In Case of Death (The Adventures of Gabriel Celtic Book 3)

by J. T. Lewis

  After all, no one had bested him since old Roy had sent him to the hospital all those years before.

  And I’m not about to let a bunch of half-assed investigators start now! he whispered angrily.

  Chapter 78

  September 29, 1999

  Arriving in Greensburg, we made our way to the Eastern search zone. Pulling to the side of the first street in the development, Matterhorn, I pulled out the map and we worked through our search grid for the day.

  “I’m with Raven on this,” Preacher mumbled, “I don’t think he will be here, showing off his wealth and sponsoring tea parties and such.”

  I laughed at Preacher’s assessment, and told him I agreed with him, but that we needed to continue with our due diligence on the case.

  I could be wrong after all.

  Mumbling to himself, Preacher seemed to settle in for the long and boring process ahead.

  ***

  Meanwhile, in the Western zone of search, Abby and Nate weren’t having any better luck.

  “C’mon,” Nate pleaded, “It’s my turn to drive! If I have to sit in this seat for another hour looking at house after house…I’ll go crazy!”

  “No-can-do bucko!” Abby exclaimed as she made a turn into another cul-de-sac, “My car, my rules. Besides, you were ok with it when we started.”

  “That was yesterday!” Nate nearly whined, “How could I know that I would be signing up for days of this!”

  Abby shook her head.

  “Nate, seriously, concentrate on the search!”

  “And that’s another thing; we still don’t know what we are even looking for!”

  “A plain looking house, average, the more average the better?” he questioned with annoyance.

  “Seriously? Every house we have looked at matches that description!”

  Reaching over, Abby patted Nate’s leg.

  “If Gabe thinks it is a plain looking house, it probably is. Don’t forget that we are also looking for something around it that looks out of place.”

  “Well, I doubt it will be a rusted out car like he suggested. Local ordinances would prohibit such a thing.”

  Abby nodded, “And that’s why we keep looking for something else.”

  Nate grumbled, hunching himself lower in his seat as he started looking once more out the passenger window.

  “You’re incorrigible,” he mumbled as he eyed the next house.

  Abby just grinned.

  ***

  A Porsche flew by our car, the third one we had seen that morning. I craned my neck to glance at it in the side mirror, but couldn’t make out anything that seemed hokey about it.

  “Lots of well-to-do people here,” Preacher observed, “Lots of high-priced toys.”

  Nodding, I took the next left onto Alpine.

  “It’s what some people live for, the trappings of wealth,” I answered evenly, watching a stately Tudor slide past my window.

  There was silence for a few minutes before Preacher continued.

  “What do you live for Gabe?”

  I was taken aback by the question.

  “What do you mean Preacher?” I asked with a questioning glance toward his side of the car.

  “I’m not trying to be nosey Gabe, I was just wondering what you aspired to in this life besides being a successful investigator?”

  I was momentarily stumped.

  I hadn’t given much thought to anything as far as a future went since I had lost Betty. It seemed I had been living my life mostly reacting to any situations as they arose.

  I went to Peru because I wanted to get away from life.

  I came back only because my partner Frank had been killed.

  I hadn’t thought of children in years, now I had Abby.

  I hadn’t given any thought to quitting the Prosecutor’s, yet had done so easily.

  When Abby suggested we go into business together, that’s what we did.

  None of it planned, none of it thought out.

  “Umm,” I started, evading an answer, “Why don’t you tell me your aspirations first Preacher. You already know more about me than I do about you.”

  Smiling, Preacher leaned back comfortably in his seat while still keeping his eye on the passing houses.

  “Oh, mine are pretty simple Gabe.” Holding up the ever-present Bible, “I found the Lord, and I aspire to follow his word daily…sometimes with less success than others I’m afraid.”

  I smiled at his admission.

  “When I arrived here, my only aspiration was to escape running a bookstore…and to find you. Other than that, I strive only to live a quiet life of studying the Bible and working on my hobbies. And of course I would like to avoid anyone collecting a bounty on my corpse.”

  Sitting up straighter then, he looked at me through Elvis glasses. “My options are rather limited Gabe. Through decisions made by both myself, and sometimes others, I can only do so much with the rest of my life on this Earth.”

  “But I’m ok with that!” he grinned, leaning back once more comfortably in his seat.

  “But you my friend, you are in a much different situation than I. You’ve lost your wife sure, and I’m not making light of that, but you are blessed in so many other ways.”

  “You have a daughter that loves you, that sought you out from halfway around the world.”

  “You have a successful business that can go anywhere you want it to go.”

  “And…you have two beautiful women vying for your love. Have you given any thought about what to do about that?”

  ***

  “Did you see that?” Abby gasped as a Porsche zoomed by them at high speed.

  “Yeah,” Nate answered dreamily, “cool car! Even that guy would probably let me drive once in awhile.”

  Shaking her head, Abby pulled back out onto the main thoroughfare from the cul-de-sac they had just investigated.

  “Just so you know, your whining isn’t helping your cause for getting any later you know.”

  Sighing loudly, Nate sat up straighter in his seat.

  “I’m sorry Abby, but monotonous and I have never been very good friends.”

  Leaning over, he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

  “Forgive me?” he implored, using his best puppy dog eyes.

  Abby grinned. Grabbing him by the chin, she pulled his face to hers, kissing him deeply for a few moments while nearly driving off the road in the process.

  “Wow,” Nate breathed when they separated once more. “I guess that was a yes on the forgiveness then?”

  “You’re still on probation bucko,” Abby replied, concentrating on her next turn. “But come by the house tonight, and bring some toys.”

  Looking at him now with a mischievous smile on her face… “Cause you owe me big-time!”

  ***

  Looking over at Preacher with a tight smile, “You noticed that eh?”

  Nodding, Preacher returned my smile. “It would be hard to miss my friend.”

  I shook my head then. “It’s a moot point anyway. I can’t even begin to think about a relationship with this case going on. Besides, I don’t know if I’m ready yet…or if I ever will be for that matter.”

  Nodding again, Preacher seemed to be thinking over what to say next.

  “And then there is that other thing…” he started.

  “Other thing? I questioned, not having a clue as to what he was talking about.

  Instead of responding with words, he first pointed to the back of his neck.

  “Your mark,” he finally said with determination.

  I sighed, “Are you still on that?” I questioned. “You can’t be serious!”

  “Pretty serious,” he responded. “I’ve studied this extensively Gabe. I ran a bookstore if you will remember. Plus, I’ve dug into it further since I discovered it on your neck.”

  “Oh yeah?” I asked incredulously, “Please regale me with your wisdom!”

  Ignoring my sarcastic response, “No one really knows what the m
ark of the angel means to an individual that has it Gabe. But others that have been purported to have had it in history have reputedly done great things…important things…for mankind.”

  “Reputedly?” I questioned, enjoying listening to his nonsensical explanation.

  Preacher nodded again. “Ancient texts are hard to interpret, and supposedly no one has seen one in the last 2000 years or so.”

  Speak of the devil; my neck started burning at that moment. I rubbed on it, now aggravated at the whole conversation.

  “Can we just drop this please?” I asked while continuing to rub my neck. “I have bigger worries at the moment than any ancient rumors you have dug up.”

  Holding up his hands in surrender, he sat back into his seat once again, remaining quiet for a few moments.

  “So what’s your stance on having the trappings of wealth Gabe?” He asked suddenly.

  Surprised at the changeup in the conversation, I nonetheless already knew the answer to that question.

  “Not interested,” I exclaimed, “In any of it.”

  “Having more money than one knows what to do with, living in a house that is ten times bigger than you need? I wouldn’t be comfortable with any of that!”

  “Thought so,” Preacher replied simply, quietly watching another house passing by his window.

  I sat there watching another mansion pass me as I drove, wondering a little about the last question and why Preacher had asked it.

  A vision of Raven popped into my head at that moment as she stood in her plush surroundings, butler by her side, her expensive clothing gracefully accentuating her luscious body.

  Suddenly it clicked in my head.

  I could never live like Raven lived…and she could never lower herself to my meager standing in life either.

  The realization had been right in front of me the whole time.

  Could it really be that simple? I thought to myself in wonder.

  The simplistic realization seemed to take a burden off of me that I hadn’t even really admitted to myself that I had!

  Smiling, I glanced over at Preacher once again.

  He was sitting there looking at me, a huge grin plastered across his face!

  Chapter 79

  September 29, 1999

  “This is strange,” Abby intoned as she moved slowly down the next cul-de-sac.

  “What is?” Nate asked, still dreamy eyed and thinking about the night ahead.

  “There are no houses on this road,” she said quietly as she rounded a curve in the road.

  “Except that one,” she added, pointing ahead.

  Continuing to the end of the road, they were met by a well maintained but smallish ranch house. 100’ back off of the road; it seemed to be an oasis unto itself.

  The rain had stopped an hour before, being replaced now with bright sun. Although the house’s driveway had completely dried, the street still held the runoff of the surrounding lots.

  “Tire tracks!” Abby exclaimed as she slowly approached the property.

  “Wide profile,” Nick added, “Some kind of sports car probably.”

  They both looked at each other simultaneously.

  “The Porsche!” they exclaimed as one.

  “No monuments to a past life though,” Nate muttered, “It doesn’t fit.”

  Abby pulled into the circular cul-de-sac at the end of the street, making her way around it to head back out to the main road.

  Suddenly, she stopped the car.

  “There!” was all she said, as she pointed toward a clump of trees to the side of the structure.

  “Where…I don’t see anything,” Nate said as he scanned the area.

  “Through the trees, a small patch of brown,” Abby answered, moving the car forward slowly.

  In seconds it came into view, a dilapidated shed that definitely did not fit in with its surroundings.

  Abby grinned at Nate, letting the car accelerate the rest of the way around the circle and back toward the main road.

  “You think that’s it?” Nate asked, seeming unsure.

  “It fits,” Abby shrugged. “We should probably come back tonight and look around, especially in the shed.”

  Seeing his exciting night dissolve in front of his eyes, Nate pulled out his cell phone and started punching in numbers.

  “What are you doing?” Abby asked with concern.

  “Calling Allen to get him started on a search warrant,” Nate answered simply, hitting send and putting the phone to his ear.

  Abby crammed on the brakes before reaching over quickly and grabbing Nate’s phone out of his hand.

  “Abby! What the hell?” Nate gasped.

  Hitting the end button, Abby shut off the phone, making sure it was off before throwing it out the window and hitting the accelerator once again.

  “Hey!” Nate screamed at her, turning in his seat and watching as the location of his cell disappeared around the corner.

  “What did you do that for?”

  “To protect you,” Abby responded evenly. “You lost your phone sometime during the search. Things happened very quickly after that…you had no control over the outcome.”

  “An illegal search?”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “I can’t do that! I’m a sworn officer of the court Abby…for that matter…so are you!”

  “Yeah well, I’m thinking about quitting anyway,” she replied with a grin.

  Sitting back in his seat, Nate crossed his arms while shaking his head.

  “Crazy bitch,” he mumbled loud enough for Abby to hear.

  Reaching over quickly, Abby grabbed his chin and pulled his face to hers once more.

  “You better believe it,” she whispered hoarsely, biting his lip gently before kissing him aggressively and then pushing him back, dazed, into his seat.

  “And don’t ever forget it bucko!”

  Chapter 80

  September 29, 1999

  “A shed?” I asked into the phone.

  “Yep!” Abby answered excitedly, “A rundown, ratty looking shed…it doesn’t fit with the house at all!”

  My mind went back to the shed of my dream the night before. Considering what had happened afterward, I had completely forgotten about the beginning of my vision.

  “Does it look kind of like a chicken coop?” I asked, trying to get a handle on her description.

  “Gabe!” Abby exclaimed, “I get my chickens at a grocery store. I have no idea what a chicken coop looks like. If you are asking me if chickens could live in this shed, I would have to say, yes…I guess.”

  “Never mind,” I replied, “It’s not important. I need to get inside that shed and look around though.”

  “Thought you might!” Abby exclaimed, “Wanna meet somewhere and go over a plan?”

  “Sure,” I answered before thinking. “Oh wait…what about Preacher?”

  “No worries,” Abby answered, I could tell she was smiling. “Nate’s mostly on board with this now.”

  ***

  20 minutes later, we met at the huge truck stop outside of town.

  “You!” Nate exclaimed at Preacher as he and Abby walked up to our table. “I saw you at the scene of the shooting!”

  “At least, I thought I saw you!”

  Abby grinned, making the introductions between the two, giving Nate a quick explanation of Preacher’s role and circumstances.

  Nate looked like a puppy that was stuck in a hole with no one to pull him out.

  Extending my hand to him in greeting, I smiled.

  “Welcome to the dark side Nate.”

  Shaking his head, he sat down wearily. “I hope you guys have plenty of work,” he sighed, “Because I’m probably going to lose my job over this…if I’m not arrested!”

  “You’ll be fine,” I assured him, “As long as we don’t screw up!”

  ***

  “I’m in position, over.”

  It was Nate’s voice coming over the cheap walkie-talkies Abby had purchased at W
al-Mart.

  “Ready to commence operation ‘Lost Businessman’…over”

  “Isn’t he cute?” Abby whispered her squeal as she lightly grabbed my arm.

  “Go ahead Nate,” she whispered into the microphone, “Be careful, and remember to try and look stupid.”

  “After today, I’ve got that covered pretty well,” he came back.

  Giggling, “I love youuuu, ” she answered in a sweet whisper,

  “Yeah, whatever,” Nate came back once more, “Ok, going in.”

  The plan of attack that we had devised over cups of bad coffee at the truck stop was simple yet effective.

  At least I thought so.

  Counting on the fact that Bill had never laid eyes on Nate, he would be tasked with approaching the house, ostensibly to ask for directions to the interstate.

  He was our diversion as Abby and I made our way to investigate the shed.

  Preacher would be hidden in the brush in the next lot, keeping an eye on everything with night-vision goggles, ready to come to the rescue should anyone need it.

  Abby and I were hunkered down just outside the copse of trees that surrounded the shed.

  Hearing the approaching car, we watched as Nate pulled into the driveway, leaving his lights on as he loudly closed the car door and headed to the front entrance.

  “Doesn’t seem like anyone is stirring in the shed,” Abby whispered, “They would have heard the car door for sure.”

  Nodding, “Ok, let’s go kid.”

  We made our way quietly through the trees, keeping alert for any noise or movement around us. Looking up the hill, I could see that the house was still dark as Nate’s knocking on the door filled the quietness around us.

  Abby reached the door to the shed first, waiting on me to get close before opening it. Grabbing my gun, I held it before me and nodded to Abby, who opened the door quickly. Flicking on the flashlight I held beside the gun, I stepped inside as the door creaked slightly beside me.

  Abby was with me in seconds, I could hear her anxious breathing on my left side.

  “You can probably see the flashlight from the house through the gaps in the wood,” Abby whispered. Nodding, I flicked the flashlight off and we stood there silently, our eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering in through the siding.