Raven: A political thriller

by J. J. Franck

  When Don heard movement on the front porch he was brought back to the here and now. The hair on the back of his neck bristled when the noise appeared to get close and his cop instinct kicked into high gear. Don got goose bumps on his arms as he quickly knelt down off the couch, unholstering his gun in one swift motion.

  Once he got his bearings and listened for what seemed like an eternity he heard the key in the front door turn. Quickly, he tiptoed to the front hall and stood directly behind the front door. With the peephole window he couldn’t look out without alerting the person on the other side.

  Slowly the door opened, as the person entered the hall, Don snapped the door shut and had the person spread-eagled on the opposite wall. The scent of Jasmine filled his nostrils as he brushed up against her hair.

  “What the f---,” the woman yelled as Don quickly flipped her around, and as he did he caught his breath as he came face-to-face with Raven VanBuren. In that swift movement the air was sucked out of his lungs. It took him a moment to regain his composure.

  “Who in the hell are you?” Raven snapped as she struggled to free herself from Don’s grip, but he held her firmly.

  “Me first. Where have you been, and who was that in your car?” Don asked, staring into Raven’s eyes.

  Raven struggled to free herself, and when Don finally loosened his grip on her arm, she rubbed it to make the pain less noticeable. Then she turned to Don.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped.

  “Oh yes, you do. Your father must have told you by now.”

  Raven stared at Don for the longest time before speaking. “Leave him out of it.”

  “Then start leveling with me. Otherwise, the whole lot of you are going to be hauled in for obstructing justice.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “Oh yes I can!” Don snapped as he paused to catch his breath.

  Don tried focusing his eyes. He couldn’t believe she was there standing in front of him. Deep down he had wanted to believe she was alive, but the reality of the situation was always there. Slowly he reached over and touched her arm. A tingle went up his spine when he touched her warm flesh.

  “We have a dead female body in your burnt-out car that has to be explained.”

  Raven stared up at Don for longest time. She knew he was serious, and she could tell even in the darkness of the night that his anger was building. But too much had happened for her to trust just anybody. She now feared for her life, given how they came after Willie a second time. And after talking to her father earlier, Raven knew that she was also a target.

  “Are you sure she’s dead?” Raven asked.

  “Trust me, those charred remains are definitely dead,” Don snapped making the words sound callous.

  “Cathy?” Raven asked.

  “You tell me,” Don snapped. “What’s her last name?”

  “Monroe,” Raven said and then took a deep breath as she paused for a moment. Raven put her hand up to her forehead and rubbed her temple as if to massage away a headache that was taking hold. “She’s dead. I can’t believe it?”

  “I’ve seen plenty of dead bodies in my day, and this one was dead, trust me.”

  By then Don had released his hold on Raven and reholstered his gun. He leaned up against the opposite wall and stared at her as she still leaned up against the wall just staring back at him. Raven slowly started to breathe normally again and just moved forward and walked into the living room followed closely by Don. She sat down on the couch while Don reached over and tuned on a lamp, no longer concerned that one of the neighbors would report a light on in the house.

  Raven’s eye darted around the room. It was clear it was the first real glimpse she’d had of the destruction someone caused. The crime lab boys didn’t clean up anything, there were paths where they walked, but the mess was still there. Raven was clearly upset that someone had violated her personal domain. All her little treasures lay broken and discarded. It made the last week even worse than it was. All she could do was just shake her head because there was no reason for this senseless destruction of her life.

  Don didn’t know what to say or do. He was watching her closely for a hint at how deeply she was involved in all of this. He still had a murder investigation that he had to solve. Granted, the missing Senator wasn’t his case, but he knew the two were intertwined.

  Raven’s face was void of color as she digested her ruined life and what Don had said earlier. “Please turn off the light. I don’t want them to know I’m here.”

  Don stared at her and then reached over and turned the lamp off. “You’re spooked?” he asked.

  Raven nervously fidgeted with her fingers. Don sat on the couch across from her. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and stared at Raven. He just took in her beauty and couldn’t stop staring at her. Raven was even more magnificent than the portrait that hung in back of him.

  “What’s your problem?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess I really wasn’t expecting you to walk in the front door like that.”

  “It is my house.”

  “You got that right. But there’s been a lot of crap that’s gone down lately.”

  “Daddy said Willie is in the hospital.”

  Don shook his head and then quickly added, “Yeah, he survived surgery. Now we wait and see.”

  Raven covered her eyes, and even in the dark Don could tell there were tears running down her cheeks. He wasn’t sure yet of her relationship with the Senator. In his life, just because Raven was a friend of Senator Maxfield’s wife didn’t make the husband off-limits. Don just didn’t know what to make of Raven, and he didn’t want to get sucked into a false sense of security thinking she was this sweet, innocent girl caught up in something beyond her control. But the fact that when they were at Diamond Lake they used separate bedrooms was definitely something in Raven’s favor. He was glad now that he and Fred went out there because it seemed to put credence on the Senator and Raven being friends, along with their professional life being above board.

  Raven glanced up at Don with a look of concern as she wiped away the tears. “When Willie didn’t come out of the men’s room, I sent a young teenager in to check on him,” she said as she choked up. “When I heard the scream, I ran back to the car.”

  “You didn’t see anybody?” Don asked.

  Raven shook her head. “No,” was all she could muster up to say.

  “Why did he disappear?”

  “Willie convinced me his life was in danger. He said the only way to keep Ellen and the kids safe was for him to disappear until he figured it all out,” Raven said as she took a deep breath and looked at Don to see his reaction to what she said so far. Then she continued, “Last weekend they caught up to him.”

  “That explains the blood,” Don said, raising his eyebrows while shaking his head.

  “You know about that?”

  “We found the bloody towels in the laundry chute in the basement.”

  Raven just put her hands to her head. “It’s all getting out of control,” she snapped.

  “Did he ever figure it out?” Don asked.

  “He was close. He needed to go over the information in his briefcase yet.”

  “I have it now,” Don said.

  “You?” she asked, somewhat surprised as she looked up at him. “But how?”

  “I talked to his wife this afternoon. It seemed odd that her husband wanted to meet her for lunch, but then blew her off and sent her home with the briefcase. My guess is, his only reason for her meeting him was to give her the briefcase.”

  “Yes,” Raven said and then rubbed her temple.

  “Are you okay?” Don asked.

  “Yeah, I was just thinking it was a good thing he gave it to Ellen because when the attack came that was what they were after.”

  “Didn’t he need it?”

  “Willie was working on other aspects of the investigation. He knew all along what was on the flash drive.
He only needed it for evidence.

  “When we got word that people thought I was killed last night, he felt it was time to surface.”

  Raven looked over at Don. “Do you think he will be okay? Ellen will be devastated if she loses him.”

  Don shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Raven just shook her head as tears flowed again. “I just panicked.”

  Don glanced up at the portrait. He realized then that it didn’t do the real person justice. There was a warmth to Raven’s eyes that wasn’t captured in the image on the mantel. And given the way she talked about Mrs. Maxfield and the Senator, it was more out of concern for her friend not a lover.

  “Getting back to your car, why did your friend Cathy have it?” Don asked.

  “Willie wanted me to drive up to Diamond Lake. There was a strange noise in the engine. I didn’t really think it was anything serious, but I didn’t want to drive it. I already had an appointment, and I didn’t want to miss it. So Cathy volunteered to switch cars with me, and she kept the appointment for me.”

  “That explains the telephone message.”

  Raven did a double take and stared at Don for the longest time before speaking. “You listened to my messages?”

  “You were supposed to be dead. I’m investigating your murder,” he said and then smiled. “Tad called from the Hilton. He’s in town for the weekend.”

  Raven just shook her head in anger. Her eyes narrowed, her jaw muscles tensed. “Really,” she said with sarcasm in her voice.

  “Why you mad at me?” Don asked.

  “You had no right!”

  “There was a voice on the tape I want you to listen to.”

  Raven glanced at him and snapped. “What did they want?”

  “For you to leave someone alone.”

  Raven looked genuinely surprised by what he just said, and then he continued.

  “It was your answering machine,” he said in his defense.

  “What did they say?” Raven asked, puzzled why anyone would leave that kind of message.

  “I don’t have the tape here,” Don said, looking sheepish now. “Something about leaving him alone. The last message was “I warned you.”

  Raven shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what that’s all about.”

  “Maybe one of your friends is married.” Don added.

  Raven laughed with a mocking tone in her voice. “My social calendar has been barren lately. It must be a mistake.”

  Don just raised his eyebrow. “There were two messages from the same woman. She left you a note in your mail also,” he said and could tell Raven was clearly puzzled by this revelation. He quickly continued, “She also called your employer. Does that sound like a mistake?” he asked.

  Raven’s eyes narrowed while staring at Don. “You talked to Mrs. Winslow?”

  Don just smiled.

  “Don’t look so smug,” Raven snapped. “I thought I cleared that up with her before I left on Monday. It had to be a prank. I’m not seeing anyone.” Raven shrugged her shoulders and seemed somewhat indifferent about the whole thing.

  “I think she accepted your answer.”

  Don got up and walked over to the mantel. He glanced up and stared up at the portrait for the longest time.

  “What’s with you anyway?” she asked.

  “I find it hard to believe,” he said and then stopped and stared at Raven for the longest time.

  “About what?” she asked.

  “Your social calendar!”

  “Working with Willie hasn’t been easy. He keeps me busy with not much time for a social life,” Raven said, staring at Don.

  It puzzled her that Don should even care about her social life, or lack thereof. She shrugged and then continued, “I’m not complaining. I love the work, but times like this when I’m alone at home I miss the companionship that a more active social life would give.

  “I know what you mean,” Don said and then smiled.

  “No, you don’t,” Raven said. There was a softness to her voice that wasn’t there before.

  Don turned to look at her. “What am I, chopped liver?”

  “You’re a cop on a case. And I happen to be your case. I’d hardly think you’d be here otherwise.”

  “Would I have a shot?” Don whispered.

  Raven was startled by the remark. It was the noise outside that caused both to turn and stare and each other. Don motioned for Raven to get down while he quickly walked over to the window and looked out. Don noticed movement near the bushes outside. He motioned to Raven.

  “Where’s your car?” he whispered.

  “Down the block,” she said.

  “Good girl.”

  Don raised his finger indicating Raven to stay put while he slowly moved to the door. He stood there and waited. The door knob slowly turned. When the door swung open, Don grabbed the arm and pulled the intruder in. Don had him up against the far wall, spread eagled, and the gun pointed up at the base of the man’s neck. It was then Don realized it was Fred whom he had pinned.

  “Christ, what’s with you? You could have gotten yourself killed with that move,” Don snapped.

  It took a long time for Don to relax his hand and holster his gun.

  “I knew you’d be here,” Fred snapped.

  The gunfire rang in Don’s ear. He quickly glanced around and then felt Fred go limp and collapse to the floor. Don turned and looked out the door. It was dark out there and nothing could be seen.

  Don yelled into the living room. “Call 911, I’ll be back.”

  Don ran to his squad and backed out of the driveway. He turned off the engine and listened. When he heard an engine start up in the distance, he quickly pulled out of the dead-end street but once he got there, he saw nothing. Don turned around and got out of the car, then ran back into the house.

  Raven was bending over Fred with her hand pressed tightly on the wound to stop the bleeding. The blood was pumping steadily through her fingers, though.

  In the distance all that could be heard was a dog barking. The neighbors’ lights were coming on to see what all the commotions was all about. Don hurried over to Raven and Fred and took over, putting his hands on the wound. Fred’s breathing became shallow. By then Raven was somewhat in shock.

  Don was relieved when he heard the sirens, as they were getting closer. He knew Fred’s wound was serious and he had lost a lot of blood in that short time. What bothered him was that they were outside and how lucky Raven was because it could have been her if they would have been a half-hour earlier.

  Once the ambulance arrived Don and Raven were shoved aside. Don had to answer questions. He was trying to be as helpful as he could without revealing details of his own investigation. He knew the Chief was not going to be happy with him, but there was nothing more he could do.

  Don sat on the steps of the front porch with Raven at his side. He watched as Fred was wheeled away on a stretcher and slowly hoisted into the waiting ambulance. Time was of the essence and doors were quickly shut. They watched as the sirens came on and the unit disappeared, followed by a squad. When an officer goes down every police officer on duty at the time takes a special interest in the case.

  Don just shook his head and then turned to Raven. “I got to get you out of here,” he said, looking concerned.

  “I’ll be safe at my parents’,” Raven replied.

  Don laughed. “You thought this was a safe haven here, and look how that turned out.”

  “It couldn’t have been me they were after. He’s a cop. Someone must have followed him here,” Raven snapped and then looked at Don. “This is expected in your line of work.”

  Don just shook his head in disbelief. “You’ve been watching too may cop shows. We live quiet, mundane lives. People don’t go around trying to kill us for no reason,” Don said and then paused at he stared at Raven for the longest time. “Trust me, they were after you.”

  Raven glanced around the room. Even in the dark of night, she could still see t
he remains of her life on her floor. She knew nothing, and was angry with Willie now for keeping her in the dark. Because she wanted this all to stop, she wanted the people who did this to pay for all the turmoil they’d caused. Raven just looked up at Don and shook her head.

  “But I know nothing.”

  “They don’t know that. You spent five days with Senator Maxfield working on God only knows what, they figure you have to know something?”

  “Willie wouldn’t tell me. He said the less I knew, the better off I was.”

  “Well someone thinks you know more than you should,” Don said and ran his fingers through his hair. “I am not leaving you here.”

  “You can’t make me.”

  “Unless you come with me, I’ll put you in jail in protective custody.”

  Raven was about to object, but Don looked sternly at her and pointed an accusing finger.

  “You heard me!” he snapped.

  Don’s pager went off suddenly, interrupting their argument. He pulled it out and then stared at the number.

  “You going to answer it?” she asked.

  “I don’t have to, that’s where we are going.”

  Don took Raven by the arm. He let her back into the house for a few minutes. While she turned off the lights in the living room, Don stared down at the blood in the foyer. It bothered him that Fred took a bullet. In his mind, he was trying to relive that moment. He was positive Raven was in the line of fire and feared the bullet Fred took was meant for Raven. He didn’t want to tell her what he thought. She was having a hard enough time dealing with what was happening around her.

  Chapter 15

  Don slept in that Saturday. After two nights of little or no sleep, he finally felt refreshed. Slowly, he walked into the bathroom wearing only his pajama bottoms, stretching as he made his way. He splashed cold water on his face to take away the sleepy eyes that stared back at him. He almost felt half human again as he stared at the image before him. He brushed his teeth as last night started to seep into his memory. It was the sound of laughter downstairs that caused everything to finally set in. He spit the toothpaste out, cupped his hands under the faucet and took a sip, and then spit that out. Don wiped his mouth off quickly and then made his way down the stairs.