For some reason, Harper had never thought of the others having lives outside of Afterlife. She'd never considered what they did in their free time between jobs. If she'd thought about it, she supposed she would have assumed they lounged around at home or hung out in the nightclub waiting for something to happen. She knew that was unfair; of course, they must have lives. She felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.
They sat there in silence for a while, Harper mulling this over in her head and Sarah periodically checking in with the nurse to see if they could go in and see Monica yet. The nurse was starting to get annoyed at the constant badgering, but she didn't stop her.
After a while, Sarah got on her phone, went outside, and talked to someone. Harper could have followed, but she thought that Sarah had gone outside so she could have some privacy. She entertained herself by flipping through some of the magazines that were laying around. She found one with a quiz is guy you like right for you? She glanced over the questions, amused, before tossing it aside.
She got a text from Alec asking if they were done with their workout yet and one from Brittney demanding to know where they were. She didn't know if the others knew about Sarah's side job, so she didn't reply. Instead, she put her phone on silent and stuck it in the bottom of her purse.
Eventually Sarah came back inside. Just as she did, the nurse came out.
"You can go and see her now."
"Thanks," Sarah said.
She and Harper followed the nurse back to the room Monica was in. She was dressed in a hospital gown, and her arm was casted. There were also stitches on her cheek. She looked no better than when they'd found her in the house.
Sarah took a chair and slid it over to the bed. She sat down in it, and looked at Monica.
"I called the police."
"What? I asked you not to," Monica said. She sat up, winced, and laid back down. "You said you wouldn't."
"I had to," Sarah said. "Look at the condition you're in. Look, I managed to pull some strings. There will be a warrant out for his arrest and you'll get an emergency restraining order. He won't be able to come within three-hundred feet of you. But for the charges, you're going to need to testify."
Monica shook her head. "I can't do that. He'd kill me for real."
"He can't," Sarah said. "That's why you're getting the restraining order."
"You think he'll listen to that?" Monica said. She shook her head and winced again. "He won't care. He'll come after me. I know it. All because of a stupid cigarette."
"It's not because of the cigarette," Sarah said. "Men like him will find any excuse they can to beat up on a woman. Look, I'm not sending you back to your place. I know there's a good chance he'll go looking for you there. I called a friend of mine, someone who went through something similar a few years back. You're going to be staying in her guest room."
Monica shook her head, "I can't do that. That would be impeding on someone's hospitality, and I don't want to be that person."
"She'll be happy to have you," Sarah said. "When she needed a place a few years ago, I let her stay with me. So, she owes me one. Besides, when I told her what happened, she was the one who offered the room. As soon as they discharge you, I'm taking you there, and I don't want to hear any complaints."
Monica managed to smile at that.
"But you have to promise me," Sarah said, "you'll testify against him in court."
"I don't know," Monica said.
"I'll be there," Sarah said, "I'll be there the whole time, okay? You can do this. We're going to make sure that Lewis is put away for a long time."
Monica considered for a moment and then consented. "Okay."
"I'm going to ask the nurse if I can take you home," Sarah said. "I'll be right back."
Monica nodded.
When it was just her and Harper in the room, Monica asked, "So you're a friend of Sarah's?"
"Yes," Harper said. She felt extremely uncomfortable with a stranger, especially a stranger who'd been through so much. She felt like an intruder witnessing an intimate moment.
"She's a good woman," Monica said. "This isn't the first time she's helped me."
"Why do you keep going back to him?" Harper asked.
Monica gave a slight smile. "The truth? Because I love him. I know that sounds stupid, considering what he did -- what he's done before -- but I love him. He has a great sense of humor when he's not drinking, he's intelligent, and he always makes up for what he did. Sometimes with flowers, sometimes with an impromptu getaway. He's not all bad."
Harper frowned. "But he beats you up."
"I know," Monica said. "And Sarah is probably right. One of these times he's going to go too far and I'm going to end up just another dead woman on the news. That's why I finally agreed to go somewhere away from him. I love him, but deep down, I know he won't change."
"We all love people that aren't good for us," Harper said. "I'm glad you're following Sarah's advice, though."
Monica nodded.
Sarah came back into the room. "Alright, you're all set. Let's get you out of here."
"I need to stop by my house and get some clothes," Monica said.
Sarah shook her head. "You can't go back there, not for anything. Not until Lewis is in jail. Here..." she pulled out her wallet, and took out a wad of cash. "When you're feeling up to shopping, my friend Lindsey will take you. We already talked it over."
"No, I can't accept this, Sarah," Monica said. "It's too much. You've already done so much for me."
"Nonsense," Sarah said. "Take it, put it to good use. Buy something pretty to wear to the trial."
Monica still looked hesitant, but Sarah shoved the money in her hand and turned away. "Can you walk?"
"Yes," Monica said. "But I need to change first. Can you guys wait outside?"
"Sure."
Harper followed Sarah out of the room. "That was a really nice gesture," she said. "Giving her money to buy new clothes."
Sarah shrugged. "Working at Afterlife, I have more money than I could ever spend. May as well put it to good use."
"So you do this kind of thing a lot?"
"Yes," Sarah said.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you do it?" Harper asked.
Sarah was silent for a moment. "I haven't told many people this, but my father was the same way. He never abused me, or my sister, but he beat up my mother on many occasions, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was just a kid."
"Oh."
"One day, he beat her so badly that she went into a coma," Sarah said. "She never woke up from it. She was on life support for two years before we decided it was time to let her go."
"I'm so sorry," Harper said. "That must have been difficult."
"It was," Sarah said. "And so I've made it my goal in life to make sure nobody else is treated like that. I know it's not as grand as fighting demons, but it's gratifying work."
Before Harper could question her further, Monica stepped out of the room, back in her stained clothes. Together, the three of them walked back out to Sarah's car. They climbed in and drove a good distance. This time, Sarah drove more carefully, minding the red lights and the rest of traffic. Harper was grateful for this; she had been sure that they'd be in a wreck if Sarah kept up her erratic driving.
Eventually they parked outside a yellow house with white trim. Monica looked nervous as they got out of the car.
Sarah knocked on the door and almost immediately it was answered by a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair. "You must be Monica," she said. "Please, come in. It's nice to meet you. I'm Lindsey. I want you to know that you're safe here."
Monica looked over at Sarah for confirmation, who gave a small nod. They all filed into the house. Lindsey poured each of them a cup of coffee and they went to the living room to sit and talk.
"I have a daughter," Lindsey said. "But she's off at college. You can stay in her room until you're back on your feet. You can stay as long as you need to."
Monica
hung her head. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now," she said, "Lewis would never let me have a job. I have no work experience, no money, nothing to my name."
"That's something I'll help with," Lindsey said. "For now, I want you to concentrate on healing and feeling better. Once you're ready, I'll help you look for a job, and when the time's right we can get you back into your place."
"You'd do the for me?" Monica said.
"That's what Sarah did for me," Lindsey said.
Harper glanced at Sarah, who was watching the exchange carefully. "I'm Harper," she offered.
"It's good to meet you, Harper," Lindsey said. "I didn't know that Sarah worked with someone else on cases these days."
"I don't usually," Sarah said. "She just happened to be in the car when I got the call from Monica. Speaking of Monica, I gave her some money to buy new clothes for when she's ready to go shopping."
"I'll do it," Lindsey said. "It's quite liberating," she added, looking over at Monica. "Let me guess, your boyfriend--"
"--Husband."
"I bet your husband never let you wear nice clothes," Lindsey said. "Too jealous, I'd imagine."
Monica nodded. "He doesn't like me wearing something short sleeved or with a low neckline. He doesn't like dresses or skirts either. He would say I was flaunting myself for all the other men out there. He's terrified of me cheating on him. I've told him over and over that I never would, but he doesn't care."
Sarah shook her head in disgust. "Chances are, he's been running around on you, and projecting his own infidelity onto you."
"You think so? I don't think Lewis would cheat on me," Monica said. "He has problems, sure, but I don't think he'd sleep around."
Sarah shook her head. "You have to stop thinking of him as a good guy, Monica. He's not. He beats you up, he spends all your money on drugs, and won't let you leave the house unchaperoned. I would have said all this before, but you weren't ready to hear it. I think you're ready now."
Lindsey reached over and took Monica's hand. "I'm going to be with you every step of the way," she promised. "We're going to get you a divorce, we're going to get all your assets, and you're going to start a new life."
Monica looked a little uneasy but she nodded. "Alright."
"Harper and I need to get going," Sarah said. "Are you going to be alright here?"
"She'll be fine," Lindsey said. "We're going to become great friends. I can already tell. Why don't you lie down in the room, and I'll cook us some dinner."
"Thank you," Monica said. She sounded close to tears. She carefully hugged Sarah and then Harper.
As they went back to the car, Harper pulled out her phone, and took it off silent mode. She had over a dozen texts. She frowned and dropped her phone back in her purse, ignoring them.
"You think she'll go through with it?" Harper asked. "The divorce, I mean? And the trial?"
Sarah considered for a moment. "I don't know," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she went back to him, though."
"How can she?" Harper asked. "Did you see her?"
"Women like that don't think the same way we do," Sarah said. "For you and I, the idea of getting beat up is something that would never happen. And if it did, we'd kick the ass of anyone whoever did it. For someone like Monica, though, it's a normal part of life. She's learned to live around it. When it's not happening, she puts it in a little box, and puts the box on a high shelf, and she teaches herself not to think about it."
"That's terribly sad," Harper said.
"I know," Sarah said. "That's why I dedicate so much of my time to helping women like that. They need all the support they can get."
Harper nodded.
"If there's a trial," Sarah said. "It'll help if you testify too."
"Why me?"
"Because you were there when we found her," Sarah said. "You can testify as to her physical and mental state at the time."
"Sure," Harper said. "But what about Lewis? Do you think they're going to put him away?"
Sarah nodded. "He'll probably get five years, three if he's a good boy and doesn't get into trouble. That'll give him enough time to hopefully forget about Monica, and it'll give Monica the time she needs to heal mentally from all the abuse. Maybe even find someone new that doesn't beat her up because she had a cigarette."
"If anyone deserves someone nice and kind, it's her," Harper said.
Sarah nodded her agreement. They drove in silence till they reached Afterlife and then hopped out of the car and went inside. Everyone was seated around the table in the back room waiting for them.
"What took you so long?" Alec asked. His tone was frosty.
"None of your business," Sarah said. She lifted her eyebrows when Alec glared at her. "You need to lighten up a little, Alec. You're starting to come across as a jerk, and we all know you wouldn't want to do that."
Alec gave a noncommittal shrug, and turned to the others. "Okay guys, let's discuss what we've found."
FOUR
Conner was the first to speak. "I didn't find out anything. None of the demons I'm in contact with have heard anything about it. I mean, they've heard about it, but they don't have a clue who's behind it. They're just as frustrated as we are."
"Why?" Harper asked. "You wouldn't think demons would care about this kind of thing. Isn't this the sort of thing they live for?"
Conner shook his head. "It's not as simple as that. They like to keep things low-key. If they don't, they'll end up exposed, and it'll be demon hunting season for every hillbilly with a hunting rifle."
"That wouldn't be a good thing?" Harper asked. "Well, I mean, for you it would suck, I guess, but the other demons..."
"And how many people would shoot their neighbor and claim they thought he was a demon?" Conner asked. "How many people would get into bar fights and claim it was because the guy with the slit throat had briefly shown all black eyes?"
"Fair enough," Harper said. She'd never thought of it like that, and the idea sent a shiver down her spine.
"Besides that," Alec said, "you'll end up with a group of people who actually support the demons. You'll get lawyers claiming they have rights, there will be judges who will be asked to sentence them to jail time instead of killing them, and there will be a mess of people who wave signs around either for or against demon slaughtering."
"Alright, I get it," Harper said.
"You better," Alec said. This time, it was Conner who shot him a look.
"Calm it down, man," he said.
Alec sighed and crossed his arms.
"Okay," Conner said, turning to Brittney and Chloe. "So we know I found nothing. I'm hoping like hell the two of you have had better luck."
"Not a thing," Chloe said. Brittney nodded her agreement.
"Nothing at all?"
"Not much," Chloe said. "There's no relation between any of the victims. Nothing that ties them together in any sort of way. They don't live in the same neighborhood, they don't share religions, they don't even shop at the same stores..."
Everyone frowned.
"Ethnicities?" Alec asked.
"Caucasian," Brittney said. "All of them."
"Well, that's something," Alec said. "I don't know what it is, but it's something. Then there's the fact that they're all male. We have that to work off of... Conner, what sort of demons only kill white males?"
Conner shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "A succubus would fit if it weren't for the mutilations and the snapped necks."
"So we're looking for something like a succubus," Brittney said. "A demon who feeds off men's energy."
"Were any of them sexually assaulted?" Harper asked.
"No," Chloe said. "That's one of the first things we asked. None of them. Actually, none of them had any kind of intimacy that night. Three out of the seven men were married. Now, I know all married couples don't have sex, but isn't it strange that none of them had that night?"
They sat there, mulling that over for a bit.
"And they're al
l found in the same place," Alec said.
"Actually, no," Chloe said. "I don't know who gave you that information, but it was wrong. They were found in different places; all of the areas were back roads that nobody really uses anymore. The dates are different, but the time of the death for them is all the same. They all died at approximately three in the morning."
Brittney nodded.
"So we're still looking at a hitchhiking demon," Harper said.
"Probably," Brittney said.
"Which means its probably a woman," Chloe added. "I mean, it could be a man, but I don't think so. Statistics say that men are far more likely to pull over to help a woman in need than another man."
"So, a strong woman," Harper said.
"What we really need to do is figure out where they're going to hit next," Conner said. "Are any of the places repeats?"
"Just the first," Brittney said. "They hit the old Beesley first, and then three others, then the Beesley again, and then two new ones."
"So what we could do," Conner said. "Is stake out Beesley. If they've come back there once already, they're likely to come back again at some point. What time span are we looking at for these murders?"
"Back to back," Chloe said. "They happened over the last week. One every night."
"Which means someone's going to die tonight," Harper said.
Everyone winced, except Alec, who seemed utterly unfazed.
"Okay," Conner said. "So here's what we can do..." He paused, went over to one of their boxes and dug around for a moment. "You know, we really need to sort this stuff sometime... Chloe..."
"Why me?" Chloe said.
"Because you're the best at organization," he said.
"I am not!"
"Are too."
"It's alright," Brittney said. "I'll help you sometime, Chloe."
Chloe flashed her a smile.
Conner rolled his eyes and returned to the table with a map. He spread it out on the table.
"Okay, circle the roads where these attacks happened," he said.
Chloe and Brittney leaned over the table, examining it for a moment. Then Chloe pulled out a pen and handed it to Brittney, who began circling the roads. It became clear that the roads were all near each other.
Only a Mother Could Love (Afterlife Book 3) Page 3