Not Alone

by Liz Bradford

  “Don’t you think I know that!” Tony sat forward in his seat. “My kids have done nothing but cry for the last two months, wanting their mom. I would never do that to them! No matter what differences Michelle and I had; I love her; I would NEVER kill her.”

  “Oh, don’t give me that. We have police reports of domestic disturbances. And one conviction of beating her. If you loved her so much why would you raise a hand to her? I’m not sure it would take much more to kill her.” Becca flipped open the folder and pulled out the pictures of each of the women as they had been found in the park, beaten and ashen with death. Flowers grasped in their cold hands. She turned the pictures around and lined them up in front of Tony.

  The man’s hands started shaking.

  “I’ll ask you again, Mr. MacDonald, why did you kill these women?” Becca stood as she slammed her fist on the table making the pictures jump a little. Tony jumped a lot.

  “I didn’t!” His voice cracked. The grown man, tough and accustomed to hard labor, was about to crack emotionally.

  Becca needed to back off a bit. Jared stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Becca’s shoulder, but instead of looking at her he looked at Tony. Becca took a step back and let Jared take the lead. “Tony, you say you didn’t, but you had Michelle’s ring on a chain around your neck. It looks like a trophy to us. Are we going to find personal items of the other three women in your possession? Can you explain the ring any other way? It was listed as a descriptor on the missing person’s report.”

  Tony took a deep breath. “Yes, I can explain. I found it in the minivan the day before you found her dead. I was cleaning the van trying to keep myself occupied so I wouldn’t worry about where she was.”

  Jared pressed his lips together, feeling very thirsty all of a sudden. He really hadn’t thought that Tony would have such a clear reason for having the ring. Jared looked over at Becca, she was breathing rather intensely. She twisted her hair and bit her lip; the usual behavior for an uncomfortable Becca. But if she kept twisting with such intensity she was going to pull the hair right out of her head.

  Becca shook her head. “I don’t believe you, Mr. MacDonald. I believe you took that ring off of Michelle’s hand when you tortured her.”

  The man leaned his head into his hands, not an easy task since one was handcuffed to the table. After a moment he looked up again and said, “I want a lawyer.”

  Jared and Becca both sighed. The likelihood that Tony would talk plummeted.

  Jared spoke, “That’s fine, sir. Do you have your own or would you like a court appointed one?”

  “I have one.” Jared pulled his notepad out of his back pocket and wrote down the lawyer’s name.

  A knock sounded on the glass of the two-way mirror. “Well, Mr. MacDonald,” Becca said, “We will hold you for the full twenty-four-hour investigative hold; if you killed these women we’ll know by tomorrow night. We’ll find a mountain of evidence, and then you’ll be looking at the death penalty. I’m going to go home and get some sleep. You enjoy your night in a holding cell.”

  Becca turned and headed out the door.

  Jared looked back at Tony. “We’ll get your lawyer for you. And we will talk more in the morning.” He left the room and joined Becca and Captain Baker in the hallway.

  The Captain was speaking, “Just go home and go at him again in the morning when you’ve had a good night’s sleep.”

  “Yes, sir,” Becca said.

  The Captain gave Jared a pointed look as if to say, “Make sure she goes to bed.” Jared wanted to laugh, but he suppressed the urge. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought Becca needed to chill. He nodded to Baker and followed Becca down the hallway. He came up beside her, but remained quiet, trying to assess her state of mind. Her eyes were sunken, and circles were forming underneath them. She was tired.

  He stopped at Margret’s desk as they entered the squad room. Everyone had worked late today. He gave her the lawyer’s name, and she said she would take care of contacting him. He thanked her and came up behind Becca just as she threw her purse over her shoulder.

  “Hey,” he said quietly.

  “Good night.”

  He stepped back and spoke softly, “Good night? Just like that? I thought—”

  She cut him off, “Well, you thought wrong.”

  “You mad at me?”

  “No. I don’t know.” She avoided his gaze and adjusted the strap on shoulder.

  “Can we talk?” He reached out toward her but didn’t touch her.

  “I don’t know, Jared. I’m tired.”

  He dropped his hand back by his side. “Becca, please don’t shut me out.”

  “I’m not trying to; I’m just tired.”

  “You may not be trying to, but you are. You’ve hardly looked at me in the last three hours since you arrested MacDonald.”

  She reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

  He suspected that she was getting a headache, so he spoke even softer. “Let me come back to your place for a bit. I’ll rub your shoulders while you drink your tea. It will help you sleep.”

  She finally met his eyes, and he saw her blink back a few tears. He widened his eyes and leaned his head closer to hers in anticipation of her answer. She nodded slightly.

  “All right, let’s go.” He looked over her shoulder to where Jamison and Miller were trying to not eavesdrop. “See you guys bright and early tomorrow.”

  “Good night,” Miller said.

  “See y’all in the mornin’,” Jamison said.

  Jared prayed as he followed Becca back to her house. God, thanks for your help in this investigation. Please let this be the guy, so this case can be over. Give us clear physical evidence so we know and can move on. Becca can’t take this much longer. It’s weighing heavily on her. She needs rest. Help her to get some tonight knowing that we have this guy in custody. Give me the words she needs to hear. Or if she needs to not hear any, help me keep my mouth shut. He pulled into her driveway behind her.

  They went in and met Amy, who had just brought Callie home and tucked her into bed. Becca ran upstairs hoping to give Callie a hug and kiss before the girl fell asleep.

  “How is she?” Amy asked while Becca was upstairs.

  “She’s tired. She went pretty hard at the suspect we have in custody and is drained from that.”

  Amy took hold of his arm. “I’m glad you’re here to help her decompress. Take care of my baby sister.”

  “Of course.”

  Becca came down the stairs.

  “Did you catch her before she fell asleep?” Amy asked.

  “Barely. She fell asleep in my arms.” Her smile had returned. It was weak, but it was there.

  “Oh, good. I’m going to head out. Good night.” Amy gave Becca a hug and left.

  Becca turned and faced Jared. Her expression hardened slightly. His heart caved in. He was determined to help her relax so she could get a good night’s sleep, and if that meant they had to fight first, then they would fight. He didn’t want to fight her, but he also knew how they had always been in the past. It was almost as if they had to blow up at each other to be able to work things through. “Becca, why don’t you go get your pajamas on, and I’ll fix your tea for you.”

  “Okay.” She went back up the stairs.

  When she came back down he was sitting on the couch with a glass of water and her cup of tea on the coffee table. She came over, picked up a throw pillow, and sat as far from him as she possibly could while still being on the couch.

  His heart was having a really hard time with this distance she seemed to be intentionally creating. O Lord, help me. He tentatively reached out and brushed his hand across her arm. She didn’t flinch like he had expected. That was a good sign.

  “Becks, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so. I’m tired.” She paused, but he waited to say anything as it seemed like she had more she wanted to say. “This case has overwhelmed me so much. I want it to be over, and I�
�m so glad we have someone in custody, but I’m just so afraid that it’s not over.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “You don’t think it’s him, do you?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t have a strong conviction either way.”

  “You think I was too hard on him tonight, don’t you?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “So yes.” She huffed and looked away from him.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  “Yes… No… I don’t know.” She shook her head.

  “Did you feel like I was undermining you in the interrogation room? Cuz I didn’t mean to.”

  “No, you didn’t. I needed to back down. You were right to step in, and you asked a valid question. I guess you were the ‘good cop’ tonight.” She looked back at him and gave him a slight smile.

  He smiled at her.

  “Captain snipped at me a bit for how hard I was. Said he would have pulled me anyway if Tony hadn’t lawyered up.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry, Becca.”

  “It’s okay. I did get a little intense. I was just so angry.”

  “Rightfully so. You’ve thought too hard about what is being done to these women and what’s being taken from these children. It’s going to make you angry.”

  “I guess. But was I being irrational?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Okay.”

  “I wish I had taken Doug’s suspicions more seriously. I just keep thinking that if we had followed up more with him when Doug suggested we should, then Angela would still be alive.”

  “Maybe, but only if he’s the killer.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Come here, Becca.” He sat up and motioned for her to sit up and turn around. She complied and let him massage her shoulders. A few silent minutes passed and once he was sure she had relaxed, he handed her the cup of tea. She leaned back against him.

  He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “Becca, keep your chin up. You’re a good cop, and we’ll nail this guy, whether it’s Tony or not. Have faith in yourself, the system, and ultimately God. My partner back in Chicago, Chad—”

  “The one who lead you to Christ?”

  “Yep. He had a Bible verse that he was always quoting, had the reference tattooed on his arm. I think it was Micah 6:8, ‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’”

  He could see her cheeks rise in a smile. “There’s a song they play on the radio that puts it, ‘seek justice.’ As a cop, I just love that line. That is what I want to do, I want to seek justice, but sometimes I forget the loving mercy part…”

  “I hear ya. But most importantly we need to walk humbly with our God.”

  “Absolutely. Jared, would you pray with me?” She turned in his arms to look him in the face.

  “Of course.”

  Together, they bowed their heads and prayed for justice, mercy, and humility as they continued in this case.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Friday morning came sooner than Becca would have liked. Despite Jared’s attempts to help her relax yesterday evening, she still hadn’t slept well. She had continued to toss the case back and forth in her mind. They needed to find some more substantial evidence for the district attorney to file the charges. She and Jared had just spent another hour in the interrogation room with Tony MacDonald and his lawyer, but they had made zero progress. It was after ten when the four detectives gathered in the conference room.

  “Anything from his house?” Becca asked Adam and Rick.

  “Nothing,” Rick said. “Unless he’s got a place we don’t know about. He might not be our guy.”

  “Well, that’s what we need to look for; does he have access to any other locations? Search for it.”

  “Will do,” Adam said. He and Rick sat down at the table with their laptops and got to work.

  Becca turned to Jared. “`You have any other ideas?

  He shook his head, “I wish I did. I guess we can help look for any other places he could have kept these women.”

  “Probably our best bet since he’s not talking.”

  They got to work as well. Around 10:30 Margret stuck her head in, “Detective Palmer, Callie’s school is on line two for you.”

  “Okay, thank you, Margret,” she exchanged a concerned look with Jared, then went over to the phone and picked it up.

  “Hello, this is Detective Rebecca Palmer.”

  “Hi, Rebecca, it’s Patty Albright at Lincoln Elementary.”

  “Hi, Patty. Is everything all right?”

  “Well, I’m afraid Callie isn’t feeling well. She threw up during gym class and is now sitting in the office with me.”

  “Oh no, poor sweetie. Okay, my sister Amy or I will be there shortly to get her. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. See you soon.”

  She turned and looked at Jared who was waiting anxiously to hear if his little girl was okay. Just as she was about to tell him the Captain walked in.

  “How’s it going in here, guys? Any progress?” He looked straight at Becca, and then added, “Palmer, are you all right?”

  “Sorry, sir. Callie’s school just called she is sick.”

  “Oh, that’s no good. Why don’t you and Jared take an early and long lunch. Go get Callie and be with her for a bit. And at least one of you come back in this afternoon. Hopefully we’ll have something more to ask MacDonald by then. These two can do any necessary leg work.”

  The Captain wasn’t going to have to tell either of them twice. Jared jumped to his feet and said, “Thank you, Captain,” and started packing up his paper work.

  They left and dropped off Jared’s truck as they drove by Becca’s house on the way to the school. After they were buzzed into the building they went straight to the office and found Callie laying in the nurse’s station. Jared picked up the little girl who was thrilled to see him, and Becca went to the front desk to sign Callie out.

  “Hey, Patty.” She gestured to Jared. “This is Callie’s dad, Jared.”

  “Hi, Rebecca. Nice to meet you, Jared. Sorry to call you at work,” said the wiry, older woman as she stepped up to the counter across from Becca.

  “Oh, that’s okay. Especially for my little girl.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine, Rebecca. Apparently one of the kids in her class brought in donuts today for his birthday and her teacher let them have them this morning, but story has it that Callie waited to eat hers and then ate it quickly right before gym. But we don’t mess around with throw up.”

  “Makes sense to me. If it was someone else’s kid, I’d want them to go home,” she smiled up at Patty as she put the pen down after signing Callie out.

  “Rebecca, can I ask you an odd non-school related question?”

  “Of course, Patty, what’s up?”

  Patty leaned across the counter as she spoke in a hushed tone, “Aren’t you working that serial murder case with the flowers I heard about on the news?”

  “Yes, I am. Why do you ask?” Becca leaned forward herself as her heart tightened.

  “Well, this may sound ridiculous, but Samantha Allen, one of the third-grade teachers didn’t come in today, didn’t even call, which is really odd for her.”

  Becca knew Samantha a little since their daughters were friends. She pictured the teacher with her short brown hair…

  “I’ve tried calling her, but there is no answer, tried both home and cell. But the reason I’m asking you right now is, well, you are here, but furthermore, I heard her telling one of the other teachers that she received a bouquet of tulips the other day.”

  This isn’t good. Becca turned towards where Jared was standing holding Callie near the door. “Jared, put Callie down and come here.” Jared gently set Callie in the chair by the door and walked over to where the ladies stood at the counter, and Becca filled him in.

  Jared’s jaw went ridged.

&nbs
p; “Patty, are Samantha’s kids here today?” Becca asked.

  “Yes, but they always spend Thursday nights at their dad’s house, so he dropped them off this morning; I saw him.”

  Becca’s heart started pounding. Had he really taken another victim before they brought Tony in last night?

  “Patty, can you call my sister and see if she can come get Callie for me?”

  “Of course, do you really think she was taken?”

  “I can’t speculate right now, but she does fit the profile, so we have to assume at this point, until we know she is safe.” Becca turned to Jared, he was already on the phone with the Captain.

  She went over to Callie, who was looking better, “Hey baby, I’m sorry you aren’t feeling good.”

  “I’m feeling a little better now.”

  “That’s good, sweetie. You’ll need to take it easy the rest of the day, okay? Mommy and Daddy just had something come up at work, and we need to help. So, Aunt Amy is going to come get you, all right?”

  The girl’s shoulders dropped.

  “I’m so sorry, hun. You know I would rather come home and snuggle with you, right?”

  Callie nodded. “I understand, Mommy. Find the bad guy so he can’t hurt anyone else.”

  “I will, baby, I will.” She hugged her little girl.

  Jared walked over and tousled the girl’s hair. “Sorry we can’t take you home, Princess.”

  “It’s okay,” Callie said.

  Becca kissed her on the head and then stood up to hear what Jared was waiting to say.

  “Captain said that Miller and Jamison are going to head over to Samantha’s home right now, and we should learn what we can here.”

  “Sounds like a plan, as soon as Amy gets here.”

  “She’s on her way,” Patty interjected as she came over near them.

  Becca wanted to ask Patty more, but not in front of Callie. She had already probably heard too much. It wasn’t long before Amy arrived though. Once Callie had left with Amy, Becca turned back to cop mode.