The knocker continued and even harder the second time around before the long silence that soon followed.
“Detective Jake!” the familiar feminine voice called out eventually. “Are you home?”
Shocked and baffled at the same time, Jake held his head in his hands in worry before turning around and pacing wildly for a moment.
The persistent voice called once again, “Detective Jake!”
The call brought some cold chills down his spine and he reached for the doorknob hyperventilating already.
“Sarah?” he guessed with some little bit of assurance.
Responding in subtle tone, the voice echoed from the other side of the door. “Yes”.
Mumbling underneath his breath in a disgruntled tone, Jake sighed. “Bloody hell!”
Holding the door open halfway and sneaking out and shutting the door behind him before the unexpected visitor could take a peek into his house, Jake managed a thin smile not entirely depicting of all he had going on inside his head.
“Sarah!” he sounded louder and confused. “What… how… what are you doing here?”
Stuttering and unsure of what to ask, he waited for a response as the beautiful looking lady managed a thin smile in response and sighed.
“Something terrible just happened and we’ve all been called back in”, she explained.
“Apparently everyone knows where I live now”, he thought with a slight frown.
Lost for thoughts on what possibly might have brought her to his house or how she might have gotten his address, he sought a way out from it all or at least one to help him gain some control of himself before any more bombshell would get tossed in his face.
Clearing his throat and sighing. “I wish I could but I’m currently going through some personal issues right now… can this wait? Can I just take a ride down later?”
Her silence did enough to tell him her response was a negative on his request. Something about her demeanor bothered him though and as much as he had his own demons to slay, he couldn’t ignore hers at the moment and he slipped his jacket on.
“What is going on exactly?” he asked.
She shrugged and waved towards her car, “I was on my way to work when I got the news that our killer just struck again and this time it is someone we care about”.
Piqued in interest by the news but equally perturbed by its content, Jake agreed to follow her but upon accessing the situation of things first and whether or not it was safe leaving his house.
“He has everything already”, he thought with a sigh. “What more can he take?”
He would fight back but now his official business called.
***
The stench from piss and what he wouldn’t doubt to be excrement filled the air, while the dirty floor smeared his previously clean boots annoyingly but none of that bothered him as he tightened his grip around his culprit’s neck.
Shoving him hard into the wall by the collar of his shirt, Sean asked the same question for the umpteenth time, “What are the pictures for? Who sent you and how long have you been following me?”
Remaining reluctant to speak with a stiff grin on his face and an odd mark leading from the left hand side of his chin all the way up to his ear, the young man spat to the floor and shook his head.
“You’re on the verge of getting me pissed buddy and I assure you… “Sean held his folded fist up and breathed heavily before slowly taking it down.
Setting his captive free but not free enough to make a run for it out the alley with a dead end, Sean took a moment to think. He had spent the past hour chasing him down and never put a plan in place for when he eventually caught up with the man taking his pictures.
“See buddy”, he finally spoke. “I have nothing against you but I’m only doing my job”.
Looking back around and with his clenched fists now flexed freely, Sean smiled. “I know and it is why I’m not interested in you or hurting you but I want to know who your employer is”.
Shaking his head mildly, the young man answered, “I’m sorry but I cannot”.
Feeling himself grow a tad frustrated, Sean rammed his fist hard towards the man’s face before missing just about enough to connect with the wall beside his frightened face. Reaching into his pants, he yanked out his badge and held it high enough for the man to have a good look at it.
“What’s your name buddy?” he finally asked.
Clearing his throat, the man replied, “Blake Donovan”.
Nodding his head gently and glad they were getting somewhere, he continued, “Who sent you to tail me and why?”
Blake seemed rather reluctant and shook his head. He looked away and towards the ground before sighing aloud in exhaustion.
“It was easier working for his wife because she paid me more than he does but I cannot tell you anything”, he explained. “I’m truly sorry”.
Sean nodded but felt his patience slowly begin to wear off. He searched for the camera on Blake but he had obviously dumped it somewhere.
“You didn’t think I was going to have the camera on me did you?” Blake chuckled derisively. “Sorry, but I cannot hand over anything I have to you and yes, not even if you’re CIA… those I work for bear badges too”.
While attempting to figure out what exactly Blake was talking about, Sean let his concentration slip before taking the hard kick into his groin and painfully crawling to the ground.
“You fucker!” he groaned in pain while placing both hands on his crotch.
Smiling in Sean’s pain stricken face, Blake went on a knee, “Maybe if you had led with trying to buy me on a higher price and not attempt to bully and rough me up, I might have given you what you needed”.
Sean rolled on the ground and took another kick to
