© Carey MacLean, 2012

Chapter 5

Two days had gone by in a flash.  Xavier felt that he was on to something.  Two days ago, he had done additional research on any emergency calls being placed by any of the eleven residences.  He ran the financials for exuberant sums that might have seemed out of the ordinary.  The more he looked into things, the more he became certain that these women had no play in their husband’s demise.  He felt like he was met with a brick wall every time he thought he was making headway.

The only thing he had come up with was that multiple complaints had been filed by neighbours in some instances, along with domestic disturbances being reported, only to having the call cancelled or the responders to show up on scene and be turned around.  He knew the time had arrived to talk to each woman individually.  He needed full-blown confirmation on if they had been battered and decided to draft up a document that gave him backing to search their medical records.  If he could spare those women from reliving their horrors, he would make due with simply those medical records.  The only outstanding link that needed to be looked into was the hospital.  For that, he had placed the call with Captain Saunders last night.

Now it was Thursday and Xavier was greeted with a wakeup call from his Captain.

“Yeah?”  Xavier breathed sleepily in the receiver.

“You asked for it kid and I delivered.  Don’t tell me I never did anything for you,” Saunders said gruffly and hung up, not allowing Xavier a word in edgewise.

It took Xavier a few minutes to realize what Saunders had been talking about.  He supposed the dream, just like all the others from the past few nights were at fault.  His no-name girl was wreaking havoc on his sleep these days and the dreams were getting steamier and much more vivid with each passing night.

Shaking her out of his head, he realized he got what he had asked for.  Today was the day he’d walk into Kensington General Hospital and ask for the records indicated on that tiny little slip that was signed by the judge.  Excitement filled him to the brim at the prospect of finding something that would tie it all together – his big break.

Getting up and out of bed, he showered, shaved and dressed.  Grabbing his keys, he quickly locked up and jumped in his jeep and headed to the precinct to collect his thin piece of gold.

She had been spacey for the lack of a better description today.  Mika felt conflicted.  She knew what she wanted to do; she had devised the plan but despite the fool-proof nature of it, she still hadn’t been able to hold Lance Denton’s business card in one hand and dial his number with the other.  Maybe it could have been the insomnia that had plagued her over the past few days.  She was definitely going to enjoy the next three days.

It had been a while since she’d had three consecutive days to herself; on a weekend at that.  She sat in the break-room, sipping what was left of her morning coffee; pondering on the variety of things she could do with herself.

She should have known that a few days without any harassment of any kind was too much to ask.

Wishful thinking.

Mika scowled as Mark knocked on the door while he leaned against the frame.

“Not today, jackass,” she quickly got up and threw the remainder of her coffee in the trashcan.

She tried to make her way past him but he grabbed her arm and pushed her back inside the room.

“Have dinner with me and I’ll never bother you again,” he said matter-of-factly as if it was like a simple operating procedure.

“Remove your hand from me before I scream,” she said firmly, her eyes filled with fire.

He only tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her roughly to him.  He leaned in quickly to try and kiss her but she was quicker.  With a swift knee to the groin and a slap to his cheek which set her hand on fire, she stood there watching him cup his family jewels.

“I’ll be reporting your perverted ass to the Chief.  I don’t give a shit that he’s your uncle,” and with that, she stormed out of the room; her next destination was the Chief’s office.

Blinded by her fury, she never reached her intended mark.  Instead, she found herself nose to a hard chiselled chest; arms bracing her from falling back from the impact.

“I’m-” she looked up and then jumped back; her words freezing mid-sentence.

“It’s you!”  He said and she felt herself flush, heat radiating from her head, down to her toes.

How’d he find her?

“Here you go Detective,” one of the hospital clerks came running with a box of what looked like patient files.

Mika quirked her eyebrows as their eyes took each other in.  He moved his gaze from her to look at the middle-aged woman standing by him, grabbing the box from her and easily shifting it on his hip.  The lady turned around and Mika caught her gaze.  The woman simply gave her the go for him look.

“Doctor,” she bid Mika as she walked away.

­­

“Doctor?”  Xavier asked her.

“That’s what my diploma says anyway, Detective is it?”  She quipped with a smile and he nodded with a light chuckle.

“She’s gorgeous, a great dancer, a phenomenal kisser and a doctor to boot,” he smiled as she blushed slightly.  “Anything else I should know?  Ah, yes, there is!”

“What’s that?”  She asked.

“Your name,” he said plainly.

“Mika Stafford,” she told him.

Mika, he thought to himself.

His heart was beating out of his chest at the sight of the woman before him.  He must have gotten lost in thought because he heard her clear her throat.

“And you are?”

“Oh.  Uh…” he stuttered.  “Sorry.  Xavier Ryans.”

She smiled warmly.  They stood there, smiling like idiots, neither of them knowing what to say to one another for a short moment before Xavier shifted.

“Walk me out?”

“You’re not taking those files with you are you?”  She asked him.

“Yeah.  The judge signed the subpoena to have them extracted for a case I’m working on,” he announced and she nodded her understanding.  “If all goes well, I should have them back by end of day tomorrow but I’m not pushing it.”

“Tough one to crack?”  She asked as she fell in stride with him once he started walking.

“Yeah.  It’s a doozy,” Xavier affirmed.

“What division are you with?”  She asked him.

“Homicide.”

Xavier never noticed the hesitation in her next step as she moved past his revelation.

“I work out of the precinct on Holland Park Street.”

“How’s Saunders treating you?”  She laughed.  “He and I go back a few years,” she explained.  Xavier was baffled at how easily the conversation flowed.

“Really?”  He asked her.  “You mind me asking?”

They paused by his jeep.

“A story for another time, perhaps?”  She said, her face taking an almost solemn look.

He wondered what on earth could have happened to her that warranted Saunders’ attention.  He made the decision not to pry. 

“I should get back,” she added.

“Yeah.  Me too,” he said.  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

She smiled but shook her head.  Xavier didn’t like the disappointment he was feeling.

“I’m off tomorrow,” she told him as he loaded the box on top of his passenger seat and shut the door.  “I plan on sleeping in.”

He had to chuckle.

“It’s all that dancing you do, isn’t it?”  He teased her.

“Funny.  Where’d you get your moves?”  She questioned him.

“A story for another time, perhaps?”  He used her line against her.

“Very well played,” she laughed lightly.  “I’ve got matters to take up with the Chief so I better head back before my rounds.  It was really nice seeing you again, Xavier.”

She shifted but remained rooted to the same spot as if she waited for something.

“Likewise,” he smiled and stepped toward her quickly, kissing her on the cheek.  “I had to do that.  You make the scrubs and that stethoscope around your neck, look good.  I suppose I needed that to refresh my memory too.”

He winked teasingly and laughed as he watched her blush.

Mika watched him drive off in that jeep of his from the entrance.  When he had disappeared, she ran back inside with a wide grin.  Spotting the Chief crossing the hall, heading away from her, she pursued him hurriedly.

“Chief, can I have a moment of your time please?”  She asked him.

He nodded and let her enter his office as he followed her.

“What is it?  You’re never in here unless it’s important so I have to say that I’m not really excited to see you in front of my desk right now since bad news has a tendency of following you,” he told her.

“I’m sorry but it’s not on a good note that I’m here,” she told him.  “It’s about Mark, Sir.”

“What has my pestilent nephew gone and done now?”  He whined.

Mika wondered if all the men in that family were all whiners.  Shaking that thought as quickly as it had appeared, she continued.

“He’s harassing me, Sir,” she told him.

“Why am I not surprised?”  He paused.  “Please tell me what he’s gone and done now.”

“It’s not just one thing,” she began.

The Chief’s eyebrows rose at her divulgence.

Heading home, she felt confident that she might just get some respite at work where Mark was concerned.  The Chief assured her that it was the last straw.  It turns out that there had been many other instances with other professionals in the hospital; all women, where Mark had been a little too friendly and forward in demeanor.  She was thrilled to find out that the Chief sided with her over his own blood and that he was tired of his nephew’s behavior.  What he planned on doing with Mark was beyond her knowledge but she hoped she wouldn’t have to lay eyes on the man again.

Pouring herself a glass of wine after ordering herself a pizza, she cozied up on the settee in her sunroom and began leafing through the medical journal that had arrived in the mail earlier that day.

Mika loved staying apprised with what was going on in the medical world.  She loved learning and in a field like medicine, treatments and technology evolved constantly so she thrived that much more.  Anything that was new and cutting edge captured her attention.

When the doorbell rang, she bounced up and hurried to the door.  She expected it to be the delivery boy but not the one that stood in front of her.  Instead of a white cardboard box, he held roses – red ones.

“Delivery for Ms. Stafford,” the young guy smiled at her as he eyed her legs that poked through her shorts.

“My eyes are up here,” she grabbed the flowers and signed for them.  “If you’re going to ogle a woman, at least do it in a more subtle manner kid,” she scolded him and shut the front door.

She was half-way to the kitchen with her nose in the roses, taking in their fragrance, when the doorbell rang again.

Finally!  She thought to herself as her stomach grumbled.

She hurried to set the bouquet on the kitchen island and rushed back to the door to greet the delivery guy she had been waiting on.

As hungry as she was, she had to check out the envelope that had slid out of the flowers.  Sliding the tiny card from its cream sheath, she couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered about in her stomach as she read it.

Thinking of you.  Xav.

She was smiling and giddy as a school-girl as she set the flowers in a vase and carried it and her plate of pizza to the living-room.

Imagine her surprise to hear her doorbell ring again when she was coming back from the kitchen after topping up her drink.

What the hell is going on tonight?  She was a little annoyed at this point.  Can’t a girl eat?

There was one thing about Mika and it was the fact that she was a food junkie and God save the poor soul that happened to keep her from her next meal.

In her opinion, that soul could do anything including keep her from her food.  She hadn’t expected who stood there in the least.  She bit her lip as she tried to figure out what to say to him and pretty much gave herself a mental face-palm with her next line.

“What are you doing here?”

“I expected something more along the lines of thanks for the roses or my, my, twice in one day, how’d I get so lucky?”  He chuckled as he leaned on the outer part of the door frame casually.  “I suppose I deserve that considering I showed up unannounced.”

“I’m sorry,” she blushed and shrugged her shoulders sheepishly.  “You’ve got to be the third person to show on my doorstep in the last fifteen minutes.”

“Have you eaten?”  He asked her and she answered by shaking her head.

“I was just about to.  Have you?”  She asked him.

“Nope,” he popped the P.  “I was hoping to coax you into joining me.”

“I just got some pizza so why don’t you join me?”  She said, stepping aside to allow him entry.

“Are you sure?”  He eyed her.

She knew why.  After all, they hadn’t known each other aside from dancing, two kisses and up until today, their names.

“Sure,” she said and he gave her a beaming smile.

                                          *************************************

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