The Miami-Dade Cemetery was surprisingly busy when Lauren arrived. Looking around she noticed a few people pass Speedle's freshly dug grave. Seeing it, Lauren felt a deep sharp pain in her heart; her best friend was gone; her husband was gone; the love of her life was gone, forever.
Lauren breathed in and out sharply as she sat down on the grass. "God, why did you have to take him away from me, and the people who loved him?" She put her head in her hands and began to cry. "No one is doing well. Calleigh tries to be strong for me, but I can see she's about to break. Eric is just confused, hurt, angry, and sad. He really doesn't know what to do. It worries me sometimes… like I have room to talk. Everyone thinks I'm going to go off the deep end, and start drinking like my father. I'm not going to lie, I've thought about it. Horatio looks lost. I don't think any of us has ever seen him like this before. I know he thinks this whole thing is his fault, but it's not. He's just taking the blame like he's always done."
Lauren couldn't bear to say the word, death. "Virginia came down. She said she was sorry she missed the ceremony. She had a lot going on with work. I'm hoping she might help Horatio heal. I'm hoping she can help me too. Alexx is being her usual self. Our mother hen, but I can tell she's hurting inside like all of us. I miss you, Tim. I miss you so much it hurts like hell. I cried myself to sleep last night on our bedroom floor." Her body started to tremble.
"I don't know how Megan does it. I don't know how she wakes up every day with a smile on her face. I don't know how she came back to work… even if it was for a short period. I don't even know if I can go back there. I don't even know if I can stay in our apartment… it doesn't feel like our place anymore. It just feels like a place to stay."
Lauren jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Lauren. I didn't mean to scare you honey," Speed's mother, Barbara Speedle said. Her husband, Richard Speedle stood behind her.
"No, no it's okay. For a minute there I thought I was Tim," Lauren said frowning. "You two have the same soft touch." Both Barbara and Richard frowned. "How long have you two been standing there?"
"Just a few minutes. We caught the end of your conversation," Richard said somberly.
"I don't know if that was a conversation. I was kind of just talking to myself…"
"Of course it was honey. You were talking to, Tim," Barbara said caressing the back of Lauren's head.
"He can't talk back," was all Lauren could say as she began falling from her sad eyes.
"Come here, honey." All Lauren could do was hold onto her mother-in-law. She and Richard were the last living connection she had to Speed. His younger brother, Harry, who was thirteen years younger than Speed, never had a good relationship with his brother. In fact, he often got in trouble with the law every now and then.
Lauren pulled back and said, "Are you guys going to stay down here a little while or do you have to head back home to New York?"
"We're leaving honey. I'm sorry. I want to stay and Richard wants to stay, but we can't. Harry has a court date tomorrow, and we have to be there."
Richard looked at his wife then Lauren then back to Barbara. "Barb, why don't you stay here? I can go home and take care of everything. My cousin Sergio can run the restaurant for a while, and I can take Harry to court. You don't need to see any of that. Stay here with, Lauren. She needs you and you need her," Richard said.
Barbara thought a moment, and the more she did the more she realized Richard was right. "Yeah, that sounds good, honey." Richard hugged his wife then Lauren; he loved his daughter-in-law so very much. She was the perfect match for their son. Richard and Barbara had always wanted a daughter.
Lauren and Barbara said their goodbyes to Richard, and watched him drive off to the airport. "Well, I guess we should head back to my place," she said. Lauren knelt down next to Speed's freshly dug grave and wrote in the dirt with her finger, 'I miss you and love you.'
Her car wasn't far from Speed's grave. It only took a minute to reach it. Lauren unlocked her door then unlocked the rest. Barbara got in, and immediately saw her son's wedding ring, which was on a chain, resting in one of the cup holders. She frowned.
Lauren got in the car, and saw Barbara staring at the ring. She grabbed it, and put it around her neck. "I thought I could go a moment without it on, but I guess I can't." She wiped a fresh batch of tears off her cheeks. Lauren's hands began to shake as she attempted to put the key in the ignition. "Damnit!" she shouted.
Barbara reached out and grabbed her hand gently. "Lauren, honey just relax and breathe, okay. You want me to drive?"
Pulling herself together, Lauren said, "No… I'm fine, but thank you." Reaching into her back Lauren pulled out her phone, and checked for any messages. There was a missed call from a number she didn't know. She wondered why she didn't hear it ring. She got her answer. Her phone was on silent. She quickly turned the ringer on and set it in one of the cup holders.
Just as she was about to put her car in drive, her cell phone rang. Lauren picked up her phone and her stomach jumped up into her throat; her face went white.
Barbara quickly took notice. "Lauren, what's wrong?" she asked concerned.
"It says Tim is calling me." She quickly showed it to Barbara and answered it. "If someone is playing a joke on me it's not funny." Silence. "Hello?" This time she could hear footsteps and the sound of wood creaking. At first it was strong then it quickly faded out. "Hello?" she asked again.
"Lauren…" the man said on the other line, his voice was raspy and soft. Lauren recognized it immediately. The voice was, Speed's.
"Tim? Babe, is that you?" Nothing. Barbara's face went white. "Speed… Tim, is that you? Please talk to me."
"Help me, Lauren," he said. He began to cough violently.
Lauren put her free hand to her forehead trying to think. "Okay, Tim where are you?" Nothing. "Baby where are you. I'll come get you. You just need to tell me where you are," she said, her voice thick with emotion. Nothing again then more noises. It sounded to Lauren, almost like change clinking together or some type of machines making a noise. She couldn't put her finger on it.
"You're going to have to give me something other than sounds, babe." The footsteps came back again, and her heart started to race. She worried this would be the end of the call, and she was right. "No! No, Tim! Baby, can you hear me… Tim!" Silence then a beeped. The call was disconnected. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"
"Lauren, what's going on?" Barbara asked concerned.
Lauren leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes. She took a moment to calm herself. "That was Tim on the other end. I swear Barbara. I'm not crazy. It was him. Someone has taken him." Lauren looked at her phone. She dialed Speed's number again. It went straight to voicemail. "No one's answering now. Whoever has him must have caught him. God please don't let anything happen to him." She quickly dialed Horatio's number. He picked up on the second ring.
"Lauren, where are you? We're getting worried," answered Horatio.
"Horatio, please don't think I'm crazy, but I just got a phone call and it was, Tim. Meet me at the lab please. Hurry." Lauren ended the phone call giving Horatio no time to answer. Lauren handed Barbara her cell phone. "If anyone calls, answer it." Lauren put her seat belt on, put her Grand Am in drive, and drove off in the direction of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab.
