When You Least Expect It

Vendetta

"Yes."

"Okay. Does the bar have cameras back here?"

"Yeah."

"Good. That's good. So whoever did this, we have proof. You didn't hear anything last night?"

Her head shakes back and forth.

"Do you need to go to school then?"

Her hands cover her face and then move away, a stress move. "There's no way I'll be able to focus."

This sucks so bad. I move forward and wrap her into an embrace, it's probably not the best time to notice how perfectly she fits. "I'm so sorry Jade." I feel her hands grasp the back of my shirt, hugging me tighter. "We're gonna figure this out. The insurance will take care of the damage and I happen to know a fantastic auto body shop."

This earns a small laugh from her. The crunching of gravel pulls both of our attention towards the police cruiser driving our way. "Thank goodness they didn't take forever." I mutter.

"I doubt there's much going on around here, other than street racers and rowdy frat parties." Jade mumbles into my chest. It's true, our small town is fairly quiet and not much happens. Our local police department is small, and consists of maybe four or five officers. State police aren't too far away when needed for a bigger crisis.

Jade and I separate slightly but both of our arms remain around each other in some way. The officer parks behind both of our cars, blocking us in, not that the Civic is going anywhere. He takes a few seconds before getting out and then moves to greet us, "Morning guys. I'm officer Mowry. Is anyone hurt?"

"No." I answer but he looks to Jade for confirmation, like I'm the one who did this.

"I'm fine, just my car."

He removes a small pad from his breast pocket and clicks his pen, "Alright, did you leave it here overnight?"

"Yeah, I live upstairs." Jade points up towards her apartment.

"Oh okay, you didn't hear anything?"

"No, my bedroom is on the opposite side but I slept like the dead last night."

"Did you have a fight with anyone recently? Or do anything to cause someone to harm your vehicle?"

"I work in a bar, I'm sure I pissed someone off almost daily." she laughs off.

I clear my throat, "My ex."

He looks at me, "Your ex?"

"Yes sir. She came in yesterday and told Jade that she should watch her back."

"What's your ex's name?"

"Melissa Russo, her maiden name is Brenton."

He writes in his pad, I assume the information I gave him, then looks at Jade, "Ma'am would you like to file a report."

"Would it help anything?"

"Well if you're having issues with his ex and something occurs again, yes. You'll need it for your insurance claim as well."

"Okay. Then yes, I'd like to file a report."

"Does the bar have any security cameras out back here?"

"Yes."

"Do you have access to those?"

"Yes."

After reviewing the security footage, I'm left disappointed. It's grainy and not the best quality. Drew seriously needs to invest in a better security system. The person, who we assume is a male by the broad shoulders, is dressed in all black including a ski mask. There's nothing to go on which is deflating because I was positive that it was Melissa. But it would make sense, Melissa wouldn't get her hands dirty, figuratively and literally.