Mike Omer - In the Darkness

“I’ll sleep with it, just in case.”

“Just be careful with it.”

“I’ll put it under the pillow.”

“The way you toss around in your sleep? You’ll end up impaling yourself with it.”

Andrea let out a shuddering laugh.

“Hang in there. I’ll call you back in a bit, okay?” She hung up.

Tatum looked at her. “Zoe, what—”

“Hang on.” She dialed Mancuso.

The chief answered after two rings. “Zoe.”

“Glover was watching Andrea. He was in the same room with her.”

“We’re checking it out—calm down. Caldwell is there right now looking at the security feed.”

“You need to send someone to keep an eye on Andrea. She’s all alone in my apartment. All alone! He could go there at any moment, Mancuso, and she won’t—”

“Bentley, get a grip!”

Zoe shut up, surprised.

“There’s a patrol car watching the entrance to your building right now. An officer already searched your apartment carefully. No one is letting anything happen to Andrea, okay?”

“She didn’t know you were watching,” Zoe muttered lamely.

“Your sister is scared out of her wits. I doubt she heard half of what Caldwell told her on the phone. She isn’t a professional, and no one expects her to function under pressure. Unlike you.”

Zoe ignored the remark, tapping on her keyboard, searching for flight tickets. “I’m flying back,” she told Mancuso. “I can get on a plane tomorrow morning.”

She expected the chief to argue with her, but Mancuso just sighed. “Fine. I doubt you have a lot more to do in San Angelo in any case. Gray can stay an extra day to help out the local police.”

“Thanks.”

“Andrea will be fine, Zoe.”

Zoe didn’t answer. Mancuso said goodbye and hung up. Zoe put down the phone.

“What’s going on?” Tatum asked.

“Andrea saw Glover. He was stalking her.” Zoe began to insert her details for the flight ticket.

“Is she all right?”

“Yeah. She’s scared.”

“I’ll send Marvin over so she won’t be alone.”

“Thanks. I’m going back there first thing in the morning. Mancuso said you should probably stay another day to wrap things up here.”

“Okay.” A second of silence. “Do you want me to drop you off at the motel?”

“I’m fine. I’ll take an Uber. You should go tell Foster about your hotline. It’s a good idea.”

Tatum cleared his throat. “I’m sure Andrea will be fine.”

Zoe shut the laptop screen and stood up. “That’s what Mancuso told me. I wish I knew where you two get your information.”

By the time Tatum had filled Foster in about the latest development and told him about the hotline, Zoe was already gone. Tatum almost called her to ask how Andrea was doing but decided to avoid bothering her. Instead, he walked out of the station and called Marvin.

“Guess what I did today, Tatum,” his grandfather said without preamble.

Tatum could think of a bunch of options, none of them particularly good. “What?”

“I skydived.”

Tatum groaned. “What about the insurance?”

“I found a company that agreed to insure me. It cost me an arm and a leg, but you can do without my inheritance, right?”

“I don’t care about the damn inheritance. I just want you to be around for a while and—”

“I paid with your credit card, Tatum. Mine didn’t work for some reason.”

Tatum shut his eyes and lost himself to some calming murderous thoughts.

“I’ll pay you back—don’t worry,” Marvin said. “And I got a discount for next time.”

“Next . . . Marvin, there’s no next—”

“I’m hooked, Tatum. You won’t believe how great it feels. It’s better than cocaine. It’s almost better than sex. The only problem is it’s short, Tatum. The free fall is less than a minute. Free fall. That’s what we jumpers call the time between jumping and the moment the parachute opens. Georgette says I’m a natural.”

“Who’s Georgette?”

“The instructor. We jumped together. You should see her, Tatum. She’s fantastic. If I was forty years younger—”

“Marvin, listen. Andrea just saw Rod Glover. He was stalking her.”

“Aw, shit. Did he touch her?”

“No, but he was very close. Could you drop by, see how she’s doing?”

“Sure thing, Tatum. I’ll get there right now. Poor kid—she must be terrified. How’s Zoe doing?”

“Shocked and worried. She went to the motel. She’s flying back tomorrow.”

“And where are you?”

“I’m at the police station. I need to finish up with some stuff.”

“What’s wrong with you, Tatum? Go help your partner—she needs someone to be there for her. She’s probably worried sick.”

“Thanks for your concern. Just see to Andrea.”

“Tatum. Listen to me. Go be with Zoe. I don’t care if you think she’s fine. Trust me: she’s not.”

“You don’t know her. She’s the strongest person I know, and—”

“I swear your dad was an awesome kid, but he had no idea how to raise you. Go be with your damn partner!”

Tatum rolled his eyes. His grandfather was driving him insane. “Look, she’s better without me anyway. We had an argument a few days ago, and it’s a bit complicated right now. So I appreciate the advice, but—”

“What kind of argument?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What kind of argument, Tatum?”

“Just some dumb stuff she said. I told her about the case in LA. The one where I shot the pedophile.”

“Oh yeah, I remember.”

“The internal investigation has been reopened. Apparently there’s a new witness.”

“They’re acting like shooting pedos is against the law.”

“It is against the law. Anyway, Zoe said maybe I didn’t shoot in self-defense. That I shot him because I thought it was the right thing to do.”

“Yeah. So what did you argue about?”

Tatum frowned. “That’s what we argued about.”

“Oh, I get it,” Marvin finally said. “You were hurt.”

“Well, yeah.”

“You thought she should know you better than that. I understand how you feel. You care about what she thinks of you.”

“Of course I do.” Tatum kicked a small rock, and it hit the station’s wall. “Anyway. I should probably let her be alone. She doesn’t need this right now.”

“Uh-huh. But listen, Tatum.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you a man or a wimp?”

“What?”

“Are you spineless? Are you a damn wuss? She hurt your delicate snowflake feelings? Is that what’s the matter? You’re lucky I’m not there, Tatum, or I’d do what your father should have done and wallop your ass!”

“Listen, Marvin—”

“Did you lose your balls, Tatum?” Marvin roared. “Did the vet accidentally take them off when you had Freckle castrated? Should I call the vet and ask for your balls back? Would that help you get over yourself and act like a man? What’s wrong with you? Grow a damn spine and a pair of new balls and go be with your partner. She needs your support, damn it!”

“Grandpa, shut up!” Tatum shouted back. “I’m doing what I think is right. You don’t know her like I do, and—”

“You’re doing nothing right, Tatum! You get in your car, and you drive over there, and you comfort your friend, you got that? And I’m going over to see her sister, because one of us still remembers what it is to be a man!” The line clicked as Marvin hung up the phone.

Tatum nearly tossed his mobile on the ground. He shook with rage. That stubborn, daft old man and his old-fashioned clueless advice. What the hell did he know about anything? He had no idea. It was easy to yell and rant, but the bastard didn’t even know Zoe, had no idea what made her tick. Zoe was the kind of person who needed time for herself. Tatum knew that. Marvin should respect his ability to know his partner.