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“Good morning, Detective Martin,” Douglas said as I stepped inside the Wayhaven Police Station. His youthful face, smiling brightly as he looked at me. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
I slowly nodded as I pulled the paper coffee cup from my lips. “Looks like it’s going to be, Officer Friedman. Any messages for me?”
“Yeah…” he said, fumbling through the stack of papers that scattered the front desk. “Here you go.”
Reaching out, I took the brightly colored paper (most likely something Tina had purchased for the department the last time she ordered supplies) from him with a nod. “Brought you something, Douglas,” I said, handing him the small, white bag. “Haley asked me to drop this off to you.”
He accepted the bag and opened it. “Thanks, Detective!” he said, looking back at me again. “That was really kind of you to bring this.”
“Enjoy,” I said, before taking another long drink of my coffee.
I walked towards my office, dropping off small bags from the box that Haley had given me when I stopped by for my morning coffee fix. Once a month, she would bake all the personnel at the fire department and at the police station some kind of pastry. Each bag would be labeled with a name and always sealed. We never knew what we were going to get until we got to open it. Usually Tina would pick up the box and bring it in. Usually it was her excuse to go over to the fire station to check out all of the fire fighters. Then again, it could just be so she could go visit Dylan, the stations’ dog, because Haley always had a special treat for him, too.
Haley had always done that for as long as I’ve known her. She used to say “Random acts of kindness is good for the soul. You never know when someone might do the same for you.” Every chance I get up to the big city, I’d always pick up something for her. Last time I found a beautiful tea set that I knew she would love when she hosted the “Tea for Princess” days at the bakery. I even found a new set for Nate, too. He was excited and totally surprised when I gave him it. I don’t think he was expecting a gift from me.
I can’t help myself sometimes. I’ll see something Felix might want, a new onesie pajama or a new hat and scarf. It was fun shopping for him. I’m still struggling to find Mason something that he might like. I found one of those white noise machines that was supposed to sound like the forest. For all I know he tossed it in the trash as soon as I left, I don’t know. Then there’s Adam…
I shook my head as I finished passing out the bags and headed for my office. Setting my coffee down on my desk, I placed the box and the remaining contents on the table in the corner of my office. There were still four small bags inside the box. I lifted a bag and found a name written in big, bold swirls with a little heart to dot the “i”. Felix.
Smiling, I shook my head. I didn’t need to look at the other bags because they were all for the members of Unit Bravo. Now Haley was leaving them pastries, but I guess it makes sense as much as they’re around now.
Damn, even Haley knows what these guys like. For being a group of vampires that don’t like to draw attention to themselves they sure the hell don’t know how to accomplish that. Shaking my head, I drop down behind my desk and decide it’s time to start work. Just as I start to open my latest casefile. A rash of robberies across town. It’s all been small things from some of the local antique stores across Wayhaven. Checking my email, I found a couple emails from the investigating detective over in the neighboring town. They’ve had three similar robberies. Each store, usually one or two items.
“None of this makes sense,” I said as I ran my hands through my hair and pulled it back against my neck. “Why am I doing this?”
“Maybe because you’re the best detective ever!” Felix said as he walked into my office and dropped down onto the chair at the end of my desk.
As usual, he’s sitting sideways in the chair. Back up against one armrest as his legs hung over the other armrest. My back would be killing me after five minutes of doing that so I don’t know how he can do it at all.
“I’m not feeling it right now,” I said, dropping my hands onto my desk. I started flipping through my notes again. “By the way, Haley sent you and the others something.” I threw my thumb over my shoulder, pointing towards the box. “Your name is written on it.”
“Sweet!” he said, jumping to his feet. He plucked the bag out of the box. “Oh, yummy! And it’s got sprinkles, too.”
I looked up from the file to look back over my shoulder at him. He was holding up a bright, multi-colored pastry in his hand. Frowning, I narrowed my eyes to look at him. “What is that? Tina got one, too.”
“She calls it a unicorn horn,” he said.
I watched him take a large bite of it, closing his eyes he started humming as he chewed on the pastry. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Haley’s pastries but probably not as much as Felix does. He looked like he was in heaven while he was eating it.
“Good?” I asked him, smiling.
“So good!” he said.
I keep forgetting he’s more than twice my age. Sure, he looks like he’s only a few years older but well…vampire. Doesn’t age. Eternally thirty-something. Forever. Yep…boring old human here. Shaking my head, I turn back to my work.
“There’s three more in there for the others.”
He dropped back down in the chair, licking his fingers. “They’ll be around eventually. I just barely made it out before Adam – “
He stopped himself from continuing as he adjusted himself on the chair again. I leaned back in my chair as I turned it to face him. Tapping my finger on my desktop, I stared at him. He just sat there, swinging his legs back and forth, staring back at me.
“Adam what?”
I waited for him to answer but he remained quiet. And if there’s one thing I know about Felix is he can’t stay quiet for too long. Cocking an eyebrow, I kept drumming my fingers on my desk.
“Felix?”
He was starting to get nervous. I watched him twitch in the chair. I’ve had suspects like this when I’ve interviewed them. He has something he wants to say, but he’s trying really hard – and failing – to not tell me. Finally he dropped his feet to the floor, sitting upright.
“You’re so mean, Eve,” he said. “He’s in one of his moods. You know how he is.”
Oh…do I. Nodding, I rocked back in my chair. “What’s got his boxers in a twist?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it was Mason was beating him up good while sparring this morning.” He lifted his eyes, staring off at who knows what. “O maybe it could be I may have accidently dropped a red sock in with his laundry.”
I pointed my ink pen at him and clicked my tongue on the roof of my mouth. “It wouldn’t happen to have been with a load of whites, would it?”
He held up both hands, shrugging again. “Allegedly.”
My head slowly nodded as I rocked in my chair a couple of times. “Allegedly.” I smiled as I turned to slide my legs back underneath my desk. “You really need to start doing your own laundry, Felix.”
“But I hate it!” he said, slumping into the chair. “All that folding and putting up. It’s so boring.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Seriously, Felix. If it’s that bad I’ll come help you do it.”
Perking up, he sat up and slapped his hands on the armrests. “Really? You’ll do that for me?”
I turned slightly, pointing my pen at him again. “Help you, not do for you.”
“That’s nice of you to offer, Eve,” Nate said as he walked into my office. “I’m sure Felix will be very thankful.” He looked down at the younger vampire and patted him on the shoulder. “Won’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Just keep him out of my stuff,” Mason said as he followed Nate inside and found his usual perch in the corner of my office.
I turned back to my casefiles. Worrying about Felix’s laundry was low on my priorities right now because this case is causing the mayor to ride my back more than he is. For a man trying to get in my mother’s bed you’d think he’d be nicer to me. Then again, now I understand why Douglas isn’t fond of his father. The poor kid and I have a lot more in common than working for the police department.
“By the way, Haley send some pastries for you guys,” I said, keeping my eyes on the crime scene photos. “It’s in the box.”
Mason shook his head as he flipped the lid of his lighter open and close a couple of times. It’s still a seventy-thirty shot if he’ll light up or not. I’ve known them only for a few months and sometimes he’s good about not smoking in here, other times not so much.
Looking in the bag, Nate smiled. “That’s very nice of Haley,” he said. “We’ll stop by on our way back to the house.”
In the corner, I could hear Mason snort. And I could smell his cigarette being lit, too. Guess it’s going to be one of those seventy percent kind of days.
“We stopped by to let you know that Agent Martin has asked us to assist you with these thefts,” Nate said as he broke off a piece of the cranberry scone that Haley had sent him.
I looked back over my shoulder, eyebrows narrowed as I looked at Nate suspiciously. “Is there something you guys aren’t telling me?”
“Why would you think that?” Mason said, staring at me through the tangle of hair that hung down over his face.
“Seriously?” I said looking back at Mason. “How far do you want me to go back? Maybe when I shot Adam and you guys showed up in my office the next day saying we’ve never met?”
Mason scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. Across the room, Nate snickered as he broke off another piece of his scone. Felix was laughing loudly.
“That’s a good place to start,” Felix said.
I sighed and looked at Nate. “Well? Why would store theft fall under the Agency’s scrutiny?”
“We’re not sure,” Adam said as he entered the room. “Other than two of the stores are owned by supernaturals. It could be nothing, but I want to be sure.”
I turned my attention from Nate to looked at Adam. He moved across my small office to stand beside the window. His arms folded as he leaned his shoulder against the wall beside the window.
What a minute? Did he just say “I want to be sure?”
“So…the unit’s going to help me?”
“Adam is,” Mason said as he grabbed his bag from the box and made his way towards the door to leave.
Nodding, Nate folded the paper sack and dropped it into the trash can as he walked to the door. He patted Felix on the shoulder to motion him to follow him. “We have other duties right now.” He smiled at me as he looked at me from the doorway. “Adam will help you with this.”
Suddenly I feel that there’s more to his statement than just saying that Adam was going to help me. Now here I was, stuck in my office alone with Adam.
Alone.
With.
Adam.
“Um…yes,” I said turning back to my casefile. “I’m sure Rebecca has told you everything since she’s always snooping in my affairs.”
“She’s doing her job, just like you or I am.”
Before I could stop myself, I muttered, “Sure. Right.”
I didn’t know he had even moved until he stood behind me. One hand on the corner of my desk, he leaned forward until his head was close to mine.
“It would be beneficial, Detective. If everyone was able to work together,” he said.
I turned in my seat and found myself staring into those green eyes that makes it hard to breath, my heart race. “Re…really now. We should all work together, Commanding Agent?”
“Don’t you think that would be advisable?”
I stared back at him, wanting to get away but the man is like a magnet. Every time I’m near him, I just want to get closer. I’m drawn to him like a moth to a flame and I know if I get too close, I’m going to get burned badly.
“Evelyn?”
My eyes fluttered when I realized that I hadn’t heard a thing he had said. Pressing my shoes against the floor, I pushed my chair away so I couldn’t inhale anymore of his juniper scent. Damn, the man makes me want to go stand out in the woods and just breath. That’s what he smells like, fresh rain in the forest.
Clearing my throat, I looked away and returned my attention to the casefile. “Haley sent you a bag.”
“That was kind of her,” he said as he stood up straight and went to the table.
“Let me go through these reports from the crime scene unit from the other city and then if you want we can go interview another store that hasn’t been hit yet.”
“That’s acceptable,” he said.
~*~*~*~*~
Adam watched her as he opened the bag. Inside was a strawberry puff pastry from Haley’s Bakery. His head turned to watch Evelyn jotting now notes as she read through the email that was currently on the monitor. Taking out the pastry from the bag, he picked up one of the napkins that was on the round table in her office. A leftover from one of Evelyn’s late-night work meals most likely. Pulling out the knife that he always carried, he cut it in half and placed it on another napkin.
“Here, Detective,” he said, setting it down on the desk in front of her. Careful not to set it on any of her paperwork.
He watched her turn to look at the portion of the pastry before turning to look at him.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“I’m sharing it with you,” he said as he sat down on the chair at the end of her desk. “I know you didn’t get your apple tart this morning but you also like strawberries.”
She frowned as her eyes narrowed to look at him. “And how do you know I didn’t get my apple tart this morning?”
Straightening himself on the chair, he swallowed hard. “I had gone by there to retrieve one for you since I was coming here.” Lowering his eyes, he looked at the floor. “Why did I say that?” he thought.
“You? Went by Haley’s to get me an apple tart?”
“And coffee but I forgot that,” he said, lifting his eyes to meet her hazel eyes. The eyes that glittered like amber when she smiled. And lately that wasn’t often. “I apologize.”
She shook her head, tapping her pen on the desktop several times. “Thank you,” she said as she dropped the pen and picked up the pastry.
Adam watched as she took a bite of the pastry, a small bit of the whipped topping on the curve of her lips. He didn’t know what came over him, but his hand quickly lifted to wipe the topping from her face. His thumb lingering over her lips as he removed it. When her eyes met his again, he pulled his hand away quickly.
“We…we should get going,” he said, standing up.
Evelyn’s eyes followed him as he stood up and took a step towards the door. “Uh…yeah…” she said, gathering her notepad and pen to slide them into her jacket pocket. Taking one last bite, she tossed the remainder and washed it down with the last of her coffee.
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, grabbed her wool coat and followed him out of her office. He was already outside by time she met up with him again. Retrieving her gloves from her coat pocket, she started pulling them on as she looked down the street.
“The first store is just a couple blocks down if you want to walk. The other store is on the other side of town so we’ll have to drive out there,” she said.
He nodded. “That will be fine.” Pushing his hands into the pockets of his pea coat, he turned in the direction she mentioned. “There’s a small café near the second store that we can visit later. It will be close to your lunch time then.”
“My lunch time?”
Turning back to look at her, he nodded. “Yes. Unless you have other lunch plans? The others will join us there as well.”
Evelyn’s lips curled in an O as she stared up at him. “The others.”
“Yes. They are assisting us as well.”
She nodded, turning to walk away. Adam sighed heavily as he started to follow her. He was trying to be kind to her, but it was exceedingly difficult. He didn’t know how to be kind to her without making her angry at him. Every time he had tried it just made her mad or she’d close up, refusing to speak to him. One minute he wanted to wrap his arms around her to kiss her. The next he wanted to scream at her stubbornness and lack of cautiousness.
“You don’t have to do this, you know? I’m sure you’d rather be anywhere but around me, doing this?”
“I shall endure,” he said as he met her stride.
“How kind of you,” she mumbled.
“Just as you endure having me assist you, I’m sure,” he said.
She glanced up to see him smiling down at her. “Don’t smile too long. You might break,” she said, running a finger down her hair that was blown in her face by the wind.
“We wouldn’t want that now would we, Detective.”
Evelyn laughed as she turned away. “No, we wouldn’t, Commanding Agent.”