Six months later
Annie sat at her desk in the reception area of the magistrate’s office. It had been a quiet afternoon. Her boss was in court and she had time to reflect. The last six months had been an emotional roller coaster, to say the least. Although Dave was an expert at hiding his feelings, he’d been working through a range of emotions since his sister’s murder. Of course, he blamed himself, even though the medical examiner had insisted she’d died on the Thursday night before the dean had contacted him. A neighbor had identified her killer as a man who’d called by earlier to collect wood from the old tree, only to return later to attack her. The murder had nothing to do with Dave’s work. The serial killer had been murdering women all over the state. Josie had fought hard to protect herself and stabbed her attacker before running for the barn. The investigation hadn’t taken very long at all. With friends in high places handling the case, it wasn’t long before DNA and fingerprint databanks gave up the identity of her killer. Within a few days of her murder, the man was arrested and currently sat in jail awaiting his trial.
Annie glanced at the photograph of her wedding day and smiled. Dave insisted on wearing his sunglasses and a hat for the picture she’d wanted to display on her desk and they’d produced all the others on her father’s office printer. Although grief stricken, Dave had insisted on the wedding going ahead as planned. They’d spent an entire week secluded in his apartment trying to block out the world before returning to work as Mr. and Mrs. Parkes. She had to smother a laugh when her magistrate boss had asked her straight out if Dave and her were related. She hadn’t explained. She couldn’t and just told him she’d been as amazed as him when she’d discovered her husband’s last name.
The last couple of weeks Dave had been busy. There’d been two terrorist bombings in DC, resulting in the deaths of government employees, and it was all hands on deck trying to discover who was responsible. After working long hours, Dave arrived home exhausted but always had a smile for her. He’d proved to be a very caring and attentive husband. At work, flowers would arrive out of the blue, with little messages that made her smile. She’d never felt so loved. He was her everything.
The annoying sniff of the man who’d refused to leave the previous three days in a row brought her out of her daydream. As he walked toward her desk, she moved her chair backward. She’d spoken to Dave at length about him and had taken his advice to be distant and professional. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, you can help me.” The man placed his knuckles on her desk and glared at her. “I want an appointment to see the magistrate.”
Annie drew a deep breath. “As I told you before, you’ll need to speak to your lawyer. The magistrate deals with cases in court not in his office. He can’t assist you with your case.”
“Look, lady, I only want to ask him one simple question. One.” He straightened and rocked back on his heels. “Can you at least ask him?”
Annie glanced at the clock. It was a little after three. “He should be back by five. When he gets out of court, I’ll go and ask him personally and see if he can spare you a minute, but I know what his answer will be. He won’t see you.”
“I’ll wait.” The man sat down, folded his arms, and stared at her.
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Dave, telling him the creepy guy was back. Seconds later, her phone buzzed and she sighed with relief at seeing his name on the caller ID. “Hey.”
“Hey, you. I’ll swing by just after five and give you a ride home. You can leave your SUV at work. I’ll drop you at work in the morning. Problem solved. Creepy Guy won’t hang around long once I arrive and politely ask him to leave.”
Annie giggled. “Thanks, I’ll see you soon.” She disconnected and went back to work ignoring the man.
The annoying man had left by three-thirty and, relieved, Annie had worked on her files, various appointments, and other things scheduled for the magistrate. It had been close to five when Creepy Guy showed up again, carrying a backpack and a to-go cup of coffee. When he sat down and smiled at her, her stomach gave a sudden twist of alarm. Why was he being so nice?
The magistrate entered his chambers via a back door. He never came through the front offi
ce. When her phone buzzed, she picked up and listened. She glanced at Creepy Guy. She would ask her boss to see him but she already knew his answer. “I’ll be right in.”
She went inside and listened to the magistrate’s instructions. It took some time to take down notes for the files he’d require for the next day. When he’d finished, she explained about the creepy man. “He won’t give up. I tell him it’s nothing to do with you but he won’t listen to reason. This is the fourth day in a row I’ve refused to allow him to see you.”
“I’m not seeing him. It would compromise my position. Send him on his way. If he shows up tomorrow, call security and have him removed.” The magistrate smiled at her. “This sort of thing happens all the time. You’ll get used to it. I’m heading home now and suggest you do the same.”
Annie nodded and returned to her office, surprised to find it empty. She tidied her desk and looked up as Dave walked in the door, with a face like granite. She grinned at him and picked up her purse. “It looks like Mr. Creepy has left the building.”
“That’s good.” Dave swept her into his arms and kissed her soundly. “How are you feeling?”
Annie grinned at him. “Wonderful but I have a hankering for Black Forest cake.”
“Then we’ll go home and change and I’ll take you to dinner. I’m yours for the entire evening.” Dave hugged her close. “Come on, my truck is waiting right out front.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The sun was dropping low in the sky as they left the building but it had been a beautiful day. It had been good to be outside for a time, although visiting the aftermath of a terrorist bombing had been harrowing. The powers that be had scrambled everyone, and hunting down who was targeting high-ranking government employees was a priority. The problem was, the usual terrorist organizations hadn’t claimed responsibility, which had left everyone scratching their heads. With all the agencies working on the case, they’d still come up with zip. He’d been reassigned back to the White House, and some hotshot ex-navy Seal FBI bomb expert was taking the lead in the case.
He took Annie’s hand as he walked down the steps. The last rays of sunshine lit up her hair making it look like spun gold. Every time he looked at her, he thanked God for giving him such a gift. He’d never been so happy. It was as if he’d found the missing part of his soul. They linked fingers as they walked to his truck. He leaned close to her ear. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Annie’s smile was brilliant.
He opened the truck door for her and waited for her to tuck her large purse under her legs, then walked around the hood and strapped in. The next second an explosion rocked the truck. Pain shot through his head as shattered windows sprayed glass all around him. He couldn’t breathe or see through the thick smoke. He could hear people screaming and the truck’s alarm was blaring. His body refused to move. Blood ran down his face and into one eye, dripping off his chin. In agony and trembling uncontrollably, he forced his throbbing head to turn an inch to search for Annie. As he looked at her beautiful face, something inside him died. She’d taken the full force of the bomb. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Fire was licking the seat around her but he couldn’t move. He’d burn to death but he didn’t care. Without Annie, his life was meaningless.
Dave didn’t like the lights in his eyes. He batted them away, wondering why the afterlife was so damn annoying. His head ached, and his mouth was so dry his tongue stuck to the roof. In fact, everything hurt. Well, no wonder he’d ended up in hell. He figured he kind of deserved it. His mind went to Annie and a pain hit his heart and made him gasp. If he were in hell, he’d never see her again. He choked back a sob as his last memory of her slammed into his mind. Not the smiling happy face that had been with him since Syria but her death mask. Oh yeah, he’d gone straight to purgatory and this was part of his punishment.
“Ninety-eight H.” The voice wasn’t anyone he recalled. “Open your eyes.”
Dave cracked open his lids and as his vision cleared, he stared at a man in uniform. He didn’t recognize him but a quick scan of the room told him it was a hospital. Machinery beeped and he had wires attached everywhere.