Untainted: (Crime Romance: The Photographer Trilogy #3)

by Sarah Robinson

  He had already committed one crime today, stealing a car was nothing.

  ~~~~~~

  “Snow, fall back.” McCraig put his hand up against her, shoving her up against the wall roughly, yet quietly.

  She followed his lead and peered around him to see what his eyes were targeting as she pulled her gun out of her holster and held it up at ready. McCraig was already stepping forward slowly in the dingy hallway of Frank’s apartment building, gun up.

  He got to the door that was slightly ajar on the second floor and pushed it open, hearing the loud creak as it tilted off its hinges. With a quick motion to follow him, McCraig slipped into the apartment silently.

  The two detectives rushed through the apartment with deft feet, not making a sound as they swept through each room with their guns drawn. They nodded to one another when an area was cleared, finding no one there. Moments later, the two detectives reconvened in the center of the living room in front of the open doorway.

  “All clear. No one is hear.” Snow said out loud, confirming what they both had just figured out.

  McCraig nodded at her and they re-holstered their weapons as they began walking around the apartment, carefully inspecting everything.

  “Doesn’t look like much of a home.” She called over to her partner.

  “If he spent much time here, he certainly didn’t care enough to decorate. Hell, there is one dish and two cups in this cabinet.” McCraig scoffed as he closed a cabinet.

  “Kind of a mess, too. Left this book on the ground.” Snow walked over toward the window, where the radiator sat beneath.

  It was still partially opened and disheveled from Derrick’s search. She leaned down and scooped up the album that had been forgotten after it was dropped there by Derrick, not more than twenty minutes earlier. She flipped it open and began thumbing through it.

  “Sick fuck!” She gasped as she continued going through the pages of photographs.

  McCraig whirled around from his search in the kitchen and moved across the room to look over her shoulder. He paled slightly at the images, gulping down his nausea. Looking away, he concentrated on the radiator and the camera that was propped on it.

  “Looks like we have our man, this looks like an instant camera.” McCraig said, picking it up and turning it over in his hands.

  “I’m pretty sure this album seals his fate. Fuck, McCraig, they are all in here. This is Hayden Posen, that’s Teri. Hell, that’s Sparkles and Jennifer. Nikki Herrera. Oh shit, Clara McConnelly. That’s the same photograph her mother showed me.” Snow handed the album to McCraig, wiping her hand over her eyes as if to erase the images.

  “Kate’s not in here.” He said, continuing to scan through the pages.

  McCraig had years and years on the job, but even his strong stomach whimpered at the sights passing before him.

  “I don’t know, maybe the bastard took it with him.” Snow shrugged and continued moving around the apartment, looking around for other clues.

  McCraig pulled out several evidence bags from his pocket and began putting the camera and albums in separate ones. He lifted his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and called into dispatch, requesting crime scene technicians to join them at Frank’s apartment for a more thorough sweep. Now that they were sure Frank was their guy, it was time to bring out the big guns.

  “McCraig, did you leave this here?” Snow called back to him, grabbing his attention. He looked up to see her holding a police blanket, her face clearly confused.

  “No, what the hell is that doing here?” He responded.

  “It was laying over the back of this chair. I have no fucking idea.” She looked it over, biting her lip.

  McCraig looked toward the front door, still off its hinges, then back at the torn apart radiator.

  “Shit! Call the sister and boyfriend right now!” McCraig seethed through his teeth, storming around the apartment inspecting each piece of evidence that they had been there.

  Snow’s jaw dropped and she pulled out her phone instantly, dialing in their numbers. She called both of their cell phones twice, receiving no response.

  “Damn it, Snow. They were here. They are playing vigilantes or some shit like that. We are going to end up with a lot more dead fucking bodies on our hands.” McCraig bellowed, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes.

  “I told you not to tell them about Frank! This is a total shit fest right now, we cannot let them take the law into their own hands. They have no damn idea what this sick asshole is capable of!” Snow groaned angrily.

  “Well, they obviously saw the album, so I’m guessing that they have some clue. Don’t you dare put this on me. We don’t have time to shove around the blame here, we need to figure out where they went after this. Obviously they found something that led them to a second location, so retrace their steps.” McCraig commanded, slowly circling the apartment and carefully looking over everything.

  “For someone who didn’t care about decorating, it’s a little weird to have one photograph on an empty shelf.” Snow huffed, picking up a desolate frame and turning it over.

  The words scrawled on the back made her narrow her eyes.

  “What did the file on Frank say about his father?” She called out to her partner.

  “Not much, that he killed himself out on his farm somewhere down in Middleburg. Didn’t seem like he was very involved with Frank, no child support or anything. Frank didn’t even take his father’s last name, although I don’t know if that was him or his mother’s doing.” McCraig mused, pushing aside a few books on another shelf and flipping through them.

  “What was his name?” She followed up, looking at the two men in the picture again.

  “Stanley Smith, why? What’s that?” He turned his attention to her.

  “Says it’s Frank and his Dad, Fallen Oak Stable. Is that the farm he killed himself at?” She looked up at her partner’s gruff face.

  “Can’t be sure without looking, but sounds familiar. You think the sister saw this and they are going there?” He asked her, taking the photograph from her and examining it himself.

  “There’s nothing else here that would tell me differently. It’s either this or they went home to take a fucking nap. I have no fucking idea, McCraig, that’s all we are doing at this point- making random guesses and seeing which one lands.” She said sarcastically, heading toward the door.

  McCraig huffed, partly chuckling and partly irritated. He pushed the frame into his pocket and followed her out of the apartment.

  As they got down the stairs to the front door of the apartment building, the crime scene technicians were just walking up with their gear.

  “Snow, hold on. We need to instruct the techs, plus call in a BOLO for Frank’s car.” McCraig called to her as she was already sliding into the driver’s seat of their unmarked police car.

  She glanced back at him, then slid out just enough to speak to him over the roof of the car.

  “You tell them, I will head out to Fallen Oaks alone. It’s probably nothing anyway. I’ll call you if something comes up.” She waved him off.

  “Don’t go in there if you see any sign of disturbance, Snow! Call it in and wait for me.” He ordered, pointing at her sternly.

  She grinned and rolled her eyes at him, then slipped back into the car and backed out onto the road.

  “Guys, its 2B. Second floor, I need you to dust the entire place for prints and collect literally everything in evidence bags. Books, photos, pillows, linens, utensils, everything. Got it?” He told a young tech with large glasses who looked overly eager and nervous all at once.

  “On it, Detective!” He replied, grinning and heading into the building.

  McCraig watched him and the other techs walk past with a bit of nostalgia, remembering when he used to have that kind of excitement for the job. Now his work day involve finding dozens of pictures of tortured women, a glimpse into the underbelly of society that most people didn’t get to witness. McCraig not only saw it, but walked th
eir trenches daily.

  He sighed as he walked toward one of the technician’s cars to go call in the BOLO for Frank’s car. He nervously chewed on the inside of his cheek, worrying about Snow going out to Fallen Oaks alone. Something felt off and his years in the military taught him to follow his gut. He glanced down and saw that the keys were sitting in the ignition.

  He was going to Fallen Oaks.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Your mom called, she is going to be late picking you up from school today, girls.” The tall man looked down on them, a grin on his face that implied something only Kate understood.

  She swallowed nervously and looked down at her Velcro sneakers poking out from under her long plaid skirt. Annie was sitting next to her on the bench in front of the school wearing a matching plaid skirt and white button up top that was required for all the students at the private elementary school.

  “How late?” She asked him, pushing her hands underneath her bottom uncomfortably.

  “Late enough. Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll wait with you pretty ladies.” He smiled at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze that lasted a little longer than it needed to.

  “Annie, why don’t you go play on the swings? You never get a chance to at recess and now no one is on them. I’ll watch out for Mom.” Kate spoke gently to her little sister, who looked up at her with big brown eyes full of trust and innocence.

  “Okay!” She beamed and hopped off the bench, hitting the ground at a run as she took off toward the other side of the parking lot where the playground was.

  “You don’t have to send her away, baby girl.” He took Annie’s spot, sitting next to Kate who refused to look sideways, instead focusing on watching Annie on the swings.

  “You promised not to touch her if I didn’t tell.” She whispered, her voice shaky. He nodded, watching Annie as well.

  “Put your backpack on your lap.” He nodded toward the bag sitting in front of her feet.

  She followed his gaze and sighed, attempting to get control of her shaky breathing.

  She slowly bent down and grabbed the straps, sliding them up her legs until the heavy bag sat on her knees and shielded most of her body from view. Her eyes never left the playground across the parking lot, her gaze unblinking.

  Kate heard him clear his throat and moan as he slid his hand up her thigh until he found the elastic waist band.

  She was climbing up the ladder to the slide, she wasn’t feeling his hand slipping inside floral underwear. The top of the slide was scary, she had always had a fear of heights. His hand harshly shoved her thighs apart and made their way to a place her Barbie dolls didn’t have.

  The slide was cold and stung her legs and the wind pushed through her hair as she flew down, squealing with laughter.

  He wasn’t inside her. Sharp pains weren’t radiating throughout her.

  She was playing on the slide.

  “My turn.” His gruff voice said as his other hand grabbed her wrist and pushed it into his pants. He quickly opened up a file folder in his lap, pretending to look over random papers as her small hand found his warm member and did what she had been taught.

  She shuddered in disgust as his breath quickened and he moaned, pushing his hips up into her hand. She looked back over toward the playground, now she was climbing up the ladder to the tree house platform.

  She loved going down the pole that reminded her of a similar pole she had once seen a fireman sliding down on their last field trip to the local firehouse. She grabbed hold of it with both hands and pushed off the platform, wrapping her legs around the thick pole.

  She swirled around the pole as she slid to the very bottom, plopping down into the mulch and laughing as she looked back up at the platform she had just come from.

  She felt his body shake and he grunted, smiling as his body stilled.

  She pulled her hand away and hugged her arms around her backpack while he straightened his pants. Annie was still blissfully unaware running across the mulch of the playground toward the merry-go-round that she loved to spin on.

  Even playing by herself, she was fully entertained. Annie had always been a happy child and Kate smiled as she watched her little sister’s joy, glad that she was able to keep that look on Annie’s face.

  She missed the days that she used to hold that smile on her own face.

  The days before Stanley Smith.

  “Katie! Kate!” Annie hopped off the merry-go-round, taking a side step with a bit of dizziness but then rushing back toward her sister.

  “Mommy’s here!” Annie squealed pointing to the old blue minivan making its way down the small Virginian road toward them.

  Kate jumped off the bench in a flash, swinging her backpack around her and slipping her arms through the straps. She ran as fast as her sneakers would take her under her skirt toward Annie, dragging Annie’s things along with her.

  Annie grabbed her backpack from her in the middle of the parking lot and stopped to put it on. Kate grabbed her arm and pulled her harshly, causing her backpack to fall to one side.

  “Katie! Slow down!” She screeched at her big sister, trying to pull on the remaining backpack strap while trying to keep up with Kate, who was nearly dragging her at this point.

  “We have to go, Annie. Hurry up.” Kate said through clenched teeth, although she did slow slightly to let her sister catch up.

  The ugly blue Ford Aerostar turned into the parking lot and creaked to a stop as the girls rushed up to the side and Kate grabbed the handle of the sliding door, pulling it open after several yanks.

  Annie scampered in first and plopped into her toddler booster seat, pulling the belts down over her shoulder. Kate followed and sat in the empty seat next to her.

  “How was school, girls?” Their mother looked back at them, smiling.

  “Good.” Kate responded flatly, pulling the van door shut next to her.

  “They were a delight today, Mrs. Jackson.” His gruff voice came slipping in the front seat passenger window, followed by his face as he leaned his arms on the lowered car window.

  “Mr. Smith! Thank you so much for watching them again today!” Their mother smiled at him, blushing slightly from his charming grin and chiseled looks.

  “Happy to do it, ma’am. I really enjoy it.” He chuckled and looked toward Kate in the backseat, giving her a wink.

  She felt her stomach turn and she pulled her feet up onto the seat, hugging her knees against her chest as she hid her face in them.

  “Oh good, I’m so glad she behaved. She has been on quite the stubborn streak lately.” Mrs. Jackson responded, wagging a finger back at her daughter jokingly.

  “Has she? She’s been very obedient today.” He winked in Kate’s direction again as she peeked over her knees at the adults.

  “Have a good day, girls. I’ll see you both tomorrow. Bye, Mrs. Jackson.” Stanley Smith stepped back from the car and gave them a wave and a wink, then walked back toward the school.

  “What a lovely man.” Their mother mused out loud as she rolled up the window and put the car in gear, turning back out of the parking lot.

  “Katie doesn’t like him.” Annie chirped absentmindedly as she looked out the window.

  “Annie!” Katie whispered harshly under her breath, glaring over at her sister.

  Annie whirled her head around to look at Kate, surprise on her face. Her eyes immediately brimmed with tears and her lip quivered.

  “Kate, why do you have to be mean to your sister?” Their mother scolded, looking in the rear view mirror angrily at her as Annie began crying.

  “Sorry.” She responded coldly, glaring back at her mother.

  “Sorry isn’t going to be enough soon, Kate. You’ve been rude to everyone lately. Even Mr. Smith, you didn’t even say goodbye to him or thank him when he complimented you. You need to start behaving or I will tell your father.” She chided Kate, sighing in exasperation.

  “Don’t be mad at me, Katie.” Annie whispered between sniffles as she leaned out
of her booster seat to get closer to her sister.

  Kate turned to her sister, a little smile teasing on her lips. She winked at Annie and kissed her on her cheek.

  “Never, baby girl. Plus, birds don’t get mad, remember?” Kate grinned at her sister as she whispered and pointed at a flock of birds traveling over their car.

  “We’re birds?” Her baby sister asked softly, watching the feathered friends soaring above them.

  “Can’t you feel those wings behind you?” She looked seriously at Annie.

  “Yes!” Annie beamed at her and clapped her hands, bouncing in her seat.

  Kate put her finger to her lips to remind Annie to stay quiet, so their mother wouldn’t hear them.

  “Let’s fly away together. We can go anywhere you want.” Kate leaned her head against the head rest, looking toward her sister with a dreamy look in her eyes.

  “Katie?” Annie whispered after a quiet moment of staring out the window together.

  “What?” She looked at her sister, her little face deep in thought.

  “I think I would be happier if we were birds. Then we could fly away anytime someone tried to hurt us.” She whispered to Kate, surprisingly insightful for her age.

  “Me too, baby girl.” Tears stung at Kate’s eyes as she whispered in response to her sister, while Annie dropped her head to lean against Kate’s small shoulder.

  “One day we will, I promise.” Kate spoke softly, caressing her sister’s hair as they both stared out the window and watched several flocks of birds flying over the field they were passing.

  She felt Annie smile at her words, bringing a warm sensation to her heart. Her sister was everything to her and she had long ago made it her life’s mission to shield Annie from the evils of the world.

  The evils that a six year old girl shouldn’t be aware of, and yet Kate was.