The idea that they could get hurt or killed by one of the Marine’s traps worried him. If he set them up outside, he may have done the same inside too.
“Okay, let’s move,” he stated.
They cleared around the front of the house, cautiously peeking inside each and every window they came across. By remaining against the house, they didn't have to worry about someone shooting through the glass. Now, they only had to focus on the tree line.
Once clear of the structure, they opted to head toward the back. When they approached a picnic table, Quinn stopped dead in his tracks.
“Wait.”
Nate glanced over, his brother-in-law’s hand across his chest.
“What?”
“Look.”
The men stared down at the grass by the table. There was a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and some innocuous brown substance.
“That looks like…” Nate began.
“Yeah, I know.”
As they moved around the remnants they had just found, Quinn picked up the familiar odor. It was so distinct, and he’d smelled it countless times before on various crime scenes. Stopping Nate with his arm once more, he glanced over. “I smell blood.”
Nathaniel Carter took a deep breath and the scent was there, but only faintly. “Me too.”
“Look,” Quinn said, pointing at the ground. There was a visible line caused by something being dragged. “We have a problem.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right. If that was blood on the ground, and more over here, we’re too late.”
Quinn followed the trail with his eyes, indicating the path toward the barn. “It’s going that way.”
“Then we need to follow it.”
The men crossed the yard, arriving at the big red doors of the ramshackle structure. The odor of copper pennies had become far more distinguishable, almost to the point of being overpowering.
“Ready?” whispered Nate, as he prepared to pull open the doors. Whether they liked it or not, they were going to have to go in. What waited for them was anyone’s guess.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Quinn said, gun back in his hand as he moved to place his back against the aging wood. There was no doubt that there was someone dead inside. Now, he could only hope it wasn’t two dead Marines and a killer just finishing up the job. If it was, their calling for the men would have given the maniac advanced warning of their arrival.
Damn it!
As they prepared to do what needed to be done, they stared at each other. This was the test of ultimate trust. When you went through the door with someone, you had to believe they had your back. Now, it was two brothers, not born of the same blood, doing just that.
Nate silently counted them down.
On one, he yanked the door open and Quinn pivoted, entering the building with Nate at his back. Once inside, they noticed there were empty spaces for what appeared to have been vehicles.
“We have a missing truck,” stated Nate, pointing at the tire tracks. “They’re deep. It was hauling something.” Quinn looked around, pulling a tarp off an object nearby.
“It was likely a quad. There’s one here and a spare tarp on the ground,” he said, moving past them and deeper into the dark barn. “See if there are any lights,” he whispered, knowing that there was something waiting for them up ahead.
The nose didn't lie.
He could smell the blood.
Nate searched the walls, until he found a switch by a dirty old workbench. Once he hit it, the lights flickered ominously, filling the barn with a pale-yellow glow.
“Well, shit,” muttered Quinn, as he stepped in a puddle of blood.
“What do you have?” Nate called from not far away.
“I found some blood,” he replied.
Then, he felt the drip on his shoulder. Glancing over, his white button-down shirt was stained with a spreading splotch of red blood.
That meant one thing.
“Uh, Quinn,” stated Nate, pointing toward the ceiling.
A part of him didn't want to look up, but he knew he had to. Taking a deep breath, he glanced up at the peaked ceiling of the barn.
That’s when he saw him.
Hanging, with a noose around his neck, was a dangling dead man.
“Shit!” he hissed, stepping back. The sight was vile and garish. All that Quinn could focus on was the bloated blue-gray face of the dead victim and the bludgeoned, destroyed features.
Someone had died in a very violent way.
Nate approached from behind to join Quinn as they both stared up at the body. “Well, we definitely know what this man’s sin was,” he stated, staring at the large Marine hanging by his neck from the rafters.
“Yeah, what a way to die,” Quinn stated.
Redmond Churchill was given no dignity in death. His battered and abused face was only part of it. Someone, who obviously knew his secrets, had dressed him in women’s attire. If someone wasn’t dead, it might have been comical. The clothing had obviously been made for him. He was too large to have well fitted clothing.
“Yeah, he liked dressing up like a woman,” Quinn stated, staring at his feet in the sparkly red heels.
“It’s good to see our killer is a sadistic bastard. Maybe it’s not a Marine after all. Who would humiliate a brother like this in his death?”
Quinn had no idea. “Looks like Redmond’s secret is out, if that is indeed him. We’ll need confirmation. His face is pulverized.”
Nate pointed at the bloody shovel. “Yeah, it is.”
Then it occurred to Quinn. “But we have a much bigger issue. We’re missing the other Marine,” he stated.
“Maybe he found this and went under. From the size, it has to be Redmond Churchill. That means Jayson Woods is in the wind.”
“Or the house,” Quinn pointed out.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” he stated. “We’ll clear the rest of the farm and then call in the tech team. Hopefully, he’s the one who took the truck and quad, not the killer.”
They could only hope.
“Let’s get going. We’ll need a perimeter search, and with booby-traps, that’s going to take time,” Nate admitted.
“Funny, we don’t seem to have a lot of that right now.”
His brother-in-law was preaching to the choir.
* * * C a r t e r C h r o n i c l e s * * *
Two Hours Later
After searching the entire perimeter, and waiting for the FBI tech team to arrive, they ended up pulling duty inside the house. It was vacant, but a bloody mess. The kitchen was splattered with so much blood that they had to wonder if a second killing went on there.
“It looks like a struggle,” Nate admitted.
“It does. Maybe the second Marine got away,” he offered, hopefully. There was always the chance that while the killer got the slip on one man, the other wasn’t so easily to take out. For his sake, they prayed he was on the move.
If Jayson Woods was here at one point, they sincerely hoped he’d made it out unscathed.
Moving around the small kitchen, they found more evidence of what had gone on there.
In the garbage can, they found only the one dead man’s clothes. The fatigues were splattered with blood and other substances released after death. Yeah, the tech team was going to have a field day with this one.
If they were lucky, the team would find some little clue, which would tell them the identity of their killer.
It was all they could hope for at that point.
“There’s something wrapped up in the clothes,” Quinn stated, as he held the fatigues in his hand. “I can feel it.”
“Unroll them. Let’s take a look,” stated Nate.
Carefully, Quinn used gentle gloved fingers to do just that. When he began unrolling them, the drying blood crackled and flaked from the material. As he got to the secret item stashed inside, both men jumped back in horror.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” blurted Quinn.
“Oh my God! Is that a�
�”
“Yeah, our killer is a sick bastard. That’s a severed penis,” Quinn stated.
“I think I may be sick,” Nate said, cringing. “It wasn’t bad enough that the killer dressed him up for the world to see, but neutering him too? That explains all that blood. He must have been alive at the time.”
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Our killer is crazy. This is the official sign,” Quinn stated. “You better get one of your team in here to take this. It should be transported back with its owner. Redmond had sisters. They don’t need to find out that he was stripped of all his dignity.”
Nate agreed and went out to find Merry.
As Quinn stood there, he had a conundrum. While part of him wanted to alert Luke and Maura what happened, if she found out that another man had fallen, and one was missing, she might bail.
Quinn opted to wait a while. When Nate returned with the head tech, he’d made up his mind. “I’ll text Callie as soon as we hit the road. Maybe she can work some profiling magic and figure it all out. This has to mean something,” he offered, watching the tech handle the man’s lopped off body part.
“We need to keep this quiet,” Nate stated.
It appeared they were both thinking the same thing. For the time being, Maura was safe.
They’d go with that.
“I’m with you. If we’re lucky, the tech team may find some DNA here. There’s no way that this bloodbath happened, the man was stripped, and trace wasn’t passed from victim to killer. Merry, can you work your magic?” he asked.
She slipped the rolled-up fatigues into an evidence bag. “I will do my best. I noticed that there are some bloody prints on the wall. If the killer wore gloves, we’re out of luck, but we may catch a break.”
From her mouth to God’s ears.
“The killer has lost it,” Quinn stated. “I don’t think this nutjob cares if there was anything left behind. This was frenetic, hurried, and feels like it was all done in a hurry with no preplanning.”
“Yeah, that makes me nervous.”
“It should. We have an unhinged nutjob after my sister and your partner. We have some serious problems, my friend.”
Nate would have liked to be surprised, but the last time they worked together, it was just as bad.
“We should get out of Merry’s way.”
“Creeped out?” Quinn asked, because he definitely was.
“Hell yeah! Who wouldn’t be?”
* * * C a r t e r C h r o n i c l e s * * *
It took a while to find him, after he returned from aimlessly wandering. Maura happened across him sitting alone outside with his back to the cabin. It was like he was offering her the opportunity to escape. Then, he could tell her brother she’d been tricky, slipping through his fingers.
He was a sweet man to take the heat on this one.
When the door closed behind her, Maura saw his entire body tighten at the sound. Luke suspected she was on the move.
Well, she was.
Just not into the trees.
Maura had a new mission and it was to heal his heart. When she finally stood not far behind him, he spoke, breaking the silence.
“Send me a text message when you get to where you’re going, so I’ll know you’re safe. You don’t have to tell me the location. I won’t follow you. I get that you don’t want me by your side anymore.”
His words hurt her heart.
It was proof that he was in just as much pain.
“I’m not going anywhere, Lucas. In fact, I came out here to tell you that you were right.”
Gently, she leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to join them together. When he tensed even more, she rested her lips by his ear to tell him what was in her heart.
“You’re not my keeper. You’re the man I picked to love and share my life with,” she stated. “I’m not running because that would hurt you and risk what we have.”
Was he hearing her correctly?
Could the tough Marine who loved her job more than anything in the world actually be making a stand with him?
Was he that lucky?
“I’m staying here with you. Over the last week, the old Maura has slowly died. This is the new me. She wants to be with you and choose this life together. I didn't think I could be a woman and Marine at the same time. I always thought that I could only have one or the other. You’ve shown me that’s false. Thank you, Lucas.”
He turned, freeing himself from her touch. He needed to put space between them because he was about to run around in circles like a maniac. Luke was pretty sure handcuffing her to the couch was the end of their journey.
Who knew it would just open up a new path?
“Really?”
She stared up at him. “Yes. I found that while I’m still a Marine, I haven’t let Maura live too. I’ve surrounded my life with work to hide from the loneliness. Before you, Luke, I was miserable. I had the perfect job, career, and life from the outside, but in my heart, I was missing the one thing I needed most. You. It turns out that you’re the most important part and the last piece to the puzzle.”
He couldn’t believe it.
Her words stirred so much emotion in his heart.
“My brother and Nate will handle the rest. I have to trust that they have this, just like I need to believe that you’ll be my strength on this new adventure. I know I hurt you, and that you don’t have to forgive me for not picking you, but I’d like a second chance.”
He couldn’t even speak.
“Ask me again, Lucas. I’m ready to be honest this time.”
His heart kicked in his chest. “Me or the Marines, Maura?”
Without hesitation, she gave him the truth. “Always you, Lucas Mars. My answer will always be you.”
“Maura,” he whispered softly, moving toward her. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me that you forgive me for hurting you. Tell me that you’ll let me fix what I’ve broken.”
“Of course I forgive you, Maura,” he said, offering her that chance to heal the wound in his heart and soul.
“I still don’t believe I deserve this miracle, but I promise that it will always be you first from here on out,” she vowed. “I still love my team, but I’m in love with you and that’s going to be my priority no matter what.”
His heart filled and healed. Maura had given him what he’d always wanted.
Love.
A place to belong.
The chance to live.
Now, he could move forward and begin the journey not by himself, but with his partner.
“I love you, Maura,” he replied, pulling her against his body. It wasn’t lost on him that she fit perfectly against his frame, completing the other half of him.
All the locks in his life clicked open, offering her total access to him.
She was his.
Maura was made for him.
“I love you, too, Lucas.”
He kissed her with such tenderness and love that it reverberated through both their bodies, heating them. When he slowly pulled away, Luke loved how he could still taste her on his lips.
His Maura.
His woman.
His second chance in life.
“What do you want to do now?” he asked, hoping it would involve them celebrating this moment.
“How about we grab our cooking gear and head down to the lake, catch some fish, and maybe make love?” she offered.
“In that order?” he asked, knowing which held precedent to him.
Maura laughed. “No, you can mix it up a little. I’m used to thinking on the fly. I’m sure I can handle you.”
Luke was infinitely glad. “Well, I think I can keep you on your toes,” he admitted, leading her down the path.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be trouble, Lucas Mars?” she asked, her heart soaring. Maura knew she had made the right choice.
In that moment, there was peace and calm.
>
“I have no idea, but don’t believe what you’ve heard about me. It’s all lies. Usually, I’m worse.”
It made her laugh.
Yeah, she couldn’t wait to begin this new chapter in her life. She’d earned every moment of it.
* * * C a r t e r C h r o n i c l e s * * *
Marine Base
Administrative Offices
When Callista Gaines arrived, the colonel was smiling. By the time she began asking questions, that happiness had disappeared. The second she began directing her concerns at the two men who worked in his office, the colonel was no longer feeling magnanimous.
“I can guarantee that both men are good Marines,” he stated unequivocally.
“See, that’s the point. We believe that this killer is wiping out Marines that he sees as faulty or a blemish to the corp. So, a good Marine in this case is a red flag.”
He sat back in his chair.
Neither spoke for a few seconds.
“I need to speak with both men, separately. I’ll ask them some questions, and we can go from there.”
He still didn't look happy.
Callie could see that he didn't buy her theory. Well, it was time to test it out. “Were there any incidents that you buried? Did either man have a confrontation with anyone from Bravo Ghost?”
He thought about it.
“Private Lewis is stellar. The man spit shines his MP boots every day before shift. If you look up ‘good Marine’ in the handbook, you’d find his picture.”
That piqued Callie’s interest. That would be the epitome of their killer. He was looking for the blemishes and living a spectacular life.
“What about Sergeant Hartford?” she asked. “Did you bury anything that maybe would have hurt his record? I noticed that you two are close. He hovers over you all the time.”
There was that hesitation.
Callie saw it.
“You can’t help him if you’re lying. In fact, you’re wasting time, and that could mean more dead Marines. Who are you protecting, sir? Just go with honesty.”
Sinner Realized Page 40
