Shadow of Vengeance

by Kristine Mason

  Understanding softened Owen’s blue eyes. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze. “At the start, every case seems unsolvable. When they’re personal…they can be downright daunting. I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t let the stress affect you negatively. Treat it like a tool you can use to hone in on your investigative skills.”

  She had no investigative skills, but didn’t want to voice that to Owen. She’d already admitted enough. “Do you really walk into a case feeling like it’s unsolvable?”

  “Depends on the assignment.”

  “What about this one?”

  “We’ve got a file box filled with years of missing person cases, a note, a missing kid, and the so-called legend of Hell Week…yeah, I’m a little worried.”

  His honesty, his admission to having doubts about the case, eased her to a degree. A very small degree. If Owen, a total badass with a one hundred percent case resolution, worried about figuring out this particular puzzle, Josh Conway could end up like the other missing persons from Bola and Wexman. An unsolved mystery.

  “We still have Sean’s clothes, which I need to overnight to DecaLab.”

  Owen took a step off the porch, and withdrew his cell phone. “I’ll look up the nearest post office. We can stop on our way to the university. If you give me the sheriff’s number, I’ll call and see if I can crash at his place for—”

  “Rachel,” Joy called from the front door.

  She ignored the bitchy bully and followed Owen.

  “You don’t seem the type, but maybe you prefer Miss Davis?” Joy asked.

  Curious, Rachel turned.

  Wearing only a thick, cable knit sweater, Joy hugged herself then moved down the porch steps until the two of them were eyelevel. “So which is it? Rachel or Miss Davis?”

  “What do you think?”

  Ten years fell from Joy’s face when she smiled. “I think you’re a real ball buster.”

  “You have no idea,” Owen said.

  Joy’s smile grew. “That right?” She nodded. “Good. This place could use a ball busting bitch to spice things up.”

  “Is there room enough for two of us?” Rachel asked, still uncertain as to whether or not Joy was screwing with her.

  What Rachel imagined a barking seal might sound like, if it was being run over by an ice cream truck with a dying sound system, suddenly echoed throughout the front yard. Holding her stomach, Joy continued to release the strangest laugh Rachel had ever heard, then she snorted and wiped the tears under her eyes. “Now that was fucking funny,” Joy said, wrapped an arm around Rachel and grew serious. “No need to shack up at the hospital. I’ve got you covered.”

  Beyond confused, but grateful she wouldn’t have to sleep in a chair, Rachel shook her head. “Okay. Um…can we take care of the paperwork and payment when we get back? We need to get to the university.”

  “No paperwork. No payment.”

  “Joy, we can—”

  “Listen to me,” Joy began and gripped Rachel’s shoulders. “I’ve lived here my whole life. I didn’t know any of those kids that had gone missing, but the four locals…” She looked away for a second. “This has to stop. Jake says you might be able to make that happen. Even if you fail, as long as you try to give us some answers, The House of Joy is open to you.”

  “So that Shorty BS was a test?”

  “Nope. You are short, and neither one of you fit what I had pictured in my head as the people who were going to end this Hell Week shit.” She shrugged. “It pissed me off.”

  “But we’re good now?” Owen asked.

  Joy pulled a key from her pocket and handed it to Rachel. “We’re good. Dinner’s at six. If you can’t make it, leftovers are in the fridge. If you come home when I’m not up, room three and five are yours. Clean linens are in the closet in your rooms. Breakfast is at seven.” She headed back up the steps, then stopped at the front door. “Bola might be a speck on the map, but it’s a good place to live and raise a family…even if most of us are living in fear.”

  *

  After shipping Sean’s clothes to DecaLab, a private genetics laboratory CORE employed at a hefty price tag, Owen drove the Lexus down the only road leading to Wexman University. “How long before we hear anything from the lab?” he asked Rachel.

  Without looking up from the list the sheriff had given her, she said, “Chihiro thinks, once they receive the package, it’ll take about a day before they’ll have any results.”

  “Chihiro?”

  “Kimura.”

  “What? You’ve lost me.”

  Releasing an impatient sigh, she looked up from the list. “Chihiro Kimura is a forensic DNA tech for DecaLab.”

  “And I was supposed to know this how?” When she didn’t answer him, he said, “Joy’s right. You are a ball buster.” Truly. Other than Joy Baker, he’d never met a more hostile woman.

  “Yes, I do have my moments.”

  He wished she’d have less of those moments. They were partners and needed to act as if they were on a united front. Although maybe he shouldn’t discourage her from blowing him shit. Her volatile, sarcastic remarks might help remind him that he had no business thinking about her in any way other than coworker. Each barb she threw at him could keep this mind off her sexy ass and curvy hips. Her sassy mouth and tempting lips. Her big, green eyes…

  He cleared his throat and shook all those enticing images of Rachel from his mind. “What do you make of Joy’s parting comment?”

  “About living in fear? Joy doesn’t seem like the type who scares easy. Honestly, until Jake told us about the four missing locals, I hadn’t given a whole lot of thought about the Townies. Well, except for considering that one of them is our kidnapper or killer or whatever we want to call him.”

  “Having a killer in their midst is bad for local business.”

  “True. But what if one of the locals, or a couple of them, has a grudge against the college students?”

  “Possible. That doesn’t explain the four missing Townies, though.”

  She tapped the pencil against her mouth, then slowly glided it along her full lips. Before he veered the Lexus off the road and into a tree, he looked away and brought to mind his nephew’s poopy diapers. Anything to keep from thinking about what it would be like to have Rachel’s lips and mouth slipping and sliding along…

  “You have arrived,” the GPS told them as the forest they’d been driving through parted and revealed the entrance of the university.

  Thank God. He needed out of the Lexus and his mind focused on the investigation, not the woman running it. Besides, she didn’t like him and even if she did, having an affair with Rachel might jeopardize his career with CORE. While Ian hadn’t issued a “no dating” policy, he couldn’t imagine his boss liking the idea of potential relationship drama at the workplace.

  After they passed between two immense brick walls with Wexman engraved on one and University on the other, Rachel pointed to the left. “We’re on the campus’s main drag. The dorms are up ahead.”

  Old style lampposts lined the narrow road. As he drove through the campus, similar sized lanes and dozens of narrower, paved paths splintered through the snow and led to various buildings. Naked trees, empty, snow-covered benches and stone picnic tables littered the area. In the fall, he’d bet the campus was a beautiful kaleidoscope of color. With the large gothic buildings, the barren trees, vacant paths and the surrounding dense forest, right now the university campus gave off a formidable vibe.

  “This place is like a ghost town,” he commented. “Where is everyone?”

  She glanced out her window. “It’s freezing. Plus it’s almost four-thirty. It’ll be dark soon and I’m assuming most classes are either finished or wrapping up for the day.”

  “What time do the administration offices close? We should probably talk with the university president and dean.”

  She flipped through the notes Jake had taken. “The president, Richard Lambert, is…well, this is random. He’s in Wyomi
ng for a funeral. Jake noted that the dean, Xavier Preston, is willing to fully cooperate with us, but it looks like his office hours are until five.”

  “Maybe we should meet with him first, then look at the dorm.”

  “I’d rather go to Sean’s room. Jake also noted that campus security and the residence hall’s RAs have warned students to leave the room alone, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  Considering Sean and Josh were taken after they’d left the dorm, and that the sheriff hadn’t found any bottles—empty or full—of Mountain Dew, let alone any other evidence, he thought a search of the room could wait. “Your call. What about the professor?”

  “I have his cell phone number. We can call him when we’re finished.” She tapped the dashboard. “Slow down. You see that building?” She pointed to a three-story brick building.

  He read the sign out front. “Stanley Residence Hall.”

  “Right, Sean’s room is in there. You can park in the lot behind it.”

  As he made his way to the parking lot, he said, “I really think we should speak with the dean. Maybe you should —”

  “Call and at least set up an appointment for tomorrow?”

  “Seriously. I really hate when you finish my sentences.”

  “Anyway, I spoke with his secretary. We have an appointment with him in the morning.”

  “When did you set that up?” he asked as he parked the Lexus.

  “When you ran back into Joy’s to use the boy’s room.”

  “There’s a sense of urgency for you,” he said and reached for the door handle.

  “Are you talking about hitting the boy’s room or the dean?” she asked.

  “Cute. Don’t you think it’s odd that the university dean, after one of his students was found beaten and the other is still missing, schedules us in for an appointment…the next day?”

  “Absolutely, and I voiced this to his secretary. She gave me his home and cell phone numbers should we need to speak with him before tomorrow.” Rachel opened the car door, then paused.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I…it’s nothing. Let’s go.”

  Before she asked or said something that might make her appear too incompetent to run this investigation, Rachel quickly slid off the Lexus’s leather seat, then shut the door.

  With daylight dying, and a brisk breeze whirling between the buildings, the temperature plummeted by the second. Tightening the collar of her heavy overcoat, she shoved her free hand into her pocket and dashed up the steps to the residence hall. Thankfully, Owen grabbed the door before she had to expose her hand to the frigid air. Once inside, she shook off the cold and released the lapel of her coat.

  “This is a definite step up from the dorms I stayed in,” Owen commented as he unbuttoned his coat and peered around the corner of the foyer. “Flat screen TV, pool table…I think those couches are nicer than the ones I have in my condo.”

  Based on Owen’s designer clothes, tailored suits, and his eighty thousand dollar Lexus, she doubted his couches were anything but top of the line. She, on the other hand, could most certainly admit that her furniture had seen better days. The apartment she leased was the same one she and Sean had both grown up in, and the furnishings had all been her mom’s, purchased from thrift stores or estate sales before Sean had even been born.

  “You think this is nice, wait until we visit the fraternity house.” Curious, she looked around the foyer. Specifically at the empty desk where a campus security guard should have been seated. Moving toward the desk, she said, “The last time I was here, Sean used a key card to get into the building. I was so cold, I didn’t even think about it…we should have been buzzed in, met by a security guard, or at least an RA, showed our IDs…”

  Owen moved close to her, close enough his arm brushed along hers. Still making contact, he leaned over the desk and pushed around some papers. She should take a step back and give him space. Instead, she stayed put. Even though they both wore thick, heavy coats, standing this close to him reminded her how good…how wanted she’d felt when he’d held her under the mistletoe last year. While she’d had a couple of brief relationships since then, not one of those guys could compare to Owen. They were nerdy and safe, whereas Owen was a tempting heartbreaker. And although she’d probably always consider him a bottom feeder, with the way he kissed, she’d bet he could supply her with multiple orgasms and the best sex of her life.

  With that last thought in mind, she stepped back. “What are you looking for?”

  “A student roster, guard or RA schedule…”

  She touched his shoulder. His muscles immediately bunched. When he turned to her she quickly dropped her hand. The scowl on his face surprised her. Over the years, she’d seen Owen irritated, but never truly angry. For whatever reason, he looked mad as hell right now. She didn’t know if his sudden mood swing had something to do with her or the lack of security. She didn’t care.

  Liar.

  She nodded toward the main hallway where a bullnecked, burly young guy approached. Wearing a navy security uniform, he walked with a little kick to his step, drawing attention to his scuffed black shoes and the white tube socks peeking from beneath the hem of his pants. He stopped at a water fountain, took a few slurps, then wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. When a pretty coed passed him, he nodded and smiled, then, as he checked out her rear, he ran a hand over the top of his short brown hair. Shaking his head, he continued toward the desk. Once he realized she and Owen were watching him, he grimaced and quickened his pace.

  “Sorry, folks. Unless you have an appointment, this building is for students only.”

  She and Owen both handed him their IDs. “Sheriff Jake Tyler said campus security and staff would cooperate with us while we investigate the disappearance of Josh Conway,” Rachel said as she slipped her ID back into her pocket.

  “Sure, sure,” the guard said as he moved behind the desk and flipped though paperwork. “Got your names…well, I know they’re somewhere.” He flashed them a smile. “It doesn’t really matter. Come on and I’ll take you up to Josh’s dorm room.”

  “Hang on,” Owen said. “You just told us only students were allowed, yet the desk was unattended and the door unlocked. Now you’re going to leave your post again?”

  The guard’s face grew mottled as a heavy red blush stained his cheeks. “I…I…oh, man,” he said on a sigh. “Please don’t report me. I—”

  “What’s your name?” Rachel asked, and grew more irritated by the second. If this guy had been on duty the night Sean and Josh had been abducted, she’d do more than report him.

  “Bill Baker.”

  Frowning she looked to Owen, who raised his dark blonde brows and half-smiled. “Are you related to Joy or Hal?” she asked.

  “Hal’s my dad, which makes Joy my aunt.” Bill held the back of his head, then threw his hands in the air. “If they find out…man, oh man, I’m in real trouble.”

  Although annoyed with Bill for not taking his job seriously, especially in the wake of Josh’s disappearance and her brother’s beating, she couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the guy. If Hal was anything like his sister, Bill had a right to be worried.

  “Let’s talk this out,” Rachel suggested. “Starting with the unlocked doors to the residence hall.”

  Bill nodded. “Yeah, it’s been broken since Friday. I requested the work order and maintenance was supposed to take care of it. But they haven’t gotten to my building because they’ve been too busy taking care of all the others.”

  “The others?” Owen prompted.

  “Yeah, all four of the residence halls, the entrance to the grad student apartments, along with the main administration building, the athletic department, the library, the computer lab, not to mention three buildings used for classes—”

  “Slow down.” Owen half-chuckled and gave Bill a smile that would put anyone at ease, which right now included her. Something wasn’t right at Wexman. “It sounds like the e
ntire campus needs some major repairs.”

  “Not repairs, just the locks fixed.”

  “Do all the buildings require a keycard to get inside?” Rachel asked.

  “Uh-huh, but maintenance and campus security have regular keys for emergency use.” He looped his fingers through his belt and jingled his key chain. “Like I said, once I figured out the lock wasn’t working, I called maintenance. They gave me the runaround, so I called my boss who told me to make sure the RAs and students knew about the problem.”

  “Was the sheriff aware of this?” Rachel asked. Going on the assumption the boys had been drugged, if the lock to this hall had been broken purposefully, that would have given whomever had spiked Sean and Josh’s Mountain Dew easy access to the building. But wouldn’t Jake have mentioned the broken locks?

  “Don’t know,” Bill said. “When I saw him the night they found the beat up kid, he didn’t ask.”

  “The beat up kid happens to be my brother, Sean.”

  “Oh man, sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “It’s fine. But you didn’t think you should have mentioned the locks to the sheriff?”

  “I…God, I’m such an idiot,” he said, and slammed his fist against his thigh. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry about Sean. I really like him. He always gives me some of the awesome stuff his mom sends him. Cookies, muffins, brownies—”

  She stiffened at the mention of mom. “I sent those things to him.”

  “Then your stuff is awesome.”

  Bill didn’t need to know the awesome stuff was store-bought. While she knew the ins and outs of computers, the oven tended to be a technical challenge. “Thanks. Okay, let’s stay focused. Were you here the night Sean and Josh went missing?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, grabbed a log, flipped a couple of pages, then handed the binder to them. “They had a pizza delivered at five fifteen. I let the RA for their floor know and she brought it up to them.”