Page 10 of The Perfect Obsession
“Okay,” Kat said, satisfied.“I’ll take the case.”
“Really?”
“Of course.I want you to have peace of mind.So I’ll get on this ASAP.And when I find the guy, I’ll be the one stalking him.”
“Wewill,” Hannah said forcefully.
Kat looked over her with surprise.She hadn’t expected that and wasn’t sure what to make of it.She could see an unexpected mix of emotions on Hannah’s face.There was—not quite fear, but intense anxiety there.But she also saw determination.It seemed almost like the young woman had decided that it was time to battle her demons directly rather than just try to hide from them.
Part of her was reluctant to let Hannah in the field after everything she’d been through recently.Then again, this was the first time she’d expressed interest in leaving the apartment building in a month.That was a major step forward and one to be encouraged.It felt worth the risk of having a recurrence of anxiety.She hoped Jessie would agree, but there wasn’t time to get her best friend’s input right now.
“Okay,” she said with a smile, I guesswe’llbe stalking him.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jessie couldn’t believe that this was it.
It was early evening, and despite hours of research and investigation, they had no new suspects.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying.They followed up on Jordy Sheffield’s alibi and found it to be credible.Everything he said—about the show he and his girlfriend watched and when, about the Thai food—was backed up by data and receipts.His phone’s GPS showed him at the girlfriend’s apartment all night, from about 7 P.M.on.Those details, coupled with the fact that killing his ex-wife would have meant no more alimony, pretty much eliminated him as a suspect in Jessie’s mind.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t found anyone to replace him.None of Caroline’s work colleagues had criminal records.Her work emails, which they got full access to, indicated no ill will between her and anyone there.Not surprisingly, the marketing executive had a diplomatic manner that went over well with everyone.
Her personal email and social media revealed little more.Any disputes with friends or acquaintances were minor.Even her exchanges with Jordy were fairly tempered, considering their status.Her friends, after getting over the shock of her death, said the same thing: Caroline was easy to like and impossible to hate.No one could think of a motive to kill her.
And the friends that knew her well agreed on something else: that it was unlikely her murder was related to a romance gone wrong.Everyone said that she hadn’t dated since the divorce, that she told them she wanted to work on herself some more before re-opening that door.That eliminated another potential source of suspects.
By the time Jessie and Ryan left Central Station for the day, they were both ready for a mental break.As Ryan pulled out of the parking garage, Jessie followed her standard, now-almost-automatic routine of scanning nearby pedestrians and drivers for a potential Ash Pierce sighting.
The hitwoman knew where they worked and lived.Since the police station was secure and their house was essentially a residential citadel, Jessie figured Pierce might have better luck pursuing her along the route between the two.But so far, she hadn’t seen any sign of her.That fit with what Hannah had told her, that her attempts to track Pierce online and through security camera footage had yielded nothing.It was like, over the last month, she’d dropped off the face of the earth.
While still scanning for threats, Jessie figured now was as good a time as any to smooth over the conflict that had been simmering between her and Ryan since this morning.She could tell that, despite his attempts to hide it, he was still put off by her pregnancy joke before they left the house.
“So,” she said from the passenger seat, trying to sound as casual as possible, “I was hoping to follow up on something with you.”
“What’s that?”he asked, his eyes on the road.
“I wanted to apologize again for my crack this morning when you were getting out of the shower.I didn’t mean to come across as so flippant.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said unconvincingly.
“But Idoworry about it,” she said, refusing to let it go.“Look, I know we took a pause in discussing this, and I respect that.You said that you were worried that the…bloodlust that I was feeling over the last eight months was a dealbreaker when it comes to having kids.That was totally justifiable.If I can’t control myself, if I have the urge to inflict physical damage on people I deem unworthy, that’s an issue that could complicate parenting, to put it mildly.”
“We really don’t have to get into this now, Jessie,” he said, almost pleadingly.
“I think we do,” she insisted.“Because the status of my recovery has kept us in a holding pattern.Until you feel like I’m safe as a potential parent, we can’t discuss whether we still evenwantto pursue children, whether it be through pregnancy or adoption.And that’s the discussion we really need to have—is this something we’re really ready for?Is it something we still want?”
“Okay,” he replied, glancing over at her, “I guess when we feel you’ve got a handle on those violent urges, we can revisit those questions.”
“I think we’re there.”
“What?”he asked, incredulous.
“It’s been two and a half months since I went to that facility in Sicily.I’ve been back on the job for a month.And I feel like I’ve developed—or at least am developing—a real ability to restrain those urges.I believe that I’ve made real progress.”
“I thought you said the coping techniques they gave you at that facility weren’t as effective as you hoped because you had to hide behind a bland diagnosis of ‘anger management issues’ rather than tell them the specifics of what set you off.”
“That’s true,” she conceded.“I obviously couldn’t come out and say, ‘I have a recurring desire to mete out violent retribution against wrongdoers and a little while back, I acted out on that impulse with a knife to the heart.’That would have had consequences.”
