by R E Gauthier
“Get her out of there. Cover her up and be careful, you idiots.” The woman’s voice filled with concern.
Through the fogginess and pain in her head, Kelsey heard and felt something familiar in the woman’s voice. There was something in that voice that brought back memories, but Kelsey couldn’t pinpoint where or when she heard the voice before. They removed the binds from her hands and ankles. The men’s hands were on her aching arms and lifting her. Every muscle in her legs and arms complained about being straightened.
“I’m sorry for how they treated you. It was not my intention to hurt you. I only wanted to keep you safe.” The feminine voice whispered, next to Kelsey’s ear.
The accent was one Kelsey did recognize, but she felt as though she should know the person who spoke to her. She tried to open her eyes, and the bright light made it impossible to see the features of the face near her own. Kelsey felt the heaviness and comfort of a warm blanket draped over her shoulders as the men held her up. Her legs grew stronger, but Kelsey still didn’t attempt to stand on her own or move them. Willing her arm to move, she tried to brush away the hair that had fallen across her face. Kelsey’s arm muscles complained, and she winced. She felt the gentle touch of fingers tuck the strand of hair behind her ear.
“Help me get her into the car and be careful. Cannae ye tell she is in pain? hauld yer horses 'til she hears aboot this.” The woman said in broken English and Scottish.
“We didnae mean tae hurt her. Honest, we coudnae git doon tae see her. Cannae ye tell her that at least?” The men stammered.
“You could have given her something to eat, to drink, and something better than an old wool blanket. If she gets sick, she will hear about this, I promise.”
“Please lassy, dinnae tell her. We did huv a go, honest.”
Kelsey could tell the men were trying to plead their case. For her part, she only knew the cold, dampness, and fear on her journey. Kelsey felt the men try to help her walk. She willed her stiff, aching feet to move. With each tiny movement had her gasping in pain.
The swearing, in a low voice, told Kelsey that the woman was too angry to say anything else. Then close to her ear, she heard. “I’m sorry, Kels. I dreamed about this day for so long. I hope you can forgive me. You gave me no choice.”
Kelsey blinked rapidly to try and clear her blurred vision. To no avail, she still only could see a fuzzy shadow beside her head. The woman didn’t only know her name but also shortened it in a way few people did. Her blurred vision only served to make her question who this woman was more. How did this woman know her, and how did she know what some members of her family called her? She opened her mouth and croaked out, “thank you.” Then a fit of coughing wracked her body, threatening to topple her. The men beside her held her tight and upright.
When Kelsey felt the men stop, they helped her into a seated position on a soft surface, and her limbs complained about the change of position again. She groaned.
“It will be over soon,” the woman’s voice said near her ear.
Once inside the car, the light was dimmer, and Kelsey’s eyes adjusted better. What did the woman mean by it would be over soon? The woman said she only wanted to keep her safe, but why did these men have her in a boat? Who ran her off the road? Had these men done that? Did this woman order her abduction? Were this woman and these men Kelsey’s capturers, or were they her rescuers? Her vision began to clear, and she turned to the sound of the voice speaking to the driver. Her eyes took in brown hair, and then two hazel eyes looked into her own. Kelsey begged her mind to recall where she had seen these eyes before. Furrowing her brows, Kelsey squinted her eyes to look closer at the features of the woman’s face. The mouth’s corners turned up slightly, the eyes almost laughing, and the little dimple in the left cheek winked at her. Shaking her aching head, Kelsey tried to dislodge the fuzziness. Then the shock hit her squarely in the chest. The laughing hazel eyes, that dimple could only belong to…No, it cannot be…but how? Kelsey’s world spun, and she fell into complete darkness.
***
An Undisclosed Room, April 10, 2012
Kelsey woke from a dream where she and Aisling played in Nanna’s garden. They were playing hide-and-seek, but instead of running around searching for the other, the two girls used their minds to find one another. They were always so close and could locate one another almost without trying. Kelsey’s eyes filled with tears as she remembered she would never see Aisling’s smiling eyes and face again. She would never see that dimple on her cousin’s left cheek winking at her…Kelsey bolted upright.
Her world spun as her head and body complained about the rapid movement. Suddenly all that had happened rushed back in one moment. Kelsey had been driving on the road to a place a text instructed her to go. The anonymous sender told her if she wanted to find the answers she sought, she had to follow the directions precisely. There were two large trucks, and they ran her off the road. The trees scraped the paint off of her SUV, and she remembered the thud as the airbag deployed, and her head snapped forward. Her memory then went to being inside a cold, damp container on a ship and then the container opening in bright sunlight. Miranda? Kelsey wanted to see her; tell her she was alright. She suddenly remembered the woman in the car. It wasn’t Miranda, but it was someone she loved more than anyone else. But how can that be?
A door squeaked open.
Kelsey turned to the noise and saw the woman standing in the doorway.
“I was hoping you’d be awake. I wanted to wake you but knew you needed your rest. How are you feeling today?”
How am I feeling? What sort of question is that? Shock, anger, and disbelief battled for dominance of the predominate emotion. “How? Why? What the hell, Aisling?”
Chapter Nine
Canonsburg Memorial Cemetery, April 9, 2012
Buoyed by the fact she had stumbled upon what could be a legitimate reason for her presence at the crime scene, Nikki stood taller and stuck her hands in the pocket of her jacket. She and Lindsay had been in a very steamy and volatile relationship three years ago. They met on a case of a missing child; the FBI was investigating in Pittsburgh. Their first meeting had been charged with sexual energy, and by the end of their first hour together, they had sex three times. While they worked the case together, their relationship was all about sex. When the FBI finished their investigation, Nikki had to move on, and Lindsay wanted her to stay. Nikki wasn’t the staying kind in a relationship.
Nikki knew she broke Lindsay’s heart, but she thought they would never see each other again, besides this wasn’t Pittsburgh. “What brought you way out here to Canonsburg? They don’t have any detectives that could have helped with this case?” Nikki hoped that changing the subject for a few moments would right her world some after the shock of seeing Lindsay again. Even if she hadn’t fallen in love with the tall, beautiful detective, the woman still made quite the impact on Nikki’s libido. Even as Nikki tried to calm her nerves, Nikki felt her whole being flood with warmth; her fingers itched to touch Lindsay and make the woman cry out as she did when Nikki has touched her last. Nikki shivered with a memory of the last time they had sex, she reached to touch Lindsay’s arm, but it was her turn to watch the other woman pull away.
“If you remembered anything, I told you while we were together, you’d know my mother lives nearby. I first commuted to be with her. She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer six months ago.” Lindsay’s eyes filled with sadness.
Nikki felt like an idiot. Of course, she recalled Lindsay’s mother lived in Canonsburg. In a hurry to think of something to say, she hadn’t thought of what would bring Lindsay to be here now. “I’m sorry; I truly am sorry to hear about your mother. I do remember you telling me your mother moved here from Philly and that your sister lived in Baltimore. I do listen. I’m very preoccupied with this case. You reacted when I mentioned missing bodies, do you have missing bodies here?”
Lindsay wiped her hands on the front of her jeans and cocked her head. “You still
haven’t told me why the FBI got here so fast.”
Nikki scrambled to think of a reason why and told the truth. I was in the area visiting a friend’s family, and I heard it on my police scanner. I’ve heard chatter from my CI’s about a possible group moving in on cemeteries in this area.”
Lindsay scoffed. “What sort of case involves people stealing human remains? I haven’t heard about anything.”
Nikki looked around and gestured toward the disturbed graves. “The case is still in the early stages, but what we have learned is that several gravesites in the state have been targeted, and the bodies that were missing were people who died more than fifteen years ago.”
“Maybe they’re looking for skeletons,” Lindsay said just as Nikki was uttering the exact thing.
Nikki giggled softly. The tension of seeing Lindsay again was starting to dissipate while they talked about the bodies, but with their minds beginning to sync up, the pressure returned. This is how they got together last time over mutual ideas and theories. She and Lindsay were finishing each other’s sentences and communicating without ever uttering a word. Mack had teased her and said that Nikki had found her other half. Nikki only knew that being with Lindsay had been exciting, and then when the fire got too hot, they caught fire, and both of them got burnt. Nikki wasn’t sure she wanted to play with that fire again. “That is my theory, but we haven’t been able to prove anything yet. Are there bodies missing from this scene?”
Lindsay indicated she wanted Nikki to come closer.
Nikki hesitated, but then drew closer to the taller woman; she could now smell the lilacs and vanilla, that Lindsay used in her shampoo and soap. Her head spun, and her breath caught in her throat. She leaned toward Lindsay and ducked her head to hear what the detective had to say.
“When I got here, the patrol officers were on the scene and said that three bodies were out of their caskets. They found three caskets, but no bodies. We’re waiting to hear from the cemetery office to tell us who was buried there.” Lindsay whispered the last part very softly. “Of course, we don’t want the media to get a hold of this and have people coming here trying to see something or find out if they are the bodies of their loved ones.”
Nikki’s nerve endings were tingling, the hair on her neck and arms were raised, and her heart beat faster. She knew that these sensations had more to do with Lindsay’s nearness and less to do with the revelation that three bodies were missing. She had not told the guy to steal the bodies. Could this all be a coincidence? “Do they not have headstones that you can match to where the caskets were removed?”
“That’s the problem, two of the headstones that they destroyed are unreadable. The caskets and bodies were removed and not near the headstones that remain. We have six graves disturbed and three bodies…you see why we need to know who is who.” Lindsay’s hand touched Nikki’s back. “Come over here; I don’t want anyone to hear us.”
Nikki tried hard not to react to the hand. She felt the warmth begin to burn through the fabric, covering her lower back.
Lindsay pulled them toward a stand of trees that would afford them some privacy.
Nikki followed, and Lindsay turned to look into Nikki’s eyes. Nikki thought about touching Lindsay. Her gaze fixated on Lindsay’s mouth. The tall, beautiful woman sure did know how to kiss. Nikki yearned to kiss that mouth again. Just one kiss; what can that hurt?
Lindsay made the first move.
Nikki could only hold on as their mouths met.
The kiss started as an exploration of familiar territory. Both women needed to quench a deep need; they always had for one another.
Nikki felt Lindsay’s hand roaming her body and lifting material to touch bare skin. Nikki’s hands slowly began their exploration as well, and in no time, she had a hand inside the zipper of Lindsay’s jeans. The first touch of curly hair inside the damp cotton, had Nikki panting. The wetness she found had her head swimming with need. “Touch me, Lindsay…I need you.” Nikki squeezed out around, gulping air and her tongue delving deep inside Lindsay’s mouth. The height difference between the two women was forgotten as Lindsay picked Nikki up and pressed her up against the tree. Nikki wrapped her legs around Lindsay to help stay in place.
“I’ve wanted to do this for so long; I’m not about to lose the chance now,” Lindsay said, smiling down as she locked her lips onto Nikki’s neck and bit down.
Lindsay’s fingers made their way inside Nikki’s button-down jeans and her panties. Nikki wished they were anywhere, but where they were so, they could enjoy each other more but wasn’t about to suggest they stop. When Lindsay’s fingers found Nikki’s clit, they almost fell from the force of Nikki’s thrusting into Lindsay’s hand. Something about Lindsay’s smell and touch drove Nikki crazy. “Oh God! Linds…Oh, my God!” Nikki panted out as she tried to maintain the rhythm of her thumb, circling Lindsay’s clit and the fingers probing inside of her. Lindsay’s fingers were inside of her and curling to find the right spot. Nikki arched her back to allow the fingers to find it. Once there, Nikki began bucking earnestly against Lindsay’s hand.
“Yes, Nikki…Oh, God…Nikki,” Lindsay whispered against Nikki’s ear.
The two women came at almost the same time.
Nikki attempted to keep from falling as Lindsay’s climax caused her to lean more against her. On unsteady legs, Nikki stood on the ground. Closing her eyes, she tried to slow her heart rate and breathing. Taking a few deep breaths, she managed to say, “well, there is nothing wrong with the attraction between us.”
Lindsay snickered. “That was never our problem.”
Nikki wanted to say they never had a problem if they both had wanted the same thing. At first, Lindsay said that she wasn’t looking for anything permanent, and Nikki wasn’t into commitments either. Things changed for Lindsay, but not for Nikki. “Our problem is we were in different places in our lives, and nothing has changed for me.”
Lindsay’s eyes began to swell with unshed tears. A hand came up to sweep away one that had escaped. “I know that. I knew it then, but I didn’t want it to be true.” Lindsay sniffed and wiped her face with her open palms. I have wipes in my car. Let’s go get cleaned up, and then we can finish talking about the case.”
***
Nikki and Lindsay had cleaned up and straightened their clothing before they returned to the crime scene. A few of the county’s forensic team members were taking photos, and more police personnel were walking around the area. Nikki texted the guy on the burner phone, asking him what the hell happened. She waited to hear back when Lindsay got a phone call. Giving Lindsay some privacy, Nikki scanned the area and walked toward the headstones toppled on the ground. Jesus, I’m sorry Mack for needing to do this. I hope you’ll understand. Nikki had no idea that this would go as far as it did. Destroying the headstones, stealing bodies; it wasn’t what she had in mind when she asked for help.
Looking down at one of the headstones, she could make out the name MacDonald. Feeling the guilt creep in, she knew she was in part responsible for the desecration of Mack’s uncle, aunt, and cousin’s graves. The fact that three total strangers’ graves were also disturbed and destroyed saddened her immensely. Four families were affected by her desperate actions, and she couldn’t feel worse.
Lindsay’s voice interrupted her deep musings. “I have some answers to who the people were that have been taken from the caskets. The cemetery office had to look into their records of the plots. The bodies were all more than fifteen years buried. The three missing bodies are all from the same family—”
“The MacDonald family are the bodies that are missing,” Nikki said before Lindsay had time to finish her sentence.
Lindsay gasped. “How did you know? This thing we have is good, but there is no way you knew… unless you knew beforehand what bodies would be taken.”
Nikki turned toward the graves. When she saw the headstone and then saw the relative location of the graves to the trees, she remembered the plot map and the numbers of the g
raves that Aisling, Ethan, and Catriona MacDonald were buried. Shit; he wasn’t supposed to take the bodies. What was she going to do now? “I was looking at the destroyed headstone and could make out the name MacDonald; I just put two and two together.”
Lindsay nodded and shook her head. “We now have to notify the family of those people’s bodies that are missing. I’m not looking forward to that. Do you have any leads on the people who are doing this?”
“I’m going to have to ask you to hold off telling the family until I can get some answers. Give me a few hours before you go to the family. Please, Lindsay; I need just that time before you do anything. Can you do that for me?” Nikki hoped that if there were still any profound feelings for Nikki inside Lindsay, she could glean some clout to ask this favor of the tall woman.
Lindsay’s eyes were still soft from their rendezvous in the trees. She smiled weakly and ducked her head. “I shouldn’t do this, and I may regret it, but I’ll give you until two o’clock to get what answers you need before I have to notify the family.”
Nikki looked at her watch. She had one and half hours to find out what the hell went wrong and why the bodies were taken when she had asked the man to remove them from the graves and make it hard to identify what bodies belonged where. Nikki only wanted to be able to have access to the forensic examination of the remains and possibly have answers to how they died. She hadn’t asked for the bodies to be removed from the scene. “I promise, I’ll even go along with you on the visit once I have my answers.”
“You don’t have to do that. I mean the family will have lots of questions, and I’m sure you won’t be able to tell them much. I can do the notification alone.”