Emma POV:
After finally getting my perp last night, I moved on to the next. Someone named Milah Gold. Divorced and a bail jumper, nice. I started gathering details on her, trying to find her. I found her ex husbands name, and the pawn shop he owned. I called the number to it.
"Gold's Pawn Shop, how can I help you?" A rather creepy voice answered.
"Hello, I'm looking for your ex-wife, Milah. She skipped bail and I'm trying to find her." I explained.
"Who is this?" He asked.
"Doesn't matter, have you seen her lately?" I pried.
"No, I can't say I have. Last I heard, she was involved with a man named Killian Jones." He said with a bit of bitterness in his voice.
"Any more information on either of them?"
"If I had anymore, I'd give it to you." He said. I could tell he would, just to see her be locked up again.
"Thank you, Mr. Gold." I said before hanging up.
I set about looking up this Killian Jones. I didn't find much in my first initial search. But I dug a little deeper and was rewarded with information about where he worked. There were no pictures though, so I had to make do with a name and place of employment.
I hopped in my car and headed to the docks, where he was a mechanic.
Killian POV:
Today was rather routine, fix a few boats, repair equipment, run of the mill things. Until she walked in.
The mystery woman I had been admiring from afar was here at the docks. She was talking to my boss, when he looked my way and gestured to me. She walked directly to me and stopped, looking me up and down. I was at a loss for words.
"Killian Jones?" She plainly asked.
I just nodded like a bloody idiot.
"I'm looking for Milah Gold. Her ex-husband said she had been involved with you."
That knocked me for a loop. I hadn't seen Milah in months, we'd split over two years ago after she'd cheated on me. No surprise, that's how she and I got together, an affair.
"I haven't seen her for months. What's this about?" I asked.
"That's not important. If you see her again, call me. Here's my card." She handed me a card with just her name, number, and email address, no information about what she was doing here.
"Will do." I said. And with that, she nodded and left. I was still stunned, not a minute after she walked out, I was kicking myself in the ass for not talking to her more.
"Oi! Lover boy!" My boss yelled over, "stop gawking and fix that boat!"
He smirked at me and I shook my head. I knew he was being playful, but I needed that to get my out of the trance that that Emma Swan left me in.
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Killian POV:
Three days went by, and every day she was in that same shop. I knew she saw me each morning, and the truth was I mostly came here for her now.
On the fourth day, she spoke to me.
"Still no sign of Milah then?" She asked from behind, startling me. I turned around and she hadn't been phased a bit. Her strict stance and facial expression told me she meant business.
"No, love." I smirked, "I'll be sure and call you the moment I do see her, though."
I stepped just a little closer to her, gathering up some sort of nerve. She raised her eyebrows in a bored manner.
"You do that."
"Tell me, why is this so important?" I asked.
"I can't share that information with you." She said, crossing her arms.
"Is she in trouble again? Wouldn't surprise me. She went outside her marriage with me, and has been on a downward spin ever since."
"Care to elaborate?" Emma asked, I could tell she was fishing for more information.
"I'd be happy to, over lunch today."
"Excuse me?" She asked.
"Lunch. We can eat a meal and I can give you any more information on Milah that might be more helpful." I explained.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. But only to find out more about her."
"See you at noon then? There's a diner down the street."
"Granny's? Haven't been there yet, it's worth a try. See you then." She said before walking out.
I mentally patted myself on the back. I had a date with this lovely woman, even if she didn't consider it a date.
Emma POV:
What was I thinking? Getting myself involved with this guy. He clearly didn't see it as work related for me. I'd been down this road before. Men who tried to lure me in to sleep with them. Few got lucky, if they weren't complete asses. And I was always out the door before they woke up.
I sat at my desk and looked up, eight in the morning, four hours until I had more information on my perp. I slumped in my chair with a sigh.
One of the other people in the office, Ruby, waltzed over.
"What's got your panties in a twist?" She asked with a wicked grin.
"Some man who thinks we have a date, when I made it clear that I just need more information on his oh-so-classy ex-girlfriend." I replied.
"Why can't it be a date? What's he look like?" She asked eagerly.
"Doesn't matter. I don't need a relationship." I grumbled.
"Emma Swan, you haven't had a real date since I met you. Live a little." She practically begged.
"No, I need to focus on work." I said, not caring to get into my insecurities here and now, or ever.
"Alright, but you seriously need to let someone take you out." And with that, she pranced back over to her desk. I didn't dare tell her where I was meeting this guy, because Granny's happened to belong to her grandmother. I knew as soon as she found that out, she'd be calling that woman up and having her spy on my not-date.
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Emma POV:
Noon finally arrived and I found myself in Granny's. I searched the room for him and found him in an isolated booth.
"I figured you'd want somewhere away from eavesdroppers." He explained.
"Thank you." I said, taking a seat.
A waitress came over and took our orders and I pulled out a note pad.
"Okay, let's get started." I said, clicking a pen.
"So eager, love." He said with a smirk.
"I get paid for bringing them in." I said in a bored tone.
"So she is in trouble. What happened?" He asked.
"She skipped bail, that's all you need to know." I said. I wasn't legally allowed to tell him what she did.
"Alright, understood." He said with his hands up. "Well, let's see. I last saw her five months ago. We were having an affair a few years ago, she divorced her husband but cheated on me and we broke up a couple of years ago. After that I saw her from time to time. She mostly stuck around here but I knew she was bouncing between here and Boston. I know she's now dating a man named Will Scarlett, and he travels with her."
"Anything on him?" I asked.
"Not much. Younger bloke, poor sap. She's nothing but trouble. I know she doesn't have a real job. Divorcing Gold left her with plenty of money, but I imagine she makes her own money somehow. I have the last number she called me from." He said, handing me a small piece of paper with the number written on it. I placed it in my pocket.
Our food arrived and we ate and I questioned him more. "So when she does call or see you, what does she talk about?"
"Nothing much. Asks if we can get together, I always refuse. Other times it's just to pry into my life, she has a habit of not letting go of her exes."
"So can I count on the fact that she will likely call you again?" I asked hopefully.
"Probably. I will be certain to call you if she does. I, personally, want to see her in jail and not causing all this trouble."
I searched his face, he was telling the truth. He wanted her locked away, probably so she would leave him alone.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Jones." I said, sticking my hand out to shake his. He took it and gripped a bit longer than he should have, and he stepped into my personal space again, just like this morning.
"Hope to see you again, Swan."