Valencia Issachar looked at the man that stood on the threshold of the Victorian house, gaping at her like he had never seen a woman before. She looked down at the address on her phone. Oh yes, this was certainly the address. 16, Norksfold drive, Sanchusett, Baleria. She was not expecting it to be a home though, she had expected an office. When you get an ad for an assistant, of course, you expect to be received in an office by an actual business and not by a confused-looking man, standing on the threshold of what some would call a gothic-style home, gaping at you. She gave him a fleeting smile "Mr Alarick?" she tilted her head in question, her honey-coloured hair, waving gently as if asking a question of their own. Jordan berated himself for zoning out. Look at him, a Sherriff, well an ex-sheriff and a man of the badge; ex too, yet here he was staring at a woman as if he had never seen one before. Of course, he had seen his share of beautiful women, even Peonia had been beautifu
Valencia’s misconception about her job due to the way she had been received the day before was dispersed within the first hour after she resumed work the next day. This time she was directed to the outbuilding a bit farther from the house. She wondered what the building was used for in the past but none of its former purposes could be seen in the current state the building now. It had been converted into a modern office. The three comprises three well-equipped rooms. “This one is mine” Jordan had told her that morning as he pointed to the largest and she could see that the office where he received her the night before was more of a backup office compared to this. One side of the room was adorned with rows and rows of walled shelves that were choked with books. Valencia could almost hear the antique oak shelves protesting under the weight of so many books. She wondered what anyone would need with that much book but then being a private investigator must involve searching for a lot of
The first time had been uneventful. Jordan was tailing a woman who wouldn’t accept a divorce decree from her partner, Jordan’s client, even though the husband suspected her of cheating on him and he did a DNA test on their five years old child who ended up not being his child. After confronting the woman, instead of being contrite and repentant. She called her husband a liar and accused him of having trust issues. She wouldn’t leave the house nor did she accept the court summons sent repeatedly to her both at home and work. She left home one day with the boy without saying anything to Jordan’s client parking most of the man’s belongings with her. The main reason why Mr Andrews contracted Jordan was that in as much as the papers had not been signed by her, they are still technically married and issues could stem from that later. Baleria had a divorce law whereby the court could make a decree to have a marriage dissolved without assent from both parties in as much as there was enough
He still had no idea why she had suddenly switched from being his capable assistant to his apprentice but he couldn’t find fault with her. She was efficient. Every task he gave to her, she got done. It might take her a while but she was always pulling her own. Jordan dismissed the niggling thought that there was more to this woman than paranoia. “What more do you want, man?” his subconscious whispered to him one day when he was thinking the same thing. She had just completed a new task he gave to her and uncovered a tangible clue that was vital for the police investigation in the process. Sitting on the porch of the office that evening with a glass of brandy in his hand long after they have closed for the day, Jordan thought of what she had accomplished in the past weeks. He had given her more things to work on after working together with her on cases for a while. Her first independent job earned them a glowing review from the client. Alarick PI Firm was getting well known in Baler
She was never going back!Valencia thought in exasperation as she slammed the receiver down, hard enough to jar the telephone. She wondered how he had gotten her work’s number then she shook her head at her stupid thought.Of course, he could get whatever he wanted. He was Apache after all. She tried to bury her head behind her computer to avoid giving Laura, the secretary anything to pick on.The new secretary was good at what she does truly but Valencia couldn’t help but think that the lady was too inquisitive for her good.Maybe it was because Valencia had not been one that makes friends, she thought but she could almost feel her eyes crossed when Laura had been talking to her about nail polishes and asking personal questions like boyfriends and stuff after her first week at work.She supposed the girl was okay. In the overly bubbly way that some girls seemed to have naturally. No one could call Valencia bubbly for sure. She had once been called stiff as a corpse.“Maybe that was w
“Woah there,” Jordan said easily even as he wondered what made her so jumpy. “What’s up?” he asked with a grin.“Oh sorry, I didn’t see you there” she replied with an uneasy smile.“Welcome sir” Laura chirped brightly with her signature smile in place as she stood up to greet Jordan.“Hello, Laura. Hope the books are getting balanced?” he asked with a smile.“With me here, you have got nothing to worry about sir,” she said with a huge grin. That had become her regular answer since Jordan joked that he slept easier with her around.“Awesome” he replied with an answering smile “And as you know; with you here?”“You slept easier sir” Laura completed for him.“Good, you carry on. Do not let me distract you” he replied with a wink then turned to Valencia who was half looking at them and half looking at the system. “See me in my office, rookie”“Yes, sir” Valencia answered with a smile.Jordan had taken to calling her like that since he agreed to accept her as his apprentice.As he entered h
“A different new task?” Valencia repeated like she suddenly couldn’t understand regular English. In truth, she was wondering what kind of task Jordan could have for her, especially since he just asked her about what she knew of drug lords. “This could not be good,” she thought to herself. Jordan raised his brow at her as she gaped at him without replying to his answer. He wondered why her eyes had widened like that. She did not even know the task he had for her yet. Then he answered her “Yes, Val. A different task,” he said with a teasing smile “Your reaction almost makes me think you know what it was already. Are you using a crystal ball now?” Valencia forced a smile as she shook her head “No, I just… I thought I heard wrong and just wanted to confirm” she lied, hoping Jordan wouldn’t call her bluff. He didn’t even though he gave her an askance look before saying “No, you did not” he leaned back on his chair expecting a reply. When she said nothing but only stared at him, he sai
Lance Dickson. Seated with assurance in her boss’s office the day she took up the task, Valencia had no idea that she would be taking a turn down the roads she was determined not to tread. Lance Dickson, the current ASP of the Baleria Police Department was a dirty man. Right up to his shiny, baby face, the man was up to his neck in corruption. What frustrated Valencia was that even though he looked slick and stupid, he was slippery too. She had been on his tail for over a week now and had never been able to catch him in any incriminating act. At first, Valencia had thought that Jordan was just paranoid because all the research she had done on him had validated the man clean. Maybe too clean in her opinion but a man couldn’t be faulted for having a clean record after all. His public record had shown him as a model citizen and an upright policeman who steadily climbed up the ladder through pure hard work and determination to his current position. ASP Dickson, a magazine interviewed h