by Alex Kava
“Doc, what are you doing here?” Creed asked.
“Same thing as you, I imagine.” He tossed the cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out.
“Did Benny and Colfax tell you about this?”
The man’s khakis were stained, and his polo shirt was untucked and drenched in sweat. Creed glanced around. This wasn’t right. But in seconds Doc confirmed the uneasy feeling in Creed’s gut when he pulled a gun out of his pocket.
“I sent a boy to do a man’s job,” he told Creed. “I figured I needed to correct my mistake.”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
“I know you didn’t bring your sidekick, because I know exactly where he is. Now put your hands out where I can see them.”
Creed was confused. He tried to access what he knew about the guy. All he could remember was that he had been an Army surgeon. Had done a tour in Afghanistan.
“What’s going on, Doc?”
“I heard you found the dog.”
Creed could see him watching for his reaction.
“This time you can be sure,” he told Creed. “I won’t be so sloppy.”
“You shot Hank?” Creed still didn’t understand.
“The stupid thing lunged at me.”
“Because you were shooting his owner.” Creed concentrated on the burn that had started in his gut and was moving up his chest.
“Take that silly helmet off and lay it on the ground. But nice and easy. Put your hands out in front of you.”
Creed obeyed while his mind kept racing.
“You killed all these people?” Creed asked as he slowly released and pulled the helmet off his head.
“Put it on the ground. Don’t throw it.”
“I don’t understand, Doc.”
“Wives are expensive,” the man actually laughed and pushed back at the flop of wet bangs on his forehead. “You can only claim bankruptcy so many times. The helmet, Ryder. Put it on the ground.”
Creed kept his movements slow as he bent at his knees and eased his body all the way down to place the helmet on the ground. At the last second, he flung it at Doc’s hand. He swiped his fingers over Grace to unsnap the leash.
“Run Grace. Home. Now.”
Doc lifted the gun and fired after her. He got off one shot before Creed dived at him. The second shot hit Creed center mass and knocked him to his knees.
Doc felt confident enough to come in closer for a final shot.
“I won’t make the same mistake twice,” he said as he brought the gun up to place against Creed’s temple.
Creed grabbed the man’s wrist, twisted and pulled him off balance. The gun went flying but Creed didn’t let go. Doc had fallen to his knees. Creed lifted and twisted Doc’s wrist then slammed his elbow into the back of the man’s arm. The snap of bone silenced the night creatures for a second or two then Doc’s scream filled the air.
Just then, Creed caught a glimpse of the thermal image screen still attached to the helmet on the ground. It was pointed back behind him and a red mass was filling the screen.
He felt the burst of pain at the back of his head before everything went black.
Chapter 72
Pensacola Beach
After Taylor left, Maggie called Santa Rosa County Chief Deputy Glenn. She explained to him what had just happened. She told him everything she’d learned. He wasn’t happy that she was asking him to bring in a prominent Pensacola surgeon for questioning.
“I’ll handle the questioning,” she said. “You can let the federal agent be the bad cop. You can be the good cop.”
He still wasn’t happy.
“If we wait, he has the means to pick up and leave,” Maggie warned him.
She could do this herself. Escambia County Sheriff Clayton had invited her in to investigate the storage unit. The medical examiner had requested her to be a part of the case in the forest. But Maggie had learned long ago that it was better to have the locals on her side.
He said he would take care of it.
She hadn’t even met Glenn. With her luck, he was a patient of this surgeon or a friend of a friend. She reminded herself this was a small community, and Glenn’s resistance only confirmed what Taylor had already said about the man’s influence.
Maggie had ordered room service. She hadn’t eaten at Walter’s Canteen. Hunger and the incoming storm had contributed to the pounding in her head. She’d left the tray on the desk and instead of sitting down and eating, she paced with her phone, stopping for a bite of the fish tacos or grabbing a couple of French fries.
She’d already left a voice message for Ryder. When she got no response, she added a text telling him she had a suspect and to please get in contact with her. She told herself that he might be with Jason and the guys at the hospital. She hoped that was where he was.
Having a suspect might tamp down their urge to trek into the forest themselves and go all Rambo.
She was just about to sit and put a serious dent in her dinner when she got a call from Keith Ganza. Ganza was the head of the crime lab at Quantico. She’d been patient with the man, but she couldn’t handle another lecture on how long “these things took.”
Still, she snatched the phone back up.
“Hey Keith.”
“Looks like your medical examiner friend is sending me more stuff.”
He didn’t sound happy. But it was difficult to tell with Ganza. He reminded Maggie of a hard rocker from the 1960s with his long, gray hair ponytail and his slow monotone.
“Right,” she said, “I forgot to tell you, I found a woman’s head this morning.”
Alonzo had made a joke about it, but Ganza just let it roll. She smiled at her own bad pun and popped another French fry in her mouth. She was exhausted, physically and mentally.
When he stayed quiet for too long, Maggie added, “We need to see if it matches the body we found in the forest.”
“Her samples will be here in the morning, but you know these things take time.”
She winced and bit back her frustration.
“I do have some news on the cheeseburger you sent.”
Maggie started pacing again, forcing herself to stay put at the patio door. Usually the view would calm her, but evening had brought dark clouds, and even the beachgoers were scattering.
“I was actually able to get enough DNA to do a search.”
“That’s fantastic.”
“Not so fantastic. I didn’t find a match.”
“He’s not in the system at all?”
“Locally, I suppose he could be. Alonzo offered to help with those details.”
She knew that meant Alonzo might not be asking permission. The man had a knack for getting into cyber places.
“But then he reminded me of a case we worked six months ago. The killer’s DNA was recovered on a victim, but we couldn’t find a match anywhere. We started checking those ancestry companies.”
Maggie wasn’t crazy about the idea. The process had gotten a lot of press when it was used to finally capture the Golden State Killer. After thirty plus years, Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested for as many as fifty rapes and twelve murders in a ten-county area of California. DeAngelo’s DNA had never been on record. But investigators used third-party familial DNA from an ancestry company to narrow down the search to find him. When they were finally able to secure a DNA sample from him, they got a match.
The process was controversial, and the results could sometimes be misleading. But most of the ancestry companies already warned their customers in their contract agreements. When they gave their consent to release their DNA and build the profiles that might find ancestors, they were also releasing their DNA to be used for other profiles, including criminal searches.
Maggie held back her impatience with Ganza. In her mind, this track would take even longer.
“Going through family’s DNA could take forever,” she told him now. “And I actually have a suspect. Hopefully, he’s going to be detained very soon.�
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“What if I told you we didn’t need to go through third-party familial DNA?”
“Keith, what are you talking about?”
“The cheeseburger guy actually submitted his DNA directly to one of these ancestor companies. We have a confirmed match.”
“You’re kidding,” Maggie said. “Well, that’s perfect.”
This would definitely make Chief Deputy Glenn less hesitant about bringing in Derrick Winslow for questioning.
“His name is Ernest Udall Sutton.”
“Excuse me?” Maggie asked. “That can’t be correct.”
Was it possible the fast food bag had been someone else’s trash? Or did Dr. Derrick Winslow have help?
Chapter 73
Blackwater River State Forest
“You should have stayed the hell away. I didn’t need your help.”
Creed didn’t recognize this man’s voice. He didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious. He stayed motionless, squinting enough to see only darkness.
He was facedown on his stomach. The back of his head felt let it had been cracked open. His chest hurt like he had been hit with a rocket. And then he remembered, he had been. The bullet hit him right in the breastbone. Benny’s bulletproof vest stopped it, but Creed would have a hell of a bruise.
They thought he was shot. That might be a good thing. But his hands were tied behind his back. With a subtle probe of his fingertips he could feel the plastic zip tie.
“The asshole broke my arm.”
Doc’s voice. Creed resisted the urge to smile at the pain in his whine.
“He would have broken a lot more if I hadn’t saved you. I told you I had things under control.”
“You have nothing under control. They identified Lockett. This is the guy who found his dog.”
“Hey, that dog and that guy were your fault. Didn’t they teach you how to shoot a gun in the military? You didn’t kill him, remember? I had to finish the job. You owe me. Or did you already forget that?”
This man sounded younger. Much younger. Almost like a teenager badmouthing a parent.
But this was the man who had bludgeoned John Lockett to death. Creed remembered the bloody mess. He was also responsible for delivering the knockout blow to Creed’s head. He was the guy who had come onto their property. He didn’t think it could have been Doc.
Creed listened and tried to figure out how close they were. Could they see him? How long did they expect him to be out? They evidently hadn’t noticed the vest under his T-shirt and the button-down shirt he wore over it. If they had noticed the vest, he’d have another bullet in him. He had fallen face first. The young guy must have simply pulled his hands back and tied them.
“No, I haven’t forgotten,” Doc told him. “You’ve been a good partner, Udie, just like your mother was. I miss her sometimes.”
“Yeah, right you miss her.”
“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” Doc asked him.
“I know she didn’t tell you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That I’m you’re frickin son.”
There was a silence, and Creed remained still. He listened now, curious.
“Oh, I didn’t realize she told you,” Doc told him.
“You knew?”
“We were both really young, Udie. Barely out of high school. She knew I wanted to be a doctor. I had to join the military to do that. Look Udie, we can talk about this later. I’m really hurting here.”
Another silence. Creed lifted his head. His eyes were adjusting to the dark, but he still couldn’t see the men.
“I have some patches in my duffel bag,” the younger man finally said.
Creed could hear rustling and crunching. He used the distraction to test the zip tie. He had a bad habit of sleeping with his fists balled up. He noticed that they were still clenched. Whoever had tied his wrists together had left his fists side-by-side, facing out.
“I’ve never used fentanyl for myself,” Doc said.
“Oh man, it’ll definitely make you forget your pain.”
The zip tie was an amateur’s mistake. One that Creed was grateful for. But he soon noticed any movement of his shoulders sent a shock of pain into his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and slowly turned his arms inward until his wrists were front to front.
“Won’t it zone me out?” Doc was still skeptical. “I can’t get the hell out of here if I’m completely zoned out.”
“It doesn’t start working immediately. Geez, I can’t believe you. What did you use to overdose all those guys I’ve dumped?”
“Injecting makes it go faster. Opioids are the perfect killer. Very peaceful. Just slows everything down. And after a few days in rehab and withdrawal, they’re begging me for it.”
Creed stayed focused on his task. An amateur doesn’t realize that when the hands are fisted and the wrists are side-by-side instead of facing together, they take up more room. With that small maneuver Creed had loosened the tie. Now all he had to do was work one thumb under and out. It still was a lot easier said than done.
Chapter 74
K9 CrimeScents
Brodie hated leaving Hank all alone. Dr. Avelyn had stopped by to check on the big dog along with Chance and Winnie, but she had already released them back to the kennel. Dr. Avelyn gave Hank something to help him rest and said that he’d probably sleep through the night.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Brodie had asked her.
“He’s doing really well.”
“But will he be able to walk and run?”
“There wasn’t as much damage as I expected,” Dr. Avelyn said. “We’ll have to wait and see. Some of it will be up to Hank. But he’s strong and young. He’s only two years old.”
Brodie knew the veterinarian had gotten the basic information because of the microchip implanted into his subcutaneous tissue. She liked that the she always shared stuff and answered her questions.
Now Brodie walked with Scout from the clinic to the house. She heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. Ryder had completed all the chores before he and Grace left. She glanced up at his loft and didn’t see a light. She looked over at Jason’s doublewide. It was dark, too. And Jason’s SUV was still gone. But as she got closer to the house, Brodie noticed that Ryder’s Jeep was parked in its regular spot.
When she came in the back door, she thought maybe he and Grace might be inside. Thomas and Isaac were having milk and cookies at the counter.
“They think they should get to stay up later,” Hannah told her, “because it’s summer and there is no school.”
“Ryder and Grace aren’t back yet?” Brodie asked.
“I didn’t know they were gone.”
And just then, there was a scratch at the back door. All of them heard it. Brodie was closest. She opened it to find Grace. She was wearing a working vest but it was muddy. Twigs and grass stuck out of it. The dog was panting, but she wouldn’t come in.
“Grace!” Brodie said as she leaned out the doorway looking for Ryder.
“What’s going on?” Hannah wanted to know. “You said they were gone somewhere? Grace, come on in. You look exhausted.”
“Something’s wrong.” Brodie could feel it.
“I’ll call Rye and see what’s going on,” Hannah said, rushing across the kitchen to get her phone.
“Is everything okay, mom?”
Brodie concentrated on Grace. The dog looked up at her and circled. She was trying to get Brodie to come with her. Brodie grabbed her daypack from where she’d left it on the bench by the door. She raced out trying to keep up with Grace before she realized Scout was right alongside her. She heard Hannah calling for her, but she didn’t look back.
Chapter 75
Blackwater River State Forest
Creed squeezed the rest of his hand out from the zip tie, and the plastic slid off.
The men were still talking, but their voices were becoming mumbled. Creed was starting to lose his sense of direction. Th
e pain in his head seemed to be replaced by a muddled fog, and he wondered if it was the cause for the sudden sleepiness he was feeling. His breathing had slowed and an overpowering nausea swept over him, leaving him cold and clammy. Now with his hands free, he wasn’t sure he could even lift himself off the ground.
He managed to roll onto his side. Something was tangled at his neck, and he remembered the night vision goggles. It took extreme effort for his fingers to pull the goggles up over his face and over his eyes. His hands were shaking. It was probably from being tied.
But now the green tinged light added to his nausea. The ground felt like it was moving, rolling underneath him. He couldn’t see the men anywhere. His head swirled, and the dizziness almost made him vomit.
Creed returned to his stomach. He propped himself up with his elbows. That was as far as he could get. He was too weak to do anything more. Maybe if he just stayed still. At least for a little while.
Then he started to smell something else that didn’t belong in the forest. The scent was strong and close.
Gasoline.
Someone was pouring gasoline.
Chapter 76
Blackwater River State Forest
Brodie didn’t need to see where she was going. After the last several days, going back and forth, she knew the way almost by heart. She knew Grace was taking her to the crime scene.
She had stopped the dog once, insisting Grace drink some water. When Grace realized Brodie wouldn’t continue to follow, she relented then ended up drinking the entire bowl. That was when Brodie considered taking the vest off the dog. It looked heavy and hot. She felt for the release and noticed a patch of fur missing on Grace’s shoulder. Brodie’s fingers came away sticky. She smelled it and knew it was blood.
She made the dog sit while she ran her hands over her body, neck, and head then each leg. Her fingers had to search since her eyes couldn’t see. The wound on her shoulder appeared to be the only one, and it wasn’t bleeding anymore. But when Brodie started to take off the vest she hesitated. It wasn’t like the others Grace usually wore. She left it in place.