Safeguarding Kelly(36)
Author: Zoe Dawson
No one. Not one person on this planet was perfect.
Definitely not her.
For sure not her father.
No one.
She suspected that her sister Kim had already come to some conclusion about their dad’s disapproval, because there was nothing but joy on her sister’s face before and after Haru. Her sister had reconciled with her own feelings on the matter, and she was at peace. She envied that.
The second reason was that she was waiting for Jason to pull up or call her.
The longer she looked at these pictures and waited for the phone to ring, the more alone she felt, so aware of his absence reminding her of the hollowness in the middle of her chest all those years ago.
Through the six years without him, she had wondered where he was and if he was cold and wet. Logically, she knew he spent most of his waking hours that way, he’d been a rescue swimmer. But most of the time, logic didn’t cut it. She just wanted him to be somewhere dry and warm.
Her phone chimed, and she turned and picked up her cell before it had a chance to ring twice. “Hello.”
There was a hiss of static, and the gruff, male voice seemed to come from a long way off. “I’m sorry it’s so late, but we’ve identified a solid suspect in the murders, and we’ve been busy interrogating him.”
She could hear both the frustration and weariness in his voice, and she wished he would come home. “Don’t worry about it. I was up anyway.” Tightening her hold on the phone, she closed her eyes against the sudden ache, her voice very husky when she spoke. “We’ve both had very long days…a very long week, in fact.”
She heard him heave a frustrated sigh. “And it isn’t over yet.” There was a heavy pause, then he spoke again, his tone gravelly. “He’s not very forthcoming. Says he doesn’t know the victims, but we discovered he used his credentials to access all four victim files.
“Who did you bring in?”
Jason explained it was Dr. Adam Blake, a dentist in the complex. He then dropped the bombshell. He was involved with her pediatrician.
Goosebumps raced over her skin, a chill slithering down her spine. There was something strange about all this. Something that was nagging at her that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Dr. Moore?”
“Did you know she was seeing anyone?”
“No, she didn’t talk much about her personal life.” An uneasy feeling slipped over her.
“Yeah, well, she’s been sleeping with a brutal murderer.”
“Apparently so.”
“Are you all right?”
Wishing she could ease the weariness in his voice, Kelly shifted the phone, trying very hard to keep her tone light. “Of course. I’m fine,” she said, brushing off his concern. She couldn’t really talk about something that wasn’t concrete. She felt oddly disconnected, as though her head had been severed from her body. For a moment she almost had herself convinced that whatever was bothering her was really just her overactive imagination, but that alarm, a niggling apprehension, wouldn’t go away.
“The agents assigned to you are still there, right?” He hesitated and spoke again. “I don’t want to pull them until I’m sure you’re safe.”
Kelly stared off into the darkness of the kitchen, loneliness making her voice catch. “They’re still here, but it’s not the same as having you with me.”
She heard him exhale heavily, and the weariness was back in his voice. “I’ll hopefully get him to confess before too long, but I can’t promise he’ll break.”
Sensing the concern and care in him, Kelly drew a shaky breath. Needing to reach out to him in some small way, she tightened her grip on the phone, the thickness in her throat growing. “You are the best at what you do, always,” she said, her voice uneven. “Stay safe.”
There was a long pause, then Jason answered, his voice gruff. “Get some sleep, babe. I’ll see you soon. Okay?”
“I will.”
Kelly listened until she heard the disconnection, then she closed her eyes and clutched the cell to her chest. Five minutes on the phone with him wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Feeling more alone than ever, she reluctantly tucked the phone into her robe pocket.
There was nothing else for her to do. She moved away from the window, and went upstairs to her bedroom, not looking forward to sleeping alone.
“Mommy?”
Raking her hair back from her face, she straightened. The sound of Kiko’s voice sent her down the hall to her daughter’s room. “Yes, sweetie?”
The nightlight by her bed cast her room in a soft amber glow, and the sound of the rain rattling against the windowpanes was heightened by the wind. She shifted her head to meet Kelly’s gaze, her voice slurred with sleep. “I want Jason.”
For a moment, she studied her daughter’s face for traces of her father. With the exception of the shape of her face and mouth like his, Kiko was very nearly a carbon copy of her mother. The resemblance was so defined that even mother and daughter could see it. He had accepted her as his own. She knew he had no regrets concerning Kiko. She was his and had been from the moment he realized she was his daughter. But his capacity for love had never been in question. What Kelly questioned now was her decision to take the easy way out six years ago and deprive them of each other. She had no idea what feelings he had for her. She wondered if he had loved her unconditionally then, and did he love her unconditionally now.
She sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the covers up. “I know, but he’s not home yet.”
“Where is he?”
Realizing that her daughter’s hands were cold, she warmed them with her own as she said, “He’s still at work.”
She tightened her small hands around Kelly’s. “Will it be soon?”
She gave her a small smile. “No. I don’t think so.”
She stared up at her, watching her with an intentness that belied her young age. “He’s the best reader and makes strong forts. He knows my ticklish spots, but doesn’t tickle me, and he tells the best jokes. He said that we could go to the zoo and camp out sometimes. He says the stars look best away from civil—civilzation.”
“Civilization. It means away from the city.”
“Oh,” she said in that trusting way children had. “I love him, Mommy.”