We shook, and Lee stood. I watched as he walked over to the edge of the building, and all of a sudden my panic set in as I realised what he planned to do. He was going to jump. He still faced me, his back to the edge, and I got up hurriedly, rushing toward him.
“Wait, no, I’m calling it off.”
Lee took his final step backward, his foot meeting the last bit of concrete before there was nothing but air. He raised his hands, still smiling, “A bet’s a bet, Karla.”
Right after he said it he dropped, and I let out a startled yelp, my hand going to my mouth in fright. I ran the last few yards to the edge and looked down, shocked and exhilarated by what I saw.
The balconies of each apartment jutted out from the building, almost like steps on a ladder – if you were a giant. Lee leapt diagonally from one to the next, each balcony bringing him closer to the ground. I put my hand to my chest to feel how hard and fast my heart was beating, my fear lessening as excitement took over. His body moved with purpose, his rangy muscles perfectly aligned, his jumps measured to avoid injury. He was already halfway to the bottom when I realised what a head start I’d given him.
Even though we both got the same thing, no matter who won, my competitive streak set in and I hurried to the lift, no qualms about cheating. By the time I got to the ground floor, my breaths were coming out frantically as I ran from the carriage and outside.
Lee sat confidently on a bench facing the entrance, his arms folded and a cocky grin shaping his lips. I shook my head and laughed, hurrying toward him and stopping only a foot or two away.
“That was incredible. But I think you might be even crazier than Trevor,” I breathed, my words all air.
Lee got up from the bench and closed the distance between us. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat after his exertion, and I savoured his warmth. I wore his jacket, having grown cold up on the roof after a while. He cupped his hands around my face and stared down at me.
“Crazy can be a little exciting, though, yeah?”
I laughed again, this time more breathily. “Yeah.”
And then he kissed me, pressing his mouth to mine and coaxing my tongue to glide with his. I trembled under his assault, my chest on fire and my lungs too full. His kiss was piercing, too much and not enough, and through it I felt him communicate everything he felt inside. I gripped him tight, my fingertips pressing into the dips and lines of his shoulder blades, and tried my damnedest to communicate everything I felt right back.
***
“Mind if I sit?” I asked as I stood by the table Jennings was occupying in the break room. There were a few other officers milling about, but mostly the place was empty. She looked up from her newspaper and frowned, her mouth turning down grimly at the edges.
After a moment of consideration, she motioned for me to join her, and I took the seat on the other side of the table. My lunch consisted of a cheese and ham sandwich, an apple, and a carton of juice. Jennings proceeded to ignore me, reading her paper as I began to eat.
“Anything interesting?” I asked after a minute or two of quiet.
She let out an impatient sigh. “If this is about the application for sergeant, then you’re wasting your time.”
“Don’t worry — I’ve long since given up trying to get on your good side, Katherine. And I’ll keep applying for sergeant until you finally get sick of me and decide to give in. Simple as,” I replied with confidence.
She glanced up from her paper. “Well, then, what do you want?”
“Is it so strange to imagine I might be here for the pleasure of your company?”
Jennings scoffed, and if I wasn’t mistaken, something almost like a smile began to shape her lips. But that couldn’t be right. Looking out the window, I didn’t see any pigs flying.
“I find that terribly hard to believe,” she said stiffly.
“Don’t sell yourself so short. If you’d actually take that stick out of your arse and quit treating me like a particularly unpleasant fungal infection, you’d realise we actually have a lot in common.”
Closing over her paper and giving me her full attention, Jennings folded her arms across her chest and levelled me with a cynical expression. “Now this I have to hear.”
I held up all five fingers. “Well, for one, we’re both tough bitches, and for two, we can handle working in a male-dominated environment without buckling under the pressure. Three, let me see, we both hate my dad. Four, we’re funny.”
Five, we both had love affairs that jeopardised our careers. I left the fifth finger standing.
“Funny?” Jennings asked with a huff of scepticism.
“The other day when Connors wanted to know if he had food in his teeth, you asked him if he cared so much about his appearance, then why was he walking around with a barnet like a crow’s nest?”
“That falls more into the bitch category, if you ask me,” said Jennings. “But he does have awful hair.”
“And a bad attitude. You give put-downs where they’re due. Well, except for with me, but I guess you have your reasons for those, which I’ll allow,” I told her cheekily. I was pushing my luck, but if I knew anything about this woman, it was that the only way to get on her good side was to stand my ground. If I tried licking her arse, she’d tell me exactly where to stick it. Sure, I was complimenting her, but with bite. In this instance, the bite was key.
“You’re persistent,” she said, eyeing me shrewdly.
“I have to be, with the likes of you.”
At this she surprised both of us when she huffed a begrudging laugh. “You remind me a lot of your father in that way. And just to be clear, that’s not a compliment.”
“Don’t worry, I know.” I paused to lower my voice. “He does feel bad for what he did to you, though. Well, as bad as a man like my dad can feel about anything, which isn’t much. Usually, his way is the right way, no ifs or buts.” I paused to eye her seriously. “You do know he’s been working so hard on the McGregor case so that he can finally get justice for you.”
“Yes, well, it’s all a bit too little, too late in that regard.”
“Maybe, but we’re all fallible. It’s the ones who can’t accept they’ve made a mistake who have problems.”
Jennings stared at me for a long time, so long I began to grow self-conscious. “Do you know,” she said, “none of the other constables have ever tried to join me for lunch.”
“Well, I’m happy to break you in.”
At this she let out another laugh, a real laugh. I looked out the window again. Yep, still pig-free. “Keep applying for sergeant, Sheehan. Who knows, maybe after ten or fifteen more attempts, you’ll finally get what you want.”
With that she stood and gathered her things, leaving me alone at the table. I picked up my sandwich and took a bite, and after a couple of chews, I started to smile.
***
“I’m telling you, the answer is 9 p.m.,” I told Tony as we discussed the riddle he’d given me weeks ago, the one Stu had solved. It was one of those puzzles that even when you had the answer, it still took a while to get your head around.
“Nine p.m.,” Tony repeated. “Nah, I’m still not seeing it.”
“Just keep thinking, and it’ll start to make sense.”
His brow furrowed, and I grinned at how serious he looked when he concentrated. His thick black eyebrows were like two big caterpillars on his face. We’d just finished dealing with a homeless man who’d been causing a drunken disturbance on the tube, and were driving back to the station.
I heard the scratchy sound of the radio coming on right before a call from dispatch came through. My heart rate picked up when I heard the details of the report. The panic button had been pushed at a city centre bank, and all available units were being called in to investigate. Before the call had even cut off, I hit the sirens, put my foot down on the gas pedal, and hightailed it to the scene.
It was mid-morning, one of the quieter periods, and everything looked like normal when we arrived on the street where the bank was located. I scanned the area, noticing a few pedestrians strolling by and several parked cars. It was the black transit van that caught my attention, and just as I was pulling up to the kerb, the bank doors flew open. A number of men dressed in dark clothing emerged, their faces disguised beneath balaclavas.