by KJ Kalis
When the live shot restarted, the anchor’s face was noticeably paler. Kat pushed on Van’s leg. He had been looking down at his cell phone. “Van! Look! They were just talking about Chelsea and Daniel and now they’re coming back with breaking news.”
She refocused on the screen, listening to the anchor as he started to speak. “We have breaking news tonight for the Sauk Valley community. Another body has been found.”
Kat’s breath caught in her throat. A third body?
“Our sources have revealed that the body of a missing man, someone employed by Grand Ridge College, has just been recovered. He was reported missing about thirty-six hours ago, but his cell phone and vehicle were found still at the college. From what we have learned, the police are at the college working on the case as we speak. His name has not yet been released.” The anchor looked down at his notes, and then looked up, making eye contact with the camera. “Our condolences go to the family. We will keep you updated on information as it comes in.”
Kat’s heart was in her throat. The situation had just become much more dangerous. If Detective Dawson hadn’t thought he had a serial killer before, he had to be thinking that now. “Van, do you think they found Ben?”
He shook his head yes, “I feel so bad for Catherine and their kids.”
“Should one of us go to the college?” Kat almost wished she hadn’t said the words.
Van raised his eyebrows. “And hang out with Detective Dawson? That seems futile. Let’s wait until the morning and give them a chance to clear the scene. Why don’t you get some sleep? Morning will be here before you know it.”
Kat paused for a moment. Van was probably right. Detective Dawson wouldn’t want to see either of them. She stood up and sighed, “You’re probably right. What are you going to do?”
“I’m gonna stay up for a little while. Let me send out some feelers and see what I can find out. I’ll be up to bed later.”
Kat nodded. She would go to bed, but would sleep come?
For what seemed like hours, Kat tossed and turned. She kept replaying the conversation they had with Catherine in her head. The look of fury on her face, the anger that someone would go after her family — Kat knew the feeling well. Her mind kept going back and forth between their visit with Catherine and worrying about Jack. She got out of bed and got a glass of water, checking her phone and the time before she tried to sleep again. It was two o’clock in the morning. In just a few hours, she would have to get up and send Jack to school. Her mind raced ahead. No matter how much she texted him, she had an eerie feeling that he just wasn’t safe. She stood in front of her phone, staring at the glowing blue light that displayed the time, the darkness hovering around her, the tile cold on her bare feet. A shiver went through her. Kat felt trapped. She wanted to help the families, particularly Stephanie’s family, figure out what happened, but she was more worried about Jack than she had ever been.
Kat pulled her phone off of the charger and sat down at one of the kitchen chairs, not bothering to turn on the lights. Stories announcing Ben’s death littered her news feed, but the stories weren’t stories at all, not in her mind. Online reporting had become nothing more than generating five sentences and adding an image. Kat scowled. It wasn’t the type of work that was helpful, or thorough, or used journalistic best practices. She scrolled down the page, reading the comments below the hastily put together story. “I’m afraid to leave my home,” one woman wrote. “SaukValleyAdam,” wrote, “Why isn’t law enforcement doing anything?”
Kat set her phone back down on the table. The more comments she read, the more upset she became. Her breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t worried about herself. Van could handle himself, so she wasn’t worried about that. She was worried about Jack. The tick-ticking of Tyrant’s nails echoed throughout the kitchen. She glanced over at the big dog who curled up on a blanket in the corner groaning as if to say, “What are you doing up so late?”
Even with Tyrant home, she wasn’t sure she wanted to rest Jack’s safety on a dog. She licked her lips, and stared down, thinking. Swallowing hard, she picked up her phone and sent a message. A message she was hoping would give her the peace she so desperately needed…
Kat went back to bed and got a little sleep before her phone chirped. The reply read, “On my way. Will be there by daybreak.” Kat smiled and rolled over in bed, curling up behind Van. She could wait that long.
21
The morning dawned bright and warm. Kat started off her morning as she always did, letting Tyrant out the back door and getting Dillon out of his crate before she let him loose in the house.
Kat heard thudding on the steps as Jack ran down, ready for school. “I gotta get going,” he said.
Kat checked her phone and shook her head. “Not today, pal. I’m going to keep you home for a little while.”
Jack furrowed his brow underneath his bushy bangs. “Why?”
Kat’s mind flitted to a time when Jack would have just said, “Great!” and run off to play. Now, with him being in high school, he wanted answers.
She sucked in a breath and was just about to speak when she heard a knock on the door. Tyrant jumped up and bolted, barking and growling. “Aus!” she said, the German command to tell Tyrant to back off of the door, the big dog’s military training kicking in. Kat moved the blind aside so she could look out. Seeing who it was, she unlocked the door and opened it.
TJ Weiss didn’t look any different from the last time she had seen him. “Appearing as ordered, Ma’am,” he said, a big grin across his face.
Kat threw her arms around his neck, feeling the scruff of his beard against her face. “Boy, is it good to see you!” she said.
Kat let go and turned her head just in time to hear a squeak on the steps. “What’s all the hubbub down here?” Van said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. When he got to the bottom of the steps, he extended a hand to TJ. “Good to see you, man. What brings you out to Sauk Valley?”
TJ smiled, “Orders from the boss.” He nodded his head towards Kat.
Jack came running in from the kitchen. “Uncle TJ! What are you doing here?”
TJ ruffled Jack’s hair and gave him a big hug. “Your mom texted me last night. She’s a little worried about what’s going on and asked me to come hang out with you. That okay?”
Kat almost cried at the sight of TJ and Jack together. Kat didn’t have much family, any at all, really, except for a brother she didn’t speak to, who she assumed was still mad after their parents had died in a car accident just as she was getting ready to graduate from college. She hadn’t heard from him in years. The only other family they really had was Jack’s grandma, but she lived way too far away to be of any help. Besides, the kind of help Kat wanted was the kind only TJ could offer.
Kat and TJ had met in Afghanistan. He was one of the SEALs that was deployed to the same base at the same time she was. Although her stint had been short, it had changed the course of her life forever. Out on a scouting mission, gathering details for a story which was her job as an embedded journalist, she had been in TJ’s Humvee when it rolled over an IED. She was lucky to have survived. Two other people in the Humvee didn’t. Disoriented and deaf from the explosion, Kat hadn’t moved when the Humvee had tipped on its side. TJ got her out and dragged her behind a rock embankment with the other survivors just as in RPG was fired from above, engulfing what was left of the Humvee in flames.
Though Kat and TJ didn’t see each other regularly, she always knew that if she needed him, he would come. And she needed him now.
Kat turned to look at Jack. “Uncle TJ is going to stay with us for a little while until Van and I get some stuff sorted out with work. That okay by you?”
Jack nodded, “Am I going to school today?”
Kat tilted her head to the side. “Maybe in a little while. Right now, you can help get TJ settled.”
“Let me set this bag down, buddy. I heard you got a new little critter in the house. Care to introduce me?” TJ said
, following Jack into the kitchen.
Kat stared at Van. “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up to talk about this, but I just can’t leave Jack here on his own, not with what we heard last night.” Her eyes searched Van’s face. A lump formed in her throat. She hoped he wasn’t angry.
Van shook his head, “No, in fact, I think it’s a really good idea. We will both be able to concentrate better if we know Jack’s covered.”
A surge of relief ran through Kat’s body. If she had still been married to her first husband, Steve, Jack’s dad, and invited TJ to come and stay with them without asking, Steve would have thrown a fit. He was too threatened by the quick fling she and TJ had while overseas. Van just wasn’t that way. He was easy-going to a fault, and Kat loved him for that.
“Tell you what… How about if you make some coffee and I’ll run upstairs and get a shower. We can catch up with TJ over breakfast and make a game plan. How does that sound?” Van said.
Kat smiled. She already felt better, having both Van and TJ in the house. “I’ll get that breakfast started right now.”
By the time Kat had finished talking to Van and walked into the kitchen, Jack and TJ had taken Tyrant and Dillon outside to play. Kat glanced out the back door, watching TJ and Jack roughhouse, the two dogs nipping at their heels, barking and growling. Just the sight of it helped her to relax, the lump of fear inside her chest melting just a little. She reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of eggs, some milk, and a loaf of bread. Kat got the coffee started and had set out plates, napkins, and silverware by the time Van came down from his shower, and TJ and Jack came back inside with the dogs.
“Something smells good in here!” TJ said, cradling the puppy in his arms, stroking the pale yellow further that covered him. “This little guy, he’s a heartbreaker, isn’t he?”
Kat nodded. “That’s for sure. We are loving having him around. Can I make you a plate?”
“Yep. I’m starved.” TJ said, setting the puppy down on the ground and sitting at the kitchen table, but not before pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Kat glanced at TJ while she was filling his plate. He didn’t look that different from when they had served in Afghanistan almost two decades before. A few more smile lines and a couple of little silver streaks in his hair, but he was just as fit as when they had been deployed. As he turned to sit down, she saw a bulge on his back. “You carrying?”
He raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t think you could come and ask me to protect Jack without bringing my weapon, did you?”
Kat smiled and shook her head. “You can take the man out of the SEALs, but you can’t take the SEAL out of the man.”
Van touched her shoulder as he walked by, “Smells good.” He glanced at TJ. “Thanks for coming, man.”
“You bet. Anything for you guys.” TJ said, spreading a napkin on his lap.
The four of them scarfed down breakfast pretty quickly and then TJ asked Jack to get his computer, so TJ could have a copy of his class schedule and see the building layout. “Gotta be prepared, Jack. No telling how much trouble you might get into with some cute girl today.”
Jack’s face flushed bright red, “Not me!”
After a few minutes of discussion, TJ packed Jack up and drove him to school, leaving Kat and Van alone in the house, “You aren’t mad I texted him, are you?”
Van furrowed his brows and shook his head, “No, not at all. I know he’s about as close to a brother as you've got. And this threat is real. This is like something we’ve never seen before. We need to protect the people in our homes first. You did the right thing. Even if you had woken me up out of a dead sleep…”
“Which would have made you grumpy.”
“… I would have said the same thing. It’s good to have him here. It’ll help us concentrate on the story and helping these families, especially Stephanie.” Van looked far away for a moment. “Speaking of which, I’m going to go call her. I’m wondering how she’s doing today. I’m sure she’s heard about Ben Boyd already.”
With TJ and Jack headed to school and Van in the other room calling Stephanie, Kat had a few minutes to herself. She felt Dillon sniffing around her bare feet, his pointed tail sticking straight up off his back. She leaned over and scooped him up, holding him close, feeling his dry pink tongue on her cheek. “I’m glad you got to meet Uncle TJ,” she said to him. The puppy sniffed. Tyrant was watching her from the corner of the kitchen as if to say, “I’m your girl. He’s not.” Tyrant grunted and turned away. Kat knew she would need to spend some time with her dog later.
Kat carried Dillon with her and sat down in front of her computer, which was on the kitchen table. It seemed like they did everything in the kitchen — eating, working, homework. Kat liked it that way. She opened the lid, giving the machine a minute to warm up, stroking the soft fur on Dillon’s chest. Trying to think through who might be killing the people of Sauk Valley, and why, was exhausting. She just wanted to go back to her normal life. A sinking feeling slid down her throat. She hoped it wasn’t the beginning of more PTSD, but only time would tell. At least she had both Van and TJ to help her if it did crop up again. Her gut told her the story was going to get way worse before it got any better.
Dillon wriggled on her lap and she set him down on the floor, the puppy trotting off to bother Tyrant. Kat stared at her computer screen and decided to peek at her emails. There wasn’t anything of consequence, at least nothing that would help her with the case. Part of her hoped they had gotten an email from Detective Dawson, but the idea that he would reach out to them was a nearly impossible thought. His eruption the day before made it quite clear he didn’t want them on the case. And now, with another body found, she was sure that his workload was well beyond his capacity.
Kat quickly scanned the Internet for any articles that had been posted about Chelsea Atkinson, Daniel Arthur, Ben Boyd, or Rebecca Blake. There wasn’t much. She stood up for a moment, grabbing a yellow lined pad of paper so she could take some notes. Somehow taking notes helped her brain sort out the information. Not that she ever used them in the story, but it did seem to help get the facts aligned.
She heard the front door click open and then close. “I’m back,” TJ said, walking into the kitchen. “Did you solve all the world problems while I was gone?” He slumped down in a chair next to her, a fringe of hair hanging out from underneath his baseball hat.
She shook her head. “I wish. Van went to go call Stephanie. How did drop off go?”
“Well, I don’t think the principal was used to having someone walk a student in and then take them to their class.” TJ smiled, a big grin from ear to ear. “She tried to give me a hard time, telling me that these are high school students, they didn’t need an escort, and they needed to develop personal responsibility. I looked at her and told her she had bigger problems to worry about than whether I wanted to walk with Jack or not.”
Kat giggled. The idea of TJ going toe-to-toe with the high school principal didn’t surprise her in the least. She could imagine the shocked look on the administrator’s face.
“I’m gonna go get settled and then play with those dogs of yours,” TJ said, setting a hand on her shoulder. “Need anything?”
“Nope. I’m good.” Kat stared back at her computer and her notebook. The words swam in front of her. Thinking about the fact that TJ was there with them swirled up a swamp of fear and comfort in her at the same time. She loved seeing TJ, but the circumstances weren’t what she’d like them to be. She swallowed and stared back at the screen. A wave of frustration covered her. They had no leads. They had no idea who might be taking people and killing them. The fact that Ben Boyd’s body had been found wasn’t a good sign. For a moment, Kat’s mind moved toward Rebecca. Was she alive? Was her dead body in a park somewhere? They needed a break, a break that would help them to solve the case and stop the killer. But how?
22
Detective Dawson had been up half the night. The call came in at about ten PM that
The scene had been eerie in a way, Ben’s body perched inside a laundry cart, the kind used by hotels and professional laundry facilities. His face was gray-blue and puffy, his eyes closed, his head tilted to the side slightly as if he were about to ask a question. There wasn’t one to ask.
Dawson had stood by as the medical examiner, Dr. Murphy, did the initial intake just after midnight. “Cause of death, Doc?”
“Not sure. He has some puncture wounds, but nothing obvious. No gunshot, no other trauma I can see.”
“Overdose?”
The ME stood up, shaking his head left to right. “Wish I could tell you, but I won’t know until I get him back to the lab. This one is a mystery.” He lifted his head slightly, looking at his assistant. “Let’s get him packed up.”
The forensics team took a few more pictures and Dawson stood by, watching as they carefully lifted Ben’s body out of the cart.
“Oh my God, what happened?” a flustered bald man with thick glasses wearing a collared shirt, patterned tie and jacket, said, nearly bumping into Dawson. He seemed overdressed for how late it was.
Dawson stuck out his hand, stopping the man in his tracks. “Who are you?”
The man seemed to shrivel at the question. “I’m Dr. Jeremy Laffer, the President of the college. The security office called me. Said one of our people expired.”
Dawson wrinkled his nose. “Expired is not exactly what I’d say. We’ve identified the body as Ben Boyd, your missing janitor. Can’t be sure yet, but it looks like he’s been murdered.”