Silent Storm

by Amanda Stevens

  She knew a lot of people who fit that description, but she wasn’t about to admit it to Deacon Cage. Not until she learned more about him and what his true agenda might be. “Why do I get the feeling you’re playing me for some kind of fool here?” she asked angrily.

  He almost smiled at that. “If I thought you were a fool, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “Why are you here?” Marly insisted. “What is it you expect me to do with this…story of yours?”

  “It’s simple.” He rose and stood over her desk. “When the time comes, I expect you to do the right thing.” Then he turned and strode toward the front of the station.

  THE FIRST THING MARLY DID when she got home from work was strip off all her clothes and climb into the shower. She stood under the spray for a very long time, scrubbing her skin and hair time after time until she was certain no trace of that gruesome scent remained.

  She wished she could wash away the bloody images as well, but that wasn’t to be. She hadn’t been able to get the crime scene out of her mind all day, nor could she forget Deacon Cage’s enigmatic visit to the police station. “He doesn’t kill with his hands. He kills with his mind.”

  A killer with supernatural powers? A man with a military background who could manipulate his victims’ thoughts? Who could compel them to commit suicide?

  Marly shivered even though the water was still hot.

  The suicides were tragic, but there was nothing that sinister behind them. Certainly nothing supernatural. No one had compelled the victims to take their own lives. No one had controlled their thoughts. They’d made their choices of their own free will, for whatever reason. Just as her grandmother had years ago. And the fact that four different people had made that same choice in less than two weeks didn’t prove anything. It happened that way sometimes. One suicide triggered another. It was like a chain reaction, Marly had read.

  No one could manipulate thoughts. No one could kill with his mind. Deacon Cage was either delusional or a man with a scheme, and Marly hadn’t figured out which yet. But she would. First thing the next morning, she’d have a background check run on him, and if anything suspect turned up in his file, she’d find a way to arrest him or run him out of town. If his wild story got out, Marly could only imagine the panic that a rumor about a serial killer would cause, let alone one with supernatural powers.

  Stepping out of the shower, she vigorously toweled herself dry, then pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She headed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, studying the contents even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat. Not yet. Not until her stomach settled a bit.

  Her gaze lit on a bottle of Pinot Grigio shoved to the very back. The trendy white wine had been Joshua’s favorite, and Marly wasn’t sure why she’d kept the bottle after their breakup. She wasn’t much of a wine drinker, but she also didn’t like to think of herself as the type of woman who needed to throw away or burn everything associated with a former lover in order to get him out of her system.

  Deciding that a drink might help her relax, she grabbed the bottle by the neck and then slamming the refrigerator door with her foot, rummaged through a kitchen drawer for a corkscrew.

  So what if this particular wine reminded her of the night Joshua proposed to her? she thought with grim resolve. Joshua Rush no longer mattered to her. He no longer had any power over her. She now knew him for the kind of man he really was. Beneath that charming and charismatic façade lurked a cold, cruel megalomaniac—a man very much like her father.

  Thank God she’d found out about him in time. Even before she’d caught him with Crystal, Marly had already come to the painful realization that the relationship was doomed. Joshua was too self-centered and controlling. He’d cleverly disguised his true personality at first, but toward the end, he’d gone so far as to try and tell her what to wear, who to see, what to say.

  No way would Marly ever live under anyone’s thumb again. She hadn’t had a choice as a child, but she certainly did as an adult. She would never allow anyone to have that kind of power over her.

  Was that why she’d joined the police department? Because the gun strapped to her hip gave her power?

  And if so, what did that say about her? Marly wondered.

  Pouring a glass of wine, she walked into the living room, but before she could plop down on the sofa with her drink, the doorbell rang. She set the glass on the coffee table and went to answer it.

  “Yes?” she said to the scantily dressed young woman who stood on the other side.

  The woman gave her a nervous smile. “I don’t know if you remember me or not. I used to live down the street from you. I’m Lisa. Lisa Potter. James and Nadine’s daughter.”

  Marly stared at her in surprise. “Of course, I remember you. I was your baby-sitter when you were just this high.” She measured the air at her waist. But Lisa had certainly changed since then, Marly thought, as she took in the young woman’s skintight blue jeans and midriff-baring top. A belly-button ring sparkled in the fading light, and lip gloss glistened on a wide, sensuous mouth.

  Lisa seemed to relax a bit. “I used to ride my bike past your house every day hoping to catch a glimpse of your brother. I had the biggest crush on him.”

  “Yeah, there was a lot of that going around,” Marly said. “So what are you doing back in Mission Creek? I heard you’d moved to Dallas a few years ago.” In fact, she’d heard that Lisa was dancing in a strip club in one of the seedier sections of town, but Marly had no idea whether or not it was true. The woman certainly had the body for it.

  “I did, but I’m back here now. My boyfriend has an apartment in this complex. I saw you drive up a little while ago. I was wondering…if you had a few minutes to talk?”

  Marly had no idea what the woman might want, but she shrugged and stepped back. “Sure. Come on in.”

  Lisa followed Marly inside, then gazed around at the rather stark decor. The only thing of value in the whole apartment was the sofa Marly had purchased from an upscale design store in San Antonio. She’d blown a hefty portion of her savings on that one item of furniture because black leather was about as far removed from the French country elegance of her parents’ home as she could get.

  “Can I offer you something to drink?” she asked Lisa. “A glass of wine?”

  “No, I’m good. Besides, I can’t stay long.”

  Marly motioned toward the sofa. “Have a seat then.” When they were both settled, she said, “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

  The woman’s nervousness came back. She wiped her hands down the sides of her tight jeans. “You’re a cop now, right? I’ve seen you in your uniform.”

  “I’m a deputy, yes.”

  “That’s what I thought.” She clasped her fingers in her lap. “I don’t know if you realize this or not, but Amber Tyson was my cousin.”

  “I’d forgotten about that,” Marly said in surprise. “This must be a really hard time for you and your family.”

  Lisa nodded. “Aunt Ruby’s taking it really hard. I feel bad, too, but Amber and I weren’t that close. I’m a few years older so we didn’t hang out or anything. And I’ve been away for a long time…” She trailed off, then suddenly leaned forward. “That’s why I’m here. Amber and I weren’t close. I barely even knew her. But she came to see me the day before she died. Just showed up at my apartment out of the blue.”

  She had Marly’s undivided attention now. “What did she want?”

  Lisa lifted her shoulders. “It was really weird. Like I said, we barely knew each other, and we didn’t have much in common. Amber was one of the good girls, you know? Made straight As in school. Always looked and acted as if she was on her way to Sunday school. You know the type.”

  All too well.

  “That’s why I was so surprised when she came to see me. Aunt Ruby would’ve had a fit if she’d known.” Lisa gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m kind of the black sheep of the family.”

  “What did Amber say?” Marly
pressed.

  Lisa frowned, as if she was still puzzled by her cousin’s visit. “She wanted to borrow an outfit. Something that would make her look older and more sophisticated. Sexy. Those were her exact words. It really freaked me out to hear her talk like that because I still thought of her as a little kid.”

  “Did she tell you why she wanted the outfit?”

  “Not really. But I got the impression she was trying to impress someone.”

  “David?”

  “I don’t think so. He was the one who brought her over to my place that day, and Amber made a point of telling me they were just friends.”

  “Maybe she was just too embarrassed to admit that he was her boyfriend,” Marly suggested. “Especially if her parents didn’t approve of the relationship.”

  Lisa shook her head. “I don’t think it was him. I think it was someone older. Why else would she want to look more sophisticated?”

  Marly hesitated. “She didn’t mention a name?”

  “No. But I think it may have been one of her teachers.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  Lisa shrugged. “Because girls get crushes on cute teachers all the time, right? I had one myself.”

  Marly thought about that for a moment. “Did you get the impression that this other person returned her feelings?”

  “I don’t know. But I can tell you this.” Lisa leaned forward once more, her eyes dark with concern. “Amber wasn’t suicidal that day. Just the opposite. She was happy and excited, like she had a big secret.”

  “Did she say anything else?”

  “No. I gave her the outfit and then she left.” Lisa glanced at her watch. “Look, I have to go. I’m sorry to dump all this in your lap and run, but I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t go to Aunt Ruby with it. And when I tried to tell Chief Navarro, he just blew me off.”

  “Wait a minute,” Marly said sharply. “You told Navarro about Amber’s visit? When?”

  “A couple of days ago. I knew all that Romeo and Juliet stuff they were writing about Amber and David in the papers was bogus so I went down to the police station to clear it up. But when I told Navarro, he said it wasn’t important. It didn’t change anything, and to start a rumor about Amber and some older guy would just, you know, hurt Aunt Ruby. And I guess he has a point, but…it’s been eating at me, you know? Bothering me. I can’t help but think that it is important.”

  Marly sat in silence for a moment, trying to digest everything that Lisa had told her. Why hadn’t Navarro mentioned his visit from Lisa? Why hadn’t he noted the conversation in the case file? He was usually meticulous about such things.

  Marly got up and walked Lisa to the door. “Can I ask you something?”

  The young woman turned to face her. “Sure.”

  “Why did you come to me?”

  Lisa looked unsure for a moment, then she smiled. “When I saw you today, I remembered how nice you always were to me. And I remembered that you were really smart, like Amber. I don’t know how to explain it…” She trailed off. “I guess I figured you’d know what to do.”

  If only that were true, Marly thought, as she watched the young woman walk away.

  TWILIGHT HAD FALLEN by the time Marly pulled off Highway Seven onto Old Cemetery Road. The rain had stopped, and a few stars twinkled in the dusky half light. Marly wanted to believe those stars were an omen that the worst of the storm was over, but she couldn’t fight off a growing sense of impending doom.

  What if Lisa was right? What if Amber had been involved with an older man? Wouldn’t that mean that the police, as well as the media, had completely misjudged the motivation behind the double suicide? And if they’d been wrong about that, what else might they have missed?

  Marly didn’t want to believe that Navarro had deliberately suppressed evidence or a potential lead, but why had he failed to make note of his conversation with Lisa in the case file? Why hadn’t he asked her for a statement? Was he really trying to protect Amber’s family?

  Navarro had never struck Marly as the sentimental type, certainly not where any of his investigations were concerned. He’d always been a by-the-book cop, so why had he slipped up now?

  Was it possible that he was the older man Amber had been interested in? The older man that she’d wanted to look sexy and sophisticated for? It wasn’t such a far-fetched notion. Half the women in town had been in love with Navarro at one time or another.

  But even if he was the one, it didn’t mean he’d done anything wrong, Marly reasoned. It didn’t mean he was responsible for Amber’s suicide. But it might explain why he hadn’t taken a formal statement from Lisa Potter. And it might also call into question his involvement in the investigation. Could he really remain objective if he’d known Amber’s suicide was in part motivated by her infatuation with him?

  Marly knew she was reaching. Making way too many assumptions and overlooking the obvious—the other suicides. But almost any explanation was preferable to Deacon Cage’s insistence that the victims had been compelled to suicide by someone with sinister intent. A serial killer. A man who could take a life with his mind. A psychokinetic, he’d called it.

  Marly’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as she pulled off the main street onto a narrow service road and parked her baby SUV near a thicket. Once she turned off her headlights, the countryside was darker than she’d anticipated. She glanced around uneasily at her surroundings.

  Old Cemetery Road had once led directly into Fort Stanton, but the entrance was barricaded now and the entire property surrounded by a metal fence topped with razor wire. Signs posted at intervals warned that trespassers would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  Which, of course, was an irresistible lure to local kids. Marly knew that some of them had recently found a way inside. She’d heard stories in town about their nocturnal explorations of the base, about discovering underground bunkers filled with computer and electronic equipment and guards who roamed the premises dressed all in black and armed with futuristic-looking weaponry.

  Marly figured the stories were at best gross exaggerations. Fort Stanton had been closed for years. While some equipment had undoubtedly been left behind, she seriously doubted anything of value remained, and the military personnel she’d seen passing through town on their way to the abandoned base had all been dressed in fatigues. There was nothing sinister about their appearance or their actions.

  Still, she had to admit there was something about the army base that made her uneasy. She could never explain it, but even on the rare occasions when she’d accompanied her father to his headquarters, she’d sensed something ominous about the place.

  Unlike most kids who found themselves in such an environment, she hadn’t been interested in the uniforms, or the guns, or the heavy artillery. Instead of using the opportunity to explore, Marly had cowered in her father’s office, certain that something terrible awaited her outside his walls.

  As she grew older, she came to realize that it wasn’t the base or the soldiers or the equipment that frightened her. It was her father. In her mind, she couldn’t separate the two.

  Colonel Wesley Jessop had spent the last ten years of his career at Fort Stanton, and when the base closed, he’d retired rather than accept a new assignment.

  The arrangement had always seemed a bit strange to Marly. Rather than being dragged from post to post like other army brats, she and her brother, Sam, had lived most of their lives in Mission Creek. She supposed she should be grateful for the stability, but somehow gratitude was an emotion that didn’t spring immediately to mind when she thought of her childhood.

  Grabbing a flashlight from the glove box, Marly climbed out of the vehicle and closed the door. If there were guards around tonight, she hoped they wouldn’t spot her or her car. If she were picked up, the mention of her father’s name would probably be enough to obtain her release, but then she’d be indebted to him. And being indebted to her father was a fate far worse than spending a night in the
brig.

  Making her way across the main road, Marly jumped a ditch and headed into the area the locals still referred to as Mission Creek Cemetery. Back in the 1940s, the graves had been exhumed and relocated to a lot on the other side of town when the base’s expansion threatened to overtake them. But even though the graves were gone, everyone still considered the ground hallowed, and Marly tried to tread respectfully. If any spirits lingered, she didn’t want to offend them.

  Turning on her flashlight, she carefully picked her way across the marshy ground. She honestly didn’t know what she hoped to find. Certainly not a smoking gun, so to speak, that had been overlooked in the daylight search five days ago when David and Amber’s bodies had been found. But there might be something.

  A twig snapped somewhere behind her, and Marly whirled, unsure whether she’d actually heard the sound or if her imagination was getting the better of her.

  “Is someone there?” she called out nervously.

  No one answered.

  She started to call out again, but didn’t particularly want to call attention to herself. For all she knew, there could be guards patrolling nearby. But she was trapped in a catch-22 because she also didn’t want to be shot on sight for trespassing. Technically the cemetery had never become part of Fort Stanton, but Marly was afraid an armed guard with an itchy trigger finger might not make the distinction.

  “I’m Deputy Marly Jessop with the Mission Creek Police Department! If someone’s there, please show yourself!”

  Still no answer. No sound at all except for the steady drip of rainwater from the trees.

  Marly wished she had her gun with her, but she never carried her weapon off duty. Besides, she’d had no reason to believe she was in any danger coming out here. She still had no reason to believe that.

  So why was her heart pounding so hard inside her chest? Why was her breathing shallow and irregular?

  She was scared, that’s why, and suddenly Marly wondered if Deacon Cage was so crazy after all. Maybe he was right. Maybe there was a killer in Mission Creek, and maybe that killer was somewhere nearby, watching her…