Adelyn and Pertel sat silently in the squad car. It was an odd night that things were quiet in downtown. Pertel sat in the passenger seat, munching on a candy bar and sipping hot chocolate from his silver thermos.
“This is going great,” he told Adelyn. “You’re a great partner.”
Adelyn frowned. “Yeah, things are going great, but it’s also incredibly boring. We’ve been sitting in this same spot for almost two hours and haven’t gotten one call. Everyone’s even going the speed limit!”
“Not boring,” he disagreed, holding up his candy bar. “Want a bite?”
“No,” she told him.
“Do you think he’s out there?”
“Who?”
“Our man. Do you think he’s breaking into some computer at this very second?”
“It’s been a week since we almost got him. I would think he’s gonna strike soon, but you never know with these criminal minds.” She paused, tapping the steering wheel as she stared straight ahead. “Unless he’s calling our bluff.”
“Bluff?” Pertel seemed confused.
“The chief told those news people that we were on his trail, when, in fact, we’re only getting started. I think he was trying to scare the guy into quitting all together, but I honestly doubt he’s done. You should have seen him, Pertel. I’m sure he knew I had a gun, but he made a break for it anyway. My guess is that he’d take a bullet rather than get caught.”
“You know what I was thinking, Brady?”
Adelyn almost sighed. “What?”
“He’s probably got a day job. You know, something respectable. I bet if we saw him on the street, we wouldn’t even have a clue. Outwardly, he probably projects the image of a stand-up citizen, but then at night, he turns into this criminal, sneaking around wearing black masks and scaling the sides of buildings…” Toward the end of his little speech, Pertel’s voice became more and more dramatic, and by the time he finished, he sounded like he was narrating the plot summary of a television mini-series. “Anyway, that’s my guess.”
“Scaling sides of buildings?” she said in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Pertel, you watch too many movies. Either that or you read too many of those mega-mystery books.”
Pertel shrugged. “It was just a thought.”
“Are you sure you’re in the right business?” It seemed to her that he was more interested in speculation than in what was actually going on.
“I’m sure, “Pertel answered. “My dad was a cop, my brother is, and so is my sister.”
Adelyn’s eyes widened. A whole family of cops? “That’s gotta be a lot of pressure,” she commented.
Before Pertel could say a word, Adelyn’s cell phone rang. She flipped it open. “Brady.”
“Hey, Miss Adelyn,” she heard Justin’s voice say. “What’s going on?”
“Hi, Justin,” she said with a smile. “Not much. Well, actually nothing. Pertel and I are just waiting for someone to arrest or something. It’s a really boring day…”
“I’m sorry. I know some guys who are trouble makers… want me to send them your way? They could use a good old fashioned beating with a night stick.”
Adelyn laughed. “You’ve got an odd sense of humor.”
“I don’t know why people keep telling me that,” he teased. “It certainly can’t be true.”
“You, without a doubt, are the strangest person I know,” she told him.
“Thanks.”
She could almost see the smirk on his face. “Only you would thank me for saying a thing like that.”
“Am I that predictable?” Justin wanted to know.
She smiled. “Well, I didn’t want to hurt your feelings… but…” Over the phone, she could hear him sniffing. “Oh, please,” she said before he could go into the fake cry. “Suck it up.”
He laughed. “I maybe the strangest person you know, but you, Miss Adelyn, are one of a kind.”
“Isn’t that a nice way to say that you think I’m strange too?”
“Can’t you take a compliment?” he wanted to know.
Basically (If you don't want to wait until may 2nd for me to fix this.. this is a relatively short part that's left out) what happens is that Adelyn accuses Justin of changing the subject when she asks important questions, and he promises that he'll answer her next time. Someone beeps in on Justin's other line, and it's Colby... who wants Justin to do a small favor for him...****
“This will be the easiest job you’ve ever had,” Colby assured him.
Justin frowned. “That’s what you said last time, and I had to break a basement window and crawl out into sewage.”
“This time is different. One of my men has the flu and we need someone for a lookout. If the police come, all you’d have to do is distract them… lead them in the wrong direction or something.”
“That sounds simple enough… but do you really think the cops should get a good look at me?” He paused. “For any reason?” Justin almost laughed at himself. Adelyn knew exactly what he looked like.
“Wear a baseball cap,” Colby suggested. “Besides… it’s dark and no one will be paying any attention to you. There are plenty of guys hanging around the city late at night. You won’t look out of place. This isn’t downtown St. Paul. Trust me.”
Justin gulped as he remembered what Adelyn had told him about the current crime scene; it was practically non-existent. Besides, he knew she was on duty, and when Colby’s guy broke in, it would probably be Adelyn who showed up. “Maybe this isn’t the job for me,” he told Colby. “I have a bad feeling about it.”
“I need you, Justin. If you do this for me, there’ll be a huge bonus in it for you.”
Justin closed his eyes. His heart felt like it was in the pit of his stomach. Never before had he had any trouble keeping his personal and professional lives completely separate. Though, never before had he known someone like Adelyn.
“Justin… are you in?”
Maybe he should tell Colby about his situation with Adelyn… then maybe he’d get out of this job.
He’d be fired for sure.
There had been times where he’d gotten out of the most difficult situations. What made him think that he couldn’t handle this one? This was going to be just like Colby had said it was going to be… easy.
“I’m in,” he answered.
He dressed in a blue polo shirt and khakis on purpose; he didn’t want to look suspicious. At just after midnight, he was to stand outside of 352 9th Street and look out for the cops.
Justin went over and over again in his mind the words he planned on saying to her.
“Hi, Adelyn,” he mumbled to himself as he walked down Marquette Avenue. “I suppose you’re wondering why I’m walking the streets of Minneapolis. Well, I thought that maybe I’d head over to the bar for a drink.”
He shook his head. She’d never buy that if she knew anything about him. He wouldn’t touch alcohol if his life depended on it. That stuff was for people who didn’t have a way out… and Justin always knew the way out.
“Adelyn, hi! One of my friends got into a fight at the bar. He was drunk and needed a ride home. Yeah, and I’m sure you’ll buy that one since I don’t have my car with me.”
Justin frowned at his lame excuses and was just about to pull his phone out of his pocket to call Colby and make up a reason why he couldn’t be the lookout, when he noticed a car pulling up next to him. He turned his head, and realized that it was a cop car. His heart felt like it was exploding in his chest. He couldn’t breath until he saw the window roll down and Adelyn’s concerned face appeared.
“Don’t do that!” he said, taking his hand away from his chest. “You scared me half to death!”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to know what you’re doing here. It’s late, Justin. Do you want a ride home?”
Justin shook his head. The way he felt right then, he would have rather dropped dead than get into the back of her police car.
“Are you sure? You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine,” he told her. “I couldn’t sleep so I went outside for a walk.” He was surprised by how natural his excuse sounded.
“You don’t want a ride home, then?”
“No. It’s not that far anyway.”
“Come here,” she beckoned him. He walked to the side of the car and put his hands on the door. She grabbed one of them. “You confuse me to no end, Justin, but I worry about you. Sometimes…” She squeezed his hand. “Like now, you have this weird, far off look in your eyes and I get this feeling like you want nothing to do with me. Then, other times…”
He looked down at her and their eyes met. “Why are you saying this now?” he asked softly. It would only figure that the moment he had to lie to her, she would pour her heart out to him.
“Other times I get the exact opposite from you,” she finished.
“Adelyn,” he sighed. “What is this about?”
She suddenly dropped his hand. “I just told you!”
Behind her, he saw another officer leaning closer and he pulled his baseball cap further down over his eyes. He didn’t need two cops knowing what he looked like.
“Hey, Brady,” the other cop said. “This the same guy who was bothering you on the phone awhile ago?”
“Stay out of this, Pertel!” Adelyn warned, and Pertel backed off. “You’re the only one who’s bothering me.”
“I’m sorry,” Justin apologized. “I guess I’m just preoccupied.” That was an understatement if he’d ever heard one. “I’m sorry,” he said again.
Adelyn sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want a ride home? It’s getting chilly.”
It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed. The wind was picking up, and Justin stood there without a spring jacket to keep himself warm. Besides, this could be his only chance to lead the cops away from Colby’s crime scene. He silently nodded, and Adelyn gestured toward the back seat.
Justin got in and shut the door. He looked around, and suddenly got a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. The metal grid between Adelyn and himself was unnerving. He looked through it at the cop she had referred to as Pertel. He was sitting still in his seat, staring out at the city.
Adelyn turned around and smiled at Justin. “Ever been in the back of a police car before?” she teased.
Justin shook his head. He decided to change the subject for sake of his stomach. “Can we stop at a gas station or something? I really need something to drink,” he said, fully aware that the nearest gas station was on the very edge of the city… and a good distance from 9th street.
“I don’t see why not. There’s nothing going on here anyway. Put your seatbelt on, and it’s a deal.”
Chapter 7
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
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I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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