Someone was shaking her and she began to flail wildly at whoever had her in their clutches.
“Jenna, stop it! It’s me, Brody!”
“It took a minute for his words to penetrate her terror, but finally she stopped fighting, and her screams turned to unrelenting sobs.
“It was the killer.” Jenna told him while her body trembled with shock.
He pulled her into his arms trying to warm her. “It’s okay now. Whoever it was is long gone.”
Jenna shook her head, “No, he might still be around. We have to get out of here.”
“I think whatever it was is gone. It took off through the trees when I got here.” He tried to reassure her.
“I want to get out of here.” Still panicked she tried to get to her feet, but collapsed against Brody with a cry of pain.
“I think my ankle is broken.”
With gracefully swift movement, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Brody made his way through the woods with the efficiency of an animal, but Jenna didn’t miss the way he kept looking around, as if they were being hunted.
“Is he out there?” she asked in a barely audible whisper.
“Yes, don’t make a sound.” His lips were up against her ear.
Fear crawled over her skin like a million tiny spiders. She found it hard to even breathe. Finally the dirt path gave way to a paved road and the lights of town came into view. Jenna knew he had to be tired by now, but he kept walking. Only a little ways further was her house, she could see it from where they were.
She didn’t have to tell him where she lived. Her father’s police cruiser was clearly visible in the driveway. Upon reaching the house, he put her down, but continued to support her so she wouldn’t have to put any pressure on her injured ankle.
“You know he’s probably going to try and find a reason to put me in jail over this.” Brody spoke in hushed tones.
“Wait.’ Jenna stopped moving, forcing him to do the same.
For some time she stared at the darkened house, not moving, not saying a word.
Finally, Jenna looked up into Brody’s curious eyes. “Something’s not right.” Her words cracked through the night.
“What is it?”
“It’s only 10:30 and the house dark.”
Brody shrugged. “Maybe they are in bed.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “My sister never goes to bed before midnight.”
“Well, maybe she isn’t home,” he offered
Jenna shook her head. “No, she told me she was staying home tonight because she didn’t feel well, and besides, my dad never goes to bed until we’re both home.”
“Where does he think you’re?”
“The movies,” Jenna answered guiltily.
“Sit here, while I check it out.” Brody helped her onto the grass on the front lawn.
At the door, Brody rang the bell a couple of times and then waited. Nothing stirred within the house. Once more he tried, this time he pounded on the door, but still there was no response of any kind.
Finding the door unlocked, he slowly pushed it open. Jenna watched as lights began to come on throughout the house. A moment later he returned.
“The house is empty. No one’s here at all.”
“That’s impossible. Their cars are here!”
Shrugging, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the house. The warmth of the lit living room should have quieted her trembling, but it only grew worse. Brody gently set her on the sofa.
“You have to get to the hospital and have that looked at.” He motioned toward her injured ankle. “Is there someone you can call?”
Jenna’s gaze was fixed on an area of the carpet that was soaked with blood. “Something’s happened to them.”
He looked to where her gaze rested on the carpet. With a sigh, Brody picked up the phone that was sitting on the end table. “I must be insane,” he muttered. “Never thought I’d see the day I voluntarily called the police in this town.”
The rest of the night passed in a haze of flashing red and blue lights, the hospital, doctors and an endless stream of questions from the police.
Three days later her Aunt Alison arrived from Texas, and there had still been no trace of her family.
[Back to Table of Contents]
CHAPTER ONE
Ten Years Later
The early morning sun rose above the horizon to shroud the surrounding aspens and pines with its golden light, but the town of Sinister Wyoming still lay deep within the shadow of Eerie Mountain.
Jenna pulled to the side of the road and studied the town from the slight incline of the highway. It had been ten long years since she’d laid eyes on her hometown, but ten years hadn’t been long enough. Just the sight of Sinister sent shivers down her spine.
So many times over the years she’d thought of coming back here to put the ghosts of the past to rest once and for all, but each time she’d contemplated driving into this dark little town, her stomach lurched and her skin would crawl with fear. For a long time she’d wake up in the middle of the night, trembling from nightmares that wouldn’t let her rest.
Had fate brought that unfortunate girl through Sinister? Senator Brodrick’s granddaughter had been on her way to Jackson Hole to meet up with some friends, but she had never made it. Her car was found abandoned on the Indian Reservation and her body discovered floating in the Sweetwater River near Sinister.
The official report said that Mary Brodrick was another victim of the Eerie Mountain Killer, but Mary was only one in a long line of victims.
This was her first field assignment for the FBI and Special Agent Jenna Claremont had been given this assignment specifically because of her history in Sinister.
With cold determination, Jenna pushed the hellish images away and pulled back onto the road. The streets were still quiet, almost unnaturally so. Though the town had grown, it couldn’t be called a city by any stretch of the imagination.
She was surprised when she pulled up to the police station on the west end of town. No longer was the station housed in the shabby little red brick building she remembered. What greeted her was a larger, ultra modern white building. She wondered if the Sinister Police Department now consisted of more than five officers.
Jenna had been sure she would know just about every soul in town, but she didn’t recognize the uniformed officer at the front desk.
“I’m Agent Claremont with the FBI. Could you let Captain Findley know I’m here?” Jenna flipped open her identification for the officer to examine.
A few moments later, Jenna sat across from the person who had been her father’s best friend. The man who peered at her with eyes set deep in a fleshy overweight face, bore little resemblance to the person she remembered.
“What a pleasure to see you again, Jenna. So you followed right in your daddy’s footsteps?”
Gordon Findley gave her a hearty welcome and a smile, but Jenna couldn’t shake the feeling that something just wasn’t right with her dad’s old partner.
“I would be happy to even be half the officer my father was,” Jenna returned the captain’s smile.
Captain Findley drummed his meaty fingers on the desk in what Jenna took as impatience.
“What’s the status of the Brodrick case?” Jenna attempted a smile but just couldn’t make the muscles of her face cooperate.
“Girl, it’s fantastic to see you again. All grown into a fine young woman, and an FBI Agent to boot … but I do have to tell you that I think your trip here was a waste of time.”
“Why’s that?”
“We took the perpetrator into custody last night. We’ll be bringing charges up on him within the next day or two.”
“Really, after all this time?” Jenna’s green eyes widened in surprise and she couldn’t help but wondered at the fact that the killer had eluded the police for nearly fifteen years, but was caught so quickly after this case.
“How did that come about?”
Gordon leaned
back in his chair. “A witness saw him leaving the area where the car was discovered and tracks matching Ms Brodrick’s car were discovered on a road leading to this gentleman’s property.”
“How interesting. Do you mind if I take a look at the case file?”
Jenna was quick to notice Gordon’s slight hesitation, but she was sharp enough to keep it to her self.
Skimming through the file, she stopped to stare at the larger than life, crime scene photos. The girl lay pale and lifeless against a blanket of dry leaves. Jenna felt her stomach tighten at the sight of the close up of the girl’s neck. Discoloration of the neck and lack of blood attested to the Eerie Mountain killer’s MO.
After looking through the rest of the file Jenna was a little unnerved to see that there was no autopsy report, nor a report on the arrest made the night before.
“What happened to the autopsy report? There must be one by now.”
“No autopsy,” the captain smiled. “The cause of death is obviously loss of blood. I saw no reason to waste the tax payers’ money on ordering an autopsy.”
Jenna peered at the man in disbelief. “An autopsy is an automatic when dealing with a homicide case, captain. You must know that.”
Gordon shook his head. “City ordinance says that we only order an autopsy if the cause of death is not immediately obvious.”
Jenna knew that the state law would definitely override that, but she refrained from commenting further for the moment.
“What about the arrest report?”
Gordon lifted his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “The arresting officer hasn’t finished writing it yet, but I can tell you what you need to know.”
“Okay, what evidence has been compiled against the suspect?”
“Well, what I’ve told you. A witness seeing the suspect near the abandoned car, and possible tracks on his property.”
“That’s all?” Jenna asked incredulous. “You’ll need something a little harder than that to get a conviction.”
“Jenna, the investigation is ongoing.” Gordon paused, taking a tired, rattling breath. “I’m sure more evidence will pile up. Right now we’re in the process of getting a search warrant for the suspect’s property and residence.”
Jenna was angry at the department’s incompetence, but her features softened as she remembered that she was talking with her father’s best friend.
“I’m sorry Gordon. I would just hate to see this monster walk after all these years because the investigation was bungled.”
“I can understand that.” Gordon smiled but the smile faded rapidly at Jenna next words.
“I’ll need you to have the body ready for transport to the Medical Examiner’s office in Cheyenne by noon.”
Gordon was shaking his head. “That’s completely unnecessary, I assure you. Besides, it’s Sinister’s jurisdiction.”
Jenna shook her head. “Sorry Gordon, with the fact that the car was found on a Federal Indian Reservation, and that the murder could have possibly taken place there, it is now FBI jurisdiction. We’ll be taking over the investigation. I’ll need to interview the suspect and I’ll also need access to any additional case files that may link the suspect to other crimes.”
Mouth agape, Gordon stared at her through hardened eyes.
“If it helps at all, I am sorry. I’m just doing my job,” Jenna said, attempting to sooth him.
Slowly his mouth widened in a grin. “Of course you’re. We’re just not used to a little sprig of girl coming in here and taking over our cases.”
Jenna knew that there was probably a lot of truth to Gordon’s words.
The interrogation room was bright with harsh florescent lighting, hardly an atmosphere conducive to relaxing a suspect and taking him off guard. The white clinical walls gave one the impression that they were about to undergo some major surgery.
None of this penetrated Jenna’s shocked consciousness at the sight that greeted her when she entered the small room. The man who sat on the other side of the table appeared to be tired, but instinctively alert.
All the hurt, anger, and passion of that long ago night reached its ghostly fingers through the wall of time to wrap around her throat. Jenna had to make a conscious effort to breathe. It was finally the amusement in those dark eyes that broke through.
“Do you find something funny Mr. Silver Wolf?” Jenna’s words held a razor sharp edge.
Brody shook his head slowly. “Only that you seem to be following in your father’s footsteps. How ironic is it that ten years ago I was staring at him from across a table.”
“Indeed, Mr. Silver Wolf. Why don’t you tell me what did my dad arrest you for?”
“Oh, just about anything and everything that went wrong if I was within miles of town. I guess something about me seemed to rub Officer Claremont the wrong way.” Brody gave her a crooked smile.
“I don’t believe that.” Jenna’s voice held a note of bitterness. Brody knew nothing of her father.
“Relax Agent Claremont.” Brody leaned back in the chair as if relaxing was exactly what he intended to do. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I suspect that he must have guessed his little girl’s very grown up interest in me.” The look in his eyes told her much louder than words that he hadn’t forgotten their night by the lake and her indiscretions.
Heat flooded Jenna’s face, sending a torrent of humiliation through her that was quickly replaced by anger. “That was a very long time ago and has absolutely no bearing on either of our lives at this point.” Jenna’s voice was soft, but unyielding. “I would have thought that you have a much more serious matter to occupy your thoughts.”
Brody’s gaze traveled from her eyes to her mouth and down the curve of her neck. His eyes glazed over as if his thoughts had ventured to a place that Jenna dared not remember.
Her pulse quickened, and she was helpless to calm it. Against her will, she felt herself spiraling back to a time buried in the past. In that instant she was a girl of eighteen again and her whole world revolved around the man who sat in front of her.
It was an era of innocence and golden dreams, a time when she had dared to dream of her father walking her down the aisle and reluctantly placing her into the capable hands of the most handsome man in Wyoming. It lasted for only the briefest of moments before Jenna slammed the door shut with an echoing crack of finality.
With new purpose, Jenna sat in the chair across from Brody and opened the case file in front of her.
“What were you doing in the vicinity of the victim’s car, Brody?”
“That’s a confidential matter,” he answered without hesitation.
“Did you know Mary Brodrick?” Jenna’s curiosity was piqued.
Brody shook his head. “No never saw her before in my life.”
“Then I repeat, what were you doing?”
“And I repeat that is a confidential matter,” he said with a smile.
“Brody, do you realize how serious these charges are?”
“Yes, ma’am, I do.” Again he gave her a soft smile. “But Jenna, you’re fully aware that I’m not the Eerie Mountain Killer.”
Jenna watched him closely, realizing for the first time that he didn’t appear to be the least bit agitated over his predicament. It was as if he knew something that the rest of them were completely overlooking.
How could she be sure that it hadn’t been him that chased her through the woods on that terrifying night? If she had to testify in a court of law, could she swear that it hadn’t been him?
The fact was, if her testimony was based entirely on what happened and what she saw, then she couldn’t swear it hadn’t been him … but in her heart she knew then and she knew now that it hadn’t been Brody who had assaulted her that night.
“I’ll admit that I think it highly unlikely that you’re this monstrous serial killer that has plagued Sinister for the past fifteen years, but you and I both know that it isn’t my opinion that counts.”
“And so you’d let the
man that you swore you’d love forever go to death row?”
Jenna couldn’t believe that he could speak of such things with so much amusement dancing in his dark eyes. Somehow he knew that he’d never be convicted of this crime.
“Brody, it would be fine with me if you’d stop referring to that naive little girl that I once was, and just take my word that she doesn’t exist anymore.” Jenna pasted a hard smile on her lips.
“Are you so sure of that baby doll?” Brody had grown serious.
Jenna leaned over the table, bringing herself close enough to him that she could speak in a hushed tone. ‘I am quite sure, Brody Silver Wolf. That girl is long gone, and I’m also sure that everything we say and do is being caught on camera. So if you don’t want to compromise this case, I’d keep it as impersonal as possible. Otherwise you may risk dealing with an agent that doesn’t feel you aren’t guilty.”
Brody gave her a slight nod of affirmation.
Jenna stood up, but before leaving she turned back to Brody and assessed him in a cool, professional manner. “I’ll have to get a warrant to search any property or vehicles you might have. If they don’t find any further evidence against you, they’ll have to let you go.”
She left the room, wishing she could walk away from the emotions that were stirring within her as easily as she’d just walked away from Brody Silver Wolf.
The finality of the electronic cell door clanking shut behind him was unnerving. The new cells were constructed of solid steel with one observation window cut in the door. Brody calmed his nerves by reminding himself that they would find nothing when they searched his property.
That was unless they planted it? The unbidden thought crept its way into his brain like poisonous worms.
He pushed the thought aside, wondering where it had come from. It was true that he had a natural distrust of the Sinister Police Department, but Jenna would play it straight.
Reclining on the small cot that was supposed to pass for a bed, Brody closed his eyes and indulged in thoughts of Jenna. Like so many times over the years, images of her haunted him relentlessly. How often had he regretted not plucking the fruit of her innocence when it had been offered?
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