What came before...

  "I've got one of the murdering punks handcuffed in Miss Corbin's apartment," Detective Samuels yells into the speaker of his cellphone. "Guy was sent by his bosses to rub her out. Seems her boyfriend went rogue and nearly ruined their operation. They killed him. Guy in the apartment told me...Absolutely under no duress at all...Where I can find his friends. Call in a black and white to Miss Corbin's apartment. But, I want to you to follow me to the address I'm gonna give you. Got a pen, Dave?"

  -

  -

  Merrville County

  Fell's Springs

  Octavia rushes out of the master bathroom, diving onto the bed and snatching her cellphone from the nightstand. She answers the phone before it can stop ringing.

  "Yeah, Dave?" Octavia says. "Anything from Detective Samuels?"

  "Yes. Actually," Dave replies, shifting his phone from one ear to the other as he backs out of a three-point turn. "Samuels thinks he knows where the kidnappers are holed up. He's headed there now. Asked me to meet him."

  "Oh. Well, that's good. What about James? Has anyone found him yet?"

  "Nope. Not a sign or a peep from James since we last spoke. I'm worried, Octavia. I don't think James would ever hurt Madison. That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried that James might...I'm worried that he might be..."

  "Please. Don't say it, Dave. Please, don't say it," Octavia exclaims, squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't want to even think about something like that. I can't."

  "I know, Octavia. I know," Dave says in a soft whisper. "Damn!"

  The large deputy rams his right fist into the dashboard of the truck, causing a jolt of pain to shoot up his entire arm. Dave waves his smarting hand in the air, trying to shake out the pain of striking his hand.

  "Dave, are you alright?" Octavia inquires, her voice shrill and full of genuine concern.

  "Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine," Dave answers.

  He draws his lips tightly together, taking a deep breath. After a brief numerical count, Dave appeals to Octavia again.

  "Don't tell Madison a thing. Not about the kidnappers," Dave explains. "Don't let her turn on the television. Don't turn on the radio. Let her sleep as long as she needs to. We don't want to get Madison's hopes up. I worry that all of this may be too much for her. She's been through a lot. And in such a short time. First, Bennett and that damned Aquarius. And now, this. Somewhere...Out there...Little Jamie is in the hands of brutal kidnappers. Murderers. Madison's been strong, so far. Stronger than anyone ever gave her credit for being. But everyone has a breaking point. Just let her sleep. And if she asks for an update...Tell her the department is checking up on a few leads. But that not much has changed."

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  "You don't need to lecture me, Dave," Octavia reminds her lover. "I'm a cop too. I know how to handle sensitive situations like these."

  "I...I know you do, Octavia. I'm sorry. I just...I need to hear myself talk sometimes."

  "I know," Octavia teases.

  "I love you, Octavia," Dave whispers into the speaker of his phone.

  "I love you too, Dave. Be careful," comes Octavia's whispered answer through the phone.

  "I'll do my best," Dave says. "Bye, now."

  "Bye, Dave."

  As Dave ends the call, a heavy feeling descends over him. With all that has gone wrong in the past two weeks, Dave questions the certainty of his own future.

  -

  -

  Route Twenty-Two

  Through the open window of his department issued Ford pickup, Dave observes the sound of a single gunshot. He slows the truck to a slow crawl, taking his pistol out its holster. A moment later, another gunshot rings out. A different caliber. Possibly hollow point.

  A metal building looms ahead on the right. The old dog food factory. To Dave's recollection, old man Winter's closed up shop almost ten years ago. Whoever is inside the old factory is not there to make puppy chow.

  Dave sucks in his cheeks and takes a deep breath. As the senior deputy rounds a sharp turn in the road, he catches sight of Detective Samuels' vehicle parked underneath a tree beside the old factory. No one is inside. At least, not as far as Dave can see.

  "Okay, Dave!" the large deputy whispers quietly, pumping himself up for the possible gun battle to come. "It's about to be showtime. Two gunshots...Two different caliber weapons. One could be Samuels. The other, clearly is not. Now...Who fired the last shot? We're about to find out."

  Dave parks his truck at a distance from the old factory. He opens his glove compartment and retrieves his backup service revolver. Inside the glove compartment, is an old wallet. Taking out the wallet, Dave glances at the photographs tucked inside the trifold slots. Hazel.

  Pain hammers within Dave's heart as he runs two fingers over the clear plastic covering the three photos inside. The first picture was taken just after he and Hazel had started dating. If you can call what they were doing dating? He'd rented an old cabin--at the farthest end of the county--and they'd both spent the entire weekend screwing and making light. It was the most difficult thing in the world keeping his hands off of the sultry beauty. Setting up the tripod for their sexy pool photoshoot was only the second hardest thing of the whole weekend. But eventually, he'd made it work.

  Then, there's the picture of the two of them in Lich, Montana. How beautiful Hazel had been that day--and long into the night. And nestled in the center sleeve of that old wallet, is a photo taken the day after their formal engagement. Hazel had seemed so happy. And the joy in Dave's heart had been almost indescribable. To finally find what he'd thought was true love--after nearly half a century of fruitless searching? All of it lost, because of a vile killer known as Aquarius.

  Guilt causes Dave to close the old wallet and place it back inside the pickup's glove compartment. He has no business feeling like this. Not when there is an extremely beautiful woman waiting for him at home. But you can't run away from what you feel. There's no off switch when all you want to do is lie atop the woman your heart chose to love. When you long to hear her sigh and gasp your name.

  Shutting the glove compartment, Dave checks both of his weapons for readiness. The senior deputy is thoroughly surprised when a hooked up Toyota Tacoma slowly makes its way down the road and parks beside his truck. The driver is not someone he recognizes. However, the passenger is someone he would know anywhere. Despite the oddball disguise.

  "James?! Mack, is that you?" Dave exclaims, rolling down his window. "Gosh...Damn it...Where the hell have you been all of this time? Madison is worried sick and every hound dog in the department is after you."

  "Nice to see you too, Dave!" James says with a wry grin.