Cafe of Exile

Chapter Eight

Isobel sat at her desk tapping her pen, she was thinking about those kids that were under Kasey's care. Going through her mind were a million things. "Lies. Lies. and More lies" Isobel said to herself as she crossed her legs and bit the end of her pen.

Isobel looked over at Nadia's desk watching her eagerly trying to call Kasey. Everything seemed louder to Isobel right now with her stress running high. "You got it Nad?" Isobel asked as she clicked her pen on the desk. "Voicemail," Nadia said as she hung up the phone. "That is your priority tomorrow when you get in," Isobel said as she stood up. "I am heading home for the evening you guys should too, get a good start on all of this tomorrow," Isobel said as she looked over at Scott.

"I am heading out for something to eat and drink over at Pint's," Scott said as he grabbed his coat. "Any of you want to join?" He added as he stood in between Isobel and Nadia's desk. "Yeah, I could use one," Isobel said as she put her jacket on and grabbed her keys. "I am going to stay behind and work on this a bit more. I will call if I have any other breakthrough in this case." Nadia said as she leaned back in her chair and smiled.

"Alright, well don't stay too late you need sleep too," Isobel added along with a smile then got into the elevator. Isobel and Scott had them off and on times when they both would be at each other's throats, but at the end of the day in agreement with each other's decisions. Scott looked at Isobel walking to her car which was a few cars from his as he blurted out "I can just drive us there?" while standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"I don't plan to drink anything but a glass of wine not even, Scott," Isobel said as she unlocked her car and gets in. Scott smiled and got in his car. He was just happy to be spending time with her after a long stressful day today. Isobel took off toward the pub and got stopped by a stoplight. She had noticed Scott wasn't behind her. With her hands on the steering wheel, she sat there at the red light frequently looking into the rear-view mirror to see if she can see his car.

Sure there are alternate ways she thought in her mind but, this was the quickest. So either he hadn't left yet, or decided to take a different way. "Isobel just go and have a drink and go home," she said to herself as she looked back at the light as it turned green. Isobel had slowed down her drive to the pub in hopes that Scott would be there before her, so it wouldn't be awkward for her. As she arrived, she drove past the pub to see if she could spot his car. It wasn't there yet. She continued to drive around the block and to get a parking spot back in front of the pub.

Isobel picked up her phone to see if she had anything from him. She let out a small sigh at the sight of a blank screen on her phone. She threw it back in her bag, got out of the car and walked into the pub. Standing outside you could smell the pub food cooking, it smelled of fried chicken wings and fries. She slowly opened up the door and was greeted by the bartender from across the room "Welcome to Pint's Pub". Isobel smiled and took a seat at the bar. She looked around and was surprised that it was quite empty inside.

"Slow night?" she asked as the bartender came walking over from behind the bar with an order book to take an order. "Tuesday's are normally slow." He said as he placed a water in front of her. Isobel took off her jacket and thanked the man for the water. "Can I get just a white wine spritzer please?" Isobel said as she took off her badge and put it in her bag. "No problem," he said as he left to go get that for her.

While waiting for her drink, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through the pictures she took from today's case. She put her elbow on the bar and rested her head in her hand while scrolling. "Did you just come from work?" the bartender asked while putting down a coaster and then her drink. "Yeah, long day," she said as she slowly grabbed the drink. "Thank you," she said as she took a small sip of the drink. "No problem," he added.