Page 56 of Rookie Days

“Well, you told me you stayed away from relationships in the past, so I assumed. I like feeling connected to you too, Ellie. And just so you know, this is new for me as well, this checking-in business.”

“Do you like it also?”

“Yes.” Janet sounded like she was smiling too. “Strangely enough, I do. Did you get any sleep last night?”

“No, but I will soon.”

“In this case, I don’t want to keep you, babe.”

“Just a bit longer.” Ellie surprised herself with the request, and was even more taken aback when she did not feel the urge to cringe after it either. This just felt incredibly nice and natural.Babe…Weakened even more by the term, she offered. “I’m lying on the floor in Quinn’s office right now.”

“To sleep?” Janet prompted.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, dear. Can’t you at least find a couch somewhere if you insist on staying at the station?”

“It’s okay in here. Quinn gave me her sleeping bag.”

“Well, that’s perfectly fine then. Sounds like you’re catching all her weird habits.”

“It’s good weird, though.” Ellie could not suppress a yawn. “Right?”

“My kind of unusual, let’s say.” Janet laughed and her voice grew tender. “You sound sleepy, Detective, which I must admit is incredibly sexy. Get some rest now, okay?”

“Yeah. Janet?”

“Yes?”

Ellie suppressed the urge to apologize ahead of time for the dreadful news that Quinn would soon deliver.

“I’ll call you later,” she said softly.

Janet’s answer was equally soft and loaded.

“I’ll look forward to it, darling. And don’t worry.”

???

Ellie woke up shortly before her alarm went off, feeling better if not totally refreshed after her office camping session. She’d been out for almost exactly three hours, as if her system automatically obeyed Quinn’s directive in her sleep. The idea struck her as sort of funny and also slightly terrifying. She folded the sleeping bag. Grabbed a sandwich from the canteen, requisitioned a pool car, and ate as she drove to the latest victim’s house. Her roommate, Kelly Brooke, a teacher at one of the local high-schools, was pale and hollow-eyed when she opened the door.

“Ms Brooke.” Ellie flashed her badge. “May I come in?”

“Oh... Yes, of course.”

Brooke led her into a front room filled with so many green plants and hanging vines of all sorts that it looked like a regular nursery display in there.

“Mary-Ann likes to grow things,” she stated.

“I see.” The room smelled like the inside of a green house, earthy and damp. An acquired taste, Ellie supposed, and issued a polite standard comment. “Very nice.”

“Jill, Mary-Ann’s sister, is due in later this afternoon. So I took the day off to tidy up and make sure I’m here for her when she arrives. I still can’t believe what happened… That Mary-Ann is gone. And in such a cruel, horrific way!” Brooke’s bottom lip trembled. “Who would do such a thing?”

Ellie did not let herself be engaged in speculation.

“Have a seat, Ms Brooke,” she offered, noting the exhausted circles under her eyes and the way the woman swayed lightly on her feet. She looked about ready to pass out. “I assume that you and Mary-Ann were very close…”

“Oh, yes. We got on extremely well, like two peas in a pod. Been sharing this house for the past three years. We—” Brooke froze with her mouth open, looking like the proverbial rabbit as she perched on the edge of the sofa.