by Liz Bradford
She continued to drive in silence. Occasionally she glanced at him with her eyebrows furrowed and bit her lip; she was weighing what he had said. They were almost back at the station, and he couldn’t bear her silence any longer. “Becca, you know I’m right, don’t you?”
“I don’t know, Jared. Yes, what you said is accurate, but I’m not so sure I’m what he is looking for.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.” She threw her hand in the air. She was getting frustrated with him. That is not what he wanted. He was scared to lose her after finding her again.
“Becca, I just worry about you. I only say it because I want you to keep your guard up. Not that you don’t already. Just be aware.” The strain in his voice made his worry apparent. Her expression softened as she looked at him after pulling into a parking space.
“Okay, Jared. Point taken.” She reached over and put her hand on his arm that was resting on the center console. Electric bolts shot throughout his body. “At least I have you to watch out for me again.” Her expression had changed. The smirk on her face caused his cheeks to warm. Was she flirting with him? He gave her a look that relayed his question, and she just giggled and got out of the car and headed towards the building without waiting for him.
It didn’t take him but a moment to catch up with her with his long strides, and he held the door for her as they walked into the station together.
As soon as she entered the building, Becca was bombarded with people. She threw her hands in the air and told everyone to give her enough time to get inside before assaulting her with questions. She walked to her desk, and they all followed her. He was impressed by her. She knew her boundaries, and so did everyone else.
Once she was at her desk and had taken a long drink from the water bottle that sat on her desk, she said, “Ok, Margret, you first.”
“Just wanted to let you know we got the desks moved as you asked, so Detective Johnson can settle in.”
“Wow, that was fast. Thank you.”
The young lady turned and left, leaving two detectives waiting for Becca’s attention. Jared went to the other side of the desks that were back to back and looked at his new home. He stood there waiting to hear what information these men had to offer.
“Okay, guys, what do you have for me?”
“Well, as you asked, I looked up the meaning of the flowers, and I believe they reinforce the message he is sending with the words.” The tall, young detective with dark hair, whose name he believed was Jamison, opened a file and put it on Becca’s desk. Jared came back around and stood next to Becca where he could see the information, too. “Michelle’s word was ‘cheater,’ and a violet represents faithfulness. Tonya’s word was ‘coward’ and hydrangeas represent perseverance. And the word on Crystal was ‘liar’ and white, the color was important on this one, white chrysanthemums represent truth.”
“Good work, Adam. But why these words? You’re definitely right that they connect. But why? What kind of message is he trying to send and to whom?”
Adam straightened. “That’s what we’re working on. What flower was found with the latest victim?”
“A pink carnation. What does that mean?”
“May I?” Jamison asked motioning to her computer.
“Sure,” Becca answered. She and Jared stepped back to allow him access.
He typed quickly and then said, “Gratitude. So, I’m guessing the word unique to her will be something to do with being ungrateful. You don’t know it yet, right?”
“Right. The unique word is always on the stomach, so we didn’t see it at the crime scene, but considering the note said, ‘I should have realized how good I had it, but now I do,’ I’d say it will definitely be that,” Becca answered.
This case was sickening. What was a serial killer this sinister doing in a small city like Hazel Hill? Jared had seen his fair share of strange cases working the streets of Chicago as a homicide detective, but he didn’t expect to find this kind of thing here in North Carolina. He had thought he was going to get away from the kind of evil he had seen there, but clearly evil was everywhere.
They all stood there staring at the information in front of them hoping something would pop out and help them decipher more about who this killer was and why he was doing such horrible things to these women, hoping it would help them find him.
Becca walked over to their murder board and started adding the flowers’ meanings and the information they had about their fourth victim. Jared came around his desk and leaned against it, crossing his arms across his chest.
“We need more information.” Becca stood a little taller and her eyes were focused on the board, more determined than ever.
“But what information do we need?” the other detective standing there with them asked.
“I’m not sure, Rick,” Becca said.
Jared finally had an idea. “Maybe it has to do with these women’s pasts?”
“Of course. But what about their pasts? They must connect somewhere.” Becca looked at him with her head cocked to the side, eyes wide.
“Bear with me for a moment. The thought’s developing.” He paused. “They are all single moms. So maybe it has something to do with why they are single moms? Does that make sense? Liar, cheater, coward – is he pointing to something in their past relationships?”
They all stood in silence for a moment, thinking. Then Becca said, “When I was interviewing Tonya’s mom she said something about Tonya not sticking through rough patches in her relationships. I guess someone could see that as being a coward.”
“Maybe he’s trying to tell them with the flowers something they should have been better at to keep the relationship with their child’s father?” Jamison added.
“Maybe,” Jared said.
“But how does that help us find him?” Becca asked.
“It tells us something more about him at least. It tells us that maybe the reason he’s picking single moms is that he holds something against them,” Jared explained.
“I’d venture to say it has something to do with his mom,” Rick added.
Jared was already growing frustrated with this case, but maybe they were on to something. Now if only they could compare the profile with some suspects… of which they had none.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Rebecca rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. It had been such a long day, and she knew it wasn’t going to end simply by punching out at work. It was already after five o’clock, and she and Jared were finally leaving the fourth victim’s townhome on the west side of the city. They had been across town and back. They had come to her house as soon as they had an ID from the DMV database, Angela Milner, twenty-nine years old. But no one was home, so they looked up next of kin. That was her parents who lived on the east side of town. They went and made the death notification and talked to the grieving parents and met the two little children left behind. Angela had been headed out of town Sunday night on a business trip and wasn’t expected back until tomorrow. They thought it odd that she didn’t call at all, but she didn’t always. That was why there was no missing person’s report. Angela’s parents had two copies of her house key, so they gave them one. Jared and Becca then went back to Angela’s townhouse to see if there was anything to glean from there. On her kitchen table was a vase full of wilted pink carnations. They didn’t learn much else, so they decided to call it a day. They both needed to get away from the case for a while.
As they quietly drove back to the station, Becca debated asking Jared to join her and Callie for dinner. She really wanted to spend some time outside of work with him but didn’t want to push him either. He helped her make the decision though when he said, “Hey, Becca, I’d really like to get to know Callie. Do you think I could come over sometime and hang out with you two?”
She smiled, “How about you join us for dinner tonight?”
His face lit up, “That would be great!”
They got back to the station and went inside briefly to
close up a few loose ends for the day. As they left the building, Jared immediately reached up and loosened his tie and shed his serious work demeanor. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who had severely split work and personal lives since their past life. As they walked to their cars, Becca asked, “I thought you flew in; when did you get a car?”
“Yesterday morning. I didn’t have one in Chicago because there was no need, didn’t figure there was any reason to waste time getting one since I was starting work right away.”
“Makes sense. Do you want to drop it at my house then go with me to pick Callie up from Amy’s house?”
“Sure. I’m assuming Amy and Tom know I’m in town?” She nodded with a smile; he knew her and her sister too well. “I’d love to see them.”
“I haven’t talked to her today, so she has no idea you’re my partner again. I can’t wait to see the look on her face!”
He chuckled. They got in their vehicles, and Jared followed her to her house. Once he had parked his truck in her driveway, he joined her in hers.
“Nice SUV. Glad I don’t have to squeeze my way into your car like I have to with Caleb’s.”
“I don’t know how he drives that itty-bitty thing,” she mused. If she was honest, this very moment of Jared getting in the car with her was exactly why she had bought an SUV instead of the compact car she had considered when her old car had bit the dust a few years earlier. The man was tall and needed his head and leg room. She snickered at herself. She had given herself such a hard time for entertaining the thought at all back then, but now, with Jared in the passenger’s seat she saw that it hadn’t been a foolish notion. He looked at her with his head tilted to the side and eyebrows high, but she just shook her head refusing to speak her thoughts out loud. His curiosity about her thoughts would go unappeased.
It didn’t take long at all to drive the two blocks to Amy’s and her husband, Tom’s, house. She didn’t even bother knocking when they went to the door. Callie was sitting in the family room playing with Amy’s three-year-old daughter, Tabitha.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said opening her arms for a hug.
“Mommy!” her little girl jumped up from the floor and ran straight into her arms nearly knocking her over. “Hi, Mr. Jared.” She looked him up and down, and taking note of Jared’s suit the girl asked, “Do you chase bad guys like Mommy?”
“Hey, you remember me, and yes, I do. Your mommy and I work together now,” Jared said with a huge, anxious smile.
“Hi, Jared!” Amy said walking around the corner from the kitchen.
“Hi, Amy, good to see you again.” Jared gave Becca’s sister a slightly awkward hug.
Tom came down the stairs with a big grin and greeted Jared. “Hey, man. It’s been too long. How’ve you been?” Tom gave Jared a two-handed handshake.
“I’ve been all right. How are you guys?” Becca had lived, or sort of lived, with Amy and Tom when she and Jared were together, and the four of them had been close. Tom and Amy had been the closest thing Jared had had to family during that time, so it had been a hard break for them too.
“We’ve been good, real good. This is our daughter, Tabitha, and you remember Grayson.” Grayson, their eight-year-old son was on his way down the stairs.
“Wow, they grow so fast!” Jared said.
“Too fast,” Amy added before turning to Becca and motioned for her to join her on the other side of the room. She joined her sister in the dining area that was between the kitchen and family room as the guys continued to talk and catch up. “So, what’s going on? Fill me in. Now! Is he working at the station?”
“Yep, and Captain Baker put him as my partner since Doug hurt his leg and will be out indefinitely.”
“WHAT?” she said rather loudly, causing the guys to glance in their direction.
“You heard me. We worked together all day. It’s been good, though. We haven’t, obviously, had time to talk about anything other than work, but I don’t know… I have a good feeling about it.”
“Be careful, girl!”
“I will. We’re going to have dinner and maybe we can talk some later, or maybe just wait. I don’t know.”
“I’ll be praying for you both. But seriously, be careful. You are a Christian now, so it’s going to have to look different than it ever did in the past. Don’t forget the promises you’ve made to God, yourself, and to Callie.”
“I know. I won’t.”
“Because seriously, Becca, you two always had something intense going on. You two could hardly ever keep your hands off each other, and for some reason I don’t see that being any easier just because you’ve made a promise of purity.”
She nodded. She knew her sister was right, so right. A large part of Becca just wanted to throw herself into Jared’s arms and give herself fully to him again, but she knew that wasn’t an option, not unless they got married. It was going to be a hard road. Plus, she didn’t know how he felt about her after all these years. And frankly, she didn’t know the new him well enough yet to know how she felt either. “Just pray for us. We have a lot to work through and since we are working together we can’t take our time. I kind of feel like we have to hash things out as soon as possible, but I also know we need time to adjust to the idea that we are back in each other’s lives. And he has to deal with the idea of being a dad and learning what that looks like.” She was getting overwhelmed and on the verge of tears. She was grateful her back was to the guys and kids.
Amy reached up and put her hands on Becca’s upper arms. “Hang in there. You can do this. You are strong, and God is stronger. I love you, sis!”
Becca blinked back a couple of tears, “I love you too. Thanks for your prayers and support.”
“Anytime. Call me when he leaves tonight, okay? And if you don’t call by eleven, I’m calling you!”
Becca smiled at her sister. “All right.”
“Okay. Now go have dinner with your family so I can have dinner with mine.” She patted Becca’s arm then released her.
Once they were in the car and pulling out of the driveway Jared asked, “Did you have something in mind for dinner or should we go someplace, my treat?”
“I was thinking grab something while we’re out, so we’ll take you up on your offer.”
“All right, your choice. Callie, you have any preferences?” he said turning towards the backseat.
Becca watched the girl’s face light up in the rear-view mirror, “Can we go to Old McDonald’s?”
Becca teased her daughter, “Seriously, he said our choice and that’s what you choose?”
“Yep. Can I play too?”
“Is McDonald’s okay with you, Jared?”
“That sounds great.”
“Okay then, Callie, you can play a little bit too.”
“Yippee!” she squealed from the backseat.
Once they were seated with their food at McDonalds, Becca sat back and just let Callie and Jared interact. The girl talked the man’s ears off, but the way he leaned forward with wide eyes showed that he ate up every word she said, and he asked her a plethora of questions too. It was a beautiful scene that Becca just locked away into her heart. Why had she kept them apart? Why hadn’t she waited for Jared to come back before she left? Why hadn’t she looked harder for him? She blinked back the tears that threatened to trickle out and swallowed the lump in her throat. Now was not the time to cry.
Eventually Callie managed to finish her Happy Meal between all her words and then ran off to play in the play area, leaving Jared and Becca on their own.
Jared’s face beamed as he turned to her from watching Callie run off. “She’s amazing, Becca, absolutely amazing. You’ve done an incredible job.”
“Only with the Lord’s help.” She paused. “Jared... I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about her.”
He scooted over a seat so that he was directly across from her, reached across the table and took her hand that was resting there.
“Look at me, Becca.” She looked up into
his earnest face; he was searching for the words he wanted to say. “I know. But I don’t blame you. The timing of everything was horrible. And after what I said, you didn’t think I’d want her. But what’s done is done. We are here now. We have to move forward from here.”
“We still need to talk about what happened though.”
“Yes, we do, and we will.”
She shook her head in disbelief; where was the anger she expected from him? “Jared, why aren’t you yelling and throwing things? I’m flabbergasted by your demeanor.”
He smiled at her. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry that I didn’t know about her,” he looked in Callie’s direction and then back at Becca. “But God has really helped me get a grip on how I react to the anger I feel. Helps that I had a hard run and talked to Him last night.”
She pressed her lips together and blinked. She was amazed by the work that God had done in this man’s life. All she could manage to say was, “That’s good.”
They both let silence hang between them for a long time as they watched Callie play. Jared’s thumb stroked the back of Rebecca’s hand, sending a tingle up her arm. She couldn’t believe she was still holding his hand. She gave his hand a squeeze and slipped her hand free and reoccupied it with putting their trash on the tray. Jared took care of it as Becca gave Callie the five-minute warning.
When they arrived back at the house Jared walked with them to the front door. Becca opened the door and Callie ran in, but Jared hung back. She turned to look at him trying to decide if she even wanted him to come in or not when he said, “Becca, we have a lot to talk about, but we don’t have to do it tonight, unless you want to. I can just go…”
She looked at him intently trying to decide, “Jared, part of me wants to just run in the house and slam the door to run away from all that we have to deal with, but the other part of me doesn’t want you to ever leave my sight out of fear that I will wake up and you won’t be there again.”