After spending most of the day playing and relaxing with Bash and Cain I was feeling a bit more like my calm collected self. I was actually able to sleep for a couple of hours. When I gave up on sleep my son was still very much in dream land so I quietly went into the kitchen to feed Cain and make coffee, that was at least two hours ago.
While waiting for my son to wake up I checked my email then looked out the window to make sure the cop car was still there. Then I decided to look over my notes and add a few from yesterdays crime scene, then I looked out the window to check on the surveillance team again. Then I decided to take my mind off the case a little and read more of the Jeff Lindsay book I had started a few days ago. After about a half an hour of that I looked out the window again. I'll admit I wasn't completely back to my normal self, a bit more paranoid than usual but who the hell could blame me.
If Aiden thinks he can convince me to get rid of the twenty four hour surveillance again, he's an idiot. Why would he suggest taking away something that was meant to protect us? Or am I the idiot for thinking this will be enough? Just a few weeks ago I let Aiden talk me into calling off the surveillance after just twelve hours. Maybe if I hadn't things would be different, though I can't be sure when those pictures were taken. The date stamp on every picture was the same, I figured the killer transferred all the pictures onto a memory card while staging the scene because of the order of the pictures. This killer has had it out for me and I have no idea what I can do to stop them, besides catch them of course.
Even though I wasn't entirely sure if the surveillance would do any good, it was the best option I had. I suppose I could hide Aiden and Bash away somewhere, Even if I could afford to tuck them away, would that even matter? This killer was smart, how do I know that the killer wouldn't find them? If the killer couldn't find them then there's the anger factor. If I piss the killer off then who will suffer, me or another innocent family. The saying don't poke the bear exists for a reason. So for right now I had to hope the killer would be deterred from coming near my family for the time being.
All the doubt was the mother side of me, but the cop side of me had different feelings. Obviously this killer has decided, for whatever reason, that we will be one of the families they kill. So why not use us as bait for this killer? This idea scares the crap out of me but at the same time it may be the only way to draw this killer out of their hiding place. A plan began forming in my head when I heard the shuffle of little feet coming out of my room.
"Morning Mommy." Sebastian said walking into the living room with his eyes half open.
"Good morning sweetheart. How did you sleep?"
He climbed on the futon next to me and snuggled into my side. "Good."
"So what do you want to do about breakfast little man?"
"Can we go downstairs and have breakfast with Daddy?" he asked innocently.
"Of course we can. Why don't you get your shoes and coat on. I'll text him, warn him we're coming down."
Bash hurried back into my room to get ready. Not too long ago this request may have bothered me but not now. I knew the boys had their morning ritual and I respected that time.
When Bash and I walked into the kitchen downstairs two things surprised me immediately. First there was enough food for a small army. And secondly there was a small army present. Haley, Jameson, Jones, two uniformed officers I didn't know, my parents, Kyla and her family were all seated or standing in the kitchen.
"Wow!" Sebastian squealed. "Hi everybody."
As Bash went around personally greeting everyone, collecting hugs and kisses, I walked over to Aiden and quietly asked, "What's going on?"
"Safety in numbers right?" Aiden joked in a hushed voice.
I glared at him and said, "Really? What's going on?"
"I thought a big family breakfast would be nice. Your parents and Kyla and her family were concerned." He replied with a shrug. "Then I figured why not feed the guys who are trying to keep us safe. The only moochers are Jameson and that guy. I don't know why they're here but we have plenty of food so no big deal."
"That's really nice of you Aiden." I replied. "I'm guessing by the sheer volume and variety of food, you didn't sleep much either."
"Not really."
The family breakfast turned out to be just what I needed. For two hours there was no talk of killers or death. Just a lot of laughing and goofy embarrassing stories.
As the well fed crowd dispersed I went over to Haley. "Guess we should get to work, hey?"
Haley had a goofy grin on her face and replied, "No work for us today. We're playing hooky; you, me and Kyla."
"You're kidding right?" I said in disbelief. With another family dead there was no way we could take the day off.
"Captain's orders." Haley said. "He wants us out of the office for the rest of the week, but we still get paid. Besides you did say you weren't comfortable leaving the house with this psycho out there. Now you don't have to."
"What the hell?" I said angrily. "We…"
Haley cut me off, "We will have the Greenfield files here later this afternoon. We can work from your house for the next few days. We are still getting paid as I said so I think he expects us to work a bit."
Kyla butted into our conversation, "I think your Captain knows you will be more affective Ash if you can keep an eye on Bash while you work."
I had to admit, I was concerned about leaving Bash and Aiden even though there was a car stationed outside the house. I was thankful the Captain understood and cared enough to let me work from home no question.
The killer wondered if Haley and Ashley had gotten her present yet. She had driven past the house last night after her observations to find a patrol car posted outside, again. Obviously Ashley had seen the pictures she left on the camera at the Collins house.
As the killer sat in her trophy room she thought about the showdown she would soon have with Aiden, Ashley and sweet little Sebastian. They would be her final masterpiece. She was sure of this because she would be the final piece to make the picture complete.