by Erika Rose
“She was here twenty minutes ago and now she’s gone. Her phone, keys everything is still inside. Something’s wrong.”
“Sir, we’d like you to remain calm and wait inside while we assess the situation.”
It only took a split second for Cole to lose his temper. “Fuck that! I’m not waiting inside while that son of a bitch might have her.” The cop tried to stop him but Cole had already pulled away. “You fucking wait inside if you’re not going to do anything! I’ll fucking find him myself and then I’m going to strangle him!”
Cole slammed the car door behind him gasping for breath. Every second counted and he had just wasted about thirty trying to get the cops to do their job.
Where would he go? If he had just taken Rose where would he take her? If he had a house in the estate, it could be any house.
Shit!
He pulled away from the curb mindlessly driving keeping an eye out for anything suspicious when he remembered the undeveloped part the far side of the estate. If memory served him correctly it was still a fairly wooded area that didn’t see much traffic or people.
If he had just kidnapped a woman and wanted to kill her, that would be the perfect place.
Cole dropped a gear and gunned the car even harder heading for the woods. His vision was deterred by the rain, but Cole didn’t slow down. Turning into the wooded area he noticed the signs advertising new houses at discounted rates with the picture of a happy family.
The picture was controversial for his purpose of speeding down the narrow road he thought as he focused on the road ahead.
A few miles up the road he noticed a white van almost where the road came to an end with the passenger side door open.
She got away!
It was the only hope he had left. There was no other reason for a van to be parked this far out in a storm. It had to be him, the man he was going to strangle in a few seconds. Gripping the steering wheel tighter he headed straight for the van.
He pulled up behind the van and jumped from the car running mindlessly towards the woods when he noticed two figures struggling on the ground in the distance.
Cole didn’t notice the goose bumps that had appeared all over his body, he didn’t notice how his heart hammered frantically in his chest or the cramps in his legs as he ran towards them.
He recognized Rose’s shoes even as he noticed the large man sitting on top of her trying to strangle her.
Without forethought or consideration for his own safety Cole tackled the figure off of Rose.
As they slammed down in the ground together the first fist flew. Cole couldn’t be sure if it was his or the man’s.
He let his own fists fly, not even wincing as his fist met a jaw or he tasted the distinct taste of blood.
Suddenly a light briefly shone on them and Cole recognized the man. One of the security guards, Mike.
Even more infuriated Cole shoved until Mike was lying face down in the dirt. His fingers had just closed around Mike’s neck when Rose’s voice pulled him back to the present.
“Cole, its okay you can let him go the cops are here.” Her voice was scratchy, her eyes bloodshot.
“Fuck the cops,” squeezing his hands tighter around Mike’s neck.
He heard Mike start to choke when two cops pulled him off.
CHAPTER 24
Her throat scratched and burned as if she had just swallowed broken shards of glass. Rose was sitting in the back of the ambulance while a paramedic poked and prodded to check for injuries. If she could’ve walked she would’ve joined Cole where he was speaking to the police.
But she couldn’t.
Her ankle wasn’t just sprained, it was broken. The paramedics had strapped it into what looked like a moon-boot and told her to keep it elevated to prevent more swelling. Another had given her oxygen to ensure there were no lingering effects from her close brush with death.
A thick blanket was wrapped around her shoulders but that didn’t stop the shivers that had been racking her body ever since the police had pulled Cole off Mike.
Rose still couldn’t believe it was Mike.
He had seemed so earnest when he had promised to help her look for the murderer, but now in the harsh light that shone from the police car it all started to fall into place.
How he had pulled her aside at the security station.
The night he had arrived seemingly concerned because an intruder had been in her yard. He wasn’t on patrol that night Rose thought, he had just escaped.
The phone call luring her back to the Hamptons alone…
If it wasn’t for Cole…
She swallowed down the tears that threatened to fall, she wouldn’t break now. Not when he was watching her from the back of the police car. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. Narrowing her eyes she glared right back at him.
“Hey are you alright?” Cole asked as he sat down next to her in the ambulance. His eyes furrowed concerned as his fingers lightly brushed the dark red welts on her neck. “I could fucking kill him myself for putting marks on you.”
Rose had to admit, it was nice being taken care of. To feel protected. “I’m fine, that’s all that matters.”
“You’re not fine! You’ve got marks all over you and you’ve broken your ankle.” His voice was low, anger poured from him with every breath.
“They’ve got him Cole. That’s all that matters. They’ve got him on the murders of both victims and attempted 1st degree on me.”
“That’s not enough. If he gets a fancy lawyer…”
“He won’t!” Rose said a bit too loud for her own ears. Her head was already pounding without any loud noises. Besides she couldn’t think about Mike hiring a good lawyer that would get him off on technicality now. If anything else he was going to sit for what he did to her.
“We’ve got to get you to a hospital M’am.” The paramedic said before glancing at his watch. “They’ll need to fit you a proper cast.”
“Cole, will you please come with?” Rose asked feeling like a frightened child. Her fear of hospitals was ridiculous but still she hated going.
“I’m not letting you leave my sight long enough to blow your nose.” He said as he glared at the paramedic before they could ask him to leave. As the ambulance pulled away Rose rested against Cole’s shoulder, happy to be alive.
When they finally got home in the early hours of the morning they were both exhausted. After having Rose’s cast fit and her throat examined for extensive injuries, they were picked up by Detective Vanguard to give their statements at the station. He had given them the option to give it the following morning, but both Rose and Cole just wanted to get it over with.
It had taken Vanguard less than an hour to get two full confessions out of Mike; he was going to sit for a very long time. Hiring a fancy lawyer would just be a waste of money, was what Detective Vanguard had promised Rose when she had voiced her fears.
Cole carried her into the house with her head softly resting against his shoulder. She could’ve walked, well hobbled, but he refused. The pain tablets the doctor had given her had made it easier to just let Cole carry her than to argue with him.
He gently sat her down on his bed before turning to the closet and pulling out a sweat shirt and some pants.
“They won’t fit.” Rose smiled as he placed them on the bed next to her.
“I don’t care if they fit, I need to do something. And helping you bathe and put on some dry clothes is about all I can think of at the moment.” His voice still held the anger from earlier that night but now it also had cadence of a man exhausted.
“I still can’t believe it was the lanyard he used. How many people have lanyards? I’ve certainly never thought of them as a murder weapon.” Rose said shaking her head. When Mike had pegged her in the mud and reached for the lanyard holding his keys Rose didn’t think she would ever see Cole again. She knew Cole was tired, but at this moment she would do anything but sleep fearing a r
e-enactment awaited her in dreamland.
“Well maybe we should keep a few close just in case, since they’ve proven effective.” Cole said pulling one out of the bedside drawer.
Rose felt bile rise in her throat at the sight. “Cole put it back please, I can’t…”
Cole quickly shoved it back and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry I should’ve thought…”
“Cole, why don’t you pour us a glass of wine and then we’ll have that bath.” Rose said needing a minute to herself.
Cole nodded before heading to the kitchen.
He came back with a glass of red wine for Rose and a tumbler of scotch for himself. “I needed something stronger to take the edge off.”
Rose smiled. “I agree. Are you hurt?” His one eye was swollen from where Mike’s fist had landed and there were scrapes and bruises on his arms.
“I’m fine. That asshole couldn’t even throw a descent punch.” He said over his shoulder as he moved into the bathroom.
Rose heard the taps open and a heavenly scent permeated through the room. “Cole is that bath products?” Rose asked surprised.
“Well Luisa keeps getting them for the guest bath, might as well use them.” He grunted before scooping her up and carrying her to the bathroom.
“Remind me to ask her where she gets it, it smells divine.” Cole deposited her on the toilet and closed the door behind him.
He turned around staring at her confused. “You were almost murdered and you’re wondering where my cleaning lady buys bath products.”
Rose pulled him towards her. “Cole I need something normal right now. I need a sexy bath with the man I love and some every day conversation.”
“Sure, want to talk about the awesome alarm system you’re getting tomorrow?” Cole asked as he started undressing her, careful not to disturb her ankle.
“It won’t be necessary now…” Rose trailed off as she held onto Cole as she sat down on the bath’s edge. Normally Rose would feel shy about Cole undressing her, especially because it wasn’t a prelude to sex. Strange enough the fact that he bothered even without the sex made her heart warm even more.
She mastered her balance and placed her good foot in the bath. “Shootin’ Fiddlesticks Cole! Did you think to check the temperature?”
Cole laughed for the first time since he had tackled Mike, reaching down he pulled Rose’s naked body up against his fully clothed one. “No, but I think the water will cool down if we give it a while…” The hungry look in his eyes was all the normal Rose needed before he took her mouth.
CHAPTER 25
The courtroom was abuzz with reporters and curious residents of the Hamptons. It had been three months since Mike Patchovis had gone on his Hamptons killing spree. One month since the trial started.
The final arguments had been delivered the day before and the jury had just reached a verdict.
Cole and Rose sat in the second row of the courtroom where Cole held Rose’s hand tightly knowing she had high hopes for the jury and their verdict.
The past three months had been the best and worst of Cole’s life.
He had all but moved his office to South Hampton and was currently working out of his spare bedroom that had since been converted into a study. Cole had never realized how much he could do remotely with a simple internet connection.
After nagging and bullying the first few days he finally managed to get his words in order and had asked Rose to move in with him until her ankle healed. The cast had been removed weeks before and she still hadn’t mentioned moving back across the road. A conversation Cole hoped wouldn’t happen soon but lived in fear of.
Spending his nights with Rose and waking up with her each morning had taught Cole there are more important things to chase in life than success. Things that were much more rewarding. Like stepping out of the study after a long day to have Rose cooking in the kitchen or having one of his friends stopping by for a beer unannounced. He had become part of the community again after leaving it for so many years.
The only black cloud hanging over their lives the past three months had been Mike’s looming court case.
Rose had kept her ear to the ground for any developments until the court case had started a month ago.
She had insisted to go to court every single day, reiterating that she wanted Mike to see he didn’t finish his masterpiece, he never would.
Cole had tried to talk her out of it but she had explained to him that it was her way of healing; her way of making peace with Emmaline’s death and her own close brush with it.
So they had gone. They had sat there every day with the stench of nervous sweat and lemon polish permeating the court room, listened to Mike’s attorney insisting he was mentally unstable and couldn’t be held responsible for his actions.
They had listened as his psychiatrist had explained to the jury that Mike had been abused by his mother causing a chemical imbalance in his brain; something out of his control.
Cole had clenched his teeth more than a few times as Rose squeezed his hand in anger, her nails digging into his hands.
And now today it would all come to an end, Cole hoped as the courtroom stood for the judge’s arrival.
After the formalities had been handled the judge turned to the jury.
“Could the foreperson please stand.”
A middle aged woman with a red coat stood. Her eyes were tired after being up all night.
“Have the jury reached a verdict on the case of the state of New York versus Mike Patchovis?”
Red coat lady nodded and looked at the judge over her half-moon glasses. “We the jury find the defendant Mike Patchovis guilty on two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder.”
The judge nodded as the courtroom buzzed around them.
Rose smiled at Cole widely. “We did it Cole. You did it!”
“I didn’t do anything.”
The judge’s hammer pounded a few times. “Order in the court.”
“If I may,” red coat lady said still standing. “The jury feels that although the points brought to our attention about the defendant’s mental state were all valid, he was still working and functioning at the time of the murders in which case we would like for the judge not to see them as mitigated circumstances but to consider them as a Hail Mary attempt to have the case dismissed.”
The judge nodded. “Thank you, your view will be taken into consideration. Sentencing will proceed three weeks from today. Court adjourned.”
Cole watched as Mike turned around and glared at both him and Rose grinning smugly, he wanted nothing more than to punch the glare and the smug grin off his face. Beside him Rose whooped for joy, completely oblivious of Mike watching them.
“I want to go somewhere.” Rose said as they waited their turn to exit the courtroom.
“Where?” Cole asked confused. He wanted to go home and put the whole disaster behind him.
“You’ll see.” Rose said smiling over her shoulder. Cole felt his heart grow heavy in chest as the love he felt for Rose seemed to grow more every day.
EPILOGUE
“She always loved daisies.” Rose said crouching over Emmaline’s grave fussing with the flowers she and Cole had brought on their way from the courthouse.
Finally she could put it all behind her. She would always mourn for her friend’s brutal death, but every time she looked at Cole she thanked Emmaline. The whole situation had brought them together. She just wished she could take a cheese-cake over to Emmaline to tell her how happy she was.
Standing up she brushed the dirt from her knees and smiled at Cole. “Are you alright?”
Cole nodded as he shuffled uncomfortably in place.
“Cole?” Rose said stepping closer to him. Over the past few months she had gotten to know almost all his moods but this was one she hadn’t encountered before. “Talk to me.”
“I was just thinking; now that everything i
s over and we can put it to rest we should talk.”
Rose looked back at Emmaline’s grave. She wasn’t sure where this conversation was headed but at least she had her friend with her. “Fine, but I can say something first?”
“Sure.” Cole shrugged his jade green eyes watching her intensely.
“I think I’m going to sell the house.” She said smiling, feeling lighter for it.
“What? You’re moving? You can’t move?” Cole said as horror crossed his face. “Please just let me talk first.”
“Cole why can’t I move? Haven’t we gone over the difference of asking and telling numerous times? I don’t take well to be told.” Rose said irritably.
“Fine, please don’t fucking move!” Cole said as he grabbed her arms pleading with her.
“Why not? Nothing’s keeping me there.” Rose said feeling a giggle bubble up her throat. She knew she was mean but she couldn’t help toying with him.”
“There is, I’m holding you there. I don’t want you to go…I …” Cole stumbled through the words until Rose placed a hand on his arm.
“You love me?” Rose asked gently.
“Yes, I do. So please don’t move.” Cole pleaded. “I’ll do anything, just please. You’re the first woman I’ve loved; I can’t bear to lose you now. I’ve just uprooted my whole goddamn business to spend more time with you! I’m not saying it’s your fault I’m just trying to explain how much you mean to me, please Rose don’t do this?”
The giggle bubbled over. “Don’t you see silly, that’s exactly why I need to sell the house. I’m planning on moving in with you.”
Confusion quickly followed by surprise washed over Cole’s face. “You’re staying?”
“Of course I’m staying, unless you don’t want me to? I haven’t slept in my own house for months, it just doesn’t make sense to have it standing there, so I called the estate agent this morning, it’ll be on sale by the weekend. She says it’s a great time now. The whole situation has casted more attention on our secured neighborhood and now that Mike’s been apprehended I’d get a good price.”