Thomas Amo - An Apple for Zoë - Book One ~ The Forsaken

"Honestly, we thought you were a suspect. I don't mean for that to sound offensive Tom. It's just that ... I know you were close to Julie at one time," said Summers as she collected the crime scene photos and replaced them in the file.

"She was my first," said James as he stared blankly away from her. His expression then quickly changed to one of question. "Wait, how do you know that Julie and I were close?"

"From the items we collected from her home in Los Angeles."

James' detective mode took over as he tried to push away his emotions from being the victim. Losing a teenage crush was one thing, but losing your first love was another. He had to force himself to take control and not lose sight of the fact there was a serial killer walking the streets of San Francisco.

"What sort of things?" James inquired.

"You name it and it pertained to you," said Summers as she located a list of items from the file on Julie Jackson.

"Can you be a little more specific?"

Glancing at the list, Summers began to rattle off several of the items, none in any particular order. "I wouldn't know where to begin, but she had photos, newspaper clippings about cases you worked on. Oh and the diaries she had written about you, they go back as far as 1969."

James was stunned. He was astonished that Julie had been so interested in him that she would follow his life and career. "Anything else?"

"Anything else? Isn't it clear she worshipped you? Under different circumstances I would say this borders on stalking."

"There has to be a reason, Agent Summers. Yes I admit we were in love at one time, but that was a very long time ago. And if she truly was interested in me, why didn't she attempt to contact me? It's not like she didn't know where look."

Summers nodded in agreement. "That's true, but perhaps she had a reason for keeping her distance."

"What possible reason would she have? I'm not married, I've got no kids. It's not like there was anyone in the way."

"Yes for you, there was nothing in the way, but maybe she felt there was something or someone keeping her from you."

The comment caused James to seriously pause. He wondered if someone had been keeping her from contacting him, who could it be? And why? James felt for a moment he had the answer, then it slipped away from him as Summers broke his concentration with her next question.

"Just exactly when was the last time you can absolutely say you saw Julie Jackson, Inspector James?"

"That sounds like the kind of question you ask a suspect, Special Agent Summers," said James with an indignant tone.

"It's the same question you would be asking me if the situation were reversed."

"It was at her mother's funeral," said James.

"You were still in a relationship then?"

"No, we had broken up long before then. Her mom and dad divorced around the time we were both 17. Her mother had become a drunk and her dad just couldn't put up with it anymore, so he moved away to Hollywood. Julie, felt obligated to stay and look after her mom."

"What happened?"

"Her mother's drinking had become all consuming and Julie had to drop out of school. She worked two jobs just to pay her mother's bills. We began to see each other less and less. She really didn't have anytime for a boyfriend anymore and I understood, but I still couldn't help but feel abandoned. I made several attempts to do things for Julie that would help her stay positive. In the end it only seemed to annoy her. Eventually she got sick of her mother's constant abuse and moved to Hollywood to be with her dad."

"She just left you without a word?"

"No, she was very honest and upfront with me about her decision to leave San Francisco. She said she couldn't stay and watch her mother drink herself to death. As much as she loved me, she said she needed a new life in another place."

"And this new life didn't include you," added Summers.

"Exactly, so she decided to kill our relationship and bury it along with her past."

Summers raised an eyebrow. "Kill? That's an odd way to describe the end of your relationship with Julie."

"Odd or not. It's how I feel about it. Felt about it," James said decisively.

Gathering her notes and photos, Summers placed them back into the case file. She could tell James was still bitter about not being given the chance to share a life with Julie Jackson. "It may be none of my business Inspector James, but for what it's worth I can tell you she regretted letting you go. She regretted it for the rest of her life."

The comment hung stale in the air, catching James off guard.

"How can you know that?" he asked with a tone of pain in his voice.

"I'm a woman, and a woman just knows. But if you want a more defined answer, then the obvious should be apparent to you. She kept diaries about you, followed your career. I think it's safe to say Tom, she never stopped being in love with you, and you with her," said Summers as she attempted to show him she was sympathetic to the situation. "At least that's my two cents worth."

James nodded in agreement.

"You're right," he said wiping a tear from his eye. He pulled his wallet from his inside jacket pocket and removed a worn out faded photograph of Julie and himself taken shortly after they began dating. Warming to her sympathy, James shared the photo with her.

"This was us back in December 1969. Our first Christmas as a couple." Summers took the photo and looked at their stolen moment, frozen in time.

"Thank God for Polaroid's, huh?" she said trying to lighten the mood. She handed it back to James and watched him look deep into his past.

"I want to get whoever did this to her. Can you help me catch them?" asked James not looking up.

"Yes, I can. And I will," assured Summers.

"What do you need from me?"

"I need you to go to Hollywood with me and visit Julie's home."

"There is no way I can go. In case you haven't noticed, Ashton, I'm in the middle of a series of murders that belong in a Stephen King novel."

"I won't disagree with you there. But I'm FBI and our cases are linked, I'll get my director to speak with your captain to get you cleared for a couple of days."

"This whole thing is insane, but maybe you're right. Maybe the key to all of this begins with Julie," said James. Then he remembered a hitch in the plan—Summers wasn't supposed to inform him about why she was there.

"None of that matters now. The writing on Kirkland's wall makes it clear that the two cases are connected. Listen Tom, I'm going to contact my director now and tell her I'm taking charge of your case so our office can secure Kirkland's home for evidence."

James readily agreed as he turned and looked back at the home of his best friend. Summers stepped away to call her director. James once again looked at the evidence files Summers had on Mabel Normand, Taylor and Julie. He couldn't bring himself to look at the Black Dahlia photos. The thought of someone doing such horrendous things to Julie turned his stomach and tore at his emotions. Instead he tried to focus on the book that was found by the store manager. As he looked at the spine of the book he noticed the author's name for the first time—Aleister Crowley. He felt as if he knew the name, but wasn't sure why.

James' attention was broken by the arrival of a plain looking sedan pulling into the driveway. Two men dressed in business attire stepped from the car. Summers completed her phone call and met with the men. She spoke briefly to them and they nodded in agreement at whatever instructions she had given them.

"Okay, Tom, let's go. I've got you complete clearance by the Bureau. We are taking over the case all the way back to Amanda Carlyle. We need to get back to your department and my director will meet us there. She'll smooth over any bumps you might have with your captain and inform her we need you in Hollywood for the next several days."