"He's not, but I'm not his daddy, so I'm not going to go digging around in his business," Chief said as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. "I'm going to assume that this is something important."
"It is, sir, or I wouldn't be asking," I nodded. "I've got some things that need to be taken care of and they are urgent."
"Alright, I guess we can transfer a guy over from one of the other stations for a few days," Chief said as he picked up the schedule and drew a line through my name on it. "This had better be good, Connor."
"It is, sir," I said as I turned and headed for the door. "It's of vital importance."
As I left the station, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket, and when I pulled it out and saw the message from Alex, I knew she knew. She was mad, and probably rightfully so, and I was going to have to answer for my actions. It wasn't going to be an easy conversation, but first I needed to talk to Leo.
I drove to the office, but Leo was out, so I left a note on his desk telling him to let me know when and where I needed to be for Metzler's announcement and that I'd be there.
After I'd taken care of the first three things on my list, I knew it was time to call Alex. This was going to be a difficult discussion and I knew it was possible she wouldn't understand my reasoning behind paying her bills, but I crossed my fingers and hoped that, at the very least, she'd hear me out before she dumped me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Alex
A hot breakfast of eggs, home fried potatoes and bacon with sourdough toast went a long way to making me feel less angry at Cam. I was still annoyed, but by the time I'd finished my meal, I'd decided that it was possible for me to listen to his side of the story before I decided whether I was going to dump him or not.
I kept my phone next to my plate as I ate, waiting for a text or a call, but nothing came. By the time I'd paid my bill, I was starting to get irritated again. If we were going to discuss this, he needed to respond, and soon.
On the way to the library, my phone rang. I smiled as I pulled it out, but when I looked at the screen I was shocked to find that it was Liz calling me, not Cam.
"Liz! Liz! Where are you?" I yelled into the phone.
"Alex, I need help," said the voice on the other end. It was Liz, but she sounded weak and scared.
"Where are you, Liz?" I asked. "Tell me and I'll come get you."
"I'm not feeling so good, Alex," she groaned before she started crying. "I'm in trouble. I need help."
"Tell me where you are, Liz," I repeated. I knew that I needed to find a way to figure out where she was, but she didn't seem to want to tell me. "Liz, tell me where you are."
"North Side, I think," she said. "I'm looking out the window and I can see the street signs."
"What do the signs say?" I prompted her. "Liz? Tell me what the signs say."
"Um, one says Jarvis and one says...um..." she faded away.
"Liz! What does the other one say?" I yelled into the phone. If she was high, I needed her to tell me where she was before she passed out again. "LIZ!"
"Um, the other one says...um...Jarvis," she slurred. "I need help, Alex. I don't like him."
"Liz, one sign says Jarvis. What does the other one say, sweetie?” I said dropping my voice to a comforting tone. "Tell me what the other sign says."
"It says Pauline," she sighed as her voice faded. "Pauline is such a nice name, isn't it?"
"Paulina?" I asked as I looked up the cross streets on my phone. "You're at Jarvis and Paulina? Who took you there, Liz? Who is the guy you're with?"
"Dunno, he's some guy," she slurred. "He had good stuff. He's handsome."
"Who is he, Liz?" I asked. "Have you met him before?"
"No, nice guy, I saw him hanging around campus a few times," she said sounding a little more cheerful. "He gave me flowers once."
"Do I know him?" I asked wondering if I'd met this guy before and if I could identify him to the police.
"Nah uh, don't think so," she said fading out again. All of a sudden, I heard a loud noise in the background and Liz shrieked in my ear.