Chapter 8
Sarah brings Adam and Kyle a soda while they comb through the files, both men thanking her, setting their drinks down on the kitchen table as they read the files again. Eric is skimming though Carin’s files while Kyle took on Moose’s files and Adam reads Timerson’s files, all coming up empty-handed with anything that would cause a person to turn towards murder. Sarah sits down in front of one of Smitherson’s boxes, lifting off the top and peering inside, but the phone ringing causes her to jump and drop the lid back on. The group laughs as Sarah walks over to the phone in the living room.
She sits down and answers, her voice drifting back to where the guys are working, her voice light and happy. The guys chat while they work but still come up empty-handed, nearly through with their boxes, when Sarah comes back in with a smile on her face.
“Was that Willow?” Eric asks when he sees the smile.
“Yes, they will come over for dinner and games on Saturday. Wait until you meet them, Eric, they are such a lovely couple. They are thinking of moving here to get away from the city, not sure which city but they are thinking about it.”
She starts dinner, warming the oven up and cuts the carrots, onions, and potatoes to put in with the roast. Sarah hums as she works, turning the radio on as she preps the food. She dances around the kitchen as she cooks, cuts, and puts the salad together while the guys keep working. Sarah sets the dining room table while the roast, carrots, onions, and potatoes cook, dancing around the table.
Eric bobs his head to the music, closing the second box he finished before he moves onto the third box in Carin’s pile. “I hope we find something. Did you find anything yet?”
“Nothing so far,” Adam says as he stands and stretches his arms over his head, popping his back and neck.
Kyle shakes his head, closing his box, “Nothing.”
They continue to work until Sarah finally calls for them to put everything away and come eat dinner. The guys put down the files and rush into the dining room, ready to eat and ready for a break. They eat quietly as they enjoy every bite, smiles and moans of happiness being the only noises coming from Adam, Kyle, and Eric. Sarah shakes her head, chuckling as she eats her dinner, glad that dinner is such a hit. As she takes a bite, a thought pops in her mind and she looks at the detectives, setting her fork down.
“May I ask you something?”
Both Kyle and Adam put their forks down, seeing something on her face that told them that what she is going to tell them is important. She then tells them about the strange man she encountered during lunch and then again, the day she went shopping for food. Eric looks at her, worried, glancing over to see Adam has gotten up and went to his coat by the door. Adam returns to the table, flipping open his notebook, and asks Sarah to describe the guy. He writes everything she remembers about the guy, making sure not to leave out any details. He nods from time to time, writing when and where Sarah ran into the stranger and asked about the hotels around. She gives him two names, and he scribbles them down so he can check to see if anyone staying at them matches her description.
“Stranger in town is not really suspicious, but the way this guy was acting,” Kyle murmurs. “We need to look into him. Thanks, Sarah, we will find out all that we can about him and tell you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about him, Hunny?” Eric asks, taking a hold of his wife’s hand, squeezing it gently.
“I didn’t think about it until now. A stranger is killing our friends and there is a stranger that has been stalking around town and appearing wherever I was?” Sarah shivers, “I just want to make sure that the killer is caught and that this guy isn’t up to no good.”
After dinner, Sarah washes the dishes once again, humming and singing with the radio while Eric helps Kyle and Adam take the boxes back out to Adam’s car. He apologizes again for asking the men to leave, but Sarah is visibly shaken, and he wants her to rest. Once done, he hurries back inside, ushering his wife to their room to take a warm bath while he finishes up cleaning the kitchen. As he cleans, he wonders if he should take some time off in order to stay with his wife to keep her safe. But he knew he can’t stay home until they catch the murderer, so he decides against it. He could get one of their neighbors to keep tabs on Sarah but again she would tell him no and that she will be fine since Kyle and Adam are on the case of the stranger that is possibly stalking her.
Eric puts the last of the clean dishes away, wipes off the water, and heads back into their room to talk to Sarah, who is enjoying a bath still. He sits on the toilet, clasping his hands in front of her while resting his elbows on his knees and staring at the ground. “Sarah, I don’t want you answering the door for anyone while I am at work. And I only want you to go out if it completely necessary until this man is questioned by Adam and Kyle and the murderer is caught.”
Sarah looks at her husband, “I know you are worried, but I promise to be safe. I will only go out when needed and I won’t answer the door unless I know the person.”
Eric nods, “Thanks.” He stands up and leans down, kissing her on the head before he leaves, needing to sit and relax on the couch and watch a little TV in order to calm his nerves. Reading the newspaper and sipping on a whiskey wouldn’t do it for him tonight, so it is time to find a mind-numbing show to watch before bed. He knew that if he didn’t do this, he would never get to sleep. Sarah joins him a while later, snuggling up close to him to help calm both their nerves so that they can get to bed and sleep well that night.
