Page 49 of Saving Meadow

“Okay. Two hundred and eleven.”

“Still too many,” Mike said. “Narrow that to women with no children.”

“That will take me a few minutes,” she said.

“Hit us back when you have a list,” Ben said and disconnected the call. “Let me grab Joel and Mandy.”

Sally roamed around the room, and the knot grew. Fuck. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I pulled my cell out of my pocket and sent a text to Meadow.

Me: Good day?

A normal everyday text. Nothing that would alert her to the fact I was ninety percent sure she worked with the woman that had attacked her and killed fifteen women.

Meadow: Better now that I’ve heard from you. Killer meeting. Boss is pissed. I’m going down to the sub shop to grab lunch before I’m stuck printing more reports and don’t get to eat. Seems I worked up an appetite. 😉 How’s your day? Catch any crazy bad guys? xoxo

Me: Glad you’re hungry. Plan on packing snacks tomorrow. My day is fine. See you tonight.

Then I couldn’t stop myself.

Me: I love you, Meadow. Please be careful. Watch where you’re going and who’s around you.

Meadow: Everything okay?

Me: Everything is fine. I just need to know you’re safe.

Meadow: I’m safe. xoxo

I hoped to God that was the truth. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to her.

22

Peace offering

“Is it true?”

Shit! Rory. She scared the hell out of me again, and we almost had a repeat performance of the great mustard molestation. I had been enjoying my lunch, sitting on the bench outside of the sub shop, happy to be out of the office when Rory plopped down next to me.

After Nick had texted me, Beth stormed out of her office red-hot mad. No, she was more than that, whatever is more than red-hot mad is what she had been. The stack of files she had in her arms were tossed on my desk, and some had scattered to the floor. I was about to finally tell her where she could stick her bitch ass attitude when Mr. Klein stepped out of her office in time to witness her temper tantrum.

He pulled her back into her office, and the entire floor heard Beth screeching through the closed door. When she reemerged, she had her black designer bag hitched over her shoulder and a tight pinch on her face. She’d stormed out of the office, and Mr. Klein informed us that Beth was no longer employed by Fusion Telecom. I guess I’d been wrong; upper management had seen what a bitch she really was. It probably didn’t help she’d lost several clients over the last few months.

“Yeah. Mr. Klein fired her. He said she’d be in later to get her personal items, but he’d sent her away to cool off.”

“It’s about time. That woman is terrible. So, tell me about Mr. Hunk that picked you up for lunch. That’s still going on, right?” Rory giggled.

Yes, she giggled like a high schooler.

“Yeah, it’s still going. Nothing much to tell,” I lied.

“There has to be something. Your cheeks are red. What does he do?” she asked.

“He works for the FBI,” I told her, ignoring her comment about me blushing. God, I hoped I wasn’t, and she was only kidding.

“FBI? Is he working on the serial killer case? Do they have any leads?” she asked.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t talk about work, and I don’t watch the news,” I told her. I would never break Nick’s confidence, nor would I tell anyone that I’d met Nick because the FBI thought I was the killer’s first victim. The thought made me shudder. She was still out there, killing people. She’d killed poor Becky last night.

It felt wrong having Rory ask about the case like she was. She had a look of amazement rather than outrage.