Confined

2.

The next day came as quickly as it could have. My alarm clock blared in the dark, interrupting my deep slumber. Wincing, my hand reached out to shut off the interruption, my body acting on its own accord as I got ready and soon headed out the door.

The heat from yesterday still lingered; we were in for another scorching day. The car engine groaned in pain as I twisted the key. Fearing a breakdown, the sudden motion of the car lurching forward calmed my racing heart.

Soon, I was on my way to the station.

                                   _  _  _

It was 8am and the police station stood empty with the occasional pedestrians passing by. Signing in at the reception, I waited for the others, who were probably on their way, due to arrive soon. Checking my wristwatch, it read 8:30 am. We still had thirty minutes until the meeting began. 

Officer Renly was missing today, a queer occurrence. He has always been on time, never missing a meeting. That he was still missing made my stomach drop. With little time remaining for the meeting he had arranged and was leading,  

Just as I started moving toward my desk to work on my current case, Jessica strode in, radiant as always with a Starbucks coffee cup in hand. The others soon followed, trickling in similar to ants marching towards a piece of cake. That said, Officer Renly sauntered in, his face taut, frown lines etched deep into his forehead, his thin lips in a hard straight line. 

“Okay folks gather up, we’ve got a long day today and I’ll be needing you at your best.”

A small groan wafted through the air as Officer Renly’s flushed face turned crimson. He said nothing though, to our surprise. He never was one to tolerate any form of disrespect or lack of spirit while working and throw in a short temper, which makes working with him more difficult.

My heart thumped frantically as a buzzing sensation took over my brain. This had been happening more frequently than I could have liked. Taking a quick gulp of water, I swallowed the small ibuprofen that lay secured in my jacket pocket. 

“Okay, so to begin now, this is one of the biggest cases we will handle this year.” Officer Renly spoke, his monotone voice instantly quieting the chatter. 

Sarah wiggled her brows at me questioningly; giving her a small shrug back, I had as little idea what he would bring up next as anyone else in this room.

“It's almost 9:15 and I think Detective Sarah Parker should join us soon.” 

The clicking of heels soon drew attention as a foreign body made its way to the center of the room.

I felt my breath stop for a second as the dazzling sight of a smartly dressed woman welcomed me. Her sharp navy suit ironed to the crisp, curly brown hair tied up in a neat ponytail. Laptop in hand, her chocolate brown eyes intimidatingly flickered over 27 years. Standing before us in perfect posture, she greeted us quickly and strode towards Officer Renly, giving him a firm handshake. Smiling expectantly, she walked to the head of the table, drawing her MacBook.

“All right, hello everyone, first it's a pleasure to meet you all. I'll be taking over from here, I'm sure Officer has given my  introduction, but just to reiterate, I was transferred here to lead this case, which I'll be briefing you guys on. I've been working at the London branch for the past 5 years now as lead detective, and I take my work seriously. We have a lot of work to get done here, so let's get started.” with a clap of her hands. 

She moved fluidly from one position to another, making eye contact. My heart hitched as her eyes caught mine, uncomfortably, I felt as though she could stare into my soul and now everything there was to know about me and more lay at her disposal.