Alexis Malek
4/24/2014
In
The Middle of a Murder Mystery
Sarah Rainwater was a pretty
twenty-seven year old woman, about five feet and five inches tall and
with long light brown hair, who enjoyed curling up on her sofa, her
comfy chair or in bed with a good romance or mystery suspense to
read. She had enjoyed reading from a young age and that is part of
what had her decide to become a librarian while she saved up money to
own her own bookstore someday. She especially liked Nancy Drew or
Agatha Christie novels when it came to mysteries. But she enjoyed
reading
about them and yes, sometimes watching them in movies and on TV, but
she did not enjoy
being part of a real-life murder mystery.
Sarah had decided to go return the
latest book she had just finished reading to the library where she
worked, even though it was her day off. It was about 6:20pm when she
left her house with her earphones in, listening to her favorite band
from music she had downloaded on her cellphone as she walked the mile
it took to get her from her house to the library. She returned the
book, looked at the list of books she still wanted to read, and then
checked out the next book on the list. She didn't even bother
turning off her music to check out the book since the librarian
working that evening was a friend of hers, since they had both been
working at that library and sometimes the same shift, for the past
couple of years. Her friend simply put the stamp in the appropriate
place and made sure Sarah saw when the book was due back and then
Sarah was on her way again. At around 7 o'clock, Sarah was on her
way back home, still listening to her music. She was just jamming
along, walking in beat to the music and singing in her head when she
walked by the gas station about a third of a mile from the library.
It had recently closed down temporarily after a recent car accident
there involving a car slamming into the gas tanks and exploding the
whole lot of the gas tanks. The driver had lost control of the car
and was unable to stop the tragic event that cost them their life.
Sarah tripped over something as she
walked past the gas station. She turned her music off and looked down
to see what she had tripped over and froze in place. It wasn't just
something.
Sarah had stumbled on a dead body! She scanned the area to see if she
could detect any movement and when she found no one, she carefully
dialed 9-1-1 on her cellphone from her pocket (leaving her phone in
there) and when someone answered on the other end, she spoke as
quietly as she could into the microphone connected to the earphone
wire on the left side and told the police officer about the dead body
and gave her location. The police officer told her to stay where she
was and said help was on the way. Less than a minute later, she heard
sirens and then saw two police cars and an ambulance drive up and
park a few feet away from her. Two of the policemen went to examine
the body and the other two approached Sarah to question her.
"Excuse me miss, are you the one who
called about the dead body?" One of the police officers asked her
in a kind voice.
"Y-y-yes," Sarah stammered.
"I'm Officer Blackrose and this is
my partner, Detective Castleberry," the Officer who had asked if I
was the one who made the call said as he draped a warm blanket around
me and led me over to the ambulance to sit down. Once she was seated,
Officer Blackrose asked her, "May I start off by getting your name
please?"
"S-s-sarah. Sarah Rainwater," Sarah
replied.
"Thank you Miss Rainwater. Now how did
you happen to come across the dead body?" Officer Blackrose asked.
Sarah recounted what had happened for
the police, being careful not to leave anything out, including the
impression she had that the killer might still be hanging around as
she made the 9-1-1 call.
"So when you looked around, you
didn't see any unusual movement or shadows?" Detective
Castleberry asked.
"N-n-no sir, I did-d-dn't," Sarah
stammered, still in shock. This was her first real dead body and she
was still scared that maybe the killer had
been lurking long enough to see her approach and might come after her
next. But she wasn't going to let the paranoia stop her since she
didn't see
anything except for the dead body.
"I spoke in a low voice on the phone
because I wasn't sure if maybe the murderer was still lurking even
though I didn't see anything. Sometimes in the movies and books,
they are super quiet and ambush you from behind before you know
what's going on and either club you hard on the head or kill you in
case you saw something. I didn't want to take my chances," Sarah
added.
Smiling faintly, Detective Castleberry
asked, "So I take it you are a fan of mysteries."
"I like reading about them, especially
Nancy Drew or Agatha Christie, and sometimes I enjoy watching a movie
or TV mystery but I am not too crazy about being part of a real life
murder investigation! What if the murderer was
lurking and saw or heard me call
9-1-1 and the only reason I'm not dead or in hospital with a
concussion is because help arrived too quickly for them to act and
instead they ran off so as not to be found?" Sarah asked, her face
a bit ashen.
One of the other Detectives walked over
to them and hearing the tail end of what Sarah said, informed her, "I
don't think that will be a problem. The young man whose dead body
you stumbled on has been dead for at least half an hour. What time
was it when you walked past here the first time, on the way to the
library?"
"Um well Detective- " Sarah started
to reply but stopped when she realized she didn't know this
Detective's name.
"Detective Candlewood," she informed
Sarah.
"Detective Candlewood, um well it was
6:20pm when I left my house and this gas station is about 2/3 of a
mile from my house or a third of a mile from the library and it took
me about twelve minutes to get to the library so I would say about
6:28pm? When I got to the library, I looked at the clock they have
and saw it was 6:32 when I first walked in," Sarah replied.
"And when you walked by the gas
station earlier, on your way to
the library, you didn't see notice any suspicious activity or see
the dead body?" Detective Candlewood asked.
"Well I wasn't paying much attention
because I was listening to music, but I didn't notice the dead body
on my way to the library," Sarah replied. She had barely gotten her
response out when she suddenly remembered something and added, "Wait
a minute! Now that you mention it, I thought
I saw a light on in the convenience store attached to this gas
station as I walked past and I remember thinking "How odd, I
thought they were closed until the gas station was repaired," but I
shrugged it off and kept walking to the library not giving it a
second thought at the time."
Detective Candlewood instructed her
partner and the other Detective, Castleberry, to search inside the
convenience store to see if anything was amiss or if there may be
traces of blood.
"Thank you Miss Rainwater. Is there
anything else you can remember on your walk to
the library as you walked past here?" Detective Candlewood asked.
"No. I'm sorry. I really wasn't
paying attention. I think the only reason the light being on inside
registered at all was because I wasn't expecting it to be but it
was. The reason why I ignored it was because although it was unusual,
I was too caught up in listening to my music and thinking about the
next book I was going to check out to really give it a whole lot of
thought," Sarah answered.
"That's okay. You've already been
a big help first in reporting the dead body and then remembering
about the light being on," Officer Blackrose said in a soothing
tone.
Handing her a card with her name and
phone number on it, Detective Candlewood said, "If you remember
anything else, please give me a call. Thank you for your help."
Detective Candlewood went inside the
convenience store to look around for herself. Officer Blackrose
remained by Sarah's side, concerned that her face was so ashen and
that she hadn't stopped trembling since he got there. One of the
EMTs offered Sarah a glass of water and when she tried bringing it to
her lips, her hand trembled so badly the glass shook and she almost
dropped it. Officer Blackrose took hold of the glass of water and
held it up to Sarah's lips to drink from and she took a couple of
sips then held the glass away.
"Thank you. I-I can't seem to stop
shaking," Sarah said.
"You're welcome. It's
understandable considering the circumstances," Officer Blackrose
replied.
"I'm afraid to go home. What if the
killer is still hanging around and follows me home? Or what if they
got a good look at me before leaving the crime scene and are able to
find out where I live and come to either terrorize me or kill me?"
Sarah asked worriedly.
"You live by yourself?" Officer
Blackrose asked.
"Y-y-yes, unfortunately," Sarah
replied.
"Do you have any friends or family
members nearby you can stay with?" Officer Blackrose inquired.
"I don't want to endanger anyone so
no," Sarah replied.
Officer Blackrose resisted the
temptation to tease Sarah Rainwater about reading and watching too
many murder mysteries but didn't think she would appreciate it so
instead he found himself saying, "I can guard your house tonight."
"Are you allowed to do that?" Sarah
asked.
"Sure. It's part of the job to
protect witnesses, even if they didn't see the murder, since the
murderer may not know that," Officer Blackrose replied.
"Well...I do have a comfortable couch
if your car gets too cramped or you can at least come use the
bathroom if you need to," Sarah offered.
"I'll be right back. Don't go
anywhere," Officer Blackrose said.
He walked into the convenience store and
talked to his partner, Detective Castleberry and also to Detective
Candlewood about guarding Sarah Rainwater's house for the night and
after a bit of discussion, they conceded and Officer Blackrose came
back out of the convenience store and walked over to Sarah to tell
her he would be guarding her house that night.
"I'm sorry Officer Blackrose. I must
sound like a ninny or a paranoid freak who has watched too many
mystery movies or read too many Agatha Christie or Nancy Drew novels.
I am sure I will be fine," Sarah said to the Officer before he
could say anything.
"On the contrary, it is protocol to
guard witnesses when needed in cases like this. I just talked to my
partner and to Detective Candlewood and they both agreed that it
would be a good idea for me to guard your house. However, I will be
ditching the police car and guarding your house from an unmarked car
so that nobody gets suspicious. And I don't think you are a ninny
or a paranoid freak either," Officer Blackrose responded.
"Oh. Well if it's protocol. But
didn't you say you thought it unlikely the murderer had stuck
around?" Sarah asked.
"That was Detective Candlewood who
said that. And yes it is
unlikely that the killer stuck around, but not impossible. We like to
cover all of our bases. One of our mottos is "better safe than
sorry" when it comes to protecting our citizens, especially
witnesses," Officer Blackrose replied.
"Good motto to live by. "Are you
driving me back or am I walking and you are meeting up with me later
after you get an unmarked car?" Sarah asked and attempted to stand.
Her legs were all wobbly and it took her a moment to gain balance.
Reaching out to steady her, Officer
Blackrose replied, "Whoa. Steady now. It might be best if you rode
with me and my partner to the station while I switch to an unmarked
car."
When the Detectives were finished
investigating the crime scene, they came out of the convenience store
with the clues they had found and perplexed expressions on their
faces.
Detective Castleberry walked over to
Officer Blackrose and said, "Looks like the killer may have killed
their victim with an alarm clock. Interesting choice for a weapon."
After that, they helped Sarah into their
car and then Detective Castleberry got in the driver's seat and
Officer Blackrose got in the front passenger seat and they drove to
the station so that Officer Blackrose could switch to an unmarked car
and Detective Castleberry could assist the other Detectives on the
case with the evidence found at the crime scene. When they got to
Sarah's house, Officer Blackrose told Sarah to stay in the car
while he checked her house to make sure it was all clear. Sarah gave
him her house key and a few minutes later, he came back out and gave
the "all clear" and came back out to help Sarah out of the
unmarked car, extending his hand to her.
"Thank you. My offer to use the
bathroom or get food or water if you need it stands," Sarah said as
she stepped out of the car.
"I appreciate the offer and will keep
it in mind," Officer Blackrose replied.
After helping Sarah into the house, he
went back outside to sit in his car so he could patrol the area and
make sure that no one tried to come and pay Sarah an unfriendly
visit. All was quiet for a while but then Sarah came back outside and
tapped on the window of the front passenger seat. Officer Blackrose
rolled down the window.
"Hey, everything okay?" Officer
Blackrose asked.
"This is going to sound silly..."
Sarah started to say but trailed off.
"What's up?" Officer Blackrose
asked.
"Well I tried drinking hot tea with
chamomile to settle my nerves but I can't get the image out of my
mind. And well...I'm afraid to go to sleep," Sarah replied.
"It will be okay. I'm here to
protect you," Officer Blackrose said lightly, in hopes of easing
Sarah's mind.
"I know. It's just...well usually
when something scares me, when I was little I talked to my mom about
it and she would stay with me until I fell asleep. As an adult, I
would talk to a friend about it and she would probably come over and
spend the night, but I don't want to involve anyone else for their
own safety so I have no one to turn to. I was hoping maybe you would
come inside and we could talk," Sarah stated with a hopeful
expression on her face.
Officer Blackrose didn't know what it
was about Sarah, but he found himself liking her and wanting to
protect her and sooth her by holding her in his arms and whispering
comforting words into her ear to make her feel safe. Unable to refuse
her request, he got out of the car and locked it then followed Sarah
back inside her house, locking her front door securely behind him.
"What did you want to talk about Miss
Rainwater?" Officer Blackrose asked.
"Please, call me Sarah. I didn't
have a topic in mind. I just thought we could talk about random stuff
to get my mind off the image of that poor guy's dead body. I can
also make some hot cocoa if you want some," Sarah replied.
"Sure, no problem, Sarah. Hot cocoa
sounds nice. Do you have any topics in mind?" he asked.
"No. Although I was kind of wondering
what your first name is. I know it's not usual protocol for an
officer to give their first name but curiosity sometimes gets the
better of me," Sarah confessed.
"Luke," Officer Blackrose responded.
"That's a nice name. I've always
liked that name," Sarah stated as she boiled the water and poured
hot cocoa mix into a mug.
Officer Blackrose smiled and said, "You
have a pretty name too."
"Thank you. My mom always did have
good taste, including in naming me. Can I ask you another personal
question?" Sarah asked.
"You can ask," Officer Blackrose
stated.
"What made you want to become a police
officer?" Sarah asked.
"I liked watching NYPD Blue. Also,
when I was younger one of my cousins had her bike go mysteriously
missing and I had a fun time playing detective until I found it and
returned it to her unharmed," Officer Blackrose replied.
"It sounds like there's more to it
than that. You like protecting others don't you?" Sarah guessed.
The water was boiled and Sarah poured a second packet of hot cocoa
into a different mug for herself and then poured the steaming water
into the first mug for Officer Blackrose and stirred as she mixed.
Then she did the same for her own.
"Yes, I do. You're observant. My
aunt - my cousin's mother - had a rough time of it after her
husband passed away under mysterious circumstances. I was twenty at
the time and I decided right then and there that I wanted to be a
detective. I had thought about it growing up but my uncle's death
cinched the deal. I helped assist the detectives who ended up
investigating my uncle's death and I was able to find an important
clue that may not have otherwise been found without my help. It
turned out my uncle was murdered by someone who was supposed to be
his friend but let jealousy get the better of him. When the
investigation was over and we had the killer behind bars, I was
offered a job so I went through the police academy training and here
we are, almost seven years later. After this case, I may even get
promoted to Detective," Officer Blackrose responded.
"Wow. Your aunt and cousin haven't
had it easy. I'm sorry about your uncle," Sarah said
sympathetically as she handed Officer Blackrose a cup of hot cocoa.
"Thanks. And no, they haven't had it
easy, but things have been much more peaceful for them since I became
a police officer," Officer Blackrose replied.
"Except for worrying about you and
whether you will continue to come home safely, Officer Blackrose,"
Sarah responded.
Officer Blackrose didn't know what it
was about this woman. He wanted to protect her, he told her personal
things that not many people knew, and before he could stop the words,
he found himself saying, "You can call me Luke, if you want to."
He really didn't know what was going
on with him. Miss Rainwater...Sarah... was a witness of sorts to a
crime. Not a witness to the actual crime, but she found the dead body
and there is no telling if the killer was hanging around and noticed
her stumble on it or if the killer suspects she might know more than
she does. He should be in his car protecting her house but instead he
was inside her house talking about why he became a cop.
"Okay. Well, Luke, your family must
worry about you. I know I would if it were me," Sarah stated.
"If it were you, what? And yes, no
doubt my family does worry about me but it comes with the territory.
Every day I come home safely they are relieved," Luke replied.
"I meant...if um someone I cared about
was putting their life on the line daily to protect everyone else
from the scumbags of the earth, I would be worried," Sarah
responded.
"Oh. So I take it you wouldn't date
a cop or any other man who in any way puts his life on the line to
protect his city or his country?" Luke almost kicked himself for
asking.
A bit startled by his question, Sarah
tried to figure out how to best answer. She ended up saying, "Well
I'm not sure. I can't say that I absolutely wouldn't but I
would certainly hesitate. I love very deeply and the thought of
someone I love risking being killed daily would probably drive me
crazy. I am not sure if I'd be able to handle it. But I'm sure
your girlfriend is stronger than I am and can probably handle it."
"Ex-girlfriend. Ex fianc actually.
She said it wasn't because I became a cop, but I couldn't be
entirely sure that it didn't have any
bearing on why she broke up with me," Luke stated.
"Oh. I'm sorry Off- um Luke. I am
probably stronger than I give myself credit for. Other people seem to
think I am. It could partially be because I believe in God and that
He's in control. Even Christians have off days though, particularly
after seeing their first dead body," Sarah said.
Luke looked deeply into Sarah's
beautiful hazel eyes and said, "You probably are stronger than you
think. But like you said, everyone has their off days and it's not
every day you stumble on a dead body. You did a courageous thing
though calling it in even though you were scared that the killer
might still be hanging around when you made the call."
"I was frozen in place. I'm
surprised I could move at all. I must not have acted alone. I say
that because I felt a presence with me. That may sound funny to you
but I thought I felt the Lord's presence or maybe a Guardian Angel
or something with me, helping me do the right thing," Sarah
responded.
"Maybe the Lord or your Guardian
Angel, or both were with you," Luke said.
"You believe too?" Sarah brightened
at the prospect of a fellow believer.
"I don't know. Maybe. I've seen a
lot of bad in this world. But I've also seen a lot of good. I
certainly hope there is a higher power up there watching over us
all," Luke replied.
"There is. Why don't you come to
church with me on Sunday, if you can get the time off?" Sarah
offered.
"I don't usually work Sundays. We'll
see. Maybe I will come. I know I want to believe in Heaven and in
someone smarter than us and more powerful creating all things and
watching over us. It would be nice to know my uncle is resting
peacefully," Luke replied.
"I'm sure he is. If he was anything
like you or vice versa then I have no doubt he is resting peacefully
in the arms of Jesus," Sarah stated.
"Anything like me?" Luke was
confused.
"Yes. You are kind, caring, gentle,
protective, and when you speak about your family I would venture out
to say you are also loving.
These are all qualities that come from God and when His children have
these qualities it pleases Him. Of course, it pleases God more when
you believe in Him and in His mighty power and in His goodness. But
you are on the right track," Sarah responded.
"Thank you. And yes, my uncle was all
of those things. He did believe in God and so did my aunt. She's
been struggling with her faith since his death but I think she's
gotten back on track since his murder was solved, very slowly,"
Luke said.
"She can come too. I mean...your aunt.
Well your aunt and cousin if she wants to are both invited to come to
church with me on Sunday, or with us
if you decide to come," Sarah offered.
"That's very sweet of you Sarah. I
will let her know about the offer and get back to you," Luke
replied.
"Sure. Hopefully I live long enough to
make it to church on Sunday," Sarah said, half-serious since she
was still a bit scared.
"Hey, cut it out. You have me here to
protect you tonight and you also have your God protecting you and His
angels too," Luke reprimanded.
"Sorry. Like I said, even Christians
have their off days. I'm sure you're right. I still have plenty
to learn so surely God doesn't plan for me to die yet. But that
doesn't mean there won't be any attempts. I hope there aren't
because I have nowhere else to go if I have to leave this house,"
Sarah responded.
"It will be okay. I will stay here as
long as I need to, and as long as I am able to. Right now, the
detectives are running prints on the smashed alarm clock they found
with traces of blood. We're pretty sure the blood will match our
victim, but we could get lucky and find the killer's prints on it
too. We also found something else that we think the killer may have
dropped and are running prints on it," Luke said.
"When will you know if there are any
fingerprints or who they belong to if there are any?" Sarah asked.
"It depends. If there are prints and
they match any fingerprints in the system, I could know tomorrow. If
not, then it could take a bit longer. We are hoping to know sometime
tomorrow though," Luke replied.
Sarah closed her eyes and said a silent
prayer that the murderer be caught soon and that nobody else get hurt
or killed before the killer is caught and that God keep her, Officer
Luke Blackrose, and the detectives on the case safe.
"What are you doing? Luke asked.
Sarah opened her eyes and replied, "I
said a silent prayer that the murderer gets caught without anyone
else getting hurt or killed and that God watch over all of us -
you, me, and the detectives on the case."
"That's sweet to include us all in
your prayers," Luke said.
"Well it wouldn't do anyone any good
if you or any of the detectives were killed. And it would be terrible
if someone else had to die before the murderer got caught," Sarah
replied.
"True," Luke agreed.
Sarah didn't understand what was going
on inside her head. On the one hand she was still a bit shaken up at
the thought of someone coming for her to kill her for finding a dead
body while the person responsible was still lurking. On the other
hand, she had given her worries to God and she was feeling something
strange inside as she talked with Officer Blackrose...err Luke. She
had just told him she wasn't sure she could handle dating someone
who daily chooses to put his life on the line, and yet she couldn't
help wondering why he asked such a personal question. She also
couldn't help thinking how handsome he was with beautiful blue eyes
and short brown hair. He was also sweet and she thought how if they
had met under different circumstance and either he wasn't a cop or
she didn't yet know he was, that she might consider going out with
someone like him. Disturbed by her thoughts, she sent up another
silent prayer, this time asking God to help sort out her feelings and
let her know what His plan is.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked, breaking
into Sarah's thoughts.
"Uh-huh. Why?" Sarah replied.
"Your face turned an interesting shade
of white and then red," Luke said.
"It did? I don't know why. Why
shouldn't I be okay when I have a big strong man protecting me
here, along with my guardian angel and then God protecting me from
above?" Sarah responded questioningly.
"No reason why at all. So if you're
okay does that mean you're good to go to bed and get some sleep?"
Luke asked.
Uh... that I don't know. I suppose I
could open my Bible and read verses or whole chapters until I fall
asleep. I suppose you want to get back outside to the unmarked car,"
Sarah replied.
"Eventually I will need to," Luke
stated.
"Okay. Well I am getting tired but
whether I will be able to get to sleep is another story. I know
that's not your problem though and it was nice of you to come
inside at all," Sarah said.
"It was no trouble, really," Luke
said.
"I appreciate it. The bathroom, should
you need it, is down the hall to the left. Goodnight," Sarah said.
"Okay. Goodnight Sarah. Sweet Dreams,"
Luke responded.
Sarah put hers and Luke's mugs in the
sink and then went into her bathroom to get ready for bed. A few
minutes later, she was in bed with her Bible open to Isaiah 54 and a
bookmark in Ephesians 6. She had barely finished reading Ephesians 6
and then Philippians 4:6-8 when she fell asleep. Shortly after
falling asleep, Sarah had a terrible nightmare where the murderer
found her and broke into her house to kill her. She screamed, waking
herself up and an angel of the Lord appeared to her.
The angel of the Lord said, "Don't
be afraid Sarah. Because you believe that God is with you and that he
will intervene before more people are killed, you and everyone you
prayed for, including Luke, will be safe. God has sent me to assure
you that your prayers have reached his ears and that you have nothing
to fear where the killer being caught is concerned or in pursuing a
relationship with the officer guarding you who will be made detective
soon. I have also been sent to give you a message to give to him. His
uncle is indeed with the Lord and he is proud of Luke."
Stunned and not sure if she was dreaming
or not, Sarah replied, "Let it be as you said. I will give Luke the
message. Thank you."
"Peace be with you," The angel of
the Lord said and left her after putting her back into a peaceful
sleep.
Meanwhile, Luke had heard her scream
from his car and he used the key Sarah had given him to let himself
into her house. By the time he gently opened her bedroom door to
check to see what was wrong, he found her sleeping peacefully and
soundly. He closed the door and decided he would use the bathroom and
then sleep on the couch in case she needed him, and he did just that.
Sarah found him fast asleep on her sofa the next morning as she went
into the kitchen to make breakfast after using her private bathroom
and then getting dressed.
Luke woke up to the aroma of eggs and
cinnamon rolls. He was momentarily disoriented about where he was
then remembered he had fallen asleep on Sarah's couch the night
before. He got up and walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning. I saw you fast asleep
on the sofa and didn't have the heart to wake you but thought you
might like some breakfast when you did wake up but I don't know
what you like so I made omelets with a choice of cheese, tomatoes,
spinach, and some meat or just plain and I also baked some cinnamon
rolls," Sarah said.
"I thought I heard you scream last
night so I came inside to investigate but you were fast asleep and
looked really peaceful so I decided to guard your house from the
couch and I must have fallen asleep. You didn't have to go through
all of that trouble. I like meat in my omelets though with some
cheese. It also happens I have a sweet tooth and like cinnamon
rolls," Luke replied.
"Sorry, I had a nightmare. But then
something amazing happened and I was able to get back to sleep,"
Sarah explained with a smile in her voice. She had already put two
empty glasses on the table, so she took a carton of orange juice and
a bottle of grape juice out of the fridge and set them both down
since she didn't know which one Luke would prefer.
"What happened?" Luke asked as he
poured himself some orange juice.
"I was visited by an angel of the
Lord. He told me not to worry because my prayers have been heard and
are being answered in my favor. He uh... also asked me to give you a
message," Sarah replied and served him the omelet and a cinnamon
roll on a plate she placed in front of him. Then she sat down with
her own plate with an omelet and cinnamon roll on it and poured
herself some grape juice then began to eat.
"Me? What message could an angel from
Heaven have for me?" Luke asked.
"Well...you should rest assured that
your uncle is
in the arms of Jesus at peace. Now the second part of the message I
am not fully clear on. The angel said that "he" is proud of you
but I am not sure if he meant your uncle, God, or maybe both,"
Sarah replied.
Luke almost choked on his orange juice
and carefully set the glass down so as not to break it. Sarah tapped
him gently but firmly on the back.
"Are you okay Luke?" She asked.
"Yeah. The juice went down the wrong
way. That couldn't have been easy for you to tell me since I told
you last night that I've been struggling with my faith. Thank you,"
He replied.
"You're welcome. I suspect your aunt
already has this information since the angel only told me to tell
you," Sarah stated.
"She firmly believes it," Luke
affirmed.
"Well now you can both know
it. I think the message was
meant to bring you comfort," Sarah said.
"You know something? It does. I've
been trying for the past seven years to reconcile the fact that he is
gone, but to a better place where people can't betray you,
especially the way his "friend" did to him. Hearing that he is
in fact at peace actually brings me comfort," Luke responded.
"I'm glad. If you're still hungry
there are a couple of more cinnamon rolls still. I made five
altogether," Sarah offered Luke, after seeing how quickly he
finished eating after receiving the message from the angel that had
appeared to her in a dream the night before.
"Thanks," Luke replied and got up to
help himself to another cinnamon roll.
After debating whether or not to discuss
it with Luke, and after praying to God about what to do, Sarah said,
"I can't decide whether to stay home today or go to work. On the
one hand, I don't want to endanger my friend Jessica, who will also
be working the afternoon shift with me, or any customers who may come
into the library. On the other hand, I don't want to be someone who
hides at the first sign of danger, showing lack of trust in God. I
prayed to God about it and I am leaning towards going in to work at
least for part of, if not the whole shift."
"How long is your shift?" Luke
asked.
"Eight hours. My shift starts at noon
and ends at 8 o'clock," Sarah replied.
Luke was just about to give his advice
on what to do when his cellphone rang. However, the battery was
almost dead, so Luke asked if he could use Sarah's landline phone
to call back the person he missed a call from. Sarah said "of
course" and Luke quickly dialed the number and waited for his
partner to pick up on the other end.
"Hello?" Detective Castleberry
answered.
"Hey Castleberry, it's me. Sorry I
missed your call, but I forgot to grab my cellphone charger before
leaving to guard Sarah and her house and my battery died as I was
answering your call. Sarah has a landline as well as a cellphone, so
I asked if I could call from her landline and she agreed," Luke
said.
"Oh, that was nice of her. Wait.
Sarah? Are you two on a first name basis now?" Detective
Castleberry asked.
"I believe you had something to tell
me," Luke said impatiently.
"Yeah. We were able to lift a partial
fingerprint from the alarm clock and there was enough to run it
through the systems. If the killer has a record, we should have an
identity soon. Otherwise, it could be end of the day today or early
tomorrow before we know," Detective Castleberry answered.
"That's great. What does Candlewood
want me to do? Sarah...Miss Rainwater wants to go to work but she has
an eight hour shift. She wants to go but she doesn't want to put
anyone in danger. I was about to suggest she go and that I would
protect her and her coworker and any customers who walk in, when you
called," Luke replied.
"Candlewood says to stay close to Miss
Rainwater and advises she call in to get off, but if she wants to go
in then you are to accompany her, but not make it obvious to anyone
why you're there," Detective Castleberry answered.
"Okay. I will tell her. Thanks for the
update. I'm going to try to swing by my house to charge my
cellphone, take a shower and change clothes. Please call me if there
are any new important updates," Luke requested.
"Will do, but what if I can't reach
you on your cellphone again?" Detective Castleberry asked.
"I have enough battery now that if you
call again, I can use the library's private phone or something. I
will find a way to take your call or to receive the information I
need from you. But like I said, I am going to charge my cellphone. I
will also bring the charger with me. I've been to this library
before and happen to know they have plugin outlets so I will be able
to charge it there too," Luke replied.
"Okay. Talk to you later. Have fun
hanging around a library all day," Detective Castleberry quipped.
"Thanks, I will," Luke responded and
then hung up.
Luke turned to Sarah and said, "You
have me for the day it seems, so you can go to work and it's up to
you how much of your shift you want to go in for. I will make myself
as scarce as possible so as not to draw attention to why I am there.
If you don't mind though, I would like to stop by my place to
charge my cellphone battery a bit while I shower and change clothes
and then I will bring my cellphone battery charger with me and we can
go."
"Sure, no problem. I'm almost ready
to go, I just need to grab my purse and make sure I have all I will
need before leaving," Sarah replied.
A few minutes later, they both walked
out Sarah's front door and she locked up behind her. They stopped
by Luke's place and about fifteen minutes later, Luke was ready to
go and Sarah grabbed his cellphone charger before he could forget it
again and then they drove to the library for Sarah's shift.
"You didn't have much food in the
house, but I found enough scraps to put together a sandwich for you
in case you get hungry and I also brought some other food for you to
eat from your house should I make it through the whole eight hours
without anything...eventful happening. I also grabbed a bottle of
water from your fridge for you to drink. I hope you don't mind I
grabbed myself a bottle of water too," Sarah said to Luke once they
were on the road.
"Thanks. I appreciate it. What do you
plan to do if you get hungry?" Luke asked.
"You saw me pack the leftover cinnamon
roll. Plus there is a cafsandwich place nearby I thought we could
stop at on the way. Oh here it is, coming up on your right," Sarah
responded.
Luke saw the place
she meant and pulled into the parking lot, found a space right
outside the door and then turned the engine off to accompany Sarah
inside. Sarah ordered her usual, and less than ten minutes later,
they were back in the car. When they got to the library, Luke looked
for a parking spot where he could park for several hours without
anyone getting suspicious and parked his car. Sarah got out first and
went inside the library with her linner to start her shift. Luke came
inside a couple of minutes later and looked for a good place to
charge his phone. Upon finding what he considered was the perfect
location, he plugged his phone into an outlet located in a place
with a good vantage point where he could see Sarah and also see the
front door, but where he could also browse some books and look
inconspicuous, as if he was just there to look through the books
there. For the first five hours of Sarah's shift, all was quiet.
Around 5 o'clock, a man came in acting suspiciously with his eyes
blazed and focused on Sarah. Luke quietly inched closer to Sarah
with a piece of paper in his hand containing a book title that he
planned to use if he sensed danger, which he did. He planned to
pretend to need help finding the book. Luke never got a chance to put
this plan into action though, as the suspicious character that had
just came in walked right up to where Sarah was standing, restocking
returned books that she had finished processing and attempted to
attack her. He produced a knife and raised the blade, preparing to
fatally wound Sarah but before he could reach close enough to grab
her, a heavy book Sarah had just put back in its proper place on the
shelf fell off and hit him in the head, causing him to stumble
backwards. He let out a yelp as he landed flat on his back. Luke took
advantage of the situation and rushed to Sarah's aide and pulled
out his gun and a pair of handcuffs and focused the gun on the man
who had tried to attack Sarah. When Sarah turned around to pick up
the fallen book, she saw Luke draw the gun on the man it had hit,
realized what was going on, and moved out of the line of fire.
Luke said to Sarah in a low voice, "Grab
my cellphone and call for backup. My partner is the last received
call."
Sarah did as she was told and upon
finding Luke's cellphone, she brought up the call list and dialed
the last received call. When his partner, Detective Castleberry
picked up, she told him in a low voice, "Hey, Sarah Rainwater here.
Backup is needed right away at the library. A man tried to attack me
while I was shelving returned books but Luke apprehended him and
needs assistance."
"Thanks for calling us Miss Rainwater.
Help is on the way. Hand tight and we should be there in less than
ten minutes," Detective Castleberry replied and disconnected the
call.
Sarah hit "end call" on Luke's
phone and then gave him a shaky smile and a thumbs up to let him know
that help was on the way.
While Sarah had been making the call,
Luke had said to the perp, "You're under arrest for the murder of
Jeff Rivers and for the attempted murder of Sarah Rainwater."
The killer tried to deny it but Luke
found a knife and a gun on him so Luke bluffed a bit and told him
that his fingerprints had been found on the alarm clock used to kill
Jeff.
"Why did you do it?" Luke asked.
"Because my baby sister died in
that explosion Jeff caused at that gas station! He didn't deserve
to live," the killer answered.
"I heard that was an accident and
that he swerved to avoid hitting a cat that dashed in the middle of
the street and then lost control of his car. He didn't do it
intentionally," Luke answered.
"Whatever. Of course the police
would defend him. I was just avenging my sister's death. He was a
careless man," the killer responded.
Within five minutes of Sarah hanging up
from informing Luke's partner what was going on, backup arrived and
the murderer was taken away. As it turned out, Luke's bluff was
accurate. Detectives Castleberry and Candlewood had just found a
match for the fingerprint they lifted off the alarm clock when Sarah
called for backup.
Sarah asked Luke, "Did the book that
fell hit him and that's how you could reach him before he could
attack me?"
"Yep. Someone is most definitely
looking out for you in Heaven," Luke replied.
"When I saw his knife and gun as I
walked past to get your phone to call for backup, my heart almost
stopped. Thank God you were there and that the book fell on him,"
Sarah stated.
"Yes, thank you God," Luke agreed
wholeheartedly.
"You are a lucky woman Miss Rainwater.
His face matches the face that popped up with a name for the partial
fingerprint we found on the alarm clock that killed the dead man's
body you tripped over," Detective Castleberry stated.
"Luck had nothing to do with it
Detective Castleberry. I am a believer and I had faith God was
protecting me, and he was. It helped that Officer Blackrose was also
close enough to apprehend him before the murderer could attack me,
which was also God's doing, along with the book falling on him as
he lunged to attack me," Sarah responded.
"You are a blessed woman Sarah. Your
God and your guardian angel both prevented you from being hurt or
killed," Detective Candlewood stated. At the slightly puzzled
expression on Sarah's face, Detective Candlewood added, "I
believe too, and if I didn't already then what Detective Blackrose
told me about how things went down, I would believe after that. It
had to be divine intervention that had the book fall and hit the
killer in the head and knock him down before he could attack you."
"I have never met a police officer who
believed in God, how refreshing! Wait a minute, Detective Blackrose?"
Sarah inquired.
"You heard me right Miss Rainwater.
Blackrose has officially earned his Detective status," Detective
Candlewood replied.
The lead Detective then turned to Luke
and said, "Congratulations on a job well done. You have now
officially earned the title of Detective Blackrose. We can bring in
this scumbag ourselves. You may have the rest of the evening off. You
may also have the rest of the weekend off and I will see you on
Monday morning."
"Thank you Candlewood," Detective
Blackrose replied.
He then put an arm around Sarah and
said, "I'll take you home. You look as though you've had enough
excitement for one day."
"I do believe I have. Let me just tell
Jess I am leaving," Sarah replied.
As she was about to walk over to her
friend, Jess came towards her and they met about halfway.
"I think you've had enough
excitement for one day sweetie, why don't you go home and I will
finish the shift alone." Jess offered.
"Thanks Jess. I was just about to let
you know I was going to go home. This has been exciting. I love
reading mysteries and sometimes watching them but these past two days
I was involved in a real life one," Sarah replied.
Jess gave Sarah a tight, long hug and
then released her and told her to have a good night. Sarah walked
towards the door where Luke was waiting and then they walked out to
Luke's car. Before they got in, Luke said softly, "Hey, listen. I
know you aren't sure if you could handle being in a relationship
with someone who puts their life on the line daily, but I was
wondering if you would take a chance on me. I really like you Sarah."
Smiling weakly, Sarah said, "Yes, I
will. But can we go out tomorrow night? I really have had enough
excitement for today. I can make us both dinner."
"Sounds good to me," Luke replied.
"I really like you too, by the way. A
lot...I like you a lot," Sarah admitted.
Smiling, Luke said, "That's good
because I intend for us to be together for a long time. When I saw
that man lunge to attack you, the only thing I could think was, 'God
don't take this woman away from me.' Then I realized that I am
falling in love with you. I know it sounds crazy, but there's just
something about you."
"No, it doesn't sound crazy,"
Sarah said. Then she whispered, "I think I'm falling in love with
you too."
Luke pulled Sarah close and covered her
lips with his in a passionate kiss. Sarah kissed him back, matching
his passion.
After the kiss ended, it took them both
a moment to catch their breath. When they finally did, Luke opened
the car door for Sarah on the passenger side and helped her get in,
closed the door when she was securely in, then got in the driver's
side and drove them back to her house.
Luke, his aunt, and his cousin and his
mother all ended up joining Sarah at church for Sunday morning
service and heard an amazing message from God about faith and courage
and then they went to lunch afterwards so Luke's mother, aunt, and
cousin could get to know Sarah and so she could get to know them too.
On their two month anniversary, Luke
took Sarah to a nice Italian restaurant and then afterwards he drove
her to his favorite "quiet place" with a pretty view of the
mountains to watch the sunset and proposed to her. Sarah said yes
wholeheartedly and shortly after that, Luke was baptized and became a
child of God. Sarah and Luke talked to the Pastor after the baptism
about a wedding ceremony and they discussed the wedding date. Then
about three months later, in the middle of August, with friends and
family on both sides gathered at her church, Sarah Rainwater became
Sarah Blackrose. Sarah couldn't believe that after being thrust in
the middle of a real life murder mystery that she had found her true
love and Luke couldn't believe it either. As they exchanged wedding
vows, Sarah couldn't help thinking how God works in mysterious ways
and how thankful she was that he had brought Luke into her life, and
Luke silently thanked God too for bringing Sarah into his life and
restoring his faith.
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