Obsession

by Debra Webb

  She was alive! Barely breathing but alive.

  Trembling, Jess touched her mike. “I found Macy York. We need paramedics. By God, we have exigent circumstances.” Screw the search warrant.

  Jess pulled the girl from the dirt. Started digging again. This time the lump she encountered was moving. Callie Fanning.

  Burnett announced, “Move in.”

  “Callie Fanning is here, too,” Jess reported. “Both are alive.” She studied the other forms emerging from where she had removed dirt. “We need at least four ambulances.”

  Jess pulled the tape from Callie’s mouth and the girl started to sob. “Shhh.” Jess glanced at the door. Then quickly ripped the tape from her hands. “Help me, Callie. You check on Macy while I keep digging.”

  As if the mention of the other girl’s name flipped a switch, Callie stopped crying and turned to Macy.

  Jess was digging again when the barn door slid open.

  Burnett was suddenly on his knees next to her. “Oh my God.”

  With them both digging, they uncovered Dana and Reanne. At the bottom was Dr. Sullivan. Jess dragged her out of the hole.

  “Sullivan’s not breathing.” Jess assumed a position for executing CPR.

  “Where’s Andrea?”

  Jess hadn’t realized until he spoke that all the girls except Andrea had been found and they had reached the bottom of the makeshift grave.

  “She’s in the house,” Callie croaked, then coughed. “They’re doing something to her. They’re crazy.”

  Burnett rushed out of the barn.

  Jess focused on Sullivan. “Come on, Maureen, breathe.” She forced more air into the woman’s lungs. Her skin felt warm. There was still a chance.

  “Agent Harris!”

  Chet. Thank God.

  He got down in the dirt next Jess. “Take care of the girls. I’ve got this.” Chet assumed Sullivan’s CPR. “Paramedics are en route.”

  Jess stood, her legs shaking and went to the girls. They were alive. Dana and Reanne were coming around. All were sobbing.

  Jess blinked back the tears and managed a smile. “It’s okay, girls. You’re safe now.”

  She prayed Andrea was still alive.

  ~*~

  Sheriff Griggs and two of his deputies were already in the house when Dan burst through the back door. Mr. and Mrs. Murray were seated at the kitchen table having what appeared to be dinner.

  “If I’d known we were having company,” Mrs. Murray announced, “I would have baked a bigger cake.”

  A white cake sat in the middle of the table. Several slices were missing. A wedding cake topper leaned precariously from the top layer.

  “Where is Andrea?” Dan demanded.

  Mr. Murray started to push back his chair. “Don’t move, sir,” a deputy warned.

  “Now, see here,” Murray said, “you barge into my home and disrupt the supper my wife worked hard to prepare. What is it you want?”

  “Where is the other girl?” Dan repeated. One side of the man’s face was red and puffy as if someone had broadsided him with an oar.

  “She can’t be disturbed,” Mrs. Murray said with far more cheer than a woman with no less than four armed men surrounding her should. “It’s her wedding night.”

  A new kind of terror lashed through Dan. “Griggs, help me find her,” he said as he headed deeper into the house. He heard the sheriff order his deputies to keep the Murrays seated.

  Griggs and Dan spread out, searching each room.

  Dan headed up the stairs first.

  The absolute silence terrified him. In his ear he could hear the coordinating going on between Jess and the others. Sullivan wasn’t going to make it.

  What the hell had happened here?

  Four doors upstairs.

  Griggs took the ones on the left, Dan the ones on the right.

  The first room Dan entered was painted pink. Andrea’s favorite color.

  Nothing under the bed or in the closet. He hesitated, reached down to pick up a pair of discarded jeans and a blouse. Andrea’s? His heart slammed against his sternum.

  He moved on to the next room.

  Dan listened at the closed door. No noise. Wait. He listened again. Heavy breathing…no…sobbing.

  His weapon readied, he burst through the door and scanned the room down the barrel of his service revolver.

  At first his brain refused to acknowledge what his eyes saw.

  Andrea lay on the bed. A male on top of her.

  Her scream yanked Dan from the haze of disbelief.

  “Get off her!” Dan rushed to the bed. Shoved the muzzle to the bastard’s temple. “Get off her,” he roared.

  The discoloration of the skin along the man’s bare back…that he was not moving and hadn’t even looked up sent a shock through Dan.

  “Get him off me!” Andrea cried.

  Griggs rushed in. He stalled next to Dan. “Sweet Jesus.”

  Dan holstered his weapon. “Help me, Roy.”

  Together they lifted the male corpse off Andrea. Dan quickly swept the sheet over Andrea’s nude body and attempted to lift her into his arms. Chain rattled.

  Andrea screamed, “Get me loose! Get me loose!”

  “I’ll get the bolt cutters.” Griggs rushed from the room.

  “You okay?” Dan searched her face, her throat and arms. He didn’t see any blood or injuries.

  She nodded, her face wet against his jaw. “Just get me out of here! Please!”

  “Sheriff Griggs will be right back and we’ll get you out of here.”

  “I wa…I want…my mom.” Andrea buried her face in his vest and Dan felt the hot tears crawling down his cheeks. Andrea was alive. Thank God. She was alive.

  Griggs rushed back into the room. He snapped the short length of chain close to Andrea’s ankle.

  Dan made sure the sheet covered her and adjusted his hold before taking her the hell out of here.

  “Lord, have mercy,” Griggs murmured. “What have these people done?” He dragged the bedspread from the foot of the bed and covered the boy’s naked, partially decomposed body.

  The wail of sirens announced the arrival of backup and emergency medical services. Dan carried Andrea downstairs and out the front door so she wouldn’t have to see the Murrays.

  Once he had her under the care of the first paramedics on the scene, he kissed her forehead and promised to be right back.

  Dan led the other teams of paramedics to the barn.

  Jess was huddled with the sobbing girls. Harper stayed with Dr. Sullivan. He motioned one of the paramedics over. Harper met Dan’s gaze and shook his head. Dr. Sullivan was dead.

  Harper had pulled aside the green tarps Jess had seen before entering the barn. The white Taurus and blue truck sat side by side.

  Dan moved toward the girls and Jess. He watched her softly reassuring them as the paramedics filtered into the group.

  The girls had been buried alive. If Jess had waited for word the warrant was en route, would all those girls still be breathing?

  Her instincts had found them and saved their lives.

  How could anyone see her as anything other than the hero she was?

  “Burnett?”

  Griggs’ voice crackled over the communications link. Dan touched his mike. “I’m in the barn.”

  “I think you’re going to want to come to the basement.”

  Dear God. What else?

  ~*~

  9:41 p.m.

  Lori parked behind the truck and shut off the engine. It was almost dark now, but Jess wanted to do this in person. Tonight.

  They emerged from the car. The light above the front door came on as they approached the steps.

  The door opened and Mr. Debarros stepped out onto the top step and waited beneath the light.

  “Mr. Debarros,” Jess acknowledged as she stopped at the bottom of the steps. Lori waited next to her. “I’m sorry to bother you so late.”

  “You found her.” His voice as he uttered the thre
e simple words carried the weight of many long years of agony.

  Jess nodded. “Yes, sir. We believe we have. There are tests we need to conduct before we can confirm that she is your daughter, but she was wearing this.”

  Lori handed him the delicate silver charm bracelet. In the original report when Christina had gone missing her father had reported that his daughter always wore the charm bracelet her grandmother had given her. Mr. Murray had admitted that the skeletal remains in the basement were Christina’s. Still an official ID was necessary.

  Debarros’s hand shook as the bracelet slipped into his palm. He studied the tiny charms one by one and then nodded. “This is Christina’s.”

  Andrea had told Dan about the remains of an infant, which the forensic techs had found right where she told them to look. Jess suspected this was the child Christina had been carrying when she went missing. But she would not pass along this information until she was certain. She also would never tell this poor man that the day he confronted Raymond and Tate Murray at their farm, his dear Christina had been alive and probably only a few yards from him in that dark, dank basement. There were some things he did not need to know. Whatever conclusions he came to later, were his to make.

  “As soon as dental records have confirmed her identity, we can release her to you so that your family can make the final arrangements. I am truly sorry for your loss, Mr. Debarros.”

  Jess started to turn away, but there was more she needed to say. “Mr. Debarros, I wish there had been more we could have done sooner.” If that baby was Christina’s then she had been alive for months after her abduction. Dear God, the idea was unthinkable. “You have my word that the people who did this will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.”

  The Murrays had a lot to answer for. Kidnapping and attempted murder. At least three deaths. Like Christina, the infant’s cause of death was not readily apparent. Whether by their hand or not, the Murrays were responsible in that they had abducted the girl and most assuredly abused and neglected her and, possibly, the infant. Dr. Sullivan’s death was murder, cut and dry. Then there was the issue of abusing a corpse.

  Jess shuddered inside when she considered what they had done to their son. Unable to accept his death, they had exhumed his body and brought him home, each passing day had accelerated their obsession and incited more and more unstable and erratic actions. The efforts they had gone to in an attempt to keep his body preserved were incredible. Any decent defense attorney would go for an insanity plea. Jess suspected that argument would be won.

  Mr. Debarros said nothing. He stared at the piece of jewelry that provided a bitter sweet sense of relief.

  She and Lori started back to the car. They had done all they could for now.

  “Agent Harris.”

  Jess paused and turned back to him.

  “Thank you.” He nodded to Lori. “Both of you.”

  Jess nodded. She couldn’t have spoken had her life depended upon it.

  Back in the Mustang, Lori started the engine and backed out onto the road. “We should head to the hospital so we don’t miss the reunions.”

  Chet was back at the Murray farm overseeing the evidence collection. The Murrays were in custody. Burnett, Griggs and Patterson were at the hospital overseeing the collection of statements from the victims as well as the reunions with their families.

  “I’m sure the guys have it under control.”

  “No doubt,” Lori agreed. “Reporters are already all over the place.” She shrugged. “I was thinking this would be a good time to show your face. We might not have found those girls in time if not for you.”

  Jess appreciated the sentiment. “Speaking of time. You took your sweet time getting that warrant signed,” she teased. “We all were on the verge of strokes waiting.”

  “He had the pen in his hand when the cardiac episode occurred,” Lori explained. “It was a rough go for a minute or two. Don’t think that after I called 9-1-1 I didn’t consider signing his name myself just in case he didn’t make it and I couldn’t get anyone else. I had two choices. CPR or search his desk for a signature to copy.”

  Jess laughed. Lori was definitely a kindred soul. “You did the right thing. Particularly since he’s going to recover. I’m not sure you could have convinced him that he’d signed the warrant and didn’t remember.” Jess was glad this was over. “I think I’ll skip the reunions and the press. Just drop me off at my car. I need a long bath and a deep glass of wine.”

  “I don’t think so,” Lori said with a shake of her head. “The last orders I got from the chief included not letting you out of my sight.”

  Spears. “I would argue with you, but I’m too damned tired.”

  “Off to the circus, then,” Lori suggested.

  Jess twirled her hand in the air. “Whoopee!”

  It was over. The case was solved. The girls were safe.

  The end.

  Jess figured it was the end for her, too. Not a problem. She had her next move all planned out.

  Funny thing was, running away no longer held any appeal.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Monday, July 19th, 9:10 a.m.

  The bag Jess had hastily packed before coming here had once again been hastily packed and was loaded into the Audi. Thirty-six hours with her sister had fulfilled Jess’s family obligations for the remainder of the century.

  It had also given her some distance from Burnett and the case and the crap with the Bureau. She had shut off her cell phone and only this morning turned it back on. Thankfully she had no more text messages from Spears. The Bureau had agreed to keep Lily and her family under protective surveillance until the threat had passed.

  Jess had to go. Uncertainty plagued her all over again. She didn’t have a choice. She hoped if Spears had indeed been watching her, he would follow her when she left. Then Lily and her family would be safe.

  Dan would be safe.

  Jess inhaled deeply, pushed aside the emotions warring inside her. She knew what she had to do.

  Speaking of Burnett, he had left her a voicemail asking her to be at his office at nine this morning for a post mortem.

  And he wasn’t here.

  She blew out another big breath of impatience.

  A long drive lay ahead of her and the daunting task of clearing out her office. Pack up her house and put it on the market. Since she was about to be officially unemployed, there would be no paying that enormous mortgage payment with unemployment benefits. Her savings wouldn’t last more than a few months.

  Her sister had begged her to stay at least until Jess decided her next step. Lily had even gone as far as having her friend and realtor show up for dinner last night with property listings for Jess to peruse. Lily was a wonderful sister, the perfect wife and mother. Her son was in his senior year at UA. Her daughter would be going there herself this fall. Jess suspected her sister was feeling empty-nest syndrome descending. Jess couldn’t deny feeling an emptiness coming herself.

  Mainly, she just didn’t know where she went from here.

  As much as she loved her sister, Jess could only take her perfect, careful world in small doses.

  And drawing Spears away from Birmingham had to be her top priority.

  She checked the time on her cell. 9:15. Where the hell was Burnett?

  The door opened and in breezed the handsome but tardy chief. Jess mentally rolled her eyes at her own foolishness. The handsome part was irrelevant and formed in her head far too effortlessly.

  “Jess, I’m sorry.”

  Sheriff Griggs marched in right behind him.

  “Morning, Agent Harris,” the Jefferson County sheriff offered.

  “Morning, gentlemen.” She presented a perfunctory smile.

  What was this about? She had said her goodbyes to Lori and Chet Saturday night. This morning she had expected a similar hit and run with Burnett. A quick review of the final details of the case. A goodbye handshake—okay, maybe she had hoped for something more than a hand
shake—and then she would be on her way. She had dressed in the ivory suit that was her favorite. Whenever she wore it she always got lots of compliments. And the matching ivory stilettoes were sexy. At least they made her feel that way. A woman needed her armor when facing such an uncertain future.

  She ordered the trivial thoughts from her head and focused on the here and now. Maybe Griggs had opted in for the post mortem. Burnett stood behind his desk. The sheriff had settled in the chair next to her. Then again, maybe she needed more than armor. The mood in the room carried the distinct feel of a setup.

  “Has there been a new development with the case?”

  “Nothing you don’t already know.” Burnett took his seat. “The sheriff and I spent most of the afternoon yesterday discussing certain other issues we have in common. But, first things first.”

  She braced for unpleasantness. Burnett hadn’t even bothered with good morning. Besides, she wasn’t sure what their discussions had to do with her unless the two felt she was the issue. That would certainly put the icing on the farewell cake.

  “Your conclusions about the Murrays were spot on,” Griggs commented, drawing her attention to him. “The denial about their son’s death, all of it.”

  Jess nodded. She would never say as much out loud but after the debacle with Spears, she had, on some level, doubted herself several times over the past few days. It felt good to know she could still get the job done. With some outstanding help, admittedly.

  “Did either of them reveal how they chose the girls?” Jess had drawn her own conclusions but the Murrays were unique, as all humans were, they would have their own individual methods for acting on the motives driving their obsession.

  “Mrs. Murray skimmed the papers for academic accomplishments.” Burnett’s expression turned grim. “She made preliminary choices then moved in closer to watch the girls. Once she had ruled out those she perceived as unfit, she found a way to get close to each of her approved candidates.”

  Jess understood that reality was difficult for him, considering Andrea had been one of her choices. Though all the girls had come away from this nightmare basically unharmed physically, months, maybe years of counseling were in order.