Finding Scarlet

by Holly C. Webb

  I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. My head felt light and fuzzy. I was terrified I would have another seizure. Tom kept talking to me. He kept his voice calm and even, so I focused on that and tried to push everything else out of my mind.

  Finally, as I could feel myself calm down, I could hear sirens in the distance, and I knew Oliver was almost here.

  A few minutes later, he burst through the front door and quickly made his way down the hallway to the kitchen.

  The minute I saw him, I could feel the relief wash over my body, but then the tears returned.

  He didn’t say a word. He just hurried to me and wrapped me in his arms and held me close to him.

  “He knows,” I whispered against his chest. “He knows and he is coming for me.”

  “That will be his greatest mistake,” Oliver replied, and I could hear the anger in his voice. “And it will also be the day he dies.”

  “I’m scared, Oliver,” I breathed out. “I am so scared.”

  “I have you, Scarlet,” he replied, softly kissed me on the top of my head. “I will keep you safe. I give you my word. As long as I am around, nothing will hurt you again.”

  “Oliver,” Tom said. “He knows she remembered something. It’s too much of a coincidence for him not to know. Who have you talked to?”

  “Not many,” Oliver replied. “And I think I know who it is.”

  “Who?” I asked as I quickly sat up straight and looked into his eyes. “Who did this to me?”

  “He is a cop,” Oliver replied pulling me back into his embrace. “And he is now living on borrowed time.”

  I had never heard Oliver sound so cold and angry. I knew he was serious too. If he got the chance, he would take this guy down for good, and if I was truly honest, part of me wanted that too. I wanted this to be over and I wanted him gone for good.

  Chapter 24

  Oliver

  I could feel her tremble in my arms, and it made my blood boil. I wanted to go out and find Dean there and then. I knew it was him. There was no doubt in my mind of that. The more I thought about it, the more obvious it became.

  He fitted the profile perfectly. His mom was really sick, and I knew he was struggling with the bills from her medical care. She relied solely on him and it was taking its toll on him emotionally and financially. He had been snooping around about the case too. He was the one who had said that stupid name to me that day in the squad room. Plus, he had taken a shift at the hospital, damn he had even gone into her room. This asshole was cocky.

  “Oliver,” Seth said suddenly from the doorway of my parent’s kitchen. When I looked up and saw him standing there, he looked a little uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, the door was open, and I did knock.”

  “It’s okay, Seth,” I replied. “Come in.”

  “When the call came in, we came straight over,” Seth said as he walked further into the kitchen. “Is she doing okay?”

  Did he say we? I thought to myself but before I could ask the question, it was answered for me. Dean walked into the kitchen behind Seth. I couldn’t believe the balls of this asshole. I knew my gut was right and seeing him standing there, I just wanted to pull my gun out and put a bullet through his brain, just as he has done to Scarlet and all those other girls.

  Instead I took a calming breath. I needed to do this right. I wanted to make sure I had him without any mistakes. I didn’t want to give some asshole defence attorney the chance of getting him off because of a technicality.

  “She will be,” I said trying to focus on Seth, but my eyes kept going to Dean. He was looking around the room, taking everything in.

  Is he casing the place? I thought as the anger flared up inside me. I breathed out, I needed to remain calm.

  “Are these the flowers?” He asked as he reached for them without using the proper protection.

  “Don’t touch them,” I stopped him in his tracks. He quickly turned his attention back to me, before he glanced at Scarlet. Just seeing him look at her, made me want to rip his throat out. “They are evidence.”

  “Sorry, yeah,” he gave me a half smile, but I knew exactly what he was doing, and it made me think that he was afraid he had made a mistake. He was trying now to cover his tracks. “I wasn’t thinking.”

  “I have called for forensic to come and collect them,” I said staring directly at Dean without so much as blinking. “If there is anything on there, we will find it. They will be here shortly.”

  I glanced at my dad and he gave me a questioning look, but then he gave me the slightest nod, and I knew we were on the same page.

  “Mom,” I said turning my attention to her. I wanted Scarlet out of the way. I couldn’t bear to have her in the same room as this scumbag. “Could you take Scarlet upstairs please? This place is going to be crawling with cops in a few minutes and I don’t want her anymore upset than she already is.”

  Mom nodded. I kneeled down in front of Scarlet and kissed her on the lips then smiled at her.

  “Scarlet, I want you to go with Mom,” I explained, and she looked at me with pure fear in her eyes. “I think you have been through enough. Maybe you should go lie down, it’s been a long day. Once I am finished up here, I will be straight up to you. I promise.”

  “Okay,” she nodded and stood up. Mom took her by the arm and led her out the door.

  “Jesus!” Seth exclaimed when Scarlet had left the room. “This has to be a living nightmare for her. She looks so fragile and weak, yet to have survived what she did, she has to be a fighter.”

  “She is a fighter,” I said as I quickly glanced at Dean, who was just staring back at me with an unreadable expression on his face. “She is going to be just fine. Still, I will be a lot happier once we have this scumbag behind bars. I can’t wait to see the look on the smug bastard’s face when I slap the cuffs on him. We will see just how tough he is then.”

  “You need to catch him first,” Dean said as he walked to the kitchen door. I was stunned at the front of this animal. He walked into my parent’s home knowing Scarlet was here, knowing his being here could trigger a memory, and know he was actually challenging me. I took a deep breath, but I was struggling to remain calm. “And from what I have heard, you have seven victims and no clues.”

  “Actually, we have had a breakthrough,” I replied. Okay it wasn’t strictly the truth, but I needed to force his hand. I knew it was him, I just needed that one, last piece so I could nail the son of a bitch. Something concrete to connect him to the murders. If he thought we were closing in, he was more likely to make a mistake. “The latest victim, who was identified today as Phoebe Wilson, her autopsy came back this morning and, well it seems like our friendly neighbourhood nut job made a mistake.”

  “Oh?” Seth said, but I had my eye on Dean, he looked like he had seen a ghost. He shifted uneasy from one foot to the other. Before I could say anything else, voices came from the hallway and I knew the rest of the team had arrived.

  The forensic team bagged the flowers, the envelope and the card, under the watchful eye of a nervous Dean. I knew he was about to spin out of control, and I wanted to be there when he did.

  “Oliver,” Lieutenant Parker said as he walked into the kitchen. For the first time since the forensic team had arrived, I took my eyes off Dean. “We are going to check with the florist, see who ordered the flowers. I am getting the video surveillance pulled from the store too. If this asshole took a breath in the wrong place, I want to know about it. We will get him, I promise.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant,” I said, grateful that he was leaving no stone unturned. He understood now that this case had become more than my job now, this was personal.

  “Also,” he continued. “I want a detail put on Scarlet until this is over. We need to keep her safe.”

  “Paul,” Dad said as he joined the Lieutenant, Seth and me. Before Dad was injured, Lieutenant Parker reported to him. They were still good friends. “We would be grateful for the back-up. Thank you.”

 
“Hey, boss,” the lieutenant said reaching out his hand to shake my father’s. I knew he hated that some of the guys still called him that, but as always, he simply smiled and didn’t pass remark. He knew they respected him, and this was their way of showing it. “We sure could use your input on this case.”

  “You don’t need me,” my dad laughed and rested his hand on my shoulder. “You have wonder boy here. He makes his old man look amateur.”

  I cringed at his words. I know he meant well, but I didn’t want to be seen as the boss’s kid, I wanted to make it on my own.

  “How is Scarlet?” The Lieutenant asked as he turned his attention back to me.

  “She is very shaken up,” I replied as the mention of her name instinctively made me look around the room for Dean. He was nowhere to be seen. Panic instantly took hold. “Seth, where has Dean gone?”

  “Dean?” Seth asked, as he too, looked around the room. “He was right here. Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Where has he gone?” I asked as the wave of panic grew and washed over me. Then it struck me, “SCARLET! MOM!”

  Without offering any explanation, I pushed past the lieutenant and headed straight for the stairs. Taking them two at a time, I held my breath until I reached Scarlet’s room.

  “SCARLET!” I exclaimed as I burst through the door.

  “Shhh!” My mom said looking up from the book she was reading. She was curled up in a chair in the corner of the room. “For pity sake Oliver, she has just gone to sleep.”

  “She’s okay,” I said as relief washed over me. “You’re both okay.”

  “Oliver,” my mom said, sensing something was very wrong with me. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Before I could answer, Dad was behind me.

  “Olly, what’s happened?” He asked as he rushed into the room. “This is about Dean, Seth’s partner.”

  “It’s him,” I replied and pushed my hands through my hair. “He is the one we are looking for. That son of a bitch was just here like nothing happened, but it is him, I know it.”

  “Are you sure?” Dad asked. “I mean, you thought it was Seth too…”

  “I know!” I exclaimed and tried to hide my irritation. “I know I thought it was Seth, but I know I am right this time. He was there today when I spoke to Seth. Well he was outside, but he was acting weird. I knew he heard me; I just had a feeling. He fits the profile to a T. Downstairs, I lied about the break in the case and he looked like he had seen a ghost.”

  “Then he just vanished,” Dad replied. “Jesus, it really is him.”

  “I think you should take this outside,” Mom said getting up from the chair and directing us to the door. I looked back at Scarlet asleep in the bed one last time, before we stepped out into the hallway.

  “Olly, before you go back down there,” Dad said once we were outside the door. “Are you absolutely sure that Dean is who you are looking for?”

  “Dad he has vanished!” I exclaimed. “He walked out of here without even telling his partner. What does that tell you?”

  “Nothing good,” Dad sighed.

  “The man who shot Scarlet was here?” Mom asked as she tried to keep up with Dad and me. I could hear the fear in her voice and that just made me angrier. “He was here in my home? Tom, is he coming back? Was he here to kill Scarlet?”

  “It’s okay, Meg,” Dad reassured her. “Scarlet is safe, he won’t get a chance to hurt her, or any of my family again.”

  “I think I need to take her away,” I said knowing this was the only way to keep her safe; and to keep my family safe. “Take her somewhere safe, away from all of this.”

  “But I don’t want you to go,” Mom insisted, and I could hear the worry in her voice. “I don’t want you and Scarlet to have to hide. This is your home. It’s Thanksgiving in three days and you should be here with your family, you both should…”

  “Mom, I will be back for Thanksgiving,” I promised as I took hold of her hands. “But this is taking its toll on Scarlet. Besides, I need to know you and Dad are safe too. Scarlet being here is too much of a risk now.”

  “And what if he follows you, Olly?” Mom demanded. “What if he waits until you and Scarlet are away somewhere on your own? How can you be sure you can keep the both of you safe? Please I am begging you. Don’t do this.”

  I looked at her for a moment. I knew the right thing to do was to go but seeing the fear and worry in my mother’s eyes, I was so torn.

  “Fine!” I sighed and was surprised by a sudden hug from my mom. “We will stay for now, but if I think the best thing to do for everyone is to leave, then that is what I will do. Deal?”

  “Deal,” she replied and hugged me again.

  “I need to go down and speak to the lieutenant,” I said as my mom released me from her mamma bear hug. “Mom, can you stay with Scarlet?”

  “Sure,” she agreed.

  “I want you to lock the door,” I added. “Only open it to me or Dad, got it?”

  “Got it,” she replied then she quickly turned and hurried back into the room. I waited until I heard the lock turning before Dad and I headed back downstairs to look for Seth and the lieutenant.

  “He’s gone!” Seth said the moment we walked into the kitchen. “The squad car is still outside, but Dean has vanished.”

  “It’s him, isn’t it?” The Lieutenant said more so than asked.

  “Yes, it’s him,” I confirmed. “But we have nothing to link him to the murder. No jury would convict on a rough profile and a gut feeling.”

  “But you said there was a break in the case…” Seth said giving me a confused look.

  “I lied,” I confessed. “I needed to see what his reaction would be. I knew if I had the right man, he would begin to panic, and I was right. However, there is something about those flowers. He knows he made a mistake. He sent them in a moment of anger, and he lost the clarity he has used up to this point. The answer is in the flowers.”

  “I am putting an APB out on him,” The lieutenant said. “I want him brought in before it’s too late. I just hope you’re right about the flowers. In the meantime, I want a search warrant for his house. Maybe the answers we are looking for are there.”

  He turned and hurried out of the kitchen leaving Seth, Dad and I standing there, each lost in our own thoughts.

  “How did I not see this?” Seth sighed.

  “You can’t beat yourself up over this,” Dad quickly replied. “He is your partner. You trusted him with your life. Of course, you didn’t see this.”

  “Olly did,” Seth replied. “Okay, he was wrong about me, but he still made the tough call. If I am honest, I knew something was going on with Dean for weeks now, but I was so caught up in my own trouble, I chose to ignore it. Maybe if I hadn’t, I could have stopped it.”

  “Seth,” I quickly said. “This isn’t your fault. This is all his doing. But it’s almost over now. His days are numbered.”

  Chapter 25

  Scarlet

  I slowly woke and opened my eyes. When I did, I was greeted with a warm smile from Oliver. He was lying next to me on the bed watching me as I slept.

  “Hey, sleepy head,” he smiled as he reached over and brushed the hair back from my eyes. “How are you feeling?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied honestly as I fought to keep the tears at bay. “I can’t believe this is really happening. I know that seems strange after everything that I have been through, and I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “Scarlet, you don’t have to explain anything to me,” Oliver said as he softly brushed my cheek. There was something in his voice, a sadness that told me he was upset.

  “Oliver,” I said, suddenly wide awake. “What is it?”

  His eyes dropped from mine and I instantly got a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. This was a bad sign.

  “Tell me, what has happened?” I demanded, fearing the worst.

  “We have an APB out on the man we believe is responsible for shooting you,” he s
aid, his eyes still not meeting mine. “His name is Dean Harris, he is…was a friend of mine.”

  “Why is that name so familiar?” I asked, knowing I had heard the name before. “I have heard it somewhere recently.”

  “He is the officer that brought the flowers into your room last week,” Oliver said nervously, his eyes finally meeting mine.

  I thought for a moment, trying to remember what the man who brought flowers to my room even looked like. Then it hit me like a tidal wave. His face was as clear as day. His voice filled my head. My stomach heaved.

  “He was downstairs with that other guy!” I exclaimed, suddenly the feeling like I wanted to be sick got worse. “He…he came to your parents’ house…HE STOOD DOWN THERE WITH US! OH GOD!”

  Suddenly I was gasping for air. I felt like someone had sucked all the air out of my body. My heart began to hammer rapidly in my chest. I pushed up in the bed and with all my strength, I threw my legs out onto the floor. I felt like I was suffocating.

  “Scarlet!” Oliver said. He was up off the bed and at my side in seconds. “We are going to pick him up, this is over. He can never hurt you again. I promise you that much.”

  “This will never be over,” I cried, feeling like my world was completely crashing in. I wrapped my arms around my body and closed my eyes. I rocked back and forth, trying to calm myself down. I tried to focus on my breathing, but my head was filled with so many thoughts, I could barely think straight. “This is like a nightmare that I just can’t wake up from. I want my life back. I want to remember who my best friend in school was. I want to remember the bedtime stories my parents read to me. I want to remember my parents. I want to know why I am alone in this world. And more than anything, I want to know when the man who did this to me, is standing in front of me. I want to know what I did to deserve this, because it’s killing me not knowing.”

  “You did nothing to deserve this,” Oliver said kneeling down in front of me and taking me by the hands. “This is not your fault, it’s his. He did this.”