Chapter 3

Elizabeth walked toward Abagail's café. As the day went on, she felt worse with how she acted. The more she thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. She just shook her head as each thought ran through her mind. She walked into the café and took her normal seat.

Abagail walked up to her friend and notice the look on her face. She turned around to one of her waitresses and stated, "Ashley, I will be over here for a few minutes. Please keep an eye on things for me."

"Sure thing, boss."

"Ok, Elizabeth. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, Abagail. I haven't acted like myself today."

"What's going on?"

Elizabeth took a long, deep breath before she continued. "Abagail, I don't know where do start. I have been off all day."

"What do you mean?"

"First, I sketched last night."

"Well, that's not odd. You usually sketch."

"I know, but it's what I sketched that bothers me."

"Ok." Abagail was confused.

"I drew a couple."

"Really. You never draw people."

"I know. That is what threw me. But it just wasn't people."

"What do you mean?"

"It was me and a man."

"Really?" Abagail couldn't hide the shock in her voice.

Elizabeth explained the two in the sketch. How they were faceless and how they were dressed. She knew the woman in the drawing was her but wasn't sure about the man.

"What? He was wearing blue dress pants, a white button down shirt, with a red striped tie, and he had brown hair and just a little taller than you?" She asked Elizabeth trying to make sure she had everything straight in her head. That sounded familiar.

"Yes. It freaked me out a little. I dreamed about that sketch the entire night. I haven't slept more than a couple of hours. I just kept waking up. Then I was late this morning to school."

"Yeah, did Ms. Blakely say anything to you?"

"No, but I was off balance for a whole class. I just couldn't gather myself. And then…" she trailed off. Not sure how to explain the worst part.

"Then…" Abagail prodded for her to continue.

"During class, a man walked into my classroom with one of my students. I accused him of interrogating one of my students without an adult present."

"Interrogating? Chief Avery wouldn't do that." She defended Bill.

"I know. It wasn't Bill. It was the man from my sketch and my dreams."

"What?"

"The man was wearing blue dress pants, white button down shirt and a striped red tie. He had brown hair and was a couple of inched taller than me."

"Really? That must have been a little unnerving."

"It was. It was a new guy working with Bill."

"Wait, it's Jack Thorton?"

"Yeah. How did you know that?" Elizabeth looked confused at Abagail.

"I've meet him. Twice already. He is staying in my apartment over the garage. Wait! He was wearing blue pants, a white shirt, and a striped, red tie this morning." She pondered.

"Yes. Investigator Thorton was the man."

"Ok. So why is that so bad other than matching the man in the sketch?"

"Abagail, he showed up and I freaked. I noticed he was the guy in my sketch. I was so surprised I didn't know what to do. So, I was very rude to him."

"You…rude to someone. Elizabeth, you don't know how to be rude to anyone." She stated not believing what she was hearing.

"I was so thrown by the dream and him standing there, I froze. Then I was exhausted, and I just snapped at him. He was nice but I wasn't. Then I accused him of interrogating one of my students. All he did was walk with him from the office. My student was just showing him where my classroom was located. I snapped at him and couldn't stop myself."

"Why would you do that?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. She tried to work things out in her mind all day, but just couldn't. "Abagail, I don't really know why. I just did. Then we stepped outside my classroom, and I completely lost it. I accused him of suggesting I was a suspect because he found a piece of paper I gave my students. It was found at the crime scene from last night."

"Really?" Abagail just couldn't believe this. This is not the Elizabeth she knows.

"Yeah. I lost it. He walked off after I couldn't calm down. I think he thinks I'm nuts."

"Ok. Let me get this right." Abagail went over everything again just to make sure she understood everything.

"When I meet him last night and again this morning, he seemed very nice. Kind even."

"He was when he first came into my classroom."

"You were taken back because of the drawing and dream, and he was wearing the same clothes, correct?"

Elizabeth just nodded.

"You froze because he is handsome?"

"Yes…wait, no. Who said I thought he was handsome?" Now her face drew red with embarrassment.

"You do!" Exclaimed Abagail.

"Abagail, I did not say that!" She was becoming too defensive. She couldn't stop herself.

"I think I know what happened." She smiled knowing the truth even though Elizabeth will never accept it.

After a few moments of silence, Elizabeth couldn't wait any longer. "Well, are you going to tell me?"

"Do you want to hear it?"

"Absolutely."

Ok, here it goes she thought. "Elizabeth, somehow you sketched him except his face. But you knew it was him. Once he stepped into your classroom, you were shocked it was the guy from your sketch and dream. You were also shocked how handsome he is. Then that great big old wall came back that has Charles' name written all over it. Instead of opening yourself up to someone, you hide behind that wall. You were rude to him so he wouldn't get close. Or better yet, you wouldn't get close."

Elizabeth thought about what she said, but she didn't want to admit to it. "I don't think that's it."

Abagail smiled that big sister smile that told Elizabeth she was wrong. "I'm your best friend for the past three years. I am in all accounts your big sister. We have no secrets between us. I know you. Not the outer person but the true you. I know I am right. Even if you don't want to admit it, you know I'm right."

She stared at her best friend. How did she get every part correct? Maybe I'm not as secretive as I think I am. "I'm not sure that's it." She tried to defend herself knowing she wasn't right.

"Fine." Abagail said with a smile. "Then you tell me what you think it is."

Elizabeth thought about it for a few moments but didn't say anything.

"Trust me Elizabeth, I am right. When have you known me to be wrong?" Abagail asked with a grin on her face that dared Elizabeth to challenge her.

"I need to get going. I love you, sis."

"I love you too. Now quit lying to yourself and fix this."

She had every intention of fixing this. She hated that she acted that way. It just wasn't her. She never did that. Jack seemed like such a nice guy too. He wasn't rude when she was. That meant a lot to her. He had every right to, but he wasn't. Plus, he was a very handsome man.

Abagail was excited for Elizabeth. She needed to move past what Charles did to her, and maybe this attractive, very nice young man would be the person to get her past this hurdle.

…

About thirty minutes later, Jack wondered into the café. Abagail noticed him and took him to a seat. "Here is a menu, feel free to look it over and order whatever you want. It's on the house today."

"Ms. Abagail, you do not have to do that."

"I know that, but you are here to help us. This is the least I can do for you."

"You are too kind. Thank you, Abagail."

"I'll be back in a minute to take your order."

Jack smiled at Abagail as she walked away. Looking over his menu, he was excited to see so many choices but was having a hard time narrowing down his choice.

"Have you decided what you want to eat?" Asked Abagail as she placed his drink on the table.

"You have so many great choices I don't know how to decide. Why don't you bring me something? Everything looks great."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

After a few minutes she walks over with his food. A grilled chicken breast with teriyaki sauce and carrots with garlic mashed potatoes. "Wow, that looks and smells delicious, Ms. Abagail."

"Thank you. Jack, may I ask you something?"

"Sure. If you have time, take a seat and we can talk."

"Thank you." She couldn't get over how nice and polite he was.

"How is everything going since you arrived?"

"Busy. We worked a crime scene this morning and went to the school for a little while. That was the worst part of the day."

"How so?"

"I meet the rudest person today at the school. I'm shocked she was a teacher. I wouldn't want her to be my teacher or teaching my kids."

"You have children?"

"Oh, no. But she was rude and irrational. I'm not sure what her problem was, but she had the worst attitude."

"Oh." Abagail was shocked. She thought Elizabeth was overeating, apparently she wasn't. "I have a good friend who works there as a teacher. Do you know the woman's name you meet today?"

"Yes. I will never forget it. It was Ms. Thatcher?"

"Do you know her first name?"

"No, and I don't care to know it." He shook his head at remembering their conversation.

"My friend's name is Elizabeth. She is the kindest woman. She works hard and loves those kids like they were her own. She would do anything for her students."

"My mom is a retired school teacher. I know how hard the job can be. Your friend sounds special. I wish I would have meet her instead of the person I meet today.

"What happened?"

"I'm not certain. She began hateful and ended worse than she started." He still did not understand what happened. "This Ms. Thatcher just wasn't a nice person. I hope I don't see her again, but there might be a small chance I may have too."

"Why is that?"

"Well, we found a piece of paper from her class at the crime scene this morning. That is why I was at the school to begin with. I really did not finish asking questions. That may be why I have to go back to finish the interview."

"Why didn't you finish asking questions?"

"She was so rude. I didn't want to talk to her any longer. I have worked with many people, good and bad, but I have never talked with a ruder person in my life. I left before I finished with my questions.

"Wow. She must have been having a bad day."

"I don't want to seem rude, but can we change the subject? I don't want to think about her anymore today. How was your day?"

"Great. Everything went smoothly."

Jack smiled at her with a dimpled smile. It wasn't a deep smile, but a good smile. Abagail thought he would get in trouble with a full smile with those dimples. As much as she tried, she couldn't help but think of Elizabeth when she looked at Jack. The description of the sketch played around in her head.

"I have a great friend, more like a sister, who is a great person. She is so kind, compassionate, and beautiful."

Jack cut her off thinking she is like everyone else who wants to set him up with their friend. "Abagail, please do not play match maker. I have never really dated before. My parents had the best marriage, and I was able to witness it before my father's death. I want that type of love. The earth moving, toes tingling, can't wait to get home kind of love. I don't want to date to just date."

"I'm sorry to hear about your father. What happened to him?"

"He died in the line of duty."

"Oh Jack. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, Abagail."

"That sounds like my friend, Elizabeth. She doesn't want to date to just date either. She had a long relationship that never went anywhere. He was a bad guy and he burned her from relationships."

Jack nodded his head in agreement.

"He wasn't for her, but she didn't end it because they were in different colleges, and she used that relationship as an excuse to turn men away in college. I think you would really like her. You have a lot in common."

"Abagail…" Jack said in a warning tone with a smile on his face. He really like this woman, but still did not want to be set up.

"Fine. I'll back off." She stated as she went back to the kitchen whispering under her breath, "For now."

…

Normal for Jack when he had a rough day, he pulled out a small sketch pad from his pocket and began looking around at something to sketch. After looking around for a moment, he noticed how Abagail interacted with her employees and customers. He decided he would sketch her and give it to her as a gift for her kindness. When he was almost finished with his dinner and his sketch, Abagail walked over with a refill. She immediately noticed the sketch.

"Oh, Jack. That is so good. Wait? Is that me?" She was shocked.

"It's a little hobby of mine. When I have a long day or need to relax, sketching helps me calm my mind. I love doing it, but I'm not very good at it. It's just a hobby."

"Oh Jack. I must disagree with you. This is great!"

"Thank you, Abagail. Give me about ten more minutes and I will be finished with it. Would you like to come back to look at it?"

"I will be back."

After taking a couple of steps away, she turned back to Jack's seat. "Here, I forgot to give this to you. I wanted to give you Fank's and mine cell phone number in case you need anything. I was distracted by your talent."

Jack gave her a grateful smile.

As she walked back to her office, she stated under her breath. "That's a little eerie. They both sketch. They would be perfect for each other."

She picked up her cell phone and sent Elizabeth a text.

A – Hey girl. You left some of your papers here. Come by in ten minutes and pick them up.

E – I was wondering where they were. I just figured I left them at school since I was having such a bad day.

A – No. they're here. See you in ten

E – I will just get them in the morning.

A – see you in ten

Elizabeth sighed. She knew her friend was accustomed to getting her way when her mind was set. She did need the papers, but she just wanted the day to end. She huffed as she got up from the couch and put her shoes back on.

…

Jack finished his meal and his sketch. Chief Avery called as he placed his fork down. "Hey Chief. What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Jack. Can you come back in the office for a minute? I received an email I think you need to see."

"Sure. I just finished dinner at Abagail's. I will be there in a couple of minutes." One of the great things about a small town is that everything is close to everything else. Jack places a few dollars down for a tip and tore out the sketch and placed it beside his plate. Then he headed to the door to walk the couple of blocks to city hall.

…

Elizabeth rounded the corner and noticed Jack walking out of the café and turning right toward the jail. She stopped in her tracks. She did not want to replay the morning's episode. She couldn't stop looking at Jack. She notices how he walked. He walked with confidence and strength, but not arrogance. He certainly filled out his shirt well and the rolled up sleeves showed the muscles in his arms. She noticed how his hair moved with the slight breeze. He had a messy look from the wind, and she thought he looked good that way. She also noticed how the dress pants clung to his bottom just perfectly. "Elizabeth! What are you doing?" She reprimanded herself for staring. "Stop it!"

"Stop what miss?" Asked an older gentleman who walked past her.

She didn't realize she said anything out loud. Her cheeks reddened immediately. "Nothing sir. Have a good night."

She lowered her head and continued walking to the café. After walking in and up to the counter seating area, she took a seat a couple of places from where Jack had sat down.

While waiting for Abagail to step out form the kitchen, she looked around the café and noticed a sketch placed beside the plate. It caught her attention. She leaned over and grabbed it. Looking at it she immediately knew who the sketch was of. "That's Abagail." She stated to no one in particular. Looking closer at the paper, she realized who ever sketched it was very good.

While she was admiring it, Abagail walked up and surprised her. "I see you found my little gift."

Elizabeth jumped a little. "Goodness, Abagail. You scared me."

"I'm sorry, sis. I didn't mean too."

"This is for you? Who drew it?"

"A customer did to say thank you." She purposefully did not mention Jack's name.

"Wow. Your customer is very talented."

"Yes, he is. He is very kind. I really liked him."

"Aren't you married?" Elizabeth asked with a huge smirk in a tone only a sister can ask without getting in trouble.

"Listen, little missy. I am happily married and love my husband with everything I am. However, I am not blind to the people around me. He is very nice and kind. Not to mention very handsome."

"What are you getting at, sis?"

"Me…getting at? What do you mean?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

To change the conversation, she asked, "Did you come here to pick up your papers?"

"You know I did. What is wrong with you?"

Abagail grabbed the sketch from Elizabeth's hand and went to pick up the papers.

As she walked back to Elizabeth, she stated, "I saw the Investigator leaving the café when I was walking in."

"Oh," A smiling Abagail stated. "Did you say hi to him?" She asked hopefully.

"No! Not after this morning's conversation where I exploded on him for no reason. He probably doesn't want to talk to me. I wouldn't blame him."

"So, do you want to talk to him?" Abagail prodded.

"What?"

"Don't what me, Elizabeth. You heard my question."

"I…um…I…" She stammered over her words looking for the right ones. "He was walking the other direction. He didn't see me."

Little did she know but Jack did see her. "Why is that woman in my thoughts?" Asked Jack as he walked to the jail. He didn't understand why she was still in his head. He walked in and noticed that Chief Avery was waiting for him in the front office. "What's up?"

…

"Elizabeth, do you trust me?"

"What kind of question is that? You know I trust you."

"I think you have feelings for Jack." Abagail decided to go the direct route.

"I have had a ten minute conversation with the man and it wasn't a good talk. How can I have feelings for someone I just literally met?"

"I knew I loved Frank from the first minute I met him."

"Yes. But was it disastrous as my conversation with Jack?"

"Well…no. But I still stand by my previous statement."

Elizabeth just shook her head at her best friend. "Abagail, I know you want me to be in a relationship."

Abagail cut her off. "I don't want you in any relationship, Bethie." She hated that nickname but allowed Abagail to use it. She only used it when she was trying to get Elizabeth to listen to her. "I want you in a relationship with the right guy, Elizabeth. Charles was not that guy. He was not an honorable man, but there is one out there who will grab your attention."

What Abagail didn't fully understand was that Jack already had her full attention.

"Thank you, Abagail. But if its ok with you, I think I will look after my own love life." She said it a little too defensively.

Abagail glared at her friend. "If you will step out of your way, I will have no issue with that. But Elizabeth, you haven't dated since Charles. You have closed yourself off and won't let anyone in."

"I don't want to date just to date. I don't want to waste my time with another loser."

"I get that. I honestly do."

"Sorry I was a little short with you."

"I'm sorry too. I just want the best for you Elizabeth. I really do. If you are truly happy then I am too."

"Abagail, I would love to be in a relationship with a good man who cares for me with all his heart. I want a kind man. A man who loves me and works with me for a future. I just haven't found him yet."

"Yet."

"And if that kind, loving man had a lot of things in common with me that would be perfect."

"You mean like reading or sketching?"

"If he could sketch, that would be icing on the cake."

"Well, I think you have already meet him then." Smirked Abagail.

"Who?" Asked an intrigued Elizabeth.

"Investigator Jack Thorton." Abagail stated. Then she showed Elizabeth the sketch again pointing to the signature on the bottom right, J.T."

"Oh my…"

…

Jack walked up to Chief Avery and read the piece of paper he handed over. As Jack scanned the paper, his phone beeped signaling a text. He looked at his phone and noticed a text from his mom. The text stated, "Call me." He texted her back and stated that he would in a couple of minutes.

"Jack, this may be a good lead in the robberies, but if it is true, things will escalate quickly."

"I agree. Do you know where this place is?"

"Yes. It's not a good section of town. Drugs are a big problem there."

"I always thought drugs would play a part of the equation."

"Why? This is a small town. We don't have the drug problems bigger cities have that you are used too."

"Even small towns have drug problems. I thought so because of the randomness of the burglaries. There is no rational process with the crimes. They are too random. It is a case of opportunity to get easy money for something, maybe drugs. Then with it slowly escalating is a concern too."

"I agree. Are you ready to go and look?"

"Yeah. Give me five to ten minutes to call my mom."

Bill nodded in agreement. "I will get us some coffee to take with us."

…

"Hey Ma. What's up?"

"Do you have a moment to talk?"

"Sure. What's going on?"

"Your brother Tom came to see me today."

"Oh no. What is he up too?"

"He has a new girl, but who knows how serious they are."

"With him, probably not too serious."

"Yeah." Charlette was quiet.

Jack knew something was up. "Ok Ma. Out with it. What's up?"

"Jack, you know that is infuriating when you do that!"

"Maybe, but I'm not wrong."

She sighed. "No, you're not. He came to talk to you. He didn't know you went to Hope Valley for an assignment."

"What was he wanting with me? I haven't seen him in a long time. He's changed when pa died."

"I know. He took it hard."

"Ma, we all took it hard, especially you. He was the love of your life. I took it hard. Everyone did. That doesn't give him a reason to act the way he does."

"I know. You both were so young. He just didn't know how to deal with everything."

"Why do you always defend him."

"Jack." She said in her mom's voice. "He is your brother and always will be your brother."

Jack didn't say anything but nodded.

"He wants to come and see you. He said he needs to talk to you."

"Ma, I'm busy working on a difficult case here. I am about to go back to work after working twelve hours already. I just ate dinner, and we are heading out to check out a lead. I don't know if I will have time to discuss things with him."

"Well…he'll be there in two days."

"Ma!"

"Don't ma me, young man. He will be there, and you better be the big brother to him."

"Yes ma'am."

"Son, you know I love you with all my heart. You are a great brother and you stepped up to be the man in the family when your dad died. He would be so proud of you. You are just like him."

That made Jack smile. There was no better man than his father.

"I'll do my best."

"Thanks son."

…

Chief Avery and Jack pulled into the driveway of a run down house. There was a small light on, but they did not see any movement.

Jack stood beside the back door and Chief Avery knocked on the front door. After a few moments, Jack heard two men running toward the back door. He braced himself to tackle the first person running out the door.

It didn't take him long to lower his shoulder into a rather large man. When they both hit the ground, the larger man was under Jack. The second man out the door saw what happened to his friend and jumped on top of Jack and started hitting him across his back. A third man came and pulled Jack off the top of the large man and started hitting him with something. Jack couldn't tell what it was.

Jack knew he couldn't continue this onslaught by three men, so he focused on the man he tackled. He grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back and turned away from the other two men. Jack's nose and lip was bleeding, and his back was hurting. Gratefully, they heard Bill running through the house. The other two men heard it as well and took off across the back yard into the woods. Jack just held on until help arrived.

Once Bill came out the back door, he saw Jack with the man and immediately helped Jack handcuff the larger man. Once he was subdued, Jack fell to his knees.

"Jack, let me call you an ambulance."

"No Bill. I'm ok. I just need to catch my breath. Let's get this guy to the jail and then I can get cleaned up."