Dance Like Juilliard's Watching

23.) Finding Courage

"I told them that I was ready for this to happen. But now..." Kelsie shakes her head. "I'm not so sure. I don't think I would be a good mom. Not yet."

Don't you think it's a little late to decide that? Especially seeing as you're due in less than 5 months!

I wrap my hands around my mug of hot chocolate. But I don't say anything yet. When I'd first gotten here, Kelsie was in tears, worrying about her future, especially since she was about to be a mom pretty damn soon. At first, I'd been almost resentful towards helping her. But seeing her this way now...I want to help her as best I can.

"Well," I say after a few seconds, "judging by what Emerson has told me and your parents' reactions, I'd say that they're all excited and happy about the pregnancy. It's okay to be nervous. Hell, I was nervous. When I heard about this, I was nervous for Emerson, and - believe it or not - I was nervous for you too. Worried about you guys, even. You just have to remember that everything happens for a reason and you have to trust that it'll all work out in the end."

Kelsie thinks about this for a minute, staring out the window. After a few seconds, she nods her head. "That makes sense."

"So are you okay now?"

She smiles. "Yeah. Well, I'm better." She leans back with a hand on her stomach. "Thank you, Jessie."

"No problem," I tell her, happy that we've come together to form somewhat of a friendship. "Call any time you need me. I'm always up for some girl talk."

Kelsie laughs and stands as we both go out to leave, and my phone starts ringing.

"Hello?"

"Jessabelle, this is Detective Lindsay. We need you down at the station right away."

That's all I get before she hangs up.

I hop in my car and drive downtown. When I get to the station, Detective Lindsay is pacing, waiting for me.

"Detective Lindsay?" I ask, and her head snaps up to look at me. "What's wrong?"

"Jessabelle, good." She gestures for me to follow her up the stairs and into a chair by her desk. The rest of the unit is sitting all around us, some on desks, some on chairs, and others are standing.

"What's going on?" I ask, shifting nervously.

"We found out where Greene is," Detective Lindsay says to me. "But we need you now. More than we needed you before."

"Why? If you've found him, can't you just arrest him?"

Detective Lindsay looks to another man in the room, a man I haven't met before. He's tall, and dark-skinned, with dark eyes that hold a certain light to them - the light of knowing hardship and being strong enough to overcome it. I notice that they all have that light, every person in this room. The man's name tag says Officer Atwater. "Kev?" Detective Lindsay says.

He answers the question I'd asked Detective Lindsay. "Not necessarily." He walks over to a massive whiteboard with dozens of pictures on it, all of it surrounded by scribbles of whiteboard marker. He points to one of the pictures. "This is Riker Davies." Officer Atwater moves his finger to the left, to another picture, this one drastically different from the last, but still the same person. "But this is John Kames. With each different identity, Jacob Greene has committed a different crime."

As my mind wraps around this, I ask one of the questions circling my head. "So who was he when he hit Chase and I?"

Officer Atwater searches the board for a minute until he finds what he's looking for. "David Gold."

My mind manages to grasp another thought. "So, hold on a minute - if this guy has been dozens of different people and if he's committed dozens of crimes, how has no one caught him? Or noticed a pattern, at least?"

Everyone in the room shares a look. "That's what we're trying to figure out too," Officer Atwater says. "Which is where you come in."

I look at each of them in turn, my face a mix of readiness and fear, all rolled into one. Just because I want to do something about this doesn't mean I wasn't scared to do it. "So what do you need me for?"

Detective Lindsay leans against the desk in front of me. And says one thing that has sounded scarier than anything I've ever heard before:

"We need you to be our bait."

~