Davina was excited. Still shaken up over the horrible violent crime she had witnessed, but excited just the same. She actually looked forward to staying with Detective Bradshaw, and she knew why, too.
She was attracted to Bradshaw. It was as simple as that.
Despite being young, Davina had known and accepted for many years that she was a lesbian, and she had no problem with that. She came from a liberal and very accepting family, and she knew she was lucky because many people weren’t so fortunate. In her mind, that was how you knew who truly loved you: by seeing who accepted you as you were. She knew her parents loved her unconditionally, and any friends she made who couldn’t accept her sexuality, well, they just weren’t real friends in that case, and therefore she would be quick to drop them. Davina wasn’t perfect, but she had zero tolerance for toxic people who got close to her, not for who she was but for who they thought, hoped, and wanted her to be.
She didn’t know a thing about the strong-appearing detective with the gentle voice. She suspected she may be a lesbian as well, but if she wasn’t, or if she was but wasn’t interested in her, then at least she would provide some fun eye candy for a while, even if it may get a bit frustrating. Without knowing her, Davina still suspected the detective wasn’t just her type on the outside, but on the inside as well.
Earlier, she had been taken to the station by the cops who had rescued her from certain death, where she was expected to give a witness statement. She was told to take a seat by a desk in a large room within a sea of other desks. The uniformed officer who was to take the statement was busy at the moment, so that’s how she ended up being handed to the detective. She happened to have a free moment and offered to take the report.
She liked what she saw right away. Average height, average weight, and a face that some may consider ordinary but that appealed to her for some reason. The large brown eyes, the dark distinct features like her perfectly plucked eyebrows. Her hair was dark brown, thick and curly, and several inches below her shoulders.
After she gave her statement, she waited a few moments in the chair by the desk Bradshaw had questioned her at while she went and got her stuff from her locker.
A few moments later, they were in Bradshaw’s small dark blue pickup.
“You can call me Betsy, by the way,” she told her on the way to pick up some of Davina’s belongings from her apartment.
Davina had called home while waiting for Betsy to gather her stuff, and Anthony answered on the apartment’s landline. Eleanor was home then as well, and both had been wondering where she was. She filled them in quickly so they would be in the know when she arrived with the detective.
At the apartment, the four of them discussed what was going on in more detail, and Anthony and Eleanor agreed to make arrangements to stay elsewhere.
Back in the pickup, they headed for Betsy’s place.
“Just to warn you… my place isn’t exactly in the greatest neighborhood, even if it’s not dangerous or unsafe in any way.”
“That’s quite okay,” Davina assured her. “That’s the least of my concerns.”
“I’ve only been here a couple of years, and that was only because when my ex and I split, a friend of mine was able to get me a really good deal on the place since he knows the owner. Said it would be ideal for a detective to live in because none of the bad guys would think to look for one here,” she added with a laugh.
“The plan is to eventually get a house, probably within a year or two, but definitely in a nicer neighborhood.”
“Is it noisy there or something?”
“No, not at all. It’s just a very dismal-looking place.” As they entered the neighborhood, Betsy pointed out things that didn’t exactly give the street a cheery look. “See what I mean? It’s just a bunch of old, ugly brick buildings since we’re not really in a residential area. My place used to be a lumber business before it was converted into apartments. It’s a fourplex actually. But as you’ll see, the streets are slightly littered, and there isn’t much as far as trees, flowers, and other pleasantries.”
“It does look more industrialized, but I don’t get the impression that it’s unsafe in any way.”
“It’s no more or less safe than any other place, but you still have to hibernate indoors. I’ll make sure to get you out when you need to go out, but you have to be with me or some other officer.”
“No problem. I definitely wouldn’t want to go out by myself with that lunatic running around.”
They pulled up to Betsy’s building.
Davina looked at it and said, “So there are two apartments downstairs and two upstairs?”
Betsy nodded and said, “We’re on the top right.”
Davina was glad to be on the upper floor. She never liked ground-floor apartments. It was bad enough hearing doors slamming, TVs blasting, and music booming. She didn’t need to add footsteps running overhead to the list.
Betsy told Davina not to get out of the truck until she could verify that they hadn’t been followed. When all looked well, they exited the vehicle, and Betsy grabbed Davina’s heavy backpack out of the back of her truck.
Davina scanned the area around her. Betsy’s building was on the corner of the street. There was a parking lot on the very corner, to be exact, right next to the building that was actually for those who parked at the business behind the apartment, which Betsy said was some sort of salon.
She looked at the buildings across the street from the apartment, which were taller and appeared almost empty. “Are these vacant buildings or something?” she asked.
“No. They’re just a bunch of offices that have closed for the day.”
“What are they for?”
“Everything. Law offices, accountants, delivery services, records, you name it. Several buildings down, though, you’ll find apartments.”
Davina slung her purse over her shoulder.
“After you,” said the detective.
Davina approached the building to find a door on each end of the front wall as well as two set close together in the center.
“It’s the center door on the right,” Betsy said as she went to unlock it. “The apartment has a bit of a weird layout, but it’s home for now.”
Davina stepped inside first and found herself at the bottom of a somewhat dim stairwell. In front of the door were stairs leading upwards.
Betsy pulled the door shut behind her and made sure it was locked securely. Then she glanced out the peephole. “This door will shut and lock itself automatically, but I’m being extra cautious.”
Davina looked toward the top of the stairs, where she could see faint light up above, which she suspected came from a window. She couldn’t see into any rooms from down below.
She went up the stairs that were covered in grayish indoor-outdoor carpet and into the apartment above.
ns216.73.216.146da2
