A few hours after Rick and Harriet left for their love nest in the mountains Lynn was looking for something to keep her busy. She hadn’t found any new cases to go after and the inactivity was driving her crazy. She was disappointed that Jack hadn’t come to see her in her dreams the other night, and she worried that he might be gone for good.
For some reason thinking about Jack brought Detective Murdock to mind. She remembered his pleasant company and the laughter they shared. Before she lost her nerve she dialed his number. It rang six times, then the answering robot kicked in. She asked him to call her and hung up. He’s probably in the middle of a big case and doesn’t have time for me. I guess I’ll just stay here. . . . No I won’t! I’ll drive up there and surprise him. I need to bring the rest of my clothes and stuff back here anyway, so if he doesn’t have time to see me it won’t be a wasted trip.
Lynn pulled the pickup truck into the apartment parking garage in the middle of the afternoon, anxious to hear back from Matt. She thought about calling him while she was driving here, but her apprehension about how he would react held her back. As she rode up in the elevator she wondered how the conversation would go. Would he be glad to hear from her, or be annoyed at the distraction from his work. She thought about how she would quickly close the dialog if he wasn’t receptive. She was still working on that thought when she opened the apartment door and froze. Someone had ransacked the place! Drawers were pulled open, furniture tipped over, drapes were slashed, and the television screen was smashed.
Without thinking she went straight to the bedroom. It was the same story there, except the mattress was slashed open. She was so upset that the thought didn’t hit her until fear took over her thoughts – What if they’re still here? She dashed for the bedside table where she kept her gun and looked into the empty drawer. It was gone. She froze again, this time to listen carefully for sounds of the intruders. Then she went into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife she could find. With the knife held in front of her she went through the entire apartment opening closet doors and looking behind furniture.
When she was satisfied no one was there she went out into the hallway, locked the apartment door, and took the elevator down to Jack’s truck. She opened the hidden compartment and pulled out two more weapons; a Glock 15 pistol and a military K-bar knife. She clipped the gun holster to the back of her belt, strapped the knife sheath around her ankle, and pulled her pants leg down over it. She got her jacket from the front seat and put it on to cover the gun. Then she took out her cell phone and called Matt Murdock. This was not going to be the conversation she planned on.
Matt told her to stay in the truck until he got there. Ten minutes later he pulled up next to her and quickly got out of his car. Lynn got out to greet him but it wasn’t the greeting she expected. Matt came up and put his arms around her in a hug. She hesitated a moment, then returned the hug. When he pulled back his first words were “Are you alright, Lynn? Are you hurt? I was so worried.”
“Just in my mind – I’m really pissed off. I feel violated even though I wasn’t living here anymore.”
Matt gave her another short hug and felt the gun in her back. “At least you were armed.”
“Not when I went in. The intruder stole the gun I kept in the apartment. I got this one out of Jack’s truck.” Matt gave her a quizzical look, but she didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to know about her weapons stash.
Just then the forensic van entered the parking garage and Matt waved them over. “Now we can go up and have a look. I’m glad you had sense enough not to touch anything.”
“Well, you’ll find a large knife with my fingerprints on it. That’s the first thing I grabbed.”
Matt laughed. “Now that’s the Lynn I’ve come to know. Always ready for a fight.”
Lynn sat in a kitchen chair while Matt and the team went over everything looking for hair samples, shoe imprints in the carpet, and fingerprints. They took photos of everything then packed up to leave. Matt came into the kitchen. “There’s something you need to see.” He led her back to the bathroom and turned her to face the mirror. Another note. Written in black marker pen just like the one in the cabin. Lynn read it aloud. “Now I know where to find you, bitch. Thanks for the gun. I’ll use it to blow your head off.”
They stood there in silence for a minute or two before Matt asked, “That was undoubtedly written by the woman who is after you. Zarah something.”
“Savvin. Yes, it’s her work. I’ve seen it before.”
“You have? Where?”
Uh oh. I did it again. Now I’ll have to tell him about what happened at the cabin. “At Jack’s cabin in West Virginia. It’s where he lived before he . . . before he came to Telluride.” It’s getting better. Just a little hitch in my voice and no tears, she thought. “He had a first-class security system in the cabin and around the property. Last month my laptop alerted me that someone was up there. It turned out to be Zarah. She went through the house and left me a note like this. I got some good video of her, but nothing that shows her face clearly. I headed up there immediately.”
“Did she do anything else?”
“Uh . . . she put a bomb under the seat of the car I left there.”
“A what! What kind of bomb.”
“It was an IED – a block of C4 with a pressure switch. It almost got me. I was getting into the car to start the engine when Jack warned me.”
“Jack warned you? I thought he was dead.?
“He is. . . . But he talks to me sometimes – his spirit I mean. Now he’ll think I’m loony and that will be the end of whatever this is between us.
“Really? How often do you hear from him?”
“At first it was almost every night. He helped me come out of my depression. But I don’t talk to him much any more.” Damn, I made it even worse. If he thinks I have conversations with Jack he’ll really think I’m nuts. I’ll bet his next comment will be to recommend a good psychiatrist.
“So you see him at night, like in your dreams?”
“Not really dreams. He usually can’t come to me unless I’m asleep, but I’m not dreaming about him. It’s more real than that. But a couple of times he spoke to me when I’m awake. To warn me. Like with the bomb.”
Matt mulled this over for several seconds, then looked her in the eye. Here it comes, she thought.
“You know, I believe you. My grandmother had the same experience after grandpa died. He would tell her things that were going to happen days or weeks beforehand. And if she dozed off in her rocker, I could hear her talking with him.”
“So you don’t think I’m crazy?”
“No. I don’t understand the human mind – or the hereafter. No one really does. But I’m certain that the mind is capable of unimaginable things. And the hereafter? That’s God’s realm and we will never know what goes on there. . . . Not until we die anyway.”
It warmed Lynn’s heart to hear this from him – to hear that he shared the same thoughts she believed. Especially about God. That was one of the things that drew her to Jack.
“So what do we do now? She destroyed the apartment so much I can’t come back here any time soon. I’ll have to call Dave and tell him to get things back to normal in here and send me the bill.”
“Send you the bill? How the hell will you pay that off. . . . I can help you with that.”
“No need for that. Jack had an insurance policy that left me a good bit of money.” Almost screwed up again by letting him know I’m filthy rich. Keeping secrets from him is tough. Maybe someday I can tell him everything.
“So where will you stay tonight, Lynn?”
“I’ll find a hotel room.”
“I, uh . . . don’t want you get the wrong idea. But there’s an extra bedroom in my apartment. You’re welcome to stay there.”
Now what do I do with that? I’m sure he has no ulterior motive, but am I ready to be that close to him?
“Thanks for the
offer, Matt. But I would be more comfortable staying in a hotel.”
“Uh . . . okay. I understand. I was out of line for suggesting it.”
“No, you were just premature in suggesting it.” Did I just say that? I don’t want to lead him on. I’m not ready for a relationship – even with Matt.
“Well, we’re through here. Can I drop you at a hotel?”
“No, I have my truck.”
“Okay. If you need anything else, call.”
“Actually, I have a confession to make. Part of the reason I came to town was to ask you out to dinner.” She saw his eyes light up.
“Really? That’s great. I’m free tonight. Where would you like to go?”
“I searched the web for something and found my kind of place. It’s called Hill Country Barbeque over on Chestnut Street. They have New York style ribs and live country and western music.”
“Really? You like that kind of music too?”
“Grew up on it in Coal Creek.”
“I’ll run home and change into appropriate clothes. Want me to pick you up at your hotel?”
“No, I’ll get into my duds and boots here and meet you at the restaurant. Does seven o’clock sound okay?”
Matt made a show of pulling out his cell phone and turning it off. “Yep. I don’t expect any interruptions.”
After dinner and some good country singing Matt walked Lynn back to her truck. “That was another delightful evening, Lynn. I didn’t know you shared my love of country music. Do you ever go to shows by big name singers?”
“No, I don’t like the crowds. I prefer the smaller settings. I have to admit that this is the first time I’ve been to one since before Jack and I got married.”
“Jack didn’t like country and western?”
“We were always too busy trying to change . . . change stuff.” Almost slipped again.
“Stuff? What kind of stuff?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Matt. But maybe I’ll tell you someday.”
Lynn wrapped her arm around his as they walked to let him know that she wasn’t offended by it. Or maybe I have an urge to feel closer to him. When they got to the truck Matt reached out to shake her hand, but she ignored it gave him a quick hug. “I think we’re beyond shaking hands, don’t you think?”
A smile lit up his face. “It would seem so. I’m glad.”
Lynn climbed into Jack’s truck – her truck – and paused before she closed the door. “Maybe you could come out to The Farm for a couple of days. I’d like you to meet my best friends.”
“I would like that.”
“When can you come?”
“I’m swamped at work for the next couple of weeks. I’ll call you when I see some free time on the horizon.”
“Great. I’ll be heading back out there tomorrow unless Dave has some work for me.”
Lynn Closed the truck door and headed back to the hotel. Matt followed her at a distance to make certain no one else was.