Hello, my lovely readers. Hayley discovers her own twists and turns and possibly leads. On with the show…
Chapter 22: Full Dis-clos(e)ure
On an atypical winter day, Hayley flipped the collar of her winter coat downward. She'd offered to meet up with Caroline to have a cup of coffee and talk about her friend's latest problems with her Klaus-Tyler drama. Her mind drifted from her case with Marcel to her unbidden fantasies about Elijah Mikaelson. It felt wrong to keep having lusty images of the man who worked against her. Still, it made her days more interesting. And her nights even more so when she could stop by and slip into his bed.
With a smile, Hayley made a mental note to drop by Elijah's for a fantasy-meets-reality moment. As she thought about this, her phone pinged with a text. Elijah's name was on her screen.
With a grin, Hayley opened the text: Meet me tonight? It read.
Shaking her head, Hayley ran a hand through her long locks before she replied. I'll be there. Slipping her phone back into her pocket, Hayley went into the café that she and Caroline had chosen to meet at.
"Hayley!" Caroline called. She waved a hand to attract Hayley's attention.
"Hey, Care," Hayley went to sit down across from Caroline. "So…?"
Sighing, Caroline pushed a cup toward Hayley. "I think Klaus is going to ruin our new arrangement. He just does not get it. It's strange for Fi to go from having one person in her life, to having a brand new person. Just because they share the same DNA; it doesn't make them family. You know?"
Hayley nodded. "Yeah. I know." She pulled the lid off her cup and took a long sip. The drink had cooled enough so she did not burn her tongue and as Caroline rattled on about her dilemma; Hayley found her eyes drooping closed.
"Hayley?" Elijah's voice startled her. So did the frown on his face.
"Huh? What? Where's Caroline?" Hayley asked. She looked around to find the café was mostly empty. That was so weird. There had been at least twenty people scattered around the room. And another ten in a line, waiting on their orders. Where did they all go?
"Caroline left. She thought she was boring you when you fell asleep in the middle of your little conversation," Elijah said. There was a mildly accusatory note in his tone.
Rolling her eyes, Hayley shook her head. "I am such a bad friend –"
"Nonsense. You just haven't been sleeping. Much. And I know the perfect cure to help you sleep tonight." Elijah's lips turned upward into a wicked smirk.
"Oh?" Hayley's brows went upward.
"And how would you help with that?" Her mind went to car-sex or driving back to his place, not what Elijah seemed to have in mind when he moved to pull her off her seat and tugged her back toward the bathrooms.
"Elijah!" Hayley hissed. "There are people here. Crew!"
"I know. And I thought you liked taking risks," Elijah replied, turning to push the door open with his back.
Hayley couldn't help but giggle like a teen as Elijah hauled her off her feet and turned them around so he could set her on top of the sink. She moaned, pressing her body against his. Her hands went to his ass and he kissed her, his fingers in her hair.
Their hands moved to remove clothing that was in the way and Hayley cried out before she opened her eyes and…
"Hi, there," Caroline said with a surprised laugh. Her eyes were wide and she asked in a low tone, "Were you just having a sex dream?"
Blushing, Hayley ran a hand through her hair. "I fell asleep?"
"Uh-huh," Caroline replied with a chuckle. "And you started moaning."
"Did not!" Hayley snapped. Then she caught a couple of people staring at her. "Oh, shit!" She gulped, feeling so stupid. Burying her head in her arms, she felt her body quaking with laughter. When she lifted her head, she saw Caroline trying to contain her mirth. But the combination of them looking at each other made them begin to laugh aloud.
"At least one of us is getting some," Caroline cried, laughing until tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh, Hales."
"It's not my fault you can't get your act together," Hayley half-shouted before clapping her hand over her mouth.
Caroline gave the impression of being shocked before she let out another laugh. "Not all of us can be big, fancy lawyer ladies and go around defending innocent people and making people think we're sexy as hell! Some of us have babies who still vomit in our hair when they have tummy aches and forget to put on a clean shirt before going on a date!"
Sighing, Hayley calmed down. "Okay! Okay! You win! You've got it worse."
"Thank you!" Caroline retorted. "I'm glad I won that round. Now, who is the lucky man?"
"You assume it's a man?" Hayley retorted with an arched eyebrow.
Caroline placed a hand over her heart. "You said if you'd have sex with a woman I would be your first choice. How dare you cheat on our hypothetical love affair!" She smacked Hayley on the hand. "That's it! I'm finding a new friend!" She looked around the room. "Or not. None of these people are interesting."
Beginning to laugh, again, Hayley shook her head. "I love you, Care."
"Love you, too, Cheater!" Caroline retorted. "Now, spill! I want to know who you're having hot sex dreams about because my relationship drama is boring you."
"Elijah," Hayley whispered.
"Really?" Caroline grinned. "So, what happens in Vegas does not stay there." She lifted her cup to her lips, a gloating expression on her face. "Hot."
"Or not," Hayley groaned, shaking her head. "I am supposed to be concentrating on how to keep Marcel out of jail. And instead I am hooking up with the guy who is trying to put him in jail."
"Well, maybe you can gain insight to what's going on in Elijah's side of things…" Caroline trailed off as Hayley shook her head. "Ethics issue?" Hayley nodded. "Right. Okay… Well, what if you teamed up? You know. To figure out who really done it?"
"I don't know…" Hayley sat back in her seat, playing with the edge of her cup. "I think Elijah's pretty certain that Marcel's guilty. I'd have to find someone else who might have done it. And it would have to be one hell of a strong presentation."
"I know you can present a strong case," Caroline retorted, leaning closer. "Just use that brain of yours to figure out who else had motive and opportunity."
Hayley nodded. "Sure. Easier said than done." She thought about it. "I don't know. Marcel would have a lot to gain which does make it look like he could have done it."
"What if there was someone else who had something to gain, too?" Caroline replied. "Like… Mikael? What if Old Gerard was causing problems that could bankrupt the firm? Like a sexual harassment claim? Everyone knows that man was a skeevy pig. More than likely he harassed countless women at your firm. Or maybe Mikael found out that Old Gerard had used the firm for some kind of criminal activity that even Mikael would not lower himself to. Or Old Gerard killed someone—years ago—and the family of the person he murdered came back to kill him!"
"Caroline, I think you've been watching too many movies and lawyer shows on TV," Hayley said. She watched Caroline's face fall. "Not to say that you couldn't be on to something. It wouldn't be unheard of for someone's business partner snapping and killing their partner. And it could be over something really simple. Some kind of an argument. It could have been something petty. But then it escalated into something not so petty."
Sitting back in her seat, Hayley thought about it. "Perhaps they were drinking. Words were exchanged in the heat of the moment. Old wounds re-opened. One moment they're just arguing, the next Mikael gets up, he sees a baseball bat in the corner of the room. He's kept his disdain for Old Gerard to himself for so long and now enough had become enough. He moves to take the bat. Old Gerard thinks it's a joke. He said something that further ignites Mikael's anger. And then Mikael comes back over to Gerard. He's smiling like it is a joke, right before lifting the bat and swinging. It feels so good to finally shut Gerard up."
Sitting with a look of awe on her face, Caroline begins to clap. "See. You've solved the case."
"And if only it were that simple," Hayley retorted. She began to sip at her coffee. "But I think you're right. I think that maybe I should ask Mikael for old claims against Old Gerard. He'll probably force my hand and make me subpoena them. That's okay. It means I can prove to Mikael how dogged I am as a lawyer."
Nodding, Hayley took a few more sips of her coffee. "If I can make a case—before this thing ends up in court—I might be able to talk to Elijah about dismissing the charge. I think underneath it all, he doesn't want to be prosecuting Marcel, but he has to deal with Marcel's being the only viable candidate for prosecution at the moment. No one else has enough motive—that we know of. Yet."
Cupping her face between her hands, Caroline sighed. "I wish I could solve my own problems."
"You can, Care," Hayley said, holding out a hand. Caroline took it and squeezed. "Just try to be patient. Fi needs time. Klaus needs to stop making it about him. And you have a right to do what is best for Fi, first."
"Thanks," Caroline said. Then she grinned. "Tell me about the sex dream."
"No!" Hayley cried. She sucked down the rest of her coffee. "Thanks for the drink. But if you want a sex dream; go have one of your own."
"I might just do that," Caroline said with an eyebrow waggle. "Beats being patient. See, while I'm worrying about Fi's mental health, I'm getting grumpy about my sex life. Talk about being a bad parent."
"There's nothing wrong with having a little 'me' time." Hayley thought about it. "I'm sure that I could put in some quality time with Fiona. I'll invite Bekah over. We'll have a girl's night, say this weekend?"
"You would do that?" Caroline looked pleased.
"What are friends for?" Hayley replied with a grin. "Just text me when you want to drop her off. Then you and Klaus can have some quality time of your own." Winking, Hayley watched Caroline glow with renewed vigor.
"Will do." Caroline glanced at her watch. "Speaking of… Motherhood calls."
"Okay." Hayley slid off her chair. "We'll do this again, soon?"
"Yes." Caroline linked arms with Hayley on their way to the door. "You help keep me sane."
"Someone has to." Hayley smirked at Caroline who mock pouted back. Opening the door, Hayley waited for Caroline to leave first. "Bye," Hayley called.
"Bye!" Caroline offered a wave of her hand before they parted ways and Hayley made her way over to her car.
Tonight, Hayley planned on going back to her place. Marcel had decided to go home. He said his bed was way better and he needed a good night's sleep. It also helped that Bekah planned on staying with him to answer the phone in case of the press calling and checking the door if they showed up there, too.
This meant that Hayley could go home, take a shower, find a cute outfit and get ready for her meeting with Elijah. The thought made her heart beat a little faster. Of course she'd feel better if she hadn't been feeling a touch of the flu a couple of days ago. Probably just some twenty-four hour thing. Nothing to worry about.
With a sigh, Hayley went to her car and found that the back window had been bashed in. "What in the hell?" Hayley cried. Lifting her head, Hayley glanced around her. She felt a shiver go up her spine. She'd been having a great conversation with her friend to find this. It made her blood boil.
With a groan, Hayley pulled out her phone. She knew what she had to do now and it would be ruining her plans for the evening.
~0~
An officer offered Hayley a steaming cup of black coffee. "Thanks," she muttered, nodding at the officer. She'd had to come down to the station to talk with the officer who had come to check on her car.
A report was being written up by Officer Correra. He held a clipboard which he brought over to Hayley. "I need your signature, ma'am."
"Okay." Hayley nodded. "When will I get my car back?"
"After we make sure we've been able to go over it. Our team wants to be thorough. Look for fingerprints. Hair. The usual," the cop told her.
Hayley nodded, again. She felt that Correra was giving off a vibe. He didn't like her. She chalked it up to her being a defense attorney who might get a "murderer off the hook" which made her the "bad guy" in Correra's eyes.
When he arrived he'd asked her if anything was missing from her car. And Hayley recalled how his brows had come together when she said, "No."
"Are you sure?" he'd pressed, his arms folded over his chest. "Most cars and homes aren't broken into without someone taking something."
Shrugging, Hayley had shaken her head. "Sorry, Officer. There's nothing I can recall having gone missing. I don't tend to leave anything I want to keep in there. If they took my sunglasses. Or a package of gum. I'm not going to cry about it."
Correra simply frowned back at Hayley before he nodded at his car. "We'll need to go into the station. I'll need you to sign a report."
"We need to go to the station?" Hayley had felt like that might be a bit much.
"Someone might have been hoping to find you, Miss Marshall." Correra looked her over and Hayley felt annoyed. "It would be safer for you to go in, with me, and we can make sure you get a ride home."
Hayley had not wanted to argue. So, she went ahead and went to the station. Now that she'd signed the report; she felt better. Correra gave her a receipt for her car. "You can pick up your vehicle at the impound, after you call, and we let you know we're done with it."
"Thanks." Hayley placed a copy of the report and the receipt in her bag.
"You got a ride?" Correra asked her, tipping his hat.
"Yes." Hayley was lying. "I called a friend. She's waiting outside."
"Be careful, Miss Marshall. I wouldn't want to have to come to find you, instead of a broken-in car." Then he smiled and Hayley felt another shiver coming on. She suppressed this one.
"Not to worry. I'm going straight home and locking my door." Hayley was point-blank lying. With a fake smile, she turned on her heel and headed for the front door. She hoped Correra did not follow her to the front steps. He would not see anyone waiting. Although she would fake it,if she had to.
Hayley kept going once she left the station. She took a left and moved toward the first bus stop she could find. She didn't use the bus system too often. But she'd used it enough to know which ones would get where she wanted to go. And right now, she wanted the hell away from the police precinct. She also had a brand new reason to want to talk to Elijah.
A bus pulled up and she made her way onboard. People were in front and behind her. And as funny as it might have sounded—she felt safer in a crowd than outside—on her own.
It only took two more connections and a three block walk for Hayley to arrive at Elijah's building. Inhaling, Hayley went inside. "Hi, Ms. Marshall," the front desk clerk called to her.
"Hi!" Hayley called back. If anyone asked, yes, there would be someone who knew she went to Elijah's. Often. But Hayley didn't really care. She just wanted to go upstairs and tell Elijah what happened to her car.
The elevator ride moved quickly with no one else on board. Hayley darted into the hallway the moment the doors opened. She went to Elijah's door. Knocking, Hayley waited for Elijah to answer. He didn't. She wondered if she was too early. And after what happened today, she found herself gripping the doorknob and pushing.
With a pounding heart, Hayley pushed the door open. No! Why had he not locked the door? Was someone in here? Did someone do something to him? Hayley opened her bag and pulled out her phone. She let her finger hover over the one digit that would go directly to 911.
A little sigh came as she entered the apartment and her eyes took in nothing unusual. No one jumped out at her. Nothing was broken. No blood. No one screamed for help. Edging the door closed with her heel, Hayley made her way through the apartment. Just because there was nothing so far did not mean she would not find Elijah's bloody corpse somewhere in here.
Hayley checked the bathroom first. Nothing. Just the bedroom.
Heart still pounding, Hayley went to the bedroom and opened the door. She dropped her phone on the floor which did not make a sound. It was silenced by the think rug.
"Hello, Hayley!" Katherine greeted Hayley with a finger wiggle and a grin. She laid on the bed. Her hand on her naked hip. "Sorry, Elijah isn't in. Yet." She let out a light laugh. "Have a good night."
Growling, Hayley leaned over and picked up her phone. She turned around and stomped back down the hallway. Just when she thought she could sit down with Elijah and talk through things, she finds his naked ex in his bed. Why were all men that same damned way?
Hayley went to the door and let out a scream when the door opened. "Hayley?" Elijah looked shocked when he stopped in the doorway. "How are you in my apartment?" Now he began to frown. "First, the briefcase. Now, you're breaking into my home?"
"What?" Hayley shouted. "I did not break in! Katherine left the door open."
"Hi, honey, I'm so glad you're home early for once!" Katherine called.
Hayley turned to glower at Katherine and then slapped a hand over her eyes. "Could you have at least put a sheet on?" she snapped.
"Elijah prefers me without. Right, Elijah?" Katherine retorted.
Growling, Hayley blindly pushed her way past Elijah and made her way into the hallway and moved toward the elevator. "Bad day. Very. Very bad day!" she groaned as she began to stab at the button.
"Hayley! I need to speak to you about my briefcase!" Elijah called as the doors opened and Hayley stepped inside. She ignored him and pushed the down button. Elijah placed a hand on the door, keeping it open. "Hayley!"
"No! I don't care about your briefcase! I don't want to talk to you right now! Go away!" Hayley could feel the onset of tears. She would be damned if Elijah got to watch her cry.
"Hayley! Did something happen?" Elijah asked her, his tone softening.
"Yes. I think I know who the murderer is," Hayley snapped, a tear running down her cheek.
"Who?" Elijah looked confused.
"Whoever broke into my car," Hayley retorted.
Elijah stepped inside the elevator. "Someone broke into your car. Someone stole my briefcase," he said as the elevator went downstairs. "I thought it was you."
"Well, thanks for that," Hayley snapped.
"Sorry." Elijah ran a hand through his hair. "Are you alright?"
"Could you hold that thought?" Hayley asked, holding up a finger.
"Why?" Elijah inquired. He got his answer when Hayley leaned over and threw up. "Oh."
Hayley nodded. "Bad. Bad day. Started out okay. Ended badly." She shook her head. This was not a promising start of things to come.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
-J