| The characters in this story are the property of the author and are not to be used without permission. Copyright 2002. Murder Call: Hard Times It was a dark street in an Australian city. Some lights shone through windows onto the street. From one house came lights through an open door. Two figures could be seen in that light. The one was tall, the other a little smaller. “Shall I walk you home? It’s late...” Steve Hayden asked. The smaller person smiled brightly. “That’s all you, Steve - wanting to protect everyone...No, I guess I’ll make it alone those few meters, but thanks anyway. See you tomorrow?” “No, sorry. I’m on call. I’ll call you, okay?” “Right, then. Good night. And go get ‘em, Steve!” Charlene Kelman smiled again, kissed Steve goodbye and went down the couple of stairs at the front door. The tall man watched her go. When she was on the street dividing his house from hers on the other side, he closed the door and the light disappeared. Not long after Steve Hayden had closed the door, he heard the sound of braking wheels. He didn’t know why, but suddenly he had this bad feeling about Charlene. The detective hurried back to the door, opened it – and looked out on an empty street. There was no driving car visible at all, neither up nor down the street. But there was no sign of the woman, either. No light in the apartment to indicate her being home. Hayden couldn’t get rid of the feeling something had happened to Charly, so he grabbed his keys and his mobile phone, both laying on the table, and ran across the street to check Kelman’s flat. He noticed traces of a car braking hard, but nothing else. No accident marks, no blood, no shattered glass. Steve went on. When he reached the door with number 23 on it, he knocked and waited. Nothing happened. No-one moved inside the flat, no lights went on. His worries deepened. He knew Charlene Kelman had a mobile phone, too, so he reached into his pocket to get his and typed in her number. Almost instantly, Hayden heard a phone ringing. It came from outside the house and sounded like Charlene’s mobile phone. He concentrated on the sound and located it somewhere left of him. He followed the sound until it was beside him. Steve started to look around and soon found what he was looking for: Charlene’s mobile phone was laying underneath a bush only two yards away from the house. It didn’t appear to be hidden there by someone, it just laid there as if fallen. Steve realized the phone was still ringing, so he cut the connection. But only to dial a new number: The one of his partner, Tessa Vance. * * * “Could it be possible that she visited someone?” Tessa asked, when Hayden had told her about his worries about Charlene Kelman. “Not at this time. She wanted to go home right away. But she wasn’t there when I tried out her place a few minutes later. And when I rang her mobile, I found it laying under these bushes. But no sign whatsoever of Charly.” “What about the car – you said you heard a car braking hard?” “Yes, but I found no sign of an accident. There was no car, either, when I came outside.” Steve sighed. “You think she was kidnapped?” Tessa finally asked. “I’m afraid so, she wouldn’t leave like that voluntarily...not without telling me...” “We have to wait 24 hours before we can put up search officially.” “I know, I know...” Steve sighed deeply and grabbed Kelman’s mobile phone. “But it doesn’t mean I can’t do some research on my own...” * * * “So...how did you meet her?“ After the police officers had searched every inch around Charlene Kelman’s home, Steve and Tessa had decided to go back to his place. Now, they were sitting in his living-room, having a cup of coffee. Tessa looked curiously at her partner. Steve Hayden leant back in his chair and focused his eyes on the notebook on the desk in front of him. “It was about half a year ago...I just started the work in my flat and bought all the stuff I needed. You know, paint, brushes, wallpaper and so on...” Now he looked directly at Tessa and smiled. “I was trying to bring it all up the stairs, but some cans of paint fell down...And when I tried to get them up without dropping anything else...” “You dropped everything...,” Tessa Vance finished the sentence. “Yep...” Tessa laughed. “Must have been one hell of a laugh for watchers...” “Well, anyway, Charly came by and asked if I could use some help. Turned out she was a painter and offered to help me with everything. That’s when we became friends.” Hayden sighed deeply. “About a week ago her behavior changed somehow. She became more serious than before...almost paranoid...And she stopped smiling and laughing...she did that a lot when we met.” “Do you know what caused the change?” “I have absolutely no idea.” “Did you ask her about it?” Steve looked at his partner seriously. “Of course I did! But she refused to answer me. Said she doesn’t want to bother me with it and that she would figure it out herself.” He managed a smile. “I mean, that’s her – never bother anybody with her problems, but wanting to help everyone...I don’t know why she didn’t asked me to help her...” “Maybe Charly wasn’t used to asking for help, herself. You mentioned she left home when she was 19 and lived alone ever since...” Tessa looked across the table to meet the eyes of her partner. “You never ask for help...” Steve remained silent. “See...maybe Charly thought about asking for help the same way you do...” * * * “Vance, Hayden! We have another one...” Inspector Thorne leant against his door, looking very uneasy. A patrol car Sergeant had just informed him about another female body they had found in a side-street. Malcolm didn’t like where this case was going: it appeared Central Homicide had a serial killer on its hands... About ten minutes later, homicide detectives Hayden and Vance arrived at the crime scene. Senior Sergeant Lance Fisk and Constable Dee Suzeraine, however, were already there. Dr. Imogene Soames was examining the body, when she recognized Tessa and Steve. “She’s been dead for about two days.” “Was she raped?” Hayden asked, already guessing the answer. Tootsie’s head moved slightly back and forth before she answered. “The way her clothes were torn apart and given the outer injuries I’d say yes, but...” “...you have to do some tests to specify, I know,” the tall detective finished her sentence. “Sorry, Steve, but I cannot jump to conclusions without proper evidence,” Soames replied. “That’s Hayden, always impatient...” Fisk looked at him reproachfully. Steve, however, had no intention to argue with the crime scene detective, so Hayden went to talk to the policeman, who had found the body. Hayden found the man leaning against the patrol car, smoking a cigarette. When he saw Steve, he threw it away and took a few steps into his direction. “Senior Sergeant McMasters, I understand you found the body?” Hayden took out his notebook and a pencil and prepared to take some notes. “Yes, Sir. Was doing my last round for today, when I saw something. I stopped and had a look. Turned out to be a dead woman, alright. That’s when I called VKG – they put me through to your Inspector Thorne.” “Did you notice something out of the ordinary before?” McMasters thought for a second, then shook his head. “No, Sir. Nothing suspicious. But I only come ‘round here every hour or so.” Hayden took some notes, nodded and put away his book and pen. “Okay, then. That’ll be all.” The detective in his dark blue suit went back to his partner Tessa Vance. While he had talked with the officer, the coroner had put the body into a blue plastic bag and then slid it into the white van. * * * Steve Hayden and Tessa Vance sat at their desks. They had gathered all unsolved cases of rape and murder from the past six months. The detectives wanted to find something which those cases had in common with the present ones. “Tessa,” Steve suddenly stopped the silence. “This may be something: Theresa del Fuentes, 23 years old, found dead and naked in a side street three months ago. The mother testified that some of her jewelry was missing.” Hayden looked up. His partner was already standing at the white board, drawing a chart on it where they would note down the names of the victims, the things missing and the date when they have been found. “What was she missing?” Tessa asked afterwards. Hayden looked down into the file again. “A golden bracelet with a small golden cross. Her initials were inscribed on the back of it.” The female detective wrote everything down, while her partner was already going through the next file. After almost an hour, they finished the list on the white board. There were five cases, where personal items had been missing at the crime scene. * * * The blue and white police car drove slowly down the street. They had been told to have an extra look around the Kelman house when passing by. One of the two officers held a light out into the night. When the car passed a side-street, Officer Wong became excited. “Hey, Kel, stop the car! I think I found something here...” His partner, Officer Kelly, did as he was asked and parked the car a few meters further down the street. The two Constables got out of the car and walked into the small and dark side-street. The only light came from the flashlight Constable Wong was still holding, moving it to the place where he thought he had seen something. “Jesus...Over here!” Kelly followed his partner’s view and saw what made his partner curse: a naked, female body... * * * “Steve...” He looked up to see Tessa Vance standing beside his desk with an odd expression on her face. Steve knew what would come next. “Patrol car found a female body dropped in a side street. Could be her by the description. Someone has to identify her ...” Hayden nodded sadly. Very slowly, as having a heavy load on his shoulders, he stood up, reached for his coat hanging over the back of his chair and waited for Tessa to move on. For Steve, everything from hearing of the discovery of the body to arriving at the morgue and getting dressed in the blue surgical gown, was in slow-motion. When he opened the plastic curtain and entered the room where Tootsie autopsied the bodies, everything felt so unreal. He had done this uncountable times before, making jokes with Tootsie, being with the family of the deceased when they identified their mother, father, brother or sister, finding some words to comfort them a little... But this was different. This time, his work entered his personal life, something Steve wanted to avoid under all circumstances. But it had happened. One of his best friends was missing. Maybe it was her lying in there. Period. Steve Hayden looked around. There was the white board opposite the door he just went through, where the pathologists noted down the weights, heights and shapes of the organs of the dead people. On the right there was the examine table, where removed organs could be examined more closely. All the furniture was made of cool, shining metal. His partner, Tessa, stood in front of the window where the actual identification took place. Dr. Imogen Soames stood next to the table in the center of the room. There laid the body, covered with a white blanket. Tootsie’s face read sympathy. In the left corner stood Sergeant Fisk, holding several sheets of paper in his hands. Somehow, he seemed to be the unaffected observer of the scene. The air was sour with antiseptic smell, which already bothered Steve under normal circumstances. But this time, it was almost unbearable. The tall man stepped closer to the table. Tootsie Soames touched his hand slightly. Steve just nodded. He didn’t have the strength to say anything. The coroner took the upper side of the blanket and drew it away. It revealed the very pale face of Charlene Kelman. It seemed to be made of wax. Steve swallowed. He stepped even closer so that his waist almost touched the table. The man turned his head to look his friend into her face and touched it with his hand. It felt so cold. “It’s Charlene, alright...” Suddenly, the detective turned and hurried out of the room, ripping off the blue cover suit. When he was out on the corridor, he stuffed it into a biohazard bin. “You okay?” Tessa had followed him outside. “What do you think?!” Steve replied harsher than he meant to. Tessa looked at him. “Go home, Steve. I’ll let you know when anything comes up, okay?” “Yeah...,” he just sighed. “See you...” Steve Hayden left the City Morgue. Tessa worried about him as she watched Steve go. Her partner seemed to have aged several years in the last couple of days. She knew how he felt. She’s been in that situation of loosing someone close before. Steve had been there for her, trying to comfort her. Now it was her turn returning something of that comfort to her partner. “Tessa?” Imogen’s shout got her out of the blue thoughts. The female detective returned into the morgue room. “What...Have you found something?” “Yes...” Tootsie was in a state of professional excitement. She lifted one leg of the deceased woman and looked interested on the inner side of the thigh. “Look, Tessa!” Vance stepped beside the pathologist and had a look. There were bruises all over both upper thighs. Some of them were shining yellow, but others were still dark blue to black. Whoever had done this must have had strength. “Was she raped?” Tessa asked finally. “Given to the injuries, I’d say yes, but I have to see if there are injuries in the uterus. It seems to have happened several days before. You can tell this from the color of the bruises. See, some of them are almost healed.” “Could you give me a precise time?” “After the autopsy...I’ll let you know the minute I get something, okay?” “Thanks, Toots.” “Tell Steve, I’m very sorry about her.” While Tessa Vance had gone back to Imogen and Lance, Steve Hayden left the building in a hurry. When he reached his car, he stopped and looked up. The sun shone and the sky was a cloudless deep blue. It could have been a perfect day – if it wasn’t for the fact that his friend was dead. Steve looked upon the dark varnish of his car and saw his face as in a mirror. He looked terrible: there were dark rings under his eyes and he wasn’t shaved. With his back leant against the side of the car, Steve closed his eyes, turned his head up to the sky and let the sun warm his face for a few moments. Then he slowly crouched and put his face into his hands. Tessa stepped out of the morgue. She saw her partner crouching at the car, face buried in his hands. “Tootsie says she’s sorry...” Steve didn’t reply. He didn’t even look up. He just sighed. “I’m sick of it, Tessa. Sick of weirdoes killing people...” * * * Steve Hayden arrived at home. He got his keys out of his pocket, put it in the lock and turned it around. Instantly, the door swung open. The man entered his flat. On various spots laid used cans of paint and some cut wooden boards were leaned against the wall. Steve threw his keys on the table in the living room. He took off his jacket and decided to change clothes. For work, he always wore suits. Today it was a dark blue one with a white shirt and a blue and red patterned tie. When he came back from the bedroom, Steve wore a gray trouser and a black T-shirt. He felt far more comfortable in these clothes. It normally helped him relaxing, getting his mind away from work. But not today. All he could think about was the death of Charly. She was supposed to come over in about an hour. Today, Steve had wanted to talk to her, asking her what problems she had and offer his help to solve them. Too late... The man looked around and sighed. There was still the smell of fresh paint hanging in the air from two days before, when Steve and Charlene had been painting the kitchen. They hadn’t finished, so Steve took a brush and the cans of paint and continued. But not for long. Suddenly it appeared very important to Hayden to check Kelman’s flat. He put away the brush, closed the paint can, took his jacket and drew the door shut behind him. * * * Steve Hayden knew where Charlene had left a spare key. He reached into her mailbox and groped for a very small plastic bag, attached with tape on the inside of the box. Steve drew it out. Inside the bag was the key for the front door. The detective opened the door and stepped inside. The corridor was dark. The only light came from the open door. Steve reached for the light switch on the left corridor wall and turned it on. Then he closed the door and stepped deeper into the flat. On each side of the corridor were two doors leading into different rooms. On the left side, there were a living-room and her bed-room, on the right side kitchen and bathroom. Steve decided to try out the living-room first. When he entered it, he saw the mess: drawers were open, papers were lying on the floor, cushions laid all over the place, furniture had been turned upside down... Steve Hayden reached for his mobile phone and called in Crime Scene Assistance and his partner, Tessa. * * * “Whoever entered must have had a key, the door was closed and there were no signs of forced entry on the lock when I came,” Steve explained to Tessa and Sergeant Lance Fisk. “So either it was someone who found the keys or it was Charlene’s murderer...” Tessa finished his thought. “I assume you touched nothing in here, Detective?” Fisk asked. “No, Fisk, I didn’t. I left it all untouched for you...” Hayden answered sarcastically. “Alright, then. Dee!” “Ready for action, Sergeant!” Dee Suzeraine was the police photographer. She already had made pictures from the corridor, the front door and half of the living-room. Now she waited for Fisk to tell her if he needed special angles from special scenes. And, as always, he did. “Did you photographed the bed-room, Dee? There’s something very interesting.” Lance’s statement didn’t fail in effect. Both, Hayden and Vance turned around abruptly. “What’s interesting?” “If the detectives will follow me...” At a first glance, the bed-room was in the same state as the living-room was. Clothes laid on the floor and the bed. The mattress had been turned. Even the bed-lamp was crushed. But Sergeant Fisk went to an already open drawer, turned it upside down and asked Dee to photograph what was underneath the drawer. A diary. “If the burglar looked for this, he didn’t find it.” Fisk carefully loosened the tape around the book and gave it to Steve, who already wore rubber gloves. He thumbed through the diary and came across a photograph with him and Charlene on it. They were both laughing. Tessa caught a short glimpse of it and smiled slightly. “That’s a nice picture of you both. When was it taken?” “About three weeks ago...When everything was still okay...” “Can we go on, please?” Fisk asked impatiently. So Steve looked for the last entry and read aloud: “I was with Steve the whole day. We painted the kitchen, didn’t finish though. Wanted to tell him all the time, but I was a coward, as usual. He’s such a sweetie, tried to cheer me up all the time. Wanted to know what’s wrong with me... But I couldn’t tell, he’s a cop after all. I’m not sure what Steve would do when he found out – don’t want to get him into trouble. He’s so protective, but this time I have to protect him, from himself. Sometimes he’s like a Doberman: On the one hand he’s a good-natured, good-looking pedigree animal. On the other, with the slightest turn of the head, he becomes vicious and unpredictable...I guess I should tell him what happened – tomorrow...” Hayden swallowed and looked at Tessa. Then he turned back several pages and read on: “Oh my god, he’s here! He found me! I’m sure it’s him – the man who doesn’t deserve to call himself my father. The man who did this...who raped me. The reason why I left home five years ago, leaving everyone I love behind...” Steve felt anger crawling up in him. He closed the diary and gave it to Fisk. “Excuse me, I need some air...” * * * Hayden sat on the stairs in front of Charlene Kelman’s apartment. He thought about what he read in the diary, about her father raping her. He heard his partner stepping through the open door, stopping behind him. “Charlene never mentioned anything like this to me. She hardly talked about her family at all. Or the reasons she ran away,” Steve explained before Tessa could say anything. She sat down beside him. “Did she ever tell you where her parents live?” “Not that I’m aware of, no. The only thing she did say was that she’s always been a townie.” “Don’t you think we should work on that for a start? Finding her parents?” Tessa looked at her partner. He sighed. “You’re right, let’s do some police work...” * * * When the two detectives returned to homicide squad, Tessa tried to get information about Charlene Kelman’s parents, while Steve looked up all Kelman’s in the phone book. After half an hour, he came up with four names. “I called everyone, but nothing. No-one has a daughter named Charlene. You?” Tessa nodded. “Yes, I found something. Charlene changed her last name when she came to town! It’s her mother’s birth name. Her name before the change was Anderson, Charlene Anderson and she lived in Alice Springs.” * * * Detective Steve Hayden sat on a bench beside the lift in front of central homicide squad. He couldn’t stand sitting at his desk looking at the white board with all the crime scene pictures and the photo of Charlene’s body. The detective felt as if his head was surrounded by cotton wool. Everything sounded muffled. He hardly heard the lift doors open. Dr. Soames left the cabin. She turned her head and discovered Steve Hayden sitting on the bench at the left. Tootsie headed for him. “Excuse me, is this seat taken?” she asked and smiled slightly. “No...” Steve sounded tired. The woman sat down beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m really sorry about Miss Kelman...” Hayden nodded slightly. “I know how you feel, Steve...” Before he could contradict, Tootsie continued. “My sister was killed by a hit and run accident when we were in University. The driver was never found...” “Sorry about your sister...Thanks for caring...” Steve wanted to rise, but Imogen grabbed his arm. “There’s something else I have to tell you...” Her face was serious, professional serious, Steve realized. He knew right away, she had a bad message to tell. “What is it?” he managed to ask. “I’m sorry to tell you, but I found marks on her body...She was raped...It happened about ten days ago, I’d say...But there were older marks identical to rape, too...” “Oh, man...That’s why she was so different the other day...” “I wanted to let you know before I tell the others.” “Thanks, Tootsie. I appreciate it.” Imogen rose. “You coming inside?” “I guess, I’ll stay a few more minutes out here.” * * * “After what we found out about her past, I can understand why she did it.” Finally, Hayden had managed to go back inside and continue with his work. Tessa was standing in front of her desk, with a file in her hand. She had found something out. “But there’s yet another reason for her changing her name...” Hayden looked at his partner anxiously. “Tell me...!” “After her father raped her for the first time, she went to the police and charged him. She was 14 then...” “14? What happened?” “Nothing. Mr. Anderson convinced the local police officers not to go to court, as his daughter had too much imagination and was making it all up to get attention.” “And they believed that crap???” “Apparently...” “Oh, man...I can understand why Charly didn’t trust me...Must have been horrible for her...” Steve shook his head in disbelieve and looked at Tessa. She was looking at a distant point, thinking. “Tessa? What are you thinking about?” “About the autopsy...Tootsie found hints that Charlene was raped before she died...” Hayden thought a second. His eyes widened as he realized what his partner was suggesting. “You think her father did this?!?” “Might be a coincident, but...Yes I think, Mr. Anderson is in this town!” Steve slipped into a state of professional excitement. “Let’s think this though...What if the other rapes are connected with him? If the poor girls were just over-up for Charly?” * * * “I analyzed the fingerprints we found at the crime scene,” Lance Fisk said. Hayden and Vance were in his lab, waiting for Fisk’s report. “The prints match those of Jonathan Anderson...” “Yes!!!” Steve almost jumped. “That connect him to Charlene’s murder!” But Tessa cooled down his excitement. “It just tells us he was in her place, not that he killed her...” Hayden looked at his partner. He knew she was right. “Thanks, Fisk.” “At least this is enough to get him here for questioning.” Right after leaving Fisk’s office, the detectives went to their superior, Inspector Thorne. “And get a search warrant for his flat – I’ll do the questioning.” * * * When Vance and Hayden arrived at Anderson’s flat, Crime Scene Unit was already present. Lance Fisk was leaning impatiently at the back of his car, Constable Dee Suzeraine standing beside him. There were also two more Constables waiting to help with the search. Mr. Anderson had kindly given them his key, so they didn’t have to force the front door open. Tessa and Constable Benson began their search in the kitchen, while Steve and Constable Morgan tried the living room. There they turned cushions, books and drawers upside down, but found nothing. Frustrated, Hayden tried out one more thing. He turned the couch, got out his pocket knife and cut the cloth underneath it. In this – now visible – hideaway he found some jewelry, a watch and clothing. “Hey, Dee!” the detective shouted. “I found something!” Dee and Lance came into the living room. Tessa and Benson joined them. When Steve wanted to move away from the couch, he glanced in once more and recognized something. Hayden got out his rubber glove, reached into the hideaway and drew out a pair of keys – Charlene Kelman’s keys! “We got him!” * * * The two detectives were lucky, when they arrived back at the station. Although their superior Inspector Thorne had to release Anderson as they had no physical evidence, Hayden and Vance ran into him when they left the elevator. “Jonathan Anderson, you are under arrest for the rape and murder of your daughter Charlene Kelman! You have the right to remain silent...” Steve Hayden closed his handcuffs around Anderson’s wrists. It satisfied him a little to have caught Charly’s murderer. But he knew this wouldn’t bring his friend back... When Anderson finally was taken by a fellow police Constable, Tessa went over to her partner. “You’re okay?” she asked worried. Steve looked at her. “Yeah...I guess I am...” he sighed. “Let’s go and finish this once and for all...” So they wanted to follow Anderson to the questioning room, but a woman stopped them. “Detective Hayden?” she asked. Her voice implied she wasn’t sure she wanted to do this. Steve turned around. “That’s me,” he replied and signed his partner to wait with the interview. “I understand you arrested my husband?” “You’re Mrs. Anderson?” Tessa Vance asked surprised. “Yes...I want to talk to you...” They decided to let Tessa do the questioning. Steve only stood besides the window. His arms were folded and he watched Anderson carefully. If it had been for his superior Thorne, he wouldn’t be on this case anymore anyway, but so far, Hayden had himself perfectly under control. Jonathan Anderson sat at the table in the interview room. Opposite him was the big one-way mirror. Those people in the room could only see themselves as in a real mirror, but from the other side it was like a window. The detectives behind the mirror were able to watch the interrogations. Inspector Thorne was exactly doing that. The questioning was going to be recorded, so there was a microphone standing on the table and a video camera in one corner of the room, left beside the mirror. Detective Vance started the interrogation. She confronted the suspect with one item they had found in his flat: Charlene Kelman’s keys. “Mr. Anderson, could you explain to us how the keys of your daughter came into your flat?” Tessa asked. “As you said, Detective, she was my daughter – she gave them to me.” “But then why did you hide them?” “I didn’t want them to get stolen...” This man turned himself like an eel. “How can you explain this?” Steve interfered now, presenting an evidence bag with a golden chain and a golden cross in it. “What’s that? Where did you get it?” Was there a nervous tone in Anderson’s voice? Steve and Tessa knew they were on the right track. “You’re wife gave it to us. She was very helpful when she heard what we charged you with...” Anderson first looked at Hayden, then at Vance. “You bastards! Mary has nothing to do with this!” Anderson sighed. “I gave it to her for her birthday two months ago!” Now Steve went closer to the table Anderson was sitting at. “Then how can you explain this inscription?!” he asked, turning the cross and showing him the tiny letters ‘TdF’ on the back. “This are the initials of one of your victims, right? Theresa del Fuentes!” Hayden’s voice became louder. “What did you get from killing her, huh?” “You’re nuts!” Anderson looked at the tall detective as if he belonged in an institution. That was too much for Steve. He grabbed Anderson and pulled him up. “You killed one of my best friends, you bastard!” Tessa jumped up, trying both to pull her partner away and calm him down. “Steve!” Inspector Thorne’s shout finally held Steve back. “May I talk to you for a second?” he asked. “Sure...” Hayden released Anderson’s collar. Without managing to look at his partner, he went outside. Hayden knew what was coming next. And Thorne didn’t disappoint him. When he and his superior were outside the interrogation room, Thorne turned to the detective. “You’re off the case as from now on!” Before Steve could say anything to defend himself, Thorne went on. “You’re too emotionally involved.” “But the case is almost done...” Hayden finally managed to say. “Then I believe Tessa can do the rest alone!” Malcolm looked at Steve. And, as if he guessed what Hayden was thinking, he added one more thing. “And Steve...if I see you anywhere near this Anderson guy, I’ll put you on leave! Understood?” “Yes, Sir...” * * * “Anderson confessed...He couldn’t tapdance around the evidence anymore...” Tessa explained. Steve, Tessa, Dee, Lance and Tootsie sat at a table at their usual bar, when Hayden raised his glass. “To Charly,” he began. “To a wonderful friend...” “May she rest in peace now,” Tessa added. “And all the other women who had to die...” Tootsie added sadly. They all drank from their glasses. Silence fell over the little group. Finally about an hour later, one by one went home until Hayden and Vance were the only ones left. Hayden’s eyes were already shining with alcohol, so Tessa interfered when he wanted to order another drink. “I think you already had enough,” she said. “C’mon, I take you home...” Her partner looked tiredly at her. “Okay...” * * * When they arrived at his house, Hayden got out of the car and automatically looked over to the house opposite his. Normally, Charlene Kelman would be there, her windows shining bright. And normally, he would go over and have a little chat with Charly. She always knew how to cheer him up after a long day at work. But not anymore now. She was gone. Forever. Steve felt tears crawling up his throat, but he fought them down. “Steve, you’re okay?” he heard Tessa ask behind him. “Yeah...yeah...” he sighed heavily. Abruptly, Hayden drew his view away from Kelman’s flat and turned to his partner. “Would you like to come in...?” As he discovered her look, he added, “I don’t want to be alone now...” “I really miss her, Tessa...” Steve mumbled before falling asleep. “I know..:” Tessa replied and pulled the bedroom door shut behind her... THE END © 2001 Sabine Conradi |
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