A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 9: Investigation
~1:32 pm~
Christian was starting to have some serious doubts.
Taylor currently drove him and Ana toward Elena's house, both of them sitting in the backseat as they rode through the streets of Seattle. It had been several days since Christian had even stepped outside his apartment, and today for their excursion he had dressed conspicuously in dark jeans, a black shirt, and a baseball cap to cover up his copper hair. Ana had found a dark blue hoodie in Mia's wardrobe, and borrowed a Mariners cap and aviator sunglasses from Christian to cover her face and head. She looked surprisingly cute dressed like that, but Christian couldn't think about it too much as he tried to focus on what they were about to do.
Several times over the past hour or so, Christian had wanted to tell Ana he decided they weren't going to Elena's house and that the plan was off. He hated the fact that Ana was about to go there… this was the same house where Christian had been sent to as a teenage boy by his parents to work over the summer. It had been this house where, on one fateful day, Elena had slapped him across the face and then kissed him, marking the beginning of a 6-year-long affair that had changed the course of his entire life.
Whether it had been for better or worse, Christian still wasn't sure, but what he did know was that he didn't want Ana exposed to that part of his past just yet.
Ana currently had her phone out, and she frowned down at something she read on the screen. "Dammit," she muttered to herself.
"Everything okay?" Christian asked.
"Yeah, I just have a nosy journalist for a roommate," Ana sighed. "She keeps texting me and asking if I'm at work… I think she's suspicious of where I was last night. I'm not going to tell her, obviously, but I think I need to go home after all this so I can ease her down a bit."
Christian couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but he nodded all the same. "I understand. Taylor can take you home as soon as we're done here."
Ana smiled at him, and Christian almost thought it looked a little sad. "Thanks. I hate that I have to leave, but I suppose it's for the best. Can you let me know when your guy Welch finishes his background checks on Elizabeth and Jack? I'd still like to be able to help, however I could."
"Yeah, of course," Christian said. "I'll be sure to give you a call. Hopefully tonight he'll have all the information we need."
Ana smiled again, but didn't say anything more as she turned back to her phone, texting her roommate.
The two of them remained silent for the rest of the car ride, and Christian still felt a bit nervous for what they were about to do. He had no idea what they were going to encounter once they arrived at Elena's house, but he knew they could find something potentially crucial to this investigation. It was worth the risk, though Christian almost wished Ana wouldn't have come along. This might get dangerous, and the last thing he wanted was to put her in harm's way. She'd insisted on coming, however, so Christian didn't have much of a choice.
Finally, they reached Elena's neighborhood in Montlake, and they turned onto a more residential street with the familiar long winding driveways leading to old beautiful Victorian homes. Christian recognized Elena's front lawn and gated drive as Taylor pulled up about half a block away near a copse of trees.
"Is that it, then?" Ana asked, gazing over at Elena's front gate as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Yeah," Christian said, glancing out the rear window to make sure no one was around. "Taylor, you're staying right here in the car to keep a lookout. Call me immediately if you see any police cars or suspicious people hanging around, alright?"
"Yes sir," Taylor nodded. He had gone over his orders with Christian earlier at Escala, so he knew the protocol.
"Alright," Christian said, turning to Ana. "You have everything?"
"Yes," Ana said firmly. "Now can we go, please?"
Christian couldn't resist smiling at her. "Impatient, Ms. Steele?"
Ana rolled her eyes. "Yes. Now stop procrastinating and let's get to it already."
Without waiting another moment, she opened the car door and stepped outside. Christian felt torn between amusement and annoyance, but decided not to say anything as he opened his own car door and stepped outside to follow her.
The two of them made their way toward Elena's gated driveway, which was blocked off by a long yellow strip of police tape. Thankfully, Christian didn't see anyone lingering around.
"How are we going to get in?" Christian asked, gazing at the police tape with a frown.
"Do you know the code to the gate?" Ana asked.
"I think so," Christian said.
Ana walked toward the left side of the gate and grabbed the tape, pulling it so the one side fluttered down to the ground. She smiled over at Christian. "Let's go then."
Christian felt momentarily surprised at her doing that before letting out an incredulous chuckle. "You know Ms. Steele, I think you're starting to enjoy this whole sleuthing business."
"Hey, I'm here anyway. I might as well enjoy it," Ana smirked.
Christian walked over to the dial pad next to the gate and typed in the code Elena had given him a few years ago in case of an emergency: 3725282, which spelled out Esclava. He was relieved to see the light blink green and hear the gate begin to swing open.
He and Ana walked through the open gate before Christian pressed the button to close it. Once it was closed, Ana reached through the bars of the gate and picked up the dropped end of the police tape, placing it back where it was.
"Just to be safe," Ana explained, looking over at Christian, and he grinned.
"Of course."
The two of them walked up the driveway toward the house, which stood like a large silent sentinel up ahead. Christian didn't know if it was because he and Ana were about to break into the place, or the fact that Elena had been murdered here, but he still couldn't help but feel nervous for what they were about to see inside.
They reached the front porch and Christian pulled out his keys, finding the one he knew was Elena's. He unlocked the door before pushing it open, stepping inside as Ana followed him.
The place looked more bare than Christian had remembered it. The spacious foyer, which used to have multiple end tables, flower vases, and picture frames, was now mostly empty, and the few tables that remained were covered with translucent plastic sheets. He and Ana could only silently stare at everything.
"The murder happened in the living room, right?" Ana asked after a moment.
"Yeah," Christian nodded.
"I think we should start there, then," Ana said, reaching into the messenger bag she had brought along with her. She pulled out two pairs of black gloves before handing a pair to Christian. "Here."
Christian took the gloves from her, his eyebrows raised. "We're just searching for clues, not robbing the place," he said sardonically, slipping them on.
"I don't want us to leave any fingerprints," Ana insisted, slipping her own gloves onto her hands. "I'm just being cautious. I also brought some resealable baggies in case we find anything incriminating."
"You've really thought of everything, haven't you?" Christian said, his voice amused. "Why do you want to go into publishing? You're clearly made out to be a detective."
Ana giggled. "I don't know about that. I've just read a lot of murder-mystery books in my life, that's all."
The two of them made their way down the hall before stepping into the living room. Ana let out a surprised gasp.
The whole place had clearly been searched through thoroughly by the police, with all the large pieces of furniture being covered by the same translucent tarp from in the foyer. However, the most prominent aspect of the room was the large faded bloodstain in the middle of the hardwood floor, sitting there like a grotesque accoutrement.
Christian felt sick to his stomach as he stared at it, and he looked over at Ana. "Are you alright?"
Ana, who looked paler than usual, pressed her lips together before nodding. "Yeah, I just… I wasn't expecting to see that."
"We can leave right now if you're feeling too queasy," Christian said, placing a hand on her arm.
"No, no I'm alright," Ana insisted, taking a deep breath before looking up at Christian. "I'm okay. Let's start looking around the place for clues."
Christian wanted to protest, but Ana had already stepped away from him and began walking toward an armoire at the far end of the living room. Christian watched her for a moment before reluctantly turning and walking toward a nearby shelf.
The next fifteen minutes or so passed silently as Christian and Ana searched Elena's living room for clues. Christian wasn't exactly sure what they were looking for, but he sifted through as many of Elena's things as he could find, including books, magazines, papers, and random knick knacks.
"Find anything yet?" Christian asked, looking over at Ana, who was searching through a stack of file folders she found in a drawer.
"Just a lot of papers about her salon," Ana said, flipping through a packet of papers. "Financial stuff, and print marketing materials… it's a lot, and I can't tell if any of this is useful."
"It probably isn't. I was a silent partner in Elena's salon, and I would have known if something fishy was going on at her company."
Ana let out a sigh as she tossed the packet back onto the pile of papers. "I guess I'll go try the shelves in the East wing."
She picked up the stack of folders and put them back in the drawer before walking across the room toward the opposite side of the spacious living room. Christian saw her deliberately skirting around the giant bloodstain in the middle of the floor.
"You know, if you find any jewelry, feel free to keep it," Christian said lightly, turning back toward the bookshelf he was searching through. "I don't think anyone's going to go looking for anything valuable around here. Elena doesn't have any immediate family left to leave her assets to, and everything's likely going to be auctioned away if it's not already police evidence."
"I'm not going to steal anything, Christian," Ana said in a chastising voice. "That would be wrong, and I'm not doing this for monetary gain."
Christian looked over at her again. "Why are you doing it exactly?"
"To help you prove your innocence," Ana said simply, opening a drawer and sifting through the contents. "You're being publicly crucified for something you didn't do… I can't imagine how horrible that's been for you. And I'm sure your business isn't faring so well either."
She cast him a sympathetic look before turning back to the drawer, but Christian couldn't help but gaze at Ana even as she looked away. His heart thudded with an emotion he wasn't used to feeling… her sympathy for him was so nice, and he was rather surprised by how good it felt to have someone be so understanding of his plight. Perhaps because he was so used to people assuming he was a murderer that Ana's kindness felt so unprecedented, but he couldn't help but appreciate her being at his side through all of this.
Ana continued to sift through the drawer for a moment before letting out a shocked gasp. "Oh my God!"
Christian, feeling suddenly nervous she had found something BDSM-related, got to his feet and made his way toward her. "What did you find?"
Ana pulled up a plain manila file folder and held it out for him to see. "Look at this."
She pointed to the tab, where someone had scribbled in pen _G.
"G?" Christian asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something?"
"Those emails I brought to you last night," Ana explained. "I found them in a subfolder in Jack's email account marked 'underscore G'. I feel like it has to mean something."
"That folder looks empty though," Christian pointed out, looking at how thin the folder was in Ana's hand.
She opened it. There were no documents inside, but instead one single Polaroid picture - it was just a man and a woman with two little boys standing in front of a rundown blue house. The crinkled and worn edges of the photo made Christian think it had been taken a long time ago.
Ana flipped the photo over and read on the back:
The Collier's with Christian and Jack - Detroit, 1987
Ana looked up at Christian, who was staring in disbelief at the photograph. "Wait, this is a picture of you and Jack?"
Christian wordlessly took the Polaroid from Ana's hand and gazed down at it, examining the people on it. He could now vaguely recall staying at a foster home with the Collier's for a couple months before Grace and Carrick officially adopted him, and he remembered another kid coming to stay with them for awhile. There wasn't much else he remembered about that time though.
Why the hell does Elena even have this picture?
"This is so crazy… you and Jack may have actually known each other from years ago. In Detroit of all places," Ana exclaimed. "And the Collier's… do you know who they are?"
"Foster parents," Christian said quietly, still staring down at the photograph.
There was a short pause. "Oh," Ana said, her voice noticeably subdued. "I…um… I didn't realize you were adopted."
Christian finally looked back up at Ana. "Yeah, when I was four years old. This picture must have been taken right before the adoption went through."
"Do you think Jack knows?" Ana asked. "That the two of you had been in foster care together?"
"I don't know," Christian said, looking back down at the picture again. "Honestly, I'd forgotten all about this part of my life after my mom died. It's possible Jack doesn't know, but you yourself said he might have some sort of vendetta against me. Our shared past in the foster home may be key to that."
Ana remained silent, clearly mulling over everything in her mind. Christian continued to examine the photograph, trying to gauge his memory for anything relating to this time in his life, but before he could come to any conclusions, his cell phone began to buzz in his pocket.
Christian set the photograph back in the folder before pulling out his phone. His heart dropped when he saw it was Taylor calling.
"Taylor, what's going on?" Christian asked immediately as he answered the phone.
"Sir, there's someone at the gate," Taylor said immediately. "A man. He's about to enter Elena's property."
Christian looked at Ana, whose face was pale with fear. "Some guy is coming through the gate. He's likely heading for the house."
"Oh shit," Ana panicked, closing the folder with the picture in it and shoving it back into the drawer.
"Taylor, what does he look like?" Christian asked into the phone.
"He's got red hair pulled back in a ponytail, a black coat and dark slacks," Taylor rattled off. "Medium-height, average build, looks to be in his early thirties."
"This guy apparently has red hair in a ponytail," Christian said to Ana, and she looked at him with immense fear.
"That's Jack," she said, her voice shaky with fear. "Oh my God, that's Jack!"
"Ana says that that's Jack Hyde, Taylor," Christian said into the phone. "Get a picture of him if you can."
"Will do, sir. But you guys need to get out of there right now," Taylor insisted.
"We'll stay out of sight," Christian assured him before hanging up.
"What are we going to do Christian? He'll be here at any moment," Ana said, frantically gazing around the living room.
"We'll duck out through the back door," Christian said firmly, sweeping his eyes over the whole area and making sure nothing was out of place. Thankfully, they both had cleaned up after themselves so there was no evidence of them being there. "Come on, let's go."
Christian took Ana's hand and pulled her toward the large glass patio door on the south side of the room. He opened it before he and Ana rushed out onto the deck, closing the door behind them.
"Over here," Ana insisted, running over to the large shrubs lining the house. The two of them were now mostly hidden from sight, though the large bay window right next to them could afford them a decent view inside.
Christian and Ana silently sat crouched together in the shrubbery, waiting for something to happen. A minute later they heard the faint sounds of the front door opening and closing, footsteps coming closer. They suddenly stopped.
Christian couldn't resist, and he peeked through the shrub he and Ana were behind to peer through the bay window, his heart pounding. Standing right there in the living room, oblivious to anyone watching him, was the man who had ruined Christian's life. The man who Christian felt his hatred for could rival that of Elizabeth…
Jack Hyde.
A/N: Uh oh! Next chapter, Christian and Ana will have to figure out what to do next.
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