hung her head. “Sorry,” she said. “That came out pretty harsh.”
“It was very cynical, yeah. And you’re half right. This is what I want to do. I get a lot of satisfaction from it. I’m not gonna lie and say I’d dedicate my life to these causes if I wasn’t getting paid for it!”
They laughed together. Melissa took a sip of her drink. Her eyes were still a little teary and she sniffed now and then, but she seemed to have recovered quite well. She took in a lot more gas than Tim did, and he was still feeling the effects. It bothered him greatly: there was no need for the police to deploy the gas.
“I hope all those people got away,” Melissa said, her eyes downcast.
“What happened at the front, Melissa?”
She closed her eyes, clearly reliving the trauma and shuddering at the images flashing before her.
“The police forced us to turn off Franklin, then we went north and they marched out to block us again. I don’t know why, we were peaceful, at least where I was. And then these guys ran out past Wilson, past all of us.”
“What guys?”
“Oh shit! Wilson. I should call him and make sure he’s okay.” She pulled out her phone but Tim put a hand out to slow her down.
“Tell me about the guys?”
“I don’t know, maybe about a dozen of them. I didn’t see them before, but they ran at the police. They had masks and baseball bats and other weapons. That’s when everything went crazy.”
“Agitators,” said Tim.
“Huh?”
“Agitators. Sometimes they’re hired by someone with an agenda, or they’re troublemakers looking to find more trouble. Either way they’re not interested in protesting anything. They’re looking for violence. Any chance to cause mayhem, they’ll do it.”
“Someone hired them to start a fight?”
“More than possible.”
“Shit. Who?”
Tim had a damn good idea who. He wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet though. He waited a few minutes while she sent some text messages from her phone. He regarded her during that time. She was short, slim and very pretty. Her hair was naturally curly and her eyes were dark, deep pools. She was clearly smart, a little wiser than her years, and Tim was impressed by how she was keeping it together. After everything she’d been through in such a short space of time, she was remarkably calm and still caring for the wellbeing of others.
He missed having female company about the place. He wasn’t about to make a move on Melissa. She was attractive, certainly, but too young for him. Plus the press would have a field day if they started dating. He doubted she would be interested in a thirty-something senator from a different country anyway. Still it was nice to have her here. The house felt more complete than it had since Claire left him. He’d thrown himself into his work to such a degree that he hadn’t stopped to consider his own loneliness. Maybe he should take a breath, let the whole Granger thing slide and take some time to start dating again. He shouldn’t wait until he was fat and balding. He was still eligible.
But no. He had to keep pushing. The time to push his agenda was now. If he paused, or let Granger intimidate him, his bills would fail and he likely wouldn’t be able to build this momentum again. This path had cost him his marriage; he wasn’t going to squander his efforts now.
Melissa lowered her phone.
“I can’t get hold of Wilson. Maybe the police have him. Can we check?”
“We can go down to the station first thing in the morning. Let the dust settle for now. We should stay off the streets.”
“But he might be hurt.”
“In which case he’ll be in the hospital. I’ll make some enquiries first thing and we can go find him. It’s been a very long day, Melissa, and we should both get some sleep. I have a spare room you’re welcome to use. I’ll put out a towel and some blankets. My ex left some clothes behind so I put them in the closet in the spare room. I should really have thrown them out but never gotten around to it. Help yourself to anything.”
Melissa nodded, grateful. Tim was glad she felt comfortable enough to stay here. It was the least he could do for her. She never asked the police to shoot her boyfriend, for her to be arrested, to be kidnapped and tied up in someone’s basement, to be tear gassed. Most other people would be a bawling wreck by now.
Tim’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and unlocked it with his fingerprint.
We need to talk.
He frowned. The message was from the same number as the warning to return home when Melissa was tied up in the basement.
I can meet you in the morning.
Now.
Tim sighed. He could tell this person to go away, but they had saved his career with that tip off.
“What’s up?” Melissa asked.
“I have to go meet someone. It’s the mystery person who tipped me off about you in my basement. If it weren’t for them, I’d have come home after your kidnapper left and the police would have arrested me.”
“And you want to find out who it is?”
“Of course. They want to meet right now. Will you be okay here?”
Melissa put down her nearly empty glass and stood up.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? I don’t really want to be on my own. I feel a lot safer with you, even out on the streets.”
“I’m flattered but really, it’s…”
“Shush. Where are we going?”
The café was deserted, partly because it was late but mostly because the earlier violence meant there were few people on the streets voluntarily. Tim wondered if this was such a good idea. He was quietly glad Melissa had insisted on going with him because he didn’t fancy being there alone. The only other person in the place was a solitary waitress, who delivered them coffee all the while keeping an eye on the door. She’d clearly seen or heard about the violence and wanted no part of it.
“How long is your shift?” Tim asked her as sympathetically as he could.
“Another hour, then we close,” she replied.
“Are you here alone?”
“Kitchen closed an hour ago, so yeah.”
“Would you like us to stay until you close?”
She smiled at him, her eyes tired.
“Yeah that would be nice. Thanks.”
“No
