Montgomery! Miss Billie shouted in her head. It was a good thing that she was sitting because her body felt weak and glutinous. What was the connection between this girl who called herself Caleigh Montgomery and Hillary Greyson who could pass for her twin? Did Hillary Greyson have a twin? If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn that the girl was Hillary herself, here in the flesh. But of course, that was impossible. Hillary Greyson was dead. Feeling dizzy and flustered, Miss Billie read the last few lines of the article.
The bodies of the Montgomery sisters were found after firefighters doused the five-alarm fire. Jacqueline Montgomery’s body was so badly charred that it had to be confirmed using her dental records. The coroner’s findings were so disturbing that many of the details were never released to the public. Hillary Greyson was killed when she resisted arrest, despite recent rumors that she is alive and responsible for the brutal murders of Dr. Patrick Morrison and his wife Monica. Dr. Jake Bentley barely escaped—
Miss Billie quickly clicked on the X that was boxed at the upper corner to close the page when she heard Pastor Louie’s voice growing louder as he pushed open the office door. Her face was flushed and she was visibly shaken. Pastor Louie and Hillary entered the room. Noticing Miss Billie’s apparent distress, Pastor Louie stopped speaking at once.
“What’s the matter, Miss Billie?” He asked as he approached the desk where she sat.
“Oh, nuthin,’ I’s okay,” she replied, trying her best to sound natural. “You know me and computers, I just gets so frustrated is all.”
“I can help you find what you need.”
“I managed,” she said with a narrow smile settling on her face. “What happened in the classroom?”
“Oh, Caleigh finished reading a story to the kids and was walking to the back of the classroom when she tripped and accidentally stepped on little Ty’s foot.”
Accidentally? Miss Billie found herself wondering.
“Ya needs ta be mo’ careful ‘round them little ones,” Miss Billie snapped, looking furiously at Hillary.
Hillary couldn’t understand why she was so upset. She had never seen the woman so angry.
“It was a mistake...I felt dizzy.”
“True, Miss Billie...Caleigh told me she was feeling dizzy. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”
“Couldn’t ya watch where you’s going?” Miss Billie shouted.
Hillary felt the heat of her intensifying rage. How dare this old woman yell at her? Who was she to speak to her so harshly? Hillary’s mouth opened to shout back, but Pastor Louie spoke up first.
“Accidents happen, Miss Billie...it’s not like Caleigh here was trying to hurt little Ty.”
Yes, Miss Billie, accidents happen, Hillary thought angrily. She had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out. Miss Billie held her gaze firmly for several seconds before Pastor Louie, once again hoping to cease the growing tension, spoke up.
“I’m granting your request,” he said to Miss Billie, believing that it would lighten her mood.
Miss Billie was silent. She was no longer sure that the trip would be a good idea. Hillary was overjoyed but gave no indication that she knew what Pastor Louie was talking about.
“It’s the right thing,” Pastor Billie said. “You’re doing God’s bidding.”
Miss Billie sighed then cleared her throat.
“Say, umm...Caleigh, what religion are ya anyway? You believe in God our Savior?”
“Sure I do,” Hillary answered softly. “I’m not Baptist, but I’m Catholic.”
While it was true that she had been baptized as a Catholic and came from a good church-going family (well, a church-going family at least), she no longer believed in God. She had always placed her love, trust and faith in God until her life began spiraling out of control. Once her life had hit rock bottom, Hillary didn’t believe in anything or anyone…not even herself. She hated everything. It was the voice of reason that had rescued her from her dark days and had shown her the light. The voice of reason had saved her life. The voice of reason had become her god. Despite what Miss Billie had said about such a voice being the voice of Satan, Hillary still looked to it for guidance and hoped to hear it again soon.
“Before we takes this trip,” Miss Billie said firmly, “you and I’s gonna pray.”
Great, Hillary thought, though she didn’t truly care one way of another. She would pray to Barney the purple dinosaur if it got her a ticket to Bethesda. She had wasted enough time and was itching to find Lt. Langford. She nodded her assent.
“That’s fine by me,” she replied, trying hard to control her growing anger. Why was Miss Billie suddenly being so unkind to her?
“Pastor, you think you can start by blessing this girl?”
“Blessing her?” The Pastor asked, his squint-eyed glance was full of uncertainty.
“Yeah, ya know, pray fo’ her soul, fo’ the good Lord ta protect her from evil influences and all. Ya know, just ‘cause we’s goin’ so far ta meet a stranger an’ all.”
“You mean say a prayer for a safe journey and—”
“Pastor, please just bless this child, cleanse her soul, pray for her,” Miss Billie snapped in frustration.
Hillary began to grow suspicious of Miss Billie. What did she know? Why was she acting so strangely? She’d play along with the woman and do whatever she wanted until they arrived in Bethesda. Then she’d rob the old busybody and take off on her own.
Shrugging, the Pastor began chanting the magic religious words used to summon divine intervention. All the while, Hillary had her eyes closed, reflecting about how she had grinded her sneaker into that little boy’s ankle. There was no doubt in her mind that she had broken it. Next time he would think twice about booing people.
After the pastor bestowed his blessing upon Hillary, the three of them held hands and lowered their head in prayer for a safe and productive journey.
Hillary thought about meeting Lt. Langford. Won’t he be surprised! Things were looking up for her. Miss Billie would have the money and they’d be on their way to Bethesda tomorrow afternoon.
Hallelujah, she scoffed then smiled to herself.
~7~
Officer Eliza Dunn had been waiting in Captain Quimby’s office for nearly twenty minutes now. Her anxiety intensified with each passing minute. She knew why he had requested her presence. Not only had she failed to detain Patty Bentley for questioning two weeks back but since that time, she had made numerous, mostly small and harmless, errors. She knew for sure that she was going to be fired. What was she going to do now? She had no backup plan and plenty of bills piling up.
Since her divorce three years ago, the twenty-nine-year old had gotten used to being the sole financial provider for her needs, but at times it seemed as if she was barely treading water. She worriedly thought about what she would do if she had to start over...again.
The sound of the door being roughly opened interrupted her train of thought as she braced herself for the ax. The color drained from her cheeks as she stared miserably at Captain Quimby walking toward her. He, too, maintained eye contact with her as he approached and took a seat at his desk.
“Do you know why you’re here?” He asked in a gruff, unforgiving voice.
“I...I think so.”
“So let’s hear it.”
“You want me to quit instead?”
“Instead of what?”
“You’re firing me aren’t you?”
Eliza thought she saw the corner of the lieutenant’s mouth begin to curl up, as if he were about to smile, but he maintained his stone-faced demeanor.
“I’m not going to fire you, Dunn,” he said, his voice losing its edge.
“You’re not?” Eliza asked, needing confirmation that she hadn’t misheard him.
Captain Quimby looked thoughtfully into her light brown eyes. They were wide and full of worry, like the eyes of a fawn that had just witnessed its mother’s slaughter. His facial expression softened. He knew he had been unduly tough o
n her. He knew he hadn’t exactly given her a fair shake at the job. He knew he had intimidated her from the start. He knew it was all wrong of him. Yet, as much as he had mentally acknowledged his own fault, he could not bring himself to apologize. He folded his hands on the desk in front of him.
“I’m granting your request for a leave of absence,” he said resolutely.
“My...what?” Eliza said, confused.
“Your leave of absence.”
“But I didn’t request a leave of absence,” she began explaining, “I—”
Captain Quimby raised his hand in a gesture for her to stop speaking. She did as indicated.
“I know you didn’t ask for one outright, but in light of your recent performance I think it’s necessary.”
“But I don’t want to take time off, I’ll do better, I swear, I—”
Captain Quimby was shaking his head slowly. Eliza knew that his mind was made up. There was no point in arguing with him or trying to persuade him that she would improve her job performance. Captain Quimby was saying something about how it was the best thing for her right now...how she had to reevaluate her choices and something about police officers needing to shield their emotions. She was only half-listening to him as she nodded in agreement. She was mostly wondering how long of a leave it would be and more importantly, whether she would still be getting paid.
“Are you even listening to me, Dunn?” Captain Quimby said, clearly annoyed. “This is precisely what I mean...it’s like your head is in the clouds. I need officers that can stay focused on the task at hand...it may very well mean the difference between life and death.”
“Captain, I know I have a tendency to zone out sometimes...I know it may seem like I’m not listening, but I am. I heard what you said about me reevaluating my choices. I know you feel that I have no right being a cop, that I’m too weak or too small or too female....”
“Now hold it right there,” he said angrily. “You know damn well that’s not it at all. It has nothing to do with the fact that you’re a female, or small for that matter. Officer Brady is much smaller than you are and I have no problem with her.”
It was true. Gwen Brady, one of Eliza’s few friends on the force, was a full two inches shorter and several pounds lighter than she was. It left just one adjective the lieutenant didn’t deny...weak. He thought she was weak. Could she really blame him for that?
Captain Quimby could see the hurt on the woman’s face as she sat there deep in thought.
“Look, Eliza,” Captain Quimby said softly. “Despite what you may think, I like you. You remind me of my granddaughter. But there’s just something about you that makes me nervous. You have this constant sadness in your eyes, like you’re always thinking about something tragic even when your attention should be on the job. And it’s not just me, you know, and I’m not going to mention names, but I’ve had several complaints about that from others. When you’re a cop, you don’t want to be paired off with someone who will—zone off—as you say. You need to be confident that your partner will be alert enough and observant enough to detect dangers...you need to trust that your partner has your back.”
Eliza was nodding, but she looked distraught.
“I think you need to talk to someone, you know? A professional. Someone who will help you cope with...things.”
A solitary tear rolled down Eliza’s right eye.
Captain Quimby reached over and placed his hand over her wrist.
“I know what happened to you,” he said softly. “I know what you’ve been through.”
Eliza pulled her hand away and covered her face. She didn’t want him to see her cry. It was bad enough that he already thought of her as weak and unreliable.
“It’s okay,” he said, to Eliza’s surprise. “It’s okay to cry. It’s important to mourn. You have to let it all out or it’ll eat you from the inside.”
Eliza regained her composure and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Captain Quimby handed her a tissue which she used to blow her nose.
“You know about my daughter?” She asked in a shaky voice.
Captain Quimby nodded.
“It was terrible,” he said, “a nightmare no parent should ever have to face.”
“She was only six years old,” Eliza said, as tears flooded to her eyes. “She was six years old and that man—that monster—raped and tortured her. I heard her screaming...I heard her begging for me....”
Eliza broke down. She had re-lived the horror of that morning every day for nearly four years. She had thought that by now she would have somehow accepted it, or at the very least, she would have grown numb to it. But each time she thought of it, it burned her heart like acid.
No longer caring how weak and pathetic she looked in front of Captain Quimby, Eliza bawled like a child. It was not until the lieutenant received a phone call on his cellular phone that she attempted to pull herself together. She suddenly became self-conscious of how dreadful she must have looked. The skin under her eyes felt puffy and heavy. She was sure that her eyes were red and irritated. She could imagine the looks she would get when she left the lieutenant’s office. What would they think? That she had gotten canned as she had expected?
“Will you think about what I said, Dunn?” Captain Quimby asked.
“Yes,” Eliza said truthfully. “I know I need to see someone.”
“Good. Your leave is effective immediately. I’ll need your badge and pistol before you go. I expect to see a big change in you when you return.”
Eliza nodded.
“Sir? Exactly how long is this leave?”
“Three months, Dunn, so make good use of it.”
“Oh, and—”
“Yes,” the captain answered, anticipating her next question. “It’s a paid administrative leave.”
Her sigh of relief was clearly audible.
“No need to worry...I’ve got your back,” he said with a sincere smile.
It was the first time Eliza had seen him smile. She smiled back at him. She felt better than she had felt in a long, long time.
“Thank you,” she said warmly, “for everything.”
“You’re welcome. Now get out of my office,” he barked jokingly.
Eliza’s smile remained on her face as she nodded, stood up, then left the office.
The lieutenant was right. She needed professional help. She had to finally open up and talk about what had happened. It wouldn’t be easy and she totally dreaded it, but it was the only way for her to find closure once and for all. She knew exactly who to call.
When Patty answered the ringing telephone, she expected it to be Jake. He had been gone all day without any word as to where he was going. The last person she had ever expected to hear from was Officer Eliza Dunn.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Bentley, but I’d like to meet with you,” Eliza said.
“Why? The charges have been dropped. I thought—”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with the charges. I was just hoping to get some information from you.”
“Well...I guess, though I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Bentley. Are you free now?”
“Sure. I’m at an apartment, not our house.”
Patty gave Officer Dunn the address then awaited her arrival. Her stomach was sick with worry. It was already after four in the afternoon and there was no sign of Jake. He had left the house before she awoke. He didn’t even have the decency to leave a note. For all she knew, he could have jumped off a bridge. She didn’t put it past him these days. He had sunken into such a deep depression. Patty was at her wit’s end. Since he’d left the hospital, all they did was argue. Patty had been trying to be understanding but she was rapidly running out of patience. It was as if she was married to an entirely different man, a stranger. At one point, she had wished that he had just died. She quickly scolded herself for her shameful thoughts, but not because she was thankful that Jake was still alive but rather because her freed
om from prison had depended upon it.
At least I know he’s not cheating on me, she thought heartlessly.
An hour and a half after speaking with Eliza on the phone, the young officer was knocking on her apartment door. Patty hardly recognized her when she opened the door. She was dressed in jeans and a plaid unbuttoned button-down shirt over a tank top. The cuffs of the sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. Each time Patty had seen her, she had worn her honey-colored hair in a ponytail. Today it hung down past her shoulders. She looked years younger. She smiled at Patty.
“I really appreciate you meeting with me, Mrs. Bentley,” she said as Patty motioned for her to enter the apartment.
“Please, call me Patty.”
“And you can call me Eliza. As you can see, this isn’t an official visit.”
Patty looked puzzled. She led Eliza to the family room and they both sat on the couch.
“Can I get you anything to drink? Some iced tea or a cup of coffee perhaps?”
“No thank you, Patty, I’m fine.”
“I’m not sure how I can help you, Eliza,” Patty said.
“Well, I’m here for two reasons. The first one is to set up an appointment with your husband.”
“An appointment? You mean as a patient?”
Eliza nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Oh, I’m sorry but Jake hasn’t been up to seeing his patients. He’s asked his colleagues to fill in for him until he...um, gets better.”
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