SAY YOU LOVE ME (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 4)

by Willow Rose

I sat back with my cup, then wondered if I should go up and make sure Matt was okay once Alex got back. As I did, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I picked it up. I had received a text from a number I didn’t know. It was a video. I played it, then froze to ice.

  At first, I couldn’t really figure out what I was looking at. It was a video filmed from inside of a car, through the windshield. The car — or truck, I realized — soon rammed through glass doors and continued inside the building. I heard screams and saw people jump for their lives. Some disappeared, while others, most of them, were knocked down by the truck. Wheelchairs were hit, and people who had sat in them were slung into the air. At one point, the truck got stuck, and the driver backed up, then put it back in drive and slammed into a woman standing against a wall.

  That was when I stopped the video and threw the phone into the air till it landed on the wooden porch. I felt physically ill and hugged myself when Chad came out the door.

  “Hey, hey, what’s going on?”

  I threw myself in his arms, then cried, my stomach feeling like it would explode.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Deputy Griffins couldn’t get the pictures out of his mind. He had been the first at the scene after they got the report about the nursing home, Waterfall Hills this same morning. Now, he was one of the many patrols on the lookout for a black MACK dump truck. The truck was stolen from a construction site; they found out when they called in what the witnesses — the few that had survived — had seen.

  Now, Deputy Griffins was staring at a black dump truck parked on the side of the road in a rest area on A1A. The dump truck was smoking from the front and was visibly damaged on the bumper. There was no doubt it was the one they were looking for, the one that had rammed through the front doors, killed a bunch of people, and then left, driving away.

  Griffins had stopped his patrol car behind it, then called for backup.

  “I have eyes on the vehicle. Someone is sitting inside of it,” he said over the radio. “I repeat; I have visual on the possible nursing home killer.”

  Seconds later, another patrol car drove up to assist him, and he got out, hands shaking, gun pulled.

  “Hands where I can see them,” he yelled as they approached from both sides. More patrol cars were arriving now, and colleagues were jumping out to assist. Griffins feared it would only agitate the driver of the car further, and he was a desperate man at this point.

  Killing all those poor old people.

  He was a sick man, no doubt about it. A very sick man. The question remained if he was also armed.

  “I said, hands where I can see them.”

  Griffins came closer, but the man still had his hands where he couldn’t see them. It made him nervous, even more so than he already was.

  “Hands where I can see them!”

  No movement. The man in the truck sat completely still, almost eerily so.

  “Roll the window down, sir,” Griffins said, the gun between his hands shaking. As he came really close, Griffins realized the man was, in fact, moving. He was trembling. He turned his head and looked at Griffins, and that made his heart rate go up even further.

  “Show me your hands,” he yelled.

  The man’s lips quivered as he lifted both his hands in the air. It looked like he was mouthing Please and then added Don’t shoot, but Griffins could be mistaken.

  He had lost a colleague two years ago in a similar situation. A pick-up truck ran a red light, and he set after it. The guy pulled out a shotgun and killed him. He was never found. Griffins’ colleague left three children and a wife, who had no idea what to do next.

  Remembering this, Griffins wasn’t taking any chances. He’d rather shoot first than being the one going down. That was just the way it was in his line of duty. Things could get ugly real fast.

  “Is he armed? Does anyone see a gun?” someone yelled.

  Griffins stared at the man inside the car, who was shaking and crying. Griffins felt like his heart was about to explode. So far, he hadn’t seen a weapon of any sort, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have one in his lap or maybe down between his legs.

  “Now, step out of the vehicle, sir,” he said. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

  The man did as he was told. He opened the door and stepped out, hands high above his head.

  “Please,” he said between sobs. “Please, don’t shoot me.”

  Griffins scanned his hands, then his pants to see if he could spot a gun anywhere. That was when he noticed the blood — blood on his pants, and blood running from his fingers down his stretched-up arms.

  Panic emerged inside of Griffins. Where did all that blood come from? The man was weeping, his torso shaking. It made Griffins nervous. His colleagues were looking in the back, searching for weapons. Two of them had their weapons pointed at the driver, who now sank to his knees, arms still behind his head. As he did this, one of his arms fell down to the side, and one of the deputies yelled.

  “He’s going for a gun!”

  In that instant, all three of them fired at the man. His body spasmed back and forth as the bullets went through his torso, piercing through him until his body fell forward, nose digging into the gravel.

  As he laid there, Griffins approached him, hands still shaking, sweat springing from his forehead. As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, for some reason, he couldn’t stop staring at the alligator-shaped scar on the side of the man’s cheek.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  “Who would send a video like this?”

  Chad stared at Deputy Williams from the sheriff’s office who had finally come out to the house. At first, when Chad called them, they had said that all cars were occupied today due to an incident, but they’d get to us as soon as possible. It took them a few hours to come. I had handed over my phone to him, so he could see the nasty video. He had asked to take the phone with him for examination but promised I’d have it back as soon as possible.

  “I’m sure we’ll be able to answer that question soon,” Deputy Williams said.

  “But it happened, didn’t it?” I asked. “This was a real video, not something that had been created, right?”

  Deputy Williams nodded. “This happened this morning, I’m afraid.”

  “Oh, Lord. Those poor people,” I said, clasping my mouth in shock. The images from the video still flickered through my mind, making me feel sick.

  “We have apprehended the driver, though.”

  “You got him?” I asked. “What happened?”

  “He’s dead, ma’am. They approached him, and when they did, he went for a gun, so they shot him on the spot. He died immediately. They didn’t dare to take any chances with a guy like that.”

  “Of course not, Deputy,” Chad said. “Sounds like a very sick person.”

  “I’m afraid so. Even small towns like this harbor some strange existences every now and then, unfortunately. Even though it is rare, but this guy messed with the wrong people; that’s for sure.”

  “And they’re certain it was the same man who drove the truck in the video?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “You’re absolutely certain?” I asked, even though I knew it was provocative. “Like no doubt whatsoever in your mind?”

  “Yes, ma’am. No doubt whatsoever. He’s gone now. You don’t have to worry about a thing. He won’t be sending any more of these.”

  Deputy Williams lifted my phone inside of the evidence bag to indicate he meant the video.

  “At least you can use this as evidence,” Chad said. “If it came from his phone, then you’ll be able to prove it was him, right?”

  “Indeed, we will. You have been of great help.”

  Chad and the deputy shook hands. I stood with my arms crossed, wondering why this — once again — rubbed me the wrong way.

  “Have a nice day, ma’am.”

  As the deputy left, Chad put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a hug. “That was a bad experience,
huh? Awful, what happened. I can’t blame you for being upset.”

  As I let him hold me, I looked at Matt, who was standing behind us, looking like a child who had lost his toy. Seeing him, I pulled out of Chad’s grip.

  “I’ll be fine. I just need to rest a little. I’ll go lie down for a while.”

  I walked to the door, then turned my head and my eyes locked with Matt’s the second before I disappeared inside, wondering why I once again had hurt the man I loved. Why couldn’t I just get it right this time? What we shared was special, yet I didn’t seem to be able to hold onto it. It was like trying to hold onto water with your bare hands. I felt he was slipping away, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  I slept for about half an hour, getting some much-needed rest. When I woke up, Matt was sitting on the bed next to me, watching me sleep. I smiled when I saw him, but he didn’t smile back.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have come,” he said. “I feel like it was a mistake.”

  I sat up straight. “Are you kidding me? I love that you came. I missed you like crazy. You have no idea.”

  He exhaled. “I just feel like … I feel like an outsider, between you and Chad. Like you have this bond between you two, and there’s no room for me.”

  “Where is this coming from? Was it because I was hugging him when I received that video? Because that was just because he was there. It could have been anyone.”

  “But it wasn’t just anyone,” he said. “It was your ex. Besides, it’s not just the hug and the fact that he took care of you when you needed it; it’s also when I see you two together. You’re always chatting and laughing. I don’t know what it is; it just feels like you have something together that I can’t compete with.”

  I looked down at what was on the floor next to him and realized he had packed his bag.

  “You’re leaving already? But we were supposed to spend the day together, and then you’d leave tomorrow.”

  Matt nodded. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll head back. You don’t need me here.”

  “Matt … please … I … don’t say that. I love having you here. Please, give me a second chance to make it up to you …”

  He rose to his feet, suitcase in hand. “It’s okay, Eva Rae. Don’t worry about it. You have your family here. These are the people you should be with. I won’t stand between you and your family. I won’t blame you if you want to get back together again. I mean you should at least try, for the kids. It’s what’s best for them. And Chad isn’t as bad once you get to know him a little. He’s really good with the kids.”

  “Matt, please, I …”

  He sent me a look that told me it didn’t matter what I said or did. He had made his decision, and it wasn’t going to change. I watched him walk to the door and leave, taking a painfully big chunk of my heart with him as he did.

  I ran to the window and watched as he got into the car, then said his goodbyes to the children. Alex hugged him tightly, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Chad stood with the children and waved as Matt left, while I couldn’t stop crying. I looked down at my children, who went back to playing in the front yard with their dad. Well, Alex and Christine did, whereas Olivia sat on the swing, looking at her phone.

  Was Matt right? Did I owe it to my children to give it a second chance? Chad left me for another woman, yes, and he did cheat on me for a very long time. That, in itself, was inexcusable, but was it something I could forgive? Weren’t we all entitled to make a mistake? Didn’t I play as big a part in it as well? I hadn’t exactly been home to take care of my marriage. I had been busy with my career in the FBI, thinking I could mend the broken pieces later.

  I had to admit; I did enjoy hanging out all five of us again. And I did like how happy it made my children to have both their parents together again. We wouldn’t be the first family to go through a thing like this. It could be done.

  I sighed while biting my lip, watching Chad playing baseball with Alex and Christine. Chad threw the ball to Alex, and he hit it perfectly. The ball soared into the air and disappeared into the neighbor’s yard, and Alex screamed loudly.

  “Did you see that shot, Dad? Did you?”

  I chuckled as all three of them went on a search for the ball next door, then wiped the tears from my cheeks.

  Was this, in fact, what I really needed? To mend the broken pieces and be a family again?

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Sunday nights at the Green Turtle Tavern were always among the most crowded for some reason. Maybe it was because most other places were closed on a night like this; maybe it was just the music and the company that continued to make it the most visited bar in downtown Fernandina Beach.

  “Can I have a beer, please?” E.T. asked the bartender after having elbowed his way through the crowd. Outside on the porch, a guy with a guitar had set up and was playing songs per request from the audience. People were getting rowdy and loud now as the alcohol was setting in. The singer wasn’t very good and struggled with hitting the high notes. But the audience loved him, and the interaction between them was fun and something you wouldn’t see anywhere else.

  “Play Waltzing Matilda,” someone yelled as E.T. went outside with his beer in hand. His eyes scanned the area for a place to sit, and he found a spot on a bench next to a couple that was sitting with their arms and legs tangled up in one another, kissing between sipping their drinks.

  People hollered at the suggestion. A dog dressed in a shark costume walked by, its owner holding a beer and a cigarette in her hand.

  “Play Bobby McGee,” someone else suggested. That seemed to please the man with the guitar, and he began to play.

  Two women in denim miniskirts with cigarettes in one hand and beers in the other started to dance. It was hot out, and the fans were turned on under the ceiling, yet still not giving E.T. much relief. On the wooden walls, people had written messages or carved in their names. Like BETH and MIKE inside of a heart. A couple was playing table tennis in the back.

  E.T. looked at the people present, thinking with great satisfaction about this morning’s events. Everything had gone the way he wanted it to. And Eva Rae had received the video. He needed her to see what he had done, and the satisfaction of knowing that she had was intoxicating.

  E.T. touched his thigh gently. The skin underneath his jeans was throbbing where he had carved the word earlier.

  PEACE

  E.T. had watched the news all afternoon and knew they had found Jeff in the car and that he had been killed before he could talk. Everything was as it should be. Fourteen people had been killed at the nursing home, one still in critical condition. Not bad, but still, it wasn’t good enough. One of the guys in the Philippines had just walked into a church this same morning and killed fifty-six people while broadcasting it live on the website. It had gotten more views than his from the nursing home, and it angered him.

  He knew he could do better than this. And he intended to prove it.

  Just as he thought about his next plan, that to him was a stroke of pure genius and a masterpiece, the girl he had appointed to be the center of his next accomplishments walked out from inside the bar, beer clutched in her hand. She heard the music and started to swing her hips while her friend smiled at some guy across the porch.

  E.T. stared at her until she noticed and finally gave him a smile back, then scratched herself gently on the cheek with her long, painted nails.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Melanie Kagan swung her hips from side to side. She felt like dancing, but she didn’t want to do it in front of all these people. Not like her friend Ella, who was standing a few steps in front of her, dancing with two other women, holding their beers high in the air, while the men surrounding them hollered and whistled. Ella kept signaling for Melanie to join them, but she shook her head.

  It just wasn’t Melanie’s thing. She was too shy. Even if she had something to drink, she still didn’t dance. Not like they did.<
br />
  There was a guy who kept eyeing her, sitting right behind her. She felt flattered that he was looking at her and not at the sexy girls dancing. Melanie wasn’t used to that. Usually, all the men looked at Ella and not Melanie when they went out. But this guy seemed only to be interested in her, and no one else. He kept staring at her, and when she turned her head and smiled back, he lifted his beer and saluted her. She saluted him back, then turned away, blushing, then put the beer down on the table behind her and lit a cigarette. The guy was pretty old, maybe in his forties, whereas Melanie was only twenty-five, but still. She liked the way he looked at her. His hungry look, the way he smiled at her. It was all very flattering.

  It wasn’t like she’d go all the way with an old guy like that, but maybe she’d indulge him a little. After all, he was the type that probably had a wife and family somewhere and was just looking for some fun. Melanie wasn’t one to sleep with guys she didn’t know, especially when she didn’t think it would lead to anything afterward. Her sister had been pregnant at eighteen because she made that mistake. The guy, who had been thirty at the time, and who had been some tourist passing through the island, hadn’t been heard from since.

  No, Melanie knew how to take proper care of herself and to be careful, but she also knew how to have fun. And she might have a little fun with this guy, just a little.

  When the song ended, Ella came back, sweating and groaning. A guy she had been dancing with pulled her arm, and she winked at Melanie.

  “You don’t mind, do you?”

  Melanie shook her head. “Not at all. Have fun.”

  “Thanks, hon,” Ella said, then disappeared giggling with the guy.

  Melanie stood alone for a few minutes, pondering what to do … whether she should go sit with that guy who kept staring at her, but when she turned to look, he was gone. Disappointed, Melanie put down her beer, then looked at her watch and decided she might as well go home.