Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (26 page)

‘
What
’
s next?
’
he asked as he sat beside her again.
‘
Where
’
s the package he gave you?
’

Grace thought hard for a moment.
‘
If the ambulance people didn
’
t pick it up out of the car then it
’
s probably still in it. Hopefully no-one else has got to it.
’

‘
Okay
,
here
’
s what we
’
re going to do. I
’
m going to leave before the nurse has me scrubbing floors as punishment for staying too long. Then I
’
ll make some calls and find out where Nick
’
s car is and I
’
ll retrieve the package. Cross your fingers it
’
s there. I
’
ll be back in a couple of hours to check on you. In the meantime
,
it
’
s rest for you.
’

‘
And can you give me a ride home then?
’

‘
Oh no. Overnight observation
,
like the doctor said.
’

‘
Come on
,
I
’
m feeling much better and what if they come here looking for me?
’

‘
I think they were trying to scare you which they
’
ve done. If he wanted to kill you
,
Grace
,
he wouldn
’
t have driven off before you hit the concrete wall
,
he would have slammed – ah
,
it doesn
’
t matter. Plus
,
they wouldn
’
t be stupid enough to come into a public building and try something.
’

‘
They probably killed Crow
,’
Grace pointed out.

‘
It could be true
,
however
,
as I said
,
it didn
’
t occur in a public place where people could see them.
’

‘
Jake
,
I can
’
t sit around here all day. The Voice might contact me again and I need to be able to talk to him.
’

‘
Who
’
s gonna print the story?
’
he asked.

‘
We
’
ll see how it all turns out and then I
’
ll give Henry from
The Times
a call.
’
She picked up her phone.
‘
I have to get home and put this on charge.
’

‘
You
’
re going to have a couple of hours rest. When I come back we
’
ll see how much you
’
ve improved and we
’
ll decide our next plan of attack.
’

‘
How are you going to find the car?
’

‘
I
’
ll find it
,’
he kissed her on the forehead and caressed the unscratched side of her face. Then he walked to the hospital room door. He turned as he pulled it open and said
,
‘
Take care of yourself
,
I
’
ll see you soon.
’

Grace stared at the closed door. She picked up her phone and took the battery out. She put it back in and the phone came to life. Instantly it died.
Far out.

25

Jake flashe
d
his identification to the lady at the desk.

‘
How can I help you?
’
Tight Face asked.

‘
Minister Sleen
,
please?
’
Jake noted the thin
,
drawn skin on the lady
’
s face.

‘
He
’
s unavailable at the moment.
’

‘
Not here or here and refuses to see me?
’

‘
He
’
s not in the office right now
,
Mr Williams. Can I ask him to call you?
’

‘
I
’
d like to take a look around.
’

‘
Don
’
t you need a search warrant?
’

‘
If we believe entry into the premises is necessary to prevent a breach of the peace then we don
’
t need a search warrant. We have reason to believe lives are in danger because of certain operations conducted from this business. I
’
d appreciate your co-operation.
’

She made a quick call and asked him to take a seat. He continued to stand.

A short
,
stocky man in a black suit with an enormous chest and matching arms entered the reception area from an internal door.
‘
I
’
ll show you around
,’
he spoke with a gruff voice.

Once again
,
it was Jake
’
s years of training that helped him to remain calm towards the man who had tried to push Grace into the harbour earlier in the week. He controlled his emotions regarding Grace as Black Suit led him to the office behind Tight Face
’
s desk.

‘
Here
’
s Minister Sleen
’
s office. I wouldn
’
t touch anything if I were you. He won
’
t be happy.
’

‘
Is there anyone else in the office besides you and the lady out the front?
’
He was fact finding yet he also needed to hear the man
’
s voice again. It rang alarm bells in his mind.

‘
A couple of admin staff
,
everyone else is out. They
’
re constantly at meetings
,’
he stared past Jake and kept his arms folded. His suit bulged at the seams.

‘
Your name?
’

‘
Johnnie Bugle.
’

‘
Where
’
s Minister Sleen?
’

‘
I dropped him off at a meeting this morning. Gotta pick him up in a while.
’

The man
’
s voice was as irritating as fingernails down a chalk board. He wondered where he had heard his voice before. Jake was not concerned about where Minister Sleen was or who he was with right now.

‘
Anyone here drive a black Hummer?
’

‘
No
,
Sir. All company cars for the head honchos
,
standard family size.
’

‘
What about the rest of the staff?
’

‘
No
,
Sir.
’

‘
Can you tell me where you were yesterday afternoon between three and five o
’
clock?
’

‘
Why
,
have I done something wrong?
’

‘
I don
’
t know
,
have you?
’

‘
Working.
’

‘
Can someone vouch for your whereabouts?
’

‘
Leave a message with the lady at reception and someone will call you to
‘
vouch
’
for me
,’
he let out a sinister laugh as if Jake were an imbecile.
‘
What might I have done?
’

‘
Run a young lady off the road in a tunnel in the city yesterday. It
’
s a serious matter and could be jail time for whoever
’
s responsible.
’

‘
Like I said
,
the receptionist will get someone to call you.
’
The solid man placed his hands on his hips as an act of defiance.

Jake wandered around Sleen
’
s office. He picked up some papers from the desk and pressed the keyboard to see if the computer started up. A password screen popped up. He looked up at Black Suit.

‘
Can
’
t help ya
,
I
’
m just the driver
,
mate.
’

The office was meticulous. He looked in the drawers and found files and general office stationery. However
,
it was the computer he needed access to which was impossible without a password.

‘
I wouldn
’
t mind checking out where employees park their cars.
’

Black Suit led him to the reception area where Jake left a message with Tight Face regarding the man
’
s alibi. The chunky man certainly left a bad taste in Jake
’
s mouth. They travelled down the elevator to the car park around the back of the building. They stood there
,
silent.

Jake noted the number plate of the cars in the car park area. He informed the man who had a neck as thick as his head that he
’
d be back. Black Suit sneered.

26

A doze
n
long-stemmed
,
pink roses encased in shiny paper and a huge pink ribbon entered the room before the person carrying them. Grace had her phone to her ear as she sat on the edge of her hospital bed
,
dressed and ready to leave.

‘
Someone found you a charger?
’
Jake asked.

‘
The nurse has the same phone as me
,
she had it with her.
’

‘
These are for you.
’
He smiled as he gave her the flowers.

‘
Okay
,
Joy. I
’
ll call you later
,’
Grace said into the phone then hung up from her call.

How many years had it been since someone had bought her such an expensive bouquet? He handed her the flowers and kissed her on the cheek.

What the heck.
With phone in one hand and flowers in the other
,
she slipped off the bed and wrapped her arms around Jake
’
s neck and kissed him.
‘
Thank you
,
they
’
re spectacular
,’
then she kissed him again. It was not one of those on the cheek kisses. It was one of those smack
,
bang
,
right on the lips kisses.

Jake wrapped both arms around her waist
,
lifted her off the ground and returned her kisses.
‘
Grace?
’

Oops. I thought I was daydreaming again.
‘
I got carried away in the moment. The flowers
,
my phone is working again
,
I
’
m getting out of here. I
’
m glad the accident is behind me.
’
How embarrassing. Fantasy finally meets reality. It had to happen sooner or later.

‘
With that reaction
,
I
’
ll be sure to buy some more
,’
he smiled.

‘
The Voice called and left a message.
’

‘
And?
’

‘
He said he
’
ll call again. The doctor said I can leave as long as I go home to rest for the afternoon. And I
’
m ready to work out this Sleen mess and get to the bottom of it.
’

Now she was worried the kiss may have given him the wrong idea. She caught her feelings instantly and decided not to over analyse it
,
again.

Jake collected her belongings from around the room and said
,
‘
It
’
s turned a little cold outside
,
what
’
s happened to Sydney
’
s sunny spring weather?
’

No response.

‘
Earth to Grace
,
anyone home?
’
Jake asked.

I cannot believe I kissed him.
‘
It
’
s constantly up and down at this time of year
,’
she replied a little too quickly. 

‘
At least you
’
re dressed warm.
’

‘
I can
’
t wait to get out of yesterday
’
s clothes.
’
While the nurses had supplied her with some toiletries which allowed her to wash her hair and brush her teeth
,
she didn
’
t have any fresh clothes. She thought Joy might bring her some
,
though she must
’
ve been tied up with the kids. Now Alice was five-years-old and would be in full-time school next year
,
she was aiming to re-kindle her working life in psychology.

‘
Let
’
s get you home and out of this place.
’
He held the door open for her and she walked ahead of him.

Chivalry is not dead after all.
‘
What planet did you say you were from again?
’

‘
Stop teasing
,’
he replied.

‘
But you
’
re worth teasing.
’

‘
You better move it
‘
cause when we
’
re back at your place I have a surprise for you. I want you to sit back
,
relax and make sure Shadow has survived overnight without you.
’

They laughed as they walked down the sterile corridors and into the elevator which travelled straight to the basement car park. They made their way to a white van with windows in the back that were covered with mesh tinting. She had seen this before
,
it was one directional. You could see out
,
however
,
no-one could see in.

‘
It
’
s the work car
,’
Jake said as he slid the back door open and put Grace
’
s things inside then closed it again. He held open the front passenger door for her and offered her his hand to help her climb up into the seat. She carried the flowers in her other hand and allowed him to be the knight in shining armour
,
accepted his constant kindness
,
which she enjoyed
,
and watched him close the door and walk around the front of the car to the driver
’
s seat.

‘
They smell like sunshine
,’
Grace said as she held the roses to her nose.