by PJ Fernor
“Believe it or not, Johnny, I’m not enjoying it at all. Whoever lit your SUV on fire left a note for Allie. At my house. Our house. Where we live together.”
“The other notes were left at the police station, right?”
“Right,” I said.
“So you think this killer is getting bolder?”
“I’m not sure what to think at the moment. What I know is that whoever this is, they left a note for Allie and then drove to light up your SUV.”
“Meaning they know who I am too. But that’s not shocking, right? I’ve been with Allie so much lately.”
I felt my nerves twitch.
This was the game Johnny played.
But he wasn’t winning it.
If he really wanted to do this though…
Hey, Johnny, did Allie sleep in your bed last night? Did you and Allie…
I shook my head.
“I think we all need to be careful,” I said. “And we need to figure this out.”
“I agree. Now, for the real reason I’m calling you.”
“Finally.”
“I know how much you hate when our conversations end. I made some calls. I have access to Calvin.”
My blood ran cold. “Access…”
“I can get Allie face to face with him. I wanted to run that by you first, Ben. I know she’s emotional over her sister’s death. I’m not sure where she is with Calvin though. You would know. Obviously.”
“Yeah. I… uh…”
“Ben,” Johnny’s voice turned stern. “It needs to be soon. If this is going to happen. I need you to talk to her right now. She needs to make a decision.”
A murderer on the loose. Notes left on Allie’s windshield. Johnny’s SUV lit on fire.
Now Allie had to make this decision.
Which wasn’t going to be a decision at all.
I appreciated Johnny calling me.
But we both knew what Allie was going to do.
Chapter Fifty-One
When I pulled into the parking lot of the station, I noticed Mayor Jim right behind me.
I sighed, wishing he would have just gone back to his fancy office and stuck to dealing with the parade. Him lingering around me and the investigation was going to drive me crazy. And that was saying a lot since the man drove me crazy to begin with.
Now he felt connected to the case because he had lived through something similar.
Or the exact same case.
What hit me the hardest was that I might have needed Mayor Jim at that point.
He jogged up to me. “Allie, wait up. You’ve been quiet.”
“I was driving in my own vehicle.”
“Before that.”
“Jim, you told me that you and Lenny let the killer go,” I said. “That his last request was to have permission to kill again. What do you want me to do with that?”
“At the time, we had no choice,” Mayor Jim said. “And nothing else happened. It all faded!”
“Faded…”
“I stepped away from the department after that. I had a chance to step into a different light and I took the chance and it worked. By then, Lenny was feeling too old to do anything himself. He was grooming someone else to take over the department. He wanted to get out and move to Florida. And if that wasn’t enough, right around that time was when his wife, Barbara, was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time.”
“The first time?”
“She beat it once,” Mayor Jim said. “Six months into retirement down in Florida, she got sick again and didn’t beat it. Lenny sold everything after that. So sad to hear. He’s been alone ever since. He moved back to this area.” Mayor Jim shook his head. “Anyway, my point is this… it was a very busy time. We didn’t have any resources. We did what we could. Then it all went away.”
“Well now it’s back,” I said. “It’s back, Jim.”
“What’s back?”
I turned my head and saw Ben.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I said.
“I’ll start,” Ben said. “I went over to Mrs. Mickels. Her house is fine. No fires. So Johnny was the only one who got hit. The killer must have seen him in town. Or followed him. He better watch himself. We all better be careful. I would assume you too, Mr. Mayor. Since you’re always around here.”
“Well, get used to it,” I said. “Mayor Jim once worked with Lenny on a case… the exact same case.”
“What?” Ben asked.
“The same case,” I said. “A woman randomly murdered. Notes showing up. Requests. Then it went away.”
“What went away?” Ben asked.
“Tell him, Jim,” I said.
“The killer went away,” Mayor Jim said. “We never found out who it was.”
“Tell him why,” I said.
“Allie,” Mayor Jim said.
“What happened?” Ben asked.
“The killer left a note, requesting permission to do it again,” I said. “At that time, Lenny was dealing with a possible retirement and his wife being diagnosed with cancer. He wasn’t focused. So he made a deal, I guess. I don’t know.”
“It wasn’t a deal,” Mayor Jim said. “We just… we all stopped. Us, and the killer.”
“Permission to do it again?” Ben asked.
“Lenny left a note to say not while he was in charge,” Mayor Jim said.
“So you’re telling me that this person waited all these years?” Ben asked. “We’re talking decades here.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s all we have.”
“Which is still nothing,” Ben said. “Unless you have something.” He looked at Mayor Jim.
“I wish I did,” Mayor Jim said. “At that time, it was about keeping everyone safe right then and there. Plus, there was this idea that since it wasn’t a resident of Sandemor…”
“Neither are Claire and Candice,” I said.
“They were from Johnny’s area,” Ben said. “His SUV was the one lit on fire.”
“Did anything like that happen before?” I asked Mayor Jim.
“No,” he said. “Nothing violent like that.”
“So this is different then,” Ben said.
“Maybe because we’ve connected a few dots,” I said. “The first time it was some random woman broke down on the side of the road. This time it was two random women but because of my connection to Johnny, we’re all in it together.”
“So what do we do?” Ben asked.
“Make him go away again,” Mayor Jim said. “He won’t do it again.”
“How do you know?” I asked. “You gave him permission.”
“Lenny did. I didn’t have a thing to do with that decision. I had no authority.”
“There’s got to be more to this,” Ben said. “This person killed someone and… waited… I don’t get it. Why wait this long? Why right now?”
“Maybe all the changes here,” Mayor Jim said.
“What happened with Laura was months ago,” I said.
“We’re missing something,” Ben said.
“We’re missing a lot, Ben. We’re missing everything.”
“So we just have to wait around for more notes?” Ben asked.
“Probably the safest bet,” Mayor Jim said.
“I don’t do safe,” I said. “Not with this. I’m not going to back down. I’m not Lenny.”
“Allie,” Mayor Jim said.
“No,” I said, pointing at him. “I don’t even know how to process what you’ve told me so far today. My head is spinning, Jim. I need to make some decisions. For the safety of this town. The people here. Myself. Those I care about.”
“Maybe the killer wants a piece of Johnny,” Ben said.
“Even still, he doesn’t deserve to be hurt or killed,” I said. “No matter what you think, Ben.”
Ben’s jaw tightened.
I backed up a few steps. “The way I see it… we’ve got a cold case on our hands. From years ago. And now it’s happening again. There has to be more co
nnections and something we can do.”
“What are you going to do, Allie?” Mayor Jim asked.
That’s when an idea hit me.
I knew what to do.
I had to call Lizzy Cold.
Chapter Fifty-Two
I sat at my desk for a good while.
The time alone felt like a sense of relief.
It also felt hypocritical.
There was a killer out there.
Someone nearby. Possibly local to town even.
Someone who killed a woman, got away with it, hung around for years, and then decided to do it again.
I half wondered if I had the ability to arrest Mayor Jim.
That would have only kicked over a can of worms nobody in town needed.
Seeing him a little subdued bothered me more than ever.
I reached for my phone and looked at Lizzy’s name on the screen.
Just seeing her name took me back to The One.
Having Lizzy digging through old files to try and make some kind of sense of things. Her help saved my life and saved the town. On top of that, she was able to figure out a case here and there of her own.
She worked with nothing but cold cases.
The seemingly impossible cases that had been boxed up and slid on a shelf for someone else to deal with.
The thought of someone’s life being taken and then what was left of them being tossed on a shelf in a basement bothered me. I understand how and why cold cases happened. Sadly, crime didn’t stop for anyone. There was a limit before it just became…
“Cold,” I whispered.
I shut my eyes and placed the call.
My heart began to race.
All the memories of what happened before hitting me at once.
I took a deep breath, telling myself this was very different.
The One was gone.
What happened with Laura was-
“Is this Allie Down calling me?”
I opened my eyes. “Hey, Lizzy.”
“I could try and lie to myself and say you’re calling to say hello… but it’s been a while since we spoke.”
“I’ve been busy cleaning up messes here.”
“Now you’re living my life. Digging through files and finding mistakes and hoping something makes sense.”
“How’s your weather?”
“Still warm. Too warm, which isn’t normal. What about you? Snow yet?”
“No real snow,” I said. “Seems like this year fall is taking its good old time. I’m enjoying it.”
“The colors always look nice,” Lizzy said. “In pictures. I’m not much of a leaf person. At least I don’t think so. Who knows, maybe I am. Maybe I should come up there and visit one of these years.”
“How about right now?” I asked.
Lizzy didn’t respond.
I swallowed hard. “Lizzy?”
“I’m here. I’m thinking.”
“I don’t know what you’re working on…”
“Too much,” she said. “I try to take on one at a time. But there’s so many. I found a small connection between two murders. A young boy and a young girl. Kidnapped off their bikes and later killed. Just… terrible. Plus I’m going through a break up. Or I did go through it. I mean, I’m single now. So we’re done. Over. It was more of a summer thing. You know? You catch the sight of a guy licking an ice cream cone and next thing you know you’re on ice cream dates and things are moving along. He didn’t cringe when I told him my job either. It was such a good thing we had. Oh well. I’m sorry, I’m rambling here.”
You kind of are, Lizzy.
“I have a case,” I said. “It’s a bit of new and old.”
“I’m listening.”
“Well, years ago a woman was murdered and the killer was never caught. He kind of messed around with the cops at that time. Left notes. Never did anything else. But he wanted permission to do it again. It’s a long story, Lizzy. We had two woman turn up dead recently. Killed the same way. Notes have been showing up. It’s…”
“Sounds scary,” Lizzy said.
“Well, it is. We’re getting close to Halloween again. I have a small town with a lot of families who want to celebrate the holiday. I have a mayor who is insisting we have a parade. And I’ve got nothing. I thought I had some leads, but they fizzled out quick. And now just learning there was a previous case… I need your help, Lizzy. I need you to work your magic on the old case while I work mine on the new case. Somewhere in the middle we have to meet up and figure this out.”
“Notes have been left for you?”
“Yes. Random stuff. But I found a note today about a fire. A detective in another town… his SUV was set on fire. I think the killer didn’t realize the detective and I were working together. Or maybe he did and wanted to send a message. I’m not sure.”
“Is the detective okay?”
“He’s okay, yeah. Nobody else has been hurt. Yet.”
“I can help,” Lizzy said. “I can use some distance here. I feel like I’m walking in circles. I mean, I literally am walking in circles. The park here is a big circle. But this could work. Distance from Brad might help our relationship.”
“I thought you said you broke up?” I asked.
“Oh, we did,” Lizzy said. “I figure we’re the kind of couple that needs at least three good breakups before it really counts. This will be good for us. Let me get things in order here. I’ll be up tomorrow.”
“That would be really-”
“See you then,” Lizzy said.
The call went dead.
I wasn’t thrilled about calling someone for help, but with Lizzy, she was purely focused on the work and nothing else.
I heard a knock on my office door and Ben entered.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Not sure,” I said. “Lizzy will be here tomorrow.”
“That’s good. Between the two of you, this killer doesn’t stand a chance.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said.
Ben approached my desk slowly.
I could read him easily.
“Ben… you’re bad at hiding things from me,” I said.
“I know I am,” he said.
“So what is it?”
Ben swallowed hard. “Johnny called me earlier… and we need to talk about something…”
Chapter Fifty-Three
You feel it again.
He stands up and walks to a window.
“Of course I feel it again,” he whispers. “This feeling never goes away.”
He looks down at his hands.
So powerful.
A power that not many would understand.
His eyes move back to the window.
Outside there’s a maple tree. The leaves are bright yellow. So striking too. Surrounded by so many other colors. This is the best place to be this time of the year.
There’s just one little catch.
He loves the trees that don’t change.
There’s a name for those. I forget what it is. But they don’t die in the winter.
He nods.
Yeah, those trees do have a name, but their name doesn’t matter.
It’s about the colors.
They stay the same all year long.
In the spring, they are the hope of everything blooming. In the summer, they are the backdrop to pictures and paintings. And they provide shade. In the fall, they offer that pop of green color in the midst of the reds, oranges, yellows, and others. Then in winter, they stand tall and sturdy.
Is there anything better than those green trees with a light coat of snow on them?
“Nothing better,” he says.
He loves them the most because they represent him.
The constant.
Everyone and everything else changing.
But he stays the same.
That’s what kept him calm for years.
Sure, right now, it’s a little busy, but that won’t last long.
You hope it
won’t last long. Things are different this time.
He turns his head and thinks for a moment.
He nods.
“Things are different,” he says. “I feel stronger. More powerful than ever here. I feel like I can do anything. Anything!”
He yells and flexes his arms.
Then he spins around and laughs, clapping his hands together.
I think you’re losing it. That’s not good. You need to keep it together. Now is not the time to start getting like this.
The problem is the urge.
When he closes his eyes, he sees the two women.
He sees them on the trail.
They’re talking.
At one point they were laughing.
At another they were crying.
He sees them. He feels them.
He can feel their death in his hands.
How powerful… to spend the last second with two people. Watching life turn to death.
He stretches his neck and takes a deep breath.
I told you this was going to happen. You were going to do this and want to do it again. It’s not easy to stop. It’s not easy to hold back. That feeling… oh, that precious… feeling…
“It’s just so good,” he whispers.
It’s just so good.
What feels so good is now suddenly a problem.
A really big problem too.
He walks back to the window. He puts his hands into his pockets. His heart is racing. He’s not afraid of getting caught. He can’t get caught. He won’t get caught. Things are too perfectly planned to get caught.
Except…
“I know,” he says. “Except if I do it again…”
He knows that can’t happen.
He can’t let this happen again.
No matter how good it will feel.
Doing it again will ruin it all.
This was just to take care of the urge.
It has been so long.
The time will be here again.
“Will it?” he asks.
That’s the thing about time. It doesn’t matter. When you have it, you have it. When you don’t, you’re dead. So what does it all matter?
He scans the horizon.
The autumn colors.
He pictures the smell of apple cider.
Then the October chill that turns into November snow.