When He Calls Us Home | Chris Evans FF ✓

PARTNER IN CRIMES

    "SO who was that?" Chris asked, munching away on a few fries.  

     Adeline's insides twisted quite unpleasantly. What answer would she give Chris? She couldn't tell him about the detective, could she? No certainly not! As it was, she merely worked with Lance on the side, and this case was in secret. Only a few people knew of the cold case and she wanted to keep it as such. What was worse about this whole scandal, was that she hadn't even told Lance about Chris.

     Gulping down a bit of her coffee before answering, she simply shut her laptop off and began to clean up her spot. "Just the person I'm working on the case with, as well. We need to head back to the hotel," she said rather abruptly, continuing in a hurried fashion to clean up and depart from the diner.

     Chris, a little worried, obeyed and cleaned up his side of the table. "Is everything okay?" His eyes filled with apprehension, and hesitantly he carried on, "Was that your 'partner in crimes?'"

     Adeline, swinging her bag's strap over her shoulder, paused to look over at him halfway standing from her seat. She smiled brightly. "Everything is fine, and," she paused again, this time licking her bottom lip. "Yes."

     "So how does that work?"

     "How does what work?" She stopped herself from picking up her laptop, heart pounding a little faster. She was beginning to get the wrong kind of anticipation over his unwanted question.

     After piecing back the file's contents, collecting the creamy folder, and tucking it under his arm, Chris asked, "Does your partner work back at the office while you do the field work?"

     She blinked. Stupidly she was about to say, what are you talking about, when everything clicked. He referred to someone at the Globe and Mail—he thought her partner in crimes was just another journalist! Oh hallelujah, she thought, breathing out a breathe she never knew she held, and smiled cheerily.

     "Oh." She chuckled, relieved over the fact that she didn't need to mention about a certain detective. "Something like that." And snatching up her laptop, she zipped past him to the counter to pay for her food and beverage.

     Sooner or later, Adeline needed to tell Chris the truth about her 'partner in crimes.'

____

    The bottom of Adeline's shoes rubbed against the asphalt as she dragged each leg closer toward the wreck. Something seemed so wrong to her, so stomach twisting and heart pounding in the most terrible sense.

    Smoke rose out of the car's windows and hood like it did from a chimney. Her hazel eyes drifted up to the tree that the vehicle seemed to have crashed into. How did my car crash? she thought. As the thought entered into her mind, she raced faster to her car to check the damage, but upon doing so, she came to a halt noticing the driver.

    It wasn't her, it was Chris, and the car wasn't hers either, she realized.

    From the profile of his face, which rested up against the glass, she saw a trickle of blood run down from his brow and reach halfway down the side of his cheek. His eyes were closed and mouth slightly parted.

    Breathing became hard for the journalist, and slapping her hand to her mouth, she whispered, "Oh no." Eyes wide and full of new panic, she looked for any sign of his chest moving, but his whole body was deathly still. A cold chill rolled down her spine. "Oh nononono," she cried. Hot, salty tears began to stream down her cheeks. She raced to the car and opened the door. "Please be alive," she uttered under a whimper and trembling of lips.