Curiouser and Curiouser...

The next morning I had awoken around 11.  I was still in a daze when I walked out in my boxers and t-shirt, and straight to the kitchen for a cup of tea.  Duane was still asleep; he was always a late sleeper.  As I waited for the kettle to boil I went back to my room to grab my phone.  As I was walking back out I saw I had a few missed calls from Monroe and 2 texts from him. 

What do you mean ‘someone’ broke into the loft?  Are you ok???? I will call the property manager and get him over there right away.  If you need him in the future his cell is 555-4321.  You better call me as soon as you wake up!!

I laughed at his demand; I can totally picture his reaction.  I made my cup of tea and walked out onto the balcony.   I sat down in one of the chairs, setting my tea beside me, and started to dial Monroe. 

M: “It’s about time Bella!! What is going on?! What do you mean someone broke into the loft...”

Me: “Hello Monroe, how are you??” I giggled at him.

M: “Bella I have been on pins and needles all night since I got your message....I am fine, but how the hell are you?”

Me: “I am fine.  Duane is going to stay here until Joel gets back.  To be honest to answer your first question I need to go back to during the day.  A lot has happened since you left and I need to fill you in step by step.  And it will slowly kind of make sense, I hope.  Just please don’t ask any questions until I am done...”

I started telling him about the picture from Candice, calling Michelle whom in turn called Tim.  Then I moved on to Candice and Craig infiltrating the loft and the argument that ensued.  I finished by telling him about coming home, with a horrible gut feeling, and being right by seeing a trail of flowers leading into the loft and what it led to.

M: “Oh.My.God.  Has Craig absolutely lost his mind?!  It had to be one of the two.  The property manager will be there around 3pm.  There is a security system in place, so maybe call that detective and let him know.   They can go through the film and see if anyone is on there....I am so sorry I wasn’t there to help you!”

Me: “Don’t worry about it!  You can’t always protect me.  You’ve done enough of that, time for you to cut the cord Monroe...But I should get a hold of the police officer and let him know they can probably gain access now to security footage.  I can’t wait for you to come back!  We are only 3 days away now right?!”

M: “3 days away....and I will be back.  But you will have to meet me downstairs, since the access will have changed.”

Me: “I will get you from the airport!  How’s that.  Email me the itinerary...”

He laughed, because he knew my ‘get him at the airport’ would be me taking transit for over an hour and a half, then taking a cab back to the loft.  He told me about his new boyfriend in New York and that he was coming with him this weekend, and I was super excited!  Monroe hasn’t been tied down in years; this guy must be pretty special.  He said he had to go; he was on his way to an event for fashion week.  I wished him luck, and hung up the phone.  I walked back into the loft where my brother was walking around shirtless and his jeans.  I laughed at how comfortable he had already made himself.  He was making himself a cup of coffee as I sat at the island. 

D: “So Monroe coming home?”

Me: “Not until Friday.  He is bringing his new boyfriend with him.  He just called to make sure the loft was ok, that I was ok and to let me know the property manager will be here around 3.  He suggested I call the officer and let him know so maybe they can see the security footage.”

D: “Good idea!  But I am not leaving even if Monroe is here....I love him but he can’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag...”

I started to laugh, because it was so true!  Monroe was definitely not a fighter.  He got beat up pretty regularly throughout elementary school.  Duane and I ended up being the body guards after a while.

Me: “Well you are always welcome to stay, but Joel should be back on Friday as well.  So that would only leave the couch free...”

D: “Kicking me out for as soon as your boyfriends come home huh?” He cocked his eyebrow at the ‘boyfriends’ statement.  I just laughed at him, because people always said that Monroe was my other boyfriend. 

Me: “Hey who else encourages me to cheat on him, and he will STILL take me shopping the next day?! He is the best boyfriend...EVER!”  I quipped back at him.

Duane was laughing so hard he almost dropped his coffee mug.  He rested it on the island after that and sat down, while I searched for the officer’s card, I knew it was on the island somewhere.  Duane pushed the card towards me that was under his arm and I called.

You’ve reached the desk of Detective Ben Parker.  Please leave a message after the tone.

Hi Detective Parker, this is Isabella Shim, you gave me your card a few days ago after the break and enter at my loft.  I just wanted to inform you that the property manager will be by today around 3pm, it’s Wednesday the 12^th.  If not you can call him at 555-4321 if you need to speak with him.

I hung up and told Duane he should get dressed in case the guy shows early.  We were getting ready when we heard the buzzer, Duane went and answered it and sure enough it was the property manager ... WAY early.  But I appreciated it; I wanted this taken care of.

He quickly changed the stairwell lock and gave me 3 new key passes.  I told him one of them I would return before Monday because my boyfriend had it.  He smiled and nodded.  I told him that the police may contact him to see the security footage; he told me it was fine and that he would do anything he could to help.  He left shortly after; he left the spare stair well key for Monroe.  I was glad that was over.  I knew it wasn’t Fort Knox, but I felt a little more secure; even though we still weren’t sure how someone got in.

I checked my email and saw that Monroe was flying in overnight and would be here bright and early in the morning. I thought to myself '3 days my ass' as I texted him that Duane and I would pick him up at the airport. I tried Joel but I didn’t get any answer, so I left a message: 3 days baby and I can’t wait!  I miss you so much!  Locks were changed; please bring your elevator pass back so I can return it to the property manager.

I told Duane we would have to get up early tomorrow and pick up Monroe, I knew he wasn’t a morning person, but he wasn’t going to make me take public transit alone.  So he nodded and suggested we make it an early evening since we were going to be up at the ‘crack of dawn’. I laughed and offered to buy dinner, and have it delivered...his choice.

After we had our dinner and Duane headed into his room, I cleaned up and made sure everything was ready for Monroe’s arrival.  I had his favourite coffee and was going to make him a full breakfast if he was hungry.  As I was turning out the lights and I checked to make sure everything was locked; the buzzer went off.  I looked at the clock and it was a little after 11.  I went over and used the intercom “Hello?”  I waited but I got no answer. So I figured it was just stupid kids playing around or something.  I shook my head and walked towards the balcony door and the buzzer went off again.  I wasn’t going to feed into this game, I just continued to lock down the house and then the buzzer went off again....and for a long time, like someone was holding it down.  I had enough and went to the buzzer “Look it’s not funny!  Stop buzzing”   I stopped to see if I could hear anything but there was nothing.   The buzzing started again, and I had enough....I went and woke up Duane and he asked who was buzzing and I told him I didn't know.

We both went downstairs; Duane had a baseball bat in case, as he put it, needed to crack some skulls....but we got down there and there was no one there, but something caught my eye near the buzzer panel....