Found With Murder

by Jenn Vakey

  “All right,” she said. “But you will stay with Matthews and me.” Lori nodded. “And you can't be armed. That's not negotiable.” Lori looked like she wanted to argue, but just let out a resigned sigh and nodded. “Get ready and we'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes.”

  When she disappeared out the door, Rilynne turned back to Matthews. “You know we shouldn't be allowing her to come,” she said.

  He pulled open his desk drawer and retrieved his gun. “If there was any chance of us actually finding them, I would agree. But I-” Before he could finish, his phone chimed. “It's Katy.” He looked down at the message and the color left his face. “She's on her way to the hospital. She's in labor.”

  “Go,” she said without hesitation. “Go!”

  He dropped his gun back into the drawer and rushed to the door. Stopping just before stepping through, he turned to face her. “Are you sure?”

  “I'll text you if we find anything,” she said. “Go!”

  His head quickly bobbed on his shoulders as he turned and ran out the door.

  “Oh, the timing,” she muttered. She grabbed her own gun and walked out after him.

  The lobby was full when she stepped off the elevator. By first glance, it appeared that every officer had responded to the call for help and came in.

  “All right,” Rilynne said, standing on the nearest chair. Everyone stopped talking and turned toward her. “You've all received a picture of the man we’re looking for, as well as one of Kim Sibrian. We received a tip that he might be trying to get out of town through the woods to avoid the roadblock. Search dogs are being brought in, so we will be spreading out and working through the perimeter of the city. I know I don't have to tell you, but our first priority is the safe return of Kim. Detectives Tylers and Steele will be assigning search areas. If you find any sign of them, call it in immediately.”

  Rilynne stepped down off the chair and walked toward Steele and Tylers in the back corner.

  “This one's mine,” she said, pointing to the area just outside the mouth of the city entrance. “Lori will be coming with me.”

  “Where's Matthews?” Lori asked, walking up behind her.

  “Katy went into labor,” she replied. “He went to the hospital.” Lori smiled and nodded. “We'll have one other officer with us, as well as a dog and ranger,” Rilynne continued. She turned back to Steele and Tylers. “Spread the other dogs out. I want Ranger.”

  Rilynne walked back toward the center of the room as the crowd surrounded the map.

  “What's going on, Rye?” she heard from just behind her. She turned around and found Ben walking toward her. His eyes swept across the room before returning to Rilynne. “Did you…”

  She nodded. “We’re taking dogs out to search the woods.” She stepped toward him and looked around to make sure no one could hear her. “He's going to try to get her out of the city through the woods. I had Elise talk about the possibility in front of the psychic so she would make a scene in the office about it.”

  “So you would have to look into it and it wouldn't appear that you had anything to do with it.” He looked impressed, though his expression quickly changed to confusion. “So you are validating her as a psychic?”

  Rilynne groaned. “I had to. It was too crazy for me to suggest and be taken seriously. But I made a point to discredit her while saying we still have to look into it. If people actually start taking her seriously, Elise can always claim she was on the phone with you when Young overheard her.”

  “You're a conniving little thing, aren't you?” He slowly shook his head. “You wouldn't be willing to just throw her a bone?” he asked.

  “I thought you knew me better than that,” she said.

  Ben smirked and rolled his eyes. He reached out and tightened her bullet proof vest before zipping her jacket up. “Can I join in on the search?”

  She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. “I'm already going to take heat for allowing Lori to come when this is all over. Besides, I can't have you getting shot… again.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. Rilynne could hear his heart pounding as her head pressed against his chest. He hated having to wait behind for news; she knew it, even if he never said it aloud. “Just promise me you'll be careful,” he said after a few long moments. “And bring her back safe.”

  She took in a deep breath, the sweet smell of peaches tickling the back of her nose, and nodded.

  “Dogs are here,” Tylers called out.

  Rilynne pulled herself away from him, kissing his chest where her head had just been. “I'll see you soon,” she said softly.

  * * *

  “He's got something,” Ranger Albert said, looking down at his dog, Ranger. Ranger was the best scent dog Rilynne had ever seen. He never lost someone's trail once he was on it. In fact, the only person to evade being found while he was tracking them was Rilynne herself.

  “Is it Kim?” Lori asked. Her eyes moved away from the dog and swept through the trees. A look of relief came over her face, replacing the frustration that had been building since they stepped into the woods two hour before.

  Rilynne looked at the trees themselves, searching for anything familiar. About two hundred feet in front of them, she saw it. Two large trees, crossed to form an 'X'. She moved toward them, the others not far behind. Rilynne had just reached the spot when something caught her eye.

  Her hand shot up as she motioned the others to stop. Moving carefully and quietly between the trees, she could just make out movement in the distance. Rilynne squinted, trying to get a better look. The trees were moving, not with the wind, but from something pushing through them. Then there was a flash of red.

  “Stay here,” she whispered to Ranger Albert. Motioning to the officer with her, she started to ease her way forward. Her heart was booming in her chest. It was so loud that she feared he might actually hear it. Something else sounded through the trees, though, making it almost stop.

  “I want my mommy.” The soft voice carried toward them with the breeze.

  Rilynne turned quickly and grabbed Lori before she could run toward it. To her surprise, Lori didn't fight her. Instead she just nodded and waited for Rilynne to continue.

  The brush was thick in front of them. She knew they wouldn't be able to go through it without giving away their presence. After studying the scene, she decided their best bet would be to go around.

  She motioned to the officer to go left while she and Lori moved to the right. Luckily, the trees thinned as they progressed and soon opened up into a clearing.

  Rilynne's heart jumped when she looked in the middle of it. Seated on a fallen tree, hand reaching into his pack, was Trent Erin.

  “I need to go potty,” Kim said, seated just inches from him. She was wearing the same red jacket she had seen in her flash. It appeared brand new, as did the matching one Erin wore.

  He looked down at her for a moment before nodding. “Make it quick. We're just going to rest so we can eat, and then I promise we will go see your mommy. She's going to be so excited to see you.”

  Kim's little face, covered in dirt, lit up. He looked down at her large, happy smile and grinned.

  “You can go behind a tree over there. Just don't wander off or you’ll get lost and you won't be able to see your mom.”

  She nodded and ran toward a thicket of trees. It was just feet from the one Lori and Rilynne were hiding behind. Lori made to move toward her daughter, but Rilynne reached out and stopped her. She knew they had to time it just right.

  Kim ducked behind the trees and disappeared from sight. Rilynne watched Erin carefully, and as soon as he turned his back, she moved quickly for Kim.

  When she approached that child, she was just pulling her pants back up with her back to them. Rilynne moved quietly, not wanting to alert her to their arrival. She reached out quietly and swiftly slid her hand over Kim's mouth. Her little body tightened.

  “Shh,” she whispered in her ear. “It's all right, baby.
It's me, Auntie Rye.” She turned Kim around, hand still clasped over her mouth, and smiled. Kim's eyes shifted between Rilynne and Lori before they filled with tears. She tried to wiggle free, but Rilynne wouldn't let her. “Listen to me. You have to be very quiet, okay? No talking.”

  Kim nodded and Rilynne pulled her hand back. As she did, Lori pushed past her and scooped up her little girl. They both held each other so tight, Rilynne wondered for a second if either could breathe.

  The moment soon passed, though, when she heard Erin moving around. “Are you finished?” he called out.

  Kim looked from her mom to Rilynne, asking silently what she should do. Rilynne held her finger up to her mouth and reached for her gun.

  When she stepped out from behind the trees, she watched the expression on Erin’s face quickly turn to panic.

  “Trent Erin,” Rilynne said, pointing her gun at him. “You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Kim Sibrian. Now get down on your knees and put your hands on the back of your head.”

  He looked from her gun to the trees behind her. The wheels were turning in his head.

  “I said get down on your knees,” she said again.

  He slid off the log and landed on his knees. Instead of going up, though, his hand dropped down into his pack.

  “Hands where I can see them, Erin!” she yelled.

  He pulled his hand back out, but it wasn't empty. Grasped in his gloved fingers was a silver revolver.

  “You aren't going to take her from me!” he yelled. His hand swung toward Rilynne as he swiftly stood up. “I just got her. You aren't going to take her from me! She's mine!”

  “No she isn't,” Lori said, stepping out from behind the trees. “She's mine.”

  “Get back, Lori,” Rilynne ordered. “Take Kim and go.”

  “No!” Erin yelled. Rage flashed over his face and turned his gun to Lori. Rilynne looked over and found her staring at him, not a glint of fear in her expression. Kim wasn't with her. From the gentle whimpering coming through the trees, she assumed Lori had instructed her to hide. “She's my daughter, not yours.”

  His words confused her. By the look on Lori's face, she felt the same. Rilynne turned back to Erin. He was shaking, but not from fear. At least, not fear for his life.

  “Mr. Erin, Kim isn't your daughter,” Lori said gently. “Her biological father is Dustin Fore.”

  “No he isn't!” He was becoming more and more frantic with every word. “Kimberly and I were together for two years. We were only broken up for two days when she started dating Dustin. I checked the dates. Kim was born seven months after we broke up. She isn't Dustin's, she's mine!”

  The gun was shaking in his hand.

  “I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you don't put the gun down,” Rilynne said. “You wouldn't want Kim to see that, would you?”

  His head shook violently as he pushed the palm of his free hand against his temple. Rilynne felt powerless. She could see he was on the verge of breaking and she didn't know how to stop it.

  “Get back, Lori,” she warned. She wanted to move in front of her, but she could tell by the positioning of the whimpers that she was directly between the gun and Kim. “Go back to your daughter. That’s an order.”

  Lori didn't listen. Instead, she took a step toward Erin.

  “Kimberly was shot and killed before her pregnancy reached full term,” Lori said. Her tone was kind, more so than Rilynne could have expected. “That meant Kim was conceived after you broke up.”

  “No!” he yelled. “She's mine. I know she is. Look at her; she looks just like me.”

  It was easy to see how he would think so. Kim was tall and her hair was growing darker with each passing day. Their faces even had a similar shape. Having seen Dustin Fore, though, there was no doubt who had fathered the child.

  Rilynne moved her aim to his shoulder. If she hit him there, she would be able to get to him before he had the chance to react. Maybe.

  “Lori, please get back,” she pleaded. Just then, she glanced behind him to see the officer stepped into the clearing. Lori saw him, too. She must have because she took another step forward.

  “I had a DNA test done when I adopted her,” she said.

  “Don't, Lori,” Rilynne said. He was too unstable. This wasn’t the right time to unravel his beliefs. He couldn't hear this, not now.

  “Dustin is her father,” Lori continued, not listening to Rilynne’s warnings. “The DNA came back as a match.”

  His body tensed. Rilynne looked up to Officer Marcus and nodded. Everything from there seemed to happen in slow motion.

  Erin's arm jerked violently as he yelled, “You're lying!”

  Officer Marcus ran toward him. He collided with Erin just as a loud crack rang out through the clearing. As they went down to the ground, so did Lori.

  The air left Rilynne's lungs as she stared at Lori lying motionless on the ground.

  “No,” she said. She tried to move but her feet felt as if they were encased in cement. It wasn't until she heard Kim scream that she could finally make herself push forward.

  “Call an ambulance!” she yelled to Marcus. In just three strides, she closed the gap between them. “Lori,” she said as she dropped down on her knees next to her. Rilynne’s hand reached down for her, but stopped abruptly when it met something wet.

  “No.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  After escorting Erin into a holding cell, Rilynne headed straight for the homicide office. She could feel nearly every eye on her as she passed through the station, but she didn’t care. Her mind was only on one thing.

  “Is he in there?” she asked when she stepped through the office door. Donovan looked up at her and nodded. He didn’t seem to have any question of who she was referring to.

  She walked through the office without another word. Like downstairs, she could feel her colleagues watching her. They followed her as she passed, though. She was going to have an audience.

  “Mr. Maloy,” she said as she swung the door open and stepped in.

  “Brett, I insist,” he said again. “Did you find her? Did you find Kimmy?”

  Rilynne dropped down hard into the chair and rested her arms in front of her on the table. “Yes, we were able to locate Kim Sibrian,” she said shortly. The rage was bubbling so fiercely within her that she knew it was only a matter of time before she popped.

  He smiled. “That’s fantastic. Lori will be so happy. I know she’s been out of her mind with worry.”

  Rilynne felt her body tense. Maloy noticed and looked at her curiously, but she continued before he could question it. “You are aware that it’s a violation of your restraining order to follow your victim, aren’t you, Mr. Maloy?”

  He laughed. “I’ve already explained to you that the restraining order was just for show. It’s a prop in the game that we play,” he stated.

  “No, Mr. Maloy, it was a very real order for you to stay away from her. Detective Sibrian had no desire to play any game with you. She wanted you to leave her and her child alone.” She could feel herself growing angrier with every word.

  “You just don’t understand,” he said. “You must not have ever loved someone enough to be able to experiment with different games to keep excitement in your relationship. That’s what Lori and I have.”

  “Lori didn't love you,” she said. There was a harshness in her voice that even shocked her. “She only moved here to get away from you. You tormented her and scared her to the point that she needed to run from you.”

  His grin didn't falter. “You don't know what you're talking about, baby cakes. Lori and I are in love. Like I’ve said, the whole restraining order and moving away is just a game we played. Think of it like a giant game of hide and seek. As soon as everything settles back down, we're going to be married.”

  “Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your wedding plans are permanently delayed,” she said.

  Just then, Ben walked in with his kit in hand. After placing i
t on the table beside her, he pulled out a swab and held it up. Maloy looked at it for a moment before opening his mouth. He seemed annoyed.

  “And why would you think that?” he asked when Ben was done.

  Rilynne took a deep breath. “Because she's dead.”

  Ben passed her a sideways glance but didn't a surprisingly good job of hiding his shock from her statement. With everything that had happened, she hadn't had a chance to talk to him after arriving back at the station.

  She looked down at the dried blood on her hands. Maloy followed her gaze and his face instantly went blank. He looked back up and swept his eyes over her face as if looking for any hint she was lying. Rilynne wasn't going to give it to him.

  “This is the second woman in a year to die because of you,” she said coldly. “The first took her own life, and Lori…” She took a deep breath, trying her best to get the words out. “Lori ran to get away from you. You followed her, and not only drew focus away from the search for her daughter, you distracted her and she lost her life because of it.”

  “No!” he yelled. He stood up and lunged toward her, but he didn't even make it half way.

  Ben reached out with a swift intensity and slammed him down on the table, hard. Maloy must have been shocked, because he didn't try to move again.

  Rilynne struggled to keep all of the emotions flooding through her off of her face. She stood up and looked down at Maloy, her arms folded tightly in front of her.

  “You are going to leave my town. If you ever set foot in Addison Valley again, I will have you charged with obstruction of justice, violating a restraining order, and your role in the death of Detective Sibrian,” she said. “And that's just the beginning of it. You're not in Wisconsin anymore. Here in Texas, we like to execute anyone connected to the death of one of our own. Is that understood?” He glared up at her but didn't respond.

  “She asked you a question,” Ben said, giving him a quick jerk.