Page 16 of Unexpected Company
Roman sips on his tea, his nose wrinkling as he pulls back to look at the steaming mug.
“You made Earl Grey?”
“Um…yes? Is there a problem?”
He takes another sip before he addresses me again. “You don’t serve Earl Grey with breakfast. Everyone knows that it’s an afternoon tea.”
Do they? News to me.
“You serve English Breakfast tea in the morning. It’s literally in the name.”
“I don’t think that’s right.”
His scowl deepens, and I raise my hand in surrender.
“Fine, I apologise for my tea faux pas.”
He drinks more of his ‘not breakfast tea’ and nods. “You’re forgiven.”
I smile around the rim of my glass.
When we’re both finished eating, I stand, taking our plates to the sink where I wash them and leave them all to dry on the side. Roman is silent the entire time, and when I turn around, it’s to find him back with his head resting on his arms, his eyes locked on to me.
“I presume you’re not leaving today?” he asks.
I glance out the large window over the sink. The rain is heavy, the skies a dark angry grey despite it being morning.
“No,” I reply. “It wouldn’t be safe walking through the woods in this.”
He slides off the stool, his shoulders slumped, and points towards the hallway.
“Fine. Whatevs. I’m going to take a nap. On thebed.”
He doesn’t wait for my reply, simply grumbles something I don’t catch and heads down the hallway. I leave him be. He may still be a stranger to me, but what I’ve learned from our brief exchange is that Roman Otley is not a morning person.
“We have a new case,” Jill Parker says as she walks into DI Snipers’ office. She’s carrying two takeaway cups of coffee, and has a yellow file tucked under her right arm.
“What is it?” he asks, looking up at his partner from the pile of unfinished paperwork on his desk.
Jill pulls out the chair opposite and hands him a coffee, which he takes with a thanks and a smile. Then she places the file on top of the other papers already littering his desk.
“Young guy, early twenties, says he’s being stalked.”
Jack opens the file and browses the details, his eyes landing on the statement made by the complainant.
“He’s seen someone following him?”Jack asks and Jill nods, leaning closer and pointing further down the page.
“Says someone chased him down the alley behind his gym last week. The next morning, he woke up to find a photo of himself asleep, on his pillow.”
Jack flips the page, his eyes scanning a copy of the photograph.
“Interesting,” Jack replies. “So the perp has clearly been in his house. And if he found him at the gym, he already knows the guy’s routine.”
“The Captain wants us to make this a priority. Find the stalker before anything escalates,” Jill remarks before taking a sip of her coffee.
Yes, Jack thinks. This is just the kind of case he needs right now. Something to keep his mind off the shit show that is his personal life.
“Blaine Baltimore. Why is that name so familiar?” Jack taps a finger against the name typed on the page in front of him.
