Free The Jake Helman Files Personal Demons by Gregory Lamberson

appeared on the display screen. Was his partner calling about the Cipher, or about Jake’s sudden resignation? Staring at the number, Jake allowed the phone to continue ringing. Curiosity about the Cipher’s identity gnawed at him, but he felt too humiliated to speak to Edgar. Switching off the ringer, he pocketed the phone and lit another cigarette. Exhaling smoke, he shivered as darkness laced the sky.

    Jake’s stomach clenched when he saw the light outlining his apartment’s front door. He felt Sheryl’s presence as soon as he opened the door, and his eyes settled on the open closet. Something about it seemed different, triggering a mental alarm. Something was missing. Then he realized that his gun case had been removed from the shelf, and nausea spread through him. Shutting the door behind him, he followed the light into the living room, illuminated by a single lamp on one of the end tables.
    Sheryl sat waiting for him on the sofa, dressed in black slacks and a matching T-shirt, her arms crossed over her breasts. She had tied her hair back, and the lamp cast soft shadows across her oval face. She glared at Jake through swollen eyelids streaked with mascara. Jake wanted to take her into his arms, but the anger radiating from her held him at bay. Jake’s gun case rested on the wicker chest that doubled as their coffee table. His body turned numb.
    “Edgar called,” Sheryl said in a monotone. “He told me about the shooting, which also made the news.” Pausing, she sniffled. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
    He stood waiting for her to continue.
    “Edgar told me you resigned.”
    News travels fast
. He did not know what to say, even though he had spent the last hour rehearsing various scenarios in his head.
    “Under normal circumstances, that would make me happier than you could possibly know.”
    He didn’t need to ask what made these circumstances different.
    “Is it true you refused to take a drug test?”
    Thanks, partner
.
    “Don’t be angry with Edgar. He was worried about you and I dragged it out of him. Is it true?”
    He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
    “What’s in the case, Jake?”
    He swallowed. “My personal weapon. You know that.”
    “What else?”
    He bit his lower lip.
    “Open it.”
    He saw no point in delaying the inevitable. With a deep sigh, he sat down beside Sheryl and thumbed the combination dials on the case. Popping the tabs, he rotated the case toward her, then sat back. Sheryl raised the lid and stared at the Glock nestled within its compartment. She pressed the foam rubber with two fingers, feeling along the inside edges, and removed the false bottom. Setting the gun and padding beside her, she gazed at the bundled cash and the bag of cocaine. Tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
    “So—how dirty are you?”
    Jake’s vision blurred. Why was this happening?
    Sheryl leapt to her feet. “I believed in you!”
    His vision cleared as tears escaped from his eyelids. “I’m sorry…”
    “What are you? A drug dealer? An addict?
I don’t know you!”
    He slumped his shoulders. “All I can say is that the Job was eating me alive.”
    “So you took drugs? Did it ever occur to you to transfer to another unit? Or to get a different job?”
    He stared at the case. “Homicide was such a choice assignment.”
    “I see. You wanted your star to shine.”
    “No. I wanted a promotion so we could afford to get a house like you wanted, start a family…”
    She leaned over him. “Don’t you dare turn this back on me.”
    “I’m not. I’m just trying to explain—”
    She snatched the bundled cash from the case. “Explain this! Were you going to use drug money to buy me a house?”
    He did not answer.
    She hurled the cash at the wall behind him and it thudded on the floor. “I don’t want it. Do you hear me? I don’t want it!”
    He focused his eyes on the bag of coke.
    “But I can see what you want.” She seized the bag and held it out to