I post pictures on my blog because I love to take them and want to share some of the beauty I've witnessed. The glory all goes to God because he created what you see. The stories I post are usually ones I've written way earlier and are missing one element or other they need to be published. I really don't plan trying to get them published or I wouldn't post them on the internet. They are to be enjoyed without the added worry of critiquing. Please leave a comment and follow my blog on my journey to getting published. :)
Chapter Two ~
Two hours later Jude and Jackson
were sitting in a mom and pop restaurant in West Valley City, Utah talking over
what they believed was happening in this fast-growing suburb of Salt Lake City.
"Do you think we should alert
other authorities to the possibility this might be the beginning of a serial
killer's reign in our city?" Jude asked.
"No, I don't think we want to
alarm anyone just yet, old chap. Let's keep a lid on it, at least until it
happens again, and if I'm right, it will."
"Why do you think a serial
killer would move hunting grounds, man?"
"There could be any number of
reasons. Maybe the authorities are getting close to catching him, or maybe
something turned him off there...like I said, it could be any number of
reasons."
"Seeing Justy again was crazy,
man." Jude confided to his friend. "I was just a dim-witted brat back
in school. I was afraid my friends would reject me if I had a fat girlfriend. She
sure isn't fat now. I about had a heart attack when she first turned around. I
still feel those old feelings for her. I thought I’d banished them, but I was
fooling myself. There's just something about Justy..." He trailed off in a
dreamy voice.
"You aren't two, old chap. Sit
up straight and look alive because she just walked in." Jack whispered out
the side of his mouth.
"You're kidding me,
right?" Jude turned around and his eyes clashed with Justy's. He jerked his
head back toward Jackson and asked, "What am I gonna say to her, man? What
happened to her parents was horrifying. How can I say anything about it without
telling her the truth?"
"I don't know, but you better
think fast cause she's here."
Jude turned around with a small
smile. "Hi Justy, what are you doing here?"
Jack groaned from the other side of
the booth. "Hi Justy, are you doing okay?" Jack asked with a note of
concern in his voice. "Won't you sit down and join us for a cup of
tea?" He gave Jude a pointed look and cut his eyes toward the empty seat
next to his friend.
"Oh, I don't want to impose. I
had no idea you guys were here."
There
was a hopeful look in her eyes and Jude’s heart thumped painfully in his chest.
"Go ahead and have a seat. We’d love to have you join us. Jackson's wife
will be here any minute, and then we're gonna eat." Jude said. Slow down heart, you’re gonna burst.
"I don't feel like eating,
but I'll sit down for a bit." She slipped into the empty spot beside Jude.
"I can't think of anything but the horror of what happened. I don't even
know the full extent of it, either." New tears formed in her already
red-rimmed eyes and spilled down her pretty pale cheeks.
Jude
moved toward her and put his arm around her shoulders. He gently pulled her
head down and stroked her hair in comfort. "Go ahead and get it all out
Justy, I'm here for you."
Jackson sat across from them,
watching what was transpiring between the two with avid interest. This was a
new side to his friend, and he found he liked it. Jude was a man's man. He
never let his guard down for a second, no matter what the occasion, but his
guard was down now. He smiled a secret little smile and cleared his throat
quietly. "Do you want me to order a soda for you Justy, or maybe some
coffee, or tea?"
Jackson's wife Amy slid in next to
him and threw a puzzled look in Jude's direction.
Justy looked up, her big gray eyes
still full of tears and said, "Yes, I'll have a Sprite." She looked
over at the waitress, who stood with a pen poised above a small notepad.
"I'll have a Root Beer."
Amy said, setting her shopping bags on the seat next to Jackson.
She put
her hand across the table toward the new lady and said, "Hi, my name's
Amy. I'm Jackson's wife."
Justy disentangled herself from
Jude's arms and took Amy's hand in hers. "I'm Justy. I went to school with
Jude. My parents were just killed in a horrific homicide and Jude’s on the
case." Her voice broke and she began to sob again.
"Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn't know." Amy said. She threw Jackson a dirty
look that said, 'you could've told me...'
"Justy just joined us. She ran
into us by accident. We didn't know she was going to be here, but we're pleased
she is." Jackson said with a small curl of his upper lip. Yes, he loved
his feisty little wife very much. He pulled Amy over to him, dropped a light
kiss on her nose and whispered, "I love you, baby."
Justy had reined in her crying for
the moment. She looked at them with apologetic eyes and said, "I'm truly
sorry for dumping my grief on you all like this. I can assure you it isn't like
me."
"Nonsense, we're glad you’re
here." Amy threw a smile toward the new woman.
Amy looked at Jackson and said
quietly, "Sophia is going to feed the children so we can stay out a bit
later, if you wish. I thought we might take in a movie, but I'm all for staying
and helping in Justy’s time of need."
"That would be awesome. She's
very distraught, and I can't blame her. You know how we men are. We have no
idea what to say in instances like these," he whispered as he brushed
another light kiss on her nose.
"I think I'll have steak.
Justy, what are you going to have?" Amy asked in her usual 'take control
of the situation' attitude.
"I'm not really hungry..."
She began, but was cut off by Amy.
"Nonsense girl, you have to
eat, no matter how bad the situation. I'll order some chicken soup and crackers
for you. That should settle on your stomach in the toughest situation."
Justy smiled a little. "Thank
you, I appreciate the thought."
"You're most welcome. I don't
know how you're even coping, what with all that's happened today." Amy
said as she laid her menu on the side of the table.
Jude stared out the window at the
massive snow-covered mountains in the distance, barely catching Amy’s words. "I
don't, either. I’m so sorry. I know
it sounds lame, but I don't know what else to say." The emotion in his
voice was thick, choking him up.
"I know this is a really bad
time, but it's probably best to ask while it's all fresh in your mind. Do you
know of anyone who would want to do this to your parents?" Jackson asked
Justy, earning another dirty look from his beautiful wife.
"That question has been running
through my mind all day, 'who would do
something like this?' But I can't think of a soul. I mean, I'd be lying if
I said my father didn't have enemies, he was a divorce lawyer, so he had
plenty, but for someone to do something so vicious and, and..." Justy
broke down, and Amy rushed over and squatted by her chair. She pulled her in
for a hug and rubbed her back in a circular motion, trying to dispel the tears.
"It's okay Justy, you just cry as long
as you need to. I'll be right here to hold you through it." Amy said
sympathetically as she gave a pointed look to the men.
"Maybe we should wait to ask
these questions." Jude said curtly. He was angry with Jack for opening the
flood gates of Justy's sorrow just hours after this terrible tragedy. He wanted
to catch the guy as much as Jackson did, but he didn't want to make his old school-mate
suffer any more sorrow tonight. Because I
love her, he thought.
Justy raised her head and looked at
him. "It’s okay. I understand why he's asking. I know the sooner we get
all the information, the sooner we can catch this guy, but I can’t help it...”
Her head dropped, and sobs wracked her slight frame again.
"So no one sticks out in your
mind as overly hate-filled? Maybe there was someone who got the short-end of
the stick in a divorce settlement?" Jackson asked.
"There was this one guy last week," she stuttered through her tears.
"My dad spent months on his divorce settlement. He came into the office
screaming that my dad had given everything to his selfish, money-grubbing wife,
and he wanted it all back. "I've never seen anyone so angry in all my
life! He practically ran right past me, even though I was trying to tell him my
father was in a meeting."
Jude pulled out his little notebook
and asked, "What was his name?"
"His name was Bart Arsov, I
believe." She pulled a tissue out of her pink coat pocket and wiped first
her eyes, and then her nose. Jude’s heart jumped again and sighed. What’s wrong with me?
"So let me make sure I'm
getting this right. You worked for your father?" Jackson asked. He had his
own little notebook out, writing in it as he spoke.
"Yes, I worked for him as a
paralegal. I'm actually a lawyer in my own right, but I chose to work for my
father because that's what he wanted." She said softly. Tears were still
falling, and she pulled the tissue up and wiped her eyes again.
"We'll get his address and
interview him as soon as we leave here." Jackson said. "It's a good
thing I'm still on leave." He picked his cup up and drained it of the hot,
black sludge he called coffee.
"I am, too." Jude said
quietly. "It means a lot to me."
"I know, and I'm glad to
help." Jackson assured him. “When I called you a few months ago, you
didn’t hesitate, and I’ll never forget it. I'm gonna see Amy back to the house
and I'll meet you downtown." He extended his hand and shook Jude's.
"That sounds good. Justy, do
you need a ride?" Jude asked hopefully. Calm down, man. Her parents were just killed.
"Yes, you can drive me back to
the house if you would. I don't really feel like hailing a taxi." She
sniffled pitifully. "I didn't even taste the soup. The meal went by so fast
I missed it."
"You don't have to feel bad for
enjoying my friends' company. They're good people." He guided her out the
front doors after paying for the meal.
"I enjoyed your company,
too." Her shy little smile lit up her wan face.
"I'm glad you did. I've got a
lot to make-up for." He seated her in the front passenger seat of his government-issue
car.
"Don't worry about what
happened in high school, Jude. You were a beast, but if you find who did this
and put them away, I'll wipe the slate clean." She said sincerely as he
shut her door and walked around to his side of the car.
He got in, started the engine and
looked at her, "Then you don't need to worry because I'm going to do
everything in my power to find him and bring him to justice." After he
pulled out of the parking lot he looked over at her again. "Where am I
taking you?"
She gave him an address in
Taylorsville and he drove that way with mixed feelings. He was upset about the deaths, yet he was back in contact with
Justy...He shrugged to himself in self-disgust for his thoughts.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing for you to worry
about, it's just me. If it isn't too upsetting, tell me a bit about your dad's
business, and some of the people he made enemies with. That seems like a good
place to start."
"My dad was a good lawyer. He
made a lot of friends. There were also a lot of people that didn't like him.
They weren't enemies per se, but at the least, they were people who didn't look
upon him kindly, if you know what I mean. I don't know why he chose to be a
divorce lawyer, I wish he hadn't."
She sounded wistful, and Jude’s heart filled
with sympathy. He reached into the
pocket of his door and grabbed a packet of tissues and handed them to her.
"Is there someone I can call to come and stay with you? I don't want you
to be alone through this."
"I have a cat that will cuddle
with me."
He pulled
up in her driveway and she blew her nose, stuffing the used tissue in her coat
pocket.
"Don't you have any friends I
can call?"
"No, I haven't really had time
for friends." She hopped out and shut the passenger door. "Don't
worry, I'll be okay. She walked up the sidewalk to a cute brick rambler and
disappeared through the iron-gated door.
Jude watched while she unlocked the
white wrought iron screen door that hung over the front door, and then the door
itself. There was a light on inside, and she turned to look out at him once
more before shutting the door. He saw her shadow as she passed by the window,
and then she was gone.
He pulled out his phone and called
the local P.D. and arranged for a security detail for her house, just for a few
days. He had some friends in the department and they assured him it would be no
problem to keep an eye on her. He pulled away from the curb as he ended the
call and headed toward the FBI office downtown.
Jackson
called him, and when he answered said, "A friend of mine located Bart
Arsov and he's on his way to the station as we speak."
"That's great news, man, great
news." He rubbed a hand across his brow and sighed deeply. "This has
been one long day I don't ever care to repeat. I just want to interview this
guy and go home."
"I know, old chap. No worries
now. Let's just concentrate on getting this guy before he kills anyone else,
especially if he is the glitter
killer. You know, I think Otis is somewhat of an expert on profiling serial
killers. Do you want me to call him and ask him to work us up a beginning
profile?" Jackson asked.
"Uhm...let's not do that just
yet. Go ahead and call him, three heads are better than two, you know. For that
matter, you could call Scott, too. I just don't want to jump the gun if it's a
coincidence, ya know what I mean? I don't want it to get leaked to the press
there's a serial killer if there really isn't. All we need is for Salt Lake
City to be in a state of mass-panic over an unfounded rumor. I think I’ll call
the rest of the guys, though. If nothing else, at least it'll be a good
reunion. I haven't seen Scott since the night of your weddings, have you?”
"Yes, he calls Amy every day.
He hasn’t been to see us since we've been back, though. I think his wife has
him on a tight leash."
"Jack, you have to give her
more time, man. She's different than us. She was raised mostly on the streets.
She didn't have all the opportunities we did. Give her a chance before you
discount her, okay?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna give her more
time, relax. Amy likes her a lot, but then, she likes everybody." He
chuckled.
"True that Jack, she does.
She's a good woman," Jude said cautiously. Jackson was a bit jealous of
him, even though he'd never given him much of a reason. He’d teased him about
going after her himself, but he hadn’t really meant it. He’d just wanted
Jackson to make his move.
"She definitely is." Jack’s
tone was possessive and Jude laughed. "That's okay my friend, your time’s
coming."
"What's that supposed to mean,
man?" Jude asked, but he knew. He hadn’t been able to form a thought that
didn’t include Justy since she’d walked back into his life today. How did I manage all these years without
her?
"Oh it means just what it says,
'man.' I can already hear the wedding
bells of love ringing in your ears." Jackson chuckled.
Jude responded by hanging up and
slamming his phone up on the dashboard. The truth was Jackson was right. His
old feelings for Justy had poured forth like a broken dam and he was powerless
to stave the flow of love quickly rising to the surface.
