by K. J. Dahlen
“Do you still have the original journals?” he asked.
“Yes, we still have them.” Jessie nodded.
Mitch glared at her for a moment. “You do realize I could arrest you for meddling in a police investigation, don’t you?”
Jessie nodded. “You could try. But all I would have to do is retract my statement and you would have nothing to go on.”
“What about the bodies buried on this land?”
“What bodies?” Lucifer asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Mitch glanced over at Charlie who had a blank look on his face. He turned back to Lucifer. “You know damn well what bodies.” He gritted his teeth.
Lucifer looked over at Demon. “Do you know anything about bodies buried on my land?”
Demon half smiled. “Nope, not a thing boss.”
Lucifer looked around the room. “Anybody here heard anything about bodies being buried on my land?”
Several of the men called out a solid no.
Mitch stiffened. “So that’s how you want to play this?”
“I told you not to push this,” Charlie muttered under his breath.
Mitch turned his head slowly and glared at his old friend. “My woman and daughter are buried here. I want them back.”
“And you just probably blew that from happening anytime soon,” Charlie told him.
Just then, Stinger came into the room with even more pages. He looked from one to another then to each of the brothers around the room. Finally, he asked, “Did I miss something?”
“Maybe,” Lucifer stated. Frowning, he looked at his brother and the papers in his hand. “What did you find now?”
“I didn’t dig deep enough yesterday boss,” Stinger admitted.
“What does that mean?” Lucifer stared back at him.
“I did some more checking and Frank Lowe did go into the foster system and he was paired with his older brother Michael when he was eleven. By the time he was twelve, he was headed to kiddy jail and Michael was dead. That’s where I got it wrong. He didn’t go to kiddy jail, he went to an institute for the criminally insane called Oceanview.”
Jessie gasped. “They sent a child to a place like that? But why?”
“His grandparents put him there, not so much the police,” Stinger announced.
Lucifer looked around the room then back to Stinger. “Why would they do something like that?”
“The grandparents were Mary’s parents the woman who was his mother. They were devastated when Sam killed their daughter in a fit of rage. They took in the three girls but couldn’t handle the boys. The older boys went to live with an aunt and uncle of their mom and it was only Michael and Frank that went into foster care. According to what I was able to learn through interviews and police reports, Michael tended to bully Frank. He was more his father’s son than the rest of his brothers and sisters. However, Frank had been his mother’s favorite, so she always protected him and without her around Frank was harassed mercilessly. The police were called on them several times before Michael died.”
“Did you find out what happened with that?” Demon asked.
“Oh, yeah.” Stinger nodded. “The day Michael died the two boys had a huge fight. Michael was bigger and stronger than Frank, but Frank was in a fine rage that day. They were screaming at each other, something about their mother. Michael was shouting that their mother got what she deserved. He told his younger brother their mother was a whore and that Sam did the right thing by beating her to death. Frank kept telling him to take it back, but Michael just laughed in his face. Then he asked Frank ‘Who do you think let Lyle in the house?’ ”
Jessie gasped at this revelation.
Stinger shook his head. “According to the foster parents and police, Frank just went crazy and beat his brother to death. The police had to subdue him. They hauled him off to jail but something happened in the cell that night. Unfortunately, there’s no written record of what happened. The next morning, they called his grandparents and they sent him to the institute.” Stinger looked around the room again and shook his head. “I did some digging into the institute and what I found wasn’t good. That place was a horrible place for adults, let alone a scared kid. And to have to live there year after year, well I have no doubts that didn’t help young Frank. The day he aged out and was released by a fucking law decree, was the day the institute burned to the ground. The patients were trapped behind the locked doors, not only that but the doctors who treated young Frank burned to death as well. There were three of them and when the fire was out the police found them locked in a room. They had no chance to get out as the fire marshal determined the fire was started outside that locked room. He also determined the fire spread so quickly due to an accelerant found inside the hospital. The halls were literally doused with the accelerant, but the good part of the fire was that it was quick. It burned hot so the patients didn’t suffer much. Most of them died of smoke inhalation rather than being burned.”
“How many patients died?” Jessie asked while looking pale.
“Thirty-nine patients and four doctors, altogether. On his way out, Frank caused a fuss that pulled out all the security guards, so they weren’t caught up in the chaos of the fire.”
“He’s more than a serial killer. He committed mass murder.” Jessie let out a gasp.
“How long after he got out did he change his name?” Lucifer asked.
“The very next day,” Stinger informed them. “Apparently, he filed a petition when he knew he was getting released. All he had to do was show up in court and state for the judge this was what he wanted. After the name change was legal, Gordan disappeared. No one could find him until two years later when he showed up as Jordan Tate and claimed Gordan Bates had fallen off the cliff.” He shrugged, “Since then he’s been a model citizen.”
“Except for his killing sprees,” Jessie reminded them all as her hands shook.
“I have to wonder how many more secrets Jordan Tate has?” Mitch asked out loud.
Jessie pushed the pages forward. “Here are some of his many secrets.”
Mitch looked up at her about the same time Lucifer turned toward her. Lucifer frowned at her gesture while Mitch seemed stunned by her generosity.
“Why?” Mitch asked. “Why would you give me these pages without a guarantee I won’t use them to destroy this MC?”
“Because I think we all want the same ending to this chapter in the story of Frank Lowe/ Gordan Bates/ Jordan Tate. This needs to end and end soon.” She caught his eyes. “You still need their permission to recover the bodies. If you treat them right, they will treat you right. If you screw them, the original journals will go straight to the press and this whole case with be exposed to the world. One way you get what you want, and no one is the wiser, the other way everyone knows and there’s nowhere you or Frank Lowe can hide. It’s up to you.”
“Where are the original journals?” Charlie asked.
Jessie shrugged. “I don’t know. I asked Lucifer to hide them and I have no clue what happened to them after that. I don’t know if he hid them or had one of his men hide them. That’s our ace in the hole.”
Mitch was glaring at her when he stated, “You said there would be nowhere I or Frank Lowe could hide, what did you mean by that? I haven’t done anything wrong here, why would I have to hide?”
Jessie stared him right in the eyes. “If you fuck these men over and this story breaks, every newspaper and reporter will get the story about how an agent of the FBI railroaded a band of ex-military men for a crime they had nothing to do with, how he threw them into a jail cell. How he just ran over decorated soldiers, men who served their country with honor and respect and dragged their names through the mud for no reason other than he could. Not only will half the country hate your name but every soldier out there, wounded or not will hate your name and everything you stand for.”
Mitch glared at her. “You’re going to blackmail the FBI?”
Jessie shook her head
. “I’m not blackmailing anyone. I’m just stating facts as I see them. We brought this problem to you and I’m cooperating by turning over a copy of what this killer wrote. The men that live here and work this farm have had nothing to do with these crimes and I won’t see them thrown under the bus for something they didn’t do.”
Mitch shook his head and just sat there staring at the pages on the table. Then he raised his eyes to the man called Lucifer. His dark eyes glared back and from where he sat, Mitch could feel the rage in the other man’s eyes. He looked up and was startled at the sight of all his men standing behind him. He hadn’t heard anyone move but suddenly everyone was standing behind their leader. Shoulders straight, they became a wall of muscle and grit.
Jesse glared at him from where she stood.
Mitch turned to glance at Charlie and he saw the other man shaking his head. “I warned you,” he muttered. “I did warn you not to piss them off.” Then Charlie got to his feet. Holding out his hand to Lucifer he offered his apology, “This doesn’t have to be a problem if we don’t want it to be. I’d rather not fight with you guys and tempers may have gotten in the way here. Like Jessie said, we all want the same thing. We need to get this guy off the streets. Me, I’d rather do that quickly and quietly where no one gets hurt. My biggest concern is that he’ll take another hostage. I don’t want that.”
“We don’t either.” Lucifer agreed. Turning to glare at Mitch, Lucifer asked, “Are you and me gonna have a problem?”
Before he could answer, the whole house was shaken and windows blew out as an explosion lit up the darkness outside. Jessie screamed and men ducked for cover. Lucifer and Charlie ran for the door. Mitch, Demon and several other men followed right behind them.
When they got out in the dooryard, they could see debris falling from the building that now laid in ruins. Fire spewed and had the men running toward the tree line as the woods were burning. Lucifer began issuing orders and soon, his men had the fire out and were staring at the ruined building.
“What the fuck was that all about Captain?” Jinx posted the question as the men finished up.
“I have no fucking clue,” Lucifer admitted.
“Captain,” came a shout from a short distance inside the woods. “Man down.”
Lucifer looked around but didn’t see a man missing. He, Charlie, Mitch and Demon followed the voice until they came to a small clearing. There was indeed a man lying on the ground. Blood could be seen pooling underneath the downed man. Lucifer gently turned the man over and gasped.
The man was one of his own, Recon. He’d been stabbed in the side and had a hell of a bruise on his neck and the top of his shoulder. Lucifer reached out and began searching for a pulse. He closed his eyes in relief when he found one. It was weak and thready but the man was still alive.
“What the fuck Captain?” Jinx voiced his worry.
Lucifer got to his feet and glared at Charlie. “I had Recon watching your Jordan Tate.” Then a thought crossed his mind and he began running back to the house.
Demon caught on and called out, “Everyone be on alert. We got an intruder.” He looked at the men around him. “Motioning toward a couple of them he said, “You guys get Recon back to the house, find the medic and have him checked out. Everybody else check out the woods. Tate is here somewhere. Find him but don’t kill him.” Then he turned and glared at his uncle. “If he got to Jessie and hurt her in any way you won’t have anything left to take to court. Lucifer will kill him on sight. Tate has gone from the hunter to the hunted. He’s going to know the fear those women felt before they died.”
Then he turned and ran for the farm house.
Charlie and Mitch stared at the path Demon took.
Jinx walked up to them. “We’ll try to leave something for you guys to arrest but right now that’s doubtful.”
Mitch turned and gazed at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Jinx stared at the man with little or no emotion in his eyes. “It means if that man hurts that girl, he’s a dead man. He came here and messed with the wrong people this time. They called us Hell’s Guardian Warriors for a reason. That was the name of our group over in the sand box. We were the best of the best over there right up until the day we were betrayed. Another squad betrayed our position to the enemy and left us to be ambushed. They kept us in a camp for four months before we were rescued. What those rebels did to us and him in particular, was nothing to what he’ll do to your killer when he finds him. Lucifer is one man you don’t want to piss off and messing with his woman is a death sentence.”
Charlie and Mitch watched as the men gathered up their fallen member then followed as they made their way back to the farm house.
When they got back inside, they saw the signs of a struggle. Going toward the bedroom, they found Lucifer kneeling beside a small pool of blood. The window stood open and the rest of the room was in ruins.
Demon stood beside the door and watched as Lucifer studied the room. Charlie began walking in but Demon stopped him. He told his Uncle, “You don’t want to get too close to him. Not right now.”
“Why?” Charlie asked. “This is a crime scene, I could help. This is a police matter now.”
Demon shook his head again. “Just don’t get in his way. Stand back and don’t get in our way. We’ll find this fucker and you don’t want to stand between Lucifer and him when we do.”
Charlie studied his nephew and shook his head. “We need Tate alive to prosecute for his crimes.”
“We’ll try but that’s all I can promise right now.” Demon looked doubtful.
Lucifer stood up and turned slowly to face his men.
Charlie got a shiver down his back at the look in the other man’s eyes. They almost glowed with an unholy light. Charlie decided the man earned his nickname. He was looking at Lucifer all right and he almost pitied the man they knew as Jordan Tate.
“Lock and load. The bastard took my woman. I will get her back,” he vowed with a growl.
“Any idea where he took her?” Demon asked. “It will take us days to search this farm.”
“Yeah, I know exactly where he took her.” Lucifer held his fists at his sides.
Demon looked startled. “How do you know that already?”
Lucifer raised his fingers. Along with a smear of blood on them his fingers were covered with smudge of thick red clay. “There’s only one place on the whole 240 acres where this clay is from. I only hope that’s where he took her.”
Chapter Thirteen
Jordan Tate pushed forward, struggling with the added burden of having Jessie thrown over his shoulder. When he slipped his security detail, he went to the back of the farmhouse and waited. When the explosion went off and he saw everyone rush out to see what was happening, he slipped inside.
He saw everyone rushing outside to handle the fire but the one person he didn’t see was the one he wanted the most. Then a door opened, and she came to the doorway. He rushed forward knocking her back into the room. She went to scream, his fingers curled into a fist and he hit her.
She went down to the floor, but she wasn’t out, not yet. Blood flowed from her nose and her split lip. Jordan threw himself on top of her and one hand went to her throat while the other hand covered her mouth. “Not this time sweetheart. I need you to keep quiet until we get out of here,” he told her quietly.
It took her a few minutes to pass out and when she did, Jordan flipped her over and grabbing his belt, he tied her hands behind her back. Then he got up and went over to the door cracking it open he peeked up and down the hall. Seeing no one there, he went back and picked Jessie up off the floor. He hoisted her over his shoulder and went over to the window. Lifting up the glass panel, he moved them out the window and quickly made his way away from the house.
Moving quickly and quietly he scurried deeper into the wooded area away from the commotion of the explosion and resulting fire. He knew it wouldn’t take very long for the men to get the fire under control and even
less time to find her gone, so he moved fast.
Leaving the woods, he entered the corn field on the other side. The farther away he moved the quieter it got. Soon he was angling away from the rows of endless corn and moving closer to the rocky hillside. His footsteps rang out as he walked over the rocky ground.
Using only the light from the moon, he made his way over to a small cavern he found on one of his many trips to this particular farm in the last ten years. The cavern was mostly hidden by an overlapping shear fall of rock from the top on the bluff and it was by pure accident he found it in the first place.
When he realized he was being watched, he thought about running but then he thought he couldn’t do that again, not this time. This time, he needed to fight for his chance to stay alive and still get away. He knew he could disappear and come back a new man, hell, he’d done it before, but he was tired of running and hiding in the shadows of other people’s lives.
If he were going to get caught he would take this nosey fucking woman with him, but before he could do that he needed to get what back she took from him. He’d thought all these years his journals were safe and maybe they would have been if she hadn’t gone to her grandmother’s place.
All of this mess was her fault. She should have left well enough alone. Now he would have to teach her a lesson and he knew it wouldn’t be a lesson she wanted to learn but maybe, just maybe it would give him enough satisfaction to keep the blood lust under control.
He pushed his way inside the cavern and tossed his victim on the dirty floor. The clay was damp and slimy but that didn’t bother him. She wouldn’t live long enough to care either. He paused to light a camping lantern, he had stored there and the room had a soft glow of light where before it was just cold and dark.
When Jessie hit the floor, she groaned but didn’t wake up. He had to kick her a few times to roust her completely. With her hands still tied behind her back, she whimpered with each new kick. Finally, she called out, “Stop, please stop.”
Jordan Tate glared down at her. “You know something lady, you are far more trouble than you’re worth.”
