Chapter 9
Simon hangs the phone up and looks towards the closed bedroom door, sighing heavily as he puts his phone down on the coffee table. He glances at his watch and sees that it is getting later so Janice will be wanting to eat soon plus he could go for some food. He grabs the keys to the apartment and locks up behind him, heading down the street to get food at the Chinese place that she had taken him before, thankfully in walking distance.
He walks to the food place and orders the food, catching the attention of the couple so that he can tell them everything that is going on. They listen intently, fear in their eyes, and their jaws a bit slacked as they do their best to not freak out. They tell Simon that they will help in any way that they can in order to keep their Janice safe. He thanks the couple and takes the food hurrying back to Janice’s apartment so that she isn’t alone for too long. He quietly enters the apartment and looks around to see that the lights are all on and the shower is on in the bathroom. He locks the door behind him and heads into the kitchen to get plates and things so that they can eat once she is out of the shower. He looks up when he hears a strange sound and spots Tiger entering the room, nose twitching as the delicious smells waft through the room.
Simon chuckles, “Someone is hungry aren’t they?”
“Make that two of us who are hungry,” a voice startles him from behind the cat.
Simon looks up to see Janice walking into the kitchen, drying her hair and wearing a light pink robe. He smiles and points at the food, “I got us covered. They even sent a special fish treat for Tiger.”
Tiger meows excitedly and begins to rub up against Simon’s legs that makes the man chuckle and get out the treat so that the hungry kitty can eat it. Once Tiger is contently eating the food out of his bowl, Janice and Simon head into the living room where they can sit on the couch and watch movies while they eat. Simon looks at her as he sits down, setting his plate of food on his lap, chewing on his lower lip as he wonders how he will tell her that he has to stay the night. And how he is going to tell her that Mr. Stephens has set up a list of detectives who will be staying the night with her until they catch the memory thief.
Janice turns on the TV and finds a comedy movie to watch while they eat then begins to shove her food around her plate for a moment before she looks over at him. “Are you staying tonight?”
Simon chokes down a piece of food so that he can answer her but not right away, “Yes.”
“Will you be staying with me at night a lot?”
“Yes…”
“And what about Jarred? Jock? Elizabeth?”
“Yes, yes, and yes…as well as some of the others from the office,” he tells her quietly.
Janice nods her head and puts a piece of chicken into her mouth, not saying anything, her eyes staring at the screen but not really seeing the movie that is playing. She continues to eat in silence so Simon does the same, feeling nervous all of a sudden by the whole situation. They finish eating and put away their dishes, returning to the couch but Janice turns the movie off, facing Simon. Simon wrinkles his eyebrows together as he too faces her, knowing that she wants to talk.
“Can we go for a walk or something, Simon? I need to get out of here. I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I just want to get out. All of this is happening so fast. I never thought that my life would be in danger if I joined a case. I guess I should have thought of that since others have been shot at or have been stabbed. But for me? I never thought that it could happen to me and now here I am having to have people stay over at my house because there is a real threat out there who will want to kill me because I can unlock their secrets.” She takes in a shaky breath, “I mean maybe I am in trouble. I don’t know…maybe the thief will panic thinking that I can unlock his secrets and find him. I mean am I even good enough to find it?”
Simon can see that she is ready to start hyperventilating if he didn’t stop her so he reaches out and places his hand on her shoulder to try and calm her. “You are good enough and you will find out this guy’s secret. We will catch him soon and everything will go back to normal, I promise.” He squeezes her shoulder, “Now go get dressed and we will go out for a walk and get a coffee or ice cream.
Janice smiles at him and leaps off the couch in order to go to her room and get dressed. She couldn’t wait to get out of the apartment and into some fresh air. After she had gotten the news about everything, she has felt weak and scared and so many emotions that she couldn’t catch a breath. She feels dizzy and overwhelmed but she knows that she has to get her head right and a walk always seems to help. In a few minutes, they are out walking on the quiet street, the sun slowly setting behind them.
Janice takes in a deep breath and sighs when the cool London breeze flows over them but in a few minutes of walking, she catches herself looking behind them. Simon also notices and gently takes her hand, squeezing it gently as he leads her further away from the apartment. She smiles at Simon but the smile slowly disappears as she starts to wonder if maybe Simon is the memory thief. She shakes her head, shoving the idea out of her mind because if he was the thief, he wouldn’t be helping her practice her touch to become stronger.
Simon glances at her then grins when he sees two familiar figures heading their way, “While you were changing, I contacted the guys and they said that they wanted to come out with us too. Hope you don’t mind.”
Simon laughs as they join up with Jock and Jarred, “Hey boys, I hope you all have already eaten because this girl is craving coffee and desserts.”
Jock gives Janice a high five, “Oh yea my kind of girl.”
Janice gives him a high five back, laughing. “Well. I rarely have anyone to go out with to get coffee and dessert with so I never do. It is more fun to have other people to enjoy coffee and a piece of chocolate cake or something else sweet with instead of being alone.”
Jock nods, “I am so in.”
She looks at Jarred who wrinkles his nose, everyone in the office knowing that he rarely eats sweets, but he also nods that he is in. She looks at Simon last, her eyes brows raised.
“I am starving for something sweet so yea, let’s go get some coffee and desserts,” Simon says.
Janice squeals and grabs his hand before they are interrupted by another voice, “Is there room for two more on this quest of coffee and desserts?”
Janice turns to see Elizabeth walking up to them on the arm of a nice-looking young man, a smile on her face, and apology in her eyes. Janice eyes the guy before looking at Elizabeth, “I thought you were going on a trip with your new beau.”
“I couldn’t leave after hearing that someone is after you, Janice. He agreed to stay and we will just tromp around here instead of going away. I wouldn’t feel right leaving you behind when someone has leaked about you. I can’t let the thief get you too.” Elizabeth let’s go of the man’s arm and hugs Janice close.
Janice hugs her back, “Thank you, Elizabeth. And yes, you and your new man can join us for our quest for delicious coffee to drink and sweets to eat.” She leans away from her and ones again eyes the man that is still quietly standing behind Elizabeth. “Is this him?”
Elizabeth walks back over to Zane and smiles as she looks at her team, “This is Zane and Zane this is my team Jarred, Janice, Simon, and Jock.”
Janice smiles and shakes his hand, “Nice to meet you, Zane. Are you interested in something sweet to eat with coffee or do you prefer something more salty with your coffee?”
Zane grins at her as he shakes her hand, “I am a sweet with my coffee kind of guy. And I actually know one of the best coffee shops that sells some of the best desserts in town just two block East of us.” He shakes the hands of the men in the group before he slips an arm around Elizabeth’s waist. “Should we walk or catch a carriage?”
“It is a beautiful night so let’s walk,” Janice says as she moves closer to Simon.
Simon and the others fall in behind Zane and Elizabeth as Zane leads the way to the coffee shop he told them about. Janice keeps an eye on the back of Zane’s head until Elizabeth looks back at her and mouths ‘cute huh?’ Janice grins at her and does a thumbs up, nodding her head. She then glances at Simon and back at her with a questioning look. Elizabeth smiles and nods, letting her know that yes it had been Simon who had been talking to her about Janice. Janice grins and looks over at Simon, slipping her hand into his before Elizabeth turns away, her eyes back on the back of Zane’s head. Janice didn’t know what it was but something about Zane is off and she knew she had to find out what.