I can't believe we're here." Kim took in a deep breath, inhaling the salty air. The ocean was only a few hundred feet away from them and they could hear the waves crashing into the shore.
"Just you and me for the next few days. No work, no interruptions." Adam helped her out of the car and gave her a kiss as soon as she was on her feet.
Kim and Adam were finally in Florida. Jay and Hailey, who had just moved in together, had dropped them off at the airport early that morning. Kim planned to watch a movie on the plane ride over, but she had to get up to use the bathroom every 10 minutes, so she turned off the movie after her third bathroom trip. An Uber picked them up from the airport after they collected their luggage and took one more bathroom trip, and now they were at their resort.
They walked up to the front desk and a light haired man with tan skin greeted them with a smile.
"Good morning! Welcome to Palm Ocean Resort. Are you Kim and Adam Ruzek?"
"Yes sir, we are." Adam sent a quick wink at Kim and nodded at the man. Kim smiled to herself, imagining her name one day really would be Kim Ruzek. It seemed to flow.
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Tucker, the resort manager. I'll just need a minute to get you two checked in. Can I see some ID, please?"
Tucker looked over their ID's and handed them back. "So you're from Chicago? What do you two do over there?" He asked while clicking a few buttons on his computer.
"We work for the Chicago Police Department." Kim answered proudly.
"Cops? Perfect. You can help keep your resort neighbors in line." Tucker saw the concerned looks on their faces and quickly corrected himself. "I'm sorry, bad joke. They just like to argue but I promise, you won't be bothered."
Kim and Adam still looked skeptical.
"I've known them for years, we're all friends." Tucker explained. "They're just one of those couples who bicker about... you know, everything." He handed them both a room key, and Adam rented a golf cart. He didn't want Kim to walk more than she needed to.
Adam drove the golf cart at a nice slow pace on the way to their room so they could take in the view. He was wearing sunglasses, shorts, and a v neck shirt. Kim smiled at the sight of him. He looked relax and happy, just like her. The farther along she got in her pregnancy, the happier she felt. She was 30 weeks now and she thought her bump was perfect and round, her skin was glowing, and she was in full on nesting mode. Most of her spare time was spent cleaning, organizing, and making meals ahead of time to heat in the oven when the baby was born. Her work load was getting lighter by the week. Voight and Adam refused to let her overwork herself.
They arrived at their beach house a few minutes later. The houses were small with one bedroom, bathroom, a kitchen and seating area, but it was a perfect size for the two of them. Their house's sliding glass door and outside sitting area was close to their neighbors. A couple about mid 50's stood on their porch and looked to be arguing. The wife kept pointing her finger at her husband every few seconds, but they kept their voices low enough that Kim and Adam couldn't hear what they were saying.
They noticed the newcomers and stopped arguing.
"Good morning!" The woman waved to them and walked over to their porch area.
"Tucker told us we were getting new neighbors this morning." The man nodded to them. "I'm Rex and this is my wife, Allison."
They all exchanged hand shakes and polite smiles.
"I see we have a little one due soon." Allison smiled at Kim.
Kim beamed and placed a hand over her stomach. "Due in ten weeks."
"What a miracle." Rex reached out to touch his hand to Kim's bump, but Adam placed a protective hand over her stomach, stopping him.
"We're going to head inside and unpack." Adam started to lead Kim back to the golf cart.
"Nice to meet you both." Allison waved, then turned to her husband to scold him. "Why would you try to do that? You don't know her!"
Kim and Adam ate lunch on the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of the water, relaxing on the sand, and reading under the shade.
Later that night after Kim showered, she told Adam she would be waiting in bed for him after he took a shower. As soon as he walked out of the bathroom, his heart melted. Kim had lit a few candles around the room and dimmed the lights to set the mood, but she had fallen asleep while waiting for him. Adam took a mental picture of the scene. The love of his life, pregnant with his baby, sleeping peacefully in the glow of the candlelight. He draped a blanket over her and blew out the candles, letting her sleep. How did he get so lucky?
Adam woke up around 6 the next morning. Waking up early had become such a habit, he couldn't sleep in if he tried. He made a cup of iced coffee and stepped outside to drink it and enjoy the view of the ocean. For about an hour he sipped his coffee, watched the sunrise, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. When he got up to go inside, something caught his eye. The curtains over the neighbors glass door were closed, but something was sticking under the corner. He stepped closer to get a better look and confirm his suspicions. A limp hand.
Adam ran back into their beach house. "Kim!" He yelled, running into the bedroom. "Kim, wake up."
Kim sat straight up, an alarmed expression on her face.
"Call 911. It's the neighbors." Adam instructed, grabbing his gun from his night table and loading it. Kim wasted no time grabbing her cell phone. Adam ran back out the door, and into the neighbors' house. He expected to have to kick down the door, but it was unlocked. He saw a dead body on the floor, but cleared the rest of the house first to make sure it was empty. When he knew he was safe, he approached the body. Allison. She had a plastic bag duct taped around her head, clearly suffocated. Her hand had ended up under the curtain, which Adam had seen from outside.
Kim came in at that moment, gun pointed in front of her.
"It's all clear." Adam reassured her. She lowered her weapon and came to his side, already out of breath. "Allison." She sighed.
A swarm of officers came in the house seconds later and Kim and Adam showed them their badges and ID's. Adam explained his story while the paramedics and M.E. confirmed that she was officially dead.
"Time of death was about 5:45 this morning." The M.E. announced.
Adam shook his head. "If only I had been awake 15 minutes earlier."
"She was suffocated, Adam. You wouldn't have known what was happening." Kim reached over to rub his shoulder.
"Both husband and wife left their cell phones here. Husband is no where to be found on the resort." An officer reported back after searching the area. He held up two iPhones in evidence bags.
A plain clothes man shoved the front door open, sweat gathering on his forehead. "I'm sorry I took so long, I was caught up in another case-" He looked at Adam and Kim and sent them a questioning look.
"Adam Ruzek, intelligence, Chicago Police." Adam reached out for a quick handshake.
"Detective Felix. Vice." The man introduced himself.
"Kim, intelligence, Chicago." Kim shook Felix's hand. "Why did they send vice?"
"Intelligence is backed up beyond recovery." Felix shook his head. "Not that we aren't too, but-"
"We'll help." Kim volunteered. She knew Adam was about to say the same thing.
"I can't ask you guys to do that." Felix shook his head.
"You're not asking, we're offering." Adam said.
"You guys are on vacation. And she's-well-she's extremely pregnant." Felix argued.
"Don't worry I won't be the one running after a suspect." Kim snorted.
"Let us help, man." Adam insisted.
"Okay." Felix sighed, giving up the minimal fight he had put up. "Normally I would say no but we could really use the extra help."
Felix lead them to his car. He was going to drive them down to their district to give them some space to work.
"Wait, you said Chicago." Felix stopped mid-walk. "Does that mean you work with Voight?"
"He's our sergeant." Adam knew that Felix knowing Voight would either be really good or really bad.
"He worked with my brother a long time ago. If you work for Voight I know I don't have anything to worry about." Felix looked like he had a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders.
"Voight has connections everywhere, huh?" Adam chuckled as he opened the door for Kim. Before she could get in, a truck came to a screeching halt behind them. Rex jumped out, not bothering to shut the door behind him.
"What's going on?" He yelled, running over. He spotted Kim and Adam, and stopped at them. "What's happening?"
"Rex, you need to come sit down." Adam told him, gesturing to his front porch chairs.
"No. No, no, no." Rex shook his head frantically, looking back and forth at the three officers. "Tell me what's going on."
"Sir, I'm Detective Felix with the Florida Police." Felix stepped in. "I'm so sorry to tell you that we found your wife, Allison, dead this morning."
Rex continued shaking his head back and forth, tears welling up in his eyes. "No, no, no!" He repeated, louder and more desperate this time. "Please, no!"
Adam and Felix reached out to lead him to a chair, but he collapsed onto the pavement instead. "Not my Allie." He cried, sobs shaking his body.
Kim found herself getting emotional at the scene, so she stepped away while Felix tried to talk to Rex.
"Kim?" Adam came up behind her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She turned around with tears in her eyes. "Sorry. The hormones." She sniffled.
"Hey, it's okay." He put a hand on her lower back. "We'll solve this."
Kim gathered herself enough to go back to Rex and Felix after a few minutes.
Rex's sobs had slowed down, but he still had tears pouring down his face. "Our last conversation..." he looked up at Kim, then cast his eyes down. "It was an argument. We argued and now she's gone."
Adam nodded his head towards Rex's truck, indicating he was going to go take a look.
"Listen, Rex, I know this is a hard time right now but I have to ask you a few questions." Kim hated this part. The last thing a grieving person wanted was to answer questions, but she had no choice. "Where were you this morning?"
"Fishing." Rex's answer came quick. "I left just before 5 this morning. I go fishing every few days."
"And the last time you saw your wife?" Kim asked.
"This morning before I left. She was asleep." Again, Rex didn't hesitate when answering. That seemed like a good sign so far.
Adam signaled for Kim and Felix to come over to Rex's truck, so they let him have a minute to himself.
"Not looking good." Adam sighed. The bed of the truck was filled with two tackle boxes, a few fishing poles, a tire, a couple pairs of shoes, and other random items scattered around.
"What?" Kim asked, not understanding.
"That." Adam gestured to a roll of duct tape and a bunch of plastic bags rubber banded together. "The same tape and bag found around Allison's head."
"Shoot." Felix whispered.
"No." Kim said. The two men looked at her.
"No?" Adam raised his eyebrows.
"It wasn't him." Kim argued. There was no way. "Do you know how many people probably have that same silver duct tape? The same plastic bags? Anyone who shops at Walmart will have a Walmart plastic bag. It wasn't him."
"Kim..." Adam rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's not the pregnancy hormones." She shot Adam a look, then turned to Felix. "It's a gut instinct telling me he didn't do it."
A uniformed officer walked up to them before they could take the conversation further. "The husband is saying to check the resort cameras to prove he left to go fishing this morning and just now came back. He's adamant he wasn't involved."
"Thanks, officer." Kim smiled politely at her, then gave an "I told you so" look to the guys.
Felix looked to Adam who clearly wanted to argue, but decided against it.
"I really have to get back to my other case. You guys-you're sure you're good here?" Felix asked.
"We have it under control." Adam promised.
When Kim and Adam arrived at the front desk, Tucker was nowhere to be found. They saw a young girl, maybe 18 years old, working the desk. The second she made eye contact with them, she looked nervous.
Adam and Kim exchange a quick glance, noting they both saw the change in demeanor. The girl shifted back and forth on her feet and looked like she wanted to run.
"Chicago PD-" Kim started saying out of habit, but she corrected herself. "With Florida PD today."
The girl, whose name tag read "June," nodded.
"June, do you know where we can find security footage? And where we can find Tucker?" Adam asked as he approached the desk.
"I don't know how to access security footage. I'm sorry." June glanced down at the desk below her. "Tucker is off today."
"I'm sure you know what's happened by now, right?" Kim asked.
June nodded, quickly glancing down again, then back at the officers.
"Can we have Tucker's personal cell phone number?"
Adam called Tucker and he answered after three rings.
"Tucker?"
"Speaking. Who is this?" He asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Adam and Kim from the resort. We're helping out the Florida Police Department. Tucker, there's been an accident at the resort and we need you to come down here. Right now." Adam kept his tone business-like.
He heard Tucker shuffling around on the other line. "I'll be down there as soon as I can." Then he hung up.
"Weird." Kim stood near the front entrance with Adam to wait for Tucker.
"What is?"
"He didn't even ask what the accident was." Kim pointed out.
"They probably have all kinds of old people vacation here and get hurt and... I don't know, die from heart attacks." Adam shrugged.
"Still think the husband did it, huh?" Kim shook her head in disapproval.
"He's a weird guy, Kim. They're constantly arguing, he was gone all morning, then had the same duct tape and plastic bags in his truck? He tried to touch your stomach the other day and he had just met you. Something about him doesn't sit right with me." Adam explained his reasoning. It made sense to Kim, but she still wasn't buying it.
"His reaction was way too genuine. He seemed shocked." Kim stood her ground. There was just no way she could believe Rex did this.
Tucker stopped his car in front of the entrance, not bothering to park, and he jogged over to Kim and Adam. "What's going on?"
"Allison was found murdered this morning." Kim cut right to the chase.
"A-Allison?" Tucker stuttered, his eyes getting wide. "Murdered?"
"Yes. This morning." Kim repeated.
Tucker rubbed his eyes with his hands and let out a long exhale. "Rex finally snapped didn't he?"
"Rex?" Adam jumped in. "What do you mean?"
"They always argue. Remember, like I told you yesterday?" Tucker closed his eyes for a moment. "Poor Allison." He whispered.
"What exactly were the arguments about?" Adam pressed.
"You name it. When to visit their parents, money, chores around the house, what's for dinner. Literally everything was an argument with them." Tucker explained. "I'm sorry, I need to sit down." He found a nearby bench and took a seat. "I still can't believe this."
"Is there anything else we should know about Allison and Rex? Anything that might help us?" Kim asked.
Tucker looked around, then made a point to keep his voice low. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was abusing her."
Kim and Adam looked at each other. Kim still didn't buy it, but Adam looked totally convinced.
"Can we see the security footage from today?" Adam asked.
"We've been having issues with the camera lately but we have an IT guy coming in this afternoon." Again, Tucker lowered his voice. "Rex knew that the cameras wouldn't be fixed until later today. He was around when I made the phone call."
"Can you stick around today and give us a call when the camera guy is here?" Adam asked, handing Tucker his card.
"Absolutely." He tucked the card in his back pocket. "Poor Allison. I can't believe she had to suffer like that."
"Suffer?" Kim asked. That was suspicious.
"Well, yeah, suffer because she was...murdered." Tucker took a deep breath before saying the word "murdered."
"Right." Kim eyed him. "We'll be in touch."
Adam and Kim took a golf cart back to the scene after calling the officers there with their new information. Kim was starting to get tired. She had been standing and walking a lot today. Adam glanced down at her ankles which were starting to swell. "You need to rest."
"Not until we finish-" Kim sucked in a sharp breath.
"Baby?" Adam hit the breaks and turned to see Kim holding her stomach with both hands. "What's wrong?"
"Braxton Hicks. I just need to drink more water." Kim let out a slow breath, the sudden tightness was over.
"I don't like that you're on this case. It's making me nervous, and now you're dehydrated." Adam started driving again, slower this time.
"I'm not dehydrated." Kim reassured him. "I'm just going to stop in our house for a little extra water." She thought about how nice the couch would feel right now. "Maybe sit down for five minutes."
"Fifteen by the look of your feet." Adam shot back.
Kim's mouth dropped open, then she quickly realized he was joking.
"Very funny."
Kim's five minute break turned into almost an hour, but not on purpose. She nodded off on the couch and jolted awake when Adam came through the front door.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were sleeping." Adam sat down next to her and put an arm around her. She leaned onto his shoulder and yawned. "It's okay. I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"I just got worried so I wanted to check on you." Adam kissed her forehead. "And you." He added, rubbing her stomach. "No more contractions?"
"No." Kim shook her head. "And they're not real contractions so they don't count."
"They didn't find any signs of bruising or assault on Allison. No sexual assault either." Adam filled her in. "I was going to head down to the front since I haven't heard from Tucker yet. Do you want to come with me?"
"Of course." Kim stood up to leave, then sighed. "After I pee. Again."
Adam sent her a sympathetic glance. "I'll be waiting right here."
June was still standing at the front desk. She immediately caught Kim's eye when she entered the lobby.
June kept glancing down at something on the desk, just like earlier.
"Is there something you can tell us?" Kim got close to the desk and leaned in towards her.
June bit her lip and nodded her head. Adam leaned over the desk to see what June kept glancing down at. A large stack of 100 dollar bills.
Kim's first thought was that someone paid June to kill Allison.
"This is your money?" Kim asked, trying to confirm her suspicions. She saw Adam reaching for his handcuffs.
"It's supposed to be my hush money. I don't want it." June started to tear up.
Okay, she definitely wasn't the killer. Adam moved his hands away from the cuffs.
"For Allison's murder?" He asked. They were trying not to press too hard and overwhelm the poor girl who was clearly terrified.
June nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I tried but-"
"You were scared. It's okay." Kim reassured her. She silently cursed herself for not paying more attention to June trying to throw them hints earlier.
"Who is the money from, June?" Adam asked.
"Going somewhere, Tucker?" Adam stepped out of a patrol car onto Tucker's driveway.
Tucker tried to keep calm, but he couldn't hide the panic in his eyes. He shut his car's trunk where he had just loaded a large suitcase. "I have a vacation planned." He replied.
"Drop the keys." Adam kept cool, knowing it was two against one. Kim couldn't exactly run after him or tackle him, but she had her taser ready.
Tucker looked like he wanted to run, but he decided against it. He dropped his keys, surrendering.
"Tucker Scott, you're under the arrest for the murder of Allison Moore."
At the Florida police station, Kim and Adam sat in an interrogation room with Tucker across from them.
They showed him security footage from the resort that an IT guy was able to recover. He was shown driving a golf cart down to Allison and Rex's beach house just minutes after Rex left to go fishing.
"I went down there to help her with maintenance." Tucker argued.
They fast forwarded through the video and Tucker was seen leaving about 10 minutes after Allison's time of death.
"Maintenance, huh? What was broken?"
"The-the-" Tucker stuttered. "The-"
"Give it up." Adam interrupted him.
"Why did you do this, Tucker? Why Allison? Didn't you call her your friend?" Kim didn't waste any time getting to the questions. Rex needed answers.
"She wasn't just my friend." Tucker snapped, suddenly appearing angry. He sent Kim a glare. "I loved her. And she loved me."
Kim leaned back in her seat and let him continue.
"For years she said she would leave Rex. We would sleep together, she promised she would leave him, then the next day she said she was sorry but she couldn't do it. Rinse and repeat." Tucker continued, wringing his hands together as he spoke. "Last night she broke things off with me for good. But this morning she called me after Rex left to go fishing. She was crying, saying she missed me already. So I went down there. We had sex, I asked if she would leave her husband and she said no. So I-"
"Killed her?" Adam finished the sentence for him
"Not at first." Tucker snapped again. "We argued, but she wouldn't budge. I was about to leave, but I was so angry. I thought if I can't have her no one else can. So then I killed her."
Kim knocked on her neighbor's door. "Rex? Chicago-Florida-" Kim stuttered. "Police are here."
Rex opened the door quickly, his face pale. "Did you find them?" He asked.
Adam nodded and gestured for him to sit down.
"Tucker is in custody."
"Tucker?" Rex slowly fell back into a seat.
"But-but why? Why him?"
"We-"
"We don't know." Kim interrupted Adam. The poor man was already heartbroken. There was no need to break his heart more by telling him his wife had been having an affair.
"I'm sorry." Adam took the hint and didn't go into detail. He made sure Kim took a seat on the couch before he did.
He took a few minutes to take some deep breaths and try to keep himself from falling apart.
"We married in our early 20's and tried to start a family right away." Tucker finally spoke, choking back tears. "Allison...She had five miscarriages in a row."
Kim instinctively placed a hand on her stomach. She couldn't even imagine the pain they had went through. She was close to losing their pregnancy a while ago but thank God the baby was still safe inside of her.
"Ever since then the arguing has been non stop." Tucker continued his story. "It's like all of the losses broke us and we couldn't communicate anymore."
Kim and Adam nodded, giving him time to speak.
"I always say a quick prayer every time I see a woman carrying a child. Just to ask God to keep them and their baby safe." Rex glanced at Kim. "When I saw that you were expecting, you two just looked so happy together and-and I-" Rex's voice cracked and he swallowed hard. "You reminded me of us when we were younger."
"We're so sorry about your wife." Kim apologized, leaning over to place a hand on top of Rex's.
"I'm so thankful you two were here to bring her justice."
Rex wished them good luck with the baby and told them to enjoy the rest of their vacation. He was heading home to be with his family.
"So much for no work and no interruptions." Adam helped Kim into the golf cart. "Sorry, baby. You were great though."
"What if that happens to us?" Kim blurted out.
Adam pulled his sunglasses off and turned to face Kim with a strange look.
"Not me cheating on you, I mean the arguing thing." Kim explained.
"They argued about everything because something terrible that happened to them should have brought them closer but it pulled them apart instead. What if that had happened to us? If we lost-" Kim stopped talking, taking a minute to put a hand over her stomach and be thankful for the life growing inside of her.
"Baby, don't think like that. We wouldn't have let that happen." Adam placed his hand over hers.
"I just can't help it. What if-"
"No. No what if's." Adam stopped her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "There are a million what if's we could ask ourselves but all that matters is right now."
"You're right." Kim sighed. "I worry too much."
"You worry the perfect amount." Adam gave her a little smile. "You'll be the best mom to our baby."
Kim and Adam were eating dinner on the beach watching as the sun started to go down. They had been so busy all day that they hadn't had a full meal and Kim was more than making up for it. Two rounds of appetizers and halfway through the entree she had already ordered dessert.
After dessert, the weather was still comfortably warm so they decided to stay on the beach for a while longer. They found a large hammock to lay in. Getting in the hammock was a bit awkward being 30 weeks pregnant, but getting out was a whole different story. Adam got out to give Voight a call and give him a run down of the case since he had been on the field all day and just now had a free minute.
Kim decided she wanted to walk across the sand with her feet in the water until Adam finished his phone call. First, she tried to sit up so she could swing her legs over the side of the hammock. Sitting up was impossible while she was sunken into the middle of a hammock and her stomach was in the way. Then she realized the hammock was so big that her legs wouldn't swing over the side unless she was all the way to the edge. Next, she tried to roll to one side, but her stomach was still in the way. She tried to grab onto one side of the hammock and scoot herself closer to the edge, but she was so sunken into the hammock that pulling and scooting didn't work either. She was getting so frustrated she considered flipping the hammock over, but then she would land face down.
"Baby?" Adam came jogging over. "Hold on, I got you."
Adam easily lifted Kim out of the hammock and set her on her feet. He tried to hide the look of amusement on his face but he didn't do a very good job.
"I'm pregnant, okay?" Kim huffed.
"It was cute." Adam teased her. "I shouldn't have left you alone in there without thinking about how you would get out."
They started their walk down to the ocean. Suddenly, Kim stopped walking and bent over, clutching her stomach, sucking in a breath.
"What is it?" Adam knelt down next to her, placing a hand on her bump. "What's wrong?"
"Braxton-" Kim clenched her teeth, pausing to take a breath. "Hicks."
"Are they supposed to be that painful?" Adam didn't seem convinced.
"It's over." Kim stood up and let out a slow breath.
"That seemed like the real thing." Adam protested.
"It wasn't." Kim promised him. "No big deal."
The next 2 days of their vacation were spent contraction-free, thankfully. They ate all of their meals on the beach, and watched the sun set every night.
On their last night, they were sharing a dessert platter, watching the waves crash into the shore. The moon had been up for hours but they weren't tired yet. They wanted to savor their last night of vacation.
Kim looked over at Adam and couldn't believe that she was really here. He was so tan now, which somehow made him more attractive than he already was. After all they had been through, they finally found their way back together, and they were having a baby. Adam had always been amazing, but since she'd been pregnant he had really proven how much he loved her. He was gentle, protective, and he made her so happy.
Adam noticed Kim looking at him out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to look at her, she pretended like she had been looking out at the water the whole time. She was so beautiful, growing their baby, glowing all the time now. He knew she was going to the best mom. She was so loving, hard working, and not to mention the strongest woman he had ever known. He promised himself right then and there that he was going to marry her.
"Hey." Adam broke their silence.
"Hmm?" Kim turned to him.
"I love you." Adam smiled softly at her.
"I love you more."
