An Illicit Gentleman II

                                                  Chapter Ten

            AJ rolled over and when he did the sun shone right in his eyes.  He lifted his arm and moaned in displeasure at being woken up like that.  As he rolled on his back he made a mental note to try and talk Eve into getting darker curtains.  Then he sat up when he remembered what happened the night before.  He looked over beside him and didn’t see her.  As he looked around the room he heard a voice coming from outside of the bedroom door.  Aj climbed out of the bed and realized he had fallen asleep with the towel on.  He grabbed his jeans, put them on and then walked out of the bedroom.

“I don’t understand…” He heard Eve say as he got closer to the living room.  “Everything there is brand new?”  AJ stopped at the door as he saw her talking on her cell sitting on the couch.  “They think it was cut? Who the hell would cut my gas line?!”

AJ’s face fell in puzzlement and then he looked down at his pocket, his phone still sitting inside.  The text message flashed in his head.  “You should have stayed away.”  The sound of her grunting and tossing her phone down onto the table made him look away.

“Everything ok?” He asked as he walked into the living room.

“No” Eve sighed as she pulled her hair off her shoulders.  “That was my Manager he talked to the Fire Chief and they’re saying someone cut the gas line.”

“Purposely?” AJ asked although he knew it was a dumb question.

“I don’t understand.” Eve said confused.  “I mean Mats and Thomas are still in jail right?”

“Yes Eve.” AJ nodded as he put his hand on his back.

“Who would do this?” She asked as she looked at him.

“I don’t know.” AJ sighed as he thought about the text message.  He wondered if he should tell her, was it worth worrying her.

“I need to go get dressed and go down there.” She said as she stood up.

“I’ll go with you.” AJ said as he followed her.

She stopped in the hallway.  “Don’t you have to be at the studio?”

“I can be late; I want to be there with you.” AJ said as he took her hand.  She lightly smiled back at him.  “Come on let’s get ready.”

Aj sat in the back of the cab with Eve, her car was still at the restaurant and they were on their way there.  He held his cell phone to his ear and waited for Nick to pick up on the other end.  Looking over at Eve as he waited, he frowned when he saw her staring out the window.

“Hey man how’s it going, how’s Eve?”  Nick asked.

“She’s doing ok, I just called to let you know I’ll meet you guys at the studio, I’m going with Eve to the restaurant.”  AJ told him as he kept his eyes on Eve.

“Ok cool I’ll let them know.” Nick replied as the cab stopped.

“Thanks man, I’ll see ya later.” AJ said as he got ready to hang up and Eve paid the driver

“Take care of that girl of yours.” Nick replied.

“That’s the plan.” AJ said before the two said goodbye and hung up.  AJ got out of the cab as Eve closed the door and looked at the building in front of him. 

The windows were now bordered up with plywood.  It looked nothing like it did the first time he saw it.  He looked over at Eve as she stood there staring.  The cab pulled away and he walked over to her, his arm wrapped around her waist and she looked at him, tears dripping from her eyes.  He kissed her forehead and hugged her.

“Eve?” A man said from beside them and they pulled away.

“Ken, hi.” Eve said as she looked at the building again.

“The Fire Chief’s inside.” He said.

“Are we allowed going in?” She asked.

“Just into the dinning area, kitchen is not safe.”

Eve sighed as she started walking towards the front doors and AJ followed.  She opened them up and he followed her in, no lights on, just some spotlights that the fire department was using during their search.

AJ looked around and the place made him feel sick.  The smell of burnt wood, metal and something else maybe gas, made the air stale.  The carpets were soaked with water and a white residue from the foam the fire department uses. He looked over at the large window that separated the kitchen from the dinning room, the stainless steel appliances were scorched black and it spread up the front to the wall on the dinning side.  AJ’s heart and stomach twisted when he realized that’s where Eve was.

“Ms. Deiu.” A man said as he approached them and AJ looked over at him.  “I’m the Fire Marshall; can I have a word with you over there?” The man asked and Eve nodded.  He watched as Eve walked away, she held her classic style leather jacket around her, and he wondered what she was feeling right now.

“They got her and two other cooks out just in time.” The man who met them outside said and AJ looked at him.  What did Eve call him, Ken?

“Just in time?” AJ asked confused.

“The reason why the kitchen is messed up, there was a back draft and the firefighters pulled Eve and two others out seconds before it hit.”  Ken said as AJ looked at her.  “I can’t believe someone would do this to her.”

“Was it deliberate?” AJ asked.

“Looks like it, that’s why he’s talking to her, protocol to investigate her, make sure it’s not an insurance scam.” Ken told him.

He looked over when he saw her approaching, he reached out and she took his hand.  “I’m going to go see what I can get out of my office and I need to talk to the insurance guy, so you might as well go for now.” She told him.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yeah, you’ve got work to do, take my car; I can cab it home when I’m done.” She told him as she pulled out her keys.

“If you need me call ok?” He said as she hugged him.

“Ok.” She replied as she held him a little tighter.  “I’ll see you when you get home.”  They kissed and as he walked out of the restaurant he thought about her words and how they sounded.  He looked at her car, no bad damage just some scratches and nicks from glass.  Climbing in he put the keys into the ignition and started it up. 

Fifteen minutes later he arrived at the studio, he parked beside Brian’s rental and headed into the building.  The light was on outside the door but he didn’t care and walked in anyways, quietly.  Everything stopped when they saw him walk in.   Howie and Nick at the sound board, Brian sitting in the calm atmosphere of the microphone room.

“Hey, how is she?” Howie asked.

“Ok, I think, she’s still kind of taking it in.” AJ said as he sat down.

“What about the restaurant?” Nick asked as Brian walked out of the booth.

“Kitchen is toast, dinning area is water logged, and she was two seconds away from being killed.” AJ blurted out.

“What?” Nick and Howie said shocked.

“This guy, I think he’s the Manager, he told me that the Firefighters pulled her and some others out of the kitchen just before it got hit with a back draft, if she had been in there when it hit…” AJ’s voice trailed off.

“Damn dude.” Nick sighed sadly.

“Do they know what happened?” Brian asked.

“Someone cut the gas line.” AJ said with a hint of anger.

“Someone?” The other guys said together.

“Yeah” AJ replied. “And it can’t be Mats or Thomas, I don’t understand.”

“Maybe it was someone she fired.” Nick said.

“Yeah disgruntle employee.” Howie shrugged.

“Maybe.” AJ replied with a light shrug.

“Do you need a ride back to the hotel…or to Eve’s when we’re done?” Brian asked.

“No, I have Eve’s car, she wasn’t sure how long she was going to be so she said she’ll cab it and let me take her car from the restaurant.” AJ told him.  “Anyways lets get going, cause the sooner I can get out of here the sooner I can get home to her.”