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Standing outside of Turnberry Sheriff Department, Valerie felt the cold air trying to find its way through any gap in her winter coat.
The parking lot was cloaked in darkness; only a few of the security lights illuminated that quiet corner of the town. Valerie noticed a couple of police cars parked in the distance and could make out several officers talking to each other by their vehicles.
And yet Valerie felt alone.
She pulled out her cellphone. The night air had made it feel cold in her hands.
Valerie had been avoiding making the call. She knew that a conversation with Tom was necessary, but she dreaded it. He had been distant with her, and this wasn't anything new. The irony was that Tom thought it was the job that was pushing him away, but in truth, Valerie was trying to protect him.
She didn't want his life to be consumed by a psychological illness she couldn't control.
Tom was visiting his parents across the country and didn't seem to be in any rush to return home. Valerie's heart ached as she thought about him being away from her for so long.
She took a deep breath, mustered up her courage, and dialed his number. His phone rang several times before finally going to voicemail.
Valerie hung up without leaving a message, unsure if he'd even listen to it anyway. She sighed sadly, feeling like she had just missed an opportunity to bridge the distance between them before it grew too wide for either of them to cross back over again.
"You okay?" a comforting voice said from behind. It was Sheriff Carter. His brown hair ruffled in the winter wind.
"Yeah," she said, but she found it difficult to hide her emotions in the moment.
Sheriff Carter had an unconvinced expression and asked, "Do you need to talk?"
Valerie nodded. She looked into his eyes and said, "Have you ever felt distant from your wife? Like no matter how hard you tried, something was always keeping the two of you apart?"
Sheriff Carter let out a deep sigh. He took off his hat and said, "Yes." His blue eyes were sad as he spoke, but she could see a warmth in them that made her feel better.
He continued, "I remember it being so hard to bridge the gap between us. I was trying so desperately to make things work but nothing seemed to be enough."
Valerie nodded understandingly. Sheriff Carter's gaze softened as he looked at her and said, "But then one day we decided to take a break away together. We went camping near the river and talked all night about our lives, dreams, fears ... everything. And when we returned home afterwards everything had changed for the better."
"I don't know if a night in the woods would fix things between me and Tom," she joked.
"When my wife was sick," Sheriff Carter said. "It was easy to get bogged down by the illness, to make everything about that."
"The solution?"
"To remember," he said as a short gust of icy air washed over them, "that you are in love. To remember that you are a couple first. Before the sickness, and before any problem you have. Put it aside and just enjoy being together like you used to."
Valerie was amazed by how much Carter's words fit her situation. Little did he know that there was an illness—her illness. The same psychiatric illness that had ruined her mother's life and nearly ruined her sister's.
If there was any hope for her and Tom, Valerie knew that she would have to put the illness to the side. At least for a while. She needed to get in touch with him and just tell him how much she cared.
Valerie smiled and said, "Thank you Sheriff Carter. You've given me hope."
Suddenly, Valerie saw something move in the shadows behind him. She blinked her eyes and saw a figure emerge from there—it was an apparition of her mother in an unnatural pose, grinning with a twisted smile on her face.
Valerie gasped and stumbled backwards. Her heart raced as she realized that this was one of her hallucinations.
"What is it?" Sheriff Carter asked worriedly as he stepped forward to investigate what was causing Valerie's distress.
But when he looked in the direction of the shadows, all that remained was dust kicked up in the wind like some kind of ethereal omen.
Valerie shook her head and said, "It's nothing. I'm just tired." She walked back into the police station without looking back, horrified that Sheriff Carter had seen her losing her mind momentarily.
The last thing she needed was for any of her colleagues to think she was going mad. Especially when they were trying to catch a violent killer.
Valerie barely heard Sheriff Carter's radio buzzing into life as she walked away. But it was only moments before he ran up behind her.
