"Alex, it's Davies. I'm sorry to bother you at home." Ramon Davies was superintendent of detectives with Metro, and also my boss, and he was on the line.
"It's my birthday. Who died?" I asked. I was ticked off, mostly at myself for answering the phone in the first place.
"Caroline Cross" he said, and my heart almost stopped. At that very moment,the kitchen door swung open and the family came out singing. Nana had an elaborate pink and red birthday cake on a tray, with an American airlines travel folio clipped on top.
"Happy birthday to you....."
Bree held up a finger to silence them. My posture and my face must have said something. They all stopped right where they were. They joyful singing immediately ended, almost mid note. My family remembered whose birthday this was: Detective Alex Cross's.
Caroline was my niece, my brother's only daughter. I hadn't seen her in twenty years; not since just after Blake died. That would have made her twenty four now.
At the time of her death.
The floor under my feet felt like it was gone. Part of me wanted to call Davies a liar. The other part, the cop spoke up. "Where is she now?"
"I just got off the phone with the Virginia State Police department. The remains at eat the ME's office in Richmond. I'm sorry Alex. I hate to be the one to tell you this."
" Remains?" I muttered. It was such a cold word, but I appreciated Davies not over-handling me. I walked out of the room, sorry I'd said even that much in front of my family
"Are we talking Homicide here? I assume that we are."
"I'm afraid so."
"What happened?" My heart was thudding dangerously. I almost didn't want to know.
" I don't have a lot of details," he told me, in a way that instantly gave me a hint (he was holding something back)
"Ramon, what's going on here? Tell me. What do you know about Caroline?"
"Just take one thing at a time, Alex. If you leave now, you can probably be there in about two hours, I'll ask one of the responding officers to meet you."
"I'm on my way."
"And Alex?"
Id almost hung up the phone, my mind in splinters. "What is it?"
"I don't think you should go alone.".....