Although Kate had fantasized about hitting the pavement the instant she got home, storm clouds had rolled in and the sky had opened up, making her look for an alternative. Yes, a late evening run would have cleared her mind, but she was exhausted, and the weather was obviously not on her side. Now was not the time to risk catching pneumonia. Not when the clock was ticking and she had a killer to find.
They’d made progress, though. She had to take the small victories where they came, even if they weren’t the ones she wanted to win. Eliminating suspects did bring them closer to finding the real killer, but not fast enough. More lives were at stake, and she felt hopeless.
She exhaled, letting go of the anger that was bubbling in her chest as she secured her gun for the night. Her inability to fix the situation, or to put an end to the murderer’s streak made her clench her fists.
Her run options discarded, she opted for a beer instead. Kate walked through the living room and headed to the kitchen to open the fridge, which lit up the darkened room. With its quiet ticking, the clock caught Kate’s attention and explained why the house was so quiet.
Everyone had gone to bed, of course.
Luke…
She pulled out her phone and reread the string of messages he’d sent her. Messages she’d ignored while trying to find a killer, or a real motive, or a connection between the two victims.
She’d forgotten about Luke’s romantic evening for the two of them. Tonight was the 24th. She’d forgotten that today marked their reunion. To be fair, as much as she’d enjoyed reconnecting with him, memorizing the date had never occurred to her. But it had occurred to Luke.
The date had meant that much to him.
How did she manage to find such a great guy? He was so much better at relationships than she was. Or was she subconsciously trying to ruin the one good relationship she’d ever been in?
As she took a swig of the cold amber liquid, her thoughts briefly turned to Matt, her ex-husband. She winced as she recalled how bad things had been. Matt and his manipulative lies, his double life, his… She forced him out of her mind. Such negative thoughts headed nowhere good.
Exhaling loudly, she took a second to be grateful for Luke. Her Luko. Being with him was just… easy. Easy and comfortable. Like an old pair of shoes. While the idea sure didn’t sound romantic, she realized she desperately needed those figurative, worn-out shoes in her life. While work could be relied upon to bring in more than her daily share of chaos and violence, Luke could be counted on for grounding her, for bringing in the stability and comfort she needed to balance things out. He was the yang to her yin. He was her rainbow after the storm.
She took another swig knowing fair well that joining him in bed right that minute could lead to nothing but a night filled with twisted facts and gory images spinning in her head. She had to get work out of her mind, but she didn’t want to make noise by turning on the TV.
Taking her beer into Luke’s office, she decided she’d head down memory lane by going through the photo albums she’d brought back from Kenny’s house. Looking at those photos could help make sense of the hypnotherapist session she’d gotten earlier today.
Now that she was detached from the urgency of the second murder, a swell of emotions came back to her. Even her nose played a trick on her and reminded her of that other cologne she’d smelled just before the therapist had taken her out. It hadn’t been her dad’s cologne, which meant it was more likely the killer’s.
That and yesterday’s discovery about how terrified her mom had been the morning of… It could only mean one thing. Her mom had known their killer. Or at least had been aware of the threat hanging over her head.
Perhaps she’d even invited him to dinner?
She took another swig of her beer then opened the first of the photo albums she found in the top box.
Hours passed by as she flipped through albums she’d never really seen before. Pictures of her as a baby. Pictures of baby Bobby. Pictures of the both of them with their parents. Back when life had been simpler. Before that fateful day…
She closed her eyes, pushing tears down her cheeks. Her identity and personality had been carved out of a horrible past. Those photos were just snapshots of her roots. One by one, she felt her tears drip onto her shirt, their cool presence seeping their way to her skin.
“Katie, baby. You all right?”
Luko’s warm voice startled her. Wiping her tears, she opened her eyes and looked at the man she loved standing in the doorway.
She nodded.
“Come to bed.”
“I’m sorry for tonight,” Kate said.
He shook his head, a line splitting his brows. “Don’t worry about it. I know you have lots on your plate right now.”
Right there and then, she realized she’d never ever have an empty plate. There would always be serious crimes needing to be solved. That was her job, her life. There would never be a better moment to look into her family’s murder cases. Getting the ball rolling now instead of later may make a difference.
“I’ll do it,” Kate said.
“You’ll come to bed? I hope so, you look exhausted.”
“No, yes. I mean, I’ll talk to the sheriff. I need to do it. For them. For me.”
Luke’s lips curled into a faint smile and he walked to her and wrapped his arms around Kate.
“I’m proud of you.”