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  “Kacey, I wish you would consider coming back to church. It’s just not the same without you.”

  “I would love to, but I’m not sure I’m ready yet. Maybe when the baby is born.” Kacey decided it was time to change the subject.

  “Has the church began looking for a new pastor yet?”

  “I think they are putting out feelers, but nothing yet. The men are doing a good job at filling the pulpit … still.” Carol said, blinking to keep the tears from escaping.

  The sad moment only lasted a second and the rest of the evening passed quickly as the women talked, laughed, and teased each other.

  Chapter 30

  The Professor logged onto his makeamatch.com profile and swallowing his disappointment from the Joanne fiasco, began searching for another redhead.

  Colleen. Now that’s a red headed Irish name if ever he heard one. He clicked on her profile and began to read.

  ‘I love meeting new people and am looking for a man to have lots of adventures with. I love to travel and experience the night life.’

  Her profile stated that she was 23 years old and an only child with elderly parents. Hmm. That sounded very promising. A smile slowly spread across his handsome face.

  The Professor reached out to Colleen.

  He shut down his laptop and went into his bedroom to begin getting ready for his long, boring day at the office.

  Chapter 31

  Mike and Kacey began the morning at “their” diner. The Corner Cafe was especially full that morning. It seemed that the Willow Branch Women's Society had decided to meet for coffee before their monthly meeting.

  “How was knit night?” Mike asked around a bite of scrambled eggs.

  “It was great.” Kacey answered as she warmed her hands around her coffee cup.

  Coffee was the one thing she couldn’t give up during her pregnancy.

  “I’d forgotten how fun and smart these women are. I think they are just about as excited as I am about Baby Yates.”

  “You women are all the same … Jack is waiting to see what it is going to be so she can buy this outfit she’s been eyeing.”

  “Awww. That's so sweet."

  The detectives finished their breakfast and stood up to pay. Their waitress told them that someone had already taken care of it and that they owed nothing.

  “That’s so kind!” Kacey said. “Who was it?”

  “Just a gentleman who seemed to know you both. He left a few minutes ago.”

  “Well, if you see him again, tell him ‘thank you’ from us, please.” Mike said.

  Kacey tossed a tip on the table, put on her coat and led the way.

  Chapter 32

  At the precinct, Kacey grabbed the stacks of messages on their desks and they headed into the conference room where all of the evidence for the “makeamatch.com” murders was being held.

  “No dice on the restaurant video. They only have cameras facing the cash register and kitchen.” Mike said, tossing down the message in disgust.

  Someone had put two copies of the artists’ rendering of Joanna’s date in the mix.

  “Well, he looks like most of the people I see on a daily basis.” Kacey said with a sigh after scrutinizing the photocopy.

  “Joe Schmoe.” Mike said in disgust.

  “I’d like to talk to her again and see if we can get any more physical detail from her. A lisp or limp would be great.” Kacey said in chagrin.

  “Maybe a lazy eye.” Mike added.

  “Or a huge head attached to a tiny body.” Kacey laughed.

  At that point Captain Wells walked in.

  “Something funny about all of this, Detectives.”

  “Well …” Mike began.

  “No, sir.” Kacey interjected before Mike could say anything else.

  “Alright then,” the Captain began. “What do you have?”

  “Sir, we have a couple of partial prints from the playing card found in Connie’s mouth. We have a sketch of a man who could literally be anyone.” Kacey handed Captain Wells the sketch.

  “Dr. Forrester tells us that the victims did not have intercourse and that they had both eaten at a French restaurant. Probably the same one that Joanna McKinley went to. We will head there after lunch and show the sketch to the employees.”

  “Keep me updated.” The Captain handed the sketch back to them.

  “Anything on Dan or Marsha?” Kacey asked.

  “Not yet, but we are working a few angles. I will definitely keep you in the loop, Kacey.” The Captain assured her.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Captain Wells nodded and left them to it.

  Kacey felt Mike’s eyes on her. Without looking up, she said.

  “I’m fine. Let’s concentrate on this, please.”

  “Sure.”

  After three hours of shuffling papers around and making interview calls, the detectives were ready to call it a morning.

  “Want to go with me to let Thor out?” Kacey said with a yawn.

  “I’m meeting Jack for a quick lunch today. So just tell my goddog ‘hello’ from me.”

  “He will miss you.” Kacey said with a smile. “Tell Jack ‘hello’ from me.”

  “Will do.” Mike grabbed his coat and left to meet his recently exclusive girlfriend.

  Kacey pulled her purse out from under a mound of paper and grabbed her alpaca wrap she kept handy … one of her first knitting projects and she was pretty proud of it. The conference room was always freezing. As she walked past the captain’s office, he hollered for her. She backtracked a few feet and entered the office.

  “How are you holding up, Detective?”

  “Personally, I’m doing alright. Not great, but I’m working on it. Professionally, I’m 100% in the game. Do you have concerns, sir?”

  “Not really. I’ve known you long enough to know that you are a more than capable detective and a strong woman. I just worry about my men and women. Please know that if there is anything we can do as a group, or that I can do personally, all you have to do is ask.”

  “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that more than you know.”

  “That’s all.”

  Kacey nodded at the Captain, relieved that he had let her go because his kindness was causing tears to form behind her eyelids.

  Kacey walked to her car and let herself in. After buckling, she took a few moments to compose herself. She really DID feel like she was handling things, but, after all, she was newly widowed and some days her longing for Dan was unbearable. Finally ready to drive home, Kacey started the car and headed home to her sweet baby Thor.

  After Thor had been fed and pottied, Kacey warmed up the leftover pizza from the night before. While she was waiting for the microwave to beep, she pulled out the business card she had received from Homefront Security and dialed the number to leave a message. She was surprised when Bill Front, the owner, answered the phone himself. Kacey gave him her name and asked for a consultation.

  “Certainly, Detective.” Bill said. “When would be a good time?”

  “I could do anytime, as long as I have notice.”

  “I’m available now if you would like.”

  “That would be great, John. I’m home right now, actually.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  Kacey thanked him and ended the call.

  Chapter 33

  Mike texted Kacey and asked if she would like him to come pick her up to meet with Joanna McKinley.

  Kacey texted back, ‘What time do we have to meet Joanna? Bill at Homeland Security is on his way for a consult.’.

  Mike read Kacey’s text and showed his phone to Jack. He rolled his eyes because it always amused him because Kacey refused to abbreviate in her texts. She said it made her feel like a lazy idiot.

  ‘1 hr’, he texted back knowing it would irritate her.

  ‘That would be perfect.’ She texted back, clearly ignoring his lazy ways.

  Mike turned his eyes to Jack and once again gave her his
full attention.

  “We aren't going to be abIe to go out with Sandy and Tom this weekend. He had to go out of town on an unplanned work thing. I think I’m going to go visit Sandy and the kids tonight. I like to visit at least once when h's gone so I can help disburse their boundless energy for Sandy. Plus, they are cute.

  Jack reached over and took his hands in hers.

  “You will be an amazing father one day.”

  Mike tucked a loose strand of hair behind Jack’s ear and leaned in for a kiss.

  Meanwhile, Bill Front pulled into Kacey’s driveway with a very expensive cherry red Dodge Challenger. He got out and Kacey could swear she heard ‘Hair Band Music’ radiating off of him. She stifled a grin and welcomed him into her home.

  He began by asking her where she would prefer the cameras to be.

  “I would definitely like one facing the front and back doors, but also one facing out from the both doors. I think above the garage door towards the street would be good."

  Kacey thought a moment.

  “Do you also install motion activated lights?”

  “Absolutely. Where would you like those?”

  “Just one that would turn on if someone approached the front door and one in the back yard. I would also like alarms on the windows and doors. Of course, depending on the cost.”

  “Definitely doable.” Bill made some notes on his clipboard.

  After they had done a complete walk around, he assured her that he would get back with her by the end of the week with an estimate.

  “Thanks, Bill. I was very impressed that you were so forthcoming with the video feed from Alice Benning’s home and I wanted to give you my business.”

  “I appreciate that, Detective.” He reached out to shake Kacey’s hand and got into his car and drove off, slowly and after carefully looking in all directions and in his mirrors.

  Kacey didn’t even bother suppressing her full on smile this time. What is it with middle aged men and sports cars?

  Chapter 34

  Kacey was still in the yard, pulling some weeds from her sadly neglected flower bed, when Mike pulled up. Thor was bounding around her like it was all a game, Kacey laughing at him. She had her winter coat on this time since the temperature had dropped overnight. Way to chilly for this time of year. She thought of the old Midwesterner joke.

  ‘Don’t like the weather? Don’t worry, it will be changing in a minute.’ Stupid joke, but accurate. There were days when it felt the temperature could go from 58 degrees to 17 degrees in only a few hours. It's happened where all four seasons happened in one day.

  Kacey got in and Mike pulled out after he had glanced over to make sure she was buckled in. Joanna had been watching for them and opened the door to her apartment as soon as she recognized them. The Detectives climbed the last few steps and were happy to see that she had adjusted her thermostat to counteract the falling temperatures.

  She offered them coffee, which they gladly accepted. After they had settled in and chatted for a bit, Kacey began to ease her questions.

  “Thanks for seeing us again, Joanna.” Kacey said.

  “It’s my pleasure, anything I can do. I would hate for this to happen to anyone else and I’d done nothing to help.”

  “We were wondering if you could tell us anything that would make this man stand out. Did he have a stutter, a lisp, walk funny? Anything.” Mike continued.

  “Not really … although, I did notice that he was very fidgety during the meal. Of course, I just put it off to nerves. I was nervous too. But other than that, he was just … average.”

  “What about his clothing? Did it seem expensive, cheap?”

  “I’m not a good judge of that, but I would say … and I hate to say it … average.”

  “Would you be able to point him out in a lineup?” Kacey hopefully asked.

  “Definitely. I will never forget him. Especially the way his eyes went from warm to stone cold.”

  “Thanks for your time, Joanna.” Mike told her as they made their way to leave.

  “Of course. Like I said, anything I can do.”

  The detectives thanked her and headed out to the car. Mike looked at his phone and told Kacey that a warrent was being delivered to Stan Brown to open their records only on "The Professor" exclusively.

  "Perfect." Kacey said. "That would be a fast solution."

  Chapter 35

  Emily Williamson was a pretty woman in her late 20s. Reveling in her newlywed status, she loved keeping her new home just so. She loved cooking for her husband and making sure he felt loved and appreciated every day. She knew how hard it was to be a keeper of the law … her father had retired from the force several years ago and he and her mother had moved to Florida almost immediately. ‘I’m sick to death of these Midwestern winters.’ He would say.

  She smiled as she thought of that and continued arranging her new living room furniture, while listening to her favorite playlist. She had her long, blond, straight hair pulled back off of her face in a messy ponytail. A handkerchief tied around her head to keep the dust off. She stretched with the dusting wand to get rid of those cobwebs that were mocking her from their safe distance on the living room ceiling fan.

  The doorbell rang and Emily ran the back of her wrist over her forehead.

  “Pshew … I didn’t realize how hard this would be.”

  She pulled off the bandana, removed the hair band and fluffed her hair and put a smile on her face. Maybe Sammy had decided to came home for lunch. She looked through the peephole and saw a huge bouquet of flowers. She flung open the door.

  “How sweet!” Sammy was so good to her. “Come on in, let me get you a tip.”

  This was the last thing Emily would ever say. She was pushed back as the flowers were thrust at her. A knife appeared from behind them and was thrust into her abdomen. The knife was forced up through her sternum and found its way to her heart. She died almost immediately, confusion permanently etched on her lovely face. The flowers, drenched in blood, lay scattered around her.

  Chapter 36

  On the way back to the municipal building, Mike and Kacey couldn’t help but commiserate over the vagueness of their suspect. They could look in almost any direction and see someone who would match the sketch and description.

  “I’m not sure I would like to be described in such a generic way.” Mike said ruefully.

  “Mike, there’s nothing generic about you. You’re a very unique individual.”

  “I’ll just imagine you are complimenting me.” Mike chuckled.

  “You do that.” Kacey said, smiling.

  As they pulled into the lot, two patrol cars sped out onto the road. Mike and Kacey got out of the car and saw Captain Wells and Detective Boaz getting into the Captain’s vehicle. They had pulled out by the time Kacey and Mike had shut their doors.

  Mike read Kacey’s mind.

  “Kacey, it’s not our case. We have no business following.”

  “You’re right. Let’s get back to work.”

  Kacey tried to keep her mind off of whatever might be going on.

  Chapter 37

  Officer Hobbs and his partner for the day, were standing outside the front door of the Williamsons home, studiously ignoring their fellow officer who had just finished puking into the shrubs. Calvin was thinking that she had never seen anything so awful in her whole life, and was glad that Jack had the day off so she wasn't there to see this.

  Captain Wells and Detective Boaz parked in front of the house and walked up to the door. They nodded at Jack and Calvin and walked in.

  “Careful, sir.” A uniformed officer gestured to the blood and flowers.

  The entryway was a tiny alcove that opened up into the living room. You had to walk in and take an immediate right.

  The young Mrs. Williamson had fallen back against the wall and was in a slouched sitting position with her legs splayed out in front of her. Captain Wells and the detective had to step over her to get into the living room. Another offi
cer pointed to a wall that hadn’t been visible from the entry. Painted in what was probably Emily’s blood were the words …