Truth in the Bones

by Vickie McKeehan

  What was wrong with her? she wondered, tucking the coverlet around Sierra again as she had at bedtime. Noting the little girl tended to kick the covers off during sleep, Skye stood there for a few minutes longer monitoring her precious daughter’s breathing.

  She didn’t want to risk waking Sierra up, so she backed out of the room as quietly as she could and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

  Wide awake now, one glance at the clock on the wall told her it was two-fifteen, way too early to get up and way too early to start drinking coffee.

  She scrounged the refrigerator for orange juice and pulled out a tray of leftovers from supper. She built a sandwich from some of the remaining roast beef, spread mayo on the bread, and sliced a tomato to go on top.

  She took her food and drink into Travis’s study where she could dig through the information Winston had discovered about the Ebert family while she ate.

  As Skye shuffled through Winston’s notes it became apparent that the hacker had gathered all he could off the Internet. It was a talent she admired above all else. Winston’s thorough research from every angle proved reliable as well as resourceful.

  Josh found her sitting at Travis’s desk surrounded by a pile of sticky notes and a long legal pad with Winston’s scribbles and his summary. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Couldn’t sleep.”

  Josh dropped down beside her in one of the cushy leather side chairs. “Don’t tell me you had another weird dream?”

  She sent him a sidelong glance and a shrug. “Okay. I won’t tell you.”

  “Come on, don’t keep it to yourself. It’s always better to talk about it.”

  “Okay, but you asked. I’m back on the streets in the middle of a hunt. It’s clear I’m different than I was before…not the same person I was before I had Sierra. It’s not hard to determine that I’m…”

  “Missing your glory days?” Josh teased, tugging on a strand of her hair.

  She sent him a sleepy smile. “If you’re hinting that I miss walking the streets all night, I don’t.” When he started to protest, she adjusted that statement. “Okay. Maybe I do a little bit. But it was never the ideal job. It wasn’t even a real job, but rather something I started doing on my own, something I created out of the pain I went through to feel useful to…someone else.”

  “Useful? You’ve found dozens of kidnapped girls over the years, Skye, an incredible accomplishment. Why are you diminishing what you’ve done? It isn’t like you. What else is bothering you?”

  “I suppose quite a bit, mainly because no one’s taken up the slack. It isn’t like I put the tiniest dent in all the human trafficking that goes on around here. That’s a sad, sobering fact. But things have changed for me. I have Sierra now. I can’t go out and tackle crime in the middle of the night. Motherhood demands I come up with another approach, maybe a better one.”

  “You’re being torn between two worlds—motherhood and the hunter. It’s perfectly reasonable to think your sense of righting wrongs is warring with that side of you drawn to giving it up. It’s like the story of the two wolves, one good, one evil. But in your case, one pulls for the hunter while the other tugs toward the nurturer you’ve become.”

  “I want to be a good mother more than anything else. I don’t want Sierra growing up where she thinks I’m not there for her. When she wakes up at night, when she’s sick and needs her mother, I want to be there. It’s only fair. Because what we do is dangerous, Josh. Seriously. Not a harmless pursuit or a hobby.”

  “You’re a wonderful mother. Just remember that in the tale, you become the one you feed the most, the one that’s hungriest. You need to find a balance in your life force, one between these two warring factions or you’ll tear yourself apart.”

  “When did you become such a medicine man? Have you been talking to Travis?”

  “I went fishing with him a couple of times last month. Just try and get him to shut up about the old ways. Lots of luck with that. I guess some of it was bound to sink in.”

  “I’d say it sounds like he’s grooming you to become a full-fledged shaman, which means he’s truly accepted you as a member of his tribe.”

  “It’s about time. Feeling better?”

  “Until the next weird dream pops up, sure.”

  “Look, this is a difficult adjustment for you. It was bound to happen. You’ve saved so many young girls from the evil that stalks the night, it’s only fair that you’d miss that part of your life and want to keep it around. It’s understandable since it’s that part of yourself that’s given you meaning for such a long time and the will to survive. So tell me what’s really going on with you? The way you’re acting is scaring me a little.”

  “Maybe it’s this case that’s bothering me.”

  “Why? We’ve handled cases just as bad.”

  “No argument there. But as long as a predator like this one thinks he’s gotten away with it, he’ll continue to find new ways to kill. You and I both know he’ll get bored with the way he does things now and likely set out to become even bolder. He’ll take on more and more and more until we find a way to stop him. Now that we have Sierra, I view these kinds of monsters in a much broader sense. What if this guy starts picking families with small children? He’s already done that once, which means he’ll do it again just to show that he can.”

  He took her hand and held it over his heart. “We won’t let that happen.”

  His eyes glowed from gray to silver, a habit that occurred whenever he was aroused. Skye moved over to his lap and took his mouth.

  “What are you guys doing up?”

  The question startled them both.

  Josh narrowed his eyes, scowling at his father-in-law. “Before you walked in I was about to make love to my wife.”

  “In my study? Jeez, I don’t need to hear stuff like that. That’s what guest rooms are for. Although…that is how I got my granddaughter.”

  “Very funny, Dad. Why are you up creeping around?” Skye asked, moving off Josh’s lap.

  “It’s my damn house,” Travis stated, grumpy from lack of sleep. “Need I remind you that you two aren’t the only ones with a spirit guide.”

  Skye sent him a baffled look. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  Travis went over to a wet bar at the other end of the room and poured Scotch into a glass. “You’re about to embark on the hunt for a dangerous serial killer, a sadistic person with no regular fear of getting caught. Do you have any idea what kind of savage you’re about to go up against?”

  Knowing her father had a strong relationship with his spirit guide and rarely overstated his unease or emotions, Skye studied his body language. “Did the crow send you a message about our killer? If so, we could use the heads up.”

  Travis threw back his head, draining the whiskey from his glass. He ran his hands along his face. “I wasn’t going to say anything. But the crow came to me tonight with a warning. It’s a bad idea for you to confront this man. The crow sees death on the horizon.”

  The wolf in Josh was ready to take on the challenge, but the human side was far more cautious. “Our deaths or the Cross-country Killer’s?”

  Travis stared into his empty glass before slamming it down on the bar with a clatter. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Skye went to him, running her hand along his jawline. “It’s okay. We need to know what the crow foresaw. If it’ll help us take this guy down...”

  “It’ll be difficult. The crow showed me just how much. It will come down to you two stopping him. He won’t go easy. He’ll fight to the death. And…he’ll take one of you with him.”

  Josh tried to gloss over the morbid prediction. “We all know spirit guides can get it wrong, have often gotten it wrong. What the crow saw means nothing.”

  Travis took his daughter’s chin and searched her eyes. “I hope Josh is right. You’re lining up people to stay with Sierra until you guys get back. These hunts you take, they always create worry inside me wh
en you’re gone. I’m not immune to fear and I feel it in every fiber of my being now. I wish you wouldn’t go. For once, let the authorities do what they get paid to do and stay out of it.”

  Skye looked over at Josh. “Maybe now’s a good time to tell him.”

  Josh got to his feet. “Might as well. He needs to know.”

  “Know what?” Travis said, barely able to choke out the word.

  “If something were to happen to us during the pursuit of this guy, we’ve left instructions with our lawyer that raising Sierra will fall to you.”

  Travis’s face fell. “What? Don’t talk like that. Look, Josh is right. The crow, especially my crow, has been wrong my entire life, more times than he’s been right. Look how I messed things up so badly when I was younger. First, with your mother. I should have told Jodi how I felt about her long before Daniel did. I messed things up there for years that I couldn’t fix. I have regrets because I didn’t follow my heart. Who was around to help me then? Not the crow, not my spirit guide, that’s for sure. So don’t listen to me…about anything. I’m an old fool.”

  “It’s okay, Dad. It has to be said before we take out of here on the quest to find this guy. Don’t get me wrong, Josh’s parents, Phyllis and Doug, are wonderful people, terrific grandparents. But Josh and I talked about this at length and both of us think you’re the one to better handle teaching Sierra about her Native American roots. Someone has to be around one day to explain to that tiny child why she sees Kiya. That alone will take some creative clarification on your part. When the time comes that kind of discussion leaves Josh’s parents totally unprepared. You can’t get this sort of thing out of a book. Dealing with how spirit guides work is your department. We expect you to teach her everything you know just as Daniel did with me.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll do it.”

  “Of course I will. You know that. I’ll do everything for Sierra that I didn’t do for you.”

  “You can’t make up for lost time. I don’t expect you to. I just want the peace of mind of leaving her behind knowing that if anything happens to…us…you’ll be there for her.”

  “Stop talking like that. I’m sorry I brought this whole subject up.”

  “Look, Josh and I know going in that this won’t be easy, not even for the FBI. Emmett assures us that when the time comes, we’ll be there in an advisory capacity only, with limited participation. But you never know. With Josh’s abilities…and my instincts…” Her voice trailed off. “Bringing this guy down may not end in a capture. We don’t expect him to surrender peacefully.”

  “We have to find him first,” Josh added. “We have a great deal to do before that happens. But tomorrow we’ll be gone for most of the day. Try to take the opportunity to bond with Sierra in every way possible in the event the unthinkable should happen. If your bond should grow stronger that’s not a bad thing. There’s no down side.”

  Travis gripped his daughter by the shoulders and tried to lighten the mood. “Josh knows better than to let anything happen to you.”

  Skye tried to let out a shaky laugh. “You know better than that. I’m more than capable of taking care of my own self. It’s never been up to him to do it for me. And although we’re a team that doesn’t mean things always go the way we plan. History tells us that. Just promise me, us, that you’ll take care of Sierra.”

  Travis let out a nervous breath. “I promise. Now you have to make one back. Promise me, both of you, that you won’t take any unnecessary risks.”

  “We’ll do our best,” Skye said.

  But Josh was more pragmatic. “Maybe you should define ‘unnecessary risks’ in a little more detail.”

  Travis huffed out a lingering sigh. “The crow says this guy won’t be alone. Expect the unexpected. Don’t rely on a bunch of Internet nonsense to form your strategy.”

  Josh and Skye traded looks. But it was Skye who voiced her doubt. “How off base are we with this guy?”

  “The crow tells me that you must not start this journey until you are mentally and physically ready. You must not take this man on until you are fully prepared to do so.”

  Josh bobbed his head in agreement but couldn’t help taking a lighter approach. “I love how spirit guides are so subtle, so vague with their predictions.”

  But Travis had abandoned the teasing tone and grown serious. He wrapped his arms around Skye’s shoulders. “Just remember the tale of how the fox tricked the wolf and be ready.”

  Skye tilted her head in understanding and when Travis stepped back, she stared into Josh’s eyes, clear about what she needed to do. “Then for now, I’ll feed the hunter inside me and make sure it’s as strong as it was before.”

  Seven

  Colorado Springs, Colorado

  August 2013

  3rd Attack

  He’d watched his targets from afar over several months. It was the only way he could really get a true snapshot of their lives. The Evanston family had slowly risen to the top of his list based on the criteria he’d set forth.

  Now that he had seen them up close and personal as they went about their day-to-day lives, he knew his instincts had been spot on.

  He was really going to enjoy this. The first time he’d set eyes on the mother, he’d known. He couldn’t believe how lucky he’d been to find her. Tracy Evanston could almost pass for his wife’s twin, her doppelganger. He couldn’t help but laugh at the irony.

  Who would’ve believed his incredible fortune that he’d get to relive his revenge one more time, a repeat, a night of déjà vu all over again. Only this time he would take his time and savor every nuance of fear, every scream, every tear that dropped out of her eyes. To watch the life drain out of Maitlin’s eyes again, or rather Tracy’s, would make his third attack so very special. The idea sent waves of pure euphoria rushing through his veins.

  He returned to his encampment not far from the city limits. He shied away from staying at state parks, preferring instead to find his own remote campsites where he wouldn’t have to register or leave a license plate behind.

  To get ready for the next day made him feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. He got up early just like an eager little boy might before rushing downstairs to look under the tree to see what Santa had left. Although in this case, he already knew what was under the tree and he couldn’t wait. He had to keep telling himself to focus on the mission at hand and once that was done he could unwrap his gift.

  That morning he looked like any other cyclist riding his little motorized bike to work, his backpack strapped to his shoulders.

  As he got closer to his target he went over his plan for the hundredth time. He would circle the block three times to make sure everything was clear. Even though during this time of day he already knew no one would be home, it didn’t hurt to take precautions.

  After hiding his bike in a small shed in the Evanston’s backyard, he entered through a side door of their garage, one that he’d left unlocked several days earlier.

  While he waited for the family members to trickle in one by one, he made mental notes of everything on his checklist. He went over his equipment—five pairs of double disposable handcuffs, five large single-loop riot cuffs, restraint cutters, pepper spray, a store-bought Taser, the same model the mother carried in her purse, rolls of duct tape, and an extra set of tactical clothing. That brought out a chuckle. Maybe he should call it his ninja outfit. The jacket, pants, hood, and mask had all been chosen in the color black and looked similar to something that had been left over from a costume party.

  But this was no Halloween prank.

  He’d brought an assortment of knives along with two pistols. Now all he had to do was sit back and wait and see who would come through the door first.

  Would it be the father, or the daughter, or one of the two sons, or maybe the wife? He hoped Tracy would be the winner, so she could see everything as it played out, every blow, every drop of blood, every death knell. Just
like his shit of a wife had chosen to end his idea of family, Tracy would watch hers die one by one. Then he’d see if the alcoholic could keep from falling apart.

  While he waited, he reflected on his life, and all the times he’d spent as a loner. It was a quality that made him good at what he did. Most people tended to be social, to reach out, to befriend someone. Not him.

  There were times like today when he contemplated how his life might’ve turned out differently. It saddened him and put a ding in his sought-after euphoria.

  He perked up though when he heard a key rattle in the front door lock and was disappointed to see the twelve-year-old boy trudge into the entryway first and drop his backpack next to the hall tree. There was no challenge in subduing the kid because it was over in a matter of minutes.

  Next came the fourteen-year-old daughter. She was marginally stronger and put up more of a fight. He would have a nice bruise on his chin from her attempt to struggle.

  He duct-taped their mouths before putting the two kids on the kitchen floor and watched for a few minutes as they squirmed, trying to free the bindings on their wrists.

  But he didn’t have time to admire his work for long. The sixteen-old son hustled through the back door and headed straight for the refrigerator without a glance at his brother and sister lying on the other side of the kitchen island.

  The boy didn’t see the blow coming; the bash upside the head knocked him to the floor. The teenager hadn’t even cleared his head from the blow before getting zip-cuffed, duct-taped, and placed next to his siblings.

  What he saw in their faces was the sheer terror of knowing they were about to die. That look fed him, and made the adrenaline flow through him like a warm drink of whiskey on a cold winter’s day.

  It was another hour before the father came home. He used the Taser on him as the guy walked in from the garage to the kitchen.

  Daddy never knew what hit him as the man of the house landed on the floor, writhing and twisting to the electrical current shooting into his body. Before the stunned man could recover, he turned the guy over and cuffed his hands and feet. Next, he ripped off a piece of duct tape and stuck it over the man’s mouth. Finally, he dragged him over to sit next to his kids.