Page 64 of Love Undecided
So he’s seen I’m wearing his sweatshirt.
Great.
Embarrassed, I start to say no, then figure fuck it. I might as well get as many pieces of the man’s clothing as I can. Because even though I want to be back with him, I won’t ever do that to him. And I need something of his to keep with me.
He unties his jacket from his waist and wraps it around me, running his hands up and down my arms once it’s on.
The Chief comes out of the house. “Let’s rally, boys. Back to the house,” he says, spinning his hand in the air, with one finger pointing up in what I suppose is meant to be a rallying motion.
Brad bops me on the nose with his finger and is gone before I have a chance to thank him for the jacket.
I head back into the house, Bauer has moved down the hall to speak with one of the detectives. I take a moment to look around at these people that I feel like I know so well. Or, at least I know theirfileso well.
The grandmother and the mother, still in their nightclothes, have their arms around each other and are crying, rocking back and forth. Officers mill around looking for clues and intermittently asking questions. The father is pacing in the living room, the older sister is making coffee in the kitchen, and the younger brother is sitting on an opposite couch looking very frightened and alone. Not wanting to intrude on any of them, I just smile softly in their general direction and go track down Bauer.
I find him in Madison’s room.
I don’t step into the room as the detectives and crime scene crew have marked clues and are in the middle of taking pictures. Bauer is off to one side speaking to one of the C-SECT guys, he doesn’t look very happy. He sees me at the door and gives me the one moment gesture.
Madison’s room is much like Sofia Carter’s in the décor and furnishings, but unlike Sofia’s room, it’s clear that a young girl lives here. Dirty clothes on the floor at the foot of her bed, shoes and toys scattered about, posters and pictures on the walls, shelves filled with books, stuffed animals, puzzles, and games. Her desk and nightstand are cluttered with papers, pens, Lip Smackers lipgloss, an iPod, older laptop, brushes, and hair ties.
“Is that Lip Smacker lipgloss?”
Bauer, the C-SECT guy, and the photographer all turn to look at me, mouths agape. I hadn’t realized I’d said that out loud.
Fuck! Where is my brain to mouth filter?
“Uh, I’ll just step out to the living room and wait there,” I say as I back down the hall. The gentlemen immediately turn back to what they were doing before I interrupted.
I make a mental note to check the drugstore for grape Lip Smacker next time I’m there. I haven’t seen that shit in twenty years.
When I get back into the living room I notice the father is now speaking in low voices with one of the officers, his hands gesturing very animatedly. The older sister is attempting to console the mother and grandmother who are still crying, though silently now, but I don’t see little brother anywhere.
Bauer comes into the room and grabs my arm to lead me back outside.
“Where’d you get the jacket?” he asks. “Never mind. I don’t care. We don’t have a lot to go on,” he speaks in a low voice even though there really isn’t anyone else around. “He came in through her bedroom window, no prints so he was probably wearing gloves, we’re assuming he drugged her here, then just walked her out the front door. There’s a concrete walkway around the perimeter of the house, so no footprints either. No alarm system, no one heard anything.” His face is all stress and worry.
He looks down at his phone and his frown deepens, something I didn’t think was possible. “Hang on, I gotta take this.”
He starts to walk out of earshot, but turns almost immediately, grabs my hand and pulls me with him, his phone already back at his side. “Let’s go, Sofia Carter is awake.”
