“I want you to come with us this weekend,” Bobby stated.
Carol rubbed her arms and looked out into the back yard. The wind blew so hard that the swings on the swing set were swinging around like they were full of kids. “I wish I could, but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Feeling scared and very brittle, she turned until she faced him. “Because this is the day. There will be another victim today.”
“And?”
“And eventually he’s going to decompensate and come after me.”
He shook his head while he spoke. “You aren’t seriously considering sitting around here acting like bait, are you?”
Unsure exactly what she was doing, she shrugged. “I don’t even know who this can be, but I can’t leave. Please don’t ask me to.”
He crossed the room in three strides and stopped in front of her. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to leave you alone here tonight and wait for him to try to kill you.”
“I won’t be alone. Jack and Mitch are guarding me until different arrangements can be made.” Which meant until Aria’s husband, Nick Williams, could come out here in the morning and set up her security. Nick was a former military commando who worked for a secretive branch of the US Government’s Intelligence arm for a number of years, the same Agency Jen Thorne now directed. If she trusted anyone to keep her and Lisa safe, it was Nick.
Carol started to walk past Bobby but he grabbed her arm and swung her back around. “You need to stop and think about something other than your all important job, Carol. You have a daughter who relies on you,” he said forcefully.
Her temper, as if made from a thin thread overloaded with too much weight, finally snapped, the ends flying in different directions. Though she fought to get it back, she couldn’t stop her mouth. “Yeah, and that all important job is what fed her while you were off in Nashville picking your guitar strings for swooning teenagers. Don’t try to tell me what I can and can’t do. I managed for all this time without you just fine.”
Bobby’s eyes iced over and he gave a brief nod as he let go of her. “Is that right? Well, that’s kind of interesting because for three of those years, my house was on the Nashville’s Map of the Stars. For the last six years, my official website got over a million hits a month. And in addition to surrounding cities and military bases, I played right here in downtown Richmond for the last seven years because it’s my hometown, Carol. Don’t try to pretend you couldn’t find me if you wanted to.”
Needing to take the words back, but unable to forge a coherent thought, she just stood there, shocked at what had just come out of her mouth. Carol crossed her arms and stared at her shoes. She wished she could take it back the second she said it, but now it was too late. “I’m just upset, Bobby.”
He took a deep breath. “No, Carol, you’re not. You’re really not upset. What you are is scared. And you ought to be. Know how to not feel so scared? Come with us to Atlanta. That’s how.”
She shook her head. “My mind’s made up. I’m staying here.”
He left her office without another word. She heard his boots on the stairs and guessed he was going up to Lisa’s room where their daughter was busy packing for her trip to Atlanta.
The phone in her pocket rang, making her jump. Then she felt foolish for being so jumpy. Carol dug it out and answered it. “What?” she answered harshly.
A detective on the other line requested her presence at a crime scene. “I’m sorry, Detective Devore, I’m off for the next week. Let me get you the number of the attorney on call.”
She hung up after providing the number, then sat at her desk and closed her eyes. She heard Lisa’s feet as they ran down the stairs, so she forced herself to stand and coax a believable smile onto her face.
“I’m ready to go, mom!” Lisa yelled, running into the room. Carol knelt and held out her arms, and Lisa ran into them without hesitation.
“You be good for your dad, dollface, and have fun. I wish I could go with you,” Carol said. She hugged Lisa tightly, then let her go and straightened. Bobby stood in the doorway of the room, holding Lisa’s suitcase, his anger still clearly evident on his face.
“There’s a bad storm coming in. I’ll call you from the airport if we’re delayed taking off,” he informed her in a voice that carried no emotion.
“I appreciate that,” Carol said. She put her hands in her pockets, and wished she could rewind the last ten minutes.
“Go on ahead and get in the truck, Lisa. I’ll be right behind you with your bag,” he said. Lisa gave her mom one last hug and dashed from the room. Bobby stepped closer to Carol, but didn’t touch her. “I can understand that your job is important to you, and I can understand that it is more than a job. But you are stepping over a boundary here that is incomprehensible to me. Risking your life isn’t part of your job description.”
“I’m not intentionally risking my life. I have Mitch and Jack outside. I’m not alone. Tomorrow, Nick will be here. Once he’s here, a Roman Legion couldn’t get near me.”
“You would be safer if you packed your bags and left. That is an option you didn’t even consider. Stop being such a pillar, and let someone else take some of the weight. You can come with us right now and leave this all behind. We could go somewhere and never come back.”
“I could, but the next time I read about another murder happening at his hands, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. If, and I stress the word, if I am the next target, this is the perfect opportunity. If I’m not his next intended victim, then this entire conversation is just a waste of time and energy.”
He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her. “Carol, don’t do this. Please.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. When she spoke her voice barely rose above a whisper. “You didn’t see the bodies, Bobby. You didn’t see those dead girls dressed up to look just like me.”
She wrenched away from him. “You don’t understand how important my job is to me, but you’re the one who’s leaving me alone so that you can go sing a song so a bunch of men can play a silly game. You tell me what’s important and what’s not.”
Bobby held up a hand, his voice no longer exactly quiet. “Good Lord, Carol. It’s not just a song. It’s the National Anthem. And it’s not just a silly game. It’s the regular season, and baseball is America’s pastime. I really hope you aren’t being serious right now.”
Realizing he was genuinely upset, Carol felt like giggling. He was such a guy. All that ridiculous fame and notoriety and at his core he was just an American guy who liked to watch the boys of summer play a few innings. In a much more calm voice, she said, “I can’t conform to be what you think I should be. I’m an attorney for the city of Richmond. If you don’t like that, you don’t have to stick around. You can go back to Nashville or wherever you think you need to go.”
She started to walk past him so he wouldn’t see the tears she could no longer contain. He grabbed her and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. She struggled but he was stronger, so she finally relented. He held her until she stopped crying, then stepped back and framed her face with his hands.
“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing each eye. “I’ll see you Sunday.” He kept her head tilted back and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Carol.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
He stepped back and ran his hands down her arms until he gripped her hands. “Pray with me,” he said, clearing his throat. “Father God, I’m asking You, I’m begging You to watch over Carol. Protect her against this madman, Lord. Guide the police in stopping him before he kills another woman, and, God, ease Carol’s heart. Remind her You’re with her all the time. Amen.”
After he left, she sat at her desk, looking out the window as the room slowly darkened with the gathering storm. As a wind tunnel of leaves swished passed her window, she picked up her phone and called Mitch. When he answered she said, “There’s no reason for you two to sit outside in this. Come inside, please.”
“I got called to a crime scene,” he said.
Carol frowned. “Wait. If you’re there, then who’s outside of my house?”
“Jack.”
Carol clenched her teeth so hard she was surprised she didn’t hear her jaw crack. “I’m not comfortable with that.”
“Come on, Carol. Jack knows his job. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“I’m hanging up now, Mitch. Get back over here as soon as you can.” She hung up, then tried to call Bobby’s new cell phone, hoping to catch him before his plane took off, but she got a recording from the carrier saying that there was trouble with the signal.
As she put the receiver down, she heard the distant rumble of thunder, and couldn’t shake the eerie feeling in her gut.
Shaking off her mood, she walked through the house and turned on the lights. It was early still, but the dark clouds rolling in were giving the city a dusk-like appearance. She made her way into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, pressing against her temples to ward off the headache that threatened.
She rubbed her arms to battle the chill that descended upon her house, and tried Bobby’s cell again, getting the same recording. She didn’t know how to get in touch with his pilot, or even where to call at the airport, knowing the security that he and his private plane would be under, so she didn’t even try.
Thunder rumbled overhead, causing her to jump again. After the irritation passed, she laughed at herself. She was being ridiculous. Okay, Carol, she thought to herself, snap out of it.
She dug through the drawers and cabinets in her kitchen until she found some candles. Then she pulled out spare saucers and put the candles on them in case the power went out. She worked mechanically, wanting nothing more than to keep her hands busy. When she finished, she stepped back and looked at what she’d just done and laughed at herself, realizing she’d prepared about ten candles.
Shaking her head, she found a pack of matches and put them in her pocket, then poured herself a cup of coffee and decided to sit out on the front porch, Jack or no Jack. This was her house, nothing was going to happen tonight, and she was going to sit on her porch and watch the storm roll in.
