey didn’t understand anything at the time, but she knew she needed to get away from him so she could think clearly.
When she started rushing down the street, Damien continued to follow.
“What are you doing? I don’t want you around me. Go away.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to slip and twist your ankle again.” Damien laughed under his breath.
Kelsey stopped and turned back around to face him. “What do you want?”
“I want to talk,” Damien replied, his voice soft and suddenly serious.
Kelsey’s heart skipped a beat at the change of his tone. She didn’t want him to see the effect he still had on her, so she quickly toughened her heart. “I don’t want to talk. You lost the right to talk to me when you disappeared and didn’t even try to contact me in the last four years. And now, you accidentally bump into me and lie through your teeth. Nope, not participating in this game of yours. Have a great life.”
Without giving him the opportunity to respond, Kelsey spun back around and stomped off down the block. Once safe in her apartment, she finally released her breath. Realizing that she had been trembling the entire walk home, she cursed herself for allowing Damien, who was nothing but a stranger, have so much control of her emotions.
Nine
“There’s been another murder,” Sammy said as soon as Kelsey walked into work the next evening.
“What?” Kelsey stopped in her tracks, a part of her not wanting to know anything further about this victim.
“Yeah, they just notified me as soon as I arrived. The body was found early this morning.”
“Where?”
“Behind a dumpster in an alley. They believe she may have died several days prior.”
“A female?” Kelsey asked.
“The victim was a twenty-year-old girl. She was a prostitute and living off the streets. She was killed the same way as the others. Again, no evidence left.”
“He’ll have to slip. One of these days, he’ll slip.” Kelsey prayed silently she was right.
“In the meantime, how many more have to die?”
“What’s Homicide thinking? What about the cocky FBI agents? There has to be something! Maybe a nearby camera caught someone going into that alley?”
“They’re looking into everything. Come on, get your coffee first, and then we gotta hit the streets.”
Within half an hour, the two were patrolling the streets, trying to keep the city safe. Kelsey was more tired than usual that night since she barely slept, her thoughts haunted by Damien. Where could he have gone to for the last four years? Why was he still lying to her? Was she going to see him again?
“What did the captain say on your date?” Sammy interrupted her thoughts.
“It wasn’t a date. We literally just had couple of drinks,” Kelsey defended.
“Whatever. You blew off dinner at my house for the drinks with him. My daughter was disappointed,” Sammy said.
“I know. Believe me, I was looking forward to hanging out with her. But what can I do? He’s my boss!”
“What did Jason have to say about it?”
“I don’t owe any explanations to Jason. We talk maybe once a week, Sammy. We’re lucky to see one another a few times a month. He’s not my boyfriend or anything.”
“So, you never said anything to Jason?” Sammy asked.
“Nope. I’m sure he dates plenty of girls that I don’t know about. Look, I don’t want to talk about Jason,” Kelsey said, remembering that he hadn’t called her for over a week now.
“What was the captain like outside of work anyway?” Sammy continued to drive slowly down the dark streets, checking for any suspicious activity.
“Surprisingly, very pleasant. I actually enjoyed his company. He seems so reserved at work normally.”
“Yeah. Isn’t it wei
rd that he never married? I mean, he’s like almost forty or something, right?”
“No, I don’t think it’s weird at all. Not everybody gets married, Sammy. I doubt I’ll ever be getting married.” Kelsey meant every word. She couldn’t imagine herself spending the rest of her life with one person. It wasn’t that she liked dating different men. Just the opposite. She had been a loner most of her life, and she had gotten used to her independent lifestyle.
“Why would you say that, Kelsey?” Sammy frowned, not pleased with her statement. “You’ll find somebody you’ve been waiting for your entire life. You’ll see.”
“Ugh, gag me. You’re such a sap.”
“Calling all units…” The radio went off. There was a call to the station from somebody who thought they heard a scream from an abandoned warehouse.
“It’s literally right up the street, Sammy. Let’s go.”
Sammy called in that they were on their way and would check out the scene. If they needed backup, they would let them know. Most of the time, calls like these were false alarms. When the locations were checked out, typically nothing was found.
All was quiet when they approached the vacant building. Both drew their guns, prepared in case something went awry. Once they entered, they used their flashlights to make sure they had a visual. There was no noise, and nothing seemed out of ordinary. It just looked like an empty warehouse that nobody had used for a while.
“Do you think we need to check the whole place out? I don’t think anything is going on here,” Sammy said quietly.
A part of her believed Sammy was right, but her instincts told her to check it out further. “Let’s just make sure. How about I go this way, and you go to the other side.”
“Okay, but Kelsey, don’t do anything stupid. If something doesn’t look right, you retreat, and we call for backup. Got it?”
Kelsey nodded and headed to the right side of the building. With her heart jumping out of her chest, something kept pulling her deeper into the dark corners. Every part of her being was screaming to her that something wasn’t right.
Trying to calm herself and stay one hundred percent alert for any signs of suspicious activity, the muscles of her neck and shoulders remained tight while she crept forward. As the steady whispers of her footsteps echoed into the deathly silence of the night, she felt a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead. Why was the hair on the back of her neck standing? Maybe Sammy should be with her, and they should investigate together.
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