Page 13 of Jon's Helter Skelter Cold Case

It was a good suggestion. “I think I will. I’m so happy their lives are improving, too. It makes it worth it, y’know? Everything I went through was worth it.”

“I think they want the same for you. The reassurance that your life improved afterward, and you’re not in a dark space.”

Now there was food for thought. Trust Jon to give me a different perspective. Then again, with the way he constantly studied humanity, it was no surprise he understood the psychology of humans.

My fiancé made a dissatisfied noise. “Water’s getting colder.”

It was now lukewarm at best, which was our warning. “Let’s wash up a little, get out. Pizzas await us.”

“That they do.”

I reached for the bodywash, but even though I didn’t say anything, I knew whatever I decided, Jon would support me one hundred percent.

And that made all the difference in the world.

5

Last night had ended okay, and Donovan was a lot calmer this morning. He’d worked through his irrational fear, and I saw him emotionally preparing to get in touch with the mother and daughter. I was incredibly proud of him. He’d been through a lot, my Donovan, but he wasn’t the type to let anything stall him. He knew he had my absolute support, whatever he chose to do, and I could tell he felt stronger because of it.

I didn’t push him to do anything right away, as he should have the grace to do things when he was ready. Instead, we went to work. I sat in my office like a good little mentor, all the while trying to catch Abby up on everything she needed to know. Donovan had squirreled himself into the corner of our office, dealing with emails based on all the typing.

Abby was a pleasure to work with. She was eager to learn, studious, and had a wonderful personality. I wanted her to succeed in life with every fiber of my being. I also wanted her to be safe, much safer than I had been pre-Donovan, hence the need for this particular lesson.

Abby sat in the chair in front of me and made the two-fingerHsign against her chest. “Like this?”

“That’ll work. Donovan can pick up on it.”

“Okay, so I use help for…what?”

“Anything. Everything. The help sign is for when things are going down and you need him, but you’re trying to not be obvious about it.”

“Got it. And theTsign is for a heads-up?”

“Basically. It’s not that trouble is incoming, it’s because you see the potential for it.”

She nodded and made a note. Abby was a visual learner, much like me, so writing everything down helped it stay in her head.

Without turning around, Donovan pitched in, “Most cops will know these signs. Especially the ones who work with Jon on a regular basis, they’ve picked up on them. So it’s not just me you can use them with.”

Abby jotted that down too, her lines looking a little relieved. “Sounds great. I don’t want to take you away from Jon if he needs you.”

Oh. I guess she’d been worried about that. “Naw, don’t worry. Donovan’s perfectly capable of protecting two people at once. In fact, he can even be in two places at once.”

Now this, Donovan turned at. He gave me an exasperated look. “What am I, Superman?”

“You’re not?” He was so fun to tease.

I wasn’t completely kidding, though.

A single rap sounded on the office door and our receptionist, Marcy, stuck her head in. “Detective Borrowman is here, and he said he’s got case files for you. I put him in the conference room.”

“Yes! Thanks, Marcy.” Finally, we could get started on our case.

“For which person?”

I stood, already feeling antsy and ready to dive in. “Our client. Dwayne Evans.”

“Yes!” Abby popped up like I had, already beelining for the conference room. “I want him out soon.”

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