Missing - Page 4

Chapter 44

After she’d hung up, Jess turned back to the file and read through her notes on the interview she’d conducted for what felt like the hundredth time.  This time she started from the beginning, going back over the basic information and comparing it to their answers in the first interview. She read through when they’d spoken to their daughter last, her work place, her address in town, any friends they knew of. As she did, all of a sudden she noticed a discrepancy. It was small and easily overlooked. It may not mean anything. She could have made an error in writing it down, or they may have remembered incorrectly but it was something she hadn’t noticed before. She had to check it out. Picking up her phone she rang the number for the girl’s parents. There was no answer. Damn it.

She tried John Gorman, no answer. God damn it, where was everyone?

Over the next couple of hours she tried both numbers but still could not get an answer. Then her own phone rang in her hand. She looked at the caller Id. and sounding a little harassed she said “hey.”

“Hi” Marco said “how’s it going?”

“I think I may have found something, but I need to make a trip to the country to find out for sure.”

“Can’t you just call?” he said, his voice laced with concern.

“I’ve tried, I can’t get an answer.  I’ve got a bad feeling about the girl’s parents Marco.”

“Then I’m coming with you” he said.

“You don’t need to do that, you have to work and I can look after myself.”

“Forget work. I’m not due in court and I’m doing nothing that can’t wait, but even if I was, I’m not about to let you go by yourself after what’s been happening around here. How do you know they aren’t still watching you anyway?”

“I don’t. I am assuming they are and I was going to take precautions.”

“Not good enough. I’m coming.”

She could hear the determination in his voice and arguing was just wasting time. She sighed. “Okay” she said.

“I’ll pick you up, just let me go home first to change.”

“Not from here” she said. “I’ll meet you at Central shopping centre, second level of the parking structure, west side. I know the security guard there. He’ll look after my bike. Can you swap your hire car though, they’ll already know it.”

“No need” he said. “I picked up my new car this morning.”

“Good” she said. “See you in an hour.”

“Done” he said “and for god sake be careful.”

“I always am” she said “bye.”

Jess hung up and getting to her feet got ready to leave. First she sent off an email to her boss outlining everything she’d found and what she intended to do. Then she retrieved her handgun from the safe and made sure it was loaded. As a private detective she was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, although she rarely did. Putting it into a shoulder holster, she tried the parent’s number one last time. Still no result, so picking up her keys she left her apartment. 

Chapter 45

Jess parked her bike on the first level and then went to find Len, the security guard she knew. She found him in his office just inside the door leading to the shops. Knocking on the open door she tossed him her keys.

“Jess, hey” and looking down at the keys in his hand he said with a smile “same arrangement as before?”

“Yep” she said, “if I’m not back by closing, lock her up for me.”

“No worries Jess. She’ll be safe as houses.”

“Thanks Len. See ya.”

“Bye Jess” he said holding up a hand.

Jess walked further into the shopping centre and taking the escalator to the next floor, she walked through a large department store, coming out again near the next exit to the car park . Continuing on she stepped outside and had not even reached the first line of cars when a black Mercedes pulled up next to her and the window went down. Jess bent to look in and smiled.

She opened the door and got in. “Nice car” she said as Marco pulled away and made his way out of the parking lot.

He grinned. “Thanks, so where to?”

“Head for the highway north, the town we want is about an hour out.”

“Okay” he said.

“Thanks for this” she said.

“No problem” he said with a smile, and reached out to touch her face for a second. “You’ve become very important to me Jess. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

She smiled and said “same here.”

His smile widened. 

Chapter 46

The trip out of town was uneventful and Marco’s expensive car ensured it was very comfortable. When they reached the country town, Jess directed him to the house she’d visited the week before. It was on the outskirts of town and pulling up out the front they both looked up at the house.

“This shouldn’t take long” she said as she turned to look at him.

Marco nodded and said “be careful” as she got out of the car.

She nodded and turned away.

Jess walked up to the door and lifted her hand to knock but the door opened as she touched it. She pushed it further open, there was no one there. “Hello?” she called out. There was no response. Looking inside, she could see all the way to the kitchen at the back of the house and with care, her hand on her gun in its holster, she advanced. In under a minute she’d been through every room, but was careful not to touch anything. There was no sign of life anywhere. Going back to the kitchen she had another look around. It looked like the inhabitants had just left. A meal for two was set out on the counter like they had been there moments before. But on closer inspection she realised the food had been sitting there for a while, days by the looks of it. Turning to the open back door, she discovered some blood on the door frame and the floor.

With a heavy heart she made her way back outside to Marco. Dropping down into the passenger seat again, not bothering to close the car door, she said “they’re gone and by the looks of it, not willingly.”

“What do we do now?” he said.

“Call the police” she said pulling out her phone.

Chapter 47

A few minutes later Jess was explaining her connection to the missing couple to local police officers. She gave them the name of the detective handling the daughter’s case in the city and after her story was verified, she and Marco were allowed to go. There was nothing more they could do there, so they headed back to town. The local police would investigate this disappearance, but that wouldn’t help Jess. The only possible lead she had now couldn’t be checked with the source. That meant she’d have to do it another way. She’d have to explore the discrepancy in the addresses of Natalie’s workplace she’d found in the file by looking at the business of the second address and see if there was a connection with Natalie or anyone she knew. It was still possible that it was simply an error.

Jess was quiet as they drove back to town, she couldn’t stop thinking. As they stopped at some lights on the edge of the city Marco reached out and picked up her hand. She turned her head and gave him a small smile. It was all she could manage.

“None of this is your fault Jess.”

“If I’d spotted the discrepancy before, they might be okay now. If I hadn’t been so distracted by...” she stopped and looked away.

“By me?” he said in a quiet voice.

She didn’t respond. She didn’t want to admit that to him or herself.

The lights changed and Marco released her hand and continued to drive. They didn’t speak again until he stopped outside her place. It was early evening now. Marco turned off the car.

“Thank you” she said, releasing her seat belt.

“No worries” he said.

“I think I’ll have an early night” she said.

Marco nodded, “okay.”

“Night” Jess said and turned to get out.

“Wait” he said bringing his hand down on her arm before she could open the door. “It’s not okay.”

“What?” she said, turning back to face him.

“I’m not going to let you blame me or yourself for that matter for what happened.”

Jess shook off his hand, her expression angry. “You’re not going to let me? I beg your pardon. Who the hell do you think you are?”

Marco’s eyes flashed “don’t even think about it Jess. You haven’t seen me angry yet and trust me, you don’t want to, so stop trying to pick a fight with me to make yourself feel better.”

“What?” she said. She was seething at his implication.

“The trouble with you is you feel things too much, you take on responsibility for things that happen that isn’t yours. You feel guilty about those people, and your way of dealing with it is to deprive yourself of something, like any happiness in your life, as if what happened to them means you’re not entitled to it.”

“That’s crap” Jess said turning away.

“No it’s not” he said “why else are you pushing me away? This is exactly what you did when you found out about your boss’s accident.”

“Maybe I just want some time alone, ever thought of that?”

“Time alone for what? To torture yourself some more? Time alone is the last thing you need.”

“How would you know?”

“Because I’m starting to see a pattern. Am I wrong?”

She didn’t respond.

“I’m not letting you get out of this car until you give me an answer” he said in a determined tone.

But his ultimatum just lifted the lid off her temper again, “You’re not letting me?” she said her head snapping back to glare at him. “God you’re full of yourself. How are you going to stop me?”

“By force if I have to” he said, pushing the button for the central locking on his door, which was out of her reach. He looked as serious as she’d ever seen him.

“I’m the one with a gun” she pointed out.

“What are you going to do with that” he asked, his tone scathing, “shoot your way out?”

Astounded, Jess just stared at him for a minute, but then all of a sudden the absurdity of the argument hit her and she laughed.

Marco shook his head but then laughed too.

 She looked away.

He reached out to clasp her hand and in an even tone he said “was it my ability to commit you were worried about all that time that you kept me at arm’s length, or yours? It seems every time something goes wrong you react by punishing yourself.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “You know you’re way too smart for my good” she said after a minute, opening her eyes to look at him, her anger spent.

He smiled. “Does that mean I get to come in?”

“If you stop psychoanalysing me.”

He laughed. “You’re safe, that as good as it gets from me.”

Leaning over, she said “well what you’ve got is pretty damn good” and she kissed him.

“Come on, let’s continue this inside” he said after a second.

“If you’re staying for a while, drive into the garage” Jess said pushing the door opener. “Your car will be safer. There’s plenty of room even with Ren’s car.”

But when Marco pulled in, Ren’s car wasn’t there. “Just pull into his spot” Jess said. “He can park beside you when he comes in.

They got out of the car and Jess unlocked the door and let them in. She turned off the alarm and then reset it once they were inside.

Chapter 48

In the kitchen Jess picked up a note off the bench. She read it and said “damn I think I’ve lost a roommate. Ren says he’s staying at his girlfriends for a while, to give me some space.” She lowered her head to her arms on the bench and groaned. “God I must have really spooked him yesterday.”

Marco laughed and rubbed her back. “I doubt he took it personally. From what I can tell he’s not an idiot.”

She sighed. “He warned me about you, you know” she teased leaning her chin on her hand and smiling up at him.

“Okay. I take it back, he is an idiot.”’

She laughed and straightened. “He just doesn’t know you well enough, only your reputation. You have to admit, it wasn’t good.”

He grinned and pulled her into his arms. “Yeah, I can’t blame him for wondering I guess, shows he cares about you anyway. For that alone I can’t hate him.”

She smiled and reaching up she kissed him.

Marco folded his arms around her and the kiss soon became heated. A minute later he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Later, lying in her bed, Marco’s lips grazed her bare shoulder, he said “one good thing about Ren leaving for a while, we won’t have to worry about being interrupted.”

She smiled and rolling over to sit astride his hips, she looked down at him. They had only turned on a lamp and the low light made his olive skin look darker. “True” she said as she traced a finger over his chest and along the bulge in each bicep. Mesmerised, her gaze followed the path of her finger. Then lifting a hand and pulling her hair to one side she leaned down and kissed him.

A couple of hours later, Marco was asleep but Jess just couldn’t settle. Her mind wouldn’t slow down enough to allow sleep. She got out of bed and pulling an old t-shirt over her head she went to check her emails. She’d called John Gorman during the drive home and had finally reached him. He’d fallen asleep with his phone on silent when he got home from the hospital.  She filled him in on what they had found out of town and he’d said he’d read her email about what she’d found in the file and get back to her.

Clicking on the mail from him she read his thoughts. They matched her own.  However he told her to hand the information over to the police and let them deal with it. Jess wasn’t sure she was happy with that. She didn’t want this case disappearing in the backlog of unsolved cases. After being in the police force, she knew how they worked. They didn’t have the man power to follow up every lead straight away and this couldn’t wait. Too many people were getting hurt. She’d tell them what she knew, but she’d do some investigating herself too.

Lost in her thoughts she jumped as large hands came down on her shoulders. Marco dropped his head and his lips came into contact with her neck “what are you doing?” he asked.

“Working” she said with a smile.

“It’s way too late for that” he said turning her around and pulling her out of the chair. Wrapping his arms around her waist he whispered “it’ll still be there in the morning.”

“I couldn’t sleep” she said folding her arms around his neck.

“I can fix that” he said with a smile, releasing her and leading her back to the bedroom.

Jess smiled and teased “didn’t we try that already?”

“Not what I meant” he said, grinning. He sat on the bed and said “come here and lie down on your stomach.”

Jess shrugged and did as instructed. Marco lowered himself down to sit on her lower back and began to massage her back and shoulders.

She sighed. “That feels amazing” she whispered.

“Shhh,” he said and after leaning down to kiss her temple he continued to massage.

Before Jess knew what was happening, she had drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 49

 The next morning she woke to an empty bed and looking at the clock she realised why, it was after eleven. Damn she thought and spotted the note Marco had left on the bedside table.

Didn’t want to wake you. He wrote. I knew you were working from home and I figured sleep was more important. See you tonight, love Marco.

Love Marco, she mused laying back on the pillow and tracing his words with her finger. Was that just a standard way to end a note, the sort of throw-away line everyone used or did he mean it. There was no doubt that she loved him. She realised now she had done for years. But what of him? She thought she knew, she hoped she did, but she wanted to hear him say it.

With a sigh, she put her personal life aside and got out of bed. After some breakfast, she got to work planning how she was going to proceed. Then her plans made she showered, dressed and headed out.

After picking up her bike, her first stop was a meeting with the detective in charge of the missing person’s case. She told him what she had found in the file. She also told him that she intended to continue her own investigation but assured him she wouldn’t interfere in their case. She’d keep them informed of any discoveries she made. They agreed, but only because of her police background. Jess’s next stop was the detective agency. Here she walked into straight into Gorman’s office. She didn’t bother to greet Chelsea and the other woman didn’t speak either.  Knocking and entering Jess noticed the large man sitting to one side of the desk. He got to his feet as she walked in.

But with a hand signal from John Gorman the man stopped moving. “Mitch I want you to meet Jess Oats, one of my detectives.”

The big man nodded and held out his hand.

“Hey Mitch” Jess said shaking it.

“Go get yourself a cup of coffee Mitch” John said to the man. He nodded and putting the paper he’d been reading onto the chair he’d just vacated, he walked out of the office.

 Jess watched the man leave and as she heard Chelsea cooing at him before the door closed, she rolled her eyes.  She moved her eyes back to her boss, “he looks capable.”

John smiled “let’s hope so. He’s done a defensive driving course anyway.”

“Does he talk?” she teased.

“When he has to” John said, smiling.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Not too bad, all things considered. This aches a bit” he said indicating his plastered arm. “But otherwise, I’m okay.  What have you been up to?”

“Besides letting this case nearly stuff up my personal life, not much.”

“Marco?”

“Well I don’t go through men so quickly that I’d have found another one already” she teased.

He smiled. “Is it sorted out?”

She shrugged “I’m just lucky he doesn’t scare easily.”

“What about the case, have you handed over the information you found to the police?”

“Yes, and I told them I’d be doing some investigating too.”                                    

He frowned, “I thought we agreed to let them handle it?”

“I just don’t want this case to be put aside due to lack of manpower. Too many people have been hurt already.”

He sighed. Then after a second he said “Have you got any ideas?”

“A few” she admitted. “If we assume that that discrepancy I found wasn’t a case of the thing being written down incorrectly or remembered wrongly, but the result of Natalie Bowman telling her parents something she shouldn’t have, then that second address may be the key to everything. So I’m going to see what I can find out about it. As it was given as her work address it puts he suspicion squarely back on her work place.”

“Be careful Jess, whoever is behind this has gone to extreme lengths to keep that information under wraps.”

“I know” she said. “I’ll proceed with caution. I don’t want to see anyone else hurt anymore than you do.”

“Okay” he said, but with some reservation still evident in his tone. “Just keep me informed every step of the way and do not do anything, without telling me first. No heroics Jess, I need you here and in one piece.”

Jess smiled. “Understood. Trust me I have no desire to put myself in harm’s way, but this has to stop.”

He nodded, “agreed.”

“Given the situation here, I’ll work from home.”

“Yes, that’d be best” he said. “Contact me about this through my home email.”

“Will do” Jess said and with a smile she added “I’ll go and rescue Mitch from Chelsea, I bet he hasn’t got past her desk.”

John smiled and as Jess opened the door she glanced back at him. And to indicate her guess had been correct she said “Mitch, Mr. Gorman would like to see you.”

Her boss chuckled and shook his head.

Chapter 50

Jess held up her hand and walked out of the office. She stepped behind her desk to check there wasn’t anything she needed as Mitch closed her boss’s door.

“Your computer has been changed” Chelsea said.

“Good” was all Jess said without looking up as she continued to sift through the files on her desk.

“Let’s hope the same thing doesn’t happen to this one.”

Jess lifted her eyes to look at the other woman. She couldn’t help but think her words were a veiled threat. So putting down the last of the files, she stepped back around her desk and stopped in front of where Chelsea was sitting. She said in a tone that left no doubt that hers was a warning, “it had better not.” Watching the other woman closely, she didn’t miss the almost imperceptible intake of breath. Jess smiled and Chelsea couldn’t maintain eye contact. As the younger woman looked away, her expression fearful, Jess turned away and picking up her helmet, she walked out.

When she got home Jess called John Gorman on his mobile. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but your leak is sitting at your reception desk.”

“How do you know?”

“She as good as told me.”

“So what do I do, sack her?”

“I don’t think you’ll need to. She gave herself away and she knows it. I’d be surprised if she’s still there.” Jess heard John get up and open the office door. Then he was asking an employee where Chelsea was, nobody knew.

“You’re right” he said “she’s gone.”

“Change the lock” Jess said. “She still has keys.”

“I’ll do that now. I’ll have to get everything checked, computers, phones, everything.”

“Good idea, who knows what she may have done.”

“At least that eliminates one problem. We won’t have someone working against us now.”

“Check her out with the police” Jess said “see what you can find out. There has to be a connection with someone in this case.”

“That’s my next job. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay” Jess said and hung up.

Chapter 51

Jess spent the rest of the day doing investigations on the internet. She needed to find out all she could about that second address. Who owned the premises? Who had an interest in it? Whose business operated out of there, if that was different to the owner? She also needed to look again at the ownership of Natalie’s workplace to see if there was a connection to anyone from the second site. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Natalie’s boss was involved.

However on first glance she could find nothing to back up that belief. The address listed as Natalie’s work place, as expected was registered to the import/export company she’d worked for with Simon Mason as the sole owner. That was pretty straight forward. But from a title search on the second address she found it was an investment property, owned by a company called Winstar Ltd. They leased the sight to a cleaning company, who were said to use it as a warehouse for the storage of chemicals. However both Winstar and the cleaning company were owned by yet two further companies, so finding any link wasn’t going to be a simple process. Needing to concentrate her efforts, Jess decided the cleaning company was the most likely given they used the building, so she started with them. But after hours of investigating company directors of more companies than she could remember and without finding anything Jess was beginning to think she was on the wrong track and switched to the ownership of the premises. But here again she hit a wall of companies within companies.

Later that afternoon she got a call from John Gorman. “Chelsea was picked up by the police earlier today” he said after she’d said hello. “She’s not talking though. We still don’t know who put her up to working against us. She denies everything of course. She said the reason she left today was that she was sick.”

“So we are no further along?”

“Not from her angle, no, but at least we won’t be going backwards anymore.”

“True” she said. “Have you heard from the police about the second address? Have they found anything?”

“Nothing on that yet, or on locating the parents.”

“Damn” she said.

“How did you go?” John asked.

“I’m yet to find a link between the second address and Natalie or with anyone she knows. I’d still bet money on her boss being involved though. I’ll keep looking.”

“Leave it for today Jess. You’ve had a big couple of days so get some rest tonight and we’ll start fresh tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” she said.

 “I know it’s Saturday but we need to keep at it. We’ll just work a half day and now we’re free to use the office again, I’ll see you there first thing.”

“Yep, okay” Jess said. “Have a good evening.

“You too Jess, night” he said and severed the connection.

Jess sat back in her chair and rubbed her hands over her face. Despite sleeping until late that morning, she was tired. She turned off the computer and making a cup of coffee went to enjoy the sunset out on the balcony. 

Chapter 52

At six thirty, her door bell rang. After a glance over the railing Jess went to answer it. Marco didn’t wait to be invited in, his lips were on hers before she could even say hello. As he stepped back a few moments later she noticed the garment bag he was carrying. “What’s that?” she said with a smile.

“Clothes” he said, grinning.

“That’s a bit of an assumption, isn’t it?” she teased.

“No” he said “I’m just sick of leaving here in the morning and having to go home before I head to the office. If you chose to kick me out, I’ll just take it with me to Mum and Dad’s.”

She smiled and reaching up to kiss him again she said “as long as you don’t pick a fight, I won’t be kicking you out.”

“Me pick a fight?” he said, looking astounded.

Jess laughed, “well as long as you don’t cause me to pick a fight with you then” she conceded.

“So even when it’s your fault, it’s my fault?”

“Naturally” she said wrapping her arms around his neck.

Marco laid the garment bag on the table in the entry and his gaze slipped down to rest on her lips as his arms folded around her waist. “I’ll cope I guess” he said before kissing her.

Jess became so lost in the embrace she was hardly aware of Marco lifting her to sit her on the table, but as he fitted his hips between her thighs she shivered and wrapping her legs around him, pulled him close. Marco smiled against her mouth and picking her up, he climbed the stairs and carried her into the bedroom.

Later, Jess made him some eggs for dinner and they ate the meal on her bed, watching tv, and afterwards they fell asleep wrapped in each other.

Chapter 53

 The next morning it was Jess who woke first. Rolling over to face Marco, she couldn’t resist stirring him to passion again. He wasn’t awake yet, but as she kissed him, her hands moved over his body. It was only moments before he responded and then they were both consumed by the rush of need.

Rolling to lay on his back minutes later Marco said “that’s one hell of a good morning.”

Jess laughed as she worked to get her breath back.

He rolled his head and looked over at her “you keep that up and I’ll never go home.”

She smiled and rolling over to lean on his chest she said “that’s okay, I’m not sick of you yet.”

He grinned. “Good to know” he said and then added “you want to eat at Tiamo’s tonight?”

Jess raised her eyebrows. She knew he’d been avoiding telling his parents about them and wondered what had changed. “How come?”

“I want to make it difficult for you to back out” he teased. “Once my family know, they’ll never let you get away.”

“Good reason to say no then” she laughed.

“So much for you not being a coward” he said with a grin.

“I’m not the one who’s been keeping it from them.”

He laughed, “fair point.” Then his expression going serious he said “it’s just all my brothers are going to be there and I thought it was a good time to tell them all at once. It’s up to you though. If you don’t want that pressure, that’s fine.”

Jess kissed him. “I love that you want to tell them” she said “so bring it on.”

He grinned. “You may regret that.”

“So be it” she said, not caring. Then pulling his head down to hers she kissed him.

“What about your family?” Marco asked after a few minutes “you’ve never mentioned them and anytime I’ve asked you’ve changed the subject.”

“They don’t live close by.”

“So we’ll go and see them” he said.

 “Let’s just worry about your family for now” she said with a smile.

“Yes,” he said “they definitely live close by and once they know you’ll never get rid of them.”

She smiled. “I’m looking forward to it. But are you ready for this? This is a big step for you.”

“Jess” he said “there is no going back for me” and his tone teasing he added, “if you walk away, I’ll die a broken hearted man.”

“Yeah right” she said with a laugh.

“Why do you believe you aren’t enough?” he asked his expression serious now.

“I don’t” she said, looking away.

“No” he said sitting up, “it’s me you’re unsure of, still. What do I need to do to convince you? Are you ever going to be able to trust me?”

Jess swallowed hard. She hadn’t meant to upset him, but she could see she had. “I do” she said.

“No I don’t think you do. Not really. I think you’re just waiting for me to slip up” he said and getting out of bed he picked up his clothes and walked into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him with a quite click that sounded louder in the quiet room, than if he’d slammed it.

Jess got up and pulled on some clothes.

Ten minutes later Marco walked out of the bathroom. He was showered and changed. He put his shoes on and grabbing his bag he walked out of the room.

Jess was worried. He hadn’t said a word since he’d got out of bed. He hadn’t even looked at her. “What about dinner?” she was forced to ask as he opened the front door and it became clear he was intending to leave without saying anything.

“That’s up to you” he said without turning, before he walked out and closed the door behind him.

Jess sat down on top of the internal stairs and rubbed her hands over her face. She knew he’d left the ball in her court. He’d done everything he could to show her he wasn’t going to let her down and now it was up to her. She needed to either to commit herself completely and decide to trust him or walk away. But the trouble was both options scared her. She sighed and getting to her feet, she got ready to start her day.

Chapter 54

Jess walked into the office of Gorman detective agency at eight am that morning. She had grabbed a coffee at the cafe two doors down and walking into the office space she smiled at the young woman behind the reception desk. “Hi I’m Jess” she said introducing herself.

“Hi” the woman said. “I’m Kylie. I’m just temping for a few days.”

“I hope you enjoy it” Jess said. “Shame you have to start on a Saturday.”

“I don’t mind” she said.

“If you have any questions while I’m here, don’t hesitate to ask” Jess said.

“Thanks Jess” the younger woman said.

“Is Mr Gorman in?” she asked.

“Yes” Kylie said. “He let me in and he’s in his office now.”                                                       

“Thanks” Jess said. She was glad to have someone who was willing to be helpful in the office for a change. “I’ll go straight in. See you soon.”

“I’ll make sure you aren’t disturbed” Kylie said with a smile and turned her attention back to the computer screen.

“Jess” John said as she entered and closed the door. “Good now I’ve been thinking about where we go from here.”

Jess took a seat opposite him. “What’s the plan?”

“We need to get some intel on the warehouse.”

“Agreed,” Jess said “how do you suggest we do that though?”

“Well you and I can’t go near it. They know who we are, not to mention they may be watching us, so I’m sending Pete and Serge out to do some surveillance, starting tonight. I know it’s the weekend but it can’t be helped. You need to concentrate on finding a connection between Natalie and that warehouse.”

“I’ve tried” Jess said sitting back in her chair.

“I know” he said “but it’s all we’ve got so we have to keep trying. Maybe work from the other end now. Look at the cleaning company who is supposed to use the site and see if you can find something linking them back to her.

Jess nodded “okay, that may work. It’s somewhere new to start anyway.

“Right” he said “now as you no doubt saw on your way in I’ve employed a temp to replace Chelsea. She seems well able so hopefully she’ll be able to give you a hand. If she likes it here and works out, we may be able to get her to join us permanently. I’ve also put Matt on finding anything Chelsea may have interfered with here.”

“That’s going to take some doing, she was here for six months.”

“Yes” he said, his tone curt, “and I know you didn’t like her, but before this case I had no reason to think she wasn’t above board.”

Jess was quiet for a second and then nodded again “no I guess you’re right, she may have been annoying but I didn’t notice anything untoward before this, although, I wasn’t looking for it either.”

“No” he said looking down at his desk.

Jess got the feeling he was more upset that one of his employees had betrayed him than he was letting on. After a second she said “okay” and she got to her feet. “I’ll get to work.”

“Thanks for coming in Jess” he said looking up at her, “keep me informed.”

“Will do” Jess said and left the office.

Sitting down at her desk Jess turned on her new computer. But as she waited for it to start up, Marco invaded her thoughts. She sighed and sat back in her chair. What was she going to do? Should she trust him? She really had thought she did, but maybe she didn’t. And if she wasn’t able to, could she walk away? Could she stand it if he did? Sighing she closed her eyes and rubbed her hands over her face.

“Is there anything I can do to help you Jess” Kylie said.

Jess moved her hands and looked over at the other woman. She forced herself to smile “thanks, but no. I don’t think anyone can help me. I just need to get my mind on the job.”

“Okay” the other woman said “well if there is, just let me know.”

“I will” Jess said “thanks.” And as the other woman turned back to her computer screen Jess put her personal life aside and got to work.

Chapter 55

At seven that night Jess stood outside Tiamo’s and took a deep breath. She was nervous and she wasn’t sure what welcome she’d get, but she needed to talk to Marco. Having reached a decision she just prayed he’d understand. So gathering her courage she pushed open the door and walked in. Her hands began to shake as she looked around and saw all of Tony and Anna’s sons and their partners and kids sitting around a large table at the back of the restaurant. She linked her hands together to still their movement. There were a few other diners in the restaurant but not many. The family had obviously picked a quiet night for their gathering. The waiters were serving the other tables. The family group hadn’t got as far as food yet. They were chatting over drinks. Despite having all his family there, Tony was still fulfilling his role as host and he jumped up and came forward to greet her when she walked in.

“Jess” he said with a beaming smile, “you picked a good night to come in all the family is here.”

“I know” Jess said and taking a deep breath as Marco appeared behind his father, his hands in his pockets and his expression serious, she added “Marco invited me.”

Surprise showed on Tony’s face before he turned to look at his eldest son.

But Marco wasn’t looking at his father. His eyes were on her. She smiled at him, telling him with her eyes, she was ready to trust him. And as she watched, his face lit up with a beautiful smile. Then before Tony could ask any questions, Marco stepped forward and answered them all by pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

Lost in his embrace Jess was aware of nothing and no one else. It was only when Marco lifted his head and she heard cheering, that she remembered there were other people present. She smiled up at Marco.

He winked at her and turning to face his family. His arm around her shoulders, he grinned and said “you all know Jess.”

“Not as well as you do by the looks of it” Marco’s brother Dom joked.

Marco just grinned and said something in Italian that had all his brothers laughing.

Jess frowned. She didn’t like being the topic of conversation when she didn’t know what was being said.

But as Marco pulled out a chair and held it for her before taking a seat next to her, she found she had other things to worry about. A disconcerting silence had fallen on the group and looking around she saw that all eyes were on her. She reached for Marco’s hand under the table.

He squeezed it and looking around he said “okay guys, I apologise for the interruption but can you as least pretend you know how to treat a guest, back to what you were doing.”

There was general laughter for a moment and much to Jess’s relief, conversations again started and the focus shifted off her. Taking advantage of this reprieve, she leaned over and whispered to Marco “what did you say to your brother?”

He grinned and moving his head to whisper in her ear he said “tutto quello che dovete sapere è che lei è dolce e bella lei è mia.”

She gave him a scornful look. “Yeah I got that, what does it mean?”

He laughed and moving his mouth near to her ear again he said “that all he needed to know was that you are sweet and beautiful and mine.”

A shiver passed through Jess and turning her head to look at him, she said “thank you.”

“Thank you for coming” he said.

“My pleasure” she said and as a bowl of pasta was passed to her by one of Marco’s young nephews seated on the other side of her, she put some on her plate and passed it on.

Chapter 56

After a couple of hours, stuffed and thinking she wouldn’t need to eat for a week, Jess retreated to the bathroom. As she was washing her hands Anna walked in. The older woman stood with her feet apart, her arms crossed over her chest, and looked at Jess.

Anna’s expression was serious and Jess was worried. If Anna didn’t approve of her seeing Marco, that could make all her deliberating about what to do worse than a waste of time. She knew how much respect and love Marco had for his mother. Jess swallowed as she waited for her to speak.

“So you like my Marco?” she said at length.

Jess gave her a small smile. “Very much” she said.

Anna nodded. “You going to hurt him?”

“No” Jess said her smile fading away.

“I knew he was seeing someone” Anna said. “He was happy...how do you say?... he was content, until tonight, tonight , before you came, he was sad.”

Jess nodded and looked away, “yes, I’m sorry about that. That was my fault” and looking back into Anna’s eyes she added, “I’ll try to do better in future.”

Anna smiled then. “Okay, you’re a good girl Jess. You look after my boy.”

“I will” she said feeling relieved.

“Good” the older woman said and patting her cheek she said “let’s go eat.”

“What more?” Jess was dismayed. She didn’t think it was possible to consume anymore food.

“Of course” Anna said with a smile “you’ll learn mia cara.”

Jess smiled.  Anna made her feel like she was a little girl again, but she didn’t mind. It warmed her and made her feel welcome.

Chapter 57

After a long but delicious meal and having answered the same questions about their relationship twenty odd times, Jess and Marco made their escape.

Almost running out of the restaurant in their haste to get away, her hand in Marco’s, Jess burst out laughing as they hit the street. “Wow you weren’t kidding about them.”

He grinned and releasing her hand, he draped an arm around her and pulled her against his side. “I told you” he said. “If my brother’s haven’t all just happened to drop by your place by the end of the weekend, then I don’t know them. Not to mention my mother. She’ll be sending food up here at least once a day.”

Jess laughed “are you serious?”

“Not quite. But don’t be surprised if your life isn’t your own anymore.”

Jess smiled, she liked the thought of being part of his family but with that thought came guilt. She had some explaining to do. Unlocking the door to her apartment, she walked into her living room and sat down. Marco dropped down beside her. He sighed and then turning to her he kissed her neck.

“Marco” she said.

“Yeah” he said between kisses.

“I’m sorry about this morning. I do trust you.”

She felt him smile against her skin “forget it” he said “I’m glad you came.”

She moved away and turned her head to look at him. “I can’t forget about it” she said and her eyes dropping away from his, she said, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. It wasn’t about you really, well not all of it.”

He just watched her and waited.

Jess sighed. “When you asked about my family earlier I wasn’t exactly truthful.”

“No?” he said.

She shook her head, “I said no one lived around here, but the truth is, no one lives anywhere.”

“What do you mean?” he said.

Jess took a deep breath, “I don’t have any family, not anymore.”

“What, no one at all?”

She shook her head. “No. I was an only child. My parents were in their late forties when they had me. I’m not sure if I was an accident or whether they had been trying and not succeeding for a long time. Maybe they just woke up one day and decided life was passing them by and they needed to do something.” She shrugged. “I never got the chance to ask. My mother died of cancer when I was ten and my dad more or less gave up after that. He never really recovered and he was dead by the time I was sixteen. He was hit by a bus. It was ruled an accident, but to this day I’m not sure he didn’t do it on purpose.”

Marco reached out and picked up her hand.

She squeezed his fingers and continued “I lived with my Grandmother after that until I joined the police force and was able to support myself and she died when I was twenty one. She was my dad’s mother. I never knew my mother’s parents. I don’t think she ever saw them. We certainly didn’t after she’d died. My dad had one brother, but he died when they were kids, so I never had any cousins.”

“I’m sorry” Marco said “I didn’t know.”

“No reason you should” she said looking away, “I don’t talk about it. You’re the first person I’ve told in years. Even Ren doesn’t know all of it. And it’s fine, it all happened a long time ago.”

“Why don’t you talk about it? It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I’m not” she said her head spinning around to look at him, “that’s not it. It’s just if I tell people, they feel sorry for me and it becomes all I’m about. I survived. I’m a stronger person because of it. I don’t need people seeing me as a pathetic figure.”

“I’m sure no one who knows you, would think that.”

She shrugged.

“I think you did better than survive. You’ve created a great life for yourself and all on your own. Not everyone could do that. As far as I’m concerned, you’re to be admired not pitied.”

She shrugged again and not meeting his eyes she said “anyway I’ve never really thought about it until today but I think losing them all had more of an affect than I realised. I find it difficult to trust that anyone will stick around, I think I always have. In the past, I’ve tended to push people away before they had a chance to leave. It’s a safety mechanism I guess.”

Marco reached out and lifting her face so she was looking at him, he said “I can’t guarantee the future Jess, no one can, but I promise you I wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt you.”

She gave him a small smile “I know.”

“Do you?” he asked.

She nodded. “After everything I’ve put you through, how could I not?” and leaning forward she kissed him.

It started out as a tender kiss of gratitude but as soon as Marco responded it went way beyond that.

He pushed her down onto the couch and lay over her and before long they were both lost to the world.

Chapter 58

 Early the next morning Jess’s phone rang.

Getting out of bed before the noise disturbed Marco she walked into the living room to answer it.

It was John Gorman. “Chelsea’s disappeared” he said as soon as she’d picked up.

“I thought the police were holding her?”

“They had to release her and now they can’t find her.”

“Is it Intentional?”

“They don’t think so. Her car was found abandoned. There were signs of a struggle.”

 “Oh my god” she said. “We’ve got to stop this.”

“I think we need to get together and go through what we have again. I know it’s Sunday, but this can’t wait.”

Jess sighed. “I agree. You want to come around here for breakfast? All the info is on my home computer.”

“Sounds good” he said “see you soon.”

Jess dropped her phone into her lap and wiped her hands over her face.

“Problem?”  Marco said.

Jess looked up and saw him leaning in the door way. He’d pulled on his suit pants but his feet were bare as was the top half of him.

She smiled at the sensuous picture he made, half dressed with his dark hair tousled but then her expression going sombre she nodded,  “another disappearance, our former receptionist.”

Marco pushed off the wall and walked towards her. “Are you any closer to finding out who’s behind it?” he asked as he sat down beside her.

“No, my boss is on his way over. We’re going to go through everything again.”

“You want me to go?”

She shook her head. “No” she said “you’re involved anyway and if you don’t mind, you may be able to help. Fresh eyes often spot something that’s been over looked.”

“Sure” he said as he pulled her into his arms. Kissing her jaw he said “how long have we got.”

Jess laughed “not long enough for that. And moving out of his arms she said “if you can start organising some breakfast, I’ll just have a quick shower and I’ll finish up whatever you decide to make when I get out.”

Marco grinned, “easy done.”

“Thanks” she said and getting to her feet, she walked back into the bedroom.

Chapter 59

But when Jess returned to the living room, Marco was nowhere to be seen and the kitchen was untouched. She checked the balcony, the whole apartment, nothing. She frowned. Where the hell had he gone? Why hadn’t he said he was going out? Damn, she was getting sick of people disappearing.  

Needing coffee to start her brain functioning as she considered where Marco might have gone Jess walked into the kitchen and put on the kettle. As she waited for it to boil she went into her office and brought up the file on her laptop, then pushed print to print off three copies. Walking back out of the room she made a pot of coffee and as she poured herself a cup she heard the front door open and close. Within seconds Marco jogged up the stairs his arms loaded with bags.

She raised an eyebrow at him in silent question.

He grinned and holding up the bags said “breakfast.”

“Tell me you didn’t get your mother to make it?” she said as she crossed her arms.

“Why not?” he said as his smile widened. “When I told her it was for you she said she’d make something special.”

Jess rolled her eyes but then couldn’t help smiling. “I’ll go and thank her later” she said.

“No need” he said kissing her on the way past. “She was happy to do it.”

“I need to thank her” Jess said. “You may be happy to take advantage of her, but I’m not.”

Marco Laughed. “You do what you need to, but you’ll soon find out it’s the other way around. She loves to take care of us all and with only TJ at home now, she takes advantage of any opportunity the rest of us give her to do something for us.”

Jess shook her head and sniffing at the food he was serving up she said “thank you.” There were eggs Florentine, scrambled eggs with tomato and crispy pancetta. She kissed his jaw as the door bell rang.

Jess went to answer it and as was her habit these days, she did so with caution. But as expected, it was John Gorman. She led her boss into the living room and introduced him to Marco.

She watched the two men shake hands.

“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered” John said to the younger man.

“You too” Marco said and looking at Jess he said, “you want to eat on the balcony?”

She nodded. “I hope you don’t mind John, I asked Marco to give us a hand. He’s involved in this already and with his legal mind, he may be some help.”

“Sure” John said. “A fresh perspective is a good idea.”

“That’s what I thought” Jess said. “Okay you guys head outside and I’ll grab the file.”

As they ate they all read though the information. Jess talked them through what she’d learnt about the business where Natalie worked and the cleaning company who used the warehouse. It turned out that the cleaning company was owned by another company, who was part of a conglomerate. It was going to take time to untangle all the people and organisations involved in the sequence, so she hadn’t got that far.

 “I know this company” Marco said as he read through the printed information.

“Which one?” Jess said her head spinning around to look at him.

“The import company” he said “we had a client who started an action against them. He was an ex employee of theirs who was injured on the job and had been sacked. He had a good case, but before we could get it to court, he pulled the plug. We wondered at the time if he’d been got at, but there was little we could do if he refused to proceed.”

“Can you check your files and see what info you have on them” Jess said. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s going to take me weeks to wade through the ownership chain, so anything that would speed up the process would be a big help.”

“Sure” he said. Then looking at Jess he said “maybe it’s the site itself that’s the key. What if what the importer/export company are really importing and exporting isn’t something they want known. Maybe they use the warehouse to store, whatever it is?”

John Gorman nodded “Yes, I’ve thought the same thing. I’ve set up surveillance on the warehouse to observe any coming and goings.”

“But the cleaning company use it” Jess said.

“Do you know that for sure?” Marco said. “Just because they have a lease doesn’t mean they use it.”

“I guess that’s my first job for tomorrow’ Jess said “but then how does Natalie come into it?”

Marco shrugged “maybe she was in on it?”

“I can’t see it” Jess said “not from what I’ve learnt.”

“But what have we learnt about her?” John said. “You said yourself she didn’t really know anyone here, well the reverse is also true, nobody here knew her. Maybe there was a reason for that?”

 Jess looked at him for a minute. “It’s possible I guess, but after talking to the parents it’s not the picture they painted of their daughter.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time a parent didn’t know what their kids were up to, or even what they were capable of” Marco said.

“I guess so” Jess said “but it doesn’t change anything anyway. Whether she’s gone missing on her own or not, doesn’t alter our job. We’ve been employed to find her.”

“You’re right Jess” John said “that has to be our aim, speculation as to whether it was her choice or not can’t come into it.”

“Well if we are still looking at her boss and I can’t see any better options, and if we assume that second address is the key, if we can’t find a connection between the two companies, we’ve got nothing” Jess said “the police won’t touch it.”

“I’ll do some digging on Monday” Marco said. “I’ll see what we’ve got on our files.”

“Don’t do anything that will get you into trouble” Jess said, worried.

Marco smiled and teased “don’t worry Jess I won’t break any laws.”

She smiled and looked away.

“Thanks Marco” John said.

“No problem” Marco said “do the police know about this already?”

“Yes” Jess said “I told them the other day. But I doubt they’ll be pushing very hard if there is no obvious connection between the two addresses. They can’t get a search warrant or anything until they have a confirmed link. Not to mention we have no evidence to even link her employer to Natalie’s disappearance. “

“Well” John said “let’s see what Marco finds and go from there. In the mean time we’ll both keep digging.”

“And what about Chelsea, what do we do about her disappearance?”

John shrugged “there’s not a lot we can do. The police are following it up. I’d love to know how she got mixed up in it though.”

“I can guess” Jess said with a raised eyebrow.

John sighed. “Yes, I know your thoughts about her and I’ll have to concede that maybe I only saw one side of her, but being insincere is a long way from being involved in something illegal, where people are getting hurt.”

Jess nodded.

Then getting to his feet John said “and I’ve imposed on your weekend enough so I’ll be on my way. Thanks for breakfast Jess.”

“That was Marco” Jess said with a smile.

“Well thank you Marco” John said with a smile.

“No problem” Marco said.

Jess got up and gathered the copies of the file. As Marco got to his feet and picked up the plates they walked her boss to the door.

“See you tomorrow” John said after opening the door, “and be careful.”

“I will” Jess said “bye.”

John lifted a hand and walked out the door.

As soon as the door closed Marco pulled Jess into his arms. Lowering his head to kiss her throat he said “are we done with work for now.”

She smiled and tilted her head. “I think so.”

“Good” he said and picking her up he carried her back to bed.

Chapter 60

That afternoon they lounged on her bed, half dressed and half watching TV.  At one point, Jess teased “for a lawyer, you don’t have much of a poker face apparently.”

He frowned “why?”

“When your mother was inquiring about my intentions last night....”

“She didn’t?” he said.

Jess grinned and nodded.

Marco groaned.

“She loves you remember” Jess said “anyway she said she’d known for a while that you were seeing someone. That you looked happy.”

He smiled. “She only knew because I wasn’t hiding it” Marco said.

Jess laughed “so you are good at hiding your emotions then?”

“When I need to be” he said with a smug look.

“I guess at work, you’d have to be.”

“It helps” he said with a grin. “I’m pretty much an open book when I’m not working though, especially when I know what I want.”

Jess thought back about how things had been between them since he’d started pursuing her. She nodded, “you are, aren’t you?”

“You sound surprised” he said with a grin. “I might have been a bit of a player before...”

“A bit?” she scoffed.

His smile widened, “okay a lot, but I didn’t deny it. I was always honest about it. I never lied to anyone.”

“Do you miss it?” she teased “a different girl every night?”

“Not for a second” he said. “If I’d known this, you, were what I was looking for, I’d have been knocking on your door years ago.”

She smiled. “I’m glad I kissed you that night.”

“Why did you?” he asked grinning.

She shrugged “you were so busy trying to get a reaction from me, I wanted to give you something to think about.”

“Well you did that alright. I’ve been able to think about little else but you since then.”

She smiled.

“And you didn’t feel anything for me before that?” he asked.

“Maybe” she said her smile widening into a grin.

“So I’m not the only one who can hide their emotions” he teased.

She laughed.

“And what do you feel for me now?” he teased in a low rasp.

Leaning toward him, she kissed him. “That tell you?” she said as she moved back.

“No, but it’ll do for now” he said as he brought his mouth down on hers once more.

Jess felt Marco move to lie over her, his arms wrapped around her, but before things could get any further an explosion rocked the building.

Chapter 61

“What the hell was that?” Marco said as he sprang off the bed and strode to the entrance. Jess who stopped to pull on some tracksuit pants under her t-shirt was only a pace behind him and caught up with him as he yanked the front door open. They looked out and Jess’s eyes widened in shock.

A car had hit her garage door and exploded. The flames reached the first floor and the heat was intense.

“Call the fire brigade” Marco said, putting a protective arm out to stop Jess moving forward as he stepped back.

But before she could move a male voice behind them said “I’ve already done that.”

Marco and Jess span around and looked at the man mounting the outside steps.

“Tate Munroe” he said holding out his hand for them to shake, “John Gorman employed us to watch your place.”

Jess nodded. “Did you see what happened?”

“A guy drove the car into lane and obviously rigged the accelerator. He headed it for your place and then jumped out and ran. Another car picked him up at the top of the lane. As soon as the car hit, it exploded. A remote device I’d say. Sorry it happened too fast for us to stop.”

She nodded again “okay, no worries.  Thanks.”

“Let me know if there’s anything we can do.”

“Will do” she said.

He nodded and as they heard the sirens approaching he walked back to his car. Jess was glad to see him go. Hating the fact that they were there, she wasn’t too eager to explain their presence to the police or anyone else.  With luck they wouldn’t be there much longer.

But as he walked away Jess noticed that people were coming out from everywhere to see what had caused the explosion, two that she recognised were approaching from the end of the lane. Jess pointed and said to Marco, “go and tell them everything is okay? Just say it was an accident. I don’t want them to worry.”

Marco nodded “no me either” and jogging down the stairs met his parents half way down the lane and shepherded them back towards the restaurant.

He came back a few minutes later, just as the crew of the fire truck had put the fire out. Foam coated her building, making it look like there had been a snow fall in that one small area. There didn’t appear to be much damage though, beside the door and the car. With luck her building would only need some cosmetic work. She’d get a structural engineer to check it out.   

“Were Tony and Anna okay?” she asked with a worried frown.

“Yep, they were worried about you, but I told them that I’d bring you by for dinner later and they were happy.”

“Thank you” Jess said.

“No problem” he said with a smile.

“Doesn’t look like there was anyone in it” the fire officer said as he walked up to have a word with them a few minutes later.

“Okay” she said. She didn’t bother to tell him they already knew that.

 “You’re lucky it didn’t make it through the door” the officer continued. “It could have brought your whole place down”

“I’d say that was the idea” she said looking at the burnt out shell of the car, covered in foam.

In the silence that followed Jess looked at the officer and noticed his curious expression, she didn’t enlighten him. Instead she said “steel door.”

He nodded. Then after an awkward silence he said, “the police will be here shortly.”

Jess said “yes.” She was thinking she was glad she lived in a converted commercial building. The strength of the old door was probably the only thing that saved her home from being flattened with her and Marco in it.

Shaking his head, the officer jogged back down the stairs. 

Chapter 62

The next few hours were filled by talking to the police and getting the car towed away. The garage door would have to be removed and replaced which wouldn’t happen until Monday now. That meant her bike was out of action because she couldn’t get it out past the debris but at least it was undamaged.

Back inside Jess dropped down on the couch and closed her eyes. “You can’t stay here” Marco said sitting down beside her.

Her eyes opened to look at him but she didn’t speak.

“Stay with me” he said.

She sighed “I don’t think that’s the answer.”

 He smiled and teased “my place is clean, I promise.”

“And what if they follow?” she said unable to join in the joke. “I don’t want to be responsible for putting anyone else in danger.”

His smile faded and he sighed. “Then I’ll move in properly with you until this is over” his tone serious now.  

“I don’t want to be responsible for putting you in danger either.”

“You’re not. It’s my choice. I’m not leaving you here alone.”                                 

She looked away. She’d didn’t like that this case was impacting on everything including Marco’s life.

“Jess?” he said.

“I’ll be fine” she said.

“I won’t be, not if I know you’re here by yourself.”

She didn’t respond.

“I’m going to do it whether you agree or not” he said, frowning.

She gave him a small smile. “God you’re pushy.”

“When it’s important, you bet your bloody life.”

Her smile widened, “as I don’t seem to have any choice, okay.”

“Good” he said “I’ll have to go and pack some things, you want to come.”

Looking at him for a second she realised she’d never seen his place. She couldn’t help but wonder what it was like. “Okay” she said.

He smiled and standing he held out his hand to help her up “come on. Let’s get my stuff and then we’ll go to the restaurant for a quiet dinner.”

“I don’t think I can eat that much again Marco” Jess said as she stood up.

He laughed, “I promise I won’t force feed you.”

“Yeah, but what about your mother?”

“Ah well, there, you’re on your own. I never cross her.”

She laughed “okay, I need to thank her for breakfast anyway.”

He leaned down and kissed her “you letting her feed you again is all the thanks she’ll need.”

Jess shook her head “that may be okay for you, you’re her son, but I need to make sure she knows I appreciate her time and effort.”

“If I know her, she already considers you a daughter so she won’t accept any thanks, but by all means, give it a go” he said with a grin.

With a smile Jess said “I see she and I will have to come to an agreement.”

“You can try, but I know who’ll win in the end” Marco said.

As she thought about her conversation with Anna the previous night Jess laughed and said “you may be right.”

Marco pulled her into his arms, kissing her neck he said “you want to thank her, just make me happy.”

“Is that right?” she said tilting her head to give him easier access.

“Mmm” he said working his way along her jaw.

“Right” she said her tone absent and turning her head she brought her mouth into contact with his.

A few minutes later he pushed her away from him and said “come on lets go or we’ll never get out of here.”

Jess laughed and followed him out. 

Chapter 63

Marco drove them to his apartment and as they entered Jess wasn’t surprised by the sleek modern residence. It was just the sort of place she imagined him living in, all shining stone and chrome with few soft furnishings. It was not her style as there was little warmth about it, but it suited his image and his lifestyle. It looked like it had come straight off the pages of a magazine. As she looked around Marco said “so?”

“It’s nice” she said. And it was, it was lovely, just not very restful.

“Yeah but not your style” he said reading her thoughts with a smile.

“Maybe not” she admitted with a wince, “sorry.”

He laughed. “Don’t be sorry, I’m not sure it’s my style anymore. When I’ve come back here lately, its felt cold and I haven’t been sorry to leave.” He looked around and added “I’m not sure why it’s different, but it is. I used to enjoy coming in and knowing it was mine. I don’t get that feeling anymore. It’s just a place I keep my stuff now.”

Jess didn’t say anything and after a second his gaze moved back to her and he smiled. “Have a look at the rest, maybe you can help me figure out what I need to change. I won’t be long.”

“Can I help?” she said.

He kissed her head “no I’m good.”

She nodded and as he walked out she moved around the large open plan living area. There were no photos or books or anything personal on show. In the kitchen space she couldn’t help opening the cupboards. She wouldn’t have been surprised to find them empty. The place was like a show home. But while not overly stocked, there was evidence that he lived there. The dish washer was also half stacked with clean dishes. After checking out the other rooms, consisting of a spare bedroom, fitted with only a bed and two bed side tables and a luxurious bathroom that wouldn’t have been out of place in a five star hotel, and a laundry that was better outfitted than many people’s kitchens, she walked into his room. This room was just as polished and neat and impersonal as the rest of the apartment. There was nothing to show who lived there. Everything besides the bed and the bed side tables were behind closed doors. Marco was just zipping up a case. Jess smiled as she took in the wide bed in the middle of the room. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to share it with him. To her it looked too big. She was sure she could lie on one side of it and put her arm straight out and not touch him if he was on the other side. She preferred to be close to the person she was sleeping with.

“Want to try it out?” Marco teased.

“Not today” she said, returning his smile.

 He laughed and moved to wrap his arms around her. “I prefer your bed” he said “although that could have something to do with you being in it” and as he finished speaking he brought his mouth down hard on hers. 

Chapter 64

They drove back to her place and saw that a temporary covering had been fixed over her mangled garage door. The fire men had said they’d send someone out to secure it. After she’d made room in her cupboard and Marco had unpacked, they walked down to the restaurant for dinner. Jess was on alert for the short trip, her heart pumping and her eyes scanning the area as they went, but she was relieved to see nothing out of the ordinary.

Marco’s father welcomed her with a kiss on each cheek. “Now you will dine with us often” he said to Jess “and no more paying” he added with a frown. “You are family, we don’t charge family.”

Not wanting to offend Marco’s father by insisting, Jess held up her hands and conceded “okay, thank you Tony.” She vowed to find some other way to repay them.

Marco grinned and kissing her head he whispered “see you are one of us now.”

Jess had to swallow around the lump in her throat. The feeling of belonging that gave her touched her soul.

“Are you okay after that horrible accident at your house earlier?” Tony asked.

Jess smiled “yes I’m fine thank you Tony. My garage may need some work, but that’s about it.”

He looked her over as if to check and then seemingly satisfied he said “okay, you go and find Anna, she’s waiting to see you.”

Jess and Marco started towards the kitchen, but Tony’s voice stopped them “not you mio figlio. I want to talk to you.”

Marco rolled his eyes at Jess but he was grinning “see you soon” he said giving her a wink.

Jess laughed. She could tell from his demeanour that Marco expected to get one of the lectures he hated so much and she watched with amusement as he moved back and looked at his father. But Marco’s respect for his parent was obvious in his expression as Tony began to speak and she smiled before pushing the swing door open and stepping into the kitchen.

“Jess” Anna said enveloping her in a hug. “Mia cara, stai bene?”

Jess frowned as she returned the hug. “Sorry Anna, I’m not sure what that means.”

“Mi scusi” Anna said as she released her “the accident, you are alright?”

Jess smiled “yes I’m fine. It was only my garage that was damaged.”

“Such a noise” Anna said waving her hands.

“I know” Jess said, but that was just the car. No one was hurt.”

Anna crossed herself “grazie al cielo.” Then brightening she asked “is Marco with you?”

“Yes he’s talking to Tony.”

“Ha, if I know my Tony, it will be him talking and Marco listening.”

Jess laughed. “I think you may be right there. I wanted to thank you for breakfast this morning.”

“Pfft” Anna said with a flip of her hand as she got back to kneading some fresh pasta dough, “don’t be silly, it was nothing.”

“It was something to me” Jess said her tone serious and then needing to explain she added “I don’t have any family. I’m not used to people doing things for me and I want you to know I appreciate it.”

Anna stopped what she was doing and turned to face her “that is not true cara.”

Jess frowned. She didn’t understand what she was referring to.

Anna smiled “you have lots of family now. You just have to learn to accept something when it is freely given.” And patting Jess’s cheek with her floury hand, she said “but you are welcome little one.”

Jess smiled as Anna once again made her feel like a little girl. From someone else it might have been demeaning but there was no malice in Anna and rather than being annoying or insulting, it made Jess feel wanted and cared for. She was beginning to understand why her sons were happy to let their mother take care of them, even though some of them had wives and one had kids.

Chapter 65

As Anna got back to work Jess walked back into the restaurant. Marco was already seated and sipping a drink. Jess noticed that Tony had put them at the same table they’d occupied the night she’d first kissed Marco. She couldn’t help but smile as she thought back.

“What’s that about?” Marco asked indicating her smile and wiping some flour off her cheek as she sat down opposite him.

“Just remembering the last time we sat here” she said.

He grinned “ah yes, that was the beginning.”

“That night was the beginning of a few things” Jess said, a frown forming on her forehead as she remembered it was also the start of her involvement in the missing person’s case.

“You’ll figure it out Jess” Marco said, reaching out and picking up her hand.

“I hope so” she said, wishing she felt that confident.

“I know so” he said. Then grinning he asked “so who won the battle?”

Jess knew he was referring to her discussion with his mother and she smiled, “we reached an agreement.”

“In other words, you’re going to do exactly what she says” he teased.

Her smile widening into a grin she said “pretty much.”

He laughed “told you.”

“She’s a formidable woman.”

“You don’t need to tell me” he said “I lived with her.”

She smiled. “How did the talk with your father go?”

Marco rolled his eyes, “same old thing, when am I getting married, when am I having kids?”

“Oh” Jess said a little disconcerted.

He laughed and reached for her hand again, “don’t worry about it. They’ve been asking that since I was old enough to shave, as I’m sure I’ve told you.  There’s just a little more force behind their questions now that I have given them some hope by telling them about you.”

“Sorry” she said feeling a need to apologise while not really sure what she was apologising for.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about” he said squeezing her hand. “It was my choice to tell them. I knew what was coming and I wouldn’t have done that if I wasn’t ready to deal with it. Besides you’re worth it.”

When he said things like that her heart melted. “Thank you” she said and needing to give something back she leaned over the table and kissed him. As she sat back a few seconds later, he grinned “you’re welcome.”

 They had a lovely dinner and afterwards they walked back to her place. Everything was still peaceful and now it was dark she couldn’t see the temporary shutters over her garage door. Until morning she could pretend that it had never happened. She let them in and locking the door, she set the alarm. There were no further interruptions that night.

Chapter 66

The next morning Jess organised for someone to come and remove her garage door and install a new one and after what had happened, she made sure it was made out of steel. The night before she’d given Marco the spare key and told him the alarm code. He’d already left for work so as she was on the phone she was surprised to hear the front door open and close. On alert she watched the stairs from her seat on the couch and sighed as she watched Ren walk in. She hadn’t seen him since she’d yelled at him a few days ago. He put his keys down on the table at the top of the stairs.

She held up a hand to him to indicate she’d only be a minute and then finishing her call, she said "hey.”

"Hi. What happened out front?” he said as he sat down beside her. He laid his long arm along the back of the couch and bent up the leg closest to her so he was facing her.

“Car bomb” she said without inflection.

“Christ” Ren said, his eyes opening wide.

She shrugged, “never a dull moment hey?”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“No, thank god.”

“That’s something I guess” he said looking away. 

He was quiet for a minute and then asked “how are you anyway?”

"I'm okay" she said and it was her turn not to meet his eyes as she added "sorry about the other day."

"What, for being human? Forget it. I just didn't know how to help you. My presence was only making it worse. I just hoped someone knew what to do."

Jess knew he was referring to Marco. She looked up and smiled "someone did."

Ren returned her smile "good, maybe he's not such a bad guy."

Jess's eyes flashed and she was ready to defend Marco, until she saw his face crease into a grin and she realised he was only teasing her. She laughed. "How's things with you? Have you found time to work or is it all pleasure for you and this new woman still?"

"Bit hard to work when all my stuff’s here” he joked.

She laughed "don't give me that, it's never stopped you before. You can work anywhere and I know you never go anywhere without your paints"

"True" he admitted with a grin.

"So things are going well?"

"I'm not complaining" he said, his grin widening.

She laughed. "Good. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. What about you and Romeo?”

Jess rolled her eyes at him and smiled "we're good but if I could clear up this case we'd be better."

"Until the next one" he said.

"Oh god, not like this one, please."

"Are you close to an answer?"

Jess rubbed her hands over her face, "no" she said.

"I'll get going and let you get back to it then” he said getting to his feet “I just came by to pick up some stuff. I didn’t expect to see you actually. Not that I was avoiding you” he said grinning “I just thought you’d be at work by now. I’m glad you weren’t though."

She smiled. “I was just organising the new garage door. My bike is stuck in there so I’m about to call a cab.”

“Forget that, I’ll give you a lift, just let me collect what I need, I’ll be five minutes.”

She nodded, but didn't look at him "okay" she said her thoughts already consumed again by the case.

He frowned, "I can came back and stay if you need me to?"

She looked up at him and shook her head "no you're better off not staying here at the moment. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"I don't care about that. I care about you and if you need me, I'll be here" he said all levity gone from his tone.

Touched by his concern, she smiled. "I'll be fine. Thanks Ren."

"If he doesn't look after you I'll kill him" he said without a vestige of humour in his voice.

Surprised by his vehemence, Jess just looked at him for a minute and then she smiled. "Ren I can take care of myself" she said "but don't worry, Marco has been great. He’s moved in until this is over."

"Good" he said "I didn’t like to think of you here alone. You’re like family to me Jess so call me if you need me."

"Will do, thanks Ren."

"No problem" he said. "I'll just grab what I need and we can go.”

Jess nodded and watched as he walked out. Once he was out of sight, she shook her head and then laughed, there was no accounting for men, she thought. Ren had shocked her. He’d never said anything like that before but she could see he meant it. She appreciated it too. For a long time he’d been the closest thing to family she had but she hadn’t considered that he felt the same about her. And as she thought about it, she realised that in a couple of days, she’d gone from thinking she had no family to having more people than she could count ready to claim her as one of them. It was a nice feeling.

Chapter 67

Ten minutes later Ren dropped her off and Jess walked into the office. She was pleased to see Kylie sitting behind the reception desk again. “Morning” she said.

“Morning Jess” Kylie said “good weekend?”

“Eventful” Jess said sitting down at her desk and checking her emails.

“Good or bad?”

“A bit of both.  Is Mr Gorman in his office?”

“Yes” Kylie said “he’s expecting you.”

“Thanks” Jess said and walking around her desk she knocked on her boss’s door and walked in.

“Hi Jess” John Gorman said as Mitch got up and walked out after nodding to Jess. “Ready to get started?”

“Yes, I’m close to unraveling the convoluted ownership chain to the owner of the property, and I’m still working on the cleaning company, but I haven’t spotted any connection to the import business as yet or Simon Mason or Natalie. I also had a visit from someone after you left yesterday.”

“I heard about that this morning” John asked, frowning. “No one was hurt though, right?”

“No, my garage door bore the brunt of it thankfully.”

“Sounds like he’s getting desperate. That’s both good and bad.”

“I know” she said. “It means he might slip up, but it also means he might feel he has nothing to lose and escalate things further.”

“Exactly” John said “we need to get to the bottom of this puzzle fast. I’ve had news from the guys on surveillance at the warehouse too and using their equipment they said they could hear movement inside one of the buildings in the warehouse complex.”

“Well I guess someone must work there sometime” Jess said.

“At night, on the weekend?” John said.

“Oh” Jess said as she went through the possibilities in her head. “What are you thinking?” she said.

“No idea” John said. “Why would a person or persons be in a commercial building like that after hours?”

“Nothing legal, that I can think of.”

“No.”

“Could it be that Natalie is being held ther?” Jess said her eyes lighting up.

“It’s possible” he said “and if that’s the case we need to find something to get the police in there.”

“I’ll see what I can do” Jess said “I’ll keep working to find a connection. If we can prove there’s a link, it may be enough to get them to check it out.

“Good” he said. “I’m going to do see if I can add anything to your background check on this Simon Mason.”

Jess nodded and got to her feet “let’s hope this is our lucky day.”

“It’s about time we had one” he said.

“Agreed” Jess said and walked out of his office.

Sitting behind her desk she got to work, picking up where she’d left off yesterday. For hours she researched company directors and ownership agreements. Marco called during the morning. He’d done some checking on Simon Mason and found he had his finger in many pies. He gave her a list of companies he either owned outright, or had a share in. Most of them Jess already knew about but there were a couple she didn’t, and that’s where she decided to start. Jess thanked Marco and getting off the phone began to check the companies. And whilst checking the directors of one of the companies, a Blast Holdings a name struck a chord. Where had she heard that name before?  She went back to her list of companies leading to the cleaning company; it wasn’t there, so where had she seen it? She went back over everything and late in the afternoon, her dedication and hard work paid off. Unable to believe what she was reading at first she double checked and triple checked her facts and then went to find her boss. 

Chapter 68

John Gorman looked up as Jess entered. “You found something?” he said.

She grinned “yep.”

“What?” he said.

Jess sat down and walked him along the path she had found. “We were looking in the wrong place. The link wasn’t with the cleaning company it was with the owner of the warehouse.”

“You’re kidding, Simon owns the warehouse. How did we not find that before?”

“No Simon doesn’t own it, his step-brother does. I only just got to the top of the chain a while ago but I didn’t make the connection because of the different surnames. They are both directors of one of Simon’s companies that Marco found, and it wasn’t until I saw their names together that it clicked. Then I went back over the family information looking at his step-father and his children and bingo. So now we have a discernible link between Simon Mason and that warehouse.”

“But nothing between Natalie and the warehouse” John said.

“No, but if her giving out the address of that warehouse is what got her into trouble, then the fact that her boss is now linked to it has to mean something.  I don’t think the cleaning company is the only one using that site, if they do. As Marco suggested I think Simon also uses it for something he doesn’t want anyone knowing about.”

“What about the step-brother? Maybe it’s him and not Simon that’s involved?”

“Then why is Simon refusing to speak to me? Why won’t he let his staff talk to me, because I can’t see any other reason for them all to refuse except for him giving them a directive?  And it was Simon that Natalie was working for not his step-brother. We’ve found no link between her and him except through Simon. The step-brother may be part of it, but Simon has to be involved.”

“Yes, okay” John said with a nod, “well we need to fill the police in. Do you want to do it or do you want me to?’

“I’ll do it” Jess said “I know how they work and it may take a bit if persuasion.”

“You think I can’t be persuasive?” her boss teased.

“No” she said with a grin “but I know what buttons to push.”

“Okay” her boss said “get to it.”

“On my way” Jess said. “I just want to pick up my bike. I got word earlier that my garage door has been repaired.”

“Be careful” he said.

“Always” she said with a smile, ecstatic that they were finally on the right track.

After dropping by her place and picking up her bike Jess went to the police station and filled in the detective in charge of Natalie’s case on what she had found. 

Chapter 69

Detective Athanasakis was a big man in his early thirties who wouldn’t have looked out of place in a wrestling ring. But Jess wasn’t intimidated by his size or his superior attitude. She’d met cops his size before and the attitude was a given because of her profession. Cops didn’t like private investigators as a rule. After she’d finished speaking, he sat back in his chair with his huge arms crossed over his chest. He said “yeah but we have nothing to connect this Simon Mason with her disappearance.”

“Oh come on” Jess said. “She’d only been in the city six months. She didn’t know anyone else.”

“Who said it was someone she knew that’s involved?”

“So someone she didn’t know caused her to disappear, then started stalking me and went after her parents, not to mention roped in our receptionist to help them keep it quiet” she said, sarcasm dripping off her words. “Yeah, that smacks of a random event doesn’t it?”

The detective considered her in silence for a minute and when he still looked dubious she added.

“Okay, forget Natalie Bowman, forget everything to do with this case. I’m just an average citizen informing you that I suspect there is illegal activity occurring at that warehouse. I’ve heard movement in the building after hours. Use your own surveillance and see what you come up with.”

 He sat back in his chair and then said “okay, we’ll check it out.”

“ASAP?” Jess pushed “I don’t want any more visitors.”

“It’s my top priority” he assured her.

She knew that was rubbish but it was as good as she was going to get and she nodded. “Okay, thanks” and getting to her feet she said “let me know what you find please.” She just hoped she’d prodded his interest enough to get them moving with some speed. The only thing that stopped her forcing the issue and risk getting their backs up, which she knew could cause them to leave it to one side out of spite, was that if Natalie was being held there, she was likely to be okay while they made inquiries. If Simon was going to harm her, he’d have done it before now.

“I’ll be in touch” he said.

Chapter 70

Jess left the station and went home. Once there she called John Gorman and filled him in on what had happened in the meeting. But as she sat down on the couch her mind returned to Natalie. Was she right in thinking she’d be okay until the police investigated? It was as she turned this question over in her mind that she saw a note from Marco propped up on the coffee table. Reaching over she picked it up and read it. It said he was working late. Thoughtful Jess taped the note on her knee. Was it fate that he wasn’t there to talk her out of what she was thinking of doing? Picking up the pen that had been lying next to the note she scribbled a message on the other side of the card and left it in the same place she’d found it. Then jumping to her feet and trotting down the internal staircase she picked up her helmet, keys and phone from the entry table and let herself out. Moments later she sped out of the garage.

It was dark when Jess approached the warehouse she had been investigating for the last few days, having first swapped her bike for a mate’s car. Assuming she was still being watched, the exchange had taken place at a hotel. Jess walked in with her helmet but she wasn’t the person who wore it out again.

The warehouse sat on a corner lot in an industrial area of the city. John Gorman had told her earlier he’d called the surveillance team off now the police had been briefed but Jess wanted to see the place for herself. She parked a few doors down the street and pulled the hood of jumper she had also borrowed back over her head to hide her hair. This was how she had left the hotel too.

The street wasn’t well lit and there was little traffic but she was very aware of how exposed she was as she inspected the building. All her senses on alert, Jess walked the length of one side of the site, listening for any sounds of life. But the boundary on that side consisted of an impenetrable brick wall with the only openings, small windows high up.

She turned the corner and was immediately more hopeful. On this side the boundary consisted of the fronts of several buildings interspersed with sections of cyclone wire fencing. In several of these sections a gate had been fitted. Jess checked them all but they were locked. She stopped now and listened. Still she could hear nothing. Picking the darkest spot along the fence, she had one last look around before beginning to climb.

The climb caused her no great problem. However the razor wire at the top was a different story. It proved more hazardous, causing a large tear in her mate’s jumper. She’d have to owe him a new one. Still it was better than a similar tear in her skin. Dropping down on the other side Jess tried not to think about the fact that she was entering the property illegally. It was for a good cause she told herself and she didn’t intend to do more than look. She didn’t plan to cause any damage. So keeping in the shadows as much as possible she made her way to the first building on the site. All the doors she came across were locked and there were no lights on anywhere. She moved to the next building, same story. There were no signs of life.

It was when she was inspecting a smaller building at the back of the site that Jess finally heard something. She stopped, wondering if she’d imagined the noise. But then it came again. It was a moan, like someone was in pain. Natalie Jess thought as she moved around the building looking for a way in. But before she could find one, one set of large gates in the outer fence swung open and a car drove into the complex without its lights on. Jess jumped back out of view. Her heart was pounding. She knew she needed to get out but how could she leave knowing that Natalie or someone was likely imprisoned there. On the other hand what could she do? She was unarmed, not to mention she was trespassing. She knew her best course of action was to call the police, but first she needed to get out without being detected.

She held her breath as the car came to a stop not far from her location. Two men got out but it was too dark to see who they were. One of them opened the back door and Jess’s heart skipped a beat as he removed two dogs on leads. The dogs immediately began barking and pulling in her direction. Jess didn’t move, didn’t breathe

“Shut up” the man holding them said as he tried to get them under control.

“What’s their problem?” the other man growled as he pulled some bags out of the boot.

 “God knows” the first man said “maybe a cat. Want me to check it out?”

Jess’s heart seemed to stop.

“No, I want to get this done and get out of here. Come on, let’s go” and they moved off towards the building in which Jess had heard the noise.

After they had passed out of sight Jess wasted no time making a move towards the fence. Glad the gate was still open, saving her from another climb over the fence she slipped out and let her breath out on a sigh. On the street she ran back to the car and once inside, rang the police.

At home later, Jess found that Marco was still out. Sinking down on the couch she closed her eyes and without intending to, she dropped off to sleep.

She woke to lips touching her jaw. Stretching, she smiled up at Marco. “Hey.”

He smiled and as she moved to sit up he sat down next to her “hey” he said wrapping an arm around her and pulling her back against him.

She relaxed again.

“Big day” he said tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Yes” she said “I finally found what I was looking for, thanks in part to you.”

“I’m glad I could help but I knew you’d get there” he said. “What happens now?”

“The police are cleaning it up as we speak.”

“How did you manage that so fast?”

“Let’s just say, I had to use some persuasion.”

“Jess what did you do?” he said giving her a worried look.

“You don’t really want to know do you?” she said with a wry smile.

Marco rolled his eyes and sighed. “As long as you’re okay, I guess not. You hungry?”

“Not really” she said “but I could use a drink.”

“Same here” he said with a smile and giving her a quick kiss, he got up and poured them a glass of wine. He handed her one and sat back beside her.

“How was your day?” she said.

“Not bad” he said “but getting better by the minute.”

She turned her head and smiled at him.

Leaning down he kissed her. As he moved back he said “I like this.”

“Me too.”

He put his glass on the coffee table then he took hers and did the same. Folding his arms around her he kissed her again and for a while the wine was forgotten.

Later Marco cooked her dinner.

“This looks delicious” she said and he placed a bowl containing a beef stir fry in front of her.

“I thought you might have had enough Italian by now.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever have enough of some things Italian” she teased.

He grinned and touched her face. “I hope not Bella.”

“I know I won’t get sick of that” she said with a smile “I like it when speak Italian and at least I know what that one means.”

“You’ll learn more” he said.

She smiled, liking the sound of permanency that had. “Like what?” she couldn’t help asking.

“Like, vieni qui e baciami” he said with a grin as he set his plate aside.

“What does that mean?”

“Come here and kiss me” Marco said.

Jess laughed and then leaning towards him, did as he asked. As she moved back she said “I’ll have to remember that one.”

“I’ll remind you” he said giving her a wink.

“Any more?”

“Hmm, let me see. Voglio portarti a letto” he said.

“Okay no need to explain that one” she said laughing.

“See you are learning already.”

“No” she said shaking her head “the look in your eyes said it all.”

He grinned and as soon as they had finished eating he showed her just how correct her guess had been.

Chapter 71

The next day Jess got a call from Detective Athanasakis asking her and John Gorman to come and see him. He said he had some developments to fill them in on.

Jess came away from the meeting having trouble getting her head around all that she had learnt.

That night she and Ren were sitting out on the balcony as the sun was setting when Marco arrived. “Hi” Jess said with a smile as he stepped out onto the balcony.

“Hi” he said and leaned down to kiss her before putting his hand out to the other man. “Ren” he said.

“Hi Marco” Ren said standing up to shake his hand. “Good to see you.”

“Thanks” Marco said “you too. We seem to have been playing a game of tag these last few weeks.”

Ren smiled. “Yes it’s been a bit like that. Seems one of the causes is all over now though.”

“Good” Marco said sitting down next to Jess.

“Agreed” Ren said and getting to his feet he added “I’ll let Jess tell you all about it. I’m off to meet a friend for dinner.”

“A photographer by chance?” Jess said with a grin.

“Yes” he said smiling.

She laughed. “Have a good night.”

“I will. See you in the morning Jess” he said squeezing her shoulder on the way past “night Marco.”

“Night” Marco said.

As Ren walked out Marco said “a photographer?”

“His new girlfriend” Jess said.

“Ah” he said.

 Making a move to get up Jess said “let me get you a drink and I’ll tell you what happened.”

Chapter 72

Marco put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll get it” he said and getting to his feet he poured himself a glass of wine and came back to sit beside her. Taking a sip he said “okay, I know the news but not the details. Are you okay?”

She nodded and looked away then after a second she shook off the sadness and turned back to him and said “well it turns out that Simon Mason was, amongst other things, smuggling girls from all over the world and shipping them to Asia. I’m sure you can guess how they were to be employed?”

Marco nodded.

“Well he used the warehouse to hold them while they were in transit here. This generally was for very short periods. The cleaning company, who had a lease on the site, rarely went there. It housed their excess stock and was accessed at most, a couple of times a year to replenish their main operating head quarters. The site was way bigger than they needed but the rent had been so low it didn’t matter to them that they didn’t use all of it. Simon had bought the warehouse in his step brother’s name, who says he knew nothing about it by the way, and he then hunted a long time for the right tenant. The rent was inconsequential to him. It was their pattern of usage he was most interested in. He took advantage of the fact that the cleaning company rarely entered the site and he made use of a building that was excess to their needs. This allowed the more lucrative smuggling business to operate. And with his legitimate business not far away he was on hand to make sure that things ran smoothly and no one took an unwanted interest in the premises. Also in that way, if his illegal dealings were discovered, it would be the cleaning company that would be held accountable.”

“So his tenants didn’t know about it?”

“They say not and it’s possible they’re telling the truth. We could find no other connection between them and Simon. The police will have to investigate that one. But as for Natalie, she happened to see Simon coming out of the warehouse when she was on her way home one night. It was his demeanour that got her attention. If he’d just walked out and got in his car, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But he kept looking around like he was worried he was being watched. He looked nervous and she was curious as to why. Now remember when I went to her apartment I found hundreds of mystery novels and her parents said she was always looking for puzzles where there weren’t any. I think she let her imagination get the better of her.”

“A dangerous past time” Marco said.

“Yes” Jess said and after a pause she continued “she did some research on the property and when she found it was leased by another company she became concerned. She didn’t know Simon or even his step brother owned it, she didn’t dig that deeply. So she became worried her boss was doing something illegal. She needed her job, but didn’t want to get caught up in anything illicit. She tossed up what to do for a week or so and in the end she decided to give her boss the benefit of the doubt. She thought there must be an explanation and she would allow him to give it, so she asked him about it.”

“Big mistake” Marco said.

Jess nodded.

“Simon freaked and grabbed her and threw her in with the girls he was waiting to ship out” Jess continued. “One of the reasons he panicked was that Natalie chose the worst possible time to start asking questions. He had a full house of women at the warehouse with no means to get rid of any of them. There had been a crack-down by customs at the port meaning he couldn’t move them out. He was already stressed thinking someone would discover them. But he knew Natalie was new to the city and he thought it was unlikely she’d be missed by anyone there. He was right, nobody noticed her absence. But her parents did and they called in the police. That was the last thing he needed so he told them she’d requested leave and made sure that they got the idea that it was probably her own idea, to sever ties with the parents she’d left behind in the country. The police bought his explanation and everything died down. Simon thought he was safe. However he didn’t account for her family mounting a private campaign to find her. Once Gorman’s agency contacted him for information, he knew he was in trouble and sought out a suitable candidate to help keep us away from him and his operation.”

“Chelsea” Marco said.

Jess nodded. “He spotted her and wasted no time in seducing her. With her liking for anything male, it was an easy task I’d say. Getting her to help him was even easier apparently. He just gave her a sob story about being wrongly investigated and harassed by the police and then by other investigators, all because a girl in his employment decided to go on leave. Then once he allowed Chelsea to discover it was the agency she worked at who was doing the investigating, she played right into his hands. She believed everything he told her and offered to keep an eye out for him so he wasn’t hounded by their investigators as well. Following his instructions, she provided the home addresses and phone numbers of anyone who was issued the case. He told her he was just going to keep an eye on them. But as we know, in reality that wasn’t all he did. He succeeded in scaring off two of our new guys, doing such a good job, they quit the industry altogether. Then I got it.”

“But you don’t scare so easy” he teased.

“Maybe it would have been better if I did” she said looking away.

Marco reached out and picked up her hand. “How did her parents become involved?” he said.

Natalie said she must have given them the address of the warehouse before she confronted Simon. She thinks it was an unconscious slip because she doesn’t remember making a decision to do it. I’m not sure that that’s not just a defence mechanism on her part though, unintentional of course, and completely understandable in the circumstances. Anyway when her parents contacted the police and our agency originally, they just told us the name of the company she worked for and the suburb it was in. We looked it up from there, as did the police I imagine. It wasn’t until I reinterviewed them, and asked them to go back over everything, that they pulled out the information they’d written down and I saw the full address they had. I copied it down, without realising the numbers were different. Looking away she added “if I hadn’t made them go back over it all, they might have been okay.”

Marco squeezed her hand “you don’t know that, but one thing we do know is, if you hadn’t obtained that piece of information, Natalie wouldn’t be okay now and neither would possibly hundreds of other young women.”

Jess sighed “Or Chelsea I’m guessing” she said.

“No” he said. “What made him turn on her anyway?”

“When she took the file, he lost it. She saw the discrepancy in the addresses in the notes from my interview with the parents when I left the file behind. She was looking for anything new that I hadn’t yet included in the electronic file to tell Simon and she found the interview. I had yet to type it up in the company file but I’d added it to my home one already. She had a good eye for details and knew the other info from that file backwards. She’d been reading it on a regular basis for some time by then. She didn’t know if it was important but when someone entered the office as she was reading it, she figured it was better to be safe than sorry and took the file. It was her belief she’d done the right thing but she didn’t consider what it would mean if it went missing. She thought I’d assume I’d misplaced it and given the state I was in when I left it there, it was a possibility. The fact that that might get me into trouble probably didn’t hurt in her eyes either. But Simon knew it would only attract attention to him and when she told him about it, he flew into a rage, showing her his true colours. He berated her and told her she should have just changed the information and left it. His outburst scared her. It was the first time she realised she may have made a mistake trusting him.”

“Why didn’t she turn him in?”

“She didn’t know what he’d done then. She didn’t find that out until it was too late. All she knew was that something wasn’t right. Also she was in too deep by then. She knew if she went to the police about him, she’d be implicated in whatever it was he was he was involved in. She’d helped him.”

“And you buy that?” he asked.

“Yes, I spoke to her.”

Marco raised his eyebrows.

 Jess nodded. “She asked to see me, which surprised me I have to say. As you know we weren’t friends.”

“That’s one way to put it” Marco teased.

She smiled.  “Chelsea said she wanted to explain.  I think she just needed someone to know she hadn’t meant any harm. And to answer your other question “yes, I think I do believe her. I don’t think she’s a bad person really. She just got caught up in a bad situation.”

He looked at her, his surprise evident.

She smiled again, “I know, I know, it’s not what I’ve said in the past. But you should have seen her Marco. She was unrecognisable. It was like talking to a different person. Her habitual smugness was gone. She was dejected and apologetic and not once did she deny anything or try to justify what she’d done. She wasn’t making excuses. She just wanted a chance to explain.”

“You don’t think it was an act?”

“If it was, she deserves an academy award. You wouldn’t wish that sort of experience on anyone, but it might have actually been a good thing for her in the end. I don’t think she’ll ever be that self-satisfied, shallow person again. She was tricked and betrayed by Simon in the worst possible way. That had to be devastating. It hurts to be let down by someone you trust. She may have trouble trusting any man after this. Not to mention she is terrified of what the police are going to charge her with. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to my boss even though he had always felt more charitable towards her. ”

“I’d say that’s because she feels worse about letting him down” Marco said. “It would have been easier to tell you because of your previous animosity.”

Jess nodded and continued. “Anyway now the file was gone, Simon told Chelsea she might as well get rid of any copies. He also knew from the file where the information had come from and that the parents knew too much. He wasted no time dealing with them.”

Jess paused and looking away she took a deep breath. She could still hear the police officer telling her that their bodies had been discovered in bushland not far from their home. They’d been shot.

Marco rubbed his thumb over her hand.

After a second, her tone sombre, she said “then when Chelsea found out I was preparing a new file and she wasn’t able to access it, she panicked and shorted out my terminal with some water. She didn’t dare access the file itself after I’d left instructions for the computer not to be touched. She was worried she’d be seen and she would have been to, just not in the way she thought. However she came up with an easier solution. She just walked past my desk carrying a glass of water and spilt it over the hard drive. It was quick and effective. If anyone had witnessed it, she was ready to feign distress and it would be put down as an accident. However she was lucky, no one saw her and when I didn’t come back before she left for the day, she relaxed.  She knew it would all be dry before anyone checked. Now she wouldn’t even have to admit to the supposed mishap. And she was right, by the time I tried to use it, hours later, there was no trace of the sabotage.”

“But then she gave herself away.”

“Yes” Jess said. “She said she was terrified when that happened. She knew I knew and she bolted. It was her intention to run straight to Simon, because despite being scared of him, she didn’t know what else to do, but before she could find him the police found her. She managed to hold her nerve during their questioning, more frightened of what Simon might do if he found out she told them about him, then she was of them at that point. She told them the reason she’d left the office so quickly was that she’d felt sick. They had nothing to hold her on, her record was clear, so they released her. And starting to fall apart after her ordeal, she tried again to contact Simon. Unfortunately for her, this time she was successful. She’d hoped he be happy she hadn’t said anything to the police but once he heard she’d been with them, he went into damage control. She’d become a liability and with the warehouse full of women, he couldn’t risk drawing attention to that location until he’d moved everyone out. So he organised to meet her in an isolated location and it was only the fact that he knew she’d be worth money to him in his overseas market that saved her. He kidnapped her and locked her up with the others. If he hadn’t I’m sure he would have resigned her to the same fate as Natalie’s parents.”

“She was lucky” Marco said.

“Yes” Jess said without looking at him. She doubted Chelsea felt too lucky at the moment.

“What about the Porsche and the knock on your door, and the phone calls?”

“The Porsche was used because it would stand out. He wanted me to spot it, and that, the knock on my door and the phone calls were meant to scare me off.”

“Shows they didn’t know you too well” he said with a smile “it did just the opposite.”

Looking up, she smiled. “I don’t like mysteries.”

“Which is why you are good at your job” he said. “So when you didn’t heed his warning, he stepped things up?”

“Yes” she said looking away again. “And see where my stubbornness got us, you could have been killed.”

“That wasn’t your fault” he said giving her hand another squeeze. “You can’t control how other people react.”

She didn’t reply and still not looking at him she continued, “anyway, when that didn’t work and Chelsea told him that she suspected there was a new file, he caused John’s accident to scare off the whole agency. The break in here was an attempt to steal whatever information we still had and the car bomb was a last ditch attempt to destroy it altogether.”

“He didn’t have much luck with his efforts did he?”

“With some of them, no and thank goodness for that.”

Chapter 73

Marco lifted Jess’s hand and pulled her to her feet before sitting her on his lap “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“You and me both” she said, hugging him.

He held her for a minute and then asked “so are you going to kick me out of here now there’s no more danger?”

She moved back to look at him. “Isn’t that what you want?” she said tracing his mouth with her index finger.

He shook his head slowly, “no, I want to live with you.”

“Even though I have a terrible temper and don’t handle guilt well?”

He smiled “yes, despite all your faults” he teased.

“Oh” she said, not rising to his bait. Her eyes followed the movement of her finger over his mouth, she wanted badly to replace it with her lips.

“So is that a yes or a no?” he said.

“It’s neither” she said with a small smile.

He grinned. “Do you want to think about it?”

She shook her head.

And when she didn’t say any more, he said “are you just going leave me to guess?”

“No.” She said but didn’t elaborate.

“You’re not making much sense here Jess” he said frowning now.

“Okay, let me answer a question you asked me a couple of days ago then.”

“Which question?” he asked sounding wary.

“No, if you want me to answer it, you’ll have to take a punt” and with a smile she said “if you’re game?”

He smiled too now, “hit me.”

Jess took a deep breath and said “the other day, you asked me how I felt about you now.”

Marco’s smile faded away, “yes” he said.

Leaning towards him Jess kissed him and then whispered against his mouth “I love you.”

A shiver passed through him, “say that again” he demanded as his grip on her intensified.

She smiled and moving back to look at him she said “I love you.”

A beautiful smile lighting up his face, he said “I’ve wanted to hear you say that for so long.”

“Yeah?” she said.

“Yes” he said “do you have any idea how much I love you?”

“Maybe” she teased, but she felt anything but jovial. Her heart was pounding in her chest.  “I’d still like you to tell me” she whispered.

His expression serious he said “as you know, I’ve known a lot of women.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled.

He grinned and then his expression going serious he continued “but you’re the only one that I’ve ever wanted to know me, to understand me, to respect me, to be proud of me, to love me. You are the only one that has ever mattered to me. I want us to build a life together Jess. I want to be there for you, to take care of you, to share things with you. I want us to be a family, to grow old together. Sei il mio universe Jess. Non posso vivere senza te”

“What does that mean?” she asked her voice barely audible.

“You are my universe Jess.  I can’t live without you.”

Jess shivered and let out her breath on a shaky sigh. His words were everything she wanted to hear.

 “I may not have known that you were what I was looking for until I found you” he said “but I do know I never want to be without you. I’ll love you always.”

“Promise” she said, half teasing, half serious.

“Always” he said and he kissed her. Then dragging his mouth away he swore and standing with her in his arms he strode inside.

“What?” she said as he carried her.

“Words aren’t going to cut it, I need to show you” he said.

“And that’s a problem?” she asked with a smile.

“It is when the bedroom’s so far away” he said.

She laughed and happier than she had ever been, she brought her mouth back into contact with his.

THE END