｡*ﾟ+✧☆✿✷3 MONTHS LATER✷✿☆✧｡*ﾟ+｡
Gator parks his grey truck and gets out, coming over to my side and opening the door for me. I take his hand as I step out and he puts his arm around me as we walk into the Stark County Sheriff's Department building. As we walk into the building, Anna comes up to us. "Hey, guys! Bit of a rough morning." She says, handing us a file. I grab it and open up the file.
"Homicide, Rosie Johnson, 23, found dead last night at the lake." I read aloud.
"Jeez, first day back and we've already got a murder mystery." Gator says, puffing on his blue raspberry vape.
"Let's swing by the coroner's, get the autopsy report." I say. We walk back to the car and I get in the passenger's. Gator begins driving the quick ride to the coroner's office. We hop out of the truck and walk inside.
"Hey, we need the autopsy report for Rosie Johnson." Gator says, showing the clerk his badge.
"Of course, one minute." Says the clerk, getting the file. He comes back a couple minutes later with the report and hands it to Gator.
"3 head lacerations, 7 stab wounds, black eye. Jesus." I say, looking over his shoulder.
"It's a murder alright." He says. There was something in his eyes, something upset. "Let's talk to the family, see what they know." I agree and we walk back to the car. We pull into the driveway of a small red home. We get out and knock on the door. An older woman opens it.
"You here about Rose?" She asks.
"Yes." I say. "Would you mind if we came in for a minute?" I ask.
"Of course." She says. We walk inside and she gestures at a table so we sit down.
"So, when was the last time you saw her?" I ask.
"Tuesday, the day before they found her. She came over for tea, she lived just down the way." She says. I jot down everything she says on my notepad.
"And are you her mother?" I ask.
"Yes." She confirms.
"Do you know who she was last seen with?" I ask.
"Well, Jeremy, her boyfriend, said she was goin' out to meet a friend that night and she just didn't come back, last he'd seen her was about 7." She says.
"Where does Jeremy live?" I ask. She gives me his address, our next stop. "Did she have any enemies, any people that didn't like her?"
"Not really. I mean, there was this one boy... But we haven't seen him for probably 3 years maybe?" She says.
"Who?" I ask.
"Her ex boyfriend, Leonard." She says.
"Could we have his address too?" I ask.
"Jeez, I don't have it, it's been so long." She says.
"What's his last name?" I ask.
"Peterson." She says. I write down his name.
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" I ask.
"Nope, I'm just as lost as you are." She says.
"Well, thank you for your time, ma'am." I say. Gator and I head back to the car and over to Jeremy's house. "Let's look up the ex, see if he's in the system." I tell Gator and he nods. We pull up next to an old blue house and knock on the door.
"You here about Rosie?" The man who answers asks.
"Yes, are you Jeremy?" I ask.
"Yeah." He says. We sit down in his living room and he begins telling us his story. "She said she was visiting her friend, Bella, but I called Bella and she said they were never supposed to meet up that day." He says.
"Do you have her phone?" I ask.
"Yeah, it's right over here." He says, walking us over to the counter. I take an evidence bag out of my pocket and put gloves on to put the phone in the bag.
"Did she seem like she was acting strange?" I ask.
"She's been acting sort of strange for weeks, I don't know why. I tried to ask her but she said nothing was wrong." He says.
"Alright, well thank you for your time." I say. Gator and I head back to the car and start driving to the station.
"Let's run this phone through forensics, get 'em to crack it." I say.
"Yeah." He says. He's been quiet this whole time.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." He says.
"Are you sure? I mean, you've been quiet." I say.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He says, a little irritated.
"Gator, if something's wrong you can tell me." He says.
"I don't need your fuckin' help, okay?" He says, pissed off.
"Fine then, be an asshole!" I say. We sit in silence and he pulls into the station. We get out and I send the phone to forensics. I look up "Leonard Peterson" in the system and I see one result for a restraining order against him. The restraining order is by Rosie Johnson. I take my find over to Gator and drop the paper on his desk without saying anything. As I turn to go, he grabs my wrist lightly.
"Hey, wait." He says. I look at him.
"What?" I ask coldly.
"Sorry." He says. I roll my eyes. "Come on, Dallas." He says.
"Why are you like that?" I ask. I know the answer, I know why he's like that, it's cause of his stupid dad. But that doesn't mean he gets to be a dick to me.
"Look, Dallas this case is... Hard, okay? I don't wanna get into it right now but it's not easy, alright?" He says. I'm silent. "I don't wanna fight." He says.
"Fine." I say. I walk away, to the break room to eat lunch. Gator walks in as I'm looking through the fridge.
"Want to get lunch?" He asks.
"Sure." I say. We walk out to the car and he starts driving to our favorite burger place. We get our food and sir in the car eating.
"You know Nadine?" He asks me.
"Who?" I ask.
"My stepmom. Hasn't been seen for a while." He says.
"Yeah, I heard of her." I say.
"She kind of looked like that." He says, pointing at Rosie's file. "Not like her but like what happened to her, y'know?" I understand now.
"Jesus, Gator I'm sorry." I say.
"No, it's my dad, he just... I don't know if Nadine is still out there. Hell, I don't know if my mom is still out there." He says. I put a hand on his shoulder. There's nothing I can say that will help. "I like to think they're okay but I mean, if they're okay why wouldn't they come see me?" I nod. "Jeez, sorry." He says, sniffling a bit.
"Don't apologize Gator." I say. He looks at me for a second.
"No, I'm being a fuckin' sissy. It's just a case." He says.
"You're not." I say, resting my head on his shoulder.
"I love you." He mumbles.
"What?" I ask.
"I love you." He says, looking at me.
"I love you too." I say, giving him a small kiss. It was the first time he'd ever said that. We finished eating and spent the rest of the day trying to track down Leonard. Finally, we had an address.
