by D. K. Hood
“It’s real.” Annie hugged him. “I’m real and I’m not going anywhere. It’s no dream. It’s happening on Monday at my parents’ house at two.”
Laughing, Dave hugged her. “We haven’t even decided where to live. My place is bigger.”
“Fine by me. I’d live in a lean-to with you. Just promise me one thing?” Annie gave him a determined stare. “Not even POTUS can stand in our way. I mean, how long can it take? The world can wait for an hour. It’s about time you came first for a change.”
Dave touched her flushed cheek. “I promise and I never break my word—not ever.”
Reluctantly, he slid from behind the wheel. Each second with her was a gift. He hated leaving her and had requested two days compassionate leave so they could at least have a short honeymoon. Terabyte had worked his usual magic and pulled in a few favors, and now he didn’t have to report until the following Friday. Annie too had found a legal temp to replace her for the week, so everything was set. There could be no turning back now.
Dave took her hand and they trudged through the thick snow to the front of the house. Lights were ablaze inside and as they climbed the front steps the door hanging open stopped him in his tracks. Someone had broken the lock. Leaves and melted snow covered the polished wooden floor. His stomach tightened. “Get behind me.” He pulled his weapon and they eased inside the door. After listening to the clock ticking for some moments, Dave moved down the hallway. He raised his voice. “Josie, where are you? It’s Junior. Josie, call out. Where are you?”
Nothing.
The old clock ticked and then with a whirring sound it chimed the hour. The eleven gongs echoed through the silent house. Dave pulled his backup pistol from his ankle holster and handed it to Annie. He backed her into the mudroom. “Someone’s broken into the house. I’m going to clear this floor. Stay here, keep your back to the wall, and watch the stairs. If you see any movement, call out. If anyone comes at you, shoot them. Don’t hesitate.”
“Go, I’ll be fine.” Annie chambered a bullet and gave him a determined nod.
After dropping into his calm, fully alert mode, Dave cleared the ground floor. He eased into the kitchen and stared at the obvious sign of a struggle. It was cold inside, the back door wide open. Pots, pans, and knives littered the floor alongside a mobile phone in pieces, and blood spatter covered one wall, but not enough to suggest a kill. Where are you, Josie? He switched on his power pack and touched his com. “Terabyte, do you copy?”
“Copy.”
Swallowing the dread crawling up his spine, Dave used his professional calm to evaluate the situation. “I’m at my grandparents’ house.” He explained the situation. “I’m going to clear the upper floor. Get the local boys out as backup.”
“I’m on it.”
Dave hurried back and nodded to Annie. “Stay there. I’ll check upstairs.”
“Have you found her?” Annie’s weapon remained steady, her eyes darting back and forth.
Taking the steps two at a time, he reached the landing and paused. “Not yet.”
Easing along the wall, he opened each door and checked inside. The room Josie had been using had an open suitcase on a chair. She hadn’t unpacked. He hustled back down the stairs and went to Annie. “There are signs of a fight in the kitchen and the back door is open. The cops are on the way, but I’ll need to go around the outside of the house. There’s blood in the kitchen. It looks like someone was hurt and maybe ran out the door.”
“Oh, my God!” Annie gripped his arm. “Do you think…”
Dread dropped over Dave like a shroud. His gut knotted. He’d trained his sister to defend herself and she was good. Whoever had broken in wouldn’t have expected someone to fight back. The lights burning all through the house would suggest someone broke in Thursday or maybe Friday night. If Josie was okay, she’d have returned to the house by now. He gathered his thoughts. If something bad had happened, he’d need his professional calm to deal with it because, as sure as hell, without it he’d go ballistic.
He took Annie’s hand and led her outside. “It doesn’t look good. Stay close and walk in my footprints. Don’t remove your gloves. Keep looking around. We’ll be exposed outside for anyone hiding in the woods or barn. Josie must be here somewhere. It looks like she put up one hell of a fight and could be hiding in the barn.” He led the way around the outside of the house. “Her phone is smashed, so she couldn’t call for help.”
“What was that?” Annie pressed closer.
Dave froze on the spot. A slow moaning sound followed by a thud came from close by. “Get behind me, close to the wall.”
Scanning the building, searching back and forth, he stiffened when the sound came again. Grind. Scrape, Thunk.
“Where is it coming from?” Annie looked at him wide-eyed, her teeth chattering from the cold.
Dave dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “The house. Move slowly. Try not to make a sound.”
They edged along the wall.
Grind. Scrape. Thunk.
He peeked around the corner and looked up. A window shutter was blowing in the wind, slowly opening before banging shut again. He looked at her. “It’s just a shutter. Come on, we’ll check the barn.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the cops?” Annie tugged at his hand. “What if someone is still here?” She looked up at him and shook her head. “Okay, I know. One or ten, you’ll deal with them, but you’re not wearing Kevlar right now, so be careful, okay?”
Dave squeezed her hand. “Careful is my middle name.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Scanning all around the house with every step through the deep snow, Dave moved slowly, keeping close to the outside of the house. The old barn would be the best place for Josie to hide. The root cellar had stored many things, including his grandfather’s homemade wine collection and his grandmother’s preserves. He remembered the smell of the sacks of potatoes on pallets against the wall and the skins falling down from the big brown onions hanging in strings from the rafters. As the building came into view, memories of visiting on holiday weekends filtered into his mind. It was usually his job to go down into the cellar to retrieve any items his grandparents needed. Usually, a bottle of wine for dinner, or a quantity of potatoes. The place gave him the creeps. Even on a sunny day, the old barn creaked and moaned with the slightest puff of wind, and going into the root cellar and down the steps in the dark was an absolute nightmare.
Although he’d never admitted it to his parents, just walking into the barn set his nerves on edge, as if his early gut feeling was issuing a warning to run for the hills. At eight years old, he had to jump to reach the cord attached to the light at the bottom of the steps, which meant walking into pitch black. The normal number of critters lived down there and scattered away from the light. Cobwebs seemed to grow like ivy and hung down all over. It never ceased to amaze him how, even as he’d grown, the idea of walking into that particular cellar spooked him. Now for once he had a reason.
After looking all around, they dashed across the space between the house and barn, stopping at the entrance with their backs against the wall. Dave turkey-peeked inside and the hairs on the back of his neck rose at the sight of the open cellar door hatch. It was always closed unless someone was down there. Although, it could be bolted on the inside. A precaution, he figured if used as a storm shelter. If Josie had hidden there, she would have slid the bolt across to protect herself. He scanned the loft and bent down to peer under the old tractor, but apart from the wind and snow blowing inside, there was no movement.
“How long will it take for the cops to arrive?” Annie squeezed his fingers.
Dave led her inside the barn. “Maybe half an hour, maybe more. The station is miles away and, with the snow and all, it will take some time.” He stared at the open cellar hatch and back to Annie. “Get behind the tractor and keep watch. I’ll go into the cellar.” Unable to contemplate what he might find down there, he stared into her eyes. “I’ll need you to watch
my back.”
“Okay.” Annie moved into position. “Go, I’ll be fine.”
Dave pulled out his phone and accessed the flashlight. He moved toward the cellar, noting the small spatter of blood droplets on the cement floor. As he reached the hatch, he could plainly see someone had forced it open. A crowbar lay discarded close by. He shone the light down the steps and into the gaping black maw. All his old childhood fears ran at him like ghouls in the night determined to swallow him up with dread. He squared his shoulders. He’d faced death so many times, been confronted by impossible situations, and killed on command without fear clouding his judgement. He drew in a few deep breaths, watching the stream of steam from his mouth on the exhale, and dropped into the zone. His pounding heart slowed and everything came into sharp focus. This was his safe place, nothing bothered him, no emotions disturbed his thoughts. His control and resolve were unbreakable.
He pressed his com and started the video recorder on his phone. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he explained the situation to Terabyte and then started down the steps, avoiding the drips of blood. In one hand he held his Glock, in the other his phone. The string for the light came into view. It hung dirty and limp, covered in cobwebs. He tugged it and a dusty old light bulb flickered and went out. As he ducked under a low beam at the entrance, the stench of death slammed into him. Moving the light with slow deliberation he searched the floor and the light reflected in a large pool of blood. He gritted his teeth and moved closer as the legs of a body came into view. It was Josie, he recognized her snakeskin boots and froze midstride. His light moved over the spill of blonde hair, matted with crimson. There was so much blood. Her beautiful eyes had fixed in a death stare. Her face so pale and lips blue she was hardly recognizable as the vibrant woman he knew and loved. His defenses slid away and with his emotions naked, grief made him stagger. He slumped against the wall, unable to rationalize what had happened.
Minutes ticked by. The chilled air brushed his cheek, cooling the hot tears that he’d shed without noticing. A remoteness engulfed him in an out-of-body experience. As if he were seeing everything through a stranger’s eyes. He couldn’t be here, witnessing his sister’s murder scene. Fate couldn’t do that to him, could it? He reached for the zone again. Being out of control wasn’t an option. He gave himself a mental shake and held the phone steady, recording the scene as if Josie were a stranger. After holstering his weapon, he touched his com. “Terabyte, do you copy?”
“Copy.”
Dave straightened. He had to push his emotions to one side and, as first on scene, had to make a coherent detailed report. “I’ve found her. She’s dead. Her throat’s cut, multiple stab wounds. There are footprints all over and one of the kitchen knives from the house is on scene. I’ll send you the video file now.” He sent the file.
“Get out of there now. That’s an order. I’ll contact the cops again and tell them what’s happened. Where’s Annie? She’s your priority now. The killer could still be on scene.”
Dave moved the phone all around shedding light in every corner. “There’s no one here and she’s armed. I’m collecting evidence. This is a homicide.”
“Snap out of it and do as I say. You’re walking out of there right now.” Terabyte raised his voice. “You can’t be involved in the investigation. Turn around, go back, and protect Annie. Do it now.”
“On my way.” Dave stepped around the blood. He crouched down beside Josie and allowed his feelings to come back in a landslide of grief. He touched her ice-cold skin and closed her eyes. “I’ll find out who did this to you, Sis, and make them pay.” He stood and, with care not to contaminate the scene, walked out of the cellar forever.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Washington, DC
Six months later
Annie sat at her desk in the reception area of the magistrate’s office. It had been a quiet afternoon. Her boss was in court and she had time to reflect. The last six months had been an emotional roller coaster, to say the least. Although Dave was an expert at hiding his feelings, he’d been working through a range of emotions since his sister’s murder. Of course, he blamed himself, even though the medical examiner had insisted she’d died on the Thursday night before the dean had contacted him. A neighbor had identified her killer as a man who’d called by earlier to collect wood from the old tree, only to return later to attack her. The murder had nothing to do with Dave’s work. The serial killer had been murdering women all over the state. Josie had fought hard to protect herself and stabbed her attacker before running for the barn. The investigation hadn’t taken very long at all. With friends in high places handling the case, it wasn’t long before DNA and fingerprint databanks gave up the identity of her killer. Within a few days of her murder, the man was arrested and currently sat in jail awaiting his trial.
Annie glanced at the photograph of her wedding day and smiled. Dave insisted on wearing his sunglasses and a hat for the picture she’d wanted to display on her desk and they’d produced all the others on her father’s office printer. Although grief stricken, Dave had insisted on the wedding going ahead as planned. They’d spent an entire week secluded in his apartment trying to block out the world before returning to work as Mr. and Mrs. Parkes. She had to smother a laugh when her magistrate boss had asked her straight out if Dave and her were related. She hadn’t explained. She couldn’t and just told him she’d been as amazed as him when she’d discovered her husband’s last name.
The last couple of weeks Dave had been busy. There’d been two terrorist bombings in DC, resulting in the deaths of government employees, and it was all hands on deck trying to discover who was responsible. After working long hours, Dave arrived home exhausted but always had a smile for her. He’d proved to be a very caring and attentive husband. At work, flowers would arrive out of the blue, with little messages that made her smile. She’d never felt so loved. He was her everything.
The annoying sniff of the man who’d refused to leave the previous three days in a row brought her out of her daydream. As he walked toward her desk, she moved her chair backward. She’d spoken to Dave at length about him and had taken his advice to be distant and professional. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, you can help me.” The man placed his knuckles on her desk and glared at her. “I want an appointment to see the magistrate.”
Annie drew a deep breath. “As I told you before, you’ll need to speak to your lawyer. The magistrate deals with cases in court not in his office. He can’t assist you with your case.”
“Look, lady, I only want to ask him one simple question. One.” He straightened and rocked back on his heels. “Can you at least ask him?”
Annie glanced at the clock. It was a little after three. “He should be back by five. When he gets out of court, I’ll go and ask him personally and see if he can spare you a minute, but I know what his answer will be. He won’t see you.”
“I’ll wait.” The man sat down, folded his arms, and stared at her.
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Dave, telling him the creepy guy was back. Seconds later, her phone buzzed and she sighed with relief at seeing his name on the caller ID. “Hey.”
“Hey, you. I’ll swing by just after five and give you a ride home. You can leave your SUV at work. I’ll drop you at work in the morning. Problem solved. Creepy Guy won’t hang around long once I arrive and politely ask him to leave.”
Annie giggled. “Thanks, I’ll see you soon.” She disconnected and went back to work ignoring the man.
The annoying man had left by three-thirty and, relieved, Annie had worked on her files, various appointments, and other things scheduled for the magistrate. It had been close to five when Creepy Guy showed up again, carrying a backpack and a to-go cup of coffee. When he sat down and smiled at her, her stomach gave a sudden twist of alarm. Why was he being so nice?
The magistrate entered his chambers via a back door. He never came through the front offi
ce. When her phone buzzed, she picked up and listened. She glanced at Creepy Guy. She would ask her boss to see him but she already knew his answer. “I’ll be right in.”
She went inside and listened to the magistrate’s instructions. It took some time to take down notes for the files he’d require for the next day. When he’d finished, she explained about the creepy man. “He won’t give up. I tell him it’s nothing to do with you but he won’t listen to reason. This is the fourth day in a row I’ve refused to allow him to see you.”
“I’m not seeing him. It would compromise my position. Send him on his way. If he shows up tomorrow, call security and have him removed.” The magistrate smiled at her. “This sort of thing happens all the time. You’ll get used to it. I’m heading home now and suggest you do the same.”
Annie nodded and returned to her office, surprised to find it empty. She tidied her desk and looked up as Dave walked in the door, with a face like granite. She grinned at him and picked up her purse. “It looks like Mr. Creepy has left the building.”
“That’s good.” Dave swept her into his arms and kissed her soundly. “How are you feeling?”
Annie grinned at him. “Wonderful but I have a hankering for Black Forest cake.”
“Then we’ll go home and change and I’ll take you to dinner. I’m yours for the entire evening.” Dave hugged her close. “Come on, my truck is waiting right out front.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The sun was dropping low in the sky as they left the building but it had been a beautiful day. It had been good to be outside for a time, although visiting the aftermath of a terrorist bombing had been harrowing. The powers that be had scrambled everyone, and hunting down who was targeting high-ranking government employees was a priority. The problem was, the usual terrorist organizations hadn’t claimed responsibility, which had left everyone scratching their heads. With all the agencies working on the case, they’d still come up with zip. He’d been reassigned back to the White House, and some hotshot ex-navy Seal FBI bomb expert was taking the lead in the case.