Scene of the Crime

by Carla Cassidy

  Releasing a deep sigh, she focused back on the files in front of her. Although neither of them had said it out loud, they were at a dead end.

  They had checked and rechecked the Rollings brothers and Billy Bond, and while they remained on the suspect list, she and Gabriel had no real evidence to point a finger at anyone. They had also dug a little deeper into the Overtons’ background, but nothing in their past had raised a red flag or indicated any reason why somebody would want to hurt either one of them.

  Now there was a blizzard forecast for overnight and it would probably stymie any further investigation at least through the next day or so. Jeez, she hated winter and she hated this killer.

  She stared out the window once again, her thoughts flittering back to the evening before. She hadn’t meant to tell Gabriel about Ralph Hicks and what had happened in that cellar. She’d thought she’d covered her anxiety well, but Gabriel had obviously picked up on her panic attack in the mirror maze.

  He’d offered her just the right amount of support...a warm and strong hand holding hers and not so much sympathy that she felt guilty about sharing the events of that dark moment in her past.

  He’d seen her more vulnerable, more fragile than she liked anyone to see her, but for some reason Gabriel felt safe. She knew instinctively that he was a man who would keep all of her secrets. Funny. She was a woman who didn’t trust easily and yet within seven days she trusted Gabriel implicitly.

  Not that any of that mattered. Once they caught the killer she’d go back to Kansas City, and within a month or two Gabriel probably wouldn’t even remember her name. She wasn’t sure why that thought depressed her a bit.

  “Sorry about that,” he said as he breezed back into the room.

  “Not a problem. I know as head of this department you have lots of other things to attend to besides this case.”

  “Thank God I’ve got good men and women working with me and for the most part the department practically runs itself.” He sank down in the chair across from hers and raked a hand through his thick, shiny hair. “I assigned a couple of men to investigate the armed robbery, but before I could get out of my office, I got a butt-chewing phone call from the mayor.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Does he think we’re not doing whatever we can to solve this?”

  “He was all puffed up like a peacock and talking about his responsibility to the town. He reminded me that a serial killer running amok hurts the tourist trade Branson depends on, as if I’m too dense to know that.”

  “You might be a silly man, but I would never call you dense,” Jordon said in an effort to lighten the dark frustration in his eyes.

  It worked. His eyes lightened a bit and he leaned back in his chair. “What I’d like to be right now is a magician. I’d like to wave a magic wand and have all the answers to solve this case in my hand once and for all.”

  “Unfortunately, we’re both short on magic wands at the moment,” she replied. “Face it, partner. We’ve conducted a solid, thorough investigation but we’re kind of at a dead end at the moment. We’ve hit a brick wall.”

  He leaned forward and released a deep sigh. “I know and it’s frustrating as hell.”

  “Look on the bright side. The perp could attack me at any moment and then I’ll nab him,” she said lightly.

  His gaze darkened once again. “Jordon, don’t even joke about that.” He scooted his chair out and stood, walked to the window and peered outside. “We probably need to head out of here. The snow is coming down pretty hard. We should also stop someplace on the way and pick you up some supplies in case I can’t get to you first thing in the morning.”

  “Don’t worry about supplies—I’ll be fine. Before you arrived for breakfast this morning, Joan told me no matter how bad the weather gets, breakfast will be served as usual and she’d make sure additional meals would be available if we all get snowed in.”

  “Should we pick you up a sub sandwich or something else for later tonight?” His gaze once again went out the window.

  “Not necessary. I’m still full from the burgers we ate earlier. I’ve also got some chips and peanuts left in the room if I get the munchies. I’ll be fine for the rest of the night.” She got up and pulled on her coat.

  As they left the building to get into Gabriel’s car, she was surprised to see how quickly the snow was piling up on the road. Already a couple of inches of new snow had fallen on everything.

  “Just drop me off and get yourself home safe and sound. The roads look like they’re already getting treacherous,” she said.

  Minutes later her words proved true as Gabriel slowly maneuvered the snow-covered streets with blowing snow that made visibility difficult.

  She grasped the edges of her seat as the back wheels slid out and he quickly corrected. A muscle throbbed in his jawline as he frowned in concentration. They didn’t speak until he reached the Diamond Cove parking lot.

  “Don’t wait another minute. Get someplace safe for the night,” she said as she unbuckled her seat belt.

  “I’ll call you in the morning,” he replied.

  She nodded and got out of the car. The wind stole her breath and the snow stung her face and any bare skin as she hurried up the path that would take her to her room. When she reached her door she looked behind her, grateful to see the faint red glow of Gabriel’s taillights as he drove away.

  She hated winter more than she hated fried liver, more than she despised her ex-husband. She hoped Gabriel got home safe and sound. This was definitely not a good night to be out on the roads.

  Her fingers trembled from the frigid air as she put her key into the doorknob and opened the door.

  A person exploded out of the room toward her. She had only a second to register a black ski mask, a black or navy coat and the glint of the long, sharp knife as it slashed at her.

  She stumbled backward, dropped her purse and fumbled for her gun as she raised her other arm defensively in front of her. She gasped as the blade sliced through the arm of her coat.

  Before she could clear her gun from her holster, the figure shoved past her and ran toward the woods. Jordon nearly fell backward, but quickly regained her balance and followed. There was no way she was going to let the perp get away.

  “Halt, or I’ll shoot,” she cried just before the person darted behind a tree.

  Jordon raced ahead, the wind howling in her ears and her face and fingers freezing. She had no time to process the attack that had just occurred, a surprise attack that might have killed her. All of her training kicked in and she had only one goal in mind.

  This was the perfect opportunity to bring him down. She refused to let the cold and the near-blinding conditions stop her. She absolutely refused to give in to any fear that tried to take hold of her. She didn’t have time for fear.

  There was no question in her mind that this was the serial killer they sought. He’d obviously hoped to stab her in the chest, to incapacitate her and then finish her off, just like he’d done to Sandy Peters.

  If he’d been successful just moments before in his attack, then Gabriel or somebody else would have found her body on the porch sometime the next morning.

  The only sound in the woods was the sharp pants of her own breaths as she raced forward and tried to see the dark, deadly figure who shared the area with her.

  She paused and swiped at the snow on her face. Where had he gone? Was he hiding behind a tree just waiting to strike out at her again?

  Was he behind her? She whirled around, every nerve tense and her heartbeat racing frantically. Her head filled with images of Samantha Kent, who had entered these woods to take pictures but instead had wound up stabbed in the back.

  Swirling wind-driven snow made it impossible for her to see more than five feet in front of her. Her lungs ached with the freezing air.

  Each tre
e she passed was a potential hiding place. Every tree in front of her could hide the knife-wielding killer. She walked slowly now, pausing often to listen to see if she could hear anything, but there was nothing but the thundering boom of her heartbeat in her head.

  Bitter disappointment filled her as she realized she had no idea where he’d gone. It was possible he wasn’t even in the woods anymore.

  The wind cut through her, and her face and fingers had gone numb. The snow was coming down so hard now she could barely see her hand in front of her face. It was a whiteout condition.

  She had to give it up. It was foolish to hunt a person in these circumstances, especially not knowing the area or if her prey was even still nearby.

  She turned to head back to her room and froze in her tracks. She was in a snow globe and completely disoriented. She hadn’t paid attention to the direction she’d run.

  Was her cabin in front of her or to the left? Was it behind her or to the right? How far away was she from her room? How long had she been running?

  Squinting, she tried to see something that would orient her, but there was nothing but snow and wind. She was in trouble. She hadn’t been truly scared before, but now she was terrified. She was lost in a blizzard and had no idea where to go.

  * * *

  IT WAS GOING to be a long night. Jordon had assumed Gabriel was going to go home to ride out the storm in the comfort of his own home, but that wasn’t happening.

  As chief of police, he needed to be out on the road, seeing to stranded motorists or any accidents that were certain to occur with this kind of weather.

  He’d left her and driven straight back to the station, where the garage mechanic had put snow chains on his tires. He should have had them put on earlier in the day before the storm was upon them, but he’d been busy.

  Thankfully, it took only a few minutes and then he headed for the main drag, grateful to see that it appeared everyone had taken the storm warnings seriously.

  Branson appeared like a ghost town. All the stores and restaurants had closed up. Shows had been canceled and there was virtually nobody on the streets.

  With the near-whiteout conditions, he intended to park in one of the lots in the middle of the strip and ride out the worst of the storm. Hopefully, from here he could respond quickly to anyone who needed help. His police radio crackled as his men on duty gave updates from where they were located.

  He’d just parked when his cell phone rang. A jangle of nerves coursed through him as he recognized the number as Jordon’s.

  “Jordon?”

  “I’m sorry... I’m lost, Gabriel. I’m lost and so cold.”

  He sat up straighter, his heart racing. “Jordon, where are you?”

  “In the woods. I’m someplace in the woods. He came after me and I chased him, but now I don’t know where I am. There’s so much snow. Everything is white, so white.” Panic screamed from her voice and a sickness surged inside him.

  “Jordon, stay where you are. I’m coming to find you.”

  “Okay, and, Gabriel, please hurry.”

  He was already racing down the street as fast as the conditions would allow him, which wasn’t half-fast enough for his panicked alarm. Damn the snow that now fell in sheets.

  He kept her on the phone as he radioed for more men to meet him at Diamond Cove. Once he’d called for help, she told him in a halting voice about the person waiting for her in her room and attacking her with a knife.

  His heartbeat thundered inside his chest. She’d nearly been stabbed but he couldn’t fully process that now. The biggest threat to her at the moment was the weather, and if she’d run from her room as soon as Gabriel had left the bed-and-breakfast, then she’d been out in the elements far too long.

  By the time he reached Diamond Cove, her chattering teeth were audible over the phone as she kept up a stream of conversation.

  He was grateful to see two of his men already there and waiting for him. “Agent James is someplace in the woods. We’ll stick together and cover the area,” he said to them. “It’s also possible that our killer is someplace out here, so stay alert.

  “Jordon, we’re here and we have flashlights,” he said into his cell phone. “Let me know when you see or hear us.”

  “I’m officially now a snow cone. A cherry snow cone because that’s my favorite flavor. If I was from Italy I’d be an Italian ice,” she said and released a small burst of laughter that bordered on hysteria.

  He wasn’t surprised that she’d defaulted to humor. He’d known her long enough to realize it was her way to deal with stress or fear. “We’re on our way, Jordon.”

  “Maybe it’s better to be a snow angel than a snow cone,” she said and rambled on about making snow angels when she’d been younger and had lived in Denver with her parents.

  Gabriel led the men to her suite, where the door was still open, her key remained in the doorknob and her purse was on the ground. He threw her purse inside the room, pulled the key out, shoved it into his pocket and then closed the door.

  It was impossible to follow any footprints. The wind and the falling snow had already covered whatever prints there might have been. As they stepped off the porch and entered the woods, all three of them began to yell her name as their flashlights scanned the snowy landscape.

  Gabriel could only pray they were going in the right direction. After only a few steps, the cold ached inside him and his face stung. He couldn’t imagine how frozen she must be.

  It was slow going as visibility was nearly down to nothing, and the men walked side by side so that none of them would get lost, as well.

  As Jim and Bill yelled her name, Gabriel kept the phone pressed tightly against his ear. “Maybe I’m a snow woman,” Jordon said. “If somebody is making me into a snow woman then I definitely want bigger boobs.”

  Gabriel was grateful he didn’t have her on speaker. He knew without a doubt she wouldn’t want anyone else hearing this conversation but him.

  How much longer could she stay out here in the cold? She already sounded half-delirious. He was also aware that she could be vulnerable to another attack by whoever had gone after her in the first place.

  His brain flashed with visions of what Samantha Kent must have looked like when Billy Bond had found her. According to the groundskeeper, she’d been facedown on the ground and bleeding out from the vicious stab wounds she’d suffered.

  They had to find Jordon. They had to find her right now. The wind seemed to swallow the men’s cries and Gabriel realized Jordon had stopped babbling.

  “Jordon?” he asked urgently.

  “I’m here... I think I heard somebody shouting my name.”

  “Scream...scream as loud as you can,” he replied. He took the phone away from his ear.

  A raw, ear-piercing scream shattered the silence. It not only sounded from the cell phone in his hand, but also from someplace to the left of them.

  “This way,” Jim said urgently and headed in that direction.

  Suddenly she was in front of them. Snow covered her dark hair and her shoulders, and her eyes glowed wild in the light. “Jordon!” Gabriel shut off the cell phone and stuffed it into his pocket as he ran toward her.

  “Gabriel!” She met him and slammed her body into his, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist. “Thank God you found me,” she said with a half sob.

  He held her tight for only a couple of seconds. “Let’s get you out of here.” With his arm around her shoulders, the four of them headed back to the cabin.

  First he wanted her safe and warm, and then he wanted to know every single detail that had led up to her being out in the woods in a blizzard.

  Once they reached her suite, he thanked Bill and Jim and they left to get back on the road to help anyone else who might be in trouble.

  Gabriel’s first
order of business was Jordon. As she stood shivering, he shrugged out of his coat and then pulled hers off. “Sit,” he said and pointed to the chair next to the fireplace. He turned on the flames and then hurried to the bathroom for a towel.

  His blood ran cold as he saw that the window in the small room was open and the screen was nowhere to be seen. He grabbed a hand towel and used it to slam it shut. He tried to lock it, but the lock didn’t work. This answered how the perp had gotten inside.

  He took a couple of bath towels from the stack on the back of the commode and hurried back to her. She’d taken off her boots and socks and rubbed her bare feet together. At least she didn’t appear to be drowsy or suffering from hypothermia.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be any trouble.” Her voice broke with a hiccuping sob.

  “Here, dry off your hair,” he replied softly. She did as he instructed, and he went to the small closet and pulled down a blanket that was folded on the top shelf.

  He wrapped the blanket around her. “Let me see your fingers.”

  He took one of her hands in his, grateful to see her fingertips were red but didn’t show any indication of frostbite. “Now your feet.”

  She hesitated a moment but then raised her legs so he could grab her ankles. Her toenails were painted a pearly pink and he was grateful again that her toes were cold, but didn’t appear to suffer frostbite.

  “Okay,” he said and she lowered her feet back to the floor. For the first time since he’d answered her call on his phone, his stomach slowly began to unclench. He leaned over her, pulled the blanket more tightly around her and then sat opposite her chair on the edge of the bed.

  The beige blanket emphasized the bright green of her eyes and her dark, damp tousled hair. She looked so fragile and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and comfort her...warm her. But he had business to attend to.

  “Feeling better?”

  “A little,” she replied.

  “Now, tell me exactly what happened after I dropped you off here,” he said.

  She grimaced and sat up straighter in the chair. “He was waiting for me in here. I opened the door and was met by a knife. He tried to stab me but thankfully only sliced through the arm of my coat. Before I could grab my gun, he pushed past me and ran into the woods. I didn’t want him to get away.”