In Search of Grace (40 page)

             
Seth turned his wiper blades on
the truck
to clear the heavy mist that coated his windshield.  The day was unusually cloudy and foggy.  Just like their moods.  He stopped at the red light on the Lynn Fells Parkway
at the
Main Street
intersection
.  They would be there in less than five minutes.  Turning his
head,
he looked at her.  Her face
was
pale and drawn, her eyes heavy with dark circles underneath them.  He knew she
had not
slept a wink last night
,
even though she stayed with him at his place.  Nothing he said or did drew her from behind the wall she had put back up.  The police psychologist said that her behavior was normal when he spoke with her
on the phone
.  This barrier was a “protective measure” that many victims put in place to help keep their sanity
.
The emotions that
victims
were
feeling
were sometimes so overwhelming
,
that they could not psychologically handle it. 
What he was asking of her
was like asking a fire victim to run into a burning building.  It was not going to happen
without some sort of defense measure
in place
; a
shutting off
of all
emotions
.
  This, she had said
,
was
very common
among
military
personnel
also
.
This st
r
uck home to Seth.  He got it in that one moment
.

             
He frowned realizing that he was asking her to do that very thing -
r
un into the fire after burn
ing
up.  Slamming on his brakes
,
he pulled over to the side of the road as the cars honked behind him in protest.  Unsnapping his
seatbelt,
he turned to her.

             
“You don’t have to do this
,
Alex.  You don’t have to go.”

             
“But, the others…”

             
“To hell with them
,
they haven’t gone through what you have.  They don’t understand.”

             
Her eyes
filled
with tears as she looked at him.  “I have to go
,
Seth.  I have known for a long time that I would eventually have to face this.  The nightmares will never stop, and I will never stop running
until this is finished
.
”  She grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.  “
This is bigger than you and me now. 
I am glad you are here with me.  I could never have done this alone.”

             
Seth put her hand on his chest.
“Feel that
,
Alex?  As long as that is beating, I will be there for you.  You understand
me
?  We will do this together.”

             
Alex nodded her head as Seth turned to snap his seatbelt back in.

             
“
Seth. 
M
y name is Grace.”

             
“I know
,
rabbit
.
I know
.
”

             
Reaching the entrance
,
Seth took the left into
Breakheart
.  There were less then the normal amount of walkers
and
runners, probably due to the weather
,
he thought
,
and pr
obably not a bad thing.  Pulling into a space
,
he
hopped out and went to open the door for her
,
but she was already out and closing it before he reached her.  Taking her by the elbow, he directed her to the gate that separated the parking lot from the paved path that led through the reservation.
His eyes scanned the area.  There was a man with a dog
,
stretching
,
getting ready for a run.  The man looked up, caught Seth’s eye and nodded slightly.  Ahead on the
path,
he saw another woman and man
just starting out for a jog.  Turning
,
she looked at him and
winked
.  Seth had to buy Tommy a beer when this was over. 
The officer
did a good job setting up surveillance in the area. 
Gratefully
,
he realized that for as many as he could see, he
was sure that there would be many
more
further in the woods that would be unseen
,
including Tommy himself.

             
Feeling a hand reach for his, he intertwined his fingers with hers and forced a smile.  “I am ready whenever you are
,
baby.”

             
Alex looked up at him
,
her eyes wide and painfully sad.  The look tore a hole into his heart.  Before he could say
anything,
she started to walk.

             
“How much do you want me to say?”

             
“
Let’s
just start with whatever you want.
  Honestly
,
Alex, the more the better.
” 

             
Frowning she crossed over the gate
,
looking down into the path until she could not see any further with the mist and the turns in the road.  Hesitantly she started to walk
,
her heart
picking up its pace in her chest.

             
Looking up at him, she started to speak. 
“It was so hot that day.  The air
has
heavy and
very
humid
, nothing like today
.  I had just got back from court.  My ex wanted alimony
,
but the judge sided with me and I felt…happy
, a
t
peace.  I did miss Charles terribly but knew that he would return so
on
from
Europe
.  Everything started to feel right
that day
.
  I decided to come here.  I had always liked this area.  It reminded me of
Maine
.  As bad as my childhood was at times, I always found peace in the woods.
”

             
H
esitating she looked up at him
never losing stride
.
  “It was busy here that day.  Kids were on their bikes
and scooters
, runners
everywhere
and the dogs with their owners
of course
.
  I remember that it was quiet even though there were so many people.  Everyone was respectful of each other.”  They walked a little bit further
,
and Seth watched as Alex cocked her head to one side and closed her eyes for a moment then smiled.  There was one dog in particular that I fell in love with.  She was a happy, healthy, rambunctious golden; you could tell she was just a puppy.  Somehow, she slipped her collar and came charging up the path right to me
,
almost knocking me over.
I looked around but did not see any sign of her owner or hear anyone calling for her
,
so I took off my belt, slipped it over her head
,
and started walking with her.
She was so sweet.  Every once in awhile, I would stop people as they passed me asking if they knew who owned her, but no one did.”

             
Seth felt her fingers
tighten
on his as her voice went down to a whisper.  “I asked him too
,
you know
.  He had come up behind me and
startled both the dog and me. 
She did not like him at all, and neither did I.  He also did not seem
to
appreciate her little puppy growl.  He looked so strange to me.”

             
“What did he look like
,
Alex?”

             
“He had no hair.”

             
Seth felt the gooseflesh breaking out over his body. 
Alex used t
h
e
same exact words that Jessica had used in the hospital.

             
“
He was bald you mean.
”

             
“Yes, but it was more than that.  He had no hair
anywhere
.  I remember thinking how strange it was that he was not only bald but he had no eyebrows or eyelashes.
His arms were bare
,
and he had on one of those tee shirts with no sleeves.  It looked like he had no
arm
pit hair. 
I
immediately
felt bad thinking that maybe he was going though cancer treatment.
  I asked if he knew the dog
,
and he said no
but wanted to walk with me.  By this
time,
the golden was barking at him.  I told him I wasn’t interested
,
and he seemed
irritated
but walked ahead of us in a big hurry.
”
 

             
“No hair, Alex.  This explains
why
there wasn’t any trace evidence left at the scene
or on
any of
the victims
.
  You’re doing g
reat
,
baby.
”  This person was good.  Seth felt they
all
had underestimated the killer. 

             
Alex
stopped still
,
and Seth waited
for her to continue
.  She was staring down the path at the mist as if she was once again watching him walk away.  “He had a backpack on.  A grown man with a backpack, I should have realized.”

             
She paused
looking at him
.  “Isn’t it funny what we remember?”

             
Yes
,
thou
ght Seth silently to himself. 
“This is why we are here.”  He was already excited about the new bits of information he was getting.

             
They walked for a half a mile when she pulled her hand away from
his
.  Her face was pale once again and devoid of all emotion.  Alex started speaking again.  “I knew right away that the man coming up the path was the owner of the dog. 
A p
art of me wanted to turn and run her back to my car and take her home, but he looked so sad
and worried
.  The collar and leash were hanging from his hand as if he had given up hope on ever finding her again.
  His face lit up
when he saw her
,
and she pulled on the belt wanting to go to him
,
so I let her
go
.  He thanked me, gave me a hug and then left.  I was alone again.”
 
Seth followed when she started walking again
, t
his time several paces behind.  After another quarter of a mile
,
Alex stopped and turned to the woods staring out
through the trees
. 
“
He came out of there.  I think he was waiting for me.
 
He scared me really bad
,
and I didn’t know what to do so I just kept walking.  He followed. 
We walked for a bit
,
and he just gave me the creeps.  We came to a path off to the left.”
  Seth looked and couldn’t see any break in the floor of the woods.

             
“Are you sure it is here?”

             
“I am positive.  If we walk in there
,
you will see a small boulder
,
and it is spray painted an
orange -
no, a yellow color
,
a
lmost like it was a marker for something.”