A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 4: Suspicion
It'll only be a matter of time. I spoke to Elena, she said she'll meet with you. Plan for Tuesday night.
Your job is to do what Christian Grey says, to go where he says, and to be what he says. Don't forget your role. It's imperative you gain his trust.
You're meeting with Grey on Thursday. Do you remember your assignment? Ask him the question, exactly as I told you.
I'm going to Elena's on Saturday night to execute the plan. Stay at Escala in your room, and I'll call you when it's finished. Be ready.
Everything needs to appear as if he did it, otherwise this plan is all for nothing. Remember that, and remember everything I explained you leading up to this. I'm counting on you, Elizabeth.
Certain phrases Ana had just read were ringing around inside her head, making her feel dizzy. She was now alone at the office, everyone having left for the evening; a light rain had begun to fall outside, splattering gently against the nearby window, but Ana hardly heard it. She couldn't pin down exactly how she felt, though shock and numb disbelief permeated throughout her body like a pulsing infection.
She couldn't tell for sure, but it really seemed like Jack and Elizabeth had something to do with Elena Lincoln's murder. And they had planned it in such a way that Christian Grey would take the fall.
Is this even happening right now?
Ana only saw a month's worth of those email conversations, but she didn't know what else they could have been talking about… Jack mentioned both Christian Grey and Elena, and Elizabeth was meant to do something with them. But what? And the way Jack was talking to Elizabeth seemed creepy, like he was ordering her around or something…
What does this all mean?
The grinding sound of the printer finishing its job pulled Ana out of her thoughts, and she looked down at the final piece of paper landing on the pile of freshly-printed papers in the tray. Slowly, she reached down and picked up the stack with shaky hands. As confused and freaked out as Ana was by all of this, she knew how important it was for her to save the evidence of what she saw.
Oh God, what do I do?
That was the big question hanging over her head: what should she do with this information? And would anyone even believe her?
I feel like I'm going crazy.
Ana couldn't believe that Jack, her very own boss, was actually behind this high-profile murder she'd been hearing about in the news all week. That he was even capable of committing a murder like this! But at the same time, many of her coworkers had joked that Jack was a sociopath… maybe their speculation was right on the money. His obsession with Christian Grey, his uncanny ability to charm and manipulate people, his random angry mood swings… these were all signs of a very dangerous man.
Oh God, what are my coworkers going to think about all this?
Ana turned back to her desk, but her shaky grip on the papers caused half the stack to slip and flutter to the floor. Getting on her knees, she quickly gathered up all the papers again, her heart pounding in her chest and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She had to do something with these emails. While she desperately wished she could forget what she saw, she knew that that wasn't an option. She had to take these to the police.
Ana got back to her feet and checked her watch - it was almost seven o'clock, and the cleaning crew would be here soon. Glancing out the window, she saw the sky had gotten dark and the rain was falling a bit harder. Of course, this had to be the day she walked to work without an umbrella…
Ana walked up to her desk and grabbed an empty manilla file folder to put her printed emails into before slipping the folder into her leather satchel. After pulling on her coat, shutting down her computer, and grabbing her keys, Ana hitched her bag over her shoulder and began walking out of the office. She headed out into the empty lobby and stopped right in front of the doors, staring out the glass into the rain outside.
Ana needed to take this evidence to the police. She had never in her life even called 911, let alone filed a police report… how would she even do that?
She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. She figured her only option was to go straight to the police station with these emails.
Where even is the police station?
After quickly Googling the address, she found it wasn't too far away from where she was. Due to the rain, she was tempted to call an Uber or a cab, but she felt too nervous to wait around for a car to arrive. She glanced toward the coat rack and umbrella stand beside the door, and saw that someone had left their umbrella here; she quickly grabbed it before stepping out the door.
The rain was really coming down now, but Ana stayed relatively dry under her umbrella as she made her way down the sidewalk. Since it was past rush hour, there weren't that many people out anymore, so Ana walked toward the police station unimpeded by hordes of pedestrians. Cars passed by her on the street, their headlights flashing and glinting in the rain; Ana made sure to hold her satchel away from the road, afraid of the emails getting splashed.
After about twenty minutes of walking, Ana finally made it to the police station. It was a two-story nondescript brick building with stone steps leading up to the front doors. For a moment, Ana could only stand at the base of the steps, staring up at the precinct with her heart pounding in her chest… she was scared of what she was about to do, but she knew that this was too important to let fear stop her.
Finally, she walked up the steps and entered the police station, her hands shaking slightly as she opened the door.
The whole place was rather large, but still pretty subdued - there was a waiting area to her right with plastic chairs bolted to the floor, and across from her was the front desk, covered with a thick glass window. To her left, there was a hallway leading to a large space with dozens of police officers sitting at desks, talking on the phone or typing on their computers.
Ana quickly shook out her wet umbrella and closed it before shuffling forward awkwardly. She glanced over at some of the people sitting in the waiting area: a large bearded man was staring down at his hands while a skinny boy with a neck brace filled out a form.
"Hello ma'am, can I help you?"
Ana looked up, and saw a young black woman with a badge sitting behind the window, gazing at her. Ana walked up to the counter.
"Yes, hi. Um…" Ana hesitated, biting her lip. "I… I think I need to file a police report?"
"Alright, ma'am. What is this regarding?" the woman began typing something at her computer.
"Uh," Ana hesitated again, glancing over her shoulder. "This might sound kind of weird, but I… I may have found some new evidence as to who murdered that Elena Lincoln woman."
The woman showed no outward sign of interest as she continued to type on her computer. "So you would like to submit evidence for an open case?"
Ana blinked. "Um, yeah," she said, glancing toward the corridor leading to the rest of the police station. "Look, could I just talk to one of the officers in charge of the case please?"
"They're busy at the moment, ma'am," the woman said, glancing up from her computer. "May I see your ID please?"
Ana quickly dug into her purse and extracted her ID, sliding it through the open slat at the base of the glass window. "Look, if I could just talk to someone and show them what I found…"
"You'll have to wait, ma'am," the woman said firmly. "You're not the first person to bring us 'evidence' about this Lincoln murder case, alright? The story's been all over the news, so everyone and their mother have been trying to come forward with something they think could solve the murder. You're the twelfth person this week to submit new evidence for this case, so the officers assigned to it have their hands full at the moment."
Ana opened her mouth to argue that what she found was real and that she wasn't doing this for attention, but she couldn't think of anything to say. The woman picked up a clipboard with a form attached to it and slid it through the slat along with Ana's ID.
"Please fill out this form, and check the box saying you'll agree to submit your evidence to the Seattle Police Department," the woman explained. "Also check the box saying you're willing to meet with a police officer regarding what you know. Do you have any questions?"
Ana wanted to say that she needed to talk to a police officer immediately, and that she didn't have time to waste, but knew there was no use arguing. "No. Thank you."
She picked up the clipboard and pen before walking over to the waiting area, sitting in the empty seat near the back corner where she could be somewhat hidden from view.
Ana couldn't help but feel rather dejected; a large part of her was worried the emails she found would be ignored or pushed aside by the officers assigned to this case. It kind of sucked, but it made sense that a high-profile case like this one would garner a lot of public attention, meaning a lot of people would try to get their two seconds of fame by submitting any 'evidence' they found. Ana wished she didn't have to put up with police officers sifting through mounds of useless information, but it didn't really feel like she had much of a choice.
Ana began filling out the form. It was just a standard identification form, and just as she was writing down her phone number, the front doors opened once again. She glanced up, and in a second everything in her body froze.
It was Jack.
For a split second, Ana almost wondered if she was seeing things, or if she had gone crazy… but it really was him. Had he followed her here? Was she about to be his next victim?
Oh my God, I'm dead!
By some miracle, Jack didn't seem to notice her as he closed his umbrella and brushed water droplets off the plastic bag he was carrying. Ana's heart was pounding frantically, and she was terrified he would glance over to his right and see her sitting barely twenty feet away. With her hands shaking, she quickly ducked her head behind the clipboard, holding it up so it blocked a majority of her face.
Please don't see me. Please don't see me. Please don't see me…
"Hey Jack."
Ana peeked over her clipboard to see a police officer walk up, grinning at Jack.
"Martin, how are you?" Jack asked jovially, shaking the guy's hand. "How're the kids?"
"They're good. Sarah actually just lost her first tooth…"
Jack and the police officer continued to chat like old friends, and Ana noticed a couple more officers walk up and join the conversation, smiling at Jack in a friendly way. He greeted all of them like they were his buddies, but Ana could tell it was all fake… it was the same act he put on for clients back at SIP.
How is he friends with all these cops?
"What'cha got there Hyde?" one of the officers asked, pointing at the bag in his hand.
"I brought you all some donuts," Jack grinned, bringing the bag up to the front desk and setting it on the counter. "I was in the area, and I figured I'd come by here and reinforce a few stereotypes."
The cops all laughed as they gathered around Jack at the counter; he took out several bakery boxes from his bag and opened them for everyone to partake in. With everyone facing the other direction, Ana quickly looked over to the door, wondering if she had a chance to escape.
"…So Broderick, how's the Lincoln murder case going?"
Ana suddenly froze the moment she heard Jack ask that. She listened intently, her nerves completely frayed.
"Nothin' new," the officer named Broderick sighed. "But that doesn't stop the media from pounding our door down every fucking day."
"I'm sorry," Jack said compassionately. "So no breakthroughs yet?"
"Not yet, especially since Grey has been refusing to speak to our detectives," Broderick said, reaching into the nearest donut box and picking a chocolate one. "He's our only lead, but he's got a super-team of lawyers blocking our every move. It's maddening."
"I bet," Jack snorted disdainfully. "A rich guy like Grey… men like him can get away with murder."
Broderick chuckled. "Come on, Jack. You know I can't really discuss cases with you."
"Yeah, yeah. I know you can't," Jack grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "We don't have to talk about how much of a rich asshole Christian Grey is."
Broderick laughed, and the two of them continued to shoot the breeze with a few of the other officers gathered around. As silently as possible, Ana hitched her bag over her shoulder, got to her feet, and opened her umbrella, pulling it over her head as she swiftly moved toward the exit. She kept her face turned down while praying nobody noticed her.
She slipped out the front doors and walked onto the rainy sidewalk, letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding. She hurried down the sidewalk until she was over a block away, and then she stopped, panting for breath.
It only took her a moment to realize the gravity of the situation: that the entire Seattle PD was likely in Jack Hyde's pocket, and there was no way she could trust any officer with the information she knew.
I'm completely screwed.
A/N: Hm, looks like things are getting more interesting. Next chapter, we find out what Ana does next, and we also see how Christian has been faring since Elena's murder.
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