Lost and Found: Sara Martin Series

by Danelle Helget

  “Hey,” I whispered. “Sorry. I didn't know how long you wanted to sleep so I set it for two hours.”

  “It's okay. Thanks. I should go home and sleep in my own bed for a few more, and then I have to go to Nisswa,” he said as he stood and folded the blanket. I stood up and walked him to the door. “Well, goodnight,” he winked. “I'll give you a call later to see if you want to go with. Thanks again for breakfast, sweetness.”

  I nodded, “You’re welcome,” I said and shut the door behind him.

  I missed him already, and he wasn't even to the end of the hall. I smiled and headed to the shower. I spend some extra time exfoliating and shaving. When I got out, I put on my best-smelling lotion and then threw on a thick, plush, bath robe. I put in a chick flick and gave myself a mani/pedi while I watched it, and did a face mask too! I felt great when I was done. After I spent some extra time on my hair and make-up, it occurred to me that I must be mentally planning on going with Derek. I guess that was fine. Really I had nothing else planned and, like he said, I didn't have to go to the house with him. I could just wait at the restaurant. It’d be bonus time together. How bad could it be driving through the country in the fall? The leaves were at their peak, so it would be a beautiful drive.

  Cleaning up the apartment took all of an hour. One of the bonuses to being single was it was never messy, unless it was your fault. After that, I paid some bills, which was really fun to do when you have money in the bank, and more coming in every month. I was able to pay all of my debts off in one month, what an amazing feeling! I couldn't wait until next month when the bills came and the balances said zero.

  I called my lawyer and asked what she was planning to change, if anything, for the hearing tomorrow now that Jake was incarcerated. She was as shocked as I was and said she'd get back to me.

  I decided to walk a couple of blocks to the gas station and get a paper. Sure enough Mark, Jake, and Lily were front page. I was reading it while I walked back when my cell phone rang.

  “Have you seen today's paper?” My dad, straight to the point.

  “Yes. I heard some of the details last night, and the rest a little bit ago,” I responded.

  “What are the details?” he asked, “The paper doesn't tell you anything.”

  “I don't know how much I'm able to tell you yet. I haven't finished reading the article,” I said.

  “Well, where are you getting your information from?”

  “Um, the lead detective on the case. We've been helping each other figure things out.”

  “Oh, yes. I think your mother said something about you having a thing for the cop. Well, don't be a stranger and stay out of trouble . . . and off the front page!” he said and disconnected.

  My dad, gotta love him. When I got home, my phone rang again. It was my lawyer. She said that she spoke with Jake's lawyer and everything was still on. Jake wouldn't be fighting for anything, so he didn't really need to be there. The judge said it was fine to continue since he plead guilty and wasn't fighting for anything.

  I disconnected and called Kat and my mom to set up a lunch date for tomorrow after my court appointment.

  My phone rang again, and it wasn't a number I recognized so I send it to voice mail. It was a reporter asking for a comment. Great. I deleted it and made a mental note not to answer unknown numbers.

  Derek called a few minutes later, “So are you in or out.”

  “I'm in.”

  He said, “You have an hour.”

  Good, because I'd been ready forever. I grabbed my camera and threw it in my purse, in case the trees were really pretty.

  30

  An hour later, I was downstairs chatting with Jamie at the front office when I saw Derek pull up. As usual he was in the black sedan that belonged to the station. I slid in.

  “How was your nap?” I asked.

  “Not long enough. Sorry for falling asleep on your couch,” he said.

  “It's okay. I understand completely.”

  Derek trailed through town then jumped on the interstate. To pass some time, I grabbed a magazine from my bag and paged through it. We talked for a while. I learned where he lived and even got the apartment number. Derek told me about his parents and the rest of his family. It turned out he had an older brother and two younger sisters. His brother was married and his sisters were both in college. The way it sounded, they all got along.

  I informed Derek I was an only child and warned him that I didn't share, didn't socialize, and if I didn't get my way, I threw huge fits. He laughed, but this was sometimes true.

  We got to Nisswa at five-thirty and drove down Main Street to the little mom-and-pop restaurant. Derek dropped me off and said he shouldn't be more than an hour or so. I grabbed my bag and cell phone, told him good luck. The hostess was waiting, menu in hand when I walked in. I informed her that I was meeting someone, but I was very early. She sat me in a booth and brought me a coffee. I'd paged through my magazine twice and was already bored. I got up to go to the bathroom, and on the way I checked my watch. I'd only been there twenty minutes.

  I went into the stall, and YES! I got my period! I thanked God, and rooted through my purse for supplies. Nada. Nothing! Seriously? I had been hoping and praying for this for days, and I didn't even prepare. I peaked out of the stall door and there was a machine on the wall in the corner. I dug through my purse again, but no quarters. Shit, now what? I thought for a second that I could get change from the waitress, but all I had was a credit card. I really didn't want the embarrassment of running my card for quarters. I slowly walked out of the bathroom and scanned the place. There was only one other couple in the whole place. I happened to glance at the table to my right. It had dirty dishes on it and a tip which included a few quarters. I couldn't believe that I was going to this. I casually walked by, while looking around to make sure no one was watching and swiped a quarter off the table, then returned to the bathroom. A few minutes later, I was back to my table.

  The waitress came over and topped off my coffee, then went to the table and grabbed her tip and the dishes. I made a mental note to leave her a bigger than normal tip. I was so relieved. The not knowing had been awful, especially since my baby's daddy would be in prison for a while. How embarrassing would that be. “Who's the father?” “Oh, he's in prison.” It was strange how I was proud of where I was at, but embarrassed about my recent past, which I just had been proud of in the recent past. It made me angry to think of how out of my control my life actually was. I had no choice in the way my life changed, the selfish people I was involved with took it from me. I shook my head to rid the thought. Move on, I scolded myself.

  As I was shaking my head, I heard a voice. “Don't rattle your brain too hard, dear. You'll get a headache.” I turned around to see Reggie and Maureen.

  “Hey, guys,” I said with a smile. “How are you? It's good to see you again.”

  “What brings you back to town? It doesn't have anything to do with all the drama up on the hill by the lake does it?” Reggie asked, with a suspicious smile.

  “Please, join me,” I said, motioning toward the booth across from me. They sat down.

  “Are you here for dinner?” I asked.

  “Just pie. Maureen made a wonderful pot roast for dinner, so as a thank you, I'm taking her out for pie.” Reggie said, as he smiled at her. She leaned over and side-bumped him and looked blushed.

  The waitress came over, and the three of us ordered pie. I excused myself and grabbed my ringing phone.

  “Hey, Derek.”

  “I’ll be about forty-five minutes, Carrie’s parents were at the Saturday night church service, so I had to wait for them.”

  “No problem. I met some friends, and they’re having pie with me.” I disconnected and turn my attention back to Maureen and Reggie.

  We spent the next forty minutes having a very enlightening conversation. I updated them on the lake and the cave and told them about both the girls. I filled them in on everything, including my dreams and my
new-found feelings for the detective . . . everything. It was so easy to talk to them. They were like grandparents to me. They were happy for me and glad there was finally some closure for the Sanders family.

  I asked them about themselves and their business. They started at the beginning when they met and walked me through their life. They filled me in on their thoughts for retirement, which they were way past, but were now thinking that it was time to really slow down. We spent a lot of time on the subject while finishing our pie. The conversation put a huge smile on my face. When they got ready to leave, I told them the pie was on me and exchanged contact numbers with them. And just as they stood to leave, Derek walked in. I made introductions, then gave them each a hug and said goodbye. They thanked me for the pie and walked away hand in hand. Derek slid in the booth across from me.

  “Bill and Nancy took it very well. They of course were upset, but they seemed at peace with at least having an answer. They were stuck between feeling sorry for Mark and being angry at him,” Derek said. “I gave them some materials on mental health and how people handle crises differently. I also reminded them that Mark was just a scared kid when it happened, and that he was very remorseful and carried the burden of his choices his whole life.”

  “When will the Sanders get their daughter back?” I asked.

  “I spoke to them about that, and they decided that at this point cremation was the best choice. So as soon as the coroner is done, the remains will be cremated and the urn will be delivered to the family by a uniform. They said that they'd plan a funeral for late next week.”

  “Wow, that must be so hard. Not just to lose your daughter but to have to wait so long for answers and then to find out that it was an accident that could have been dealt with years ago. They lost years of a happy life, waiting and wondering. I just feel so bad for them.”

  “I know. The death of a child is the hardest of all deaths,” he added. “I called the Nisswa police on the way over here. I need to stop by the station on the way home and drop off some paper work.”

  “Okay. In the meantime, are you hungry? I already had pie with my friends.”

  We ordered and talked while we waited. Derek asked me, “How do you know Reggie and Maureen?”

  I filled him in and told him that we had a very interesting conversation but left out the details. I loved them like grandparents. Derek smiled. I think I amused him. When our food came, we ate quietly and soon after we were back in the car. Following a quick stop at the Nisswa police station, we were on our way home.

  “Considering the mess of the jurisdiction issues and the two separate cases overlapping, this investigation went pretty smoothly. The chief here is a real stand-up guy,” Derek said as we pulled out of the Nisswa Police station lot.

  The ride seemed shorter on the way home. When Derek pulled into the lot, I started to gather all my stuff and checked the time. Eleven-fifteen. I briefly thought about inviting Derek up but then decided it was late and he looked beat. And so was I. I opened the door, thanked him for dinner and jumped out.

  “Thanks for riding along, sweetness,” he said with a wink that instantly gave me chills.

  “You’re welcome . . . handsome,” I said, returning the wink and shutting the door. One day soon, I was going to kiss that guy.

  I went straight to bed. I felt a sense of relief, so much happened today and I felt like the future was looking really bright. I just had to get through the next couple weeks.

  31

  Wednesday . . . “D” day. While I got ready for court, I felt sick to my stomach. I was glad that Jake would not be in the court room, I didn’t want to see him. While driving to court, I got an incoming call. Lily's mom.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Sara. It's Debbie. I hope I'm not bothering you,” she said.

  “Debbie, you could never bother me. How are you, dear?” I asked gently.

  “Awful. I'm awful, but I have to keep going. I know my Lily made some really bad choices, and again I’m so sorry, but I wanted to invite you to her services. I understand if you don't want to come, but I wanted you to know you're welcome there,” she said through a cracking voice.

  “Okay, thanks, Debbie. I’ll stop by. When are the services?” I asked.

  I got the info and disconnected. I wondered if Lily would've wanted me to come. I wondered how much of our friendship was real. I wondered when she started just using me to get to Jake. I wondered if she was alive today, if she would have apologized to me or tried to continue the relationship with Jake. I guess I'd never know.

  Court was a breeze, everything was mine that I wanted because Jake knew that he’d be in prison for a big chunk of time and we didn't have a house or kids to fight over. The judge ruled and all was settled. The paper work would take a couple days and then I'd be officially divorced. It paid to know people!

  I called Kat and my mom and told them the good news. We met for a quick lunch. They didn't know weather to be happy or sad for me. I told them to be happy. I couldn't go back so this was a huge step going forward.

  I spent the next few days getting phone calls made, papers faxed and plans in line. I talked to Derek a few times, but he had been hard at work with reports on all that had gone down. Before I knew it, it was Monday, the day of Lily's wake. I dressed nice and stopped by. The casket was open and I could see her from across the room. She looked a ton better then the last time I'd seen her but still pretty rough. I found Debbie and Gerald and gave them both a big hug. They were having a really tough time. The place was full to capacity, and there wasn't a dry eye anywhere. I saw a few people from the office and said hi, but it was awkward. No one knew what to say. Tragic death was hard enough to accept, then throw in the affair of a best friend and an accident turned crime and . . . really, what do you say?

  I left soon after arriving. I really had no desire to sit around and talk about how great Lily was. I didn't really know what to feel walking in and I guess I kinda let her go a while ago so I didn't need the wake and funeral for closure like the rest of her friends and family did. I decided that I’d go to the funeral tomorrow but like today, I would be in and out. I didn't hold a grudge, mostly because she was dead but also because I knew that I was a good person and a good person would forgive. I had to, not for her but for me. And I needed to know what I did was right. She would have to deal with her wrongs from the Big Guy above.

  Derek met me for dinner, and I asked if he wanted to join me for the funeral. He said he’d come with me, if I went with him Wednesday to Carrie's funeral. I agreed. After dinner, he invited me back to his place for a night cap, and I said yes of course. I wanted to see his apartment. One can tell a lot about a person by seeing where and how they live. Right?

  He parked the work car in the lot, took my hand and walked me in. He opened the door and turned on the light. It was very nice and the whole place smelled like him. The kitchen was spotless; even the floors looked washed. Derek went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. While he worked the corkscrew, I looked around the living room and dinning room. The furniture was nice. A large couch, and recliner were both dark-brown leather. There was a coffee table that looked like the one that I almost bought when I was shopping. There were end tables on both sides of the couch, and the lamps were new and tasteful. The walls were a warm, brownish, and the lighting was soft. He had wildlife pictures hanging here and there, and I noticed that two of them had lakes in them. There was a forty-seven inch, LCD flat screen on the wall, and all the other equipment just below in a black, modern, sleek enclosed cabinet. I loved it. Very manly, yet very inviting and tasteful. I turned around and Mr. Handsome was holding out a glass of wine for me. I took it, and he clinked my glass, holding my eyes as we sipped.

  “So what do you think?” he asked, stepping next to me, his shoulder tight against mine.

  “It's okay,” I said, being a smart-ass. I smiled, then turned to face him. “It's great. I love it. Did you do all this yourself?”

  “Most of it. M
y younger sisters came with to the furniture store and put in their two cents but for the most part, it's me,” he said proudly and took another sip. “There's pictures of my family over here,” he said and lead me to a distant wall. There were about twenty photos, all in matching frames of different shapes and sizes, they included everyone, even Grandma. It was touching. Most bachelors would have basketball posters up or half-dressed woman posters and a beer bottle collection. He pointed to a few faces and told me who they were.

  “I like it . . . a lot,” I said, turning to him. I blinked slowly and looked closely at his face. He was so perfect—handsome, clean, liked outdoors, a family man, career man, stable, strong, sweet, spiritual. I could go on and on. My mind was spinning, and my heart was melting. “I like you . . . a lot,” I said sheepishly.

  He smiled gently and then leaned in and kissed me. It was so nice. Instantly a heat wave moved through me, and my heart beat faster. I hadn't had a first kiss in a long time. I opened my eyes, and he smiled again. I smiled back. Then he leaned in for more, and I let him. Yay, he was a good kisser, too! I was awe struck. I opened my eyes and wondered what he was thinking. Was he feeling all the things I was? He smiled gently, took my hand and led me into the living room.

  “Twins are on,” he said, as he reached for the remote on the side table.

  I got up to leave shortly after the Twins won. Derek walked me out to the lot. After I unlocked the Jeep door, I turned to him. He smiled gently and closed the space between us, leaned the weight of his body against me and pushed me back against the Jeep. He took my face in his hands and kissed me again slowly, and gently and then gave me a full contact hug. Perfect! I slowly opened my eyes and caught my breath. He smiled and opened my door, and I plopped down, bummed I had to leave.

  “Goodnight. I'll pick you up in the morning for the funeral. I'll be driving my personal vehicle so you might have to look for me in the lot,” he said with a wink.