Crimes Of The Heart

Chapter 3

Here is chapter 3 i hope you like it!! 

I <3 CAPITAL!! I wrote this while having a massive groove session in my room so if there are any mistakes i apologise.

Also the bit at the end about Mumford and Sons is for my cool form tutor Mr Wood! Woody! ;)

Meanwhile the phone in Mr Hodge’s office slammed shut as Mr Hodge got himself up out of his comfortable office chair and began to pace restlessly around the room.

Jasmine wasn’t answering her phone and he was starting to get worried. He had tried to call her 2 days ago because he had found a relatively simple case for her and wanted to know if she would be interested in it. Anything to get her mind away from the idea of that other case!

But she hadn’t answered her phone. That was unusual in itself as Jasmine hardly ever went out, apart from when she was working cases, since her parent’s deaths she never went out with friends and instead just locked herself away in her little, secluded flat. But even if she had, for some strange reason, gone out, he had left a voice message and Jasmine always replied to her voice mails the next day at the latest.

‘It’s very strange,’ Mr Hodge thought to himself. ‘I hope she hasn’t gotten into any trouble.’

By this time he had reached his desk again. His knees were beginning ache, he wasn’t as young as he used to be, so he sat down in his chair again, fingers tapping agitatedly against the dark, mahogany wood. He pondered what to do next. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and then it turned out to be a big misunderstanding; people would ask questions, especially Jasmine. But at the same time if she was in trouble, or had even decided to disobey his express instructions and look into the nightclub/drugs case he wanted to put a stop to it before she found anything.

He deliberated and discarded many ideas in the next ten minutes that followed, but eventually he came up with a plan. He picked up his phone again and called the secretary, Soozie, and asked her to summon the head of Sector D. He was relatively new but he showed great skill and had risen through the ranks quickly. Also he was one of the only people who had had more than one conversation with Jasmine, let alone the fact he was someone who could even be called a friend. Mr Hodge wished he could ask someone else but he was the only chance. Since Jayden had left… But there was no use crying over spilt milk, as his mother used to say. He only hoped they had made the right decision with Jayden.

While he waited for the man to arrive he thought about what he was going to do if he found out Jasmine had gone against his orders. He could certainly think of a few things.

5 minutes later in walked a man so tall he had to stoop to enter through the door. As he stopped his friendly, hazel eyes swept around the room assessing the mood and looking for clues as to why he had been summoned so urgently. The light streaming in from the open window behind the desk made his light auburn hair that sat in disarray atop his head, shine and brought out the golden flecks in his eyes.

Slowly he turned his gaze towards the small, greying, balding man who sat across the room from him. He wondered why Mr Hodge was staring at him with what looked like contempt. He hadn’t done anything wrong and he had come as quickly as possible. He was at a loss as to why he even wanted to see him. Well, as Mr Hodge lowered his feet from the desk he guessed he was about to find out.

“Chase,” Mr Hodge said, “sit down, please.”

So Chase folded himself, with surprising grace considering his size, into the chair Mr Hodge had indicated, interlocked his fingers in his lap and waited.

“I believe you know my niece, Jasmine?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t know if I can actually say I know her, I don’t think anyone can” he said, chuckling lightly.

However Mr Hodge didn’t seem to find it funny, if the exasperated roll of his eyes was any indication.

“I mean yes, sir,” Chase corrected with only a small cough to show his discomfort.

“Good,” Mr Hodge replied, “then I want you to go to her house and see if she is there. If she is not home I want you to break in, carefully, and see if there is a sign of anything unusual or if there is anything out of place. Then report back to me and I will decide to take further action from there if necessary. If you do find anything you will bring it to me personally. You will tell no one else about this. Understand?”

Chase’s eyebrows furrowed into a confused line.

“Yes, but…” Mr Hodge cut him off.

“Just do as I say. I will give you a bonus equivalent to ¾ of your salary if you do this for me.”

Well, there was no way Chase could refuse. A bonus worth ¾ of his salary just for a quick trip down town to visit Jasmine, it could hardly get any easier.

“Okay, sir” Chase said as he rose from the chair.

“Good. You may go and do that now,” said Mr Hodge. As he said this he repositioned his feet back on top of the desk, got a book out of the drawer and proceeded to read it.

So, with a backwards glance at the strange man, Chase exited the office, closing the door quietly behind him.

As he strode off down towards the company car park he replayed the conversation in his head. Something didn’t seem right. Why was Mr Hodge so eager to get rid of him, eager enough to rashly agree to give him a considerably large bonus? Surely they could have asked someone else, why him? It had almost seemed as if he was expecting to find that something was wrong. Even when he had wanted to ask a question Mr Hodge just cut him off. Something was off here, he was sure if it. But he couldn’t put his finger on it. As he got into his car he tried to push it to the back of his mind but it still kept nagging at him.

So instead he turned the radio onto his favourite station and thought about his bonus. Chase drove away, cheerfully humming along to a new Mumford and Sons song as he went.