Southern Lights

Chapter 5

The rest of January flew by, and Alexa was swamped at the office. They got a match on Quentin on five victims in Pe

Alexa had made a brief statement to the media, but otherwise declined to comment. She didn’t want to do or say anything wrong. The case was just too important. And there were at least a dozen more victims in question, in a variety of states where he had traveled. It had turned into a national story, and Alexa was constantly meeting with detectives from other states. Jack was gathering information, and Alexa was already busy preparing for the trial. Finally, in early February, Alexa had time for a quiet di

“You look tired,” her mother said, looking worried.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better. I only have three months till the trial.” She was up till three in the morning every night, reading case law and making notes.

“Well, just don’t wear yourself out totally. How’s Sava

“Not till March or April,” Alexa answered with a sigh. “She’s going skiing with her father next week. If he shows up. Most of the time, he flakes on her. He’ll probably do it again,” Alexa said with a look of irritation. She hated his disappointing Sava

“Maybe he won’t flake this time,” Muriel said quietly. “I hope not.”

“Why?” Alexa asked, looking exasperated. She hated her ex-husband, everything he stood for, and everything he’d done to them. He had banished them from his life, out of weakness. It had been easier for him to give in to his mother and ex-wife than to stand by them. She loathed the worm he had turned out to be. “Why do you hope he won’t flake?” Alexa asked, suddenly angry at her mother.

“Because it’s good for her to see her father, at least once in a while. She loves him. You may hate him, and I understand that, I don’t like him either, for what he did to you. But he’s still her father, Allie. Better the reality, with all its flaws and frailties, than a fantasy she makes of him.” Alexa smiled at what her mother said. She hadn’t called her “Allie” in years. But Alexa was still a child to her, just as Sava

“Maybe you’re right,” Alexa said, backing down. “But I grew up without a father. It didn’t kill me. And Tom is such a jerk.”

“She’ll figure that out for herself. Give her time.”

“I think she already knows it but loves him anyway.”

“Give her that. She needs it. For now at least.”

“It always upsets her that I won’t see him. I haven’t seen him in ten years and hope I never do again.”

“Is he coming to her graduation in June?”

“I asked her not to invite him,” Alexa said guiltily. “She said she’s giving me four years’ notice, and she wants him at her college graduation.” Alexa smiled ruefully at her mother. “I guess I have no choice. She’s a good sport about it, and I try not to say too much, but she knows how I feel about him. It’s no secret between us.”

“You need to get over it,” her mother said quietly, and Alexa looked at her in surprise.

“Why? What difference does it make if I hate him?”

“Because it poisons you. And you’ll never have a decent relationship with another man if you don’t put it behind you and stop hating him.”

Alexa’s jaw looked set in stone. “Check back with me in thirty or forty years. Maybe I’ll have Alzheimer’s by then.” Her mother made no further comment, and Alexa went home to Sava

“How was Grandma?” she asked, looking sleepy. She had finished all her homework and had spent a quiet evening alone.

“Fine. She sends you her love.”

Alexa went to hang her coat up in the hall closet, and saw the envelope sticking under the door. She hadn’t seen it when she walked in. She picked it up cautiously by a corner. It was the same childlike handwriting as before. She didn’t say anything to Sava

She didn’t say a word about it, but walked into her bedroom and closed the door. She called Jack on his cell phone, he answered immediately, and she told him about the letter. Alexa was holding it carefully in the plastic bag.

“I don’t even know if it’s real. It may just be someone trying to be cute, or scaring her. But if some guy is following her, I don’t like this at all.” There was a long silence at Jack’s end, and he finally admitted he didn’t either.

“Why don’t I give you a cop for her? He can go to school with her.” Alexa hated to frighten Sava

“I haven’t told her about this letter yet, but I guess I have to. Thanks, Jack. I do want a cop for her,” she confirmed. She was afraid for Sava

“No problem. Try not to worry about it. It probably has nothing to do with Quentin, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Who knows what kind of creeps he knows.” Everyone he knew or hung out with had been in prison.

Alexa decided not to worry Sava

“Yes, he is. I called Jack Jones about it last night. He’s going to give you a plainclothes cop to go to school with, just to be on the safe side, in case someone really is watching you. I’d rather be smart about this. It may just be a prank, but I don’t want to take the chance.” The case she was working on was a reminder of just how dangerous some men were.

Sava

“Let’s see if he writes to you again. It could be till after the trial.” Until she knew if the notes were due to Quentin or not, she wanted Sava

“That’s three months away!” Sava

“Well, you can’t stay home from school. So suck it up,” Alexa told her, relieved that Sava