Marked for Love

by Hannah West

  “Yes, I know.” Sara smiled faintly, rubbing the mark on her wrist.

  “What -” Noelle hesitated. “What happened to your mark?” There had been jagged scar tissue, thin marks slicing the mark in places that Clark had not had.

  Sara sighed, her thumb making a brief circle over the mark on her wrist. “I tried to have it surgically altered.”

  “It didn’t work?” Noelle had never heard of someone trying to surgically modify their mark - she didn’t even know it was possible.

  “Temporarily. And then the mark regrew, light at first and darker as time passed.” Sara smiled ruefully. “A lot of money for not much of a change.”

  “How did you get the money?” Noelle couldn’t fathom exactly how much it must have cost to hack the database. Hundreds of thousands, at least?

  “I’m a trust fund baby.” Sara smiled faintly. “Parents died the year before - before I met Clark. I had the money.”

  Noelle didn’t know what to say next. She didn’t know what to think. She didn’t forgive Sara, not yet. But she did think that she at least vaguely understood why she did what she did. “What’s your real name?” she asked quietly. Her eyes met Sara’s, tentative. This was a step. Maybe they would both take it.

  Sara inhaled and exhaled, one long sigh. She seemed hesitant, as if telling the truth here would break all that they had built. “Amelia.” She smiled, wry. “You could see why I wanted to get rid of that name. My mother had an awful sense of humor.”

  Noelle bit back a laugh, but she couldn’t help the smile. Sara was still her Sara, no matter what. She seemed a bit defeated, a bit broken, but overall, she was still her. “I can’t blame you,” Noelle said simply.

  Sara studied her face, her expression. Her eyes were intense, aware. “Can you.” Her voice was soft, hesitant. Not as confident as she usually was.

  Noelle stepped closer. The streets were starting to crowd, and the last thing she wanted was to accidentally get separated from Sara at a critical moment. “We’re not -” She struggled to find the words she wanted, the words she needed. “I need some time. You - you lied to me.” Noelle didn’t break eye contact, but she wanted to. She tried to soften her words, her message. “I can understand why - but I need to think about all of this.”

  Sara nodded, understanding. She hesitated, a hand going to the hem of her purple shirt. “Are you going to turn me in?”

  Noelle hadn’t even thought about that, but she was shaking her head without thinking about it. “Never.”

  “You could get in trouble.”

  Noelle smiled ruefully. “I know.”

  Sara studied her for a moment. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I just.” Noelle took a shaky breath, tugged on a strand of her hair. She couldn’t run a hand through her hair, and that was the one thing she had always envied of the girls with straight hair. “Give me a few days? I need to think about all of this.”

  Sara nodded. Noelle wasn’t sure if she was nodding because she agreed, or because there was no other choice. “I’ll - leave you alone, then.”

  “Sara?” Noelle stopped Sara from leaving - she wasn’t ready to have her leave, not yet. She needed time, but she also didn’t want Sara to think it was the end of the world. It wasn’t. Was it?

  “Yeah?” Sara looked at her, cautious. Afraid.

  “This isn’t goodbye,” Noelle said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. It wasn’t going to be goodbye. Hopefully.

  Sara studied her for a few moments, and then a weak smile spread across her face. Noelle couldn’t tell if she believed her or not. “Text me,” she said. “When you’re done thinking.”

  “I will,” Noelle promised.

  Sara nodded and then faded into the crowd walking by.

  Noelle stood there for a moment, watching her leave, and then headed inside for her coffee. She didn’t want to be much later than she already was.

  Noelle sank into her chair at work, coffee in her hand and a file on the table. She barely remembered the name of the file, or even what it said, and she had looked at it twice before selecting it from the stack on Riley’s desk. They were witness statements, from the Kennedy case. They had gotten closer to nailing Derek, finding people that had seen him around - but they still hadn’t found Derek himself.

  That was what they needed to wrap their case up. She sighed, picking up the file for round three. Maybe this time she would actually remember what it said. Maybe this time she would find the link they needed, wrap up this case and testify with no problems.

  A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

  She flipped it open, skimming the statements. Few of the relatives talked about Derek, even fewer had ever met him. He seemed to come in the evenings, when no one else was around. Sometimes even when Nathan was there. She sipped her coffee, then sat it down, tapping her fingers against the solid wood of her desk. What did it all mean?

  She re-read Dahra’s statements, re-read her husband’s, re-read Samantha’s. Samantha had not mentioned Derek, at least not at first. Riley had re-interviewed her on the nights Noelle had been off, and she had admitted to knowing him, to occasionally having him over for a game of chess. That much could be documented - Derek was an avid chess player.

  Tugging on her hair absently, she re-read the statements again, looking for clues to Derek’s location. It didn’t work - her mind kept going back to Sara, back to the look on her face, the way Clark had hit her, the way he had acted - she had to protect Sara, since it didn’t look like Sara was willing to protect herself. Picking up the file, she went to Riley’s office.

  “Hello,” he said, looking up from his file. Noelle noted that it was a copy of the one she was holding.

  “Who do I talk to for a restraining order?” She kept her voice as professional as she could. It wasn’t often that she had to do this sort of thing - even in the past, working cases, she heard of maybe a handful of restraining orders outside of her department.

  Riley, to give him credit, did not show outward signs of surprise. “Close the door.”

  Noelle did, coming closer to sit in the chair across from him. “It’s about Sara.”

  He steepled his hands, patient, waiting.

  “It’s also a bit illegal.”

  This time he did react, his eyebrows raising and his mouth tensing. “Does this have to do with how you’ve been acting the past few days?”

  “Yeah.” Noelle didn’t look away. She needed him to understand how important this was, how vital it was that they got this order. How somehow, they needed to keep Clark away from her. Legally, it was fuzzy. Morally, it was the right thing to do.

  “What kind of illegal?” He seemed to force himself to relax, his posture easing.

  “It’s - well. Sara is being stalked by an ex boyfriend.” Maybe she didn’t need to tell him about the illegal bit. She still had no idea how Sara had hacked the database, and whether her Mark had been recorded as fixed or whether it was still tethered to her. It had to be tethered to her, since she used it to sign in - it was complicated.

  “Stalked?” Riley leaned forward, concerned. It seemed for now the issue of legality was forgotten.

  Noelle filled him in on all that had happened over the past few months, leaving out that both Clark and Sara had identified him as her soulmate. That she would reveal if she had to.

  He leaned back in his chair. “I can see why you would want a restraining order.” His eyes met hers. She didn’t flinch. “What makes it a legal issue?”

  Noelle sighed. “Do you really want to know?”

  Riley shrugged. “Is it relevant to the case?”

  “It could be.” Noelle didn’t know if a soulmate could file for a restraining order against their other half. It wasn’t exactly something that had precedence.

  “If you think I need to know, tell me. If not - there’s no need.” Riley watched her for a few moments. “You’re going to want Jennings. Then they’ll take it to a judge. I’m hoping because you and Sara have
a strong local reputation, it’ll go forward, but Sara needs to be the one who makes the final report.”

  “I don’t want him anywhere near me.” Noelle frowned.

  “I don’t know if legally there’s enough precedent, for you,” Riley said, shrugging to demonstrate his lack of knowledge. “Worst case, you know I’m a phone call or a text away.” His smile was - well, evil wasn’t the right word, but Noelle knew she could depend on him.

  “Thanks.” Noelle smiled. “Do you have a card for Jennings?”

  Riley dug around his desk, offered it to her. “Give him a call, have Sara with you. Tell him that I sent you and he’ll get you right fixed up.”

  “Will -” Noelle hesitated. “Will it be a problem that it’s two of us?”

  Riley tapped his fingers on the desk, looking past Noelle, not at her. “I don’t think so.” He looked at her. “You decided to keep your relationship secret?”

  “I don’t want to.” Noelle scrubbed her fingers across her forehead. “I hate lying.” Noelle didn’t look at him. She hated deceiving her department, the department that had done so much for her. It had given her her first chance at a job that she loved.

  “Don’t consider it lying,” Riley advised. She raised her eyebrows. “You’re omitting certain details, is all. Consider your relationship status on a need-to-know basis. Besides, we can boil frogs.”

  Noelle’s eyebrows quirked up towards the ceiling.

  “Give it a couple years, and then bring Sara with. No one will bat an eye. Like boiling a frog. Bring her around as a date or a friend and then work up from there until no one notices her as out of place.”

  Noelle laughed. That was one way of putting it. “Thanks.”

  Riley nodded. “Let me know how it goes.”

  She smiled. “I will.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was a few days later, and Noelle had spent as much time as she could at work. Sometimes she had Aislinn by her side, but most of the time she was by herself, working on her cases and crossing paths with Riley. She had not worked up the courage to call Jennings, not yet. First she needed to talk to Sara, and - she hadn’t decided what to do with Sara, yet.

  She loved Sara, she still did. She smiled when she thought of her, she missed her, she wanted her near, in her arms. But at the same time, Sara had lied to her, had hid - well, bad things in her life, but still, she could have shared the truth.

  Sighing, Noelle sank into her chair, pretending the rest of the world didn’t exist. Considering that it was five am and the department was mostly deserted, most of the world didn’t exist. She stifled a yawn, picking up the worn file and reading it for the umpteenth time. She didn’t know what she was missing, she didn’t know why she kept going back to it. But she did.

  She rubbed her face, thinking, studying, her mind chugging along as it always did. She kind of wished she had an energy drink, something to get her mind going, keeping it moving along. Instead she drank a cup of bad, department coffee. She wrinkled her nose. “Samantha hadn’t seen Derek in a week. Prior to that was three days. She didn’t know where he stayed.”

  Noelle hummed, pondering. She was fairly certain at that point that Derek had been having some kind of affair with her, although she wasn’t sure whether or not Nathan knew about it at the time of his death. Derek came from a poorer family, with less money - richer than Noelle, but not as well off as Samantha. None of his family was local.

  She tapped her lips with a finger, tugged on her hair. Where was he staying? No one knew.

  But Samantha obviously knew how to get in touch with him. She knew - where he was. She had to.

  Could Samantha have provided a place for him to live? “That’s it.” Noelle stood, the file in her hand, walking the short walk to Riley’s office. He was in there, coffee in hand, reading a file and doing paperwork like he always did.

  “Yes?” Riley asked, spotting her before she entered his office.

  “I think I know how we can find Derek.”

  Riley raised his eyebrows, gesturing for her to take a seat. Noelle spread the file out on the desk, pulling out a couple of the witness statements. Her hands were shaking - from excitement or crappy caffeine overdose she couldn’t tell - and eventually she showed them to him. He glanced down at them, skimming the first paragraph of each. Noelle knew he had read them as much as she had. “Explain.”

  “Samantha was having an affair with Derek. I don’t know whether or not Nathan knew about it, but. Derek was spotted over at their house, several evenings, and he seemed comfortable there. Samantha knew him enough to be friendly, and I’m guessing he had a key to the house.” Noelle pointed out passages in several witness statements. “He’s rich, but not as rich as Samantha, with no family in the area. He has no properties registered under his name.”

  Riley watched her, skimming the passages she pointed out. “No one seems to know where he lives or where he stays. Not even the two friends who talked to us.”

  “I think Samantha is hiding him somewhere.” Noelle pointed to her statement. “She says that she would pick him up sometimes, that they would meet other places. As friends, of course.” She quoted the word friends with her fingers. “I think she bought him a place to stay, under her name, so that she could come to him.”

  Riley skimmed Samantha’s statement, his eyebrows nearly up to his oddly well-maintained hairline. He was silvering at his temples, but the rest of his hair was dark. “Do you think she was in on it?”

  Noelle hesitated, and then thought it through. “I think there’s a good chance that she was. Maybe they intended to kill him and escape together - whatever happened, someone heard the murder and found Samantha with the weapon. I don’t think she killed him, but I think she knew that Derek planned to kill him.”

  Riley scrubbed a hand through his hair, leaning back in the chair with a stern expression. “I think we need to have another talk with Samantha.”

  Noelle grinned, excitement thrumming through her veins. Riley stood, grabbing his coat and smiling at her. “Let’s go.”

  It was one of the best days of Noelle’s life, heading home from work that day. Samantha had confessed she was lying and given them Derek’s location. He had been laying low in the condo she bought him, waiting for her to be released on bail so they could flee the country together. Instead, the police had shown up at his doorstop. Riley had made the arrest, Noelle lurking out of sight of the cameras, but she had led them there. She had put the pieces together and Riley had got the cogs in motion.

  He came up next to her, a smile on his face. “The DA is booking them and charging them. Fibers on the scene are being compared to Derek’s. Samantha is being charged for both the homicide and lying to police.”

  “Good.” Noelle couldn’t hide the smile on her face, either. She was practically beaming. It was the highest profile case she had ever solved or even assisted on.

  Riley clapped her on the shoulder. “Good job, Detective Richards.”

  She smiled at him, a warm thrill filling her up. It was almost as good as when she had been promoted to homicide in the first place.

  “Did you call Jennings?” Riley continued.

  Noelle paused. No, no she hadn’t. In the blur of everything, Jennings - and Sara - had completely slipped from her mind. “No.”

  Riley looked at her, the smile still there. He seemed sympathetic, something Noelle was appreciative of. “Relationships aren’t easy,” he said.

  Noelle rolled her eyes, exaggerating the movement. “I don’t need a lecture, Grandpa.”

  Riley rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Young’uns these days.”

  This time Noelle shook her head, chuckling to herself. “You were young once.”

  Riley smiled. “That I was.”

  They were quiet for a moment, standing there. Noelle was lost in her own thoughts. The case was finally over, things would eventually resolve themselves. She would testify, and it would be fine. No one could blame anything on her.

  �
��Go,” Riley said, his voice quiet.

  Noelle glanced at him. “What?”

  Riley shook his head at the scene, at the department. “You’re already on overtime. Go.”

  “Oh. Go home.” Noelle stifled a yawn, gathering her stuff.

  “No, not home.” Riley stopped her, a hand on her arm.

  Noelle stilled, looking at him.

  “Call her.”

  Noelle stood there for a few moments, and then her hand went to her phone. She had left Sara hanging, had completely ignored her while Sara had likely been worried over - well, all that had happened. She nodded to Riley, and then, grabbing her purse and jacket, she headed out of the police department, phone tucked against her ear.

  It was a short drive to Sara’s apartment. She didn’t even know if Sara was there - she hadn’t answered the phone call. Maybe she was asleep, maybe she didn’t want to talk to Noelle. Noelle swallowed, parked. Glanced around for Sara’s car. It was there.

  She got out of her car, then hesitated. Maybe she was going to wake Sara up. She didn’t particularly want to do that. Still - it felt like now or never, like she couldn’t wait. She went up to the door, and knocked. Then waited.

  And waited some more.

  It felt like eternities had passed, when in reality, it could not have been more than thirty seconds. Then she heard noise inside, heard the noise of someone heading towards the door. Her heart started pounding faster. What if Sara didn’t want to see her?

  The door creaked open, too slowly for Noelle’s taste. Sara was on the other side, dressed in - Noelle was tickled to see - a t-shirt and hastily-thrown on animal pyjamas. They had dogs on them.

  “Hello,” she said after a moment, when Sara just stared at her. Sara yawned and rubbed her eyes, but her movements were tense, jerky.

  Sara looked at her as if she couldn’t believe that she was there, that she had come.

  “You didn’t answer the phone,” Noelle said. She didn’t know what else to say, what was okay, what wasn’t. She had never done something like this before. Never been in the situation.