by Bliss Carter
“I love you, too. I’ve got your man card in my pocket. You can retrieve it whenever you wish”, Kresley giggled, loving when she and Cade could flirt and banter back and forth. It gave her all those butterflies and mushy feelings that she thought only teenagers felt.
“I’ll make sure to get it back tonight”, Cade silkily stated, heated intent heavy in his voice. “How far away are you now, baby? I seriously cannot wait until I can give your lips a proper kiss.”
“I’m about 30 minutes away from Mercy Springs. I need to stop at Fiona’s Fabrics on my way in to town. She got in those tablecloths that I ordered weeks ago. I have to make sure they’re the right color before she begins alterations. After that, I’ll be coming straight to your house. Will you be there by then?”
“I’m already here. I took off a few hours early so I could spend time with you.”
“That makes my day, Cade. I can’t wait to see you. Love you baby.”
“Love you more Kres. Be safe. See you in about an hour.”
Kresley ended the call, thankful that she met a man like Cade. He not only cared about her, but he cared about her sisters and Grace. He knew they were a package deal when he declared his love. And it hadn’t scared him away like it would other men. Cade was definitely a keeper and she intended to keep him for a very long time.
Kresley took the exit towards Mercy Springs and was soon pulling up in the parking lot for Fiona’s Fabrics. Kresley could see business was slow today, as there weren’t many cars in the parking lot. She turned off her ignition and got out of the car, locking the doors behind her. She walked through the entrance doors, only to find the shop quiet and empty at the front. Fiona or a store helper usually greeted her or any customer when they arrived, so the heavy quiet that was greeting Kresley now was a bit unnerving.
“Hello? Fiona? Anyone here?”, Kresley hesitantly asked.
The store was so still. Almost eerily so. Kresley’s fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up, as if fine-tuned to some sort of danger. Her eyes darted around, finding shadows everywhere. Tall rolls of fabrics stood in aisles, hiding other things from Kresley’s view. That only made her more nervous.
With much trepidation, Kres advanced into the store, trying to disregard the negative feelings she had, calling herself an idiot and silly. Fiona’s store was always welcoming. She’s never had an issue here before. But there were usually more people in here and a greeting was almost always thrown her way as soon as she stepped over the threshold. What in the world was going on?
As she quietly advanced into the store, down the center aisle and walked by the front counter and cash register, Kres noticed a few drops of something next to the counter on the floor. Was that blood? No, probably not. Just something that spilled from lunch probably. Yeah that has to be it.
A noise turned Kresley’s head, as she heard a small squeak come from the back of the store. Everything within her was screaming for Kres to turn around and run. Don’t go any further. Call Cade. Call Cade. Call Cade! Run. Then call Cade. Did she mention that she’s hard headed? Yeah, for sure Kresley James Anderson was stubborn enough to think that she could handle what was beyond the stock room door. Her concern for Fiona and her workers was outweighing her concern for herself. And that was part of the problem. Kresley tended to ignore her own needs when anyone else was around. If Kres took time to analyze things, she would discover that she felt that way due to not being able to save her parents. The guilt drove her to rescue all that she could, hoping one day that she could absolve herself from feeling at fault.
As she eased closer to the stock room door, Kresley’s anxiety increased tremendously. She quietly pushed against the door, hoping it wouldn’t make any noise as it opened in front of her. She could see that the store room was dark, with a dim light coming from the back, far right corner of the room.
“Hello? Fiona? Gina? Anyone back here?”
A small scraping sound came from the very back of the room. Kresley could make out a dark shadow as it was easing out the back door. There wasn’t much light coming through the door since it was late afternoon. She couldn’t make out the size or shape. Hell, she couldn’t even tell if the shadow was even a human. Ignoring her racing heart, Kresley followed a path toward the dim light. As she neared it, she truly questioned her sanity. She should turn around now, go back out to her car and leave. But her curiosity was getting the best of her judgement. As she walked to the door opening, she could make out someone lying on the break room floor.
Kresley went utterly still, disbelieving what she was seeing. Fiona. Dear God, Fiona. Sweet Fiona was laying on the floor, naked. Her eyes were open, glazed over and unseeing. Her wrists were awkwardly behind her back and cinched together with a zip tie, so tight that Kresley could see drops of blood where it was cutting into her skin.
She took a step toward Fiona’s body and reached down to feel at her neck and pulled her hand back quickly. She could now see a cut across Fiona’s throat and a large amount of blood pooling under her body. Kresley gingerly reached down to feel for a pulse. When she felt nothing, Kresley began to hyperventilate. Oh my God. Think, Kres. Think!
“Oh my gah, oh my gah, oh my gah. What do I do?”
Cade! Call Cade. She should have done that way before now. Kresley rooted in the pocket of her purse for her cell phone, stumbling a few times with her hand. She finally got it unlocked and dialed Cade’s number in her favorites. She hurried out of the break room, leaving poor Fiona behind and walked swiftly through the stock room door and back towards the front. She listened to the ringing on the other end like it was a life preserver, bobbing in the water right in front of her.
“Hey baby, you heading this way?”, Cade asked warmly.
The other end was quiet except for her heavy breathing. Kresley was trying to get the words out, but it was like finding Fiona had made her mute.
“Baby? What’s going on? Kres? Kresley! Answer me baby. Where are you?”
“C-Ca-Cade?”
“Baby, what’s wrong? You’re freaking me out!” Cade yelled into the phone. Kresley could hear him moving frantically around as he talked and she knew she heard him grabbing his keys.
“Fiona. Oh God. Fiona. Cade, Fiona.”
“What about Fiona, baby? Is she hurt?”
“N-N-No. She’s dead. Naked. Dead, Cade. She’s dead. So much blood”, Kresley got out before she began to cry heavily. She could hear Cade talking to her, but she couldn’t understand anything he was saying.
Cade roared her name and it finally broke through. “I’m here. I’m listening. Are you coming?”
“Kresley. If you’re still in the store, get out now. Hold your keys in your hand like a weapon and walk out to your car and get in. Then lock the doors, baby. Sit there and wait for me. Do you understand me? Wait for me. Do not open the car door for anyone else until you see me at your car. I’m coming for you. I’m coming baby. Now walk and tell me when you’re locked in your car. I just text Boomer to call in a 911 and he’ll be there shortly, too. Are you there yet?” Cade’s heavy breathing filled her ear with noise, but helped Kres know she wasn’t alone. She could hear the rumble of his truck engine, telling her he was already driving.
“I’m at the car. Just opened the door. Okay, I’m inside. The doors are locked. Hurry Cade. Oh, please hurry. I need you.” Kresley sat in her car, keys gripped tight in her hand, her eyes moving over the parking lot for anything that looked evil. Tears trailed down her cheeks quietly as she pictured Fiona, lying on that floor, naked and bloody.
“I’m on the way baby. Almost there. Two minutes away sweetheart. I’m so glad you called me baby. You know I won’t let anything happen to you, don’t you?”
“I know Cade. I should have called you when I first went into the store. I could feel something odd.”
“We’ll talk about that later, Red. Not now”, Kresley could hear Cade growl out the words, voice deep, but controlled.
“Okay. Cade? I hear sirens. Is that Boomer?” Sirens
soon grew louder and louder and Kresley saw several police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance arrive in the parking lot. Kresley remained locked in her car.
“Baby, that’s responding officers and rescue coming to you. I’m pulling in right behind them. Do you see my truck?”
Kresley looked and saw Cade in his truck, racing towards her car. “I see you. Thank you, Jesus, I see you baby.” Kresley began to cry and hung up the phone, laying her head on the steering wheel. Cade was here. She didn’t have to be alone anymore.
She heard a knock on her car window and looked. Cade stood there, fingertips on the glass, silently begging her to open the door. She looked up into his eyes and saw the fear there. The love, the need to touch her. She also saw a severely imprisoned anger in the very back of his blue eyes. Oh boy. She was going to get it.
“Baby, open the door. Please.”
Kresley quickly unlocked and opened her car door and Cade was there. He roughly pulled her out of the car and tightly pulled her against him.
Cade had no words for the fear he had inside of him. Seeing her, feeling her against him helped him some, but the fear was clawing at his insides still. The drive from his house to Kresley was an eternity. He felt her sobs against his chest, felt her hot tears as they soaked his shirt. He stood, holding his woman and let her use him to lean on, anchor herself to. Finally, her sobs began to quiet and her tears diminished. Cade pushed Kresley back so he could look down at her face. Eyes puffy and swollen, nose red and runny. Kresley Anderson was beautiful no matter the circumstance. But it about killed him to see her this upset.
“Baby. Talk to me. Please. Tell me you aren’t hurt.” Cade breathed a sigh of relief when Kresley shook her head no and stated it softly. “Good. That’s good Red. Now tell me who did you see insi....”, Cade wasn’t able to finish that sentence because Boomer had walked up, his face grim, mouth in a hard line. Cade looked around at the other responding officers and emergency response. Officer Sloan Smith was across the parking lot, talking with the crew from Fire Station 5. Several other officers were taping off the front of the store and others were walking in and out of Fiona’s Fabric’s, with booties on their feet and gloves protecting any evidence inside.
“Cade, it’s not good in there. Female, Caucasian, dead, naked. Throat slit and hands bound. ME will have to let us know about evidence of rape, but there is significant bruising, scratches and……bites….on the inside of her thighs. Kresley needs to answer questions. Like right now. How do you want to run this since she’s with you?”, Boomer quietly stated over Kresley’s head.
“Let’s take her over there where it’s quiet and I’ll sit and you ask the questions. Can you record it?”, Cade asked his friend and colleague, watching how Kresley reacted to Boomer’s clinical listing of the victim inside the store. She became very pale, losing her focus on the present. He could almost see Kresley’s mind wandering back to when she discovered Fiona’s broken body. Cade looked back to Boomer and waited.
“Yeah, I’ll record it.”
Cade saw as Ash ran up to them in his fireman’s uniform that included navy cargo pants and a red tshirt, with the MSFD station 5 logo on it.
“Hey, man. Does she need any medical attention?”, Ash asked anxiously, looking Kresley over from head to toe.
“Thanks Ash, but I’m fine. No injuries. Just scared shitless is all. May need new underwear.”
Cade just shook his head at her attempt at a joke and Ash barely held in a small sound of laughter. He just nodded at her and then gave a jaunty salute to all three of them before starting back the way he came. He stopped suddenly and said to Kres, “Hey, be sure to tell your sister Francie that Ash said hey.”
“I sure will. She needs a fire lit under her”, Kresley stared with a slight grin.
“Got it. Just let me know if that’s her ass or her feet that needs igniting”, Ash said with a wink and jogged back towards his rig, not waiting for an answer.
Boomer led Cade and Kresley off to the side to stand at his squad car. He put his phone down on the hood and turned on the recording feature.
Officer Walker Collins: Today is June 12, 2019. This is an interview being conducted with Detective Cade Grantham and Ms. Kresley Anderson in reference to an unidentified victim at Fiona’s Fabrics. Ms. Kresley, can you tell me about your day today. Where did it start? What time did you arrive at Fiona’s Fabrics?
Kresley: I left Mercy Springs this morning at 9 AM for Atlanta. I had a meeting at 11 AM with a vendor that my event business was trying to hire to host weddings and such for us in the future. My meeting lasted until around 3 PM and I left to drive back to Mercy Springs.
Officer Collins: Were you alone on your trip Ms. Anderson? Did you have anyone with you at any time today.
Kresley: No. I drove alone to Atlanta. I didn’t pick up anyone or invite anyone to meet me there. I was alone in my vehicle the entire time.
Cade: Kresley, when you called me on your way home from Atlanta, you stated that you needed to stop at Fiona’s Fabrics to look at an order. Do you remember what time that was?
Kresley: [long pause] Can I look at my cell phone? It gives a time stamp of my phone calls, etc. It’ll help me figure out a timeline. I need to get it from my car.
Cade: I’ll go get it. Hang on.
[long pause in conversation]
Kresley: [opens smartphone] I had a long conversation with Cade, errrr, I mean Detective Grantham starting at 3:45 PM. I was driving through downtown Atlanta at the time and about to exit off on I-285. He and I continued to talk for another, hang on, let me look…..another 46.35 minutes. After we hung up, I pulled into the parking lot of Fiona’s Fabrics. That was about 4:35 PM. I glanced down and looked at the phone in my hand, then put it in my pocketbook.
Officer Collins: Do you remember anything from the parking lot as you parked, Kresley? Did you see anything? Anyone stand out? Any weird cars or trucks?
Kresley: No. I wish I had. I noticed the lot was mostly empty, but then figured it was because it was later in the afternoon on a usually slow day for Fiona. Her busiest times are the weekends. Well, were the busiest….I guess…oh gosh, Fiona. *quiet sobs in the background*
Officer Collins: It’s okay Kresley. I know this is hard, but we need as much info as we can get. So if you can hold off on the tears until the end, it would speed things up.
Cade: Kresley, when you got out of your car, what did you do next?
Kresley: I walked into the store and immediately noticed that it was very quiet. Usually Fiona or one of her employees yell out greetings to whoever walks inside, but there was nothing. There were no other customers there either. Just me. I walked back towards the store’s stock room, thinking they were in there and I would call out to them. I should have listened to my instinct. I should have known better. The hairs on my neck were standing straight up. They still are! See?!
Cade: Yeah, you should have listened and not walked back there. You should have call……
Officer Collins: Detective Grantham, let me continue the questions. Kresley when you went through the door of the store room, did you notice anything.
Kresley: When I went through the double doors, I saw a shadow move through the slightly open back door. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman or if it was an adult or child. It was there and gone in just a second or two. I then noticed the lights on in the room at the back-right corner. I knew that was the break room.
Officer Collins: Okay, so when you got to the break room, then what?
Kresley: I walked inside and immediately saw….F-F-Fiona. *small sniffles* She had her hands tied behind her back with one of those zip tie thingies. There was blood there where it looked like it had rubbed her skin raw. Her eyes were open, blank. Like she was a lifeless doll. She was naked, Boomer! Naked! I could see her breasts, vagina, her damn belly button. What sick, twisted monster does that to a woman? Huh?! Her poor throat. It was slit open like some kind of gutted animal. Oh God, the blood. The blood was everywhe
re. I can still smell the smell, like dirty copper pennies.
Cade: Kres, calm down sweetie. Let’s just focus on the questions he asks.
Kresley: *nodding her agreement* I reached down and touched her at the side of her neck and felt for a pulse, even though I knew I was too late. I couldn’t find one. Then at that moment, it hit me that someone had killed her and my happy ass was just standing there, over a dead body, and I could be next. I could hear words that Cade has said before echoing in my brain as I quickly left. I made sure not to touch anything that I didn’t have to. I came out into the main store and called Cade to tell him what I saw. He told me what to do to keep me safe until he could get to me. Then officers and first responders arrived, and here we are.
Officer Collins: Can you think of any other detail that you’ve left out? No? Okay, so we will be investigating every tip or evidence we collect. If I need to ask you more, I know where to find you. Thank you Kresley for helping us with details. I know that wasn’t easy.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it, Kres?”, Boomer asked, with a small smile on his face. He had turned off the recording app on his phone and put it back in his pocket. “Cade, I’ll be seeing you first thing in the morning. I hate to say it, but you’ll probably need to call that detective in Atlanta, Detective Shelton. This fits the bastard’s MO. But in the daytime? At a public store? I don’t get it. He’s changing up his actions a lot lately. Anyway…..just get with me in the morning and we’ll start processing. I’ve got to wrap up stuff here, then go talk to her family, break the news.”
“Thanks man. I need to get Kresley home right now. She’s traumatized and not dealing.”
One thing that was sure to make her mad was for two or more people to talk about her like she didn’t even exist. Kresley wrapped her arms around herself and held herself tightly, trying to wobble to her feet and leave.
“Cade, will you take me home to your house please? I honestly don’t think I can drive myself. Maybe someone can help get my car later?”, Kresley anxiously asked her boyfriend, who was very quiet standing beside her.
