Red Door

Chapter 1

Jake walked into his apartment, the squeak of the door that he never quite got around to oiling announcing his presence.

"Hey babe.." Tess' voice echoed down the hall from the direction of the washroom.

Of course, it was Wednesday and Wednesdays were "hump" days. She'd invented a standing date, they'd sup at some new place she'd picked out 'never the same stop twice' was Tessa's date night mantra. Then they'd come home, have a few highballs and screw. It had been a good idea – at the start.

He unbuttoned his tweed jacket and released an arm from it's stiff, itchy cast, his nose twisted at his own smell, he made a mental note to get some stronger antiperspirant. Shaking himself free of the second arm, he sent the jacket flying to a heap against the wall. Jake looked at it with distain, then practicality got the better of him and he hung it on the coat post.

"I SAID hey babe!"

She startled him and he was irritated at her insistence. Tess gigged, and he turned to her. She stood in the hallway obviously pleased with sneaking up on him. She was in her old black lingerie, it used to be his favorite. Her makeup framed light blue eyes with heavy smoke, her lips were still covered in foundation - but he knew they'd be some obscure shade of red before too long. She tried too hard and he tried even harder not to let her know it. "Hey back, sexy thing!" His voice sounded strung and taught the high pitch of stress audible to his own ears.

She caught a wiff of him "You better take that coat in."

"Seventeen Dollars. They charged me seventeen bucks last time Tess! I thought it could wait for payday."

She frowned, a little watery "Bad day at the office?" Her disappointment barely concealed.

It hadn't been. It was a day he'd worked toward for months and it was monumental as far as breakthroughs go. He'd probably get a raise and a promotion because of it, but It had also been the hardest day of his career. "Ya, Shit day - I need a shower."

He pecked her on the cheek as he passed and her frown deepened.

"Ill be quick, promise" He said by reflex, and without intention.

"don't stink up the bathroom, I'm not done in there yet"

He stood in the water, turned the dial until it was uncomfortably hot, and braced his hands on the wall. One great sob heaved out of him there, before he could cap it and he swallowed hard, drew himself up and turned the water to the coldest setting. He began to scrub – feet first with his Irish Spring soap sticking to the bristles of the nail brush he kept in the shower. After he was stinging from toe to head, he stepped out. Wiped his hand across the fog on the mirror (although this always pissed Tess off) and stared hard at himself.

"It's over." he said quietly to his reflection then smiled a rueful half grin that made him look a little less old. Tess was waiting impatiently at the door when he emerged.

"Wasn't exactly quick cowboy, we'll have to hustle to make dinner."

"Eight o'clock reservation?" He guessed. She nodded and he was struck with an overwhelming sense of unfairness. "Sorry." And he was for everything really.

She planted a quick kiss on his lips then took over the bathroom. He watched her as he picked some fresh clothes from the closet, and he felt a sadness then, but it was not all for Tess. As she fussed over her lip stick and the frizz in her hair, and he pulled on clothes that cost more than he should have spent. Tess swore as her stockings ripped when she pulled them on, and he had to hand her in another pair. They were probably too tight, she'd gained weight over the three years they'd been dating.

Tessa's innocence in that moment was amplified and he hated that he was jealous of her for it. While all this played out in real time there was a second track, one playing at the edges of his mind, pulling him from the apartment and the monotony of his life. It was weird to Jake how the simplicity he was so recently content with had been stained.

"Screw dinner" He said under his breath, and, when Tess came out of the washroom, he grabbed her – carrying her laughing and kicking to the bedroom and threw her on the bed. He fucked her with a purpose, making actual love to her, for hours. He held her, adored her, felt closer to her than he had since the beginning.

"Four times cowboy! I can't remember the last time you made me cum like that!" She'd been glowing. Tess loved being loved and it had been a long time since he'd seen her so happy and so beautiful. It had been a long time since he'd made her happy.

_____________________

"Wake up lover" Tess's voice greeted him in the morning, she'd made him breakfast, he could smell it from the bedroom.

Jake got dressed and walked into the kitchen with leaden feet. "It's over Tess." He watched her heart break over the fake marble top of the kitchen island. Her questions bounced off of him like a tennis ball on concrete. He'd said nothing else, there were no answers he could give her. Finally the smoking pancakes on the stove set the alarm off. Tess moved the pan and ran down the hall to rip the batteries from the smoke detector. Jake simply left, taking only the big Rubbermaid container he'd packed when she was asleep, and placed in the hallway outside the apartment.

Smoke and the smell of charred food followed as the door squeaked shut behind him. If he felt like a monster, it seemed to fit.

Jake stuffed the container into the back of his old Buick, it contained some clothes, and a few things he actually gave a shit about. other than that, the morning was the same as every other morning. A repeat of the last four months: "he stopped at the drive-thru for a sugared-up coffee, a sesame bagel with cream cheese only this time he added a doughnut – the kind with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. He tucked the last carefully away in the briefcase on the passenger seat, and scarfed down his bagel as he drove, the sesame seeds peppering his lap.

When Jake arrived at work the detective was waiting, not in Jake's office but in the lobby. Leaning against the reception desk and doing a poor job of hiding his excitement. Bernard Wakefield was a portly man, he always dressed in one of the three brown suits he owned, all of which looked like they had been purchased in the early eighties. His thinning hair was also brown, as were his eyes. Jake wondered if some big haired eighties chick had told him he looked good in a shit-coloured suit because it brought out his mud coloured eyes. It wouldn't be so bad except that Bernard already had an unfortunate way of looking like he didn't belong. Even dressed in his finest, good 'ole Bernie stuck out awkwardly among his polished peers. Despite all that, Jake liked him. Bernie had a quick mind, he was humble but effective, one of the few detectives that actually gave a crap and probably the nicest man Jake had ever met.

"How'd you do it?" Bernie asked without preamble, his gleaming eyes oddly magnified by the thick prescription glasses he wore.

"Do what?" Internally, Jake cringed at his own edge, he hadn't meant to sound so icy.

"Do what? It's been two years, two years I've been working on this case Jake. Do what? What the hell...It's a start son, a real start, but when you get back in that room with her you need to find out something anything that can give us a location. Got it? Location."

Jake was struck with the sudden image of cheesy billboard picturing Bernie in brown monochrome glory as a realtor. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

"Jake? You with me?"

"Sorry Inspector." Jake let out a great sigh and was relieved to find his defensiveness lessened. Fuck he needed some sleep. Bernie was old school, solid gold, he trusted the man and considered him a friend. He looked up for what seemed the first time in days and met the man's eyes "She's fucked me up."

"Come on over to my office, son. I might not be a bonified shrink, but you barely are yourself. I doubt you'll find anyone in here with more experience at being fucked up by a case."

Jake followed Bernie to the elevator. As they passed, Jake felt himself drawn, as he always was to the case board, where the pictures of young girls with smiling faces were displayed, each one nearly identical to the next – long blond hair, blue eyes, full of life. They resembled Lilly so closely and that creeped Jake out. Then Jake realized something that made his heart clench like a fist, there was a new picture on the board, the bastard had caught another girl.