Loved by Darkness

by Autumn Jordon

  “Special Agent Carter is holding for you on line two, Chief.”

  Norris scowled at Ted. “Would you like to square things away with the federal officer in charge of the Burgess case?”

  The arrogant expression drained from Beltz’s face.

  “I didn’t think so.” Norris turned toward his junior officer. “I’ll take it in my office. Meanwhile, get the fingerprint comparison started. I want to know whether we have a potential match in no more than thirty minutes.”

  “Boss,” Larry spoke, “I’ve got a reporter from Channel 49 on the line asking us to verify one of our officers found the missing Burgess child.”

  Ted lurched out of his chair, sending it spinning back against the next desk. His jowls bloomed to a beet red. “How’d they find out?”

  “Twitter,” Larry answered him and then looked to Norris. “Should I tell him no comment?”

  “No. He’ll take a ‘no comment’ as a confirmation the child’s been found. We’ll be swamped with every reporter in the state before dawn.” Norris thought for a quick second. “Tell him I’m in the john and put him on hold. Buy me two minutes with the SA Carter and then ring my line.” He looked pointedly at Ted. “I hope you realize you started a goddamn flash fire. When this case is over, you and I are going to have a heart to heart in my office, one on one.”

  Norris stormed down the short hall to his office. He inhaled quickly, knowing he was about to be dressed down by a FED. He grabbed the phone. “Chief Norris, here.”

  “This is Special Agent Kyle Carter of the FBI. Can you tell me what the hell is going on in your office? I received a call from Darren Burgess telling me your people found his daughter.”

  “That hasn’t been confirmed. We found a girl. We’re working on the markers for the fingerprints on file right now. I should know something within the hour.”

  “If you don’t have confirmation, why the hell did you contact the Burgesses? And why did you overstep me, the officer in charge?”

  “I didn’t. One of my officers was over zealous. My apologies.”

  “Is he fresh out of the academy or some local part time idiot you’ve hired for the beach season?”

  Norris sealed his lips, imagining a red-faced suit, gripping the phone on the other end. There was a lot he could tell the SA, but airing Ted’s dirty laundry wasn’t his way. “He was only hoping to bring the family’s misery to an end.”

  “What made him think they were the same person?”

  “Our girl is about the right age and has same hair and eye color and a birthmark on the left leg.”

  “That’s all?”

  “What can I say?”

  “Well, I hope for Darren and Bonnie’s sake your guy is right, because if he’s not I’m going to make sure he’s gone.”

  “That’s my call, not yours,” Norris stated flatly, letting SA Carter know Norris had drawn a line and it would be better for all involved if Carter didn’t cross it, federal agent or not. This was still his force. “I’ve made him aware of the damage he might have caused because he didn’t follow proper procedures. And I will make sure he is by my side if I need to tell the Burgesses that the child we found isn’t their daughter.”

  “Understood. Did you get the sons of bitches who snatched her?”

  “No. We’re still working on scenarios.”

  “How about forensic evidence? My people can help with that. I can have a team out there in a couple hours. I hope you secured the location.”

  “There was no evidence to be found.”

  “What do you mean there was none? There’s always something. We know how to do our jobs, Chief. We’ll find some.”

  Carter could search the Atlantic if he wanted. “Not this time.”

  “The only way we don’t is if she was dropped into the middle of the Atlantic. Where did you find her?”

  “Floating in the shipping lane off the shoreline.”

  “Say what?” The shock was evident in the SA’s voice.

  “You heard me.”

  “Christ. Is she okay?”

  “Badly dehydrated and sunburned, but otherwise she seems fine. She’s at Cape James Mercy Hospital for observation.”

  “I can’t wait to hear the whole story,” Carter said. “I’m in route and have a helicopter waiting for me. I should be there in about forty minutes. The Burgess family is driving there, so they probably won’t arrive for at least an hour and a half.”

  “You can have the pilot set down at Cape James Mercy. I’ll meet you there.” Norris really didn’t want to cough up more bad news but what choice did he have? “FYI, you should know the press have already picked up the story through Twitter. I have a local reporter holding on the other line, waiting for a comment. He reported the story of us finding the girl today. How do you want me to handle it?” Norris asked, hoping the FBI agent’s mood might mellow at being asked for advice.

  He heard the man exhale. “Just state the facts. The two cases have not been connected, yet.”

  “They know the Burgess family is on their way here.”

  There was silence on the line. “Did you speak to the family yourself?”

  “No.”

  “Then tell them you can’t confirm if the family is in route—since you haven’t spoken to them yourself. Let them know you’ve made contact with me and you’re cooperating with the FBI to learn the truth. That should hold them off until we know more.”

  “You think so?”

  “Not really, but I can dream.”

  He heard a car door open and then the roar of a larger engine coming to life.

  “One more thing before you go.” Carter stopped Norris from hanging up. “Please tell me you have an officer stationed at the girl’s door.”

  “Yes, sir. And I have a U.S. Marshal sitting at her bedside.” Norris smiled at that addition and placed the receiver in its cradle. He buttoned his shirt and tucked it into his pants. Time to get to work.

  Taking a deep breath, Norris hit line one and told the reporter exactly what Carter had suggested. Then he dialed the mayor’s home number and prepared to drop a shit bomb on him.

  ***

  Norris gripped his steering wheel tighter. He hated that the Feds had become involved with his case so fast, but there was nothing he could do about it now. If the girl turned out to be the Burgess child, she was theirs anyway, but if she wasn’t, she was his and he had no intention of stepping aside. Instead of thinking about what had happened, he focused on his next steps.

  At four a.m. the only vehicles on the road were delivery vans making their way to every little convenience and grocery store in town so Norris’ drive to the hospital was made in record time without the use of his flashing lights or sirens. He eagerly exited the hospital’s elevator on the third floor. Jolene waited in a room not more than fifty yards away, and with that thought, his heart skipped.

  He’d run a check on her and of course the information he received from the U.S. Marshals office was what he’d anticipated. They confirmed she did indeed work for the service, as a desk agent. His gut told him the official information was a cover, as Jolene had suggested on the boat. He’d made a call to an Air Force buddy he’d served alongside in Italy and who now worked for the Marshals in Texas. Rubens returned his call right before Norris stalked out of the station and he confirmed Jolene was a Marshal. However, Rubens stated her jacket was classified. That bit of information told Norris all he needed to know.

  Feeling like he had a five-pound weight on his chest and with his pulse racing, he pushed through the ward’s double doors. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so anxious to see a woman. Yes, she was beautiful, but there was much more about Jolene that raised his interest. She was smart and street savvy. He wondered about her real job within the Marshals and how she had honed her street skills.

  Her comments—stated in only a few words at times—held double meanings, which told him she was used to relaying and receiving dual messages. And with only a look she ch
allenged him. Norris was impressed by the woman, and he wasn’t easily impressed by women since...

  The door to Lia’s room was closed and his officer sat on a nearby chair sleeping. His men weren’t used to twenty-four-hour shifts. During the busy season, they normally worked twelve- or fourteen-hour days, maybe sixteen on occasion, but every fifth day they were scheduled for forty-eight hours off. Now they would be working longer hours without a break until this case broke, or got ripped from their hands by the state guys, or the Feds. He so wanted to solve this case. It was the kind of case a cop lived for. Though the child was alive the case was still shrouded in mystery and there were a dozen unanswered questions.

  Norris shook Frank awake and told him to head back to the station. Then he crossed over to the nurses’ station to check on the little girl’s condition. He was told Lia Doe—the name assigned her—had slept through the night. The nurse also reported that the woman still sat by the girl’s side.

  Norris requested the nurse contact the hospital’s doctor and have the doctor call him immediately to fill him in on Lia’s condition. Whether the girl turned out to be the missing Burgess baby or not, he wondered if it might not be best to move her to another location and he needed to know if he could. Cape James Mercy Hospital was small with maybe two security officers on duty at any given time. They wouldn’t be able to handle the surge of reporters and ensure the family’s or the girl’s privacy when the story broke. His force was already stretched to the limit with the girl’s case and the summer crowd to be of much help to the security staff.

  He gently pushed the door open and poked his head inside. The room was dark except for the thin band of light from the bathroom slicing through it. In the dimness, he saw Jolene rested on a nearby chair. He hated to wake her, but she needed to know about the federal agent and the family on their way to the hospital to see the girl.

  The moment he stepped inside, Jolene’s head lifted. She blinked the sleep from her pretty eyes.

  “We have a situation,” he whispered, feeling embarrassed he had to reveal the incompetency and flagrant disregard for his title by one of his officers. She was someone he wanted to impress.

  With his index finger, he motioned for Jolene to follow him into the hall.

  She rose from the chair and followed him outside the room.

  He walked to the window and looked down on the nearly empty parking lot. Soon a swarm of news vans would clog the area and make it hard for patients and visitors to enter the hospital parking lot. And for them to leave without being spotted.

  Jolene joined him. “What’s up?”

  “Nice badge.” He nodded to her belt that encircled her hip-hugging jeans.

  Jolene swiped her long fingers over the base of her throat as if she could stop the blush from rising to her sun-kissed cheeks. It was then he got a closer look at the bracelet circling her wrist. Attached to it were a stable of animal charms. He wondered what meaning they held for her.

  “I thought it would give me clout and I’d get a free midnight snack in the cafeteria,” she said about her badge.

  He chuckled. “Did it work?”

  She shook her head. “Nah. However, the nurse who came on at eleven did give me a ginger ale and a pudding.”

  Feeling the unprofessional urge to touch her, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. He nodded toward room 3B08. “How’s she doing?”

  “She woke up twice, crying. Poor kid. She escaped hell.” Jolene glanced toward the door she’d left ajar. “I held her and talked to her and she fell right back to sleep.”

  He lived along the seaside while growing up. He’d seen evidence washed up on the shore of what the creatures of the sea did to each other. There was no doubt the girl had escaped a horrible death. “Did she say anything more? Her parents’ names?”

  “No. I doubt she’d call her parents by their names. She’s too young.” She stretched her back and then checked the time on her cell. “It’s been nearly seventeen hours since we found her. No one’s reported her missing, have they?”

  At the same moment she asked the question, Norris’ cell buzzed on his hip and he held up a finger, indicating she should give him a minute.

  “Stiles here,” he said, answering the call. Hearing Pickett’s voice Norris asked, “Did you get it?”

  “I ran both sets of prints through two different software applications and the girls had only three similar markers, not enough for a match,” Pickett responded.

  Norris frowned. Ted was going to be in a whole lot of trouble.

  “Did you hear me, boss?” Pickett asked into the lengthening silence.

  “Yeah. I heard you.” Norris felt sorry for the parents who were on their way to the hospital. It was likely Lia wasn’t their daughter and their old wound would take a big hit. He glanced at Jolene and noticed she watched him closely. If he had wanted privacy, he should’ve walked away from her. “We’ve already pissed off the Feds, so let’s play nice. Send what you have to SA Carter’s email address. Have them double check your findings and get back to me a.s.a.p.” He hung up and met Jolene’s steely stare.

  “Feds? What’s going down, Chief?”

  Norris quickly explained the situation.

  “What was your man thinking?” He heard the frustration in Jolene’s tone. Her lips thinned, giving her expression darker angles.

  “He wasn’t. Thus, the problem.” He wouldn’t state the obvious. Ted wanted the opportunity to be the hero in this little girl’s story and because of his phone call to the Burgesses, had handed the hero status over to the officer in charge.

  “You know, this Carter guy is going to want to take the lead,” Jolene said.

  “Yeah, but that’s not my worry right now.” Self-consciously Norris rubbed away the tension in his neck. “I fear we're going to be bombarded by reporters soon.”

  “No doubt. It doesn’t take them long to pick up a juicy story’s scent.” She slid her hands into her jeans pockets. “Do you think we should move her out of here?”

  He nodded, glancing down the hall, hoping to see a white coat push through the double doors in answer to his call. However, the doors remained still, and he clenched his teeth together. Their window of opportunity was ticking away. “If the hospital and attending doctors give the okay, I think it would be in the girl’s best interest. If I move her without the hospital doctor’s okay, I could open the town and myself for a lawsuit.”

  She nodded. “Where would you take her? Back to the station?”

  “It’s not the best atmosphere for a child, but we could protect her from the media better there.” He searched for the nurse he’d spoken to earlier but apparently she’d taken another patient’s call.

  Jolene chewed on her lip for a moment. “I have an idea, but first I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay...”

  “This is your case, and I’m not trying to take it from you, but if you need help, I have permission to step up.”

  He arched his brow. Two things he demanded from his people were discretion in handling cases and loyalty to him. But Jolene wasn’t his people. She was a federal officer of the law. Now he wondered who else knew about his case? “You have permission, huh? From whom?”

  She hesitated for a moment, apparently aware of his irritation. “I called my division’s boss after you left us last night.”

  Norris noticed the slight blush in her cheeks.

  “Not to step on your toes,” she continued, looking directly at him, “but to obtain permission to help you for as long as it takes to learn who Lia belongs to and how she ended up floating alone on the Atlantic. Assisting in investigations at every level of law enforcement is one of the duties of the U.S. Marshals. We make your arm stronger and longer. So, if you’d want me to partner up with you in this case, I’m yours.”

  Norris studied her face. Yesterday afternoon, he would’ve thought of Jolene in another way if she’d said those two little words to him. This morning, he saw her as more than a good time. He tru
sted her. And he wasn’t stupid. With her involvement, the state police wouldn’t try to take over the case and the FBI would take second seat.

  “I come with resources,” she said, pulling him from his thoughts. “And, I have an idea, if you want my opinion.”

  He folded his arms across his chest, giving her the impression she still hadn’t convinced him to partner up with her. “What is it?”

  “Make the girl disappear again.”

  “Protective custody at an undisclosed location. Where?”

  “I have the perfect place.”

  Overhead he heard the whir of a helicopter and knew Special Agent Carter was about to arrive. He nodded toward the ceiling. “That’s the federal officer in charge of the Burgess case. He’ll want to know the location.”

  She shrugged. “I can play nice.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Jolene hated hospital odors. The antiseptic scent only masked the presence of sickness and death and brought back moments in her life she wanted to forget.

  She had walked the floors of the twelve-by-twelve hospital room for most of the night, listening to the beeps and dings while she watched over Lia.

  No one knew better than Jolene that the world was filled with terrible monsters.

  Each time monsters entered Lia’s dreams and she’d became agitated, Jolene had brushed back her soft hair and calmed her by softly reciting the fable her older sister, Martina, had read to her many times when they needed to forget their world wasn’t perfect.

  Now she stood at Lia’s bedside with her hands stuffed in the pockets of her light hoodie and studied FBI Special Agent Carter while Norris filled him in on the details of girl’s rescue.

  Carter fit the physical profile of every other male Fed Jolene had ever met; six-foot-six in height with shoulders that needed to be measured with a yard stick. He wore his hair cut to half an inch and his square jaw was clean-shaven. His suit was darn pretty and probably cost about what she made in a month. His highly polished wingtip shoes would’ve made her self-conscious if she wore a skirt.