“I want a muffin,” he said, not looking at me.
I rolled my eyes and said, “There is a blueberry muffin in the bag too.”
I was well acquainted with his routine by now. He always had his coffee, and he always had a bagel with it. He wanted all the files on his desk for whatever case he was working on. Even though he had digitized the system, he preferred using the files.
“One of the files is missing,” he said. “The one detailing the victim’s brother.”
“It’s there,” I said absent-mindedly, picking up the old documents.
“It’s not,” he said.
“It must be in the drawer then,” I said. “The one with the ring.”
I realized a second too late what I had said. Silence reigned as he looked at me, an eyebrow raised.
“I didn’t realize you had been through my drawers,” he said.
“I wasn’t snooping,” I said quickly. “I was looking for documents. That’s all. I promise.”
He stared at me for a minute, and then said, “You are dismissed.”
I nodded and turned around to walk away, before stopping at the door.
“I don’t know who that ring is for,” I said. “Maybe it was for Stella. But I can tell that it brings a lot of bad memories for you. And as someone who has a lot of horrible memories in her life, I just want to tell you that it will be okay. Life gets easier, and the memories fade away. But for that, you need to let go first. If you hold onto the past, it will hold onto you too. Like that ring.”
He didn’t reply, still staring at me with a frozen expression. I knew we were just in a casual relationship and that I had no right to say such things. And yet, he had been helping me in so many ways that I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to comfort him, as he had comforted me.
“Just go,” he finally said, and this time I turned around and left. I wondered if I had said too much. Perhaps I was stepping out of the line. After all, I was not supposed to be feeling that way. I couldn’t let myself fall for him, and yet, I already was. And the thing that scared me the most was the fact that I didn’t want to fight it.
Chapter 14
Cycle of Abuse
Gale Fears
“As you can see, your honor, Paul James, the victim’s brother, had not only clear motive but the means to kill his brother! The DNA sample obtained from the victim’s fingernails matches the defendant. Not only that, but I have shown beyond doubt that the defendant’s alibi is…,” I trailed off, thinking of the right word.
Hillary stopped typing and looked at me. “I really think you should take a break,” she said. “You have been working non-stop for the past few days.”
“I need to figure out my closing argument,” I said, rubbing my tired eyes. Maybe she was right. Maybe I would think better if I let myself rest for a while.
I sat down on my chair, and for the first time since the ring incident, I studied her. She looked tired and haggard, pale with dark circles under her eyes. I had been upset with her when she brought up the ring, but that had soon faded. I had cases to work on, and the last few days had been so exhausting I hadn’t even spoken to her properly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said quickly. Far too quickly.
“Did you move into the apartment?” I asked. The apartment was in a complex, which was gated and had good security. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep her safe.
“Yes, it’s wonderful, thank you,” she said, forcing a smile to her face.
Something was decidedly wrong.
“Is it him?” I asked quietly.
She looked up, surprised.
“He found my old apartment,” she said. “We went there to collect a few things, and we found the place completely trashed. He had destroyed everything, and he even left a message.”
