Songbird (completed)

chapter twenty three

The next few days were hell for Delia. While Thomas was busy getting closer to solving their case, she was trapped in a musty hotel room like a mouse stuck in a mouse trap. Delia passed her exam no problem and was cleared to go back to work later that week. Riggs had texted her, letting her know that it was also okay to start staying at her house again too. They cleared all the cameras and Riggs upgraded her security system. He even had a cruiser drive by every once in a while just to make sure everything was still fine. Delia was ready to get back to work, but she wasn't as ecstatic about returning home. But she knew she had to go back eventually. Besides, Thomas would be there too which eased her anxiety a little. 
        When Delia returned to the precinct, she found a small stack of papers on her desk with a sticky note on the top of it. "Finds. -Thomas" It read. Thomas doesn't like to talk shop, which could be why he didn't tell her on the days she was gone that he found more evidence that would lead them to finding Beatrice's killer. Though she wish he had because her least favorite thing to do was read. "Read any of that yet?" Thomas asked, startling her. "I haven't even touched it yet." Delia sighed and sat down at her desk chair and gladly accepted a cup of coffee from Thomas. "Thank you." Thomas sat down across from her in his own chair. "We haven't found much. It's mostly just a bunch of dead ends or bullshit. But I think I've got our suspects narrowed down." Thomas said, in between sips of his coffee. Delia leaned back in her chair and waited for him to proceed. He stared at her for a few moments, his expression unreadable. It made her nervous. "Suspect number one is obviously the Senator. I just need more proof to back that up. We interviewed the secretary, but got very little from him. His lawyer was present so I'm having a couple of the boys dig up more stuff. And you know that boy that got her pregnant? His dad is suspect number three." Thomas leaned back in his chair and put his arms around his head. 
     "Why didn't the kid make the list of suspects?" Delia asked after a few seconds of processing. The answers had to be clear as day. They just weren't seeing them. Thomas shook his head. "He had a checked out alibi. But part of me thinks we may not be getting the whole truth from Beatrice's secret lover." Thomas's eyebrows knitted together as he thought deeply. "I don't know. It would be pretty hard to believe that she just made everything she said up, right?" Delia tapped her fingers on the desk. "Not if it was premeditated." Thomas looked at Delia and her spine shivered. "I thought we were getting further into this case. Now we're just going backwards. We're making no progress." Delia huffed, standing up from her chair and pacing in front of her desk. "We're going to interview the dad again. See if he has an alibi and if he does we need to make sure its checked out. After that we'll get more info about the senators night and possibly the secretary." Thomas leaned forward and rested his face in his hands. "I know you're stressed right now, but do you think maybe you've got too much on your plate right now to be handling all of this?" Delia put her hands on hips and stopped pacing. "My house is ready to 'move' back in too. Riggs said it was cleared and that its safe now. But I don't know that I'm going to feel safe." She admitted. "I'll be there if you need and want me to be. You'll be safe as long as I'm around." Thomas reassured her softly. Delia gave him a weak smile and nodded. "Thank you."
          As the day went on, Thomas and Delia idly clicked on their computers and went through case files trying to find anything to help them. There was no social media or news coverage of the Senator the day her daughter went missing. They might be able to pull a few eyewitnesses, maybe the receptionist that made Delia unnecessarily angry. "Call the receptionist at the Senators place. Ask for the girl with the short brown hair, ask her name, and see if we can get an address for her." Delia said to Thomas as she shut down her computer and grabbed her coat. "Where are you going?" Thomas raised his eyebrow. "Out." she replied. 
       When Delia stepped outside, the cold air knocked the breath out of her lungs. She stood by the door for a second, her hands in her pockets fidgeting with her lighter. She was trying to quit smoke. It's not healthy and she wasn't interested in dying soon. Plus her dentist told her her teeth were really yellow. Ego bruiser. Delia continued her walk to the car when she noticed a shadowy figure on the other side of the street. Delia watched it out of her peripheral vision. The figure seemed to be following her on the other side of the street, carefully watching her movements. Delia looked down at her keys when she got to her car and took a deep breath. She checked the handle of her car door and then opened it, sliding in. Delia slowly and casually opened the glove box, taking out the glock she had. She slowly looked out the passenger side window at where she last saw the shadowy figure. Delia made eye contact with the figure. It was too gloomy to make out facial structures or tell whether it was female or male, but as she stared she watched as it raised it's hand and gave a small, pitiful wave. 
      As Delia tried to push her heart back to her chest from her throat, she pulled out of the precinct parking lot, driving somewhere far away from the figure and its ominous wave.