The Steve Williams Series Boxed Set

by J. E. Taylor

  Jennifer set the soup aside and unwrapped hers. She made a little noise of pleasure as she took her first bite.

  Steve finished his in three bites. He cracked open his soup and took a spoonful as they watched the waves crash into the rocks.

  When they finished eating, Steve threw the trash away and cuddled next to her, watching the endless ebb of the tide.

  “Tell me about the vision,” he said softly in her ear, bringing her back to the reality of what was going on in a little town less than a hundred miles away. She tensed up and he tightened his grip around her, kissing her neck.

  “A couple of teenagers. Girl and boy, and they were, um, preoccupied with each other. They never saw it come out of the water. I did.”

  “What is it?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “Something evil,” she said, “with red eyes that glow brighter than embers of a fire.”

  Steve kissed her shoulder and put his forehead against it. “Do you think this thing in your vision is a manifestation of your imagination because you can’t come to terms with a person doing the things you’re seeing?”

  The question surprised Jennifer, but because it came from Steve, she gave it the thought and consideration he deserved. Her dreams were one thing, but that thing in her closet was another. She shivered. “No. It isn’t human,” she said with certainty.

  “If it isn’t human, how do I stop it?”

  “I don’t think anything can stop it.”

  “If it can be hurt, it can be killed.”

  They listened to the waves in silence.

  Steve slowly opened his eyes and sighed. “Something changed over the last couple of years in Brooksfield. Something set off this chain of events.”

  “Tom and Peg died.”

  Steve nodded. Both their lives changed drastically two years ago. The disappearances stepped up two years ago, and he wondered if there was a connection.

  “Do you think there’s a connection?”

  “Hmm?” He pulled to the side so he could look at her face.

  “You and me. A connection. Two years ago, both of our lives were turned upside down.”

  Steve glanced back at the water and squeezed her tighter. “I doubt it.” He kissed her cheek. “Come on.” He stood and helped her up.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Back to Brooksfield,” he said, and let out a sigh. Jennifer’s vision stoked his need to get back on the case, to prevent another disaster, another Amy, but the peace of the Maine shoreline pulled at him, offering him a reprieve from the horror attacking Brooksfield.

  “I don’t really want to go back.”

  His gaze met hers. “Neither do I, but I have class in the morning,” he said and opened the car door for her.

  “We could get up really early?”

  Steve laughed, tempted. He slipped into the driver’s seat and glanced at the ocean, lulling him. “I can’t,” he said. “I shouldn’t have taken this drive with everything going on, but you needed a little distance.” He backtracked past Long Sands and the little harbor, heading toward the highway.

  The buzzing of a cell phone filled the car and Steve dug his cell phone from his pocket, and glanced at the display before bringing the receiver to his ear. “Hey, Murphy.”

  “We’ve gotten word of a couple of missing kids…” Murphy said on the other line.

  “Let me guess. Two teenagers, a boy and a girl?”

  The silence on the other end confirmed his question. Steve sent a glance in Jennifer’s direction and took a deep breath. “I should be back in Brooksfield in a little over an hour.”

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “I took Jennifer to York, Maine. I thought the salt air would help alleviate the asthma,” he said. “Where do you want me when I get back?” he asked, hoping his boss would say the apartment.”

  “Meet me at your lake house and then I want you at that fraternity tonight,” Murphy snapped. “I need you to find out what the hell’s going on.”

  “Yes, sir,” Steve said with no enthusiasm. “I’ll be back as fast as I can.” He flipped the phone closed and as soon as he merged onto the highway, his driving catapulted past aggressive to downright insane, and Jennifer gripped the door as he weaved through traffic. “Sorry,” he said and offered a shrug.

  “Was it two teenagers?”

  “Yes,” Steve answered. “And I can’t stay with you tonight. Murphy wants me at the frat house.”

  “I could stay with you.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he said, even though he’d just assume hell would freeze over before allowing her at the fraternity, not with the way Bill leered at her at the apartment. Something was happening, darkening the landscape, poisoning everything it came in contact with.

  They drove the rest of the way in silence. Steve held her hand and let the facts flow through his mind, the legends, the cove, the ritual. They all had to be connected and he decided another internet search was in order. Even with his mind saturated with the case, his mood worsened the closer he got to Brooksfield.

  The closer the town came, the more the deaths of two more kids ate at the lining of his stomach, turning the delectable meal into a roiling mass weighing him down. He glanced at Jennifer, her lips forming the perfect, kissable pout and he flicked his gaze back at the road. Irritation snaked over his skin. “I’m sorry.”

  Jennifer squeezed his hand. “I know. Do you mind if I come with you to the frat house?”

  Steve took a deep breath. “I can’t do my job with you there.”

  “I don’t want to be alone.”

  Steve glanced at her again, moving his hand onto the steering wheel. “I’ll stay over tomorrow night.”

  “And if the thing in the closet comes back?”

  “Sleep in the living room.”

  “You can be a son of a bitch sometimes.”

  Steve swerved to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. He gripped the steering wheel, hard enough for his knuckles to ache, knowing his anger was misplaced. She didn’t deserve it; the killer did, so he opted to keep his mouth closed. After counting to ten and reining his fury in, he shifted into gear.

  Jen grabbed his hand off the gearshift. “No, say what you were going to say.”

  Steve closed his eyes. “Jenny, it’s my job.” He didn’t look at her. He just leaned his head back and rubbed his face. “I’d rather be with you than looking for two dead teenagers.” Hell, I’d rather take you a million miles away from Brooksfield where I’d know you’re safe. “I can’t do this tonight.” He was quiet for a second, and then put the car in gear and slowly pulled back on the road. He glanced in her direction. “And I don’t think it’s safe for you at the frat house.” Silence settled in the car.

  “I’m sorry,” Jennifer said after the ‘Welcome to Brooksfield’ sign passed.

  “So am I.” Steve glanced at her. “I didn’t mean to snap.” The apartment complex loomed in the distance and when he finally parked in front of the entrance, he turned to her, yanking the keys from the ignition. “I’ll walk you up.”

  The few extra minutes with her did little to lift his somber mood. In the elevator, he turned towards her, reaching out to graze her cheek with his fingers. “I wish I could stay with you tonight, but…” he said as the elevators opened up on the penthouse floor.

  “You have to work.” She finished his sentence and dug in her pocketbook for the apartment key she slid it into the lock and opened the door.

  An eerie quiet within the apartment unsettled his nerves and kicked his intuition up a notch. “Wait here,” he said, and stepped past her with senses on high alert. Steve did a quick walk-through of the apartment, stopping in her bedroom. He shivered from the cold draft wafting from the closet and he shut the door. When nothing else caught his attention, he headed back to the door. “Tracy’s not here and you really have to have her take a look at the air-conditioning in your closet, because I could feel the chill when I stepped in your room.”

&nbs
p; “Tracy said there isn’t a duct in there.”

  Steve raised an eyebrow. “Then there’s a leak of some sort in the air ducts which isn’t good.”

  She wrapped her arms over her chest and bit her lip. Fear registered in her eyes as her gaze flicked to the hallway and back to him.

  “Do you want me to get clothes out of your closet for tomorrow so you don’t have to?” he asked.

  Jennifer’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears and she nodded.

  He followed her to the bedroom and swung the door open. The temperature in the room plummeted and he hesitated at the entrance, scanning the clothing. The sweet scent of cedar wafted from the opening along with something that left an underlying taste in his mouth and he wondered if there was a Freon leak somewhere and that’s what triggered her asthma. It was a much more logical explanation than an imaginary monster.

  Refocusing on the clothes, he turned to Jennifer. “What would you like?”

  “The jean skirt and blue shirt back there,” she said and pointed toward the back wall.

  Steve grabbed the hangers, handing them to her and stepping out of the closet. He closed the door behind him, jamming the desk chair under the knob, making it impossible for the door to unlatch and open by itself.

  “Thank you.” Jennifer laid the clothes on the chair.

  “Anytime. I just wish I could stay; maybe I’ll be able to hang here tomorrow night.” He kissed her goodbye and headed to the elevator.

  Rubbing his face, he watched the numbers descend, a silent countdown like the one in the back of his mind, ticking off the seconds like a time bomb.

  Chapter 25

  Steve pulled into the fraternity and took a deep breath, shoving his foul mood out of sight where it festered under his skin. He walked inside, offering a “hey” and a smile to the group in the living room before heading up to his room. He changed into his jogging shorts and t-shirt and headed out for a run. A half hour later, he turned down the driveway to his grandfather’s cabin. He slowed as he approached the police barricade.

  “I’m sorry, son, this is private property,” the officer guarding the driveway entrance said.

  “I know. I own the property. Please tell Agent Murphy that Steve Williams is here,” he said, jogging in place.

  The officer’s eyebrows lowered and his eyes narrowed, as he took a closer look at Steve. “Do you have ID?”

  Steve pulled out his Brooksfield University student ID. “My badge is in the cabin,” he said, still jogging in place.

  The officer looked between the ID and Steve and finally handed it back. “Agent Murphy is expecting you.” He stepped aside so Steve could pass.

  Steve jogged the rest of the way up the driveway, approaching the cabin and the chaos outside. A search and rescue headquarters sat near the side of the cabin and the benches near the gazebo were filled with Brooksfield police and fire and rescue personnel under the makeshift canopy. Something about the callous way Murphy took over the property set his nerves on edge and Steve paced, allowing both his body and his temper to cool.

  Agent Murphy left his post and crossed the expanse of lawn.

  “You could have asked my permission,” Steve said, his breath a little labored from the run.

  “Look, this is the perfect spot to coordinate a search and rescue. It’s containable,” he said. “I didn’t think you’d have an issue with it.”

  Steve bit down on the response. He had worked with Murphy long enough to know he took advantage of the best available opportunities and as incensed as he was, if he was in Murphy’s place, he would have done the same thing. “Fine.” He stopped moving and wiped the sweat off his face with his shirt. “What do you need from me?” he asked.

  “I need you to be at the fraternity acting like one of them and see if they drop any hints about this.”

  Steve took a deep breath. “I think that’s the wrong place for me to be.”

  Murphy glared at Steve. “What are you talking about?”

  “Jennifer had another vision,” he said. “She’s been with me for the entire day, Jack. I haven’t left her side until about an hour ago when I dropped her off.”

  Murphy turned away, but Steve caught the skepticism in his eyes.

  “I know how far-fetched this sounds, but Jennifer has some sort of weird psychic connection to this.” He walked toward the dock and sat down on the steps.

  Murphy followed and sat next to him. “Okay, let’s say she does. How can we use that to catch the son of a bitch?”

  Steve smiled a little. “I’m not sure. There’s no rhyme or reason to when they show up and she thinks some monster is causing the deaths.”

  “She’s right.”

  “No, Jack, she doesn’t believe it’s human.”

  Murphy began to laugh, and Steve shot a glare in his direction.

  “What if it isn’t?” Steve asked, “What if she’s right?”

  Jack looked out at the lake while he formulated his response. “Steve, I’ve seen some pretty sick shit in my life, all of which was the result of a human being,” he said. “This is no different.”

  “Humor me. What if we are dealing with something outside the realm of the norm?” Steve glanced at his boss. “Just for a second, think as if it’s a real possibility.”

  Murphy let the sounds of the task force fill the space between them before he spoke. “If it isn’t human…” He gnawed on that statement for a while along with his lower lip. “I don’t know, Steve. I just don’t know.”

  Steve didn’t think Murphy would be able to take that leap and he nodded and stood. “I need to get back. Can I catch a ride in a marked police car? That ought to get the conversation kick started.”

  Murphy laughed. “No way.”

  “Yes, Murph. I can use that. I’ll tell them the jogging paths around this side of the lake are blocked by police and a search and rescue effort is going on for some fools who got lost in the woods.” He shrugged. “Otherwise, it’ll be a bitch to work missing people into a conversation.”

  Murphy agreed and picked up his radio as they walked toward the driveway. “I need Agent Williams taken back to the fraternity in a marked Brooksfield police car.”

  The car pulled up and Steve slipped inside.

  “I’ll see you in class tomorrow,” Murphy said.

  Steve sent a quick nod in his direction before he closed the door and settled back in the seat, explaining what he expected of the officer when they got to the fraternity.

  The police car parked in front of the frat house a few minutes later. Several of the members were sitting out on the porch. When the officer opened the back door and Steve stepped out, he shot a smirk in their direction and swiveled his gaze to the officer.

  “Next time, you may want to heed the park closing signs, son,” the officer said and slid back into the cruiser.

  Steve nodded and walked up to the members of the frat house. He glanced over his shoulder as the cop pulled away. “God damn cops,” he muttered as he lumbered up the stairs. “Ruined a perfectly good run.”

  “What happened?” Adam asked.

  “I was running down one of the jogging paths around the lake and I ignored the no trespassing signs. Looks like some idiots got lost in the woods. There are cops everywhere.” He shook his head. “They gave me a hell of a time for being in the park after six.”

  “What do you mean cops everywhere?” Adam asked.

  “They’re all over the woods on the other side of the lake.”

  “Where?”

  “Pretty much across from the public beach and down the length of the lake.”

  Adam and Joe exchanged glances. “Think they’ll be gone by Friday night?” Adam asked.

  Steve shrugged. “Beats me, it depends if they find the idiots who got lost. Why?”

  “We camp over that way for initiation,” Adam said, giving away nothing that Steve didn’t already know.

  “You may have to find another spot,” Steve said.

  Panic settled in A
dam’s eyes and he snapped his head in Joe’s direction.

  “I’m sure they’ll find them before then,” Joe smiled.

  Steve looked between the two of them. “I gotta take a shower.” He headed inside.

  * * * *

  Joe stepped inside and heard the shower go on. He walked back onto the porch and smacked Adam on the back of the head. “Bill said not to clue him in on the initiation.”

  “What’s Bill going to do with him during initiation?”

  “I have no idea,” Joe lied. Bill had explained the initiation plans to him and asked for a few items. Joe had scored what Bill requested with surprising ease. As the next in line for the fraternity president spot, he had a special role to play this year. He wondered whether he could stomach it, but he didn’t want to entertain not following through for even a second.

  Joe looked up at the second floor and shook his head slightly. If he thought his role pushed the limitations of sanity, Steve’s role was downright morbid.

  He would bear witness to the entire event, even Jennifer’s death. Of course, that presumed the beast didn’t just tear him to pieces on sight.

  Chapter 26

  Jennifer found a movie she loved and put down the clicker, curling up on the couch. She drifted off into a light sleep with Nicholas Cage navigating The City of Angels.

  Jennifer knelt in the middle of a dark room with candles decorating the walls all around her. The pentacle on the floor glowed with a fiery hue, yet the temperature plummeted and she shivered. Ice-cold hands pushed her forward, burning her shoulders and she screamed.

  Jennifer awoke, bolting upright in the living room, shaking, her scream echoing in her ears. Her breath was labored and she told herself to calm down in a silent repetitive mantra while her heart leapt into overdrive with panic and fear.

  “Only a dream,” she repeated under her breath, wrapping the blanket tighter around her, until she had control over her breathing. Her chest ached and she leaned her head back against the soft cushion of the couch and took a deep breath.

  She glanced at the clock, surprised to see it was still early and she reached for the phone, dialing the now familiar number.