“Settle down. Take a breath for God’s sake. The loft is easy enough to find. I’m not hiding or moving just because some nutcase decides to send me notes. We don’t even know yet if those bones are the real deal.”
But Travis wasn’t that naïve. He didn’t buy her bravado or defiance. “What exactly was in that package downstairs?”
She could see the determination in his eyes, so there was no point in evasion or trying to bluff. She let out a sigh. “A mummified hand, complete with pink nail polish.”
Travis ran a hand through his hair about the time Josh came through the swinging door carrying more plates. “So we have a killer who dismembers?” He aimed his frustration at Josh. “What exactly do you intend to do about this?”
“Ah, so you’ve heard about his latest offering,” Josh assessed. “I won’t let the bastard anywhere near Skye, if that’s what you mean.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to take Skye house-hunting this weekend,” Travis suggested.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Josh said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “Since we’ve been back a full day I’ll get right on that.” He slapped Travis on the back. “Seriously though, after what happened downstairs, finding a place in the country sounds ideal. The glut in the housing market right now might make it the best time to look.”
“You’re both overreacting,” Skye stated, annoyed with both of them.
“Don’t tell me you aren’t concerned about this guy, Skye,” Travis tossed back. “You certainly know better than to underestimate an adversary like this one.”
“I’d be an idiot to take this guy lightly on many levels. So yes, I take him seriously. I’m on the receiving end of his depravity. His sending me remains in a box twice in one day—delivered to my home no less—creeps me out. It borders on a disturbed individual, perhaps even harboring some sort of deep psychosis. I know that.”
“I rest my case,” Travis concluded. “Promise me you’ll think about getting out of the city, out of this loft and get a new place of residence, the sooner the better.”
“You forget the city is my hunting ground. Always has been.”
“But perverts don’t limit themselves to a specific area, Skye,” Josh reasoned. “This guy could very well have set up shop to work in the pristine countryside. For years.”
“That’s my point,” Skye shot back, glaring at Travis. “That’s why I’m not running off to live life as a Martha Stewart clone in some remote part of the Northwest to sit around waiting for seeds to sprout. My life is here.” She wheeled around to Josh. “You know that’s true. My heart is here.”
Josh took her hand. “I’m beginning to see that. Let’s slow down a minute. We’ll take the path that works the best for both of us. It won’t hurt to look. When it comes to a new place, no one’s suggesting you give up the hunt. Compromise is the key.”
After their guests left, Skye changed clothes and noted the time on the clock. Turning to Josh, she said, “You look tired. Why don’t you sit this one out?”
Josh perused his wife up and down. Dressed in black and leather, she looked like a fierce warrior prepared to do battle at a moment’s notice. All she needed to complete the image was a weapon, maybe a shiny, steel sword she could brandish in a fight. He supposed it was the gamer in him that saw her as a skilled combatant.
She carried no gun, but kept a nightstick hidden under her long coat along with a knife and another blade tucked inside her boot just in case.
There was no doubt in his mind she could take care of herself or handle a tough situation. She’d proved herself time and time again. But every now and then a guy had to remind her they were a team. “We’ve been all through this before. I’m not letting you go out on the streets alone. Besides, you’re out of practice.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I most certainly am not.”
“You haven’t walked Seattle’s streets in over two weeks,” Josh pointed out in challenge. “Eighteen days to be exact. Last time you went out you had a wedding on your mind. You’re rusty.”
Skye rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was doing. She shook her head. What was the point in arguing back and forth when she’d just end up giving in anyway? “Okay, okay, but if you’re going with me, move your ass. The clock’s ticking and neither one of us is getting any younger.”
He bumped her shoulder. “That’s what I like to hear. Compromise. That’s what a good team does,” he said by way of a too familiar refrain.
“This team could use a little less jawing and a lot more moving. You change clothes while I go make sandwiches.”
“Sandwiches? No thanks, I’m still full from dinner.”
She cast him a long glance, narrowed her gaze. Sometimes his naivety reared its ugly head and surprised her. Now was one of those times. “You want information from people living on the street, you offer something in exchange. It’s either money or something to fill their hungry bellies.”
“Ah, sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay. It’s hard to imagine sleeping in a doorway when you’ve got a comfy bed each night. People tend to forget not everyone is as fortunate.”
Thirty minutes later, after stuffing baloney and cheese sandwiches and all the apples they had on hand into a backpack, they headed out the door. As they walked toward Atlanta Street and Fulton Avenue, Josh turned to his new bride, noted her calm demeanor. “The wolf is ever patient and always on the hunt.”
“Poet and philosopher, I married a man who does both with equal ease, I think.” Now was the perfect time to tell him about the missing teen, Shawna Langley. She hit the highs and lows, went back over the conversation with Karen Houston.
“So we’re on a mission tonight?”
“We’re always on a mission. Shawna’s the latest one. Her mother dropped by this afternoon after our phone conversation to give me Shawna’s most recent school picture and some leftover flyers she had printed up. Tonight we’re going to ask around about Shawna, hand out a little food, and hopefully get a few answers in the process.”
They drifted past a rundown motel, long abandoned, its architecture unremarkable, its roof used by advertisers to hold their billboards. “You know, I was thinking. What if we took a piece of property like this and remodeled it to give some of these homeless families a chance at a new start?”
Skye stopped walking and turned to stare at Josh. “What? How would building another homeless shelter help?”
“It wouldn’t really be a shelter. Not as I see it anyway, but more like individual little studio apartments, complete with a small kitchen, a bed, a bathroom, enough to feel like they have something.”
“You’re kidding? Is that even doable?” She asked, surveying the ancient building.
“I think it is. Gear it to the homeless who are trying to better themselves, or the working poor. Rent’s expensive around here. Of course, they’d have to sign an agreement stating there would be no criminal activity in their unit. And to agree in writing that if they don’t have a job, they’ll look for one, or they’d be willing to enter some type of job skill program to change directions, attend classes, and actively keep their unit up.”
“How much would a project like that cost? Renovating an old motel would mean spending some major bucks. Anyone else you know attempted such a thing?”
“There’s one in Utah. The state offers a ‘no strings attached’ apartment program for people who remain habitually homeless. And there’s an artist in Oakland who makes tiny homes out of stuff he finds on the street.”
“Really? That is…so cool. Could we actually do something like that right here with an old motel?”
Even in the dark, Josh picked up on the sparkle in Skye’s eyes at the prospect of it becoming a reality. “Sure, why not? Stranger things have happened. After all, who would ever think someone like me could be part wolf, part spirit guide?”
“You know you aren’t part wolf. Travis went over all that with you. And since you aren’t Nez Perce, you can’t be an
official spirit guide either, more like honorary. Look, she’s leading the pack now because she’s on the hunt.”
“You’re such a buzzkill. But I love you anyway. What does it hurt if I consider the possibilities?” At that, he turned his head to the sky and let out a yowling moan which had Kiya doing the same.
When a few onlookers milling about on the other side of the street turned to look at the crazy man howling at the moon, Skye let out a huge sigh. “Stop that. It’s embarrassing. You’re a bad influence on Kiya.” But even as she said it, she burst out laughing. “Oh my God, I’m married to a total nutcase. You do realize this makes you a few fries short of a Happy Meal.”
About that time someone began yelling her name from down the block. “Skye! Skye! Skye Cree! It’s me, Jade Rain.”
“Who’s that?” Josh asked, staring at the scantily clad woman, dressed in a mini skirt and tank top who had to be at least forty-five. Teetering on rhinestone high heels that sparkled in the dim street light, he watched as the woman kept waving her arms.
“A hooker, homegrown. They call her ‘mother’ behind her back ’cause she kinda looks out for all the young girls coming up. Jade’s been strolling the streets for as long as I’ve been doing this. Come on,” Skye urged as she darted across traffic toward Jade.
“What you doin’ down here, girl? Last time I saw you, you was lookin’ for that missing redhead. Found her, too, as I recall,” Jade said, between puffs on a just-lit Camel.
“Always lookin’ for somebody, Jade. You know that.”
“Don’t I, though.” Jade looked Josh up and down, blew out a long trail of cigarette smoke through her nose. “Who’s this fine lookin’ man you got followin’ you?”
“This is the hubby.”
“No shit. Well, you picked a handsome one, I’ll say that. Just look at all that long, dark hair.”
Skye pulled out the photo of Shawna. “Any chance you’ve seen her?”
Jade took the picture, studied the girl with the long brown hair, then looked up again. “Cute little thing. You think she’s one of those girls somebody snatched to live out there in the sex trade?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. She’s been gone now a little over a week. She’s only fifteen, Jade. Have you seen her?” Skye repeated.
“Not me. But maybe Sadie has.” Jade put her fingers between her teeth and gave out a loud whistle. “That’s our signal to come on the QT. Don’t worry, she’s just down the corner. She’s the only girl who hadn’t got picked up tonight. But she will.”
Skye glanced around, spotted a skinny girl of about nineteen heading toward them from the corner. Sadie was doing her best to sprint along the sidewalk in what looked like, five-inch bright yellow plastic heels.
“Here’s my baby girl now.” The minute Sadie reached them, huffing the whole way, Jade handed her the photo. Crushing out her filtered Camel under the toe of her pump, Jade blew out smoke from between her lips. “Skye wants to know if you’ve seen this girl, Sadie?”
Sadie shook her head as she tried to catch her breath. “Nope. She looks young, too. She a runaway, Skye?”
“I don’t think so. How about if I leave a flyer with both of you. That way, if you see her, you can give me a call. My number’s at the bottom.”
“You got it, Skye. Good luck finding her.”
“You guys take care,” Skye said as she pushed a twenty into Jade’s palm. “Watch out for yourself, Jade.”
Josh watched the women go, then grabbed Skye’s arm, guiding her toward Sylvan Street. “We need to go this way.”
Noting his jovial demeanor had morphed into a more serious attitude in a manner of minutes, Skye veered off down an alleyway behind him. She caught sight of Kiya a good twenty yards up ahead. “She’s onto something.” A sidelong glance at Josh told her they both were.
They turned the corner into a back street near the waterfront seawall and restoration project. Huge cranes and several dump trucks had been parked overnight in a vacant lot. After another twenty minutes, Skye wasn’t sure whether she was following the wolf’s instincts or Josh’s.
The walked past more equipment, meandered through the massive construction area around the Alaskan Way Viaduct, crossed another dark lot. They passed in front of an old abandoned church where the homeless had carved out a place on the sidewalk to sleep for the night. People slept under cardboard boxes, tattered sleeping bags, blankets, and even old pieces of carpet, anything that would protect them from the cold and the hardness of the cement. Shopping carts filled with their worldly possessions lined the walkway.
They crawled over a divider that separated the staging area for the backhoes and haulers from a woody hillside. They made their way between two concrete pillars, dropped down into a larger encampment hidden behind a line of evergreens. Someone had built up a fire where a group of men and women huddled around it for warmth and camaraderie.
Approaching the campfire with caution, Josh and Skye geared themselves for a hostile welcome. This time, Skye decided to let Josh take the lead. She pulled out several baggies of food from her knapsack and held them out for inspection.
“How’s it going?” Josh said. “We brought some sandwiches, some fruit, thought maybe we could exchange them for information.”
“Let’s have the food first,” one of the men groused. “What kind of information?”
Josh handed the man a bag along with Shawna’s photo. “We’d like to know if any of you have seen this girl.”
Another man stared at Skye then at Josh. “You two cops?”
“No. This girl went missing a week ago. We’re trying to find her.” Josh watched while they passed around the picture, each one taking the time to stare at the girl’s image. Halfway around the circle, a woman in her fifties looked up and said, “I saw this girl at the burger joint over on Third and Simonton.”
Josh frowned, waited a beat. “You mean Pete’s Grill?”
“That’s the one. Went down there for one of those breakfast tacos they make, tasty way to eat eggs. And after midnight they reduce the price to just a buck.”
“They serve cheap burgers, too, if you don’t add cheese,” said another man who sat off to the side in the shadows.
One of the other women put in, “The doughnut shop over on Twelfth gets rid of the day-old stuff for the taking around two in the morning, just tosses it out in the Dumpster.”
“Let’s get back to what happened when you saw the girl,” Josh prompted.
“Okay. Anyway, the manager, he had to call the paramedics ’cause that girl you’re looking for fainted right there on the floor in front of us.” The woman turned to the man sitting next to her, elbowed him in the ribs. “You were there, Joe. Take a look at her picture. It’s the same girl, right?”
Joe considered the photograph, held it closer to the light. “Damn it, Molly, you know I don’t like getting involved. We don’t even know these people.”
But Molly would hear none of that. “She’s got family worried about her, Joe. You back me up here and tell them what they want to know.”
Joe grunted, made a menacing sound in his throat. “Might as well, you won’t leave me alone ‘til I do.” He studied the photo, grunted again. “That’s the same girl that fainted, alright, just like Molly said. She was standing in line right in front of us. She swayed on her feet, went down in a heap on the sidewalk. We hadn’t made it inside yet, ’cause there’s always a line out the door ’round midnight for breakfast tacos.” Joe handed the picture back to Molly who gave it back to Josh. “Satisfied now?”
By way of answer, Molly grinned showing her yellow teeth in need of a dentist.
“When was this?” Skye asked, stepping out of the shadows into the flickering firelight.
“Hmm, that would be two nights ago. The girl was all bruised up, like she’d taken a tumble or something. Her eyes looked all glazed over like she was on drugs,” Molly added.
Josh and Skye exchanged looks.
“Any reason you remember this so c
learly?” Skye wanted to know.
“Poor thing looked out of place, like she didn’t belong in our neck of the woods.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She had on a pair of those fancy jeans and no coat like she wasn’t supposed to be outside.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where the paramedics took her, would you?”
“No clue,” Molly said, taking a deep drag on her cigarette.
After handing out all the sandwiches to Molly and Joe and their companions as a way to say thank-you, they followed the same path as before. When they reached the viaduct, Skye said to Josh, “Pete’s is one of those places open twenty-four-seven, like Country Kitchen. I’ll call and ask if anyone there remembers the paramedics taking a teenager to the hospital. In the meantime, you check which hospital is closest. I’ll Google the number for Pete’s Grill.”
With that, they both took out their cell phones, began separate online searches.
“Closest hospital to Pete’s Grill is Harborview.”
“How many blocks is that?” Skye muttered as she punched in the number for the burger joint.
“From here? I’d say about six.”
As soon as someone answered the phone down at Pete’s, Skye relayed the situation, but got nowhere. It seems a different manager had been on duty two nights earlier. Ending the call in frustration, Skye’s temper flared. “Damn it, this is exactly how kids fall through the system. No one gives a damn about a girl who keels over in a dive in the middle of the night obviously sick and injured. We should just head to Harborview.”
“Do you honestly think they’ll give out personal info on a patient, let alone one who is underage, to two people who aren’t related, to strangers who walk through the door and start asking questions? We don’t even know for sure it’s Shawna. We don’t even know if they kept her there. They could’ve released her by now and she’s out wandering—”
Skye Cree 03: The Bones Will Tell Page 4