A Profiler's Case for Seduction(83)
“Thank you, Agent Sinclair,” she said as she opened the passenger car door.
“Dora, you’ve been very brave through all of this. You should be proud of yourself,” Richard said.
She got out of the car and leaned down to smile at him. “I am,” she replied.
Richard had told her that her house had been locked up by officers who had been there to process the scene for evidence. She had been taken from the house without her purse or keys but had told Richard she had a key hidden outside that she could use to get back in.
As she approached her front door, she tried to blank her mind. Monday morning, life would return to whatever the new normal would be. All she had to do was get through the rest of today and tomorrow and then it would be back to business as usual.
While digging into the bottom of a planter on her porch for her spare key, she wondered who would be teaching Melinda’s courses. Would they bring somebody in from another college to cover for the professor killer?
Her sister, the killer.
As she stepped into her house, the silence surrounded her, threatened to consume her. Her thoughts continued to play in her head.
Samuel and Melinda had obviously been cut from the same cloth, choosing to walk the path of monsters while Dora and Micah had made the decision to navigate through the murky waters of life with a conscience.
She thought about calling Micah to tell him everything that had happened, but instead she sank down on her sofa with memories of Mark filling her head. She hated that she hadn’t had an opportunity to thank him for being smart enough, special enough to save her life. She hated that she hadn’t had a chance to tell him goodbye.
He was a special man who deserved a special woman, and she wasn’t that woman. Yes, he was back in Dallas where he belonged, hopefully being a father to his little girl, and where he would eventually find the woman who could keep the darkness away from him, who could be his safe place to fall.
Wearily she closed her eyes and fell asleep and dreamed of a life with Mark, and when she finally awoke it was with the trace of tears on her face.
* * *
Sunday might have been a long day if not for the surprising support that came from faculty and students for Dora. Her doorbell rang at a steady pace as people stopped by to bring her casseroles and flowers.
She hadn’t realized how many lives she had touched working in the bookstore and attending classes; she hadn’t realized how many friends she’d made on campus.
By the time five o’clock came she was tired, but it was an exhaustion brought on by pleasant conversation and interaction with sympathetic and supportive people.
Just after five her doorbell rang again and she looked out her window to see Amanda Burns standing on her porch. Dora opened the door and Amanda nearly fell into her arms, crying about how sorry she was for what Dora had suffered.
Dora led the weeping young woman to the sofa where they sat down side by side. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell somebody my suspicions earlier,” Amanda said as she grabbed hold of Dora’s hands. “I should have told Mark everything I felt, everything I feared before he came to me last night and you were in trouble, but I was so afraid.”
Dora squeezed her hands to comfort her. “It’s okay, Amanda. I know what it’s like to be afraid.” She thought of those days when she’d believed she was being stalked, although Mark had assumed the stalker had been his. Dora realized now it had been Ben who had been watching her, checking her schedule and assessing when she would be vulnerable.
She released Amanda’s hands and sat back against the cushion. “At least you gave Mark the information you did in time for him to help me.”
“I just admire you so much,” Amanda said, the words surprising Dora.
“Admire me? Why?”
“Because you’re such a nice person and you’re so smart. I admire that you’re obviously here to better yourself, to better your life by getting a degree.” Amanda frowned. “I thought I wanted to be just like Melinda, so powerful and so in control. But I’d much rather be like you.”
A lump formed in Dora’s throat. “You’ll never know how much that means to me,” she replied. “You know, I admired her, too. I wanted to be just like her...smart and cool and able to command respect from others. But we’re okay, Amanda. You’re a smart woman who has her whole future ahead of her and you don’t have to look up to anyone. Just look inside.”
As Dora spoke the words, she realized that she had reached a place of peace inside herself. She didn’t have to prove a thing to anyone. She had become the woman she was meant to be...strong enough to survive a horrible attack by her sister, the loss of a man she loved, and smart enough to continue her path to her own great future.