Victoria (4 page)

"So what's this I hear about a trip to Chicago?” Patrick wrapped his arm around his niece's shoulders and began to walk with her.

Sherry laughed as she watched her brother's strategic about-face. He would make sure Victoria made it to the ceremony.

Sherry was grateful for the closeness and size of the family. Her brother Patrick not only lost his brother-in-law but also, his best friend. Sherry inhaled deeply. The emptiness in her heart, the loss, was still raw, and the memories, both painful and happy. “God, I miss you, Danny,” she whispered as she walked toward her sister-in-law.

"Well, Uncle Patrick, I told Mom I wasn't sure yet. I wish she hadn't said anything. I don't want to make a big deal out of this."

"It is a big deal, Victoria. It's in honor of your father, and you have to be there."

"I never said I wouldn't make it. There's something I've been working on, that's all, and it's important."

"Nothing is more important or sacred than family. Don't ever forget that."

"I won't. I know that. Don't you think I know that?” She instantly felt defensive. He had no idea what she was working on, or the fact she was conducting her own investigation into her father's murder. The local departments had come up with little so far, and Victoria felt she needed to do more than just sit around being depressed. If her uncle, brother, or cousins knew what she was up to, they would insist she put a stop to it and leave it to the detectives involved.

Just then, one of the detectives working her father's case arrived at the party, Detective Tod Kafrey.

Victoria continued to talk with her uncle as Tod greeted the family and friends.

"Hello, Tod. How are you? I'm so glad you made it.” Sherry accepted Tod's kiss on her cheek in greeting.

"I wouldn't miss it, Mrs. Mardullo. How are you, Mrs. Malley? Nice to see you, too.” Tod acknowledged Jane.

Sherry smiled at Tod as he spoke with Jane. He was in his late thirties with blonde hair and green eyes, a very attractive man. He was tall, around six feet, and stocky. Glancing toward Sarah, Sherry noticed the young woman's cheeks turn a shade of red. It was obvious that Victoria's cousin, Sarah, had a crush on him something terrible, but she was five years younger and Tod hadn't shown any interest.

He did show some interest in her daughter, Victoria, but it appeared to Sherry that Victoria just wasn't interested. Again, she wondered if it were all about fear and taking the chance to open her heart again. Sighing, she watched Tod make his way through the crowd.

Tod was greeted by fellow officers and guests at the party. Connor and Peter waved hello, from where they stood near the barbeque. He overheard them talking about the Yankees, as one flipped burgers and hot dogs.

He noticed Victoria speaking with her uncle. She looked upset, and he wondered what they could possibly be talking about. Taking a few moments to give them time to finish what appeared to be a serious discussion, he kept his eyes focused on Victoria. She was breathtaking as usual, her hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and the one-piece tank dress showed off her perfect, trim figure.

Her voice and the smell of her perfume inundated his dreams. He wanted her all to himself and wondered if she would ever comply. Half listening to the conversation around him, he wanted to provide comfort and security to her. The walls of independence, the scars from her bad relationship experiences, didn't appear to show signs of collapsing. Perhaps it was time to apply a little pressure.

He excused himself from talking with Peter and Brian and made his way toward Victoria and her uncle.

Cautiously, he approached Victoria and Patrick Malley. A tall man, burly and all Irish from red hair to freckles. Patrick was a sergeant, active on patrol and not one to sit around wasting the taxpayers’ money; he had an intimidating reputation in the department.

"Hey, Tod, how are you?” Patrick shook Tod's hand in greeting. Tod kissed her on the cheek and she pulled away. His gut clenched at her response.

Patrick excused himself and joined his son and nephew by the grill.

"So, Detective, you made it?” Tod teased.

Victoria gave him a sideways look. “You're the detective, not me."

"You could have fooled me. I saw the clip from that interview last night. You were fantastic. The way you got that perpetrator to give it all up, you had him spilling his guts. I was impressed. I could use you on the job.” He winked then touched her cheek gently with his fingers.

Victoria smiled but moved away a little.

Tod sensed her discomfort, but wasn't about to give up on her yet. He was attracted to her, had been from the moment they'd met. He was one of the lead detectives investigating her father's death. Tod had been one of the first on the scene when they found her father's body, and he who had broken the news to Victoria, her mother, and Peter. Tod couldn't allow just anyone to do it.

"How was the parade?"

He watched Victoria glance around the yard and play with the paper on the water bottle she held. She seemed a bit on edge and he hoped it wasn't his presence.

"It was nice, the kids enjoyed it.” She glanced around at the children playing near the swing set.

Tod recalled seeing her for the first time at Jim Flanagan's wedding a month before her father died. He remembered Victoria wearing an attractive, low cut dress, and her eyes sparkled. She was a knockout with her long, shiny, brown hair and natural, creamy, olive skin. He had been determined to win her heart. If only she would forget about that Marine from her past. Then maybe he'd have a chance. He'd get a chance to talk to her later, and hopefully, back at her place.

"So what's new, Tod? Are you working today or what?” Victoria took a sip from the water bottle.

"Unfortunately, I am working but took a little break to stop and see you. Do you have plans later? Maybe I can stop by your place and—"

"I really can't, Tod. I'm working on this story for the magazine right now, and I'm on a roll. I want to complete it tonight if I can, then do all my editing, and prepare to hand it in to my boss tomorrow morning. I practically missed the beginning of the parade this morning."

"Oh, man, you're kidding me? How did everyone react to that?"

"Only Aunt Jane flipped out a little, but I easily get under her skin. Besides, it's my job and I want to stay on top of my game. It's expected now, you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean. So if tonight is out of the question, what about another night this week? Maybe dinner at Phill's? I know you like that famous blooming onion of his."

Victoria felt bad. She knew Tod liked her, but she didn't want to get involved with anyone. She promised herself she would focus on her career, give up on men for a while, and find out who killed her father. So far, no one suspected anything.

Tod moved closer to Victoria, touching her arm as he spoke. “I didn't mean to silence you. Would it be so bad to move on with your life? Forget about—"

"No, Tod, don't say his name. Don't bring that up to me. I'm just not ready for this. It wouldn't be fair for me to pretend I am when I'm not."

Victoria looked away, closed her eyes, and released a heavy sigh.

"You were too good for him.” Tod moved closer, took her hand, and gently squeezed it.

"You're a nice man, Tod, a good friend, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to you, but in all honesty, I just don't have anything to give you at this point in time. When I think about dating, about everything that goes along with it, I feel exhausted, spent. I hope you can understand that. There's a lot I'm working on in my profession, my career, and I just don't have the time."

"You deserve to be happy, Victoria. Why can't you forget about this guy?” Tod obviously didn't bother trying to hide his anger and jealousy for a man who was probably dead.

Victoria began to walk away. Tod grabbed her wrist. Others took notice and Victoria didn't want to make a scene. She stopped and turned around to face Tod.

"I'm sorry. I had no right to say that to you,” he whispered. Tod's cell phone rang. “I'm not going to wait forever, Victoria."

He answered his phone, giving ‘yes’ and ‘okay’ answers, then closed it, placing it in its holder on his hip.

Possessively, Tod placed his hands on her shoulders. She wasn't anyone's possession.

"I have to go. Duty calls, you know. I'll call you later.” Tod gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked away, saying goodbye to others as he left.

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Tod pulled the unmarked police car up to the marina, not pleased to find a large crowd gathered around what he was sure would turn out to be the crime scene.

Detective Don Phelps was already there and as Tod made his way through the crowd, he was pleased to find numerous patrol officers taping off the surrounding area. Maybe, just maybe, they were actually following protocol.

"Hey, Detective Kafrey, Detective Phelps is over there, past the boat yard. There's a deep ravine that borders the water's edge. That's where your crime scene is,” Officer Ronnie Chappa stated. He had been on the force five years and was determined to make detective. In Tod's eyes, he definitely showed potential.

Tod made his way past the junked boats and marina garbage, then toward the top of the hill. A few officers gathered around, taking notes, speaking to the marina caretaker who'd obviously found the body. He was white as a ghost, perspiring, and his light blue t-shirt showed chunks of what he'd eaten for breakfast that morning.

"Hey, Kafrey, sorry to drag you away from the party at the Malley's, but duty calls.” Don stood near the body, wearing rubber gloves and already recording evidence as the forensics team took photographs. The River County Coroners office was already on the scene.

The Sheriff's Department had the best forensics department around and immediately called to the scene. Their small town police department's lab was still in the works and far from up and running.

Politics
.

Tod absorbed the scene around him. He noted the sex and position of the body. It was difficult not to observe she was young, maybe in her twenties, with long brown hair, and completely nude.

The victim was rigid and in a slumped position. Tod looked back up the hill, from where he had just come. He could see slight indentations in the dirt, some broken branches, and matted down grass. He believed, from his initial evaluation of the crime scene, the body looked as though dumped down the ravine, where it now lay, after rolling down the incline.

"She's been here a while."

Detective Phelps rose from the ground and opened his notebook. “We don't have a name yet but we're working on it. They're checking the system for any missing persons who fit the victim's description.” Detective Phelps joined Tod back near the body.

"Looks like she was bound by the wrists and ankles at some point. There's bruising around the neck and right shoulder blade. No stab wounds or gunshot wounds. Possibly, she died from strangulation, but no signs of broken vessels around the whites of her eyes.” Tod gently pushed up the victim's eyelids with his fingers protected by disposable gloves.

"Maybe she was poisoned?” Phelps added.

Tod gave a look that said
maybe
. He carefully leaned closer to the body, noting a brown-colored substance around the inside of her lips. “The dirt could have gathered there from her tumble down the ravine, or the culprit, to her death. We'll know soon enough,” Tod said just as the coroner arrived.

"Detective Kafrey, we've got someone from the local newspaper up here. What do you want me to tell them?” the patrol officer asked.

"Tell them nothing. We don't know what we're dealing with yet, and no one is to make any statements at this time. Spread the word, will ya?” Tod shook his head in disgust. The media never seemed to arrive so quickly when there was good news.

He knew as soon as people in town found out about the body discovered on Memorial Day, a wave of panic and upset would swamp their little police department.

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Victoria was overwhelmed at the information contained in the latest updated file. About a month ago, she had gotten her hands on an original copy of the report of her father's murder. At first, she tried to disconnect herself, act as though she were going over the case of a stranger but there was no use. The emotions were too strong. A tear escaped her eye, and she closed the file abruptly, placing it back into her briefcase, questioning herself for the umpteenth time about her decision to pursue her own investigation.

Having obtained copies of various reports, both recent and not so recent cases her father had been involved in, continued to lead to dead ends.

Interesting enough, those cases were easier to read, but the particulars about each victim were hard to get through. She noted certain cases connected to gang activity in an area a few towns over, in Creek Valley. Victoria had heard from her family the area had been investigated. There were no leads or any evidence to make Tod or the other detectives believe her father's death was gang related.

Taking a deep breath, she closed the large manila folder, stopped looking at the reports, for now, knowing she had her own office work to do. Yet, the tiny details and small discoveries she made while researching, made her question a connection between her current work and her father's murder.

She tried to prepare for next month's issue of
Search and Seizure
and her article on police and political corruption. A topic her boss and editor had insisted she investigate. It's also, what got her motivated to try and solve her father's murder. Victoria couldn't help but doubt her gut feeling. The small town they lived in could not fabricate such corruption and masked fraudulence.

The ringing phone on her desk interrupted her thoughts.

"Hello, Victoria Mardullo."

"Hey, Tory, it's me. Did I catch you at a bad time?” Celina, her best friend's voice instantly cheered her up.