Roman

by K. J. Dahlen

  “I don’t know,” Cade said. “On our way out, let’s see if we can get a picture of it, mainly the top of the jar. If there is a cartouche we can send it to Jerah and see can see if it’s a name.”

  “Can I help you?” A waitress brought them water and menus and for the next half hour they were busy eating. When their orders came Cade realized he was hungry and he was surprised at the amount of food on his plate.

  “Oh my god, I’m full.” He groaned as he looked at his empty plate. He had ordered a burger and fries and the burger had taken up half the plate. “Now I need a nap.”

  Elliot looked at Kanan and then looked at his brother and smiled. “You’ll just have to walk it off.”

  “I’d have to walk five miles to walk this off,” Cade commented. “It was just so darn good I had to eat it all.”

  “It was excellent food,” Kanan agreed.

  Cade pulled out his wallet and went up to the cashier. While he was there, his eyes were drawn to the jar again. “Wow, I’ve never seen a jar quite like that one,” he told her.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said. “A young friend of mine brought it back from Egypt for me.”

  Cade looked at the older woman behind the counter. She had grey hair and a sweet smile. His eyes went to her name tag and it read Maude. “Would you mind if I took a picture of it?” Cade asked. “I have a niece that loves everything Egypt. She tells me she’s saving her money for a trip there one day.”

  “Sure, take all you want,” Maude told him as she rung up the bill.

  Cade took his phone out of his pocket and began snapping picture of the jar. He was careful to get a good photo of the top of the jar. There was a cartouche engraved there and he wanted Jerah to be able to tell him who the jar belonged to. He managed to sneak a picture of Maude in as well.

  Cade put his phone away and collected his change. “Thank you lovely lady, not only for the pictures but also for the delicious lunch.”

  Maude smiled and blushed.

  When Elliot tapped his shoulder, he nodded and moved away and out of the diner. They walked down the street to where the car was parked. When they were sitting inside the vehicle, Cade sent the pictures to Jerah along with a message to get the information on the jar back to him as quickly as possible. “Now I think we need to speak to Dale Two Moons. If only to verify what Dillman told us.”

  “What did you think of Dillman?” Elliot asked his brother. “I thought he was flakey at best.”

  Cade glanced at his brother and shook his head. “I thought he was a wily old codger. I also think he knows more about the Hudson’s than he told us about.”

  “What makes you think that?” Elliot asked. “If that’s true why didn’t he tell us?”

  “For the same reason no one else in this town has come forward,” Cade told him. “He has to live here. This is ground zero for the Hudsons. Anywhere else is their hunting grounds but around here, they keep their noses clean. That’s what makes them dangerous and crafty. As long as they follow that one rule, the local police won’t have a reason to come knocking on their door.”

  “What if DEA agent Parry is right?” Kanan asked. “Wouldn’t the fact that Flynn is making the drugs here be breaking that rule?”

  Cade nodded. “It would be breaking that rule big time. Maybe Flynn thinks he’s above the law somehow. He knows the law needs probable cause to get past the gates and the locals are too afraid to give them what they need.”

  They drove out of town and as they passed the Hudson place, they slowed down enough to see the fence and the gates.

  Kanan whistled and mumbled under his breath, “Somebody’s got something to hide that’s for sure.”

  “Do you think?” Elliot asked sarcastically as he saw the elaborate security.

  Cade drove past and continued on to the Two Moon residence. Pulling into the driveway, he could see the house and barn. The house was a blue two story building with white trim. It had a wraparound porch and a flower bed in front of the porch. The lawn was well cared for and the barn sat back away from the house.

  They sat in the car for a few minutes before someone opened the door to the house and stepped outside. He was a tall man with long graying hair pulled away from his head in a long braid.

  Cade watched as he came to the edge of the porch. Then he noticed the man had a rifle in his hands. Very carefully, Cade opened his car door and holding his hand up in the air he called out, “Dale Two Moons?”

  The man on the porch nodded and called out, “State your business.”

  “We’re looking for information on a neighbor.”

  Dale lowered his rifle and motioned them to come closer.

  Elliot and Kanan got out of the car and joined Cade. They walked up to the porch.

  “Are you the police?” Dale asked.

  “Not exactly,” Cade told him. “My name is Cade Rivers. This is my brother Elliot and a member of our team Kanan Dasher. We’re from the Rivers Foundation.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  “We’re looking into a case involving Cooper Hudson and his father Flynn,” Cade explained. “We work in coordination with the police in some of their more colorful cases.”

  Dale turned and said, “Come on in the house then. I don’t know how colorful this case is but I bet it’s a bad one.” When he got into the house, he put the gun close to the front door and moved into the kitchen. He began making coffee while they all sat down at the table. Dale turned to them. “Okay, what is this all about? And what is the Rivers Foundation all about?”

  Cade replied to this, “The Rivers Foundation is a privately run foundation that investigates and works with police on some very serious crimes. When a case goes cold and we’re asked to look into it, we start investigating the crime all over again. Sometimes we find something the police missed.”

  “What are you doing here?” Dale asked.

  “When we started this case we were looking into a connection between Cooper Hudson and a string of murders going back fifteen years. We now believe his father Flynn is somehow involved as well.”

  “What makes you think I can help you?”

  “Jonathan Dillman gave us your name. He thought you could help us,” Elliot told him.

  “Dillman’s a good man but he can’t take on the Hudson’s,” Dale agreed. He seemed to be thinking about something for a moment then he spoke, “If you’re serious about putting them out of business follow me.” Dale turned and walked to the back door of his house. He grabbed a different rifle sitting there and proceeded out the door.

  Cade looked at his brother but followed the man leading them through the pasture and into the wooded area in his back yard.

  They followed him up to the top of a hill and when Dale stopped, he pointed toward the left side. There they could see right into Flynn Hudson’s yard. From here, they could see his house and his barn and everything in between.

  Cade quickly looked at Dale and then back at the scene below him. He could see the activity in one of the sheds behind the barn and the pasture where there were four horses. Dale squatted down and told them, “From here you can see them but they have no idea we’re even here.”

  “How do you know that?” Elliot asked.

  “Because I’ve sat here for hours watching they and they’ve never noticed me.”

  Cade squatted down beside Dale and asked, “And just what is so interesting that you would watch them for hours at a time?”

  “There is always goings on down there. Once about seven years ago they did some work inside the barn. They hauled a lot of dirt out of there and put a lot of cement in. Then about two years ago they added those sheds over there.” He pointed to the trio of buildings to the right of the barn. “The whole place is lit up at night and they get quite a few cars coming and going after dark. The cars always drive into one of the sheds before anyone gets out of them.”

  “Why is that?” Kanan asked.

  “Because around dusk, someone always lets the dogs
out. They have three of them and they are the meanest pure breeds I’ve ever seen.”

  “Yeah, Dillman told us about your phone call regarding the deer,” Elliot said.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that vicious.” Dale shook his head. Then he turned and pointed to a small building way back in the woods below them. “About five years ago they put that shed up. Old Leroy had a still out there. I could smell the sour mash every time he started it up. Flynn still fires it up every once in a while.”

  “What else can you tell us about your neighbors?” Cade asked.

  “They’ve been real busy with some sort of project ever since young Cooper came back from Egypt. I’ve spotted cars with license plates all the way from New York to Florida coming in and going out on a pretty regular basis now. Every few weeks they come in just after dark and a few hours later before the sun comes up, they leave.”

  “That isn’t really against the law,” Cade reminded him.

  “No it isn’t,” Dale agreed. He reached into his pocket and brought out a small envelope then handed it to Cade. “One day, I found this out in the woods behind their place.”

  Cade looked at the small packet. It read Egyptian Gold. The packet was small and reminded him of a sugar packet. It had been torn open and whatever was supposed to be in it was gone.

  “After I found it I was looking on the internet and found out that a new drug had hit the streets. I called the DEA and they said they would look into it but I haven’t heard from them since.”

  “How long ago was that?” Kanan asked.

  “A few weeks now.” Dale nodded at the packet in Cade’s hand. “I don’t know for sure but I think they’re making drugs down there.”

  “You could be right about that,” Cade said as he stared down into the yard. “We’re supposed to meet a DEA agent later today.”

  “Well if you do, you bring him out here. I’ve got lots to tell him,” Dale said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  A short time later, they were on their way back to the airport. Hank Parry called to tell them he would be delayed getting there until the next day due to work on a different case. Cade decided to go home instead of staying over.

  As they drove up to the house, they were surprised to find it dark. It was late enough in the day that some of the lights should have been on. As they walked into the house, there was a bittersweet smell in the air. Cade looked at Elliot. “Open every window and door in the place.”

  Cade quickly went through the house with his weapon drawn. He found Quinn in the kitchen slumped in his chair. When he checked for a pulse, he was happy to find one. From where he was, he saw a pair of boots sticking out of the pantry. Pushing the door open, he found Briar tied up. He was out cold. Cade checked for a pulse and found a weak heartbeat. He knelt down and slapped his brother’s face.

  Briar groaned but opened his eyes.

  Cade cut the duct tape holding his hands together and helped him to his feet. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Briar nodded. “Yeah, I’ll live but I have a hell of a headache.” He caught sight of Quinn and asked, “Is he okay?”

  “I think so. Can you get him in the living room and help air out the house?” Cade asked.

  Briar nodded and watched as Cade turned and left the kitchen.

  He went down the hall to the conference room. He found Jerah and Faith on the floor in there. They were just beginning to move around. He looked at the bulletin board they had set up in there and all their evidence was gone. Someone had ripped it off the board. All that was left were the corners the tape had stuck to.

  He quickly checked every bedroom. He found India under her bed. When he pulled her out, she groaned and opened her eyes.

  When she saw him she whispered, “What happened?”

  “I don’t know but I’m going to find out,” Cade told her. “Come on out to the living room. There’s fresher air out there. I have to find the others.”

  India made her way to the living room. Elliot and Kanan had gotten Quinn, Faith and Jerah there already. Everyone looked groggy but they were alive. Cade called out from Fallon’s bedroom. He half carried her out to the hall. Elliot met him and he handed Fallon off to him.

  He turned and entered T.K.’s bedroom. When he came out a few minutes later, he was alone. He came to the living room and asked, “What the hell happened here?”

  Quinn shook his head. “I have no clue. One minute everything is fine and the next its light’s out.”

  “Wait a minute,” India looked around the room. “Where is T.K.?”

  “I couldn’t find her,” Cade replied. “She and all the evidence is missing.”

  “What do you mean the evidence is gone?” Jerah asked.

  “Everything we had up on the board is gone.”

  India raised her hands to her mouth in horror. “They got to her, didn’t they?”

  “Who got to her?” Cade swung his head to her.

  “Cooper Hudson. He called here again this morning.”

  “When was that?” Cade asked.

  “The call came just before lunch,” India explained. “Then I heard a sound and I felt so dizzy. I went to my room and I was so tired. I laid down on the bed but I was still dizzy. I rolled over and fell on the floor and then I don’t know what happened.”

  “What kind of sound did you hear?” Elliot asked.

  “I don’t really know. It was some kind of hissing sound.”

  Cade went out the courtyard door and returned a few minutes later. When he came back, he had a small canister in his hands. “They hooked up something to the AC.”

  “At least it wasn’t lethal,” Elliot told him. “We could have come home to find dead bodies instead of live ones.”

  “But why would they kidnap T.K.?” India asked.

  “Gretchen must have figured out who one of the witnesses were,” Cade reasoned. “She didn’t know which of you other girls was the other witness.”

  “Can we go get her back?” India begged. “She’s going to be so scared.”

  “We can’t just go charging in there.” Cade sighed.

  “We can’t just leave her there,” India told them panicked. “You know what Cooper does to his victims!” She began to shake and her eyes grew haunted.

  “We can’t just rush in there either,” Elliot warned. “Not unless you want your friend to die.”

  “We need to coordinate our efforts,” Cade said. “Maybe with a DEA raid.”

  “Can you get your contact person in on this?” Briar asked as he sat down beside India and put his arm around her shoulder.

  “I hope so, we’re going to need the extra men on this.” Cade grabbed his cell phone and dialed the number. He looked at his brother and told him, “You get the local police to find their vehicle. They would want privacy to get her from here to there. Also, contact the local airports and check if they have hired a plane. We need to find them quickly.” He looked at Jerah and asked, “Did you get to research that cartouche I sent you earlier?”

  Jerah nodded. “It read Helen.”

  “Damn, the bastard murdered her,” Cade muttered out loud. He turned to India. “Jenna wasn’t his first murder. Cooper killed a local girl named Helen Leary about a year before you saw him. He killed her because she rejected him.”

  “How do you know that?” she asked.

  “Because he gave a jar like the one you found to a friend of his. She has it on display in her diner.”

  India looked positively sick. “Oh my god, that’s horrible.”

  “It would be if she knew what was in the jar. This woman has be close to eighty years old. The shock would probably kill her,” Cade agreed. He dialed the number for Hank Parry and spoke to him a few minutes later. When he hung up, he looked over at Briar. “The local state patrol found them traveling highway 95. They are about two hours ahead of us.”

  “How long before they get home?” Briar asked.

  “About six hours, give or take. So, that will gi
ve us time to get there ahead of them. Hank said he could be there in three hours and he’s bringing the FBI with him. They’ll get him on kidnapping charges for crossing state lines, if we find her with them when they get there.”

  “Don’t forget we have to get inside the gates ourselves, and get past the dogs.” Eliot sighed. “Then we have to find something that connects them to the murders and we’re running out of time.”

  “Then let’s get going,” Cade urged.

  “I’m going with you this time,” India told Cade. “I need to be there for T.K. I told her she would be safe here!” Tears formed in her eyes.

  Cade sighed and shook his head. “Come on then.” He looked at Briar. “Are you coming?”

  Briar nodded then walked over to the gun cabinet to get a weapon.

  Cade turned to Jerah. “Try to find our evidence again. We’re going to need it to tie the case up.”

  “Lucky for us, I copied it all to my computer before we posted it to the board. That won’t be a problem.”

  ~* * * *~

  Exactly two hours later, Cade pulled into Dale Two Moons’ driveway for the second time that day. This time it was dark outside and the lights from the house were a welcome sight. There were two other cars in the driveway and Cade hoped that meant Hank Parry and the FBI were already there.

  They walked up to the porch and the front door opened. Dale stood there with a frown on his face. “Do you have any idea why the DEA and FBI are in my house?” he asked Cade.

  “As a matter of fact I do.”

  “Does this have to do with the Hudsons?” he asked.

  “Yes it does. They broke into my house this afternoon, used a knockout gas to get inside, then kidnapped a young woman staying there. We’re here to get her back before they murder her.”

  Dale grinned and moved to one side. “Well hot damn, it’s about time something was done. Come on in son, so we can figure out a way to get you through the gates.”

  As Cade and the others entered the house, three men turned to greet them. One on them stepped forward. “Are one of you Cade Rivers?”