by Jade White
He clicked the page and gasped at what he found. In some of his public albums, there were photos of him and Kim. He couldn’t believe it. He clicked through the albums, dumbfounded. He noted that Smiley was tagged in his wanted poster by the Interior RCMP. Of course, his last viewable post was three months ago.
He sent the link to Smiley’s Facebook page to Tony, just in case he wanted to see it.
*
Tony was sitting in his office, doing some late night paperwork, when an instant message notification went off on his computer. Great, it’s from Keith, he thought. Wonder what he wanted.
The IM had a link to some dude’s Facebook page, and a “You better check this out,” from Keith. Out of curiosity, Tony opened the link and was struck by what he saw.
Photos of the new woman in town, Kim, alongside the man who allegedly killed two people three months back, filled the timeline. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Looking at the pictures, they seemed deeply in love as well.
He punched the speaker phone button and called his cousin.
“Hey, I checked out that link you sent me, eh?” He began.
“I was pretty shocked to see it, too.” Keith replied. “Like, she doesn’t seem like a bad person, to be honest…”
“I doubt she had any involvement in it, if you want to know my gut feeling,” Tony assured his cousin. “If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if she came here to hide from the son of a bitch. After all, watching your parents get murdered, and have god knows what else done to you, would leave your head spinning, to put it lightly,” Tony said.
“Yeah. I think we should back off a bit from her. You know, to let her heal? I know the ceremony is coming up soon, and one of us needs to pick a life mate soon. Just, I dunno. I don’t want to force it if she’s not ready.”
“Yeah, you have a point. I’ll talk to the elders to see if they can postpone it. I know neither of us is getting any younger, but you’re the oldest and still haven’t picked. They are more after you to get it over with, than me.” Tony laughed.
“Tell me about it,” Keith groaned over the phone. “Seriously, it sets my teeth on edge the way they’re breathing down my neck every year. It’s not my fault I haven’t found anyone yet. Not like I haven’t been looking.”
“Anyway, I’ll talk to my deputy and see what we can do to buff up the surveillance. We might be out of the way, but since we’re connected to the outside, it might not take much for this guy to find her. We need to keep her, and the rest of the town, safe,” Tony sternly told his cousin.
“Oh, I know. If this guy has no problems shooting two people in front of their own daughter, I doubt he would think twice about gunning us down.”
“Yes, and we’re too few in numbers as it is, my friend. We can’t afford to lose any more. Predator Springs is slowly dying. We’re having too many boy children and not enough girls for them to pick from. We’re bringing in new blood but that dilutes our own. The elders are getting pretty worried.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll let you get back to your job, eh? I’m probably gonna have a few more beers and hit the hay. I promised I would help Kim with her garden tomorrow.”
Tony smirked. “What’s this thing about backing off?” he teased.
“Oh come on, you helped her move in, I can at least help her last through the winter.”
“True, true. Remember, don’t do anything I wouldn't do. I think after I’m done here, I’m gonna poke around the woods for a bit. Walking around at night always helps clear my head. Since you dropped this murder bullshit on my head, it’s going every which way.”
Keith smiled. “Yeah sounds like a plan. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I might be able to get something out of her by then.
“Right on. See ya,” Tony said as he pushed the button and ended the call.
Tony leaned back in his creaky old office chair and stared at his computer screen pensively. He opened up the national database that the RCMP kept regarding open files. Every local police department had access to this database. It helped keep everyone in law enforcement on the same page regarding criminal activity.
He typed Smiley Rockborne’s name and date of birth into the search fields and hit enter. The database pulled up all the information regarding the murder case, as well as crime scene photos. Tony winced at the sheer brutality of the evidence.
Two adults, one male and one female, lay in a crumpled heap, and blood pooled in a wide area around them. There was a photo of a pile of shredded clothes in the corner. A 30-0-6 rifle, one used to hunt large game such as elk and moose, was in the evidence folder, along with two slugs.
Photos of the blood on the walls, close ups of the victims and the results from the rape kit that was taken from Kim, he read through it all with morbid fascination, and a single minded purpose to catch this guy. No wonder she was so damn skittish around him, he thought. She had been through absolute hell. He decided to tell Keith about what he had found in the case file. Not the gory details, mind you, but just the important things. If anything, it would add an extra pair of eyes to look out for that psychopath.
Tony had enough of looking at the grizzly crime. He had plenty of details in his mind to want to put the son of a bitch away himself. It would look good on his record, too. Band police chief put away wanted dangerous fugitive. Yep, it would definitely make him look pretty good.
He got up from his desk, and looked outside at the full moon low in the sky. Yes, he needed to go for a walk to clear his head, so he could focus on the hunt for Smiley. He opened the station door, stepped out, locking it behind him. Tony started towards the woods, walking through a field that had a low creeping mist about it, and the sounds of frog mating chirps echoed through the air of the early night. As he reached the edge of the woods, the air shimmered around him as he slunk off into the bush.
CHAPTER TWO
Kim was woken up by a polite knock on her door. She grabbed her phone and noticed it was ten in the morning. Shit, she thought to herself. I must have slept in.
“Be there in a minute!” she called out as she hastily yanked on some clothes. Her hair was still in the braid from last night so it wasn’t too messy. She ran to the door as she was doing up her jeans. She did a final prep in front of the full length mirror that made up the coat closet door and proceeded to open the door.
On the other side, was Keith. He was smiling from ear to ear at Kim’s disheveled look. He had a bunch of gardening tools with him and a bag of compost sat at his feet.
“Sorry, did I wake you up?”“I shoulda been up anyway,” she replied. “ I’ll unlock the back gate and let you in.”
All the backyards were surrounded by six foot privacy fences to keep deer and other larger pest animals out of the gardens. Hers happened to have been painted a dark green by the previous owner. She walked through the kitchen and opened the back door.
She gasped as she took in the yard. She didn’t have time to take a look at it the day before. On either side of the yard were two long meter and a half tall, grass covered mounds. They were roughly six and a half feet wide at the base, and came up to form a steep point at the top. These things were massive. Luckily, due to the way the mounds were oriented, there was still plenty of back yard space for a BBQ and patio set when she managed to pick one up.
Kim wound her way along the patio block path and opened the gate. Keith stepped in and noticed her confusion at the gardens.
“Those there, they are mound gardens. Gives you more growing room in less horizontal space. See, when we put one in, we dig down a little, and then put a bunch of logs, then some branches, and then we cover the rest with dirt. The wood breaks down over time, fertilizing the plants, so you need less of this stuff here,” he said pointing at the bag of compost.
“That’s cool,” Kim replied. “I mean I can see how it works. You put the smaller plants at the top, and the bigger ones down below, right?”
“You don’t need to water it as much, which comes in handy during the dry season. Al
so, the extra warmth from the logs breaking down helps keep your plants from freezing in case of an early frost,” Keith said. “If that happens, we usually know the night before. I’ll come over and cover them with a tarp. Speaking of winter, you have a diesel generator right there.” He pointed at the machine that was next to the house. “That way when the power goes, you’ll have some kind of way to keep warm. All the houses have them.”
“That’s awesome,” Kim said. ”I’ll let you get started. I need to go and make some coffee, and get freshened up a bit. I’ll join you in a few, don’t worry. I want to learn how to plant these.”
“Not a problem,” Keith replied with a grin. “I’ll start digging up the rows. I’ll be done with one before you get all sorted out, so I’ll wait.”
Kim was a bit leery of having a strange guy in her house while she showered, so she decided to skip that for now. She was going to get all sweaty and covered in dirt anyway, so she would catch one later. She did slam back a cup of coffee and scarf down some toast before going to brush her teeth.
She took her time brushing her teeth that morning. She didn’t mean to keep Keith waiting for so long, but she didn’t want him to see her so nervous. She didn’t want to break down on him again, that’s for sure. So she took extra time centering herself so she wouldn’t have a panic attack.
She took one last deep breath as she headed towards the back door. She grasped the handle with a firm grip and pulled it open.
Keith dropped the trowel as Kim opened the door to come outside. Flyaways from her black braid danced in the breeze. Her tan skin shimmered with a thin sheen of sweat in the mid-morning sun. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. Her black baby doll t-shirt clung to her perky breasts and highlighted her thin waist. Her hips gently flared in her worn jeans that clung to her like a second skin. He wanted this woman so badly, it almost physically hurt. He had to take it slow, though. She obviously had been through some pretty heinous stuff, even though she wouldn’t tell him.
Kim smiled and laughed. “You dropped the trowel. You know, you can’t get much work done when it’s on the ground like that.”
“Oh...you’re right. Sorry, I must have gotten distracted or something,” he stammered as he reached down to pick up the trowel.
Kim laughed as she walked towards one of the tall mounds. “Okay, show me how to plant this thing so I don’t kill off any plants.”
He grinned and grabbed a pack of seeds. “Okay, you’ll want your full sun ones up near the top. That’s tomatoes and other fruits. Lettuces and other low lights should be down below. Beans and peas should go in the middle. You won’t have to stake them on this, either.”
They settled down to work, digging and planting in preparation for next year. “Just wondering, how things work here, money-wise,” Kim asked.
“Well, everyone here gets their status cheque every month. We live rent-free because it’s the reserve. The store sometimes hires for minimum wage, and there’s the odd logging recruiter that comes in here, so some guys go out that way for the summer. Either that or tree planting.”
“Makes sense,” Kim said as she kept planting. “Do you think the store would want to hire me? I’ll go a bit stir crazy if I’m sitting at home all day, doing nothing.”
“I’ll ask around. No guarantees, though, but it’s worth a shot.”
They worked in silence for the next hour or so. The heat eventually started to get to them.
Kim wiped her brow with her forearm and said, “You know, I’m getting pretty thirsty. Looks like we’re done anyway. Wanna go in for some water?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Keith replied with a grin.
They took their shoes off just outside the door so as not to track any more dirt inside the house than necessary. Kim went to the cupboard and pulled out a couple of glasses she had managed to unpack the night before. She opened up the freezer and pulled out an ice cube tray and popped a few out into each glass, then filled them with water.
“So umm…” Keith stammered. “About yesterday, what was that all about, anyway?”
Kim paled and started to shake. “Nothing, just…thought I saw a ghost, that’s all.”
“A ghost? You sure it wasn’t anything else? There’s usually tons of wildlife that like to walk around in town…sure it wasn’t that?”
“Yeah…it was an animal, but not the kind you’re thinking of,” Kim said, trying not to break down.
“You know, you can tell me. It’s okay. Whatever it is, I’ll believe you.” Sincerity shone in his dark brown eyes.
Kim felt herself shaken by the earnest expression on Keith’s soft face. She felt a dam burst within her and tears started pouring out.
“His name… is Smiley. He…killed my parents in front of me and…he… he’s still out there,” she managed to choke out between gut wrenching sobs. “I saw his car yesterday…that’s why I panicked. I’m sorry.”
Keith set his glass down on the counter, walked up to the sobbing woman and put his arms around her. He felt a deep need to comfort her in her grief.
Kim sobbed her grief into Keith’s barrel chest. She knew this man could handle the tide of sorrow and fear that washed over her. For that moment, he was her rock. She felt his broad hand stroke her back gently. Her sobs calmed down and she listened to the slow, steady beat of his heart.
She looked up at him, her nose all red and her eyes all puffy from crying. She was definitely not at her most attractive, in her opinion. He didn’t care though. He saw through to her inner vulnerability. He put his hand gently under her chin, and leaned down and gave her a kiss.
Her body woke up as if struck by a bolt of lightning. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with fervor. She had no idea what was coming over her, she had absolutely no control over her body.
She trembled in his arms, breathing heavily. Her rational mind screamed at her to stop, but her body and emotional mind craved the comfort Keith was so willing to give. Try as she might to fight this unearthly compulsion, she couldn’t win. Kim gave in to the animalistic draw Keith seemed to have over her. She hastily unbuttoned his shirt as they walked towards her bedroom. The bed hadn’t been put together yet, so the queen sized mattress was still on the floor, topped with a rumpled duvet.
Keith grasped the bottom of Kim’s black shirt and pulled it over her head, then proceeded to hungrily nuzzle her neck, causing her to moan with pleasure. He reached towards her back and undid her bra with one hand. He tossed it into the corner with the rest of the rumpled laundry and then grasped one of her firm globes in his sensitive hand. His thumb and forefinger gently tweaked her perky, dark brown nipple causing more waves of pleasure to course through her body.
Kim’s body acted of its own volition. She ran her hands down his powerful torso towards his belt buckle. She hesitated for a split second before unbuckling his belt and undoing his jeans. She reached into his pants and gently caressed his hot manhood. The rigid cock twitched as her hand grasped and slowly massaged it.
Keith let out a feral sounding growl as she caressed his member. He had never wanted anyone more than he did her at that very moment. He was so turned on, he had to fight for control as to not cause her to revisit her past trauma. Not only that, as his arousal became more encompassing, he felt his teeth growing longer and his brain going further into its feral state. He needed to keep it together.
He bent down and took one of Kim’s nipples in his mouth. She moaned louder as she felt his tongue dance around it. She noticed it felt a little rougher than her previous lovers, but chalked it up to just differences in anatomy between partners. It added an extra erotic thrill to the experience so she wasn’t going to complain.
She felt his hands go towards the button of her pants as his hungry mouth nuzzled her breast. Her senses were overcome by the heady smell of his musk. The pheromones he was emitting clouded her brain from all rational thought. She only had one thought and that was to fuck.
His agile hands m
anaged to undo her pants and began to tug them down from her curvy hips. After he managed to get her jeans off, they both laid down on the bare mattress on the floor. Kim couldn’t utter a word. The only sounds from her mouth were moans of ecstasy as Keith’s mouth and hands explored every inch of her body. He tugged her black lace thong off her dripping sex and deeply inhaled the sweet musk of her womanhood. He was so intoxicated by her fragrance that he nearly lost control of his body again.
Kim was transfixed by what Keith was doing to her. He played her body like a finely tuned instrument. He knew where to touch her, how hard, or how soft. She felt his nimble fingers probe her delicate flower. She moaned as his mouth clamped down on hers in a fierce kiss while his fingers explored her most intimate of places. As he gently stroked her nub, her hips bucked off the mattress. Her hands reached down to his pants to caress him further.
He took her hand away from his waist and kissed it. “Not right now,” he whispered. “I want it to be all about you.”
She couldn’t reply. His pheromones were driving her insane with lust. She was like an animal in heat. She mewled with pleasure as he kept rubbing her clit. Shockwaves of pleasure jolted through her body with each stroke bringing her closer to a thundering orgasm.
Keith managed to remove his pants with his free hand. His seven inch cock was drooling precum. He wanted her so badly, but knew he had to take his time, and it took every ounce of restraint to not jump on her and take her then.
He nuzzled her neck and kissed his way down her writhing body creating sparks of erotic torture as he descended to her neatly groomed sex. He inhaled again and growled a feral growl as he dipped his slightly raspy tongue into Kim’s honey.
Kim practically leaped off the bed as Keith’s tongue made contact with her sensitive flesh. A cry escaped her lips as she grabbed his shaggy black hair and drew him closer to her sopping wet pussy. She felt his tongue go up one side and down the other, teasing the clit on its way. She felt his tongue worm its way into her depths then out again, lapping her up like a cat with a bowl of milk. She was out of her mind with lust. She ground her hips in his face and pulled his hair as he licked her sweetness.
