In Search of Grace (38 page)

             
“Dammit
, Tommy,
I know that!  You know that!  It is getting her to know that.”

             
Staring in
frustration
at the pictures
,
looking for any new clues
that would help solve the case so he wouldn’t have to ask Alex the inevitable
,
he turned back to Tommy
.
“
I cannot…
“

             
“Where’s Walton!”
  A voice boomed from the hallway.

             
“Shit
.
”

             
Tommy and Seth glanced at each other before turning
in their chairs
as
Captain
Langley
stormed
into the room
.  Flinching
as the door was slammed
shut
so hard the wall
s
shook. 
Neither
one would have been surprised if the door split in two. 

             
“Your girlfriend?  Are you fucking kidding me?”

             
“
Captain
.
”

             
“Save it
,
Walton.
”  Chris Langley walked over to the table
, yanking
out a chair while proceeding to kick the one next to it as the other two men watched it slam against the opposite wall.  Seth could tell
the
Captain
was beyond angry.  His large face was beet red from the top of his bald head, down to his shirt collar.  Seth wondered if his whole body was as red as the top.  Even sitting down, his size was impressive
,
even to
the seasoned officers. 
At 6’7
”,
his shoulders were broad
and thick.  His arm muscles bulging and straining against his shirt
,
clear evidence that the man still worked out
religiously.  The massive hands
that could snap a man in two, were slammed palm down onto the table causing a loud boom to echo through the room.

             
The air charged with electricity.  Ignoring Seth, the
Captain
turned to Tommy.

             
“Ok
ay
,
Jenson,
since the other one doesn’t feel it necessary to tell his superior the details, I expect you to
spit it out.  I want
every minute
detail
,
and I want them now.”

             
Looking uncomfortable, his
eyes darting to the door as if he wanted to escape, Tommy rose to his feet. 

             
“
It was brought to our attention that a woman named Alexandra Tuttle, could possibly be our first
victim
for the serial killer.
She was assaulted
a number of years ago at Break
heart Reservation in
Saugus
.  There
were no other witnesses
besides herself
,
of course
.
” Tommy cleared his throat while
glanc
ing
at his friend
who stared back
,
his face set and unreadable.

             
“I am listening!”
Langley
barked.

             
Turning his attention back to the pictures and using a pointer, he touched on the first set of initials carved out. 
“
This victim had a P G carved in her upper right shoulder
,
as did the second and the third.”  Clearing his voice, he pointed to Alex’s picture. 
“
This picture clearly shows the sam
e carving with only the letter
P, the cuts more hesitant and unsure.  All victims were sexually assaulted
,
beaten
and strangled
.  We
know
that this Alexandra Tuttle is in fact Grace Davis.
Trooper Walton was able to get a first name
of the
alleged
killer
through her
.
”

             
Captain
Langley swung around in his chair focusing his attention on Seth.  If he was
intimidating
the man,
Langley
could not see anything reflected to show it.
  Walton was a great officer.  The best in fact that he had on the force
,
for how long
,
he had no idea.  In
fact,
he was surprised that he was still with his team.  He also knew that Walton had a past with the Navy Seals with many missions under his belt
and came highly recommended.
  This
man
was not
going to crack
under his stare
,
but he sure as hell was going to try.
 

             
“Peter.
The name I was given is Peter.”

             
“Then I suggest that you set aside
your
personal
feelings
and get more information before this asshole kills someone else on my watch.”

             
“
Captain,
we are combing through every detail.”

             
Ignoring Tommy’s comment, the
Captain
continued.

             
“I don’t care how you do it, get her up there.  Get her back to
the
scene and walk her through it, and I want someone to f
ind the fucking detective that handled her case. 
Him, I will handle personally. 
There has to be something that we are missing through all of this
mess
.”

             
“But
Cap…
”

             
“Walton, there
are
no buts.  You either do it or I am pulling you from the case, and quite frankly I
have half a mind to do that right now
.”

             
Captain
Langley
and the two men
stood up
.
Walking back out
to the
holding
area
,
no one said
a word
.  Tommy and Seth stood look
ing
at each other as their superior walked back to his office.  Turning,
Langley
looked back.  “Walton.  Let me be clear - I want y
ou and your girlfriend at Break
heart tomorrow or you are off the case.”  Seth did not
let out his breath
until the office door shut
.
Looking around the barracks
,
his eyes made contact
with another.  The man sneered at him then
,
turned his attention back to the officer
who was dumping
a manila envelope with
his
personal effects
,
checking off
each item
from
the list.  Pointing to a line at the bottom of the form
,
he th
e
n had the man sign to state that he received everything back in his possession.

             
Frowning, Seth watched as the prisoner went through the check out process
to
collect
all of his personal items
before turning and
placing
a grey
knitted
cap
on his bald head.

             
Seth, stone faced,
held the eye contact until the man passed him
,
but not before the stranger smiled and winked at him.

             
“Officer Smith, who was that?”

             
Smith looked down at the paper work.  “
His name is Hanson.
He was
stopped after a minor traffic violation.
Henderson
did not like something about him
,
so he called it in and found out there were outstanding warrants on him so we booked him.
 
He has been held for a couple of weeks and just got out due to a technicality. 
Henderson
is pissed.”
 

             
Seth didn’t like him either.  “When is
Henderson
back on?”

             
“Tomorrow morning, he just left for home, it’s his anniversary and he forgot, so he left in a bit of a hurry.” 

             
Seth grinned.  “Hope he figures things out between here and home.
Thanks, I will talk to him tomorrow.
”

             
“What are you
going to do?” 
Forgetting Tommy was still near him, Seth turned
.
  “
What can I do? 
I will take her up tomorrow.”

             
Tommy nodded.  “Do you want me to go with
the two of you
?”

             
“No, it will be better
if it was just her and
me
.”

             
“I will get a team together
.
Let me
know
if you need anything
,
Walton.”

             
“Thanks
,
Tommy, I appreciate that.  I am leaving for the day.”  Heading for the door, Seth placed his hat securely on his head
while reaching into his pants for his keys.  He needed to talk to Alex
,
now!

             
 
Seth pulled into his driveway.  Shutting off the
engine,
he stared blindly out the window
at her house
.
  He was
in unfamiliar territory
,
and he was
nervous. 
Talking with Alex was not going to be
easy; c
onvincing her to go back to where
the assault took place
was going to be even harder.  The
Captain
and Tommy
were
right.  He was too personally involved
,
and he moved much slower
on the case
because of his love for her.  It
was only
a matter of time before another attempt would be made on another woman’s life, and this time it might be Alex.

             
Grabbing the door handle, he stepped out of the
truck
, walking between both houses to her backyard.  He should go inside and change
,
but having his uniform on made him feel like it was official business.

             
Rounding the corner of the house, he
couldn’t help smiling
.  She was asleep on the lounge chair, a book resting on her midriff.  Silently walking over to her, he grabbed another chair
,
plac
ing
it next to her
s.
  His eyes roamed her face.  In
sleep,
there w
ere
no stress lines or frowns.  Reaching out to her, he brushed a strand
of hair
that had strayed out of place
,
then allowed his hand to
continue
down her arm, caressing her skin until he reached her hand
laying
his on top of hers
.
L
eaning back into his
chair,
he clo
sed his eyes, feeling his body
relaxing
.  This was what he wanted.  To just be with someone you loved
,
and
the moment
being perfect. 
After several minutes
,
he opened
his
eyes
to find
himself staring into her dark brown ones and he melted.  They gazed at each other for a long time.  Alex broke the silence first.