Closure

By Brittany Weddle

With Mary pursuing a new career as a Private Investigator, Luke Talon is missing his partner, but he has no time to think about it when a body of a thirteen year old girl turns up. Soon, he starts noticing that there are similarities between this victim and Clair Lorrence, Mary's sister who was killed 10 years ago.With the help of Cook County's Medical Examiner, Grace Austin, the two of them will have to figure out if it's coincidence or something much, much more

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781304908827

Brittany Weddle

Brittany Weddle was born on January 15, 1990 to a single mother. She started writing when she was 15 when her grandmother was diagnosed with lunch cancer, but didn't seriously consider writing as a profession until she was 20. She lives in Michigan with her family.

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Closure

Closure

Brittany Weddle

Sequel to Payback Time.

Copyright Page

Closure

Copyright © 2014 Brittany Weddle

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-304-90882-7

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

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Dedication

For Richie.

Prologue

Oak Park, IL. 1998

He heard it on the evening news while having dinner with his parents. The body of a thirteen year old girl had been found near his school. She had been stabbed multiple times and there were signs of a sexual assault. While his two younger brothers ignored the television altogether, his parents made tisking noises about a girl who died too young and the parents who, even now, were grieving for her death.

All he could think about was the killer. How could a man, or anybody for that matter, do that to somebody, but particularly a young girl? She would never get the chance to experience love for the first time, graduate from high school while her parents cheered her on. Would never get the chance to get married, have children, or grow old with her husband while their grandchildren played around them.

For as long as Luke Talon could remember, he wanted to become a cop. At first, it was just because he thought it would be cool to carry around a gun and a flashy badge. What could he say? He was eight and the idea seemed cool. As he got older, however, Luke couldn’t stop thinking about the people involved in crime and how criminals worked. Luke tuned back into his parents’ conversation just in time to hear them talk about how they would go about representing a person like that. A person who go his pleasure from killing young girls.

He hated every minute of it.

Edith and Aaron Talon were both lawyers at the same prominent law firm and while Edith was loving and caring towards her children, Aaron ruled his house with an iron fist. He believed that all three of his children should be lawyers and even agreed to pay for their college education.

Just as long as they went to Law School.

Luke was eighteen and the oldest of his two brothers. He was also a freshman in college and hated every minute of it. Luke wasn’t planning on saying anything about quitting school that night. He was going to wait until the end of the fall semester and then drop out and tell his parents how he really felt. Luke heard his mother laugh at something his father said. He had no doubt it had something to do with the killer, whoever it was, that killed that little girl.

That’s when he snapped.

No time like the present, Luke thought and sucked in a deep breath. I want to quit school. He blurted out.

An immediate hush fell over the dinner table and Aaron was the first to speak. You what?

Luke lifted his chin. I think you heard me, Sir.

You want to quit college? Edith asked.

Yes. Luke said simply.

You wanted to be a lawyer ever since you were a boy. Why would you want to quit school now? Aaron demanded.

Luke carefully set down his fork. I don’t want to want to be a lawyer and I never wanted to be a lawyer. That was always your dream, not mine.

Aaron scuffed. And if you drop out, what are you going to with the rest of your life?

Luke looked from his father to his mother and then to each of his brothers. I’m going to become a police officer.

He watched as anger replaced amusement on his father’s face. No son of mine is ever going to work for the police department.

I’m eighteen years old. I can make my own decisions.

So you want to give up a prominent law career, representing those who have been wrongly accused to become a cop?  Aaron was very proud of his oldest son for going to college and become a lawyer. So much so that whenever he got the chance to talk to any of his co-workers and friends, he bragged about his son. He’d be damned if he would walk into work the next day and tell them that Luke had dropped out of school to pursue a career as a police officer. It simply wouldn’t do. Not one bit.

Not everyone who’s arrested is innocent, Dad. Luke told him.

Aaron sighed and tried again. I agreed to pay for your college education as long as you agreed to become a lawyer. I never agreed to pay for the Police Academy.

I have a job Luke reminded him. And I’ve been saving up to apply for the Academy.

Are you really willing to tear this family apart just so you can become a cop? Aaron demanded.

Luke didn’t even hesitate. If you really loved me, you wouldn’t make me choose between my family and what I really want to do and you would support me no matter the choice.

Seattle, Washington

More than a thousand miles away, in the state of Washington, someone was thinking about death, but they weren’t thinking about killing anyone. She were thinking about murder, but more importantly, she was thinking about bodies in general. Grace Austin had been fascinated by death ever since she started watching those gory horror movies with her older sister. She was only half way through her freshman year in college and was already planning on getting her pre-med under graduate degree.

She had it all planned out. After she earned her under graduate degree, she would go for her bachelor’s degree in Biology and maybe even take a Forensic Science course if her schedule permitted. After all was said and done, she would shoot for the gold and get her medical degree as a Doctor of Osteopathy.

Grace had always been the odd ball out. Not just in school, but also at home. To her, there was nothing worse than feeling like you were an outsider in your own home. Her older sister, Lucy was the complete opposite. While Grace was obsessed with science, Lucy had been head cheerleader when she was in high school and had also been crowned Homecoming Queen and Prom Queen three years running while Grace had been none of those things. She didn’t consider herself beautiful and apparently none of the boys at her college did either since she didn’t have a boyfriend and as much as she hated to admit it, she was twenty-one and was still a virgin. Grace had been dateless for her Senior Prom and instead of going with friends, she had preferred to stay home and study while having her own movie marathon.

She wasn’t a social butterfly and had never gone to parties while in high school and still didn’t go to parties when she got into college and only hung out with a small group of friends. She had been at the top of her class to graduate with a grade point average of a four point oh.  She had made the honor roll all four years of high school and had also been President of the Student Council.

In other words, she was a geek.

She was home from college for the weekend and was doing her homework up in her room when she first heard the broadcast. Grace was watching one of those national news channels when the newscaster announced the murder of the thirteen year old that had been identified as Clair Lorrence.  Grace stopped what she was doing to listen.

The body of thirteen year old Clair Lorrence was found early last week between the school where she attended and her home. She was stabbed multiple times and the Medical Examiner found signs of sexual assault. Her family has posted a thirty thousand dollar reward for anyone who comes forward with information.

Grace couldn’t imagine what kind of sick person who could do that to a little girl and even made her a little sick to her stomach just thinking about it. Grace shuddered and picked up the remote so she could focus more on her homework. And although Grace finished her homework and Luke left the house after a fight with his father, neither one of them ever forgot the little girl whose life was cut too short. And they never would.

Chapter 1

Chicago, 2008

Winter was over and so was the snow. People shed their winter gear in favor for lighter clothing and spring jackets. They planted their flowers, mowed their lawns and if they had children, took them to the park for the first time all season. People went jogging and had picnics in the park. Bicycles and strollers were dusted off and motorcycles were washed and taken out of storage and couples made plans for spring and summer weddings. With spring, the city came alive.

It was hard to believe that just two months ago, Detective Luke Talon and his partner, Detective Mary Lorrence closed the case the press had dubbed the Mistaken Identify Murders and so much had changed since then. Since they closed the case, Mary had learned that she was pregnant with her and Ryan’s