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That afternoon, just before she went home, there was a scare. She checked that all her scripts for the day were filled. She always did a spot check to make sure there were no mistakes. Hanging her coat up on the coat rack, she turned back towards her office when Garrett yelled across the room the word “Gray.”
That one word sent panic racing through her blood, sending her into lockdown in her office while he figured out what was going on. There was a man in the Apothecary trying to see Mallory personally. It was Garrett’s job to decide what it was all about. It turned out he was a journalist, but the damage had been done.
She was at the end of an emotionally trying work week, and Mallory could do nothing but cry while Monroe snuggled with her, holding her for several hours until she had fallen asleep.
Mallory had a screaming nightmare that night that she could remember vividly. The unidentified person coming after her was more than one. It was a man and a woman, and they caught her, taking her from the bedroom while Garrett was showering. She had taken hours to drop back off asleep.
She showered with Monroe the following day, just in case, but she was wearing down from the lack of sleep and the irrational worry that was all too present in her life. She’d gone to the team’s physician, and he gave her a low dose of anti-anxiety medication, and it helped, but only minimally.
“Mallory is right. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. In this case, the eggshells she has been walking on trying not to upset the balance are causing more harm than not doing it. Nothing has happened, and we haven’t identified one person out of place that would make me think she is in danger. Did we get this wrong?”
Garrett sat back in his armchair and crossed one leg over the other. “Well, there was that reporter and what about the note on that homemade business card?”
Monroe grunted. “I think it was a prank. A sick prank, but one, nonetheless. It has to be because that was weeks ago.”
“We had to be sure, but I think we’re probably okay. Should we put it to the team?”
Monroe rubbed the back of his neck. “I could call Jac and get his opinion, but I think we try it starting Monday. I’ll be available, so you don’t need to hang out. We should move home this weekend, too.”
“I knew the cushy job would eventually end.” The men chuckled and then got serious again, going onto other work business.
Conversation done, Garrett stood to leave when out of the kitchen came Mallory with a frying pan in her hand, ready to clobber a supposed intruder.
“Whoa, honey. That could hurt someone. What are you doing?” asked Garrett as he disarmed her.
“I thought you had broken in, and they were coming to take me. I might have hurt someone if you hadn’t said something.”
Monroe had scooped her up in his arms and brought her to the sofa. “I’m sorry, baby. We were trying to be quiet,” he said as he kissed her temple and tightened his hold on her.
Mallory was trembling. “I see shadows and the boogie man everywhere. I can’t stay here any longer. It gives me anxiety all by itself. I’m not a wilderness kinda gal, I guess. Please, I need to go home, Monroe.”
“Garrett, grab your things. I’m taking Mal home.”
“Are you sure—”
“My home.” They moved out that very evening.
On Monday, Monroe escorted Mallory to work, but he left her to handle the day as she had before the kidnapping. After he had checked to make sure she was clear on finding him and the rest of the team if needed, Monroe, still uneasy, made a beeline for the offices and his team. Time to end this shit.
Chapter 20
Sharlee was working on so many projects that she had been rubbing the markings on the keyboard off, or so Jac said. When he wasn’t on assignment outside the office, Kaden had also spent long hours searching for more places where Romaine might have buried other bodies. The team gathered in the conference room to decide what they were going to do. The connections weren’t as easy as once thought.
“He’s playing us,” said Carter. “He enjoys the attention, and now he’s just stringing us along. There aren’t any more women. The FBI hasn’t found one in weeks.”
Jac was pacing. “The problem is, they are still finding bodies. That being the case, it’s hard to say he’s lying when he says we haven’t found all his stashes. Yes, it’s been weeks, but they have several other places to look.”
Mark leaned his forearms on the highly polished mahogany conference table. “Maybe we should stop helping the Feds by giving them places to look. I mean, they wouldn’t have found any bodies after the first place if we hadn’t kept digging.”
Sharlee shook her head. “Those poor women deserve to be found and buried where their family can find them. It’s important to finish this.”
Jac stopped his pacing. “I agree, but that being said, Sharlee and Mallory can’t keep this up for much longer. Sharlee needs to stop feeding the Feds information, and Mallory needs to move on.”
Levi sat quietly in the back corner but nodded. Carter seemed distracted, too. Monroe knew his team and Carter was strategizing, and Levi was soaking in all the conversation because he was the one who often volunteered for the tough stuff when it came to assignments. The guys didn’t let him take all the heat, but he would have if left alone. Monroe hoped he’d find a girlfriend, which would take the desire to be superman out of him. It sure did, Monroe.
Sharlee pulled up her computer screen. “They have recovered twelve bodies so far, and that monster still shook his head at the question, have we found them all?”
Jac added his frustration. “I had a conversation with the FBI this morning. It wasn’t Romaine. It was some other yoyo. Romaine’s supervisor, I think. They told me they are working in an orderly, chronological fashion and appreciated that Sharlee found the last place he lived, but they would work their way to it.”
