Free to Kill

by Julie Mellon

  Please know that we both love you. If you ever want to come for a visit, our door is always open, even if one of us won’t admit that.

  Lots of love,

  Patty

  Katie sat at the window for a long time letting images of her childhood wash over her. She thought of her mother, healthy and strong; always adamant that a woman could do anything a man could. She preached endlessly that a woman didn’t need a man to survive. Katie just couldn’t make her mind picture her mother any other way. She wished Patty had included a picture of her mother. Of course, that would be impossible. Katie had a ton of pictures of herself from childhood, but her mother had never allowed her own picture to be taken. This was the first time in her life that Katie began to question her mother’s motives.

  An arriving car caught Katie’s attention. As she watched, a tall blonde got out of the driver’s seat of a sporty Nissan. The woman had barely closed the car door when Michael stepped off the porch. The blonde woman threw herself into his arms and Katie could hear her laughter through the closed window. Michael returned the hug and gently set the woman back on her own feet. Taking her hand, Michael led her away from the house and out toward the fields. A few steps past the edge of the driveway, the two disappeared from view behind a line of trees. Thirty minutes later, the woman stormed back to her car. Yelling over her shoulder, Katie caught the words “you can go to hell,” before the woman threw her car in reverse and tore down the lane to the street.

  A few minutes later, Michael returned to the yard and glanced up to see Katie sitting at the window. He turned his face away and continued walking.

  It took a while for Katie to realize that what she felt was jealousy. She didn’t know if she was jealous of the interaction between Michael and the mystery woman, or if she was jealous that Michael was hugging someone else. Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to her that she wanted to be held by someone. That was a troubling thought, and one that would bear further scrutiny, but at another time.

  Getting up, Katie changed clothes and got into bed. After the sleepless night before, she desperately needed some rest. As she drifted off, she wondered what it would be like to have Michael’s arm around her. That night, her fantasies filled in the blanks. Katie wasn’t upset; at least it kept her from dreaming about Jenny Downing.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Friday morning began with gray skies. The humidity was so thick in the air that it felt like walking through soup. The forecast called for severe storms with possible tornados late in the day. The volunteers were going to go out searching first thing this morning, but would be taking a break in the afternoon for the funeral of Elaine Henderson.

  The parking lot of the church was once again packed with people. The amount of food had multiplied from the day before, but the same women stood behind the tables serving it up on Styrofoam plates. Katie would bet that the diner wasn’t happy with the events; they probably only had customers that weren’t able-bodied enough to search, or who couldn’t get off work to aid with the efforts. With the turnout at the church, that would be very few people. Lucy and Andy arrived a few minutes after Katie and Michael. After a quick conference, Andy stayed behind to assist with the coordination and to keep an eye on the people who were coming and going while Katie, Michael and Lucy each joined a search party.

  For the next four hours, each party walked through the woods calling Jenny’s name. They looked under every fallen tree and into every opening in the rocks along the path. There was no sign of anything amiss, nor any reply to the calls of the searchers. It was a downtrodden group of people who returned to the lot of the church. Betsy invited Katie and Michael back to her house to shower and clean up for the funeral while Father Joe invited Lucy and Andy to clean up in the rectory.

  Arriving at Betsy’s house, Michael let them in using the key Betsy had given him. She had stayed behind to help clean up the tables and food and told them to return the key when they got back to the church. As Katie headed toward the stairs to use the upstairs shower, Michael grabbed her arm. He quickly tilted her head to the side and Katie’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart hammered as Michael lowered his face toward her. Instead of the kiss she expected, Michael said, “You have a tick in your neck. We need to get that out and make sure you don’t have any more.”

  Michael grabbed her other arm as she instinctively raised it to brush away the tick. “Don’t do that. You’ll break off the head inside your neck, then you’ll have to be treated at the hospital. Let’s just go find some tweezers. I can take care of it.”

  He followed Katie upstairs and went through the medicine cabinet while Katie looked through the drawers. Finally finding tweezers, Michael used a lighter he had picked up downstairs to sterilize the ends. Once they were hot enough, he grabbed the end of the tick and quickly pulled back. The tick popped out of Katie’s neck and Michael used the lighter to burn it. Dropping the dead tick in the toilet, he reached up and grabbed a towel from the shelf over the toilet. Instructing Katie to take everything off and wrap herself in the towel, he stepped from the room to let her change.

  Once Katie was changed and wrapped as securely as possible in the tiny towel, she opened the door. Michael nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight of her. Knowing there was nothing under the towel didn’t help matters. As their eyes made contact, he could see the nervousness in her gaze. He reached out and gently took one of her hands in his. Pulling it toward him, he finally looked down at her arm. Slowly, he ran his hand over her forearm and up to her shoulder. Turning her arm over, he ran his fingertips down the underside of her arm back to her hand. Her skin was as soft as silk and he had a difficult time releasing her first hand to reach for her second. Repeating the process, he found no other ticks on her arms. Thinking it was over, Katie started to step back from him, her every nerve twitching. Michael grabbed hold of her shoulders and when she looked up at him, he shook his head.

  “Time to turn around,” he said in a strangled voice. Katie did as he said and turned her back to him. “You need to lower your towel enough for me to see your back.” His voice dropped off to a whisper, as if he had difficulty getting the words out. Katie took a deep breath and allowed the towel to droop until it rested on her lower back. Michael took his hands and very lightly ran them over her back, first from shoulder to shoulder and then down the center of her spine. Katie couldn’t help the shiver that ran down her body, nor could she stop the goosebumps that broke out on her skin. Not finding any other ticks, Michael hesitantly raised the towel back up, but stopped Katie from moving. Dropping to his knees behind her, Michael softly touched her ankles. Katie jumped from the unexpected touch and nearly fell over. Michael grabbed her hips to steady her, then returned his hands to her ankles. As he slid his hands up her legs, her scent filled his nostrils. She smelled of the woods, very earthy, but also very feminine. As he reached her thighs, he knew he was going to have difficulty hiding his reaction to her. Stopping at the edge of the towel, he grabbed her hips once more and turned her around. Repeating the process from her ankles to her thighs without finding anything, he stood. “Make sure you check under your breasts and in the areas I couldn’t see. Also, make sure you feel your scalp for any when you wash your hair,” Michael said, but he was unable to make eye contact with her.

  Nodding, Katie whispered, “Who’s going to check you?”

  “I’m experienced in checking for ticks,” he replied with a crooked smile. The thought of her hands on him was too much to contemplate in the small bathroom without crossing the line with a partner that he really liked and respected. He needed to leave now before that line became blurred.

  As he was about to close the door, Katie asked, “Michael, who was that woman last night?”

  Only because his gaze flew up to meet hers did he see the uncertainty in her expression as he said, “No one,” and closed the door, ignoring the flash of hurt in her eyes.

  An hour later, Katie and Michael returned to the church. Things were strained betwe
en them and they hadn’t exchanged more than a few words since leaving Betsy’s house. Of course, Lucy picked up on the tension right away. As Michael went over to talk to Chief Davidson, Lucy asked, “What’s up with you two?” The wiggle of her brows made it clear what she thought was up.

  “Nothing.” Katie wasn’t about to get into that with Lucy. She didn’t really know what was going on, or even what she wanted to go on with her and Michael.

  “You know the whole unit is taking bets on how soon you two hook up.”

  “I don’t sleep with my partner. It’s unethical.” Katie was quick to make her point. The last thing she needed was more suspicion surrounding her career. She already had more than enough trying to overcome the opinions her current bosses had. There was no way she was going to ever cross that line.

  Lucy wasn’t to be deterred. “Come on. It happens all the time. And with a hunk like that for a partner, I would have already jumped him.”

  “It happens all the time, huh? So I suppose you’ve hooked up with Andy?” Katie’s mood was plummeting, which was saying a lot considering how low it had been when she walked into the church.

  Lucy just laughed and walked over to join her partner.

  The funeral began shortly thereafter. The casket was rolled in with the lid closed at the family’s request. Rick Henderson came in with his two children on either side of him. The children were far from the happy kids Katie and Michael had seen a week earlier at their Aunt Evelyn’s house. Evelyn and her parents entered next. Minutes later the entire church was filled with people. The Hendersons had foregone a visitation the night before so that the search could continue for Jenny Downing.

  Father Joe began the funeral mass, inviting several people to come up and say a few words. Evelyn gave a speech remembering growing up with her twin; she was the only member of the family to speak. A few of the women who had been members of the church spoke about Elaine’s giving spirit. Finally, the priest said a homily and the organist began playing the exiting hymn.

  Throughout the service, Michael, Katie, Lucy and Andy stood around the edges of the room and surreptitiously watched the people in the crowd. After the last notes of the closing hymn echoed through the church, the parishioners stood and waited for the casket and family to precede them down the aisle. Once they were loaded into the waiting vehicles, the procession made its way across town to the cemetery.

  At the cemetery, the priest blessed the burial plot and again sprinkled holy water over the coffin. As the casket was lowered into the ground, Father Joe said, “May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.” At the final pronouncement, the skies opened up and the predicted storms arrived in full force. The parishioners began to scatter quickly, making their way to their cars, though most were already soaked through by the time they reached them. The four agents stood silently in the rain and watched everyone leave. There was one man who wanted to linger, though with a look at the agents he quickly merged into the crowds. Michael and Katie exchanged a glance and Katie began trying to follow the man. However Betsy grabbed her arm as she headed in that direction. Betsy was one of the few who had brought an umbrella.

  “Dear, you will catch your death. You just share this umbrella with me and walk an old lady to her car.”

  Katie glanced over at Michael to let him know she had lost the guy, but Michael had seen the exchange and knew it was pointless. Turning back to Betsy, Katie asked, “Betsy, did you see that gentleman who just walked away? He was the last one to leave.”

  “No, I’m afraid I didn’t see anyone once the rain started. I was too busy trying to wrestle this dang umbrella up. Do you think it was him?”

  “No, ma’am. I’m sure it was just a concerned friend. He was just someone I haven’t seen before so I was trying to put a name to him.” Katie helped Betsy into her car, closed the umbrella for her and then the door. “Drive safe,” she called through the window before turning and making her way to the car where Michael was waiting.

  “The weather service has issued a tornado warning for Bedford and Rutherford counties. I say we call it a night and head back home before this gets any worse.” Michael started the car and, without waiting for a reply, turned toward home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  By the time Katie and Michael turned into the drive leading back to the Bed & Breakfast, the rain was coming down so hard neither of them could see two inches past the windshield. They were both still soaked from the cemetery, so the dash from the car to the back door of the house became a race to see who could get inside first. Laughing, they burst through the door and were met by five pairs of eyes as the Shoulders family stopped what they were doing and turned to face them.

  Caroline was the first to move. She grabbed two towels from the dryer and handed them over. “If you’ll take your wet clothes off here, I’ll throw them straight into the wash. No need to track up the whole house with all the dripping you’re doing.” Shaking her head, she turned and headed back to the table. “Do we have all the flashlights?”

  Katie looked over at Michael and knew they were both thinking the same thing. There was no way she was getting undressed in front of him twice in one day. Michael opened the dryer again and dug around a bit until he found a large terrycloth bathrobe. He handed it to Katie then picked up a sheet that was on the floor to be washed in the next load. Holding his arms out with the sheet behind him and facing away from her, he shielded Katie from view so she could quickly change into the bathrobe.

  “Oh, I guess I’m so used to everyone being family,” Caroline said, flustered. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Please, if this is too embarrassing, go on up and change. I can mop the floors later.” Caroline’s face was beet red as she realized the position she had put her guest in.

  “It’s okay. I’m about changed. It’s not the first time today I’ve undressed in an awkward situation.” The words were out of her mouth before she thought through what she said. Michael burst out laughing, which only fueled the curiosity on Caroline’s face. Not wanting to encourage the direction of Caroline’s thoughts, Katie finished the thought, “We had a slight tick incident today. Luckily, there was only one.” She stepped out and changed places with Michael.

  “We’re gathering supplies for the cellar.” Ian said, using his newly learned word. “There’s a tornado warning, so we have to sleep down there.” The excitement in his voice was in direct contrast to the repulsion Katie experienced at his words.

  “Is he serious?” she whispered to Michael. She turned to face him just as he fastened a towel around his waist. Her mouth went dry at the sight of his muscular chest, sprinkled lightly with dark hair. She couldn’t seem to make her eyes stop roving over his entire body.

  Shifting his weight to one foot, Michael propped his hands on his narrow hips. “Yes, he is serious. We will be sleeping together tonight.” Sheer panic at his words caused Katie’s eyes to fly up to meet his. She saw the humor in his eyes and knew he had phrased his response that way on purpose. “See you down there soon, Katie. Wear something warm, it can get a bit chilly.” Michael stepped around her with a chuckle and disappeared up the stairs. Kevin and Caroline were trying not to laugh as Katie followed him out of the room. She was so mortified that she didn’t dare look at either of them. As soon as she reached the upper landing, she heard them both lose the battle to contain their laughter.

  Half an hour later, Katie made her way downstairs to the basement. She had spent the time drying her hair and pulling on her FBI sweatsuit and thick socks. She had seen what everyone else brought, so she quickly threw together a bag with a change of clothes, a book, her case file notes, a pen and her handgun. She had kept busy so she didn’t freak out over thoughts of the dirty, dark, wet basement that she would be forced to sleep in. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw a large room that ran the entire length and width of the house. The walls were cinderblock, painted a bright and soothing yellow. There were bunk
beds around the edges of the room with a few tables in the center holding various board games. She laughed at herself when she saw how comfortable the room was. There was even a section to the side with couches and chairs to hang out in around a fireplace. There was a television in the corner with an assortment of movies to watch, at least until the power went out.

  Kevin had built a fire and everyone was gathered around sitting on the couches. Carrie had curled up on Uncle Michael’s lap and was sucking her thumb, nearly asleep. They spent several hours laughing and talking. Dinner consisted of hot dogs roasted in the fire followed by s’mores. It was a cozy environment and Katie couldn’t remember ever having more fun. The kids were full of ghost stories and were happy to provide jokes and updates on everyday life. At eight, the power did go out and the sound of the thunder outside penetrated down to basement.

  Michael tucked a sleeping Carrie into one of the bunk beds as Tommy curled up on another, nearly asleep himself. Soon it was only Ian and the adults left around the fire.

  “Miss Katie, why didn’t you use the secret stairs to come down here?” Ian asked.

  “I didn’t know this house had secret stairs. Can you tell me about them, or are they top secret?” Katie had enjoyed Ian’s humor. She wasn’t entirely sure if he was being serious or if he was about to play a joke on her.

  “Well, duh, if they were top secret, I wouldn’t have mentioned them. There are secret stairs from here to your room. But mom put a lock on them so they could only be opened from your room. She said she didn’t want us kids to be scaring any guests who stay there. And since that’s the best room in the house, she always fills it first.”

  “Can you show me these stairs?” Katie still wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him, but he had said all that with a straight face and no one was contradicting him. Ian stood up and motioned for her to follow him. He led her to the far corner and opened a door hidden in the wall panel. Sure enough, behind the panel was a set of stairs. Ian grabbed her arm as she started to go up.