Tapping in, p.1
Tapping in, page 1
Tapping in
AJ Estelliam
Chapter 1
My senses were buzzing with electricity. I knew she was here; she woman I was looking for. I could feel her presence but hadn’t ever seen her face. Walking into the building felt surreal. I had never been to this area of the world, this place before, but I felt like I had. Déjà vu spread through me, rippling down my arms as I shivered with anticipation.
I tried to calm my breathing, tried to keep calm as I walked to the reception.
‘Hello, how can I help you?’ a young woman asked, beaming up at me with a smile.
‘I’m here to see Detective Inspector Jacobs,’ I told her.
‘Yes. Name?’
‘Tait. Detective Tallie Tait,’ I replied.
‘Ah yes. Second floor, first office on your left. I’ll call on up. He’s expecting you,’ she told me.
I knew he was. The transfer had been completed over the phone days ago and yet it had taken a while to get myself here. I’d been struggling with my feelings over transferring here because of the changes it would mean in my life. I’d been having dreams though. Haunting, horrifying dreams. It was the dreams which had led me here. The dreams which had forced me here. Electrifying blue eyes featured heavily. I was sure they belonged to someone I was about to meet.
I made my way up the elevator to the second floor and knocked on the office door to meet Detective Inspector Jacobs.
‘Come in!’ a gruff voice called.
I took a deep breath, reached for the handle and let myself in. ‘Hello sir. I’m Detective Tait,’ I said, walking in and steeling myself for the rush when I shook his hand. It always happened, the steady rush of sensation, feeling and emotion when I touched another person. Sometimes it was avoidable, sometimes I found I could prevent it. Today, I couldn’t. I had to shake his hand. The man was my new boss. It was the polite thing to do.
‘Nice to meet you, Tait. Heard good things about you from Stevenson,’ he said, brusquely, as I tried to remain focused on his eyes while my head began to spin with information.
‘Uh, yeah. I was there several years,’ I nodded, pulling my hand back as soon as I could.
‘Yes, well, we need another Detective around here-especially with the murders we’ve had recently. Detective Hanson will get you up to speed, shortly, I’m sure. I’ve heard you have an uncanny ability to get cases solved…we need that right now. I’ve got the powers that be breathing down my neck over this nightmare so let’s get you working.’
‘Yes sir,’ I nodded, as keen as he was to get started.
I fell into step with him as he led me from the office and down to an open area where people were working at various desks. It seemed to be a communal workspace where everyone had their individual stations. To one side were meeting rooms, offices and conference rooms. I scanned it all, taking it in. Detective Inspector Jacobs began introducing me to various members of the staff, and I found myself waiting with anticipation for the one meeting that was unavoidable. The blue-eyed woman from my dreams. I hoped it was someone I wasn’t working closely with. Her presence in my dreams was overwhelming. I wasn’t sure how I’d react when I actually met her in person.
‘And if you come down here, I’ll introduce you to Detective Hanson,’ he told me.
‘Yes sir,’ I said, following him to the end booth where a woman sat, working on her computer, with her back to us.
‘Detective Hanson!’ Detective Inspector Jacobs boomed.
‘Yes sir,’ she said, turning around and standing.
I felt my knees almost give way at the sight of the woman before me. Electric, blue eyes, iridescent from this angle, stared at me and widened as they scanned my face briefly with interest.
‘Hanson, this is Detective Tait. Look after her, sort her out and then get her up to speed on the case. You two are partners now…make the most of having more hands-on deck. Meeting at ten,’ he said brusquely and then turned and left.
I was left trembling before her. I could feel how she affected me, and she hadn’t even offered her hand to me yet.
‘Nice to meet you, Detective,’ she said, holding out her hand.
I couldn’t avoid it. There was no way I could not shake her hand-it would immediately make her suspicious when that was what I needed to avoid at all costs. ‘And you,’ I said, holding out my hand and enclosing hers with mine.
The rush of emotion was immediate, intense and heady. I lost all composure and felt my knees buckle beneath me.
‘Whoa here! You okay,’ she asked, reaching to steady me and preventing me from falling.
‘Sit…down…’ I mumbled, drowsily, my mind sifting through the information it’d just been exposed to.
She guided me to a nearby chair and sat me down, her hands on my arms. ‘Are you okay? Do you need some water? Coffee?’ she asked.
‘Coffee…’ I murmured, dropping my head into my hands.
Thankfully, she took her arms away to get up and grab me a coffee. When she returned, she sat down opposite me and passed me the drink.
‘Thanks,’ I said, gratefully, sipping the coffee. I used the moment to let my head come back to normality and feign a look of indifference as I lifted my gaze to meet hers. When I finally looked up, bright blue eyes met mine and stared at me with a look of concern.
‘Are you okay?’
‘I…yeah,’ I said, clearing my throat. ‘Sorry about that…I’ve driven way too far this morning I think…went a bit dizzy here,’ I lied.
‘Well, take a moment…do you need something to eat? What can I do for you?’ she asked, her eyes wide with concern.
‘I’ll be fine,’ I said, shaking my head.
‘Are you sure? You’re not diabetic or anything?’
‘No, no…I’m fine…just, uh…give me a bit of space,’ I requested.
‘Sure,’ she said, backing off and sitting back in the chair.
I lifted a shaky hand to my mouth and sipped the coffee slowly. I glanced up at her from under my lashes and found her watching me closely, a mixture of emotions running through her mind as she considered me. I noted them, internally, finding one of them a surprise. Concern, interest and curiosity were expected, attraction was not.
Downing the rest of the coffee; I cleared my throat. ‘Sorry about that. Not the best of starts.’
‘No worries. Rough morning?’
‘I’ve been driving since 5am. I think I underestimated how much it would take it out of me,’ I told her.
She nodded. ‘So…you’re Detective Tait?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You got a first name, Tait?’ she asked, scanning my eyes in an almost seductive manner. They laughed at me; twinkled with merriment. I found it very disarming.
‘Tallie,’ I said, without thinking. ‘Uh, Natalie.’
‘Tallie it is then,’ she said, smiling. ‘I’m Quinn,’ she told me.
I nodded, swallowing against the lump in my throat.
‘I’ve actually heard a lot about you. Youngest detective in the force…the one with the most closed cases as well, including cold cases. What’s your secret?’ she asked, leaning forwards.
I crossed my arms over my chest, defensively. ‘I don’t have a secret,’ I shrugged. ‘I’m just good at my job.’
‘Oh yeah? Well, I’m hoping you can help with this case. It’s a nasty one, for sure,’ she sighed.
‘I’ve been reading up on it,’ I nodded, trying to avoid her incredible eyes.
‘Oh good…that’ll save us a bit of time,’ she said. ‘So, uh, here’s no free desk at the moment-Parsons leaves next week so that’ll free us up but until then, you okay to share this one with me? I can move up and I’m sure we can put a laptop in that space,’ she said, indicating a small space on one side of her computer. It would put us in very close proximity. That would prove to be a problem, I was sure.
‘I’m sure we can work it out,’ I nodded, agreeing to nothing.
‘Good,’ she said, as if I’d accepted the offer. ‘So, are you well enough to get started?’ she asked.
‘Yeah! Of course. I’m absolutely fine,’ I said, dismissing the earlier drama as if it were nothing.
‘You sure?’
‘Yes!’ I exclaimed. ‘Get me updated. The DI said he wants me on this and helping straight away.’
‘Yeah…there’s a lot of…’
Quinn was interrupted by a commotion as another officer hurtled towards her.
‘Quinn! There’s been another one! Come on…let’s go!’
I stood quickly, tagging along as the information was given to Quinn in a fast, brief fashion.
‘He was found at the edge of the Wayvern River. Same MO as the other two-hands, feet and genitals removed. Strangulation suspected cause of death. We’re meeting the coroner there.’
‘Okay, thanks Jack. I’ll take my car with Tallie here,’ she told him. ‘Detective Tallie Tait-this is Officer Jack Hargreaves.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ I murmured briefly, before we rushed outside and split to get into our respective cars. Quinn led us to an unmarked car, a huge Tesla which was luxurious inside and yet well-used. Discarded items littered the floor-a sign that Quinn used this as a constant part of her job.
‘Sorry about the mess,’ she apologised, glancing at me.
‘No worries,’ I said, moving some of it aside with my feet.
As she closed the door, I felt trapped inside the enclosed space. The scent of Quinn surrounded me, and it made me dizzy with response towards her and it felt completely unfamiliar and unsettling.
‘You always this quiet?’ she asked.
‘What?’
‘You’re very quiet,’ she said again.
‘Oh…yeah, I guess,’ I replied. ‘I was just thinking.’
‘About what?’ she asked, nosily.
I glanced at her, meeting her eyes briefly as she looked over quickly as she drove. ‘Nothing.’
She sighed. ‘Tallie, we’re going to be partners…’
‘Hardly anyone calls me that,’ I muttered.
‘You introduced yourself to me as Tallie?’ she reminded me.
‘Yeah, it just slipped out. I go by Natalie these days, mostly.’
‘Who calls you Tallie?’ she questioned.
I paused before answering and then she spoke before I could. ‘Your Mum?’ she guessed.
‘Well, yeah…she used to,’ I said, slowly, looking out the window.
‘She doesn’t anymore?’ she asked.
‘No,’ I said, flatly.
‘How come?’
‘She’s dead,’ I said, bluntly.
She looked across at me, sharply. ‘Oh! Sorry, Tallie…I didn’t realise. How long ago?’ she continued.
‘Ages,’ I replied, evasively. ‘Don’t worry…it was a really long time ago.’
‘Well, I am…sorry. Should I call you Natalie?’
‘You can call me Tallie,’ I murmured, liking the way it sounded on her tongue.
She glanced at me one more time, making me flush with colour, and then went silent. The rest of the trip was driven without either of us uttering a word.
When we arrived at the remote section of river where the body had been found, we parked with the array of cars-some official, some not and walked down the embankment in the direction the police officers were indicating.
Police were already sealing off the scene with tape. A bustle of activity was going on all around us and we made our way down to the body which was lying on the shore.
I grimaced as we approached, the dead man, lying flat on his face, his body abused and broken. He was clearly missing his hands, feet and genitals-all of which were lying visible nearby.
I listened as Quinn was given a brief run down by the officer who was standing by the body.
‘And obviously he’s missing his hands, feet and genitals too,’ the man was saying.
‘And tongue,’ I murmured, without thinking.
‘What?’ Quinn said, whirling towards me.
My eyes flew to hers and I realised what I’d said. I quickly made excuses. ‘His tongue…it’s over there. We walked past it, remember?’
‘I have no record of a tongue being found,’ the officer said, frowning in confusion.
‘Oh, well never mind…it’s over there,’ I said, turning and praying I could find it as quickly as I needed to. I walked slowly in the direction I sensed it lay and thankfully saw what I was looking for lying in the undergrowth. ‘Here,’ I said, pointing. ‘Saw it as we walked down,’ I shrugged. ‘Pretty sick fuck to do that, huh?’ I murmured, wondering whether I’d gotten away with my slip.
The officer began rambling about being a ‘sick fuck’ but Quinn was eyeing me suspiciously. I couldn’t look at her, nor did I want to. It just made me feel weird.
‘Detective?’ a voice called.
Quinn and I both turned. It was the coroner.
‘Hey Dee,’ Quinn smiled, giving her a brief hug.
I watched them, sensed the familiarity and the friendship. I wondered what it would feel like to hug Quinn.
‘Dee French-this is Detective Natalie Tait. She’s just joined us,’ Quinn told her.
I really didn’t want to shake her hand, but knew I had to out of politeness.
‘Nice to meet you, Natalie,’ Dee said, extending her hand.
I gulped as I reached for hers. As a coroner, I knew what I’d see, knew what I’d get from her. Death…and lots of it. I shook her hand, feeling blackness seep through me swiftly and I kept it brief, put my walls up as her flesh interacted with mine. Sickness swirled through my system, and I had to inhale deeply to calm the nausea which followed. ‘And you,’ I managed, thickly.
Pulling away, she beckoned us down towards the body. It didn’t escape my notice that Quinn was eyeing me with another confused, baffled look as we walked.
‘So, it’s the same MO,’ she told us. ‘The mutilations occurred before death,’ she told us.
‘What about the tongue?’ Quinn asked.
‘The tongue?’ she questioned.
‘The last two had their tongues intact, didn’t they?’ she asked.
‘That’s correct. Has the tongue been found too?’ she wondered. ‘I haven’t turned her over yet.’
‘Yes, Tallie found it as we walked down,’ she said, glancing at me.
‘Oh…I’ll go and check it out…whereabouts?’
‘Over where Joely is,’ she told her.
‘Back in a minute,’ she promised.
I stared at her retreating form, feeling sick.
‘I wonder why someone would cut their victims tongue out…’ Quinn mused, almost talking to herself.
‘That should stop you running your mouth off,’ I muttered, angrily.
‘What did you say?’ Quinn said, gaping at me.
‘What?’ I questioned, looking up at her.
‘Why did you just say that?’ she questioned, frowning.
‘I didn’t say anything!’
‘Yes, you did,’ she replied, frowning. ‘You told me to stop running my mouth off!’
‘No, I didn’t. You must have misheard me,’ I murmured, turning away from her.
‘Tallie!’
‘I didn’t say anything,’ I said, whirling back towards her and looking at her furiously. I was about to rant further but thankfully Dee arrived back and started talking to Quinn which distracted her. I started wandering around and found myself walking deeper into the forest area, looking around and taking it all in. Pausing by a grand, old, oak tree, I leant against it and let the hive of activity around me disappear. The only thing left in my mind was Jamie-the man lying dead by the river. I let myself connect with him and my mind opened to the information he gave me. Closing my eyes briefly, I let him go and came back to the present, as my senses filtered back one by one. Sight, sound and then the feeling of the rough bark against my back behind me.
‘Tallie!’
I startled, looking up.
‘Tallie…you ready to go?’ Quinn asked.
I looked up. I had been completely unaware that she was there. ‘Oh…yeah…’
We fell into step as we walked back towards the car.
‘Where did you go?’ Quinn asked as we reached the doors.
‘Huh?’
‘You looked far away when you were stood by that tree,’ she commented.
‘Oh…no, just…processing, you know…taking it all in.’
She frowned at me. Shaking her head in confusion, she unlocked the door and we both climbed in. Once again, I felt overwhelmed by her scent. The whole car smelled of her, and it was intoxicating.
‘I need to head back to the station now,’ she was saying. ‘And check over the files. Then we better get ourselves to the autopsy…’
‘Mmm,’ I murmured, distracted.
She started the car and then I looked over at her as she asked me a question.
‘It’s in the glove box,’ I told her.
‘What?’ she gasped.
‘It’s in the glove box,’ I said, reaching forwards and opening it up and handing over her phone.
She gaped at me.
‘What?’
‘How did you know I was looking for my phone?’ she questioned.
My eyes darted to hers. ‘You just asked me where it was!’ I exclaimed.
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Yes, you did!’ I was sure she had. I’d literally heard her ask where her phone was…hadn’t I? Fuck. Had I slipped? Again? I was usually far better at controlling this.
‘I’m not arguing with you about it, Tallie, but I didn’t say anything…out of the blue you just told me where it was! What is it with you?’
‘What do you mean?’ I frowned, feeling my heart pick up pace.
‘You’re really…different,’ she said, looking at me suspiciously.
‘Well, that’s fucking rude,’ I told her. ‘You’ve literally just met me,’ I said, giving her a withering look. ‘And you did ask me where your phone was. Maybe instead of wondering why I’m different to the usual chubby, sausage roll eating guy you usually work with, just focus on the case,’ I advised her, angrily, hoping she wouldn’t pursue this any further. ‘Maybe that’ll help you solve it a little quicker.’
