Quick thoughts flashed through his mind. He thought of the time that it had taken for their paths to cross again. He thought of what would happen if he didn't take this opportunity to tell her how he felt. As the door closed, Allen attempted to excuse himself from the meeting but Mr. Cochran reminded him that time is money and that he had other clients to see. Allen regained his composure and returned to the business at hand.
Gwen arrived back at Cochran Matthews and Associates a little after
11:00 a.m. to find several messages on her desk and her inbox. She
assumed that they were from clients that she hadn't yet called back and
from Jes since she hadn.t talked with her all weekend. She figured Jes
was calling to tell her about some new guy that she met and that she was
finally over the pain that Marvin had caused. She decided to settle in
before getting to the messages and returning phone calls from last week
and the early morning.
Gwen called the offices of Maguire and
Associates attempting to update Jes on the good weekend she had as
well as hear about her weekend. Unfortunately, she was told that Jes
hadn't arrived at the office yet. Gwen thought that was a little strange
because work was the one thing Jes didn't take for granted. She had
always remembered her father telling her that she was only a paycheck
away from being homeless.
Gwen called the house thinking that Jes may
have slept late because of a long weekend of fun, but the answering
machine intercepted her call. Gwen looked at her watch and notice it
was close to 12:00 p.m. and she hadn't checked any messages or
returned any calls. Gwen picked up her phone and prepared to check
her messages, but paused when she didn't hear a dial tone.
"Hello," Gwen said as she heard another voice on the other end of the
phone. "This is she and with whom am I speaking? Well Detective
Benetez it has been a very long time since I have heard your voice. What
can I do for you today?" Gwen asked happily. "You need me to do
what?" Gwen asked in disbelief. "Whom should I ask for?"
Gwen grabbed her purse and ran through the office without a sound.
Natalie attempted to ask Gwen if everything was OK, but in the flash that
Gwen passed, she couldn't get the question out completely.
Gwen arrived at the Hollywood Police Station and asked for Detective
Jacobson. A few moments later a tall slender white man in his mid
forties, came around the corner.
"Gwen," Detective Jacobson asked sympathetically,
"under the
circumstances, how are you holding up?"
"I'm fine, and I'm sure you all have made a mistake."
"Unfortunately, I don't think we made a mistake. We recovered this
letter from the hotel when we found the body."
Gwen took the letter from Detective Jacobson and sat at one of the
empty tables. She opened the letter slowly and saw that it was Jes'
handwriting. She dropped the letter to the floor in fear of the phone call
becoming a reality.