the heart attack, Morton blamed you for not turning up: he said it was your fault. By a weird twist of fate, he was on his way home from the hospital when he saw you in the street. He recognized you from the previous court hearings.”
Lauren lifted her hand to cover her open mouth.
“I had no idea…The poor woman…I’m sorry, I thought for sure it was Smith’s doing.” Lauren felt a sinking feeling in her chest and she slowly lowered herself back into the chair. “What will happen now? Do the police know about you? Will you be charged with assault?”
“No. Morton’s sister told the police that he was out to get you. He had threatened to make you pay for causing his mother’s heart attack. There will be questions to answer, but, everything will be ok.”
Lauren sat quietly as she tried to sort out the rush of thoughts and emotions assailing her. She could feel Sykes watching her and it felt invasive and accusing. Too shocked to do anything more, she eased up from the chair and went into her bedroom, closing the door.
Lauren removed her shoes, and fell, fully clothed, on her bed. Within a couple of minutes, she was oblivious to everything.
Chapter 16
Lauren tried to open her eyes but they wouldn’t cooperate. She turned over and gently massaged the bridge of her nose and the corner of her eyes and tried again. This time her eyes opened slightly and she raised her eyebrows to force them to open further, but it was a struggle. Lauren leaned over to her bedside table and rummaged around with her fingers to find the eye drops. Ever since her failed vision correction surgery – her astigmatism returned – Lauren suffered from dry eyes. Her fingers found the familiar shaped vial, and she fell back on her pillow and let the drops fill her eyes. Her eyelids loosened leaving the excess liquid to fall like tears down the sides of her face and onto her pillow. Mopping the excess solution from her cheeks with tissue, she tested her eyes. This time they opened easily.
No sounds could be heard from the other side of her door. Where was Sykes she wondered? Lauren swung her legs off the bed, stretched her arms and twisted from side-to-side to ease the kinks in her back. Her clothes were badly creased and she tried to brush them out with her hands, but they were beyond straightening.
Once changed, Lauren went to the living room. She expected to find Sykes sitting and waiting for her to emerge, but, he was gone. Never being comfortable with sharing her space she was happy to have her apartment to herself. Humming while she rooted in the freezer for leftovers, Lauren punching her fist in the air when she found a pack of long-forgotten Bolognese. She ran hot tap water over the plastic freezer container to release the sauce and plopped it in a glass microwave dish.
While the food defrosted she put the kettle on to boil and made some tea. Surprised that there were no phone messages from the police or her boss, Lauren contemplated calling them, but by the time her pasta was ready, she had talked herself out of doing anything. The police knew where she lived if they wanted to talk to her, and her supervisor knew her phone number.
The food stopped her hunger but not Lauren’s exploding head. Taking a pad and pen from her office drawer, she spent the next couple of hours documenting everything that had happened over the previous two days. Satisfied she hadn’t missed anything, she transferred all the key points on to yellow sticky notes and stuck them in order on the wall. Leaning back in her chair and going over each point she was interrupted by the buzzing sound of her intercom.
Sykes was back.
Lauren hesitated for just a moment, her finger wavering above the button that would open the front door. If she wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery she had no choice but to continue working with Sykes. Letting her finger fall, she waited at her apartment door with her eye pressed into the peephole. She timed
Lauren lifted her hand to cover her open mouth.
“I had no idea…The poor woman…I’m sorry, I thought for sure it was Smith’s doing.” Lauren felt a sinking feeling in her chest and she slowly lowered herself back into the chair. “What will happen now? Do the police know about you? Will you be charged with assault?”
“No. Morton’s sister told the police that he was out to get you. He had threatened to make you pay for causing his mother’s heart attack. There will be questions to answer, but, everything will be ok.”
Lauren sat quietly as she tried to sort out the rush of thoughts and emotions assailing her. She could feel Sykes watching her and it felt invasive and accusing. Too shocked to do anything more, she eased up from the chair and went into her bedroom, closing the door.
Lauren removed her shoes, and fell, fully clothed, on her bed. Within a couple of minutes, she was oblivious to everything.
Chapter 16
Lauren tried to open her eyes but they wouldn’t cooperate. She turned over and gently massaged the bridge of her nose and the corner of her eyes and tried again. This time her eyes opened slightly and she raised her eyebrows to force them to open further, but it was a struggle. Lauren leaned over to her bedside table and rummaged around with her fingers to find the eye drops. Ever since her failed vision correction surgery – her astigmatism returned – Lauren suffered from dry eyes. Her fingers found the familiar shaped vial, and she fell back on her pillow and let the drops fill her eyes. Her eyelids loosened leaving the excess liquid to fall like tears down the sides of her face and onto her pillow. Mopping the excess solution from her cheeks with tissue, she tested her eyes. This time they opened easily.
No sounds could be heard from the other side of her door. Where was Sykes she wondered? Lauren swung her legs off the bed, stretched her arms and twisted from side-to-side to ease the kinks in her back. Her clothes were badly creased and she tried to brush them out with her hands, but they were beyond straightening.
Once changed, Lauren went to the living room. She expected to find Sykes sitting and waiting for her to emerge, but, he was gone. Never being comfortable with sharing her space she was happy to have her apartment to herself. Humming while she rooted in the freezer for leftovers, Lauren punching her fist in the air when she found a pack of long-forgotten Bolognese. She ran hot tap water over the plastic freezer container to release the sauce and plopped it in a glass microwave dish.
While the food defrosted she put the kettle on to boil and made some tea. Surprised that there were no phone messages from the police or her boss, Lauren contemplated calling them, but by the time her pasta was ready, she had talked herself out of doing anything. The police knew where she lived if they wanted to talk to her, and her supervisor knew her phone number.
The food stopped her hunger but not Lauren’s exploding head. Taking a pad and pen from her office drawer, she spent the next couple of hours documenting everything that had happened over the previous two days. Satisfied she hadn’t missed anything, she transferred all the key points on to yellow sticky notes and stuck them in order on the wall. Leaning back in her chair and going over each point she was interrupted by the buzzing sound of her intercom.
Sykes was back.
Lauren hesitated for just a moment, her finger wavering above the button that would open the front door. If she wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery she had no choice but to continue working with Sykes. Letting her finger fall, she waited at her apartment door with her eye pressed into the peephole. She timed
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