Thirteen: Unease

She told him about a man named Jack.

He's Australian and he's a process server who knows how to handle errant people who didn't take kindly to being sued or divorced. He's a decent man, it seems, and he made an impression on her.

Bought her a poster from the Borgman exhibit even.

At the moment he's at his place, just outside the city and he's testing seven different SIG Sauer handguns to see just which of them fired the bullets that killed the shop owner. There are striations on the casing, groves along the side that leave distinct impressions on each case every time a shot is fired.

It's simple enough and he could finish it by today, but somehow, despite his work ethic and his usual professionalism, he couldn't help but be distracted.

She told him Jack was coming to their office today, in a more professional capacity only this time he's not serving them, more 'consulting' about something. He wasn't even going to think about what a process server could consult on with a partner of a law firm if it's not about being sued which, she dutifully informed him, it wasn't. He's not thinking about that, no.

Inspecting an enlarged a photo of the bullet and marking along where the striations could be easily and distinctly compared, he let his red felt tip pen ride along the glossy surface of the photo.

He ignored the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, gnawing at him as he decided that he'd never quite felt so uneasy about something in such a long time.

It was an unpleasant feeling.

But he trusted her, trusted that it was work and nothing more. She had told the man herself she wasn't interested, after all, and she wasn't. She was with someone. There was no reason to ponder on the matter. Jack was business, nothing more.

Then again, that's how they met too—business.

But it's different, right?

He decided to stick with his work and ignore what the process server named Jack could have to do with being in his lover's office.

It's different, he told himself, and went to test the third SIG Sauer on his list.