Do No Harm

Heim Flinn

Heim Finn knew something was off with people lately but couldn’t pinpoint what was going on just yet. People tended to panic when a storm was in the gulf, but he wasn’t sure if this was what was happening. He hadn’t been able to shake the eerie feeling that had come over him since he was woken up in the middle of the night by a storm that seemed to pop up from nowhere. Griffin also seemed to be acting stranger than normal since that same night.

That was very evident by the way Griffin was acting with Andi when they stopped by her house today. He was sure after she stopped and thought about it, she would think they were playing good cop and bad cop. Griffin had her so worked up that he was sure she wasn’t thinking straight. Griffin had even started irritating him. It was one of the main reasons he cut the questioning short and decided to go back later without his partner of 5 years.

Well, that is if Daivik Brown didn’t just reappear. Heim never really cared for Daivik and really didn’t care if he stayed gone. He always seemed a little sketchy, even back in the day. His only concern was that Andi was caught up in his disappearance at the moment. There was no doubt that she was the last person who saw him. To tell the truth, Heim wouldn’t put it past Daivik to have planned the whole thing out just to disappear to have Andi worry about him. He didn’t think that was going to happen.

Andi didn’t seem concerned at all when he told her Daivik had disappeared. She just seemed irritated at first, which he blamed on Griffin but nothing when he mentioned Daivik being missing. She didn’t even seem to care about that. Andi did care about something there at the end, but Heim didn’t know her well enough to gauge if it was just because she wanted them to leave or if it was something else.

Heim knew of her though. He knew she was well-liked in the community and that she had friends that cared about her. He just never had any interactions with her until today. Not that he hadn’t wanted to in the past. He just never had the opportunity. If it had been under any other circumstances, he would have probably asked her out. He had thought about it before. They had been at the same place at the same time, but he never approached her. He wasn’t even sure she ever noticed him or knew his name, even though the town was small. She seemed to be the type that only paid attention to the friend that was right in front of her and not to the background people.

This had worried Heim because, in his line of work, it was the background people who had ill intentions. It was the background people that would observe her movements and strike when she least expected it. He had felt like her personal protector because he paid attention to the background people when she was around. He paid attention when she didn’t to keep her safe. On more than one occasion, he had intervened when he caught someone trying to follow her when she was leaving. Too bad she had a behind-the-scenes life or he would have intervened when it came to Daivik.

That guy was nothing but trouble and he knew it. Heim didn’t know if he was dwelling on the events of the day or thinking about Andi, but he suddenly had the urge to go and check on her like she was in some kind of danger. He grabbed his keys and walked out the door. As he was making the block around Andi’s house, he noticed a familiar car parked across the street. He pulled directly in front of the car, not trying to hide his presence from them or the occupants of the house, which had to be Andi and Beatrice from the looks of it. He got out of his vehicle, strolled to the passenger's door, opened it, and sat down.

“Griffin, what the hell are you doing?” Heim asked when he slammed the car door. She knows something. I can feel it,” Jason Griffin said through clinched teeth.

“So, you decided to make it obvious that you were watching her?” Heim questioned.

“Do what?” Jason turned to look at Heim.

“Don’t tell me you don’t actually think parking directly across the street from Andi’s house is not being noticed?” Heim pointed out.

“I was doing just fine until you blatantly pulled up in front of me, making it obvious. What are you trying to do? Let her get away with it?” Jason accused.

"Think Griffin. This is a small town and I’m sure if there is a vehicle parked across the street from her that she doesn’t recognize, then she would call it in. What were you going to tell the night shift when they showed up and it was you that was the suspicious vehicle?” Heim reasoned.

"Fine! I’ll go home, but just know you can’t protect her forever. I will find out what she is hiding,” Jason threatened.

Heim got out and waited until Jason left by backing up and peeling out, leaving a dual set of black marks on the road in front of Andi’s house. He definitely needed to talk to his partner and find out what was going on with him before it escalated further. There was no way that it wasn’t noticed by Andi and Beatrice. He had to go and try to make an explanation for Jason’s actions even though he didn’t think he could come up with a reasonable one.

Heim would be surprised if the neighbors didn’t call the cops with the way Jason left just now. It would deserve Jason's right if he had to explain himself to their superiors. Maybe that was what was needed anyway. He straightened and started walking toward Andi’s when the porch light came on and both women appeared on the porch. This was it, he thought.

“Good evening, ladies,” Heim started. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

“Good evening, Heim,” Beatrice was the first to talk, while Andi looked just as confused and irritated as she did this morning.

“What was all of that about?” Beatrice spoke up again.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Heim replied. “Something has been eating at him the last couple of days and he isn’t acting normal.”

“That seems to be going around here lately,” Andi said, finally finding her voice.

"Yes. Yes, it has,” Heim agreed.

“Well, goodnight officer Finn,” Andi said, dismissing him.

“Heim please,” Heim replied with a smile. “If you don’t mind, I would like to stay in case the night shift got called and shows up.”

“Sure,” Beatrice spoke up again. “Would you like some coffee?” She asked while Andi shot her a look of disbelief.

“That would be great,” Heim said.

“I’ll get it. Why don’t y'all two sit down out here?” Beatrice said, forcing Andi into the exact situation she was trying to avoid. Andi tried to emphasize her displeasure in Beatrice by shooting her a look that missed its mark since she turned and disappeared quickly inside. Being left with nothing else to do, Andi turned toward Heim, who was still smiling. Resigning awkwardly to her fate, she took a seat with him on the swing.

“I honestly don’t know where Daivik is,” Andi cut through the silence. “And I honestly don’t care.”

“I believed you this morning,” Heim said without thinking.

“But Jason, Officer Griffin, doesn’t. Does he?” she questioned.

“I don’t think he does. I don’t know what is behind his thinking,” Heim admitted.

“I think I do,” she almost whispered. “Care to share?” He asked generally wanting to get to the bottom of his partners actions.

“Jason and I never got along. To be frank, I don’t like him at all and have never hidden it,” she confessed. "He just aggravates me to no end. I’m sure he is trying to get back at me. I would prefer it if he just stayed away from me.”

“I can see what I can do about that. I’m sure after tonight's events he will be pulled from the case,” Heim made up his mind that backing his partner wasn’t an option now. “You do still have my card, right?” Andi nodded. “Good. Call me if he shows up here again or if you run into him anywhere else and feel uncomfortable,” Heim instructed. Andi nodded again. “Tell Beatrice I said thanks for the coffee offer, but I’m going to go. If anyone called in on him, then they would have shown up by now,” Heim reasoned. “Make sure y’all lock up.”

“Thanks for everything,” Andi said and meant it. “Have a good night offic... uh... good night, Heim.”