Bring Him Home - Chapter 24

Esme took the news of the video badly, Judy called me at about 8.30pm that night after she had spoken to her and I could hear Esme in the background, she was using language I didn't even realise she knew as she described what she was going to do the person who had targeted her. Anger was good though, it was better than her being scared.

I couldn't help but sympathise with her, this was a little different from the attack on me and Rosalie, I was just caught at an extreme moment on a crap day and Rosalie, well Rosalie was having the time of her life, but Esme had gone through hell with her husband. The video made it look like she had made all the allegations up so she could get away from him just to join our ‘man hating' company.

I tried to talk to her but she was past the point of listening, Judy agreed to keep an eye on her overnight and we arranged that I'd talk to her tomorrow and offer to organise a therapist if she needed another session. She had already undergone a lot of therapy when she first joined us so I was hoping she just needed a bit of extra help.

The call left me mentally exhausted. I really needed to relax but still had several calls to make. Whilst I couldn't contact the remaining clients this late at night, I knew I still needed to talk to Jasper, the police detective assigned to our case and it had been ages since I'd caught up with Angela. So after sorting a large glass of wine I settled down and decided who to call first.  The decision was a hard one, as much as I knew it should be Jasper, I couldn't help but wish I had thought to get Edward's number because I wanted to sink back and just chat to him.

I felt a smile emerge across my face, I was really looking forward to watching him get his life back, I'll admit I was massively curious as to the details of how he ended up living on the streets but I knew I'd need to wait until he was ready to talk to me to be privy to that information.

 I picked up my phone and called Jasper, always business first, pleasure later. That probably explains why I had such little pleasure in my life. Before I could get anymore melancholy I dialled Jasper.

"Ok I'm ready to listen Jasper, talk to me about who is doing this"

"I'm not sure yet who the actual money behind this is, but I have an IP address of the computer, I can tell who uploaded the clips but unfortunately that isn't the end of the story" he said cryptically

"Ok so what do we know so far?"

"Well the person who actually uploaded these videos is a Private Investigator. My contacts have managed to get an address and they are going to pay him a little visit in the morning. Now if he is a professional he should keep his client list secret but here's hoping he isn't and he spills his guts." He explained

"Where is his office? Could I go and pay him a visit, it might help if he knows the harm he's causing"

"Bella at this point he is trying to cause harm, that is the only reason he can be doing this. We just have to figure out why, and no you can't go and visit him because he is across on the west coast"

"What are you talking about? Why is someone on the West Coast coming after my business We don't even operate over there" I exclaimed

"Bella until we know who is actually funding all this there is no point in torturing yourself and before you shout at me, I know it's your business and your life but really there is nothing more we can do at the moment. I have things happening which I am not going to talk to you about over an open phone line so we will get together soon ok, just keep doing what you're doing and talk to your clients"

"Jasper I'm sorry, I know you are trying to help, I just don't understand what is going on. Why is someone doing this?"

"Bella when Alice told me about the first clip I was sure it was just something and nothing, someone who had got lucky , catching you at an awkward moment, but as soon as the second clip came out I knew it was more serious than that. You have to look at this in different ways, it might not be the business they are targeting, it could be you personally, is there anything in your background or personal life that could have triggered this?"

"No Jasper believe me my life is so boring, there is nothing in it that could have upset anyone."

"What about ex partners, lovers, current partners, families of previous lovers, ex-girlfriends of previous or current lovers"

"Jasper believe me there is nothing, my parents are dead, the family I grew up with wouldn't do this they are church people and as for ex-lovers well there aren't any of them to worry about"

"Well we'll see what tomorrow brings. Let my guys go visit the PI and we will see and as soon as I know anything I'll let you know. Is that ok?"

We said goodnight and I sat for a long time just staring out of my condo window into the night sky. For the second time in my life I felt as though things were out of my control, the only other time had been for a few days after my Dad died and I had promised myself that I would never allow myself to feel like that again. As I felt the first few tears fall I shook my head and wiped them away, I had not come this far to let things get to me now. I poured another large glass of wine and then another, and for the first time in my adult life I went to bed without going through my nightly skin routine and with an alcohol haze that I'd heard everyone talk about but never actually experienced.

The next morning I realised just how much wine I'd drunk. The two empty bottles on the side were laughing at me as I tried to make myself function. I had bought six bottles about three years ago to go in the wine rack in my kitchen just in case someone dropped by and there were still four bottles in there.

My mouth felt as though a cat had slept in it and my head was banging with such ferocity I was sure my brain was actually trying to escape my skull. When I looked in the mirror in my bathroom I screamed because I didn't recognise myself in the reflection. The pain my scream caused to my poor head quickly bought me back to my senses and I reached to put on the shower. Without thinking I stepped in and let the warm water soothe by body but it took me a minute to realise I was still dressed in my pyjamas. As my senses returned to normal I finally stripped off and worked on washing away the previous evening.

After coffee, water, juice and headache tablets I was able to get dressed and actually make myself go to work. I felt hungry and sick and wasn't sure whether to eat or not so I did something I knew I would regret at a later date, I called Rosalie.

"Hey Boss we were just starting to get worried, you are always in the office before now" was her cheery greeting.

I had to hold the phone away from my ear as she was so loud.

"I'm on my way but I don't feel too well, I need to ask you for some advice, I had a little too much to drink last night and I feel sick this morning but my stomach is actually grumbling should I  have something to eat or not ?" I knew as soon as I told her I'd made a mistake

"Oh Bella I'm so proud of you, did you go out last night and get your freak on? Did you enjoy it, oh god did you pick up a man and get a good seeing to? I know you're not into women so I'm presuming it was a man, but was he good, did he make the earth move and your bells ring?"

"Rosalie I'm stood out on the sidewalk asking you whether I should eat or not, how the hell do you get anything else from that?" I knew I should have just had a slice of toast this morning.

"Ok ok ok , if you think you can stomach it you need fat and grease, best cure ever for a hangover, grab a portion of bacon, lots of bacon and maybe fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, lots of juice and coffee. Eat as much as you can because it will soak up the alcohol" she said. "Don't worry everything is quiet here Esme is in her office but she seems ok"

"Shit I'd forgotten about that, I'll be straight in I need to talk to her and see for myself how she is" I felt terrible for forgetting and set off towards the office.

"Bella eat. You won't feel better until you do but if you're determined to come straight in pick up a breakfast burrito from the diner downstairs that should do the trick, I'll put some extra coffee on".

My stomach howled at the mention of a burrito so I made my way to the counter and ordered one to go. As I stood waiting for it I heard the voice I'd been dreading

"Well hello there fiancée, I'm a little surprised to see you in here ordering a burrito for breakfast, how are you going to get into your wedding dress if you're too fat?"

I turned to face Jacob wondering whether it would be better to ignore him or to really let him know what I was thinking. It was a hard decision when my brain still hurt, but having been caught out the only other time I let rip at someone I decided I was probably better off ignoring him.

As I finally looked at him it wasn't the smirk on his face that caught my attention or his two idiot friends that were laughing and slapping him on the back while congratulating him on ‘laying down the law'. No it was the pair of beautiful green eyes that were staring at me as his mug was suspended half way to his mouth, he'd obviously heard every word and that thought horrified me.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Poor Bella she just can't seem to catch a break at the moment.

So how many of you are prepared to admit you've got in the shower in a morning still in your pyjamas?  Those were the days !!!!!