Never Forget The Past (The Men 0f Fire Beach Book 4)

by Lorana Hoopes

  “Copy that.” Tad grabbed his car keys, and he and Kelsey headed out. Brayden followed a few minutes later.

  When they were alone, Bubba touched Makenna’s shoulder. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?”

  “Coffee would be great,” Makenna said, “but let’s just make it here. I don’t want to lose any time waiting at a shop.”

  “Sounds good. Where’s the break room? I’ll go put a pot on.”

  Makenna pointed down the hall and watched him leave before collapsing in the chair behind her desk. She sighed and rubbed her head. The hospital had cleared her last night, but she didn’t feel quite right. A chill that she couldn’t seem to shake grew inside her, her head still ached, and her back was sore from hitting the wall.

  Rest would probably cure all of that, but there was no time for rest now. Their killer was obviously escalating. Four attacks in less than a week and the addition of Molotov cocktails meant she could be spiraling out of control, and if that happened, who knew what she might do next.

  Makenna turned on her laptop and began searching for any information on Kevin Hanes.

  Bubba returned a few minutes later and held a steaming mug out to her. “I put a little cream and two sugars. I think that’s how you drink it, am I right?”

  “Right as rain.” Makenna took the mug and smiled up at him. It had only been a week, but he already seemed to know her inside and out. She wrapped her hands around her mug to infuse the heat into her hands.

  “You have a laptop for me?” Bubba asked as he pulled up a chair to the other side of her desk and sat down.

  “You can grab Brayden’s. It should be ready to use.”

  He nodded and returned a moment later with Brayden’s laptop. For a few minutes, there was only the sound of tapping keys and the occasional sip from a mug. Makenna marveled at how comfortable she was around Bubba. There was no need to fill the silence with idle chatter.

  “It seems I was right about the date,” Bubba said. “Here’s the original story and the date of the construction accident was five years to the day that the repair shop owner was killed.”

  “Okay, so that could have been the trigger. Let’s see if we can find anything else about Kevin or Rachel.” Her hand shook as she picked up the mug again.

  * * *

  Bubba tried to keep his focus on the research, but he couldn’t help his eyes wandering to Makenna every few minutes. Though she said she was fine, he could tell she wasn’t quite herself.

  Not only did she still have the dark circles under eyes, but she shivered every few minutes. Was she even aware she was doing it? In addition, she kept picking up her mug and cradling it in her hands even though she didn’t always drink it, and occasionally her hand would shake enough to send the coffee sloshing over the lip of the mug. She needed rest, but she was stubborn. He knew she wouldn’t take any until this case was over. So, he needed to make sure this ended. Today.

  He clicked out of the story of Kevin’s accident and focused on Rachel instead. Who was she? There wasn’t much on her other than the fact that she used to be a teacher at the local school before Kevin died. After, it appeared she stopped teaching and withdrew from life. Their marriage certificate showed they hadn’t been married long, and he could find no birth certificate for children. Bubba knew death affected people in different ways, but he just couldn’t find anything other than Kevin’s death that would point to Rachel’s behavior.

  The door opened, and he looked up to see Kelsey and Tad leading Rachel into the station. She appeared to be calm and collected. At least until she saw him.

  “What’s he doing here?” she shouted as she charged his direction.

  Tad managed to grab her before she reached Bubba, but she struggled against his grip.

  “Let me go. He killed my husband,” she said as she twisted and writhed.

  Tad pulled out his handcuffs and secured her wrists. “Is that why you tried to kill him?”

  “Kill him? What are you talking about? Are you listening to me? He killed my husband.”

  “I didn’t kill him, Rachel,” Bubba said. His heart broke for her even though he knew he wasn’t at fault. “We just didn’t get there in time.”

  “You lie,” she spat. “She told me you would, but you were supposed to be dead.” Rachel’s voice quieted, and she began to rock from side to side. “She told me you were dead.”

  Makenna and Bubba exchanged glances. He had expected crazy, but this was beyond what he had imagined.

  “Who told you Matt was dead?” Makenna asked.

  “She told me it would be okay. That he got what he deserved.” Her voice was even softer as if she were speaking more to herself than any of them. “But he didn’t. He didn’t get what he deserved.”

  “Who, Rachel? Who told you he would get what he deserved?”

  Rachel lifted her head and looked at Makenna, but her glazed eyes were clearly seeing something else far away. “Iris.”

  “Who’s Iris?” Kelsey asked.

  What was going on here? They’d all thought Rachel was the killer, but now she was rambling about some other woman.

  “Rachel,” Makenna shook the woman’s shoulders. “Who’s Iris?”

  Rachel blinked as if seeing Makenna for the first time. “His sister,” she said before she floated away again.

  “His sister?” Tad asked. “Who’s sister?”

  “Not mine,” Bubba said. “Felicity is my foster sister and Rebecca is my biological sister. Could she mean Kevin?” He looked back at his laptop screen and pulled up Kevin’s birth record. “Makenna, come look at this.”

  Makenna leaned over Bubba’s shoulder to read the screen. “He had a twin sister?” Her mouth pulled into a tight line, and though she said nothing, Bubba could read the thought in her head. A twin sister would have a close tie to Kevin and therefore a high chance of wanting revenge on his killer. The question was where was Iris now?

  * * *

  Makenna pulled her gaze away from the screen to issue orders. “Tad, take Rachel to an interrogation room. See what you can find out. Kelsey, Bubba, find out anything you can on Iris Hanes. I need to know where she is.”

  Silence invaded the room as everyone focused on the task. Bubba typed Iris Hanes into the search bar and began scanning the stories for any clue, any picture.

  “I found something, Captain,” Kelsey said. “It’s a few years old, but this appears to be a picture of Iris Hanes at some conference a few towns over.”

  Kelsey turned the screen around, and Makenna sucked in her breath. “Bubba, is this who I think it is?” The hair was down and flowing in the picture and the face was younger and graced with a smile, but she would bet her job it was the same woman.

  Bubba stared at the picture and nodded. “It sure looks like her.”

  “Can I buy a clue here?” Kelsey asked. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

  “Kelsey, I want you to find out everything you can about Dr. Bloom. I want her history all the way back to birth.”

  “Wait, Dr. Bloom?” Kelsey asked. “Why are we looking into her? I thought we were focused on Iris Hanes.”

  “Bubba and I are pretty sure that Dr. Bloom is Iris Hanes.”

  Kelsey’s eyes widened and without another word, her face returned to her laptop screen.

  “Makenna.” Bubba’s serious tone grabbed her attention, and she turned his direction. “Did Felicity go to work today?”

  A cold sensation flooded Makenna’s veins. If Felicity had gone to work today, she could be in real trouble. “Kelsey, keep looking. Call me with anything you find. Bubba, you’re with me. Let’s go pay Dr. Bloom a visit.”

  “Makenna, should we bring Tad?” Bubba whispered as they neared the front door.

  She knew his words were coming from a place of concern, but they annoyed her all the same. She was fine, and they had no time to bicker about her health. “I’ll call him on the way. Let’s go.”

  As they pulled up to Dr. Bloom’s office though, Mak
enna wondered if she had made a mistake not waiting for Tad. There were no other cars in the parking lot which led her to believe that Dr. Bloom was expecting them. Plus, she had no idea what the woman might be armed with, and as much as she wanted to believe she was, Makenna knew she wasn’t functioning at one hundred percent. Still, time was of the essence. Especially if Dr. Bloom had Felicity. Who knew what the woman might do.

  “You ready?”

  Bubba nodded, his face set in a grim determination. Makenna was glad to have him with her even if he wasn’t a trained cop. Besides, she knew Tad was on his way. She’d radioed him on the drive over. All she had to do was either take Dr. Bloom in easy, if she acquiesced, or kill a little time until her backup showed up.

  “Let’s go.”

  Makenna pulled her gun as she led the way up the sidewalk. She dared a glance in the glass door before she opened it, but the lobby was empty. Either Dr. Bloom wasn’t here or she was in her office. Makenna hoped for the latter; she didn’t feel like tracking this woman down all over town.

  She gestured for Bubba to follow her and then eased her way toward the office door.

  “Come on in, Captain Drake. We’ve been expecting you.” The voice that came out of the office sounded little like the Dr. Bloom they had spoken to the day before. Confidence and disdain oozed from this voice, and Makenna did not miss the use of the word we. So, she definitely had someone in there with her.

  Makenna stepped into the office. Her gun found Dr. Bloom, but as she had feared, Dr. Bloom was not alone. Felicity sat in the doctor’s chair, a knife to her throat and fear burning in her eyes.

  “Matt, I know you’re out there too. Why don’t you join us?”

  Makenna hoped Bubba would keep his calm when he saw his sister. The last thing she needed was for someone to get antsy. She felt him fill the space behind her and sensed his tension.

  “Iris, this is over. It’s time to let Felicity go,” Makenna said, trying to take control of the situation.

  Iris smiled a cold, calculated smile. “I don’t think so. See, I made a mistake once when I didn’t make sure Matt here was dead, but he forgave me and granted me a second chance.”

  He? Who was she talking about. “Do you mean Kevin forgave you?”

  “No, not Kevin,” Iris laughed, “though I’m sure he will thank me for bringing his killer to justice. There won’t be a mistake this time.”

  Felicity winced as Iris pulled the knife tighter against her neck. Makenna had no shot. Not with Iris leaning so close to Felicity, but there was a window behind her. If only she could find a way to let Tad know their situation.

  “I didn’t kill him, Iris,” Bubba said, stepping forward. “I was cleared in the investigation. We simply got there too late.”

  Iris turned her attention to Bubba, and hatred flashed in her eyes. “I felt him die. Did you know that? Twins are connected that way sometimes, and Kevin was my best friend growing up. I was in the middle of a session with a client at my old practice, and I felt this crazy fear come over me. Fear that I was going to die. My lungs closed up and my pulse raced just like his must have.

  “And when his heart stopped beating-” Her hand shook and she paused to compose herself. “When his heart stopped beating, mine did too for just an instant, and then I knew that he was gone and this terrible vacantness settled on me.”

  As Iris got lost in her story, her face turned away from Makenna, and Makenna used that moment to click the talk button on her radio and wedge it into a locked position against her belt so that Tad, Kelsey, and dispatch would hear what was going on. Perhaps it would give them some edge.

  “I am incredibly sorry for your loss,” Bubba said, taking another step closer to the desk, “but those women you killed were also somebody’s sister, somebody’s daughter. Their families are now grieving the same as you are.”

  Iris shook her head. “I should have picked them better. Their deaths were supposed to hurt you. He told me they would, but I didn’t choose the right ones. I should have picked Felicity here the first time and maybe your mother, but he wasn’t clear. He should have been clear.” The hand holding the knife shook, and Felicity whimpered again.

  Makenna could see Iris unraveling. She wondered if the doctor even recognized her own psychotic break. “Who is he, Iris? Who’s been telling you to kill people?”

  Iris turned back to Makenna, and for a moment she looked confused, but then she twitched and the icy face returned. “God, of course. God chose me as his angel. He showed me what to do and gave me the information on them. They were evil people, and they deserved to die.”

  Makenna shook her head. “No, Iris. They were children of God, made in His image. They might have been doing evil things, but God - the true God - does not condone murder, and He believes in second chances. Even for you.”

  “I don’t need a second chance.” Iris’s voice rose in pitch and volume. “I was doing His will.”

  “No, you weren’t. Have you heard of a visionary before, Dr. Bloom?” Makenna had no idea if switching to the woman’s professional title would cause that part of her to take over, but she had to try.

  “Of course I’ve heard of a visionary,” Iris said. “I am a psychiatrist.”

  “Then you must know that usually those visions are the result of a trauma the patient has experienced. Abuse. Sickness. Death.”

  Recognition flashed in Dr. Bloom’s eyes, and then she twitched again. “No, I’m not a visionary. I’m an angel. There’s a difference.”

  “But you didn’t become an angel until Kevin’s death, did you?” Makenna pressed. She glanced over at Bubba who was watching, waiting for a sign. She nodded slightly at Felicity, hoping he would understand her message. If she could get Dr. Bloom back, they might have a second to take her down. But only a second.

  “I…. no, that’s different.”

  But Makenna could hear the confusion in Dr. Bloom’s voice. “Dr. Bloom, the anniversary of Kevin’s death was your trigger. It’s what brought the visions back. It’s when he began talking again, am I right?”

  And there it was. Makenna might have missed it if she hadn’t been paying close enough attention. She saw the change come over Dr. Bloom a moment before she stepped back.

  She stared at Felicity and then the knife in her hands. “What have I done?”

  She didn’t even have to signal Bubba. With those words, he launched himself across the remaining space, sending Dr. Bloom crashing to the ground and the knife skidding in the other direction. By the time Iris took over again, Bubba had her pinned to the floor, and Makenna was slapping handcuffs on her wrists.

  “No, I can’t fail him again. I won’t.”

  “Iris Bloom, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Before she finished the Miranda rights, Tad appeared in the doorway, and she passed the woman off to him so she could check on Felicity and Bubba. “Are you okay?”

  Felicity was still rubbing her neck, and a thin trickle of blood oozed out of a small cut, but she managed a nod. “Yeah, I’m okay, but I think I’m going to need a new job.”

  Makenna felt the chuckle bubble inside her, and she caught Bubba’s eye and smiled. “Yeah, it looks like you might.”

  As the three waited for the EMT to arrive and check Felicity out, Makenna breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. She could rest and return to her normal life. But did she want to? She loved her job, but her normal life meant evenings home alone with her cat. It meant paperwork, few dates, legal jargon, and death. And she was no longer sure that was what she wanted.

  Watching Bubba with his sister and with his parents these last few days had reminded her of family - the importance of it and what she was missing. Could she give this up though? Running a department had been her dream. Hadn’t it? Or had she told herself it was her dream when she’d been shoved into it? She just didn’t know.

  Chapter 20

  Bubba turned to Makenna as the EMTs carried Felic
ity out. Though she’d stated she wasn’t injured and just wanted to return to Kelsey’s to rest, the paramedics had insisted she get her neck looked at. Evidently Iris had pressed hard enough to draw blood at least once, and they wanted to be sure she hadn’t damaged anything underneath the skin.

  “Reckon we should have that talk now?” he asked as he took Makenna’s hand and pulled her to him.

  She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I suppose we should.”

  Man, how he wanted to kiss her, but he needed to tell her what was on his heart first. “Makenna, after the first murders, I felt such guilt that I didn’t think I’d ever open my heart to anyone again, but there is something about you that makes me feel complete, whole. My life isn’t here any longer, and I know that yours is, but Fire Beach isn’t that far. We could talk during the week and trade weekends.”

  She shook her head and placed a finger on his lips. “I don’t want just weekends, Bubba. I worked hard to get to where I’m at, but I realized last night that my job, my title, means nothing if I don’t have someone to share it with.”

  Bubba wasn’t sure what she was saying. Was she telling him it would never work? Or was she saying that she would consider leaving Woodville? “Makenna, it’s been a long time since I had to decode woman-speak. Can you just tell me what you mean?”

  Makenna laughed and pulled his face down to hers. She placed her lips on his, and even though he still had questions, his arms wrapped around her waist. The kiss was everything he had imagined it would be, and while he had kissed women in the past, those kisses had never felt like this one. This one shook him to the core.

  “What I’m saying,” Makenna said as she pulled back, “is that this town holds a lot of memories for me. Some are good, but a lot of them I’d rather forget. Now, it might take awhile and I would certainly like to check the place out before I decide completely, but I don’t think I would be opposed to transferring to a new police department.”