by Kim Alexis
Marcus glanced toward the door, where Greg was just stepping inside. Their eyes met, and the young man gave him a solid nod.
Good. At least that much was under control. Police were tuned in and listening.
Just in case further assistance was needed, he gestured for Greg to close the door and have a seat.
Marcus turned his attention back to the person on the other end of the line. “I’ll do what I can, but you have to understand, I have zero authority when it comes to making deals. We’ll need to bring someone else in on this, most likely the District Attorney.”
Ty grunted. “The DA? This has nothing to do with him. I need FBI. That’s why I’m calling you. You are FBI, right?”
Marcus let out a breath. “Not exactly, but I do have some . . . uh . . . connections.”
“Fine. Then let’s get on with it.”
“No problem. But why don’t we start there, with why you see this as a matter for the FBI rather than the police.”
Ty didn’t reply, staying silent for so long that Marcus feared the connection had been broken. Had he pushed too hard? “Hello?”
“I’m here,” Ty growled. “And this is how it’s going to go. We will hang up. You will contact the FBI and get them to send over someone who does have the authority to make deals. In one hour the two of you will meet me at the pavilion at Laskey Park. Any police nonsense, any backup teams or whatever, and I won’t be there. I’ll just disappear—for good. That’s a promise.”
With that, he disconnected the call, leaving Marcus with nothing but dead silence on the phone and a knot the size of a fist in his gut.
“You okay?”
He turned to see Greg still there on the couch, watching him. Marcus exhaled and ran a hand over his face. “I’m fine. I just have a funny feeling about this guy. There’s something going on here, some element to this case that I don’t understand.”
“What makes you think that?”
He shrugged and met Greg’s eyes. “He won’t deal with the DA. Wants the FBI or nothing at all.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Feeling weary to the bone, Marcus began to dial the number that was already loaded and waiting. “What else can I do? I’m calling in the FBI.”
JULIETTE STOOD BEHIND THE curtain one last time, listening to the closing lines of the skit and trying to put the afternoon’s drama aside for the next hour or two. Unable to clear her head, she finally put it to prayer, asking God to keep Marcus safe while they were apart, especially if Ty made contact.
She felt better after that, and soon her thoughts were focused on her impending talk and on the women who’d be hearing it. With all that was going on, Juliette hadn’t been able to give this retreat her all, yet somehow God filled in the missing places and worked in the lives of these women anyway. She’d seen it during the dinner hour especially, the hearty camaraderie, the happy expressions, the relaxed postures. They’d gotten her point, loud and clear—that even the most dedicated servants really were supposed to take time out from the Lord’s work once in a while to rest, recover, and rejuvenate.
Tonight she would speak from 1 Kings, the part where Elijah was told to stand on the mountain “for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Elijah did as he was told, and soon he endured what amounted to a tornado, an earthquake, and a fire. Yet after each event, the Lord was not in them. The passage concluded, “And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
As it turned out, God was in the whisper.
“Help me hear Your whisper, Lord, every time it comes,” Juliette prayed.
Then she took a deep breath, smoothed the front of her white Chanel suit, and waited for her cue to go on.
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER MARCUS was speeding toward Laskey Park in a Chevy Tahoe, Agent Tim Wilson of the FBI’s Palm Spring branch at the wheel. As they drove along, Marcus chafed at the stiff, bulky Kevlar vest the man had given him to wear, but he was glad he had it on. Something about this situation still didn’t feel right, and a little extra protection couldn’t hurt.
He would’ve felt even safer had Agent Wilson allowed the police to follow at a discreet distance, but instead the man had arranged for them to wait at a location in town, ready to roll if need be but stationary until then.
Wilson slowed and put on his blinker, and as he turned into the park where their rendezvous would take place, Marcus peered out at the scene, searching for some sign of activity. It seemed deserted, though it was too dark to know for sure.
The car eased to a stop near a small wooden pavilion and they sat there for a long moment, lights on and engine running. Marcus expected Ty to step out from behind a post or a tree or something, but he did not. In fact, nothing happened at all.
Marcus looked down at the phone in his hand, willing it to ring, wishing Ty hadn’t blocked his number in his earlier calls. Surely the cops had tracked it back and knew what number he’d been calling from. Maybe Marcus should get it from them then use it to call Ty and demand to know where he was and what was going on.
Marcus glanced at Wilson, who was studying their surroundings through a pair of small night vision goggles.
“How long before we give up and drive out of here?”
“Not much longer.” Wilson turned his head to scan the horizon. “In fact, hold on a sec.” He put down the binoculars, picked up his phone, and made a quick call. “It’s Tim. We’re at the park, but subject is E and E. Can you give me a location update? Good. Thanks.”
As Tim waited, he put the car in reverse, backed up, then began to edge forward, retracing their route to the main road. “All right. Stay on it live from here on out, would you? We’re in pursuit. And give me a viz too, please.”
He put the phone on speaker and set it in a holder on the dash. As he pulled onto the blacktop and accelerated, he explained to Marcus that they had a lock on Ty’s phone, and though he’d been at the park before, he was now on the move, headed west on Dillon Road.
Suddenly the screen of the phone sprung to life. Apparently viz meant visual, seeing as a small green dot moved slowly along a horizontal line. Marcus grunted. Why hadn’t they kept a closer eye on Ty?
“Looks like he’s turning onto sixty-two, heading north,” a woman’s voice said from the phone.
His eyes still glued to the tiny screen, Marcus watched as the dot changed direction and moved upward along a vertical line. Over the next ten minutes, as they sped along trying to catch up, the dot made two more turns, onto Mission Creek Road, and then onto South Springs Road. Finally it came to a stop, and a moment after that Marcus got a text from Ty.
New location, 291 South Springs Road. Go now. Am waiting.
Marcus relayed the message to Wilson, eyes back on the dot. If they were lucky, it would remain stationary and this would be their final stop. He didn’t care where they had to go to get this done. He just didn’t feel like spending half the night on a wild goose chase.
Once they finally turned onto South Springs Road and he got a look around, however, Marcus changed his mind about wanting this to be their final location. They were in the middle of nowhere, nothing but dust and scruffy bushes to either side. His eyes darted back and forth between the numbers on the occasional mailboxes and the purple dot—indicative of their own vehicle—that had appeared on the screen and was now moving toward the green.
When they finally got there, Wilson turned into a driveway of sorts, the sweep of his headlights illuminating two dilapidated old farm buildings in front of them, a half-rotted barn off to one side, and a smaller, more intact structure to the other. There were no vehicles to be seen. As they rolled to a stop, another text came through.
Am in shed, to your right.
Marcus read the words aloud, then looked at the agent next to him.
Frowning, Wilson grabbed the binoculars and surveyed the structures and the surrounding area for a long moment. “I do
n’t like the looks of this.” Nevertheless, he put down the binoculars, told the woman on the phone what they were doing, and then climbed from the car. Marcus followed suit. Though both men were armed with heavy flashlights, Wilson was the only one with a gun. Pulling it from a shoulder holster, he held it at the ready and instructed Marcus to stay back.
Way back.
The shed was about twenty feet away, and though it looked pretty ramshackle, at least they could see that there was a light on inside. They approached the structure, Wilson waving Marcus back even further when he got close and moved into place, his shoulder against the wall beside the door.
“Ty Kirkland? It’s Agent Tim Wilson, FBI. I’m here with Marcus Stone.”
Marcus realized he was holding his breath as they waited for a reply.
None came.
Instead, all they could hear were the sounds of the night: rodents scuffling, birds calling, insects buzzing. The desert was a busy place after dark.
Wilson looked like a coil about to spring as he reached out and flung open the door to the shed.
The next thing Marcus knew—the only thing he knew—was that he’d never seen a brighter light, never heard a louder boom, never had his body propelled through the air so far or so fast.
Never landed so hard.
Never knew that the world could simply go black.
Chapter Thirty-Five
JULIETTE LOOKED AROUND THE broad lobby once again but saw nothing to settle her sense of unease. Marcus was nowhere to be found.
She’d looked for him during her talk, to no avail, which wasn’t all that surprising. What had surprised her was that when she looked again later, at the beginning of the reception, there’d still been no sight of him. Now that the reception was almost over, he remained a no show. She wanted to call his cell but Detective Bryant had told her not to use that number until after the whole Ty mess had been settled. Unable to wait any longer, she excused herself and found a wall phone out in the hallway instead. She called his room but got no answer.
As she hung up, her concern deepened.
Where was he? Had Ty made contact? Was he off meeting with him at that very moment?
Busy with final photos and questions, Juliette told herself Marcus was okay and tried to focus on the women for now. They all seemed thrilled about their retreat experience, and several even said that tonight’s talk had been a highlight. Their praise brought tears to Juliette’s eyes. She, too, had felt the Spirit move, and she was oh so grateful that God had given her all the right words even when she had failed to give Him all of the right prayer and preparation.
Eventually the last of the guests filed out, the other employees went home, and she and Didi and Crystal were wrapping things up. Juliette’s feet were killing her, so she decided to switch over to her flats. She was just pulling them on when she heard from Marcus, via text: Big news! Ty is in custody and has confessed to the murder!
With a deep sigh of relief, Juliette texted back her reply:
Super! Where r u now?
His response came quickly.
With FBI and police. U shld come too. They want statements from you and Didi.
She didn’t hesitate. Can leave now. Where do we go?
She waited for him to supply an address, her heart surging with relief. At least this part of the nightmare was over. Looking from Didi to Crystal, she let out a long sigh and told them police had Ty in custody at last.
Raven’s murderer had been apprehended.
“IS THAT IT UP there?” Crystal peered out from the backseat. Far ahead in the distance, she could see bright lights that seemed to indicate police activity.
Juliette glanced where she indicated but then returned her attention to her phone’s GPS app. “No, this is South Springs Road. We’re supposed to take the next right, go about half a mile, and then make a left on Bismark Lane.”
Crystal wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t say anything. She was just glad they’d let her tag along. Marcus’s text had asked for Juliette and Didi, but Crystal wasn’t about to miss out on the final big wrap-up if she could help it. She only hoped Marcus had let Greg tag along as well, because that might mean he’d be out here now too.
Didi slowed to make the right turn just as an ambulance came from up ahead and went speeding past. Following Juliette’s directions, Didi continued down the side road until they came to Bismark, where she turned left, putting them parallel with the road they’d been on before. Maybe they were coming up to the same scene, but from the opposite side. Something big had been going on out there, that much was clear from all the lights she’d spotted before they made their turn.
Finally the GPS said they were getting close to their destination, though it was so dark and deserted, it was hard to tell exactly where they were in relation to the flashing emergency lights.
Juliette peered out the window. “What do you think, ladies?”
Crystal craned her neck for some indication of the address as Didi slowed the vehicle to a crawl.
Gazing out into the darkness, Crystal saw a parked car with a Palm Grotto window sticker that looked familiar, though she couldn’t remember whose it was. There was another vehicle parked up ahead on the left, so they kept going. As they got closer, Crystal exhaled her relief. “There! That’s Greg’s black pickup!”
Didi slowed. “I don’t see any people, though. I’m not getting out until I see people.”
“I’ll text Marcus.” Juliette’s fingers flew, and a moment later read them his response:
Greg’s here. Will send him out to wave you down.
Didi turned in next to the truck but let the car idle until they saw the beam of a flashlight waving to get their attention. It came closer, and behind that beam Crystal could just make Greg’s face.
She exhaled. “That’s him, we’re good.”
Didi turned off the car and they climbed out.
“Where are we?” Juliette asked as she came around the front. “Why aren’t there any police cars here?”
Greg politely shone the light down on the ground rather than in their faces. “You probably saw them as you drove in. They’re all parked out on South Springs Road, but things were getting pretty congested over there so they’re relocating as many people as they can to this side. Come on, I’ll bring you over.”
As he raised the light, its beam illuminated Crystal, and his head jerked back. “Oh! Hey! I didn’t even see you there, Crystal.”
She understood why he was surprised, but for a moment she feared he wasn’t happily surprised. Instead, he seemed . . . disconcerted, somehow, as if he didn’t want her around.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, cheeks hot.
“No, not at all.” He ran a hand through his thick brown hair. “But do me a favor and wait here at the car, would you? I’ll walk these two over and then come back so we can talk. I have something important to tell you.”
Something important to tell her? Pulse surging, she wondered if that meant he’d gotten some sort of lead on his sister’s murder. Maybe he and Marcus had really hit it off, and the FBI had been willing to help out in some way.
Eager to know what info awaited, she agreed to stay behind but asked Didi to unlock the car door so she could wait in there.
With a squeeze of the remote, the locks popped up; Crystal slipped into the driver’s seat and closed the door. As she watched the three of them trudge off into the darkness, she hit the lock button. Then she settled back against the cool leather, hoping Greg wouldn’t be gone too long.
“RIGHT THIS WAY, LADIES.”
Greg pointed the beam of his flashlight at a rough path on the ground that had been strewn with fresh straw. “Stay on the trail, though, because you never know what kind of creatures might be out here at night. We don’t need any snakebites.”
Juliette shivered and did as he instructed, falling in behind Didi and moving with cautious steps. They trudged onward, Greg and his flashlight leading them off into utter darkness. The further they
went, the more confused she grew.
The police weren’t out here. They couldn’t be. There were no lights, no activity, just a stupid straw path and a single flashlight and three vulnerable people. In the desert. At night.
A wave of apprehension rippled through Juliette. She pulled out her phone, but rather than texting Marcus this time, she touched the buttons to call him.
They kept walking, Greg leading the way, but then he paused as they neared a big boulder and stepped to the side of the path, gesturing for them to continue onward.
“It’s not much further now. We should see some lights once we get around the other side of this giant rock.” He shone the beam ahead of them and held it steady as they made their way past.
Juliette followed Didi but her focus was on the phone, waiting for the call to go through. She checked the screen. One bar. That should be enough, yet it made no sound. Finally she pressed it back to her ear and was relieved to hear it ring once. A connection. But then it rang the second time—
And she also heard it ring out loud. Like Marcus—and his phone—were near. Physically near.
Like . . . right behind her.
She spun around to see where the sound was coming from, but as she did, she began to feel herself fall. With a loud whoosh, all three of them were falling—falling and screaming—as if the very earth itself had opened up and was trying to swallow them whole.
CRYSTAL HEAVED ANOTHER BORED sigh. What was taking so long? More important, why hadn’t she asked Didi for the keys instead of just having her hit the unlock button? If she’d done that, then at least she could be listening to the radio now. Instead, all she had to entertain her were the sounds of the night.
Which she didn’t like to think about.
Coyote howls, owl screeches, lonely killdeer—they all sounded like screaming women to her. She put her hands over her ears to muffle the distant cries of some creature or another that she’d rather not listen to.