by Vakey, Jenn
“I bet Katy’s happy she let Matthews buy that land now,” he stated. His tone became drowsier with each word. “He told me that all three cabins are booked solid for almost the entire summer. It’ll definitely give them a nice financial boost before the baby comes.”
Before she could respond, Ben’s head gave a slight bob and slowly dropped to the side. He was asleep. Rilynne smiled and reached up to gently push his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes. Although she had done it countless times before, she always found herself shocked by just how soft it really was.
Ben didn’t stir at the feel of her fingertips brushing against his forehead. She smiled again as she dropped her head down on his shoulder and turned toward the television.
While her life has been a constant roller coaster since she arrived in Addison Valley a year before, Rilynne couldn’t remember herself ever being happier. Staring blankly at the screen in front of her, her mind drifted back to everything that had happened over the last year.
When she arrived in Addison Valley, she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was mourning the loss of her husband and trying to escape the feeling of betrayal at the thought of her former partner being responsible for his death. She soon faced that same feeling again when she discovered her new friend, Nicole Bennett, was the very serial killer she had come to Addison Valley to catch.
Months past, and she finally felt like her life was settling down before it was once again upturned. She discovered that her husband had not been murdered, but instead had faked his death to run away with his mistress. As if that wasn’t enough, he had in fact murdered her old partner, along with several other people.
After that, she was able to finally close that chapter of her life and move forward. Luckily, she had found Ben Davis. Ben was by far the most amazing man she had ever met. He made her happier than she ever thought possible. All of the weight she had been feeling the year before was gone. That is, all but one thing. Rilynne knew, no matter how her life came together, she would always have her secret.
From the time she was a little girl, Rilynne had the ability to see things going on in the lives of people she knew or came in contact with. She used her special skill to investigate cases and track down killers. Although her flashes were a major part of her life, she kept them hidden from everyone, including Ben. The only person who knew about her gift was her mother.
Since the altercation with her former husband, Christopher, Rilynne had a growing suspicion that Ben had discovered what she could do. This was only helped along by the pointed comments he made every time she gave an excuse for something she just seemed to know on a case. Although she would be relieved if Ben had in fact learned her secret, it wasn’t something she could bring herself to ask him about. It was a constant battle, always raging in her mind.
Rilynne took a deep breath and pushed it out of her mind as she felt her eyes growing heavy.
*
When Rilynne walked into the office the next morning, she found her partner, Detective Todd Matthews, sitting at his desk.
“You look awful,” she said when she took in the sight. Aside for simply looking like he hadn’t slept in days, he had missed a button on his shirt and his tie was on backwards.
He gave her a puzzled look before looking down and nodding. “Between Katy’s nonstop morning sickness, her insane mood swings, and her midnight cravings, I’m not getting much sleep these days.” He paused for a moment and a look of panic spread over his face. “Please don’t tell Katy I said her mood swings were crazy.”
Rilynne chuckled and dropped down into her seat. “I won’t as long as you fix your shirt,” she replied. “I’m not going to be seen out in public with you looking like that.”
Matthews nodded in submission as he started fumbling with the buttons. He had just finished when he reached for a file sitting on his desk. “Collin Clark pulled this together for us,” he stated as he handed it to Rilynne. “These are all of the reported muggings over the last three months. He tagged the ones that matched the M.O. of our case. There are three that really stood out. The perpetrator only took cash, used a knife, and showed a level of violence that could have very easily progressed to murder. The last victim was left with a cut on her throat from the knife being held firmly against it.” He held his hand up to his own throat to demonstrate. “In her statement, she said he laughed in her face when she started to panic as the blood ran down.”
“Do we have a name for this guy?” she asked.
He shook his head sullenly. “A sketch was made, but we haven’t been able to match it to anyone in the database,” he explained. “It was handed out at roll call this morning, so hopefully someone will spot him on the streets.”
“Let me see that,” she said as she reached for the paper in his hands. She always hated composite sketches. To her, they always looked like they could be a hundred different people. This one was no different.
Rilynne closed her eyes and thought over the details of the scene and the face sitting in front of her. Within a few seconds, she started to see a scene passing in front of her.
The victim, Andrew Fields, walked out of the antique store and started making his way down the sidewalk. As he crossed in front of the alley, a strong hand reached out and grabbed him.
Fear spread through him as the man pushed him into the wall. He looked like he wanted to fight back for a moment until the knife appeared. The light from the street post on the corner hit the blade and flashed into his eyes.
“Give me your wallet,” the man stated with a deep, scratchy voice.
Fields didn’t hesitate before pulling the wallet out of his back pocket and handing it to the stranger. The man tore it out of his hand, but didn’t budge. Instead, he cocked his head to the side as a wicked grin grew on his face.
“What else do you have?” he asked. “You’re holding out on me, aren’t you?”
Panic spread through Andrew Fields. “That was everything, I swear. The only other think I have is my watch. Here,” he tried to take it off of his wrist, “take it.”
“No, I don’t want that. Where’s the rest of the cash?”
“I don’t have any. I swear. Please, just don’t hurt me. I swear I won’t tell anyone,” he pleaded.
The smile on his face twisted as he thrust the knife into Fields’ chest. “You shouldn’t have lied.”
Rilynne felt sick when she opened her eyes. She looked over the sketch again. It was him.
“He gets off on it,” she said as she handed it back to Matthews. “He’s been growing more violent with every offense. He didn’t have to kill Fields he wanted to. If we don’t get him off the streets, he’s only going to become more aggressive. This won’t be the last death he causes.”