Chapter 4
“Tears are mostly water, which means the more you cry, the more you are hydrating your skin.”
—It’s science
Iris
It was amazing how quickly twenty-four hours went by when you were having fun. It was equally amazing how pathetically slow twenty-four hours went by when all you could think of was dead body parts.
I tried. I tried really hard the next two days to fill my time with busywork instead of worrying and crying.
I was off work and tried to distract myself as best I could but ultimately failed to have as normal of a day as I could, especially when every time I sat down, I was reminded of my sore tailbone and what had caused that injury.
Now I was back at work, just four days after the lake mishap—which was what I was referring to it as so I didn’t get stuck fixating on a dead body.
Our building was a single story with a few admin offices, a supply closet, and break room up front and the operations floor in the back.
This was where all our meteorologists worked.
It was a huge open space with a few small cubicles, but the walls were low so that you could communicate with each other easily.
This setup was really important during big weather events, but it also made it easy to just chatter back and forth on normal days.
Today I didn’t want to chatter—at least not yet.
I knew my friends wanted to ask questions and find out about any updates, especially Christine and Ben since they had been there with me, but I chose to hide out in one of the media offices we utilized for TV interviews.
I told everyone I needed a quiet space to work so I could get those videos we shot edited. It was true, but I could have just as easily edited them in the main office with everyone else around while I wore headphones.
I was a social creature by nature, though. So after a few hours of working in the private room, I chose to go eat my lunch with everyone else, even knowing there might be some hard questions.
“Ooooh, good, you’re here,” Christine said upon my arrival. “We’re trying to decide what to get delivered for lunch. Do you want yummy, super delicious pizza, or a boring, healthy salad?”
I chuckled, but before I could answer, my phone rang. Agent Heather Andrews’ name showed up on the screen.
“Sorry. I gotta take this,” I told them, holding up the phone and then walked out of the room and down the hall back to a more private space.
“Hello, this is Iris,” I answered, though I realized she probably already knew that.
“Hi Iris, this is Agent Andrews from the ISB. Is this a good time to talk?”
“Yes of course,” I told her as I slipped back into the media office, though I hoped she wasn’t calling with bad news.
“I wanted to let you know that we identified the remains you encountered at the lake.”
Encountered. As though I just happened to walk right by them casually.
“You did? I didn’t know you could figure it out that quickly.”
“Usually, we can’t. This victim, however, had a plate in her leg from a knee ligament surgery that we found with the other remains we were able to collect that day.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” I told her.
“Things like that have serial numbers on them, so we were able to contact the manufacturer and find out who that plate belonged to.”
Holy crap. I had no idea you could do that. That was insane.
“The reason I’m telling you this is because we contacted the family, and they have requested to meet you. In no way are you obligated to say yes, but I told them I would ask, and that’s what I’m doing.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“Why would they want to meet me?” I asked her.
“They claim they want to thank you personally for finding her body and giving them closure,” she responded. “Their daughter, Chantal Simpleton, was in college when she went missing, and while not the ending they were hoping for, at least they now have some answers.”
I understood that, but it still felt weird.
“Is this normal?” I asked. “I mean, have you done this before?”
“No, it’s not very common, but even if it were, you are under no obligation to say yes.”
My silence must have been an indicator of my hesitation, because she spoke again before I had the chance.
“Why don’t you think about it for a few days and let me know? The family can’t come out ‘til the weekend anyway, so take your time. You have my cell phone now. Just text me one way or another, and I can arrange it if I need to.”
“Okay,” I responded. “Thank you for telling me. I’m happy you were able to figure out who she was.”
“Same. It will make the investigation a little easier.”
I hadn’t thought of that, but she was probably right.
I thanked her for calling and hung up. I was feeling all the emotions as I walked back into the common area.
Happiness that they identified the body.
Sorrow that such a young woman had died.
Anger that she didn’t get to live a very long life.
Shock and amazement that they could use a surgical implant to identify bodies. Grief for her family.
I was so deep in my emotional roller coaster that I hadn’t realized everyone was staring at me when I walked in.
“Everything okay?” Christine asked, clearly worried.
I don’t know why, but I wasn’t ready to share the news I had just received, so I just brushed it off. “Yeah, it was the agent calling to just follow up on some questions. No big deal.”
They all either believed me or decided to cut me some slack, because they moved on.
“So,” Leah said, clapping her hands conspiratorially. “Who is this Hector guy you interviewed? Christine and Ben said you guys knew each other and that he was super-hot.”
“I did not say he was hot,” Ben protested.
“No, but you didn’t disagree with Christine when she said it, which is basically guy code for he’s hot,” Leah rebutted.
Ben just rolled his eyes as Christine chuckled.
“Describe him to me, and I will decide if he’s hot,” Calvin directed.
I did my best to explain not only Hector’s good looks, but also his broody demeanor and standoffish nature.
“Ooooh. We should call him Hector the Convector,” Christine yelled out and then laughed at her own joke. “You know, because he’s all stormy like a convective thunderstorm.”
“He can’t have that name because Australia already owns the rights to it,” Ben countered. “Hector the Convector is literally the most famous storm in all of Australia.”
“I don’t think Australia would mind sharing it with a hunky guy,” Christine refuted.
“Maybe you should call Hector and see if he likes the nickname,” Leah added and smirked at me.
“All of you are nuts,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “My shift is over, so I’m taking my leftover food from earlier and heading home. See you weirdos tomorrow.”
He waved goodbye as he left. Calvin departed shortly after, as his shift had just ended too.
Leah and Christine came over to the desk I was sitting at, clearly ready to have more girl talk now that the guys had left.
“Christine said the other guy at the lake seemed to take an interest in you. What about him?” Leah asked.
“Who?” I asked, trying to remember who she was referring to.
“Who?” Christine looked at me like I was crazy. “Lieutenant Patrick Michaels. You know, the hottie Coast Guard guy you interviewed?”
Oh yeah. I’d kind of forgotten all about him.
“I guess when you see dead body parts, it kind of distracts your brain,” I told them, but Christine clearly didn’t believe it.
“That, or you were so focused on Hector that you didn’t notice the other man. The one who spent a good portion of the interview sneaking looks at your butt.”
“Shut up! Did he really?” Leah asked Christine.
The two of them went back and forth discussing the man from the Coast Guard, but my mind wandered to Hector, then Patrick, and then any other potential prospect for a date.
I was in my thirties now. I needed a man who was mature. A man who had his shit together. Not a man-child.
Sure, I’d had fun in my twenties, dated guys who were a good time but not keepers, but now I was too old for that. I wanted someone I could come home to at the end of a long shift and just relax and talk about my day with—and maybe give me a good snuggle-fuck when I needed it.
I wanted that to be with a man who looked like Hector, but Hector clearly wasn’t interested in filling that role.
But what if he was? Finding a dead body wasn’t exactly the most romantic time to ask a girl out. Maybe I needed to take the first step.
I know! I’ll text him about what Agent Andrews had told me. Maybe try to strike up a conversation and see if he seems interested. I knew it might be a bit weird starting the conversation around the case, but it was the only excuse I had at the moment.
He had given me his number the day at the lake in case I thought of anything else about the case. I stood there for a few moments, debating the merits of randomly texting him about the case. You never know if you don’t try, right? I decided to go for it and pulled my cell out.
Iris: Hey Hector, it’s Iris. Agent Andrews just called me to tell me they identified the body. I’m glad they were able to get closure for her family.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.
Hector:
I’m glad Andrews told you.
Me:
She said the family wants to meet me. I’m not sure if I want to. Do you know if that’s normal?
Hector:
Let me know if you decide you want to do it. You shouldn’t be alone for something like that.
Gasp! Was he offering to go with me? It would actually be very nice to have him go with me, since something like this could be very awkward for everyone involved.
Shoot. Okay. Breathe. Be cool. Be smooth.
I was in the middle of typing out my response when a new text came in.
Hector:
I’ll have Ranger Diden join you if you choose to meet with them.
I instantly deflated.
Yep, Hector clearly didn’t reciprocate my feelings.