Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2)

by Kline, Addison

  Ethan laughed as he waved goodbye, “See ya!”

  “No you won’t!” Tiffany threatened.

  Angie smiled darkly. Karma really was a vindictive bitch.

  ***

  Angie and Tiffany only lived two blocks from the school so they decided to walk home. The road was dark and due to the late hour, there was barely any traffic on the road. A car full of students whizzed past them, causing Tiffany to jump.

  She screamed in protest, “I’m the prom queen! Why should I have to walk?!”

  Angie rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, shut up, princess! Get over yourself! Let me know when your pumpkin carriage arrives!”

  “Humph,” groaned Tiffany as she crossed her arms over her flat chest.

  The road became eerily quiet. Angie got a strange feeling; a feeling that they weren’t alone. They had to get home. The only sounds she could hear were her sister’s sighs and their heels click-clacking against the hard asphalt road. Angie glanced over her shoulder nervously. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being followed. Angie nearly fainted when she saw a man’s silhouette in the road just twenty feet behind her. Panic rose from the pit of Angie’s belly. She was frozen still for a moment. Finally, quick thinking prevailed. She ran forward and grabbed Tiffany’s hand.

  “C’mon!”

  “Why are we running? Ow!” complained Tiffany.

  “We’re being followed!” said Angie urgently.

  “Followed?!” spat out Tiffany hysterically, “Is it that creepy guy from the other night?!”

  “I don’t see anyone, Ang!”

  “Just c’mon!”

  Angie and Tiffany crossed the tree line into the Forest of York. They were just minutes from home. If their speed continued, they could outrun him. Angie ran ahead of Tiffany. She was always the faster of the two sisters. She could hear someone approaching in the background. Angie whipped around to get a better look. The figure ducked behind a tree so that their identity remained hidden. Tiffany ran as fast as she could. Angie gasped as she watched the scene unfold before her. Tiffany got her foot caught in the brush and she went down vanishing from sight. As she went down, Angie swore she could make out the faint outline of a man standing over her sister.

  Wide eyed and nervous, Angie screamed, “Tiffany!”

  Chapter 11

  June 18, 2000

  Morrow Manor

  Fox Hollow, PA

  7 A.M.

  Jack slammed the phone into its cradle with such force that a framed photograph of Shane and Blake fell off the wall and smashed to the floor. Frank, who was already awake and eating a bowl of cereal, gave Jack a worried look. The milk from Frank’s cereal dribbled down his chin. He brushed it off quickly with a flick of his wrist.

  “You’re not gonna believe this…” said Jack as a look of disbelief grew across his face.

  “What?” asked Frank with a mouth full of cereal. He chewed loudly as he waited for Jack to continue.

  “Hell just broke loose on Mountain Road,” Jack said with a serious tone of voice.

  Frank pushed away his cereal bowl as a look of anger began to emerge. Jack clearly had his full attention. Jack took a deep breath before speaking, as tension rolled off his shoulders.

  “Courtney O’Mara was found dead outside of Monte’s. A bullet to the back of the head.”

  Frank’s chair skidded loudly against the hardwood floor as he shot up out of his seat. The muscles in Frank’s jaw, arms, and chest flexed as tension coursed through his body. He rubbed his massive hands over his face as he tried to gain some composure.

  “Shot?!” Frank yelled, still trying to come to grips with the news.

  Jack nodded somberly.

  “Jesus Christ, is nowhere safe?! What the hell are you gonna tell Tommy?!” Frank exclaimed, clearly upset about the news.

  Jack considered Frank’s question for a moment. He couldn’t just come right out with it. Tommy obviously had some feelings for the girl. How deep remained to be seen.

  Jack replied, “The truth, but I’m going to need your help keeping him calm.”

  “No kiddin’… Kid’s got a nastier temper than his ol’ man!” Frank joked trying to lighten the mood.

  Jack replied, “Oh, shut up. At least we had a reason to be ticked off.”

  Frank chuckled as his mind roamed back to yesteryear.

  “Consider where we were in the summer of ’77…” Frank said with a raised eyebrow.

  Jack gave Frank an agitated glare.

  “I hate when you do that,” Jack said to Frank referring to his little trip down memory lane. Even Jack had to admit that Frank had a point. At Tommy’s age, Jack was married with a family. He and Frank were going to war with Kendricks for harassing Catherine. They were also engaged in a separate war against the Traffords when Harry Trafford stole Angus’ car right outside of Monte’s café. The families had not seen eye to eye for a very, very long time.

  “If you recall,” Frank added, “We had our fair share of drama, too. Besides, Tommy has every right to be pissed off.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Did you know that Jesse Trafford was harassing Tristan at work?”

  “What?!” Jack yelled, furious that he was just now finding out about this occurrence.

  “She didn’t tell you?”

  “No! She did not!” said Jack, enraged.

  “Well, guess what? Trafford was also bothering Courtney at her house last week. Tommy handled Trafford yesterday. Cornered him behind Quiver’s.”

  “My aching nerves… Then there is the whole Hunter McCord issue.”

  “McCord has a rap sheet as long as a roll of toilet paper.”

  Jack sighed. It was true that Hunter McCord was one of the low-lifes that gave Elkhart residents a bad name, and as far as the Traffords went, they made some of the criminals at Pennington Prison look tame.

  “Shit…” said Jack as he stormed out of the kitchen with Frank on his heels. The same thought rolled around in both men’s minds.

  What if Tristan was next?

  Jack shuddered at the thought.

  The two men climbed to the third floor, causing the old wooden stairs to creak loudly under the pressure of their weight. They crept into the boys’ bedroom where they found three teenagers sound asleep. Jack bypassed Blake and Shane’s beds where they were snoring loudly, and approached Tommy’s bed. The blankets rose and fell peacefully. Tommy was so high strung lately, it seemed a shame to wake him; especially with such horrible news. Jack knew he must be the one to tell him, though.

  Jack shook the mattress first, hoping to wake Tommy. When he didn’t stir, Jack tried nudging Tommy in the shoulder. Suddenly, the blankets rumpled off the bed and fell to the floor. Jack quickly realized that he did not find the person he intended. Tristan shot up in bed with a highly disgruntled look on her face. Her curly hair stood on end and her scarlet Steeplechase Mustangs t-shirt was wrinkled badly from only a few hours of restless sleep. Angry from being woken up so early, Tristan yelled at Jack in a hoarse voice.

  “Dad!”

  Jack had a perplexed look on his face.

  “Why are you out here? And where the hell is Tommy?!” Jack asked in an annoyed voice.

  Tristan rolled her eyes as she got out of bed.

  “Have some consideration for other people’s need for sleep! Just because you’re up at 4 AM every day, doesn’t mean that I want to be, too!”

  Jack looked taken aback by his daughter’s grouchy demeanor.

  “Err… Sorry, but I need to find Tommy,” Jack said in a sheepish voice.

  “Oh, please! He was in my room on my phone arguing for half the night with Courtney. I got him to hang up for two seconds so that I could call Cole. Then I came out here so I could get some sleep. He was yelling til at least three in the morning!” Tristan complained in an agitated voice.

  Frank shook his head in agreement and said, “I had to come up here three times to tell him to simmer down. I could hear his voice
through the damn ceiling.”

  Jack’s face grimaced in frustration. Tommy’s actions in recent days could portray him in a very negative light. He needed to understand that his actions and reactions carried a heavy weight; especially in light of what happened to Courtney O’Mara. Jack reached to open Tristan’s bedroom door, but was met with resistance.

  Jack growled, “Locked! I hate locked doors in my own house! Tristan, where is the key?”

  Sleepily, Tristan replied, “It’s in my room hanging on the wall. I never use it. Does anybody want to tell me what is going on and why I’m awake at 7 AM on a Saturday?”

  Jack ignored her question and instead issued an order of his own. He barked, “Go wake everybody up and get them in the living room in ten minutes.”

  “But-“Tristan protested.

  “Please stop asking me questions. I’ll explain downstairs,” Jack pleaded.

  Jack was growing more agitated. Just as he was ready to kick the bedroom door in, Frank grabbed a large set of keys from his belt loop. He flicked through each key slowly as he looked for the correct one that would open Tristan’s locked bedroom door.

  “Oh, where is the bloody key…basement… storm cellar… shed… barn… work shop… guest house… boy’s bedroom… office… Ah, here it is. Tristan’s room,” Frank rambled. Jack looked at his oldest friend impatiently as his scowl deepened.

  Frank shook his head as he handed the key to Jack, “Always ready to jump to conclusions… I see where the boy gets it from. Here ya go…” Frank said as passed the key to Jack.

  “If he’s not in there, we’ve got a real problem on our hands,” said Jack with a worried look in his eyes.

  “He’s in there. I locked his motorcycle in the barn last night.”

  Jack let out a sigh of relief as he inserted the key into the lock and twisted hard. The door swung open slowly, revealing Tristan’s neat and tidy bedroom. The bed was still made, the desk was uninhabited and there were no signs of Tommy anywhere in the room. Frank and Jack raced into the room with frantic looks on their faces. They scrambled around the room looking for any trace of Tommy. Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open and Tommy was standing in the doorway with a miserable look on his face.

  “There you are…” said Frank relieved.

  Tommy looked as if he hadn’t slept at all. Jack clutched his chest in relief, but it wouldn’t last long. Jack had some terrible news to share. He addressed Tommy in a firm voice, “I need you to come down to the living room.”

  “Now?! It’s only 7 o’clock!” protested Tommy.

  “Yes. Right now,” Jack said firmly.

  When Tommy failed to move, Frank barked, “C’mon. Move yer feet!”

  ***

  Cole was woken up out of a deep sleep by the obnoxious ringing of the telephone. Sleepily, he climbed out of bed and wiped his eyes with his hands. Glaring at his alarm clock, his eyes bugged open at the early wake up call.

  “Ten to one, he’s calling me in to work,” Cole guessed.

  Sure enough it was Joe who was calling at this early hour.

  “Hello?” said Cole groggily.

  “It’s Dad. I need you to listen to me very carefully,” said Joe in a slow, calm voice. Cole was alarmed by his father’s voice. Something was wrong.

  “I’m listening. Is everything okay?” Cole asked in a worried voice.

  “I’m fine. Jenna’s fine. Tristan’s fine.”

  “Okay...” said Cole, his mind reeling from the silence on the other end of the line.

  “I need you and your sister to go to Jack’s house right now. Stay there and don’t go back to the house. Jenna and I will be up tonight.”

  Cole remained silent for a moment as he processed his father’s request.

  “What are you talking about?! What is going on, Dad? I’m nineteen years old. I’m not a little boy…” Cole complained.

  More silence took over the phone line as Cole waited for a response. Finally, Joe spoke, “Courtney O’Mara was found dead outside the restaurant this morning. Jenna, Adam, Liam and a few other officers are investigating. I need you to go to Jack’s house and keep your sister away from all this. Jack is going to tell everyone the news. Go now. He’s expecting you.”

  Joe hung up the phone abruptly, leaving Cole momentarily speechless. After a moment, he sprung into action. Quickly, he pulled on a pair of jean shorts, a gray Philadelphia Flyer’s t-shirt, and a pair of white sneakers. He raced into his sister Natalie’s bedroom in a huff.

  “Nat… Get up!” said Cole loudly.

  “Ugh! Leave me alone! I’m sleeping!” complained Natalie as her brown hair fell over her face.

  “Dad said to get up. We have to go to the Morrow’s…”

  “Why?” Natalie asked sleepily.

  “Something bad has happened…”

  “Oh, my God! Is Dad okay?! Is Jenna?! What about

  Nonna?!” asked Natalie in hysterics. As neurotic as Natalie could be, Cole should have known to use a gentler tactic in getting her out of bed.

  “They are fine. Jack is going to fill us in when we get there…”

  “Do I need a bag?! Oh, my God! I wonder what’s happened…?”

  Cole raised an eyebrow at his excitable sister.

  “Please just get dressed. Tristan has stuff you can borrow if we have to stay.”

  Within five minutes, Cole had Natalie in his Jeep.

  “Strap in…” Cole said with an edge to his voice.

  As soon as he heard Natalie’s seat belt click into the harness, Cole hit the gas pedal sending the Jeep veering onto Caribou Road and racing towards Cavegat Pass.

  ***

  Cole and Natalie arrived at Morrow Manor around 8 AM. The Morrow family had already converged in the living room. Sleepy bodies filled up the couch, loveseat and arm chairs that were scattered around the entertainment system in the living room. When Tristan saw Cole and Natalie walk in, she confronted her father head on.

  “Dad, tell us what is going on! You’re freaking me out!” said Tristan in an irate voice. “Are Liam and Adam okay? Joe and Jenna?”

  Tommy and Blake concurred as they grunted groggily at their father. Shane raised his hand as he swallowed a mouthful of his waffle, and Angus loudly slurped his coffee as he eyed his son in irritation.

  Moira peered down over her glasses at her youngest son and asked, “We’re all awake and assembled as you requested. What’s this all about?”

  “Okay everyone settle down,” yelled Jack, but no one seemed to hear him because they were all chatting loudly amongst themselves.

  Everyone was speculating as to what was so important. Frank pressed two fingers between his teeth as an ear piercing whistle sounded through the room. Suddenly, all eyes were on Jack. Jack grabbed the remote control and flicked on the big screen TV that sat on the entertainment stand against the wall. It infuriated Jack that Channel 4 was airing live news coverage of the murder investigation. Three years ago he couldn’t get a single paper or news station to report that Tristan was missing. Suddenly, the TV that hung on the wall came to life. A blonde haired reporter wearing a bright yellow rain jacket was live on the scene at the corner of Mountain Road and Mayfair Lane. The rain poured down upon her as she delivered her news report just feet from the police perimeter that Liam had set up an hour earlier.

  In a solemn voice, the reporter spoke, “This is Rebecca Hargrave, field reporter for KMRT Danville, reporting live from the scene in Elkhart, Pennsylvania. Elkhart is a sleepy little town that is located just an hour from Danville. Police are investigating the murder of an as of yet unidentified female.”

  The camera panned off of the reporter’s face and zoomed in on the crime scene. The cameraman could not get a very clear shot, since Liam’s perimeter had pushed them back nearly one-hundred yards from Monte’s Café. The torrential downpour wasn’t helping matters, either.

  The reporter continued, “As you can see, police are still processing the crime scene. The victim is covered under a black t
arp, and police are continuing to search the area for evidence.”

  Suddenly, Liam approached the police perimeter to secure one end that had loosened thanks to the fierce winds that accompanied the rain. The reporter took advantage of Liam’s close proximity.

  “Excuse me, Officer?!”

  Liam looked at the woman with a serious expression. She shot question after question at Liam with precise aim and calculation.

  “Do you know who the victim is?”

  “How did the victim die?”

  “Are there any suspects?”

  “Officer?”