Authors: Sarah Biglow
Carter remained quiet during the short drive to the station. There were more cars in the lot than Kalina was expecting. A few more uniformed officers were heading into the building as she cut the engine and unbuckled her seatbelt. As soon as they pushed through the front doors she realized why the force was being called in. Not only did they have to speak with Carter and Gabriella’s fiancé, but they were probably still questioning Beth about the finger she received in the mail. A female officer, who Kalina believed was named Vanessa, approached them as soon as the door swung shut.
“Mr. Whalen?” she said.
“Yes,” Kalina answered for him.
“Please come with me. We have a few questions for you.”
Carter nodded mutely and shuffled off after Vanessa. Kalina stayed rooted to the spot just taking in the hustle and bustle of the bull pen. She finally spotted Jimmy among the crowd, seated beside a young blonde woman. She had a tissue pressed to her cheek and Kalina guessed she was Beth, the reporter. Trying to be inconspicuous, Kalina picked her way through the throng of officers until she was within eavesdropping distance.
“So just to make sure I have everything clear, you found the package this morning on your front steps,” Jimmy said.
“Yes. I didn’t think anything of it at first. My mother orders stuff all the time and just puts my name on it. I figured that’s what she’d done but when I opened it…” Her cheeks paled and she visibly swallowed.
“Thank you.” Jimmy looked around until he spotted Kalina. “I’ll get someone to drive you home.”
“No. God, I can’t go back there.”
“Well, wherever you want then.”
Jimmy left the desk and joined Kalina where she stood. “Could you do me a huge favor and take her wherever she wants to go? We’re a little swamped here.”
“Is that OK with Chris?” Kalina asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure it is.”
“How is everything else going?” She gestured around her. “I thought it was just some interviews. It looks like the whole force is here.”
“The captain set up a command post for everyone to check in. Forensics and the lab and everything. He wants information as soon as its available. He’s worried we’ve got a serial on our hands.”
“But it’s just Margaret, right?”
“Not anymore. They found Gabriella Baez this morning.”
“On the beach?”
“Yeah. Not too far from where we found Margaret.”
“That’s awful.”
Beth rose from the seat where Jimmy had left her and shoved her used tissue in her oversized purse. Kalina sighed and took out her keys.
“I’ll take her.” She wanted to stay to hear what the fiancés of the respective victims had to say but getting Beth out of the cops’ collective hair was probably a better use of her time.
“Thank you so much.”
Kalina approached the reporter and held out her hand. “I’m Kalina.”
“I know who you are.”
“Oh. Well, Jimmy said you needed a ride. Where can I drop you?”
Beth shouldered a laptop bag that had been hidden behind her chair and gestured to the front of the building. “Anywhere but here.”
“OK.”
Once they were out in the crisp winter air, Beth exhaled a long breath. “You probably have work to do.”
“Town isn’t very big. I’m pretty sure my customers can wait a few minutes while I drop you somewhere.”
“Actually, I can’t really face work just yet. Would it be too much of an inconvenience if I hide out at your shop?”
“Well…”
“I swear I’ll stay out of your way.”
Kalina forced a smile. “Sure.”
“It’s unbelievable how much more exciting things have been in town the last few months,” Beth remarked as they climbed into the car and hit the road.
“What do you mean?”
“The police captain is really a murderer. And then there was the real estate scam that shut down construction on the new condo development. Now someone is sending people fingers.”
“I take it you’re a crime reporter.”
“Not really. But I think I might want to be now, if my editor will let me.”
“Well maybe not this story.”
“Why not? It would make great headlines.”
“But you’re involved in the case now, since you were sent a finger. Chris—Captain Harper—wouldn’t appreciate you releasing details about the case.”
“You’re really close with him aren’t you?”
Kalina flashed her engagement ring. “Marrying the man in two weeks.”
“Oh. You’re right. I should just stay out of it.”
Kalina glanced at her passenger in the rearview mirror. She could see the same eagerness to solve the mystery in Beth that she saw in herself. It wasn’t a bad quality to have, especially for a reporter. But this case was escalating quickly. As she pulled into the back lot behind Geeks and Things a knot started to tighten in her gut. The small diamond on her left ring finger suddenly felt very heavy. Someone was targeting recently engaged couples. They’d sent the fingers to the police and the press respectively for a reason.
“You can hang out back here,” she told Beth and gestured to the empty game room. It usually didn’t fill up until the afternoon.
“Thanks.” Beth settled into one of the chairs and pulled out her laptop.
Kalina paused, about to ask a question, but stopped herself. Whatever Beth was working on wasn’t her business.
Time passed quicker than Kalina expected that day. A steady stream of customers passed through the shop and she spotted Beth curled up in the back of the game room, unfazed by the small kids playing Zombie Dice at the table next to her. She seemed focused on what she was working on and Kalina supposed it was good for the woman to get buried in her work. A little after lunchtime Kalina’s phone rang, displaying Chris’s cell phone number on it.
“Hey, how are you holding up?” she asked as soon as she accepted the call.
“It’s been crazy. How about you?”
“I’m fine. I’m babysitting the reporter. She didn’t want to go back to work.”
“It was nice of you to offer.”
Jimmy didn’t give me a choice.
“I figured you were all so busy it was the least I could do. Dare I ask what happened with the other interviews?”
“I can’t really talk about it right now. I was just calling to see if you wanted to get lunch.”
On cue, Kalina’s stomach gurgled loudly. “Sure. Just give me like twenty minutes. I’ve got a few people coming in to pick up orders that I promised would be here during their lunch break.”
“I’ll come by and pick you up.” The line crackled as if he were putting his hand over the phone’s speaker. “And I promise I’ll share what I know.”
“I love you,” she said as the front door opened and couple of teenagers ambled in.
Before she could greet them or ask what she could help them with, Beth appeared, laptop bag swung over her shoulder. “Thanks again. I think I’m going to head out.”
“Are you sure? I’m not sure they want you going home yet.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to get some fresh air and clear my head.”
With nothing else to say and no real authority to stop her, Kalina watched the blonde stride out of the shop. Kalina turned her attention back to the customers now leaning on the counter, studying the rows of freshly arrived comics on the wall behind her. In the end, they each walked away with a bag full of comics and significantly lighter allowances.
Chris arrived a little after 12:30 without food. Despite his attempt at looking cheerful, the lines around his eyes and the slightly pallid color of his cheeks told her otherwise. She wanted to just kiss him and make it all go away but that wasn’t possible.
“Where’s lunch?”
“I thought we could go home and I’d make you something from scratch.”
“I want quesadillas,” Kalina said and retrieved her coat from the back.
He offered her his arm and she took it. “Quesadillas it is.”
Half an hour later, they sat across from each other at the table, munching on their food. Kalina absently ran her right index finger along the band of her engagement ring. The weight of it had dissipated some but it was still more noticeable than it had been.
“So, what did Carter and Gabriella’s fiancés have to say?”
Chris blew out a breath and set his drink down. “They both claim they last saw their fiancées alive and they were very happy with their engagements. They both had alibis for the dates that Margaret and Gabriella went missing.”
“How long had Gabriella been dead?”
“A day, maybe two. Definitely less than Margaret.”
Kalina’s brow furrowed. “But we got Gabriella’s finger first.”
Chris cleared his throat. “It looks like hers was mailed before Margaret’s in an attempt to throw us off the trail.”
She nodded in understanding and took a big bite of lunch. Chewing contemplatively, a thought occurred to her. “This may sound crazy and stupid but did you ask about what each of them was doing when the other one’s fiancée went missing?”
He didn’t respond right away. She studied his face as he chose his words. “You think they each killed the other one’s fiancée in a
Strangers on a Train
type situation?”
“Like I said, it’s probably stupid but it could be a thing, right?”
“No, it’s possible. And I didn’t think to even ask about that. They both seemed so believable in their grief.”
“It’s probably nothing. Just forget I even brought it up. I don’t want to mess with your investigation.”
“It’s a good point and I’m going to check it out.”
“You know, I just thought of something else that might be useful,” she said after downing half her drink in one swallow.
“I’m listening.”
“When I was at the jewelers I noticed that there were three rings missing from the display case. There were only two entries on the ledger of people who bought rings there. It seems kind of odd now. You might want to talk to the guy who runs the place.”
“I’ll look into that too.” Chris cleared away his own plate and glass and glanced at her over his shoulder. “So, how are you really feeling?”
“I’m fine, I swear. I’m lucky that the morning sickness is really only in the morning.”
“Have you been to the doctor?”
“Not yet. I’m going to make an appointment. I’m guessing I’m close to the end of the first trimester right now. I was going to wait until after the wedding. Besides, I want you to be there for everything that you can be.”
“I’d love that.”
She smiled at him and tucked a stray curl of red hair behind her ear. In that moment she wondered what their baby was going to look like. Would he or she have her hair or Chris’s eyes or smile? There was so much to look forward to. With a kiss to her forehead, he picked up her lunch dishes and set about washing them. She suspected he would be helping out a lot more around the house in the coming months. His phone buzzed with a text alert. With his hands busy, Kalina grabbed it and read the message aloud. “It’s from Jimmy. He says he sent you a link to the online edition of the afternoon paper. There’s an article you’re going to want to read.”
Chris shut off the water and dried his hands on the front of his pants. Kalina inwardly cringed at his lack of a dish towel but said nothing. She wasn’t going to change things this late in the game.
“What’s the article?” he asked.
“Why don’t you just open it on your laptop? Easier to read that way.”
He disappeared into the living room, returning a moment later with his laptop open and an internet browser waiting for the web address. She read it out to him and they both waited in silence as the page loaded. As soon as she saw the byline, Kalina let out an audible groan. She shouldn’t have been surprised.
Romance Kills Mood in Ellesworth
By: Beth Finnegan, Staff Writer
Police are investigating a series of grisly murders that have rocked the town in the last few days. The bodies of two young women were found on the beach in the early morning hours, each dead from apparent head trauma. Each was missing their ring finger on their left hand. According to sources inside the department, both had recently become engaged.
In a grim twist, the victims’ fingers were sent to members of the public, including newly sworn-in Captain Christian Harper. This isn’t the first time a crime has hit close to home for the captain. Last summer, a series of murders led to the arrest and confession of former Captain Daniel Cahill, Harper’s mentor. A source within the department who wishes to remain anonymous, confirmed that the victims’ fiancés are persons of interest. Stay tuned for more updates as the investigation unfolds.
The color drained from Chris’s face and his shoulder muscles tightened. Kalina couldn’t blame him for the anger he was clearly feeling. She felt a sense of betrayal. Beth had done exactly what Kalina had told her not to do. And now it appeared there was a leak within the department. Just what Chris needed on his first official day as the head of the department.
“I can’t believe she did this.” His voice came out in a low growl.
“I told her she shouldn’t write anything about this. Especially since she got one of the fingers,” Kalina said. She wanted to ease his anger even though she knew it wasn’t directed at her.
“This is why I hate reporters. Hell, whoever killed Gabriella and Margaret probably wanted this to happen. See his deeds in print.”
“I suppose she was decent enough to keep their names out of it.”
“For now. I don’t doubt in whatever piece she runs next she’ll be dragging them and their fiancés through the mud. And now our witness interviews could be compromised.”
“I can try to talk to her if you want,” Kalina offered.
“No. I’ll handle it. I need to know who is giving her this information. None of it should be available to the public. I don’t even think we have a confirmed autopsy on either victim yet.”
“Take a breath, honey. She’s just one reporter who wrote one story.”
He ran his hands through his hair and linked his fingers behind his head. “She had to bring up Cahill. It has nothing to do with this investigation but she’s calling my ability to be objective into question. It’s like I’m too stupid to see what’s right in front of me.”
“You can’t let her get in your head. This case is barely a day or two old and you are doing everything right. You’ll find who talked to her and you’ll deal with it. Now, why don’t I go with you to the jewelry store? I actually bought some earrings for the wedding that I want them to insure.”
“I need to get someone to track down Beth Finnegan. You don’t know where she went do you?”
“No. When she left Geeks and Things she was heading out to get some air. I feel horrible that I didn’t pay more attention to what she was doing.”
“You aren’t her babysitter, Kal. You were doing the department a favor even driving her somewhere. This isn’t on you. It’s on us. And I swear we’re going to make it right.”
She stood up and planted a firm kiss on his lips. “You can make it right by catching whoever is doing this before they hurt anyone else.”