no control

• twenty six •

gladys

My shift started out pretty busy. I enjoyed the distraction from my thoughts and interacting with other normal people.

I was starting to worry Elijah's anti-social, rich-person tendencies were wearing off on me. Except I was already a little anti-social to begin with, so I couldn't fully blame him.

About an hour and a half in, the crowd thinned out. I just finished restocking the bathrooms and cleaning the floors when the door chimed. I dried my hands and hurried out to the register.

Megan stood at the counter, leaning on her elbows. She blew a pink bubble from her lips with gum and arched a brow at me.

"Hey you," I said, stopping beside her. "Whatcha doing here on your off day?"

She shrugged and chomped away at her gum. She wore black denim shorts and a thin crop top that showed off her toned abdomen.

"Just wanted to check on you," she said. "Haven't seen you in awhile."

I chuckled. "You told them I was ready to work alone. That's on you, Meg."

"You're not wrong." She laughed. "You're totally capable. But no, I wanted to see what's up. My roommate and I are having a party at our apartment Saturday. Wanted to see if you'd be down? There'll be a good bit of people."

"Oh, cool," I said, already knowing Elijah would hate it. "Yeah, I should be free. I'll let you know."

"Sounds good. Everything else going on? School's alright?"

I nodded because it was easier than explaining the chaos that was my current state of life.

"Yep," I said. "You?"

"Same as usual." She shrugged. "Well, I gotta go run some errands but I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, I'll let you know about the party. Bye."

"Bye, bitch." She twirled on her heel and strutted out of the building.

Less than five minutes after her departure, two undercover police cruisers pulled into the front parking spaces. Right where Elijah would park when he returned later.

I kept an eye on the two officers who stepped out, a man and woman. They didn't look like normal cops. They wore combat pants and boots with short-sleeve station t-shirts.

When they entered the shop, I smiled politely and nodded. They glanced around the store before walking directly up to me.

"Good afternoon," I greeted. "Can I help you two with anything?"

The woman was older, her tan face lined with wrinkles and frown lines. Her graying hair was tied back into a low ponytail. Beside her, the man continued to scan the vicinity. He was younger and radiated tension.

A bad feeling settled in my stomach.

"Are you Gladys Wilder?" she asked.

My stomach rolled. "Yes, ma'am."

She pulled a badge out from her pocket. "I'm Detective Winslow and this is my partner, Detective Dobbins," she said, nodding back at the man. "We'd like to speak to you about an ongoing investigation."

I felt my eyes widen. An ongoing case?

The feeling in my stomach expanded into a giant balloon of dread. I sensed this had something to do with Bernice. I found myself wishing I could stop time and prevent these cops from telling me any more.

"Would you be able to step outside for just a moment?" Winslow asked.

Blinking, I stood up from the stool. "Sure, but I can't leave the register without someone else here."