by Mark Tufo
Ben shook his head and ran his finger across his neck.
Jon looked at Ben. “You didn’t tell her?”
“No.”
Eckerson sighed, his face flushing. “Ms. Mattox, I apologize…”
“This is about all of the recent killings, isn’t it?” she whispered, her throat suddenly dry.
“Yes, ma’am, it is,” Jon said, taking his seat again. “We thought that Constable Gregory had explained to you that we thought the recent killings might be tied to the people listed in your book.”
She shook her head and took a deep breath. “No, he didn’t. He simply asked if I had the research material and that the information might be of assistance to a case, but I never dreamed…” She glanced at Ben who was averting his gaze, his face painted with sorrow. “I suppose I should have asked if I really wanted to know.” She suddenly brightened. “I was just so happy that somebody had finally taken an interest in my work.” She suddenly stood. “But since it sounds like this might be a longer evening than any of us planned, let me put on a pot of coffee.” She stepped from behind the table and went into the kitchen.
Eckerson sighed again and looked to Ben. “I’m sorry. I just assumed…”
“No. It’s okay. I probably should have told her, but she’s just so sweet that I didn’t have the heart,” he said quietly, trying to keep her from hearing.
“She seems to be taking it well enough,” Jon said.
Eckerson glanced to the kitchen. The older lady reminded him a lot of his own mother back when she was still kicking. He stood up and stretched. “I’m going to speak with her. At least apologize or something. Maybe if she understands just how desperate the situation really is?”
“Okay, I’m going to finish compiling all of this together so we can start on a final report,” Jon said.
“Who for?” Ben asked. “It sounds like nobody wants to go to Scott with it.”
“Maybe not, but we need to let Justin know what we find. He’s still the undersheriff,” Jon stated.
“And how do you think he’s going to react to y’all coming in with this report showing a tie to the vics and a conclusion pointing to a ghost perp?” Ben asked with a smirk.
Jon leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on top of his head. “Honestly? I think he’ll be thrilled. I think Justin has been leaning toward this whole ghost-killer idea since he read the first reports and saw that there wasn’t any real physical evidence. This will just be throwing gas on the fire.”
Ben shot him a confused look. “But I thought Justin was the no-nonsense type?”
“Yeah. Me too.” Foo leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I may not know Eckerson and Zimmer all that well, but from what I’m hearing, it’s like these two have completely reversed rolls on this one.”
“Hmm.” Ben sat back and glanced at the kitchen door. “Imagine that.”
“If we bring something like this to him, it will make his day.”
“Unless that Ranger from DPS has him convinced otherwise now,” Gregory said with a wink. “She looked like she could be pretty convincing.”
Foo grunted. “A pretty smile and a nice rack only gets you so far. Especially once he’s convinced of something.”
Eckerson stepped back out of the kitchen, following Jana. “Coffee will be ready in a moment.” She appeared much more chipper than when she left.
“Thank you Ms. Mattox,” Jon said. She moved to stand behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, patting him. “We really appreciate your hospitality.”
“My pleasure boys. So, if what Deputy Eckerson is telling me is correct, you all are thinking that this killer that you are looking for may actually be a vengeful ghost?”
Ben looked to the other two and shrugged. “I suppose. I’m not really sure what a ‘vengeful’ ghost is.”
Jana smiled and went to her bookshelf. “I have some books here that may assist you boys further. It’s not exactly what you’d call ‘light reading’, but it covers the subject very thoroughly.” She pulled a couple of old, large, hardcover books from her shelf and carried them to the table. “These are from a long time ago when my reading tastes were much…darker,” she said with a wry grin.
“You said ‘vengeful’?” Jon reached for one of the texts. “There’s a difference?”
“Oh, yes. A very large difference. There are numerous legends, and lore from just about every civilization dating back to the dawn of time.” She thumbed through the pages trying to find what she was looking for. “Everything from poltergeists to casual hauntings to shadow people to…well…” she chuckled, “stories of possession. Even the Catholic church and Church of England have records of ghosts possessing people.” She flipped the book around and tapped the page. “But the legends of vengeful ghosts are probably the worst.”
Jeff pulled the book to him and skimmed through the paragraphs. “This says that they are fueled by rage.” Jana nodded, crossing her arms. “And the worst of it is that they can manifest in the physical world and enact their vengeance.”
“Actually, that isn’t the worst of it,” Jana corrected. “If you keep reading, you’ll find that the MORE that they manifest and the more that they enact their revenge, the more violent they become,” she said quietly. “They reach a point where they lose sight of their targets and start attacking others who aren’t their primary focus.”
“Wait…what are you saying?” Foo asked, standing up and moving to where he could read over Jeff’s shoulder.
“What she’s saying is,” Jeff pushed the book to the side so that he could read it better, “our ghost has a specific hit list, but the longer that we let it run around unchecked, the crazier it’s going to get, and eventually, it’s going to start attacking people who aren’t on that list.” He turned to stare at Jana. “Right?”
She inhaled deeply before returning his gaze. “Yes, Deputy Eckerson, you are correct.”
*****
Jerrod Miller sat down hard behind the desk in his study. “I can’t believe I’ve been such a fool,” he whispered to himself.
“How’s that?” Constable Anthony asked, popping a peppermint into his mouth.
“These two idiots,” Miller exclaimed, holding the photographs out to Anthony, “they did a couple of odd jobs for me and now…”
“Now they’re casing your place,” Chris said over his shoulder, picking up a western style desk statue on a corner table and checking the weight before putting it back.
“What do I do? I can’t very well go to the cops with this.”
“Why not?”
He sighed heavily as he slapped the photographs back on to his desk. “The work they did wasn’t exactly on this side of legal.”
“I’m not surprised.” He pulled a toothpick from behind his ear and stuck it between his teeth. “I can tell you that they’re no longer partners.”
Miller gave him a questioning look. “So? What good does that do me?”
Anthony raised a brow. “It’s no secret that these two are pretty tight,” he said flatly. “If something were to happen to the weaker one, who do you think they’d turn to as the primary suspect?”
“And who do you think he’d roll over on the second he was picked up?” Miller asked as if Chris had lost his ever-loving mind.
Anthony shook his head. “You’re not thinking about this like a loser, are you, Mr. Miller?” He flopped into the leather chair across from his desk. “A drug abusive loser gets picked up for felony murder and the last thing he’s worried about is rolling over on some little odd job he did for the likes of you.” Chris shot him a sideways look then smiled. “Unless he happens to know where some bodies are buried?”
“What?!” Miller exclaimed. “Hell no!”
“Then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about,” Chris said as he scraped at his nails. “Especially if you step in and offer to assist in his legal bills.” He raised his brows again.
“Why the hell would I do something like that?” Miller asked,
obviously confused.
“The guy is a turd. Plain and simple. But if he is beholden to you, then he’s a turd who will do whatever you need done. People in your position always need some dirty work done, don’t you?”
Miller thought about what Anthony was saying and swayed side to side while he rolled the idea around. Finally he nodded. “Fine. Make it happen.”
Anthony nodded. The only thing he liked better than killing was killing and making it look like another person did it. “Give me a day or so to track the butt-dumpling down. Once I do, this asshat here in the picture will be afraid to drop the soap for a very long time.”
“Just make sure it can’t come back on me,” Miller said.
Chris snarled his lip at the older man. “I’m a professional.”
Miller stammered a moment, “Of course you are…I meant, I mean, I know you are. I just—”
“I’ll take care of it.” Anthony stood up and headed for the door. “You just be ready to swoop in and save the day for the trailer trash.”
“Yes, of course.” Jerrod stepped out from his desk.
“I can show myself the way out.”
“Just let me know when he’s been arrested. I want to be there as soon as I can. Before he has a chance to talk to the cops.”
19
Quinn returned many hours later, allowing herself to vent completely and giving her eyes enough time to hide the fact that she had been crying. She entered the RV carrying lattes and did her best to act as though nothing was wrong.
Although Calvin and Ginger had spent the afternoon and early evening going over the data she had collected, he had been obviously distracted and had to fight to keep from asking Ginger what exactly he should do when Quinn returned. He found himself thinking of her every time there was a break and when he should be concentrating on the task at hand, his mind wandered to her. He could see the look on her face as she suddenly stood up and exited the RV and it made his guts tighten. He couldn’t explain why it was tearing him up inside, but it was.
Calvin had sworn years ago that he would NOT be like so many other UCLA professors. Caught up in scandals, sleeping with a TA or an assistant professor or secretary or…worse, a student. He worked so hard to keep his professional life professional. He had done some serious soul searching and had to be honest with himself. She was much more than an assistant. She was more than a remarkable mind. She was more than a beautiful woman. She was more than one of his best friends. No, if Calvin was going to be honest with himself, he was going to have to come clean and simply admit it.
He was in love with Quinn.
At first, the words seemed foreign to him. But once he admitted it to himself, a stupid smile crossed his face and he felt like a kid again. He knew Ginger knew it. She had made more than a handful of remarks over the past few weeks about the two of them.
So it was official. Calvin was a male. A typical male. He had to be hit across the head with a two-by-four to be made to see what was right in front of him.
He was still wrestling with his feelings when the door to the RV opened and Quinn stepped up into the interior carrying the coffees. “Caramel lattes, anyone?” She tried a little too hard to sound normal.
Calvin stood up and walked the few short steps over to her, grabbing the coffees from her and setting them aside. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her before he lost his nerve. Quinn’s eyes shot wide in shock as Calvin pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Slowly she closed her eyes and kissed him back, raising her arms to return his embrace.
When he finally pulled back he stared deeply into her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she answered breathlessly, returning his gaze.
“For being stupid. For not realizing what you mean to me.” He gestured widely. “For not saying the right things at the right time. For wasting all this time when I could have spent it loving you.”
Quinn’s bottom lip quivered slightly as she stared intently at him. “What did you just say?”
Calvin paused, searching his mind wildly. “Um…I’m not sure. I just said a lot of things that came to me really quickly and I’m not sure I even remember it all. I just said what felt…right.”
“You said ‘love’,” she reminded him.
Calvin smiled at her. “I said I wasted all this time when I could have been spending it loving you,” he answered softly, pulling her to him gently. “That is, if you’ll let me.”
Quinn felt her eyes watering and she really didn’t want him to see her cry. She laid her head against his chest and she felt her body betray her as the sobs came.
“Quinn? Are you okay? Did I say something wrong again?”
She nodded, then shook her head. “I’m fine,” she croaked. “I’m just a bit emotional right now.”
“You did good, boss.” Ginger slipped past the embraced pair. “I’m just going to step out and find an all-night diner. Maybe drink a pot of coffee and eat a chocolate cream pie or something. You need to cover this young lady in gentle kisses and show her that you mean every word you just said.” She winked at him.
Calvin’s own eyes widened and Ginger shot him a wide smile as she pulled the door to the RV shut. She suddenly opened it again and grabbed one of the caramel lattes that Quinn had brought. “No sense letting this go to waste. Well, maybe my waist, but I’ll walk it off. No worries, eh. If the RV’s rockin’, I’ll keep on walkin’.”
Quinn snorted a laugh against Calvin’s chest as Ginger shut the door. Calvin looked down at her tear streaked face. “Can you imagine her crassness? An emotional time like this and she thinks we’re going to go at it like a couple of teenagers.”
Quinn patted his chest lightly with her hand. “I know. We’ve got a LOT more catching up to do than any teenagers could ever hope to compete with.”
*****
Chris Anthony located the shack that Casper Wineguard called home. It was little more than a storage shed in the middle of the woods with a wood stove and a bed. Chris took up a prime location to perform his surveillance from and settled in to wait for his subject to return. He waited and watched to ensure that nobody was home then worked his way through the woods to set up motion sensors. He placed them in prime locations to be able to detect approach from the primary approach areas. He set the sensors to send a text to his phone then went back to his nest.
He settled in and waited. As soon as Casper returned from wherever he was, Anthony would take care of the little man and make sure that whoever discovered the body would think that Roger Culley was the guilty party. He pulled the rucksack full of empty beer cans that he had retrieved from Miller’s property with Roger’s fingerprints on them. He had gathered all of the trash that the two had left and, using gloves and a plastic rod, he had placed it all into a sack and carted it out here to be carefully planted after the deed was done.
He had a knife that he had taken from Roger’s property that he felt certain would have his fingerprints on it. He had carefully pulled it from a tree behind his property, certain that the man had used it to practice throwing. He had also picked up a scattering of cigarette butts and other trash that he would plant around the property to make it look as though the two had spent quite a bit of time at the ramshackle shack.
He need only wait for Casper to return before he planted the evidence. He didn’t want Casper to return and see anything out of place first…squirrels tend to run if any nuts are out of place.
He settled in and got comfortable. It could be a long wait.
*****
Justin shut the door to his cruiser and yawned. Sheryn glanced at him, “Tired?”
“Been effectively pulling doubles since this guy started.” He rubbed at one eye. “I usually work nights, but working the scenes during the day and escorting you around town, then trying to cover my shifts at night? Doesn’t leave a lot of time to sleep.”
“Oh, shoot. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were a night shift officer.”
“That’s okay.
The way things have been going, I don’t think we’re really following protocols anymore.”
Sheryn stared at him for a moment. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head slightly and took a sip of the lukewarm coffee. “Nothing nefarious, I assure you.” He gave her a slight grin. “It’s just, usually, when DPS shows up, they take over. You aren’t. And usually, I only work nights, but now, I’m pretty much going around the clock. And usually I’m working with Eckerson but now I’m working with you.”
She raised a finely manicured brow. “And I’m supposing he’s a better partner?”
Justin smiled tiredly. “You’re much easier on the eyes, I promise. And you don’t bust my chops nearly as much as he does.”
“But he’s more your type?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Justin said with a laugh. “He’s older, stiffer, and showers only occasionally.”
“Oh, well, I shower daily, so I guess I have him beat there.”
“You definitely smell much nicer.”
She sighed and gave him a lopsided grin. “But?”
“What? No buts. You’re a good cop. You’re thorough, you leave no stone unturned, you’re…”
“A pain in the ass?” she laughed.
“Just a little.” He laughed as he started the car. “But tolerable.”
She punched him in the arm. “You’re an ass.”
“I just call ‘em the way I see ‘em. But seriously, Sanders, you surprised me.”
“Okay, Zimmer. Hit me. How do I surprise you?”
“I dunno. I’m just used to Rangers being more stiff and formal. You’re more like…I dunno. One of the guys. Like you could fit in.”
“I come from a long line of guys. My daddy was a guy, my granddaddy was a guy.” She shot him a sideways look. “Lots of guys in my bloodline.”