The Shadow Chaser (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 1)

by Dylan Birtolo

  “Don’t you think you’re over-reacting just a bit?” Susan sighed and closed her eyes.

  “I think the times warrant it. Better safe than sorry.”

  Susan nodded her head slowly, with her eyes still closed. “I guess that makes sense. I’m sorry, Darien, I’m really tired and my head hurts like hell. Can you get me some aspirin or something?”

  Darien fetched a couple of painkillers and a washcloth from the bathroom. Susan put the pills in her mouth and gulped them down. She leaned forward and let Darien clean the back of her head.

  “Come on, let’s get you to bed so you can get some more rest.”

  Susan nodded and let Darien help her to the bedroom. He went back to the main room and plopped onto the couch. His head rolled back and he stared at the ceiling fan for several minutes. With an unintelligible grunt, he brought his head back to neutral and stared out the window. He caught his reflection and realized that he was still wearing clothes with another man’s blood on them. He had no idea how it got there, but there was an unmistakable splatter on his shirt. When he examined his clothing in greater detail, he saw splashes of blood on his pants as well.

  His stomach churned at the sight and threatened to empty itself. He stripped out of his clothes, tossing them into a pile near the entrance to the laundry room. Once he was dressed in clean clothes, he felt better. He sneaked into Susan’s room, intent on collecting the clothes she tossed on the floor. When he saw her dozing, he paused and watched her for a moment. Her hair had become completely wild. Most of it was falling out of her braid, but her face was a model of serenity. Her eyes were closed, and the covers moved up and down as she took deep breaths. Darien tucked the sheets around her before collecting her garments.

  He carried the dirty clothes to the laundry room and tossed them into the washer. Despite his exhaustion, he didn’t feel like sleeping. His mind continued to churn and he craved distraction. He turned on the television and a local news program flared to life. It must have been right before a commercial, because the anchorman was giving a summary of the stories to come.

  “And when we return, more breaking news. Four men were mauled just hours ago in an office parking lot. We’ll give you the details when we return. We’ll also have the weather for you. It looks like a fierce storm is coming in after the stretch of sunny days we’ve had. Our meteorologist has the latest details.”

  Darien left the TV on. As commercials played across the screen, he got up and paced back and forth. So much for distraction. He needed to know what the report said. Was there anything that could be traced back to him and Susan? As soon as the news returned, he turned towards it and froze. The camera view shifted to the reporter on the scene. Darien recognized the garage. The camera was kept at the level of people’s heads, not showing the cement floor and the carnage Darien could picture all too well.

  “This afternoon, four men were gruesomely attacked by what appears to be wild dogs. The police investigators have said that at least three large dogs were on the scene. They attacked a group of armed men and managed to overpower all of them. We cannot show you pictures of the scene at this time due to the graphic nature of it. Each of the four men has been killed, and there are no witnesses to the attack. The bodies were found as one of the building employees was coming back to her car after a long night of work.

  “Currently, the police department is enlisting the help of animal control and is preparing a joint effort to track down the animals. The victims have not been identified at this time. Police know that there was another car here at the time of the incident, but no other details have been released. We’ll bring you more details as we have them on this breaking story. Back to you, Paul.”

  Darien turned the television off and sat on the sofa. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. On the plus side, it sounded like the cameras were actually disabled and there were no witnesses. Otherwise, he was pretty sure there would’ve been a public manhunt for his car if nothing else. Oscar jumped up and stretched out comfortably in his lap, interrupting his train of thought. Darien pet him along the length of his body.

  “What the hell is going on?” Darien asked the cat. For his part, Oscar halfway opened one eye and then closed it again with an audible purr that shook Darien’s legs. “Thanks for the help.”

  Darien’s phone rang. It rattled loudly as it vibrated against the hard surface of the coffee table. Darien’s hand shot out as he rushed to pick it up before it rang a second time and woke Susan. He answered it without looking at the display.

  “Hello?”

  “Mister Yost?”

  “Who is this?”

  “This is Lieutenant Olson. I need to meet with you. I’m sending over a squad car for your own safety. I have reason to believe you might be in danger. I will have a car at Miss Price’s apartment in just a few minutes.”

  Darien hung up the phone and jumped off the couch. “Susan, you have to get up!” he shouted as he barged into her room.

  “Darien? What’s going on?”

  He went to her closet, pulling down a suitcase and throwing clothes into it. “Lieutenant Olson just called, and he’s sending a cop here to bring me down to the station. He thinks my life might be in danger.”

  She sat up hugging the blanket to her. Her brow furrowed. “So?”

  Darien turned around and stepped to the side of the bed. He got down on a knee so that his eyes were level with hers. “I never told him where I was staying.”

  Chapter 8

  It took a moment for the news to sink in, and then Susan lost all traces of her sleepiness. She held out an open hand and Darien tossed her some clothes. He continued to stuff the suitcase, but Susan waved him off after she pulled on a shirt.

  “Get Oscar in his carrier. I’m not leaving him here.”

  Darien nodded and picked up the carrier from the bottom of the closet. Oscar was lounging on the sofa and opened his eyes when Darien walked in. Darien put the carrier down and opened the door. In response, Oscar offered a large open-mouthed yawn showing off all his teeth. It took some gentle coaxing, but Oscar went into the carrier of his own volition.

  “Good kitty,” Darien said to the closed door, sticking his fingers through the front cage so he could scratch Oscar. He shouted, “I have Oscar. Do you want anything else?”

  “Get some cat food and the litter box.”

  Darien hustled to the bathroom and squeezed around Susan to get the litter box. She was shoving toiletries into her suitcase. Dumping the litter, he used the now-empty box to carry several cans of cat food. When he walked back into the living room, Susan was putting down her suitcase and grabbing a jacket.

  “Ready to go?” she asked.

  “Yep.” Darien tossed the last of his scattered belongings into his own suitcase and zipped it shut.

  They hustled out the door and jogged down the hallway towards the elevators. When they got there, Darien put down his suitcase and mashed the elevator button several times. They both watched the electronic numbers over one of the elevator doors climb in near silence. When the closest elevator paused on eight, Susan glanced over at Darien.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I just know we’ve got to get out of here before it’s too late.” Silence stretched out as Darien scrambled through his thoughts to try and figure out where might be considered a safe haven. The only place he could think of was Erik’s parents’ home. Since his father was a public figure, some precautions had been taken to make sure that the residence was kept secret.

  “We could head to Erik’s place. It’s a little more secluded and would get us out of the city. It’s the best place I can think of. You know he won’t mind.”

  The elevator arrived on their floor and they both held their breath as the doors slid open. It was empty. They got inside and Darien pushed the button for the ground floor before pounding the “Door Close” button several times.

  “I think we should split up. No
, Susan, listen. If this guy has pictures of me, has been following me, and knows that I’m staying here, you can be damn sure he knows both our cars. If we pile into one car, he’ll just follow us to Erik’s and we’ll be in the same boat. But it’s me he’s interested in, right? So, you go to Erik’s in your car and I go a different way and catch up with you later.”

  Susan shook her head back and forth a couple of times as he pleaded his case. “How’re you going to get to Erik’s? You’re going to have to drive up there eventually. Let’s just go together, now, and figure out what we’re going to do next.”

  “I can’t do that to you and Erik. I’ll dump my car off somewhere in the city and take a bus up to Everett. I’ll give you a call when I get there and you or Erik can pick me up. That might buy us a little more time to figure out what the hell’s going on.”

  They rode in silence for the last few floors before the elevator doors opened up to the lobby. Darien and Susan offered a nod to Mark. He started to say something, but closed his mouth and leaned back in his chair when he saw their hustle. Darien escorted Susan to her car and helped her stow her belongings and Oscar. He also tossed his suitcase in the trunk.

  “You remember how to get there?”

  Susan nodded and she turned away. Darien stood on the sidewalk and waited until her car was out of sight. As far as he could tell, no vehicle pursued her. He hustled to his car and slid into the front seat. Just as he was driving away, he saw a police cruiser slide up to the front entrance of Susan’s apartment building and park. Darien looked in his rearview mirror and saw an officer get out of the car and knock on the glass door. Darien was so focused on the scene behind him, he drove through a stop sign and a couple of cars honked at him. Feeling his face warm and his pulse quicken, Darien took the next turn off the main street and navigated the back roads to the highway.

  He deliberately drove south, heading to Tukwila. This was unlike anything that he had ever attempted before but it seemed simple logic to lead a false trail in the opposite direction than he wanted to go. From Tukwila he could take a cab to the airport and then jump on buses back up to Seattle and eventually Everett. If his car was parked outside of Seattle, it might even take them some extra time to find it. Granted, this was a temporary measure, but temporary measures meant more time, something he was feeling short of.

  Once he reached Tukwila, he parked at the mall in the middle of the busiest lot he could find. He had to look up the phone number for a cab company on his phone, but he knew the only way to get a cab in this area was to call for one. The cab driver didn’t ask any questions as he made the short drive to the airport, dropping Darien off in front of the departures gates.

  After paying the driver, he hustled into the terminal so he could get down to where the bus routes were. As he was about to get on the escalator, he froze. A uniformed police officer was standing at the bottom with a piece of paper in his hand and looking at the pedestrians. He locked eyes with Darien, and Darien turned away. If the police officer was looking for him, hopefully he didn’t get a good enough glance. Darien walked around to the stairs on the other side and made his way to the ground floor.

  “Darien Yost?” the policeman asked from behind him. Darien’s step hiccupped, but he continued on his way. “Stop, I need to talk to you.”

  Darien bolted out the door and ran down the street. When he reached the corner, he looked behind. The officer was running after him. Darien turned the corner and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. At the next intersection, he glanced back again. His pursuer was gaining on him. Darien sprinted across the street without waiting for the traffic light to change.

  Cars screeched to a stop and Darien could smell the burnt rubber. A minivan didn’t stop fast enough and it slammed into him. He rolled over the edge of the hood and landed on his hands and knees. Some part of his brain acknowledged the scrapes, but the pain didn’t register. He scrambled to his feet, scampering to get away. He could feel a slight burning in his right hip with every step, but he continued to run. Darien ducked into the next alley to take a rest. He took a moment and leaned against the wall gasping for breath. He walked towards the back of the alley. There was a fire escape stairwell against one of the walls just out of his reach. He dragged an empty crate over.

  “Freeze!” a voice called from the entrance.

  Darien turned and saw the policeman standing in the mouth of the alley. He had his gun drawn and was holding it in both hands. It was pointed at Darien’s chest. The officer was a young man, probably no older than he was. He looked uncomfortable as he held the gun—there was a slight tremor in his arms.

  “Put your hands where I can see them.” Darien raised his hands. The officer let go of the gun with one hand and used the walkie-talkie attached to his shoulder. “Tell Lieutenant Olson I have the suspect.”

  A voice crackled in response loud enough for Darien to hear. “Lieutenant Olson will be in the area shortly. He said to apprehend the suspect with minimal force.”

  As the guard lowered his face to respond, Darien sprang into action. He stepped on the crate and jumped up to the fire escape. His hands wrapped around the edge of the bottom step and he yanked himself up. The cop ran down the alley and yelled at him to stop, but Darien scrambled up to the roof. By the time that he got there, the officer was halfway up the stairs after him.

  Darien swung his legs over the low wall and landed on the roof. There was one door up here, and he ran at it. He grabbed the handle, but it didn’t turn. Slamming his shoulder into it was just as fruitless. He needed to find another way off this roof before the lieutenant showed up. He heard sirens in the distance. Darien rushed to the nearest building edge, but the next building was several feet away. It was too far to jump and the drop looked fatal. He turned back and tried to get to the other edge of the building. He took a couple of steps before the police officer climbed onto the roof.

  “Darien Yost! Freeze!”

  Darien tried to stop and slid through the gravel, stumbling onto one knee. He panted and had to plant one hand on the roof for balance. The cop took several steps until he was only a couple of feet away. “Lieutenant Olson, I have the suspect on the roof.”

  Even though he had stopped running, Darien’s heart continued to race faster and his respiratory rate climbed. He looked around, but he was several feet from the closest building edge. The door was locked, and the police officer was watching him. Darien’s muscles tensed and his fingers dug into the fine gravel underneath his hands. He heard the sirens stop near the front of the building. Flashing lights reflected off the surrounding building walls. It wasn’t long before Lieutenant Olson climbed over the edge of the wall in front of the fire escape. Behind him were two men in suits.

  “Well done, Officer Baird.”

  The cop put his gun away. “Thank you, sir.”

  Lieutenant Olson walked forward, each slow crunch of rocks under his feet sending a shiver of tension down Darien’s spine. He took a knee near Darien’s face and spoke softly so that no one else could hear. “I told you that you needed to talk to me, Darien. Your life’s in danger, and I don’t want to have to chase you around every time we need to talk. You have no idea what’s going on.”

  “You sent men to threaten me, didn’t you?”

  The corners of Olson’s mouth twitched for a moment, but that was the only betrayal of emotion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Darien pushed off the ground and stood up straight, forcing the lieutenant to take a step back. His fear was shifting into anger. He took a half step forward, but Olson refused to back down. The two of them stood, with barely an inch between their chests. The two suits drew guns, but didn’t advance.

  “You’re a liar.”

  “You don’t understand, Darien.”

  “And you do?” Darien backed up, taking a couple of small steps.

  “I know enough. Come down to the station with me. Let me explain some things. You’ll be free to go at any time.”

&n
bsp; “Why don’t I believe you? Maybe it’s cause it’s a little hard to trust someone who has goons pointing guns at me.”

  Olson nodded to his men, and they holstered their weapons. “So what would it take to convince you to come with me?”

  “Leave me alone. Then maybe I’ll come to you.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Lieutenant Olson reached behind him and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He took a step forward, backing Darien up against the edge of the building. “There’s nowhere to run to, and you’re coming with me.”

  Darien’s fear returned and he tried to back away. His heel hit the low wall near the building edge, and he had to cartwheel his arms to keep from falling back. The lieutenant continued to advance and his men fanned out to either side, blocking off any possibility of getting around. Darien’s skin crawled as he saw his chances of freedom slipping away. A familiar blackness crept up from inside him, and he collapsed into it gladly.

  Chapter 9

  Darien groaned and reached up to his forehead. He massaged his temples in an attempt to soothe the pounding inside his skull. His awareness of his surroundings began to creep back into him. Something hard was pressing against his ribs and sent pain shooting through his back. At least the discomfort helped to distract him from the jackhammering in his head. The air was filled with the musty scent of wet leaves. Opening his eyes a crack, he looked around. It was dark in every direction and he could only see a couple of feet. The stars and the moon overhead were obscured by branches. Reaching behind him, he felt something hard with thick ridges. Rolling over, he recognized the roots of a pine tree. He heard the screech of an owl as it found an evening meal.

  The headache was going away more quickly than before. He inched his back up the tree. He tried to pull his feet under him and pain shot through his right hip. He hissed in response, a sound that felt loud in the dark forest. Taking his time, he eased himself up to his feet. He explored his hip with his fingers and tried to move his leg around in a circle. It burned a little when he touched it, and it protested when he raised his knee as high as he could. Otherwise, he had full mobility. It was probably just a bruise, and no permanent damage was done. That was lucky.