Page 25 of Letting Go
“Could you please reach out to them on my behalf? I’m sorry, but this is all very disturbing to me,” I confess, partially misleading the detective. I am totally creeped out, but I am also ashamed of my drunk dial and trying to avoid contacting Walker. Why was I rambling about freaking mint chocolate chip ice cream? I put my hand on my forehead as I feel my blush spreading. The entire ordeal is humiliating and I shake my head at myself in disbelief.
“Of course, Mrs. Stone. Can you take a photo of the poem and envelope and text that directly to me? I’ll coordinate with the Sheriff again for testing, but I’d like to see it myself as soon as possible.”
“I will as soon as we hang up,” I respond. “Are there any new leads with Trent’s case or any idea who is sending these poems? Do you think these are related?”
“I wish I had more to tell you, but we haven’t had any breaks in the case since the FBI took over. We aren’t aware of any new developments, but I’ll ask the task force if they know anything new when I call with this update.” Detective Johnson sounds frustrated, and I suspect he doesn’t like having more questions than answers.
“Thank you, Detective Johnson, I appreciate that.” We hang up and I forward the photos Savannah sent our siblings to Detective Johnson. I pick up the poem and envelope then walk back into the kitchen where Savannah already has a plastic gallon bag waiting for me on the counter.
“The Sheriff is sending a deputy over to collect it so they can dust for prints,” Savannah tells me.
I put the poem and envelope in the bag and seal it. “I asked them to notify the FBI agents involved in Trent's case as well.”
Savannah lifts an eyebrow. “Hmm. And why aren’t you telling them yourself? Special Agent Bennett gave you his direct number and told you to let him know if anything else came up, right?”
“He did, but uh, well …” I look away as my sister walks over and puts her hands on my shoulders, turning me to face her. Darn her and her motherly instincts.
“What happened? What did I miss?” She looks me up and down like I have the answers spilling out of my pocket.
“You didn’t miss anything. I just maybe accidentally called him the other night,” I mumble as I look away, my cheeks ablaze with embarrassment.
“You called the FBI agent? When? Did something happen when you went out? Why didn’t you say anything?” Throwing her hand on her hip, Savannah pins me with her interrogation stare.
“Slow down, Sav. No, nothing happened … it was the night I went out with the girls, and I obviously drank too much. I opened the text message with him before I dropped my phone and kind of accidentally called him.” I sheepishly look up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact.
“Ha! Oh, this is good. And what did you talk about?”
“I think … we talked about mint chocolate chip ice cream?”
“You … think … you talked about mint chocolate chip ice cream? That doesn’t make any sense.” Savannah’s eyebrows scrunch together as she tries to figure me out.
I turn my head to look her straight in the eye. “I know that! But I’m too embarrassed to call him again, okay? I don’t totally remember the entire conversation and there’s enough mess in my life. He can hear about it through the official channels. It’s fine. Or it should be fine, right?”
“They'll still technically receive the information, just not from you, but it's probably okay.” Savannah sounds unconvinced. “Although, when he was here, he was pretty adamant about you or me contacting him directly if anything came up. It didn’t feel like a suggestion, it was more of a demand. I didn’t get the impression he appreciates his instructions being disobeyed.”
I nod in agreement because I know she is right. I’m not sure if I am trying to convince my sister or myself at this point. Walker is definitely used to being in charge; he’s obviously an alpha male with a strong personality who is used to having both his authority and requests respected. And I do respect him; I’m just also really attracted to him and extremely embarrassed by my actions from the other night.
The doorbell rings and my sister goes to let the deputy inside. Going through the Chicago detective may not be the brave way to handle this development, but like Savannah said, Walker’s team will still find out about it, even if not directly from me.
It’ll be fine.
Chapter twelve
Walker
This is far from fine.
I’m trying to not take out my frustrations and shoot the messenger as Detective Johnson explains the most recent anonymous poem Vivian received. She should have called me; I’m pissed I’m hearing about this from the Chicago detective instead.
My grip is so tight on the pen that my hand just about snaps it as I listen to him explain his phone call from her. I haven’t heard from Vivian since her adorable drunk dial the other night, assuming she woke up embarrassed, but I thought I’d give her a few days before I followed up with her. I didn’t expect to have this detective inform me that not only has she been threatened, but someone also caused damage to her property. That escalation in behavior makes me wonder how this may be connected to her husband’s murder, but none of the cases in the other cities have had anything like this happen.
I knew she was beautiful from her picture before meeting her in-person. But actually meeting her? Vivian is grace personified. She had me completely captivated and awestruck by her beauty. I realize I already care more than I should about her from a professional standpoint but my feelings aside, this is still an active case. We will never solve this case if I’m not receiving any and all new information in a timely manner. I’m assuming Detective Johnson called soon after speaking with Vivian, but I’m still finding out information after someone else.
I don’t like being second to anyone in anything.
As I finish up talking to him, I send Harlow a text message asking her to come by my office. I scroll through a few notifications to check if Vivian has messaged or called, but still nothing, just like when I checked an hour ago. Setting aside her embarrassment, I can’t protect her if I’m not aware of everything going on. Fuck it, I’m not willing to wait for her to get over her embarrassment when it comes to her safety.
Me
