stranger stormed into the apartment, closing the door quickly. Before Sophie could let out a scream, there was a hand at her throat and a cloth over her mouth. She breathed in a heavy dose of some sort of chemical – a scent that was so strong it made her eyes water as she fought against the stranger’s grip.
Her fighting lessened quickly. By the time any real sort of fear had the chance to settle in, the world had gone a spinning shade of black that pulled Sophie down into something much darker and more final than sleep.
CHAPTER NINE
Nights that weren’t crammed with work or in a state of hectic hurry were not something Avery was used to. So when she found herself in the middle of one, she was never quite sure how to respond. Currently, she was sitting on her couch, holding her phone and texting Rose. She knew that if she was truly going to keep Rose in her life from now on, she was going to have to make a point to make her a priority.
Yes, she had the case notes for the Patty Dearborne case in front of her but they were not consuming her. She also had a photocopy of the letter the killer had sent and while that kept taunting her, she did her best to place Rose above it all in that moment. In her texts to Rose, she was discovering that her daughter had been waiting for this sort of attention even if she wasn’t aware of it. She was chit-chatting like a pre-teen girl, talking about boys and movies. They were also making plans for their next outing. Avery was very careful to also let Rose know what was going on with her workload so if something came up that would interfere with those plans, it wouldn’t be out of the blue.
As Avery got accustomed to these weird conversation schematics with her nineteen-year-old daughter, she was also enjoying another aspect of her life that she had not quite gotten used to yet: having Ramirez over most of the time.
He was sitting on the opposite end of the couch, his legs outstretched. Their feet were tangled in one another, toes grazing lazily.
This is sort of sad, she thought. Cute…but sad. I thought this part of my life was over…playing footsie with a handsome man on my couch. Is this my life now?
She chuckled to herself. She couldn’t help it. Sometimes the surprises life doled out were beyond comprehension.
Ramirez was also texting. Only his texts were a little more heated than Avery’s. He was having a dispute with his landlord. It was a dispute that had been going on for the better part of two weeks now, as Ramirez’s lease was about to expire and the landlord was asking for nearly one hundred dollars more for rent.
“Any luck?” she asked.
He looked up from his phone and shook his head. “No. I’ve even texted some other people in the building. He’s only upping the rent on the ones on the higher floors, but almost everyone that is affected is willing to pay. It’s just me and two other people that are griping about it.”
“And when is the lease up?” she asked.
“Two weeks. Which means I need to find somewhere to live, pack my stuff up, and be ready to move pretty quickly.”
“Any area you have in mind?”
“Yeah. My existing apartment. I love that place. I’ve been there for five years and now the landlord wants to pull this shit.”
“Maybe we can make a Saturday of it this weekend. You and I will go apartment hunting and find you a nice place.”
“Find me a place like yours, and you’re on,” he said.
She smiled as her phone dinged. It was Rose again. She wanted to know if they could catch a movie Saturday. Something dramatic but not cheesy. And no explosions of any kind. Avery texted her back, letting her know that it sounded like a great plan.
Beside her, Ramirez had set his phone down and started to sift through the case file on Patty Dearborne. She could tell that he was frustrated and maybe even a little tired. She figured he would be staying here tonight – it had been a general rule of thumb that he stayed over any afternoon where he hadn’t left by seven or so. And that was fine with Avery. She liked having him around. And it was more than just the steady conversation, the easy access to sex, and the help in the kitchen. It had been far too long since she had consistently shared a space with someone. She was starting to get back into the habit and it felt good. The way things were going with Ramirez and Rose as of late was a stark reminder of what life could be like. It didn’t have to be work all of the time, nor a need to constantly beat herself up. She was only slightly beyond forty; she still had most of her figure, her looks, and an exciting career. There was no reason to assume the best parts of her life were over when there was so much still waiting ahead.
“Hey, so I have a thought,” Avery said, setting her phone down and looking at Ramirez.
“What’s that?” he said, still looking at the case files.
“Instead of apartment hunting this weekend, why don’t we just go over to your place and pack everything up?”
“Because I’d like to know where I’m moving it to before I box it all up,” he said. He looked up from the case files, clearly confused.
“Well, I have an idea on that. Why not just move it in here?”
A smile slowly crept onto his face. He narrowed his eyes at her in a comical look and set the file back down on the coffee table. “What?”
“Move in with me,” she said.
“Um, well, I’d love to. But are you sure? We see each other almost all day at work. You wouldn’t get sick of me if you had to come home with me, too?”
She scooted over to him, closing the distance between them on the couch. She placed a soft kiss on his mouth and shook her head. “No, I would not. And yes, I’m sure.”
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