by Penny Childs
“It’s fair enough for me right now.” She pulled her hands off the table and put them in her lap. She knew now the reason she didn’t want him touching her was she was afraid she wouldn’t want him to stop. And that scared the shit out of her.
The rest of their trip yielded nothing of note and they got back to Michigan earlier than they had expected. They pulled up in front of the hotel Trevor was staying in around seven at night and sat in the car for a moment. “One more dinner?” he asked her.
“I don’t think so, Trevor,” she said with a little smile. “I’m going to go check in at the station and head home.”
“You need to eat,” he said.
“I have food at home. I want to veg for a while tonight. You might be used to all of the traveling, but I’m not anymore. I find myself liking being a homebody.”
The thought of her back there in the woods all by herself bothered him. He knew she wouldn’t budge, though. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“That’s the plan. We’ll add what we have to your wall and see if anything pops.” She yawned. “Good night, Trevor.”
Knowing that was her way of motivating him to leave he nodded. “Okay. Goodnight.” Getting out of the car, he grabbed his suitcase and computer from the back seat and walked slowly back to the hotel lobby as she left the parking lot. As he entered the lobby, his phone began buzzing at his side and he pulled it off the clip, looking at the screen without breaking stride. Bill. He answered on a yawn of his own.
“You must be getting old, Trev. It’s seven o’clock and you’re yawning already?”
“It was a long trip,” he admitted. He also had not gotten much sleep for thinking of Mel every night.
“I got the reports back on all of the victim’s residences. Bastard didn’t leave anything, he only took things.”
Sliding his card through the slot on his door, Trevor pushed his way into his room.
“He took the lamp cord from victim number one’s apartment. He took a bicycle chain from victim number two’s house. And last but certainly not least, he took a baseball bat from victim number three’s home.”
Throwing his suitcase down on the bed, Trevor grimaced. “He used the electrical cord he swiped from victim number one’s place on victim number three. What the hell do you suppose he has planned for a bicycle chain and a baseball bat?”
“I really don’t want to hazard a guess. I was hoping you might recognize something there.”
“He’s killing his victims the way, or as close as possible, to the way the original killer had intended to kill them.” He sat down in the uncomfortable chair heavily and toed his shoes off. “It gives us something to look at, I guess. Although, it could be a diversion as well, something to get us to waste time and resources on.”
“We can’t afford not to look though.”
“I agree.” He thought of Mel. No chains or bats had been involved in her original assault. He felt a stirring of relief for her, but dread creeped up on him as he thought of the next victim. And there would be a next victim, of that, he had no doubt.
“How was Mel?” Bill asked.
Trevor found himself smiling. “She was Mel, just more grown up.”
“Anything since the lamp?”
“Just little shit, nothing significant. She’s trying hard as hell to keep it shut down.” He picked up a pen and flipped it absently in his fingers. “Bill, when it cuts loose, and it will, she might be down for the count for a while. You can’t shut off something as strong as what she has and not expect it to blow.” He had shook hands with her brother and took a peek, hoping to find out what they had talked about. “Her brother told her she needed to let it loose a little at a time, but I don’t think she’s listened to him.” He sighed. “Maybe now that she’s home she will. She doesn’t want to let much go around me.”
“Damn baggage,” Bill growled.
“Yeah, well, you should know better than anyone; hers is not your typical baggage. What she went through, no one should have to go through.” They had followed the killer that had got hold of her and he knew what he had done to the previous victims. The thought of Mel going through that had him tied in knots. “I just finished the job on her, that’s all.”
“You saved her ass. But that’s water under the bridge. You think she’s going to come around on this?”
Trevor was mildly surprised that Bill was pushing. “I don’t know, Bill, that’s completely up to her. If I push right now, she just pushes back twice as hard.”
Pulling up in front of her house, Mel shut the car down and sat in the dark for several minutes, listening to the complete silence, something she had not heard in the last few days. She also felt the relief of being alone again. She had begun to find herself enjoying Trevor’s company, something she had no intention of letting herself continue to do. Her heart could only stand to be broken by him once. She didn’t think she’d survive it again.
She got out of the car and pulled her duffle bag out and slung the backpack over her shoulder, then headed for the house. Though it was dark out, she found her way easily enough, thinking about a glass of sweet red wine, a hot bubble bath, then sleep in her own bed.
Entering her house, she reached over and flipped the switch for the inside light next to the door. When nothing happened she swore. She could see the light on the coffee maker in the kitchen, so knew she had not lost power. “Hope I have a spare light bulb,” she muttered, dropping her duffle bag and backpack to the floor and moving toward the kitchen.
She felt the disturbance in the air behind her before she heard anything. Knowing something was off, she was reaching for her gun and turning as she received the blow to her side. The impact knocked the wind out of her and drove her to her knees. Knowing what the possible danger was and determined to never go through a repeat performance, she managed to draw her gun and fire a round. At nothing. Whoever had attacked her had already run off.
Gasping in a breath and just staying where she was, she listened intently, then heard it, the sound of an engine behind her house, maybe a four-wheeler or dirt bike. Forcing herself to get up in spite of the pain, she moved into the kitchen, stepping on something and hearing a crunching sound she recognized as glass. The back door stood open. She turned on the light over the stove, one hand on her side the other holding her gun out in front of her. Surveying the damage, she clenched her teeth in fury. “God Damnit,” she muttered. Glasses and plates had been shattered on the floor. A bag of flour had been ripped open and spread around the room. Something was carved into her table, the one that had belonged to her great grandparents. The light from the stove illuminated it just enough for her to make out what it said and reading it, she drew in a long, shaky breath. She had been hoping it had just been a vandal or someone angry with her for an arrest. But what was carved into the surface of the table made it clear that was not the case. It read:
Next time you die like you
were SUPPOSED to you bitch
“Not good,” she said, pulling her phone from its clip. She stood staring at the table a moment, thinking about what she was considering doing before she actually dialed the number. He picked up on the third ring.
“Mel?” he asked, a mixture of surprise and concern in his voice.
“Trevor, I need you to come out to my place right away.” She flinched as she took in a breath.
“What’s happened?” He had been sitting at the tiny desk, working on a report. Now he stood, his heart racing. He was sure that he heard fear in her voice.
“There was someone in my house when I got home. Trevor, will you please just get out here?” She knew she should have called Craig first, but had not been able to fight off her first instinct.
“Are you okay?” He was slipping on his tennis shoes and grabbing his gun and keys.
“I’m fine. I’ll be better when you get here.” She sighed and cursed herself for letting that slip out. “I’m going to let you go and call Craig too. Just hurry. I’m pretty sure they’r
e gone, but…”
“I’m on my way right now. When you call Craig do me a favor and stay on the line with him until I get there.”
She nodded even though he couldn’t see her. “All right.” Disconnecting from his call, she walked out the front door, and then sat down on the steps. A fear, rooted deep inside her was creeping out. She held her gun up and noted with dismay that her hand was shaking badly. She knew it had nothing to do with the attack she had just gone thorough and everything to do with the one that had happened seven years ago. She needed to get a hold of herself. She could not be this vulnerable when Trevor got here. She dialed Craig’s number, thinking maybe talking to someone would help.
It was only eight o’clock and Craig answered on the fourth ring. “Hey, boss, checking up on me?” he asked.
“No Craig. Look, I need you to get out here to my place. I also need you to get a crime scene team out here.”
Craig was silent for a long moment, absorbing what she had just told him. “What happened?”
“Someone broke in while I was gone and I either surprised them when I came home or they were waiting for me.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, alarmed.
“I’m fine. Trevor is on his way here right now. I’m guessing he blew out of there pretty fast and forgot about his partner. I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you stopped and picked her up for him.”
“Okay, I can do that.” He paused while he put his shoes on. “Are you alright there? Are they gone?”
“I think so, but Trevor suggested I stay on the line with you until he gets here.” That would mean he wouldn’t be able to make his calls yet. “Do you mind?”
“If he drives like I think he probably will and survives, he should be able to make it there in under ten minutes.”
She was halfway between the station and the hotel that Trevor and his partner were staying at.
“You think this was just a break in?”
She heard an engine come to life and knew he was in the cruiser he took home with him every night. “No, it wasn’t. You’ll see when you get here.”
“Lemme radio this in and get shit moving. Mac can make the calls to get the team coming.”
She listened while he spoke over the radio for quite a while. Then she was pretty sure she heard the sound of an approaching engine from the road beyond her driveway.
“Still there, boss?” he finally asked.
“Yeah.” She saw headlights stabbing through the trees lining her driveway. “I think Trevor is here.” She gripped her gun a little more tightly but remained seated on the steps as the vehicle came into view. Recognizing it as his, she said to Craig, “Okay, he’s here. I’m going to let you go now. I’ll see you when you get here.”
Slamming the rental into park and killing the engine, Trevor jumped out of the vehicle and headed toward her, almost running. “Mel? You okay?”
She sat with her forearms resting on her knees, hands dangling between them, still holding the gun. “I’m okay, just a little shaken up is all.”
He stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked her in the eye. “Were you hurt?”
“I got hit with something, yeah.”
“Where?” he asked, wanting to come forward to touch her and convince himself that she was okay.
“Just my side. I think he realized I was going for my gun and wanted to knock me down and get out.” She saw the look he was giving her and shook her head. “I’ll live, Trevor. I don’t think anything is broken.” Reaching down, she gingerly touched the spot and hissed out a breath.
“Mel…”
“I’m fine.”
“I want to take a look.”
That would involve him touching her. “No way. Keep your hands to yourself.”
“Mel, don’t be an ass.”
“I said no.”
“Then I’m calling an ambulance,” he told her, not taking his eyes off of hers.
“You most certainly are not. I told you that I’m fine.”
“And I don’t believe you.” He put a foot on the bottom step and leaned toward her. “It’s either me or an ambulance, Rhodes, take your pick.”
Gritting her teeth, she stared at him. He was not bluffing, she could see that much in his eyes. “You’re an impossible bastard, you know that?”
“Sadly, you’re not the first to make that observation. Are you going to let me look at you or not?”
“The switch for the porch light is on the wall to the right of the door. It’s the bottom one.” She had not bothered to turn it on since she had left the front door open and light spilled out onto the steps.
With a curt nod, he moved past her on the steps, turned on the lights and came back down to sit one step below her and facing her.
This was not a good idea, she knew, letting him touch her. But she did not want to spend the next four or five hours in the hospital either. Setting her gun down on the step next to her, she grabbed the bottom of the sweater she was wearing and turning slightly, lifted it so he could see her side.
He knew he should have been prepared for what he saw there. He had, after all, seen the other victim’s bodies. But they had never had a chance to scar because they had not survived. The scars that tracked across her side and stomach shook him to the bone. “Jesus Christ, Mel,” he whispered his voice raw and filled with pain.
She knew what he meant, but said, “It can’t look that bad yet, Trevor. I’m sure it hasn’t even had time to bruise.”
Reaching out, he touched her side gently and at the feel of her skin under his finger tips he almost sighed. He pushed a little, looking her in the eyes. “That hurt?”
Her skin felt like it was on fire where his fingers touched. But it was a fire that made her want to groan in pleasure, not pain. “What?”
“I asked you if it hurt when I pushed on your rib.”
She saw his light blue eyes take on a darkness that she knew was desire and swallowed. “A little.” She needed him to stop touching her or she thought she might go insane. Abruptly, she lowered her sweater and backed away from him, leaving him with his hand hanging in midair. “See? I’m fine.”
He wondered if now that she had let him touch her once, she would let him do it again. He thought about testing it, about taking her face in his hands and kissing her, but saw the fear in her eyes. “Mel, I told you I won’t hurt you.” That she was afraid of him hurt him worse than any cross words she could throw at him.
Grabbing her gun, she stood up and placed it in her holster, avoiding eye contact with him. “It was him, Trevor.”
Now he stood as well. “What?”
“It was the killer.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“He left me a message on my goddamn kitchen table.”
Wanting to see it, he walked in the door she had left open and into her kitchen. He read the message and stood staring at it, his heart racing. He heard her come up next to him and looked over at her. “Now will you come and stay at the hotel?”
She shook her head. “No, Trevor.”
He blew out a breath. “And you called me impossible? This guy has just let you know what his intentions are and you want to sit out here in the woods by yourself and be a target?” He almost slammed a fist down on the table but remembered in time not to disturb anything. It was evidence. His instinct to protect her was so strong he almost could not control it. The fact that she refused to let him protect her angered him beyond anything he’d ever known before. “I won’t watch you make a target of yourself again, Mel. I won’t fucking do it. I’ll tie your ass down or throw you in a cell if I have to.”
“Are you done ranting now, Trevor?” she asked, mildly amused with his temper tantrum.
“That depends. Are you still going to stay here?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m staying here with you,” he told her, deciding it then and there.
“Fine,” she told him. She knew two things for sure. He would not back down and when Craig go
t here and found out she meant to stay here, he would say the same damn thing.
Having expected an argument out of her, his brows lifted and he clamped his teeth together on the next rant he had been about to go on.
“I’m impossible, Trevor, not stupid. Just remember to keep your hands to yourself and stay out of my way and we’ll be fine.”
Nine
Mel turned on all of the house lights and they sat out on the front porch, her on the swing and him in the rocker as they waited for Craig and Renee to show up.
“As soon as the team gets here I’ll go to the hotel and get my things.”
“Okay.”
She hadn’t been very talkative and he wondered what she was thinking about. “There was a baseball bat on the floor in there. I’m assuming that’s what he hit you with.”
“That feels about right,” she said, absently touching her side.
“I’m also assuming it wasn’t yours.”
Pushing the swing gently back and forth with one toe, she looked over at him. “I don’t play baseball and I don’t need a bat for protection. I prefer HK to Wilson.”
“Just checking. There was a baseball bat missing from Beth Montgomery’s residence. I’m betting you now have the missing bat.”
“New information?” she asked. She heard a vehicle approaching and saw the headlights.
“Yeah, I talked to Bill tonight. We knew about the missing lamp cord from the first victim’s apartment. Victim number two was missing a bicycle chain.”
Mel absorbed this new information with a grunt of disgust. “I guess I should be glad I got the bat instead of the bicycle chain.” She watched as Craig pulled his cruiser up behind Trevor’s rental and he and Renee climbed out and started toward them.
Craig looked from Trevor to her as he climbed the steps. He sat down on the swing next to her. “You okay boss?”
“I’ll be fine.” She smiled up at Renee. “Hey, hope you didn’t mind me having him grab you.”