Our Sick Inheritance (editing)

Chapter 55 - Find Me Faster

Happy to be in his own truck, Kyle almost ran two red lights in his rush to get to the office. He wasn't in a hurry he was just having a silent argument with his conscience that was sending lead through his system to his foot on the gas pedal. He hated the feeling of letting his daughter down by making her stay home, but Kyle knew it was in her best interest. He just had to convince first Alicia then Stacy. He needed someone on his side when he delivered the crushing news that was going to make their week hell because he knew Stacy would make it very clear that she was unhappy with his decision. Timing was everything and he had to get her to express doubt in her trip first. He had to tell her about Jolene.

Kyle had to tell Stacy that the serial killer was looking for a specific type and she met the description exactly. He, of course, was going to leave out that it was the copycat killer and it only applied to one girl in the chain which was Jolene.

To deal with a copycat killer seemed implausible. There were fewer known facts for the public, so he couldn't imagine how anyone knew to murder Jolene like the West Coast Runaway girls. What was the purpose of killing Jolene to set up the confusion? It started to drive Kyle crazy.

He knew it was dangerous to get so personally invested but he couldn't rest until he had caught the man behind the chain of murders. Even if these were to be Kyle's very last serial cases, these girls ripped at his heart the most because he had been invested for two years already. If it weren't for Jolene being Stacy's doppelganger, Kyle wouldn't have as much anxiety to letting her go on her trip because Stacy didn't originally fit the profile. Jolene changed everything. Now they had so much more to worry about.

Kyle headed to the station in automatic mode that he barely registered those around him. It was why he worked so well with Jose. Together they are always focused with speed as a back-kick. At one time Jose was even more invested than Kyle until it almost ruined his marriage. Although he is the Chief Detective in California, he still worked for many counties up through to Seattle where they grew up. To keep his wife, Jose vowed to come home for a few hours before bed each night to spend time with his family or move into a cold closet in his office at the station. Jose loved his family and they all knew he couldn't leave his wife's cooking or his beautiful daughters. Their son had already graduated college in Washington and had a great job in marketing where now he was going to be a second-time father, making Jose a second-time grandpa in just three years. Jose was afraid to let his twin girls out of the house, so he keeps them in sports and studies for every moment of their day. Jose's niece Lillian moved into their home while she goes to college on a California basketball scholarship. To ensure that his girls stay out of trouble, Jose pays Lillian also to keep an eye on the girls by overseeing schedules, studies, and sports for she is the strength of their buddy system. It was good for the girls to have a mentor as they looked up to Lillian that was about five years older than they were.

The parking lot was horribly packed, and the streets were thick with snow from their recent storm that was still active in waves. Thick piles of light blue and white bundles of cold fluff were stacked high on the sides of the roads and parking lots. The snow walls were done early by a snowplow before ice formed on the ground to avoid car accidents as much as possible while the winds were still threatening like bullies with thick fists.

Kyle hated parking on the street, so he drove around the police station in through the gated back of the building. He took the driveway that led down into a more private lot the width of the building. Only a few lights lit the underground parking lot. There were several other cars, but the lot was empty of people. Although it really was the safest place to park, it was also the scariest for Kyle because shadows hid secrets. There were a lot of shadows in the enclosed area.

Feeling the isolation in the colder low-lit lot, Kyle parked as close to the door to the building as possible. Stepping onto the pavement sent an echo in a higher pitch through the garage. Kyle's heart skipped a beat. He shut his door but did not let go of the handle while he stood to listen and stare into the shadows where he could swear, he saw movement.