Trust Ch. 01

Sally closed her eyes and when she opened them it was to see Storm looking at her smiling at Jack's confirmation of her name.

"I'll be right back."

"So how did you enjoy yourself? I don't think I've seen you here before."

"No, you haven't and I enjoyed myself. This is a quaint place you've got here. Very relaxing," Storm said looking around as they waited for Sally's return.

"Good. How did you hear about us? Maybe I can do some advertising in that area to boost some business."

"Actually some guys from work were speaking about this place last week so I decided to tag along tonight. Your advertising was free...word of mouth, the best kind."

Jack laughed, "You're right about that."

"Here they are Jack," Sally said handing him the keys but she stay behind Jack which didn't go unnoticed by Storm.

"Here they are. Be careful next time young man."

"Thanks, I will. By the way, my name is Storm," and he offered Jack his hand.

"Oh yes, Jack, owner," Jack replied shaking Storm's hand.

Storm also offered her his hand but she took a step back and said, "Hi," instead.

"Okay...hi," Storm reciprocated lowering his hand. "Well I'll be going now," he said to Jack, "Good night and thanks again." He looked directly at Sally before turning and leaving. As soon as Storm left, Jack turned to Sally, "Do you know him?"

"Not really. I saw him at a job I was helping Rhonda with a few weeks ago."

~!~

Storm watched as Sally carefully looked up and down the street two to three times before putting on her helmet and getting on her bike. He waited for her to turn down the road before following her. He heard what she said to the parrot. She was been stalked by a cop and his gut instinct told him it was the cop from that night. 'That's why she ran the light,' and now more than ever, he wanted to know how her bike got damaged. He had a feeling it was from her trying to get away that night. He felt anger. He should have gotten the squad number or the very least the officer's name and badge number. Why did he just dismiss the incident? He knew better.

This time he was able to fully appreciate her curves which were all in the right places. Small breast, tiny waist, wide hips and long well shaped legs encased in skinny jeans that fit perfectly. Once again her hair was in a bun and he wanted to run his fingers through the mass to feel how soft the stands were. The poor lighting couldn't hide the flawlessness of her skin or its glowing walnut color. Her lips were full but not too pouty and he wanted to feel for himself if they were as soft as they looked.

Sally pulled into a local fast food restaurant and Storm parked in the darkest area of the parking lot where he could continue to watch her. Having written down her plate number, he watched as she looked around often, wary and cautious of her surroundings. Getting her food, she rode to her apartment and he lingered long enough to notice that she didn't park her bike in the front but in the back of the building.

After about fifteen minutes, when he felt she was safely inside, he made his way home. As Storm drove home, he wondered how he could help Sally. Only just finding out what was happening, he didn't understand why he felt slightly responsible. First thing he had to do is gain her trust and he had a feeling it was going to be quiet an undertaking.

~!~

Almost three weeks later...

Mike looked at the criminal report of Rhonda Pitcher, Storm's daily housekeeper. He met her the day after the boa incident at Storm's house when she showed up for work. Storm had been angry about her giving someone else access to his house without permission but had let her off the hook because she said Sally was her best friend. Now Mike's gut instincts told him that housekeeping wasn't the only work Rhonda was looking for.

Mike knocked on Storm's office door. The other lawyer he was working with quickly opened the door and said hello before existing.

"Hey Mike, what's up?"

"I need you..."

"Detective Griffin!" a young officer called out stopping Mike from entering Storm's office.

"Yeah...oh hey Charlie. What's up?" Mike asked keeping the door open.

"You know that bike plate number you asked me to look up?" When Mike acknowledged, Charlie continued, "Well it belongings to a guy named Bobby Chin and he has several other vehicles registered under his name. Here's the info on him."

"Thanks Charlie."

"Anytime Detective Griffin; if you need me to help out, I'm here."

"Thanks again Charlie," Mike said before entering Storm's office and closing the door behind him.

Mike dropped the reports in front of Storm before taking a seat in front of his desk. He could never understand how Storm was able to keeps his office clutter free when most of the other lawyers' office looked like a war zone.

"What's going on?" Storm asked looking at the report. "Wait, is this my house keeper?"

"Yes and she is the common factor in the string of breakins' we've been having lately."

Storm looked up immediately, "What?"

"Yes, also her friend Sally, her bike is registered to someone by the name of Bobby Chin."

"A husband or boyfriend or even father maybe?

"No but I think I know him."

"Know him how?"

"I think I may have gone to school with him before my parents moved away. I'll have to check to see if it's the same person. Also the address is not valid. The properties around that area were demolished years ago when the state and city were purchasing properties to do road expansion and area rejuvenation projects. If there was a property there, the address was never changed."

"But why? Why keep an old address that doesn't exist?"

"Hiding something."

"Or from someone?"

"You don't have her phone number?"

"I'm trying to get it."

"You know..."

"You and I both want to know how the system never caught that the address was no longer valid." Mike sighed and leaned back into the chair. "I...you said she said the cop was stalking her."

"Yeah...that's what she told the parrot. She said it because she was alone...or thought she was."

"Yeah...there's more going on here."

"Yes, I agree. When she went to get food, she was always looking around...wary, tense. I don't think she was making it up Mike. I think that cop really is stalking her."

"Storm, I can't just go on what you heard. He may have noticed this also and is trying to figure out what's going on."

"Yeah...there's that too," but Storm didn't believe it. There was something in the way Sally behaved that leading him to believe she was in danger. "Keep me posted." Mike nodded and got up to leave. "Hey am I firing my house keeper?"

"I want to tell you yes, but I can't. She hasn't done anything illegal at your house and we need to keep an eye on her."

"Am I now a part of the investigation?"

"No, I'll talk to the captain but Sally is."

~!~