by Joanne Ellis
“Ah, please don’t say anymore. I have to get through the rest of the afternoon and I need to concentrate. Have you received any more calls today?”
“Yes, before I left this morning, just more of the same thing. I think I’m going to stop answering the phone and let the machine pickup.”
“That could be better for us too. We may be able to use the voice recording, if he leaves a message that is. Anyway, an officer should be there shortly.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“Oh, he just walked in.”
“I don’t want you going anywhere without him.”
“Ok, will he be at the house all the time?”
“Except when I’m there.”
“Oh. So, how’s it all going?”
“Well, that is another reason I called. Do you know a guy named Chad Wilson?”
“Name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Have you ever been to Ben’s Bakery? It’s near the Coffee Break Café.”
“No, I don’t think so. Do you think he is the one doing this?”
“We aren’t sure yet but he seems to fit in with the evidence and he’s a customer at the café.”
“Elle did say she met a guy there as she was coming out one day.”
“Yes, I remember, which only makes him more of a person of interest. We just don’t know where he lives yet.”
“I’m sorry, Lucas but I don’t think I know him.”
“That’s okay, babe. Um, there is one other thing.”
“What is it?”
“As much as I dislike hearing about you with Robinson, I need to know what he did for a living.”
“Oh, he was a law student and worked part time at a sports store.”
“He’s not a chef?”
“Not when I was with him.”
“Ok thanks, babe. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I can’t wait.”
When Lucas returned to his desk, he updated Maggie.
“I guess now we should divide up the victims’ families and friends and ask them about Chad,” suggested Maggie.
“Yeah, hopefully someone remembers him.”
“We got lucky today with the bakery. Maybe we can get lucky again.”
“Let’s hope so, for Lindsay’s sake.”
They divided who was going where and they knew it would take the rest of the afternoon to interview everyone, so they decided to compare notes after the funeral the following day.
Chapter 21
Saying Goodbye
Monday
After going home to change and pack extra clothes, Lucas eagerly drove to Chelsea’s. He chatted briefly at the door with Officer Lewis who informed him there had been no-one suspicious hanging around the house. Lucas asked him to be back early in the morning and sent him home.
He enjoyed another Summerville family dinner with Charlotte divulging all of Chelsea’s secrets, which in turn merely strengthened Lucas’ already growing love. Charlotte also divulged that Chelsea was in fact ticklish, just in a different place to him and he vowed to obtain his revenge later that evening.
After dinner, they all curled up on the couch to enjoy a movie from Chelsea’s collection. Until that very moment, Lucas had forgotten how it felt to belong to a family and the warmth comforted him. Listening to her unrestrained laughter evoked thoughts of replicating it later when he carried out his tickling revenge, which led to thoughts of what would follow. Concentrating on the movie from this moment on became impossible as he waited with impatience for it to end.
Later that night, as they lay in each other’s arms, Chelsea broke their contented peace. “Did you get anywhere today?”
“You had to ask, didn’t you?”
She nodded and remained quiet.
“Kate Miller’s sister, Amy, recognised Chad’s name. Kate mentioned him once in passing after she’d met him in the café. It doesn’t actually lead us anywhere as we still don’t know where he lives. We could be totally off and looking in the wrong direction. We’ll see what happens when we go and see him on Wednesday. Anyway enough about that,” he said lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes. “I believe a just punishment is required for bringing up work and breaking the moment.” He picked up one of her legs with a devilish look in his eye.
“You wouldn’t.”
“It’s only fair. You tormented me this morning.” He lightly brushed behind her knee until she was writhing with uncontrollable laughter. He took pity on her and let her go. She exacted her revenge immediately.
“You’re unbalancing the scales, beautiful. I believe a severe punishment is coming your way.”
Sadness abruptly entered her eyes and tears welled up, threatening to spill over.
“Honey, why are you crying? Did I hurt you? I’m sorry.”
“It isn’t you, Lucas. Elle used to tickle me whenever she wanted info from me. She was amazingly strong for a girl and I was always helpless against her.” She smiled weakly. “The memory reminded me of tomorrow. It’s a good memory, one of many I’ll always cherish, but it made me sad. I don’t want to say goodbye, Lucas. I barely said hello. I miss her so much.” The threatened tears now streamed down her face.
He pulled her close and stroked her hair until her tears subsided. “Are you going to be ok tomorrow?”
“I have to be. Megan, Elle’s sister, was here today and my mum helped her pack up Elle’s things. It hit me today I’ll never see her again. She was a sweet, beautiful friend and had so much to look forward to. She was only twenty-four years old, Lucas. I just don’t understand,” she said. Then she stopped, realising the misery she felt was nothing compared to what he had suffered. “Are you going to be ok? You don’t have to come, if you don’t want, if it’s too hard.”
“Funerals are hard for everyone and I know how important it is to have support from people who care about you. I want to be that person for you.”
“Thanks,” she whispered and kissed him tenderly. The only thing she wanted to think about tonight was how good it felt to be in his arms.
* * *
Her chest rose and fell in the rhythmic breathing of slumber as she lay snuggled against him. Lucas buried his face in her hair to take in her intoxicating aroma as she lay spooned against his body. His heart lurched when she began to make tiny moans as though she was dreaming something pleasant.
He believed she had finally and unexpectedly healed the last of his wounds and repaired the heart he thought had been broken for good. There was little chance of turning back now as he was totally and unconditionally in love with her. The thought of losing her terrified him and, in the past, he would have walked away long before this moment, but there was no running away from Chelsea, not now.
The feelings she evoked in him were ones he’d never come close to experiencing before. Loving and protecting her had become his sole priority in life, his only purpose. Shielding his fragile heart was no longer an option because it belonged to her and for the first time in thirteen years was whole again. Contentment filled his soul as he drifted off to sleep and the last thought that ran through his mind was that since meeting her his nightmares had gone and, he believed, this time for good.
* * *
When Lucas’ phone rang and woke them, they looked at each other and then the clock, and realised that at this early hour it could only be bad news. When Chelsea saw the expression on Lucas’ face, she knew he didn’t liked what he’d heard. Lindsay Anderson was probably dead. He finished his call and looked at her. She took one of his strong, lean hands in hers to offer her support.
“I may be a little late for the funeral but I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Is it … is she?” She really didn’t want to know.
“Yes, someone just found a girl who we assume to be Lindsay.”
“I’m so sorry, Lucas.”
He shrugged. Lucas didn’t want Chelsea to know exactly how worried he was. They’d done everything they could to find t
he monster killing these beautiful young girls but it wasn’t enough and frustration tore through him. He dragged himself out of bed and attempted to wash away the visions swirling around in his mind with a refreshing shower, without reward. After he dressed, he kissed Chelsea goodbye and, with a grim face, braced himself for the task ahead - another brutalised body.
Chelsea went downstairs. Sarah and Charlotte were both up – the latter not totally awake. They’d heard Lucas leave and were concerned.
“Someone found a body which will probably be Lindsay Anderson,” she said.
“Oh how awful,” Sarah said quietly.
“I don’t know how much more of this he can take.”
She told them about Lucas’ parents and how seeing these victims brought back memories he didn’t want to remember.
“That explains the tough guy act,” Charlotte mumbled, still half asleep.
“Yeah but the Lucas I know is doing it tough,” she said.
Chapter 22
Lindsay
Tuesday
Thoughts swirled through Lucas’ mind as he sat in his car at the scene, waiting for Maggie to arrive. How much longer was this going to go on? Was Chelsea a target? To even allow the thought to enter his mind was driving him crazy. It would be too much for his heart to endure if anything were to happen to her.
When Maggie pulled up, he jumped out of his car and they walked towards the back of the warehouse, to the now all too familiar scene. She had been brutalised and discarded identically to the others before her, and the ID confirmed what they’d already assumed.
Once they’d given the unpleasant news to Lindsay’s mother, Lucas told Maggie he was going to Elle’s funeral.
She decided to join him.
* * *
The service was moments away from starting. Chelsea and her family were just about to go in and take their seats in the small, quaint chapel when Lucas and Maggie arrived.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, hugging him tightly.
“You need me, I’m here.”
He tried to ignore his rapid beating heart and the lump lodged in his throat. Lucas took her hand once they were seated and wrapped his other arm around her. Glancing around the room and seeing people in various stages of grief sent his already thudding heart into a flurry. He nodded at Maggie who stood at the back of the chapel surveying the mourners. Was the killer there, sitting amongst the family and friends of the girl he mutilated? Could they be that lucky?
Sarah sat beside Chelsea, a comforting hand on her leg while Charlotte’s arm went across their mother’s lap to hold her hand.
The service began and each person took the podium to speak about Elle’s short life. Their faces transformed into the ones who had stood and spoken about his parents. He was there again, the pain acute as he remembered his sister crying beside him, clutching his arm as he’d sat rigid, waiting for it to be over. Although he was aware he should be thinking of Chelsea, his selfish heart and haunting memories refused to allow this to happen.
As though sensing his unease, Chelsea squeezed his hand and guilt became the paramount emotion. He felt weak for allowing his feelings to come before hers. Her compassion for him only exaggerated it further. Disgusted with himself, he drew her close and kissed the top of her head and hoped he was providing her with enough. How, after all these years, could this still affect him and so much? Guilt continued to overwhelm him even after they’d left the chapel.
“Are you going to be alright?” he asked after the service.
“Yes, go to work; find the monster who took my friend away. I have Mum and Charlotte with me. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll come by later but it might not be until late.”
“I’ll be waiting.” She kissed him before heading to the car with her family.
* * *
Lindsay was moved on the whiteboard from missing to deceased and they noted down the location where she’d been found. There appeared to be no set pattern to the dump sites. They were spread out all over the city. Whilst the girls who were similar to each other were all left behind warehouses, Elle was found behind a shop close to home and they speculated on the relevance of this.
“Wait a minute,” Lucas exclaimed. “Where Elle was dumped is significant, as is her difference in appearance. I think it’s his way of telling us Chelsea really is the target, to mock us again, like the IDs. The scene was right around the corner from their house. He left Elle there to send a message, to show once again he thinks he’s smarter than us. We were right. I’m glad we have someone on Chelsea’s house.”
“You could be onto something, Lucas. The other girls weren’t left near where they lived or nor near where Chelsea lives. Everything about Elle’s murder is different yet it is connected to Chelsea, just like the other girls who resemble her.”
“He seems to know Chelsea’s movements, which suggests he’s either following her or lives close by.”
As they continued to discuss possible places to canvas, one of the lab techs brought the DNA results for Matthews and handed them to Maggie.
She looked over the results and glanced up to see Lucas staring at her impatiently, waiting for the verdict.
“No match.”
“I hoped it would be but my gut told me it wouldn’t.”
“We now have to consider looking closer at this Chad guy when we go and see him tomorrow. He seems to be all we have left.”
“Let’s hope it’s that easy and he’s our man. There’s still Wesley Robinson too. We’re waiting on his file.”
“I’ll head over to the café again and see if anybody recalls seeing this Chad guy. I wish we had a picture of him.”
“While you do that I’ll stay here and go through the notes Peterson and Stewart wrote up regarding their canvassing and the results from the hotline calls.”
Maggie left and Lucas pulled out the file containing the notes taken by the other two detectives over the weekend. Scanning through the document he noticed a trend amongst Chelsea’s neighbours. No-one saw anything the weekend Elle disappeared. They were all devastated that someone in their street had been kidnapped and murdered and most were disappointed they didn’t have any information. No-one noticed a blond man living close by who appeared strange or kept to himself. It was amazing how little people noticed about their surroundings and the people they lived close to.
He observed that there were three houses on Chelsea’s street where, on two separate occasions, at different times and on different days, the detectives' knocks went unanswered. They’d noted down that they should try again the following day. Lucas made a mental note to check their progress as soon as a new report was submitted.
The canvassing around the houses of the other victims was very much the same. No-one really paid any attention to what was happening around them. What he would have given for there to have been a nosy neighbour peeking out their window.
Deciding this wasn’t getting him very far, he grabbed the notes Maggie had taken regarding her interviews with the family members she’d questioned along with her interview with Gavin Morgan.
Lucas had already brought Maggie up-to-date with the interviews he had undertaken the previous day with Mrs. Anderson, Amy Miller and a few of Kate’s friends. The information he’d obtained didn’t helped with their investigation either.
It was all more of the same - none of them had heard of Chad or knew any information about their loved ones' mystery guy. The girls had all been quite secretive about their new romances. It was amazing how he could convince these girls to keep their budding relationship a secret and still gain their trust.
Maggie’s interview with Gavin Morgan had gone as they had both expected. He was a decent family man and didn’t show any recognition when he saw the girls, apart from Elle, and it was a given he would know her from the times she’d worked at Bloom with Chelsea. He wasn’t suspicious in any way and willingly gave a sample for DNA comparison.
Next, Lucas went through the list of hotli
ne tips. Every call had been logged and then followed up. Most of them were the usual crazy calls, confessions and people reporting their neighbours. Nothing substantial came from them either.
He grunted in frustration. They were still getting nowhere. He searched the endless files piled and scattered on his desk to ascertain he’d yet to receive the file on Wesley Robinson. He placed a call, only to be informed he should receive the file in a few days. It was archived and still being retrieved. He shook his head, annoyed at the system for holding things up. They were hitting one dead end after another.
The only thing left to do was check missing persons. Now they’d found Lindsay, it was plausible the killer had kidnapped another girl. There was one hit, a young brunette who’d left her house the previous day and not returned.
Glancing at the time, Lucas discovered he’d spent the entire afternoon reading over the reports, which in the end had been totally unproductive. He would make a detour on the way to Chelsea’s and speak with the latest missing girl’s family.
Chapter 23
Elle
Tuesday
Drained from an emotionally raw morning, Chelsea’s head ached and her eyes stung. Upon arriving home, she decided to rest. After a dream-filled nap, she located Charlotte and Sarah outside eating their lunch and enjoying the sunshine. Chelsea, suddenly famished, tucked into the sandwiches and iced tea lovingly prepared by Sarah.
“Are you feeling better, honey?” Sarah asked.
“Yes, much better.” She managed a slight smile. “I hope I don’t have to do that again in a hurry.”
“It’s never easy to say goodbye to someone you love.”
“As much as I loved Elle very much and I’ll miss her a lot, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be a family member. I don’t know how Lucas coped with the loss of his parents or stayed so strong for me today.”