Page 26 of Race to Save Her

“It’s true. I’ve never seen you storm anywhere,” said John.

Katie couldn’t help but smile. She knew they were trying to make light of a heavy situation, even though there was nothing funny about it.

“I think you should talk to him,” said McGaven.

“Just me?”

“I think it’d come across more casual, like we’re not putting him in the hot seat.”

Katie sighed. She knew McGaven was right. Looking at the photo on John’s screen, it was a younger version of Ames from when he first became a firefighter. His eyes were bright with excitement, along with a genuine smile. He was different now. Something seemed to have been weighing heavy on him, or maybe an incident had changed him in more recent years.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll get in touch with him.”

EIGHTEEN

Monday 1800 hours

The darkness began creeping in on him. It was a type of suffocation he couldn’t bear. The dimming sky with dark shades of orange was making fun of him. The self-doubt started small and then began building to heavy regrets and emptiness. He couldn’t escape this daily regimen, no matter how he tried.

He stood up from the kitchen table and walked to the small window above the sink. Right before his eyes, the sky dulled and was ready to turn off its light for another day. It had been another day of caged loneliness. Something had a hold on him and he knew it didn’t exist, but that didn’t ease the burden. His work didn’t help or make him feel better either. He felt like the walking dead.

Grabbing a glass, he filled it with water and drank as if he was dehydrated. Feeling the water glide down his throat to nourish his body made no difference. Shouldn’t it make you feel better? Quenching your thirst? It didn’t.

He threw the glass across the room, where it shattered against the refrigerator. The shards lay on the floor until he decided to clean them up. A weird feeling overcame him—an almost calm where he thought things would be okay again. But things would never be okay again. He knew that fact his entire life—he was different and what excited him and gave him purpose was to feel alive.

He walked over to a desk where paperwork had been strewn along with various women’s driver’s licenses and other personal items. He picked up a pearl earring and rolled it around in his hand, remembering the woman it had belonged to. He slipped it into his pocket.

At the end of the kitchen counter, there was a knife holder. He stood a moment, making his choice. He finally decided on a short and small but very sharp knife. It felt good in his hands and fit his grip neatly—unlike larger ones.

He sat at the table and rested his left arm facing up. Carefully rolling up his sleeve, revealing the calloused forearm, he felt his body relax as it waited for the relief. Pressing the knife flat against the inside of his arm, feeling the cool blade, prepared him for the ultimate release.

Slowly and methodically, he turned the knife where the blade and tip made contact with his skin. With the ease and skill of a surgeon, he pressed just hard enough to make blood seep. He pulled the knife. The blood continued to appear like magic along the incision. It was beautiful.

He enjoyed his moment, but seconds later the pleasure began to fade. He knew he had no choice but to continue his life’s work.

NINETEEN

Monday 1940 hours

Katie sipped a beer until Arson Investigator Ames showed up. When she had spoken to him on the phone earlier, he had agreed to chat tonight and suggested the Night Owl. It was as good a place as any and no one would pay them any attention; a cop meeting up with an arson investigator for a drink after a long shift.

Katie tapped the side of her bottle impatiently. He was already ten minutes late. At least it gave her time to think about the case, which was always on her mind anyway. She thought over whether the same person had left all the body parts and what the significance was of Rockview and Pine Valley for them.

“Hey,” said Ames, a little breathless as he sat down. “Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s okay. Thank you for seeing me,” she said.

Katie noticed Ames had showered, his hair was still slightly wet, and he had on a clean shirt and pants. He ordered a beer then turned to Katie.

“I’m assuming you want to talk about what I found on my run.”

Katie nodded. She couldn’t help but notice his intense dark-blue eyes. She wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject that his blood was found near the crime scene without sounding like she was making an accusation. “We found something interesting.”

Ames took a swig of his beer. “Sounds ominous.”

“I wanted to talk to you first and let you know.”

“I don’t understand.”