"Miss Monte? Miss Monte!" a voice shouted.
Cassidy shook her head and tried her best to refocus. She was still in the interrogation room. Agent Field was looking at her with a mixture of worry and fear. What was going on?
"Cassidy, can you hear me?" Wyatt asked, stooping in front of her.
She centered her gaze on his eyes. They were like chocolate. She had used chocolate in her cake last night. The client said they wanted a triple layer chocolate cake, something she had made a thousand times. Except last night, it reminded her of Rose. Rose had loved chocolate. She always dreamed of eating chocolate cake, but their parents had never let them have any.
"Cassidy!" Wyatt said again.
Slowly the room came back into focus and she could see the concern etched on Wyatt's face.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded. She wasn't sure she was okay, but she honestly didn't want to talk about it. From remembering her father to hearing about the notes. It was all too much.
"I need some air," she said, getting up.
"We're not done with this interview Miss Monte," Agent Jones argued.
"Take a five-minute break," Wyatt said fiercely.
He took hold of Cassidy's arm and helped her out of the room. He led her to the back door. It opened into a parking lot behind the station. There were patrol cars in the back here.
"Are you okay?" Wyatt asked.
"No," she answered honestly.
She didn't think she'd ever be okay again.
"Do you want me to get something for you?"
She shook her head. She wasn't sure what could make this any better.
"This must be a lot for you to take in."
Cassidy scoffed.
"A lot was finding out my sister was a suspect in a serial killer case. This- this is way too much. They want to know about my past and whether my parents abused us. And if they did, they think that's what made Rose a killer. To top it all off, you found notes in the stuffed animals. Notes that are addressed to me. That's ridiculous. I thought the kids were sending me those. This is more than a lot for me to take in," she practically shouted.
Her voice had risen with each new sentence. She was bordering on hysteria.
What the hell was happening? Was Rose really the killer? Why were the notes addressed to her? What was she going to do now?
Cassidy tried to calm down and breath normally, but the stress of the situation was getting to her. She could already feel the prick of tears in her eyes. Why was this happening to her?
She shook her head, trying to calm the tears. Rose was innocent. She was going to prove it. Those tears needed to be gone and not wasted on something that wasn't true. She swiped her hands over her eyes and turned to face Wyatt.
"I want to see the notes," she demanded.
Her voice was still a bit shaky, but she felt stronger. She was going to get through this. Wyatt led her back to the interrogation room where both Agent Field and Agent Jones were waiting.
"Are you ready to continue with the interview?" Agent Field asked.
"No, I'm not. Detective Wyatt is going to show me the notes," she answered taking a seat.
"We still have an interview to conduct. And I don't believe those notes should be seen my civilian eyes," Agent Jones stated.
"Those notes were found in my apartment and are addressed to me. Find me someone who's better suited to read them," she argued.
Her confidence was slowly building back up. She didn't have time for another break down. She needed to get to the bottom of this right now.
Agent Field and Jones remained silent, but the expressions were speaking clearly. They weren't pleased with the turn of events.
"You can look at the notes after this interview," Agent Jones said.
"This interview is a waste of time. You have nothing concrete on my sister. All your questioning revolves around the suspicion that I've been in contact with Rose. Which I haven't been, by the way. I don't know where she is. But I want to find her, just as much as you do."
Her voice had slowly risen as she spoke with the last line coming out at almost a shout. She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Now if you'll excuse us, I have some notes to look at," she said, as calmly as she could.
"You can stay," Wyatt told the agents.
Cassidy looked across at him. She didn't want these people here.
"It's a joint investigation. I rather they be here than I have to explain it all back to them later," he explained, giving her a play-nice look.
Cassidy silenced her groan. Guess she wasn't getting rid of these Agents so fast.
Wyatt walked around the table and took the spot Agent Field had previously occupied. Both Agents stood to Wyatt's back, giving them a clear view of Cassidy, and the glare she was aiming in their direction.
"What did the analyst say?" Wyatt asked Adam.
Cassidy had almost forgotten the man was standing behind her. He had been so silent. She turned to look back at him, waiting for him to speak.
"There was no fingerprints or DNA evidence on any of the animals. They all seem to be in good condition as well. The notes were found inside each animal. When examining, the analysts noticed patches that looked like they were sewn back together. They didn't think anything of it but then they noticed all the animals had the same stitch. It was the same stitch pattern in each case. They opened them up and found the notes."
"Where are the notes now?"
"Being examined. But I snapped pictures of all. They're in the file," he said, pointing to the one in front of Wyatt.
Cassidy spun back around to face Wyatt. He looked down at the file and then back up at Cassidy. She could see the hesitation in his eyes.
"Are you sure you want to read these?" he asked.
She paused for a moment. Was she sure? She had no idea what was inside those notes. There was no clue who had sent them. What if reading those notes made it clearer that Rose was the suspect they were looking for?
"Let me see them," she burst out.
It was better to read them than regret not seeing them. Wyatt opened the file and pulled out the pictures.
"They're arranged oldest to newest, according to how you remembered receiving them. There were fifteen stuffed animals. Six of the cases have been happening over the past year. Three we know about from last year, because they match the pattern. Those are the families that you visited."
"You visited the victims' families?" Agent Jones interjected.
"Six of them however, we don't know where they come from. We still arranged them according to the timeframe you gave us," Wyatt continued, completely ignoring Agent Jones.
Cassidy just nodded, not sure what she was supposed to say. She wasn't sure she had given Wyatt the correct order. The stuffed animals had been coming for so long, it was difficult to remember which one came which month.
"I asked a question," Agent Jones grounded out.
He did not like being ignored.
"Yes, Agent Jones, Cassidy visited the victims' families," Wyatt answered.
"You gave sensitive information to a civilian?" he accused.
"Chief Potts did," Wyatt answered, with a smile on his face further angering the agent.
Surprisingly, Agent Jones held his tongue, probably not wanting to go against Chief Potts directives.
"I'm ready," Cassidy said, fisting her hands below the table.
Wyatt placed the photos in front of her. Cassidy counted till three then looked down.
The first note was addressed to her.
"Dear Cassidy,
I'm happy I got to see you again."
Cassidy stared at the photo. That was all that was written on the note. She wasn't sure what she was expecting. Maybe something more terrifying or even a bit bloodier. This sounded like it was someone she knew.
She scanned through the other notes quickly. Each was a one liner.
"Dear Cassidy,
I'm relieved you're living such a good life."
"Dear Cassidy,
Your chocolate cake tasted heavenly."
There were a few more innocent ones that talked about her pastries or her life and how happy the person was for her. But the recent notes, the last nine, were more gruesome.
"You have what I wanted."
"How could you take it from me?"
"I thought you loved me."
"You're a horrible person."
"I wished you died."
Cassidy couldn't take reading them, so she skipped to the last one.
"I hate you!!"
Reading the notes added more questions to her head. The person had seemed happy at first and then had turned cruel. What had changed? Why were they writing these notes to her? What had she done to them? Did she know who this person was?
Cassidy looked up at Wyatt. The sympathy was clear in those chocolate brown eyes as they looked at her. Cassidy shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Now was the time for answers. Another breakdown was not what she needed right now.
"So, the person who has been committing the murders has also been watching me?" she asked.
Wyatt nodded slowly.
"That is what the evidence is saying," he agreed.
"This further points to Rose Monte," Agent Field pointed out.
"It does not," Cassidy immediately defended, levelling said woman with a glare.
"Then why are the notes being addressed to you Miss Monte?" Agent Field argued.
"I don't know," Cassidy answered, as she shook her head. "But I do know that there is not enough evidence for you to come to the conclusion that Rose is the killer. Nothing in those notes were personal. A stranger could have been the one to write them."
"She does make a good point," Wyatt said, backing her up. "Everything is those notes were impersonal. They were things anyone would have known had they been surveilling Cassidy. At this point, we can't just jump to the conclusion that it's Rose just because the notes were sent to Cassidy."
"But we also can't deny the possibility that Miss Monte has a connection to the serial killer," Agent Jones said.
No one spoke for a moment. Cassidy didn't know what to say. It was the truth. She didn't know how, but she did have a connection with the serial killer.
"If Rose was the one sending those stuffed animals, it means she knows where I'm living. It means she found me. And if she did, she would have come and talked to me," Cassidy stated.
She believed that Rose would have made her presence known. Rose wouldn't hide from her. Cassidy was sure Rose wanted to be reunited with her.
"Miss Monte, you seem to be of the illusion that your sister is still the sweet girl you knew at eleven. Twelve years have gone by. Your sister has become a criminal in that time. She was in jail for two years. I think it's time you start thinking about the fact that you don't know your sister. You don't know the woman she has become. You don't know the life that she's lived," Agent Field said.
Cassidy knew everything Agent Field was saying was the truth but that didn't mean she wanted to listen to any of it.
"I think I'm done for today. You have my number. You can contact me if you find her," she said, defeated.
She stood up and without a second glance, left the room and police station.
They were wrong about Rose. She knew they were wrong. So what if twelve years had gone by? Did that make Rose a bad person?
Her anger only lasted a block before the doubt started creeping into her head. Agent Field had made some valid points. Cassidy didn't know Rose. What if...?
She shook her head. She didn't even want to finish that thought. Everything was so confusing right now. She needed a drink. Or maybe ten.
Anything to help her forget the turmoil that was currently going on in her head. And anything to help her forget that tomorrow was the twenty seventh.
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