Rick exits the warehouse accompanying the gurney carrying Emily as they quickly move toward the ambulance. Emily is extremely still and pale. Rick is carrying several disks in his hand and spots Mike looking completely lost and tortured. He wished that he could change the course of the events or turn back the clock, but the cards have already been dealt.
Rick takes a long look at Mike, only to convey respect. Mike nods his head in recognition as Rick disappears into the back of the ambulance. The doors quickly shut and the emergency vehicle speeds away with sirens blaring.
Mike stands like a statue as the crime scene continues, but his own world seems to stand still. He’s never had to draw his weapon ever in his career, and now he’s killed a man. He has to live with that decision for the rest of his life, but the thought of losing Emily will not be so easy. She put the lives of others ahead of her own, and now nothing will ever be the same again.
* * * * *
Rick watches the woman he loves narrowly hang on to life. He can barely move from his seat for fear that he would breakdown and weep. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stop crying once he started. He remains quiet and stares straight ahead concentrating on some inanimate object as the siren screams on toward the hospital. Rick asks himself over and over in his mind, why did this happen? It now seems crystal clear to him that he must change his entire life including his career. He will have time to think about it in upcoming weeks. The devastation he feels has left a black hole in his heart and forever in his life -- he can’t lose Emily. He closes his eyes for a moment and imagines Emily walking out the warehouse safe, unhurt, and looking for him. He embraces Emily one more time in his mind.
* * * * *
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Saturday 1200 Hours
It was a beautiful sunny California day for Emily’s funeral. It was fitting that it was her favorite time of year. Slowly friends left the gravesite after saying their last goodbyes. The Brandons are some of the last people to leave – it was the hardest for them to say goodbye to their dear friend and neighbor. The cemetery is now deserted.
Rick walks through the cemetery past many headstones followed closely by Sergeant. The big black Labrador takes in a few wonderful sniffs around the grassy areas and then follows Rick to Emily’s grave. Her grave is located next to her Uncle Jim as requested. Rick would have thought she wanted to be buried next to her parents in Indiana, but with more thought, it was a perfect final resting place.
Rick takes a seat on the grass to think about where he’s going next. He tries to think of his life as a new beginning. He has resigned from the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office and his divorce will be final in a couple of weeks. There have been several missing person cases that have also been solved; unfortunately, they were victims of a brutal homicide. Donald had apparently been killing women for years in several different jurisdictions across California counties. It was not until the past year that he found a killing partner. Rick has some comfort in knowing that Leo won’t get out of prison until the day he dies.
Rick’s decision to take some time away from everything familiar to try to gain a new perspective now seems appropriate. Sergeant takes his seat next to Rick as if he too was trying to make sense of things in the world. He wills Rick to scratch his big floppy ears. Emily’s neighbors accepted Rick’s request to take custody of the loyal Labrador. His personal thoughts are interrupted by a familiar voice.
“Rick, it’s time to go.” Mike approaches Rick with a bittersweet expression on his face.
Rick stands up to greet Mike and shakes his hand. “Nice to see you sergeant.”
“Please, by now you can call me Mike.”
Rick lightly laughs, “Okay, Mike.”
Both men have a mutual respect for one another but desperately wish that it were under different circumstances.
“Come with me and I’ll take you back to the motel.” Mike heads back to his car.
Mike opens the trunk of his rental car and reveals two banker’s boxes. “These are for you.”
Rick replies, “I don’t understand.”
“Do you know what these are?”
“No.”
Mike flips off one of the lids and shows many files inside. “These are Emily’s files. These files are what and how Emily worked her child abduction and serial murder cases. Everything you need to know is in them.”
“What can I do with them?”
“Rick, don’t you understand? It’s too important to have it suddenly stopped now.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say yes.” Mike shuts the trunk. “And besides, you get a perk out of the deal.”
“What’s that?” Rick eyes the police sergeant suspiciously.
“Me. Anytime you need any help or computer intelligence, I’m your go to guy.”
“Really?”
“How else did you think that Emily was able to track down some of the most notorious child killers?” Mike never fully understood what law enforcement was all about until he met Emily. He was happy to contribute information to her ongoing cause.
Sergeant jumps into the back seat and Rick takes his seat shotgun. Mike climbs behind the wheel and sighs.
Rick turns to Mike and shakes his hand again. “Thank you, for everything.”
“You just make sure that you don’t lose my number.” He smiles broadly as he starts the engine.
They drive in silence as the car winds around through scenic streets toward the beach. The sun brightly flashes between trees and reflects off of cars and buildings. Mike finds an available parking place in front of The Beach Motel.
Rick opens the car door and steps out; he hesitates for a moment thinking about more positive memories of the motel. One of the motel room door open and Emily steps out to greet them. She moves slowly and favors her bandaged stomach underneath her loose sweatshirt. She still looks weak but beautiful, thought Rick to himself.
Emily smiles, “So how was my funeral?”
Mike replies, “It was beautiful. You couldn’t ask for a better day.”
“There was a fair turnout too.” Rick chimes in. He hugs Emily for a moment, not wanting to let go. She cringes in pain. “Sorry.”
“It’s still pretty tender.” She explains.
Mike begins to transport Emily’s banker boxes into the already packed SUV. Sergeant takes his place in the back seat where there was a little bit of room left just for him.
Emily spent several days in the hospital after her life saving surgery. She had lost quite a bit of blood and sustained internal injuries, but luckily the knife wound didn’t hit any major organs. It was decided by Mike and Rick that everyone would think that Emily died during surgery. It was the best way to protect Emily’s identity and to keep her safe. For Emily, it was the most difficult decision she had to make because she had become very fond of her neighbors.
The couple is heading to the beautiful scenery and world-renowned wine country of Napa Valley so that Emily can fully recover from her surgery. It was a much needed rest for Rick as well. Rick’s friend from the Sheriff’s Office offered up the house to him for as long as he wanted. It was a perfect place to relax and figure out what would come next.
Rick takes Emily’s hand, “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“It will take about two and half hours to get to the house.”
“It’s okay.” Emily replied. “We have all the time in the world.”
Mike shuts the door of the SUV and walks back to the couple. “Everything’s ready to go.”
Emily says, “Thank you Mike so much, for everything.”
“I’ll take care of the house and your things. Don’t worry about anything. Consider it all taken care of.” He gives her a kiss on the cheek. To Rick, “You take good care of her, hear.”
Rick makes a silly salute, “You got it sergeant.”
Mike looked a little bit like he was going to cry, so he turns and gets back in his rental car. He hated goodbyes.
Rick and Emily wave to him as he pulls away from the motel.
“You ready?” Rick asks Emily.
“More than ready.” She replies.
They both get into the car and Rick pulls away from the motel and decides to take the scenic route toward the freeway to enjoy the picturesque day. The world somehow looks a little bit brighter, and perhaps a little bit more in balance than before.
Rick turns to Emily and says, “I just have one request.”
“What’s that?”
“You have to promise me that you’ll never ever go out after a serial killer without me.”
“Oh, is that all.”
“Promise me.”
Emily grabs his hand and states, “I promise.” She looks down at her mother’s ring that she now wears as a reminder of her parent’s solved murder case.
Rick smiles and looks at Emily. He now knows that his life grievances are so small compared to what Emily sacrificed to help others. A child is being abducted, tortured, and murdered by a serial killer at this very moment. He knows that she won’t stop hunting them as long as she has a single breath in her body. Now they will hunt down those serial killers - together.
* * * * *
###
About the author:
Jennifer Chase is an award winning author, freelance writer, and criminologist. She has authored four fiction/thriller novels "Compulsion", award winning "Dead Game", award winning "Silent Partner", and “Dark Mind”.
Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master's degree in criminology. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling.
Discover other titles:
Dark Mind
Dead Game
Silent Partner
How to Write a Screenplay
Connect with me online:
My blog: http://authorjenniferchase.com/
(2008) Compulsion Page 18