Picture Perfect

Chapter 32

I woke up with an expected headache. I should know better than to go out drinking with Hayley but last night I felt I deserved the night of fun.
Did I also deserve the memories of Clare and Jenna? I'm not sure on that one. I actually felt lonely when I got home, even though Hayley was sleeping on the futon in my living room. I know my ex's were toxic to me in different ways but that doesn't change the fact that I had to urge to drunk text/call either of them. Of course realistically I could only contact Jenna as far as I knew. I checked my phone and was relieved when I saw no recent calls or texts, the last text I sent was to Aaron telling him I was going out.
I know Hayley enjoyed joking about my tendency to attract crazy women but I always take it more to heart than she intended me to. I may come off as a tough, female detective to most people but I'm pathetic when it comes to women.
"Okay, I got out a lot but I never usually feel like this." Hayley grumbled at my bedroom door. "I guess that's what I get for going out drinking with the Morris sisters." She finished with a slight smirk.
"Yeah well I'm not feeling completely human myself." I replied smiling back at her.
"Good to hear. So since we're both awake, make me some breakfast woman." Hayley joked.
I got out of bed because I needed coffee, not because of Hayley's comment. "Well aren't we demanding in the morning." I joked as I gently pushed her out of my way.
"It got you out of bed." Hayley said with a satisfied smirk, "And heading to the kitchen."
"My need for coffee got me this far, not your demand of food." I replied with a laugh.
"But since we're in the kitchen let's make breakfast." Hayley said. "What can I do to help?"
I laughed then answered, "Go watch TV."
"Come on Ash, you don't have to make all the food. I can help."
"I would like to eat breakfast without having to call the fire department." I said shaking my head, trying not to laugh. "And knowing your luck if there wasn't a fire you'd probably cut yourself if I had you cut the potatoes. Then we may end up having to go to the ER, so I'll handle the food."
Hayley rolled her eyes immediately defended herself. "One little grease fire Ash, once! Am I ever going to live it down? And I'm very good with a knife thank you very much!"
Back when we first met in the academy Hayley and I, along with Kayla went out for a girls night much like last night. We all stayed at my house afterwards. Hayley woke up first and decided to surprise us with breakfast. She definitely surprised us when the smoke detectors started going off. I ran out of my room and heard her cussing in the kitchen. I saw the flames on the stove top and immediately grabbed a towel and a cookie sheet. I wrapped the towel around my hand and put the cookie sheet on top of the flaming plan then turned off the burner. No damage was done but I never really trusted Hayley in the kitchen after that morning especially after drinking.
"You let Bash help you but you won't let me help you?" Hayley asked with a slight pout.
"My son has never tried to set my house on fire before." I joked trying not to make her feel bad.
"Okay, point taken." Hayley conceded. "I'll see what happened in the city overnight."
"Or you could flip on cartoons." I suggested. "They are far more entertaining, the news is so depressing."
"Valid." Hayley replied with a shrug. "But sometimes it's interesting to know what we're missing on our day off!"
As Hayley went to turn on the TV there was a knock at the door. Hayley answered it seeing as she was a foot from the door.
"Morning aunty Hayley, where's my mommy?" Bash greeted excitedly.
"What's up little man?" I said as I walked towards the door.
"Come down here mommy, you gotta see this." Bash said with a huge grin. He grabbed my arm and nearly pulled me down the stairs.
"Slow down buddy." I said pulling my hand out of his grasp before I fell down the stairs. My head already hurt, I didn't need the rest of me to join.
"Sorry mommy." He said with a sad expression on his face.
"It's okay sweetie. I'm just not moving as fast as you are this morning."
When we were outside I saw Aaron petting a small black cat. I already knew where this was heading, I was about to become a cat owner. Who knew I'd become a model, stereotypical lesbian? All I needed was some Birkenstocks and a U-Haul. Of course a girlfriend would probably be a necessity too, at least for the U-Haul."
My son spoke up and pulled me from my internal joking. "She's really sweet mommy. She came right up to me and started purring and rubbing up on my legs. Can we keep her?" Bash looked at me hopefully.
"What a cute cat." Hayley said from behind me, startling me slightly because I hadn't heard her come downstairs. She moved past me to pet the friendly kitty.
I had to admit the cat was cute. I'm not a cat person exactly but I didn't mind them. I was particular though about what type of cat I would own if I had one. Of course this little kitty fit one of my types, a black cat with yellow eyes.
Aaron got up and came over to me. "I don't think this cat has been a stray very long. It seems healthy enough, it may be someone's pet that got out recently."
"Bash kept saying she, do we know if this little kitty is male or female?" I asked more out of curiosity than anything else, it didn't matter one way or the other.
Aaron shrugged and said, "I have no clue how to tell, he just started calling the cat a she."
"Fair enough. What do you think we should do?" I asked.
He shrugged again, "Maybe take her in. I can ask around the neighborhood, see if anyone is looking for her."
Hayley came over by us leaving Sebastian with the cat. "So you gonna take her in?"
I looked at my sone happily scratching the cats neck and sighed, "Yeah, I'll take her upstairs. If no one claims her I guess we have a cat."
Hayley smirked, "I can run out and get you supplies."
"Take Bash with you. He'll be thrilled." Aaron suggested.

"Awe adding to the happy dysfunctional family. How sweet." The killer thought as she watched the scene unfold from a neighbors yard. "You just keep adding targets for me, don't you Ash?"
She would have loved to spy them more especially on this unseasonably warm day, the killer had big plans for the day ahead.

Although the cat had been friendly to us humans, she was not happy when Bash brought Zebbie upstairs to meet her. We learned she was not a fan of dogs and that she had all her claws. Luckily the claw damage was reserved for only my arm and Zebbie's ear, not Sebastian.
Sebastian spent the rest of the afternoon playing with our new kitty. First order of business was naming her. Sebastian wanted to name her something devilish because she was, in his words a Halloween cat and I wanted anything other than your typical black cat names. So I suggested Cain after a character in one of my favorite book series and explained to him that this character was considered the devil by some which satisfied him. Obviously the character is more complex than that but my son is only six, simple explanations are best.
I, on the other hand, sat on my computer going through everything I had on the family murders. It was frustrating as hell but I had to go over every little detail. There was something here that can lead me to who was doing this. The killer seemed to be trying to talk to me through these crimes but what was he saying. And why me? There were twenty four homicide detectives in the city, not to mention those in the other cities the killer had struck, so what made me special to this guy?

    The killer sat in her car in front of the Collins house. It was only three days after her last masterpiece but she felt ready. During the day she had exposed the proofs of their family pictures so she could approach the family for approval of the final photos. With the limited amount of research she had been able to do, she knew that Mr. Collins was a stay at home dad. He had been laid off from his job at Harley Davidson and had yet to find another job. Mrs. Collins on the other hand had a thriving career as a lawyer with Habush, Habush and Rottier law firm. Ambulance chasers always had work.
    It was about five in the evening and Mrs. Collins would be home within the hour, the killer thought as she held a Manila envelope in her hand. She got out of the car and walked toward the mailbox on the corner. The envelope was addressed to Ashlee Morris at her office address. The killer knew the envelope would probably reach the detective after she heard about the crime scene but that was okay. She thoroughly enjoyed the idea of toying with the detective. In the envelope were pictures of three potential families, including the Collins family. She hoped when the detective received the envelope she would be able to figure out the significance. In the future she would do this again just to mess with the detective but would carefully time it as to not get caught.
    As the killer dropped the envelope in the mailbox she saw the headlights of a silver Range Rover pulling into the Collins driveway. "Showtime!" The killer said gleefully as she walked back to her car to get her tools: the proofs, a gun and a knife.