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The room stood still again. Fiona, frozen in time, imagines a future where Joslyn could be alive--and be saved.
Fiona's mind spun at the gravity of the situation. The man Marissa was talking about had been preying on young girls for years, and nobody had even known. She had to find out who he was, where he was and put an end to his sick and twisted games once and for all.
"Marissa," Fiona said, her voice firm. "You have to tell me who he is. We need to find him before he harms anyone else."
Marissa's eyes widened, fear evident in her expression. "No--no, I won't tell you his name."
"Why?" Fiona asked, voice strained. It didn't make sense. If Marissa knew, and she felt guilty, then why not give up his name?
"I... I still love him," Marissa uttered. "I'm ashamed, but it's true. I love him to this day, even if I haven't seen him in years... I still dream of him... and I still fear him too… fear what he could do to me…."
Fiona felt her stomach churn at Marissa's words. How could anyone still love the man who had hurt them so much? But she had to put her personal feelings aside and focus on the task at hand. She had to find this man and make sure he could never hurt anyone ever again.
"Marissa, I understand, but you have to tell me his name," Fiona said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Think of all the other girls he could hurt if we don't stop him. This is about more than you. If you fear what he could do to you, why should other girls have to go through it instead?”
Marissa looked down, tears streaming down her face. Fiona could see the battle going on inside her, the desire to protect the man she loved warring with the urge to protect others from him.
"Marissa, you have to understand that he's dangerous," Fiona said, trying to reason with her. "He's hurt so many people, and if we don't stop him, he'll keep doing it. More innocent girls will be hurt, or worse."
Marissa shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I know, but I can't...I can't betray him like that. I can't."
Fiona felt helpless. She couldn't force Marissa to give up his name, but she couldn't give up either. There had to be another way. She decided to change tactics and try to appeal to Marissa's sense of guilt.
"Think about all of the girls that he's hurt," Fiona said, her voice low and steady. "Think about Julia and Joslyn. They deserve justice. They deserve to be remembered. You have the power to help give that to them."
Marissa looked up at Fiona, her eyes full of pain.
But then she merely shut down yet again.
"Marissa," Fiona said.
Marissa didn't speak as though her lips had been zipped shut.
"Marissa, please," Fiona said, starting to get emotional. She knew the chief was still watching, and she didn't want to cry. She did everything in her power to keep it together, but the mix of sadness and frustration, and hope was enough to make her mind swim.
But still, no matter how many times she asked, Marissa never spoke again.
CHAPTER TWO
Agent Jake Tucker of the FBI flipped through a photobook in his apartment, taking in the memories of a life that seemed so distant from him now.
Photos of his mother when she was still alive. His father was happy and smiling. His older brother, wearing his firefighter uniform.
They had all been firefighters, and Jake would have been too--until his mother's death. Finding her murdered at the hands of a serial killer when he was a teenager was something that changed him on a chemical level. Now, at thirty years old, he'd dedicated all of his adult to saving as many people as possible.
He was sitting on his couch with a glass of whiskey, the Portland's night sky spreading beyond the windows of his apartment. He flipped through each sticky, laminated page and smiled to himself at the memories. He had to hold onto the good, too.
All of the Tuckers had brown hair and brown eyes with warm palettes, truly fitting the stereotype of a picture-perfect family. Jake missed them every day. He and his dad and brother were still close, but things were never the same after his mom died.
He normally didn't take too many trips down memory lane, but lately, he'd been thinking a lot about his mom--and the man who killed her.
That man was never caught.
But when he found out that Fiona had been looking into her sister's disappearance and doing all sorts of detective work off the clock, it reminded him
He wished she'd confided in him about it all, but they hadn't had a chance to talk much since he came to help her at the pharmacy, arresting Marissa Johnson. She hadn't fully explained everything, and part of him knew it was because things were slightly awkward between them after their kiss. She'd mentioned that she'd broken up with Mark, her overbearing boyfriend, but they hadn't spent any time alone since they got back from their last case.
Still, Jake wasn't all that surprised to learn Fiona had been looking into her sister's disappearance. That girl had a strong head on her shoulders when she was determined.
