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FORTY

The next day, Erin awoke to a world gone white. Everything was covered in snow, but the worst of the storm was still on the horizon. Although Kaely and Erin weren’t certain Steve would want Chester on one of the beds, they decided that ignorance was bliss. Chester had followed Erin to bed as if he’d been doing it for years. He seemed to know that she needed him. It appeared she not only had a dog, but an emotional support animal. He’d cuddled up next to her in the bed, and she’d slept with her arm around him.

Kaely made waffles and sausage for breakfast. Their conversation was light and nonconfrontational. It was as if Kaely knew Erin needed a break from the heaviness of the night before. She knew Kaely had spoken truth to her. Her profile was spot on, and Erin knew she had to make some changes. But how? Was Kaely right? Was it time to give God a chance in her life?

After they ate and cleaned up the kitchen, Erin fed Chester and took him out. He was obviously potty-trained. There hadn’t been any messes in the house, and he knew exactly what to do once they stepped outside. Erin took an empty plastic bag with her to pick up his waste and put the bag in the trash cart at the side of the cabin.

As they walked back toward the house, Chester suddenly stopped and stared out toward the woods.

“I’d really rather you not do that,” Erin said. “With everything going on lately, it’s a little spooky.”

Chester stared a little longer, and then looked up at her and gave her a goofy doggy smile.

“Are you ready to go in?” she asked as if he were going to answer her.

He tugged on the belt and led her toward the front door. She was freezing and was wearing a thick coat. He had to be cold. As they approached the door, she looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were on the horizon. Probably the most serious part of the storm.

Erin wiped her snow-covered feet on the mat and opened the door. She and Chester came inside to find a towel spread out on the floor. Once again, Erin wiped her feet and then dried Chester’s.

“How did he do?” Kaely asked.

“Great. He’s a really smart dog. But for a minute he acted as if something in the woods caught his attention.”

“I didn’t hear him barking,” Kaely said.

Erin took off her coat and hung it up. “No, he just seemed interested but not really upset.”

“Probably an animal or something.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“While you were gone, Adrian called,” Kaely said.

“More dead bodies?”

Kaely shook her head. “No, thankfully. He was just checking on us again.”

“That’s nice.”

Kaely went over and put several pieces of wood into the fireplace. “I think he was a little disappointed that I answered the phone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She laughed. “Why is that ridiculous? You’re single, he’s single, you’re cute, and he’s a hunk.”

Erin burst out laughing. “Did you just call Adrian a hunk ?”

“I might be older than you, but I think that term is still used.” Kaely frowned. “Right?”

“Yeah, I guess. It just sounded funny coming from you.”

Kaely raised an eyebrow and gave Erin a crooked smile. “Hey, I may be married, but I’m not dead. I notice handsome men.”

“Okay, he’s handsome. But he’s not interested in me.” She plopped down into the chair next to the couch.

“And why do you say that?”

“I’m weird looking. My nose is too small, my mouth too big, and my hair?” Erin ran her hand through her short blonde hair. “It’s all over the place—like it doesn’t quite know what to do with itself.”

“Don’t be silly. The messy look is all the rage. I wish I could wear it, but this super curly hair doesn’t allow for anything like that.”

“You’re gorgeous. I’ll bet Noah is a real... hunk too.” Erin laughed.

Kaely got up and went over to the kitchen island where she grabbed her phone. She scrolled through it and brought it over to the couch.

“Here’s a picture.”

“Wow. He really is a hunk,” Erin said. She handed it back to Kaely. “So, you two really love each other?”

Kaely looked at her with a rather odd expression. “Yeah, we really do.” She frowned. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you and Scott.”

Erin shook her head. “Yeah, me too. I realized after you said something about all this guilt that I seem to enjoy dumping on myself that I also felt guilty for asking for another partner. It was... strained, working with him. He apologized over and over. He was drunk when... when it happened, and he said the girl didn’t mean anything to him. Actually, that made it worse, you know? Destroying a relationship you claim to care about for someone that doesn’t mean anything to you? It not only didn’t make sense to me, it made me angry for the girl. No one should be treated like that. I lost all respect for him.” She shook her head. “But sadly, I still loved him.”

“I get it. I really do.” Kaely picked up their coffee cups and went back to the kitchen. “Refill?” she asked.

“Sure.”

Erin looked down to find Chester sitting next to her, watching her. She reached over to pet him. She really hoped nothing would keep her from taking Chester back to St. Louis with her. She wasn’t worried about keeping him in her apartment. The landlord allowed pets. She would make sure he got to go for walks. She had nothing else to do... except write. Last night, she’d decided she really wanted to write another book. Maybe it wasn’t what she would do for the rest of her life, but for now, it would keep her busy—and would use her law enforcement background. She’d called her agent, who was beside herself with joy. She promised to contact the publisher and start working on a contract. She told Kaely about it when she came back with the coffees.

“That’s great news,” she said. “If it’s really what you want to do.”

“For now. I enjoyed writing Dark Matters , I just hated all the promotion.”

“Some of that might have been because of the wall you built around yourself. Someday you might actually enjoy some of that.”

Erin rolled her eyes. “Now that would really be a miracle.”

Kaely laughed as she carried their cups back into the living room. “So, what would you like to do today?”

“Could we just kick back some?” Erin asked. “Watch movies and eat food that’s really bad for us? I brought lots of Mallomars.”

Kaely grinned. “I think that sounds great. Let’s do it. We still have several days to talk. Last night was pretty... heavy.”

“Yeah, it was. But...” She smiled at Kaely. “It helped.”

“Good.” Kaely hesitated a moment. “One thing I want you to know.” She cleared her throat. “We haven’t talked about it a lot, but what I went through with my father... well, it helps me to understand the trauma you experienced. We’ve been through different situations, but I think childhood trauma creates so many of the same results. I blamed myself when it came to my father’s actions. I felt as if I should have known. Should have realized what he was. Someone who was once a friend certainly blamed me. Like you, I had to learn to not feel responsible for his choices.”

“You haven’t mentioned your mother. How did she deal with it?”

“Of course, my father’s proclivities reflected badly on her. Again, people decided she knew and even approved of what he did. She didn’t. One thing I’ve learned is that some serial killers are great actors. Think about BTK—Dennis Rader. His wife and daughter had no idea what he was up to.” She sighed. “My mother had a tough time. She passed her anger and sense of betrayal to my brother and me. It took her a long time to change, but she did. She married again and is very happy.”

“What caused her to change?”

Kaely’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you really want to know?”

Erin nodded. She was pretty sure she knew what Kaely was going to say, but she actually wanted to know the answer.

“She found God. He helped her to view her life—and herself—differently. She and her husband are very active in their church. They’ve been very loving to my brother and me.”

“God again, huh?”

“Yes.” Kaely smiled “But we’ll save that for another time if you want. I promised you I wouldn’t try to... how did you say it after we first started working together? Force God on you? We talked quite a bit about Him last night, so I’ll back off today.”

Erin picked up her mug and took a sip. She’d made Kaely promise not to talk about God when they had first started working together. But now... well, she was interested. She realized that being against God for no good reason didn’t make sense. As a police officer, she’d tried to make facts her god. But now she was learning why someone like Kaely, so smart, educated, and talented, believed in a God that ruled the universe. Frankly, she’d begun to believe that Satan was real as well. It would explain some of the horrific things she’d seen.

“Okay, but for now, let’s find some good movies and veg out. Maybe we can talk again tonight.” Erin frowned. “I didn’t have any nightmares last night. In fact, I got a pretty good night’s sleep. Didn’t wake up at 3:33, which was nice. I’m not saying it’s because of being here—and talking to you—but I’m not denying it either. I feel so relaxed here. Well, except for the serial killer and the ghost.”

Kaely burst out laughing. “Yeah, except for that. There is one other thing I’d like to do today. I’d like to work on the profile again. We have a new murder. And I want you to do it with me.”

“You mean... talk to the murderer?”

Kaely nodded. “You have such great instincts. I’ve never worked a profile like that with someone else. How about it?”

Erin nodded. The idea was exciting.

And a little frightening.