House of V

by Raen Smith

  “I won’t let it happen again,” I interrupted.

  Sanchez shot me a puzzled look. “I don’t care about that.”

  “Then what? What are you going to tell me that is going to make this better?” I asked. “I can’t sit here when Sister Josephine is in danger.”

  “I can’t tell you anything that is going to make this better,” Sanchez replied. “I can’t tell you that we are going to find her without a doubt. I can’t tell you that we have any solid leads on this guy. We have leads, sure, but nothing solid. What we do have, however, is you.”

  “I’m not going to listen to this u-rah-rah bullshit,” I said as I moved to get out of the chair. Sanchez pushed his hand down on my knee, lightly keeping me in the chair.

  “I’m not going to give you any u-rah-rah bullshit,” Sanchez said. “Those are your words. Not mine.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “I know that you signed the agreement with us to lessen your charges, but I know that had we not offered you that agreement, that you would be doing the same thing that you are doing right now. Of course, as long as you weren’t behind bars,” Sanchez said with a smile.

  “You would find a way to find Sister Josephine. It’s who you are and the reason that I wanted you on our side. You gave up everything - your freedom, your life and whatever else you had - for Sister Josephine because it was right. Because she needed you,” he said as his eyes softened. “You did the same for Delaney and Ann. And you would do it again for anyone else that has garnered that right in your life.”

  I nodded my head slowly. He was right, I would do it again. I would do it for the Jones family. I would do it for Ryan. I would do it for Sister Josephine.

  “Don’t let this bastard get to you. Whatever reason he has against you, it’s not validated,” Sanchez finished as he removed his hand from my knee. “I’ve never met someone so determined and smart. We’re lucky to have you.”

  “Yeah, you are,” I said with a crooked grin. I exhaled, letting Sanchez’s words sink in as I thought about the video. “What time did they find the disc on the steps?”

  “Well, they called me right away when they found it. That was around eight-thirty,” he said. “Why?”

  “The video was clearly shot this morning. There was dew on the grass and it was before sunrise,” I said. “Most daily papers aren’t available for pick up until how early in the morning? Six maybe?”

  “Sounds about right.”

  “That means that he had that paper before it came out. What time does the press start for the Post Crescent?”

  “I think around midnight, but I can give them a call,” Sanchez said as he pulled out his phone.

  “My point is that he was in Appleton sometime this morning. Let’s say around two or three in the morning. He snagged a copy somehow and then brought it back to wherever Sister Josephine is and shot the video. Then he brought the video back here by eight o’ clock. Paid the kid, and voila, the disc is at the police station,” I said.

  “So he’s close by,” Sanchez said. “Somewhere maybe within thirty minutes of Appleton.”

  “Maybe or maybe not. Maybe that’s what he wants us to think,” I said slowly. “What I do know is that it has something to do with the C. Maybe the name of the town he is in starts with a C. Or maybe the location? Or maybe the convention? The HP League convention tonight? They called it the “convention” on the website. That could be it.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Whatever it is, he wants his revenge, but he wants me to come and find him. He wants me to play his little game. He wants to drag me a long to suffer.”

  Sanchez nodded his head. “Okay, then what game is that?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I’m going to find out.”

  ***

  Agent Allen agreed, reluctantly, to escort us on our little trip to the cabin on Lake Michigan. He had urged Delaney and James to stay back, arguing that he didn’t want to create some traveling circus, but in the end, agreed to let the owner of the property, Delaney, and her lawyer to accompany the search. After all, the FBI had no warrant to search the cottage, and it would be much easier to bring Delaney along than to file the paperwork to get one.

  Sanchez had obliged to let us go as well with no real hope or conviction that we would discover anything. But we agreed to be back to Appleton by mid-afternoon. Sanchez was staying back to lead the investigation and to strategize the plans for the convention.

  We had all agreed that I would go in first, wired and alone, to scope out the situation with back-up surrounding the house. If the man who had taken Sister Josephine was there, I would be there, alone and ready for him. In the meantime, the house was going to be surrounded by a slew of officers ready to arrest the fifteen individuals for breaking-in. Their arrests would lead to questioning and hopefully, a confession to the murder of Fred Sullivan and whereabouts of Sister Josephine.

  So here I was, riding in the passenger seat of Agent Allen’s government issued FBI sedan with Delaney and James in the back when I asked Agent Allen to pull over at the next exit only thirty minutes into our trip.

  “We’re only thirty minutes in,” he complained. “What could you possibly need to stop for?”

  I looked up at the orange logo and silo protruding from the building off in the distance to our right. Anyone from America’s Heartland would recognize that building. Fleet Farm.

  “I need new clothes. This dress doesn’t fit me,” I said. “Besides, they’re expecting a little something different from me tonight, and I would like to play the part. Anything I can do to convince them that I am still in the game and on their side is important.”

  Agent Allen pulled the sedan off the highway and into the parking lot, mumbling under his breath. I turned back to give Delaney a smile, her face reciprocating the same look.

  “I’ll help you,” she offered.

  “Don’t think for one second that I am going to let you two alone,” Agent Allen warned.

  “I’m not letting either my wife or my client out of my sight,” James added, placing his hand on Delaney’s leg.

  We all walked into Fleet Farm like a group of misfits, none of us really belonging together or in the sporting goods and farm retailer. I lingered at the hunting section for a second too long, and Agent Allen moved me along with a forceful nudging. But I got what I came for, sort of anyway. It turned out that Fleet Farm didn’t carry any black dresses like the one I wore the day I killed Holston. Instead, I bought a pair of black cargo pants and matching t-shirt. I held my rubber combat boots up to my nose before putting them on with a smile, my fingers lacing quickly from memory. And when Delaney held up a faux leather jacket, I couldn’t resist. She turned it around to flash the large G logo that was plastered on the back. The Green Bay Packers. I grimaced, but it was close enough so I put it on.

  All Agent Allen could do was shake his head and look at his watch.

  As much as I wanted to find Sister Josephine right now, I knew we weren’t going to find her until after the convention tonight. And I knew I had to make my appearance worthwhile.

  Evie Parker was on.

  ***

  A little less than two hours later, we were pulling up the driveway to the cottage on Lake Michigan. The evergreens flanked the long driveway as we pulled closer to the expansive cabin where the yard was trimmed and kept up.

  “Are you still paying Hector to maintain the yard?” I asked as I peered through the window.

  “Through the summer to keep the neighbors happy before we put it on the market,” Delaney answered. “It’s such a beautiful place. I hate to see it go to hell.”

  “If it did, it would be right there along with its previous owner,” I replied.

  I couldn’t help envisioning the trees as I’d last seen them. They had been covered in dense snow and ice when Ethan and I had come here. I closed my eyes, listening to his voice choked with blood and the last bit of life. He was sputtering for me to run. To do what I was best at. I laid my
head against the window, wanting nothing else than to feel the heaviness of Ethan’s hand on my leg, but I knew when I looked over that I wouldn’t see Ethan behind the wheel. That it would be Agent Allen, and it killed me.

  Ethan hadn’t deserved to die. Neither did Elizabeth. Seth. Owen. Joe. And now Father Haskens. All of them had vanished into the wind, and I would, no matter what it took, put an end to it all. I wouldn’t let Sister Josephine’s life end the way Elizabeth’s had. I couldn’t.

  I walked up the steps to the sweeping front porch and grazed my fingertips along the familiar rail with each step.

  “Are you ready for this?” Delaney asked as she slid the key into the lock and opened the solid front door with a push.

  I exhaled, feeling the heavy gazes of all three of them before I stepped forward and through the threshold. I felt it then, the tingling sensation of hate course through my body. The cottage was just as I had remembered it last. It was the day that I retrieved the picture of Ann Jones. The day that Ethan saved me. I thought, for a fleeting moment, that I could still see Holston’s silhouette on the couch in the living room where I had sliced his hand open.

  I glanced toward the kitchen and half-expected to see the bullet holes in the wall, but they were patched as if it had never happened. Every intricacy of the house was the same; each wall hanging, chair and lamp was in its perfect spot.

  I walked through the living room into the kitchen and ran my hand along the wall where the bullet must have gone through. Smooth as silk. My chest constricted as I looked up at the glass door that was shattered the last time I had seen it. The door had been replaced, new and unscathed.

  I closed my eyes and tried to shake Ethan’s face that screamed on the other side. I covered my ears and moved forward to reach for the knob. It was close, an explosion hurtling through my body that threatened to spill over. And at once, I needed the fresh air against my skin. I pulled open the door and saw a pristine deck where Ethan’s body had once laid. I crumbled to the deck on the spot where I had heard his last words. His last breaths.

  Then it finally came.

  My shoulders shook with each sob and the tears streamed down my face as I let the pain overcome me. The hot saltiness dripped down onto my shirt until I put my hands over my face and frantically swiped away the heaviness that poured through each tear. Returning back to this place was forcing me to deal with what Holston had done; what I had done. No amount of running was going to take me away from the anguish I felt and the deep hole that Ethan had left in my heart.

  I hated who Holston Parker had made me.

  A warm arm wrapped around my shoulder, and Delaney’s painted toenails appeared in the haze of my wet eyes. “Ethan?” she whispered.

  I nodded as my throat was unable to make a sound. She waved her hand at James and Agent Allen, and a muffled sound of shuffling feet disappeared through the house. I let her comfort me, resting my cheek against her shoulder, wondering how many times I had missed out on my older sister holding me like this. My shoulders finally relaxed, and I inhaled deeply, feeling the burn in my lungs before I released the breath.

  “Let’s go down to the beach.” Delaney guided me up to my feet. My tears were now only coming in small, occasion rolls.

  We walked through the lawn and underneath the overhanging trees that created a shadowy canopy before they opened up to the beach. Delaney slipped off her sandals and carried them in her hands as we stepped onto the white sand. I followed her lead and quickly unlaced my boots then rolled up my pants. I felt the warm sand sift between my toes and watched as the gentle waves cascaded onto shore. The blue-green water expanded into the horizon, disappearing into the sky.

  “I’m sorry.” Delaney finally broke the silence between us.

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You weren’t the one that put the bullet in Ethan,” I replied.

  “I know, but I’m still sorry that I can’t do anything to take the pain away or bring Ethan back.”

  “You and me both.”

  “And I’m sorry that he took you instead of me,” she said, turning toward me. The corner of her eyes were wet with tears that were dangerously close to spilling over. I saw it then, a face filled with love and regret that was my sister’s. It felt like we had never been separated, and that we were here together, right where we belonged.

  “I’m not. Better me than you,” I said. “And don’t you cry on me. I think I’ve done enough crying for the both of us.”

  Delaney broke out into a smile and let out a small sigh. “Okay, Mom.”

  “Most cases, I should probably take offense to that,” I replied. “But right now, I guess I’m okay being compared to our mom. I never had a mom to be compared to before. So I’ll take it. This time.” I gave her a crooked smile as the dried tears pulled my cheeks tight.

  “And for the record, I never really apologize.” I stopped, releasing another breath before I finished. “Once we find Sister Josephine, I want to put this all behind us and move forward.”

  “I’d like that,” Delaney said. “Sisters?”

  “Sisters,” I repeated, looking back at Lake Michigan, feeling an odd sense of being home. For once, I didn’t want to run from it. “As much as I hate this place, it is beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Disgustingly so,” Delaney agreed with a nod. “Do you think we’ll find anything in the house?”

  “I don’t know. It’s a long shot, but we have to try. Maybe we’ll find something that will narrow down the fifteen people in the club. There have to be some clues that will help to understand who would be after me,” I said, trailing at the end of my sentence. “By the way, I’m really happy for you and James. Despite everything, it did bring you back together.”

  “I know,” she said. “Everyone keeps saying it’s a blessing. And it is, but I just wish getting us back to each other would have been a little easier.”

  “You and me both,” I whispered, feeling like a little more blessing was needed to get us closer to Sister Josephine.

  ***

  “Find anything yet?” Agent Allen popped his head into the spare bedroom. I was lying on the floor with my cheek against the carpet to look beneath the bed. Empty. Just like the other four bedrooms that we had already gone through.

  “Did your team check the basement the first time you went through?” I asked, jumping up to my feet.

  “Yes, but there wasn’t anything that I remember. I think there was only a small bag of belongings that they took from this house. Nothing incriminating.” Agent Allen pulled his pants up with a quick tug before leaning his arm against the doorway to block my path out.

  “How about the garage?” I asked, studying his response. I didn’t trust Agent Allen yet, and by the looks of it, the feeling was reciprocated.

  “Checked. My team is thorough.”

  “Garden shed at the very edge of the property?”

  “No garden shed that I remember.” Agent Allen’s face was blank.

  “There’s one at the edge of the property. It looks like it would belong to the neighbor’s since it matches their house and everything, but it’s not. Holston bought it from them to use for the landscaping crew,” I replied.

  “The neighbors weren’t here when we went through the house,” Agent Allen said as he finally took his arm down from the doorway. He knew I had him. I was already ducking underneath it and moving through the hallway before he continued. “I think we should check it out.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. Hey, Delaney and James,” I called out as I entered the living room. “Agent Allen had this really great idea to check the garden shed on the property. Let’s head out there.” I smirked, telling Delaney to grab the keys as I passed her and opened the door to the deck. My chest tightened as I looked at the same spot on the deck, but this time, I wasn’t reduced to tears.

  Ethan’s words pushed me forward, you are a fighter.

  I strode across the yard and ducked through a few trees to the very edge of the property to the
wooden garden shed that was around twelve-by-twelve feet. It was painted a deep blue with white trim with large Xs on the door like that of a barn. That bastard and his barns. I didn’t think I was ever going to get away from them. I pulled the padlock up and waited for Delaney as I turned to see all three of them still making their way across the lawn. The reality was that I highly doubted anything incriminating or useful would be in the shed, but we had checked the cottage from top to bottom. This was our last shot.

  Delaney slid the key in and opened the lock before stepping aside.

  “Here goes nothing,” James said as I pulled the door open. The shed immediately flooded with light as a motion sensor triggered the warehouse light hanging overhead. The smell of must and fertilizer wafted through my nostrils as I stepped inside and surveyed the neatly kept walls where rakes and shovels hung.

  Agent Allen stepped in beside me with his hands on his hips as he examined the walls.

  “Nothing too out of the ordinary. Shovels, rakes, lawnmower,” he said, patting the John Deere’s yellow seat with a thud. A sinking feeling welled through my body as I scanned the corners of the room. There had to be something here. I hadn’t come to the cottage to leave empty-handed. No sooner had that thought entered my mind than my eye caught a ledge eight feet in the air. It was a small loft area with more bags of fertilizer and chemicals.

  “What about up there?” I asked, pulling a ladder from the wall to my right. I set the ladder against the ledge and began climbing when I felt the bottom of the ladder stabilize. I looked down to see Agent Allen holding it. He didn’t trust me yet, but he was hoping like hell, just like I was, that there would be something - anything - to bring us closer to Sister Josephine.

  “Be careful,” Delaney called as I climbed on to the thin platform made of plywood. I stepped on areas of the platform that had braces beneath. Fertilizer. Weed killer. I took stock of the inventory, scanning for anything unusual when I caught a wooden box the size of a milk crate with layers of dust and a small hand shovel on it. I removed the shovel and brushed off the top, the dust swirling in the air. I ran my fingers over the stamp that adorned the top. It was a faded gray circle with a C inside of it.