Having technical issues with this story! Really did lose a lot of people with it as alerts never went out. Hope everyone finds this again! (I am never editing/combining a story again). Got a few PM's if I was still doing the story. Yes!…Just, having technical issues. To those who asked for a not so dark story, check out 'Night Light' and 'Peeping Gold'.
"How are you liking the new job" Mary Margaret asked as we waited in line at Granny's Diner for coffee.
It had been a week since my job transfer. I am amazed at how fast things were moving since I decided to stay here. Just the other week, Mary Margaret had given me an old bed set. She had a spare room in her apartment with a furniture set. It had been a long time since I had opened up to anyone and with Mary Margaret, it just felt right and so very easy. My little apartment was starting to look like home, or at least a place I could call home for a while.
"Lot of paperwork" I said, and Mary Margaret laughed. "But besides that, not to bad"
"So, how's working with Sheriff Graham" Mary Margaret gave me a mischievous wink with a prod in my ribs.
"Uh, yeah, well, I think it's interesting, I mean, he's always been nice to me" I have reverted back to my original way of talking.
"Oh, so someone has feelings for Graham" Mary Margaret began teasing.
Face flushing so that even I know I am red, I turn back to her, eyes wide. "I do not! Come on! I do not!" Granny, who's at the register, stops what she's doing and looks over at me with a confused look. Mary Margaret is giving me a knowing look and it's frustrating. "I don't!"
"What don't you have?" Graham's voice is right behind me.
'Oh perfect' I think to myself. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Before I can do anything, Mary Margaret is already on her heels,
"She was just telling me about how interesting the new job was" Mary Margaret's smile appeared so innocent, but I knew better, "But there are things she doesn't quite get yet. Like, how she hasn't seen the whole town yet, and some of her calls take longer than she'd like because she can't find the place"
"Is that so?" Sheriff Graham turns to me, "Well, Jenna, why didn't you just say so? I'll be more than happy to show you the town. After all, a good deputy should know their surroundings"
"…uh, meant to bring it up" was my witty response.
"Oh, would you look at the time!" Margaret retrieved a cup of cocoa from Ruby and pretended to be flustered while she looked at her watch, "Jenna, I am soooo sorry! I have got to get to the school and finish up a module for a class presentation! Must've slipped my mind"
"Yeah, I bet it did" I say sarcastically.
"Understood, Mary Margaret" Sheriff Graham watches her leave before turning back to me, "Mind if I walk with you back to the department after you get your coffee?"
"So what did you do before you became Sheriff?"
This turned out to be a very pleasant walk indeed. The Sheriff is a very easy man to talk to, which helps me get over my nervousness that much more easily. While walking, he mentioned that he volunteered at the local animal shelter in his free time. I even opened up about my time spent as a patrol in the foster home and about my friend's murder that no one could explain.
"I was a fire fighter" he told me, "And then, just before you came, there was an explosion which killed our original Sheriff. He died while rescuing a family from the fire. Mayor Mills then stepped forward and asked me to take over his role"
I nodded at the last comment. Sheriff Graham seemed to be in good standing with the mayor so I kept my mouth shut. I had only one encounter with the woman and I was content to stay on the other side of town away from her. From what I gathered, so was everyone else here,
"Look, Jenna, I understand Regina and although she might be a bit of a hardass, she does have the town's best interest in mind" Sheriff Graham seemed to read my mind, "And, as you probably are aware, she wasn't too keen on the idea of you becoming my new deputy"
"Did I do something to her?"
"She thinks you have a problem with authority"
I rolled my eyes. It's not the first time I've heard this. But hey, at least this time, I didn't get into a fight.
"So, tell me about the asylum" I ask, hoping to change topics.
Sheriff Graham stops walking and gives me an odd look. "Jenna, there are no asylums here. Anyone here whose decided to be in need of psychiatric help are transferred out of here"
"No. That custodian who attacked the patient" I am determined and forceful. I know I wasn't imagining things. "It says its for restricted personal only. Ask Mayor Mills about it!"
"The Mayor knows?" he folds his arms in front of his chest and peers at me intently, "I think you just found a dark area in the hospital. That patient that was attacked…she was released the other day. She and the custodian were having a lovers quarrel according to the report"
"No, she was a mental patient!"
"Tell you what, you go get the construction map of the town and we'll go over it together"
"Ok, where can I find it? Do you have it?"
"No, Mayor Mills does. Why don't you stop by her office and pick it up" I glare at the idea and he laughs, hands going up submissively. "I get it, I get it. The only other person here who would own it is Mr. Gold"
"The Pawn Shop guy?"
"Yes, him. If you don't want to get that map, I understand-"
"No!" I cut him off, "I'll get it"
He gives me another smile, before his beeper goes off. "I got to get back to the station. The pawnshop actually isn't far from here. Go check it out and meet me back at the office in an hour"
I watched him go, and several questions ran through my head.
How does the town Sheriff not know about the asylum? I knew that girl was a mental patient and no there was no 'lovers spat' that was going on.
"Something's off about this place" I murmured to myself.
It's not a long walk to the pawnshop. Odd, it seems like every turn here leads to a path there. I hesitate before walking in. Those eyes still haunt me.
"Jenna, how lovely to see you again. I'm flattered that the new officer would take time out of their busy schedule to come see me." Mr. Gold is polishing what looks like to be a lamp of sorts. Smiling, he puts down the lamp and looks up at me. He gives me a once over from head to toe. "Or should I say, the new town Deputy"
Grinning like a fool, I walk up to counter. "You heard to?"
"Oh yeah. I have eyes and ears all over this town. What can I do for you, Deputy?"
"I was looking for the construction manual on the town"
"Of all the things to be searching for, the construction layout for our town" he gives me a look as if we're sharing a secret, "Whatever for?"
"I, I found something and Sheriff Graham doesn't believe me"
"You know, Mayor Mills has the town copy. If you'd like I can give you some directions" he gives me another half smile. "Then again, you wouldn't be here if it was that easy, would you?"
'Wow, this guy really likes rhetorical questions' I think to myself.
"Fear not, Miss Black, I have a copy in the back" he takes a hold of his cane and limps back to where there are some curtains and disappears for a moment. When he comes back out he is holding a thick file and extends it too me. "If you don't mind my asking, what did you find?"
I go to open my mouth, but something stops me from answering. Words have just failed me and my gaze drops to everywhere in the room but his.
"Alright" he chuckles, "I won't press you"
A strand of hair falls in front of my eyes as I take the file. While struggling to catch a file from dropping out of the folder, I make a quick dash to grab it, and as I do, I feel his hand graze against my cheek as he pushes the strand out of my eyes. For a minute, it feels like all the feeling has been drained out of my body. I am not to sure how to react.
"W-well, uh, t-thank you!" I hold up the folder. He is still smirking at me and I can hear myself laughing nervously, "G-got, I got to get going! Thanks again" Backing away, I trip over the rug in his shop and make a dash for the exit.
"Thank you for doing that, Jenna" Sheriff Graham says as he closes the blinds to the department.
It is time to close up and I am finishing up some paper work. It was an agreement we had when working late nights together; He'd do the rounds to make sure everything was locked and I'd finish the paperwork. He hated paperwork and I hated 'patrolling', so this arrangement worked out nicely. It had been a few days since Mr. Gold gave me the files for the town. I hadn't found the time to speak to Graham about this since the Mayor had asked him to do some special projects for her and the animal shelter kept him busy.
My cheek tingled at the memory of Mr. Gold wiping my hair out of my eyes. If he had been doing that to creep me out than he had done a fantastic job of it.
"I'd been meaning to ask you" Graham startles me out of my thought, "Did you manage to get those town documents?"
"Yeah, uh, they are in my car actually. Truth be told, I'd been meaning to go over them but I hadn't had the chance"
We walk out of the department together. "Me neither. Are you busy tonight? I was thinking about going over to Granny's and having a drink. Join me and we'll go over those town documents"
I am speechless for a second. I turn around to answer him, smiling so wide it hurts me cheek. He is so very close to me and I move to take a step even closer.
"Am I interrupting?" a deep voice snaps us both out of thought and Graham and I instantly pull away from the other. I am instantly annoyed as I turn around to face the voice, no question in mind on who it is.
"No, Ms. Black and I were just closing for the night" Graham is now stepping from one foot to another. I guess he was another person nervous around Mr. Gold.
"Good, I need to have a word with her, so please excuse us" Mr. Gold was now standing so close that he had managed to get himself between me and Graham. "And I wouldn't want to keep you from your…busy schedule"
I go to say something but I notice that Graham is silent. For a moment, Mr. Gold is glaring at Graham, who has a very nervous expression and is fidgeting uncomfortably. There was obviously some sort of history between the two.
"Did I miss something?" I ask. I feel like a third wheel all of a sudden, which is ridiculous.
"Absolutely not Ms. Black" Mr. Gold turns to me while shifting his weight to his good leg, "I am positive Graham here told you-"
"Enough!" Graham says firmly. Mr. Gold has a smug look on his face, "Jenna, I will see you tomorrow morning"
Before I can say anything, he turns and storms off. I am beyond angry. I am about to run after him.
"Ms. Black I need to have a word with you!" Mr. Gold says firmly, his accent coming out more clearly now. For some reason, I stand there and watch Graham walk away.
I spin around on Mr. Gold. "What the hell was that about!"
"You need to be careful of secrets, Deputy" he is waving one gloved finger in my face like I was a child.
"What?" this man makes no sense.
"Walk with me please" he then turns and begins walking down the sidewalk. I roll my eyes, but that damned streak of curiosity prompts me to follow him.
"You are really are good at just popping up aren't you" I say, watching him smile faintly, "Really, it's like I have a bat watching me" Ok, that might've been a bit snarky, but I was really annoyed with him.
He snickers at my comment. "Come now, I wanted to have a word with you like two reasonable people"
"Well, what?" I am impatient to get away from him.
"It was established some time back that you owed me a favor" I feel the color drain from my face as he continues on, stopping every so often to emphasis on his words. "I know that must be a bad feeling...to owe someone. Well, you are in luck, because the time has come for you to repay what you owe me"
The fight in me is suddenly gone. I think back to the apartment and how easily I had gotten a job here and my anger dissolves. "Ok. What did I need to do?"
"Well, I am afraid it is going to be a bit more complicated than originally planned. I do apologize for that" he studies me for a moment, as if I were a specimen he wasn't to sure of.
"That's fine. What did you need me to do?"
"All of my agreements are intertwined with another, with a few exceptions" he says this slowly, I guess to make sure I understand. "If one defaults on another, well, it sets of a chain of events. I had an agreement with a young woman, a wee bit younger than you, and she's had a rather unfortunate accident as of late"
Something about this whole thing is very unsettling and I swallow nervously, half expecting him to give me a job as a drug runner.
"What kind of accident did she have?"
"Car accident, I believe"
"So, what do I need to do?" I ask him again. There is something I'm not getting and it is annoying the hell out of me.
We are now so close, even closer than Graham and I had been only a moment ago. However, the silence now is awkward. He looks me over and frowns, shaking his head at me. Disappointment mars his face. "She has the merchandise, however, it is at the hospital. I'll have someone drop off further instructions at your apartment tomorrow"
With that he turns to leave. I am left standing on the sidewalk, dumbstruck. I feel like there was something he wanted me to understand. I know he is upset with me, but over what?
Did I offend you?" I call after him, and he stops walking, but doesn't turn around. "Really, did I do something?"
"No" he voice has dropped and a nervous feeling flutters in my stomach, "You've done nothing"
What's coming next: Jenna's true age shows as she learns the importance of reading contracts before signing them.