One Little Letter: A Bad Boy, Second Chance Romance (Office Escapades Book 1)

by Robin Edwards

  “Sure,” Julie said suspiciously. “Are you okay? You look like you ran a marathon just now.”

  “Yea, yea,” the Sheriff replied. “I was trying to talk to Lydia, but she got upset and ran off. I'm not as young as I used to be.”

  “She okay,” Julie asked, not actually caring. “She seems to dip every time there's a new victim.”

  “She is fine,” the Sheriff replied. “You know she was the one that found the first body, right?”

  “No,” Julie said shocked. “I guess that explains her weirder than usual attitude lately.”

  “Well,” he continued. “She was at the ball last night, and it brought back a ton of memories for her. She is taking it pretty hard. I got her out of there before they started questioning people.”

  “Huh,” Julie said. “I was there and didn’t notice her at all. Maybe because we were all wearing masks.”

  “She was kind of hard to miss,” the Sheriff said as he walked towards the front desk. “She cleaned up good. She was the young lady with the black sequin dress and mask with the feather.”

  Julie stopped in her tracks unable to move. Lydia was her masked beauty. Julie shook her head unable to come to terms with the thought that she fell for Lydia. The girl that hated Julie was the same girl that drank champagne and talked about her dreams for hours and then disappeared without a trace. Julie strolled towards the door, entranced in her thoughts, replaying every emotion and every movement between her and her mystery woman.

  “Are you okay,” Kait asked. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

  “Yea,” Julie said as she shuffled out of the door. “I think I did see a ghost. The ghost of a woman I thought I’d never know.”

  “What,” Kait asked, but Julie had already let the door shut behind her.

  The drive to the first victim’s, Anna Flowers, hometown went slowly, and Julie kept to her thoughts. The detective was not very talkative, and they had worked out that Julie would talk to Anna’s best friend alone since she was easier to talk to and younger than the detective. When they pulled up outside of the house, Julie tore her mind from Lydia and prepared herself to question the first witness she had ever talked to.

  The girl answered the door quickly and led Julie to the chairs on the front porch. She seemed nervous and hastily slammed the front door behind her. The witnesses name was Lisa, and she had known Anna her entire life. You could tell Anna’s murder had worn on Lisa, and her eyes were surrounded by dark circles, and her body looked frail and malnourished.

  “I'm sorry to have to ask you more questions,” Julie said imagining it was her in this girl’s shoes, and Kait had been brutally murdered. “I just need a little more information.”

  “It’s okay,” she replied. “But I told the other detective everything I knew.”

  “Well,” Julie said calmly. “I'm not a detective. I'm actually the county coroner, but I have a best friend I've known my whole life too, and I can’t imagine what this has done to you. Instead of sending another detective I decided to come down myself and talk.”

  “Oh,” Lisa said as her shoulders began to relax. “Well, what can I do for you?”

  “A number was found,” Julie said choosing her words carefully. “And a book was discovered near the bo...um near Anna with a highlighted passage that read: ‘She was a lovely girl, plain, but cute, just the type of girl my husband would want. He did always go for the plain girl since he could control them. Poor thing, she actually thinks he loves her.’ Does that mean anything to you, Lisa?’”

  Julie watched as Lisa’s face turned pale white, and her hands began to shake. She put down the paperwork and reached for Lisa’s hand as comfort. Lisa looked off into the distance with a blank stare.

  “Lisa,” Julie whispered kindly. “You don’t have to be afraid. Whatever it is will be confidential. We need to find out what the killer knew so we can get this monster.”

  Lisa’s eyes darted back to Julie with the mention of the word killer, and the blood began returning to her cheeks. She let go of Julie’s hand and sighed, bringing her fingers to her temples and searching for the words in her mind. She slapped her hands in her lap as a tear ran down her cheek and looked at Julie.

  “I told her to stop,” Lisa said sniffling. “She thought he loved her, but everyone knew he “loved” a lot of women.”

  “Who?” Julie asked.

  “Her professor, Jim Dove,” Lisa said rolling her eyes. “Anna was shy and easily coerced, and Professor Dove knew just what to say to keep her attached. She was sleeping with her married professor.”

  Julie wrote as Lisa talked explaining the dates, the run-ins with the teacher’s wife, and anything she could remember. When she was done Lisa seemed like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she hugged Julie before retreating inside. Julie moseyed towards the car convinced already that the professor had nothing to do with the murder, it was a motive for some mentally unstable serial killer.

  The detective looked at Julie when she sat down and waited for her to shuffle her notes around. This was going to be a manhunt of massive proportions, but Julie was even more furious than ever. This girl may have done something she shouldn’t have, but she didn’t deserve to die.

  “Well,” Julie said. “Let’s go interview the other victim’s best friends. I bet we find out those lines from the books are all too familiar with the victim.”

  As the detective drove off from the witnesses’ house, the clouds in the sky began to darken, and the only woman Julie had on her mind was Lydia. She had to find her and put her suspicions and questions to rest, even if Lydia rejected her.

  Chapter Five

  Julie and the detective stopped off and talked to the second victim’s friend before heading back to town. Just as Julie suspected the second victim had been dating a married man as well and the passage linked up entirely. Whoever was committing these hideous crimes had a serious problem with adultery.

  It was dark by the time Julie got back to the station, and she didn’t even take the time to go into the building. She jogged down to Lydia’s house, but all the lights were off, and no one answered the door. Julie stood outside of Lydia’s rundown childhood home trying to think of where she could have gone. They didn’t hang out ever and the only place Julie remembered seeing Lydia was sitting in a giant tree by the creek where she would throw rocks at her and Kait as children. That was it; Lydia had to be down by the creek.

  Julie ran to her house and grabbed her bicycle and pedaled down the street and over four blocks where the giant oak tree sat by the trickling water. She saw Lydia before she had pulled up next to the tree and walked her bike over, propping it against the picnic table she had carved her name into as a kid. Lydia didn’t look down at Julie when she walked up and kept her gaze out into the darkness that laid in the trees on the other side of the creek.

  “What are you doing here,” Lydia said still not breaking her eye connection. “Come to make fun of me for the other night?”

  “What,” Julie said slightly hurt. “No Lydia. I was worried about you. The Sheriff told me about you finding the first victim and then you didn’t show up today.”

  “Right,” Lydia said as she jumped down from the tree and faced Julie. “You want me to believe that you actually give a shit? Why? Because I was more palatable as an absolute stranger.”

  “Hey,” Julie said defensively. “It’s not like you knew who I was at first. You were just as into it as me.”

  “Yea, well,” Lydia said as she dusted her hands on her black cargo pants. “I ran as soon as you took your mask off, so what does that tell you?”

  “Lydia you don’t mean that,” Julie said walking towards her. “You don’t have to get defensive. The truth is I was shocked when I found out it was you but that didn’t take the butterflies in my stomach away or make me want to see you any less.” Julie reached out her hand and caressed Lydia’s cheek.

  “You mean that,” Lydia asked stepping closer to Julie. “I mean this
isn’t some mean trick where your bestie is hiding with a camera and bucket of pig’s blood?”

  “No,” Julie said chuckling. “It’s just me. I'm sorry I didn’t come sooner, I had to do some detective work on the victims.

  “Ugh,” Lydia said wrapping her arms around Julie’s waist and pulling her close. “That has to be a hell of a day. You want to grab a drink?”

  “No,” Julie said leaning in. “I kind of like it right here.”

  Julie leaned in and pressed her lips against Lydia’s. They began to kiss softly but as the night progressed so did the intensity of their passion. They climbed the large tree Lydia had grown up sitting in and sat embraced from the limbs of the tree. The night air was cold, but they had no problem keeping each other warm.

  “Did you find anything out about the victims of the case,” Lydia asked. “Whoever this is, they are sick freaks.”

  “Yea actually,” Julie replied. “The highlighted lines seem to be correlating with the secret lives of these women. It’s like the killer has something against the women these married men are sleeping with.”

  “Wow,” Lydia sighed. “That is pretty intense. At first, I just thought it was some whack job, religious person. I’m glad I’m not into dudes.”

  “No,” Julia stated. “It doesn’t seem to be tied to any religion. We are still way off the beaten path with this case. I just hope we can get to the bottom of it before they strike again. This last victim was a girl from this town.”

  “I know,” Lydia swallowed hard. “I recognized her face at the ball. She was the little sister of Alexandra Brown.”

  “Yea,” Julie said with sympathy. “She used to come over for dinner with the Sheriff’s daughter sometimes. She was a sweet girl, and I heard she just got accepted to graduate school too. I want to keep whatever secret relationship she was having quiet; I don’t want to desecrate her memory because this town is full of gossipy old hags.”

  “Ha!” Lydia laughed. “Be careful, we are almost to that age where we could be the gossipy old hags.”

  The two girls laughed and stayed up in the tree until the sun was about to rise. It was the first time Julie had felt like an average person since June, and she was sad when the night had to end. Lydia walked Julie to her door and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Are you working today,” she asked.

  “No, it’s Sunday, and I know the Sheriff isn’t working unless he has to,” Julie explained. “I am going to go in here, shower and take a nap.”

  “That sounds great,” Lydia winked at Julie. “Call me later, and we can get some dinner or something.”

  “I will,” Julie kissed Lydia one last time and went inside, locking the door behind her.

  She felt guilty being so overwhelmed with happy emotion knowing the Brown’s were having the worst few days of their lives. As much as Julie wanted to jump back out there and get more information on the victims she knew she needed a day off to relax. Julie began walking up the stairs towards her room when she heard a clatter in the kitchen. She froze trying to remember if she had locked the door before she left.

  Julie turned around and slowly crept back down the stairs and grabbed the bat she stashed by the front door. She could see a moving shadow coming from the kitchen, and she pulled out her cellphone, ready to clobber the intruder and call 911. Julie’s footsteps slowed as the thought of the serial killer ran through her mind but figured she was safe since she wasn’t in any extramarital affair.

  Julie reached the kitchen door, took a deep breath and ran into the kitchen with the bat over her head. She didn’t see anyone in front of her, but the back door was sitting wide open. How did someone get in without breaking the lock and how did they get the security code to the house. The kitchen was trashed as if the intruder was searching for something. Julie turned around as the kitchen door slowed from her kick. She gasped and began to back up as she noticed a note stuck in the swinging door, suspended by her own large kitchen knife. The note was written in red as if the person had used blood to write it. The letter only said:

  Back Off Little Julie. You Don’t Want To End Up Like Poor Macy Brown.

  Xoxoxoxo

  Chapter Six

  The grass under Julie’s feet was still wet from the dew that morning, and Lydia nudged her shoulder smiling sweetly. The pastor was finishing his speech, and then they would lay Macy Brown to rest, her autopsy turning up the same thing as all of the other girls. Julie just couldn’t help but wonder why the killer picked her; she was so young and so promising.

  The group began to move forward in a line, tossing a red rose into the hole as they walked past. Julie stopped for a moment and stared down at the red oak box holding the body of a woman who should have never had her life snatched away. Lydia walked up beside her, grasping her hand and resting her chin on Julie’s shoulder. Julie looked at her and gave her a half smile before tossing the rose onto the casket and walking forward.

  “Julie,” Sheriff Bartlett called after her. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay Sheriff,” July answered. “I am just ready to get back to work. This week off was appreciated, but I am going crazy.”

  “Well,” Sheriff Bartlett seemed to contemplate his next words carefully. “I promised your folks you would get ample time, but I guess if you are ready then I will see you Monday morning.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff,” Julie said as he kissed her forehead and caught up with his wife and children.

  Julie and Lydia decided to walk back to town, thinking some fresh air would do them well. It was now into the second week of November and Thanksgiving was drawing close. Lydia had become a source of strength for Julie, and even though Kait didn’t quite understand, she was just happy Julie wasn’t working all the time. Kait had left for the weekend, too stressed over the events with the Brown family. She and Tommy said they were going to go to Boston for the week and just relax, get away from the crazy.

  After the note was found on Julie’s kitchen door, the police came, and the Sheriff got nervous. Julie was like family to him, so he gave her some paid time off and assigned police guards at her house around the clock. There hadn’t been a peep from the murderer since then, and Julie was determined not to let the killer scare her away from the trial. These six women deserved to have someone on their side, fighting for their justice. Lydia had started getting involved in the case as well, and though she said it was to help bring the killer to justice, Julie was pretty sure it was to keep an eye on Julie and her safety.

  Though Julie felt safe knowing there were cops at all her doors, she still couldn’t sleep at night, having flashes of the victim’s faces fill her dreams. Even when Lydia slept over, which was most nights now, she still would sneak out of bed and sit at her desk writing about possible leads and motives in the murders. The only time Julie stopped obsessing was when she and Lydia would discuss Thanksgiving and how she was planning on introducing her to her parents and brothers. Lydia was nervous for a couple of reasons. One, Julie had never brought a woman to the house to meet her family and two, Julie’s mom was well aware of Lydia’s past and issues, and she was afraid they would judge her without even knowing her first. Julie tried to calm those fears knowing her parents were real people and the Sheriff would be there too, but Lydia seemed to grow more and more nervous as November wore on.

  There hadn’t been many breaks in the case with Macy Brown, and the locals were proving hard to crack especially when it came to Macy’s private life. From what Julie understood from talking to the guards at their house, Macy was definitely seeing someone, but the secret was being protected like she was dating the President. Julie wanted to get out there and take a crack at it, especially since she wasn’t a cop and so many people in town trusted her. She had every intention of going out first thing Monday and talking to Macy’s sister about what was going on.

  Lydia didn’t seem happy at the idea of Julie going out without her and had talked the Sheriff into letting her drive Julie around in one of the police SUV
s as precautionary measures. The Sheriff had been distant from Lydia, and she was starting to feel slightly confused by his reluctance to talk about Macy Brown and who she may have been dating. Lydia watched everything around her and had acquired the ability to see things most people would miss through her youth since she always had to be prepared with her mom. Lydia knew two things, the Sheriff was acting strange, and though Lydia hadn’t mentioned it to Julie, she had run into Kait’s boyfriend Tommy that morning, and he didn’t know anything about Kait going to Boston for a week.

  Lydia was determined to figure out what was going on behind closed doors in that town. She always thought she had the shadiest life in their small community, but it turns out the secrets were a lot deeper than she imagined. There was only one way to sift through the drama, and that was by watching and waiting because everyone messes up, it’s just a matter of paying attention to the details.

  The sun was overhead as Julie and Lydia walked along the streets from the cemetery, and the light warmed Julie’s, heart. Lydia couldn’t help but see that beautiful little girl still inside this amazing woman Julie had become. Thanksgiving was just around the corner Lydia feared there would be more than just a carved turkey on the menu this year.

  The End

  I wanted to thank you for taking the time in reading Hidden Mistress. We hoped you enjoyed the first part of the Ladies of Bushwick series and look forward to seeing how the cliffhanger concludes in the sequels.

  It brought me great joy to write this as I love writing stories that entertain readers and draws them into another world with characters you love and hate. They say great books are those that evoke emotion out of you and I hope that’s what it has done for you.

  Thank you once again, and I’ll see you in the next one.