Under Devil's Snare (Under Series Book 2)

by S. Y. Thompson

  She ran around to the side of the truck and grabbed her clothes off the seat. Jamison dressed quickly, finishing up just as the first snowflake drifted onto her cheek. Rather than allow Lee to lie in the cold while she changed shape, Jamison threw open the passenger side door.

  Lee didn’t wait for an invitation. She leapt onto the seat to initiate her own alteration. Jamison knew it would take Lee a few minutes since she wasn’t quite as practiced, having grown up in a full human home knowing nothing of the Panthera. Giving Lee some privacy, Jamison went to retrieve Lee’s things from the rental car. She felt like skipping, happy that the girls were at the medical center.

  She returned to the Silverado to discover Lee lying shivering on the bench seat. “Hey, you’re getting pretty good at that.”

  “Practice makes perfect,” Lee quipped, reaching for her clothes. “Was it this cold when we got here?”

  Jamison shook her head and looked up. “The temperature has dropped in the last few hours. It’s snowing.”

  “Yeah, I noticed.” Lee sat up, pulling on her hiking shoes. “What are we going to do now?”

  Jamison could see the hopeful look in Lee’s blue eyes and felt torn between responsibility and desire. She wanted to go see the girls, but needed to collect the evidence they’d discovered. The crime scene needed to be isolated and searched for any other clues. Finally, she decided on a compromise. “I’ll go collect the cigarette butt. It’s been immersed in blood and exposed to the elements for weeks but I can’t just leave it here. I’ll radio for a forensic team while I head to the hospital. Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll be right behind you.”

  “No,” Lee said slowly. “It shouldn’t take but a few minutes and I’d rather not leave you out here alone.”

  “I am a big, bad jaguar, you know,” Jamison teased with a slight smile.

  “I know, but with all the crazy stuff that’s been happening I’d just feel better if we stay together.”

  Warmed by Lee’s concern, Jamison promised to hurry. They took the pickup back and Jamison used a pair of latex gloves from the first aid kit to collect the butt. Without a handy evidence bag, she could only wrap the cigarette in the glove and place it in a compartment on the console. Then she drove Lee back to the rental car. Turning around on the narrow trail required that they drive off into the scrub. The task wasn’t difficult for the pickup, but Lee had to employ more care in turning the sedan around. Finally, they headed back in the right direction and Jamison followed Lee out of the park.

  Ten minutes later, Jamison shut off her headlights as she pulled into the parking space, navigating easily by the scattered light poles. Lee parked in the space beside her and they headed for the nearest hospital entrance. Neither spoke, each lost in her own thoughts. Jamison had the nagging sensation that she’d missed something vital tonight, and it had nothing to do with abandoning the killing field in the park. Technically, it wasn’t a field, but Jamison thought the description accurate.

  No, it was something else that she couldn’t place. Jamison thought she’d focused so extensively on finding the missing girls that she’d been blind to anything else.

  “Are you okay?”

  Jamison started to respond to Lee’s concern when Sheriff Macke’s squad car screeched into the parking lot. Sam stopped in the fire lane next to the emergency entrance. The engine shut off, but Sam already had the door open. Jamison didn’t miss the expression of distaste before it quickly disappeared.

  “I see good news travels fast.”

  “The wind was with me,” Jamison quipped. “I figured you’d already be here. What took you so long?”

  “I got a tip someone saw the girls out by Regis Mountain.” Sam fell into step with Jamison and Lee, hitching her gun belt up to a more comfortable position. “Imagine my surprise when Gomez reported he found them in the middle of town.”

  “You gotta love eyewitnesses.” Firsthand accounts were generally the least reliable source of information. Memory was a funny thing, with people often projecting personal biases onto descriptions of individuals and events.

  Sam shocked her by saying, “Apparently, Casey North found them.”

  “Casey?” Lee asked. “Tim’s little girl?”

  “Yeah.” Sam shrugged. “He called the dispatcher about forty-five minutes ago to say Casey was missing. I’d just authorized an Amber Alert when Deputy Gomez radioed that he’d found her.”

  They rounded a corner and Jamison spotted a small group up ahead at the nurse’s station. A young child sat perched on the top of the counter. She looked tiny with a thin, white blanket draped around her shoulders. Unruly black curls stood out sharply against the paleness of her skin. A white bandage covered a wound on her cheek and Jamison spotted blood on the collar of the child’s shirt. Casey North sported a huge grin that stood out in sharp counterpoint to the worried yet proud expressions on her parents’ faces. Jamison noticed one of Casey’s sneakers was soaking wet.

  “Don’t you ever take off like that again.” Amy North sounded stern, but the gentle hand she ran through the curls gave away her tender emotions.

  Sheriff Macke stopped to speak with the charge nurse and Jamison shamelessly eavesdropped. “How are they, Sharon?”

  A small redhead smiled flirtatiously, but Macke appeared not to notice. “A tetanus shot and a couple of stitches for Casey. She’s a lucky kid. Doctor Martin is checking the other girls out now. Their parents are with them.”

  “Good,” Sam replied. “No one goes in other than medical personnel until I say otherwise.”

  Jamison had already turned away and was far more interested in hearing what Casey had to say. “I hear we have you to thank for finding Lindsay and Mira.”

  “Yeah,” Casey said, ducking her head shyly before leaning against her mother’s shoulder.

  Lee stood closely beside her and Jamison could sense her amusement. “Casey, how did you know to look over by the city yard?”

  The child sat up and her face screwed up as she concentrated. “I heard Daddy say Mi...Mi...Lindsay’s friend had a flat tire on the old hilly road. So I went to the hilliest road I knew of. It wasn’t far from our house.”

  Lee snorted softly and Jamison couldn’t look at her for fear of breaking into laughter. Instead, Jamison bit her lip to smother her smile. It wouldn’t do to look so amused when Casey was so serious. For a long moment, she couldn’t speak safely. Fortunately, Lee came to her aid.

  “What made you look in the lumber yard?”

  Casey kicked one heel against the counter and sat up straight. The blanket slipped off one shoulder. “’Cause I’m a genius, like Albert Frankenstein.”

  That was it. Jamison turned her head away and choked on her laugher. Casey’s parents chuckled as did Deputy Gomez who stood sentry outside the examination room.

  “It’s not funny,” Casey asserted, offended by their mirth.

  “I’m sure it wasn’t,” Jamison agreed as soberly as she could. “What you did was very brave. It was also very dangerous. You could have been hurt going after the girls by yourself. You’re very young.”

  “I’m seven and a half years old,” Casey huffed. “’Sides I wasn’t worried about that. I could see good but the chain was hard to untie. It was all gunky and stuff.”

  Jamison was relieved Casey didn’t mention her abilities as a Panthera in helping her to see in the dark. Things could have become awkward with all the medical personnel standing around and passing through the area. Then Jamison realized what she had said. All humor vanished with the remark and suddenly everyone was interested in what the little girl had to say.

  “What chain?” Jamison asked.

  “The one Lindsay had around her. But I don’t know how she got all twisted up in it or how her hands got trapped behind her.” Casey raised one fist to rub tiredly at her eyes.

  Jamison met Sheriff Macke’s eyes over the top of Casey’s head. She didn’t miss the concern in the sable eyes. With an innocent comment, Casey had confirmed their worst f
ears. There wasn’t any point in questioning the child further. She was too young to understand everything she’d witnessed and she looked exhausted.

  “Can we take her home now, Sheriff?” Tim asked, hefting his little girl off the counter and into his arms. Casey buried her face in his shoulder.

  “Sure, go ahead. I’m glad she’s okay.”

  Jamison spotted a familiar figure approaching at a fast clip as the North family left. Detective Hex gave Casey a bright smile that quickly vanished as she passed them by. Her dark hair stood up in a tangle on one side and she sported a smudge on one cheek. Hex’s usually immaculate garments looked rumpled and stained. Jamison thought it looked like she’d been crawling around in the dirt. Her eyes went straight to Macke and again Jamison had the sensation that she had missed the obvious.

  “What’d I miss?”

  “Not here,” Sam responded.

  The door to the exam room opened and Jamison’s attention centered on Doctor Martin’s demeanor. He didn’t seem overly concerned. “How are they?” she asked before anyone else could.

  “Lucky.” Martin rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “We’re running tox screens on both of them, but I’m willing to bet we’ll find out they were drugged. Both girls are showing signs of heavy sedation. Other than that, they have only minor bumps and bruises.”

  “We need to know as soon as you get the results,” Sheriff Macke informed him.

  Doctor Martin didn’t look happy. “No offense, Sheriff, but there is such a thing as doctor/patient confidentiality.”

  Jamison felt anger wash over her at this minor impediment and spoke up quickly. “Doctor, this is an ongoing investigation. In order to find whoever did this we need as much information as possible.”

  “And I’m happy to give it to you,” he responded. “But first you’ll have to obtain a warrant or get the parents’ permission.”

  “We’ll give it,” a deep voice stated. “I want this son of a bitch caught.”

  Jamison looked at Lindsay’s father. He appeared to be as angry as Jamison. She understood that their response stemmed from a sense of outrage that someone would perpetrate such a crime against their community. It took only an instant for him to communicate his desire for Panthera justice. She also wanted vengeance, for everyone who’d become a victim in the last month. Still, she communicated the urge for caution.

  “You’ll sign something to that effect?” Martin asked.

  “Don’t worry, Doctor,” Jamison said sarcastically. “We’ll make sure you’re absolved of any liability.” Lee placed a restraining hand on her arm, but Jamison turned away from the physician to take in the rest of the group. “We need somewhere to talk.”

  Sam took a step forward. “Yes we do. Mr. Drake, do you mind staying with the girls for a while? We need to debrief Deputy Gomez.”

  “Wild horses couldn’t drag me out of here.”

  “Why don’t you use the hospital cafeteria?” Doctor Martin suggested. “It should be deserted at this time of night.”

  Jamison thought he would be disappointed if he thought the offer would earn him any points. She understood the need for protocol, but had little patience for anyone or anything that would obstruct their investigation. She turned on her heel and strode down the hallway toward the cafeteria, aware of the others following. Jamison shoved open one of the double doors and flipped on the overhead lights.

  She flinched when someone touched her lightly between the shoulder blades. Spinning around, she encountered Lee’s concerned blue eyes.

  “Why are you so mad?” Lee whispered.

  Jamison raked fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. I’m just tired of being behind this guy and I’ve had the feeling all night that there’s something we’re missing.”

  “Like what?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  Deputy Gomez followed up the rear of the group and stood near the exit until Jamison motioned him over. The others all gathered around him. Jamison wanted to demand answers from him, but allowed Sheriff Macke to take the lead. As his superior, she would command his respect and Gomez would more likely answer Sam without hesitation. If Jamison questioned him, Gomez might hold back out of a sense of loyalty to his boss.

  “Tell us what happened, James.”

  Not exactly the tactic she would have taken, Jamison thought, but it proved effective.

  “Well, I was patrolling around the square looking for suspicious vehicles when Casey North ran right out in front of my cruiser. It scared me to death; I almost hit the poor kid. She told me that the girls were over by the lumber yard. I radioed dispatch immediately to send out an ambulance and notify the sheriff.”

  Jamison’s lips compressed. She could have obtained that much information from an impersonal police report. “What did you see when you arrived on scene?”

  Gomez pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket and shook one out. He placed the cigarette in his mouth but didn’t light it. It bobbed slightly as he spoke. “The Drake girl sitting by the river bank. She was holding Mira in her arms. I almost didn’t see them but then I saw the flashlight beam.”

  “Was Mira unconscious?” Jamison asked.

  Gomez nodded. “Yes ma’am. She was sopping wet too, like she’d just been pulled out of the water.”

  Lee bit back a startled gasp and Jamison didn’t know what to say. It belatedly occurred to her that Lee shouldn’t even be in a debriefing meant only for law enforcement. She didn’t care. As far as Jamison was concerned, all of this involved Lee to some extent and she deserved to know every detail.

  “The killer discarded her,” Jamison observed. “She wasn’t the one he wanted.”

  “What about Lindsay?” Macke questioned. “Was she wet?”

  “Just the front of her where Mira pressed up against her.”

  “Did you see anything that might point to the identity of a suspect?”

  “No ma’am, but it was pretty dark and I was more concerned with getting the girls to safety.”

  Jamison couldn’t fault his choices. She would have done the same. Still, they couldn’t risk someone compromising a crime scene. Crap, she thought. She’d already called the forensics team out to Adirondack Park.

  “Sheriff,” she said, “you might want to send deputies out to secure the area until the crime scene technicians get there. Right now, they’re in the park.”

  Macke’s eyes narrowed. “Something you want to tell me, Kessler?”

  “Unfortunately, with everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had time to update you.”

  “Well by all means, do so.”

  Fully aware that she had to be careful here, Jamison weighed her response. She couldn’t admit to everything with Gomez and Hex in the room. “While we were searching the park for the girls, Lee and I found what I believe to be the spot where one of our victims died.”

  “And we’re just now hearing about this?” Hex demanded sharply.

  “Hold on,” Sam said, holding up one hand. “We’ve all been pretty busy tonight. Go ahead.”

  “It’s along one of the hiking trails about a mile from Pauline Reid’s campsite.”

  “What exactly did you find?” Hex asked.

  “A whole lot of blood,” Lee provided, shuddering slightly.

  “And a cigarette butt,” Jamison added, glancing at the smoke in Gomez’s mouth. “I collected the butt and called out the forensics team.”

  Macke nodded sharply and pulled out her radio. She notified dispatch to send personnel to secure the area around the city yard, not just the lumberyard but the entire lot. Macke ordered that forensics report on scene as soon as they finished with the park. Once she had everyone situated, Sam said, “It looks like it’s going to be a long night for me.”

  “Why just for you?” Hex asked.

  “Technically, Harmon is outside the Park Service’s jurisdiction so that leaves you and Kessler out. Since I don’t plan to let anyone check out the place where the girls were held without m
e, I guess I’ll just have to wait for the techs with my deputies.”

  “Well, if you think I’m going to let you have all the fun you are seriously mistaken.”

  Jamison smiled at Hex’s badgering tone. “I guess that makes three of us.”

  “Not a chance,” Sam insisted. “I have to be there, but you don’t. Besides, things are starting to heat up and I’d prefer some of us stay sharp. Since I plan on being awake all night that means you. Don’t worry; I’ll keep you informed if we find anything.”

  Jamison didn’t like it, but Sam’s logic made sense. Unfortunately, she had her own responsibilities this evening. “Looks like it’s up to you, Detective Hex. Now that I know Lindsay and Mira are all right I need to get back out to the park.”

  “You don’t trust the forensics team?”

  “Trust has nothing to do with it. I’m just not comfortable leaving someone else to clean up my park.”

  “Fine, whatever. I could point out that the park is my jurisdiction too, but someone needs to be awake tomorrow when the toxicology reports come back.”

  The group disbanded. Jamison heard the sheriff order Gomez to find someone to relieve him. Hex waited for Sheriff Macke and the two walked away together. Lee kept Jamison behind with a touch on her sleeve.

  “Do you really have to go back out to the park?”

  Not this again. Couldn’t Lee understand she had a job to do? “Honey, I’m sorry, but I don’t have a choice.”

  Lee dropped her hand. “It’s okay. I understand. I don’t know why I feel so nervous about being at the manor alone. I guess I’m just being silly.”

  Jamison blinked. She’d assumed Lee was questioning her priorities. She felt like a heel when she realized Lee was afraid. Lee’s feelings were only natural considering all she’d been through recently. Jamison wrapped her arms around Lee and pulled her in tight, closing her eyes to concentrate on the feel of their hearts beating together.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Wake me up when you get home?”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”