Page 49 of Special Agent Raven
“What do you think I’m going through now?” she’d cried. With disgust and anger, she continued, “I need someone to care about me. I thought you did.”
“I do. Baby, you know I do. I’m your sweet daddy, right? No one else can be as good to you as I can. Look, maybe we shouldmeet in person and talk about this. I can get us a hotel room where we’ll have privacy. What do you say?”
“I don’t know. I can’t stay out all night. Mom would freak.”
“Not if she’s hammered. You say she gets drunk every night. Wait until she’s passed out and then slip away. She won’t even know you’re gone. Baby, I just want to make things better for you. Trust me.”
“I’m not sure. I-I don’t kno–”
“It’s okay, baby.” He interrupted. “I want to give you some money in case you decide to leave. You can’t run away without having cash in your pocket. I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hungry and out on the street. We can talk about it. I promise. Meet me tonight at this hotel. I’ll text you the address and room number. Say you’ll come. At 11p.m. Say it.”
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll be there.”
“You won’t regret it. I can’t wait to hold you close and make you feel better. Your daddy is older than you but still cares more than anyone else. You get that right?”
“Right. You’re the only one who does care. See you tonight.”
The others in the office had become aware that she was reeling in her caller. Excited, they grouped around her desk, all giving silent high fives to her being able to get the freak to come out of hiding, to show himself so the police could make an arrest.
“You did it, Raven. Good work. Now we just need to set up the sting operation, and we’ll have this lunatic off the street and in jail where he belongs.”
Unable to help herself, the excitement and happiness of knowing she’d been a huge part of saving other youngsters from a fate worse than death at the hands of such a creepy devil, she snuck away to the ladies’ room to call Cane.
“Hey darlin’, are you okay?”
“I know I shouldn’t be bothering you at work, but I just had to tell you that we got the guy I told you about. He’s lined up for ameet in person tonight. Everyone here is crazy excited, and I just had to share it with you.”
“Is that the same loser you’ve been stringing along for the last ten days?”
“Yep. I never thought I could get him to crawl out of the slime pit so soon but knowing my time here is limited, I had to push things, and he bit.”
“Way to go, Raven. I’m proud of you. Especially since I know how burned out you’ve become with the job. It’s nice to end on the plus side. Shit, we got a call. Got to go. Talk later. Love you.”
Happy to have had the few minutes with him, she skipped back to her desk and continued compiling her files to be handed over to the girl taking over from her. By the end of the day, exhausted from the extra work and the excitement of the coming arrest, she agreed to eat supper with some co-workers at a café and then got talked into heading next door to the bar for a few shots, and a beer to chase them.
From there, the officers had her go over her part in bringing the pedophile to heel at the hotel. They needed her voice at the door to get him to step into the room, making the arrest count.
By the time they had him in custody, exhaustion had her stumbling. The creep had squealed like a trapped hog in a pigpen and his screeching for justice and a lawyer left everyone feeling shaken and sick inside.
Eventually, when the official reports had been finished, the others dropped her off at her apartment, leaving her out front with congratulations and remarks for a job well done ringing in the air.
So far, every night after returning from work, she’d religiously packed more of her belongings to be ready for her last day. But after what went down tonight, she refused to think of anything but a glass of wine and a steaming hot shower… the only remedy to help her feel clean again. And since Cane had warned her he’dbe stuck at work until the next day, she didn’t hesitate to baby herself.
Even though they tried to get together every Friday, this week had been a no-go. He’d been called in, and they’d had to forgo their plans. Good thing because she’d ended up working too. The thought of her almost empty apartment, skimpy amounts of food in the fridge, and a calendar with six days remaining to be lined off felt depressing after the excitement of earlier.
Opening the door, she noticed how loose the doorknob had become and made a silent vow to mention it to her apartment manager. Following her usual routine, she kicked off her shoes, threw her keys into the bowl on the hallway table, and reached for her weapon to be locked away as it was every night.
Then she padded to the kitchen, and in the light from the fridge being opened, she noticed a shadow moving. Before she could react, her arms were being wrenched behind her, and a cloth was pressed callously over her face. In seconds, her body went limp and her inner screams became silent.
Chapter Thirty-nine
That same afternoon, Noah sat at the kitchen table with Winona while Val got Bonnie ready to be moved over to their new home. He’d noticed a photograph album sitting over to one side, and while Winona went to get them coffee, he slid it over and began to look at the pictures… his curiosity piqued to see what Raven looked like as a child.
Suddenly, his hand froze. “Winona, who’s that in the picture with you and the baby.”
“Oh, that’s Raven’s mother, Cissy. Probably one of the only pictures I have with them together. My wayward daughter took off when Raven was ten, left her with me and disappeared with one of her loser boyfriends. She’d been a good woman when she married Raven’s father, but after he died on the job, she went all to hell. I tried getting through to her, but she had a destructive streak that she couldn’t shake off. Poor baby. I never heard from her again. When Raven followed her dad into law enforcement,I thought she might try to find her, but she refused to try. So, Cissy’s been lost to me.”
Noah listened intently before he lifted his shaking hand from the picture and turned to let Winona see the tears in his eyes. “Because she changed her name to Rhonda Williams. Your Cissy is my mother. We lost her a few years ago to cancer. On her deathbed she called out one name before she died… Mama.”