Becoming Forever (Waking Forever Series) (14 page)

Cris nodded, and got up from his desk. “Let me get a recorder, and we can take your statement.”

Ash shifted in her chair as she studied the woman. She was too perfect in her pose and appearance. Not even a hair seemed out of place. “You’re staring, Detective Haines. See anything you like?”

Ash blinked and looked Ela directly in the eye. “Nothing.”

Ela smiled, her perfectly straight, white teeth peeking out from under her full, pink lips. “Perhaps your affections are in reserve for the one who sent you such beautiful flowers?” Ela stood and walked toward the arrangement, gently stroking one of the roses.

“My affections are none of your concern.” Ash’s voice was flat.

Ela grinned and cocked her head to the side. “Love is always my concern, detective. Relationships are what make the world go around. For better or ill.”

Ash didn’t want to have a conversation about love and hate with a woman she suspected murdered
, or aided in the murder, an innocent man. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.” Ash’s attempt to end the line of conversation seemed to only encourage Ela.

“No? Don’t you date
, detective?” Ela practically purred the question.

Ash shook her head. “Again, that’s none of your concern.”

Ela smiled. “Have you ever been to Mexico, detective?”

Before Ash could answer, Cris came back in with a recorder and wireless microphone. “Here we go. Just a few minutes to set-up.” He put the devices down on his desk. “Ash, can you get the consent form out for Ms. Jacobs to sign
, please?”

Ash pulled the form from a stack in her drawer. “By signing this
, you are waiving your right to counsel and attesting all statements made are truthful to the best of your knowledge. Do you understand?”

Ela bit her lower lip. “Very by-the-book
, detective.” She reached for a pen on Cris’ desk and without reading the form, signed and dated the document. Ash took the form, and noticed the European formatted date with the day before the month.
Maybe Poland wasn’t too far off the mark?

Ash wanted desperately to piece this woman’s life together. All of the searches had turned up nothing on Ela Michelle Jacobs.
There was no record of her, and even with the copy of her identification this statement entitled them to, Ash doubted she would find any clues to where this woman came from. It was odd how even after meeting Ela, she was no less a mystery to Ash than when she was a faceless woman named Michelle.

“Speak into the microphone
, Ela.” Cris pressed the record button. “Please state your name.”

“Ela Michelle Jacobs.” Ela grinned.

“Your date of birth.” Cris continued.

“Older than twenty-one
, detective.” Ela winked.

“Your date of birth.” Ash interrupted.

Ela frowned. “Fine. December seventh, nineteen seventy eight.” The woman stuck out her lip in an exaggerated pout, but then her face went like stone and her eyes flashed an iridescent blue as her stare focused at a point over Ash’s right shoulder.

Ash turned slowly to see what was ca
using such a pained expression on the woman’s face. Looking through the glass window of her office door, Ash saw Emma standing in the hall talking to one of the patrol officers. She was smiling and something the officer had said triggered a full-on laugh from the doctor.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. I suddenly remembered an appointment.” Ela stood and picked her purse up from Cris
’ desk.

“But we’ve only just
started.” Cris left the tape recorder running as he maneuvered around his desk.

“Let’s try again tomorrow? Say three o’clock?” Ela was at the door.

Ash watched in utter confusion, as the usually confident and irreverent woman stammered and nearly sprinted from their office.

“What the hell?” Cris ask
ed as he stood with his hand on the open door’s knob. “I’ll be right back, partner.” He turned left out of the door and headed toward the lieutenant’s office.

Ash stood and
stepped out into the hall. Ela had taken an immediate right out of the office, guaranteeing she would not cross paths with Emma. Ash looked at the unassuming doctor, and tried to figure out what had spooked Ela.

Ash
cleared her throat. “Dr. Atman.” She used her friend’s official title in the workplace out of respect and to mitigate any unwarranted gossip.

Emma turned her head and realizing it was Ash
, smiled. “Detective Haines. Nice to see you.”

“If you have a minute, could you pop in when you’re done?” Ash gestured over her shoulder with an outstretched thumb.

Emma nodded. “Of course.”

Ash stepped back into her office
, switched the recorder off, and took a seat. She picked up her stylus and fidgeted with it while she waited for Emma. Ela Jacobs was strange, but not just her behavior. The way she moved and spoke seemed surreal, fluid and seamless.

And what the hell was that shit about dating and Mexico?
Ash sat up in her chair, panic setting in as she wondered if Ela had been following her, and knew about Lara.

Ash picked up her phone from her desk and quickly scrolled through her recent contacts, highlighted Lara’s name and hit send. Emma walked into the office as the phone rang. She walked around Ash’s desk and sat in the chair Ela had occupied moments before, a smile on her face as she admired the arrangement of flowers on Ash’s desk.

“Hey it’s me.” Ash’s shoulders relaxed as she heard Lara’s voice. “I know, usually I text, but what can I say, desperate to hear your voice.” Ash smiled as she looked at Emma. Holding up her index finger, she mouthed the call would take one minute. Emma nodded.

“I’m confirming we are still on for dinner.” There was a pause as Ash nodded. “Wonderful, see you then.” She hit the end button, and could tell from Lara’s tone the woman was confused by her random call, but she had no intention of sharing her concerns about Ela unless she had something substantive to back them up.

“That sounded like a pleasant exchange.” Emma looked at Ash’s phone, which she had placed back on the desk.

“It was.” Ash hadn’t talked to Emma about Lara yet. The topic hadn’t come up and Ash was trying not to make a big deal out of the
burgeoning relationship for fear she might jinx it. “A woman I just started dating.”

Emma nodded slowly. “Is it serious?”

Ash grinned. “No, but it could get around to that.”

Emma bit her lower lip. “That’s great.” The doctor shifted in the chair. “You needed something?”
The shift in Emma’s tone was palpable. For all of her technical jargon she was always welcoming and warm. That had all but disappeared before Ash’s eyes.

Undeterred,
Ash stood up and crossed the small space. “First, these flowers are gorgeous, and I had a warm fuzzy that you thought of me.” She pulled the stunned doctor out of the chair, and wrapped her arms around Emma’s stiff shoulders realizing it wasn’t just her hands that were cold, but her entire body was cool to the touch. She was also surprised at how solid the woman in her arms felt.

W
ithin seconds, Emma’s posture relaxed, and she slid her arms around Ash’s waist. It was the first time they had hugged. The sensation of Emma’s body pressed to hers, and her arms pulling them closer together sent a spark of electricity skittering through Ash’s body. She quickly moved away without looking at Emma. “It’s been ages since I’ve got flowers.” Ash sat back down at her desk, hoping she had stopped blushing, and could make eye contact with her friend.

“I’m glad you like them
, Ash.” Emma’s voice had a deeper resonance to it than usual.

Ash looked up, worried her display of affection had offended the woman, but instead she found a warm smile on Emma’s face. Ash wanted to say something more, something that would move them past this awkward moment, but also
to reassure Emma that she didn’t have feelings for her friend.

“I was wondering if you wanted to wa
tch a soccer game? Any Saturday through November. Nine o’clock in the morning at STAR Complex.” Ash felt the topic of sports was neutral enough.

Emma smiled, and the tensi
on in her shoulders faded. “Who plays?”

Ash grinned. “
My nephew Aiden. I coach his team.”

Emma’s eyebrow arched. “That’s wonderful.
”

Ash nodded. “
They’re eight and nine, so I promise they are past that whole swarm-soccer phase. Aiden is turning into an awesome sweeper.” She had extended the invitation to break the tension from the hug, but now Ash really hoped Emma would accept.

“I would love that. Can I bring Coleen? She’s a fan of football as well.” Emma asked.

Ash felt a lump in her throat, and immediately hated herself for what she recognized as jealousy. She still wasn’t convinced Coleen and Emma’s relationship was platonic, and she also knew - given her relationship with Lara - it was completely hypocritical of her to care.

“The more the merrier.” Ash forced an enthused smile.

“Hey doc, long time.” Cris entered the office, and sat down at his desk.

Emma turned her attention to Cris and smiled
warmly. “Detective Martinez, it’s nice to see you again.”

Cris leaned back in his chair and smiled. “I guess Ash told you we had an odd one in here earlier.”

Emma looked at Ash and then back at Cris. “We hadn’t got to that point yet.”

“Actually it’s about the Garrett case.” He l
ooked at Ash and then at Emma. The tension from earlier still hung in the air.

“A lead?” Emma asked as she leaned forward in the chair.

Cris shook his head. “Maybe, but she’s not being helpful.” He wasn’t sure what was going on between the doctor and his partner, but the two women seemed uncomfortable with one another. “Ela Jacobs. Garrett’s girlfriend.”

Emma’s jaw clenched. “She was here?”

The tension in Emma’s voice snapped Ash out of her awkwardness. “Just a few minutes ago.”

Emma nodded, her shoulders tensing. “And nothing useful came out of the exchange?”

Cris shook his head. “Not a thing. She skidded out of here claiming she was late for some appointment and -”

Emma stood up. “Speaking of appointments, please forgive me detectives, but I am here on business and running late.” Not waiting for a response
, Emma opened the door, hesitated for a second as she lifted her head and took a deep breath in through her nose. “Good day.”

Ash and Cris sat in stunned silence. Cris lifted his arm, stuck his face in his armpit, and took a deep breath. “I’m sure it’s me.”

Ash got up, and shut the office door. “My assumption as well.”

She flopped back down in her chair,
looking at the purple and lavender flower arrangement, she felt drained from the roller coaster ride she had been on for the past hour. Things were taking a turn in the wrong direction, leaving Ash with a feeling there were moving parts spinning all around her that she couldn’t see. More to the point, parts she was being made
not
to see.

“You’re drifting on me
, partner.” Cris’ voice interrupted Ash’s introspection.

She leaned her elbows on the desk. “Your
hygiene aside, weren’t both their exits strange?”

Cris shrugged as he slid a file into the cabinet behind his desk. “Ela
is
strange, and the doctor was clearly here for other reasons to begin with.”

Ash shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but doesn’t the whole case seem like a bad Law and Order episode meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

Cris laughed. “You’re not buying that whole vampire thing, are you? This is real life, Ash, not a crappy movie.”

Ash
squinted and bit her lower lip. “No, wait - this is exactly how it happens. You and I sit here, and I say there’s something weird going on.”

Ash stood up. “I say
there are forces not of this world.” She looked down at Cris and waggled her eyebrows up and down several times. “Then you say, stick to the facts, Haines, and we argue, and then someone dies badly.”

Cris laughed out loud
. “Everyone dies badly. It’s the nature of dying.” He put his feet up on his desk.

Ash slumped back down in her chair. “Something
is
off.”

Cris looked at his partner for a few seconds. “What’s going on with you and the doctor? I nearly suffocated from the tension when I walked in earlier.”

Ash was surprised by the question, but managed a vague shrug. “We’re friends.”

Cris rolled his eyes. “Shit.”

“What?” Ash refused to make eye contact with Cris.

“Why would you want to be friends with her?”
Cris asked.

Ash huffed. “That’s rude.”

“What I meant was she’s beautiful and smart. Sure, she’s a little weird, but hell, if you asked Diane she’d tell you I was from another planet half the time.” Cris grinned.