This story is my first attempt at writing a novella. i would love constructive feedback if you have any. And please let me know if you have enjoyed it.
Her Original Bad Boy
Chapter One
Elizabeth Williams sat across from her Captain looking at the relatively thin file he had on his desk. His brow was furrowed and he looked lost in thought as his fingers worked the spine of the blue coloured cardboard.
"Williams, I'm going to read you in on something that's been on my desk for almost a decade. In all that time I've never found the one key piece of information to put it to rest. Everything points to the theory that the whole east side is controlled by a single crime syndicate. Anything that happens east of the river, from the port in the south, to the industrial area in the north, drugs, prostitution, numbers, protection, all of it operates within the syndicate." His brow furrowed as he spoke. "But every time it looks like we're getting somewhere it doesn't pan out. Leads go cold quick, too quick."
"So who runs the syndicate?" Elizabeth asked as Captain Jamison handed her the folder.
"That's the thing, after nearly 10 years we have no idea, not even a codename to go off." Captain Jamison said. "Over the years we've chipped away at some of the low level operators but got nothing from them. They were either too scared to talk or they didn't know anything above who they answered to."
"So what do you want me to do?" Elizabeth asked with some trepidation.
"We recently raided a warehouse near the docks and found some correspondence and burner phones. The intel guys have gone through the material and have developed a list of names and locations. We don't know yet if they are players or clients. Your part is to go through the file and see if you can make heads or tails of the data. We need to find a way inside." Captain Jamison continued. "Williams, I am counting on you for this one. You are the best mind I have in here and your intuitiveness is your strongest asset!"
"No problem Captain, I'll get on it. What kind of timeline are we talking about?" she asked.
"Yesterday," he said stone faced, "seriously, we need to move on this information as soon as we can. Every day that passes makes the information less likely to be current and actionable. If you need some bodies to run down leads, run them by me. This needs to be kept on a need to know basis. And Williams, watch your back! A few years ago, in 2011, i finally had a guy ready to roll but then he mysteriously disappeared... I'm hoping a fresh set of eyes could help me finally nail them, and Williams you are the best I have!" Her captain looked serious, he rarely looked serious, but he was close to retirement and Elizabeth could sense him wanting to tie up loose ends and close this case so his mind would be at ease when he walked out of the squad room doors for the last time.
"No worries Captain." Elizabeth said with a smile as she took the folder in her hand. The smile faded though as soon as she read one of the first names on the list. Luciano Calderone. She slowed her heart beat and steadied her hand. Surely it was not her Luca. As she read, she felt a feeling of dizziness over take her. It was him. There was no doubt about it. Had all the bullshit he spouted at her actually been true? Surely not!
"You ok Williams? You look like you've seen a ghost..." her Captain said trailing off as she looked up at him.
Elizabeth tried to clear her voice as she nodded and her mind flooded with memories.
Elizabeth had dated Luciano Calderone back in high school. But to her he was just Luca, a boy with a difficult past who played the tough connected guy. Always playing the little mafioso. But that was some 15 years ago now and the memories were foggy. A decade of using alcohol to forget the shit she dealt with at work does that to a person. All she could really remember now was that being with him had been exciting. He had been charming and protective. She clearly remembered that. No matter where they went she had always felt safe with him, that and he had made her feel like a princess, someone special. She had been his. She thought hard but she could not remember how they had ended. She could vaguely remember him "going away" somewhere. Juvie probably, she mused to herself.
Luca had been the first in a long line of bad boys. A long line of having her heart broken. Endless nights waiting for calls that never came and taking whatever scraps of attention were thrown in her direction. Those other bad boys had been different though. While they had often had Luca's charisma and sense of danger they lacked his protective nature, but mostly they had never made her feel like a princess. Her dark knight had left her with a taste for danger that she could never seem to satisfy. So instead of being taken care of, she had spent the last 15 years with her walls up as she looked after everyone else around her.
Elizabeth slumped back in her chair as she pretended to continue to read the smidge of intel in the file. Her mind wandered as she thought wistfully just how nice it would be to have someone look after her for once. Elizabeth had a habit of attracting men who were either lost puppies in need of guidance or self centred cocky pricks who thought the world owed them something. She just could never seem to find a normal guy. Her friends told her it was because she didn't want a relationship so she subconsciously found faulty goods. Her 'relationships' rarely lasted more than a few months before she did a runner. Elizabth never really did well being on her own but she also didn't do well with relationships either it seemed. A Commitment Phobe is what her girlfriends called her. She really did need to start thinking of the possibility of finding a normal guy and settling down. That being said, she had been sort of seeing a guy, Nick, for the past three months or so. To her it was nothing serious, however, she wasn't so sure he was taking it so casually.
"So?" her Captain's voice broke up her pity party and she looked up at him closing the file.
"There is nothing in here but a list of names and some locations. I would hardly call this a lead, it is just what ifs and maybes." She said pushing the file back across the table. Surely Luca could not be involved in this she thought to herself. The list must be client names she reasoned and surely Luca doesn't know about the people he is dealing with.
"What I have is my gut and in four decades on the force it has rarely been wrong. There is something in there Williams. I just know you will come up with something." He paused before looking up at her and pushing the file back across the table at her. "But i think the real question is what did you see in there that made you pause like that?"
Elizabeth gave her Captain a raised eyebrow. She had dropped her poker face for a split second but that was all a man like Captain Jamison needed. God he was good. She knew there was no point in trying to lie, the Captain's lie detector skills far surpassed hers, he had, after all, taught her everything she knew. She took a deep breath before answering. "One of the names on the list belongs to one of my old high school boyfriends..." she trailed off as she looked at her Captain. She saw that glint in his eye turn into a sparkle and she knew what he was about to say before he even said it. "But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be involved in something like this." She chimed in quickly, a little too quickly she realised.
"Well maybe it is time you get back in touch and find out for sure." The captain could barely contain his grin.
