The Admirer: The Doll Collector Sequel

Chapter 19: Kristopher

"Can you guys stop?" Adrian asked, rolling his eyes.

Elaine pushed past me towards Barbara's body and stopped abruptly. The sight of the body seemed to stun her and knock her off of her game.

"Never seen a body before?" I asked.

"It never gets easier." she replied in a low tone. "I'll uh, leave you to your work."

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Goodnight."

She pushed past me with her shoulder and got into her car that was just a few yards away. Jim zipped up Barbara's body in a black bag. The sound of the zipper earned my attention once more. My troubles were only starting. They were going to inspect every single inch of her body in hopes of finding DNA evidence. But if I had anything to do with this, they weren't going to find shit. Jim's assistants helped him load the a gurney and then wheeled the body into the coroner's vehicle.

"I'll write the report, take it easy. I'm sure this isn't a good time, but you know what this means right?" Adrian asked.

"No, what does it mean?" I replied.

"You have to protect Maria more than ever now."

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Because I know you, and she's already in your crosshairs. She's a key witness and you protect her life until we put the son of a bitch in jail. Got it?"

I nodded, running a hand over the back of my neck. 

"Speaking of protecting women. Have you had a chance to speak to Audrey?" I asked.

"No." he answered, glancing at the ground for a moment. "She doesn't want to hear from me, so the FBI has been handling her."

Wow, Cheryl's threat actually worked.

"From what I have heard, she still can't remember anything."

"She might be repressing the memories."

"I would too..." he trailed off and then cleared his throat. "Protect Maria."

He climbed into his car, most likely for the station so I headed back home. It was obvious that I was going to have to go back to Maria's place. Adrian would check on me to see if I had done what he'd asked, but Eloise had to be fed. I stopped by my house and dumped a couple of scoops of cat food into Eloise's bowl. She rubbed up against my leg as I filled up her water bowl. Hmm, maybe Maria might like to see her again. I picked her up and unsuccessfully tried to get her into her carrier. She hissed at me, but I was a man, and she was just going to have to ride free in the car.

"I swear if you pee in this car, I will sell you to the burger joint down the street." I threatened, as I turned the car on.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a movement. I turned to see the neighbors on their front porch. I almost looked away, until the figure they were talking to suddenly became clear. Backstrom? I quickly turned off the car and shut the door behind me. The sound triggered the neighbors to look my way.

"Hey detective, how are ya?" Mr. Johnson said, waving to me.

"I'm good, how are you?" I replied, as I reached them.

Elaine's eyes were reflecting the light emanating from the porch. Taylor stepped forward, his face holding a challenging stare.

"Detective, this is my eldest daughter, Elaine." he said.

"Yes, we've been working together on The Doll Collector case. Your last name is Backstrom? I thought it was Johnson." I replied.

"I changed my last name when I joined the FBI. I wanted to protect my family." Elaine answered.