Not Alone

by Liz Bradford

  “Yikes,” Baker commented.

  Becca sat up straighter. Her shoulders back with confidence Jared knew was not her own. “Our goal now is to try and figure out where he is hiding out. We know there is nothing in his name on record.”

  Miller said, “He doesn’t use credit cards or have an active bank account. It looks like about a year and a half ago he went to using cash only. Cashed all their pay checks and pulled a quarter of a million dollars out of the bank. He was a successful, catch this, landscaper until he disappeared.”

  “Or at least until his wife served him with those divorce papers,” Jamison added.

  “We also know that the panel van is not registered to him.” Jared joined the conversation, adding what he had been researching. “It looks like he stole it in Maryland, as there is a report of a stolen dark colored panel van there. Which is why we couldn’t find any matches, we were only looking in North Carolina and surrounding states.”

  Captain Baker said, “Well, we still have an APB on the van and now on him, too. What’s the status of the car registered in his name? Assuming he had one.”

  “It was found abandoned in Delaware three weeks after they went missing. We believe he either stole or paid cash for at least one other car along the way.”

  “Have we been in touch with Delaware police to let them know we found Stuart and Freddy?”

  Miller spoke up, “I was about to make that call.”

  “Now, as far as Rebecca’s safety, what’s the plan?”

  Everyone looked at the Captain; they hadn’t talked about it at all as a team. In fact, they had specifically avoided the subject, except briefly when Becca left for a bathroom break. And that had involved no development of a plan. Miller had asked if Jared was staying at her house, a question that surprisingly made Jared uncomfortable, probably because he wanted to. Not necessarily the best idea in some ways, but it was the most logical thing to do to keep Becca safe.

  Becca said, “I’ll be fine, Captain.”

  “Palmer, we need a plan. We know you are his next target.”

  “But am I? Maybe he has seven more ladies on his itinerary.”

  “Becca,” Jared said before the Captain could reply, “Don’t be ridiculous!”

  Captain Baker stepped in before Becca could respond with even a look at Jared, “Rebecca, we have to assume you are the next target. You are one of my top detectives, and I am not about to let something happen to you, is that clear? We need a plan to keep you safe. It doesn’t have to be anything terribly elaborate, but I really don’t want you to be alone at all until we have this guy behind bars.”

  Jared was torn in what to offer at this point. He could stay at her house with her, but the temptation… would they be able to keep their desire for one another at bay?

  “Do you think if this guy realized that Jared and Rebecca are back together that he would decide she isn’t a target anymore?” Jamison asked.

  Miller answered, “I’m guessing not. He probably picked her out long ago and now that he realizes that she is the cop on his tail that probably just makes his desire to get her even greater. Palmer, when did he start talking to you?”

  “Well, I started noticing him around the park last June, after school was out for summer.”

  “So, he has been targeting each of these women for months?!” Jamison said. They had known that he been around the parks for a while, but it was still shocking to them all.

  “Yep,” Becca said flatly. “The first victim was mid-August, so that means he was plotting and planning this for two months before he struck. I’m trying to think about when I might have let it slip that I was a cop, but I’m not sure.”

  “Well, the press has been all over this case. You did your first press conference on it after the second victim,” Baker replied.

  “Right, I’m not sure I said anything about it. I try to avoid talking about what I do when Callie’s around. But he definitely asked me about it after seeing me on the news. But he had probably already picked me as a victim, hadn’t he?”

  The guys all nodded. They didn’t know what to say, but Baker finally thought of something. “Hard to say, but probably. Especially if he found out Jane came and spoke to you.”

  “I did give her a business card.” Becca’s face went pale. “I wonder how long his list is. Am I the last name on that list or are there more? Is he going to kill someone else if he can’t get to me?”

  “I think he’s psychotic enough that he will try to get you no matter what,” Miller said.

  The tone in the room was eerie. Despite the midday sun, that was high in the October sky and beamed through the two windows in the room, a darkness had overtaken the room, and it was disconcerting. Jared could tell that each of these men cared deeply for Becca, and that gave him a little peace about the situation. Not one of them was going to let any harm come to her if they could prevent it, and they would try their best to do just that. But would their best be good enough?

  They all sat in silence for a few minutes. Jared kept going over it in his mind--what was the best thing to do to keep Becca safe when she was off the clock? Here at the station it was easy. There were cops everywhere. He would never get close to her here. But out in the field and at home, what did they need to do? How brazen would this man be? They would have to always stay together out on the streets, no splitting up to inspect things or follow suspects. But at home…

  Becca said, “Jared.” She was looking right at him as she spoke softly so only he could hear. “Would you stay at my house? Callie could sleep with me, and you could have her room.”

  He hadn’t thought of that. He smiled at her. “Of course, Babe.”

  Apparently, she hadn’t spoken as softly as he thought, because all three of the guys were now smiling and Baker said, “That seems like the best idea, but Becca, no leaving the house alone, especially if Callie is with Jared or at school. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir. But isn’t this guy going to give us a clue that he’s going to try and take me by sending flowers first?”

  “If he follows his pattern, he will,” Miller said.

  “Okay,” Jamison said, “I’ve wanted to talk about this for a while, but every time I think about it we are so focused on something else that I put it to the back burner. What is with his time table? The first three victims were all exactly two weeks apart. Kidnapped on Monday, dumped on Thursday. So, what changed his agenda with number four and why has it been so willy-nilly since?”

  “I’ve wondered the same thing, Adam,” Becca said. “I think with Angela it had to do with the fact that she was catching a flight for a last-minute business trip on Sunday night. As a result, he had to escalate his timeline.”

  “But why not just keep her until Thursday and have her a day longer? Why dump her body on Wednesday?”

  “I’m guessing everything he does to these women is on a specific timetable and adding a day didn’t work. But then five and six, what’s with that?”

  Jared looked at the calendar and counted, “I got it; he’s escalating a day earlier with each victim since number four. Between the third and fourth there were thirteen days instead of fourteen, and then vic five was twelve days later, and six was eleven days later.”

  Jamison responded, “So we have ten days?”

  “I guess.”

  Becca shoved herself back from the table and stood, shaking her head. “There always has to be a pattern with this guy.” She tossed her pen on the table.

  They had spent all morning and early afternoon working on figuring out who Stuart really was, but so far, they had no idea where he could be. Becca was relieved when the ME called with the identification of the latest victim. She was Cindy Lazouski, a twenty-eight-year-old, single mother to a four-year-old girl. Once they had her name, Becca and Jared went to make the death notification. They spent over an hour talking to the ex-husband at his little apartment. The couple had only been divorced for a year, and it hadn’t been his choice. He told Jared and Becca that
they had fallen out of love, and Cindy simply didn’t want to put the effort in to try to stay together and had grown to hate him. The man was deeply grieved to hear that she had died. Cindy worked out of what used to be their house, running her own business. It had been his week to keep their daughter. Cindy hated him so much that she never called their daughter when she was with him, so they didn’t even notice that she was missing.

  “Can I see her?” the husband had asked.

  “Yes, in fact we will need someone to identify her,” Jared said. “Just go down to the coroner’s office when you are ready.”

  Becca wrote down the address on the back of one of her business cards and handed it to Mr. Lazouski.

  It was five o’clock by the time they left his home. After a quick stop at the station to touch base with Jamison and Miller and to exchange the precinct’s car for Jared’s truck they headed home. Earlier in the day they had called their siblings and invited them over for dinner; they needed to be informed about what was going on with Becca. She knew her sister wouldn’t be impressed with the idea of Jared staying there, but she also knew that Amy would, at the same time, feel more comfortable with Becca’s safety if Jared was there. Becca was curious how Caleb would react to it all. He was worried about her, so she expected his support over any awkwardness that could reside in the situation.

  Since Amy was going to bring Callie when she and Tom and their kids came, Jared drove straight to Becca’s house after quickly stopping at Caleb’s to pack himself a bag. Once they were home, Becca got dinner started, and it wasn’t long before everyone was there. Caleb was the first to arrive, still dressed in his dark blue paramedic’s uniform. When Amy and Tom arrived with the kids, Callie ran in and jumped into Jared’s arms. Becca’s heart swelled every single time she watched them interact. Callie then came and gave her a hug.

  Amy joined her in the kitchen, “Need any help, sis?”

  “Nope, I’ve got it. Super easy taco soup tonight, nothing fancy.” Becca poured the last can of beans into the pot and stirred everything together and set the burner to a medium heat. Becca turned to the kids, “Hey, can you three go play in Callie’s room for a bit; the adults need to talk, all right?” All three kids agreed and ran up the stairs without hesitation. Becca exchanged an apprehensive look with Jared as she turned around.

  “Let’s go talk in the family room,” Jared said. He put his hand on the small of her back as they went into the family room. Becca sat on the couch and Jared sat on the arm of the couch behind her. Caleb sat at the other end of the couch, and Amy and Tom pulled in a couple of chairs from the kitchen. Amy and Tom’s expressions were full of confusion, but Caleb looked concerned with a hint of fear in his eyes about what they were about to tell them.

  “So, you guys are probably curious what we wanted to talk to you about.” She watched a glimmer of hope cross Amy’s face and knew exactly what crossed her mind. Becca subtly shook her head and watched her sister’s shoulders drop a little. “Well, you guys are all familiar with the case we have been working, right?”

  They all nodded.

  “Well… we…” She looked up at Jared. He put his hand on Becca’s shoulder and took over.

  “What Becca is trying to say is that, well…” He wasn’t having any easier a time saying it than she was. “Well, we have reason to believe Becca’s the killer’s next target.”

  Since Caleb had already suspected that could happen, his face reflected that with pursed lips and furrowed brow, but Tom and Amy had no idea, so shock was an understatement.

  “WHAT?!” Amy exclaimed sitting forward in her chair. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure,” Becca said. After giving Amy a few moments to digest the news she added, “But Jared is going to stay here to help keep me safe.”

  In true sisterly form, Amy’s reaction to that idea was, “Do you really think that is a good idea?”

  “You have a better one?” Becca retorted.

  “Well, no, if anyone is going to keep you safe, it’s Jared.”

  “Exactly. I understand your concern, but we’ll be good. I promise.” She shot Jared a sweet smile that was supposed to be innocent, but she wasn’t sure how well that came across.

  “Well, that makes the most sense to me,” Caleb finally spoke up. Becca was impressed by how accepting he was of her relationship with Jared, but she supposed he didn’t really have a choice.

  Becca really didn’t want to go into more details and thankfully no one asked any questions. But they all wanted to help anyway they could, for which Becca and Jared were both very grateful. It was wonderful to have such a loving family. After they had eaten dinner, while the kids were playing in the family room and the guys were cleaning up, Becca and Amy went upstairs to change the sheets on Callie’s bed and make room for Jared.

  “How are you really doing? You’ve got to be scared out of your mind. I know I am,” Amy said as they ascended the stairs.

  They turned into Callie’s room and began picking up the toys, “I am, but I’m also not sure it has sunk in, and I’m trying not to think about it. I’m trying to focus on capturing him before he even has a chance to try and take me. He’s got quite a few odds against him when it comes to me that he didn’t have with the other women. One, I’ve got a gun; two, I know he’s a risk and will arrest him on sight. We’ve already got the warrant for his arrest.”

  “Not to mention you’re one tough cookie! He’s got some nerve! Ugh!” Amy tossed a few more toys in a bin. “How’s Jared handling it? He seems so much calmer than I would expect!”

  “I know! I keep expecting him to start yelling or throwing things, but he really has changed, Amy. His temper doesn’t control him at all like it used to. I can still tell he is very upset, and so scared, but he’s holding it together. As much as it is going to be challenging having him here in some respects, I feel so much safer knowing he is near.”

  “I bet. Have you guys established any ground rules?”

  “No, but I think it suffices to say the rule is ‘don’t have sex’!” Becca smiled, so much easier said than done.

  “Maybe we should just throw you two a shotgun wedding, and then no one would have to worry about that!” Amy laughed and so did Becca.

  “Nice thought, but I really don’t want that to be the way our wedding happens, plus I’m not ready to rush into it.”

  “Are you sure? Because you two are awfully cozy together.”

  Becca felt her cheeks flush at her sister’s assessment. “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that things are going really well, but it is happening so fast…”

  “Would you have expected it to go any other way, especially since you are working together, too?”

  “Well, I guess not. But if it was someone else, and I was looking in from the outside, I would probably be like ‘Whoa, slow it down!’ He hasn’t even been here a month.”

  “Becca, do you know what you want?”

  “Yes, I do. But is that what God wants? Is that what he is calling us to?”

  “Are you praying about it?”

  “Of course, Amy! All I do is pray about it. In fact, I almost feel like I pray about it too much.”

  “No such thing! But have you taken time to really listen for a response?”

  That question stopped Becca dead in her tracks of changing the sheets. Had she listened? Was God leading her in one direction or another as far as Jared was concerned? It was so hard to listen when you only want to hear one answer. “Not like I should. Honestly, I’m terrified of hearing the ‘wrong’ answer.”

  “But Becca, if you really want to do God’s will, you have to be ready to do it even if it isn’t what you want it to be.”

  Becca let it sink in as she resumed making the bed with fresh sheets. Poor Jared, not only was he 6’4” and going to try to sleep in a twin bed, but on princess sheets nonetheless. But he wouldn’t care.

  She loved him so much. She wanted to marry him; she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. But God,
what do you want? Help me to listen to what you’re saying. She tried to do just that as she and Amy quietly finished picking up Callie’s room making plenty of room for Jared.

  They were about to go downstairs when Amy reached out and touched Becca’s arm, stopping her from going down. “Becca, I feel like I need to say something more. As I’ve been praying for you and Jared, not just in the last five minutes but over the last few weeks, I’ve really had a sense that this was meant to be. That God brought you back together for a purpose, maybe it’s not a profound purpose, but that it isn’t by accident that your paths took so long to cross again and now finally have.”

  “Really?” Becca was dumbfounded by Amy’s words. She didn’t know what to say. Was this God’s answer?

  Amy nodded, and the sisters embraced.

  After everyone had left and they had settled Callie into Becca’s bed, Becca went to take a shower. Jared brought his bag upstairs and started settling into Callie’s room. As soon as he heard the water cut off he went into the hall bathroom and took a shower himself. Thankfully, Becca had left him a little bit of hot water, something she hadn’t always done. He smiled at the memory of how, on more than one occasion, she had used all the hot water during the days when they lived together. It had made him so angry, but somehow his anger always dissipated as soon as he saw her sitting on the couch or bed in her short pajama shorts and spaghetti strap tank. He couldn’t help but think about what she would be wearing right now. Stop, Jared! He scolded himself. This was not going to be easy!

  He slipped on a pair of pajama pants and a well-worn Chicago Bears’ t-shirt after he got out of the shower. He then wandered downstairs. As he rounded the corner into the great room he saw Becca sitting on the couch angled away from him; she was wearing a pair of pajama pants and her baggy t-shirt with her wet hair in a braid that was draped over her shoulder. It appeared she was reading her Bible. He smiled. He loved that they had both found the love of their Heavenly Father.

  Jared went into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of milk and found the cookies. Tonight was one of those nights when he wished he still drank. A cold beer would be really nice about now, but ever since his extreme drinking binges after Becca had disappeared on him, he didn’t even pick up a bottle anymore. He was sure it wouldn’t be a problem for him, but drinking had become attached to the grief he had experienced, and the very taste of beer had become too connected to the hollow feeling he had felt during that dark time of his life. So, a glass of milk and cookies would be his comfort food and drink tonight.