Author's note: Sorry for the delay. As usual I always welcome comments. And of course...CJ isn't mine, blah, blah...
Bridget looked around the office. There were so many windows looking into the hall that she could see the others walking around going about their business. Many of them were shuffling through papers or talking. She looked back down at the desk in front of her. The kind detective that she had spoke with earlier wanted her to go with him to the morgue. She still couldn't believe that her grandmother was dead. The woman who cared for her after her mother died, who had worked to put her through college was dead.
"Miss Hogan?" Bridget looked up to see a woman with long dark hair standing in the door. She nodded and started to stand up.
"No, that's okay. I'm Dr. Cavanaugh. I'm sorry for your loss." She held out her hand to the young woman. Bridget took it and nodded silently.
"Thank you. I just want to know when I can take my grandmother to her funeral home." She said quietly. When she didn't immediately hear an answer, she looked up.
"It may be another day or two more, Miss Hogan." Jordan said sitting on the edge of her desk. "We may need to examine her again. We want to find the person that did this so we need to be very careful and thorough." Jordan slowly explained.
"Thorough with what? My grandmother is already dead." She said sharply. She left out a long sigh and hung her head. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. You're right. You need answers. I want those answers too." Bridget stood up and paced the room a bit. "I guess that you need me to pick her out or identify her, huh?" Jordan nodded. She held out a Polaroid for Bridget to see. Bridget looked at it before handing it back to the doctor and nodded her head holding back her tears.
"Is there anything that I can do?" Bridget asked looking at Jordan.
"Have you spoke with Detective Hoyt?" Jordan asked.
"Yeah, I talked with him. He said that there may be a couple of connecting factors. What exactly does that mean?" she asked, the sharp tone returning to her voice.
"It means" Jordan said slowly and carefully, "that we think that your grandmother's death was connected to two other murders in Boston." She watched the young woman's face as it twisted from pain than to anger.
"You mean this was something that could have been stopped?" She stood up, her voice raising sharply.
"We don't have enough information yet to..." Jordan started.
"No." Bridget interrupted, pointing her finger at Jordan. "I don't want any excuses. I want answers. I want you to tell me why this happened and why no one stopped him before my grandmother had to pay for someone's mistakes." She turned on her feet and went to the door.
"Ms. Hogan. Bridget, please. I assure that we are working with Boston Police to do everything possible." Jordan called after her.
"If you had done everything," Bridget said taking the door handle in her hand, "Miriam Hogan would be alive, not in your crypt." She strode out of the office, slamming the door behind her.
Jordan let out a long sigh and sank into her chair. She brought her hand to her forehead and ran it over her dark hair. Bridget's words rang in her ears. She wondered if there was something that had been missed. Were the notes correct? Was there a connection with the common hobby? What if there was something that they had missed, something that was over looked? She stood up and walked down the hall to Nigel's office.
"Nigel!" she said, swinging open the door.
"Mother Mary!" He exclaimed, dropping a binder from his hands. "Jordan, what are you trying to do to me?"
"Sorry, Nige," She said. "Could you do something for me?"
Nigel picked up the binder and a few loose papers that had fallen with it from the floor. "Well, that depends on what it is. I'm working on some updates for the systems and it may be a bit."
"I need a fresh pair of eyes to look over the reports for a few victims." She said exasperated. "I finished the autopsy on Miriam Hogan. She was the latest vic from our serial murderer. Strangled with the same rope just like the others. Gave up only a small struggle. She was found within an hour after the call with was placed by the killer. I know that the notes are connected but I can only guess why. And I don't know if Miriam was using that genealogist that the others were. Not to mention..."
"I get it, love." Nigel said putting his hand on Jordan's shoulder. "You need a new view on it. Look, I can give it a go for you and see what I find. If I see anything new or some up with anything I'll give you and Woodrow a call okay?"
"Thanks Nige." She smiled and walked back to her office. She sat down and started gathering a few papers when her phone rang.
"Dr. Cavanaugh."
"Jordan, I have some news." He said through the phone.
"Anything good?" She asked.
"Well, it seems that Miriam was also using A.K. Connections' services," He said, "but not for help building a family tree. She was using the service to locate a long lost sister, Bridget's great aunt Fanny Miller. Bridget said that they were reunited this last year. It seems that when Miriam was 14 her parents died and she and her sister as well as a younger brother, Wayne were separated."
"So all three victims were using this service. Maybe we should stop by and find out what is going on." Jordan suggested. "Where are you? I'll pick you up."
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She stumbled in the dark, the cold biting at her fingers as she pushed through the underbrush. She shivered with each step that she took. Even so, she smiled to herself. She could see the road just up ahead. It was only a short distance away. Just as she had so many times before, she looked behind her and saw nothing. She stopped and listened. She heard only the wind whipping the empty branches of the trees. She knew that at least an hour had to have gone by. With any luck he would still be sleeping. She had managed to put a few ground Aspirin into the liquor before he drank it. She still wasn't sure how she had pulled it off without getting caught. But with any luck he would be sleeping for a bit yet.
She came to the road and looked both ways. She saw no vehicles or signs to tell her where she was. Suddenly she felt as though her stomach had hit the ground. She didn't know which direction to go. Her eyes darted in both directions. She closed her eyes for a moment thinking carefully. Then, with determination she opened her eyes and carefully searched the sky. Though the clouds obscured the stars, she looked for a glow among the clouds. She found what she was looking for towards her right. She took a deep breath, pushed her long hair behind her ears, and began walking swiftly towards the glow.