“From what I hear, your family knows everything going on.”
“We know enough to keep us surviving and thriving.”
“Care to share who you believe the killer might be?”
“There’s a connection you’re missing. Sure, Carson knew most of the killed people, but he didn’t have a motive for doing the deeds. You’re missing the big picture, Doc. One of those deaths alone could have been random, but all together, when you look at it all together, the common link isn’t Carson. He’s not the killer. He was being protected.”
“You think this was someone trying to protect Carson?”
“I think you need to re-examine the deceased. There’s one puzzle piece that doesn’t fit. One that’s not quite like the others. I think when you figure that out, you’ll find your killer.”
“And how do I know you aren’t sending me down some rabbit hole?”
Betty’s lips twitched. “Why take out the trash when you can have someone else do a better job of it for you? When you find the link, you’ll know why I had to keep my nose out of it.”
Betty rose from her spot and headed toward the barn doors. I followed. She closed them before turning around to face me. “Next time you come sneaking up onto my property, you’ll be considered trespassing. If you need to talk, you know how to use the front door.”
Warning understood. We were heading back to the others when I spotted Amber placing the lock on the abandoned barn on her daddy’s property.
“I thought Carson said that was the abandoned one.”
“I’m sure he did,” Betty said as she continued to walk, leading me toward the fire pit.
My bodyguards and Grant were still standing instead of sitting, and none had touched the alcohol that was offered. They were as skittish as kittens thrown into a wolf pack.
They each turned as I approached and watched, flexing their fingers as their gazes scanned down my body looking to see if I’d been harmed.
“I’m sure you can find your way back through the woods, unless you want Mikey to escort you.”
“No, we’ve got it,” I said and turned around, extending my hand to Betty. Judging by the look on her face, that wasn’t something she was very used to.
She took my hand into hers. The calluses on her palm proved what I already knew. This woman would get her hands dirty, just like me.
Grant and the others followed me through the trees back to where we’d left the SUVs. He was the first to speak. “You all right?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said, smiling up at him.
“Did she tell you who the killer is?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes as I opened the SUV door. “No, but she did point us back to the bodies.”
With a sigh, I walked back to my bodyguards’ vehicle and tapped on the window just like I’d done when we arrived. I waited for them to roll the window down. “We’re just going back to the lake house. You guys are off the clock.”
The man in the passenger seat was reading a text on his phone when he glanced up at me. “Sloan would like you to call him. He’s texted you five times.”
“I’m kind of beat, boys, so have a good night.” I tapped on the doorframe before jogging back over to where Grant waited in the SUV.
Passenger guy stepped out of the car. “But you’ll call him, right?”
I just grinned as I slid into the seat and shut the door. I would call Sloan when I was ready.
On the way back to the lake house, I informed Grant what Betty had said.
“One isn’t like the others?”
“I’m going to have to view them all, Grant. I just can’t afford Noah being present when I do. If I see something that points the finger even harder at Carson, I’m not going to be able to keep that away from him.”
“Lucy, Noah is a good man. You might not have seen it because he was the one who recruited you, and, sometimes, he has to make the hard call, but he did it for your own good. Carson’s been working in the Mind Program for a lot longer than you. And have a little faith in Noah. He might just surprise you like he did when he brought Carson to the lake house instead of the jail.”
Grant was right. Noah had surprised me with how he’d handled Carson, but what I lacked in faith, I made up for in determination. If Noah didn’t come around to seeing that doing the right thing sometimes meant breaking the rules, then he and I might never see eye-to-eye.
I was going to have to do the one thing I told Carson I wouldn’t do. It was going to be virtually impossible to put all the pieces together to figure out who the odd duck might be without touching everyone and witnessing their deaths.
“Maybe you should just try and connect with Cody Anderson or Drake Tines again. If you could turn in time to see the killer, we can wrap this up with a pretty bow,” Grant said.
He was right. A simple touch might be all that was needed.
Grant drove us back to the lake house, and we tiptoed in, not wanting to wake everyone up. He gave me his room and took the couch since I had Carson’s hulky body sleeping in my assigned bed. I took a shower and slipped beneath the covers. I was just about to turn out the light when I remembered I needed to text Sloan.
Your guys are dorks, but effective dorks. Don’t they have someone more important to watch?
I hear you’re not very good at hide and seek, Sloan texted.
Yeah, it seems everyone has a gun in these parts along with surveillance in the trees. They must all be paranoid that Bigfoot is going to come and steal their women and their alcohol. Thanks for leaving me the other protection though. I like the ones I can hide.
I hadn’t had to use the gun he gave me yet, and it was possible I could get in trouble for carrying it without a permit or Noah’s consent, but I’d have to be alive in order for them to throw the book at me.
Any word on Carl Chisolm’s whereabouts?
I could almost feel the killer zoning in on me every time my blood pressure rose. Until I dealt with him, I’d always be looking over my shoulder.
Still in the wind, but I’ve got some of my best guys actively hunting him.
When this is over, I’ll help. He’s a weed in my garden that I need to deal with once and for all.
When this is over, we’ll discuss my job offer.
I grinned. Call off your dogs, and I’ll consider it.
I told you I want you protected.
And I told you, I need to be stealthy. Do it as a sign of good faith that you trust in me to get the job done.
Your shadows will be gone by morning, but watch your back.
Good night, Sloan.
Sweet dreams, Doc.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone out of my way to check in with anyone, much less a guy I was attracted to. It was oddly comforting.
I hated it.
With comfort came compliance, and with compliance came lowered guards and potential attacks. No, I was definitely going to have to deal with Carl Chisolm sooner rather than later.
Chapter 21
Sheet-covered bodies were spread out in front of me like a zombie buffet line. Noah patiently waited in the corner. Grant and Sam had stayed behind with Carson, and for good reason. Before we’d left, four people from town had stopped by in an attempt to see him. Some of the town had already condemned Carson of the crimes while the other half argued on his behalf. What started out as a few people in the know had turned into split loyalties among the residents.
I’d be sporting a Team Carson shirt in my future.
“You going to stand there all day or what?” Noah asked.
I lifted the sheet back on Drake Tines and frowned as I rested my palm on his cold arm. I closed my eyes and inhaled, sucking in the energy that I’d already tapped into once before. Pulling it and guiding it back to me, letting it invade every piece of who I was. There was no hate in his energy, nor any strong feelings to keep me tethered in place.
The scene replayed of him on a boat. I released my hold and tried to look behind him to see who thre
w the knife, and it was cut off again. The connection severed. Not enough anger to leave me hanging in space.
“Same thing,” I said, opening my eyes. “Someone on the boat throws the knife.”
Noah handed me the bottled water and gestured to the second sheet.
“I’m not going to be able to do them all and sustain my energy.”
“I know, but with Cody, you’ve already seen half of the encounter. This time look at the perpetrator since you know what’s going to happen,” Noah said.
I uncapped the water bottle and drank half of it before recapping it and setting it on the table. I moved to Cody and lowered the sheet. My hand trembled as I held it over his wrist. With this one, there was a ton of anger to cling to. Anger was like the black sheep of all emotions, gritty and dirty with strong enough bands to last lifetimes.
I lowered my fingers to touch his cold skin and closed my eyes.
Cody and Carson’s scene played out again. Carson with a busted lip and Cody, the school bully, taunting him. This time I stepped out of Cody’s energy and observed the interaction. This time I knew when the knife was coming and from what direction.
Cody shoved Carson, and I watched as he fell. His head bounced off a rock, and his eyes rolled back in his head.
The knife sailed through the air, and instead of watching where it embedded into Cody, I turned in the direction of its origin.
Three figures stood in the tree line, one with a hoodie over his face and eyes. The other two guys I’d never seen before. Each had dark hair and eyes with no other identifying marks, except for the pimples on their faces. “There’s three people, but I can only make out two. They have dark hair and eyes, with pimples on their faces. They’re teenagers.”
I continued to watch the killers while Cody gurgled. One of the pimply teens walked over to Cody and twisted the knife before yanking it out of his chest.
Cody gurgled blood as the teen walked back and handed it to the person hiding beneath the hoodie.
The anger connection broke like a dried-up twig in the desert, and my eyes flew open.
“But you saw their faces, right?” he asked.
“All but one,” I answered. “And there are finger prints on that damn knife. You get the knife and you get the killer and one of his accomplices if they haven’t wiped the handle clean.”
I had a starting point now, a way to track those two down. A single trip to the school library and spending some time in their old yearbooks and I’d be able to put names with those faces.
I drained the rest of the water, and my legs turned to jelly. “I need to sit down, Noah.”
“You sure that was all you saw?”
I nodded. “I should have kept watching the first time. I should have told you the truth. We could have saved precious time, and maybe Carson might not be sitting under house arrest.”
“Lucy, if you honestly believe him as innocent, or any of us in the future for that matter, then please trust your gut and don’t hesitate to look. In the long run, it might save a life, and it could be someone we love.” He handed me pictures of the other deceased people pulled from the lake. All of them looked to be high school age. The only oddity was that Carson’s dad was a lot older. Was that supposed to be the odd person out that Betty suggested I look for?
I glanced up to find Noah nibbling on his bottom lip. He was anxious and distracted.
“You’re thinking of your daily phone call,” I said, glancing at my watch. “It’s about that time, isn’t it?”
I could always tell when Noah was worried that he wouldn’t be able to slip away. I could feel the tension and anxiety of his secret being exposed. I would never tell his secret. I understood it more than anyone else on the team. Some things were meant to be guarded from prying eyes. It probably killed him knowing that his secret couldn’t be guarded from my eyes.
“Go make your call. I’m going to go over to the school to look at the yearbooks.” I glanced at the other covered bodies. “How about we resume in an hour or so? Will that give you enough time for your call?”
“It should,” Noah said, pulling out his phone and dialing before I ever even left the room.
I took the SUV keys and drove to the school, leaving Noah alone and in privacy to make his call. The sun had started to lower behind the buildings. Dinnertime was fast approaching, and school was over, other than some after-school activities judging by the parking lot.
I parked in front of the administration office and headed inside. Stopping at the lady behind the counter, I smiled. “Hi, I’m Lucy Bray, here to see Amber Farley.”
“She should be back in a few minutes. She’s in a meeting with the teachers.”
“Great, I’ll just wait,” I answered at the same time my phone rang. “Hello.”
“I’ve been digging around in Amber’s sandbox just like you asked, and I found something,” Sam said.
I glanced at the lady behind the counter. “I’m just going to step out in the hallway to take this call.”
The woman nodded, and I pushed out the door. “Tell me what you found.”
“She got into a bit of trouble in college, but before that, she was runner-up for a scholarship for the same school. Lucy, I had to do some digging, but the scholarship winner was Tony Miller before he went missing.”
I strolled down the hallway. Pictures lined the wall, along with the names of every year’s top ten students for the last thirty years. I paused in front of twin faces. Dark hair, dark eyes, and I was not mistaken that those two boys were the ones I’d seen when I’d connected to Cody’s anger.
“I have to call you back,” I whispered and hung up on Sam as a teacher strolled by. “Excuse me?”
She stopped and smiled politely. “Yes.”
“Do you have any idea where I can find updated addresses on these individuals?”
She glanced up to the twins I was pointing to. “Oh yes, the twins. Most of the chemistry club members from that class moved back in town after college.”
“They did?”
“Most of those science kids don’t tend to leave town very long. Well, with the exception of the missing Miller boy and of course Carson Tines, who went into the military, but you probably already know that, don’t you?”
“And these twins, where can I find them?” I asked.
“At the sheriff’s department. I think they’re both still working there.”
My mouth parted as I returned my gaze to the picture. I hadn’t noticed them at the sheriff’s department when I was there, but if these guys were legit cops now, Noah was going to need more than my whacked-out energy connections to prove their involvement.
I used my cell phone and took a picture with their names beneath. I hurried out the door and back into the SUV, heading back to the sheriff’s department.
I slammed on the brakes in front of the Sheriff’s office. The car was still rocking as I leaped out to hurry inside. The cop at the counter greeted me with a smile. “Dr. Bray, FBI Agent Roth wasn’t expecting you back for another hour.”
“I know. It’s important that I talk to him. Can you beep me in?”
“Sure,” she said, and I yanked the door open as it buzzed. My gaze went around the open room to the other officers as I did the partial walk, partial jog to get me to the morgue quicker. Two killers worked in this building, and if they knew I was on to them, there was a chance I might disappear like the others.
Chapter 22
Noah was standing in one of the offices with the cell phone pressed against his ear. I hadn’t given him the normal hour he liked to use when making his call, but this was important. I tapped on the glass, and he held up his finger, turning his back to me.
I glanced over my shoulder to find one of the familiar faces staring at me. Trey or Travis Stevenson. I didn’t know them well enough to tell them apart. This twin was dressed in full uniform with his peepers peeled in my direction, his face a stone mask as he signed a paper and set it aside. I turned back to the glass and
wrapped my knuckles against it again.
This time Noah didn’t even turn around, but when I did, Deputy Stevenson was right behind me, and I jumped.
“Are you okay?”
“Yep. Mmmhm.” I nodded and glanced at his badge. “Thanks for checking on me Deputy Stevenson. It’s important I speak with Special Agent Roth.”
“Anything I can help you with?” he asked with his palms resting on his gun belt.
“Uh…no,” I answered and glanced around the room for the other twin. “You lived here long, Deputy?”
“Yes, ma’am. Born and raised.”
I licked my lips to stifle myself from telling him I knew the truth when all I wanted was nothing more. “So, you went to school with Carson?”
“Sure, he was in the chemistry club with me and my brother, Travis.”
“Right. You must be Trey then?”
His brows dipped. “You know my name?”
“I make it a point to know everyone’s name. You know in the event I need backup while working on this case. It makes it more personal; don’t you think?”
“Sure,” he said as the office door opened behind me.
“Lucy, you haven’t been gone an hour.”
“I know,” I said. “We need to talk,” I said, sliding around him into the conference room.
“Excuse us,” Noah said to Deputy Stevenson.
I waited until the deputy turned and headed back toward his desk before I drew the blinds in the room, shutting us away from everyone else in the building.
“What are you doing?” Noah asked.
“I can’t let anyone here accidentally overhear us, or things might get messier.”
“Lucy, since when did you turn paranoid? You normally make it a point to make others feel uncomfortable.”
“I’m not paranoid,” I said, glancing one more time through the blinds. Deputy Stevenson was nowhere to be seen. The blind snapped closed as I turned to face Noah. “You remember how I told you there were three people responsible for Cody’s death?”
“Yeah, did you already find the two you could identify in the yearbook?”
Killing Justice (Fractured Minds Series Book 2) Page 10