by A N Drew
"Soft drink? That's a nice change."
"Yeah, it is."
Outside, a lone grey cloud hung among blue sky. The car park began to fill up as the clock ticked closer to noon. I sat back and waited for whatever Abbie had to say.
"You fixed it, huh? Caught the bad guy?" Abbie tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear, revealing a silver earring, which reflected the sunlight streaming in through the window.
"Yeah."
"That's good. How are you doing, Jack?"
"I'm getting there. Better, I guess,”
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. I filled up a bin with empties, haven't had a drink since last Wednesday."
"Wow."
"I even cleaned the place a bit."
"Now you're telling porky pies."
I laughed. "I miss you. All of you."
Abbie stared out the window, her eyes misted over. "I've learned to live without you," she said.
Stunned, I didn't reply.
"Not since I moved out, Jack. Well before that. I'm not saying it's over, but I promised myself I'd be honest with you. It's the only way we can try and make this work."
At that moment, the waitress brought our drinks over. Abbie thanked her, and I took a sip of my diet coke. I knew she was right. It didn't mean I liked the way the conversation was headed, but I got it.
"I get it. You're right, I haven't been the best husband or father for that matter. I want to make this right too."
Abbie rubbed both palms down her jeans. "Me too. For now, let's agree that we live apart, but we could be good to each other. Talk. Really talk."
I wanted to tell her to come back home, that I missed her, needed her. Instead, I'd need to meet her halfway. "You're right."
"I am?"
"Yeah." Now it was my time to stare out the window.
Abbie sighed. "Thanks,” attempted a smile. "That wasn't how I thought this would go today."
We laughed. "So, how's it all going in your new place?"
"That's another story for another time."
Sounded like it wasn't always a happy family living with her sister. I didn't tell her that gave me hope, hope that she'd come home, soon.
Our food arrived. "I'll go get the girls." Abbie disappeared to find them.
My pocket buzzed. I pulled out my phone and stared at the screen. Rae Swanson.
I swiped it. "Rae.”
"Jack."
"What's the go?"
"We're going through the stuff from when we tossed Slavosky's place. There's a lot of stuff. Turned up a few things."
My chest surged. "Like what?” I got up and out of the seat and headed for the front door.
"Like dozens more pictures. Nasty stuff."
"Where did you find them?"
"In the attic. In locked boxes. Tied up with ribbon. Weirdo."
"What are you telling me?"
"There's a ton more victims none of us knew about."
"Give me a figure, some idea."
"Dozens of girls from the local area. Thirty, maybe more."
I felt sick. The smell of the food turned my stomach. I opened the front door. Needed air.
"I can be there in an hour.” I pushed open the front door and took in a mouthful of air.
"That's not why I'm calling, Jack."
I stopped, found a bench outside, an overflowing ashtray beside it. Sat down. My chest began its clickety-clack, banging out a rhythm against my rib cage.
"I'm not sure how to say this."
"How about you just say it then?"
A pause. "I saw the pictures in your wallet. Some of these girls look a lot like your daughters. Your youngest especially.”
I dropped the phone on the bench. Heard Swanson's name calling me. Couldn't talk. My stomach curdled and the earth spun. I put my head between my knees, waiting for the world to right itself. Then I sat back up and took a deep breath. I needed to walk.
The front door squeaked. Abbie stuck her head through the door. I rubbed my hands through my hair.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm not sure."
"What happened?"
I couldn't tell her what had happened. Not when we'd come so far. Maybe soon, but at that moment, I decided to shield my wife from the news.
"A hiccup in the case."
"Looks like it's more than that."
I stood up. "I could use a hug if you're up for it."
She eyed me, blinking. Then stepped towards me and held me for a long moment.
I stepped away. "Thanks,” I said.
"Come on, the girls are back, the food’s getting cold."
"I'll be there in a minute, I promise. I'll just finish off this call."
Abbie shot me a worried look before heading inside to the warm sanctuary of Rosa's. I shoved my hands in my pockets and sat back down on the bench.
I'd thought it was wrapped up, merely a formality. This was the last thing I had ever expected. A threat to my family. Had he hurt the girls? Or were Jones and McElroy stalking them, scoping them out as prospects?
I picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Yeah, Jack, I'm still here. I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you in person but…Garrett told me you were seeing your wife and kids today. He told me what happened.”
"You did the right thing telling me."
"Look, there's no evidence he did anything other than take pictures of some of these girls, yours included."
"Yeah. Look I gotta go, the food's going cold."
"I understand. Take care. I'll call you later, okay? Maybe tonight."
"Thanks,” I hung up and tucked the phone away inside my jacket pocket. I walked towards the front entrance and opened the glass door. I needed to somehow draw a line in the sand between this job, and my life, my wife, my kids.
But then this job was like nothing else in my career. It had taken a chunk out of me. As I walked back inside towards my smiling, beautiful family, I thought about the fact that as homicide detectives, sometimes we got lucky, we won, we’d find the bad guy, lock him away and throw away the key… but in the process, we lost a part of ourselves forever.
***
Thanks for reading my first detective mystery book set in my home suburb in Melbourne Australia!
This one’s been a long time in the making, and I’d love it if you could leave an honest review for this book.
My next DS Jack Fletcher book is currently in progress.
You can check out some of my earlier books (supernatural suspense) online and check out my blog:
www.andreadrewauthor.com