Chapter 29
They stay wrapped in their embrace for a few more moments.
"One week hey?" he nods.
"Stay with me tonight." he says quietly.
She holds his hands and he encloses them in his, she pulls him down to her level and kisses him softly. He lets go of her hands to place his own on her lower back, but before he got into the swing of things she pulled away and whispers something in his ear.
He grins and watches her walk out through the door again, this time happy. Back in the main office Lucy unsurprisingly bumps into Gene.
"Why you so perky? Been reading some Mills an' Boon?"
"Its a beautiful afternoon, and its all the better for seeing your wonderful face!" "Don't take the piss." she grinned at sat down at her desk.
The smile faded when she heard Gene joking with a colleague about Jim's sudden departure. She held her tongue and began her paperwork.
Fenchurch had been reasonably quiet this week. CID was hardly required at all, which meant for the time being there was plenty of paperwork to fill the time. She watched Gene swill scotch with the other officers and looked at the time.
"Guv?" she addressed him sweetly. "I don't suppose I could clock off early? Its not busy here and I have a doctors appointment at five." the teenage thrill of telling porkies to your parents returned, she did her best not to giggle.
"Doctors? You didn't say anything earlier?"
"Um. Yeah. They got a cancellation."
"Nothing serious I hope?"
"Nope... So... Can I?"
"If you take that lot home with you and finish it tonight." he looks towards the pile of paper on her desk. She tries to look grateful, picks up the files-with a little struggle and leaves. After an arduous walk home she gets back to her newly acquired flat and kicks off her shoes, throwing the paperwork on the floor. Puts down her handbag and jacket and finally runs herself a bath.
She clambered into the bath. Quickly she relaxed and allowed her mind to wander. Unfortunately for her this meant her thoughts drifted back to the photographs she had seen in Jim's flat.
"Why couldn't he tell me?"
She leaned back, the warm water caressing her neck.
"Why couldn't either of them tell me?"
She slipped lower into the bath, water lapping over her face, lulling her into the warm embrace of the tub.
Her mind blacked out.
There was an empty street, suburban and eerily quiet. Both Jim and Gene's cars were parked near a strange building perched on the corner. She walked closer, ignoring the angry shouts she could hear behind her. Was she going home? She didn't know, all she knew was that she wanted to know what that building was. It looked welcoming, the warm glow shining from the windows, illuminating the pavement with orange stripes. A faint buzz, a man's laughter...
She woke up with a start and took a deep intake of breath of course forgetting she was submerged in water. She seemed to thrash around forever, struggling, unable to
breath, swallowing water...
In her struggle she saw repeated images like she had in her dreams. One struck her the most, something she had never experienced.
Jim.
He was standing in the darkness, the stars in the background, only a flickering haze illuminating certain features of his face, reflecting offhis glasses. The smoke from his
cigarette billowing around him in what must've been a breeze. The image had struck her because he looked menacing, scary and powerful. Completely unlike the Jim she knew.
With a final heave she pulled herself up. She began to cough immediately, after recovering she got out of the bath and began to dry herself meticulously.
"What the hell was that?" She muttered to herself.
