“Fuck Hindel!” Jack said, as they walked up the stairs. “If he’d told us the shelves could be activated by remote control there wouldn’t have been a need for a wreckin’ crew. The department’s not liable for shit! ‘Sides that, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Lawrence and grandpa got some explainin’ to do. I overheard a conversation before I went outside earlier.”
“Whatever it is it can wait until we’re out of here,” Donavan said as they walked into the kitchen to find an anxious Lawrence and Rafael waiting for them.
“I understand, your search of the cave proved futile, Detective Hays,” Rafael said. “I hope you realize the sheriff’s department is liable for the cost of repairing the shelves your crew destroyed. I will be sure they are made aware of the fact I tried to tell you there wasn’t anything of importance there.”
“Nothing except a remote-controlled panel to activate the shelves and…the fact a lot of people seem to have taken up residence in there,” Donavan said.
“Oh! Did I forget to mention the remote-controlled panel?” Rafael scratched his head. “I guess my memory must be getting foggy. In that case I will forget about sending your department a bill for the destruction of the shelves.”
“You do that.” Jack came up beside him. “See, you’re not as slick as you think you are. ‘Cause the day I listen to you, ‘bout ignorin’ potential evidence? Will be the day the Saint Anthony Parish Sheriff’s Department writes me off for good.”
“All in good time, Jack.” Rafael gazed into Jack’s face. “All in good time.”
Tension, fear and an unrelenting feeling everything was about to erupt into a hellish nightmare, met head-on in a burst of out-of-control rage! “Now you listen to me, you smug mother-fucker!” Jack grabbed Rafael up by his throat. “You don’t threaten me! I know you’re an evil son-of-a-bitch. Fact, I would almost bet you’re the same evil piece of piss as your son!” Jack shook a finger inches from Rafael’s face. “I’m givin’ you fair warnin’ right here right now! You stay the fuck away from me! You got that?” Jack shoved the older man away from him.
Donavan remained silent wanting to see Rafael’s reaction to Jack’s outburst. What he saw made him turn to walk out of the house.
“I know!” Jack put up his hands as Donavan walked towards him. “I lost it. Bastard made me lose all control. I hope you’re not waitin’ for an apology ‘cause it’ll be a cold day in the depths of hell when you get it!”
“Let’s get away from the house.” Donavan kept walking. “I saw something I don’t believe!”
“What?” Jack quickened his steps.
“When you turned away after shoving Rafael back in his chair; I saw his eyes glow like red hot coals!” Donavan inhaled trying to slow down his racing pulse. “Jesus Christ and all that’s holy! I think we got another Jonathan Hindel on our hands!”
“Then let’s go back in right now and shoot the son of a bitch!” Jack turned on his heel.
“We can’t shoot him! If I thought we could get away with it, we would! But its broad daylight and we’re surrounded by cops!” His words slid to a stop as he grabbed his radio to answer a call. “Yeah go ahead,” he spoke into the mike.
“We found something you need to see, Donavan,” Blain came back to him. “We’re at the lake.”
“We’re on our way!” Donavan shut off the radio.
“What the hell’s goin’ on now?”
“Let’s go. I think we may have found the kids!”
“Or at least what’s left of them.”
“What is it?” Donavan called out as they neared the water.
“We got some clothes here,” Blain told him as the two detectives walked up to them. “I gotta tell you though, something ain’t right.”
Donavan and Jack looked to the ground to see two sets of clothing scattered amidst the reeds.
“No shit somethin’ ain’t right!” Jack bent over to get a closer look. “Nobody yanked these clothes off in a fit of passion or to go skinny-dippin’. Somebody tossed them here to make it look that way!”
Donavan lifted the camera he had slung around his neck, clicked off pictures of the clothing at different angles. Aware of a sweet fragrance he leaned inward towards the clothes. With care he picked up a green pullover top by its outer edges, sniffed and then held the top upward. “Take a whiff of this and tell me where you’ve smelled it before.”
“Lawrence Hindel’s basement,” Jack said as Donavan moved the top back and forth beneath his nose. “Stupid fuck even left the creases.”
“Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder, better known as OCD. Just like I said.”
“We got the mother-fucker, Donavan!” Jack smacked a fist into his other hand. “Let’s see how cocky he is when he’s got the cuffs on!”
“We can’t arrest him, Jack.”
Jack’s head swung upward. “What the hell do you mean we can’t arrest him? We got him cold!”
“We got a theory. The best we can do, right now, is get a sample of the detergent and the fabric softener used on the clothes. Without positive ID, we can’t even say these clothes belong to the missing teens.”
“Bullshit! You know these clothes belong to the missin’ kids!”
“Yeah, I do, but just because I know what the girl wore. Most of all, those.” He nodded towards a pair of light green sandals lying half-hidden in the weeds.
Jack grabbed his phone, checked the caller ID. “Hey babe, listen, I don’t mean to cut you short, but we’re right in the middle of checkin’ some evidence we just turned up, so let me call you a little later.” About to shut off the phone, he heard an anxious Seelah scream his name. “All right what is it?”
When Jack remained silent for a few moments Donavan glanced at him, then straightened up. “What’s going on?”
Jack put up a hand. When he ended the conversation he stood for a moment not saying anything.”
“What’s going on?” Donavan grabbed his arm. “She’s not going into labor is she?”
“No. Seems she had an unexpected visitor today who’s got her upset ‘bout my bein’ here. Some of the things she said are pretty strange, but we’ll go into all that later.” He dropped the phone back in his pocket.
“If you want to go home, I can finish out the search.”
Jack shook his head. “Thanks, but tell you the truth I feel better bein’ here. Least this way, I know Rafael Hindel’s not stalkin’ our families.”
“Okay, if you’re sure. Tom,” he turned to one of the deputies standing nearby, “go up to my jeep and get some evidence bags. We’ll get all this bagged then finish up the grounds. After that we can start on the cottage.”
While they waited for the deputy to return with the bags Jack motioned Donavan off to the side. “Chandra came to visit Seelah earlier.”
“That had to be interesting.”
“To say the least.” Jack glanced around to make sure no one could overhear them. “Seems Chandra filled her in on our good buddy, Rafael.”
“Did she say if he’s a werewolf?” The words flew out of his throat before he could stop them.
“She didn’t come right out and say it, but the way she described him, even if he ain’t a werewolf, he’s got evil covered so good he can do as much destruction as Jonathan on his best day!”
“What else did she say?”
“That Rafael came here to destroy you, me and everyone in our families for our part in losin’ him his son.”
“That sick piece of puke!” Donavan whirled unsure which to grab first his gun or his radio. In the end, he grabbed neither. “What the hell are we going to do about this? We can’t shoot the prick! What reason am I going to give? The spirit of a voodoo priestess told your wife Rafael Hindel is out to get us? I can’t even arrest him.”
“I don’t know what we’re gonna do. I do know I want to finish up here. Let’s get started on the cottage. Maybe the dogs’ll pick up somethin’ we can use against these assholes so we can run’ em in.”
When no
thing turned up during the search of the cottage, Donavan knew they had done all they could for the time being. Anxious to be home with his loved-ones, he called a halt to the search.
“Let’s go get a sample of the detergent and fabric softener. I want everything bagged, sealed, signed, dated and kept within our sights until we get it into the evidence room. I intend to lock the goddamn door myself, so when the Hindels are arrested, their lawyer can’t even hint at the chain-of-command being broken on this one!”
“Sounds like you got it handled. First thing tomorrow morning we can get it sent off to the lab, then it will be outta our hands.”
“After we get the paperwork out of the way, we can head home. I think you should pick up Seelah and stay with us until we get a handle on all this.”
“Yeah, Chandra told Seelah she shouldn’t be alone ‘til this nightmare’s over.”
With the detergent and softener bagged and logged with the rest of the evidence collected from the estate, Jack unlocked the passenger’s door. He bent over to slide into the jeep when a movement caught his eye. He straightened back up and turning looked straight into the face of the man watching them from the living room window. To Donavan’s disbelief, Jack raised a lone finger to his brow to snap off a farewell salute.
***
As the detectives and their men drove away, Rafael let the curtain slip from his hand. “After its dark we will send everyone back to the cave. I don’t trust the police not to leave someone behind to watch our movements.”
“They aren’t safe here, Grandfather. Hays and Olivier’ know they are here.” Lawrence paced the floor. “What are we going to do? They know about the kids being here.” His childish voice rose in fear. “We should have hidden the clothes.”
“They already knew about the young people being on the estate.” He tried to stay patient, but Lawrence’s nonstop, pacing and screeching grated on his already, overtaxed nerves. “They had to be made to think they drown or that the alligators destroyed them. That is why I had you throw their clothing around in the reeds.” Rafael kneaded the back of his neck trying to relax the taut muscles and ease the dull pain gaining strength at the base of his skull.
“I made sure the dogs couldn’t find anything on the clothing.” Lawrence halted his pacing for a moment. “I knew you would want me to do that.”
A gateway, between agony and reason swung open, allowing Lawrence’s words to slam into his mind. “What are you telling me, Lawrence?”
“I washed the children’s clothing before scattering them in the reeds.” A childish giggle bubbled out into the quiet. “I washed them twice and used a softener to be sure there would be no evidence left.”
“Tell me you are making this up, Lawrence.” Rafael turned, his hands reaching out for him. “Tell me you are not stupid enough to have washed the clothes.”
“I…I…thought that is what you would want me to do,” he stammered. “There…they…had blood….”
Pain and rage fused together in a shimmering red haze blocking everything from his mind except the need to silence the one standing before him.
“Rafael…Rafael…”his name echoed again and again through the long tunnel of his senses until, at last, it burst through the haze. Rafael dropped his hands, shook himself to dispel the coldness numbing his mind. “What are you doing here, Rolan? You should have remained in the cottage until Lawrence came for you.”
“If I had not come in when I did, Lawrence would not have come for anyone!” The tall young man with thick red hair and blue eyes, stood beside him. “You should see to him, Rafael.”
Rafael turned. He could see Lawrence lying on the floor and he bent down to shake him. “Get up, Lawrence, I have need of you.” When Lawrence remained unmoving, Rafael yanked him to his feet. “You have been a complete and utter fool. However, you are still of my blood.” He turned Lawrence’s face to the side where a dark, blue and red bruise encircled his throat. “You will need to put ice on this bruise. Otherwise it will be noticeable. I will not tolerate questions about how the bruise got there.”
“Yes, Grandfather,” Lawrence whispered before walking away.
“I hope everyone got out of sight when the police checked the cottage.” Rafael’s gaze lingered on the man making his way across the floor.
“Yes. We got a little worried when we heard the dogs sniffing at the walls, but since all the police saw is a wall filled with adornments, they ignored the dogs. How wise of Lawrence to install a secret panel.”
Rafael whirled to face him. “Lawrence had nothing to do with the secret panels being set in place throughout the estate. Do you think he would know how to do something that complicated?” His arrogant gaze skimmed over the man. “Jonathan, himself, put that panel and other panels in the house and cottage during the slave era.”
“He used it to hide runaway slaves?” His dark brows lifted. “That’s a side of Jonathan I never knew.
The smile Rafael turned on him held little humor. “It had many purposes. However, saving runaways from their rightful masters is not one my son went out of his way to entertain.” The smile left his face to be replaced with a look of deep concentration. “The love I hold in my heart for Jonathan has no equal. Although, the burden he has left me with is one I am not sure I can carry.”
“Grandfather.” Lawrence came forward. “What can I do to make up for displeasing you?”
“There is nothing you can do, Lawrence.” He did not trust himself to turn around. “The damage has already been done.”
“They obtained the evidence today so they haven’t had a chance to have it analyzed, yet.” His voice sounded stronger now. “Why can’t we get the evidence back before anything can be done with it?
“How do you propose we do this, Lawrence? The evidence will be held in an evidence room in the sheriff’s department.” His voice filled with the same controlled anger as before. “We can’t stroll through the front door and request they give up their evidence.”
“No, I realize that, but we can walk through the back door.” He found it hard to contain his excitement.
“The back door to a police station is secured with a code that no one except working officers are privy to. I realize you are trying to help, but please, leave me to figure this out in silence!” His voice rose with his anger and he walked a short distance away to put some much needed space between himself and the man pushing him over the edge of his patience.
“Grandfather! Listen to me. Please!” He waited until Rafael turned to face him before continuing with what he believed to be the answer to their problem. “You said, the officers, entering the station through the back entrance, have to enter in a code. Am I right?”
Rafael simply nodded.
“All right! All you need to do is wait outside the back entrance until an officer comes up to the door and listen as he punches in the code. With your ability to hear high-pitched sounds, you will be able to detect each number as it is fed into the system. Each number will give off a certain pitch.” His voice trailed off as he saw Rafael’s brows lift, then relax with understanding.
“I can write down each number as I hear it,” he whispered the words, then shook his head. “That will get us inside. However, we will still have the locked evidence door to contend with.”
“The locked door should not present a problem, Rafael,” Rolan spoke up. “A small pocket knife would take care of that problem.”
Rafael and Lawrence turned to look at him at the same time — and a grin broke out over Lawrence’s face.
“Of course!” His thin face showed his enthusiasm. “The narrow blade of a pocket knife can be worked in between the door and the jam to slide back the bolt.”
“I’ve never tried it, but if you can show me how it works then perhaps some of our problems will be behind us.”
“That won’t be necessary, Rafael. I will be the one to enter the back door. And the evidence room,” Rolan told him. “Don’t you agree, that of the three of us, I am the most qual
ified?”
“Of the three of us?” Rafael cocked his head, looked at him. “Are you trying to say something, Rolan?”
“Just that of the three of us, Lawrence would be the first one they would suspect. After Lawrence, you would be the next one they would look to. If you both have an alibi that cannot, in anyway, be broken, they would be left with no one from this estate to suspect. Am I right?”
“When do you want to go?”
Chapter Twelve
Without being obvious, Seelah watched as Jack continued to sip from his bottle of beer.
“Jack, are you going to join us tonight or just sit there drinking beer?”
“What?” He turned, anxious to go back to the thoughts running through his mind.
“I asked if you are going to join us tonight.”
He looked around to see Donavan and Barbara staring at him.
“Sorry.”
“Yeah,” Seelah said, with no hint of anger in her voice. “Since we all know what is bothering you, why don’t we talk about it? Barbara and I know better than to discuss anything that’s said outside the house.”
“You already know, pretty much, everything that’s going on.” Donavan shook a cigarette from the pack on the end table. “First thing tomorrow morning we’ll get the evidence sent off to the lab. If the lab-report comes back testing positive for the detergent and softener, as we already know it’s going to, then we’re well on our way to getting rid of the Hindels.”
Jack grabbed the empty beer bottle off the coffee table, lunged to his feet. “You know that is never gonna happen, Donavan. And I’ll tell you why. The plain simple truth is the Hindels can’t be destroyed. They’re like roaches! It don’t matter how many times you step on them or shoot them, or burn them up until there ain’t nothin’ left, they just keep comin’ back! So don’t spin us a fantasy on bestin’ the Hindels, ‘cause, like I said, it ain’t gonna happen.” He stomped past Donavan’s chair on his way to the kitchen.
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