Darkness Follows (9 page)

"It's
one of the only details the media hasn't gotten a hold of," Burrows
shrugged, "worth a shot."

Jones
picked up his mug of coffee, and took the last sip, swallowing the cool liquid
quickly. After bringing David in, he went to his apartment with Burrows and two
other officers to search the place top to bottom. There was nothing to suggest
a woman had ever been there, which was unusual for a man in a relationship for
that long.

"Fingers
crossed." Jones rifled through some files.

"What
made you think of it?"

"Well,
none of the victims’ families could be certain that nothing was taken from
their daughters the night of their murder." Jones pulled out a file, and
set it in front of him on the desk. "Jeremy left his place in a hurry, no
time to clean up, that was obvious. David however, he kept that place pristine.
We should have found something: clothing, pictures,
a
goddamn toothbrush."

Burrows
nodded and took a sip of her coffee.

"Just
didn't sit right with me. If David had nothing of Aurina's, maybe she has
something of his."

"Good
call Jones."

"Yeah,
well, we're due for a break." He opened the file, and sorted through it
quickly.

"You
think David would have confessed?" Burrows asked, and when Jones snapped
his head up from the files, rolling it from side to side, she looked away.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to irritate you."

Jones
rested his hands in front of him on the file. "Stop apologizing Burrows. I
just think we need to look ahead. We can't get caught up in things that didn't
end the way we hoped they would."

"Sorry.
I mean..." Jones shook his head, and chuckled. "I just appreciate you
letting me in on this Jones."

Jones
cleared his throat and checked his watch. "Have you processed the
bartenders witness account?"

"Right
before I got here." Burrows rested her chin on her hand as she leaned on
the desk. "You told me you had a plan, if we couldn't get a confession
from David."

Jones
looked down at one of the papers, as Burrows waited.

"Jones?"

He
looked up at her. "It's not a plan."

"Okay.
Then what is it? What are you going to do?"

"Crawley
is supposed to call back any time now. Meet me here tomorrow morning
alright?" Burrows nodded, and stood.

"Hey,
Burrows?" He looked up at her. "Good thinking on following up with
the pub’s employment records."

"You're
not going soft on me are ya Jones?" Burrows laughed, and her squeaking
sounds continued, even after she left his office.

After
Blake had left, Aurina said she had a headache and took some pills to help her
sleep before she went to bed. Ryanne went to her own room but couldn't make
herself
change for bed. She felt wired, as if she had just
drank three cups of coffee, and found
herself
pacing
the bedroom.

She
thought about the last time she saw David, and how his cold eyes had stared her
down for a brief moment. She tried to shake the image from her head, but she
still felt him, studying her.

Something
Crawley said made her wonder. Jeremy had violent porn movies at his apartment,
and Crawley hinted at the fact he had a deeply seeded interest in control and
dominance. He was definitely the dominant partner with David. How could
Jeremy’s name have been kept out of the news for this long? Jones had told them
it was David’s DNA that was found on Ellie Cane’s body and that Jeremy’s had
never been found anywhere. She wondered how Jeremy could be the one to kill
them when it was David who was confirmed to have touched them. Then she thought
about Crawley's questions.
The jewelry.

Had
David taken the victims’ jewelry and given it to them? Why else would Jones
have wanted to know?

She
remembered David pleading with her sister to believe him that he had not
murdered anyone, and she still believed it was true. He could have removed
their jewelry, accidentally leaving his DNA behind.

Her
temples began to ache as the photos she had seen of the murder victims earlier
in the day forced their way into her head. All pretty girls, each in their own
way--and all on their own when the murders occurred.

Ryanne
peered out her window, and saw Jenkins, hat over his face, feet up on the
dashboard. Some security they had sent.

Ryanne
went to her closet and pulled out a black tank top Aurina had bought her. She
took off her blue t-shirt, and pulled the tank top over her head. She went to
the window where she slid it open slowly, and hopped outside. There was a
slight breeze that cooled her down on the hot evening, and she smelled the
sweet grassy fragrance in the air that she was beginning to love. Leaving the
window open a crack, she ran through the deep grass between the houses, and
into Blake’s open garage. It was almost empty except for his car, several tools
and an old blue bicycle. Bingo.

She
grabbed the bike, and ran with it through the back yard, noticing Aurina’s
bedroom window was dark, and merged with Maple Lane when she felt she was safely
out of sight. She hopped on the bike and pedaled down the street as fast as she
could.

As
the gentle wind grazed her face, and flew through her long hair, her breathing
quickened. If Jeremy was able to kill those girls without leaving any DNA
behind, he was more powerful and cunning than she had originally anticipated.

She
saw Jeremy’s face in the corner of her mind, smiling at the victims with his
white teeth morphing
into a predators sharp fangs
,
snarling at them in their last moments of life.

Ryanne
peddled harder and faster, until the breeze was whipping across her face, and
she no longer thought of anything but the repetitive motion of her legs and
feet, and her heart thumping in her chest.

*****

“Go
home.” Daniels said. He stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame.

Jones
didn’t know how long he had been standing there, but he put down the photo of
Jeremy, and leaned back in his chair. The loud buzz of office chatter had been
replaced by the odd cough, or ringing, and as Jones glanced up at the clock, he
shook his head.

“Not
yet.”

“You
look like shit.” Daniels pushed himself off the frame, and stood in the middle
of the doorway.

“I’ve
been worse.”

Daniels
shrugged. “See you tomorrow.”

Just
as he stepped out of view, Jones sat up in his seat.

“Daniels?”
After a moment, he reappeared in the door way. “Did you see Burrows’ report?”

“Which one?”

“From
the day she was called to Ellie Cane’s place.”

“Yeah, sure.”
Daniels waddled
slowly into his office. “Boyfriend called it in right?”

Jones
nodded. “The report stated there was evidence of a struggle, but there was no
evidence that the other two victims put up a fight.”

“Because they were drugged.”

“Right.
What I can’t
figure out
is,
why they drugged the first and third
victims, but not Julie Donahue?”

Daniels
pulled a chair back toward him and plopped himself down.

“But
you have a theory.”

“I
think it was David’s idea to drug them. It was a safe way to commit the murders
with a smaller chance of leaving any DNA behind. If I believe David, and Jeremy
was the one to strangle them, I think Jeremy got off on the fight. When David
let Jeremy call the shots with the second murder, he realized he didn’t have
any control anymore, and tried to get out. I think Jeremy coaxed him back in by
agreeing to David’s terms. One of which was drugging the girls.”

“Alright,”
Daniels leaned forward in his chair, “Suppose that’s true. How does that help
us find Jeremy?”

“I
think he is going to try again.”

“To kill?”

Jones
nodded. “And this time, he won’t drug her. He wants them to fight back, and if
they do, they have a better chance of escaping.”

Daniels
raised his brows. “You want to wait until he tries something again?
Maybe for another year to pass?”

“No,
I’m not waiting for anything. It might be our best shot at catching him
though.”

“Come
on. Don't you think he’ll stay in hiding, that is, if he hasn’t run off
already? He waited
a year
between each girl Jones.”

“I
think that was because of David.”

Daniels
pushed himself up from his chair with the help of Jones’ desk. “Well, if
Jeremy’s giving it a go on his own, there are so many variables that might
change.”

“You’re
right, and based on my
theory,
he’ll be less inhibited,
and more violent than ever.”

“
If
he kills again.”
Daniels left
the office, and when he was gone, Jones shook his head.

“Only a matter of time.”
He muttered as
he looked over the transcript of the Patrick sister's visit with David once
more, reading the part where David had finally acknowledged Ryanne over and
over again.

*****

When
Ryanne saw the familiar parking lot in the distance, she slowed down, coasting
before the bike got to Main Street. After hopping off, she looked both ways,
crossed the street, and found a fence to rest the bike against. She had made it
to O'Leary's in less than an hour, and panted as she walked up the street to
the pub. Along the sidewalk, she saw a few girls smoking, and an older man
sitting on the curb. She took a deep breath before passing the girls, and as
she got to the doors, she knew why she came. Max might be inside, and if so,
she could fill him in on everything. He probably knew about David’s death and
it was possible that he could give her some clarity on the questions she had
regarding the jewelry.

As
she entered the pub, she was hit by cheery, loud music and shouts from the
crowd in the mezzanine.  There were twice as many people as the last time
she was in. Anne Marie was in the mezzanine getting ready to sing again.
Tonight she wore her blonde hair in loose curls, and was accompanied by a three
piece jazz band. Ryanne was sure she had lots of guys in town fighting for her
attention, and wondered if she could ever have the courage to perform in front
of so many people like that, even if she had Anne Marie’s voice.

Ryanne
looked around the room for Max, and when she couldn’t see him, made her way
over to the bar through the crowds with her hands in her pockets, only now
realizing she had no money, and hadn’t thought to bring the credit card.

"Ryanne?"
Jake called to
her from across the bar, and left the older man he was speaking to, approaching
her with a big smile. When they finally met, she could smell his cologne,
strong, but not overwhelming.

"Hi Jake."
She sat down on
the stool in front of him and took in the ambiance. A group of men were playing
pool in the mezzanine, and they seemed like the rowdiest of the bunch. She
could still hear Anne Marie’s voice, the loudest in the room, and sounding
more sultry
than sad tonight.

"I
knew you'd be back. I’m glad.” Jake stared at her smiling, and it was the first
time she felt he had been genuine with her. “Where's your friend Officer
Max?" he asked her as the man he had been standing with approached. The
older man was solidly built, with a salt and pepper beard and shaved head. He
hovered behind Jake, smiling at her. "Dad, this is Ryanne."

Jake
and his father didn't look much alike, Ryanne thought as she shook his hand.
The similarity was mostly in their almond shaped green eyes.

"Bill
O'Leary." He said, and looked back at his son again.

"Ryanne's
Blake's cousin from the city." Jake told him, and when Bill continued to
stare at her, Jake rolled his eyes smiling.

"Nice
to meet you young lady," Bill said, "Welcome to Dersten." She
noticed a dark design on his left arm, half covered by his rolled up sleeve,
and she looked up to see Bill looking at his tattoo as well.

"Thank
you." She looked between the men. "I really like it here." Bill
smiled and realized his attention was being sought at the other end of the bar,
and he went to look after the patron. “Excuse me.” As he left, Ryanne noticed
he had a slight limp.

"My
dad knows everything about everyone," Jake told her, “He says it’s his business....makes
it his business is what he does. Really, I think it’s just
cause
he's one of the oldest guys in town.” Ryanne smiled. "What'll ya
have?"

"Just
water thanks." Ryanne told him, wishing she could have what the woman next
to her was drinking. It smelled like coconuts and reminded her of a summer on
the beach.

"Water?
Come on,
what'll ya have?" Jake laughed, and as Ryanne began to speak he leaned in
further to hear her.

"I'm
not drinking tonight." Ryanne told him, her voice competing with the
music, and as he leaned away, he winked at her, and went to the back of the
bar. He came back with a dark drink, and as he set it in front of her, she
pushed it away.

"Oh
come on Ryanne, it's on the house. That’s your drink right?" Jake tapped
the bar, “You know, what a person drinks can tell you a lot about them I find.”

“Oh yeah?”
Ryanne picked
up the glass and took a sip. It was spiced rum and cola. Jake remembered, and
she was impressed.

“For
instance, see those guys up there by the pool table? They are almost all
drinking imported beer. Guys who do that love to be seen as men who know their
shit, but it’s also possible they like savouring the finer things in life.
Little uptight as well in contrast with people who come in and order a big name
domestic beer who are looking to get ‘er done, and have a good time. They don’t
care how they look, but they might care about the price they pay. Your drink
tells me you are impulsive. You tell it like it is and you’re confident.” he
leaned in again, “Am I right?” Ryanne opened her mouth, but as Jake smiled,
another customer waved to him from the other end of the bar. "Don’t
leave." He told her, and hurried down the bar.

Ryanne
brought the drink to her lips and sipped slowly. She wondered if he had made
all that up about being confident and impulsive on the spot, or if that was
what he saw in his experience. Jake must have made her drink a half and half
she thought as she swallowed. The drink warmed her throat, and she hadn't
realized how thirsty she was after her ride there. She downed the rest quickly,
and wished she had water afterward.

“Hey,”
Ryanne noticed the guy sitting to her right trying to get her attention from
the first time she came. “Do you remember me?”

“Kyle, right?”

“Yeah,
I’m friends with Jake. I didn’t catch your name.”

“Ryanne.
Nice to meet you.”

“You too.You here alone tonight?”

Ryanne
nodded, and grabbed her glass without realizing it was empty.

“Hey
let me buy you another one of those.”

“Oh, no thanks.
I’m good.”
Ryanne pushed her glass away, and turned to watch Anne Marie. “She has a nice
voice.” Kyle looked over at Anne Marie and then shrugged.

“So
you’re friends with Max?”

“Yeah,
well, I’m actually Blake Holloway’s cousin. My sister and I are visiting from
the city.”