(The Next Day)
The next day, Millie, Tristan, Officer Robbins, Eric, and I went to a small, local coffee shop in our town. We had ordered coffee and some breakfast when Officer Robbins laid the map out on the table.
“Okay, so we already know which victims X has targeted,” she said, digging through her bag and pulling out a notepad with the victims’ names written on it.
I took the notepad from her hands and looked it over.
“Yeah, these are all the names.”
“It’s only a matter of time before X plans something big,” Audrey said.
“You think X is going to do something other than kill someone?” Eric asked.
“I mean, yeah. He’s still stalking me, and not to mention, he broke into my house and sent me to the hospital.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Millie said, a shiver running down her spine at the thought. “What if Audrey stays with one of us for a while? At least until we get more leads on X.”
“Good idea!” Millie added enthusiastically.
“Wait, so who am I ending up staying with?” I asked.
Before anyone could respond, the waiter came over with a coffee pot in hand.
“Looks like a big project,” the waiter said curiously, glancing at the map spread across the table.
“Well…” I replied hesitantly. “We’re still trying to track X down.”
As soon as I said that, the entire restaurant seemed to go quiet, as if everyone were listening to our conversation.
X was a well-known criminal by now, with his presence all over the media. Yet, despite all the attention, no one knew who he really was. People were still too shaken up to even leave their houses.
Some had gone as far as moving away to protect their families.
And then there were the people giving us backlash because we weren’t “looking for X fast enough.”
I mean, hey, they should at least be grateful we were looking for him at all.
Though, if I were being honest, I had my own reasons for pursuing this case. I wanted to know what had happened to my husband that night. I also wanted to protect others, as well as my team.
“Be careful what you say about X in public places like these,” the waiter warned us quietly.
“Why?” Eric asked.
“Because some people—”
“You mean those people?” I asked, subtly gesturing toward a group of older people sitting in the corner.
The waiter nodded.
“They’ve been eyeing all of you since you walked in here,” he whispered.
Suddenly, one of the people in the corner stood up.
It was an older woman who looked about the same age as Mrs. Thompson, perhaps a tad bit older. She appeared to be in her mid-sixties to early seventies and began shuffling toward us with the help of her walker.
We all braced ourselves for a possible confrontation, but just as she took a few steps, an older man who looked to be around her age stood up.
He gently placed a hand on her arm.
“Brenda…” the man said gently. “Sit down.”
“But they haven’t even caught him!” the woman exclaimed.
“Why are you taking her side?” Brenda demanded, her voice growing louder.
“They’re detectives. Be lucky they’re even looking for him at all.”
“They could look harder,” she muttered under her breath.
The man, who I assumed was her husband, gave her a stern glare before guiding her back to her chair. Reluctantly, she sat down.
“Finish your food,” he said in a somewhat stern tone.
While his wife ate, he subtly turned his head toward us and winked.
Thank you, I mouthed back at him.
“Ooooh, the food is here!” Millie exclaimed, making me turn back around to face the others.
In front of us were five plates, each containing something different.
Pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, eggs and bacon, and an omelette.
I picked up my fork and dug into my veggie omelette.
The smell of my omelette mixed with the aromas of the other dishes, filling the air around our table. I took a deep breath, savoring the delicious smells.
But, for the moment, all I could focus on was my veggie omelette.
Yes, it had been a rough couple of months for all of us as we tried to take down X.
But with my team by my side, I knew everything was going to be okay…