“I know a way you can help me.” Elaine practically bounced up and down on her couch as she looked the look of confusion on Jose’s face. “You have access to the police database. We can use it to find out Nick’s location and track his whereabouts. That way we can go back into his warehouse and sneak into his office and gather as much information as we can so we can…” Elaine paused at the incredulous look on Jose’s face.

“Elaine, don’t tell me you have done this before. That’s breaking and entering!”

“Well…technically I was allowed access by a key card.” Elaine’s gaze faltered. Jose threw his hands up.

“I can’t hear this Elaine. It sounds too much like breaking the law and you are in enough trouble as it is without adding an investigation into the mix. Look how about you sleep on it before we do anything else, I think we both need as much rest as possible.” Elaine was about to protest until she felt a yawn come on. She saw the knowing look in Jose’s eyes and dimpled smile and she could not argue with him. Jose got up to leave. “Get some rest. I will be right outside in my car.”

Elaine stood quickly. “Wait you’re leaving me?”

“Well I will be right outside in the car.”

Elaine looked at him pleadingly. “Please don’t leave. I won’t be able to sleep knowing it’s just me in here and already having someone else here I just…I just won’t be able to stay calm.” Jose debated Elaine. She grabbed the remote and turned it onto sports center. “You can stay on the couch and watch tv. Catch up on whatever you missed today.”

Jose’s eyes searched Elaine’s face. He nodded his consent and sat on the couch. “I can only stay until my shift is over then the next officer will take over and he will be waiting outside in his vehicle.” Elaine nodded her understanding and thanked him before dragging herself to bed. She yanked off her boots and threw herself in the bed without changing her clothes. Her mind ran over all the possibilities until she was finally able to drift off into a fitful sleep.

When Elaine woke she peeked out of her bedroom into the living room. She saw her afghan had been used. Jose had folded it and laid it neatly on the couch. She wrapped a robe around her and walked out opening the blinds. The first bit of grey morning light greeted her as she looked below to the street where she saw a cop car running idly, its exhaust smoke curling in the air. She turned to the kitchen and made herself a coffee as she mulled over her options. She could wait and let the police handle it or put her detective skills to use and solve this herself. An idea struck Elaine as she gulped the remnants of her coffee and tore off her robe to jump in the shower.

An hour later Elaine had pulled up across the street from a familiar warehouse rising ominously in front of her. Nick’s warehouse looked exactly the same except there weren’t any vehicles in the parking lot, which was odd for a place of prominent business especially in the middle of the day. In fact the warehouse looked empty and void of any human activity. Elaine contemplated for about 5 minutes whether she should try to sneak in or just stay in the car and survey the building for a few hours. Finally her curiosity got the best of her and as she opened her car door allowing a chilly breeze in she noticed the metal back door of the warehouse swing open and several men file out. Elaine quickly shut the car door and ducked down peeking over her steering wheel as she watched the last man exit. She gasped as she recognized the scowled face of Nick. His men were pointing around the gated parking lot and the top of the building where Elaine noticed several new security cameras posted.

As the conversation continued Nick became very agitated his arms flailing and his face becoming redder by the second. Elaine could even see that familiar vein bulging in his neck. He was yelling so loud she could almost hear him. Elaine cautiously bent over to roll down her window. She was so involved in the conversation across the street that she didn’t see the figure walking up to her window until she was startled by a loud bang against her window causing her to scream and cover her head.

To Be Continued…