Page 7 of Kiss Marry Kill
“He had on green Converse sneakers and dark jeans. That’s all I could see.”
“Anything unusual about his voice?”
“Not really, no. Except that he acted like he knew me, like we had a relationship. And like I said, he calls me his little Mouse.”
“Why little Mouse?” Jax’s voice was sharp, cutting in before Officer Kline could continue.
She wished he would touch her. Her shoulder, her hand, her knee . . . any contact at all felt comforting, and she needed that right now. “When I met Ryan, it was brief but I remember his eyes. He has really unusual eyes, gray and almond-shaped. I told him his eyes reminded me of a cat, which is I’m pretty sure why he calls me a mouse and thinks we’re playing some twisted game. I wasn’t giving him a pet name, I was just commenting on the way they looked, but he must’ve taken it as some sort of invitation.”
“The officers who found you said you had a knife. How did you have time to come down to the kitchen and grab a knife?” Office Kline asked.
“I didn’t. I keep it under my bed.”
“Pardon?” The officer asked, at the same time that Jax said, “What?”
Looking up at Jax, she answered. “Since the email six months ago, which is one of the incidents I reported, I started keeping a knife under my bed. Makes me feel better.” She shrugged and looked back at the officer. “Maybe I need to get a gun.” Her eyes slid to Jax.
“You ever handle a gun, Megan?” Jax asked.
“No.”
“Then we’ll discuss guns later.”
“I’m going to be honest with you, Ms. Cruz, there’s not much of a case here. We’ll do everything we can to find this guy, but since you didn’t actually see him, it’ll be tough to prove that this Ryan is the perp who broke in tonight. Without a visual confirmation or physical evidence, and going on just his voice, it’s going to be hard for a conviction to stick once we find him. If we find him. We don’t even have a last name. Or a real place to start.” Officer Kline said. This was the third time she’d been told this same exact thing by a police officer. It was such a defeating statement.
“What was I supposed to do? Ask him for identification? I was hiding. I was scared. You can’t just tell me there’s nothing that can be done! How many times does he have to come back for you guys to help me?” Her palms were on the table and she was leaning toward the officer, her voice trembling.
Jax stood next to her and it felt like some sort of solidarity was happening when he spoke. “That’s bullshit and you know it. The shit he’s saying? The other incidents? There’s an MO, an MO is something to go off of.” Jax had his fist on the table and was leaning closer to the officer too.
“Yes, but that’s not enough and you, Mr. Irons, know that.” The officer stood up and extended his hand, shutting down the conversation. “We’ll have a patrol stay in the neighborhood for the next forty-eight hours. You should strongly consider using your security system and advising the island’s security,” he said, handing her his card and then shaking her hand good-bye.
He stopped and turned before he left the room. “I know you’re scared and upset. You have every right to be. And I’m sorry things feel helpless right now. All I can tell you is to keep your eyes and ears open, and to call us if you remember anything else. I really do want to help if I can.”
Her chin quivered and she took a deep breath before nodding in understanding.
“Be right back, Meg. Sit tight,” Jax said, following Officer Kline out.
With shaky hands, Megan reached for the secret stash of Nutella she kept in the pantry behind the sugar, which was rarely used since her label hired her a professional chef who believed all white foods were the work of the devil. Today, she needed Nutella.
“Oh my god, you’ve got the Nutella out. Rose, it’s worse than we thought,” Nelly shrieked as they walked into the kitchen, pulling a chair out to sit.
“What happened, Megan? What did the police say?” Her no-nonsense mother asked.
With a mouthful of hazelnut, Megan answered. “They can’t even confirm it’s Ryan because I didn’t see him. Not that they know who Ryan even is.”
“But it’s him,” Nelly cried. “He’s crazy.”
“I know, but they need proof. I think they’ll arrest him if they find him, but they can’t leave him in jail or go to trial or anything if my only evidence is green Chucks and the things he said to me that sounded familiar. It’s the same thing they told me when I reported the letter and the email.”
“They’ll run prints, too.” A familiar voice, one that sent tingles up her spine, said from the kitchen door.
Nelly extended her hand. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Nelly, Megan’s best friend and TNT’s drummer.” Megan had never thought her best friends would meet Jax. It felt surreal to watch it happen.
“And I’m Rose, Megan’s mom.”
He extended his hand to both ladies and said, “Jax Irons.”
“Jax as in the Jax?” Rose asked.
