Twelve
Frank could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. It started in the base of his skull and was slowly creeping into the front of his head, vibrating with a dull intensity. No amount of ibuprofen was helping it. He would know, after all. He'd already taken six within the last three hours and it still was going strong.
Of course, it may have been due to the fact that he had been sitting in the morgue's office for the past two hours, waiting for word on whether they had found Taylor Vaughn's body or not. Frank wasn't entirely sure why it was taking so long to identify her. It's not as if her body was in such terrible condition that they had to await dental records or fingerprinting.
Someone could just look at her and tell them if it was Taylor.
Instead, they insisted they had to go "by the book" to ensure that the investigation was done properly.
Frank had worked with enough police departments to know that they were just getting the runaround. After all, he and Joe were just a couple of private detectives from Chicago, encroaching on another department's territory.
Not only that, Frank knew how police viewed private detectives. They saw them as jokes, unable to get a job as a real police detective. Frank hated to tell them that he and his brother, along with Nancy, had more experience than any of them combined. Considering they had been working investigations since they were teens, not to mention had fathers who worked in or with law enforcement, they knew what they were doing.
When they were forced to wait for hours at a time when they could be doing some more productive, it really aggravated him. Not to mention, he'd been struggling with himself not to get in his car and drive back to River Heights after he received the phone call from Nancy about the package she'd received from Wesley.
What kind of psycho sends a human heart and tongue to someone?
The answer: the same psycho who cuts said heart and tongue out of another human being and who also happens to be obsessed with his fiancée.
Nancy had assured him that she was okay and she'd gotten to police involved. As much as they wanted to keep the police out of this, Frank knew they no longer had that option. Besides, the way he looked at it was at least now the police would also be keeping an eye on Nancy. He would take any help that he could at this point.
"Still waiting?" Joe asked, falling into the seat beside his brother. He handed him what had to be his tenth cup of coffee. It sucked as far as coffee went, but at least it was something to put into his stomach.
Frank took a sip of the strong brew and winced as it went down his throat. "Yep. At this point, I think they're just screwing with us."
"You know how territorial they can be."
"Just because they're afraid we may find out something before them," Frank agreed. "It's like high school never ended."
"That's definitely not something they tell you during career guidance."
Frank chuckled. "If they told us that, we never would have wanted to graduate. What would be the point if we were going out into the real world to face the same thing?"
Joe nodded, but said nothing as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Are you okay?" Frank asked after a few minutes of silence dragged on between them. Frank didn't miss the way the woman's murder seemed to bother his younger brother. It wasn't as if Joe had seen murder victims before—just never one who'd been murdered in such a horrific fashion.
"Not really," Joe admitted. "But I'll deal."
"I would understand if you wanted to walk away from this one, Joe," Frank said softly. "Hell, I'm doing everything I can to keep Nancy out of it."
"That's going to be impossible since Nancy is in this whether she likes it or not."
"I know."
Joe let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I just can't help but think about what I would do if it was Vanessa in Nancy's place. It's hard enough to see what the two of you are going through. I don't know if I would be able to keep it together as well as you have, Frank."
"Let's hope you never have to find out," Frank said. Never in a million years would he wish something like this on his sibling. Even though it looked to Joe like he was managing everything going on with Nancy, Frank knew he was only a moment's notice from losing it all. There were some days when he wanted to just give up.
Before Joe could say anything in response, the door to the morgue opened and Huey stepped out. The detective looked as if he was about to drop at any moment. He glanced at the brothers, slightly startled, as if he'd forgotten they were still there.
"Is it Taylor?" Frank asked, rising to his feet.
Huey hesitated before slowly nodding his head. "It's her."
"And it took you three hours to let us know?"
"There were procedures we had to follow," Huey said, an angry expression clouding his features. "Besides, I don't owe the two of you any explanation at all, considering this isn't your jurisdiction."
"Then why did you let us stick around?"
"Honestly? I forgot that the two of you were still around." The detective stepped around them as he made his way towards the elevator at the end of the long hallway. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some bad news to deliver to Taylor's fiancé."
"So, that's it?" Frank asked, throwing his coffee cup into the trashcan as he followed Huey.
"That's it."
"Unbelievable."
Huey whirled around, jabbing a finger at Frank's chest. "You know, the two of you never told me exactly what you're even doing here. You said it may relate to a case you're working on, but other than that, you haven't given me anything. Do you know something about Taylor's murder that I should be privy to?"
Frank smirked as he shoved past the detective, Joe following closely behind. "Tell you what. Give me a call in three hours and I'll see what I can share with you. Seems only fair, doesn't it?"
The detective bristled, but Frank didn't give him a chance to respond as they got onto the elevator, making their way to the parking garage. Frank didn't miss the way that Joe was looking at him, almost as if he'd been replaced by someone else considering Frank was always the levelheaded part of the team. Joe was the one to be rash and ruffle feathers.
Frank had to admit, it felt good to be the unpredictable one for once.
As soon as they got into the car, Frank pulled out his cell phone and dialed Nancy's number as Joe drove. He wasn't surprised that it went to voicemail, considering how late it was at night. "Hey, Nan. I figure that you're probably in bed, but I just wanted to let you know that we're on our way back. I'll see you in a few hours. I love you."
Just as Frank hung up the phone, it immediately rang. He didn't even look at the screen, figuring it had to be Nancy returning his call. "Hey, Nan."
"Frank, this is Chief McGinnis."
Frank's hand tightened on the phone at the sound of the chief's voice. He couldn't think of any reason he would be calling him this late at night unless something had happened. "What's wrong?"
"Where are you boys at?"
"We're just leaving Indianapolis," Frank answered. "What's going on, Chief?"
Chief McGinnis let out a heavy sigh. "One of my officers was just found murdered."
"I'm very sorry to hear that…"
"I appreciate that, but I wasn't calling you for condolences, Frank." He took a deep breath before he said the words that shook Frank to his core. "The camera from Officer Walters' car shows that he'd stopped behind Nancy's car. And while there was no sign of her on the video feed, it showed someone else."
Frank didn't need the chief to say who it was because he knew without a doubt the name that would come out of his mouth.
"Wesley Levine."
Short chapter this time, folks. This can be blamed on exhaustion due to pulling overtime at work. I could have made it longer, but I wanted you to have another chapter by today.
Thanks to all of the wonderful reviewers: Caranath (At least you could read this chapter before going to sleep…it was pretty tame!), MarvelAsh (Funny thing that you mention the spiders stalking you…after I wrote Spider, I swore they were following me everywhere! It freaked me out so much!), Cupcake (I understand being tired, so no worries! And I will try my best to continue to be awesome!), max2013 (No warnings needed for this chapter, but definitely for the next one…), Lady Emily (Wesley does walk a thin line…which makes him that much more fun for me to write!), Alicia Hardy (Anything that I can do to help you take a break from studying is my pleasure! Good luck in school!), The Vulture (Welcome! Honestly, I don't know how she's getting out of this one, either!), Michelle Gallichio (Definite angst to come!), SC15 (Aw, thanks! Wesley is an awesome serial killer to write! And you're right about Frank…he should have taken Nancy with him…), MinecraftDanny (No worries…more creepiness is definitely coming up! Be careful what you wish for…), FreshKicks (Plenty of kick ass Nancy to come. And the girl at the beginning of the previous chapter was no Nancy…just someone else Wesley picked up.), Jabba1 (Things never work in Nancy's favor in my twisted little world…), SarahE7191 (Welcome back! Sorry about the cliffhangers…they're just so much fun to write!), catlover1033 (Welcome back…hope you're having a wonderful time on your trip! And as for what you hinted at in your review…you will definitely have a warning.)
You already know how much I think you guys rock, but I never get tired of saying it so thank you!
I apologize for any mistakes and the next chapter will be longer. Let me know what you think!
