Zeke
Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Zeke couldn’t shake memories of the kiss from his mind. If they’d been alone, there was no doubt they would have gone further. Damn, he wanted to be alone with her. But, then again, he needed to keep his head in the game. Things may have gotten a little crazy lately, a little dangerous, with the small matter of a bomb to consider, but there was also something stirring within him he hadn’t felt for a long time. He lay awake turning over the details of the past few weeks until it became apparent what this feeling was. Hope.
There was a simmering feeling bubbling under his skin of what could lie ahead. He’d been so focused on just surviving for the past couple of years, he never looked ahead to the future. But maybe now he could. He smiled as he rolled over in bed, with visions of future adventures with someone by his side. He had to get this mystery figured out so he could reach that end goal of making Sophie his. Without danger hanging over their heads they could have it all. He knew she felt the same. It was in her eyes... when she could bear to look at him. Her gorgeous, shy smile, when she was avoiding his gaze, made her all the more attractive, though.
Sleep eventually put his thoughts to bed, and he had the most restful night he’d had in weeks. He woke at seven a.m. to his cell phone vibrating on the nightstand.
He reached over to check the screen. Sophie.
“Hey,” he said, rubbing his tired eyes. “You’re bright and early.”
“Hey, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Well, I needed to get up anyway. Everything OK?”
“Yeah,” she replied, then paused. “Maybe we should swing by Stephan’s shop with breakfast and tell him what we found out yesterday.”
“Yeah, OK.”
“It’s just he might have contacts who can look into the suicide.”
“Really?”
“That guy has connections everywhere,” Sophie said. “He fixes a lot of cop cars and is quite friendly with a few detectives. You never know.”
“I suppose it’s worth a shot. I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
“Great. See you then.”
He hung up, grinning. That girl wasn’t going to give up until she had answers. Either she just loved a mystery case, or she genuinely cared about him. Either way, it was making this whole shitty situation a hell of a lot easier to deal with. He actually couldn’t wait to get in the van and pick up his new side-kick. But what if after this thing was solved, they barely saw each other? No, he wouldn’t let that happen.
Bang on time, Zeke arrived at Sophie’s apartment with a bag of bacon bagels and a tray of hot coffees.
When they arrived at Stephan’s, he met them with a grin. “Hey, guys. You just can’t keep away can you, Sophie? Even on your days off.”
“We found out a few interesting things yesterday. Fancy some breakfast, and we’ll tell you everything?” Sophie asked, holding up the bag with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course,” Stephan said, “anyone with free food is welcome in here.” He held open the office door, and the three of them sat at the battered old desk, while Sophie dished out the food and drinks.
The men instantly bit into their food, but Sophie was straight down to business, her coffee steaming in front of her on the desk, untouched.
“So, the twin brother of one of Zeke’s colleagues who was killed…” She shot Zeke a small glance of support. “… supposedly committed suicide after the accident. But his body was never recovered. We think he may be in hiding, taking his anger out on Zeke, the only survivor.”
Zeke sat up straight and added, “His father says he didn’t take the loss well. He could have gone off the rails, and this is his way of coping.”
Stephan nodded with a mouth full of food. He swallowed. “Jesus. That sounds like a promising lead.” He took a long, sip of coffee and seemed to think for a few moments. “I’ll see if my friend Toby can dig up the death records and see if there are any gaps. If he’s still out there, we need to work fast.”
Zeke and Sophie nodded. She finally tucked into her food.
“I think I’m so uptight about all this I just can’t eat,” she said, putting it back down.
“Your dedication to all this is... well, it’s unbelievable,” Zeke said. “I really appreciate you both helping.”
“There’s something else we could do,” Stephan said, placing his palms down on the desk. “We should try and catch this guy in the act, while we’re waiting for information.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking that,” Zeke agreed. “How about leaving my bike somewhere and keeping a lookout? Surely, he’s going to try again. Someone who’s pissed enough to stick a bomb in my bike is not gonna give up on one attempt.”
Stephan nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Tonight, leave it exposed.”
“Pull an all-nighter,” Zeke added.
Sophie sighed. “Or maybe it’s time to go to the police?”
Stephan downed the last of his coffee. “We will. But let’s just see if we can give them something to go on first. If we involve the cops right now, it might scare the guy off and then give us no chance of catching him.” He turned to Zeke. “I have some surveillance cameras I use for the shop I can lend you. Set them up tonight, but hidden, and we can go through the footage every day until we have something.”
“Good idea.”
Zeke and Sophie left the shop with the cameras and Stephan went to call his detective friend about Troy’s suicide case.
Zeke turned to Sophie. “At least we’re making progress,” he said, smiling.
She looked uneasy. “I just wish it was all over. I worry about... you.”
Zeke couldn’t think of what to say. Just as he was about to attempt a sentence, his train of thought was interrupted as his cell buzzed in his pocket. It was Tina Graham.
“Hi, Zeke, I really need to speak to you, without Jeffrey. There’s something you need to know. Jeffrey’s out of town on a golfing trip. Can you come now?”
“We’ll be right there,” Zeke said, his heart quickening.