Chapter 10
chapter
ten
“Great job this morning.I mean it, you guys have been kicking ass. Everybody, take two hours for lunch today, alright? We’ll get back on it at one o’clock.”
Trey’s announcement sends a jolt of energy through the entire crew, giddiness spreading like fire catching. Faces light up with excitement for the unexpected change as everyone thanks him and quickly disperses like he might change his mind. Car doors fly open and tires peel out of the gravel parking lot before I can even get to my truck.
As I reach for my door, I feel a tap on my shoulder and find Trey standing behind me, his dark skin covered in beads of sweat from the morning’s hard work.
“Hey, Evan,” he says. “I don”t mean to hold you up, but I wanted to just check with you one more time about the situation yesterday. I wasn”t sure if you’d had time to think about it after we talked on the phone this morning; but you”re sure nothing happened that might give this girl cause to drop a lawsuit?”
My forehead immediately wrinkles with a frown the way it did this morning when I first got the call from Trey.
“Bro, I’m telling you, if something would”ve happened,” I answer, making sure I look Trey in the eye, “I would”ve told you about it. I wouldn”t keep a secret that I know could put you in hot water. You”re my guy, I wouldn”t do you like that.”
You”re literally the only person I’d think twice about before killing. As long as you don”t push it, of course.
Trey nods, but I can still see the outline of anxiety on his face. “I know, I know. I just don”t understand. I couldn”t care less about her quitting. She was only here for a day, so it’s not like we need her, but I just don”t get it. It’s my job site to supervise and I feel like I should”ve caught it.”
“Dude, this isn”t on you. There was nothing to catch,” I reply, tapping him on the shoulder gently. “Whatever happened with Robin is her own thing. I asked Shawn about it, too, and he said the same thing we’re saying. Nobody saw anything happen with her. Sometimes shit just doesn”t work out. It’s all good, man. We had a productive morning without her. We’re good to go.”
“I feel you, but what about the bruising on her face and neck? The roughest sleeper in the world isn’t waking up with all of that.”
I shrug, ready to move past the topic. “I don”t know how she got that, but I know none of us did it, and that’s all that matters. Trust me, Trey, it’s cool to just let this go. Go enjoy the long lunch you just gave yourself, and let me get in my truck so I can, too.”
Both of us laugh as I open my door.
“You’re right,” Trey replies. “Don”t let me hold up, bro. Go enjoy your extra time. What are you gonna do with it? Go home and take a nap?”
“That’s tempting,” I reply as I hop into the driver’s seat. “But I think I’m going to go surprise my girl and take her out to lunch.”
It’srare that Journey and I get to see each other during our work days because we’re usually so busy. As a detective, Journey has to eat whenever she can find time between whatever investigation she’s working on, and my lunch is usually only an hour that can quickly be reduced by half if the project is behind schedule. So with an hour and a half left on today’s lunch break, I pull into the parking lot of the Seventh Precinct and park directly next to Journey’s car.
I’ve never done this before. In fact, Journey and I have always made sure that we don”t do this. Up to this point, I’m not sure anyone in her department knows that she and I are together. After the Sierra Cross investigation, we decided it was smarter to avoid being seen together by other officers of the law. We weren”t sure how many of her colleagues saw my face when Winter labeled me a suspect. So to be safe, I’ve avoided doing what I’m about to do. The way I see it, enough time has passed for us to be in the clear. Plus, all I want to do is stick my head in the door and surprise her, not announce that I’m Evan Godric, former suspect in a missing persons case.
When I get out and begin to make way inside, I get uneasy about being surrounded by cops. Technically, Journey is one, but her badge is as black as my heart, so I don”t have to worry about her slapping cuffs on me for the things I’ve done. No, she’d much rather wear the cuffs herself and have me slap her.
As I turn the corner to go into the building, I’m relieved of having to go inside and stand amongst a bunch of people who would love to arrest me if they found what I left in the backyard of my house in Strawberry Mansion. Journey nearly slams into me as she rounds the side of the building with her partner following closely behind her.
“Fuck,” she exclaims before realizing it’s me. “Evan? Hey. Uhh, what are you doing here?”
She pulls me into a hug, but it’s a nervous one. Even with her body pressed against mine, I can feel her head on a swivel, wondering who is around to see me.
“Hi,” I greet her, squeezing her tight. “I got an extended lunch today and thought I’d come take you out. Are you free to leave or do you have somewhere you need to be?”
“No, I’m free to leave,” she says, then she swings around and looks at her partner who’s grinning like he has been let in on a secret. “But I did just promise Summers … Marty, that I would treat him to lunch.”
Journey’s partner shakes his head enthusiastically.
“Oh, don”t worry about me. I can find my own lunch.”
Seeing as how I’ve never officially met Journey’s new partner, I take this as an opportunity to introduce myself to the man who spends half his day with my woman. It’s a risk introducing myself to a detective, but from what Journey tells me, this guy is new and harmless. I extend my hand for him to shake and he immediately latches on.
“It’s nice to meet you, man,” I say. “I’m Evan.”
“Detective Marty Summers. Journey has mentioned you before, but she hasn’t said much. It’s very nice to meet you, Evan.”
“No surprise there. My Little One likes to keep me all to herself,” I say playfully, smiling as we end the handshake. “I hope whatever she has said has been all good things.”
“Of course. Anyway, don”t let me intrude on your plans. You two go ahead and have fun together.”
“No, it’s really okay. You”re more than welcome to join us,” I interject. “In fact, I’ll join you wherever you were planning to go, if you don”t mind.”
Journey frowns for a second before giving in with a head nod. “Of course not.” She grabs my hand and begins leading me through the parking lot. I can feel her staring at the side of my face as we go, and I smile to try to ease her tension. By the time we reach her car, I can sense her accepting that we’re doing this. “I’ll drive. You have to sit in the back now, Marty.”
“Totally fine with me,” Marty says, smiling.
Journey and I walk in front of him, but as we get in the car and make our way out of the lot, I swear I can feel his eyes still on me. Even as Journey drives down the street and pulls into a small restaurant with outdoor seating, I can feel her partner’s gaze on me like the sun beaming through a magnifying glass and burning a hole into my skin. When I look at him as we walk inside, he just smiles at me and nods.
Hmm. All it took was a short drive for this prick to start annoying me. If he keeps it up, he’ll have to figure out how to stare with his eyes gouged out.
The young hostess brings us to our seats and we quickly order from the lunch menu before being brought coffee and water. There’s a brief silence that makes the table feel awkward, but it’s Marty who breaks through the silence.
“So, what is it that you do, Evan?” he asks.
I clear my throat and sip my coffee before answering, “I work construction for Lane Contracting. I’m a carpenter by trade.”
“A carpenter? Wow, that’s awesome,” he replies. “So you could build me some furniture in my shitty apartment.”
We all share a stiff laugh.
Fake laughing for the sake of this asshole? Fucking stop it.
“I suppose I could,” I reply. “But my skill set is pretty much put to use building frames for walls and forms for concrete. Not a whole lot of finish work besides chair rail and crown molding, and even that is sporadic.”
“Well, if you ever need a job to put your finer skills to use, just let me know,” Marty says.
The waiter arrives with our food and places it in front of us accordingly, and we all dig in. A minute or two filled with the sound of chewing and gulping passes before another word is spoken.
“So what about you?” I start this time. “You’re my girl’s partner now, so we should probably get to know each other better. Where are you originally from?”
“Right here in Philly, baby,” he answers proudly, still beaming the way he has been since we met in front of the precinct. “That’s right, I was born and raised in Washington Square West. Went to college at the University of Pennsylvania and became a detective to better serve my city.”
Serve your city? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
I glance over at Journey who looks just as disgusted as I feel. It’s not that Detective Summers is a bad guy. It’s just that he’s so different from us. His upbringing in Washington Square West was lightyears ahead of where Journey and I were raised. He attended a nice college and chose to become a detective out of a long list of options while Journey and I had no choice but to do what we had to or die in the streets of our neighborhoods. I know it’s not his fault. He didn”t choose to be born and raised where he was, but it still makes me sick to my fucking stomach to know he had a life that was so much easier than ours.
“How about you, Evan,” Marty goes on, still chomping down on his BLT sandwich like it’s the best thing he has ever put in his mouth. “Are you from Philly, too, or did you move here as a kid?”
I try to stay in a jovial, pleasant mood for this little lunch date, but my face hardens as I answer. “I’m from Strawberry Mansion.”
Marty’s eyes raise as he swallows. “Oh, wow. I bet you”re glad to have made it out of there, huh?”
Made it out of there? What if you don”t make it out of here? I think there has been enough fucking holding back.
I feel it when it happens—the moment the dam breaks and the harsh feelings I’ve been able to maturely scoot past in my mind come stalking back to the forefront. I’ve been so content with life and where Journey and I are that I haven”t thought about hurting anyone in a long time. The kinky scenes we play out in our basement feed my hunger to inflict pain, and with Cain out of my life, there haven”t been very many triggers for my aggression. Until now.
Who does this motherfucker think he is? The only people who are allowed to talk negatively about a bad neighborhood are the people who are from that neighborhood. That’s something that should be taught to everyone in fucking high school. It’s the same when discussing an abusive parent. I can say whatever I want about how shitty my mother was, but if anyone else does, they’re signing their fucking death warrant.
“I stayed in Strawberry Mansion, in the same house I grew up in, up until a few months ago when I moved in with Journey in Elmwood,” I inform the fucking prick. Journey places a hand on my knee beneath the table, but I continue. “I’ve never been ashamed of where I’m from, nor am I ashamed of where we live now. Some of us didn”t have the luxury of growing up with a silver fucking spoon in our mouths in fucking Washington Square West.”
Every ounce of calm drains out of Summers’ face, and it is quickly refilled with terrified regret. “Whoah, I apologize. I certainly didn”t mean anything offensive by that. My mistake. I just thought that … Strawberry Mansion just has a bit of a reputation, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to talk down on where you grew up or say that being from there is something to be ashamed of. I’m truly sorry if I offended you.”
I should stab him in his fucking hand with my fork. Then he’d be really sorry.
But I can’t. Instead, I look at Journey and see the pleading in her eyes. This is her new partner, someone she has to work with every day, and it would be awfully suspicious if this partner killed himself, too.
“It’s cool,” I reply, doing my best to not say the things I desperately want to. Like how I would love to watch blood spill from a gaping wound in your fucking neck. “I didn”t mean to … I get a little carried away when talking about my past. My mother is from there. That’s where she died so I get a little sensitive.”
“I understand,” Marty says. “That’s why you didn”t want to leave the area—it’s where all of your memories are.”
“I didn”t even leave the house,” I inform him, suddenly emotional and feeling the need to rein myself in.
“You stayed in the same house all of that time until recently. Wow. I get it, man. I really do. Again, I apologize for being offensive. No harm intended.”
“It’s fine,” I answer, trying to move on, but we spend the next fifteen minutes in silence as we finish our food and head out.
Once we’re back at the precinct, Marty shakes my hand and apologizes one final time before leaving Journey and I to talk without him. We stand in front of my truck, both us with the same exasperated look on our faces.
“Well, that was a fucking nightmare,” Journey says. “This is why we said we wouldn”t be seen together around my job. I thought we were going to have to hide another body for a minute there, which wouldn”t have bothered me.”
“Wouldn”t have bothered you?” I snip, still feeling tight about the conversation. “All I wanted to do was surprise you for lunch, but if another one of your partners dies, you”re definitely going to be the main suspect.”
“Yeah, you”re probably right … but I’m still glad you came. It was great to have lunch with you, Sir. Don”t worry about Summers. He’s an idiot who doesn”t know any better. I told you he was annoying.”
“That you did, and somehow it was still an understatement. But I don”t want to do anything that could cause problems for you at work, so I hope everything is cool.”
“He’ll be fine,” Journey says. “All that guy does is smile all day. I’m the one who has to plaster on a happy face while that fucker annoys me from the start of the day to the finish.”
“I’m sure that’s hard as hell.”
“You have no fucking idea.”
“Well, how about this?” I say, reaching out and taking her soft hand in mine. The touch of her skin instantly makes me feel better. “It’s Friday, which means we’re both off tomorrow. How about we go out and have some fun to make up for how fucked up lunch was?”
“Ooh, you have my attention,” Journey says. “It’s going to take something incredible to scrub this near disaster from my memory. So, what did you have in mind?”
I smile as I hear the words in my head first, then say them out loud. “I’m thinking we go back to where it all started for us. Let’s go to The Black Collar.”