Authors: Chelsea Heights
Delaney handed her business card to Caroline and told her to call anytime.
She would discuss the case with Special Agent Jake Thrasher and her face lit up when she realized the FBI was also involved with the reopening of her case.
She gave Delaney an unexpected hug and thanked her.
Delaney was quick to say, “Caroline, this is just a hunch, you have to prepare yourself that the worse did happen, and you may end up hating me when this is all over.”
Caroline looked up and with a heavy heart replied, “I’m already living the worst case scenario.
You’ve been the first person to come asking questions.
You don’t think I’m nuts.
I know most people in town refer to me as crazy Caroline.
They just don’t understand why I grieve over an empty coffin. How could anyone understand when even I don’t understand what happened?”
Delaney let out a small sigh acknowledging the pain she must be going through but in no way being able to comprehend experiencing such a tragedy.
Slowly she headed
back up the hill, empty Diet Coke can in hand, fighting her mind’s curiosity to read every headstone she walked by.
Once at the top of the hill she looked down and could see Wally had finished his work of replacing all the flags.
The breeze was just strong enough to make them all flap in the wind and she experienced a sudden feeling of patriotism and gratefulness for being born in such a great country.
She dropped the can in the parking lot recycling bin and climbed into the Mini Cooper.
Chapter Eleven
Delaney woke Sunday morning and after her cup of coffee she dressed and went to church.
It was awkward entering the sanctuary after such a long absence but she was immediately put to ease by old friends and familiar faces.
Pastor Henry was certainly delighted to see her and gave her an overzealous shake of the hand and pat on the back.
When she turned to take a seat she realized she was sitting in the same pew as Mike and his new fiancée.
It was easy to see why Mike fell for Cecily.
Her round face was framed by dark straight hair that hung right at her jawline.
She had eyes just as dark with long think lashes and full lips.
Her olive complexion had a natural glow and she wasn’t overly made up.
She had narrow shoulders that complemented her petite frame well.
The fitted cotton floral dress she was wearing instantly reminded Delaney of something an artsy person would wear, with its abstract
bright design wrapping around her midsection and tapering off around the hem which fell just below her knee.
Before the sermon began, they decided to meet up for dinner later that week.
Back at her house, she changed and took Fetch for a walk to the beach.
It was high tide and boaters and kayakers filled the bay.
She sat in the sand and watched as a father attempted to teach his preteen how to sail a sunfish.
It was sweet to watch the father and daughter having such a good time even though it looked like more time was spent falling overboard than actually sailing.
Several young boys were throwing fishing lines into the water baited with hotdogs.
No sooner had the lure hit the water and sank, they were eagerly reeling their lines back in to see if they caught anything.
One boy was lucky enough to reel in a turtle and Delaney walked over to take a look.
By this time there was a small gathering of little boys delighted to see the catch, pushing each other in their excitement to touch the turtle.
She removed the hook which was hung up under the edge of its shell and was grateful to see no damage was done.
The blonde hair boy who caught it declared the turtle’s name to be Jelly Bean and returned it to the water after everyone had their turn petting it.
Delaney introduced herself to the youngster and found out his name was Nicholas.
“What a good fisherman you must be to catch a turtle.
That takes a lot of skill.”
The boy’s face lit up and he ran off with pole in hand yelling to his mom about being such a good fisherman.
The rest of the boys followed, all telling stories with greatly varying descriptions of how big the turtle was.
When Delaney turned, she saw Nicholas’s bait laying in the sand and Fetch swallowing a hotdog at a time.
After quickly scolding the dog she put the leash back on and they headed home.
Delaney spent Sunday night converting all of the hospital security tapes into DVD format on her MacBook.
The process took longer than she expected and she was ready for bed when she finally finished.
She stacked the original tapes back into the box and would return them to Lynn in the morning.
On her way into work she pulled into the General Store and was greeted by William.
She ordered two turkey and cheese subs with hot peppers on the side.
She grabbed a six pack of canned Diet Cokes from the refrigerator and a giant bag of BBQ flavor chips.
She took a handful of napkins from the dispenser and shoved them into the bag with the subs and chips.
William asked, “What’s up with all the food?
This is the first sub I’ve ever made for you.
You’ve always been a Diet Coke and yogurt cop.”
Delaney let out a small laugh and said, “Special visitor at work today,” as she paid and made a hasty exit before William could ask too many questions.
She spotted Jake’s truck in the parking lot and pulled in next to it.
Her Mini Cooper looked so small next to his four-wheel-drive gas guzzler.
She didn’t know how he could drive that thing through Philadelphia.
The few times she had been to the city the old roads and congestion had even made her car feel like a monster vehicle.
She found Jake already sitting in her little cubicle and he took up most of the space.
On his lap was a bag and they both started laughing at the same time.
He also stopped and picked up lunch: roast beef sandwiches with sides of coleslaw and Diet Cokes.
They put their stockpile in the break room after Delaney used a black Sharpie pen and wrote their names all over it.
She knew unlabeled “real food” was fair game and the other cops would devour it, leaving no evidence behind.
Back at her desk she shared the details of her encounter with Caroline in the cemetery.
Jake sat listening intently and taking in all the details.
He wrote a few notes on the yellow legal pad he always carried and Delaney suggested they work on the time line from the computer generated printouts.
She was impressed to discover he had already made a time line, and he pulled his laptop out from his case and booted it up.
Delaney looked at him with a curious expression and before she could ask how he did it, Jake responded with, “I’m an FBI agent.
I’ve been trained to hack into computer systems and gather information.”
He had a huge grin on his face.
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity when they were interrupted by Chris.
“Hey Davenport, who’s this guy?
I don’t think you’ve introduced him to anyone in the building.”
She suddenly realized that she hadn’t, not because she didn’t want to but because she really didn’t converse with any of her fellow officers.
Jake stood, giving Chris a strong handshake and introducing himself as Special Agent Thrasher.
Delaney admired the way Jake carried himself and how good he wore a suit.
Chris hesitated and then said, “I know I recognize that name from somewhere.
Have we meant before?”
Jake immediately responded with his deep voice, “Yes. I believe I spoke with you over the phone during the investigation of Caroline O’Sullivan’s baby. But this is our first time meeting in person.”
Delaney recognized the look of subtle surprise and then sadness in Chris’s face.
“Yeah, you’re right, we did talk.
What’s going on now?
Are there any new leads?”
Again Jake took the floor and told Chris they were just trying to answer some concerns and tie up loose ends before officially closing the case.
Chris stated the case had already been closed, but Jake interrupted and clarified, “The case was closed by you, the local police who had jurisdiction, but when the FBI became involved with the possibility of a child being taken across state lines, whether by medical error or not, we had to open our own investigation and only we can formally close it.”
Chris had started to ring his hands together.
“Well if I can answer any questions for you or be of assistance in any way, Delaney knows where to find me,” and then he turned toward the direction of his own cubicle.
Jake returned to his seat and quietly asked, “Is he always that nervous?”
Delaney smiled and said, “Yes, but he’s a nice guy once you get to know him.
He has children of his own and this case really shook him up.
What about you?
Are you seeing anyone?”
She couldn’t believe she allowed those words to slip out.
All at once she felt terrified and embarrassed, and irrationally wondered if Jake could read her mind.
She had dreamt of him the night before, the first time she ever dreamed of any man.
Sensing her humiliation, Jake was quick to respond, “No, happily single, never married, and no kids.
But my mother calls every week with a list of potential wives.
From clerks at grocery stores to the woman who dyes her hair.
It’s horrible, and if I don’t answer she leaves a long list on my voice mail that fills it up.
It’s a no win situation.
What about you?”
She let out a chuckle and was relieved to learn he was straight.
He leaned in to hear her answer and she felt his shoulder brush against her body.
There was a sudden heat between her legs and a dampness that made her tingle.
She didn’t understand the control he had over her body but it felt good.
Now Delaney found herself in the predicament of having to admit her failure as a wife in front of the hottest man on the planet.
She waited a second, then said, “You already know I was married once; it didn’t last long, only eighteen months of wedded bliss, but it felt more like torture.
I finally ended it when I discovered he was sharing his crown jewel with my best friend and her friends.
I guess you could say he was a busy man.”
Together they spent the day reviewing the time line and taking notes.
Breaking only to eat and drink, they were able to determine that a medical resident, John Wu, had worked on baby Andrew and declared him dead.
They also had the names of three nurses who were the last people to draw blood and take vital signs on the baby.
Jake added their names to his legal pad before closing its cover.
It was getting late, Ginny the secretary was gone for the day and second shift was already on the clock.
They packed their laptops into their respective bags and headed out.
Delaney remembered the DVDs sitting on her living room desk and suggested they view them together.
In a case like this two sets of eyes were better than one.
Jake agreed and climbed into his truck to follow her home.
Delaney didn’t think the man in the neatly pressed suit and clean cut features looked right behind the wheel of such an old beat up truck, but who was she to judge.
Fifteen minutes later they were pulling into her driveway and eagerly greeted by Fetch.
Unsuccessfully she tried to keep the dog from jumping up and shedding all over Jake’s suit but it was too late.
In only a matter of seconds the man was covered in blonde fur again.
He laughed and grabbed his bags from the front seat, patting Fetch on the head the entire time.
“I grew up with a golden; they’re the friendliest dogs on earth.
I went to school with fur on my clothes.
My mother always said she was amazed the dog wasn’t bald.
I swear my earliest memories are of her vacuuming and sweeping.” Delaney felt a sense of relief that at least he understood with what she was dealing with.