One Last Step by Sarah Sutton (free e books to read TXT) 📗

did James Hayden have so many collected objects in his apartment, yet, they never found any compasses? It was a question she kept asking herself. What if he really did just steal the wallets, the camera? But there was also something deeper that caused her to question it all—it wasn’t whom she would expect.

James Hayden was not brilliant. He made himself look guilty without even trying to do otherwise. He was weak-minded, and it was hard for Tara to believe that the killer was such. After all, the killer had gone undetected for this long; he had taunted them with the compasses and engravings in the tree. In Tara’s eyes, he was not someone who would give up easily—he was too smart for that.

Her stomach growled once again, as if frustrated that dinner sat in front of her, untouched. She picked up the slice of pizza and slowly took a bite. It was almost cold, reminding her how long she had been sitting there, and how she had barely eaten all day. As she took another bite, her phone rang. It was John.

She picked up and before she could even say hello, his voice came through on the other end.

“Why didn’t you call? Congratulations! It’s all over the news!” John spoke abruptly.

It took Tara a moment for it to register what he was referring to. The case. It must’ve already been mentioned on the news that they caught someone, and again, Tara felt her stomach churn at the realization.

“I was going to call you soon. I was just having dinner,” she replied.

“That’s great! When are they sending you home?”

There was a moment of silence before Tara spoke again.

“Tomorrow,” she finally said.

“What’s wrong?” John asked, without the playfulness he had seconds ago. He could hear it in Tara’s voice.

“Nothing—I don’t know,” Tara began and John waited for her to continue.

He knew that when Tara said “nothing,” it usually meant something, and that it would soon be followed with more to say.

“I just don’t feel the way I thought I would now that this case is over,” she finally admitted.

“What do you mean?”

“I just—” she began, trying to come up with the best way to turn her feeling into words. “Something just doesn’t feel right to me. This guy we caught—there’s just certain things that make me think it might not be him.” She let her words slide off her tongue and once she finished, the feeling in her gut swirled into full force, like a dam that just broke free.

“Well, what does your partner think?”

“That’s the thing. He doesn’t agree with me. He’s completely sure,” Tara replied.

John paused for a moment. “Well, this is your first case,” he started. “Your partner’s been doing this a very long time, right?”

“Yeah,” Tara affirmed, feeling her heart begin to sink. He was doubting her too.

“Maybe you should trust him,” he said. “At this point in your career, I wouldn’t do anything that’ll ruffle feathers, you know what I mean?”

Tara sighed. In a way he was right, but it was still a feeling she couldn’t quite shake off.

“I just wouldn’t go against your partner unless you were absolutely certain. That’s all I’m saying,” John added. “You’re very new at this. They’re still gaining confidence in you, so you don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”

He’s right. He’s completely right, Tara thought to herself .

“Yeah, I know,” she replied. “Maybe I should just let it go.”

“Just try to focus on more positive things,” John said before explaining his plans for when she got home—that he would take her out to dinner to celebrate her first case being over.

But as he spoke, Tara’s mind spiraled elsewhere—onto the case, onto her doubt, and then onto her exhaustion as she let out a yawn.

“But you should get some sleep. I’m sure you need it,” John finally said.

His words reminded her how little sleep she’d gotten throughout the case, and the thought of being able to get some suddenly excited her. After agreeing to his suggestion, and saying their goodbyes, Tara was soon off the phone, leaving her alone once again.

She finished eating her now completely cold pizza, but she didn’t care how cold it was. Her body needed it, and as she ate, she mulled over John’s words in her head. In a way, John was right. She didn’t have anything to prove her feeling, and maybe that’s all it was—a feeling. It was too early in her career to make rash moves.

After she finished her dinner, she got ready for bed and allowed her body to fall limp against the mattress. At moments, the compass and her doubts crept into her mind, but she pushed them away as she allowed the sleep she so desperately needed to wash over her.

***

Tara kicked the blankets away from her feet once again and shifted onto her side. She’d been lying in bed for hours, but her eyes had yet to feel heavy. Tara forcefully shut them once again and focused on clearing her mind of any thoughts. But each time she got closer to sleep, a thought seeped into her mind—that lingering doubt.

Her eyes popped open once again and this time she saw that the curtains were beginning to lighten as the beginnings of dawn filtered into the room. What time is it? she wondered as she reached for her phone on the bedside table. 5 AM. Tara let out a frustrated sigh. She knew her chance at sleep had come and gone.

She sat up in her bed and reached for the light on her nightstand. This isn’t normal, she told herself. As much as she wanted to forget her doubts, it was something her mind wouldn’t allow her to ignore. It was eating away at her.

She stared across the room at the compasses, sitting atop the desk, catching the bits of light filtering through the curtain, creating an unworldly glow. Each time she looked away, the light would catch and she couldn’t help but look back toward