The Vacation

Chapter 14

Lana had indeed questioned Brenna relentlessly after Mac left. Who was he? How had they met? What were they to each other? What did this mean? Where did Brenna want this to go?

Displeased with Brenna's short replies and unwillingness to elaborate she resorted to imagining her own tales of dramatic courtship and fairy tale endings. By the time Brenna gently reminded her of her duties she'd already spun a story in which Mac saved Brenna from several natural disasters, swept her away to a glorious Caribbean wedding and provided her with numerous children.

As much as she loved the woman, Brenna breathed a sigh of relief after the sound of her sensible shoes retreating down the hall could no longer be heard.

Her concentration was shot and her head ached; reluctantly she decided to pack it in for the day. She had just slung her bag over her shoulder and was reaching for the light when Detective Mark Brewster appeared in the doorway just inches from her and startled her so badly she almost fell back but caught herself on the file cabinet to her right.

Unlike Mac, Lana and almost anyone else, Brenna hadn't heard Mark coming down the hall. He wore dark dress slacks and a pearl gray dress shirt and tie. His detectives badge hung around his neck from a bead ball chain. She noticed his thick brown hair looked expertly tousled as always. He reminded her of a magazine model.

It was one of the reasons she'd never been able to return his level of interest in anything more between them. She simply couldn't see herself next to someone who spent so much time trying to look perfect. She was very far from perfect and embraced that, she had no intention of trying to conform to anyone else's standards.

His interest in, and subsequent pursuit of her, baffled her quite frankly. He was a nice enough guy and she'd formed a good working relationship with him but that was all she wanted. She'd sat him down and been clear with him that she did not return his affections and did not wish to be anything more than work friends yet he frequently still made advances that she'd simply learned to ignore.

"How was the Caribbean? Whoa! What happened to the foot?" His face registered shock as he took in the crutch and bandage.

"Slippery, sharp rocks. It's fine. I was just heading out, did you need something?"

"When I called earlier Lana said you were reviewing a new case file that was sent over from Brown County. I came by to see if it's our guy's handiwork." He stepped past her and into the office. Brenna sighed and pivoted around to follow him abandoning hope of getting in a long hot bath before bed.

"I believe it's him. All the signature pieces are there; same pattern." She perched herself on the corner of the desk with her purse trying to not look permanent. She was hoping she could hurry this along and still get that bath.

Mark sat in her chair and threw his loafer clad feet up on her desk. She sighed in disappointment. He looked to be settling in for the long haul.

"I've emailed pictures of all three of them and a list of questions we need answered to the Brown County Sheriff's office investigator who contacted me. If they get on it in a timely manner maybe we can get some answers that point in a specific direction." She toyed with the rubber handgrip of her crutch as she spoke.

"I was talking with Mac Tullman today and he thought of the same thing I had, about the perp possibly having a mental illness like OCD that makes him follow the exact same steps each time. That might be an avenue to pursue deeper. Really look into each history and look for other signs of that kind of behavior." She looked up as she finished and found Mark staring at her with a hard look in his eye. He softened his face when he saw her puzzlement.

"Why were you talking to a K9 deputy about this case?"

"I wasn't really. He stopped by while I was looking over the photos and we got to bouncing some ideas around." His tone had been slightly accusatory and put her on the defensive. "He's a law enforcement officer. It's not like I was talking over pertinent facts of an ongoing investigation with some random person at the bus stop."