Becoming Forever (Waking Forever Series)

by McVea, Heather

  Ash stood perfectly still for several seconds as she processed this lovely gesture from her friend and how she felt about it.

  It’s perfectly fine for a friend to send another friend flowers. Especially after we had a bit of a tiff last night. Ash sat down at her desk and positioned the vase of flowers on the corner. Then why am I beyond ecstatic that these are from Emma, and when I thought they were from Lara I was only pleasantly pleased?

  “Sweet Jesus, that’s an impressive handful of dead things.” Ash was brought out of her pondering by Cris coming in the office. Before she could respond with her usual sarcasm, she saw their Lieutenant, Robert Edwards, behind Cris.

  Ash stood up smartly behind her desk. “Morning, sir.”

  Robert Edwards was nearly twenty pounds overweight at 5’8” tall, with thinning gray hair. He was a career officer who had been promoted to Lieutenant of Homicide over three years ago. The Lieutenant was a reasonable man, but he hated excuses and didn’t abide failure. Ash assumed he was here to talk to her and Cris about the open, and still very unsolved, Garrett case.

  “What have you two got on Garrett?” Robert sat on the edge of Ash’s desk, eyeing the large arrangement.

  Ash looked at Cris, who nodded, indicating she was up to bat. “One person of interest. Girlfriend who may have aided the perp. Unusual bite marks and saliva on the victim; so we are looking into possible ritual killing or even a fledgling killer who might have committed similar crimes elsewhere.”

  Edwards looked from the flowers to Cris, and then at Ash. “You’re at the three week mark, Haines. The trail will only get colder. Why hasn’t this person of interest been brought in for formal questioning?”

  “She has an alibi, sir, which is why we think she knows the perp, or aided them in some way.” Ash forced herself to breathe so her voice wouldn’t tighten up. “And based on her attitude during my initial interview, I doubt she would come in of her own fruition.”

  “Hello, Detective Haines.” Ela’s melodic voice filled the small office.

  Ash jerked her head around, her mouth open. “Ah, Ms. Jacobs.”

  Ela smiled and came into the office, both Cris and Robert stood. “Please, Detective Haines, I give you my permission to call me Ela.” She turned her attentions to Robert. “And who is this?”

  The Lieutenant cleared his throat and stretched out his hand. “Robert Edwards, Ms. Jacobs.”

  Ela winked as she took the man’s hand. “Ela.” Turning toward Cris, she extended her hand.

  “You must be Detective Haines’ partner, Cristelo Martinez.” Ela’s accent was perfect as she took Cris’ hand between both of hers. “Is that spelled without the ‘h’?”

  Cris nodded. “Yes, Ms –”

  Ela release Cris’ hand and shook her finger at him teasingly. “Ela, please.”

  Ash managed to regain her composure. “Ms. Jacobs, how did you get back here?”

  Ela turned toward Ash. “I showed them my ID, told them I had an appointment, and I was buzzed through.” She grinned.

  Ash looked at Robert who shook his head. “I’ll go take care of this. Ela, it was a pleasure.” The lieutenant left the office, his irritation over the security breach clear by the tension in his shoulders.

  “What brings you to our neck of the woods?” Cris gestured for the woman to sit in the chair at the end of his desk.

  Ela moved gracefully through the cramped space and sat in the chair. Crossing her legs, she put her elbow on the edge of Cris’ desk. “Cristelo, I’m sure you heard I behaved rather badly when your partner approached me at Paul’s funeral.” Ela glanced at Ash and frowned. “I was so deep in my own grief I wasn’t myself.”

  Ash had to stifle a laugh. “Something’s deep.”

  Cris smirked and looked closely at the woman. Her skin was flawless, and her eyes were the most intense blue he had ever seen. “What can you tell us about Mr. Garrett’s death?”

  Ela turned her attentions back to Cris. “I don’t know if I can help at all, but I would like to make a formal statement. Maybe there is something I know and don’t even realize may assist you with the investigation.”

  Cris nodded, and got up from his desk. “Let me get a recorder, and we can take your statement.”

  Ash shifted in her chair as she studied the woman. She was too perfect in her pose and appearance. Not even a hair seemed out of place. “You’re staring, Detective Haines. See anything you like?”

  Ash blinked and looked Ela directly in the eye. “Nothing.”

  Ela smiled, her perfectly straight, white teeth peeking out from under her full, pink lips. “Perhaps your affections are in reserve for the one who sent you such beautiful flowers?” Ela stood and walked toward the arrangement, gently stroking one of the roses.

  “My affections are none of your concern.” Ash’s voice was flat.

  Ela grinned and cocked her head to the side. “Love is always my concern, detective. Relationships are what make the world go around. For better or ill.”

  Ash didn’t want to have a conversation about love and hate with a woman she suspected murdered, or aided in the murder, an innocent man. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.” Ash’s attempt to end the line of conversation seemed to only encourage Ela.

  “No? Don’t you date, detective?” Ela practically purred the question.

  Ash shook her head. “Again, that’s none of your concern.”

  Ela smiled. “Have you ever been to Mexico, detective?”

  Before Ash could answer, Cris came back in with a recorder and wireless microphone. “Here we go. Just a few minutes to set-up.” He put the devices down on his desk. “Ash, can you get the consent form out for Ms. Jacobs to sign, please?”

  Ash pulled the form from a stack in her drawer. “By signing this, you are waiving your right to counsel and attesting all statements made are truthful to the best of your knowledge. Do you understand?”

  Ela bit her lower lip. “Very by-the-book, detective.” She reached for a pen on Cris’ desk and without reading the form, signed and dated the document. Ash took the form, and noticed the European formatted date with the day before the month. Maybe Poland wasn’t too far off the mark?

  Ash wanted desperately to piece this woman’s life together. All of the searches had turned up nothing on Ela Michelle Jacobs. There was no record of her, and even with the copy of her identification this statement entitled them to, Ash doubted she would find any clues to where this woman came from. It was odd how even after meeting Ela, she was no less a mystery to Ash than when she was a faceless woman named Michelle.

  “Speak into the microphone, Ela.” Cris pressed the record button. “Please state your name.”

  “Ela Michelle Jacobs.” Ela grinned.

  “Your date of birth.” Cris continued.

  “Older than twenty-one, detective.” Ela winked.

  “Your date of birth.” Ash interrupted.

  Ela frowned. “Fine. December seventh, nineteen seventy eight.” The woman stuck out her lip in an exaggerated pout, but then her face went like stone and her eyes flashed an iridescent blue as her stare focused at a point over Ash’s right shoulder.

  Ash turned slowly to see what was causing such a pained expression on the woman’s face. Looking through the glass window of her office door, Ash saw Emma standing in the hall talking to one of the patrol officers. She was smiling and something the officer had said triggered a full-on laugh from the doctor.

  “I’m sorry, I have to go. I suddenly remembered an appointment.” Ela stood and picked her purse up from Cris’ desk.

  “But we’ve only just started.” Cris left the tape recorder running as he maneuvered around his desk.

  “Let’s try again tomorrow? Say three o’clock?” Ela was at the door.

  Ash watched in utter confusion, as the usually confident and irreverent woman stammered and nearly sprinted from their office.

  “What the hell?” Cris asked as he stood with his hand on the open door’s knob. “I’ll
be right back, partner.” He turned left out of the door and headed toward the lieutenant’s office.

  Ash stood and stepped out into the hall. Ela had taken an immediate right out of the office, guaranteeing she would not cross paths with Emma. Ash looked at the unassuming doctor, and tried to figure out what had spooked Ela.

  Ash cleared her throat. “Dr. Atman.” She used her friend’s official title in the workplace out of respect and to mitigate any unwarranted gossip.

  Emma turned her head and realizing it was Ash, smiled. “Detective Haines. Nice to see you.”

  “If you have a minute, could you pop in when you’re done?” Ash gestured over her shoulder with an outstretched thumb.

  Emma nodded. “Of course.”

  Ash stepped back into her office, switched the recorder off, and took a seat. She picked up her stylus and fidgeted with it while she waited for Emma. Ela Jacobs was strange, but not just her behavior. The way she moved and spoke seemed surreal, fluid and seamless.

  And what the hell was that shit about dating and Mexico? Ash sat up in her chair, panic setting in as she wondered if Ela had been following her, and knew about Lara.

  Ash picked up her phone from her desk and quickly scrolled through her recent contacts, highlighted Lara’s name and hit send. Emma walked into the office as the phone rang. She walked around Ash’s desk and sat in the chair Ela had occupied moments before, a smile on her face as she admired the arrangement of flowers on Ash’s desk.

  “Hey it’s me.” Ash’s shoulders relaxed as she heard Lara’s voice. “I know, usually I text, but what can I say, desperate to hear your voice.” Ash smiled as she looked at Emma. Holding up her index finger, she mouthed the call would take one minute. Emma nodded.

  “I’m confirming we are still on for dinner.” There was a pause as Ash nodded. “Wonderful, see you then.” She hit the end button, and could tell from Lara’s tone the woman was confused by her random call, but she had no intention of sharing her concerns about Ela unless she had something substantive to back them up.

  “That sounded like a pleasant exchange.” Emma looked at Ash’s phone, which she had placed back on the desk.

  “It was.” Ash hadn’t talked to Emma about Lara yet. The topic hadn’t come up and Ash was trying not to make a big deal out of the burgeoning relationship for fear she might jinx it. “A woman I just started dating.”

  Emma nodded slowly. “Is it serious?”

  Ash grinned. “No, but it could get around to that.”

  Emma bit her lower lip. “That’s great.” The doctor shifted in the chair. “You needed something?” The shift in Emma’s tone was palpable. For all of her technical jargon she was always welcoming and warm. That had all but disappeared before Ash’s eyes.

  Undeterred, Ash stood up and crossed the small space. “First, these flowers are gorgeous, and I had a warm fuzzy that you thought of me.” She pulled the stunned doctor out of the chair, and wrapped her arms around Emma’s stiff shoulders realizing it wasn’t just her hands that were cold, but her entire body was cool to the touch. She was also surprised at how solid the woman in her arms felt.

  Within seconds, Emma’s posture relaxed, and she slid her arms around Ash’s waist. It was the first time they had hugged. The sensation of Emma’s body pressed to hers, and her arms pulling them closer together sent a spark of electricity skittering through Ash’s body. She quickly moved away without looking at Emma. “It’s been ages since I’ve got flowers.” Ash sat back down at her desk, hoping she had stopped blushing, and could make eye contact with her friend.

  “I’m glad you like them, Ash.” Emma’s voice had a deeper resonance to it than usual.

  Ash looked up, worried her display of affection had offended the woman, but instead she found a warm smile on Emma’s face. Ash wanted to say something more, something that would move them past this awkward moment, but also to reassure Emma that she didn’t have feelings for her friend.

  “I was wondering if you wanted to watch a soccer game? Any Saturday through November. Nine o’clock in the morning at STAR Complex.” Ash felt the topic of sports was neutral enough.

  Emma smiled, and the tension in her shoulders faded. “Who plays?”

  Ash grinned. “My nephew Aiden. I coach his team.”

  Emma’s eyebrow arched. “That’s wonderful.”

  Ash nodded. “They’re eight and nine, so I promise they are past that whole swarm-soccer phase. Aiden is turning into an awesome sweeper.” She had extended the invitation to break the tension from the hug, but now Ash really hoped Emma would accept.

  “I would love that. Can I bring Coleen? She’s a fan of football as well.” Emma asked.

  Ash felt a lump in her throat, and immediately hated herself for what she recognized as jealousy. She still wasn’t convinced Coleen and Emma’s relationship was platonic, and she also knew - given her relationship with Lara - it was completely hypocritical of her to care.

  “The more the merrier.” Ash forced an enthused smile.

  “Hey doc, long time.” Cris entered the office, and sat down at his desk.

  Emma turned her attention to Cris and smiled warmly. “Detective Martinez, it’s nice to see you again.”

  Cris leaned back in his chair and smiled. “I guess Ash told you we had an odd one in here earlier.”

  Emma looked at Ash and then back at Cris. “We hadn’t got to that point yet.”

  “Actually it’s about the Garrett case.” He looked at Ash and then at Emma. The tension from earlier still hung in the air.

  “A lead?” Emma asked as she leaned forward in the chair.

  Cris shook his head. “Maybe, but she’s not being helpful.” He wasn’t sure what was going on between the doctor and his partner, but the two women seemed uncomfortable with one another. “Ela Jacobs. Garrett’s girlfriend.”

  Emma’s jaw clenched. “She was here?”

  The tension in Emma’s voice snapped Ash out of her awkwardness. “Just a few minutes ago.”

  Emma nodded, her shoulders tensing. “And nothing useful came out of the exchange?”

  Cris shook his head. “Not a thing. She skidded out of here claiming she was late for some appointment and -”

  Emma stood up. “Speaking of appointments, please forgive me detectives, but I am here on business and running late.” Not waiting for a response, Emma opened the door, hesitated for a second as she lifted her head and took a deep breath in through her nose. “Good day.”

  Ash and Cris sat in stunned silence. Cris lifted his arm, stuck his face in his armpit, and took a deep breath. “I’m sure it’s me.”

  Ash got up, and shut the office door. “My assumption as well.”

  She flopped back down in her chair, looking at the purple and lavender flower arrangement, she felt drained from the roller coaster ride she had been on for the past hour. Things were taking a turn in the wrong direction, leaving Ash with a feeling there were moving parts spinning all around her that she couldn’t see. More to the point, parts she was being made not to see.

  “You’re drifting on me, partner.” Cris’ voice interrupted Ash’s introspection.

  She leaned her elbows on the desk. “Your hygiene aside, weren’t both their exits strange?”

  Cris shrugged as he slid a file into the cabinet behind his desk. “Ela is strange, and the doctor was clearly here for other reasons to begin with.”

  Ash shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but doesn’t the whole case seem like a bad Law and Order episode meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

  Cris laughed. “You’re not buying that whole vampire thing, are you? This is real life, Ash, not a crappy movie.”

  Ash squinted and bit her lower lip. “No, wait - this is exactly how it happens. You and I sit here, and I say there’s something weird going on.”

  Ash stood up. “I say there are forces not of this world.” She looked down at Cris and waggled her eyebrows up and down several times. “Then you say, stic
k to the facts, Haines, and we argue, and then someone dies badly.”

  Cris laughed out loud. “Everyone dies badly. It’s the nature of dying.” He put his feet up on his desk.

  Ash slumped back down in her chair. “Something is off.”

  Cris looked at his partner for a few seconds. “What’s going on with you and the doctor? I nearly suffocated from the tension when I walked in earlier.”

  Ash was surprised by the question, but managed a vague shrug. “We’re friends.”

  Cris rolled his eyes. “Shit.”

  “What?” Ash refused to make eye contact with Cris.

  “Why would you want to be friends with her?” Cris asked.

  Ash huffed. “That’s rude.”

  “What I meant was she’s beautiful and smart. Sure, she’s a little weird, but hell, if you asked Diane she’d tell you I was from another planet half the time.” Cris grinned.

  Ash wasn’t sure where to take this conversation. In the four years she and Cris had worked together, she had dated a few women, but he had never taken an interest in her relationships.

  His wife Diane, on the other hand, wasn’t subtle, and there had been many a night she and Ash had polished off a six pack of beer and talked about why Ash hadn’t settled down. Ash always assumed her partner and his wife talked, but this was a rare occasion when Cris asked Ash directly.

  “She is all those things, but we’re too different.” Ash decided to take the safe route and not open up about her feelings for Emma, or the inherent conflict she felt about dating Lara.

  Cris looked at Ash, his brows furrowed. “You have the one thing in common.”

  Ash braced herself for the punch line. “What’s that?”

  A slow smile spread over Cris’ mouth. “You’re both weird.”

  ***

  Sunday morning had been hectic for Ash. She had finished her shift the afternoon before and just barely had enough time to make it over to Lucy’s Cake Shop to pick up the yellow sheet cake with buttercream icing before the small, family owned bakery closed for the day.

  “Where’s the cross?” Michael had asked, standing in his kitchen as he opened the white box lid to examine the cake.