Envelope Challenge

Chapter 24 - Early Morning Meeting

Hello, people who aren't reading this. That's right. It's been a whole day since I've published this and it hasn't even been looked at! Come on, guys! I get that I only have two followers so only two people were notified I posted this, but... Nope, even they didn't look at it. Thanks, Alex and Jasmine (that was meant to be sarcastic, not snarky (just sayin')).

Enjoy!

A knock resounded through the large apartment, breaking Nathaniel out of the trance he fell into while researching. It had been three days and he still hadn't found hide or hair of the missing Polly. With a groan, he locked his computer and stood up to go and answer the door. The door swung open to reveal a man and a woman standing there, police based on their uniform.

"Nathaniel Partril?" the woman asked while flashing her badge. They were with the NYPD. "My name is Teresa Cho and this is my partner, Keith Williams; NYPD."

"How can I help you, officers?" he asked while not letting them into the apartment. He knew what they could do if he did.

Williams riffled through a folder he was holding and lifted up a picture for him to see. "Do you know this woman?"

It was Polly. The red hair falling past her shoulders and that kilowatt smile were dead giveaways. Heck, he would have recognized her if she had a shaved head in the picture and was missing her teeth. He'd spent so long researching anything and everything about her, memorizing her facial structure, in hopes to find her he could pick her out of a crowd if she were anywhere he could see her.

"Yes, I do. Why?" He had a guess, but didn't want to give anything away in case they weren't actually with the police.

"She was taken into an ambulance three days ago. The paramedic reported that someone rammed them and kidnapped her. We're currently trying to find her." He slipped the paper back into his folder. "Would you mind if we ask you some questions?"

"You can come into the living room," he told them and ushered them in. It truly was the perfect living room. The entryway went straight into it and the other rooms came out of it. Everything except for the kitchen had a lockable door and even the kitchen had a sliding door. He always kept the doors closed for privacy.

The officers took a seat on his leather sofa while he sat on the dining room chair he'd brought out to do his research. Noticing that his computer was still open, but thankfully locked, he closed it swiftly and slid it into his computer case. The police watched his movements curiously.

"What happened to your arm?" Williams asked him with a pointed glance at his sling.

"A sprained shoulder."

"What were you doing?"

"I don't see why that's any of your business."

"Ok, Mr. Partril, can you tell me your affiliation with this woman?" Cho cut in when neither made a move to start acting civil.

"I met Polly about two weeks ago," he informed them. "She had to go down to the City and I gave her a lift."

"What did she have to do down there?" Williams questioned.

Nathaniel gave them a dismissive shrug. "I don't know. Just some personal stuff, you know?"

"Mr. Partril, we're trying to find Ms. Mendle here. We need you to be completely honest with us if you want her to be found." Williams allowed the frustration to seep into his voice as his posture tightened, leaning forward in intimidating frustration.

Nathaniel had dealt with worse than an irritated police officer. Holding in his grin at their frustrations, he leaned back in the chair, allowing his arms to lounge on the armrests casually. This amateur didn't know what he was up against if he thought he could get answers out of him that easily. He wouldn't give them because their constant observations would hinder his investigations as soon as he had them. It had happened before and he would not let it happen again.