Fire in Bone: A Jake Pettman Thriller

by Wes Markin

  “But you’re his wife,” Jake said.

  She shrugged. “I’m his wife, and Cam’s his father. There’s a pecking order. In his way, he’s actually kind of sweet to me.”

  “Anybody who lets this happen is not sweet,” Jake said.

  “He doesn’t know any different. He grew up watching it happen to his own mother.”

  Jake took his hand off the chair. “And now your children are growing up and watching it too—”

  “No!” Felicity pointed at Jake. “No, they are not. Those bastards wouldn’t dare. Not in front of my children. I told Carson I would suffer anything to keep my children safe, but if they ever hurt me in front of them, I will kill the old rats while they sleep, and if they take my children from me, then at least they’d be away from this hellhole. My children will never know what I’ve suffered. Never.”

  “The truth can’t stay hidden forever. They’ve raped you.”

  “I consented every single time. Every time. I kept life quiet. My misery was a small price to keep my boys safe.”

  “It’s still rape,” Jake said. “They’ve intimidated and coerced you.”

  “Yes,” Felicity said. “They did.”

  “What’s changed?” Peter asked.

  “I’ve stopped kidding myself. My boys aren’t safe. Look at Brady. He’s shoplifting, and he’s obsessed with guns. How long before he shoots someone?”

  Jake thought about the dint in his windscreen. Not long.

  “There is nothing to be gained from my silence and submission any longer. Look at Owen. Look at the pain on his face.” Her eyes filled with tears. “It has to end. In fact, it has ended. I’m taking my life back.”

  “Not like this,” Peter said. “Not by angering them, by frustrating them. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  Tears streaked her face. She wiped them away, shook her head, and smiled. “How are they going to kill me if I’m not here?”

  Jake watched Peter’s eyes widen. This was clearly something Peter had been so desperate for, for so long.

  Peter said, “Where are you going? Do you need somewhere to stay?”

  She shook her head. “I have somewhere to go.”

  “Fantastic,” Peter said. “This is the right move.”

  “Yes. For so long, I loved Carson, and I loved how much he adored Owen and Brady, and I was willing, in my naivety, in my fucking stupidity, to do anything to keep us together. But I’ve met someone else, and they’ve made me realize it doesn’t have to be like this. I want Brady to go to school. I want Owen to be a magician. I want to be with someone who doesn’t pimp me out to their redneck relatives.”

  Peter took one of Felicity’s hands.

  She looked up at him. The tears were still flowing.

  “Who is it?” Peter said.

  “You know him, Peter. He’s one of us. He understands me. But you can’t say anything, Peter. He’s coming for us tomorrow.”

  “Of course, I won’t. So, he’s Abenaki?”

  She nodded. “He’s done some questionable things himself, but he’s changed. He worked as a driver for Jotham Macleoid for a time, but he was doing it to support his mother.”

  Jake saw the color drain from his friend’s face.

  “And who didn’t work for that animal?” Felicity continued. “Anyway, his heart is in the right place; he did it for his family.”

  Peter’s hand dropped from Felicity’s.

  “Who is it, Felicity?” Jake asked.

  “Oliver Sholes.”

  Peter turned away.

  Jake knew the story well. Oliver Sholes had promised to help get Peter into Jotham’s property so he could free his dogs, but he’d betrayed him. The little shit had left him to the mercy of Jotham and was the reason that all his teeth had been knocked out.

  Jake sighed and refrained from stating the obvious on Felicity’s decision. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  Lillian and the MSP officer, Ewan Taylor, had been sitting outside Rogers general store for the best part of an hour. The Closed sign hanging in the front window was a peculiarity for 10 a.m. on a weekday, so they’d both ventured around the back to knock on his apartment door, but there’d been no answer.

  As they waited for Mason’s return in Ewan’s sporty Audi, the two officers chatted at length. Lillian realized quickly that Ewan, like her, was a conscientious individual, chiefly motivated by justice.

  “I have to admit that when I saw the car, I thought otherwise,” Lillian said.

  “I said I’ve always wanted to do the right thing; I never said I wanted to go without.”

  She laughed, then realized she could really grow to like the tall officer who, like his superior, Louise, also wore a tailored suit and took pride in his appearance. Lillian noticed that Ewan was regularly steering the conversation back to Louise. He was either in complete admiration of her, professionally, or harbored a massive crush on her.

  Surely, he wasn’t silly enough to think it could go anywhere. She had three kids! She decided to remind him of this. His reaction may enlighten her to his agenda.

  “Lieutenant Price seems so capable,” Lillian said.

  “She’s solid as a rock. I’ve never seen her lose control. Not once. You couldn’t ask for a better boss.”

  “Well, with three children, I guess she has a lot of practice.”

  Ewan looked at her. There was the reaction, although the reaction was different to what she’d anticipated. It was one of dismay, as if Lillian had said something totally crazy.

  “Are you all right?”

  He looked away. “Yes, of course. Fine.”

  “You don’t look it.”

  “Just not had breakfast yet, and it was a long night.”

  “We’re batting on the same side, remember?”

  He grinned at her. “Do you know how many small towns Louise has asked that question in?”

  Lillian shook her head.

  “In the same number of towns we’ve been stabbed in the back! That verbal contract means nothing. It’s always us, and it’s always you.”

  “You’re wrong this time.”

  “I’ve heard it before.”

  “I’m more like you than them.”

  “I know you believe that,” Ewan said.

  “I fucking despise everyone I work with.”

  “Again, I’ve heard it before. Next, you’ll be telling me it’s about being the only woman in a patriarchal department.”

  “Well, I won’t tell you the obvious, but I will tell you that there are times when I sit at home, staring into space, nauseated over the incessant misogyny I face on a day-to-day basis.”

  Ewan took a deep breath and nodded. “You do handle yourself better than most, I’ll give you that.”

  “Listen. I operate in the twenty-first century, unlike my colleagues, and unlike those who’ve stabbed you in the back.”

  “This isn’t a job interview.”

  “I wish it was.”

  Ewan laughed. “I’m the wrong man for that; although I’m sure if you help us, the lieutenant’s word will go far and wide.”

  “Seriously, Ewan, believe that you can trust me.”

  “Alright, already! I do!”

  “So, tell me then. Why the reaction when I mentioned the lieutenant’s three children? I will be open and transparent with you about everything.” Apart from about Jake Pettman, she promised herself, because I owe him more than you ever know. “You have my word.”

  “The story is sad, and it has no relevance to what is happening.”

  “This doesn’t sound like transparency to me.”

  “If you let it slip that you know, I could lose her trust.”

  “I won’t.”

  He stared at Lillian and took another deep breath. “What the hell. I hope I’m right about you.”

  “You are.”

  “One evening, six years ago, Louise came home from work, and her husband and three daughters were gone.”

  “Gone?”


  Ewan nodded.

  “Where?”

  Ewan shrugged. “Just gone. Disappeared. They haven’t been seen since.”

  “Six years ago?”

  “Just over.” He sighed. “I told you the story was sad.”

  “There must be more to it than that.”

  “There isn’t. No evidence of forced entry, no traces of intruders. Their vehicle was still in the driveway.”

  “People don’t just vanish.”

  “Well, they do—all the time, actually.”

  “Yes, but not whole families! Not without a trace.”

  Ewan shrugged again. “Without a trace. The case has long grown cold.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “I know.”

  “Could they have just left Louise? Hidden away from her?”

  “But why? By all accounts, her husband adored her, and I know she adored him.”

  “Wait.” Lillian shook her head. “She was texting her husband when I drove her to the station last night. She told me she was texting him!”

  “Yes. The story doesn’t get any brighter, I’m afraid. It’s her defense mechanism. While she works, she tries to think of them as alive. It keeps her going. She is forever texting and looking at photographs of them. It seems to work too. She’s never anything but professional.”

  “I’m not an expert, but that doesn’t sound like the best way to handle grief.”

  “Like I said, it seems to work for her.”

  “And then what? When she’s not working and when she’s at home, does she not have to confront the reality of what’s happened all over again?”

  “She’s not one to sit and dwell. When she’s not working, she’s trying to find them. Everyone else has given up, but she won’t. Not ever.”

  “Can’t say I blame her.”

  Ewan nodded. “She’s the best I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t be surprised if she unearths the truth.”

  “That is one of the most horrendous stories I’ve ever heard,” Lillian said.

  “Well, you wanted to know. But whatever you do, don’t show her any sympathy. She’ll see it as condescending. It’s safer to wave a red flag at a bull.”

  “I won’t. I’m not supposed to know, remember?”

  He nodded. “That’s right.”

  “How long have you known her?”

  “My entire career. Ten years. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am now. She taught me everything I know.”

  “You have a lot of respect for her.”

  “Yes.”

  You’re also in love with her, aren’t you?

  Ewan stared out the windshield onto Main Street with a sad expression.

  15

  GABRIEL RECOGNIZED Officer Taylor’s Audi outside Mason’s shop on Main Street. He leaned against Lance’s Laundrette, which had been boarded-up over four years ago. “Fuck!”

  Having heard his expletive, the Baileys, an elderly couple, nodded a greeting as they walked by but passed on the opportunity to stop and chat.

  “Sorry,” Gabriel said, annoyed with himself for swearing out loud. It seemed his last handful of Adderall was starting to kick in, and he was becoming twitchy again.

  When he was sure the Baileys were out of earshot, he kicked the boards behind him with his heel. Everything had been so much simpler until Priscilla Stone had made her offer. His plan had been to kill Mason for murdering his sister and plant one of his own guns on him. Self-defense—an easy sell after what had happened yesterday in the store. But that offer from Priscilla … well, it was lifechanging. If he waited out the investigation and the MSP did not find the evidence needed to incarcerate Mason, Gabriel would still be able to kill him, and … half a million! He’d be rich!

  He could leave Blue Falls with Kayla, and they could start a new life together. She would soon change her mind about him when she realized how wealthy they now were. She would grow to love him as he loved her.

  But, despite having made up his mind, he still wanted to look that bastard Mason in the eyes and tell him his days were numbered, that murdering his sister was a death sentence, and that it would, most definitely, come to pass.

  However, that couldn’t be now. The MSP were at his store.

  He kicked the boards again and walked back around the corner to where he’d parked.

  Gabriel considered Priscilla’s offer all the way home, but it was only when he was unlocking his front door that he decided he decide to tell Kayla what was happening. She’d be still sore at him for his heavy-handed approach the previous evening, but money—or, at least, the promise of money—had a way of changing perceptions. In this instance, he hoped that would be very much the case. He opened the front door, and his guts froze. The door under the stairs was wide open, just like last time when that worm Ayden MacLeoid had slid in through his kitchen window.

  And those very same brutal questions from last time assaulted him: Was she gone? Kayla? Beautiful Kayla? His Kayla?

  He reached for his rifle beneath the jackets, only remembering when his hand closed on empty air that he’d relocated the rifle to the lounge after Kayla had discovered its location. He reached for the hunting knife he had sheathed on his leg, the one he’d slit Kayla’s brother’s throat with.

  He moved quietly down his hallway. Last time, the element of surprise had worked; if this intruder was still here and not driving Kayla to the police station, then it would work again. He peered into the kitchen. No smashed window this time but an open back door. The frame was cracked. What bold bastard jimmied open the chief of police’s door?

  Gabriel moved the knife from one hand to the other. If they were still here, he would enjoy gutting them. As he descended the steps, he kept to the edges by pressing himself against the wall. The creaking was far less pronounced if he did this. He recalled the relief he’d felt last time when he’d heard Kayla talking to Ayden. This time, he heard nothing, and it was hard to keep his heart from sinking.

  When he reached the final steps, he saw the open door. He was too late. His legs quivered under the force of despair. If he hadn’t still been pressed against the wall, he may just have fallen. He sucked in a lungful of air and forced himself to retain some semblance of control. Now, in a truly dire situation, he needed it more than ever.

  Keeping the knife raised, he took the remaining steps quickly and turned into the room.

  Ashen-faced, Kayla stared up at him with a gun pointed at her, but he couldn’t see the wielder.

  Riding the adrenaline, he stepped farther into the room and saw the intruder.

  Mason.

  “I should have shot you dead yesterday,” Gabriel said.

  “You should have, but you didn’t.”

  Gabriel nodded at the gun. “Is that mistake going to cost me my life?”

  “I only brought this to keep Kayla silent.”

  “First name terms?”

  “How would I not know who she is? She’s the daughter of the man who controlled the town. I can see why you waited until after her father was dead.”

  I didn’t, Gabriel thought. But you don’t need to know that.

  Mason lowered the weapon. “Unfortunately for the world, you’ll live to fight another day.”

  “Unfortunate for you, perhaps.” Gabriel raised his knife and inched forward.

  “That’s a chance I’m willing to take. Killing me serves no purpose, Gabriel. I told your daddy all those years ago that I didn’t kill her. And nothing has changed.”

  “Forgive me, but I’m struggling to believe that.”

  Mason slid his gun into a holster under his jacket.

  “Foolish,” Gabriel said, taking another step.

  “You may want to hear what I say before you kill me.”

  “Unless it’s a confession, I’m not interested.”

  “Everyone has secrets buried, Gabriel. Everyone. But this?” He opened his hand toward Kayla, whose eyes darted between them. “This is something truly unexpected.”

&nb
sp; Mason took a few steps backward, and Gabriel considered attacking but checked himself when he realized he’d be leaving the door unblocked for Kayla to have another shot at escape. “This conversation would already be over if I had my gun.”

  “This conversation would never have happened if I’d sent the photographs I took last night to Lieutenant Louise Price.”

  His guts froze again. Of course. The bastard wouldn’t be here without leverage.

  “Out front, Chief. I watched you bounce this poor girl’s head off the floor.”

  Gabriel’s eyes darted to Kayla and the plaster on her forehead. He took a deep breath, but it felt labored, as if a noose had found its way around his neck and started to tighten. Clever boy. “Give me your cell.”

  Mason shrugged.

  “I’ll take it from your corpse.” Gabriel knew as soon as he finished his threat that Mason wouldn’t have been stupid enough to bring along the only thing keeping him alive. His airway continued to constrict. “I’m going to enjoy gutting you.”

  “And then my brother will do what I should really have done last night and send those photographs to the real police officers.”

  “Brother? Who? You don’t have a brother.”

  “Liam.”

  Gabriel remembered the story. “The one that killed the Davis’ cattle?”

  Mason nodded.

  “I don’t believe you. Your parents sent him away when he was a kid.”

  “Doesn’t mean he didn’t come back.”

  Gabriel snorted. “Came back? I’m not sure the Davis family would have allowed that.”

  “Trust your instincts then, Chief.” He opened his arms as if he was receiving an embrace. “And gut me.”

  Gabriel pointed the knife at Mason. “After I skin you.”

  Mason closed his eyes. “Kayla told me what you did to her brother … in front of her.”

  “That’s nothing compared to what I’ll do to you in front of her.”

  “So, what’re you waiting for?”

  Gabriel pointed the knife at Kayla. “Stay there.” He stepped toward Mason and gritted his teeth. He thought of Louise opening the message on her phone. He lifted the knife. He imagined the lieutenant’s eyes widening. “Fuck!” Gabriel let the weapon fall to his side. “Why are you even here? Why did you not send the photographs already?”