Rescuing Vanessa (A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance) by Christina Li Page B
Authors: Christina Li
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her inside.
By the time they walked in , her hand was shaking so hard, she couldn’t hit the right numbers on her cell. Did it have to come to this? She wished she had never gone to California, never been so stubborn, never been so foolish, never, never, never! Floods of regret and self condemnation ran through her head. She sat there staring at the numbers as if they were some sort of foreign language. Finally, Daniel took the phone. “Do you want me to call for you?”
Fighting back the tears , she tried to still her trembling chin. “Thanks,” she whispered.
Daniel squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, tapped in the number and spoke for a few seconds.
When he finished, she asked . “Well, what do I do? Do the police need to check out the car for evidence? Should I take pictures with my cell? I didn’t even think of that.” She grabbed her cell and strode out the door. Daniel stood deadpan in the hallway for a moment, apparently caught off guard by her quick change of direction and demeanor, then trod out to keep up with her.
“That’s not a bad idea, but the police are on their way. I’m sure they’ll take their own pictures.”
She needed something to do. Straightening her shoulders, she arrived back at the small parking area, then crawled under her car. “Where are the brake lines?”
Surprised, h e decided to lay down and slide under beside her. Oh dear, his nice shirt was getting dirty. “It’s hard to see, easier to feel.” He took her hand and guided it along the brake line. If she weren’t so scared she would enjoy feeling his hand on hers. In fact, she was enjoying it especially because she was scared. Her nerves calmed and that safe feeling returned. But so did all of those distractions, the sound of his velvety voice so close to her ear, the strength of his arm as his hand guided hers… Help, Lord! No answer, only a sense that she was not alone. Then, she felt the spot where Daniel found the cut. She maneuvered her cell phone, pressed on the flash, and took a quick picture.
Crawling back out from under the car, she studied the picture. “You can’t really see anything. I wonder if the police will be able to get something useful.”
“Here they come.”
The same police officer she had met earlier rolled to a stop behind her car. Vanessa couldn’t help feeling a little strained around him.
“Is this the car?”
Daniel answered, “Yes. I found something on one of her brake lines. I’ll show you.”
The officer lay down beside Daniel and both slid under.
When they stood back up, the o fficer said, “You’re right, that’s not regular wear and tear.” He pulled out an iPad and a stylus and wrote a few notes. “I’ll get a technician out here to take pictures and dust for fingerprints, but I’m afraid it’s going to be difficult to get much.” Vanessa couldn’t help but notice the iPad, thinking about how many sketches it could capture in her capable hands.
“Thank you,” Vanessa said refocusing her thoughts. She knew the officer was doing the best he could to help her. “I appreciate your honesty. I just wish I had some idea who would do this and why.”
“ Is it possible it has to do with that vase? Someone obviously thinks the same as us, you had access to it, enough to warrant calling you in on our investigation. If they wanted to get you out of the way for some reason, this would be a good way to do it.”
“I wish I h ad never gone out to California.” She finally voiced aloud what she had been feeling for a while. “I remembered that vase, though, and it’s really ugly.”
“ But apparently worth a great deal,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I’ll write up a report about your car. Can you think of anything suspicious that you’ve seen recently? I’ll add that to your statement.”
“I’ve on ly just come back. I wouldn’t know if any of the cars in the lots around here don’t belong.”
“Now that I think of it, I’ve seen a different car in
By the time they walked in , her hand was shaking so hard, she couldn’t hit the right numbers on her cell. Did it have to come to this? She wished she had never gone to California, never been so stubborn, never been so foolish, never, never, never! Floods of regret and self condemnation ran through her head. She sat there staring at the numbers as if they were some sort of foreign language. Finally, Daniel took the phone. “Do you want me to call for you?”
Fighting back the tears , she tried to still her trembling chin. “Thanks,” she whispered.
Daniel squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, tapped in the number and spoke for a few seconds.
When he finished, she asked . “Well, what do I do? Do the police need to check out the car for evidence? Should I take pictures with my cell? I didn’t even think of that.” She grabbed her cell and strode out the door. Daniel stood deadpan in the hallway for a moment, apparently caught off guard by her quick change of direction and demeanor, then trod out to keep up with her.
“That’s not a bad idea, but the police are on their way. I’m sure they’ll take their own pictures.”
She needed something to do. Straightening her shoulders, she arrived back at the small parking area, then crawled under her car. “Where are the brake lines?”
Surprised, h e decided to lay down and slide under beside her. Oh dear, his nice shirt was getting dirty. “It’s hard to see, easier to feel.” He took her hand and guided it along the brake line. If she weren’t so scared she would enjoy feeling his hand on hers. In fact, she was enjoying it especially because she was scared. Her nerves calmed and that safe feeling returned. But so did all of those distractions, the sound of his velvety voice so close to her ear, the strength of his arm as his hand guided hers… Help, Lord! No answer, only a sense that she was not alone. Then, she felt the spot where Daniel found the cut. She maneuvered her cell phone, pressed on the flash, and took a quick picture.
Crawling back out from under the car, she studied the picture. “You can’t really see anything. I wonder if the police will be able to get something useful.”
“Here they come.”
The same police officer she had met earlier rolled to a stop behind her car. Vanessa couldn’t help feeling a little strained around him.
“Is this the car?”
Daniel answered, “Yes. I found something on one of her brake lines. I’ll show you.”
The officer lay down beside Daniel and both slid under.
When they stood back up, the o fficer said, “You’re right, that’s not regular wear and tear.” He pulled out an iPad and a stylus and wrote a few notes. “I’ll get a technician out here to take pictures and dust for fingerprints, but I’m afraid it’s going to be difficult to get much.” Vanessa couldn’t help but notice the iPad, thinking about how many sketches it could capture in her capable hands.
“Thank you,” Vanessa said refocusing her thoughts. She knew the officer was doing the best he could to help her. “I appreciate your honesty. I just wish I had some idea who would do this and why.”
“ Is it possible it has to do with that vase? Someone obviously thinks the same as us, you had access to it, enough to warrant calling you in on our investigation. If they wanted to get you out of the way for some reason, this would be a good way to do it.”
“I wish I h ad never gone out to California.” She finally voiced aloud what she had been feeling for a while. “I remembered that vase, though, and it’s really ugly.”
“ But apparently worth a great deal,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I’ll write up a report about your car. Can you think of anything suspicious that you’ve seen recently? I’ll add that to your statement.”
“I’ve on ly just come back. I wouldn’t know if any of the cars in the lots around here don’t belong.”
“Now that I think of it, I’ve seen a different car in
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