Color of Murder

by John Foxjohn

  As he waited for a minute, he realizing that the sound he made with the lighter seemed louder than it was.

  He attempted to flick the wheel with his thumb, but the heavy glove wouldn’t let him. Didn’t think about that, either. What else had he not thought of?

  Minutes passed before he removed his right glove, setting it on the ground.

  His boss would not tolerate another mistake. He had to do this right.

  A huge smile creased his mouth when the lighter sprang to life, and the flame flickered and waved in the wind, but not enough to extinguish the fire.

  Bent over, he lit first one, and then the other wick. In one motion, he threw the jug with his left hand. Whooshes of exploding glass overrode the sound of the breaking window.

  Like he’d practiced in his mind, he ran by the window, throwing the second jug, and then the third into the living room.

  Screams from inside the clapboard house made his spirit soar while he sprinted down the driveway to his escape.

  When he started the engine, he looked back. The entire house roared in flames. He pumped his fist in the air, and gunned the engine. He was past the river bridge when a secondary explosion lit up the night sky in his rear view mirror.

  “What witness?”

  CHAPTER 15

  David groaned, rolling over to stare at the clock as the phone continued to annoy him. He groaned again, when he discovered it was six-thirty. As a homicide detective, these early calls were normal, but he wasn’t a homicide detective anymore. He thought about ignoring it, and then remembered Beth was in Houston. He jumped up and snatched at the phone.

  He sighed with relief when Sheriff Joe Lambert’s gruff voice filled the air. “I hate to wake your from you beauty sleep. Lord knows you need all you can get, but something happened I thought you might want to know.”

  Rubbing the sleep out with his free hand, David grunted. “What?”

  “Someone blew up our witness’s house. Blew it to kingdom come.”

  David’s head jerked up, now wide-awake. “What?”

  “You heard me right.”

  David lay on the bed and closed his eyes, banging the phone on the mattress. “Fuck a duck,” he screamed. He put the phone back to his ear.

  “Do you want to come out here?”

  David shook his head at the phone. “Hell no, I don’t want to.”

  “Okay. Asked the wrong question,” Lambert said. “How long will it take you to get here?”

  “Thirty minutes.”

  When he hung up, he buried his face in his hands, tears rolled down his cheeks. “Shit!” All these bodies piling up, and now a fucking ten-year-old boy and his parents. A boy whose only crime was going fishing at the wrong time. David slammed his hand down on the bedside table. “I’ve got to find these son-of-a-bitches.”

  Before heading for the shower, he called Melissa’s room. When she answered, he told her to rise and shine. He’d pick her up in fifteen minutes. When she asked what was up, he told her he’d explain on the way.

  Melissa answered on the second knock. With her hands on hips, she said, “Bub—you enjoy doing this to me.”

  “It’s what I live for.”

  She stepped out and shut the door. “What I thought.”

  On the way, after a stop for coffee, David told her what was going on. Tears dripped down her cheeks. She slammed her fists on her thighs. “Dammit. This isn’t right. Why did that kid have to die?”

  While driving, David reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. She shuddered under his touch. They were quiet the rest of the way.

  The sun peeked over the tree line as they pulled up to the smoldering ashes. Fire trucks and law enforcement vehicles with light bars flashing cast an eerie glow over the area.

  Officers and firefighters milled around, and odors of smoke and charred wood stung their nostrils. Steam rose, giving the area a paranormal aura. David had to ask twice before he found Sheriff Lambert, who talked to a couple of deputies on the other side of the huge pile of ashes.

  “Sheriff,” David said in way of a greeting.

  “David. Sorry to make that call. Thought you’d want to know.” He indicated Melissa with his head.

  “Like to introduce you to FBI Agent Melissa Adams.”

  Joe’s eyebrows rose as his glance traveled up and down her frame. Melissa’s face resembled a beet at the sheriff’s examination.

  “Damn. I should have joined the weenie bureau. I didn’t know y’all have fillies that looked like her.”

  “Joe—you’re old enough to be her father,” David said.

  With exaggeration, Joe grabbed his back with both hands. “Pull the knife out.” He smiled. “I might be too old to cut the mustard, but I can still lick the jar.”

  As Melissa blazed the color of hot coals, David changed the subject. “Where’s the ambulance?”

  Joe tore his gaze away from Melissa, frowning. “What ambulance?”

  “For the bodies.”

  Joe shook his head. “Didn’t I tell you?”

  David cocked his head and scratched his neck. “I think you’ve left something out.”

  “I took your advice. Thank God. We moved the family and the boy out of here right after dark last night. They’re tucked away, out of harm.”

  Air deflated from David and he closed his eyes for a long moment. He hadn’t realized how tense he was until he found out the boy was safe. Damn Lambert could’ve told him that on the phone. He’d been blaming himself for it as soon as he got the call. He hadn’t known what he could’ve done besides warn them, but he’d thought he could have warned them more. He sighed, and then frowned when something occurred to him. “How’d you know about the explosion way out here if they were gone?”

  “I had a couple of deputies inside the house in case someone showed up. Hoping to catch em.”

  “Are the deputies okay?” Melissa asked.

  A dry grin spread across Lambert’s mouth. “Yeah. They’re fine. Tail feathers singed, but whoever did this threw the firebombs into the boy’s bedroom and the living room. They were in the kitchen. Ran like their tails were on fire.” the sheriff chuckled. “I guess they do have singed tails.”

  A deputy strode up. “Sheriff, we found something on the other side you might want to look at.” Although the deputy talked to the sheriff, he never took his eyes off Melissa.

  While David and Melissa followed them, she leaned close. “Are all the men around here this horny?”

  David laughed. “Why’re you asking me?”

  Another deputy held a plastic bag when they sidled up. “Whatcha got,” Lambert asked.

  As the deputy held the bag out, he glanced at David and his gaze lingered on Melissa. “We found a leather glove and a large canvas bag outside the boy’s bedroom window.”

  Lambert nodded. “Just one glove?”

  “Yes, sir. The right one.”

  Lambert turned to David. “What do you think?”

  David pursed his lips, squinting one eye. “Hard to say. If I had to guess, I’d say whoever threw the stuff in the window had to take the glove off to light the bombs. Forgot the glove and bag when he took off.”

  David tilted his head, looking at the bag. “Anything written on it?”

  “Uh—we didn’t look. Just bagged it.”

  “Should we look, now?” Lambert asked.

  “Naw. There’s no need. Wait until it’s processed.”

  David, Melissa, and Lambert stood for a while without speaking as the smoldering coals hissed, billowing smoke as the firemen continued to hose the ashes down.

  At last, Lambert turned to David. “Your advice was good on getting them out of here. I know who to listen to. What do you suggest about this mess?”

  David wiped soot off his hands and stuffed them in his pants pockets, thinking about how to reply. He walked a fine line. Lambert seemed to want his help, but he also needed to be careful how he gave it. He needed help from the locals here, and didn’t want to alienate any
more if he could help it.

  “David. Did you hear me?”

  He took a deep breath. “I can’t tell you what to do, but if I was in your place I’d issue a press release. I’d tell the press you were not going to rest until you found the people responsible for the deaths of these three people.”

  David caught Melissa’s nod out of the corner of his eye, but Lambert frowned. “I don’t have three dead bodies. I told you we got… Oh! I see.”

  Crumpled-napkin clouds hung in the sky, drifting with a light breeze. On their way back to the hotel, David and Melissa remained quiet—both thankful that the Nacogdoches sheriff’s department had taken action to save that family. Before they arrived, Melissa sighed. “We got lucky on that one. Maybe everything’s changing for us.”

  David swerved into the parking lot and parked before he said anything. “I hope so. This is a mess.” He clenched his fists. “I don’t have a clue what’s going on. It’s my fault Justin is dead. I have to find his killer.”

  Melissa spun sideways and put her hand on his arm. “You need to stop tearing yourself up inside over this. His death is not your fault. You gave him an idea and he carried it out. David—you’ve told me before—when a police officer dies in the line of duty it’s because they make a mistake. You know more about this thing than I do. Can you look at this and say Deputy Milam didn’t make a mistake?”

  David closed his eyes tight and didn’t respond for a couple of minutes. He opened his eyes and nodded. “He made several.”

  Melissa’s hand tightened on his arm. “The mistakes killed him. Not what you showed him.”

  David opened the car door and stepped out, but hesitated before closing it. He bent at the waist, resting on the door, “Thanks, Melissa. I appreciate your support. Call the others and we’ll meet for breakfast and see if we can formulate a plan.”

  Melissa closed her door and smiled. “Anytime.”

  In her room, she called the other agents who’d been looking for them, wondering what was going on. With each one, she relayed what had happened and told them where to meet for breakfast. When she hung up, she realized she was filthy from water spray and soot.

  * * * *

  Beeker’s gruff voice asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about the suspect’s photograph?”

  David rubbed his eyes. He’d learned that Beeker never started a conversation with pleasantries or small talk, but stayed direct and to the point. With his ear to the phone, David twisted his mouth, hesitating before speaking. He’d plodded into his room to a ringing phone. Melissa sat while he answered—the other agents hadn’t arrived yet.

  “We got the picture yesterday. I haven’t had time to call you. How’d you find out about it, anyway?”

  “Never mind about that. What all do you have down there?”

  David’s jaw tightened and he sucked in air through clenched teeth. Hell with this never mind stuff. There’s only one way he could know about it.

  While David filled him in, Melissa got up and started making coffee in the maker David bought for the suite.

  When he’d finished with the run down, Beeker told him that the media was asking questions. He needed to get ready for them.

  David slumped in the chair by the desk. “Sir—I will not put up with one of my agents calling you without going through me. It’s that simple.”

  A long pause ensued on the other end. “David, I can’t tell them not to call. I’m your supervisor. That door has to be open from my end.”

  “Well—I’m damn sure going to close it from my end.”

  Beeker’s voice, asking now, said, “I have a request on this subject.”

  Tightlipped, David said, “Yes, sir.”

  “Don’t do anything permanent right now.”

  Melissa had stopped making coffee at David’s voice. With a frown, she edged back and sat. When David hung up, she asked what happened. She shook her head when he had finished explaining. “That was stupid. Didn’t they think that Beeker would say something to you?”

  David started writing a note, but threw the pen down.

  “What’re you going to do?” Melissa asked.

  David sat back in the chair and thought for a moment. “Beeker asked me not to do anything permanent right now. I won’t. But they’re about to get a stern warning.”

  Melissa nodded. “Do you know who he is?”

  “Yeah. So do you.”

  Melissa, sat across from David, “Beeker’s right, you know. It’s not the time to do anything. “

  “Do you think I should just let this go?” David asked in an incredulous voice.

  Melissa shook her head. “No. I’m not saying that. Just go easy. You…”

  A knock interrupted what she was about to say. Morgan, dressed to kill in an Armani double breasted, showed up first, and a few minutes later, all the agents strolled in—Andy in his normal conservative suit, John with his casual clothes, and Melvin.

  After looking at the computer specialist’s clothes, David dropped his head and massaged his temples with his thumb and middle finger. Melissa chuckled at David’s reaction.

  Morgan’s eyes followed Melissa. When the men had a seat, Melissa asked if anyone wanted any coffee.

  Morgan smiled at her. “I’d…”

  David interrupted. “If anyone wants coffee, they can get their own.” To make his point, David got up and poured himself a cup. Melissa winked when he strode by. She knew that David was making a point. If she wanted to lead men in a man’s world, they had to respect her as he did.

  Morgan scooted over on the sofa, giving Melissa room to sit. She acted as if she hadn’t noticed and slid around and sat by Andy. A frown formed on Morgan’s face, but changed to his normal poker expression.

  David glanced from Morgan to Melissa and met her gaze. Did he see what was going on, and if he did, would he step in and take over, or let her handle it? Although David didn’t always say anything, he noticed things like this, but she needed to have the room to manage the situation. Things like this weren’t a new occurrence. She’d put up with Morgan’s type all her life.

  She gave him a little shake of the head, attempting to tell him she knew what was going on and could handle it. When he winked at her, she sighed. He understood. It was almost as if they were married—they knew what each other thought. She wondered if David and Beth had that kind of non-verbal communication.

  She stood, sipping her coffee. David was tense. They had talked more than once, and she knew and agreed with him that loyalty needed to flow both ways if the team worked together as a unit.

  When everyone settled down, David nodded to Melissa. “Tell everyone what occurred this morning.”

  Instead of exploding, he stalled to calm down. She related to the other agents what had taken place, but left out that the sheriff moved the family before the bomb went off.

  David cocked his head and frowned, but let her finish. Melissa didn’t know why she’d left that piece of information out and thought about telling them, but decided against it. John and Melvin looked down at the floor. Morgan leaned back on the sofa staring at the ceiling, but when she looked at Andy, he had a frown on his face and scratched the side of his head.

  Of all the agents, with the exception of David, Andy was the most perceptive—the most aware of what happened around him.

  Andy glanced from Melissa to David, and back to Melissa. “Is that all?”

  She tried to keep a poker face and not reveal that she hadn’t told them everything, and didn’t understand why she hadn’t. The fewer people who knew the family got away, the better, but the other team members wouldn’t say anything. She didn’t believe they would, anyway.

  David sat for a moment with his chin resting on his left thumb, his index finger tapping on his lips. He took a deep breath. “You have your assignments. What happened last night doesn’t change that. I want all information on that dead bank clerk, and I want all those phone records. Sorting through six months of calls will take a while. I want that invent
ory list from the sheriff’s department.”

  David stood and paced for a moment, then stopped and looked out the window. With his back to them, he said, “I talked to Beeker this morning. The national news has gotten wind of all this going on here. No one but me will talk to the press. And I won’t if I can help it.”

  He spun from the window as the agents nodded. He sat in his chair, face to face, his eyes narrowed and his voice became soft.

  CHAPTER 16

  Shivers coursed through Melissa. David differed from most men she had been around who raised their voices when angry, but the angrier David became, the quieter he got. She didn’t know what in his personality made him this way, but it always excited her.

  “One of you took it on yourself to call Beeker without my knowledge and consent, and give him a report of what was going on down here.”

  When David said this, shock radiated on Andy’s face, letting Melissa off the hook. Andy would believe that was what she left out.

  David’s glare traveled from eye to eye, but locked on Morgan’s. “This better be the last time we have this little conversation.” Ice formed in his voice and it became even softer. “We have a chain of command, and I’m at the top. Melissa is second and that is the way it is going to stay. Period. We haven’t worked together long, but I’m telling you right now and for the last time, I will not put up with this crap.”

  David stood, marched to the coffee pot and refilled his cup. After taking a sip, he strode back. No one spoke as heater noise filled the room. He took another sip, and at last, he sat and put his cup on the table. “Beeker asked me not to do anything about this at the moment and I agreed. If it happens again, the person who does it is gone. I don’t know what any of your goals are, but I’m going to give y’all a piece of advice. This kind of action will not get you ahead. Don’t think for a minute, Beeker or anyone else will promote you for doing this. Snitches are used and discarded, not promoted.”

  The meeting lasted several more minutes. David asked their opinions on what to do or where to go. After they kicked a few ideas around, he sent them on their way. As they rose, he told Melvin he wanted to talk to him in private.