They took and bagged the hairbrush and the tooth brush and said their goodbyes. Cora waved to the little girl, whom she assumed was about eight, as they walked out the door. Cora and Charlie locked eyes in the elevator, but neither one said a word. He just laid his hand on her shoulder and nodded. They drove back to the station in silence as well and headed straight to Olivia when they arrived. They told her of Amy and she shook her head. She opened a compartment, rolled out the slab and pulled back the sheet. There on the right knee was a scar, and the hair from the woman’s head matched the hair on the hairbrush. Cora looked up a Charlie, and left the room. One down, ten to go... she thought. She grabbed her things and headed home, but she ended up lying awake all night trying to figure out how she was going to tell The Pipers that she had found Amy...
Chapter Ten - Suspicions
She was jolted awake by the sound of her phone. She figured she must have fallen asleep some time around 5 in the morning. She looked at the caller ID, it was Charlie. “Hello?” She yawned.
“Jeez kid, do you realize what time it is? I was beginning to worry, this is the third time I’ve called you.”
Cora looked at the clock it was almost noon. “Shit! Charlie I’m really sorry I was up all night, and I must have passed out without even realizing it. Last thing I remember was thinking about the Pipers and...”She trailed off.
“Yes, I can imagine. I’ve used to lose a lot of sleep over these things when I first started. Sometimes I still do. I saw how you looked last night when you left though, so I figured I would spare you the hurt of the delivery.”
“You mean you already...”
“Yeah, I called them this morning. They were already here and managed to identify her. They left about ten minutes ago.”
“But Charlie, two days before Christmas? I mean, don’t you think it could’ve waited a couple days?”
“I understand what you’re saying Cora, honestly I do, but let’s be honest here; their holiday was already ruined, and don’t you think they have waited long enough without answers?”
Cora sighed, “Yes, I supposed you’re right.” She stood up and stretched, “How mad is McCoy that I’m not there?”
“He’s alright. I think he’s more relieved that we finally got somewhere with this.”
“Alright just let me get dressed and I’ll be right there.”
“Don’t bother kiddo, I’m coming to you. I was going to come over and check on you if you hadn’t answered anyway, so I might as well. We can still get work done and I’ll bring lunch. I have some things to discuss with you anyway.”
“Alright, how soon til you get here then?”
She heard Charlie chuckle, “Well, about five minutes actually.” Cora slammed the phone down and dashed to the bathroom. Couldn’t he have given her more warning? Talk about rude. She quickly stripped down and jumped in the shower. She was rinsing her hair when Charlie walked through her front door. “Cora?” He called out, but she couldn’t hear him over the sound of the rushing water that cascaded over her. Thinking nothing of it, Charlie headed up the stairs and knocked on her bedroom door, still no answer. Just as he stepped inside, Cora ran out of the bathroom and straight into him, barely managing to keep a hold of her towel.
“CHARLIE! WHAT THE HELL??”
“Oh jeez, um s—sorry.” He stuttered, completely embarrassed and face blushing as he closed the door and ran down to the kitchen. Cora dressed quickly and went down stairs.
“What the hell were you doing Charlie??”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d be taking a shower. I just figured you’d change your clothes and be down here waiting. I mean, that’s all I would’ve done...I really didn’t think you were well...anyway I called you and you didn’t answer so I thought you might have fallen or something since you slammed the phone down on me and...”
Cora shook her head and rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help but giggle because she could see how completely mortified he was about what just happened. “It’s alright. But, here’s the thing; I’m a girl I don’t just change my clothes n that’s all, especially when there’s going to be company of any kind coming over. I like to at least be fresh and nice smelling even if I’m only in sweats.”
Charlie nodded and smiled and she sat down. He told her about his awful morning with The Pipers and how she should consider herself lucky that she wasn’t there to see that. She agreed with him and both felt relieved that they had finally gotten somewhere after all these months of work and now at least they knew a bit more that could possibly reflect his character.
“We know she was smart, and to work with middle school kids, she must have also been very patient. I wish me knew more about the other girls though so we could possibly narrow down a type.”
“Well I’ve been ringing phones all morning from the papers that seemed substantial and nothing else has come up yet. I helped McCoy release a statement that we have identified one girl, so maybe others will come forward.”
“We can only hope.” Cora glanced out her window. The sun was covered by clouds making the sky a dull grey color.
“Cora, I had a couple things I wanted to ask you actually.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I don’t want this to come off the wrong way, but I heard from your father that you had met somebody. I’m only asking out of concern, please believe I completely trust you, I just want you to be safe. Will you tell me about him? Like where did you meet him?”
Cora gave a soft smile, “I understand your concern, and I appreciate it Charlie, but haven’t you noticed? I’m a blonde.”
“Of course I’ve noticed, but I just want to know, what if this person is trying to see how much you know and thinks he can get you trust him because you’re a blonde so it would seem as though you weren’t in any danger? Please just answer my questions and I won’t bring it up again.”
Cora reached across the table and patted his hand, “Alright Charlie I’ll humor you. I met him at a bar around the corner from the station. I was upset, he bought me a drink. He told me he was a psychiatrist so I thought he might know something about the mind of a killer and I went back to his apartment to talk with him.”
“You told him about the case?”
“I didn’t tell him anything that wasn’t revealed in my press statement. Of course he was interested in more but medical professional or not, I didn’t tell him. He did give me some good insight on what the killer’s personality may be and why he might be doing this. He was just nice and helpful and gave me no reason not to trust him. And sure he was also interested in me, so I felt there would be not harm in inviting him to our New Year’s Eve party.”
“Did he look like a psychiatrist?”
“Well no, not at all actually but I really haven’t met many of them and I would suspect they don’t dress in suits all the time and...”
“Cora do you realize the pub around the corner from the station is Tommy’s?” Charlie’s eyes bore into her and she could tell exactly what she was thinking. He couldn’t be right though...could he? It was just a coincidence wasn’t it? It had to be, there was no way a really nice and intelligent man like Landon could possibly...
Cora got up from the table and walked away. She was angry and confused and didn’t want to believe she was so stupid as to fall for all that crap. There was no way it was him, Charlie was wrong. She heard him get up from the table but didn’t look his way. She walked up right behind her and reached for her arm, but she stepped out of reach again. “Cora, be reasonable, you only knew him for a few hours, can’t you see why I’m worried? Isn’t it possible that...”
“NO. It’s not possible. Are you trying to tell me I can’t read people? It’s part of my job. Are you suggesting I’m too stupid to know the difference between truth and lies? Landon gave me no reason to...”
“Cora you barely know him! How can you be so defensive over somebody who is relatively a stranger? I don’t think any of those things about you, I just don’t want you g
etting hurt!”
“You’ll see Charlie! I’ll prove you wrong! Landon clearly likes me and I’m going to give him a far chance. I can’t believe you’re really accusing him!”
“Of course he likes you! He’s a psychiatrist and he got in your head Cora! He told you exactly what you wanted to hear and now you’re refusing to listen to better judgment and reason just because you think some guy had a crush on you!”
Cora spun around at him and starred him straight in the eyes, “you know what it is?” She said in a soft voice, “I think you’re jealous Charlie. Yep. I think you are jealous that I’ve known you for a while and I haven’t even thought of taking a second look at you, but I will gladly go for another man whom I barely know. That’s all it is, you’re jealous.” Charlie stepped back, his cheeks burning red. Was she right? He couldn’t deny that he fancied her and found her beautiful, but he had no real romantic interest in her. He didn’t think of her in that way...there was no way that... He couldn’t speak; he just grabbed his coat and walked out the door. He was so confused; he didn’t know what to think. He just knew that somehow he had to prove to her that she was wrong and that she was in danger.
Chapter Eleven – New Year’s Eve
Cora spent Christmas with her father. She arrived early in the morning for breakfast and they exchanged gifts. He mentioned that Charlie had left a gift there for her, but she didn’t open it. They sat and watched Christmas movies and drank hot cocoa. It was a nice relaxing occasion for the both of them. They enjoyed the opportunity to spend some quality time with each other and reminisce on the years past both apart and together. Cora and Dorian Jones had a lovely dinner by the fire and she fell asleep on his couch as he played Christmas carols on the piano.
The next couple days of work were tedious and tiring. Cora interacted with Charlie little if not at all. He wore the pain of her anger towards him on his face and in his eyes constantly. Every day they made more phone calls and more notes, trying to find more families who were missing daughters. They figured that all the girls must have been foreign in one way or another. If they were British, they would have been identified already. They must be from families like the Pipers who were there on a trip or on some sort of vacation by themselves. They found a few promising leads of note, but none they could immediately check out.
As it got closer to New Year’s Eve Cora volunteered to help set up the reception hall for their party. She kept herself busy between work and preparation. During her free time, she spent long hours on the phone with Landon. She knew Charlie was wrong about him. He was such a wonderful guy and a real pleasure to talk to. He was always interested in her day and her activities he told her about his days too and frequently mentioned how excited he was to see her again and how he couldn’t wait for the party. Cora felt as though this man was going to be somebody really important in her life and was very eager to spend that night in his company.
Finally the night was upon them. The reception hall looked magical with all the amazing ballroom-esk decorations and its masquerade theme. Everyone was dressed in glorious gowns and suits with splendid masks. It was about ten o’clock and Charlie was standing off to the left of room with his brother.
“Are you sure it was a good idea to bring me here Charles? I don’t think I fit in well with all your coworkers and I’m sure some of them still remember quite well the last time they saw me.”
“You’re fine Kellin. I’ll have my eye on you all night, and I’ll make sure you won’t get into any trouble.”
“Just keep me away from the drink table and I won’t be any trouble at all.” Charlie patted his brother on the back, honestly glad to have his company. Billy joined them after a couple of minutes and the three of them watched as the room filled more and more and there were lovely couples dancing to the beautiful music. Around 11:30 Billy elbowed Charlie in the ribs, “She’ll be here mate.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. I can see you checking the door and the room all over constantly. Cora’s not here yet, but she will be.”
“As clever as you think you are, it’s actually not her I’m looking for. It’s her date I’m interested in. The problem is I barely know what he looks like, from the single photo they have of him online, and of course this has to be a masquerade party.” Billy and Kellin exchanged glances and went on with their conversation. Charlie kept scanning the room and just when he was about to give up, the doors open and he froze.
Cora stepped into the room and Kellin and Billy watched the color rise into Charlie’s cheeks and his eyes dance with the sight of her. She wore a radiant garnet gown that hugged her curves and flowed out around her hips. The bottom was trimmed with lace that was accented with tiny sparkles. Her matching gloves stretched above her elbow and her hair was pinned back in an elegant fashion. She carried a mask of silver and black and smiled as a stranger approached.
The man removed his mask and it was Landon. He had been there the whole time, Charlie has glanced over his face more than once, but it was well hidden behind his full face mask. He led her out into the center of the room and they danced, Charlie wanted to watch them, but he felt strange and instead walked away toward the drink table. Billy followed him, but Kellin stayed behind and instead decided to chat up one of the servers who had been walking around.
Landon smiled at her and kissed her hand, “I’ve been waiting for you for a while. Fashionably late?”
“I wish. I was waiting for my dad.” She waved to him as he handed his coat to a young girl and turned back to Landon as the music picked up. “So you dance too?”
“I’m alright I suppose. I’m really not good enough to brag about it.”He led her into a slow dance, but they were both very shaky and it made Cora laugh.
“Brag about it? I can see what you mean, we are both completely horrid!” Landon laughed with her and they continued their awkward dance.
When the music ended, he led her to a table. They sat down and a young man came up to them. “What can I get for you?”
Landon smiled, “Who’s idea was the service?”
“The caterer. We paid for the food, they provided the servers.” She looked over to the waiter,
“I’ll just have some Champagne, I’m not too hungry at the moment.”
“I’ll have the same.” He reached across the table and took her hands as the waiter walked away. “I’m so glad this night has finally come. I’ve been waiting for this since the night you invited me. It’s the only thing about the holidays I was looking forward to.”
“That’s very sweet of you. But I must ask, don’t you have any family?”
“Well sadly my mother passed away when I was a teenager, and I lost contact with my father since I moved out. I don’t even know if he still lives in London.”
“No brothers or sisters.”
“Not one, I’m an only child.”
“Well in that case, I’m very happy I could brighten up your holidays so much.” He kissed her hands and she smiled.”
They talked and laughed as they enjoyed their champagne, and found themselves back on the dance floor when the countdown to the New Year began...
10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year!!!
The confetti fell and the noise makers sounded and all of a sudden, Cora found herself in Landon’s arms and he pulled her face to his. His kiss was soft and sweet. She found herself completely absorbed in him has she wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers through his hair. Charlie saw them from the back of the room and looked away. Maybe I was wrong, he thought. Cora and Landon separated and she looked into his eyes. “Oh Cora,” he said, “You know, you’re really not my usual type, but there is just something about you that is irresistible. It’s such a shame about your job though...”
“My job?”
“Yes, you see at first it wasn’t really a burden, just somewhat of a nuisance. But, I’m afraid lately you and that partner of yours have just been getting too close.”
“I was hoping we would have some more time together before this happened but life takes unexpected turns.” Landon reached into his jacket and pulled out a white mask just like the ones found on the victims. Cora began to look around but he pulled her in tight. “No, no, no, don’t make a sound. Not one single sound.”
He pulled her along and she was forced to follow him out. He forced her into his car and they drove off. Where they were going she had no idea. Cora was scared and felt completely foolish. Why didn’t she listen to Charlie? She kept her eyes on him as she fiddled with her mobile phone. She had had a special hidden pocket put into her dress and her phone was safely tucked away inside. She hit speed dial 2 and rang up Charlie.
“Hello?” he waited, no reply. “Cora, are you there? Cora?” When she still didn’t reply he motioned for Billy. “Listen to this. Cora just called me, but there’s no answer on the other side of the line. However I think I still hear something. It sounds like a car engine.” Billy listened into the phone and nodded. Charlie put it on speaker and called out again. This time he heard a voice, but it wasn’t Cora’s.
“It’s so unfortunate that you didn’t have time to really get to know me. I’m quite a remarkable fellow and I think we would have gotten along wonderfully.”
“Remarkable fellow? You’re a mad man! All those women...”
“All in good time my dear. Have some patience and I will explain everything.”
“That’s Landon. He took Cora and...” Charlie cut Billy off and shook his head. He was mortified and devastated, he was right.
“Where are you taking me?” Cora asked.
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Charlie grabbed Billy and Kellin and headed over to Dorian. “Dorian, Cora’s been taken. She wouldn’t listen to me about that Landon guy and now he’s taking her somewhere. She phoned me but we have to move quickly and try to catch up with them.” He nodded and the four of them headed outside and to Charlie’s SUV. Once inside, Billy called Chief Superintendent McCoy and had him put a GPS on Cora’s phone and get reinforcements.
Cora Jones and the White Mask (The Cora Jones Series Book 1) Page 4