Detective Partners (32 page)

C
hapter  31

Galen opened his eyes to find sunlight streaming into the room. He squinted at the clock on the nightstand. It was a few minutes after seven. Rolling onto his side, he saw Nicole's side of the bed was empty. Disappointment flared to live inside of him. He wished she had stayed. Her face was the first thing he had wanted to see when he woke up. He reached out and touched the indent on the pillow where her head had rested.

At that moment, Nicole entered the bedroom, carrying a cup of coffee in her hand. "Good morning," she said softly.

Galen sat up and leaned back against the headboard. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"I made you coffee." She held out the cup. "I don't know how you like it so I didn't put anything in it."

"I usually add sugar to mask the awful taste." He took the cup from her and took a sip. "It's good." He smiled up at her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Nicole sat down on the bed. "I fed Charlie. I hope you don't mind, but he was standing by his food bowl. I thought he was hungry."

"He's always hungry and it's fine that you fed him." Galen took another drink and placed the cup on the nightstand. He turned his head and looked at Nicole. Her eyes were puffy and red with dark circles beneath them.

"I know I look horrible," she muttered, averting her eyes. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I know you didn't," he said.

She grimaced. "Did I keep you awake?"

"You woke me up a few times," Galen told her, "but I didn't mind." He gave her hand a squeeze. "I enjoyed having you beside me."

"It was nice not being alone." Nicole settled against the headboard. "I
laid
awake last night trying to decide what to do with my father. I can't put him next to my mom. Not after everything he did to her. I'm going to have him cremated and his ashes scattered."

"Do you know where you want to scatter the ashes?" he asked her.

"No, but I'm sure his friend Harley knows of a place," she said. "I'll call him after I speak with Dr. Cain. I also need to call dad's landlord and give him the news. I'm sure he's going to want to rent out the house as soon as possible. I'm fairly certain there isn't anything of dad's that I want. I'll probably let Harley take what he wants and then call the Salvation Army and have them pick up the rest. I'd like to do all of that right away."

Galen eyed her with concern. "Are you sure you're ready for all of this? Wouldn't you like to take some time and-"

"I want it done and over with," Nicole interrupted. "I want to get it out of the way so that I can move on with my life."

"Let me help," he said. "I'll call Dr. Cain for you."

"Alright," she said. "I'll call Harley and the landlord."

"After breakfast," Galen stated. "You hardly ate anything yesterday. I want you to eat before we do anything."

"I don't know if I can-"

"Please for me," he said quietly, "try to eat something."

"If it means that much to you," she murmured.

Galen leaned in close and kissed her. "Thank you."

"You get dressed and I'll start breakfast." Nicole got off the bed and left the room.

.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Galen asked Nicole as they sat in the car in front of Stuart's house, two hours later.

"Yes," she answered. "I don't plan on being here long. Just stay with me and I'll get through it."

They got out of the car and made their way up the driveway. Once they reached the steps, Nicole dug her keys out of her purse and searched through them until she located the correct key. She removed it from the ring and dropped the keys back in her purse. Galen took the key from her, unlocked the door, and led
he
way inside. The stench of beer and garbage hit him and he tried not to gag.

"I'll open some windows," Nicole muttered, wrinkling her nose.

"I'll go see if there are any trash bags in the kitchen." Galen stepped over a pizza box, kicked aside several beer cans, and headed toward the kitchen. He checked the cabinets and found a box of trash bags under the sink. The box had never been opened. He grabbed the box and retraced his steps to the living room. Nicole was standing at the window, looking out.
"Sweetheart."

"What?" she said.

"Are you okay?"

Nicole turned to face him and he noticed she had tears in her eyes. "I - I see him sitting in that damn chair with a beer in his hand, looking up at me with hatred in his eyes."

"Let's leave." He walked toward her. "Let's just go and let someone else handle this."

"No." Nicole straightened her shirt and cleared her throat. "I'm alright."

Galen smiled at her. "You're one tough cookie, honey."

"Right now yes, but later I might need you to hold me."

"My arms are always open."

"I know, my love."

Galen and Nicole picked up the garbage that littered the floor and put it in a trash bag. By the time they were done they had filled up a bag and a half. Galen left the bags by the front door and went back into the kitchen to wash his hands. He was drying them with a dishtowel when Nicole marched into the room. In her hand she had a large envelope. She tossed it on the counter. Galen glanced at the envelope and then at her. She looked angry. "What-"

"Look in the envelope," Nicole snarled, her eyes flashing.

He opened the envelope. Inside were several pictures of him and Nicole together. Anger turned his stomach into knots. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So your father was behind the picture that was sent to Strauss. Judging from these, he had more in store for us. I can't say I'm surprised. Why are you so upset? You said yourself that he was the one behind the photograph."

"A small part of me was hoping that he had nothing to do with it." She sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm going to walk through the house and see if there's anything left that belonged to my mom. When I'm done we're leaving. I don't give a damn about what happens to his things. I shouldn't have come here. If only I had listened to you and hadn't been-"

The doorbell rang, cutting across what she was going to say next.

"I'll get that," Galen said. "You go do your walk through."

"I won't be long," Nicole vowed.

Galen hurried to the door, opened it, and found two men standing there. He glanced past the men and spotted a Salvation Army truck parked at the curb. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for calling us," one of the men said.

"Everything can go," Galen informed them.

"We'll get started then."

Galen left them and went in search of Nicole. He found her in her father's bedroom. She was sitting on the bed and had her face buried in a colorful afghan. He crossed the room and sat down beside her. "That's a beautiful blanket. Was it your mom's?"

"It was mine." Nicole raised her head. "She made it for me when I was a little girl. I wanted to take it with me when I left for college, but my father wouldn't let me. Mom said she would hold onto it for me. After she died I tried to get it back, but-"

"He refused to let you have it."

She nodded. "He knew it was special to me. I guess he got some kind of sick pleasure out of keeping it from me."

Galen rubbed her back. "It's yours now, sweetheart."

Nicole wrapped her arms around the afghan. "Who was at the door?"

"Men from the Salvation Army."

"I have everything I want," she declared. "Let's go home."

Galen stood and helped her to her feet. They left the bedroom and moved down the hallway. As they entered the living room Stuart's friend Harley emerged from the kitchen.

"Hello, Nicole," he said.

"Harley," she said coolly. "Take whatever you want. I don't want anything of his. Another thing, I'm going to call the morgue and tell them to release my father's ashes to you. Do whatever you want with them. You can flush them down the toilet for all I care. I'm done with him. Let's go, Galen."

"I'm right behind you."

C
hapter  32

That evening found Nicole sitting in a lawn chair in the back yard. She was watching Charlie play with a small rubber ball. It was a cool evening. A gentle breeze was stirring the leaves on the trees. The sound of crickets chirping filled the quiet. Nicole shivered and rubbed her bare arms to warm them. She wished she had thought to grab a jacket before she had stepped outside.

As if he had read her thoughts, Galen appeared suddenly with a jacket. "I thought you might be a little chilly."

"I am." Nicole took the jacket and put it on. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. "Would you like some company?"

"I'd love some company."

Galen lowered himself into the chair beside her. Charlie trotted over with the ball in his mouth and dropped it at Galen's feet. Galen picked it up and threw it. The dog took off after it. "I called Strauss to see if there was anything new with the Judas case. He told me there was another murder.
A prostitute this time.
Dr. Cain did a thorough examination of the body and found signs of sexual assault. It had to have been one of her customers. Judas wouldn't do such a thing. The rapist wore a condom because there's no DNA."

"Judas did her a favor by putting her out of her misery." Nicole swallowed thickly. "She doesn't have to relive the rape over and over again. For the longest time after I was raped I wished that I was dea
d
that he hadn't let me live. Anything would have been better than reliving the rape every time I closed my eyes." She bridged the distance between them and took his hand. His warm, strong grip made her feel safe and gave her the courage to keep talking. "The man that raped me was one of my father's friends."

"Son of a bitch," Galen muttered under his breath.

"I knew Ben for most of my life. There was always something about him that made me feel uneasy. I think it was the way he looked at me, like I was a piece of meat and he was a starving wolf." Her heart began to pound in her chest and a sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I had just gotten home from work. It was late. I was tired and sick. All I wanted was to take a shower and go to bed. I headed to the bedroom and-" She broke off trembling.