Chapter Thirty-eight
Raven walked on air from the moment she’d arrived back at work in the city, gave her two-week notice, and counted the hours until she could return to Carlton Place.
Each evening, she had two phone calls to keep her grounded.
On the first call, she’d get the update from her nana of how everyone was making out in her absence.
Those daily visits made her long for the time to move even faster.
She’d found out that Noah and the kids were now settled in their new home, and Val and Bonnie were hanging back with Winona until the carpenters Noah hired finished the construction on their bedrooms. Since Palmer was a bachelor, only one bedroom had been set up on the second floor.
Gladly, Nana had offered them the use of the bunkbeds they’d been using from her upstairs suite, and Noah had organized a second room next to his for Josh and Ami.
Since both had refused to sleep alone because of the nightmares, Noah created a doorway from his room to theirs that they left open, satisfying them for now.
On the first floor of the house, an empty area that Palmer closed off and used mostly for storage had been planned for Val and Bonnie.
Each day the workers plastered and painted, making two nice sized bedrooms, one being a nursery that Raven had suggested.
And every moment the women had free, they were there helping to turn the very basic bachelor house into a family home.
Of course, Raven yearned to be there with them, helping, being a part of the community.
So much was going on for all the families she knew, and she missed out on all of it.
When she broke down to admit this to Winona, her nana spoke the truth back to her.
“There’s so much to be done, my love. Don’t you worry, they’ll still be lots waiting for you when you get back. ”
“Truthfully… I can’t wait.”
Facing reality, she admitted it was the later phone calls that kept her grounded and able to wake up each morning to slash a black mark through that day on her calendar.
Of course, these were from Cane. The last one still rang in her mind, making her blush at the remembered phone sex they’d shared.
His husky “I miss you so much” had become a litany of what he imagined doing to her once they were together and had her hand reaching to where she could relieve herself of the building passion his dizzying, intoxicating, inciting words provoked.
During those long hours on the phone, they talked about everything from their years growing up, special times in their lives, and people who mattered most. And how they felt about everything from politics, to religion, to having babies.
Thrilled that he wanted children with her, she walked around often with dreams of a future family rattling around in her head.
What she liked best were the final minutes of each long conversation filled with promises of undying love and a life together soon.
The one problem in her happy world was her job. Recently, using their undercover techniques, she’d lured a sex offender (CSO) into long phone conversations where the pervert believed her to be a disgruntled fourteen-year-old girl sick of living with a drunk for a mom.
This man, who wanted her to call him Sweet Daddy, had been using every trick in the book to build their relationship to one of trust. Trust so she’d send him nude photos of herself doing all kinds of sick things to keep him satisfied.
AI images their group had put together as a dossier for this type of perversion were the ones they utilized.
After days of constant buttering and confidence building, his interest grew. Now he wanted them to meet in person.
Having to keep the disgust for this pedophile out of her voice while retaining his interest had been part of her job…
but no less the worst part. These calls made her skin crawl from the depths of depravity these people would go to so their sick fantasies could be reenacted.
They’d finally reached the point with him where he’d been willing to meet with her…
the goal everyone in her department worked towards in order to actually catch the slimeballs and bring them to justice.
This day, she prepared herself for the final act. “Sweet Daddy, I can’t stand my life. You’re the only one who cares about whether I live or die. I want to run away for good. Can I come and stay with you?”
“Baby, you know I’d like nothing better. But you can’t come here. The heartless bitch I live with wouldn’t understand why we mean so much to each other. She’d make your life a living hell.”
“What do you think I’m going through now?” she’d cried. With disgust and anger, she continued, “I need someone to care about me. I thought you did.”
“I do. Baby, you know I do. I’m your sweet daddy, right? No one else can be as good to you as I can. Look, maybe we should meet in person and talk about this. I can get us a hotel room where we’ll have privacy. What do you say?”
“I don’t know. I can’t stay out all night. Mom would freak.”
“Not if she’s hammered. You say she gets drunk every night. Wait until she’s passed out and then slip away. She won’t even know you’re gone. Baby, I just want to make things better for you. Trust me.”
“I’m not sure. I-I don’t kno–”
“It’s okay, baby.” He interrupted. “I want to give you some money in case you decide to leave. You can’t run away without having cash in your pocket.
I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hungry and out on the street.
We can talk about it. I promise. Meet me tonight at this hotel.
I’ll text you the address and room number. Say you’ll come. At 11p.m. Say it.”
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll be there.”
“You won’t regret it. I can’t wait to hold you close and make you feel better. Your daddy is older than you but still cares more than anyone else. You get that right?”
“Right. You’re the only one who does care. See you tonight.”
The others in the office had become aware that she was reeling in her caller. Excited, they grouped around her desk, all giving silent high fives to her being able to get the freak to come out of hiding, to show himself so the police could make an arrest.
“You did it, Raven. Good work. Now we just need to set up the sting operation, and we’ll have this lunatic off the street and in jail where he belongs.”
Unable to help herself, the excitement and happiness of knowing she’d been a huge part of saving other youngsters from a fate worse than death at the hands of such a creepy devil, she snuck away to the ladies’ room to call Cane.
“Hey darlin’, are you okay?”
“I know I shouldn’t be bothering you at work, but I just had to tell you that we got the guy I told you about. He’s lined up for a meet in person tonight. Everyone here is crazy excited, and I just had to share it with you.”
“Is that the same loser you’ve been stringing along for the last ten days?”
“Yep. I never thought I could get him to crawl out of the slime pit so soon but knowing my time here is limited, I had to push things, and he bit.”
“Way to go, Raven. I’m proud of you. Especially since I know how burned out you’ve become with the job. It’s nice to end on the plus side. Shit, we got a call. Got to go. Talk later. Love you.”
Happy to have had the few minutes with him, she skipped back to her desk and continued compiling her files to be handed over to the girl taking over from her.
By the end of the day, exhausted from the extra work and the excitement of the coming arrest, she agreed to eat supper with some co-workers at a café and then got talked into heading next door to the bar for a few shots, and a beer to chase them.
From there, the officers had her go over her part in bringing the pedophile to heel at the hotel. They needed her voice at the door to get him to step into the room, making the arrest count.
By the time they had him in custody, exhaustion had her stumbling. The creep had squealed like a trapped hog in a pigpen and his screeching for justice and a lawyer left everyone feeling shaken and sick inside.
Eventually, when the official reports had been finished, the others dropped her off at her apartment, leaving her out front with congratulations and remarks for a job well done ringing in the air.
So far, every night after returning from work, she’d religiously packed more of her belongings to be ready for her last day.
But after what went down tonight, she refused to think of anything but a glass of wine and a steaming hot shower…
the only remedy to help her feel clean again.
And since Cane had warned her he’d be stuck at work until the next day, she didn’t hesitate to baby herself.
Even though they tried to get together every Friday, this week had been a no-go.
He’d been called in, and they’d had to forgo their plans.
Good thing because she’d ended up working too.
The thought of her almost empty apartment, skimpy amounts of food in the fridge, and a calendar with six days remaining to be lined off felt depressing after the excitement of earlier.
Opening the door, she noticed how loose the doorknob had become and made a silent vow to mention it to her apartment manager. Following her usual routine, she kicked off her shoes, threw her keys into the bowl on the hallway table, and reached for her weapon to be locked away as it was every night.
Then she padded to the kitchen, and in the light from the fridge being opened, she noticed a shadow moving. Before she could react, her arms were being wrenched behind her, and a cloth was pressed callously over her face. In seconds, her body went limp and her inner screams became silent.