Killing Justice (Fractured Minds Series Book 2)

by Kate Allenton

  “What exactly is it that you’re going to be doing?” the coroner asked. I glanced at Noah and left that information up to him to explain.

  “That’s classified, Doctor,” Noah answered as he started ushering the sheriff and the medical examiner out of the room.

  The others stayed in the room with me. This was a make-or-break moment. If I couldn’t connect, we’d be no closer to finding a killer, and I really wanted to bring closure to the Tines brothers.

  I waited until the door was shut and Noah returned before I turned to face Mr. Tines. My hand hovered over his body. I knew when my fingers touch his cold dead skin that things might change. I swallowed hard. “Here goes nothing.”

  I barely had to touch my fingers against Drake Tines’ arm before I started feeling like I was going to be sick. I closed my eyes and held a deep breath.

  “You’re safe, Lucy,” Grant whispered into my ear. My brother-in-law had always been my handler. He was the one person I trusted⸺ other than my twin sister, Gigi.

  I exhaled a deep breath. “I feel sick to my stomach. I hear waves lapping up against the boat, and yet I don’t feel any angry emotion. Nothing to keep me tethered. This is going to be a quick view unless he gets pissed real quick like.” I looked out over the lake, looking through Drake Tines’ eyes. The lake was calm. The sun had started to set. “I can’t believe no one has ever taken you fishing.”

  “He’s talking to someone on the boat with him, but he’s looking out over the lake, staring across it toward the house. There’s no animosity, no anger. And I can’t see who he’s talking to.”

  “Lucy, you may need to step out and view to see who the other person is,” Grant said.

  It had been a few months since Grant and I had worked together. It had been even longer since we’d worked on a case where there wasn’t any amount of emotional discharge. If I stepped out and tried to view the scene, chances were I wouldn’t even have time to turn around before I lost that thread. “You know what happens when I try and there are no emotions to hold on to.”

  “What happens?” Carson asked.

  “She loses the connection and might not have a chance to see anything.”

  “Here goes nothing.” I stepped out of the loose hold that I had on Mr. Tines. As I started to turn, I had only the opportunity to see the knife flying through the air before my eyes flew open, unable to see who’d thrown it. “I didn’t see the perpetrator. All I saw was the knife sailing through the air. Do we know how he died?”

  Noah slid the sheet down farther Mr. Tines’ chest to show discoloring around the heart, where a pool of blood had settled. “Knife to the back.”

  “Is that how all of them died?” I asked.

  “Why don’t you tell me,” Noah said, replacing the sheet over Mr. Tines’ face and moving to the next slab. “This one is Cody Anderson.”

  “I’m sure you won’t have any problem connecting to anger energy pointed at Cody,” Carson’s brother Michael said from across the room.

  “Though, you might have more trouble sorting through who was pissed enough to kill him,” Bishop said.

  Chapter 7

  There had been times before when I couldn’t connect. It saddened me that the time with Drake Tines had been short and without enough detail to help track his killer. I’d wanted to give Carson and his brothers some type of closure, but there was just nothing to keep me tethered. I stepped around to the next slab. If Carson’s brothers were right, I wouldn’t have any problem staying connected to whatever energy the killer had felt for Cody Anderson.

  Grant stepped up next to me as Noah slowly lowered the sheet down Cody’s body to his chest. I tried not to focus on what he looked like and went straight to work.

  I inhaled a deep breath and closed my eyes. My fingers hovered over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my palm to touch his arm.

  Anger assaulted my senses, engulfing me through my pores. I hadn’t even opened my eyes and I’d felt the desire to kill. I clenched my free hand, trying to calm my racing heart.

  “Lucy, you are safe.”

  “Carson’s brothers weren’t kidding. Anger swirls around Cody like a violent whip ready to strike.” I settled into Cody’s body and opened my eyes. My breath hitched. Standing in front of me was Carson Tines. Only this was a different version of Carson, a scrawny pimply school-aged version. He kept his fist clenched. Yet he was the one who had a busted lip.

  I kept that information to myself and just watched as an observer.

  “One day you’re going to pick on the wrong person,” Carson yelled at Cody.

  Cody laughed as if he was enjoying it. “Yeah? What are you going to do about it? Do you want a black eye to match your busted lip?”

  My body froze as I watched, terrified as Carson lunged for Cody again. Fists were flailing. Carson had gotten several good hits in before Cody knocked Carson’s scrawny butt to the ground. I didn’t want to watch anymore. I didn’t want to be the person who put Carson in jail. But I’m here to do a job, so I force myself to keep watching. I stepped out to view the scene around them. I had my eyes on Cody when the knife flew through the air like the one used on Mr. Tines, only this knife landed in Cody’s chest instead of the back.

  My eyes shot open. I should’ve turned to see who threw the knife, yet I wanted plausible deniability. No way could they use what I saw in a court of law, but the men in this room might turn on each other.

  “What did you see?” Noah asked.

  I spun and turned my stare at Carson. “Nothing.” My breath came out in hard pants as the anger in my veins boiled. Why the heck wouldn’t Carson tell me?

  “Nothing?” Noah asked.

  My eyes narrowed, and yet Carson remained unmoving. “Nothing.” I took a deep breath and turned to look at Noah. “I need a break. There was a ton of anger, and I need to calm down before I view the next one.”

  “I’ll get you some water,” Grant said leaving the room.

  “I’ll go check in with locals to see if they’ve found the knife used on Mr. Tines,” Noah said, his gaze going between Carson and myself. “You sure there was nothing with Cody?”

  I turned to meet his questioning stare. “As sure as your daily phone calls.”

  Noah’s eye twitched, and yet I waited for him to leave the room.

  I shoved against Carson’s chest before the door even closed. His big thick frame didn’t even budge. “Are you kidding me, Irish? You should have told me you were there.”

  “What is she talking about Carson?” Bishop asked.

  “Be careful with your words, lass. I know for a fact I didn’t kill him.”

  “Then you know who did. Which one of you threw the damn knife?”

  “Carson?” Michael asked.

  “Tell them or I will,” I growled and rested my fists on my hips, trying hard to bite back the anger and keep it from growing. It was a side effect from the energy I’d picked up. I took it on like it was my own and often times had a hard time releasing it.

  No answer.

  “Fine. I’ll tell them.”

  “Go ahead, lassie. I have nothing to hide,” Carson said as he started to pace the room.

  Nothing to hide, yeah right. I turned toward the brothers. “Carson was there the day Cody died. He was arguing with Cody near the lake where the bodies were found. They were fighting. He gave Carson a bloody lip and antagonized him to attack again, and Carson did. Cody shoved him away, and when I moved outside of Cody’s body to view the scene, a knife flew through the air, stabbing Cody in the chest. I opened my eyes on purpose before I could see the killer.”

  Carson paused his pacing and turned to stare at me. “Why the hell did you open your eyes? You could have told us who the killer was.”

  “I’m not sure you want me knowing that information, Carson. It can do more damage than good.”

  Anger stirred in my gut as heat traveled through my body up to my face.

  “So, you didn’t really see if Carson threw the
knife?” Bishop asked.

  I spun on him. The anger thrumming in my veins had me clenching my fist. I screamed. “Be glad I didn’t.”

  A needle pricked my neck as I glanced up over my shoulder at Carson. “You’re getting more worked up. It’s for your own good.”

  My vision started to blur as my limbs started to give out. Carson grabbed me up into his arms and held me against his chest. “I’m no killer, Lucy.”

  My world turned dark.

  Chapter 8

  “You did the right thing.” Grant’s voice sounded like it was in a tunnel as I fought the pain prickling my mind.

  “Grant’s right. She needed it.”

  My eyes slid open to find Carson, Grant, and Noah across the room in quiet discussion.

  I lay there concentrating on my breathing and trying to figure out exactly what I was going to tell Noah. If I told the truth, I might be pointing at the wrong man. I didn’t see the knife thrower. But the thought of Carson doing the deed, I’d flat-out refuse.

  “Welcome back,” Carson said.

  “How about a little warning next time,” I answered.

  “I thought you liked to live on the edge, Lucy,” Carson said.

  “Some people might think that you knocked me out just to try and shut me up,” I said.

  “Some people might be right, but it’s not because I’m trying to hide killer tendencies.” Carson grinned.

  My gaze shot to Noah’s. He raised a single brow. “Were you going to tell me what you saw?”

  What was up with all of these men conspiring against me? First Sam told them I could have escaped, and then Grant told them I was giving the Tines’s a head start in the event they were guilty, and now Carson. I shook my head as I slowly sat up on the sofa. “I didn’t see Carson kill the kid. There was nothing important to tell.”

  I shoved my feet to the floor and grabbed hold of the couch. Grant stepped forward with a bottled water. He uncapped it and handed to me. “You’re dehydrated.”

  “Not for long. Once I get through the rest of these people, I plan to hit that bar where Carson’s ex works.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lucy,” Carson said. “If Janet knows you’re helping investigate her twin brother’s case, she’s going to want answers.”

  I let out a hefty sigh and shoved my hands into my pockets. “Then we need to hit the store so I can buy some wine. I have a lot to celebrate.”

  “Where’s Sloan and that winery he promised you?” Grant chuckled. “Drink your water, and we’ll go deal with the next one.”

  I followed the others back into the morgue. The people in the hall and surrounding offices stared at me as I passed. I continued to drink the entire bottle and got another one as I walked around the morgue. I gently lifted the sheet up to see the face beneath.

  Apprehension filled the room, but it wasn’t mine; it belonged to Carson and his brothers. I hadn’t even laid a finger on the body. I held Carson’s gaze and lowered the sheet. “Guys, I’m a little worn out, and I can still feel the lingering anger. Can we try this again first thing in the morning?”

  I swallowed around my lie and tried my best not to look at Carson.

  “Sure,” Noah said. “It can wait. We have a lot of stuff to review anyway.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Now who's taking me to get wine?”

  “I am,” Carson said. “Come on, Lucy. I’ll drop you off when we’re done.”

  I was the only witness left that might be able to tell the truth of what had happened, and I was leaving with a potential killer. I grabbed a pen from the table before leaving and slipped it into my pocket before I followed him out the door.

  “You won’t need that.” Carson chuckled.

  Carson opened the passenger side truck door for me and waited until I climbed in to shut it. He exchanged a few words with his brothers before he hopped into the driver’s side.

  “I guess they’re not coming with us?”

  “They know their way back home. I thought you and I could use a few minutes alone to talk.”

  “You don’t want any witnesses.” I didn’t think Carson would kill me, although he was extremely capable. As the last one seen with me, he would make the perfect suspect.

  “You’re right, lassie. I don’t want any witnesses for what you and I have to discuss.”

  Carson drove through the center of town, passing the bar and three stores where I could’ve bought wine. He kept driving until he passed a sign saying we’d left the city limits. “This must be some really big talking we need to do if you’re worried about somebody in town hearing it.”

  “Don’t worry, Lucy. We’re almost there,” Carson said, pulling into a liquor store on the outskirts of town. We both got out, and he gestured wide. “Get whatever you prefer. You’re going to need it.”

  Carson headed down the liquor aisle straight to the whiskey and met me at the counter, where I put my bottle of red wine. He paid, and we got back into the truck.

  “I guess it had to be kind of an emotional day for you seeing your dad like that.”

  “Not as hard on me as it was for my brothers.”

  Cryptic and kind of telling. Another five minutes and he turned down a dirt road surrounded by trees. “You have daddy issues.”

  Carson sighed. “I don’t have issues, Lucy. I have facts. When our mother died, our dad kind of checked out of life. He started drinking. He didn’t raise us. We raised ourselves, and still, before he went missing, the bastard gave me a glimpse of him changing. Just enough to make me think it possible, and then he disappeared. I think he was trying to make things right by us, but it was too little too late.”

  “Yep, daddy issues. Suck it up, Carson. People suck, including those that share our DNA. He was hurt.”

  “We were all hurt, and we were kids, and we needed him.”

  “And you had each other to lean on. Who did he have? Being drunk is the easy way out. You don’t have to process feelings.”

  “You’re defending him?” Carson pulled up outside a small cabin tucked into the trees. He parked in front of the door.

  I held up Carson’s bag full of liquor. “You might not be a drunk, Carson, but you process the same way.”

  “The whiskey helps me think.”

  “Whatever you say, Irish.”

  We climbed out of the truck, and I followed up onto the porch while he fumbled with the door key. After unlocking it, he stepped inside, punching numbers into an beeping alarm right next to the door.

  “You afraid someone’s going to come in and steal your dust bunnies and dead plants?”

  “Don’t knock my alarm,” he said.

  The grimy windows, dusty porch, and the dead plants added to the cozy-killer-home vibe. “You brought me to the creepy cabin to kill me, didn’t you?”

  Chapter 9

  Carson took the bag of liquor from my hands and walked into the house, leaving the door open for me to follow. I stepped inside, hoping this place might be like the mill where they’d taken me the first time. The outside had looked run down, but the inside had been transformed into a modern-day meeting area and workspace for our zany group of misfits.

  This wasn’t that. The furniture looked lumpy and outdated, like it was from the fifties. The TV with the rabbit ears looked like it came from the same era. I knew no woman had been let into this space. No way in hell they wouldn’t have convinced him to make some changes. “So, is this your man cave?”

  “Something like that,” he said, grabbing glasses from the cabinet.

  “It’s very…fifties Neanderthal-ish. No wonder you’re still single. You’d have to find just the right girl to carry over this threshold so she doesn’t run away.”

  “The price was right, and it came fully furnished.”

  “Whatever you paid was too much,” I said, running my finger over one of the puke-green laminate tabletops on the way to the kitchen. Carson was searching through drawers. “What are you looking for?”

  “I
don’t drink wine and don’t have a corkscrew.”

  “You got a lighter?” I asked.

  Carson pulled out one of those long lighters that are used to start grills and fireplaces and handed it to me. I was in a forgiving mood, or I would have torched his house, starting with the furnishings that were making me blind.

  I unwrapped the top of the bottle, flicked the flame, and held it to the neck of the bottle, slowly turning it in place. Within a minute, the heated air in the bottle expanded and slid the cork up the neck until it popped out.

  “Were you a science nerd?” he asked.

  “No, I just don’t like being kept from my wine.” I grinned. “So why did you bring me here, really?” I glanced to the doors down the hall and shivered thinking of what furniture might be inside.

  He poured me a glass of wine and handed it to me before grabbing a bottle of whiskey.

  The alcohol in the bottle glugged as he splashed a double shot into a Mason jar. He downed it, poured another, and rounded the kitchen bar, holding out his hand. “Let me show you.”

  I slipped my fingers into his rough hands. He had the hands of a man that did a hard day’s work, unlike Ford’s hands. His had been soft to the touch. Sloan’s hands were somewhere in the middle. I kind of felt like Goldilocks and the three bears. But I already knew whose bed I’d be sleeping in.

  Carson led me to the end of the hall and pushed open a bedroom door.

  I’d been right. The room was painted in that pee yellow, and the bed comforter was an orange and brown plaid. “No way, are you getting me in that bed.”

  Carson glanced back at me and then at the bed. “That’s not why I brought you here, but if I’d wanted to seduce you, I wouldn’t have needed to get out of the truck.”

  “Good to know,” I said as Carson walked to a double-door closet and pulled it open.

  The entire space was filled with headlines and pictures of various people. He stepped back to let me enter.