“Then what’s your problem with him?”
“You mean besides the fact that he’s a murderer and a criminal?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, aside from that,” he cracked a smile.
“Anyway, I should get Brody home.”
I walked past him to the front door where Carly was already getting Brody ready.
“Jack,” Josh said from behind me. I turned around and stared at him. “It’s good to have you back.”
4
Christy
My heart pounded in my chest as I jumped out of the car and ran up the stairs. With every step, I already knew what I would find. I prayed I was wrong, but the fear in Caleb’s voice and the terrified scream I heard told me my worst fears were coming true. I was too late. I shoved the door open and stepped inside, falling to my knees as tears streamed down my face.
The blood seemed to swarm around me in a sea of red. There was so much of it, and the smell was enough to make me gag. Pushing up off the floor, I slipped in the blood before stumbling down the hallway in search of Caleb. Laying on the floor, he looked over at me, choking as he struggled to breathe.
“You said you would protect me,” he gurgled.
“Caleb, I’m so sorry,” I cried, pressing my hands to his throat to try and stem the bleeding. “I’ll get you out of here.”
“It’s too late. He already killed me.”
His eyes slipped closed as he took his final breath. A horrifying chuckle sounded behind me along with a slow clap. I spun around, protecting Caleb’s body, even though he was no longer with me.
The father was standing at the end of the hall, still clapping as he smiled at me. “You almost did it, but I was faster. You should have known you couldn’t save them.”
“I had to try.”
“But you’ll never win. There’s no way for you to beat me, and now I’ll walk away and move on with my life, and I won’t have to take care of that kid anymore. I never wanted him anyway.”
“How can you say that?” I shouted. “He’s just a kid! What did he do to you?”
Suddenly, he was right in front of me, bending over and staring me in the eyes. This was what it felt like to be surrounded by evil. “He existed.”
I jerked awake, my heart pounding out of control as sweat poured down my body. I flung the moist covers off me and ran for the bathroom. Flipping on the light, I quickly looked around the bathroom, sure the father would pop out at any moment. When I saw it was clear, I closed my eyes and leaned against the sink. After taking a calming breath, I turned on the water and cupped my hands beneath the stream, splashing some water on my face.
It was just a dream. Yes, Caleb and his mother were gone, but none of the rest of it was real. I didn’t have any proof the father killed them, but I would be giving my statement in the morning, and I would be sure to let them know my thoughts on the case. Pulling the hand towel off the bar, I pressed it to my face and tossed it on the sink. I needed to try and get some sleep. I flicked off the light, shaking my head at the ridiculous thoughts when I first came in here.
A strong hand shot out and grabbed me around the wrist. I screamed, kicking out as I tore myself away from my attacker. In the dark, I couldn’t make out who the person was, and I couldn’t find anything to defend myself with. The light flicked on and Thomas stepped into the bathroom.
“Babe, what’s going on?”
Pressing my hand to my chest, I took deep breaths, trying not to have a panic attack. I’d had them before and I knew I was close to having another. Opening my eyes, I stared at my ex-boyfriend.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came by to see you,” he said, as if it was so obvious.
“How did you get in?” I asked, shoving past him and heading into my living room. I turned on the light so I could see in the shadows. I didn’t need any other surprises tonight.
“My key.”
“I already took your key back.”
I spun around and faced the man that I used to think was so amazing. He turned out to be a complete douchebag. The world revolved around him and only him. No one else mattered, unless he already had his way. Our whole relationship was one giant mess of him demanding we do things his way.
“Babe,” he huffed out a laugh. “Did you really think I didn’t make copies?”
“Well, they weren’t your keys to copy, so no, I assumed you didn’t.”
“Look, I know the other night we both said some things we didn’t mean, but I know this is a hard time for you, so I won’t bring it up.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you talking about?”
“When you didn’t come home earlier, I called the office. Katherine told me you walked in on that homicide. I thought you would head back to the office, so I went there and waited for you.”
“Why would you do that? We broke up,” I said slowly.
His jaw clenched in anger and he looked away from me. “Look, I get it. You need more from me. I didn’t listen to what you needed and all that crap. I’ll do better. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“I didn’t ask you to come here.”
“Yeah, but you need me.”
“No, I don’t. In fact, the last thing I need is you here in my apartment. I want you to leave right now.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You know, I was supposed to have drinks with my colleagues tonight and I gave that up to come take care of you. The least you could do is pretend to be grateful.”
“Well, I’m not,” I snapped. The last thing I wanted was for him to think he had even a shot of getting me back. But he was too egotistical to see how much I hated him. In his eyes, there was no one better for me than him. All the fights we’d had over the past year were all because my world didn’t revolve around him. I’d finally had enough and told him we were over, but apparently, he didn’t understand that.
I marched to the door and flung it open. Holding out my hand, I said, “I want my key back.”
He slowly walked over to me and slipped his hand from his pants pocket. Slamming the key down in my palm, he shook his head. “You’ll call me.” His hand slipped around the back of my neck and he squeezed slightly. He was trying to scare me, but it wasn’t going to work. I had bigger demons in my head right now than him. “Don’t take too long. I won’t wait around forever.”
“Good, that was the point of us breaking up.”
Shaking his head, he walked out of my apartment like I hadn’t just told him to fuck off. I shut the door and locked it, leaning against it as I let my eyes slip closed. Between what happened tonight, the nightmare, and Thomas showing up and scaring the hell out of me, I knew I wasn’t getting back to sleep.
It was only ten-thirty, so I grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and laid down to watch some TV. My stomach churned as I kept remembering the gruesome scene I walked in on. How the hell was I supposed to go back to work after witnessing that? I had cases in the past where someone in the family was killed by the abuser. As a social worker in a big city, pretty much everyone that worked for DCFS had lost someone or knew another social worker that had.
Sitting up, I picked up the phone, needing to talk to my mom. I knew it was late, but I couldn’t just sit here by myself and pretend that I could get through this. Dialing her number, I waited for her to pick up. Unfortunately, it was my dad that answered.
“Christy? Why are you calling so late?”
“Um…I just needed to talk to Mom.”
“What happened?”
I pressed my fist to my forehead, trying to decide if I should just hang up the phone or tell him what happened.
“Adam, who is it?” I heard my mom ask in the background.
“It’s Christy.”
“I’ll pick up the other line.”
I waited, pissed at myself for calling now. I should have just waited until I could get my mom alone. I already knew what my dad would say.
“Christy?” My mom’s voice was laced with concern.
/> “Hey, um…”
“Whatever it is, just say it,” my dad barked.
“Adam, give her a minute. Sweetie, what happened?”
Tears slipped down my cheeks as I remembered how tonight’s events unfolded. “I had a new case today. I went for the home visit and I knew something was wrong.” I took a deep, stuttering breath and continued. “The kid called me tonight and he was crying. I tried to make it over there in time, but I was too late.”
My mom gasped, “Oh no. He died?”
“And his mother. It was…so terrible.”
Just having my mom on the line with me made me feel like I wasn’t quite so alone. The tears flowed more freely now, like I was giving them permission to finally come. I had been trying to stay strong all night, but it was just too overwhelming.
“Christy, you knew what you were getting into when you moved to Chicago. We told you not to go, that it would be harder to deal with,” my dad scolded.
“I know that, but—”
“Life isn’t fair, but you have to keep going. Maybe you lost this kid, but there are others out there you can still help.”
It was like he was reading my mind. “I don’t know that I can. This is all too much.”
“Of course it is, sweetie,” my mom said. “You could come home—”
“No, Jackie. She needs to stay there. This is what she signed up for.”
“You didn’t see it, Dad. I walked in on a violent crime scene. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“I know that,” his tone softened, “but that doesn’t mean you give up. You can save the next child.”
“I don’t know that I can,” I said, my throat thickening with sobs. “I can’t do that again. I can’t see a little kid and know that I may not be able to help him or her. You have no idea what it’s like!”
“I know we didn’t raise a quitter,” my dad scolded. “Now, we all go through rough patches in life, but you have to keep moving forward. As much as I didn’t want you to move there, you’re doing good work. It matters. What are you going to do here if you move home?”
“I don’t know,” my spirits fell. I hated that my own dad couldn’t support me. Well, he was trying to, but in his own way that only he thought mattered. “I just don’t think I can stay here and do this job anymore.”
“Honey,” my mom cut in before my dad could say anything else. “We’ll support you no matter what. When you’ve made your decision, let us know.”
“Thank you. I have to talk to my boss in the morning after I give the police my report.”
I knew my dad was disappointed as I hung up the phone, but I just wasn’t sure I could do this anymore. What I had seen tonight really shook me, and now it was time to take a hard look at my life and decide if I wanted to continue down this path.
I sat across from the detective completely stunned. “What do you mean you didn’t arrest the husband? It’s got to be him!”
“Ma’am, you have to understand, we have an investigation to complete. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the husband is the murderer. We haven’t found anything that places him at the scene of the crime.”
“What about his DNA?”
“He lives in the house. We need more to go on than just DNA. We need a murder weapon, preferably with his prints. Besides, he showed up at the house after they were murdered. He seemed genuinely distraught at what he saw.”
I shook my head, unable to believe what he was saying. “I saw it in his eyes. He looked at me, and I could tell he murdered them. Did you find my card at the scene?”
“Yes, it’s been put into evidence, but that still doesn’t prove anything.”
I laughed unbelievably. “Are you kidding me? He saw that I was there for a visit and that’s why he killed them.”
Letting out a big sigh, the detective stood from his chair. “And if we could prove it with just the look he gave you or a card on the floor, I would prosecute him in an instant. But that’s not the way the law works. If I arrest him based on what we’ve found, he’ll be out in less than twelve hours. I’m sorry, we just don’t have enough at this time. But I promise you, we’ll keep looking for anything that will find their killer.”
Standing and walking to the door, I wasn’t sure what else I could say or do. I’d given my statement. I’d told them everything I’d found when I did the home visit. Aside from all that, it was out of my hands. Another mother and child had been killed. The system failed that boy. I’d failed him. I should have fought harder for him. I should have dragged him out of that house with me and somehow gotten a court order to have him removed. I could have called the police with my concerns and asked for another well check.
I drove through the city to the DCFS office feeling like I had completely failed. Tears pricked my eyes as I heard Caleb’s voice in my head on repeat. I could hear him begging me to help him, to not get off the phone with him. I was too late. I didn’t know how the father got out so quickly and managed not to leave any incriminating evidence behind. I just had to hope that eventually the detectives would find something to prosecute him with.
I walked into the office, noting all the stares and looks of pity. Katherine waved me into her office, her face just as heartbroken as mine.
“Shut the door.”
I did as she said and took a seat. “I’m sorry I’m late. I had to go to the police station.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it.” She watched me for a moment, her eyes heavy with sadness. “Do you need to take some time?”
I picked at my jeans. For the first time since I started this job, I didn’t show up ready to work. I didn’t sleep at all last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw all the blood and those lifeless eyes.
“Katherine, I can’t do this,” I said quietly. “I hate to leave you, but—”
“Please don’t say that. I know what you walked in on was hard, but if you quit now…”
“I know,” I nodded. “But I can’t ever see something like that again. I can’t go to house after house and wonder if this time another little boy or girl will end up like Caleb.”
“Can you at least take a few days to think it over?”
“My answer won’t be any different, Katherine. The truth is, I thought about this all night. I came here because I thought I could make a difference, but I haven’t felt that way in a long time. I’ve been wondering what more I could do, but the truth is, there’s just too much red tape. And I know it’s there for a reason. I know that innocent people are accused of abuse all the time. They suffer through the whole process while it’s even harder to remove the kids that are actually in danger.” I swiped at the tears spilling down my cheeks and shook my head. “Tell me how I keep working day after day knowing that these things will continue to happen. I just don’t have it in me. My heart is broken and…” I took a stuttering breath, feeling like my chest was being torn open. “If I don’t walk away now, this will tear me apart.”
She nodded, her eyes dropping to the desk. “I understand, and I won’t ask you to go out on any more cases. What are your plans?”
I shrugged slightly. “I think I’ll move back home. I don’t have a job lined up or anything.” I huffed out a laugh. “I don’t even have a place to live. I can stay on for a few weeks, help to train someone new or help close out files, but I can’t go back out in the field.”
“I appreciate that.” She stood and walked around the desk. I got up, thinking she was dismissing me, but instead, she wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so sorry you had to see that. And I’m sorry we’re going to lose you.”
“Thank you.” I stepped back, ducking my head. I was so tired of crying. I needed to get out of here and just feel normal again. “I’ll get to work on gathering my cases and getting everything in order.”
“Okay.”
I left her office and headed to my own. Being here felt so wrong. I didn’t feel I deserved to be in this office now. But I couldn’t just leave Katherine in the lurch.
I set my things down and got to work. I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other until I figured out my next step.
5
Jack
Glancing at the clock on the wall, I swore and stood from my chair.
“Late again?”
“Every damn day,” I muttered to Carter.
“You know, you could just leave early. I’ve got this.”
“This is my job. If I hand everything off to you, what the hell am I doing here?”
“You’re right,” he nodded. “You should just hand over your position now.”
Stopping, I narrowed my eyes at him. “You want my job?”
He rolled his eyes, kicking his feet up on his desk. “If I wanted your job, don’t you think I would have made a move for it during your…time off?”
His references to me leaving after Natalie died were always way too delicate. Everyone thought I would break. “Thanks, but I got this. I just need…something.”
“Pussy?” he nodded.
“No, I was going to say a maid.”
“Sure, but a maid that also gives you pussy.”
“Since when did you start talking like that?” I asked, grabbing my keys. He followed me out of the station.
“I’m telling you, things will go a lot better in your life if you just try to move on.”
“You know, ever since you got Abby back, you’re a gigantic pain in my ass.”
“Because I want you to be as happy as I am.”
“Yeah?” I glanced over my shoulder. “How’s that rectal bleeding?”
“Not nearly as bad as it used to be.”
I got in my car and slammed the door, but he tapped on the window “Don’t forget, we have poker night in an hour.”
“I can’t make it. I didn’t find a sitter for Brody.”
He grinned widely at me. “I gotcha covered.”
He started to walk away, so I got out of my car, marching toward him. “What does that mean?”
Four Horsemen: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 5) Page 4