“Why do I need to stay? As I was telling this man here, I didn’t see anything. I’ve only been here for a couple of hours and in that time I’ve been in session with two of the residents. I don’t know what help I could be to anyone,” he nearly wailed in his agitation.
“Well that does not matter Mr. Smith,” Dalia told him, and turned her attention away
when the front door opened and Mark, Maya, and Jordan entered the house.
“Maya, Detectives, I am glad you are here.” She went to Maya’s side and gave her friend
a hug in greeting.
“I’m sorry it took so long to come inside, but Jordan and I received a report from the
guard who’s been surveying the perimeter,” Mark explained.
He turned his attention to Rodriguez; “I’m assuming everything is fine in here?”
“Yes sir.” The guard retrieved his notebook from his pocket and briefed Mark and
Jordan. After he’d briefed them, the officer turned to where the counselor had been standing, only to find him gone.
“There is only one counselor on duty sir, and he insists he needs to leave right away. He’s been instructed to wait until you’ve had the opportunity to question him before he’s cleared to go.”
Mark dismissed the guard and looked at Dalia as Maya asked, “James?”
“Yes. He says he didn’t see anything and he needs to leave in order to take care of some
important business. We told him he must wait,” Dalia told Maya with frown on her face.
“What’s wrong Dalia?”
“Nothing really. James didn’t seem to be himself. He seemed very anxious,” she told
them and then shook her head slightly. “I’m sure it is nothing. As he said, he has an emergency.”
“Let’s take a look at the package.” Mark led them out of the foyer and into the House.
“Why don’t I go and question this counselor and I’ll meet back up with you when I’m
done. I’ll keep him around if it’s necessary,” Jordan volunteered and left the trio in search of James Smith.
When they reached the office, Dalia unlocked the door and turned on the light. Mark
pulled the gloves on his hands before he picked up the boxed arrangement. He extracted the
small note inside and read the contents out loud.
“Dr. Richardson I admire you and what you do for our fallen sisters. I am also sorry
about your sister that was not supposed to happen; however it did bring us together.
Unfortunately she didn’t keep the best of company and sometimes--bad things happen when we don’t keep good company. This is something you should be aware of. Be careful Maya, before something unfortunate happens to you. That would be a total waste. An unfortunate total waste.”
“Damn it,” Mark cursed and glanced at Maya, the fear in her eyes made him curse again.
He placed the note back in the package and gathered her in his arms. “It’s going to be okay.
Really it is.” He was at a loss for words, as anger and frustration warred for dominance.
“You really are starting to sound like a broken record.” Her laugh sounded forced.
“How’s that?”
“You’ve said those exact words more times than I care to count. I’m fine, and I know it’s
going to be okay. I’ll just be glad when this is over,” she took a deep breath. “My question is how did it get here? And more importantly, are my residents as or staff at risk?” Maya frowned at him, as she asked the question.
“I don’t know how it got here Maya but we will find out. And as far as everyone’s safety, if I have to stay here myself until this case is solved, no one will be left unprotected. I promise you, baby.”
Jordan entered the office after a brief knock, and Mark showed him Maya’s package.
“Damn,” he said bluntly, echoing Mark’s earlier sentiment after he read the
accompanying note.
“Did you speak with the counselor?” Mark asked after Jordan looked over the note and
flowers.
“Yeah. He didn’t arrive until after seven in the evening. He says he was in session with
two of the residents immediately after his arrival.”
“Were you able to confirm that information with anyone?”
“Sure did. I spoke to the resident he was counseling, and she confirmed the time. Another
resident reported Ruby Vallejo accepted the package from the carrier.”
Mark sighed. He’d hoped Jordan could have found out more. He looked at Maya and
Dalia and asked, “why don’t the two of you follow us. Jordan and I need to question Ms. Vallejo, and I’d like to talk to your intern before he leaves.”
They questioned the residents and staff, trying to determine if anyone had any valuable
information, and were markedly disappointed when no one did.
Mark spoke with James as the counselor was leaving and agreed with Jordan that he
knew nothing that could help them. In the end they found the only one with any helpful
information was Ruby Vallejo.
Late that afternoon, Ruby had accepted the mail, and the small brown package was
among the varied pieces. She knew neither Dalia nor Maya were at the House, and so she left the package and mail in the basket outside Dalia’s locked office door.
“No postage, and of course no return of address. Damn.” Frustrated, Mark slammed his
hand against the wall.
“Shit’s heatin’ up for real man. What do you make of it?”
“Jordan I don’t know what to make of this crap. One thing I don’t like is the wording in
the note. It’s clearly a warning. Although covert, it’s still a warning. We need to tell the lieutenant, as well as Agent Montgomery as soon as possible.”
“Will Maya go into protective custody?”
“No. She agreed to work only during the day and do as much work as she can from home,
but other than that, I can’t make her go to a safe house. But at least
