I knew that the cold was only in my imagination as I walked down the street with my dufflebag over my shoulder. The sun was shining bright, but I thought that a rainy, cloudy weather would fit my situation much better. Of course, I could have called an uber, but I needed the walk to clear my mind and to get rid of the angry energy that had befallen me in Mauras home.
Who the hell did the redhead think she was? And what did she think entitled her to possess Maura? It somehow made me feel better to think that Maura wasn't into Belinda anymore. At least that much had been obvious to me. the doc had been as annoyed as I was.
It took me a good hour to arrive back in the city. Mauras home was really rather remote. By the time I checked into a hotel I was drenched in sweat and my stomach reminded me with a loud growl that I hadn't eaten since lunch the previous day.
Despite being hungry though, I had no appetite, so I threw myself onto the bed and closed my eyes to mul over my dilemma. I liked the doc a lot. In fact, the crush had grown into something I couldn't handle. We had made love and shared so many precious moments over the past few daysk that I almost could believe that it had all only been a dream. Especially now, that I was alone in my hotelroom.
But it wasn't only my crush that almost killed me, it was also my confusion. How could this work? Maura had a kid – the ex didn't really bother me – but a kid meant responsibility and according to ma I wasn't even able to take care of myself at times. Which of course was a lie, but I threw it into my reflection anyways.
A kid also meant that Maura wasn't going to move, and I couldn't leave Boston because of my family, friends and job. I was very bad when it came to adjusting to new situations and I knew it.
Biting my lips, I thought that Maura hadn't been mad at me when I had told her that it had been a bad idea. In the contrary: there had been understanding despite the sadness that she expressed.
At her not being mad at me, made things far worse. If she had been mad, I could be mad too. But she was that loving and accepting person that had embraced me without pushing. Many other persons would have tried to push me at the latest when I told them that we were off.
I thought of Gabriel and Casey who had reacted with the same understanding at the beginning only to come back later and haunt me with questions about why. Maura wasn't going to do that because she was the kind of person who accepted me and my opinions with respect.
The ball was on my side of the fence – at least it felt that way. It was up to me to take a step forward, otherwise we would act as if nothing had ever happened. I thought that some things weren't just meant to be but coming to this conclusion didn't make me feel better in any way.
When I opened my eyes, I felt tears streaming down my cheeks and wondered what Maura was feeling right now. Was she still entangled in a discussion with Belinda? Probably not.
My hand reached for the phone but there was no message. Was she okay? I bit my lip again. It was my decision I reminded myself. Colleague, friend or lover. It was up to me because I had told her that it had been a bad idea.
I mentally removed friendship from the options, feeling like it had to be one of the others. Being friends with her would be hard because there would also be feelings involved. And not being able to act on the feelings would drive me nuts. Maybe we could be friends in the future but not now.
The ringing of my phone made me sit up. Did I want it to be Maura? Yes! When I saw Frosts face on the screen I wanted to cry.
"Being a grown-up sucks!" I mumbled to myself to which Frost replied with a "Sorry, what was that?"
"Nothing, just talking to myself." I replied in a neutral tone, and he chuckled.
"Where is your doctor friend?" he asked in a teasing tone that somehow made me want to cry again. Hell, I must have really lost my mind. He gave me the latest news about the company games4fun without waiting for my reply on his question. The company that had obviously existed in real life had never sold any other game than the murder game.
He informed me further that they thought to have found all victims of the game – a total count of 21 which surprised me.
"I know." Frost chuckled when I hitched a breath.
"So, maybe this was a demonstration of power, sort of." I thought out loud.
"You mean showing off by killing two people on conference full of cops and ME's?" Korsak entered the conversation.
"Yeah. Maybe it has got nothing to do with the victims themselves. Frost, can you forward me a map with the location of the victims?"
"I'm already on it. You get it as soon as I'm finished."
I thanked him and a glimmer of hope was ignited by the theory. According to Frost there had been victims all over the states, which meant that I could continue to work on the case when being back in Boston.
That meant that I wouldn't have to see Maura on a constant basis and my life would eventually get back to normal. Problem solved, right?
I was already imagining myself flying home when a knock to the door of my room startled me. the temptation to simply not answer was very high, but then I had the irrational thought that it could be Maura. So, I went to open the door to find the bellboy there, handing me a letter.
The game has only started now.
The message was typed on a white card, and it was very clear. The game was still on, which wasn't really new if you considered the fact that the killer had struck 21 times. It was likely that he would strike again.
I froze when I turned the card not expecting another message on the back, especially not that message.
Find your girlfriend before I kill her. They say that you are the best. Proof it!
Nausea hit me hard and I barely made it to the sink in the bathroom before I had to throw up. After rinsing my mouth quickly, I rushed back into my bedroom and fetched my phone to dial Mauras number. The call went directly to voicemail.
My hands were shaking when I redialed the number to no avail. My mind began to race and a picture of Maura popped up in my head. Had it really been only this morning that she had smiled at me softly?
I dialed Frosts number next to ask him for a location of Mauras phone, knowing that it wouldn't be possible if the device had been turned off. And where was Sophie?
The Uber was waiting close to the entrance of my hotel. Another guest was attempting to get inside but I brushed him away, explaining that I had an emergency to take care of. While driving to Mauras home I tried to focus. I needed to think clear – now more than ever.
I almost forgot to pay the driver, but when I had given him a 20Dollar bill I jumped out of the car and rushed to the door. Bracing myself for a possible encounter with Belinda I rang the doorbell.
It was Sophie who opened, still looking pale, but most of all sleepy. I silently thanked god that the girl was okay. But where was Maura? And where was Belinda?
"I don't know." The five-year-old told me after I had entered the house and sat her down in the living room. Realizing her situation, the little girl suddenly seemed to panic and she began to cry which again made me panic. Maura was probably abducted and i had never had to deal with a child before. A sick child at that.
I gingerly moved to sit next to her, and she somehow immediately fell into my arms. So, I cradled her feeling her body shaking as she sobbed.
"I'm pretty sure that everything is okay." I whispered while stroking over her hair, feeling guilty for lying to this innocent kid.
For the first time in my life, I called my mum for help, making good use of the time that Sophie went to the bathroom. It would be hours till she was here, but still…
And it was the first time that she said no. Not because she didn't want to, but because she had decided to visit some relatives after I had told her earlier that I was busy.
Sighing I rubbed my tired eyes. This house was technically a possible crime scene which made me call the crime techs. I walked upstairs with the girl to get her dressed, feeling her tiny hand slipping into mine as we walked. Sophie instinctively turned to me for protection and comfort which gave me a strange feeling of satisfaction and giddiness.
I strangely felt comforted by the tiny hand in mine and suddenly I was able to think clearly again.
In her room, Sophie dropped my hand to look for her favorite clothes: a t-shirts with stripes and a blue dress. I helped her into them after finding that her outfit would look reasonable enough. Then we packed some stuff and reached the downstairs in time to open the door to the chief of the crime techs. The rest of the team were waiting in their vans as I had ordered because I didn't want Sophie to know that something bad was possibly going on.
Well, it was highly likely that Maura really had been abducted because she would have never left Sophie alone. But maybe she had left the girl with Belinda and gone shopping for groceries. Who knew… but until we did, we also to take an abduction into account.
Sophie seemed to feel better, she was asking for ice cream as we took an Uber to my hotel room. I silently thanked god that she didn't wine when I told her that we should try soup first.
Ma had always cooked us chicken soup when we had been sick, and I felt proud for remembering.