*****
There were other nurses who knew Ashley and Megan well. They found us. We weren’t hard to miss on our knees in the middle of a hallway. They helped Kat stand and I stood there as they took her away from me. We never really spoke. But there was nothing to say. I allowed her friends to comfort her. I had work to do. I had to find out who would want to hurt such a wonderful woman and an innocent child.
Now I sit in my captain’s office as he paces back and forth with Mason silently rocking back and forth beside me. “Fill this out.” He tosses the police report on the desk.
I grab a pen and start to recount the horrors of what I just saw.
“What were you thinking about?” he demands.
“My cock,” I inform him, not looking up from the form.
He slams his fists down on the desk and his eyes narrow at mine. “You think this is funny?” he shouts.
“No,” I snap. “I was thinking that we needed to save that little girl,” I yell as I stand. “And we did what was best for her.” I know what I did was right. It just wasn’t enough.
“And how did that work out?” he questions.
“She fucking died. How do you think it worked out?” I snap.
“Watch your tone with me, boy.” He points a finger at me. “Sit down and finish that report,” he orders. I do as he says. “We have rules for a reason. You completely went against them. We could be sued. The liability…”
“Who the fuck is gonna sue?” I demand. “The mother was lying next to her child dead,” I inform him. “And your rules. You think I give a fuck about your rules?” I demand. “Are you seriously telling me that you would have sat there and waited fifteen minutes for an ambulance to arrive?” I ask wide-eyed.
“That’s the rules.”
I fall back down into my chair and let out a long sigh. I look up at him with narrowed eyes. “You know what,” I say, scribbling my name at the bottom of the report. Then I remove my badge off my bloody vest. “Take your rules and shove them up your fucking ass.” I stand and remove my gun from my holster. I remove the clip and slam it on his desk. “I quit.” And with that I turn and walk out of the room. Letting the door hit the wall on my way out.
I rip my shirt off, throw it in the trash outside of the police station, and then discard my vest. I jump in my truck and head home.
It’s raining. Hard. I squint to try and see through the windshield as the wipers try to keep it clear, but it’s just coming down too hard. I sit at a stoplight and pick up my cell out of the center console. I go to Kat’s number. It doesn’t even ring. Straight to voicemail. Hey, you’ve reached Kat. I’m unavailable to answer the phone. Leave me a message. I hang up, throw my phone over to the passenger seat, and hit the gas.
I take my time in the shower once I get home. Clean myself until my body is raw. And when done, I do it again.
Once done, I get out and pull a pair of sweatpants on before I sit on the end of my bed. I think about what I had to do today. I don’t regret one second of it. I made the right decision. And yet, it still didn’t save her. I’m tired of losing. I’m tired of…
I look up from the floor when I hear the front door open. I stay seated as I wait for Kat to enter our bedroom. My heart breaks for her. For what’s she’s been through. For everything that she has lost.
She looks awful. Covered in blood and now soaked from the rain. I stand and look down at her. Tears run down her face and she closes her eyes. I wrap my arms around her and her body shakes. “I don’t understand.” Her voice cracks. “Why them? Who would do this to them?” Her fingers dug into my skin.
“I tried,” I say feeling the tightness in my throat. “I’m so sorry.”
*****
KATHERINE
I open my eyes and can still hear the rainfall on the rooftop. My hair is still damp from the rain, and my body still feels numb.
I roll over in my bed and find myself alone. That doesn’t surprise me, though. I sit up and make my way into the kitchen. I find him sitting at the kitchen table with papers spread all over it.
I sit down across from him and he looks up at me as if he expects me to say something. And I swallow nervously, looking down at the table. It’s time.
“I lied to you.” He places his hands on the table and tilts his head to the side. “My mother isn’t dead.” He frowns. “But to me she’s been dead since I was six. That’s how old I was when she left us,” I say softly. “It’s funny the things you can remember,” I say with a little laugh. “There are days I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I’ll never forget the day she left us. The day she decided we weren’t what she wanted.” I take a deep breath. “She told me to be strong and never count on anyone but myself.” I lick my chapped lips. “She said she loved me but the life he had made for her was not what she had always wished for.” I shake my head. “At the time, I didn’t understand what she meant. All I knew were fairytales. Princesses. We dressed up every day after I got home from school and had tea parties. How could anyone not want that life?” I shrug as I knot my hands together on the table. “As I got older, I understood what she meant.” I finally look up at him through my lashes. His brown eyes are watching me closely. His hands rest on the table and his lips are thinned. “I didn’t want that life for myself, either. The one where you fall in love only for it to not be what you thought. She wanted something so bad that she had this picture in her mind. But when it didn’t live up to her expectations, she just walked away.” I sigh. “I was doing great. Until…” I pause. “Until my dad got sick.” I reach up and rub my forehead. “It took me years to get over her walking away from us. There were times I would sit on the couch and wish for her to walk through the front door, grab me in her arms, and tell me that she was sorry.” Tears fill my eyes. “Tell me that she loved me.” I laugh at how stupid that sounds now. “But as the days went on, I forgot about her. I learned to let go. I learned not to love something that isn’t meant to stay.” I reach up and wipe the single tear that fell to my cheek. “The first day he called me by her name made me cringe. We never spoke of her. I prayed that it wouldn’t happen again. But it did. It became an everyday occurrence. Every time he looked at me, he saw that woman who left him. Only he didn’t realize that she had left. He was back when she loved him.” I close my eyes tightly. “Rollin tried to get me to put him in a home, but I couldn’t do it. He was my responsibility. I was supposed to care for him. But one night, I woke after my father fell down the stairs. I put the first clothes on that I could find and my heels were by the front door. I rushed him to the hospital.” I look back up at him. “They told me it was time. He needed care that I couldn’t provide. When I got home, Rollin scared me to death when I found him standing in my kitchen demanding some stupid piece of shit metal that sat in the driveway. When I told him no, he grabbed my face and shoved me into the refrigerator.” His back stiffens and his eyes harden. “I did the only thing I knew to do. I fought. I let myself go crazy. And it felt good.” I chuckle. “I had come to a breaking point.” I swallow nervously and say what I should have said weeks ago. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I took it out on you. It wasn’t your fault. And I know you were just doing your job,” I finish. There’s more I can tell him, but it wouldn’t mean anything. Not to him. He’s a cop. He sees how ugly things can get out there. Me having abandonment issues isn’t all that important when you look at the world the way he sees it on a daily basis.
His eyes soften, and he stands from his chair. I push my chair away from the table and look up at him. He kneels down in front of me. “Why did you tell me that?”
“Because I…I want you to know how I feel,” I say softly. “I keep losing everyone that I love.” A tear runs down my face. “I don’t want to lose you without telling you everything.”
He reaches up and his thumbs wipe my tears away. “I’m not going anywhere,” he says softly.
“You can’t promise me that.”
“I can and I will.” He takes
my hand in his. “I’m gonna prove it to you every day.” He lifts it to his lips and gives it a soft kiss.
I allow a few more tears to run down my cheek before I wipe them away. “How could she have let that happen?” I ask him. “How could she…?” I sob as the tears come once again.
He wraps his arms around me, and once again, I cry into his shirt. “I want to hate her,” I say truthfully.
“Shhhh.” He pulls away from me and lifts my chin so I have to look at him. “She tried to save them. She tried to save her,” he says softly.
“How do you know that?” I ask, wiping my face.
He gestures to the papers on the table. “I’m going over the report.” He sighs heavily.
“And?” I need to know what happened.
He kneels down beside me once again and pushes my wet hair from my face. “I don’t know enough yet, but when I do, I’ll let you know. Okay?”
I nod as I wipe my eyes. “She was trying to save her?” I whisper and he nods. “But why? Who would want to hurt them?”
“I don’t know,” he responds honestly. “But I’m gonna find out.”
“How? You quit.” Word got back quick to the hospital about what happened at the police station. A couple of nurses who work there are married to police officers. They informed their wives of Parker’s outburst and resignation. After I heard that, I had to come home to him. I needed him as much as he needed me.
“You think that’s gonna stop me?” he asks with a smile.
“What about her phone records?”
“What about them?”
“She had called me. Said that he had called her and asked her to meet him at that house. I called you. Why didn’t you answer?” I demand.
“I never saw where you called. My phone doesn’t show I had one.” He pulls out his phone and shows me his recent phone log.
I sigh heavily. “Come on. You need more sleep than just a couple of hours.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
PARKER
I sit at the table going over the paperwork of what had happened to Megan and Ashley while Kat sleeps on the couch. I can’t wrap my head around what I’m reading.
“Motherfucker,” Slade hisses getting my attention.
“What?” I ask as I look up at him. Slade sits straight across me and Tate sits in the chair beside me. I called them up after I put Kat back to sleep. And of course like the best friends they are, they came running.
“You’re damn cat is fucking shit up,” he growls as he shoos Puss Puss off the table and tries to straighten the papers that she rearranged.
“I need to go back to the house,” I say looking them over. “I need more than what I have here.” Which is shit! All I have is what I was able to get online.
“Thought you quit?” Tate asks as he chews on a straw like a savage.
“I did.” I sigh.
“And? You think they are going to give you information?” Slade questions. “Your boss hates you. Former boss,” he corrects himself.
I stand from my chair and look at Tate. “Keep an eye on her. I’ll be back,” I say before walking out of the kitchen. I go over to the couch and place a blanket over her before I lean down and give her a kiss on her forehead. Then I walk out of the house heading straight for the precinct.
I walk in like I own the place with my head held high and my shoulders back.
“Parker?” Mason says, surprised as he stands up from his seat. I shove my hand into his chest pushing him out of my way. I’m on a mission and don’t have time to explain myself to anyone.
“You can’t…” The captain’s secretary stands from behind her desk as I go to enter his office.
“O’Hare?” he says with a smirk as I barge into his office. I walk right up to his desk and slam my hands down on it.
“I want my job back,” I demand. He goes to open his mouth, but I don’t give him a chance to speak. “I’m the best fucking cop you got,” I say and take a deep breath. I really wasn’t all that prepared. That was all I had to say. I stand up and place my hands on my hips. “Well?” I demand.
He leans back in his seat and opens his top drawer. He places my gun and badge on the desk and slides them to me. I gather them off the desk and turn around to walk out.
“I want all the paperwork you have on the case,” I order. It’s been a little over twenty-four hours. They should have some information that I can go on. Autopsy and forensic evidence could take weeks. But I don’t have weeks. I need to get this settled now. Megan and Ashley deserve that.
He opens a different drawer and pulls out some papers. He places them on the desk as well but covers them with his hand. “You’re off the case,” he informs me.
I smile as I reach down and rip the papers out from underneath his hand. And then I turn to walk out. “O’Hare?”
“Yes, Sir?” I ask turning back to face him.
“You’re not a homicide detective. Remember that.” He looks down at the paperwork on his desk and I smile. Today I am.
*****
I look down to my ringing cell and press ignore when I see it’s my father. “Bastard,” I mumble to myself.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Slade asks as he moves the yellow caution tape out of his way.
“I need to see it.” As a cop, you’re taught to act on instinct. I remember seeing the bag sitting on the floor by the two bodies, but I don’t remember the way they were laying. Once Mason had announced that Ashley was dead, I went straight to Megan. Then when I found out how far out the ambulance was, my reaction was to take her myself.
“But what is there to see?” he questions as we come to the front steps.
“I don’t know,” I snap. “If you didn’t want to come, you should have stayed at home.”
He grunts. “I’m trying to help you out.”
“Then shut the fuck up,” I order, opening the front door. The metallic smell of blood instantly hits my nose, and I breathe out a long breath.
We walk into the house and I make my way straight toward the hallway where we had found them. “You found them on their backs?” Slade asks.
“No,” I say as I look at the two blood stains where both bodies laid. “We found Ashley face down. Megan was on her back.”
“What were the logistics on the bullets?” he asked.
“There are none. No bullets were recovered,” I say frowning.
“So they were here long enough to pick them up?” He looks around the hallway. “Maybe they took other things as well. A robbery?”
I shake my head. “She had a bag packed.”
“A bag packed with what?”
I pull out the pictures that the team took of the evidence. I remember it lying by Ashley’s head on the floor. “Little girl’s clothes. And some bathroom stuff.”
“So she was leaving,” he guesses. “But why?”
“There was only one shot fired,” I say reading over the paperwork.
“How is that possible? There were two victims. Two bullet holes.”
I shake my head as I look around the hallway myself. I walk down to the end of the hallway and come to a room. I push the door open to find a bedroom. It’s like a fucking bomb went off. Shit strung all over the place.
“Damn,” Slade says entering. “Looks like someone was not happy in here.”
I rub the back of my neck as I try to play it out. “Okay. She had clothes packed. So maybe she was grabbing clothes.” I turn to face the door and walk out back into the hallway. I turn and look at Slade. “If Sadey was in danger, what would you do to help her get away from it?”
“Pick her up and run with her,” he says with no hesitation.
“Exactly,” I say, leaving the room. “That explains why they had one bullet but multiple entries. She was holding her to her chest as she ran down the hallway. Ashley was shot in the back. And Megan was shot in the front. She was holding Megan against her chest while she tried to get away.”
Slade scratches his head. “I don’t und
erstand though. You had to kick the front door down, right? To get in. So, how did they get in?”
“The back door.” I make my way through the back of the house and find the back door.
“It’s fine,” Slade says looking it over.
I sigh, “Then let’s check the windows.” I look around. “I don’t…” My phone rings.
Kat lights up me screen. “Hey?” I say softly, walking through the back door not wanting to be in the house while I speak to her.
“Tate said you left,” she says through a yawn as if she just woke up.
“I did. I went and got my job back.”
“That’s good,” she says softly and it physically hurts me that I’m not there for her to hug. I can tell in her voice that she’s still not over her breakdown.
“What are your plans for tonight?” I ask her.
“I’m about to take a shower and start getting ready for work.”
“I don’t think you should work tonight,” I say softly.
She’s quiet for a few seconds. “What do you expect me to do?”
“Stay home with me. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay,” she responds sounding a little more at ease. “I’m gonna call into work then.”
We hang up and I walk back into the house. “So all the windows are clear,” Slade informs me.
“Well, it makes sense. She was seeing someone. She could have let them in. Or he could have let her in,” I say running my eyes over the paperwork one last time. Her name is not on the lease. It is under that ghost named Perry. “It says back door kicked in.”
“What? Where?” he asks coming over to me.
“Right here.” I point to the statement. “Are you sure it looked clean?” I ask.
“I thought it did.” He walks away from me and goes over to the back door once again. We both bend down to look at it. “Yeah, it looks like a normal door.” He then looks down at the paper. “Why would you write that down? Did you think it was at the time?”
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