Crime in the Club (The Bound Detective) (6 page)

Jane was at the café at noon waiting for
Franklin.  Thankfully if he didn’t show up the station was nearby so she could just hang out there and do work while she killed time for night to show up.  Jane hated being stood up but at this point with her past she wasn’t surprised at all.  She knew this man was going to probably screw her over and mess with her if that was the case.

Jane started to tap her fingers in annoyance.  Usually if
anything, she was the one fashionably late not the man and this was a bit embarrassing to see.  Jane pulled out her phone and started to read book for a bit.  After about five minutes, Franklin appeared with two coffees.

“Sorry I was late.  There was a bit of a line up front and I wanted to make sure that I got you the coffee you wanted.  You like mochas
right?  I had the person make your favorite drink and they said it was that,” Franklin stated.  He gave the cup to Jane and she looked at him with a glance of surprise.  Usually no one got her drink right on the first try.  Most of them didn’t realize that she loves mochas and only drinks that and nothing else.  The man was impressive to say the least, even though he was still an idiot for the most part.

“Thanks,” she said. 
She started to sip the coffee as Franklin looked at her with a beaming glance.  He was silly, but he did have a very nice smile to him and Jane didn’t mind looking at him.

“So did you make it home safely?” he asked.

“I did.  You?”

“Yeah.
  Listen sorry about the thing with Alice.  I couldn’t control myself and I was being stupid.  I wasn’t thinking of what it would mean for you, and I felt like you were seething at me.  I’m sorry I was such a goddamn fool, and I’ll make sure that it never happens again,” he replied.

Jane looked at him with
shock on her face.  Normally men wouldn’t even bother to apologize about that.  They just rather let it go and Jane would try to put her anger away and try not to kill them the next time she saw them.  She tried to be nice about it but on the inside she would be screaming at the amount of unprofessionalness the man had.  However, this man wanted to right his wrong and she actually liked that.

“It’s fine.  We all make mistakes.  I’m glad that you’re willing to
own up to that,” she replied.

“I am.  I mean I do like you and it was kind of a dipshit move,” he said.

“You’re damn right it was,” she said sarcastically.

“I know.
  But I am interested in you and honestly the reason why I even asked for the date is because I wanted to admit that I was an idiot and I should’ve been better.  I mean I really look up to you and I do think you’re both hot and sweet when you want to be.  However, I like the fact that you have guts and you’re not afraid to do what you want.  I find that very attractive and it was one of the main reasons I wanted to work with you,” Franklin stated.

Jane looked at him for a moment and smiled. 
He actually did have some brains to him, and even though he might be fishing for compliments he sees past the rough exterior she has and is willing to see the genius behind the sarcasm.  Jane wasn’t just some detective, she lived her career and wanted to make sure that she did everything right.

“Thank you.  I appreciate that. 
Sorry for not realizing that you actually did have skills to you and kind of know what you’re doing.  I can be kind of a bitch to newbies and that can be a bit of an intimidation factor in some lights.  I also underestimated you.  You definitely do have a pretty interesting demeanor to yourself as well and I do respect that.  Plus you are very smart with computers and I’m sorry that I didn’t realize that sooner,” she replied.

“It’s cool.  I rarely tell people about it,”
Franklin replied.  He took a sip of his coffee and sighed.  Franklin loved the feeling of the warm liquid as it invaded his body and warmed his heart.

“Why don’t you?  I mean
you’re very smart in that and I was very impressed.  I think you would work great in the computer science department.”

“I want to try to solve the cases.  I do like the fact that I can actually work with someone when I am solving crimes.  Just cracking codes and shit all day gets boring,”
Franklin admitted. He didn’t really like to do it at all, but he would sacrifice his sanity for the cause of work. 

“
Ahh I understand.  You do have a lot to learn but I think code breaking skills are very useful,” Jane replied.  It was the only skill she didn’t have and Jane flushed thinking about it.  This was the man who sort of complemented her skills in a way.  Maybe that was why Thomas wanted them to pair up. 

“Thanks. 
So I have to say that although we started off pretty rough I like you a lot Jane.  You’re pretty awesome,” Franklin said.

“I try to be,” she replied.

“You certainly got my attention, in many ways,” he cooed.  The way his voice sounded as he said that immediately screamed a double meaning in Jane’s mind.  She liked it a lot, and felt it resonate within her.

“I hope I continue to grab your attention,” she
replied flirtatiously.

“
Oh I bet you will.  So do you want to walk around?  I don’t think just sitting around inside will really get us to know each other,” he stated.

“Alright,” she
said.  She got up and Franklin followed her.  They walked around the area of the city they were in, stopping and looking at stores.  Franklin bought Jane a flower and Jane blushed at the action.  If Romeo existed, it would probably be Franklin and even though she didn’t really feel the connection yet, she liked the affection that the man gave her.

After they finished walking around they went to the park. 
It was about three and there were little kids playing soccer in a peewee club.  There was also a couple holding hands and two older people feeding the birds.  It seemed so natural and nice and for once Jane felt like she could relax.

“
It’s such a beautiful day,” Franklin stated.

“Sure is.  I haven’t seen a day this nice in a long time,”
Jane replied.

“Same here.
  So I have to ask you something Jane.  It’s been on my mind for a little bit and I don’t know how to approach it but I feel like you might be able to answer it,” he stated.

Jane turned to him and looked at him. 
She studied his face, but Jane couldn’t read it.  Jane wanted to know, and it worried her that she couldn’t read it.

“What’s up?”

Franklin blushed a little bit when he thought about it, but after a second, he knew that he could venture to ask her.

“Remember when Thomas said that you understand this line of work?  What did he mean by that?”
Franklin asked.

“
Nothing.  I told you it’s none of your business,” she replied.

“But I want it to be my business.  I want to be a trustworthy partner and help you out, and I feel like this could help us grow closer,” he said.

Jane blushed thinking about it, but she knew that she couldn’t tell him yet.  They had just met and Jane didn’t know what to think.

“I’m sorry
Franklin but it’s a very personal thing to me and I don’t like talking about it.  I want to keep it to myself for now.  We can talk about it later maybe.  I just have some demons in the past that I don’t want to talk about just yet,” Jane explained.

“What
kind of demons?”

“The
kind that will make you feel surprised and wonder if this is the real Jane you’re talking to.  The kind that will immediately make you judge me,” she replied.  Jane hated talking about her past.  The pain seemed to make her sick even to this day.  She had a hard life before then, and although she did walk into her job here as a detective with no debt it came with a price.

Franklin
thought about badgering her more but it didn’t seem to be the right thing to do.  He knew that it was going to make things worse and he could tell from the pain in her eyes.  Franklin instead smiled at her with his trademark warm and adorable grin. 

“
It’s all right Jane.  I’m not going to bother you about it.  When you’re ready to talk about it you can tell me,” he replied.  Before Jane could say anything, he pressed his lips to hers in a very quick and chaste kiss.

Jane immediately felt the blood rush to her face. 
Franklin had just kissed her and he understood why she wanted to keep it to herself.  She felt happy that this man did understand, and she felt excitement and desire rush through her.  Jane liked this man a lot, and even though she didn’t want to take things further, just yet she felt a connection with Franklin she had never felt before.

“
Thanks Franklin.  I appreciate it,” Jane said.

“Not a problem.  Anyways we should get ready.  We have to go see Alice,” he said.

Jane nodded and got up.  They walked back to their respective cars and drove to the club.  They took another car because the killer would recognize their vehicles.  They still drove separately too and would come back together later on.  Jane was thinking about a different thing however, and that was the emotion that seemed to course through her body, which made her want Franklin even more.

When they got to the
club, they immediately saw the “closed” sign on there.  Jane ran up there and knocked on the door.  The doorman was gone but instead Scarlet stood there and looked at Jane with a wary glance.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“I want to see Alice,” Jane replied.

“You can’t do that. 
She’s sick right now and headed home.  Do you want to see any of the other girls?” Scarlet asked in a professional manner.

“No that’s fine.  Think you though,”
Jane said.  She ran back to the car and got in.  Franklin turned to her with a worried glance.

“What’s the deal?”

“Alice isn’t here.  Let’s head to the house,” Jane replied.  Franklin nodded and sped over to where her house was.  Thankfully, it was nearby and when they got there they saw the lights on in the apartment she was at.  Jane and Franklin walked up there and knocked on the door.  After a minute, Alice came up and looked at them with an innocent smile.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“We came to ask you a few questions Alice.  Don’t worry you’re fine,” Franklin said.

“Okay.  Come in,” she
said.  Alice was acting a bit different from when Jane saw her last time.  She was acting weaker, something Jane hasn’t seen in a woman in a long time.  They sat on the couch and Jane cleared her throat before asking questions.

“We came here Alice because apparently the killer h
ad a red feather boa and according to Trisha you brought one in there.  She had one but she didn’t remember it ever getting in there and she doesn’t recall ever seeing it before,” Jane said.

Alice looked at her with a horrified glance, as if she had been stricken with a knife.  “What are you
saying?  I didn’t do anything.  I’ve been here for the last two days.  I am sick.  I’ve had stomach trouble the last few days and I’ve been trying to nurse it back to health,” she explained.

“
We wanted to find out for sure.  I know there are many alibis but I want to make sure everything everyone’s said sounds correct and there isn’t any inconsistencies.  So what kind of sickness do you have?”

“I’ve been puking
pretty much on and off the last two days.  It sucks.  I think I ate some bad sushi,” she said.

“What about school
, though?  I know you’re in it as well?” Jane asked.  It seemed weird that she would forsake school for sickness unless if it was really that bad.

“I already informed the teacher about things.  My boyfriend has been helping me through this,” she replied.

“I understand.  By the way, where is he right now?” Jane asked.  That was another part of the puzzle Jane couldn’t figure out.  If he was so “caring”, why wasn’t he here defending her?

“
He’s at the store right now getting me a few things.  But I’m probably contagious so I don’t think you should be around me,” Alice stated.

“Don’t worry, I don’t get sick.  I
don’t know about my newbie partner here but I don’t.  Anyways how have things been going with him?”

“Fine.
  He’s just helping me out.  He’s been doing my schoolwork too,” Alice replied.

“Alright.
  Is everything okay though?” Jane asked nicely.  She might have to show some compassion towards the woman that she wasn’t used to.

“Yeah I’m fine. 
I’m just going through a lot with bills, work, the murders making me worry if I’m next, and school.  I know they murdered one of the women at the club and I’m scared they’re going after me next,” Alice admitted.  She had look of fear on her face.

“It’s all right.  Trust me if
there’s anything out there we’ll find it.  If you need anything let us know,” Jane replied.

“Thanks but I think I’m good. 
I’ll be fine on my own.  Plus, my boyfriend is here to help,” she said.

“That’s good to hear. 
Okay, that’s all I have for you questions-wise.  Anything else?” Jane asked.  She wanted to help Alice and make her feel welcomed and safe instead of nervous.

“
No thanks.  I’m fine,” she said.

“
Okay, that’s good to hear.  We’re going to leave now.  Here’s my number, and if you need anything give us a call,” Jane said.

“Will do,” Alice replied.  Jane smiled and walked over to the door. 
Franklin followed and Jane smiled as she opened it.  However, just as Jane did that a dagger flew out from the opening, nearly hitting Alice square in the face.