Crime Scene Connection

by Deena Alexander

  Phoenix charged from the kitchen, his deep bark resonating off the high ceilings in the living room.

  “Stay there.” Jace gestured for Addison to wait and followed the big dog.

  Yeah, right. She grabbed a butcher knife from the block on the counter. Keeping her head low, she scrambled across the kitchen and lunged through the archway after him.

  The back window exploded inward, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

  * * *

  “Get down!” Jace dove toward Addison, caught her around the waist and shoved her to the floor beneath him. He had to get her to safety before he could go after whomever was out there. He half pushed, half dragged her behind the couch, then jumped up and pulled his gun. “Stay down.”

  Jace bolted for the back of the house, crouching low, careful to stay clear of the line of windows.

  “What happened?” Addison kept her head low.

  “Something came through the window.” He had to get her somewhere safer and go after this guy.

  “Do you know what it was?”

  Jace shook his head. “Couldn’t tell. It sounded big, though, so not a bullet.”

  Keeping to the side, Jace ripped the back door open. A light bobbed through the woods in the distance, accompanied by the sounds of retreat. “Addison, take Phoenix with you, get in the bathroom and lock the door.”

  She obeyed instantly, keeping her head beneath the level of the couch as she scrambled to do as he’d instructed.

  “Don’t open that door for anyone but me.” The instant he heard the lock click, he bolted for the back door. Even though she’d taken the big knife with her, he hated the idea of leaving her and Phoenix alone and unprotected, but he had no choice. He locked the door behind him and ran across the dark yard, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, but not being as careful as he should have been.

  “Sounds like a bear crashing through the woods,” he muttered to himself as he ran, glancing over his shoulder in case a second threat loomed behind him and trying to keep an eye on the house in case another suspect lurked in the darkness. Though it seemed the killer had acted alone so far—things would have played out a lot differently if he’d had a partner when he’d come after them the last time—Jace couldn’t rule it out. And he’d left Addison at the house.

  He had no choice, had to go after the killer, and yet... It didn’t make sense. Something was wrong.

  Jace ran along the grass on the border of the yard, parallel to the line the suspect was following, easily keeping track of the flashlight’s beam. While the suspect tripped over brush and got snagged by branches, Jace had no trouble catching up.

  Muffled curses reached him as he silently stalked the man. Something was definitely wrong. No way this bumbling fool planned and executed two murders, then managed to elude the police. Doubt crept in. Unless Addison was right. Maybe the cops weren’t investigating it properly. But why? Could Brandon be behind it? Brandon was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a fool.

  The suspect stumbled out onto the road just past the end of the driveway. Not wanting to be blinded by the flashlight beam when the suspect turned, Jace slid behind a huge tree trunk bordering the driveway, gun ready. He chanced a quick glance over his shoulder. He’d locked the door on his way out, and the hole in the back window wasn’t big enough for a man to get through. He hadn’t heard the sounds of anyone breaking in or Addison screaming, though he could still hear Phoenix’s muffled barking. Satisfied she was okay for the moment, Jace turned his full attention to the man standing on the side of the road.

  After quickly scanning the area, the suspect turned the flashlight off and stuffed it into his jacket pocket, then strolled along the road heading down the mountain.

  You have got to be kidding me. Enough of this. Jace stepped from behind the tree, holding the gun ready in a two-handed stance. “Freeze.”

  The guy stopped.

  “Hands out to the side where I can see them and turn around. Slowly.”

  He did exactly as Jace instructed. When he spotted the gun, the guy shot his hands into the air and started backing up. “No, man. It’s not what you think. It wasn’t me. Well, it was, but not what you think. Don’t shoot me, man.”

  “Don’t move.” Jace crept toward him.

  “No, no. Okay. I’ll stay still.” Tremors shook the man’s...no, not a man—the kid’s voice. He stopped backpedaling. “Just don’t shoot.”

  Jace approached him, still staying a safe distance back, and lowered his weapon. “Start talking.”

  The boy, who couldn’t be more than fifteen, rubbed a shaking hand over his head, pulling his sweatshirt hood off. He spun around and ran. Fast.

  “Great.” Shoving the gun in his waistband, Jace took off after him.

  The kid stayed on the road, the downhill slope adding to his momentum, and he started to pull away from Jace.

  Jace ran faster. No way was this kid getting away. He might be their only lead, might be the only way to stop this killer. Might be the only way to keep Addison safe. And yet Jace couldn’t chase him much longer; he had to get back to the house in case the killer had used the kid to lure him out.

  Headlights washed over the scene from behind him, and Jace moved onto the shoulder without slowing, ready to dive for cover.

  The car passed Jace, swung around the kid and fishtailed, its back end swinging out as it skidded to a stop in front of him.

  Unable to slow his stride, the kid plowed into the side of the car, bounced off and landed flat on his back in the middle of the street.

  The driver’s door swung open and Connor jumped out. He grinned at Jace. “Getting slow in your old age, huh?”

  Jace stopped and bent at the waist, hands on his knees, sucking in huge gulps of air. As soon as he could breathe again, he’d straighten Connor out.

  Connor reached out a hand and helped the kid to his feet, then shoved his back against the car, keeping a hand splayed against the kid’s chest. “Do not run again.”

  The kid only nodded, chest heaving, bringing Jace a small rush of relief. Maybe he wasn’t in as bad a shape as he thought. Yeah, right.

  He rubbed a hand over his mouth and approached the kid. “Talk. Now.”

  The kid’s head nodded frantically, like a bobblehead. “It wasn’t me. Some old dude paid me to throw it.”

  “Throw what?”

  “The rock, man. He gave me fifty bucks and said if I came up here tonight and threw that rock through the big window when a woman was in the living room, he’d give me another fifty.”

  Addison! “When?”

  The kid shrugged and swiped the hair that had fallen into his eyes. “I don’t know, ’round dinnertime, I guess. Five, maybe six.”

  He had to get back to her. Also had to have answers. “Get in the car.”

  Connor ripped the back door open.

  “Don’t hurt me, man, I needed the money, ya know.”

  “Now.”

  The kid dove into the car and slid across the back seat.

  Jace jumped in after him.

  Connor slammed the door, rounded the car and jumped into his own seat.

  “Go, go, go!” They had to get to Addison. The killer could be there already.

  “What’s wrong?” Maris spun around in the passenger seat and pinned him with a glare.

  Ignoring her, he turned to the kid. “Are you supposed to meet him somewhere?”

  “Nah, man...” Knowledge started to dawn in the kid’s expression. “Well, hey, fifty bucks is fifty bucks, and all I had to do was come up here and throw a rock through a window.”

  Jace reined in his temper. It wouldn’t help anything, and it wasn’t the kid’s fault he’d been played. Though it was certainly his fault he’d agreed to damage Addison’s property, he hadn’t been trying to hurt her. “What’d the guy look like?”

 
; “I don’t know.”

  Jace gripped the front of the boy’s shirt. He needed answers.

  The kid held his hands up. “Honest, mister. I don’t know. He was taller than me and kinda big, but that’s all I can tell you. He had on a long black coat, sunglasses and a really bad wig. Oh, and a big fake mustache and beard.” The kid grinned. “Ain’t no one could grow a mustache and beard like that, dude.”

  Jace let go of the kid. Now what? He couldn’t just release him. What if the killer came after him? Yet he couldn’t detain him, either.

  Relief rushed through him as Connor rocketed up the driveway toward the house. Except for the kid’s soft sobs as he must have realized how much trouble he might be in, everything seemed quiet.

  “I’m going to pull right up—”

  The world exploded, towers of flame shooting up across the front lawn, blocking his view of the house. Heat assailed him as he dove from the car and ran toward the inferno. “Addison!”

  EIGHT

  Phoenix barked frantically, pausing only long enough to growl as he stood guard at the closed bathroom door. He turned back to Addison, looked up at her as if to ask why she was just standing there doing nothing, and returned to barking.

  “Good question, boy.” But what could she do? Jace had said to stay put, and he was probably right. Though he’d left Phoenix to protect her, what could the dog do against a gun? No way could she live with herself if she got him hurt...or worse.

  “It’s okay, boy,” she soothed, as much for her own sake as his. She ran a hand along his flank. “We’ll just wait here for Jace to get back.”

  What was taking so long? What if the killer got him? Her heart stuttered at the thought. She shoved it away.

  Even with the light on, the walls in the small powder room closed in on her. Sweat dripped down the sides of her face. She gripped the knife tighter in both hands, clutching it to her chest. Could she use it? If a killer ripped the door open right now, could she use the knife to end his life? Thou shalt not kill. Or would she die hugging it against her, useless?

  The dog’s agitation generated a heat of its own as he paced back and forth in front of the door.

  Addison shoved her hair back with her wrist, unwilling to release her hold on the weapon for even an instant. She pressed her back against the wall.

  Phoenix jumped against the door, clawing the wood, over and over.

  “Phoenix, no.” She gripped his collar, tried to turn his face toward her in an attempt to ease his distress.

  Her sweat-soaked shirt clung to her. Why was she so hot? Anxiety?

  Phoenix clawed wildly, barking, barking...

  “Phoenix, please, boy, what’s wrong?” She couldn’t think. Had to think.

  Think, think, think...

  Darkness pressed in on her. A sliver of light peeked through a small crack. No, not real. Blackness weighed heavily, threatening to suffocate her. The bathroom light was on. Not real. Nightmare and reality swirled together in a dizzying array, tugging her in different directions. Hide. Help. Run. Hide. Jace said to hide. Mommy said to hide. Had to help. Jace might be in trouble.

  A puddle of blood. Dark hair splayed through it. A face turned away. Familiar. Jace? No! M—

  Phoenix gripped her arm in his mouth, startling her from whatever nightmare held her immobile, and pulled her toward the door.

  The smell of smoke assailed her. Her breath whooshed out, sucking all the air from her lungs. Fire. That was what she’d missed, unable to think past the claustrophobia.

  Phoenix released her and barked.

  “Okay, boy.” She patted his head. “I’m okay now.”

  He whimpered and returned to pacing in front of the door.

  She pressed a hand against it. Cool. The flames hadn’t reached her yet.

  All right. Think. Where in the game were they? This was too early. That was why she’d missed it. After the third murder, the killer had tried to burn her house down. He’d ringed the lawn around the house with accelerant and ignited it, the flames taunting her as they moved closer and closer, surrounding her. Stalking her.

  Had the killer escalated? Had he already killed the third woman? No. It was too soon.

  She had to pull herself together, had to think. If he’d escalated, she was too late to save the third victim. She sobbed and slammed her entwined fists against the door. “No!”

  Light flashed from the knife’s blade. The killer didn’t have a death wish, so he’d have set the fire and remained outside the circle. He might be sitting in a tree waiting to shoot her if she emerged, but a knife wouldn’t help with that, and he wouldn’t be in the house.

  She set the knife on the counter and gripped Phoenix’s collar. She didn’t have his leash, and she couldn’t risk him running off and getting hurt. “You have to stay by my side. Understand?”

  The big dog steadied and pressed against her leg.

  “Please, God, help me find a way to save him,” she whispered as she cracked the door open a fraction of an inch. “And please let Jace be okay.”

  He should have returned by now. But even if he had, he wouldn’t be able to get to her if the killer had mimicked the scene in her book. The entire house would be surrounded by a circle of fire. If Jace had been inside the ring, he’d already have reached her. The killer had lured him out so he could get to her.

  Though the flames hadn’t yet reached the house, smoke poured in through the gaping hole in the back window. Since Phoenix stayed glued to her side, she released his collar and searched the area for whatever the killer had thrown through the window.

  A dark green stone sat amid the shattered glass. Careful to avoid getting cut, she used a throw from the couch to pick it up and wrap it. Maybe Jace would be able to get fingerprints, though what they’d do with them, she had no idea. Maybe an anonymous letter to the police.

  If, of course, she could find a way out of there.

  Smoke stung the back of her throat, and she coughed. Tears streamed down her face, and she squinted against the burning in her eyes.

  She gathered the last few throws from the couch, hurried to the kitchen and dumped them in the sink. Keeping low, out of view of the window just in case, she ran the water and soaked the throws. “I’m going to put this over you, okay, Phoenix?”

  The dog looked up into her eyes and whined.

  She kissed his head and tossed the soaking wet throw over him. “It’s okay, boy, I’ll get you out of this.”

  She threw a second wet throw over her head and shoulders, carrying the last one and the wrapped stone with her as they headed through the kitchen. Even though she didn’t think the killer would be able to see her through the smoke and flames, she crouched behind the couch as she made her way through the living room. The wall of windows raised the hairs on the back of her neck. She should have brought the knife. Too late.

  She cracked the front door open. Flames roared into the sky, only yards from the front porch. “Phoenix, stay.”

  He whimpered but obeyed.

  “Addison!” Jace’s screams drowned out the roar of the flames. He was okay.

  Oh, God, thank You!

  “I’m here, Jace.” Leaving the stone and the extra throw in the doorway with Phoenix, she hurried down the length of the porch, keeping close to the house and holding a corner of the wet throw against her mouth and nose. She ran down the porch steps, missed the bottom one and twisted her ankle.

  Ignore the pain. There’s no time.

  She grabbed the hose, unwound it from the holder as fast as she could and turned it on. Water sputtered, then poured from the hose in a steady stream. She said a silent thank-you as she ran toward the flames. All they needed was a small gap, if she could just hold the flames back long enough for them to slip through. “Are you there, Jace?”

  “Addison?”

  “Over here.” She left
the hose on the ground and ran back to the doorway for the rock. “Phoenix, come.”

  He trotted to her side.

  She ran back, grabbed the hose and sprayed a steady stream of water at the base of an area of flames, soaking the ground as much as possible. As soon as she saw the smallest gap, she urged Phoenix through. Battling the encroaching flames, she wrapped the wet throw she was wearing tight around her, clutched the stone and dove through the flames.

  * * *

  Jace tackled her to the ground the instant she emerged, rolling her and ripping the throw from around her. He staggered to his feet and stamped out the small flare of flames closest to her. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

  He patted her down, making sure there were no embers left to ignite, feeling for himself that she was whole and unharmed, then reached out a hand.

  Her hand shook as she reached for him, let him help her to her feet. “I’m okay, Jace. Phoenix?”

  “He’s fine.” He gestured toward the car parked across the lawn, where Connor held the door for Phoenix to scramble into the back seat. “Thank you.”

  She captured his gaze with hers, held him enraptured. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? For what?” A black line of soot or dirt spotted her cheek. He wiped it away, his fingers lingering as he pressed his forehead against hers. They had to go, had to run. Even with Connor having their backs, they were targets out there in the open, but he couldn’t turn away from her.

  “I’m sorry I brought all of this on you.”

  “Addison...”

  She squeezed her eyes closed and a soft sob escaped.

  “Addison, look at me.” He cradled her face between his hands, tilted it up toward him and stared into her eyes. The fear shining in hers begged him to retreat, to take her somewhere safe, to... “This is not your fault. None of it. Do you understand me? I’m here because I choose to be here, to help. Before I... Well, before I resigned, I dedicated my life to protecting others. This is no different.”