Darkness Follows (18 page)

The
girl willed her car to start. As she tried the ignition once more, and after
the usual grinding sound, it finally turned over. She promised herself she would
take it to be looked at as she drove out of the dark parking lot.

"Nice."
Her favourite song was playing, and although it was closer to the end, she
turned the radio up. As soon as she hit eighty, she rolled her window down, and
lit her cigarette. After the first puff, she was able to relax, and began
singing along. The wind blew through her hair, cooling her, and when the song
was over she searched the stations to find another hit.
After fiddling with the dial, she settled on what sounded like an old rock
song, and flicked her butt out onto the road. She reached into her purse on the
seat beside her, rummaging around when she swore she saw a shadow in the rear
view mirror.
She looked behind her seat quickly, and saw nothing, but swerved as she looked
ahead to keep herself from driving off the road. She exhaled, slowing down, and
glanced back again.
Nothing.
She knew she was being silly. She turned the creepy music down. It didn't take
much for her imagination to get the best of her. She vowed to never watch
another scary movie again as she slowed down, pulling into her subdivision.
After finally finding the perfume bottle in her purse, she spritzed her neck as
she pulled into her driveway.
She rolled the window up and grabbed her purse. When she opened the car door to
get out, she saw a figure walking up beside the car, and before she could turn
to see who it was, an arm reached in and pounded her chest.
It was not until the arm pulled away holding a knife covered in blood that she
realized she had been stabbed. She gasped, and began to choke. The arm
rose again and she could see her blood glistening reddish black on the blade.

When the knife came down again, blood shot from her neck onto the windshield,
and then the dashboard and steering wheel. It spurted from her mouth, and made
a gurgling sound as she gasped for another breath, watching the knife come yet
again.
Then the stabbing stopped. Her body finally slumped down in her seat,
blood oozing from her chest. Her dead eyes seemed to stare at the small
piece of paper under the windshield wiper.

Aurina
heard a knock on the front door, and wondered if she had slept in again, before
opening her eyes to darkness. By the time she reached her bedroom door, she
found Ryanne walking down the hallway.

“Who
is it?”

“It’s
just Max.” Ryanne told her after Burrows opened the door to let him in.

“Aurina, could you please call Blake and
ask him to come over?”
Max asked as he quickly shut and locked the door
behind him.

“Okay,
what’s going on?” Burrows asked as Aurina went to the phone, and waited for his
reply before picking it up.

“There's
been another murder. Lynn Foster. Just call him, okay?” Max checked out the
front window, and radioed back to the station.
“Chief, all
safe here.”

Aurina
dialed Blake’s number, and there was no answer on the first try. When she hung
up, Burrows offered to go and get him, but Aurina ignored her. She rang his
number again, and this time he answered almost immediately. She told him Max
asked for him to come over, and that he would explain more when Blake got
there. After Blake got inside, they all sat down in the kitchen.

“The
Chief called me a few minutes ago. Lynn Foster was found in her car in her
family’s driveway. She had just driven home from her shift at O’Leary’s last
night. Her family heard her pull up, but didn’t hear her come in. Her
dad went out and found her. She was stabbed, just like Anne Marie.”

“Lynn?”
Blake asked. Aurina saw recognition sweep across his face.

“You
knew her brother Ben didn’t you?” Max’s voice became soft.

“Yeah.
Whenever we
hung out at his place when we were younger, she would follow us around, bugging
us to let her play.” Blake realized the eyes in the room were upon him. “I
can’t believe it.” Max nodded, and Blake stood up muttering to himself as he
headed for the washroom. Aurina debated going after him, but decided to give
him space.

Burrows
nodded toward the door, and Max followed her. “Is there anything else you can
tell me?” Burrows asked.

Max
leaned in. “There was another note left in Lynn’s hand. It said “You give me no
choice.”

“Oh
shit,” Burrows went to her bag in the living room, and took out her cell phone,
heading for Ryanne’s room, no doubt to call Jones.

“What
do you mean another note?” Aurina asked, but Max looked out the window again
without answering her.

Blake
emerged from the washroom, stopping between Aurina and Max.

"Max,
what does another note mean?"Aurina stood up from the table.

Blake
looked between the two. "What's going on Max?"

“There
was a small piece of paper found by Anne Marie’s body as well. We haven't been
able to recover any writing from it because of water damage." Max
explained.

“Why
didn’t you tell us?” Ryanne yelled.

“Because we were keeping it quiet.
We didn’t want
anyone to know because it might link back to you but it might not. You've
already been over involved in the case and...”

Aurina
shook her head and turned back to the table where Blake pulled out a chair.
“I’m sorry Blake.”

“My
old buddy Ben, that was his twin.” he told her shaking his head.

Burrows
came into the room quickly, and stood at the end of the counter, where she
placed her cell phone gently.

"Get
any news about the note?' Ryanne asked, and Burrows looked from Ryanne to Max.

Max
held up his hands. "Aurina heard us talking."

Burrows
took a deep breath. “There is no proof, no evidence yet that the killer is
Jeremy, but the odds are far too great. Regardless, Jones has decided to move
you girls to a new location.” She picked up the phone and checked it, nodding,
“It’s almost three am,
Jones
is leaving now, and will
be here with another Officer by three this afternoon.”

Just
after the doors closed, he heard the familiar whoosh of the elevator.

“It’s
gotta be. I’m so close.” Jones repeated as he clenched his fist. He continued
to whisper to himself until he heard a ding, and the doors opened letting him
into the underground parking.

Jones
saw Daniels through the dim, standing in front of an unmarked Crown Victoria
police cruiser and a green undercover Dodge Charger parked side by side.

"You
sure Jeremy's in Dersten Jones? I mean, just because there was another murder
in town."

"Doesn't
mean it was Jeremy? Yeah, I've thought of that."

When
he spoke to Daniels, before telling him to meet him in the parking garage, he
spoke five words.

We.
Are.
Going.
To.
Dersten.

Daniels
took the duffle bag from Jones. "You packed light."

Jones
shrugged with a smile, and took his cell phone out.

He
typed 'Leaving now.' and sent it to Burrows before putting it back in his
pocket.

"So
what's the plan? We staying there, or taking the girls somewhere else?"

Jones
shook his head. "You got your radio?"

"Yeah."
 Jones
held the keys to the Crown Vic in front of him and tossed them to Daniels.

Daniels
flinched before he caught them. “I thought I was driving the Charger?”

“Is
there a problem?”

Daniels
sighed and shook his head.

"Good.
I'll fill you in on the way. We've got to move now."

“We're
moving
again
?” Ryanne looked to Max and then Aurina.

“Jeremy
may be here, and he might not. People are dying. We need to let the police of
this town do their job in solving these murders in any case. We need to let
them focus. The point of bringing you here was for your safety, and we have
determined it is no longer safe.”

Blake
took Aurina’s hand under the table, and when she looked into his eyes, she saw
sadness. She was sure it was a mixture of Lynn’s death, and the news that they would
soon be relocating. He squeezed her hand softly, and she squeezed back.

“Does
Crawley know about this decision?” Max asked.

“Not
yet, but he has more important things on his mind right now. I’ll wait for his
call to let him know.” Burrows tucked her cell phone into her back jean pocket,
and went to her duffle bag. She took out a light blue coat, and pulled it on.
“Blake, would you come with me for a moment? I want to check the perimeter
here.”

Blake
nodded, and gave Aurina’s hand a final squeeze before rising from the table,
and meeting her at the door. They left silently, leaving Ryanne with Max and
Aurina.

“Why
did she ask Blake? Max is the Officer.” Aurina muttered to Ryanne. Ryanne and
Max looked at each other smiling and Ryanne covered her mouth. They all sat in
silence, and Aurina tried to come to terms with the fact that they would be far
away from Dersten by the end of the day.
Far away from Blake.

Another
girl had been killed, and Aurina was sure she knew who was responsible. Jake
may have been able to fool her sister, but Aurina had been through this before,
and she wouldn’t be fooled again.

“Are
they looking into Jake O’Leary?” Aurina asked Max, who nodded.

“He’s
still a suspect.” Max looked to Ryanne, and Aurina saw she was staring at her
intently. “They are holding him at the station now.”

“You
really think Jake killed those girls? You don’t even know him.” Ryanne looked
to Max now. “You don’t think he killed them. Those notes left on the dead girls
wouldn’t make sense coming from him. Why would he leave notes?”

Before
Max had a chance to respond Aurina interrupted. “Ryanne, sometimes you think
you know a person.” Ryanne looked back to her, and Aurina's face seemed to
soften. “You think you know what they are capable of…” She was choking back
tears.

Realizing
the significance of what she had just argued, Ryanne said “Oh my God, I’m sorry
Rina,” She went to her putting her arms around her.

Aurina
nodded, finally feeling understood by her sister. Ryanne barley knew Jake, but
for the small amount of time they were together, he seemed to charm her. She
needed her sister to open her eyes, and realize things aren’t always what they
seem.

“You
need to understand that I was there though, I was with him when the first
murder occurred.”

“Not
the whole time though. It could have happened when they were out the back
arguing. Please just admit that.”

“It’s
possible.” Ryanne went back to the couch and took a seat. “But I don’t believe
it.”

“Okay.”
Aurina said quietly.

“Listen,”
Max said, “No one knows for sure, that’s what the Chief is trying to find out…
but if you ask me, and you did, my thought is no.” Aurina looked up at Max. “I
don’t think Jake killed those girls. Something just doesn’t add up in either
scenario, with Jeremy, or Jake.”

After
a moment of silence, Aurina went into the kitchen, and started cleaning out the
sink. She listened to Ryanne and Max for a while and then began to daze off.
She thought about the time Jake had alone with her sister and took a deep breath
as she began to scrub.

Blake
followed Burrows back into the house, and after removing his boots, his eyes
searched around the room. Ryanne caught his attention and nodded her head down
the hallway. Blake nodded as he passed her, heading straight for Aurina's room.
Ryanne put on a pot of coffee, and brought a cup of peppermint tea to her sister’s
door. She knocked lightly and Aurina opened it.

Blake
sat at the bottom of the bed. Ryanne gave Aurina the tea and they both stood at
the door for a moment before Aurina put her hand on the door knob. Ryanne
smiled slightly, and quickly started back down the hallway, as Aurina closed
the door.

When
she came to the kitchen, Burrows was pouring coffee.

“Coffee?”

“No
thanks. I think I’ll have some tea.” Ryanne grabbed another tea bag and tossed
it into the bottom of her mug. “My nerves are shot.”

“Think
Max’ll want one?”

“Yeah, sure.
Where is he?”

“On the porch, standing guard.”
They stood side
by side pouring the drinks. “He's a good cop.
Would be proud
to have him in the city.”

Ryanne
knew coming from the Toronto Police Officer it was a huge compliment, and she
hoped Burrows would let Max know how she felt.

“Are
your sister and Blake….together?” Burrows asked, as Ryanne poured the hot water
into her mug.

Ryanne
imagined they were something. Blake had been there for Aurina more than Ryanne
herself had since they arrived in Dersten, and they seemed to be forming a
bond. Ryanne wouldn’t have put a label on it, but it was becoming clear how close
and affectionate they had become.

“I
think so.”

“That
explains a lot.” Burrows stirred the two coffees now, and
clinked
the spoon against each as she finished.

“What
do you mean?”

“The glares.
I get it
now." Burrows took a sip of her coffee. “What about you and Max?”

This
question had a much more complex answer. Ryanne and Max were getting close as
well, but Ryanne had
a hard
time thinking about the
future with anyone.

“We’re
just friends.” Ryanne told her, and Burrows nodded as she opened the door.

They
stepped out into the cold fresh air, seeing only as far across the property as
the porch light allowed. The night was quiet, and Max sat on one of the two
chairs, only moving to accept the mug of coffee from Burrows.

“Hear
anything from Crawley?” Burrows asked and took a seat beside him.

“Not
yet.”

Ryanne
took a seat on the top porch step. The first sip of her tea was warm and
calming. She held it in both hands feeling the heat spread smoothly to her
core. She huddled into herself and let her gaze wander down Maple Lane.

“Lynn’s
hair was dark brown. “ Max finally spoke. Burrows and Ryanne looked at him, and
then at each other.

“Naturally?”
Burrows asked.

“Yeah,
her
and Ben both have dark brown hair. Ever since they
were kids, I’m sure.”

“And
it wasn’t dyed red?” Burrows asked.

“I've
known them all my life. It's always been brown.”

“But,
if it was Jeremy who killed her, then that doesn’t make sense.” Ryanne thought
for a moment, and wondered if the pattern Jeremy had kept had been broken with
Lynn.

“It’s
possible that Jeremy didn’t even realize he had a pattern,” said Burrows. “Just
like the rest of us, killers sometimes don’t realize the particular traits that
attract them to certain people.” She took an audible swallow of her coffee and
put it down on the table between them.

“But
doesn’t this still make it less likely that Jeremy is the one killing women
here in Dersten?” Ryanne asked. She noticed Burrows tapping her hand on the arm
of the porch chair.

“That’s
true,” said Max. “And there’s more than just the girls’ hair colour that differ
from Jeremy’s pattern.” He looked to Burrows, “I know you tried to justify it
by pointing out that Jeremy is killing on his own without David, and so his
rituals might be different, but there just doesn’t seem to be much connection
at all.”

Since
Lynn's murder, Ryanne had been trying to think of commonalities between her and
Anne Marie.

“Anne
Marie and Lynn worked together at the same place, had the same job, and they
were both stabbed to death...” Ryanne began.

“But
their ages and appearances were different,” Max pointed out. “
And
the
profiles of the Dersten victims are out of sync with the Toronto victims.”

“Listen
guys, I agree that the deaths in Toronto greatly differ from the deaths here in
Dersten.” Burrows stood and faced them both, leaning against a porch post. “I
think Jones knows Jeremy better than any of us at this point.”

“How so?”
Max put his mug
down on the table between them.

“He
has been focused on this for so long...and don’t get me wrong, so have I
but...it’s personal for Jones; Jeremy contacted him directly. I want to find
the son of a bitch who killed those girls just as bad as he does, but
Jones....”

“What
do you think?” Ryanne asked looking to Max.