Traces Of Me

by Nikki Summers

“The bullet missed her main arteries, she bled a lot but she's received a transfusion. We've removed the bullets. There were no shards as they were fully and completely intact. She'll need to rest a few days on an IV antibiotic with pain medications before I suggest moving her or flying her home,” the surgeon explained. It hit him again that she doesn't have a home. He had to change that. Her home would be with him. He never planned on losing her again. He shook the doctor’s hand, hugging him briefly, the man that saved Charlotte's life and his.

  “Thank you, thank you so much. Can I see her?” he asked, catching sight of Jay as he stood by the door. Jay nodded before turning and leaving. He would come back after hours to check on her himself.

  “Yes, come with me. She's still sleeping though, so I can't let you stay long,” he said. Josh nodded, taking whatever time they allowed him. He was led through a few corridors. He paused as he saw her. Sleeping, not dead he told himself. He rested his hand on her heart, feeling it beating. He gently kissed her warm lips, feeling her breath.

  “I love you baby,” he cried, kissing her forehead.

  Josh sat by her bedside as much as they would allow. When his mother arrived she insisted he shower and rest, that she would keep vigil and call him if there was any change. On his way back to the hospital his phone rang.

  “Mother, what is it?” he shouted as he ran into the hospital.

  “Are you on your way back?” she asked calmly.

  “I'm in the hospital, on my way up,” he told her.

  “Your angel is awake,” she said.

  “Thank God, Oh thank you,” he shouted, shocking a few people in front of him as he ran down the hall. He burst into her room stunned to see her sitting up. She smiled as soon as she saw him, melting his heart, a smile he never thought he would see again.

  “Oh angel, baby, I love you,” he said touching her face, kissing her. He completely forgot his mother was in the room. He caught sight of her standing back from the bed. He glanced over at her, unable to hide the emotion on his face. His mother had never seen him in love before. He never brought his girlfriend's home and the ones that he brought to formal occasions were usually only seen once.

  “I'll leave you two alone for a bit, then I'll be back to get to know this lucky girl that stole my son's heart,” she said, smiling, touching Charlotte's hand softly, tears in both their eyes.

  “Thank you mom, for being here,” Josh said as she nodded then left the room. He turned back to Charlotte, her smile still on him, her eyes on him taking all his grief over the last two days away. He held her carefully in his arms, not wanting to hurt her but needing to have her close to him. He's never felt so empty or alone as he has since that terrifying morning. He kissed her dry lips then placed an ice cube over them, to cool them. She smiled sweetly, her eyes clouding.

  “Mmm, I like it when you have an ice cube in your fingers,” she said grinning. He couldn’t help but grin back, thinking about what he would have liked to be doing with that ice cube instead.

  “Is my girl back,” he asked, kissing her again. She moaned against his lips.

  “I’m back,” she sighed happily.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ~

  Missing Pieces

  Charlotte wasn't surprised to see the police enter her room. The staff must have been told to call them as soon as she was alert. She remembered that she acquired a weapon illegally and shot a man. She wondered if he was dead. She didn’t have a chance to ask Josh. Her nervousness dissipated a little when Jay walked in. Josh sat back from her and allowed them a moment.

  “Charlie,” he beamed, ignoring everyone else in the room. He picked up her hand and held it, his lips landing on her forehead. She smiled at the familiar touch.

  “Can we speak in private, Charlie,” Jay whispered in her ear. She glances over at Josh as he stands to leave, knowing what Jay had asked her.

  “No, please Josh, stay. He can stay. He has been a great friend and has been here for me without question. I need his support,” she told Jay as Josh walked back towards her bed. She needed Josh to know the whole story and if there were to be consequences. If she was to be arrested and thrown into a Parisian prison she would truly need his connections. Jay held her stare, reading her clearly. He felt proud in that moment. He had trained her well.

  “Very well, I'm relieved to tell you that your threat is officially over. Colin Parker has been confirmed dead. I'll be leaving you with your original identification and a new passport, confiscating the other ones,” Jay said seriously, although he still held her hand.

  “You confirmed it really was him, right?” she asked, still feeling doubtful, even though she heard his words before she shot him. She's been running for so long, that it feels strange to finally be free, without a reason to hide anymore. Her life is finally her own. She doesn't have to keep looking over her shoulder and she can live wherever she wants to. She can use her real name now, the name her mother and father gave her.

  “We know it was him. He's been following you for a long time. I don't know how much of the details you can handle or want to know,” he said sighing, glancing from Charlotte to Josh. He ran his hands through his hair as he looked back to her.

  “You can tell me what you know. I've already been through the hard stuff,” she reminded him. He nodded, staring into her eyes. She worried for a moment about Josh. All of this was rather new to him aside from a few things she had revealed over the last two weeks. She glanced at him and he kissed her free hand, ignoring Jay’s tension.

  “If I am to be the support you need than I have to know everything, no matter how much it hurts. I love you,” he told her.

  “I love you too,” she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. She took a deep breath then returned her attention to Jay, catching his glare at Josh. She wasn't sure why but she knew Jay didn't trust him, which hurt her. Jay had always been her rock, her confidant, her only family but she knew now that she would probably never see him again. His job was done. Jay turned to look at her and she felt lost. It wasn't his job to protect her anymore.

  He closed his eyes, knowing no one would be perfect for her but him, that was never to happen now. If it wasn't to be him than it should be someone that loves her and from what he could tell from the photos and from Josh's pain after the shooting he knew he loved her.

  “Tell me Jay, please. It will bring closure,” she said, sounding confident even though he could feel her hand shaking as he held it briefly before allowing Josh to comfort her.

  “In his wallet, he kept two pictures. One was of your mother taken just days before the attack. The other photo was of you, sitting in a cafe in Paris. I believe you were eating a pink macaroon,” he said. Charlotte held in a breath, feeling Josh's hand squeeze hers tighter.

  “We had made an afternoon trip to that cafe, leaving our hotel room for a walk. We strolled past and decided to sit for a treat. It was the most delicious macaroon I've ever tasted,” she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, realizing that her monster was so close to her that day.

  “That was just two days before he shot her,” Josh told Jay with a slight quiver in his voice. He almost lost her and it hurt him deeply.

  “We found his hotel room near the Bastille station. His laptop revealed more photos of you, from New York and some from the last ranch you stayed at. I'm guessing all those times he considered trying to kill you but something or someone always stopped him. He had been well armed, we found weapons, chloroform, ropes. I'm sorry to say we found out that the attack at your home wasn't his first. He had photo albums of his victims. I remember as part of your statement you mentioned that he stood over their bodies and took pictures, well he did that to all of them. I can't imagine how disturbing this is to hear Charlotte.

  I've known you a long time. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. You never complained, never fought us, you trusted us and you trusted me. I can honestly tell you that your nightmare is finally over. I am going to miss my little Charlie
,” he said with a smile. The way he spoke didn’t sound like the Jay she knew. She glanced at the police officers that stood by the door. All of this was for their benefit. Jay was holding back from her but she wasn’t about to question him in front of them. He was getting her off the hook of any charges. They took notes and then walked out.

  She quickly wrapped her arms around Jay, holding him as tight as she could, breathing him in. She didn’t want to lose him.

  “I'm going to miss you so much, more than you know,” she whispered in Jay's ear, forgetting Josh for a moment, as he stood back from the bed. She breathed in his cologne, his sweat and the lingering smell of smoke and alcohol. All of it was Jay. A smell that used to make her want him as her lover but he always refused her. She was grateful for that now because otherwise she wouldn't have found Josh. Jay held her tight, holding back his emotions.

  “Why don't you come up sometime and see me?” she said, trying to sound like Mae West. Jay remembered that they had had a few movie marathons during their many years together and she always loved that film.

  “You know I will Charlie,” he whispered. He wanted to kiss her but she wasn't his, not anymore. He gently kissed her forehead like he had always done before leaving her. He looked over at Josh.

  “Good luck with this lady, take good care of her, cause if you don't I'll find you,” he said looking serious before grinning.

  “You don't have to worry, she means more to me than anything in this world,” Josh told Jay before he turned back to her. Jay stood and walked out, glancing back at her beautiful face one last time.

  He couldn’t leave that night even though he knew he should. Things didn’t feel resolved yet, something wasn’t right. He wondered if he should have gone through more of her monsters evidence. Why did he travel with it? Why not leave it in storage in the US if he abandoned his place there? Jay felt like he had to go back to the murderer’s hotel room, there was something he needed to find.

  When he arrived, he nodded at the front desk as he took the elevator up to the empty room. He was surprised to see a DO NOT DISTURB tag on the door. He pulled out his blade and tried to jimmy the lock. When he turned the knob he realized it opened. He noticed someone had taped the latch so the door wouldn’t automatically lock. He slowly opened it. The room looked the same as when he left it earlier. The printed photos had been placed in boxes and lidded but his laptop still sat open on his desk. He turned it on, not sure what he was looking for.

  He opened it up to his files, passing over the one with Charlotte’s name and opening the one simply named M. His brows furrowed as he tried to place the woman in the photos. He clicked through them all, shocked when he finally found a clear photo, realizing it was his old partner Marie Jones. She was with him when he met Charlotte for the first time. He remembered that they didn’t exactly hit it off. Charlotte had refused to talk to her. He wondered what the connection was as he continued to flip through the photos. He came to one of her with a man. He opened it larger and zoomed in on the man’s face. He looked familiar but the photo was too blurry. He kept going through them. She was with this guy a lot, at her bank, the police station, out front her house. He jumped out of his chair when he stared at Marie standing out front Charlotte’s childhood home. The man in the previous pictures was just coming out of the house and he looked angry.

  Jay closed the laptop and took it with him as he left the room. He needed answers. He raced out of the hotel and hailed a cab.

  “Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu de Paris,” he instructed. The driver nodded and sped through the city to the hospital entrance. He paid the driver then raced up to Charlotte’s room.

  “Excuse me sir, but visiting hours are over, you have to leave,” the nurse at the front desk ordered him as he walked towards her door. He flashed his badge.

  “Has she had any other visitors tonight?” he asked quietly.

  “No sir, but I’ve only been here two hours,” she told him. He nodded then turned to her door again. He slowly opened it a little, listening for voices. When he didn’t hear anything he walked in. Charlotte lay still on her bed, he assumed she was sleeping. He closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake her now. He stood there, in the shadows as he watched her.

  “Well, I guess if you won’t tell me what I want to hear then I have no choice but to continue where Colin left off,” a familiar woman’s voice broke the spell he was under. He was about to confront her when Charlotte began to speak.

  “If I knew where it was then I would have given it to Jay years ago. I don’t know anything about it,” she stammered. Her voice gave away her fear. He wondered what this woman threatened her with. Did she plan on killing her?

  “Maybe Jay does know or how about your new little boy toy, what’s his name again, oh right Joshua Martin. You sure know how to pick the hot ones. That ranch hand was hot too. I ran into him after you left the ranch. I was curious about him. I needed to make sure you hadn’t wasted any of my money on him. He was at a local bar, drowning his broken heart. Apparently some girl had just run out on him. He said he didn’t know why she left him. He thought they had something special.

  Don’t worry about him though. I made him forget about you. I gave him what you claimed you couldn’t. We both know that was a lie, you gave it Jay so I don’t know why you held back from poor Tyler. Was he not old enough for you?” she went on, enjoying the pain she was inflicting on Charlotte.

  “Josh doesn’t know anything,” Charlotte whispered. He heard her whimper. He feared she was hurt. He had to confront Marie but he still didn’t know what she was looking for.

  “I’m growing impatient Charlotte. I don’t like you, I don’t like the lies you spew and I wish Colin had killed you like I ordered him to do years ago. I should have done it myself but I allowed him his game because it made him happy. Oh and of course the real reason I let you live was because I knew you would go running to your money as soon as you turned eighteen, but you disappointed me. You decided to continue living like a vagabond. I don’t get it. If you don’t want the money than hand it over to me, the rightful owner,” she sneered.

  “You are not the rightful owner. You are not family and my father hated you,” Charlotte groaned as she raised her voice.

  “You wish your father hated me. He loved me dear, I should have been your step mommy when he divorced your mother,” she spat. He could tell her emotions were bubbling up.

  “They didn’t get a divorce because they loved each other,” Charlotte explained.

  “Still with the lies Charlotte, only now you’re just lying to yourself. Come on, we both know life was not a fairytale before they died. If it was your Daddy wouldn’t have come to my bedroom so many times. If it makes you feel any better I never wanted your father to die. He wasn’t supposed to be there. It was just bad planning on my part. He knew I wanted the money and he knew I would stop at nothing to get it but since he died I lost it. The court put it all in a nice little pile for you, but not all of it right? The bigger pile is somewhere else, somewhere you placed it and I want it back,” Marie demanded as Jay heard a thud and Charlotte gasped in pain.

  “I will never give it to you and if you kill me-,” she cut her words short as she saw Jay in the doorway. Marie turned quickly, catching her look.

  “Agent Jay, how are you? It’s been a long time?” Marie said as she went for the door. Jay grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

  “What are you doing here Marie?” he seethed as he saw the knife in her hand.

  “None of this concerns you. Your suspect is dead and you no longer work as Charlotte’s agent so you really shouldn’t be here. It’s very unprofessional, don’t you think,” she said with a grin. She knew a little about their relationship from the photos Colin had taken over the years.

  “I am a police officer protecting a citizen, it is very professional. You are the one who doesn’t belong here. You have been rather unprofessional Marie, leaking confidential information to a serial killer,” Jay responded.

&
nbsp; “There is a lot to this story you don’t know Jay. Just like there is a lot to the line you crossed when you started your relationship with this little bitch,” Marie hissed. Jay could tell she was angry.

  “Why don’t you tell me your side of the story Marie,” he ordered as he held his gun to her back. She dropped her knife and he grabbed her hands, holding them tightly behind her back.

  “I’ll tell you the real story Jay, but before you do anything you’ll regret you should know I have left a few very incriminating photos back in America. If I don’t return home I have instructed one of my special friends to send them to certain authorities that may find them rather unprofessional,” she threatened. He didn’t see anything incriminating on the laptop, not that he had time to go through all of it. Marie could sense by his silence that he wasn’t sure what she may have.

  “My monster took pictures of us in your car once,” Charlotte mumbled. Jay wanted to go to her. She was in pain.

  “Are you okay Charlotte? Did she hurt you?” he asked. She winced as she tried to sit up. There was blood on her arm.

  “It’s just a scratch,” she snapped. Jay didn’t blame her for being angry, had she not been through enough and now she has to deal with her father’s mistress.

  “Spill it Marie, the nurse will be in here anytime now to check on her patient,” he warned her.

  “Not here, come with me out to my car. We can bargain there,” she said as she tried to break free of his grip.

  “I don’t think you have anything I want,” he told her. She laughed.

  “Oh, I do, don’t I Charlotte? What would Josh think about those photos? You wouldn’t be his innocent, precious little angel anymore would you?” she asked with a snort.

  “You know what I want Charlotte and I won’t give up until I have it, even if it means destroying you and Josh, oh and Jay as well,” she said as Jay released her.

  “I’ll meet you in the lobby,” she smirked as she left the room. Jay raced to Charlotte, turning on the bedside light to look at her cut. He ran into the bathroom and grabbed a towel. He cleaned it up as much as he could. He wasn’t sure how she was going to explain this to her nurse.