Cries in the Night (4 page)

“What am I, chopped liver? I’m here and the heater is already warmed up.”

“
Your
heater or the car’s?” she was compelled to ask.

“It’s eight o’clock in the morning, and I just finished a hard night’s work. Right now, all I’m offering is vehicle heat. Maybe next time …?”

“You are doing nothing to mitigate your reputation.”

His handsome face creased into a crooked grin. “Good. Wouldn’t want to change something that’s taken me years to build.” He leaned over the seat and opened the passenger door. “I’m letting all this wonderful heat escape.”

As tired as she was, she had to smile. It was pretty ridiculous to be standing in a snowstorm discussing something as unimportant as whether or not he was a player. “Give me a minute to log out.”

He nodded and pulled the door closed to keep the warmth inside. She could feel his gaze on her as she ran back into the building. It actually took a couple of minutes to log out and lock up her office, but soon she was back in the parking lot and climbing into the Explorer. As promised the blowing heat on her chapped skin felt wonderful. She took off her gloves and rubbed her hands in front of the vent.

“Thank goodness it’s Saturday and I can sleep in,” she said.

“Lucky you’re off on the weekends.”

“Yeah, lucky me. But I’m not really off. I usually take the night shifts on weekends because it’s so difficult to get the volunteers to commit.”

“On call or in the office?”

“On call.” The warmth swirled around her like a caress and she realized how very tired and hungry she was. It had been well over eighteen hours since she had grabbed a bag of Doritos and a Diet Coke out of the machines in the break room. Her stomach growled in protest. She pressed her hand against it and slid a look over at Rusty, hoping he hadn’t heard it.

Of course he had.

“Tom’s is right on the way. Why don’t we swing by there for breakfast?” he offered, almost successfully hiding his smile.

She was tempted, more for the food than the companionship. Breakfast sounded heavenly, but Tom’s was a well-known cop hangout, and the last thing she wanted was to be seen there … with a firefighter. At this time of night, or rather morning, she could only guess what assumptions would be made. She had gone five years without accepting a date or even a casual dinner from any of the cops and firefighters she worked with, and she wasn’t going to open that door now.

“No, all I want right now is a long, hot bath and some sleep.” She kept her gaze focused out the windshield as if the flurry of snowflakes was mesmerizing.

“Some other time, then,” he offered vaguely.

The rest of the drive along the almost deserted streets of Denver was in silence. Surprisingly, it wasn’t uncomfortable as neither felt compelled to keep the conversation going.

Gloria’s house was a dark hulk in the otherwise well-lit street. Rusty pulled up next to Julie’s Sportage and stopped. She gave him a grateful smile and opened the door. The acrid smell of burned lumber, plastic and chemicals hung in the air, overwhelming the clean, crisp scent of fresh snow.

“I’ll follow you home.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

Rusty reached out and grabbed her wrist. “He still hasn’t been arrested.”

He didn’t have to go on. Julie knew all too well that if Carlos was out there and saw her, he would be probably be angry and possibly want revenge. She would be the easiest target. He couldn’t go after the police or the firefighters, but the woman who was advising his wife to take his kid and leave him was a person who deserved to be punished. Victim’s advocates often became the recipient of transferred emotions because the abusers didn’t like losing control. Instead of accepting blame, they held the advocates responsible for the loss of their families.

She shrugged and nodded her acceptance. He let her go and watched as she got into her car, started it and pulled out. He stayed behind her, his headlights providing a comforting glow in her mirrors as they traveled through the dark roads of sleeping neighborhoods until they reached her small two bedroom bungalow on Grape St. He followed her into the driveway and waited while her garage door opened, and she drove inside.

The garage was not attached to the house, so she had to cross a short covered breezeway to get to the back door of her house. She had left in such a hurry that she hadn’t turned on the back porch light, so she was actually grateful for the illumination of his SUV’s headlights. The garage door eased closed behind her as she turned the key in the lock and opened her back door. She reached inside and flipped on her lights, then leaned back out and waved at Rusty.

The headlights blinded her, but he gave her a quick flash of his high beams before backing out of her driveway. She was about to close the door when a flash of gray rushed out of the darkness and pushed its way inside, then began winding its way around her ankles.

Julie smiled as she closed the door and snapped the locks into place. “Bet you were about to give up on me tonight, weren’t you?” She leaned down and stroked the tiger-striped cat’s cold back. The loud hum of his purring welcomed her home. She hadn’t chosen to have a pet, but he had chosen her. The old tomcat had showed up on her doorstep a couple of years ago and she had shared her tuna
fish sandwich with him. He had stayed, sleeping indoors during the day and running outside to roam the neighborhood at night. On cold nights, he often finished his travels early and appreciated his warm perch on the ottoman in front of the floor vent.

She snapped the top off a can of cat food and dumped it in his bowl before she opened the refrigerator and stared inside. After deciding it was too much of an effort to even microwave a frozen dinner, Julie finally settled on string cheese and an apple. It was too late and she was too exhausted for anything more complicated. She poured a glass of wine, turned out the lights and took her picnic to her bathroom where she ate it as she relaxed in the tub. A shower would have been quicker, but she preferred a hot bubble bath after a cold, stressful night. Besides, it wasn’t easy to enjoy a glass of wine in a shower.

Her mind drifted back to Gloria. Danny was already a veteran in the war between his parents. Now there was going to be a new victim. That is,
if
the baby survived.

Julie had been shocked that Gloria was pregnant … shocked and horrified. It was bad enough that Gloria chose to put herself and Danny in constant danger. The poor unborn infant had no idea it was about to be born into a hostile world where its father was likely, sooner or later, to kill its mother.

Babies are so fragile. No one knew that better than Julie.

She finished the apple and tossed the core into the trash can in the corner, then took another sip of the wine. The water felt wonderful and she slid lower until the back of her head rested on the porcelain rim. Her eyes drifted closed, but against the darkness of her lids, Rusty’s face intruded. She was genuinely grateful for his kindness, but equally bewildered by why he had come back for her. It was probably because of her association with the police department. Not only did she work as an advocate for crime victims and other citizens, but she was always there to support the families of all the cops and their families, as well as the other emergency responders. Just last year, she had visited Rusty’s brother Sam when he was in the hospital after being shot during a routine traffic stop that had gone horribly wrong.

Julie smiled. That had actually turned out okay because the incident had caused Sam to meet Kate, an actress-wannabe who had gotten caught up in a scam that almost cost her her life. Now they were so cute together, it was almost sickening, but Julie couldn’t help but like them both.

In some ways, Julie envied what they had. For the most part, she was comfortable being alone. She had had her chance at happily-ever-after, but that had
turned out badly. So badly that she didn’t think she would ever totally trust a man in that way again.

She drained her glass, then hurried to finish her bath. Coming back from a particularly brutal domestic beating always made her melancholy. Right now she just wanted to brush her teeth and fall into bed and hope that by the time she woke up the next day Carlos would be safely in jail, Gloria and the baby would be on their way to recovery and Julie would be rested and ready to move on to the next case.

Once in bed though, sleep eluded her. Her body was relaxed, but her mind wasn’t ready to shut down yet. The glow in Danny’s eyes when she rescued his favorite baseball cap reminded her how utterly devastating a fire could be. Gloria was actually lucky that the entire structure hadn’t burned. She would be able to salvage a lot of her kitchen items and maybe even a few personal things although the worst damage had been done to the master bedroom and the spare bedroom next to it. Danny’s had escaped the worst of it because it had been across the hall and next to the bathroom whose contents weren’t as flammable which had worked to retard the spread of the flames. It was unlikely they would be able to move back into the house any time soon, especially since it was a rental and who knew whether or not the landlord had insurance. Julie would be willing to bet that Gloria didn’t.

Julie snuggled deeper under her comforter. She loved her little house and knew how upset she would be if something catastrophic happened to it. It was over a hundred years old and had been in sad shape when she had bought it three years ago. Nestled in an area of Denver called Park Hill, she had been able to look past the holes in the floor and the water stains on the ceiling to see the potential. Julie had immediately felt a kinship with the structure. She and it had good bones and just needed a little love and attention.

In the case of the house, it also needed a lot of time and money. Luckily, she had been able to purchase it for practically nothing because it had taken a generous portion of her savings to pay for the repairs. She had hired out the new roof because she wasn’t sure she was ready to risk her life learning how to install shingles. Not that she knew how to do any of the work on the inside. But she had the internet and a friendly staff at the local Lowe’s. It had taken almost a year and a lot of bruises and smashed thumbs. Somehow she had managed to fix the holes in the floors and walls, update the old cabinets with paint and new hardware, repaint everything inside and out and even update her plumbing fixtures. She had figured out how to install tile and refinish the wood floors. All that was left were
now new countertops, but that would take a few months of saving since she really wanted granite or one of those stone composites.

She had gradually collected pieces of furniture for her bedroom, the living room and breakfast/dining area that overlooked a shady backyard. There was no immediate need for furnishing the extra bedroom, so that was put low on the list. But finally she was able to sit back and look around her with a sense of pride and accomplishment. This was the first home that was truly hers, and she loved every inch of it. It was her hideaway, her retreat from all the pain and disappointment of the world outside.

Julie hadn’t actually met many of the neighbors. The neighborhood had been declining for many years, but it was coming back and had become a highly desirable location, especially for young professionals and families. Since Julie had little in common with either group and her schedule was kind of unpredictable, she wasn’t particularly motivated to mingle with them. Other than a friendly wave in passing or a greeting when they happened to go to their mailboxes at the same time, she hadn’t even spoken to any of them. Which probably made her a bad neighbor, but without kids to play in the yard or dogs to walk, she simply didn’t bump into any of them. Instead, she hurried home to her cozy bungalow and spent most evenings with a good book and occasionally the cat if he chose to stay in.

Slowly her eyes drifted closed. Inside these walls, surrounded by all her unknown but reputable neighbors, she felt safe.

On the street outside her house, a vehicle’s engine idled. The windows were fogged from the heat inside fighting the cold outside. A man’s gloved hand wiped a moist circle on the glass. Julie wasn’t as safe as she thought.

CHAPTER THREE

Grocery shopping was one of her least favorite activities, especially on the weekend. Every aisle was filled with oversized baskets and people as anxious to be done with the chore as she was. Whining kids added their shrill voices to the chaos, making standing in the long lines to check out almost unbearable.

Julie spent most of her time in the produce area stocking up on fresh fruit and vegetables, then migrated to the frozen food section where she selected enough packaged meals to make it through the week. Some cheese, bread, milk, Greek yogurt and a last minute calorie splurge of a package of cream horns, and she joined the masses in line.

“Only a crazy person would shop on Saturday.”

Julie turned to see who was speaking and recognized Kate standing behind her. “Said the crazy woman in line behind me,” she answered with a smile. “How’s the acting going?” She had heard that Kate was keeping busy in local theater and an occasional TV commercial.

Kate’s beautiful face became sad. “Not so good. Heritage Square Music Hall is closing down at the end of this year, so I’ll be out of a job.”

“Closing for good? That’s awful. I’ve been to only a couple of their shows, but I really enjoyed them.”