Page 36 of Shattered Sanctuary

“Of course not. It wasn’t really important, you know.”

Her voice was sharp, and Kaely could see that she was getting upset. She suddenly regretted that she’d brought this up. She started to apologize when suddenly, Erin’s face grew pale.

“Wait a minute. I... there was a clock on the living room wall. I happened to glance at it. I’d forgotten all about it.” She shook her head. “How could I have forgotten? I don’t understand.”

She looked at Kaely with an expression that almost ripped her heart in two. She was right.

“It was 3:33,” she said in a whisper. “Why didn’t I... I should have...” She shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. “The clock was behind the little girl’s father. I was looking at him. I... I didn’t look at it on purpose, but I did see it.” She turned her tear-stained face toward Kaely. “How could I have forgotten?” she asked again.

Kaely put her cup down and went back to Erin’s bed where she sat down next to the distraught young woman.

“You’ve been trying so hard to protect yourself from those terrible images,” she said. “The time on that clock just got mixed up with everything else. But your mind remembered. And your body reacted. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this. I had a friend at the Bureau who used to wake up almost every morning at the exact time her mother passed away.”

“It seems impossible,” Erin said, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

Kaely got up and walked over to a tissue box on the edge of the dresser. She pulled out a couple of tissues and took them over to Erin.

“You’ve proven that it isn’t,” Kaely said gently.

Erin reached up for the tissues. “Thank you,” she said. After she wiped her face she asked, “Do you think I’ll stop waking up now that I know what caused it?”

“I’m not sure, Erin. But I do believe that the pain you have on the inside has to be addressed for you to feel better. You didn’t like seeing the therapist the police department sent you to?”

She shook her head and made a face. “There were several. The last one was the worst. She was weird. Kept talking about myfeelingsand asking me what I thought I should do. If I knew what to do, why did I need her?” Erin sniffed and wiped her nose. “When she asked me ‘how’s that working for you?’ I knew it was over. I can watch Dr. Phil on TV. I don’t need her.”

Although Kaely tended to agree with her, Erin definitely needed some kind of support. She wanted to ask her about speaking to a minister, but once again, she got a check. It was so frustrating to know what Erin needed and not be able to say anything about it. Why did it seem that people who need God the most appeared to be the ones who rebelled against Him so violently? Probably the enemy battling to keep them. Even Christians went through this. It was heartbreaking. But at least when their struggle was over, they were with the One who loved them the most. Their Comforter and Savior. The Lover of their souls.

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” Kaely said. “Just remember that I’m just down the hall if you need me.”

“Thanks again, Kaely. I’m really glad I came. I needed this more than I can say.”

Kaely nodded at her and closed the door. She waited in the hall for a moment before heading back to her room. Erin needed much more than she’d received tonight, but if—and when—she was ready to listen... that moment was in God’s loving hands.

TWENTY-SIX

Adrian was in his office early. He read through Kaely’s profile slowly, trying to digest it. He was amazed by how detailed it was. However, if she’d given him a name, he would have been happier. He knew he was being watched carefully. The mayor and the town council were wondering if he was up to the task of catching what was likely a serial killer. So far, he hadn’t confirmed to them that there was one. Although he was pretty certain about it, he had no plans to state it publicly for a while. Not until he had to.

He’d been at his desk for a little over an hour when his phone rang. Dr. Gibson.

“Hi, Doc,” he said. “What have you got?”

As he listened to Gibson give him the news he was waiting for, he swallowed hard. Things had just gotten much more dangerous, in his opinion. The person who killed Chloe Banner knew what he was doing. He thanked Gibson and hung up. Then he went back to the profile. There it was. Kaely suspected that Chloe had been incapacitated by some kind of drug. She qualified that conjecture by stating that shehadn’t witnessed any defensive wounds and that autopsy results could alter her opinion.

Gibson had discovered flunitrazepam, also called the date-rape drug. There was also alcohol in her system. Not a lot, but mixed with flunitrazepam, it wouldn’t have taken long for Chloe to lose consciousness. Gibson had promised the complete autopsy results, but when the fax machine began to growl and spit out the first page, Adrian jumped.

“Keep it together,” he said to himself as he pulled each paper from the machine. Once everything was in front of him, he went through the report carefully. No sexual assault. One knife wound to the heart. Chloe died about four to six hours before she was found. Gibson agreed that she hadn’t died where she’d been found and that her clothes had been changed. He was a little confused by the stomach contents. She’d consumed alcohol, but no food. If she’d gone to the Grits and Grain event, there should have been food and even more alcohol. Besides, the timeline told him that she must not have made it to the event at all. What did that mean? She consumed the drug-laced drink somewhere else?

He began pulling up the names and addresses of every bar or restaurant in the area. Was it possible someone saw them? Would remember them? This was a resort area. There were too many possibilities. If they could just find her car.... Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean anything. He might have taken her somewhere in his own car.

Adrian wrote down the time of death and the location where the body was found. He sighed in frustration. The two-hour time-of-death window made the area they’d need to search too large. He wasn’t getting anywhere with the facts he had right now.

Lisa poked her head inside his office. “Just made coffee. You want some?”

Adrian was surprised. He thought he’d made it. In fact, he thought he’d already had some. Boy, this case was messing with his mind.

“I would love that. Sorry, I meant to start it when I got here. I totally forgot.”

Lisa grinned at him. “I never thought I’d see the day when you forgot about coffee.” She walked over and picked up his empty cup. “I’ll get you some before your head explodes.” She smiled at Jake. “I have some of those treats you like, Mr. Jake. How about one?”

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