Devils Among Us (Devin Dushane Series Book 1)

by Chastity Harris

  “You can’t do this to me again for a while.”

  Devin grinned, but didn’t break away. “In case you haven’t noticed, this sort of thing happens to me pretty much on a weekly basis.”

  “I noticed.” He ran his thumb in little circles under her ear, he was reluctant to break the moment they were having. Swallowing hard, Shane pulled away just a few inches. “Casey’s missing.”

  “I know. Adam’s mother has her.” She stepped back and laid her fingertips on his chest. “I need everything you’ve got on Michael Leary and Eloise Faulkner, now.”

  Laying his hand over hers he started pulling her towards the SUV at a run. “Henry, sit tight we’ve got an ambulance on the way!”

  Shane leaned in the car door that was still open from his hasty exit and pulled out the files he had put together that morning. “If only someone had looked deeper into what happened to Michael Leary sooner, a lot of this could have been avoided.” Spreading his papers out on the hood, Shane started going through the timeline. “Okay, Michael starts out at Virginia Tech but transfers after one year to Old Dominion in Norfolk, where his grades deteriorate and he appears to have a breakdown. He drops out before the end of the year. Later though when interviewed, his roommate said that Michael had trouble with a girl that was stalking him. When he didn’t respond to her attention she would turn violent, even broke into their room several times to leave dead animals. He said the last straw was when they came back to the dorm one night and there was a bloody necklace on his pillow. Michael freaked out, packed his stuff and was gone in the morning.”

  “Did he call the police?”

  “No. Nor did he file a restraining order during that year. For the next eight months, he’s a ghost. There’s not a paycheck, utility bill, anything in his name. Then in February of 1967, he files in Pennsylvania to legally change his name to Matthew Lentz.”

  Devin nodded along. “It has a much more Pennsylvania Dutch sound to it if he wants to blend in anywhere in the Keystone State.”

  “Exactly. His request is granted, and in the fall of that year, he enrolls in Gettysburg College. Graduates in ’69, and in the spring of that year marries his classmate Annette Schuler. They live a peaceful happy little existence until October 3, 1970, when they are both killed in a suspicious house fire. The body of their infant son—Adam—is never recovered.” Shane stared at the history of horrors spread across the hood in agony. “How could I have not seen what he was?” The weight of failure threatened to crush him as he faced the weighty responsibility of Casey Bittner’s possible death.

  “None of us saw it. Talk about the devil hiding right amongst us.” Devin shoved his paperwork to the windshield. “Shane we need to find Casey. Eloise has her, but there is a chance she’s still alive. They were using her as leverage, so if Eloise doesn’t know that Adam is dead and their plan is blown, we may still have time.”

  Shane came up for air after nearly drowning. “He was going to take you to her and complete the circle. It has to be the Summit.”

  Devin shook her head. “I know Eloise would want to kill me there, that would be pure poetry, but I just don’t think there would have been time. Send someone out there though, just in case. I can’t afford to be wrong.”

  Shane reached into the SUV and pulled the radio off the dash to call in to the few deputies left in town. Devin scanned the yard, looking for possible secret hiding places that they’d missed in all the chaos. Her eyes fell on the only quiet space—the cliff overlooking the cemetery. Earning her nickname as the Twister, Devin spun on the spot, redirecting to the back of Shane’s emergency vehicle and rummaged for a body armor vest that would fit her. By the time he rejoined her, she was yanking the Velcro straps tight.

  “I think I know where they are. Adam said the cemetery held secrets no one bothered to look for, and that’s how he got here so quickly.” After checking the clip, Devin holstered her pistol and started jogging across the yard. “Tell them to search for some kind of tunnel between here and the lower cemetery or funeral home.”

  At the edge, Devin looked down an almost ninety-degree dirt-and-slate cliff wall to the cemetery fifty yards below. Even if there were footholds, the ground would disintegrate beneath them if they tried to climb down. Nothing in the graveyard looked disturbed. Shane was by her side now, and they scanned the scene together, looking for a clue. At the bottom left of the cliff, a massive oak tree stood sentry over the quiet collection of headstones, whispering in the breeze all that it had witnessed. Through the thick foliage the edges of a medium-sized cinderblock building were barely visible from their vantage point.

  “That’s too big for a utility shed.” Devin squinted at its outline.

  Shane turned and called to one of the older deputies that were close by. “Hey Coop, what’s that building at the bottom of the cliff, by the oak tree?”

  Deputy Cooper stepped over to the pair to take a closer look. “That’s the old crematorium. They stopped using it back in the early seventies and now they send all their cremations over to their facility in Dawson.”

  Devin hadn’t heard the last part—she was already moving down the edge of the cliff, her eyes locked on the target, everything else fading away as adrenaline sizzled down her spine. Crouching down she surveyed the one entrance to the building she could see and estimated how long it would take to get down there if they didn’t find Adam’s hidden pathway. Shane was trying to talk her, but his voice sounded far away, almost under water.

  Popping up off the ground, Devin started taking long strides backwards. Twenty feet from the edge she paused to meet Shane’s confused gaze. Understanding dawned in an instant as the color slid from his face.

  “No! Devin, no!”

  “Casey’s out of time.”

  His reaction was much too slow. She was already hurtling towards the cliff at full tilt. When she reached the edge, Devin planted a foot and flung herself across the chasm into the waiting limbs of the oak tree. The first branches slashed across her skin, biting and drawing blood with the sting of a bull whip. Trying to grab on to a larger limb proved to be much more painful. Smashing through half of the tree before finding a hold threatened to break her ribs and crack her skull.

  Hanging from her armpits across a moderately stable branch, Devin studied the aged tar roof twenty feet below her. Shadows danced across the edges of a foggy skylight—they were definitely inside. The branch popped and cracked as she shimmied out further to align herself over the skylight. Hitting the solid glass would be as bad as smashing into concrete. Drawing her Glock, Devin let go of the branch before it could snap and fired two shots into the skylight as she dropped through the air. Her body plunged through the cracked glass of the window, shattering the crystal surface like a diver entering the water.

  Devin came up on her feet with gun drawn and saw her fears confirmed. An aged Eloise Faulkner stood across the room, dressed in a black turtleneck and slacks. She still wore the same heavy silver cross necklace of her teenage years and the long black hair now sported a silver streak. Eloise had Casey pulled tightly against her using her ponytail as a grip. Tears streamed down the teenager’s face as a menacing veterinary-sized metal syringe pressed against her throat. Her voice shook as she whimpered.

  “Devin…help me…please.”

  “Casey, everything is going to be okay.” Devin gently shook her head trying to reassure the girl as she saw Casey’s expression transform with terror.

  A smooth southern voice spoke up from just over Devin’s right shoulder. “Now Miss Dushane, you really shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” The long, polished blade of a butcher knife scraped over the nylon shoulder of her ballistic vest. “Things are far from okay.”

  A rookie mistake—she’d failed to clear the room when she entered because she was so focused on getting Casey away from Eloise. She turned her head slightly to glance at the knife and the body attached to it. Time and a twisted mind had taken its toll, but there was no mistaking those ghostly grey
eyes.

  Michael Leary was alive and well and had come home to Fenton.

  “Come, Miss Dushane, put your gun down, or my lovely wife’s hand might slip, and this poor girl might be embalmed before her time.”

  Devin’s head swiveled between the two lunatics before her, but she did not lower her weapon. “Wife? I didn’t know a dead man could get married, Michael.”

  “We’ve had to be creative along the way.” His laugh was nostalgic, as if he was remembering burnt dinners and sidewalk giveaway furniture rather than murder, arson and stolen identities.

  “Does Adam even know you’re alive?”

  “He has such a noble streak, always wanting to do what was right and just. He got that from his birth mother, Annette. She was Lutheran.” Eloise let out a low hiss when Michael mentioned his legal wife. “My pet couldn’t have children, so we had to devise another way to have Adam. It was easier to create our version of the world, to mold him into the tool I needed, if he thought I was dead and my memory needed protecting.” He tapped the knife on Devin’s vest again. “Now, please stop stalling and give me your gun. I assure you that dying by an injection of embalming fluid is a very gruesome business, and I don’t think you want to watch your young friend die that way.”

  Casey’s terror-filled eyes pleaded with Devin to save her. All Devin could see was a scared little girl that she was not going to let someone butcher right in front of her again. Staring hard into Casey’s glazed eyes, Devin tried to communicate a silent plan. With the slightest movement, she dipped her chin and closed her eyes for a beat longer than a blink.

  “I’ve come so far on this investigation. Please, let me go to my grave knowing my work was on track.” Motioning her chin towards Eloise she met the wild stare with feigned terror. “You both caught the taste for blood, and it was Michael’s plan for the elaborate cover up, but you started the ball rolling. It was you that killed Laney, because you wanted Michael for yourself.”

  Eloise exploded in righteous fury. “He was all I wanted! And she took and took for herself…” In spewing her venom she dropped her hand away from Casey’s neck just an inch, and the girl turned her head away as Devin had tried to ask her to. Taking advantage of a jealous woman’s rage, Devin snapped the gun up and rapid fired two precision shots, shattering the syringe and most of Eloise’s hand.

  “Run, Casey, get out of here!”

  Eloise’s shrieks of pain echoed of the cinderblock walls, mingling with Michael’s primal roar of anger. Devin turned on Michael, but he was too quick and slashed a diagonal red ribbon across her right bicep. He was well-practiced with a knife and flipped the blade to plunge into the front of her shoulder right at the edge of her vest. This time it was Devin’s cry that reverberated in the hollow space. She lost the strength in her arm and seemingly the control of it as well. The Glock skated across the floor.

  If it had not been for the body armor vest, the next plunge would have been fatal, but the blade bounced off her chest with such force Michael staggered back a step. Seizing her opportunity, Devin reflexively pounced, pounding his ribs with such forceful kicks she could feel his ribs snap. He waved the knife wildly in her direction, searching for flesh to sink it into. Easily dodging the chaotic hacking, Devin gripped his knife hand and slammed it against the wall with as much strength as she could summon. She even, by sheer stubborn will, got her right arm to throw a weak right hook. Arguably the sound of that knife clanging to the floor was one of the most beautiful sounds she had ever heard.

  A dropped elbow to the neck and a forearm blow to the wind pipe sent Michael to his knees gasping for air and gave Devin a chance to glance around for Casey. With her right hand almost completely gone, Eloise had still managed to tackle Casey around the knees in the heavy metal doorway leading to freedom, but the young girl was intent on kicking herself free. Before Devin could move to offer any assistance, a narrow, dark wood door in the back shadows of the room burst open. Shane, weapon drawn, led the charge out of the secret passageway they’d finally discovered.

  There was no time to celebrate. Glancing back to Michael she discovered he was already back on his feet and lunging for her throat. If he couldn’t stab her, he would settle for strangling her. The two locked into what equaled a standing locked arm wrestling match. Both were exerting all their power and energy, but no ground was being gained or lost. They stayed almost still, each trying to choke the other. She was losing strength by the second as warm waves of blood were rippling down her side. Michael’s eyes darted to an open grate in the floor a few feet away. He was looking for a rat hole to escape down. If he loosened his grip and dove for the hole, they would most certainly lose him and in all probability he would take Devin down with him cracking her skull on the concrete floor or iron incinerators. Even now she could feel him slipping from her grip when she heard Shane somewhere behind her.

  “Devin, I can’t get a clear shot!”

  Her words shook from the strain. “Just take it.”

  “I can’t! Not without going through you.”

  “Take it now Shane!”

  Devin’s head snapped back as searing pain ripped her apart and the world slipped away into darkness.

  Chapter 27

  The light was too bright. Its brilliance was harsh when Devin tried to pry her eyelids open, intensifying the throbbing pains throughout her body. A fuzzy version of Shane’s sheepish face appeared above her. She tried to scowl at him, but at least he was blocking some of the ambulance’s excruciating lighting.

  “How much voltage did you use exactly?”

  Shane’s cheeks turned pink and his feet began shuffling nervously along the edge of the stretcher. “Enough. I had to make sure the current was strong enough to pass through you and knock him out.” His eyes gave away what his voice did not—the fear and the pain of having to taser the woman he was falling in love with. “You told me to take the shot.”

  “Yes, I did, and I would do it again even if it had been a 9 mm instead of a taser.” She mustered half a grin at his look of horror. “Oh, you would have found something nonfatal. Besides we serve the good of the many, not the good of the one. A gunshot wound would be a small price to pay to bring that sociopath to justice.”

  “Well don’t look to me to make that shot, because I am done working with you.” He examined his reflection in a glass-paneled cabinet and ran his hands through his short, dark hair. “I bet I got fifty gray hairs today alone. Woman, you give me an ulcer!”

  Devin instantly regretted the snort of laughter that burst out and strained each ache and slice in her body.

  He looked down into her eyes again. “I’ll tell you what I am going to do, though. I’m taking you out on a real date, and that’s final. I’m done with all this lighthearted, flirty cat-and-mouse game. Devin, I’m crazy about you. Crazy in love, crazy mad when we fight, crazy scared right now…all of the above. I just know that I can’t be without you.”

  Devin was laughing lightly, which was slicing hot razors through her shoulder, but she didn’t care. “I have too much baggage for any reasonable human being, yet somehow you make sense of it. There’s no piece of me that’s too twisted or ruined for you. Even when I hate you, I love you. It is an absolutely horrible idea for us to be together. Completely crazy.” She gripped the front of Shane’s shirt and pulled his face closer to her pillow. “But I’m pretty sure that I’m already certifiably insane anyway.”

  Devin’s grin wasn’t quite as face-splitting as Shane’s, but there was no doubt that the intense sparkle of their eyes was matched when their lips met.

  Neither one noticed that they had arrived at the hospital and that the ambulance doors were now open. For once they were at peace just being with each other.

  Chapter 28

  Devin fidgeted with the strap of her sling. Why did it always seem there were extra straps and buckles that went to nothing on these things? The union rep assigned to her nudged her leg under the table and gave her a hard look that clearly suggested s
he sit still.

  “Detective Dushane, would you please rise?” The Commander in charge peered at her over his bifocals and amended his request. “If your injuries allow you to do so.”

  Devin, of course, pushed to her feet, shifting her suit jacket over her sling a little further. “I’m fine, sir.”

  “Very well.” He returned to using his glasses and reading from the papers before him. “This hearing was convened today to hear evidence from Internal Affairs in the charges against Detective Devin Catherine Dushane of use of excessive force and reckless endangerment of civilian life and fellow officers during the arrest and subsequent death of Ronald Turnsby on May 7th of this year.”

  Devin was working very hard to keep her expression calm and smooth, with slow, easy breathing. She knew the IAB investigators were staring her down from across the aisle. There would be no reaction from her—she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

  “It is the determination of this panel that there is no evidentiary support for any of the aforementioned charges, and the investigation against Detective Dushane should be closed and wiped from her record.” The Commander closed the file and removed his glasses altogether, giving a hard look first to the IAB investigators and then an appreciative nod to Devin. “Furthermore, this panel finds Detective Dushane’s actions to be heroic, and had she not acted so swiftly, the loss of life would have indeed been much greater. In fact, if we don’t wrap this up, the Detective is going to be late for the Governor’s ceremony in her honor. So, case dismissed.”

  Devin met the eyes of all the panel members giving a nod of thanks and a very dignified smile. Thanking her rep she turned to slip out quietly. An investigator with IAB blocked her path. His face red with fury was just inches from hers. Before he could say anything, Devin clapped him warmly on the shoulder and sidestepped him. “Blake, I need to add you to my Christmas card list. You have a good day now.”

  Stepping into the August sunshine, Devin heard a familiar voice.