Chasing Second Chances Read online

  Come on, tell me, Bryan. What do I need to know?

  “There would be a lot of things, I suppose,” he finally said. “But let’s just say I’m afraid that you’ll find I’m not who you think I am.”

  “And why would you think that? Is there anything I’m supposed to know about you, anything you want to tell me?” she asked, wanting a specific answer and feeling that it was within her arm’s length. “I promise I won’t get upset.”

  “It’s just that you look at me like I’m perfect, and it’s a good feeling, but I’m not. Sometimes, I hurt. Sometimes, I feel weak. Sometimes, I’m afraid. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m the right man for you, if I can love you the way you deserve.”

  “Why would you doubt that?”

  “Because I love you too much?”

  He placed a hand on her cheek, the warmth and sincerity of his hand matching those in his eyes, which also glimmered with a soft sadness and a lot of love. Suddenly, she felt a stab of guilt for having doubted him, for having been trying to find something that was wrong with him when he clearly thought the world of her. Not only that, she felt foolish for having fallen into Lloyd’s trap of making her doubt the man she loved, for allowing herself to be persuaded into thinking the worst of him instead of believing the best in him as she ought.

  Well, that was all going to stop now.

  She grabbed his hand, pressing it softly to her lips. “I love you, too.”

  She leaned forward at the same time as he did, their lips eventually meeting before parting to let tongues collide and entwine.

  Whatever it was he was hiding from her, if indeed there was something, she no longer cared.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Do you care more for that man than for your own children?” Lloyd asked over the phone, his voice raised a notch.

  He was only supposed to call Kate to tell her he wouldn’t be coming back to the house that night because it was already late, but he had ended up asking her if she had talked to Bryan and she had ended up getting mad at him, which had caused him to lose his grip on his own temper.

  “Of course not!” she said indignantly. “Look, I may not be able to do as much as you’re doing when it comes to finding the kids but I’m definitely doing all I can and so is Bryan. I don’t care what he’s hiding, if there really is something he’s hiding. For all I know, you could have been…”

  “Lying to you and putting doubts into your head just so you would leave him?” He finished the sentence for her. “Do you really think I’d do that, Kate? Just because I told you I still love you?”

  There was a pause and he could imagine her blushing on the other hand just as she had when he confessed.

  “At any rate, it doesn’t matter,” she said. “Whatever he’s hiding from me doesn’t matter.”

  “Doesn’t it?”

  “I trust him and if he won’t tell me what it is, then I don’t need to know.”

  “Is that really it, Kate?” he could not resist asking her. “Or is it because deep down inside, you don’t really want to know? You’re afraid to know because it might just burst that bubble that you’re in…”

  “Don’t tell me how I feel,” she cut him off angrily. “Bryan and I may have only been together for two years but I love him and he loves me. Our relationship is stronger than you think, at least stronger than what you and I had.”

  Ouch. He winced at that last remark but continued. “If that is so, then what are you afraid of, Kate?”

  “I just don’t want to stick my nose into affairs that don’t concern me.”

  “So you’re not really concerned?”

  “I have no reason to be,” she said confidently. Even so, he could detect the sliver of doubt in her voice, something in her tone telling him she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

  “Really?”

  “Bryan told me he loves me more than anything and that he wouldn’t do anything to lose me.”

  “That’s why he won’t tell you his secret. Because he’s scared, too.”

  “He loves me,” she repeated. “More than you do.”

  Again, he let the remark go. “It seems I have no choice but to open your eyes. Go to your computer and type the name Evelyn Rocher.”

  “I won’t. I’ve decided to believe the best in him.”

  “And did he convince you to do that after you slept with him?”

  “He did not…ugh!” He heard a slap in the background. “Why? If you’re not doing this just to cause a rift between me and Bryan, why do you want me so badly to think he’s a bad person, to think he could have taken my children? The way I see it, you’re the one with more reason to.”

  Her words gave him pause. “You think so?”

  She ignored his question. “I have to go now.”

  With those words, she hung up.

  Lloyd stared at the phone before tucking it back in its leather case.

  That certainly hadn’t gone well, he thought. Not only had his insistence for Kate to find out more about her boyfriend increased the affection and loyalty towards him, but she had turned her doubts towards him, as well.

  He had to be more careful.

  For now, he would just leave her alone, give her some time to reflect on the things he had told her. Then, he would wait for her to make her next move before he proceeded with his plan.

  What will you do, Kate?

  * * * *

  Kate stepped out of the bathroom where she had taken Lloyd’s call and walked towards the bed. As with the night before, Bryan lay sound asleep, probably exhausted from putting the children’s playground together.

  As she passed by the desk where her laptop rested, she stopped, Lloyd’s words resounding in her head.

  Go to your computer and type the name Evelyn Rocher.

  She tapped her fingers on the backrest of the swivel chair as she debated whether or not to follow his suggestion. On one hand, she could not deny that she was still curious, in spite of everything she had said to indicate the contrary, but on the other, she didn’t really want to know.

  As much as she hated to admit it, Lloyd was right.

  She was afraid to know.

  She had been brave earlier, determined even, but only because she had not been aware of what she had been trying to do, or its consequences. Now that she had realized how much Bryan loved her, how wonderful it was to have him in her life, she was afraid to lose him and the magic they shared.

  But wasn’t not knowing more terrifying? Would she be able to stay by Bryan’s side knowing there was something he wasn’t telling her?

  Evelyn Rocher.

  It was a woman’s name. The question was: Which woman? Who was Evelyn Rocher?

  She approached her laptop, running her fingers over it. Just with the press of a few keys, a few clicks, she could find out who Evelyn Rocher was and what she had to do with Bryan.

  But was she prepared?

  For a moment, she just stood there, unable to make up her mind as questions assailed her. Then, she stepped back.

  No.

  Now that she knew what she was looking for, she could check on it anytime and now was not the right time. It was the worst time, in fact.

  After she found the kids, then she would deal with Evelyn Rocher.

  Until then, Evelyn Rocher, whoever she was, would just have to wait.

  * * * *

  “Would you like us to wait for Mr. Marrick?” Lt. Paulson asked as he placed a glass of water in front of Kate.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know what time he’ll be back. I’ll just relay the details to him.”

  “All right.” Lt. Paulson sat on the edge of the table. “And Dr. Knowles?”

  “He’s waiting for me outside.”

  “I see.”

  She would have wanted Bryan to be there with her, sitting beside her, but he had refused to accompany her to the interrogation room, saying that his presence was not really required and that he preferred to wait for he
r outside. She had no choice but to let him go, though she wondered what his real reason was.

  Was he afraid of being in the interrogation room?

  “Very well then. Ms. Evans, allow me to brief you on the information we managed to extract from the scene where Charlene Morrow was found.”

  She nodded.

  “But before that, let me tell you that we’ve managed to get information from Charlene’s phone.”

  “You have?” she asked hopefully.

  “It seems that the last message she sent was on Friday evening, confirming the earlier theory that that was when the kidnapping occurred.”

  “Friday evening,” she muttered. That had been the night of the thunderstorm and she had been so afraid then, having no clue that something even more fearful was happening.

  “The messages indicate that she did not have a boyfriend. She had a lot of friends, though, a few of whom she informed that she was babysitting at your place. We currently have officers tracking them down to ask them questions, although there is a possibility the kidnapper was not someone Charlene knew at all, since there were no suspicious messages in her inbox.”

  “I understand.”

  “As for what we found in the woods, let me start with the results of Charlene’s autopsy.” He looked at the paper in his hand. “It has been confirmed that the cause of death is a gunshot, which means she bled to death from the wound on her chest. Whether she was killed in the woods or killed somewhere else and then dumped there is yet unknown. The presence of defensive wounds has also been confirmed, which means she fought back. As a matter of fact, we were able to scrape DNA from under some of her fingernails, though we are yet to find a match.”

  Kate frowned but kept silent.

  “At least, we were able to find out the DNA was male.”

  Kate looked up at him. “Male?”

  Lt. Paulson nodded. “We also found a strand of hair on Charlene’s shirt which matches Lena’s DNA.”

  “Lena?” She sat up on her seat, eyes wide. “So Lena was with Charlene before she died? Is she alive?”

  “We don’t know for sure yet if she is alive,” Lt. Paulson answered. “But yes, it is likely that Charlene and Lena were together before Charlene was killed.”

  She fell silent, placing her shaking hand over her mouth.

  “We also found some other traces on Charlene’s clothes which we are currently using to help us find out where the children are possibly being kept.”

  She sat back.

  “I’m afraid we did not find any other evidence in the area apart from what we found on Charlene’s body.”

  She nodded. She didn’t care. What mattered was that the police were looking for her children and that they had a new lead.

  Lt. Paulson glanced back at the piece of paper in his hand. “Oh, another thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “The jacket Charlene was wearing when she was found dead apparently didn’t belong to her. It was a size too big and had the initials E and R.”

  “E and R,” Kate repeated softly.

  “And she was apparently drugged before she was killed, which was probably why even though she tried to put up a fight, she didn’t get to inflict much damage.”

  “Drugged?”

  “She had a significant amount of sedative in her system.”

  “Sedative?”

  “A sedative that can only be obtained through a prescription,” Lt. Paulson said. “We are currently checking to see which drugstores in the area have sold the sedative recently and which doctors have prescribed it, though of course, we may not come up with anything. It is possible that the suspect may have bought the drugs a long time ago, after all, or may not have bought it in our area. It is even possible that the suspect obtained the drugs illegally.”

  “So Charlene was probably with the kids at some point but then, they drugged her and took her away and killed her?”

  “That is a fairly accurate summary, Ms. Evans,” Lt. Paulson agreed. He jumped off the table and patted her on the shoulder. “I know that every day your children remain lost must be weighing on you heavily, Ms. Evans, but I assure you that we are doing everything we can. With new leads, we should be able to have more information on the kidnapper, Charlene’s killer, and his whereabouts soon.”

  She said nothing, still thinking about what she had been told.

  “Do you have any questions or anything you’d like to tell me at all?”

  She shook her head. “I’m all right. Thank you, Lt. Paulson.”

  The officer nodded. “As I mentioned before, feel free to call me if you think there is anything at all I can help you with.”

  “Thank you.”

  She got out of her seat and left the interrogation room slowly, deep in thought. As soon as she stepped outside, she searched for Bryan, grinning when she saw him sitting on a bench, though her grin immediately vanished when a series of realizations hit her.

  She was apparently drugged before she was killed.

  Can only be obtained through a prescription…

  E and R.

  Evelyn Rocher.

  “Kate, is everything all right?” Bryan asked, suddenly beside her, supporting her.

  She looked at him.

  The DNA was male.

  “Kate?”

  “I’m all right,” she lied. “I’m just thinking of something Lt. Paulson said.”

  “Okay.” He guided her down the stairs. “You can tell me all about it on our way home.”

  She followed him towards his car, her thoughts churning. Then, she suddenly stopped just outside it, her uncertainty becoming too much to bear.

  “Kate?” Bryan turned to her with an expression of concern. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Who is Evelyn Rocher?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Who?” Bryan asked as he stepped closer to her, apparently not having heard her whispered question the first time.

  She was about to repeat the question but as she looked into his eyes, fear once more crept into her. What was she saying?

  “Kate?”

  “It’s nothing,” she said as her resolve weakened. “I was just wondering who the kidnapper could be and why he killed Charlene.”

  He placed an arm around her, drawing her close to him so her head rested on his chest. “I’m sure we’ll find out everything soon enough, Kate. Just hang in there.”

  She nodded but gently pushed him away.

  “I think I’d like to take a walk by myself. Is that all right?”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

  She shook her head. “I think I need some time alone.”

  “I understand,” he said, though the look on his face told her he didn’t like it. It pained her a little, but she decided to be strong. She needed to clear her mind, to make it up and the only way she could do that was to be alone.

  “I’ll be all right,” she said, trying to give him a reassuring grin. “I just need to be alone right now. I’ll take a cab home when I’ve finished sorting out my thoughts. Go on and don’t worry about me.”

  “Okay. Take care. I love you.”

  She didn’t really feel like returning the words at the moment, her uncertainty too much, but she mumbled them anyway. “I love you.”

  She turned around and began walking slowly down the pavement. She wasn’t really sure where she was going, not having any particular destination in mind so she just kept walking with her hands tucked into the pockets of her denim jacket, turning around corners almost automatically and crossing streets with the crowds whenever she had to.

  When she reached the park, she sat on an empty bench, stopping to think.

  What was she going to do now?

  She had thought she had made up her mind about digging into Bryan’s past, about Evelyn Rocher. She had already decided to wait. But now, given the new information Lt. Paulson had given her, she wondered if waiting was the right thing to do.

  It had the init
ials E and R.

  What if Evelyn Rocher had something to do with the kidnapping of her children?

  She slapped her forehead, frustrated by the difficulty of the decision she was facing but knowing she had to make it.

  She had to make her choice.

  If she went around looking for information about Evelyn Rocher, she was likely to open a can of worms and damage what she and Bryan had. Then again, her relationship with Bryan was already suffering just with the secret of his past hovering above them—the incident earlier outside the car was proof of it. And what if Evelyn Rocher did have something to do with the kidnapping, after all? Could she just stand by and do nothing?

  Perhaps, you might even be the only one who can find out and save them.

  She sat up.

  No, she wasn’t going to do nothing. She had practically been doing nothing all this time, leaving the work to the police and the people around her and now that the opportunity to do something arose, she wasn’t going to pass it up.

  It was time to stand on her own two feet and do her part.

  She wasn’t just going to confront Bryan and force an answer out of him, though. If she was going to delve into Bryan’s past, then she would do it as carefully as possible, taking the route that would cause the least damage. First, she would go home to check on Evelyn Rocher online. Then, she would go through Bryan’s things. That way, Bryan wouldn’t know she was trying to uncover his secret, so if she was wrong about Evelyn Rocher, then no damage would be done and she would finally have some peace of mind.

  Yes, she thought as she got up from the bench. That was the best thing to do.

  She refused to stand on the sidelines any longer. She had to find out who Evelyn Rocher was, whether she had something to do with the kidnapping of her children or not, ,.

  * * * *

  She didn’t find much on the internet, though, just two short news articles—one dated six years ago on the website of a local newspaper that was now out of circulation saying Evelyn Rocher had filed a report that her baby had gone missing. Still, it was enough to spark Kate’s curiosity and so, after not finding anything helpful among Bryan’s things, as well, she now stood in front of his apartment, where he had lived before moving in with her and which still had most of his things.