I tapped Tim on the shoulder and bent down to kiss him. "Hey, I have to go to Norma's, Lily said she needs me to meet her there."
"What time is it?" He didn't lift his head from the pillow.
"It's 7:30. I heard my phone vibrating, and when I saw her name, I had to see what it was. I love you, have a good day at work."
When I arrived at Norma's house, her driveway was already full of cars. I was the last to arrive, even Sonya was there. Maggie met me at the door. "Shh, try to be quiet, the girls are still sleeping."
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "What's going on?"
Lily was at the dining room table, a cup of coffee between her hands. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair was a mess. Her sweatshirt was inside out, and it looked like she still had her shorts on from bed. She turned her head and gave me a quick nod to acknowledge me before dropping her head again.
"What's wrong, Lily?" I looked to the others to answer for her, but they remained quiet.
"He's getting out today. I found the message late last night." Her body rocked back and forth in the chair. "I didn't have time to prepare… I thought I'd get more notice."
"Have you changed the locks? I can have a locksmith there in a couple hours."
"No, it's no use. I know if he really wants to get to me, he'll find a way. I live in a doublewide, it's not like he wouldn't be able to get in through a window. He'd break it if he had to."
"Lily, why don't you stay here tonight? We can go get some of your things and even leave your car there. That way, he'll have no idea where you are." Norma stood behind her and rubbed her back.
"You sure it's okay? I… don't want to be in the way."
"We'd love to have you here with us, isn't that right Maggie?"
"Of course, we would. Let me go get dressed, and I can follow you in my car. I think the sooner we get your stuff, the better." Maggie looked at the clock on the wall. "It's not 8:00 yet, we'll have time to get there and back here without him knowing."
"Do you have a copy of your protection order?" I looked around the room to see Sonya sitting in the living room by herself. It appeared she hadn't apologized to Norma yet. I was impressed she even showed up.
"Yeah, it's at the house."
"I need you to make sure you have it with you at all times. I can make you some copies to keep in different places, too. And… make sure the police department has a copy, and I'll let them know to keep an eye out for him."
"I don't think the piece of paper will stop him. At first, I thought it might, but now that he's out, I don't think so. He's going to be pissed I told… I…"
"You're not alone anymore. You have the four of us, and the victim's advocate who are here for you. I'll make sure I keep my phone on at night, so you can call me day or night." I put my hand on hers.
Lily picked up her head. "I don't even know how to function right now. I've never been this afraid before… I mean… I've been scared he was going to kill me… but this time it's different. This time I want to live."
"I understand." Maggie nodded. "Hank's in jail, but I still have nightmares he's going to get out and kill me. It's something I can't put in to words… but I know you know that feeling." She put her hand on Lily's shoulder. "Come on, I think we need to go now. I want to make sure we're back here before…"
"That's a great idea. Sonya, why don't you stay here with Norma and I'll follow behind Maggie? One of us can stay in the car, while the other goes in to help pack." I looked for a reaction from Sonya, but she remained quiet.
The three of us left, leaving an opportunity for Sonya and Norma to mend what had been shattered. I hoped it would be enough. It didn't feel right with the rift between them. Our unit wasn't a whole without each and every one of us.
I parked in the road, right before Lily's trailer to keep watch. Maggie pulled her car in, right behind Lily, and they went in. It wasn't even 9:00 yet, it was unlikely Earl would have been released yet, but I couldn't shake the lingering uneasy feelings. I was skeptical of every passing car. I squinted to make sure it wasn't him.
I was familiar with the fear the ladies spoke of. It was one that consumed much of my thoughts for the last twenty years. Only recently, I was able to shake it enough to stop looking over my shoulder. Sitting here, the fear returned. It was the unknown and it was being out of control.
When I turned my head to look behind me, I noticed a small brown box on the floor. I reached down to pick it up, making sure my eyes did not leave the road I was guarding. It was the package my gram had asked me to return for her. I picked at the tape to peel open the seam. Inside the box were two bottles of insulin, a package of syringes, and a pack of alcohol wipes. Jackpot.
I took this as a sign. There was no question as to what I had to do. Lily needed this as much as I wanted to give it to her. With the box in my hands, the fear evaporated. The tension lifted, and I regained control.
I jumped when Maggie and Lily appeared in front of my car. I fumbled with the box before tossing it in the backseat. Maggie gave me the thumbs up before she got into her car. I waited in the road until she pulled out of the driveway, and I followed them back to Norma's.
Sonya and Norma were sitting on the couch next to each other, each holding a cup of tea and laughing at pictures on Sonya's phone. I gave them a smile and joined them. "What are you looking at?"
"Oh, just some pictures from your wedding." Norma giggled. "You seemed to have had a little too much to drink after the old ladies left."
I felt my cheeks start to burn and pulled the phone out of their hands. "Oh, god, please tell me you didn't post these on Facebook."
"No." Sonya held up her thumb and index finger in front of her nose. "I was this close, though."
I scrolled through the photos and saw the goofy faces I made when Sonya asked me to smile. The ones of me attempting to dance were even worse. I shook my head as the embarrassment settled in. "I can't believe no one stopped me."
"What? Why? You were having fun. Letting loose. Don't be ashamed of that. It was fun." Sonya held her hand out. "Here, let me show you something." She took the phone and hit play and handed it back to me.
She had captured a video of the dance Gabe and I shared. "Oh, Sonya… thank you so much. This is amazing. Can you send me a copy of this?"
"Even better… I saved all of the pictures and videos I took to a thumb drive. I'll bring it to the next meeting."
"She got some great shots." Norma looked up at Sonya and smiled. That was all I needed to know everything was going to be alright.
Lily and Maggie joined us, and Sonya handed them the phone to look through. "I've got to get to work." I looked at the clock to see I was now two hours late and hadn't even called Jeanine to let her know. "Before I go, I want to put together a safety plan. Can someone get some paper so we can write this down?"
Norma picked up a notebook off the coffee table. "I'll be the scribe."
"Can you start with a list of all of the numbers Lily might need? All of ours, the victim's advocate, the domestic violence center, the police department… anyone else you can think of, Lily?"
She shook her head. "No, I think that's a good start. I'll enter them into my phone after, too."
"Great idea. Okay… let’s get a list of things we can do to help you feel safe. Any ideas?"
"How about getting a security system installed?" Maggie took her attention away from the phone.
"Oh, that's a great idea." Norma wrote it down. "And the locks, let's get the locks changed."
"Okay, I bet Tim and I could figure out how to do the camera and locks."
"I've been thinking about going to stay with my mom for a while. Now that my bruises have healed, I think going to Florida might be the best thing. Maybe sell the house, too."
"Wow, that's hardcore." Sonya's eyes went wide. "I mean, that's a big decision to make."
"I know, but I've been thinking about it. I actually planned to move before he got out, but time got away from me." Lily dropped her head.
"We could help you. If you want to go stay with your mom, we could pack up your things for you." Maggie took Lily's hand. "I don't have a good feeling about you staying around here. I got a bad feeling when we were there today… I don't know how to explain it… and I didn't want to scare you… but… I didn't like it at all."
Lily frowned as she shook her head. "I know what you mean. I felt like that all night. I know he wasn't out yet, but just the thought put me on edge. Every sound made my eyes shoot open. I don't know if I'll be able to stay there again."
"Why don't you think about Maggie's offer? We can all help with the house, and you could at least go spend some time with your mom." I noticed Sonya making a gun with her fingers out the corner of my eye.
"I'm just afraid he'd find me there. He knows where she lives, and I don't want to put her life in danger… that's kind of why I haven't gone yet."
"Well, one thing at a time. We can get back together later and add anything else to the plan you can think of. I've got to go, but I'll stop by as soon as I get out of work. Call me if you need me. Is it okay if I let Tim know what's going on?"
Lily nodded. "I'm sorry…"
"No, don't you apologize. We’re sisters… and we have your back…" I shut the door behind me. I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to get my hands on Earl. I knew I needed to find some more information, but I wasn't sure Lily was the person I needed to get it from.
At work, there was no way I could focus on anything else. Earl was the only thought in my head. I logged on to Stephanie Mill's Facebook profile and entered Earl's name in the search bar. His picture was the first one on the list from my last search. This time, I sent him a friend request and proceeded to scroll through his feed.
What I noticed was that he liked beer and women. It didn't seem like it would be too difficult to crack his code. He was simple… but dangerous. I knew I would have to take my time and groom him.
Chapter Thirty-Six
With no new murders in Lawrenceville, the excitement of the serial killer case lost its appeal to Gabe. "No offense, but this town is kind of… boring." He drank the last of his orange juice before placing his cup in the sink.
I rinsed it out before putting it into the dishwasher. "Yeah, it's a lot like Mayberry here."
"Mayberry?"
"Looks like we have some reruns to watch." I handed him the lunch I made him and placed Tim's on the counter. "Not as exciting as you thought, huh?"
"No… I was really hoping to crack the case, you know?"
"There's still time, isn't there? You have a couple more weeks with Tim. Anything could happen." I said the words I knew he wanted to hear, but I hoped I was wrong. If Andrew is the serial killer, I didn't want him to go to jail. I wanted him to help Sonya raise their baby. And, if Sonya was by chance involved, I definitely didn't want her getting caught.
"I don't know… I mean, they aren't even talking about it anymore.”
"Hmm." I looked out the window as I wiped down the counter. "Why don't you come up with a name for him… you know there's the Boston Strangler, the BTK killer, the Zodiac Killer… they were all given names. I think it helped get the media and the community more invested in the case."
"Whoa… you sure know a lot about them. It's a little disturbing…. but… maybe you're right. If I can't catch him, at least I could be the one to name him." He nodded." "Hmmm… what could it be? The Bullet Bandit? The Shooter in the Header?"
I raised my eyebrow and couldn't mask the laugh I tried to hold back. "I think you might want to keep working on it."
"Yeah… you're right." He grabbed Tim's lunch off the counter and handed it to him. "She had a good idea for the case… I'll fill you in on the way."
Tim gave me a kiss. "Oh, she did. I can't wait to hear about it." He turned his head to look at me. I couldn't place the look he gave me, either annoyance or intrigue.
"Yeah, I think she's on to something."
"You're welcome." I snickered as the door shut. "Sorry, I just wanted to spice things up a little for him."
"Geez, I can hardly wait." Tim shook his head. "It has been pretty boring… not the adventure I lured him here with."
"See, I'm just helping."
When Tim and Gabe left, I logged onto Stephanie Mill's Facebook profile and noticed a new notification and a message. Earl accepted my friend request. That confirmed he was released. My hands started to sweat as I clicked on the message. It had to have been him… he was my only 'friend' on there.
When it opened, I saw his round picture at the top of the screen. "Hey, baby. Do I know you? If not, I think we should change that. It's been a long time since I had a sweet piece of ass like yours."
Nausea washed over me as I stared down at the screen. I shook off the chill that traveled down my spine. He was vile. Just the sight of him made the desire to finish the job overwhelm me. This was going to be easier than I thought. I just had to play along, make him think I wanted him, and I knew he'd set up a time to meet. I'd just have to dangle the carrot in front of him, and I bet I could complete the job in no time.
Today seemed like a good day as any to call out of work. I hadn't even made it a full week yet, but I knew I wouldn't have what I needed to concentrate. I dialed Jeanine's number and worked on my fake sick voice. It was my lucky day, the call went straight to her voicemail. There would be no need to make up some lame excuse.
With that out of the way, I worked on my response to Earl. I typed out a message and deleted it as soon as I read it. My answer had to be convincing… but not too convincing. This was my only chance to make the connection. "LOL, I'm blushing… we don't know each other yet, but I'd love to change that." I added a couple kissing emojis and hit send. My pulse throbbed in my neck as I waited for him to respond. Minutes passed, and the message was still unread. I looked at the time and realized he was probably hungover and fast asleep.
I grabbed my keys and drove to Norma's. I wanted to check on Lily, but I also needed the comfort that Norma's presence brings. I needed to gather the strength to get this job done, I couldn't let anything get in the way. There was something I wanted to clear up before I began the tedious task ahead.
The door opened before I had a chance to knock. "Good morning, Norma, would you like to go for a ride with me this morning?"
"Okay, let me get my purse and tell the girls."
"Wait, don't you even want to know where we're going?" I put my hands on my hips.
"Oh, honey, I already know."
"You do? How?" I followed her in, waiting in the kitchen as she wrote a note for Maggie and Lily.
"We're going to see your gram."
"How did you know that?"
"I just knew… besides, you're not too hard to figure out." She gave me a wink as she put her purse over her arm.
"It's really that obvious? I'm that easy to read?"
She giggled. "Not too easy. It's only because I love you. Besides, I knew how badly you wanted to see her the other day, and where else would you be going on a Friday morning when you should be working?"
"I can't pull anything over on you… I guess I should be careful."
"Don't you worry, I'll have your back, no matter what."
I stopped at the gas station to fill up and sent Tim a text to let him know of my change of plans, so he wouldn't worry. Mom placed Gram in a rehab center about a half an hour from Lawrenceville in an attempt to create a bigger gap between us, but her plan backfired. She was now even closer to me. Fear had kept me from making the trip, as it did so many years before.
"I don't think I would have been able to find the courage to take this trip without you."
"Oh, I'm sure you would have, but I'm so glad you asked me to come. Your gram's a sweetheart. We had a good visit when I drove her home."
"She is pretty special. You remind me of her." Regret heated my cheeks by my choice of words. "Not because…"
She laughed. "I'm old?"
"No... I wasn't going to say that. I wa
s going to say because of the way you make me feel. You can always fix my bad day." I kept my attention on the road. "You would have made an incredible mother."
"You know, your gram loves you very much. She was heartbroken when you left, but she said she knew in her heart she'd see you again."
I respected her wish to change the subject. It was worth trying to get her to open up, but I expected it to fizzle out. I meant what I said, though. She just had a motherly soul. "It broke mine, too. I hated leaving her… but I felt like I had to."
"She understands now. She loves you, Val. It meant the world to her to be your maid of honor. She said she could die happy now."
"That's what I'm afraid of. I wasted so much time… and now she's going to die." I closed my eyes long enough to push the tears back.
"Oh, Val, she is an old woman. Don't regret what you can't change. Just cherish the memories you have and make as many new ones as you can."
"Yeah… it's just hard. It's ironic I work with death all the time and I can't even deal with it…"
"Well, it's different when it's someone you love. Your professional and your personal lives are two very different things. Don't beat yourself up, you've overcome so much. You're stronger than you think."
"I just… I don't know what I'll do."
"You'll get that thought out of your head, and you'll enjoy your visit… and every visit and phone call after today. And, when the time comes, you come and find me, and we can cry together."
"Thanks, Norma." I shook away any remaining tears. "What do you think about the whole serial killer thing? Are you worried about him still being on the loose?"
"You know, I haven't given it much thought. I'm not worried, though."
"No? Not at all? I get we're women, and not the target, but isn't it unnerving that we could walk past this guy and not even know it?"
"Nah, there are far better things to spend my time on."
"It's kind of consumed me. It's all I can think about… I just want to know who it is and Tim's not talking…"
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