by Danae Ayusso
Cat looked to Colt and she raised an eyebrow.
He nodded.
“Sir, I’m going to check on your other daughter,” Cat said and followed the sound of sniveling to the back of the house.
A young teen sat on the floor picking up pieces of the plate she had dropped.
“Let me help you with that,” Cat said and started picking up the large chunks of broken porcelain.
“Are you a cop?” the young girl asked.
“Once upon a time,” Cat answered honestly. “I’m going to help catch the bastard that killed your sister.”
“Good,” she said in a clipped tone. “I’m Sammy.”
“Cat. Can I ask you some questions?”
“What could I...yes,” she said instead of asking what help a thirteen-year-old could be to the police.
Cat motioned towards the kitchen table and they sat. “Why did your sister go into town before she disappeared?”
Sammy looked down the hall towards the living room before turning back to Cat. “She was looking for Jasper...our dog.”
“Your dog?”
The young girl nodded. “He’s a Jack Russell Terrier...we’ve had him for years. Jasper got out and we’d been looking for him. Jojo said that she’d go into town and see if he was picked up by the pound or the police. After that...” her words trailed off and tears rolled down her freckled cheeks.
Cat got up and grabbed some paper towels from the counter then handed them to the young girl.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
“It’s the least I could do,” Cat said, her attention on the pictures scattered on the kitchen counter. “May I?” she asked.
Sammy nodded. “Those were taken the other day...the last time we were together as a family.”
Cat quickly flipped through the pictures, stopping when something caught her attention. She pulled the picture out and showed it to Sammy. “Can I keep this picture...I’ll make sure you get it back.”
Sammy quickly nodded. “Of course, take anything you need. They’re digital so I can print more. What’s so special about it?”
Cat sat next to her at the table. “That ring, did she ever take it off?” she asked, pointing to the small silver band around victim five’s ring finger.
“Never,” Sammy said, and showed Cat her hand. “We had matching promise rings. They symbolize our dedication to Christ.”
“Purity rings,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Exactly! Jojo wanted to become a nun. When we were younger that’s all she wanted: to dedicate her life to Christ. But when she got older, she knew that there was a bigger plan for her. In order to do the Lord’s work, she needed to follow the calling which was medicine. She wanted to help people just as Jesus did,” she said excitably.
Cat nodded her understanding, but dread swelled in her chest. “I have to ask, Sammy. Did your sister have a boyfriend?”
“No!” Sammy said quickly. “She hadn’t even kissed a boy before! We told each other everything. I...when I told her I kissed Nate Smith last month behind the bleachers at school, she gave me a four day scolding and drove home from college just to take me to confession. She was so disappointed in me,” her words trailed off before she started sobbing.
Cat tenderly rubbed Sammy’s back. “It’s okay to cry,” she said. “Your sister loved you very much, and is proud of you. She only scolded you because she was worried about you, that’s all. That’s how siblings are, Sammy. They watch out for each other no matter what.”
“I miss her so much,” she stammered.
“And you always will,” Cat regrettably informed her. “And the pain will never go away, but it’ll lessen with time. You just have to remember the good times, the words of wisdom she gave you growing up, and her smile...never forget her smile.”
Sammy sniveled. “You lost someone, huh?”
“I lost many people,” Cat admitted. “I’ve found that’s it easier to remember them with a smile by simply talking to them. I know that they won’t talk back, but I know what they would say if they were here, and that helps me to remember the good times instead of what took them from me. It’ll eventually get better, just not anytime soon.”
The young girl sighed as she wiped her eyes. “I miss her.”
“You’ll always miss her, but strive to make her proud by doing what you know she’d want you to do.”
“Thanks,” Sammy whispered with a smile.
The interview didn’t take long, and soon they were back on the road heading towards the cabin so Colt could drop Cat off.
“You okay?” Colt asked.
Cat pulled the picture from her inside jacket pocket and showed it to him. “This was taken the day she disappeared,” she said. “Those were the same clothes she had on when she disappeared.”
“And?” he pressed.
“The ring she has on is a purity ring, and it wasn’t on the body.”
Colt shook his head.
“Did Vicks have one?” Cat asked pointblank.
“She did,” he said in a detached tone, trying to remain Detective Fury instead of fiancée of victim one.
“And it wasn’t recovered, was it?” she continued.
Again, Colt shook his head.
“Trophies, that’s what I’m thinking,” she said, looking out the window. “Why wasn’t it in the report that Five stopped by the station to report her missing dog?”
The Bronco veered to the shoulder before it stopped and Colt turned to regard her. “What are you talking about?”
“Five’s little sister said that the family Jack Russell, Jasper, got out and that the family was looking for him. Five told the family that she was going to see if he was picked up by the pound or if the Sheriff’s station had seen him or received any complaints about an ankle biter that was as fast as a Greyhound. That should have been logged, right?”
Colt’s jaw was clenched, causing the muscles and tendons to bulge.
“I take your involuntary reaction as confirmation,” she said. “I would like your permission to look into Vicks’ past.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“My gut...it’s telling me that something set Pope off and, as much as I hate to admit it, Vicks might be the key to that. But because she was your fiancée I want your permission.”
“And if I don’t give it,” he grumbled, turning his attention back to the road before he pulled out.
“I’ll do it anyway,” she admitted. “I just thought this way might not piss you off as much.”
Colt scoffed.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” Cat baited.
“You’ve yet to be wrong, that’s the problem,” he mumbled.
She smiled wide. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “You would. Tonight I’m going to have dinner with Emma, did you want to join us? And then I’ll show you to Vicks’ room.”
Her smile fell. “Thanks. I hope I’m wrong, I really do, but there are too many damn dots that need connecting, and so far I’ve connected none. It’s pissing me off.”
“You’ve connected more than you know,” Colt informed her.
****
James slammed his office door behind him, mumbling under his breath as he sulked towards the phone ringing on his desk. “Lake,” he said, picking up the receiver.
“Hey Jimmy!” Dr. Marks beamed. “Since Colt doesn’t have a cell phone, I figured you could give him a message for me.”
“What message?” James asked, sitting down.
“That he was right. The fluid samples I took from the eyes weren’t clear as they should have been so I sent them in for testing. We should have the results in a couple of days, but I’m agreeing with Colt; I think it’s hydrogen peroxide based. Will you pass it along?”
“Of course,” James said. “Is there anything else?”
“The Feds just got here and are nosing around my reports, but it’s nothing I haven’t had to deal with before. I’ll send you over the r
esults as soon as I have them.”
“Thanks,” James said then hung up. He leaned back and looked through his glass office door to the bullpen just as Colt walked through the front door. “What are you up to?” he mumbled under his breath.
****
Colt knocked on the door to his office before popping his head inside. He found Mickey in front of the computer, something Colt very rarely used even before his extended leave from the force, typing away. “You find anything?” he asked, slipping inside the office, closing the door behind him.
Mickey looked up, disappointment clearly visible on his face. “No...well, I found the correct way of spelling it. I had to Google it then used a Sicilian genealogy site in order to find the correct spelling. I found more than ten D'Avanzo in thousands of police records over the past couple of decades.”
“That’s great,” Colt said, not sounding enthusiastic in the least.
“Not really,” Mickey groaned. “They weren’t the perps, they were the arresting officers. From what I can tell, there’s a family of cops that has walked the beat in NYC for three generations.”
Colt pushed his hand through his hair in frustration, he didn’t want to ask but he knew he had to. “Was one of them Frankie D'Avanzo?”
Mickey cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe, it sounds vaguely familiar. Did you want me to check?”
Colt shook his head. “Has the system changed much?” he asked, heading around the desk.
“Not really. It’s pretty much type and hit enter. I updated the system and added some security protocols that will automatically wipe your trail and it’ll mask the IP address.”
Colt gave him a look. “I have no idea what you just said.”
“It’s clean,” Mickey explained with a chuckle. “There was so much crap in there, some stuff that I don’t think should have been there, but that was before I was on the force so maybe the systems were outdated or just corrupted, either way, it’s secure now so you can look into her without having to worry about someone trailing your searches.”
Damn it. Obviously this kid is smarter than I thought.
“Her?” Colt asked, playing dumb.
Mickey gave him a look. “Cat. I know you’re checking up on her, which I can understand, but I know that you’re doing it because you’re worried about her. So am I. I’m not stupid, Detective Fury. I know that she isn’t from the Midwest. I know that she isn’t naturally a blonde or brown eyed or that pale. It’s okay. I understand that you worked with the Marshalls before and most likely she’s in hiding, that’s why I didn’t search for her name in case it caused some flags to raise... I’m good but I’m not that damn good; big brother is always watching those in hiding. I suggest you don’t search for her, but search for what you’ve already deduced. I’m going to grab some lunch, did you want anything?”
Colt shook his head. “No. Thank you, Mickey.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll keep my mouth shut, I promise. Let me know if you need anything,” Mickey said then ducked out the door, leaving Colt alone and even more scared of what he’ll find then he was before.
Colt sat down behind the computer and typed in Frankie D'Avanzo and hit enter.
“Oh no,” he groaned.
“Hand me the white pepper,” Cat said.
Emma cocked an eyebrow but humored her as always and ducked into the pantry, returning with some white pepper. “Every time you use my kitchen you blow it up,” she said.
Cat smiled. “I’m cleaning as I go along this time,” she pointed out. “Besides, you never complain when I cook so why are you starting now?”
The old woman chuckled. “You got me there; you can cook real good when you want to. Colt hasn’t complained yet,” she said, baiting the younger woman who was making fresh arancini.
Cat simply shrugged, causing Emma to huff.
“Are you sleeping with him?” she asked pointblank.
“I did last night,” Cat said. “We were both fully clothed. Then I had an episode when the power went out. Thankfully, he was calm and pulled me back from the edge of completely losing it, and he didn’t smack me upside the head when I pulled a gun on him either. He’s an interesting man.”
Emma smiled. “He is. Colt is one of my proudest achievements. I was certain the Reverend beat all that was good out of him, but he’s proven me and everyone else wrong on more than one occasion. If you two want to sleep together, you won’t hear any complaints from me. That boy needs to get laid.”
Cat shook her head; she liked that Emma was mouthy and said exactly what she was thinking, but at the moment she wished the nosy woman would shut up. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“What’s wrong with my grandson?” she pressed. “He’s handsome and built like a brick shit house. None of the girls have ever complained that he wasn’t nice on the eyes in his rustic Montana mountain man way.”
“I don’t make it a habit of deflowering virgins regardless of how hot they are,” Cat snapped at her.
Of course Emma wasn’t put off by Cat’s bluntness, she actually liked that about the mysterious woman. “What’s stopping you two from sleeping together in a non-clothed way?”
Cat looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow. “He’s your granddaughter’s fiancé.”
“Was,” she instantly corrected. “My granddaughter is dead, one of my grandsons is a jackass, and the other deserves to be happy... I want to see Colt happy so what’s the problem?”
More than you could imagine, Cat wanted to say aloud but shook her head instead.
“When Colt asked permission to marry Victoria, I was thrilled. When they dragged the engagement on and on, I was worried. What grandmother wouldn’t have been? But Colt assured me that he loved Victoria and was going to marry her. He just wanted her to spread her wings and experience the world first...he was worried that Victoria was making the wrong choice.”
Cat didn’t want to, but she had to ask. “What do you mean?”
Emma poured herself a glass of wine that Cat was letting breathe before dinner. “Colt never thought he was good enough for her.”
Yes, one of them was too good for the other, Cat dryly agreed.
“Victoria was sheltered, in her own little world, all of the time. She was an imaginative child and was always carefree, the opposite of her brother who was very much grounded and calculative. Yes, I’ll be the first to admit that she was immature, and would rather dance around barefooted in the rain than make out with her handsome boyfriend, but I didn’t want to take that innocence away from her by bringing it up. She’d already lost so much: she was a momma and daddy’s girl, and when they died a large part of her died as well. She was lucky,” Emma told her, “her Daddy died getting her out of the house when it caught on fire... I suppose she blamed herself for his death.”
Cat nodded her partial understanding.
“When their parents died, Victoria became closed off and scared that whomever she loved next would be taken from her like their parents were. I suppose that’s a small part of why she was so scared to completely give herself to Colt. But he was the embodiment of patience...he got that from his dad. When Colt joined the Army reserves, he did it in hopes of Victoria finding herself while he was gone. Victoria did, for the most part, but I don’t think it was consciously done. Sadly, over the years they grew apart, but he didn’t seem to notice.”
“He found someone else?” Cat asked as uninterested as possible, but she wanted to know...she needed to know.
“No, not at all. Colt was just as scared as Victoria about giving his heart to another and having it broken like his mother did to his dad and him. Ruth was an abusive, heartless bitch,” Emma continued, refilling her glass of wine; when she drank she gossiped even more. “Being a preacher’s daughter or not, that woman was looser than Jezebel in her prime. The Reverend knew his daughter was nothing but trouble; knew what she did and who she did, but beating the word of Jesus into her didn’t work. She was as stubborn as both her parents, tenfold. But Colt apparently did
n’t get any of the Jefferson blood. Thank God for that. Do you think he’s attractive?” she asked, batting her lashes.
“Who doesn’t?” Cat countered, but her mind was trying to process what Emma had told her. “Even your grandson appears to have a crush on Detective Fury.”
Emma laughed. “That’s a good one. Jimmy’s not gay, he’s just a...actually, I don’t know what he is, but he’s never been able to settle down with a woman. After his sister died he kind of gave up on it. I knew Colt wouldn’t bounce back so easily, but never did I imagine he’d be locked away for five long years. I’m glad you got him off that godforsaken mountain.”
Cat looked at her curiously. “I didn’t, Jimmy did. I didn’t meet him until he was escorted to the fifth dumpsite.”
Emma smiled and mischief danced in her bright blue eyes. “Sweetie, Jimmy escorted him down the mountain, but you’ve kept him off of it. Colt is stubborn. If he doesn’t want to be somewhere, he won’t. If he doesn’t want to do something, he won’t. If he didn’t want to be working the case again, he wouldn’t be. He’s stayed two nights with you, regardless of you two sleeping together or not, and that’s simply because he wanted to because of you.”
Cat couldn’t believe it.
Yes, she knew that Colt was stubborn, there was no mistaking that, but he wasn’t working the case and staying in civilization simply because of her. It was impossible. No man would walk away and allow the killer of their fiancée and best friend to run amuck killing people when they had a chance to capture him, to demand justice in the court of law.
No, no cop would do that...
“Oh merda,” Cat mumbled when the realization hit.
Emma chuckled. “I don’t know what you said, but I’m assuming it was bad.”
“To say the least,” she agreed.
****
The police jeep pulled up behind the Bronco and the driver side doors to both vehicles opened in unison.
“I’m not done talking to you!” James yelled, slamming the door to his jeep.
“But I’m done talking to you,” Colt retorted and instantly cringed because he sounded more like a child than a man at the moment. “What is your problem?” he demanded.
