Chapter 16

I had a hard time finding a new routine. I was hoping to hear back from my interview soon. I was hoping that would force my days into a predictable pattern. It was either that, or my freezer would be full of cookies and baked goods. During my improvised morning yoga session I got a text from Hunter telling me everyone at the office loved my doughnuts. I smiled as I wrote him back, telling him I was happy they liked them. Wictor texted me a while later asking if he could call me during his lunch break. I would never turn down a call from him.

“I have been thinking,” he said as I could hear him eat his tuna sandwich which he always had for lunch.

“You’re too old to start using parts of your body you haven’t used before,” I told him.

“Very funny, ha ha. No, seriously. I have been thinking about the bakery. I know and accept that now isn’t the right time and you can’t tell me why. But have you considered doing some kind of catering?” he asked.

“You mean for parties?”

“Yeah, for whatever. But have it as a side business for now. Work a daytime job, then bake as a way to save up some extra money and get connections. Then when you have saved up you can get an actual bakery, a physical one. By then you will hopefully have a stable customer base to stand on,” he explained. I was silent for a moment, it wasn’t a half bad idea.

“It’s a good idea. I may do some tweaking to it, but it’s an amazing idea!” I exclaimed.

“I’m happy that you like it. I will even let you have it for free, especially if you supply me with peanut butter cookies for the rest of my life,” Wictor said. I giggled.

“You drive a hard bargain, but okay. I will take it,” I told him.

“I’ll come by your place on Saturday and we can start planning,” he said.

“Thank you Wictor.”

“No need to thank me, I will always help my little sister,” he told me.

“Little sister? Who is the oldest? Me! I’m the oldest, by six weeks. And you know it,” I huffed. Wictor laughed on the other end.

“Maybe so, but you are still my little sister.”

Hanging up with Wictor after talking to him for half an hour had me feeling energised again. Maybe I didn’t have to give up on my dream completely. It was a glimmer of hope. I felt good enough to venture putting on my old sneakers and testing if I could bare to walk in them. It was a little painful, but I could handle it. I took my shopping bags and my purse, making sure I had my wallet and the taser Hunter had given me. I headed over to the local supermarket to stock my pantry. Since I was baking like a mad woman everything was running low. When I headed back with two bags they weighed more than I had anticipated. At that moment I hated the elevator which wasn’t working, or at least it wasn’t safe. I dragged myself up the stairs and had put my bags down to get my keys when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I hurried to unlock the door. As the sound came closer I turned my head and saw a man in a suit walk up the stairs and stop on my floor.

“Mrs Hunting, we need to talk,” he said.

“I’m not Mrs Hunting,” I told him and watched his brows furrow.

“This is not the time to play games.” His voice was hard and he looked at me in a way that set off every warning bell. My fingers twisted the key and I heard the lock klick open. I was preparing to run inside and took my keys out and placed them in my purse.

“I’m going to go inside this apartment now,” I told him in a calm voice.

“It’s in your best interest to talk to me,” the man told me. I wasn’t going to risk it. I flung open the door, knocking the shopping bags down and everything in them went flying across the floor. As I was about to run inside I felt a firm grip on my elbow. I turned around and saw the man reaching out and grabbing me.

“Let me go!” I screamed.

“Look, lady. Calm down,” he told me. But I was in the mindset of saving myself. I yanked my arm out of his grip and my other hand gripped the taser in my purse and before I knew what I was doing I had pointed it at the man and pulled the trigger. The man convulsed and his eyes rolled back into his head. He took a staggering step backwards, his foot landed on a jar of marmalade. As he put weight on it the jar rolled and the man lost what little balance he had and fell backwards. I went down like a tree and landed with a thud. His head bounced against the floor once and then everything was still. I just stood with my arm still stretched out, taser at the ready, looking at the man on the floor. He wasn’t moving. Somewhere there was the sound of a door opening and I jolted to life. I ran into my apartment and shut the door and started locking every single lock. Then I sagged town on the floor and leaned my head against the door. I was trembling and I was clutching the taser in my hand. What had I done? Had I killed the man? He looked dead. What should I do now? Wait until the mafia sent the next man to check when the first one didn’t get back? With trembling hands I reached for my phone and tried to write the message to Hunter.

———

I was speeding through the city as I gave the cars built in function the order to call Hana. My heart was beating like a chihuahua at speed.

“Yes?” Hana’s frail voice sounded from the speakers. I could hear she was crying, but at least she was alive.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“In my apartment.”

“And the man?” I asked, I needed to know.

“O-outside,” she told me.

“And the door is locked?”

“Yes, all the locks, just like you told me,” she confirmed.

“Good girl, sweetness. I’m almost there, just wait a little longer and I will be there,” I told her.

“Okay.” My breaks objected to the harsh treatment as I stopped outside Hana’s apartment complex. I got my gun from my holster and rushed up the stairs. The chaos on Hana’s floor was a stark contrast to the ones I had run past. Things were strewn all over the floor, a bag of flour had burst and the white powder was spread out. In the middle of the chaos, by Hana’s door, there was a man lying. He didn’t move, but I still approached with caution. As I stepped up to him I used my toes to nudge him. There was a faint murmur coming from him. I kicked his foot, no reaction. I holstered my gun and started searching him. One gun in a shoulder holster and a detective's badge. Great, he was with the police. I walked up to the door and tried to knock as gently as I could.

“Hana, it’s me,” I called. I heard shuffling on the other side of the door and then the locks started to unlock. When the door opened, Hana stood in the hallway and she looked scared, shocked and miserable. I had planned on asking her what had happened, but my feet moved on their own and I engulfed her in a tight embrace. It was as if something in her broke at that moment. She let out a loud sniffle, wrapped her arms around me and started crying into my chest. I held her close, let her cry and made sounds I hoped were soothing as I rubbed her back. Her hands had taken a strong grip on my jacket, as if she was afraid I would leave her on her own. As if that would ever happen. I wanted to close the door, lift her up and carry her to the couch. She could sit on my lap and cry until she felt safe again. But I didn’t want to leave the unconscious detective unsupervised. So I held her close and when she calmed down a little I raised her head so she would look at me and wiped her tears away.

“Tell me what happened,” I told her.

“I was coming back from shopping and when I was unlocking my door the man came and said we needed to talk. I said I didn’t want to but he insisted. When I tried to run inside he grabbed my arm. But I broke free and I kind of zapped him with the taser and he fell backwards and he hit his head and, and…” She dissolved into tears again.

“It’s okay, sweetness. You did good,” I comforted her and rubbed her back again. “Did he tell you who he was?” I asked. She shook her head as she had buried herself in my chest again. “He didn’t tell you he was a detective?” Her head shot up and she looked at me with pure fear in her eyes.

“I have killed a policeman?” she sobbed. “They will send me away forever,” she added.

“Killed? Hana, you haven’t killed anyone. He is still breathing, he is just out cold. Probably because you teased him and he hit his head,” I told her.

“Are you sure?” she asked. She had stopped crying and I felt relieved.

“I’m sure. He’ll have a headache and he needs to be checked up, but he is very much alive.” I couldn’t help myself, I caressed her cheek with my thumb. She leaned into my touch and I wanted to do more.

“Will I get in trouble?” Her voice was more stable, but it was still thin.

“No, Hana. He should have let you know who he was. That is on him. I’m going to call his boss so someone can come and get him out of here. Why don’t you go and sit on the couch and I’ll join you as soon as I have talked to my friend?” I suggested. I didn’t want her to have to listen to what I was about to say. She nodded and took off her shoes before she limped to the couch. I picked up my phone and dialled Denny.