Nikki saw Officer Collins talking to Mrs. Crandall as they pulled up to the house. As soon as Joe put the car in park, she bolted out the door and across the yard.
“What happened? Are you okay, Mrs. Crandall?” The older woman’s smile calmed Nikki’s frayed nerves.
“Of course, dear. This nice officer just brought Stinker home. She was stuck on your porch and I couldn’t get the door open.”
Nikki reached out and patted the very pregnant cat. “What was Stinker doing on my porch?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t come home when I called this morning so I thought maybe you let her in for one of your Sunday morning treats,” the woman said with a conspiratorial smile. “She always goes around back so I went there to look for her. When I got there she was yowling up a storm and scratching at the door, but I couldn’t get it open to let her out. That’s when I noticed the box and note on the step. I knew something wasn’t right, so I called the police.”
Fear clutched Nikki’s stomach. What would have happened if Mrs. Crandall had come looking for Stinker earlier? Nikki didn’t even want to think about it. Again, when she was drowning in the mess called her life, Joe’s hand covered her shoulder, letting her know she wasn’t alone.
“Are you Nikki’s young man?” Mrs. Crandall asked.
Embarrassment flushed Nikki’s face as Joe held out his hand to the woman.
“Joe Fitzpatrick.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, young man,” Mrs. Crandall said. “I hope you’re not going to let Nikki come back to this house until they catch the hooligan.”
“No, ma’am. You don’t need to worry; we’ve made other arrangements. If you’ll excuse us, we should talk to the detective now.”
“That’s fine, you take care of our Nikki,” Mrs. Crandall told him.
“I will.”
Nikki hugged her neighbor before turning and sending Joe a scathing glare as he took her elbow and turned toward Stiles.
“What?” he asked.
“You are not my young man.”
“Did I say I was?”
“You didn’t deny it.”
He shrugged. “I’ve found over the years, that it’s easier to let people think what they want rather than explain things that aren’t any of their business.”
“In other words, lie,” she said as the detective met them on the front sidewalk. She glanced up at the security panel. “Did the alarm go off?”
He shook his head. “Nope, whoever got in had the new code. We’re checking with the security company to see what they can tell us.”
“Mrs. Crandall said something about a box and a note at the back door,” Nikki told him.
“Yeah, thankfully, Collins recognized the address and took the call first. She rescued the cat but otherwise hasn’t let anyone touch anything,” he said. “Are you up to checking it out, or do you want us to look first?”
She would love for them to check it out and never have to see it herself. That would be the coward’s way out, though, and she wasn’t a coward anymore. Squaring her shoulders, she turned toward the corner of the house. “I’m ready, let’s go.”
They walked around to the back of the house where another officer stood guard. “I’m sorry about the door, ma’am,” he said as the three walked up to him. “The lady was real worried about her cat.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m glad you got her out.”
“You can go now,” Stiles told the officer. “Try and get the neighbors to go home. This isn’t a sideshow.”
“Yes, sir,” the officer responded and jogged down the driveway.
Nikki watched as the detective pulled on a plastic glove and picked up the note. He shook it out and read it before holding it up for her to see.
As she read the words scrawled on the page, it was as though Darin was whispering them in her ear.
Eenie, Meanie, Minie, Mo
The deed is done; she had to go.
Are you crying, yes, I know,
Eenie, Meanie, Minie, Mo.
“Open the box,” she said, looking around the yard. The same eerie feeling of being watched she’d had when she found the gym bag raced over her. Her self-professed courage seemed to disappear and she moved closer to Joe.
“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.
“They’re here,” she whispered back. “I can feel them watching.”
“Try not to react when you look in the box.”
Nikki prayed for the will power to do as he asked even though she had a bad feeling it wouldn’t help.
“Shit,” Stiles hissed pulling off the top of the box. He stood in front of Nikki blocking her view.
“What is it?” she asked, pushing his arm to move him away. The moment he moved, she regretted it. Staring out from the box was a charred Barbie-type doll holding pompoms. “Oh, God,” Nikki cried. As she turned, fell to her knees and threw up in the bushes beside her back door.
She heaved until there was nothing left, no food, no bile, nothing. Knowing she shouldn’t, but unable to do anything else, she fell against Joe and cried. Vaguely, she heard him talking to her or Stiles. She wasn’t sure which. She concentrated on his strong arms holding her close. After a few minutes, he pulled her up so they were standing.
“Take her to your car,” she heard Stiles say. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
When they reached the car, Joe helped her in then handed her a handkerchief before closing the door. Nikki watched him walk around the front of the car. Once again, she had the uncomfortable sensation that someone watched them. When she looked around this time, she noticed people looking her way, though, so she dismissed it.
Joe opened the driver’s door and slid behind the wheel. She met his gaze and felt tears threaten again. Fighting them back, she watched the activity at the end of her driveway. “What am I going to tell Allen?”
“You won’t tell him anything. We don’t officially have a body, so there’s no proof. Stiles will put out an APB and do everything he can to find her, including talking to her fiancé. It’s a police matter, Nikki; you have to stay out of it.”
Nikki rolled her head to the side and looked him in the eye. “You know she’s dead. Brenda’s body showed up the night after I found the first doll. I’m sure they’ll find Alicia’s nearby soon.”
“We don’t know that,” he said cupping her face.
Nikki couldn’t take the compassion in his gaze and touch. She turned away. “She was terrified of fire. Did you know that? She wouldn’t smoke because she had to hold a flame too close to her face to light the cigarette. The person that did this must have known. How cruel can they be?”
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Sorry I lost it back there.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Yeah, but you were right. I shouldn’t have reacted. I played right into their hand.”
“No one could have seen that and not had some reaction. You heard Stiles.”
“You di--”
Stiles knocked on Joe’s window stopping her words.
“How’s she doing?” he asked Joe.
Nikki answered before Joe could. She wasn’t a child, just a wimpy adult. “I’m fine, Detective.”
“It’s going to take a while here before they finish processing the house and I want to check a few things out before I leave. Why don’t you two go back to the apartment? I’ll call if anything comes up.”
~~~~