First Born (Lily Moore Series)

by Tricia Zoeller

  It was all too much to process. The geriatric neighbor next door was a shapeshifter?

  “You know what’s really screwed up?” he asked. “I truly didn’t realize how much the medicine had impaired me until you started to shift.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re so strong. You can...well broadcast in people’s heads. You can dream walk, like Koko. My life’s consisted of wandering in and out of a fog. I wonder how I would be if I hadn’t been taking this medication all along. Would I actually be a more substantial creature?”

  “Uh, Seth, did you miss the turn?”

  “What?”

  “Never mind, it’s just, we could have taken Alternate 75 and gone around Helen.”

  “No way, and miss all this?” he asked. She managed a weak smile.

  “What was Mona?”

  His eyes widened. “A tiger,” he whispered.

  They rode along in silence after that. Lily looked out the window at the roadside signs for Georgia mountain honey, mescadine cider, and sorghum syrup. Every five minutes they passed another handwritten sign for boiled peanuts. Her stomach growled. As they made their way through Cleveland, Georgia, she breathed a bit easier, just another twenty minutes to the cabin. Thunderheads dominated the sky. One looked like an ominous man’s face with his mouth open in a silent scream. She averted her eyes to cast off the nasty vision. Down below was a trio of vultures palavering on a low fencepost of a barren field. Blood, Violence, and Pain, incarnate. Her hackles rose.

  Ten minutes later when they were outside Cleveland, she exhaled in relief as the granite face of Mount Yonah ghosted through the clouds. Trees whizzed by in a blur. She couldn’t shake the unease, though; it crept over her like a cold sweat.

  Who is this stranger in the seat next to me? Yesterday had been terrifying, but this moment wasn’t much better. She didn’t know who her brother was anymore. The urge to shift to Shih Tzu mode and hang her head out the window was overwhelming. Anything to cleanse herself. Better yet, I’ll hang him out the window. It would make me feel so much better.

  “I’d like to see you try it,” he laughed.

  “What?!”

  “Hang me out the window.”

  “Get out of my head!”

  “I’m not doing it. You are,” he said, his hair bristling.

  At the next light, Seth swung the truck into a Walmart shopping center. Lily stayed in the truck pondering her new world while Seth stocked up on supplies. Nobody was who, or rather what, she thought they were. A wave of nausea hit her. She didn’t think it was the pain meds, but the latest influx of information. She was in a worse mood when Seth returned to the car with scissors and hair dye...for her.

  Chapter 28

  Caldwell’s Dream/Interrogation

  Lily sat on top of the metal table in the interrogation room wearing a pink mini sundress with little daisies on it and white platform sandals. As she crossed her legs, she studied the shoes. Her eyebrows rose. “Stripper shoes?”

  Caldwell paced back and forth in front of her which was no easy feat considering the size of the room. He grinned. “What’s wrong with the shoes?”

  She twirled a strand of her hair then stopped. “Hey, it’s your dream. Who am I to judge? Knock yourself out.”

  Before he knew it, he had closed the space between them, grabbed her jaw in his hands and kissed her soft wet lips. She kissed back. He caught himself sliding his one hand down her arm to rest on her bare thigh. With a jolt he remembered who and what he was. He removed his hand from her thigh and placed it on his forehead. “Sorry. I have no idea what’s the matter with me.”

  Lily sat up. Her pouty mouth was open and her eyes gleamed. “Why don’t you sit down in the chair.”

  He sat down. The sensible cop in him surfaced from somewhere. “Where’s Li Liu?”

  She bit her lip. Her eyes were wet. “I don’t know. They took him.”

  “Who?”

  “I couldn’t see their faces. They wore ski masks.”

  “They?”

  “Man and woman. The man was big, maybe as tall as my brother. He had blue eyes, gruff voice. The woman I didn’t see at all. She bashed me in the head with a metal weapon.”

  “Jesus.” Caldwell looked her over. There wasn’t a scratch on her. “Am I hallucinating?”

  “No. I’m here. Kind of.”

  “Why did you run?”

  “That’s complicated.”

  “I need to know where you are?”

  Lily’s head turned to the side. A dark figure stood in the doorway holding a gun.

  She screamed.

  Chapter 29

  Evidence

  Caldwell walked past a new recruit on his way in to the office. He shook his head at Tiny who was telling the unsuspecting victim about the time he had been an extra in the Lord of the Rings movies. As Caldwell stepped on to the elevator, he heard Tiny delivering the punch line, telling the female cadet he had hairy feet, too.

  The doors closed, but Caldwell knew there would be a pregnant pause while the unsuspecting nube considered whether or not first, if there were any black hobbits and second, did he really have hairy feet. Tiny had a vice all right. He loved to make people squirm.

  Caldwell tried to shake off his night of distressed sleep. If anyone knew the head case he’d become, they’d send him to a shrink. I just need some coffee.

  Ten minutes later Caldwell sat in Lake’s office at his round meeting table ready to go over forensic reports. Tiny sat across from him on the edge of the chair, his legs dangling.

  “Tiny,” acknowledged Caldwell. “You borrow those glasses from Mr. Potato Head?”

  Tiny looked at him. It dawned on Caldwell what it might sound like to Tiny. “I meant the color, not the size.” They were bright yellow. Caldwell’s cheeks burned.

  Tiny laughed. “I know what you meant, Simmulator.”

  He breathed a little easier.

  “You look like you’re makin’ three tracks in the dirt,” Tiny said.

  He shrugged. “Losing some sleep over this case.”

  “Tell me about it.” Tiny glanced toward the lieutenant. Lake’s eyebrow rose in question.

  “Okay, for starters. The scene at Grady High School turned up dog fur and these weird feathers. Despite running the information through the GBI lab and Fish and Wildlife, there is no match with any known bird species,” Tiny said.

  “What about some exotics from South America, Africa, or Asia?” Caldwell asked.

  “Nothing in the world,” Tiny stated. “The morphologists from the wildlife laboratory say the closest DNA match would be to a peacock, but color and size varies greatly.”

  “There isn’t a question in my mind that these scenes are linked. The same unique feathers were found all over Liu’s studio,” Lake said. He stepped up to their victim board and pursed his lips. His face looked like he’d tasted something sour.

  “True, Lieutenant. But I don’t get it. This guy comes in packing a forty-five and a bird on his shoulder?” Tiny asked.

  “Say hello to my little friend,” Caldwell said in his best gangster voice.

  “Hello,” said Tiny mimicking a parrot. They both doubled over cackling. They stopped when they realized Lieutenant Lake was glaring at them.

  “You guys done?”

  “Yeah, sorry Lieutenant,” Caldwell said.

  Tiny cleared his throat and stifled an unmanly giggle with his hand.

  “You two are totally inaccurate. You see the size of those feathers? This ain’t some parrot.” Lake smirked. “So, I’ve put out feelers to animal shelters, dog grooming places, and pet stores to track down the Shih Tzu and mysterious bird connection. I’ll check the exotic bird websites as well,” Lake said.

  “Thanks, Lieutenant,” Caldwell said.

  Lake nodded before looking to Tiny. “Do we have the results back yet on the human hair from that sweatshirt found in Midtown?”

  “It doesn’t match Hitomi. I haven’t seen anything from
Harding or Jones yet.”

  “When will we get their results?” Lake stood by the corner of his desk squeezing the stress ball.

  “I don’t have their samples.” Tiny looked over his yellow frames at Caldwell.

  “They didn’t show?” Caldwell held his breath.

  Tiny shook his head and darted his eyes to Lake.

  “Shit!” Caldwell put a hand to his head, trying to massage out the knot that had just formed at his temple.

  Lake tilted his head and stared at Caldwell.

  “Ewww. They gonna run?” Tiny asked.

  Caldwell and Lake locked eyes.

  “We better check in with those two,” Lake said, tossing the ball back in the middle of his desk.

  Caldwell stood up, grabbed his cell phone from his pocket, and shuffled through the file in front of him. He attempted every number he had for Jones and Harding, getting no response. He pulled his things together getting ready to bolt.

  Lake put a call into an Atlanta patrol officer to go over to the Ansley Park house.

  “Stay put,” commanded Lake. “Wait until we get word. No sense going off like a blind bird in a hail storm.”

  Caldwell froze. They all had birds on the brain. And dogs. And sexy Asian chicks—okay that might just be him.

  “Let’s talk about the Liu scene,” Lake said, not blinking. “Tiny?” Caldwell sat down on the edge of the office chair.

  “We’ve been coordinating with the Kennesaw PD. The rain and chaos compromised the scene. Still working on the tire tread pattern for the perp who according to Caldwell fled from behind the barn. It was mud soup back there and there were so many previous tracks from tractors, farm equipment Liu used—we’ll have to see what we can get. We were able to decipher tread on the motorcycle presumably used by Lily Moore to flee. It’s consistent with a sport bike,” Tiny said.

  “What about the blood in the studio?” Lake asked.

  “Blood type matches Moore’s and Liu’s but it will be at least a week before we get full DNA results. There were cast off and drips of blood, consistent with stabbing, in the kitchen area which we believe are Liu’s. Can’t be sure if Liu was shot as well. We just recovered one bullet from the wall by the sliding door. There was some blood spatter in the hallway of the studio. Not enough trajectory to indicate gunshot. Could be from blunt force trauma.

  “Ballistics come back?” Lake asked.

  “Bullet found went through a thick tapestry on the wall so it was remarkably intact. No blood found on it, just fibers. Ballistics identified it as a .45 caliber hollow point. Markings on the bullet suggest it was fired from a polygonal barrel. No casings were retrieved from the scene. There is GSR on the clothing and wig that we suspect belonged to Lily Moore. Long dark strands of hair on the inside of the wig are most likely hers. Blood all over the items matches her blood type.”

  “The wig definitely Moore’s?” Caldwell asked. He tried to control his voice from cracking.

  “Looks that way,” said Tiny.

  “GSR on Moore’s clothing could indicate she fired a weapon,” Lake said.

  “She wasn’t holding a gun,” Caldwell said.

  “You don’t know she didn’t have one on her,” Lake said. “Or threw it off into the woods before you saw her, and we haven’t found it yet.”

  Caldwell looked at Lake. “Sir, she didn’t have a gun on her. She was naked.”

  Tiny shook his head. “Lieutenant, there’s a bullet hole in the torn dress. I doubt she shot herself in the shoulder. Besides, the angle of trajectory suggests a taller person; at least six foot. Moore is five foot six. Someone else was firing in the woods. Same bullets found lodged in a tree match those pulled from the studio wall. Between Kennesaw and Ernie’s hounds, that area was covered five times over. No weapon was found.”

  “I don’t understand why an innocent woman is disguising herself and running from the authorities?” Lake said.

  “She was injured sir. Could be amnesia, or kidnapping,” Caldwell said, his mind racing.

  “The team noted size twelve and size nine men’s boots with Liu’s size eight and a half. The pattern suggests the perp dragged him out the front door. Moore’s trail of blood is out the back. Team says that there is only one set of footprints by the bike suggesting she was alone.” Tiny looked over at Caldwell.

  There went his kidnapping theory.

  “We’ve narrowed the shoe tread down to Timberland men’s work boots,” he added. “They’re as common as...”

  “Tits on a Hooter’s girl,” Caldwell blurted.

  Lake threw his pen down on the table. “What the hell did this girl get herself into?”

  Caldwell suppressed an impulsive retort that would have gotten him in trouble. He’d reached his quota for the day. “I bet Liu knew,” he said.

  “And her brother,” added Lake.

  “We need to pay him a visit,” Caldwell said.

  Lake nodded.

  “Anything else, Tiny?’ Lake asked.

  “We’ve got two perps here according to footprints. Not much in the way of fingerprints left behind. We’ve matched fingerprints on a pair of sunglasses found in the woods to Lily. We were able to lift another set of prints from these glasses as well. We didn’t find a match with anything in the database or from the evidence collected from suspects.”

  “Thanks,” Lake said.

  With that, Tiny returned to his office. Caldwell sat still in the chair, stewing. According to his dream, one of the perps was a woman, but he had no evidence to support that. The size nine Timberlands could have been a man’s.

  “What are your thoughts, Simms?” Lake asked, pulling into the round meeting table.

  “Just trying to figure out the second perp. We could have a man and woman working together.”

  “It’s something to keep in mind. Anything else?”

  “Got the search warrants for the Hitomi house, office, and lab. We need to check emails, phone numbers, lab equipment and logs. Maybe we’ll find syringes like the one at the Sinclair crime scene,” Caldwell said.

  “Why don’t you follow up regarding the Jones/Harding household and Seth Moore? I’ll go into Hitomi’s with the warrant team.”

  “Will do,” said Caldwell.

  Lake smacked him on the shoulder as he headed out of the office.

  Caldwell dialed Seth Moore’s cell phone and left him a message. The Patrol officer, who Lake asked to check the Jones/Harding residence, beeped in to let him know there was no sign of anyone at home. Caldwell called all their numbers including work numbers again. Neither man had shown up for work yesterday.

  He called the patrol officer back. “Hawkes. You mind staying put? I’m on my way over. We need to take a quick glance at the property.”

  “No problem,” he said.

  They didn’t have a warrant yet to search the property, but both men looked along the periphery of the yard to see if anything stuck out. Caldwell leaned against the back of the house and studied the setting. His eyes scanned the stonework on the patio, followed the purple blooms of the vine climbing the arbor, took in the pink lilies on the koi pond, and stopped at the Buddha sitting resolute at the back wall. The property told of meticulous work and patience. He tried to imagine Larry Jones fleeing town. It would take a lot for a person to leave this environment.

  Caldwell’s eyes travelled across the lawn once more coming to rest at the base of a purple crepe myrtle. An unnatural green glowed against the pine mulch. Two seconds later, he stood above a blood-spattered cell phone. After a quick trip to the car, Caldwell carried the bagged item with him preparing to check in with Lake. At the garage, he heard a tapping sound.

  Chapter 30

  Sanctuary

  The Hughes/Quinn country property backed up to the Smithgall Woods Wildlife Preserve just outside of Helen. It took Seth and Lily several attempts to find the correct road off Alternate 75. They passed Hootenanny Hills Drive as well as Goats on the Roof Restaurant. Finally, after they turned around twice,
they found Horton Creek, a narrow gravel road marked by a handmade sign that read, “Pat’s Place.” Unlike them, apparently Pat wanted to be found.

  They drove slowly over the gravel, passing a dilapidated trailer with a propane tank. The next lot looked vacant. A green John Deere tractor sat abandoned in the center, surrounded by four weathered school buses parked helter-skelter. Wildlife had claimed the vehicles. Bird poop dotted the rusted paint. Ivy and kudzu snaked through shattered windows, and out holes in the roofs.

  “Crrreeeepy,” whispered Seth.

  They passed eight more abodes ranging from “cute country cottage” to “scary inbreeding zone.”

  “Are you sure we are on the right road?” he asked.

  “Yep.”

  They drove up a steep hill coming to a fork of two driveways. The addresses were not visible. “Stay left,” she said.

  Seth slammed on his brakes before three deer leapt across the road and disappeared into the woods. She could smell them. The pungent odor made her cough.

  At the end of the quarter-mile drive Seth let out a low whistle as their hideout came into view. The cottage consisted of natural wood siding, enormous picture windows, a stone chimney, and wrap-around deck.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” Seth asked.

  “Gee I don’t know. Maybe because breaking and entering my best friend’s family’s house just isn’t something that occurs to me normally.”

  “Point taken,” he said agreeably. Seth had been manically happy since he had purged himself of all of his secrets. She was flipping-flopping through emotions faster than a politician changes platforms.

  “The key may not be where they used to keep it,” Lily said.

  They got out of the truck and walked alongside the house, glancing up at it as if it were watching them. They took the quaint stepping stones engraved with various quotes on them down the incline to a cement birdbath. Smiling cherubs and lambs decorated the pedestal holding the flower-shaped basin.