“You say somethin’, bro?” A young boarder standing nearby looked at Don.
Don shook his head. “Just thinking out loud.” He tightened his boots and streaked down the hill to his car and his phone.
His phone had been busy while he was gone. There were five missed calls from Luke, four from Sarah Snow, but not even one from Belinda. Interesting. He listened to his voicemail and had to steady himself against the car when he heard the news. Lucy had been hit in the head in a sledding accident and was in the hospital in a coma.
Don drove straight to The Children’s Hospital on Franklin. When he arrived at Lucy’s stark white room, Luke and Sabrina were sitting next to each other gazing at Lucy. Sabrina was holding Lucy’s hand and Luke’s big hand was gently wrapped around his daughter’s tiny forearm. Lucy’s little body was surrounded with tubes and monitors. Her head was wrapped in a bandage. She was propped up slightly and she looked like she was sleeping, but the tension in the room made it clear that wasn’t the case.
“What happened?”
“She went sledding with some friends from pre-school,” Luke replied. “Someone built a snow jump and they went off of it without looking and ran right into her. She had a seizure on the hill and they brought her here in an ambulance.” His voice didn’t sound human.
“What have the doctors said?”
Sabrina answered, “She has had what is called a TBI which stands for Traumatic Brain Injury. They did an MRI and they are draining some cavities in her brain to reduce the swelling.”
“She’s on drugs to try to prevent any more seizures and to help keep down the inflammation,” Luke added. “Esther, her main nurse, told us we just have to sit and wait.” His spirit lifted just a bit when he said, “Esther said Lucy’s age is a positive.”
Don looked at Sabrina. “Were you there?”
Sabrina shook her head. “The mother of Lucy’s friend called and invited her to go sledding, and I just thought it would be okay.” She put her face into her hands and started sobbing. “Why did I let her go?”
Luke put both arms around his wife. “You let her go because kids go sledding. You couldn’t have seen this coming, honey. Don’t beat yourself up.”
Time passed. Don was looking out of the window when his phone rang.
“Don?” Kate’s voice was shaking. “Were the devil worshippers in jail last night?”
“Yes, they were.”
“How could this happen? How could Wanda have been killed? Were all the men caught that night? Could it be one of the guys that got away?”
“We aren’t certain that we caught all of them so that’s still a possibility, but it just isn’t holding up. And you’re right, the killer is still out there and every single member of your Bible study group is a target for him.” Don sighed. “I think we need to review everything. Now that we know what we know, I’d like to go through the details with you again. You might remember something you didn’t remember before. I think we got off on the wrong path with this devil worship stuff and we have to get back on the right one.”
“Okay, you name the time and the place and I’ll be there.”
“Actually, I’m at The Children’s Hospital on Franklin. Lucy was in a sledding accident. She’s in a coma.”
“Oh, no!” Don heard Kate suck in her breath. “Is it okay if I come down?” she whispered.
Don put his hand over the mouthpiece and checked with Luke and Sabrina. “Yes, it’s okay. Room 403 in the intensive care unit.”
“I’ll see you in a little while.”
Don sat back down by Lucy’s bed and rubbed his chin. “So, am I still employed by the city of Denver or am I solving this case pro bono?”
Luke brightened up for a fraction of a second. “Queen BM was pissed as hell when you left. She stomped around and cussed for a while, but when it comes right down to it I think she knows you’re right; the case won’t get solved if you aren’t on it.” He inclined his head towards Lucy. “Especially now. I’m out for a while. I already talked to HR.”
“Don’t worry about anything but your family, partner. I’ve got the case.”
About an hour later Kate walked in and Sabrina stood up to greet her. The two women hugged.
Kate held up a bag. “I brought some things.” She pulled out a stuffed toy. “Here’s a puppy to keep Lucy company.”
Next Kate pulled out some books. “I thought you might like to read to Lucy.” She handed them to Luke.
The next thing Kate pulled out of her bag was a white ceramic angel. One wing was slightly chipped and there were a couple of scratches on it. “This is a little angel my mom gave me when I was young. She told me it was my guardian angel. I used to rub it when I was scared or upset when I was small. I’d like to give it to Lucy, is that okay?”
“That’s very sweet, Kate,” Sabrina took it and placed it on a stand next to Lucy’s bed.
Luke paced near the window.
“And I brought a medal of St. Jude.” Kate pulled a small silver medal out of the bottom of the bag. “He is the patron saint of desperate situations. Would it be okay if I put this near Lucy’s bed too?”
Sabrina started to agree, but Luke spun around. “Fat lot of good that’ll do!” he spat out.
“Luke Malone, what are you saying?” Sabrina frowned. “If there is anything we need right now, it’s prayers!”
Luke’s eyes went vacant. “Sorry, baby, I just don’t believe in all of that stuff. Where was God when my brother was dying, huh?”
Kate put the medal in a pocket and held up her hands. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it. I was just trying to help.”
Don cleared his throat. “Kate, why don’t you and I go down to the coffee shop and go over the case from the beginning. Luke, you are welcome to join us if you want to or stay here, it’s up to you.”
“You go on.” Sabrina stared at her husband. “I’ll stay here.”
Luke turned to walk out. “I’m going to step outside for a minute,” he said in a clipped voice. “I’ll meet you in the coffee shop.”
The elevator took Kate and Don to the coffee shop. Don retrieved a small notebook and pen from a coat pocket after they found a table and sat down. He and Kate put their heads together as Don reviewed each page step by step.
Before long, Luke rambled over and stood near their table, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Kate looked up at him and placed a hand on Luke’s arm. “I’m sorry if the medal upset you. I swear, I was just trying to help.”
“I know.” Luke waved his hand. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. I want to talk about the case.” He pulled up a chair but positioned it so that he was facing Don, not Kate.
After about thirty minutes, they wound up back at the meal at Jose’s. “I keep coming back to the waiter there because he was just so mean.” Kate’s forehead creased. “It isn’t very often that you meet someone who is just plain mean.”
Luke readjusted his chair a bit, sat back, folded his arms, and studied Kate. “Let me ask you something. Do you like everyone that you meet? Do you really think that everyone is a good person?”
Kate tilted her head and twisted her hair around a finger for a few seconds as she considered Luke’s question. “Well no, even though Jesus told us to love our enemies I have to admit that I honestly don’t like everyone I meet. Unfortunately, I still have a long way to go on that one.” She held up a finger. “But, I at least think everyone has a light of some sort inside of them and I always challenge myself to find it. I have to tell you, there are very few people I have known whose light can’t be found.” Kate paused and stared at the table for a minute. “Although there was one guy that I worked for a few years ago when I first came to Denver…” Eyes wide, she stopped and grabbed Don’s arm. “Holy crap!” Her lips parted and she
stared straight ahead as if in a trance.
Don’s eyebrows drew together. “What?”
“I just remembered!” Blinking, she turned to look at Don and her voice fell to a whisper. “He was at the restaurant the night we were at Jose’s.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Don leaned forward and stared at Kate. “Tell us about it.”
“His name is Barry Witt. He owns a real estate investment firm in Denver. I applied for a position there when I was close to my graduation from Boise State. I flew in for an interview, got the job, and moved right after I graduated.” She sighed. “At first I didn’t have much to do with him because I was in training. However, I learned a lot and worked hard. After a few months, he took more of an interest in me.” She made a face. “He really started to come on to me sexually. I kept resisting, but it became a more and more difficult situation, so I looked for another job. As luck would have it, when he was out of the country I found my current job and gave my notice. I was gone before he got back. The first time I’ve seen him since was the night at Jose’s.”
“What happened there?”
“He was drinking at the bar when we came in. His back was mostly to me so he didn’t see me, but I saw enough of his face so that I recognized him.” Kate studied her hands. “I pretended I didn’t see him and hoped he didn’t see me.” She paused and looked up. “But he did. You know how when you don’t want to acknowledge someone, and your eyes meet for a split second and then you look away?”
“Yup.”
“Well, that’s what happened. It was a little bit later in the evening.” She sighed. “It’s kind of odd. That happened at work a few times and he actually called me in his office to talk to me about it.”
“What’d he say?”
“He said I worked for him and he deserved respect. He said, ‘You’re my employee. Mine. You need to show me a certain regard. When you see me, you address me.’” Kate wrinkled her nose. “I mean, it was nothing. But he got really bent out of shape over that.”
Luke let out a low whistle. “That’s a problem.”
Kate’s forehead creased. “Yeah, creeped me out.”
“It sounds like he thought of you as his. As a possession. Something he could control.” Luke crossed his legs. “They’ve done studies on men who kill women. They think they own them. When the lady leaves, they go off the deep end and try to get her back. But when they can’t, the process turns from recovery to elimination.”
“Ugh,” Don grunted. “That’s right.” His eyes lingered on Kate as he thought. “Did he ever try to contact you after you left?”
“A couple times, but I never took the call.”
Don stared at his coffee cup and chewed on his lip. “Okay. So, Barry sees you, you ignore him again like you did several times in the past.” He tapped his finger against his cup as he thought. “Maybe while he was at Jose’s, Barry somehow got a copy of the list from Treavor. Or maybe some extra copies were left on the tables by a few ladies from your group. Barry picked one up.” Don looked up. “Treavor might know something. I’ll go down to the station and talk to Treavor and do some research on Mr. Barry Witt. Give me the name of his company.”
“It’s Witt Real Estate and Investments. His folks loaned him the money to start it and he began in commercial real estate. Later he became more involved in residential and I think he also expanded into other financial vehicles.” Kate closed her eyes for a minute. “I can’t believe I didn’t tell you this before. I just didn’t remember seeing him until now. Besides, it was just a fraction of a second. I got so caught up with the whole thing about Treavor and the devil worshippers and I guess I just forgot about it.”
“Happens all the time. It meant nothing to you.” Don paused. “But maybe it meant everything to him.” Don turned to Luke and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve got the case. You have more than enough to worry about. If there is any change with Lucy, let me know.” Don turned and sprinted out the door.
Kate watched him leave and turned to Luke. “I apologize again about the medal. Please forgive me.”
“Yeah.” Luke ran a hand over his head. “It’s fine.”
Kate gathered her belongings. “Do you know where the chapel is by any chance?”
“Chapel?”
Kate nodded. “Yes, I think all hospitals have one. No worries, I’ll find it.” She touched Luke’s arm. “Take care.”
The chapel was easy to find. Kate spent some time praying for Lucy and the Malone family. When she exited, she found Luke standing outside. Once again, she put a hand on his arm. “You okay?”
“God didn’t help me with my brother. Why would he help me with my daughter?”
“Luke, what happened with your brother?”
Luke leaned against a wall. “The short story is my dad left us, my mom earned the money to support us, and my brother hung out with the wrong crowd. One night I heard him on the phone with someone and I could tell something bad was going down. I followed him and it was a drug deal. He pulled a wad of money out of his pocket to exchange for drugs. But instead of the drugs, the guy pulled out a knife and stabbed Jay like he was nothing. I ran after his attacker and we fought, but he got away.” Luke’s eyes welled up. “Jay died in my arms.”
“That’s just awful. I’m so sorry.”
“I prayed as hard as I could but Jay didn’t make it. Where was God then, huh Kate? Where was God then?” Luke leaned forward and closed his eyes.
“Luke, God didn’t kill Jay, the drug dealer killed Jay.” Kate paused. “God gave us free will. We can choose how we want to live. He gave us an example to follow and we either do it or not.” She searched Luke’s eyes. “But Luke, make no mistake, God loves you.”
Luke rubbed the top of his head and took several deep breaths. Then he cleared his throat. “You still have that medal?”
She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it over to him.
“And when you ask this guy to pray for you, you get miracles?”
A corner of Kate’s mouth turned up. “It certainly hasn’t happened every time, but it has happened.”
“Huh.” Luke rubbed his lips together, considering. “I’ll do anything to help Lucy. Okay, let’s put him to work.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Down at the station, Don made slow progress. The office of Witt Real Estate and Investments was closed but Barry Witt still lived in Denver. Don wanted to know what Treavor remembered from that night in the bar. The problem was that last Don heard, Treavor wouldn’t talk without his lawyer present. Don sat at his desk and stared at his computer screen. He was going to have to jump through some hoops and jumping through hoops always took time. In the meantime, the killer was still out there. Don’s stomach churned.
Chapter Thirty
Don went to talk to Treavor who was still being held at the station. Treavor stood leaning against the back wall of the jail cell, arms folded.
“Treavor, I have new knowledge in the case involving the women that are being killed. I just want to ask you a couple of questions.”
Treavor shook his head. “Not without my lawyer.”
Don tried again. “This will in no way implicate you in this case. I just need you to verify a small detail for me.”
Treavor shook his head again. “Nothing doin’. Not without my lawyer.”
Don’s shoulders drooped. He was stuck.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A few miles away, the killer prepped to leave for Brazil. He stopped both the mail and the paper for the duration of his trip. The doors were locked, the lights were off, and the heat was set to low. He had his passport, so it was time to go. As he put his luggage in the trunk, he saw the axe. Too bad that can’t come to Brazil, too. He took the axe out of his trunk and looked for a place to hide it.
More than once, he left
the axe in a closet, got in his car, then got back out and moved it again. He stood in his living room looking at the collection of the medieval weapons. He tried putting it up amongst them, but he’d been polishing it so much the shiny blade stood out. He took it back down and looked at himself in the blade, mesmerized. All of a sudden he blinked and looked at his watch. Cursing, he ran back out to the garage and put the axe back in the trunk of the car. After all, the airport police didn’t search car trunks! Then he backed out of his driveway and headed to Denver International Airport.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At the police station, Don called Treavor’s lawyer several times but couldn’t get any further than voicemail. He paced in front of his whiteboard and then leaned against a wall as he studied it.
Without warning, the sound of gunshots broke out near the entrance of the room. Don dropped to the floor pulling his gun out of its holster, and saw a man wearing the same red hood as the devil worshippers shoot in a frenzy, then turn and run out the door amidst a barrage of return fire. The prisoners in the jail cells cheered. Some of Don’s colleagues were down and bleeding. Don checked to make sure that they were being attended to and yelled, “I’m going after him,” as he barreled out the door.
The street was crowded with shoppers and citizens who were unaware of the danger they were in. Searching, Don spotted the man darting through the crowd and Don chased him, arms pumping and feet pounding as fast as he could go.
The shooter spotted Don and turned to fire. People near him screamed.
Don heard shots hit a van behind him. He turned to look. Van damaged. People okay. Don sprinted towards a doorway. “Get down!” Don shouted as he ducked into the doorframe and checked to see where the shooter was. He was running again. Don sped after him and closed the gap. The shooter ran across the street through traffic and Don jumped behind a truck and crossed without losing any ground. The shooter turned to shoot again but Don reacted. Bellowing, “Get down!” to the pedestrians, Don fired a clear shot at the gunman and the bullet knocked the assailant to the ground. Running to him, Don worked to stem the bleeding before the ambulance arrived. He really wanted to have a conversation with this guy.
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