CHAPTER 2
JACE
It came again; the attacker, the loud grunts, John, the stabbing, the failure, the tears, the helplessness, the urge to move, to do something, and the eyes.
His breath came out raspy
'Why on earth can I not just get used to this already?'
"Because it is not a normal thing. Just forget it all, Jace"
He ignored John as he went to prepare for work
He looked at his fleet of cars parked in his garage but had no desire to ride any, so he got his bus card and went to the bus stop
MELANIE
The warm morning breeze, the chirping birds, and the whistling wind were just what Mel wanted as she woke up
Melanie O'Roarke was a five feet tall lady with a slim stature and upright shoulders. Her eyes were violet with a shy dose of amber, complimented with wavy and silky waist-length chestnut brown hair. She was a lady who had her own share of crushes and people who were envious of her
She wore a baby pink gown with a pair of peach platforms and her hair was tied into a bun as she prepared for work
Her plan of eating her banana cheese sandwich while driving was thwarted when she saw that her convertible had a flat tire
'I am going to have to buy a toy for that dog or build a cage' she thought, walking to the bus stop
The bus was filled, so she had to stand up and wait until someone drops. She had to wait for more stops until someone near her got up, but someone practically tossed her and sat down.
"That is my seat," she said
"Oh, is it? I'm sorry" he started to stand up but sat back down
"But I did not see you in it, though"
"That is because you pushed me before I could get to sit down"
"Me. I did not push you"
"What do you mean you did not? You were probably also tired of standing and practically pushed me"
"Exactly. You just said that I practically push you which means that I did not actually push also. Also, I more of tossed you, not pushed"
Mel opened her mouth but was cut off
"There is a difference, you see. Tossing is done lightly, and pushing is carried out with much more force. Let me give you an example; you cannot kill someone by tossing them off a cliff. Why? Because there will not be enough force. Do you understand?"
"You must be crazy," Mel said without caution
She heard some gasp and murmur, but what stood out was a particular chuckle
"Excuse me?" the man
"I mean, you should at least apologize for pushing me. If you do not want to, you should at least say something reasonable, so why are you spewing nonsense about cliffs and whatnot"
"That was not what I was trying to say; I was just trying to let you understand the difference between tossing and pushing..."
She took a step forward
"Would you like me to toss you off a cliff?" she asked
"Sit down" it was the same voice of the chuckle
He had stepped in-between Mel and the other guy
"What?" she asked
"Sit down. or do you want to keep on making a ruckus on public transport with several people as witnesses?"
Jace signaled for her to take his seat
"Thank you" Mel muttered, embarrassed
He smiled
She quickly plugged in her earphones; this was one reason she always tries to not take the bus when her monthly visitor came
She was not a loose person; in fact, she prided herself on being a mature woman full of caution and dignity and had no idea of what came over her- or maybe she knew
Melanie could not bear it anymore, she pulled the dangling yellow stripes by the side of the bus and got down two stops before her regular stop.
'It is better if I walk anyways' she thought as she let the winds carry away the residue of embarrassment
The journey was shorter than she expected, so she went straight to her boss' office
"Come in," he said
"Coffee for you," she said as she entered
Alex smiled
"Why would you waste your money getting one when you can just prepare it here?"
"It will not mean anything if I do not buy it"
She placed it on his table, "Thank you for letting me off yesterday"
He eyed the coffee
"This is not a bribe, is it?"
"What is bribing when I have the best boss"
"That also sounds like bribery"
They both laughed
"I am glad I could help"
"Ah, by the way, you have finally gotten a partner"
"Really? That's good, I hope"
"You do not sound very excited"
"I do prefer working alone, but it gets too much to handle sometimes. I just do not want a partner who is... you know..."
"Annoying? Playful? Easily distracted?" Alex offered
"Your words, not mine"
"You will like him"
"Maybe. Is he coming today?"
"He came yesterday and introduced himself to the guys. Jade already hit it off with him"
"Does Jade not hit it off with everyone?"
"Be optimistic"
"I will try, but now I will be working"
"Ever the working lady, are we not, Mel?"
She smiled
"I will see you later, Alex. Thank you, again"
She wondered what her partner was going to be like as she walked down the hall. For some odd reason, she imagined it was the same man who she argued with. That made her laugh, but it instantly died down when she opened her down and locked eyes with the man sitting in front of her
It was a man who was on the bus, but he was not the man she had in mind
"Mel?" Jace asked
The smile that disappeared came back slowly to her face
"That is me. And you must be the partner that I just got"
He walked over to her and stretched his hand
"Jace Welkins. Nice to meet you"
"Melanie O'Roarke"
"O'Roarke. This is unique"
"Thank you"
"Hi, I'm Jace Welkins. I look forward to working with you" he said bringing out his hand for a handshake. How dare he talk as if we haven't met? After annoying the shit out of me this morning?!!
"Melanie O'Roarke" I said not taking his hand
"Mel" Alex called me signaling to Jace's hand to which I took reluctantly
"Teamwork, okay. Fighting!" Alex said as he made to leave. I waited patiently for Alex to leave but he took his time, walking very slowly as if he knew that I was planning to lash out on Jace the moment he walked out. I was almost going to push him out, almost. Finally, he stepped out of the door but before he went, he turned around and
"Fighting" he said again taking his hand up and bringing it back down with force.
"Fighting" I repeated doing the same movement with a fake smile.
"Bye" I added and realizing that there was no more reason to stay, he left. Finally, I thought before I turned back to face Jace
"What are you doing here?" I asked
"Sorry?" he asked
"You followed me all the way here, didn't you?" I asked back
"And why would I?" he asked back. Can he just answer a question with an answer?
"Oh my goodness me! You really followed me all the way here" I said and promised myself to injure him if he asked a question again. But instead of answering at all, he laughed. What nonsense? How dare he laugh? Or did I say anything funny? No, I didn't. Right
"Why are you laughing?" I asked getting irritated again. But instead of answering, he just laughed again
"Jace!!" I snapped which made him control himself
"Sorry. Its just that you are so hilarious. I mean how you could even think that I would follow you all the way here" he said. Thankfully, the door opened as I didn't know what to say
"Sorry to interrupt but Alex is calling everyone into the conference room" Jade said with a glint in her eyes
"You weren't interrupting anything Jade" I said to her hoping Jace would be useful. But,
"Apology accepted" was all he could say
"Aren't you coming?" he said after Jade had gone. Pushing him away even though he wasn't really obstructing me, I walked out of the door
"Okay, since everyone is here, let's start" Alex said as Jace and I entered the board room
"A murder case has been up since two days ago" he continued, "Yesterday Mel, while you weren't around, we tried to see if we could get anything but it was all to no avail. Nevertheless, let's see if can be fortunate today. So here goes the report" he said after his opening speech
"On the 15th February 2018 which was two days ago, a murder occurred in 24b Hayward Lane. According to the report, the victim's body was found in the kitchen"
"Who is the victim?" I asked after which Sky stood up, turned off the light then turned on the projector and went towards it. Showing the picture of a man,
"Victor Shade. He's in his early forties, works for a publishing company, engaged, and has distant almost extinct relations, nothing much" she said
"Is there anything special about him? Does he have any high position or anything?" Ken asked
"Nope, nothing special. He's just a normal employee" Sky answered
"What happened and how was he found?" Jade asked
"We don't really know what happened but how he was found. Well, since he didn't go to work that day, his fiancée decided to check on him as he has never missed work. When she got no answer after knocking on the door for some time, she entered. She was about to conclude that he wasn't around before she realized that the T.V. was on. She was going through the corridor when she saw a broken window in his kitchen. She saw his body on the ground when she went towards the window. That was when she called the police." Olive said from her sit
"Do we have the body" Alex asked Ken
"Not yet, the FBI is still on it. But as soon as they are done, it will be in our custody" Ken said. I glanced at Jace noticing he hasn't said anything. As if reading my mind,
"Jade, you haven't said anything. Are you alright?" Jace asked
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just came, so you guys should continue, let me watch and learn" he replied. Then as if he knew I was staring at him, he looked at me and winked making me turn my face in disgust immediately