Page 36 of Rookie Days

“Okay.”

Disappointment hit, of the personal kind. Unwelcome. The tension that Ellie had felt brewing behind her eyes during her conversation with Quinn had got worse while she was talking to grieving friends of the victim. By the time she returned to the station, and opened her laptop, it had blossomed into a splendid headache. Undeterred and stubborn, she poured herself a cup of coffee, dumped a ton of sugar in it, and went to work. Talking to O’Connell’s colleagues had yielded at least one piece of useful information. It was clear that she had more female lovers than male. Yet, her killer was male. What did this mean? Anything?Ellie managed to stay on track with the question this time, and her thoughts turned to the killer.In control. Prepared.He might have been a complete stranger and just picked O’Connell out of the blue. Raping and killing might have mattered more to him than the victim’s identity. If this was the case, it was frustrating to think of how many clubs and bars there were in Lewiston, and how many women who looked like Bryn frequenting them. Ellie spent a solid couple of hours going over her notes and trying to come up with theories. She drove home at seven-thirty, feeling unsuccessful. The headache had gone from splendid to vicious. Her neck was locked tight, her shoulders stiff. Driving through the dark with other vehicles’ lights flashing around her made the experience truly painful. She kept her eyes closed in the elevator, walked out into a too bright corridor, and caught sight of a dark shape in front of her apartment in the distance. Her right hand landed on the side of her weapon before she was even aware of having moved it there. Nice to know her reflexes were sharp, even with a thousand invisible hammers pounding on her skull. She squinted at the shape, which materialized into a person. And a familiar one at that.

“Hello.” Janet Fox stood in front of her door, smiling as she watched her approach.

“Hi.” Ellie nodded once, a mistake which made her eyeballs scream.

Janet pointed to a couple of bags at her feet, answering her silent question.

“I felt like bringing you dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Yes. We said we would, didn’t we?”

“Oh…” Ellie swallowed. “I assumed you wouldn’t be in the mood now, with what happened.”

“Yes.” Janet smiled. “And I thought you’d be too busy to remember me.”

“No way.” The headache was making it harder not to blurt out exactly what was on her mind. And of this, Ellie was sure. “I didn’t. Wouldn’t.”

Janet surprised her by stepping forward and taking her face in her hands. Warm hands. That soothing touch. Instead of her heart racing in alarm, as had happened a few times before when she touched her, Ellie just felt a lovely sense of calm wash over her. She found the woman’s eyes, deep pools of chocolate brown, and stared silently.So, I was wrong…Janet had meant it about dinner. She felt annoyed for giving in to preconceived ideas about her, stuff she’d heard from other people. But not so gone that she did not notice her gaze soften.

“How bad is it?”

“What?”

“Your headache.”

“What makes you think I’ve got one?”

“Are you kidding?” Janet chuckled softly. “Ellie, I’d have to be blind not to see it. Come on, let’s get you in. Want to give me your keys?”

Feeling rather helpless, and not minding all that much for once in her life, Ellie complied. She let the surgeon unlock herdoor and pull her inside as if she owned the place.And me…The idea was strangely appealing.

“Kitchen?” Janet prompted. “Ah, you’re open plan, alright.” She dropped the bags on the counter, turned on a single light, and walked back to her. “Let me help you with this.”

Before Ellie could react, she was sliding her jacket off of her shoulders. Glancing at the weapon on her hip, she stepped back just a little.

“Maybe best if you take this off yourself.”

Wordlessly, Ellie unclipped the holster from her belt and she set her weapon down. She reached for the combat knife that she’d also started to carry, strapped to her right calf, and put that down too.

“Okay. Unarmed now.”

“But not harmless, I’m sure.” Janet went on too quick for her to reply. “Would you like to sit down?”

“Um… Yes?” Ellie figured it was the expected answer. She would have gone straight to the couch but instead found herself being guided to one of the kitchen stools. Amazing how expertly Janet could move her around like that… It was also very nice to have her here. With a pounding head, and the sort of day she’d had, this was a surprise. Usually, she enjoyed being on her own. “How did you know where I live?”

“Suspicious, Detective?” Janet grinned.

She spoke in a low, rich tone. Captivating.

“Interested, more like,” Ellie stated.

“Well, I had a look in your patient file.”

“Ah… Yes.”

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