by Linda Mooney
“Now?”
Worry crossed her brow. “I meant next.”
“I’m sorry, J. I’m not following you.” He was still too consumed by their lovemaking to understand what she was talking about.
She ran her fingers through his hair. Again, the sensation soothed and surprised him.
“Today, when you and Sam were talking about the Shredder, and you said there was only one more guy left on the list. Jaynes. What happens if the Shredder kills him? Do you really think the Shredder will go away after that?”
“You know as much as I do, J.”
She adjusted her body slightly to ease a cramp, then sighed. Her hand continued to touch him, trailing her fingertips over his ear and down his jaw.
“No stubble.”
“Huh?”
“It’s probably the only flaw in your disguise, Kiel. I made a note of it this afternoon while you were helping with the investigation.”
That’s right. He should have been sporting a shadow as the investigation continued into the early evening. Although he was blond, his beard had a tendency to be reddish-gold.
They had spent a long time at the apartment complex as they tried to figure out the connection with 402. When the call eventually came that the bodies were discovered in an overgrown, abandoned field not six blocks from the chop shop, he and Sam had taken J over there to see if she could get anything from the victims’ remains. By the time they were ready to call it a day, it was late, and Sam and J were starving.
“Thanks. I’ll remember to adjust.”
“Kiel? What if…what if the Shredder doesn’t find Jaynes?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think there’s a, I don’t know, a holding pattern for vengeful spirits? Kind of like an eternal waiting room? On the off chance that Jaynes could mistakenly end up back in the Shredder’s territory?”
“Hell, at this point, I could believe anything’s possible.”
“And you honestly think you won’t disappear until you find your body?”
“Yeah. That’s what Sam and I think. Whether or not Conader kills Jaynes, I believe the outcome of what’s happening with the Shredder won’t affect my circumstance. My dealings with him are over.” He have a humorless little chuckle and nuzzled her cheek. “Jennifer. Jessica. Joan. Joanna. Jill. No! Jillian!”
J let out a cry, which ended in a fit of giggles. She playfully slapped him on the buttocks. “Stop it! What did you do? Memorize a name dictionary?
“I’m persistent. What can I say?” He started to ground himself against her again. “Let’s stop talking about the job. There are more pleasurable things we could be doing.”
“I thought we already did it,” J said with a smile still in her voice.
“Wanna go for round three?” He started to lift his head so he could look down at her again, when a familiar sound went off on the other side of the bed.
J gave him a shove to get him to move off of her. “I need to answer that.”
He started to ask who would be calling her at this time of the night, when the answer came to him the same moment she answered the phone.
“Yeah. Hold on.” She picked up the set from where it normally stayed on the floor, and placed it on the sheets as she handed him the receiver. Kiel accepted it from her.
“Yes?”
“Lawrence Jaynes has been captured,” Sam said.
“When? Where?”
“His folks had a summer place over on Dover Lake. Neighbors had seen the bulletin on television, and called the local sheriff. Captain’s already sent over two officers to pick him up and bring him back here.”
“Why this time of night? Why not wait until morning?”
“Because he believed us when we told him that Jaynes was the last living target on the Shredder’s list. He’s probably hoping that, by having Jaynes here under his jurisdiction, he can protect the man long enough to go to trial.”
“But having Jaynes back in town will put him back within Conader’s reach,” Kiel argued. He heard his brother sigh, and knew why. “We gotta convince the captain—”
“Captain’s going to believe what he wants to believe.”
Kiel glance at J, who had a puzzled but patient expression on her beautiful face. “What if J tells him?”
There was a moment of silence. “It couldn’t hurt,” Sam finally admitted, then yawned loudly. “I’ll be on my way over as soon as I throw on a pair of pants. Sorry to be interrupting you two.”
“We’ll be waiting.” He hung up the phone and reluctantly lifted himself off of J’s sweet body.
“They found Jaynes?” She rolled out of bed and made her way to her closet as Kiel morphed himself into jeans and a shirt.
“He’s being brought back to town.”
“That’s not a wise decision,” J said, slipping one of those shapeless shifts over her head and pulling it down to where it stopped at her knees. With a flush of heat, Kiel realized she was getting ready to leave without any underwear. Which meant he would be uncomfortably aware of her nipples when they poked out the fabric. He’d be watching for them. Or maybe keeping a close eye on the sleek curve of her butt cheeks when she walked. And if he could see them, then that meant others could, too.
“That’s what I said,” he said. Then added, “No panties?”
“I thought we were in a hurry?”
“Sam’s on his way. We have time. Put on some panties. Now. Please.”
J grabbed a pair of white cotton panties from her chest of drawers and pulled them on. She heard Kiel when he made a disparaging sound, and whirled around to face him.
“Now what?”
“Why do you wear those granny panties?”
“What are granny panties? Good grief, Kiel. One moment you cut down the way I dress, but in your next breath, you tell me to keep wearing them. Now my underwear isn’t good enough?”
He could hear her exasperation, and knew she was growing irritated. Not so much because of him, but because she was tired. And because this case was sorely testing her sanity. If he kept pushing, it might lead to tears, and he didn’t want that.
Kiel took her hand and kissed the back of it. “I’m sorry, J. I may be dead, but I’m still all male. I want to see you in clothes that turn me on. But at the same time, I don’t want other men to see how beautiful you are.”
It was an explanation she could live with. “You only think I’m beautiful because you love me.”
“Hey, you think I’m beautiful, and you’re blind.”
This time, she couldn’t help but laugh, and she was still giggling when they descended the stairs and exited the house where they would wait on the front porch for Sam’s arrival.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the station house.”
“Where they’re bringing in Mr. Jaynes?”
“That. Actually, I was hoping you could talk some sense into the captain. Make him change his mind.”
“You mean, convince him to put Jaynes in a cell in some other town where the Shredder can’t reach him?”
“Exactly. Think you can do that?”
She faced the street. “All I can do is tell him what I know. I have no ability to mentally manipulate him. I’ll try, Kiel, but I can’t promise I’ll be successful. I mean, if it gets down to the nitty gritty, and I have to explain about the Shredder being dead, how do you think he’s going to take that?”
“Just do what you can.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. J leaned back against him, and he closed his eyes to savor the embrace. Giving her a small squeeze, he kissed her hair. The feel of her in his arms was only surpassed by the feel of her around him when he was making love to her.
“Kiel?”
“Yeah?”
“What if you never find your body? Will that mean you’ll continue to exist like you are now for eternity?”
He adjusted his hold on her, and she snuggled closer. “I don’t think it works that way, J. I think, now, mind you, this is
all theory and hunch on my part, but I think I only have a limited amount of time to find it.”
“What happens if you don’t?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I fade into some kind of limbo.”
“But if you do, if you do manage to find your body, you’ll fade into limbo, too, won’t you?” Slowly, J turned around and pressed her cheek against his chest. “Either way, I’m going to lose you, won’t I?”
“J.”
“I love you, Kiel. I’ll never forget you.” She was fighting the tears as she pushed her forehead into his jacket’s lapel. “I want you to know that. I want you to take that with you.”
Maybe it was a good thing he couldn’t cry. Her confession was tearing him apart. “I know, J. I know. Listen. Believe me when I say this. You are the only reason I’m able to see this to the end. You’ve given me something to hold on to, and I don’t just mean figuratively.” He grinned and gave her a quick hug. J laughed softly. “I was going crazy. There were days I wanted to give up. And Sam, poor Sam, every morning he wakes up wondering if I’m still around. I can’t imagine how he’s able to cope.” Taking a deep breath, he broached the subject that had been unspoken between them for too long. “J, I asked Sam to watch over you once I was gone. I hope you don’t mind me doing that.”
She answered with a shake of her head. She couldn’t speak.
He felt something warm and wet soak through his shirt, to cool on his skin.
Headlights turned the corner. Kiel straightened up. “Sam’s here.”
They headed for the station house. No one spoke during the trip. Kiel chanced a glance at J, who was sitting next to him in the backseat, but her face was pensive. He had yet to tell the difference between when she was deep in thought, and when she was distracted by her visions. And chances are, I won’t be around long enough to find out.
“Delta Echo Six Five, report.”
Sam picked up the mic. “Six Five, copy.”
“Delta Echo Six Five, request you move to channel eight.”
Kiel immediately caught Sam’s surprised look back at him via the rearview mirror. Eight was the interdepartmental channel reserved for when the police worked in cooperation with the fire department and any other law enforcement agency called in to help with a current or specific case. In this instance, Sam and Kiel had no doubt what case they were all involved with.
“Copy. Moving to eight.” Sam reached over to change channels. “Delta Echo Six Five, what’s up?”
“Reese, what’s your location?” It was Matt Crewe, one of the two men sent over to Dover Lake to pick up Larry Jaynes.
“We’re heading for the station. Our ETA is about seventeen minutes. Did you get Jaynes?”
“Negative,” the detective said in a definitely pissed-off tone of voice. “The perp escaped custody.”
“How?” The word was spoken simultaneously by Sam and Kiel.
“We had him, but he somehow managed to elude us when we got back to the station. We’re having a pow-wow right now in Captain Redd’s office. Hurry up and get here as soon as you can.”
“Will do. Six Five out.”
Seconds ticked by in silence. Kiel looked again at his older brother in the rearview mirror.
“Do you think the guy knew he was a dead man if he came back here, and that’s why he hauled ass the first chance he got?”
“If he did, Jaynes is heading away from town as fast as he can. Chances are he may be making a beeline for the city limits.” Sam keyed the mic. “Delta Echo Six Five to base.”
“Base. Go ahead, Six Five.”
“Jaynes isn’t running,” J interrupted.
Her voice had that empty, echoing sound Kiel already recognized.
Sam paused from answering the two-way. “He’s not?”
“The Shredder has him.”
Before the words left her mouth, Kiel and Sam already knew the answer to the riddle. Sam jerked the wheel, pulling the vehicle into the parking lot of a dry cleaner, and almost did a one-eighty before heading back the way they’d come.
“Go ahead, Six Five. We copy.”
Kiel scrambled for the mic thrown on the passenger seat. “Possible thirty at Fairview and Mallista. La Vista Grande apartments. En route Code Two. Need immediate backup, including EMS and coroner!”
“Copy, Six Five.”
“Tell Captain Redd suspect Jaynes may be on the premises.”
“Copy, Six Five. Confirming fire and ambulance are en route.”
Dropping the mic, Kiel glanced over to see Sam concentrating on the road. Thank God it was the wee hours of the morning. Traffic was light or nonexistent.
A tiny sound made him drop back onto the seat and turn to find J pale and shaking. He grabbed her hands, which was like holding ice.
“J, what’s wrong? What’s happening?”
She made a gurgling sound in her throat. Her eyes were glassy, her vision drawn inward. Beads of sweat were popping out on her face. Whatever she was “seeing” wasn’t good. Worse, she was too deep inside herself to answer him, if she heard him at all.
“Sam, I think J’s going into shock.”
“What?”
“Hurry!”
Blood. Hatred. Screams. Blood. Pain.
The rod lifted, covered in redness and pieces of flesh.
It descended. More blood. Splatters arched overhead and landed on the wall. A stream of it steamed in the cool early morning air as it meandered across the concrete floor toward the drain. The rod lifted again.
The screams were deafening.
No! No! Stop!
The world smelled of death. The aura around it was as brittle as glass and tinted dark gray.
The rod fell again. Again. Again. The screaming lessened until it was no more than weeping and raspy breathing.
“…to me, J!”
It’s was Kiel’s voice.
She struggled to answer him. “Dying.”
“Dying? You mean Jaynes? Is Conader killing him? Now? Right this moment? Is that what you’re seeing?” He gave her hands a tug, but she was frozen in place as if she had been tied at the scene to witness the man’s execution.
The car came to an abrupt stop. The door beside her opened, and someone grabbed one of her arms. Sam.
Kiel had her other arm. They were holding her up, facing her toward the apartment building.
“Where is he, J? Tell us.”
“You stay here. I’m going in to—”
“Fuck that, Sam! The man could be dead, and I don’t want you facing the Shredder alone! Come on, J. Speak to us.” Her shoulder was given a little shake.
Jaynes was dying. He was lying on the concrete, unmoving, no longer in agony as his nerve endings sizzled and burned out. But there was still a spark of life left in him, and Conader knew that. The immense black shape remained standing over the remains of what had been a man, waiting, waiting.
“J!”
“Kiel, you could go up there and run through the rooms faster than I could. Start with the fourth floor. If that doesn’t pan out, go to three.”
“No.”
It was more breath than sound, but somehow she had been able to utter it where they could hear. Both men leaned closer in.
“No, what?”
“He’s…not…”
“Not, what? Being killed? Dead? Here? What, J?”
They were too impatient, too worried, and as terrified as she was. Jaynes they could handle with little trouble. It was the Shredder who froze the blood in their veins.
She managed to back away slightly from the images in her brain. “He’s not in the apartment building.”
“What?”
“Then where is he? Quick, J. Where’s Jaynes? If he’s not here, where is he?”
They started to shove her back into the car, but this time she was able to pull away from them. “Here. He’s here, but not in that building.”
“Then where is he?” Sam asked. “Where would he be, if he’s here, but not inside?”
Ki
el cupped the side of her face. He drew closer, almost nose-to-nose, until all she could see was the halo of light. “What do you see, J? What’s surrounding Jaynes? Describe it to us.”
Describe it? Yes. If she couldn’t easily identify the where, she could at least identify the what: surroundings, furniture, walls, tile or carpeting.
Carpeting. “No, no carpeting.”
Both men hushed.
“No carpeting,” J repeated hesitantly as the area slowly came into focus. “Cement. A cement floor. Walls. No paint. Aluminum? Lots of metal. Metal supports.”
“Cement floor and metal supports?” Sam repeated. “Sounds like a warehouse.”
“There’s no warehouse around here!” Kiel said.
“Car.” She could see it now. Her fingers moved, remembering the shape of the toy cars Douggie used to shove into her hands when he tried to teach her about things.
“Oh, shit. A garage?” Kiel whispered.
“An underground garage! Now it makes sense!” Sam almost crowed. “Now I know what I couldn’t put my finger on! There’s only a few parking spaces back here and in front. Too few for the number of apartments. There’s gotta be an underground garage!”
“Then how come we haven’t found it before now?”
“Look around us, Kiel. What do you see? Rubble, right? My guess is the drive-in entrance is covered up with crap.”
“Then how are we going to find it and get inside?”
The answer came to them simultaneously, and they answered in chorus. “The stairs!”
Her body felt like smoke, detached from reality. Both men hustled her into the apartment building, then through the door to the stairwell. Their footsteps rang like out-of-tune chimes as they hurried down the metal stairs, and stopped inside a room that felt damp and closed in.
“Fuck! Just as I thought. It’s the basement!” Kiel said.
Sam moved ahead and disappeared from sight. A second later he called out, “Found it! There’s a door leading to parking level A!”
The door was partially stuck. J heard the men shoving against the bar. On their second try they were able to push it open.
At first she felt lost in the vast cavern of space. Their footsteps sounded hollow, bouncing off of what appeared to be a high ceiling and through lots of emptiness. She heard a click to her left.