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The next morning, as Jesse was preparing for work, she thought about the case Officer McFaiden and her were working on. It was turning out to be a little more interesting then Jesse had originally thought. Not only was she beginning to question if indeed Matt was in trouble, but she was beginning to wonder about the whole case itself. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on what exactly it was that was off.

Her meeting with Anna Highsburg was the next thing on her mind. Anna had agreed to give her time off to deal with the stress in her life. But her stress leave would begin a week from now. Jesse had thanked her, and Anna had brushed her off saying she was a good worker and deserved a rest, especially with what was going on in her life right now. Jesse still couldn’t figure out how she had managed it, but she had also gotten the phone number that Matt had given the firm from Anna. This was important, and she was going to tell Officer McFaiden, the first chance she got.

Tonight at the police station, there might just be some answers, instead of hundreds of questions! Jesse drove off to work in thoughtful silence, so that when she arrived at the firm she was surprised how quickly the drive had been and she couldn’t remember any portion of the drive there. Stepping into the office, she was greeted by James.

“So what have you been doing the last couple of nights, Jesse? When I tried calling you to see if you wanted to go out for dinner, there was no answer.” James blocked her path to the locker room.

“You actually thought I’d go out with you, James? You’re sadly mistaken, buddy. And what I have or have not been doing, is none of your business. Now, can you let me past? I have work to do.” Jesse was a little flustered; James was starting to annoy her. And why was he trying to stay on top of her every move? That was more than odd. Maybe she should inform Officer McFaiden of it, especially since she was beginning to get creeped out by James’ seeming desire to stay on top of her doings.

The day passed by quickly, and before Jesse knew it, 4:00 had come and gone, and she was at the police station. Officer McFaiden was waiting impatiently for her in the foyer. Jesse looked away to hide a smile as she caught a glimpse of him pacing with an impatient look on his face. That’s gotta be the first time I’ve seen him act human. she thought with a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Officer McFaiden demanded with a tight smile as he grasped her elbow and guided her to his office.

“Nothing really. I just never saw you show any emotion other then amusement before. I found it funny to see you with ants in your pants. It looks like you have something exiting to share with me.” Jesse replied with a smirk.

“That I do, Jesse. And I do show emotion; just not on the job very often. I do find it very difficult to keep my emotions hidden, however; which I have noticed you also struggle with, if I may say so. But that is beside the point. I have news.”

They were by now in Officer McFaiden’s cramped office, and Jesse had been neatly seated by the officer, while he was just now sitting down in his chair on the other side of the desk.

“What’s the news?” Jesse asked, expectantly sliding to the edge of her seat.

“Well, you may not like what I am about to tell you.” Officer McFaiden began hesitantly.

“Tell me anyway, Officer. We’re working this case together right?”

“Yes, but you gotta promise me that you are going to follow my directions at all times from this point on, and tell me anything and everything you find out on your own, you hear me? Because if you don’t, you could compromise the case. By rights I oughtta take you off the case right now. In fact I should never have gotten you involved.”

Jesse closed her eyes and groaned. She knew it! Suddenly her eyes flew open and she stood up.

“What?,” she yelled. “Take me off the case? Are you crazy? You’re the one who got me involved in the first place! Have I not proven myself yet? Of course I can follow your directions; I have been all along! I can’t believe you!”

“Jesse! Jesse, calm down.” Officer McFaiden stood up and stepped around his desk, taking Jesse into his arms as she began to sob. He gently rubbed her back as she cried in his arms.

“Shhhh. It’s okay dear, it’s okay. There’s no need to cry.” he said soothingly as her tears began to fade.

Sniffing, Jesse sat down, embarrassed. “Sorry, Officer McFaiden, I—I”

“Shhh. It’s alright, dear. Please, call me Daniel. I feel so awkward every time you call me Officer McFaiden. Don’t worry about it, Jesse. The stress of your job, your feelings for Matt, and working on this case—it takes a toll on even the best of humans. Did you get the stress leave from your boss?”

“Yeah. I get it in a week from yesterday. You’re not going to take me off the case are you?”

“No. No I’m not. I just said I should. But I know you—I know that you haven’t told me everything, and I want to hear your theories before I tell you what I have discovered. And you have to listen to me and do everything I say from now on, because what I have discovered may adversely affect you. On that condition, you may continue to work the case with me. Deal?”

“Deal.” Jesse smiled weakly.

“So. Tell me what it is that has been bubbling in your head lately. I know you have an idea or two.” Officer McFaiden smiled encouragingly, as he sat down on the edge of his desk, facing Jesse.

Jesse grimaced and groaned at the same time. “You’re gonna think I’m stupid.”

“No I’m not. I wanna hear. Now go on—tell me. Remember the condition on which you get to keep working the case.” he coaxed.

“Alright. This is my thoughts. Matt left a number with the firm, for them to call back. My guess is so they can arrange a drop off for the money. His pickup is at his house. I originally thought because the captors wanted to make things less suspicious, but after some thought, I’m thinking it is because Matt wasn’t actually captured. It just doesn’t make sense that they would leave his vehicle behind, because using it would be a perfect way to keep the police off their tracks. But maybe Matt is the one trying to keep the police off his tracks. I don’t know, I could be wrong. But why did Matt call me saying not to worry if I didn’t hear from him for a while? He couldn’t have managed to call me once he was captured because they would keep a close eye on him, and how did he know prior to being abducted that he’d be in trouble? It doesn’t add up.”

Officer McFaiden stared at Jesse with an open mouth for a few seconds, before he caught himself.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Jesse questioned him, her heart sinking. She already knew the answer. “I’m right aren’t I?”

“Jesse, how the hell did you figure that out? I’m impressed!”

“I don’t know, Officer McFa—I mean, Daniel. I just used a logical thought process, and put all the pieces to the puzzle together. Now are you going to keep me in suspense? Tell me what you discovered.” Even though she had a miserable feeling that she was right about Matt, she couldn’t help but laugh at the incredulous look that was still etched upon Daniel’s face.

It took a few minutes for Jesse’s words to register in the officer’s brain. For after a pause he suddenly stood up and walked back to his seat on the other side of the desk and began talking.

“Well, you are certainly right. It looks like our victim Matthew Darden, may not be a victim after all. I am sorry about that, Jesse. Anyway, here is what we found upon obtaining a warrant to enter Matt’s home.”

And he began to explain as he showed her photos and artefacts taken from the house. The police discovered that the house belonged to a family, who had rented a basement room to some one named Andrew Drysdale. Upon searching the room they found several fake IDs, a few pounds of pure cocaine, and a book that contained detailed drawings of homemade bombs among other things, several machine guns, and a hit list. These items were a few among other suspicious and dangerous items. The owners of the home were very surprised that these things were even in their home, and they decided to press charges. There was no sign of Andrew, and no sign that a Matthew Darden had even lived there. When showed a picture of Matthew, the family recognised him as Andrew, and said they had never heard of or seen Matt.

The truck, on the other hand, had a driver’s licence in it, with the name Matthew Darden on it and a similar photo as the one used to identify the occupant of the family’s bedroom apartment. So Matthew Darden and Andrew Drysdale were one and the same. And there was no questioning that the truck did not belong to Matt. Jesse had been in it with him, and she could identify it positively as his by the few unique scratches and dents it had on its body. So what did this all mean? Had some one pulled a fast one and out smarted them all? Or was Matt the bad guy? Jesse was beginning to think that Matt wasn’t who she’d thought he was, but maybe she was still wrong. She hoped so.