Page 19 of Part of Me
“Okay. What’s up?”
“I need you to help me break into Luke’s desk.” I am fully aware that I may sound a little insane at this point, but I need to put my mind at rest.
“What? Why?”
“Because something is wrong, Tori, and he won’t tell me.”
“But you said that the woman he was with was his boss.”
“Yes, I know I did.” I called Tori yesterday and filled her in on my confrontation with Luke.
“So how have you gone from Luke cheating on you, to you needing to break into his desk?” She sounds totally confused, and I can’t really blame her for sounding that way. To her and everyone else, we have always been the perfect couple. We are meant to be the rock-solid couple.
“I don’t have time to explain right now, I just need to know if you will help me or not?” I don’t mean to sound so short, but I am running out of time here. Luke has already been gone for two hours and he could be back at any moment.
“I will always help you, Char, but this sounds crazy.” I feel immense relief that she is going to help me. I have seen Tori pick door locks to sneak back into her house when we were younger, so I am hoping that a desk draw won’t pose too much of a problem for her. “When do you need it done?” she asks.
“Now.”
“Now?” she screeches down the phone.
“Luke has been called into work. He’s been gone for a couple of hours already, so the sooner it’s done the sooner I can find out what the hell is going on.”
“You and me both,” she says. “I’ll get dressed and come on over.”
“Thank you,” I say, my adrenaline skyrocketing. I end the call and get out of my pyjamas and put on some leggings and a baggy jumper. I pace the floorboards as I wait for Tori to knock on the front door. I hear the clock ticking and it sounds so loud in the quietness of the house.
When there is a knock at the door thirty minutes later, I almost jump out of my skin. I run down the stairs and fling the door open, but it isn’t Tori that I come face to face with.
“Oh,” I say, and the disappointment in my tone isn’t masked in the slightest.
“Sorry to bother you, Miss, but are you Charlie Thomas?” the man asks me. I feel a little uneasy that this guy knows my name, and it isn’t until I catch a movement behind him that I realise there is another guy standing there. I look between the two men, and I feel a fear taking hold of me.
“Um, who wants to know?” I ask, closing the door slightly to block their view of the hallway.
“My name is Ricardo, and this is my associate, Gavin,” the guy at the front says. They are both wearing sunglasses, covering their eyes from me. Both men are burly and give off a dangerous vibe. “We were hoping to speak to you about Luke Sanders.” A sharp intake of breath comes from me.
“Why would you need to speak to me about Luke?” I ask.
“I think it would be more appropriate to discuss this inside,” Ricardo says.
“I’m not letting you in here until you tell me what this is about,” I respond, standing my ground. How the hell I manage to speak, I’m not sure. I can hear the wobble in my voice though, betraying me.
“Miss Thomas, we are from the police department.”
“Police department?” They certainly don’t look like they are policemen. They aren’t in uniform for one thing.
“Yes. We have some information that we need to share with you about Mr Sanders.” I gulp at Ricardo’s words. I don’t believe for one minute that these men are the police. I am about to dismiss them when Tori comes walking across the driveway. I look to her and hope that my eyes show the fear that I am feeling. I see her assessing the two men before she looks back to me.
“You okay, Char?” she asks as she stands by the side of the two men.
“Uh…” I don’t know what to say, but Ricardo manages to speak for me.
“Don’t worry, Miss Thomas, we will come back another time,” he says. He bows his head to me and then turns, gives Gavin a nod as he walks past, and then they are gone. They walk to a car on the opposite side of the road and drive off at high speed.
“Who were they?” Tori asks me.
“I have no idea,” I say as I usher her inside. When the door is shut, I lock it behind me and lean against it. I take in a few deep breaths and close my eyes.
