Chapter Four
Noah jolted awake as his phone hit the ground vibrating. It shook itself into the throng of dust bunnies underneath the couch, and above the couch. Noah’s hand was splayed over his chest.
What the fuck. I’m at home, right, I slept on the couch. Oh my God, what time is it? he thought. He jumped off of the couch and in doing so disturbed a passing gust of wind and got a sniff of his own ripe smell.
“Fuck,” he sighed and crouched down onto all fours to get the phone. He blew the dust and cobwebs off of it, and lightly pressed his finger against the screen. One missed call from Micah.
Maybe he solved the case without me, and I’m the laughing stock of the precinct. Something tells me that Micah isn’t one for texting. He waited for a voicemail or text notification to appear, but it never did. He shrugged, deposited the phone onto the coffee table, and shuffled into his bedroom for a fresh pair of clothes.
Once he laid them out on his king-sized bed, he went to the bathroom and lazily peeled off his clothes. He stepped into the shower and sighed as the water ran over his face and chest. He frowned as he dragged a sudsy hand across his lower abdomen. The muscles there were lean and toned, like the rest of him. ‘I could live without having washboard abs. I just wish I had more time to go to the gym now that I’ve made detective.’
I don’t want to be one of those sloppy, pot belly wearing cops, he thought.
When his skin had been scrubbed to near perfection, he climbed out of the shower and wiped the mist off of the mirror. His haggard reflection criticized him.
How dare you neglect me, Noah. Show me off to the world without a shave. You’re starting to look slovenly.
The stares he received from other men on the street said otherwise, but Noah had been hard on himself for most of his life. It was the way he accomplished most things, like entrance essays to college, or the hellish training his father had put him through for the police academy. He wasn’t one to allow himself the occasional slip up or even minor imperfections.
He dragged a razor down one half of his shaving cream laden face, and then did the same to the opposite side. He ran a comb through his chocolate curls and when they refused to behave, as always, he let them be. He changed into his outfit and scooped his phone off of the living room table.
No notifications. No missed calls.
“Huh.” He scrolled through his phone and dialed back most recent calls and pressed Micah’s last call. It rang for about five seconds and then Micah answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, did you call? I was in the shower.”
“Yeah, I did. Meet me at the station? I’m already here and your coffee is going to get cold soon.”
Noah grinned. “I’m on my way.”
He hung up and put Augustina’s laptop into a carrying case. A goofy grin spread on his face as he walked to the elevator.
He actually brought me a coffee.
***
Micah played a game on his phone while he waited for Noah. He’d decided to wait at Noah’s desk, so that he wouldn’t have to look for him. Just as Micah’s digital crops caught fire from a severe drought, Noah came barreling down the aisle of desks with a grin a mile wide.
“Good morning! How are you?” he asked, as he set Augustina’s laptop down and leaned against his desk. He picked up his coffee and the smile stayed on his face, even as he sipped it and hissed at the temperature. “I thought you said that this was going to be cold soon?”
“I don’t know how long it takes you to get ready. It could have.”
“I live down the street!”
“Anyway, you’re welcome. So, did you end up finding anything last night while I was busy?” Micah asked. As he reached down for the laptop, all of the muscles in his right shoulder and arm were highlighted through his white dress shirt as he did so.
I’ll always be better off pretending not to notice how fucking hot he is. And how sweet he’s able to be, Noah thought.
Noah cleared his throat. “We’re calling it busy? You were on a date. By the way, how did that go?” He sipped on his coffee and endured the scalding temperature.
Micah held his gaze for a moment and laughed. He typed on Augustina’s keyboard, and his eyes followed words on the screen. Noah played with the curly hair that spilled onto the nape of his neck. Micah laughed again.
“It went fine, Noah. Why?”
“Just asking. Was she good in bed? Bad sex is the worst when you have to work the next day.”
Micah allowed a genuine chuckle and took a long sip of his own coffee. “Yeah, I’ll second that. She was.... satisfactory. Not very adventurous.”
I probably shouldn’t say— “Would you say that you are adventurous?” Noah asked, and his tone was dripping with flirtations and promises.
Micah held his gaze for what felt like an eternity before he turned his attention back to the case. “So, did you find anything worth reviewing in Augustina’s files?”
Noah took the cue to focus on work. “I didn’t find anything in her files, but I did find something interesting in her email. Apparently, she had been emailing a woman named Courtney Hanks. She works on the South Side of Seattle, and Augustina was going to choose her to be the new children’s librarian. I emailed her to see if she knew about Augustina’s passing.”
“Augustina’s murder,” Micah corrected and Noah nodded.
Micah stretched his legs out and into the deep cavity below Noah’s thick wooden desk. The station wasn’t as crowded today. Cases had been assigned and solved, and patrols were being made. Desks remained empty for most of the day, and the coffee maker in the small kitchen had been abandoned. The station was moving along, while Micah and Noah were still trying to solve a two-week old case.
Noah allowed himself a frustrated sigh. “What if we do some more questioning?”
“How much more can we question the old women at the library? I may as well renew my card if we’re going to be going that much.”
Noah finished off his coffee. “I just know that we’re really getting close to something. Maybe we should question Courtney?”
As he finished his sentence, his phone buzzed with a notification, and he gestured at his phone. “Excuse me, I have to check this. Just in case it’s Courtney emailing me back.”
He scrolled through his email and Courtney Hanks’ name jumped out at him in bold.
“She emailed back!” he exclaimed, as he opened the email and revealed:
Good Afternoon, Detective.
I’m deeply saddened to hear about Augustina’s passing. Although I only met her in person once when I was hired at the South branch, she seemed like such a lively soul. I’d be happy to help in any way possible. I’ll be at the South Branch this week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Have a great day,
Courtney Hanks
“Well, she’s inviting us to come and talk to her. That probably rules her out in having anything to do with the murder.”
“You’d be surprised,” said Micah. “Let’s get going.”
***
The South Seattle Library towered over them, and Micah eyed every inch of the outside of the building as they went in. Noah’s eyes looked toward his partner.
“Haven’t you been here before?”
Micah shook his head. “No, I’ve never been to this branch. I wish I had, though, the architecture is incredible.”
The walls carried vibrant hues of maroon and some of the windows were a quaint oval shape. One window was fashioned to look like a book, and on the wall to the right of the entrance, lines from famous authors had been painted into the stone.
They entered the building and approached the clerk, a portly woman with brunette strands of hair sticking to her forehead.
“Can I help you?” she barked.
“Excuse me, I’m Detective Noah Bailey, and this is my partner Micah Hughes—”
She leaned forward and squeezed her breasts together. “Oh? Is it? I’ve never seen him around before. Are you guys new to the precinct?”
Noah brushed his irritation aside.
“We’re actually investigating a suspected murder. Augustina Meadows? She was the children’s librarian at the Central Branch. We’re here to speak with the woman that was going to be her replacement, Courtney Hanks.”
She sighed. “Everyone always wants to see Courtney. Take those stairs and make a left. She should be inside of the recreation room, making paper mache flowers.”
“Thank you.”
They walked up the stairs and Noah took three deep breaths. ‘She’s going to have some information. We’re going to make some progress.’
They took a left at the top of the stairs, and they could see into the windows of the recreation room. Courtney sat in a bright orange chair, and her hair was coiffed into a small brown bob.
Micah approached the door and knocked before he opened it. They both stepped into the bright blue room, and Courtney smiled at them.
She held a pair of red kiddy scissors in her hand and continued to cut pieces of bright red construction paper as she welcomed them to sit down across from her.
“What can I do for you, gentlemen?”
“I’m Detective Noah Bailey, and this is Detective Micah Hughes. We’d like to ask you a few questions about Augustina Meadows?”
Courtney nodded and continued shredding up her flower. “All right, I’m ready.”
“Did Augustina ever sound frightened or a little worried in her emails? Did it seem like she was in a hurry to make you her replacement, so that she wouldn’t have to be around someone in the library?” Noah asked.
Courtney giggled. “You weren’t kidding about having questions. She didn’t seem like she was in a hurry. I’ve been trying to get that gig since she announced that she would be retiring in February. I know that my competition was Sarah, her librarian assistant. It was pretty close.”
Micah looked over to Noah. “Did we get a chance to talk to Sarah?”
Noah stared back at him, blankly. “She wasn’t there.”
“Her and Augustina worked pretty closely together. She could be taking her murder pretty hard.”
Micah stood up and Noah followed. “Thank you for meeting with us, Courtney. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions,” Micah said.
Courtney grinned and held up her flower. “I’ll be here, probably still doing this.”
They shared a laugh and Micah and Noah traveled back downstairs. Noah tapped Micah on the shoulder. “Do you think that we should question Sarah?”
“I’m already calling the Central Branch to see if she’s in today.”
Micah pressed “call” and they waited a few seconds in front of Noah’s cruiser for the library to pick up. Finally, a clerk answered and he asked, “Hey there, this is Detective Hughes. Is Sarah in today? Not today? When will she be back? You’re not sure... okay, thank you.”
Micah ended the call and looked at Noah. “Sarah is avoiding the library. We’ve got a solid lead, Noah.”
Noah felt faint with relief. “That’s wonderful. Let’s boogie down there.”
“You’re not boogieing anywhere just yet. We’ll question Sarah tomorrow. She’s probably at her home or she might show up to work tomorrow. Today, I want you to go home, read a book, have sex or something and come back to me with a fresh perspective tomorrow. Okay?”
Noah reluctantly agreed. “All right. I’ll take that as an order from a senior officer. I’ll be at my apartment if you need me.”
“I won’t need you until tomorrow. I’ll need you at your best. Let’s go.”
Micah hopped in the driver’s seat in the cruiser, and Noah slid into the passenger’s side. For the first time in a week, he allowed himself to rest against the leather seat.