Take a Breath(67)

I ponder his witty comment for a moment, but then in walks Jake with Marcos behind him.

“I’m sorry to trouble you all at such a time. I see you’re having dinner. Ana, I just want a very quick word with you, that’s all.”

I look at him, nod and proceed out of the door and into the living area. I motion for him to take a seat. “Do you want me to get you a drink, Agent Marcos?” I ask, politely.

He shakes his head. “No, no that’s fine. I won’t be long—and please, call me Andrew.”

I acknowledge his request as he begins. “I assume you know all about what has happened in the last twenty-four hours?”

I nod.

“Well, after what you told me we tried to match the DNA of the hair we found at the scene with the DNA database. I was hoping it would be a match for Alan Martin, but it wasn’t I’m afraid. Whoever’s doing this, hasn’t committed a crime that we know of before. It makes life a little more difficult, but rest assured we’re not going to back down. We will find the asshole.”

He pauses a moment and then continues. “As you are probably aware we have requested that everyone at the station give their DNA willingly. We are doing it with the strict instructions that all will be destroyed once each person is eliminated. We will be calling in people one by one first thing tomorrow morning. It will cause a little upset but it has to be done. It’s just as a precautionary measure. He feels an intimacy connection towards you, so we feel that it is someone you may know.”

I nod my head; everything he says is making sense. I do feel somewhat deflated that Alan has nothing to do with this after all. At least now, I won’t have to bring this sordid little detail up in front of Jake. My secret is still safe.

“Ok, well I think I’m done unless you want to tell me anything else? Anything new you have thought about since we last met?”

I’m quickly snapped from my daydream as I shake my head. “No, Agent Marcos. There’s nothing. Thank you though. I do appreciate you taking the time to come here and tell me personally.”

We both get up and shake hands. “It was a pleasure, and please, call me Andrew.”

Jake wanders through the door and gapes at us standing there—our hands still gripped together.

I quickly pull it away and say, “Thank you, Andrew. I’ll see you out.”

He nods and heads for the door. Jake still stares one eyebrow raised in my direction. We say our goodbyes and I close the door.

Upon spinning around to head for the kitchen, I bounce off a very rigid big chest.

“Oh, Jake, I didn’t know you were standing right there.”

He looks down at me. “Oh, you didn’t, did you? Have fun with Agent Marcos? I didn’t know we were on first name basis with the enemy now. I still can’t leave you alone for five minutes—and in my own house of all places.”

I slap his arm telling him not to be so silly. He pulls me in for a hug and smiles, letting me know he’s only joking. Maybe only to a certain extent though.

“I came in to see how long you would take. Dinner’s ready. I’ve made chicken with a mushroom sauce and rice. I hope you’re hungry?”

I nod on his chest. “Starving. I could eat a horse.”

He mutters, “Good,” and releases me.

“Before we go in, can you quickly tell me what he said?”

I knew this was coming, but I hadn’t yet prepared for what to say. I had to think quickly on my feet.

“He just wanted to let me know that the hair they found didn’t match anyone on the database, and that they were going to start testing people at the station tomorrow. He also wanted to reassure me that they are doing everything they can.”

Jake pulls me in and kisses my forehead. “I guess, Agent Marcos isn’t such an asshole, despite being FBI.”

I laugh at his candidness as he leads me by the hand into the kitchen.

We sit down to eat and everything looks delicious. My mouth immediately starts watering.

“Everything okay out there, Ana?” Matthew asks.

Everything is far from okay. I suddenly feel bad that everyone around me is caught up in the psychotic games this man likes playing around us.

“Everything’s fine, Matthew. He just wanted to give me an update on things. I think we’re getting closer. Hopefully soon we will be back to normal.”

Matthew smiles as he picks up his fork to eat. I take a bite of the chicken and rice and it’s gorgeous. I hum my approval in Jake’s direction and he looks triumphant.

I can’t help but feel a foreboding in the pit of my stomach. I do believe something will happen soon to end this, but I don’t like the prospects of what that could be, if anything. I try to force this feeling away and carry on eating.