GRIPPED (Romance Mystery & Suspense Box Set)

by Abbott, Alex

  That night in bed Justin and Ginger made love. Justin looked deep into Ginger’s eyes just as he was about to climax. His love for her was so strong and even more so now. As they lay together, their bodies spent after the love making, he told her how he felt.

  “I’ve felt this way for a long time now, but was too afraid to say it,” Justin said as he turned on his side and looked into Ginger’s eyes. “But if these last months have taught me anything it’s that life is short. So I’m just going to come out and say it. I love you…in fact I think I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I just love you more now.”

  A tear escaped Ginger’s eye and slid down her cheek. Justin reached over and wiped it away with his fingertips.

  “I love you too Justin Taylor. There are times you mystify me, even scare me, but there’s no doubt I love you with all my heart.”

  They kissed, a long and lingering one. When Justin pulled back he said, “I know I’ve scared you a few times, but just know that I would never hurt you or anyone I loved. And I will always protect you and Aaron.”

  Ginger knew he meant it. She still had reservations, but those would be put on the back burner for now. She was going to relish this moment with Justin. She finally found the man of her dreams; it was what she’d been hoping for ever since she lost her parents. She just hoped it wasn’t just a dream.

  *****

  The next week was work as usual at Big Red’s Auto Body Shop. The club seemed to come out of their doldrums by the end of the week, although Justin remained subdued. On Friday he asked Connor to take a ride with him. The two took off on their Harley’s and Justin led them to the cemetery. They walked over to Big Red and Amy’s graves. The graves had no markers yet. Justin was to go down to the monument shop to pick one out but hadn’t gotten around to it. He could only handle so much of this at a time.

  Justin walked over to the stone bench placed near the graves and sat down. Connor joined him.

  “I have to tell you something Dad told me before he died,” Justin said as he leaned down and put his hands on his knees.

  “Okay,” Connor said as he lit up one of his peculiar cigarettes. They were skinny and blue and came from Italy. Some people mistook them for some kind of weird joint. He got them from the cigarette and cigar place in town, which special ordered them for him. “What did he say?”

  Justin didn’t know how to broach the subject gently so he just came out with it.

  “Dad said my Mom didn’t run away like he told us. He said he killed her.”

  Connor took a long toke on his cigarette. “Yeah.”

  Justin was shocked. “Aren’t you surprised? I was expecting more than just ‘yeah.’ He said he strangled her then took her to the Forestry and buried her there.”

  “So that’s where he took her,” Connor said as smoke puffed out of his mouth with each word.

  Justin straightened up and looked at Connor. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “I saw it.”

  “You saw what?”

  “I saw Red kill your Mother.”

  “What?!”

  “I came over that night. Mom had started drinking too and I didn’t want to hear her wailing so I came over to see if I could spend the night. It was later but not too late, I can’t quite remember the time anymore. I walked up to the front door, but I could see in that big front window because the drapes were open. I peeked in before knocking to see if you were in there and I saw it.”

  “You saw Red strangling my Mom?” Justin asked incredulously.

  “Yep.” Connor took another long drag. “At first I thought they were playing around, but then I saw her scratching at him and gasping. It was crazy.” Connor shook his head at the memory. “I was frozen in place, couldn’t move, and couldn’t tear my eyes away. When he was done I snuck off the porch and into the bushes. I was scared shitless. I was afraid if I left the cover of the bushes he’d be right there. Then I heard the car start up and I watched as he backed out of the driveway and down the road. That’s when I took off for home.”

  “That makes sense now. It was months before you wanted to come around when Red was home,” Justin said nodding his head. “But you and Red became close though. You were like his own son.”

  “Yeah,” Connor said as he stamped out the butt of his Italian cigarette. “The worse my own mother became in her alcoholic fueled rages, the more I come to believe your Dad did right by you and Amy by getting rid of her. I come to see him more as a hero than a killer. He made life better for you and Amy by doing what he did.”

  Justin was trying to come to grips with what his father had told him. Yet, here was Connor making it out as no big deal. Of course he’d had 20 years to deal with it…Justin only had a week to comprehend the news of his father slaying his mother. Maybe with time he would feel as nonchalant about it as Connor. Not that he blamed Big Red; but it was still a shock to him.

  At that moment Justin’s cell phone rang. It was Trigger. “Where are you?”

  “Connor and I rode out to the cemetery. What’s up?”

  “It’s on the news. The police made an arrest in Amy’s murder. It’s MacGregor.”

  Justin couldn’t believe it. Finally! He looked over at Connor and told him the news.

  “We’re on our way back,” Justin told Trigger. The two got on their Harleys and roared off to the clubhouse.

  *****

  The four flat screen televisions inside the clubhouse were all tuned to the news. The police captain had a press conference regarding the arrest of Mr. Patrick MacGregor for the murder of Amy Taylor. Recovered evidence provided a trail to MacGregor although the police weren’t disclosing the proof at this time.

  Justin and Connor busted into the clubhouse just as the press conference was ending.

  “What did they say?” Justin asked as he put an arm around Ginger.

  Merlin told him as much as they knew. “They’re saying they have evidence, not sure if it’s circumstantial or what.”

  “I wonder if it’s something from his work computer,” Trick said as he took a swallow of his beer. “Last we heard they got a warrant for his office.”

  “Could be,” Justin agreed. “I’m going down to the police station and see if I can find out more.”

  “I want to go with you,” Ginger offered. She didn’t want Justin in the same place as MacGregor, but she knew she couldn’t stop him either. At least she could be a buffer.

  “Where’s Aaron? Does he know about this yet?” Justin asked as he and Ginger headed towards the door.

  “He’s in school, but with these kids and their cell phones, he’ll likely know soon,” Merlin replied.

  “I’ll call the school on the way to the police station and you go pick him up,” Justin said.

  “Will do,” Merlin said pulling on his coat.

  Ginger got on the back of Justin’s bike and pulled on her helmet. She loved riding with him, feeling the wind in her face and how his body melded into hers. But as she put her arms around his waist she could tell how tense he was. Ginger hoped this was the beginning of the end of this tragic part of their lives.

  Once they arrived, Justin was in a hurry to get inside the police department. Ginger ran to keep up with him. They walked over to the front desk and Justin asked to speak to the detective in charge of the Amy Taylor case.

  “I’m her brother and I want to speak to him about the arrest.”

  “Hold on one moment,” the man behind the front desk said as he clicked a few numbers on the phone residing on his desk. Once he hung up he said, “Take a seat over there and Detective Winters will be right out.”

  Ginger and Justin sat in the old tattered chairs that lined the wall across from the front desk. Ginger could tell Justin was nervous as he wrung his hands.

  “What do you want to find out?” Ginger asked. “What evidence they have?”

  “I’d like to know what pushed them to arrest him. I mean what did they find out that tipped them in his direction.�
�

  At that moment a man in his forties with black hair and grey at the temples walked out and extended his hand to Justin.

  “Hello, I’m Detective Winters. You are Amy Taylor’s brother?”

  “Yes sir, Justin Taylor and this is Ginger Lawrence. I’d like to talk to you about the case.”

  “Sure, let’s go to my office.”

  Ginger and Justin followed Detective Winters to a small office in the rear of the police station. His desk was covered with papers and files and Winters attempted to make some order out of the mess while gesturing to Ginger and Justin to sit down in the two chairs facing his desk.

  “I guess you saw the press conference on the news,” Winters said as he sat down in his chair.

  “Actually we missed it, but we heard about it. That’s why I wanted to see you. What evidence did you get on MacGregor?”

  “I can’t reveal exactly what we have and it is circumstantial evidence, but I can tell you it came from correspondence on his work computer between your sister and MacGregor.”

  “You mean something was said between the two that led you to believe he would kill her?” Ginger asked.

  “Yes. The emails between him and Amy are very incriminating. Like I said, I can’t tell you what the emails said, only that they led us to his arrest.”

  “I wonder why he didn’t get rid of the emails,” Justin wondered out loud.

  “Oh he tried, but he’s not very computer savvy. I guess he thought transferring them to the trash would empty them out of the computer. Right now we have forensics going over his computer hard drive for anymore incriminating evidence.”

  “Okay,” Justin said while standing up. “I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. Thank you for finding her killer. Maybe we can find some peace now.” Justin reached out to shake Winters’ hand again.

  “We weren’t going to stop until we did. I hope it provides some comfort to your family.”

  Justin and Ginger walked out of the police station and headed towards the Harley.

  “Would you mind taking a ride?” Justin asked as he mounted the bike.

  “Not at all,” Ginger answered as she slid on her helmet.

  Justin took off for the Paint Creek State Forestry.

  *****

  Merlin picked up Aaron and brought him back to the clubhouse. He told him about the arrest on the way. When they arrived Lily and some of the other old ladies were preparing batches of lasagna for the evening meal. Aaron walked back to the kitchen to munch on some carrots.

  “I guess you heard the news,” Lily said to Aaron as she wiped her hands on the black apron she was wearing.

  “Yeah Merlin told me on the way here.”

  “How do you feel about it?”

  “Okay I guess. I’m glad they got him. I still don’t understand why he killed my Mom.”

  Lily walked over and ran her hand over Aaron’s thick hair. “I don’t know either hon, but at least they got him.” Aaron nodded his head and went back to noshing on the carrots.

  Connor walked into the kitchen. He motioned Lily to come over.

  “Where’s Justin?”

  “He and Ginger went to the police station.”

  “What for?”

  “He wanted to find out what evidence they had on MacGregor.”

  “They probably won’t tell him anything.”

  “He wanted to see if they would anyway. He might find out something.”

  “Yeah I guess,” Connor said with a frown.

  “What’s bugging you,” Lily said as she pulled off her apron. “I thought you’d be happy they arrested someone.”

  “I am,” Connor replied still frowning, his mind a million miles away.

  Lily looked at him strange, and then walked off to check the drinks for the evening meal.

  *****

  A few days after Amy was discovered in the Forestry, Justin asked the police where the crime scene was. The police gave him the directions after they released the scene, but he never visited. But today he wanted to see it. He knew it wasn’t the last place she was alive, but her body remained there for several days before anyone found her. He felt drawn to the place today, and he hoped Ginger understood.

  Ginger did understand. Many times she visited the scene of the accident where her parents died. Some people might think it morbid, but she never did. Yes it was where her parent’s left this earth, but she felt strangely at peace there. Someone erected a small cross with her parent’s names on it right at the spot. Some of her friends thought she did it, but she hadn’t. She supposed it was a friendly person who thought it was a nice gesture and it was. Possibly Justin might want to do the same for Amy at the Forestry. She didn’t know. All she knew was she would support him in any way possible.

  They exited the roadway and drove on a trail farther back into the wooded area until they could ride no farther. They traveled the rest of the way on foot. Justin had a paper in which he had written down the instructions to the site. They found it without any difficulty. The tire tracks from all the forensic vehicles provided a footprint to the site.

  They stood looking around, listening to the sounds of nature. Squirrels barked and scurried across the leaves. Birds chirped and scampered over the ground looking for seeds or worms. It was peaceful and for that Justin was grateful.

  “Amy always did like the Forestry. She loved to come and camp here with Aaron. I’d help her pitch a tent and we’d sit around the campfire with Red and some of the other members like Merlin and roast hotdogs and marshmallows and tell bullshit stories.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Ginger said as she put her arm around him.

  He pulled her close and said, “It was.”

  They walked around the area taking in the serene surroundings. Ginger could tell it was helping him; He seemed more relaxed, more at peace with himself, until something caught his eye.

  Over in the distance, approximately 10 yards away, something stood out that didn’t look to belong in the wooded area. Justin walked towards the item that caught his attention. When he got to it he noticed there were several of them scattered about. They were cigarette butts, but not just any type of cigarettes. The butts were blue--he’d seen these cigarettes before. Justin’s heart began to race.

  Ginger walked over to Justin who was stooped down looking at the blue cigarette butts.

  “What is it?” She asked bending over to look at what had Justin so mesmerized.

  Justin pulled a handkerchief from his jeans back pocket. He scooped the butts into the handkerchief, being careful not to touch them.

  “Those are the strangest looking cigarette butts,” Ginger said. “Oh wait, Connor smokes the----.” Her words trailed off as comprehension sunk in. Her hand flew to her mouth.

  “No!” She gasped.

  Justin stood up holding the handkerchief with the cigarette butts in his hand.

  “Surely someone else smokes this brand besides Connor. And why didn’t the police find them here? Or maybe Connor came out here after the police released it.” Ginger was trying in vain to come up with answers.

  Justin looked defeated. He held onto anger for so long that now he only felt tired. The realization spread through his mind like an ocean wave, but he couldn’t muster anger or even grief. All he could feel was a weariness that settled deep into his bones. His legs became weak, but before he could fall Ginger grabbed him around the waist. They stood, holding one another, not speaking for several minutes. Finally their embrace broke and Justin stood up straight. Ginger was his rock. Even with his world collapsing around him, she was there to prop him up. He knew with her by his side he could face anything.

  He looked down at her face and kissed her. Then they headed back to the motorcycle arm in arm. Once back to the bike Justin said, “Connor never came up here after the police released the crime scene.”

  “How do you know that?” Ginger asked as she put on her helmet.

  “Because when I got the directions from the police I asked tha
t they not give them out to anyone else. I guess I didn’t want curiosity seekers coming up here.”

  “But why wouldn’t the police find the cigarette butts when they were here analyzing the crime scene. And even more importantly, why would Connor leave them in the first place?”

  “I’m not sure why the police didn’t find them, except the butts had blown quite a ways from the crime scene. Maybe they were too focused on the car and didn’t inspect too far away from the area. As far as Connor leaving the butts…I think he thought he’d be coming back out here to finish torching the car and he’d get rid of any evidence then, but the hunter found it before he could. I don’t think he counted on that. I also remember the day Amy went missing it was windy and cold, which would help blow the butts down the holler.”

  “Yes, I remember that windy day as well. It was the day I met you,” Ginger said with a bittersweet smile.

  Justin put his hand on her cheek. “Yes it was.”

  “One more thing though,” Ginger said. “What about the incriminating evidence they found on Macgregor’s computer?”

  “I have a feeling Connor was actually able to hack into Macgregor’s computer after all and plant evidence on his hard drive. I thought it strange when he said he failed. I knew how good he was at hacking into computers and it should have sent up a red flag, but I guess I was too….” His words trailed off.

  “I know baby,” Ginger answered. “Let’s get these cigarette butts to the police station. I don’t want a man to remain locked up if he’s innocent.”

  She jumped on the back of Justin’s bike and they rode down the trail until they hit the main Forestry road headed for the police department.

  *****

  As Justin and Ginger entered the police department, Detective Winters was on the phone at the front desk. When he saw them he motioned them over to him. Once he finished his phone call he turned to them and said, “You’ve probably heard the news by now and are wondering what’s going on.”

  “No,” Justin remarked. “We’ve been at the Forestry and then came straight here. I can’t hear my phone on the bike.”