Not Alone

by Liz Bradford

  She snickered. “Well, the reasoning for needing such a large cup of super strong frou-frou coffee is not what it used to be, but frankly, I would almost rather have a standard hangover over this crying hangover I have this morning.”

  A venti cappuccino with two extra shots of espresso was her standard “I drank way too much last night” drink back in the day. He was almost positive that was what filled her cup this morning. “Sorry about the crying hangover.”

  “It’s worth it. How are you doing this morning?”

  “I’m good. You’re a lot more pleasant this morning than I think people expect. Jamison came over and warned me not to talk to you until your coffee was gone.”

  She chuckled softly. “It’s all about perception and who is talking to me, I guess. But whatever keeps people from talking too much this early.”

  He snickered at her and let her finish settling in. Captain Baker came over. “Good morning, guys. Oh, extra-large Starbucks, I’ll come back later. Actually, I’ll just ask you, Johnson.”

  Jared caught the devious smile that flitted across Becca’s face as he turned his attention to the Captain.

  “What are y’alls plans for today?”

  “Well, we haven’t discussed it yet, but I was thinking—” he glanced at Becca as if to receive her permission to share his idea. She nodded slightly. “I was thinking we should map out the places the victims were the week before they went missing. Maybe that would give us an idea of the kinds of places that overlapped and maybe point us in the right direction for putting a suspect on the board.”

  “Sounds good. Palmer, you agree?”

  She looked up and nodded, “That’s exactly what I think we should do today.”

  “Great then. I knew you two would be a good team. All right, get to it then. I want a suspect pool as soon as possible. And pull Jamison and Miller in with you. They are yours unless something more urgent comes up.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said as Jared nodded. But the Captain was already gone.

  Within a half an hour, Jared, Becca, Jamison, and the other detective, whose name he had finally learned was Rick Miller, were all gathered in the conference room. They had rolled in the white board and put a large map of the city up on the other side. They went through all the details they already knew about these women and where their lives took them on a regular basis. But they were going to need more, and that would involve talking to the families further. Becca made the phone calls since she and Doug had interviewed each of the families in the first place. Everyone agreed to stop by the station today and help. A few families even recommended friends to contact to help. Becca made those phone calls, too. Everyone wanted to capture and put to justice the person who did these things and was more than willing to do what they could to help.

  As the day progressed the families and friends of the victims trickled through the station and answered myriads of questions—everything from what grocery store she frequented, to what parks she took the kids to, to what schools and daycares their children attended.

  After Tonya’s family had left, Jared ventured to the break room to replenish his and Becca’s coffee cups. There he found two uniformed officers talking casually. He said a cordial hello but left it at that. A moment later Becca appeared in the doorway, the way she put her hands on both sides of the doorframe caused her suit jacket to reveal her snug fitting blouse and drew a bit too much attention to her slender, yet curvy feminine figure. He had to divert his eyes.

  “Jared, Angela’s parents just arrived.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right there,” he said. She was gone as quickly as she had appeared.

  But apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had noticed her. One of the two officers that stood leaning against the table across the small room from him said, “Now, she’s hot! Hey, aren’t you the baby daddy? That means you hit that at least once. Nice job, man!”

  Jared’s veins pulsed. He took a sharp breath in and let it out slowly. It took all of Jared’s will power not to send the man into next week. He left the coffee on the counter in front of him, turned around, and stalked over to the two pervs. He took advantage of the authority that his height naturally gave him and said, “That is completely unbecoming behavior for an officer of the law. Get out of here and get back to work before I go find the Captain and tell him how you are talking about one of his detectives. Pretty sure he wouldn’t like it.” And through clenched teeth he added, “And if I ever hear you speak about her in that manner again, you will have to answer to me.” The men both hurried out of the room, and Jared retrieved his and Becca’s coffee. Jared took a few calculated breaths to diffuse his anger and then went back to the conference room.

  Angela’s parents were already in the conference room. He nodded to them and handed Becca her coffee. She shot him a discreet look questioning if he was okay. He nodded slightly, and she let it go. He didn’t know whether he should tell her about the incident later or not, but right now it was time to focus on Angela’s frequent stops.

  By the end of the day they had a big mess on the map. They had used four different color Sharpies, a different color for each woman, to mark where they frequented. Nothing overlapped for all four women. Not one place on the entire map. All the detectives were frustrated, but Jared could tell that Becca was more frustrated than the other three combined.

  “What are we missing?” She rubbed her face and paced back and forth across the room.

  “I don’t know, Becks, but we’ll figure it out.” When she walked back in front of him, he reached out and simply touched her arm. The contact caused her to look at him. He motioned for her to take a breath and calm down without saying a word. He watched as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Well, let’s see,” Jamison said. “We may not have any places that all are regulars at, but we can look further at the patterns of places they go. Maybe we can narrow it down to two places that have something in common.”

  They all huddled around the map again. If nothing else, they had learned today that all the victims were very routine. They always did what they do, when they did it, with very little deviation from the norm. They all went grocery shopping at a habitual time and always the same store. They each had their regular workout routine. They all took their kids to the park on a regular basis. Were they easy prey because of that?

  At 5:30 the Captain came in to see how they had done. He was impressed by the map, but not so much by what new information it gave them. “Oh well, it’s a good angle, and it may yet prove useful. But for now, y’all need to go home. You’ve been here too long. Look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow. Good night, folks.” And he left.

  “Oh no, it’s 5:30 already?” Becca said.

  “Sure is.” Jared followed her as she scurried to her desk and gathered her things. “What’s the rush?”

  “Amy and Tom have Bible study on Thursday nights. I’m supposed to pick Callie up by 5:45 at the latest.”

  Jared hurried to gather his things, so he could walk out with her. He wanted to spend a few minutes outside of work with her, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen tonight other than a walk to their cars.

  “What are you up to tonight?” she asked him once they were outside.

  “Promised Caleb I would join him and some of his buddies for a game of basketball. Should be fun.”

  “That’s great. Sounds like fun. But don’t go getting hurt like Doug. I need you on this case,” she said with a smirk.

  He smiled back. “You and Callie have big plans for this evening?”

  “Nope, just hanging out. We’re taking Doug and Paige a meal, and then we’ll probably go to the park like we do most Thursdays or maybe play princesses and maybe even do a little laundry.”

  “Nice. Well, have fun.”

  “Will do. See you in the morning.”

  “See you then. Goodnight, Becca.”

  “Night, Jared.” But before he could turn to go to his car she added, “Wait, Jared. I was going to a
sk you. Saturdays are family day for Callie and me, as long as I don’t have to work. We make breakfast together and then do something fun. I was thinking about taking her to the zoo this weekend because the weather is supposed to be beautiful. Would you be interested in joining us?”

  “Really? Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. Do you want to?”

  “I would love to!”

  “Well, then come over Saturday, and we’ll make breakfast and then go to the zoo.”

  “What time should I come?”

  “We normally sleep until about eight on Saturday mornings, so come any time after that.”

  “Will do. Can’t wait!”

  Friday afternoon, Becca plopped down at the conference table. She and Jared, along with Jamison and Miller, had spent all day poring over the map once again. They made a list of all possible types of people someone would meet at all of these places, trying desperately to figure out who could even be a suspect. It felt as if it was getting them nowhere. The white board was full of possibilities, and by three o’clock their brains were all fried.

  The Captain came in to check their progress. “You guys look spent. Call it a day. You already put so many hours in on this case. Fresh eyes on Monday morning will probably be more productive than y’all are right now.”

  “Ooo! If I leave now I can pick Callie up from school. She’ll be thrilled!” Becca jumped up from her chair. It was so rare that she got the chance to pick Callie up. A twinge of guilt stung inside. She really hated to leave the case without a solid lead, but Callie was more important.

  As she gathered her stuff from her desk she looked up at Jared. His eyes locked with hers and his lips parted ever so slightly as if he wanted to say something. She smiled at him. She could practically read his mind. He wanted to go too but wasn’t sure how to ask. She made it easy for him and said, “Come with me.”

  Hope sprung to life on his face. “Really? How about I take you ladies out for some ice cream?”

  “Let’s do it!”

  They jumped in Becca’s SUV and headed to the school. They arrived just as the kids were being released from the building at 3:20. Callie started jumping up and down as soon as she saw Becca. Becca had called it; Callie was thrilled to see her there. Callie even gave Jared a curious smile. Her eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, she was a little confused as to why he was there, but she grabbed his hand as they went to the car making it obvious that the little girl liked him. Callie was even more excited and started squealing when ice cream was offered. They went to Dairy Queen and enjoyed their treat together. They took their time and just chatted. Callie, who had a flare for the dramatic, gave them an entire run down of her day, including how Mikey swallowed a fly on the playground at recess and then threw it up in front of everyone.

  Becca couldn’t stop smiling as they dropped Jared back at the station where his truck was. Becca was a little disappointed to see him go, part of her wanted him to come over for dinner and stay for the evening, but they would be spending the whole day together tomorrow, so it was okay.

  “See you ladies tomorrow,” he said as he exited the vehicle.

  “Bye!” Callie waved both hands from the backseat.

  “Bye, Jared, thanks again for the ice cream.”

  “My pleasure, bye.” She saw him hesitate as he closed the door and couldn’t help but notice as he stood there and watched her pull away before climbing into his truck. She wondered about those two actions throughout the rest of her evening.

  After dinner Becca was standing at the island washing dishes when Callie came over and climbed up on a bar stool that was directly across from where Becca stood. “Mommy, I have a question for you.” Becca was always amazed at how articulate her little girl was, always speaking as if she was two years older than she really was.

  “Yes, sweetheart, what’s on your mind?”

  “Well, I was thinking about my daddy. And I wanted to ask you about him.”

  Oh my! Where is this headed? “Okay sweetie, what do you want to know?” No matter how hard it was, she had always tried to be as forthright as possible when answering Callie’s questions, but with Jared in the picture now, this could be interesting.

  “I had thought that maybe Mr. Caleb would become my daddy, but he isn’t actually my daddy, so I guess he would have been like a step-mom, but not an evil one.”

  Clearly too many princess stories were a part of this little girl’s life. Maybe it’s time we encourage something other than princesses around here, Becca thought.

  “But then I met Mr. Jared. And well, Mommy, he is my real daddy, isn’t he?”

  Clang! The plate that Becca had been washing slipped out of her hands and into the sink. Nothing got past this little girl, not one thing! “Well, Callie… yes, Jared is your real daddy.”

  The girl’s face lit up like the Fourth of July. “Really? He is? I was right?” Pure joy flowed from Callie’s pores. Becca’s own emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Never in a million years had she expected Callie to figure it out on her own, especially this quickly, and then to be this excited... Tears pooled in Becca’s eyes. The little girl jumped down from the stool and started doing her infamous happy dance. Becca just laughed and went around the island to join her. Callie ran to her and gave her a big hug.

  Once Callie loosened her grip around her neck, Becca pulled her back to arm’s length and looked the girl in the eye. “Now tell me, how did you figure it out?”

  “His eyes. You were right, Mom. My eyes are just like his. And I knew because of the way he looks at you too, just like Eric looked at Ariel when he found her on the beach, before he realized she couldn’t talk.”

  Seriously, too many princess movies! Becca chuckled to herself.

  “Mommy, do you think it would be okay if I call him Daddy instead of Mr. Jared.”

  “I think that would be wonderful. I think he would like that very much. In fact, when he gets here in the morning, I think you should greet him that way.”

  “Okay!”

  So that’s exactly what they did the next morning.

  CHAPTER NINE

  A ray of sunshine found its way around Becca’s curtains and nudged her awake with its hopeful light. Callie came running into Becca’s room and started jumping on the bed, chanting something about seeing her daddy today. Callie had already been playing dress up and was in an eclectic array of princess and fairy garb over her pajamas including a tutu, fairy wings, and a princess wand and tiara. On a normal Saturday morning Becca would have fussed at Callie to settle down, but she was as excited as the little girl.

  Becca had barely managed to brush her teeth before the doorbell rang. She looked at the clock, 8:05. Wow, he took her literally when she said any time after eight. Callie came running into the bathroom. “Mommy, he’s here!”

  “I know, Callie. Why don’t I let him in and then you come down the stairs okay?”

  “Okay!”

  Becca slowly wandered down the stairs, still in her pajama pants and tank top, fiddling with her phone as she went. She was trying to get the video recorder ready for Callie’s big reveal to Jared. Becca was a little nervous about how he would react, but more than anything she expected him to be thrilled.

  Looking up from her phone once she had the app opened, she opened the door and was greeted by the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. He stood there unshaven, dressed in a pair of jeans with a plain, navy blue t-shirt stretched across his broad muscular shoulders. “Good morning, Jared,” she said with a grin that matched his. “Come on in.”

  “Still in your pajamas?” he teased with raised eyebrows.

  “Yes, it’s barely after eight. I think I’ve been up all of fifteen minutes maybe.”

  Becca hit the record button as Callie came bounding down the stairs. The little girl’s grin was going to give her away. Jared’s eyebrows rose and furrowed ever so slightly. He probably suspected something was amiss. Callie stopped on the landing that was only two stairs high and reache
d her arms up to Jared. He lifted her up but looked a little perplexed by her affection. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clasped her hands around his neck and then with a grin that was bigger than her little face said, “Good morning, Daddy!” She then threw herself into him, tightening her arms around his neck.

  Jared leaned his head back as the shock of what she said hit him. Then joy overtook his face as he absorbed the realization that his little girl knew who he was. He leaned into her hug and tightened his arms around her. “Good morning, my little princess!”

  Becca wiped tears from her face as a few tears escaped from Jared’s eyes as he stood there holding their daughter.

  Jared looked at Becca, his arms still tight around Callie. “You told her?”

  “Didn’t have to. She figured it out on her own. I just confirmed the truth of her suspicion.”

  “Really? On her own? How?”

  “Your eyes. I have always told her how she has her daddy’s eyes.”

  “That’s how I knew she was mine, too.”

  “I know.”

  Callie wouldn’t let go of Jared, and he clearly didn’t mind. He carried her to the kitchen. “So, what’s for breakfast?” he asked.

  “How does French toast and bacon sound?”

  “Sounds good to me. Callie, you agree?”

  She nodded her head animatedly.

  Becca smiled, “French toast it is then.”

  “How can I help, Becca?”

  “Well, Callie, are you going to help me with the egg and bread?”

  She finally wriggled down from Jared’s arms, “Yep.”

  “All right then, Jared, can you be in charge of the bacon?”

  “Absolutely, I have always done a better job with the bacon than you anyway.”

  “Shut it,” she muttered under her breath just loud enough for him to hear. He laughed at her; she couldn’t help but smile in return.

  They had a wonderful time enjoying the warm, sunny September day at the zoo. Becca’s heart swelled with joy and love as she watched Jared and Callie interact. The little girl was falling head over heels for her daddy, and Jared was doing the same for their little girl. Callie repeatedly held Jared’s hand as they walked around looking at the animals. As Callie grew tired by the end of the afternoon, Jared lifted her onto his shoulders. The little girl was hesitant at first being so high off the ground, but quickly relaxed and embraced her adventurous side. She especially seemed to enjoy being able to see the animals even if other people were in the way.