Midnight Caller

“You’re right. I need to report the calls,” Erin said. “I would have called the police before now, but I really thought it was Billy Sanders. Remember last year when he harassed everybody in the neighborhood for days with heavy breathing and giggles?”

Tess nodded as she started washing her cup. “That boy needed a good swift kick in his…”

“Anyway,” Erin said. “I thought he was doing it again, so I went over to see his dad this morning.”

“Really? How’d that go?”

“It’s not Billy. His dad tells me the boy has straightened out. Joined a church youth group. Matter of fact, he was away this past weekend at a Christian teen camp.”

“Good for him,” Tess said. “So what are you going to do about the calls?”

Erin crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her aunt’s back, resting her cheek against the back of her head. “I am going to call that ‘fine, young detective’ you keep pushing down my throat. But you better know, old woman, that I’m on to you and your sneaky ways. I already made up my mind to call the detective. Calls or no calls. I want Jack to ride the bus with the boys.”

Tess squealed, turned around and pulled Erin to her despite the soap suds on her hands. “I knew you’d come to your senses. It just takes time for reasonable thoughts to get through your thick, Irish skull.”

“I love you, too, Tess.”

Tony clenched his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. Ever since he got the call about a corpse discarded in the tall grass by the Tomoka River, he had been dreading this moment. He nodded to Winters and Spence, who had just pulled up. Telltale yellow tape roped off the crime scene. The forensics team was already at work, taking pictures of the body and carefully gathering evidence.

“Hey, Keith.” Tony acknowledged the motorcycle cop who had been first on the scene. “What do we have?” Spence and Winters drew up behind him.

“I was heading north on Airport Road when these two kids ran out of the woods, screaming to high heaven and white as sheets. This park has a reputation as a good fishing spot. Seems they got more than they expected. They went into the brush close to the river and, literally, fell over the corpse.” Keith nodded toward the boys. “I got them calmed down. They’re waiting over there for their parents to pick them up.”

Two boys, about eleven or twelve, stole glances in their direction. The shuffling of their feet and the slight green tinge to their skin attested to the fact they wanted to be as far away from the park as possible.

Winters said, “We’ve got this,” and he and Spence headed toward the boys.

Tony ducked under the yellow tape and gingerly approached the medical examiner.

“Hi, Sally.” It never ceased to surprise him how a sweet, grandmotherly looking woman would choose to spend her days surrounded by corpses. Go figure.

“Tony.”

“What can you tell me?” He squatted beside her.

“Not much yet. Looks like she was killed elsewhere and dumped here. I’ll have more specifics for you after I get the body back to the morgue. She fought back. Should get some good DNA samples from under her nails.”

Tony glanced at the corpse and knew two things instantly. The body’s injuries matched the visible injuries of the other two corpses. And Cynthia Mayors, the woman who had disappeared from the hospital after her Friday shift, was no longer missing.

Several hours later Tony trudged into the office, tired, hungry and with only one thing on his mind: finishing his report and going home.

“Hey, Tony,” the desk clerk yelled. “A woman called a couple of hours ago. Left her name and number. Said something about meeting you at the Easter picnic and wanted to talk to you about a problem she’s having.”

As the clerk’s voice rang through the room, Tony grimaced. He glanced at his fellow officers. Here we go. Round three for pranks and jokes. But right now he didn’t care. He had hoped she’d call. He didn’t like to think she would let her kid down. He took the message from the clerk and headed back to his desk. At least he’d be able to make one little boy’s life a little happier. He wished he could have been in time to save Cynthia Mayors’s children from the world of hurt he just delivered to them.

“I’ll get it!” Tess’s voice drifted down the hallway after the doorbell rang.

Erin retested the water temperature for Jack’s bath, then stepped aside. Jack held on to the safety rail and lowered himself onto the nonskid mat. Erin placed clean pajamas and a towel on the toilet seat cover and made sure the walker was placed safely within reach. “I’ll have hot chocolate waiting for you when you’re done.”

Jack, already covered head to toe with soap bubbles, grinned at his mother. “With whipped cream and marshmallows, please. And can I have one of those chocolate chip cookies you hide over the ’frigerator?”

Erin chuckled. “We’ll see. Make sure you clean behind your ears.”

She walked down the hall and entered the kitchen. “Who was at the—” A rush of pleasure raced through her body at the sight of the man standing beside her aunt. Dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt and patterned tie, he was even more handsome than when she’d seen him at the park. And those eyes—should be a crime walking around looking so good.

“Hi. Remember me? I didn’t bring my rabbit with me. Hope you don’t mind,” he said.

Her aunt chuckled and busied herself wiping the counter.

“Of course, I remember you, Detective Marino. Please, sit down. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Call me Tony.” He slipped off his jacket and loosened his tie. “Hope you don’t mind. It’s been a long day.”

“Not at all. I know how you feel. The ER can be stressful at times, too.”

“You work at the hospital?” Tony raised an eyebrow and wondered if she knew Cynthia Mayors.

“I’m a nurse in the emergency room,” she said with a nod.

“Would you be likin’ a spot of coffee, lad?” Tess asked.

Tony acknowledged her. “That I would, ma’am.”

“Call me Tess. You’ve already met my niece, Erin.”

Tony extended his hand to Erin. He smiled broadly, his teeth even and white against his tanned skin. “Nice to meet you again, Ms. Erin O’Malley.”

There it was. Gorgeous smile. Eyes so captivating it was difficult to look away. Because of her instant attraction to him, Erin expected the familiar goose bumps when her hand slid into his grasp, but she wasn’t prepared for this strong pull of emotion and found it surprising. Even a bit confusing. What was the matter with her? He was a cop, remember? Cop, as in don’t-even-think-about-it cop. Not to mention the fact that he was a hunk. In her experience the words male and hunk in the same sentence always spelled trouble, always caused pain.

Tony released her hand. His smile reached his eyes, tiny lines crinkling at the corners just as she remembered.

“I’m glad you called. What time do you want me to pick the two of you up?”

“I…I’m not sure,” she stammered. “The bus leaves at eight-thirty.”

“I’ll be here at seven-thirty. That should give us plenty of time to load anything Jack needs and get there with time to spare.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tess answered for Erin and placed mugs in the middle of the table. She picked one up and handed it to Tony. “See if this nonalcoholic Irish coffee doesn’t cure what ails you.”

“Nonalcoholic Irish coffee? Isn’t that an oxymoron?” Tony lifted the cup and sipped the dark liquid. Feigning an Irish brogue, he said, “I just had meself a drop of pure magic.”

Tess blushed like a schoolgirl.

Erin chuckled. This guy can charm the socks off of anybody. When the phone rang, she gestured for her aunt to remain sitting and got up to answer it.

“Hello?” The soft rumble of conversation from the table drifted toward her and made it difficult to hear. She strained to listen for a voice on the line. “Hello?” The silence continued and an insidious trickle of fear knotted her stomach. She slammed down the phone.

Erin knew Tony had noticed the trembling in her hands when she rejoined them at the table and, ashamed of herself for being so easily scared, she folded them on her lap. Feeling the need to explain, she shrugged and said, “Heavy breathing. Hang-ups. Nothing to get upset about.”