Chapter 7:
Just Friends
Jess sat curled up on the couch watching TV with her two best friends, Abby and Olivia. It was Saturday night and they were having a girls night. "Are you texting Eric?" Abby asked Jess.
Jess looked up from her phone. She wasn't really paying attention to the movie they had on. She took a sip of her beer. It was so nice to relax. It was the first weekend she had off in forever. "Because it's supposed to be a girl night" Olivia said "no boys" she reached out and grabbed her phone.
"Liv, give me that back" Jess said reaching out for her phone.
"Whose Don?" she asked, scrolling through her phone.
"What happened to Eric?" Abby asked
Jess grabbed her phone back "Don is a coworker" she said
"A coworker who you are texting on a Saturday night?" Abby questioned "and you never answered us about Eric"
"Yes a coworker," Jess said simply. "And I may have broke up with Eric a week ago"
Abby and Olivia both rolled their eyes at Jess. The three of them had been friends since junior high. Jess had always been the friend who kept things close to her heart and didn't feel the need to share. They weren't surprised she never told them about the break up. "Want to talk about it?" Olivia asked.
Olivia was the sensitive friend and Abby was the blunt friend.
Jess shrugged "it's us, Jessica...talk" Abby said. They did know however how to drag things out of Jess.
"It's not a big deal. We just weren't working" Jess said. "So I ended it"
"Are you ok?" Olivia asked
"Yea, I'm fine" Jess said "it was just a break up, no big deal"
"How long were you together?" Abby asked
"I do not have commitment issues" Jess said knowing where she was going with this line of questioning.
"Six months right?" Olivia smiled "its classic Jess"
"Shut up," Jess said, giving her friends a playful push.
"SO this Don" Abby said "is he cute?"
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The rangers game played on Don's tv. He was sipping on a beer as he watched the game. He had his cell in his hand texting Jess. He had been back to work for a week but hadn't returned to full active duty so this week had been spent at his desk. He had one more hoop to jump through before O'Bryan put him back on active duty, he had to do his requalifications at the shooting range. It was scheduled for Monday and he was so looking forward to being back in the field.
"Who are you texting?" Luke asked. Luke was his Aunt Penny's boy. They were the same age and were close growing up. After Don's mom died, Aunt Penny helped raise him and his sister Samantha. Luke and his brother, Matt were like Don's brothers.
Danny reached out and grabbed the phone. "Danny, I'm warning you"
"Jess?" Danny said looking at Don's phone and seeing the name "as in Angell?"
"Yes," Flack said, slapping Danny in the head for taking his phone.
"Why are you texting Angell on a Saturday night?" Danny questioned him
"We are just friends" Don replied "not that it's any of your business."
"Just friends?" Luke asked. Don felt like he was being interrogated. He needed to make friends that weren't cops. Luke was a detective in Queens. "If you are dating your partner, your old man will kill you"
"I'm not dating her and shes not my partner" Don replied
"But you outrank her" Danny pointed out
"It doesn't matter because we are just friends" Don said
"You two run together every morning and I've seen you at Tillary's at least twice last week together" Danny pressed on "and you are going to the range tomorrow together" he said after reading the text.
"Give me my phone," Don said, grabbing it back.
Luke and Danny both eyed him. "Would you two idiots just drop it? Jess and I are just friends" he said.
"Uh-uh" Danny said "Just remember Benton will kill you if you mess around with his rookie"
"Really just friends with her," Flack insisted, ignoring Danny's comments, "Look, she's new and doesn't ask about the bombing. It's nice not to hear if you are ok 100 times a day. Plus, even if I was attracted to her I know she is a professional and new and is working hard to prove herself. She's not going to cross a line with me or anyone else and I would never put her in that position. But I like hanging out with her as FRIENDS. And you hang out with Montana all the time so shut up."
"But I like Lindsay" Danny admitted "and you definitely like Jess"
"Just shut up" Don said
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Jess and Don stood at the range getting practice in. They had been here for almost an hour and both had been hitting their targets.
Jess lifted her ear protectors once they were done "are you ready for tomorrow?" She asked packing the equipment away. Don started to pack his away too "yea, I'm not really nervous it's just a formality"
Jess nodded. They put everything away and headed out of the range and began to walk down the street heading towards their favorite diner.
"Rangers won last night" Don said to her
"I didn't watch the game I was hanging out with some friends" Jess replied
"Abby and Olivia?" he asked. She had mentioned them before on one of their many running trips together. Their conversations have been getting more detailed lately and they were getting to know each other.
"that would be them" Jess said "How was your cousin's visit?"
"Fine, Danny was over too being a pain" Don said
"I can see Messer being a pain" Jess laughed "why was he being a pain?"
Don hesitated for a moment "Come on, Flack" Jess said "you can tell me"
"He stole my phone, saw we were texting and was making comments that we were more than friends" Don said slightly embarrassed
"He's not the only one who has thought that" Jess admitted "Abby and Liv did the same thing with my phone and made comments and then there was Benton"
"Benton?" Don asked
"Yea, last week when I told you it was the Wilson case that had him shutting me out..it was really he thought something was going on. I set him straight" she said
"Why did you say it was the WIlson case?" Don asked
Jess shrugged "I like our friendship, I didn't want it to change."
They reached Tillary's Diner, opened the door, and walked in, "I get it" Don said as they slipped into their normal booth "I like our friendship too but if it's causing you trouble with Benton. I'll step back"
"I can handle Benton" Jess said
"Sure?" Don asked
Jess nodded "I'm sure."
They were interrupted by the witness when she came over to take their orders "Hey detectives" she said. Cecelia had been working at Tillary's for the past two years. She knew every detective that came in here. "Let me guess, turkey burger with a caesar as its side and a bottle of water" she said guessing Jess' order
Don laughed "That would be great Cece, thanks" Jess said "Am I really that predictable?"
"Yes" Both Cece and Don said
"I'll have the bbq bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and a bottle of water" Don said placing his order
"K, coming right up" Cece said leaving the pair.
"See she couldn't guess my order" Don joked
"You order like two different things" Jess laughed
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Jess sat at her desk and had the Richerson casefiles opened and was rereading the evidence for the millionth time. The person or persons responsible for Emma's death was still out there. It was eating away at her that they hadn't been able to solve this one.
Flack walked out from the break room with a cup of coffee for him and Jess. He had his test at the range that morning and was waiting for the results. He knew he passed but was just waiting for O'Bryan to get the official results then he would be back. He walked over to Jess' desk and placed the coffee down. "The Richerson case?" he asked
"Yea," Jess said "I can't figure this one out"
"You have to let this one go, Jess" Don said
"Let it go?" she said, shocked that Flack would suggest that. She never pag him for the type of detective that would give up on a case.
"Let it go, not give up" Flack told her "letting it go means not taking it home, not letting it eat you up inside. Giving up is tossing that file in the pile and forgetting about it. This is the first case you haven't solved in homicide , keep working on it but don't let it be your white whale."
"Thanks, Benton said basically the same thing to me" Jess said "How were your requalifications?"
"Hit every target" Flack said giving her a cocky grin "just waiting for official word from O'Bryan"
"Flack" O'Bryan called from his office
Jess took a sip from the coffee Flack had brought her. "Guess he got those results" she said
"Catch you later" Flack said "Put the file down for a bit"
Benton walked over to Angell's desk. "Richerson case?" he asked her
Jess nodded "here" Benton said passing her a brown envelope "put the Richerson case away. Look at it later with a clear head. That's paperwork that has to be done right away"
Jess was annoyed the way he spoke to her. She thought it was because Flack was around again until she opened the envelope and pulled out the paper. It wasn't paperwork but instead it was her work evaluation underneath strengths he had written, Angell has demonstrated an excellent ability to read people and is very observant. She is organized and very professional. Her interrogation skills are excellent. I recommend her to go solo.
"O'Bryan approved it this morning," Benton said as she looked up from the file "you are free kid"