by Liz Bradford
“Could he be hitting her with tools?” Rebecca asked.
“Another possibility; it’s hard to say at this point. He scrubbed all the trace out of the wounds, so there is no way to tell from what I have right now.”
Rebecca sighed. “Hmmm.”
“But that’s not the interesting part that I wanted to share with you.”
“No?” Rebecca and Doug said in unison.
“Look at this.” Henry pointed to her arm and then to her abdomen. Both areas were very bruised and extremely raw.
“It looks like he scrubbed those areas even harder,” Doug observed.
“Yes. And with a closer look you can see why. It’s a word written with a permanent marker, like a Sharpie. I couldn’t quite make them out a hundred percent, so I had Jocelyn come in and take closer pictures and then enhance the images.” He walked over to his computer and Rebecca and Doug followed. Henry pulled up five images. “There are five different words: sinner, whore, immoral, coward, and selfish.”
“Wow. That tells us a bit more about his motive behind why he killed these women,” Doug said.
“But what about Michelle? Was there anything like this on her body?” Becca asked.
“I wondered the same. So, I pulled up the pictures from her autopsy, and while it was much more difficult to discern them with the extent of her bruising, which is why I missed it the first time, the words were there.” He pulled up five different pictures. “It was pretty much impossible to see the entire word of sinner and selfish, but I was able to make out whore and immoral. However, coward wasn’t one of the words, instead I found the word cheater.”
“Interesting,” Rebecca said. “The difference in the word is the same as the difference in the notes. Michelle’s said something like ‘I cheated but will cheat no more.’ And Tonya’s talked about being a coward.”
Doug said, “Well, that makes sense then.”
“So now what?” Rebecca asked turning to face Doug. “Where does this lead us?”
“Not sure, but it is significant.”
Rebecca nodded. Understanding why a murderer did what he did, almost always led back to who he was. It seemed as if this man was killing these young moms as a punishment, but why? Why them? Why now? The answers to those questions would help lead them to the who.
CHAPTER THREE
Rebecca tugged on the hem of her blue and white sundress as she sat down in one of the plastic lawn chairs scattered around Captain Baker’s backyard. She leaned back but then sat forward and crossed her legs, adjusting her hem once again. She hated these kinds of events. A Labor Day barbecue with her colleagues shouldn’t be such a big deal. These were her friends too after all, but she really did prefer to keep it job related. Informal gatherings like this always led to personal conversations, and those weren’t Rebecca’s favorite.
“Hey, Palmer,” said Doug Ramirez as he took a chair near hers.
“Hi, Doug. Enjoying your day off?”
“Yes, it is nice to have a little down time.”
“Agreed.” Since they had ended up at the morgue yesterday, this was the first day in over a week that they hadn’t spent any time at the station. “But I can’t stop spinning the flowers around in my head. I keep wondering if there is anything to them.”
“No work talk,” Captain Baker interrupted, “That’s an order.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Rebecca, we aren’t at work, please call me Keith.”
Rebecca smiled at him. So much for safe conversation. She leaned back in her chair and switched her crossed legs and simply listened as Keith and Doug started talking football and how the Panthers season was starting off. Most of the detectives of the Hazel Hill Police Department were at the Baker’s house this evening. Rick Miller was across the lawn attempting to get eight of the kids, ranging in ages from three to thirteen, to play a game together. Callie was right in the middle of it, eager to play. Rebecca smiled; Callie did not share her reservation at social gatherings. At least one of them was a social butterfly.
A group of the wives all stood on the patio around Doug’s wife, Paige, oohing and awing over the newest Ramirez baby. The women wore everything from sun dresses like Rebecca’s to shorts and t-shirts; some wore their hair carefully styled while others, like Doug’s wife, wore a simple ponytail. The women may not have much in common, but they were all wives of cops and that bound them together in a special way. Rebecca didn’t connect with them in that way since she was the cop. She didn’t really have any close girlfriends at all, but she had Amy.
The loud rumble of a muscle car echoed from the front of the house. Adam Jamison must have arrived. No doubt the young detective would come around the corner with some new bimbo on his arm. Sure enough, there he was. He joined another group of detectives that were chatting by the grill not far from where she sat. Rebecca knew she had met his date before but couldn’t remember her name. That, however, was inconsequential as he’d be on to a new girl by next week. Adam was a nice guy, a great cop, and fiercely loyal, but he was also cocky and quite a lady’s man. Rebecca couldn’t blame the women who went out with him; he was tall, handsome, and a former college basketball star, who supposedly was headed to the NBA before he decided to be a cop.
Rebecca, disengaged from the conversation she had been pretending to pay attention to, looked around and found an acorn lying on the ground. She picked it up and tossed it onto the top of Adam’s fedora. He jumped and then reached for his hat and took it off. The acorn fell. Rebecca looked away as he turned around, but her smile gave her away.
“Palmer!”
“What?” she asked feigning innocence.
Adam shook his head and walked over to where she sat. Flipping his fedora back onto his head, he asked, “Where’s Caleb?”
“What?” This time she wasn’t faking her confusion. What did Adam know about her and Caleb?
“Caleb said you two have been hanging out a bunch lately, so I just expected he’d a come with ya to this.” His subtle southern drawl probably didn’t hurt his advances with the ladies.
“Oh? And when were the two of you talking about me?”
“After basketball the other night. You know us cops school those firefighters and EMTs on a regular basis.”
“Oh, right.”
“You need to give him a chance.”
“I am, Adam! We’re actually going out again on Friday. Nice dinner downtown, just the two of us.”
“That’s good to hear. I told you he could be good for you.”
She smiled at Adam. Friendships with guys were so much easier than relationships with men or friendships with women. She had a great rapport with all the guys in the squad, but Adam was more like a little brother than anything. His teasing was standard, and her throwing things at him was also par for the course.
“Did I hear you guys mention Caleb?” Keith asked.
“You did,” Adam answered. “I was just telling Rebecca that she should have brought him.”
“I agree and was going to ask why he hadn’t joined us. Thought you two were hanging out a little more seriously these days.”
Rebecca’s face warmed. The biggest problem with living in such a tight knit community was that everyone knew each other. “Forgot you knew him too,” Rebecca answered.
“You still haven’t answered the question as to why you didn’t bring him, Rebecca,” Adam said, the teasing tone of his voice made it clear that she wasn’t going to get away with any non-answers.
“Is he working today?” Doug asked.
“I don’t think so.” She wished he was working, would have been easier to avoid this line of questioning if he had been.
“So why didn’t you bring him with you?” Adam pressed.
“I guess… I don’t know… I guess I wasn’t ready.” She shrugged.
Adam shook his head.
“Well, bring him around when you are ready,” Keith said.
The guys went on to talk about other things and soon it was time
to eat. As Rebecca bit into her hamburger, she once again took in the scene. Families, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, all sat near one another. She had Callie. She reached over and stole a chip off Callie’s plate. Callie gave her a dirty look. She just chuckled and stole another one. She loved her little girl, but something was missing. Someone was missing. Maybe she should have invited Caleb…
Rebecca giggled as she followed Callie down the sidewalk to the park Thursday evening. Caleb’s rich voice echoed over the phone she held at her ear. “Then what happened?”
“Adam went for the block, but I was actually too quick for him. He tripped and sprawled out across the basketball court.” Caleb’s laughter made her heart skip a beat.
Callie ran ahead and was about to disappear out of sight. “Callie, slow down!”
“You guys almost at the park?”
“Almost. There’s that blind corner before we get there. Always makes me nervous when she darts out and around it.”
“I bet.”
“I know I probably don’t need to worry, and don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for our neighborhood. It’s safe, but…”
“You know too much, right?”
“Exactly.” She was grateful Caleb understood.
“I hear ya. Hazel Hill is a great place, but there’s evil everywhere.”
“Unfortunately. Even Hazel Hill isn’t immune.”
“If it was, you’d be out of a job.”
Becca laughed. “True.” She turned the corner just behind Callie, and the park came into view. “Go ahead, Cal.”
The playground had three children already playing, the usual after dinner crowd. Megan from down the street was there with her two kids, as was Stuart, aka Mr. Chatty, and his son, who was a little older than Callie. Rebecca sighed. Stuart was nice enough, but sometimes she didn’t feel like talking, and right now she’d much rather talk to Caleb.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow night.”
Rebecca smiled. “I am too. Where ya takin’ me?”
“There’s this little hole in the wall Italian place downtown. Do you like Italian?”
“I do.”
“They’ve got the best breadsticks in the county. So be ready for high carb intake.”
“Sounds delicious!” Rebecca smiled as she watched Callie climb to the top of the tall, twisty slide.
“I’ve got to run. But I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait.”
Rebecca hung up the phone and slid it into the pocket of her jeans. Her heart raced as her cheeks warmed. Caleb was great. What had her hesitation been about? He really was perfect. She wasn’t naive; he wasn’t actually perfect, but maybe he was perfect for her.
“Hey there,” Stuart said as he approached her.
Rebecca stifled a sigh. “Hi.”
“Was that you’re husband on the phone?”
“No, I’m not married.”
“Oh, no? That’s a shame for your daughter. Having a father figure in her life is important.”
“I know. And maybe one day she will.” Could she imagine Caleb being a father to Callie? She could. A smile took over her lips.
“Where is her dad?”
Her smile dropped. “He’s not in the picture.”
“Oh, that’s a pity. Does she ever get to see him?”
Rebecca’s chest tightened. “No. She’s never met him.” She balled up her hands. She didn’t like talking about it and needed to change the topic. “How’s your wife been?”
“She’s sleeping right now, getting the rest she deserves.”
“That’s good.”
“Well, we need to go. It was good chatting with you.”
“Yep.” All her joy from her conversation with Caleb had been zapped away by Stuart asking about Callie’s dad. She walked towards the bench. A little rock sat on the sidewalk. She kicked it. Maybe she should have waited longer for him. What if he had come back just after she left? She had no way of knowing, and she had to move on. He had been the one to walk out, not her. That was the past. This was the present. Caleb was tomorrow. Her lip curled up again thinking about the handsome man taking her out for Italian tomorrow.
The next day Rebecca stared at the murder board and rubbed her jaw that was sore from clenching. She was beyond frustrated. She and Doug had spent the morning chasing yet another lead that turned into a dead end. They were no closer to figuring out who this killer was than they had been a week ago. She slammed her fist down on her metal desk. The loud sound resounded through squad room. Doug jumped.
“Sorry, Doug, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Seriously, Palmer, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“I said I was sorry.” She threw her hands up in the air. “I just am so frustrated. For all we know he could have already picked up another woman and could be torturing her as we speak. Why don’t we have any leads? There seems to be no connection at all between these women. How did he find them? What caused him to pick them over anyone else?” She stood up and paced and gestured wildly at the murder board, the white board where they had written out all the information regarding the victims and the crime. “All we know is that they look similar and are both single moms. He kidnapped the first victim, Michelle, while she was walking home and kidnapped Tonya when she was leaving the gym. The ladies lived on opposite sides of town, had different standards of living, and a different number of children. What are we missing?”
“I wish I knew. But I think it’s time to call it a day. We aren’t making any progress this afternoon. Maybe fresh eyes on Monday will give us a better idea.”
“But if he follows the pattern that he seems to be creating, he’ll snag another woman on Monday, and we don’t even know where to increase a police presence!”
Captain Baker walked by and stopped at their desks, “Ramirez is right, Palmer. Get out of here; enjoy your weekend. Take your kids out for ice cream or something. We will catch this guy, but not with fried brains. If he grabs someone on Monday, we should know by Tuesday morning, and that gives us until Thursday morning to find her alive.”
“If his pattern holds,” Rebecca said.
“True. But there is nothing left to do today, so leave, and I don’t want to see either of you until Monday unless you magically figure out how to find this guy.”
“Yes, sir. Have a good weekend, Captain,” Rebecca said, and Doug nodded in agreement.
“You, too.”
She packed up and left as soon as physically possible. Tonight was her big date with Caleb. Her stomach churned. She was so anxious about it. She knew she needed to be more open with him, but she really had no idea how. It felt all or nothing for her. Tell him everything about her past including everything about Callie’s dad or tell him nothing. Nothing seemed like the better bet. She knew there was a middle ground, but she couldn’t find it, not yet.
Rebecca drove to pick up Callie from her sister’s house. She was so grateful to have her sister living just two blocks away. Callie was in kindergarten at the same school where Amy’s oldest went, so Callie was able to walk home with them every day and stay there until Rebecca could come get her. As she drove she prayed. Father, we need your help to find this killer we are hunting. Help us to know where to look. Help us to see what we need to see to catch him. Please don’t let him hurt anyone else. And God, give me wisdom about this developing relationship with Caleb. He is such a great guy, and I do like him. But something is holding me back, and I don’t know what. Is it you? Or am I just that stuck in my past? You have changed me so much over the last five years, but every time I think about moving forward with a relationship I just think about him. I miss him and am always comparing guys I like to him, but that’s not fair to guys like Caleb. But here I am again talking about him rather than Caleb. Oh, Lord, help me, please.
Once Rebecca and Callie were home and had spent a few minutes playing together, Rebecca went upstairs to get ready. She decided to dress up a little tonight and exc
hanged her detective’s suit for a cute chevron skirt that flowed past her knees with a simple coordinating purple blouse. She twisted her long hair up on the back of her head and freshened up her makeup and was downstairs before the babysitter even arrived. She hated leaving Callie with a babysitter at the end of the week, but tomorrow was Callie day, and they would spend the entire day doing whatever the little girl wanted with no distractions from outsiders.
Caleb showed up exactly when he said he would, and off they went. First, he took her to a little Italian restaurant in downtown Hazel Hill. While they ate they kept the conversation to small talk. They talked football, the weather, and TV shows and movies they both enjoyed. They laughed as they recounted the latest episode of a sitcom they both watched religiously.
Once they had finished eating they went for a stroll; Rebecca tucked her hand in the crook of Caleb’s elbow as they walked through the quaint downtown. Before Hazel Hill had boomed into a city of around 50,000 it had been a small town with mom and pop shops. As the town grew into a city, a concerted effort had been made to maintain the integrity and historical appeal of the original town. And they had done it, from the wrought iron lamp posts to the cobblestone crosswalks; Hazel Hill was the epitome of quaint downtowns.
“So, Rebecca, tell me more about yourself. I feel like there is so much I don’t know about you.”
No joke! “I’m not sure what you want to know.”
“Everything. But why don’t you start with your childhood. Your accent, or lack there of, gives away that you aren’t from around here. Where did you and Amy grow up?”
Oh good, safe topic. “We grew up in San Bernardino. We both lived in southern California until right before Callie was born.” But that was all she could think to say. Why was she having such a hard time telling him more about herself? “We were pretty stereotypical California girls until high school.”
“What changed then? I would think it would only get worse in high school.”
Her heart seized in her chest. She didn’t want to talk about high school either, but maybe she could trust him with that, at least a little bit of it.
