Burning Resolution

by T. M. Cromer

  “Pull up maps. Let’s see if we can get an aerial view of the landscape and neighboring houses,” Zack directed Shonda.

  “Smart,” Mason muttered.

  “I have my moments.”

  “No house directly behind,” Shonda pointed out. “But on either side the neighbors appear to have tall, wooden fences.”

  “Think she’ll be looking out the back for us?” Mason asked.

  “If I had to guess, she will have put Erica in the front room and Jacob in the back of the house.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Erica is the bigger threat if she got loose. She’d want to have her within sight at all times. It stands to reason if Christie is watching out the front for any attack, then she would have Erica tied up in there with her.” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “I don’t think she would view Jacob as a potential problem. She’d be more inclined to leave him alone for longer periods. But in a rear room, he’s far enough from the road that if he yelled, he probably wouldn’t be heard.”

  “Makes sense.” Mason nodded agreement. “Zack, I think we should call the police. A swat team might get in there with no casualties.”

  “They won’t show up without fanfare. I don’t trust that she won’t set the house on fire the second she sees someone,” he said raggedly. “I can’t take the risk.”

  They all shared a worried look. Shonda was the first to break the silence. “Okay, here’s what we do… I have a handgun in the safe. One of you can take it. I’ll grab the first-aid kit and be waiting out by the fence line. We get Jacob out first. Have him run to where I am, if he’s capable. If not, shoot me a text, and I’ll come get him. That leaves you two to split up and search for Erica.

  “Once I have Jacob, we’ll run for the car and phone the police. So you’ll only have about seven or eight minutes to get to her from the time you rescue Jacob. Mason should have the gun.”

  “You think he is the clearer headed one of the two of us?” Zack asked, shocked she would think so.

  “In this case he is. Otherwise, I would say you most definitely are.”

  “Thanks for the show of support,” came the caustic reply of the man in question.

  “Hey, you’re the firm believer in people telling it like it is,” she said with a hint of spite in her tone and expression.

  Zack promptly changed the subject. The conversation could only deteriorate from here. “Where did you learn tactical planning?”

  “I’ve helped Erica plot a few novels.”

  Her cheeky grin had Zack laughing and dropping a quick kiss on her lips.

  “Hey!” Mason warned.

  “Snooze you lose, pal.”

  “Whatever. Let’s get going. We only have a half hour before she calls again. It might take us that long to get there. If she leaves in the meantime, we’re screwed.”

  Mason wasn’t wrong, and his comment had Zack rethinking getting the police to the location. Instinct shouted against that course of action. He’d learned the hard way to trust his inner voice.

  By the time they arrived on the road behind the house in Wisteria Estates, Zack still had ten minutes before Christie was due to ring him. The two men carefully walked the wooded lot they’d discussed earlier.

  The lot was wider than it was deep. Zack decided it could work in their favor. Mason went back for Shonda, just as the phone rang.

  “Christie?”

  “Hello, lover.”

  “Tell me what you want. How do I get you to give me back Jacob and release Erica.”

  “You don’t want her back, huh?” she asked. He detected a change in her demeanor from earlier. She sounded more combative. “I guess you won’t mind me killing her right now in that case.”

  “No!” he shouted, then winced. If the sound of his yell echoed through the empty lot, she might hear it in the house and realize he hid feet from the back door.

  His brother and Shonda appeared in his peripheral vision. He made the universal “wait” signal. “What I mean to say is, I don’t want anyone to die. She’d planned to go to Florida today. She was leaving me. Wasn’t that what you wanted? Can’t you just let her go? What do I have to do to get you to let them both go unharmed?”

  He realized he’d taken on a begging quality, but he wasn’t too proud to plead with her for the lives of his loved ones.

  “I’ll tell you what, you come into the house—don’t think I don’t know you are close—and I will let you pick which one gets to live.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He flashed a terrified glance at his brother. How had she known? Mason, unable to hear the conversation playing out, stayed focused on him, frozen in place next to Shonda. Their fingers interwoven, locking them together.

  “Lie to me and they both die, Zack,” Christie snapped. “Come into the clearing. Bring your brother and his friend.”

  She disconnected and once again, Zack was helpless and frustrated she’d managed to best them.

  “She knows we’re here.”

  “How the fuck could she…” Mason trailed off and studied the trees, searching for something. He dropped Shonda’s hand and retraced his steps. “There.”

  “What is it?”

  “A camera,” his brother said, disgusted. “How the hell did we not allow for her to have set up security measures?”

  “She wants us to step into the backyard. There’s no guarantee she won’t pull something or shoot us where we stand,” Zack sighed heavily. “I can’t ask you to take that risk.”

  In that moment, an explosion rocked the ground and debris landed mere feet from where they gathered dumbfounded.

  “No!” he screamed as he dashed toward the house.

  Mason grabbed him when he would have flung himself into the flames. The two of them crashed to the ground. His brother’s arms were secure around his head and shoulders, unwilling to let him endanger himself on a lost cause.

  “Jacob!” he sobbed.

  * * *

  Zack sat in the back of the rescue vehicle as paramedics treated the minor cuts and burns he’d received. Heartbroken and mind numb, he was unable to answer any of the questions the police put to him. Mason and Shonda took up the slack.

  As he stared at the charred, smoldering mess, he wondered what he could have done differently. Once the body bags were brought out, he shrugged off the first responders’ ministrations and made his way to the bodies. He needed to see. When he would have reached for the zipper, Bucky grabbed his hand.

  “No, Zack. There’s nothing to see. You don’t want to remember them like this.”

  “Any sign of her?” he asked, throat raw from crying and smoke.

  “None yet. But we will find her. She won’t get away with this.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that tune sung before. Pardon me if I don’t believe it.” His tone was cold and hard, matching what had once been a warm, beating heart. He had nothing left. “I’m going to kill her.”

  “Zack,” Bucky warned.

  He raised dead, colorless eyes to his friend. His only reason to live now was revenge on Christie.

  “I’ll take him home.” He heard Dane say.

  His younger brother had shown up sometime around an hour ago. Zack assumed Mason or Shonda had called him.

  “I can’t go back there. Not tonight.”

  “Okay. No problem. I’ll take you back to my place. You can crash there.”

  “I can’t…” What? Sleep? Eat? Live?

  “Zack, let Dane take you home,” Mason suggested. “I’ll see to everything here.”

  Zack studied the other man. Haggard could be the only word used to describe him. Perhaps haunted worked, too. Shonda stood silent and mourning by his side. He nodded his agreement and climbed into Dane’s black Enclave.

  If he could summon up an ounce of concern, he would have felt terrible for how heavy the smoke stench clinging to him was. Had it been his vehicle, he’d have been pissed it would take multiple detailings to remove
the smell. He stared unblinking through the front windshield, watching the powwow between his siblings and Bucky. A heated debate ensued with Mason at the core.

  Let them sort it out. He couldn’t play referee right now. Fatigue hit fast and furious. Closing his burning eyes, Zack rested his head against the seat. The last thing he remembered was wondering how he would pick up the pieces of his shattered life.

  Chapter Twenty

  Zack essentially slept round the clock for the next thirty-six hours. He woke twice to pee, take a shot or two of whiskey, and head back to the bed in Dane’s spare room. At one point early on, he remembered McFatty and tossed the question out to his brother.

  “We’ll see to him.”

  Trusting it would be done, Zack had headed back to bed. On the third day, as he lounged against the headboard, staring at the black screen of the television sitting on the dresser, his mother entered the room.

  “Charlie?” he croaked.

  “He’s going to pull through,” Connie said with a smile.

  “Good. That’s good.”

  Tears crowded his mother’s blue eyes. “Zack, you need to shower and come eat.”

  “I can’t eat anything. Not yet.”

  “Will you at least shower and shave?”

  He ran a hand over his whisker-laden jaw. “Yeah,” he said, making no move to get out of bed.

  Connie moved from the doorway and perched on the edge of the mattress. “Judith was released while the D.A.’s office builds their case against her. She’s made a point of staying away from the hospital, refusing to see Charlie.

  “She’s so filled with hate. I can’t believe she hasn’t been here to offer her condolences about Jacob and Erica. She—”

  Zack held up a hand, cutting her off. “Mom, please. I couldn’t give two shits about Judith right now.”

  “Zachary!” she gasped.

  Sighing with regret, he lifted her hand to place a kiss on the palm. He offered a conciliatory smile which probably resembled more of a grimace. “Sorry. I just can’t do this, not yet. Please understand.”

  “Don’t ask me to leave you alone. Seeing you hurting is killing me,” she said raggedly.

  “That’s not going to change anytime soon,” he whispered, emotion clogging his throat.

  And like she’d done when he’d been a small child, hurting over some unfortunate incident or accident, she hugged him. If she could ease his suffering and take away his pain, Zack was sure she would.

  For the first time, Zack sobbed.

  * * *

  Three hours later, after a shower and change of clothes, Zack stepped into the dining room to join his family. Mason told him Shonda had left to pick up Erica’s parents at the airport. The idea of having to face her mother and father after being directly responsible for her death gnawed at his insides.

  That his last words to her had been in anger because she’d wanted to leave and avoid the one person bent on destroying her created such self-hatred and anger, he wondered if he’d ever be able to recover.

  He leaned a shoulder against the window frame, watching his family bustle about, setting out dishes of food. The thought of eating made him nauseous. Would he ever be hungry again? A slamming car door drew everyone’s attention.

  “Shonda shouldn’t be back yet,” Mason stated, a frown marring his handsome face.

  The ringing doorbell had them funneling down the hall to see who their visitor was.

  Dane opened the door to admit Bucky and Officer Tidwell.

  “Bucky, Marty, what’s up?” Zack asked.

  “Zack, we’re sorry to disturb you at a time like this, but can we talk to you?”

  He sent a sharp look Mason’s way.

  “Sure. Right through here,” he said, leading the way to the living room. “What’s going on?”

  “The coroner pulled DNA samples from the bodies found on the scene. We’d like to test yours against the boy they found.”

  “Is that all? A phone call wouldn’t have sufficed?” Dane asked.

  Heart thudding heavily, Zack leaned forward in his seat. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  The two officers exchanged a speaking glance.

  “Buck,” Zack growled.

  “The DNA came back to a woman who’d been reported missing four months ago. We’re still waiting on that of the boy.”

  Silence reigned as the implication sunk in. Erica was still alive. It could mean Jacob was as well.

  “I can go to the hospital or to the station right now,” Zack told them.

  “Actually, that’s the reason why Marty is here. He is part of our forensic science team. He brought the swab kit.”

  “Let me get this straight. You’re saying the woman found in the ruins after the explosion was not Erica?” Connie asked.

  “That is correct, Mrs. Sharp,” Bucky confirmed.

  “So it is probable she is still alive. If that is the case, maybe my grandson is, too?”

  “Yes.”

  Connie started to cry. Zack jumped up to hold her close. “It’s a good thing, Mom.”

  “I know. I just…” She shook her head, and he understood. No words were needed as hope flooded into the hearts and minds of the family. “I have to tell Charlie.”

  “No!” Marty said, jerking upright. “We want to keep this under wraps for the moment.”

  “But Charlie is Jacob’s grandfather. He has the right to know,” she protested.

  “Mrs. Sharp, no one but those in this room can know we suspect the bodies belong to anyone other than Ms. Sutton and your grandson. It could hamper our investigation and alert Christie we are on to her deception. Do you understand?” He asked, not unkindly.

  “Yes, but we can swear Charlie to secrecy,” she said, patting Zack’s chest and gazing at him for support.

  “Marty’s right, Mom. We need to keep this under wraps until we find them. If Christie finds out, she might hurt them for real.”

  “What about Erica’s parents and Shonda? They’ll be here any second.”

  Zack cast a worried glance toward Marty. The smaller the circle, the more likely they were to keep the secret.

  “I don’t think we should tell them, Mom,” Mason said.

  “Mason! You can’t keep something like that from her parents or your girlfriend,” his mother said, shocked.

  “Shonda’s not my girlfriend! For Christ’s sake, Ma.”

  Those were the words the Suttons and Shonda walked in on. They all saw the immediate hurt on her face before she composed her features into a blank mask.

  Mason rubbed the spot between his brows in agitation, and Shonda made an excuse to be on her way.

  “Shonda, hold up,” Mason barked.

  “I’m fine. It’s not like I haven’t known the score from the start. Take care of your family, Mason,” she said sharply before making good her escape.

  “Goddammit!” he swore before following her out.

  “Ohhh, he’s in big troublllle!” Dane joked.

  Because the police department needed Zack’s DNA and because the Suttons were there to witness the exchange, they were told the truth after being sworn to secrecy and cautioned to appear as if they were in mourning at all times. No one knew if or when Christie might be observing them.

  * * *

  The lab agreed to rush the results on the child’s identification. Zack called and had the dental records forwarded to the police department. Within eight hours, the conclusion was that the male child found in the house hadn’t been Jacob.

  For the second time in twenty-four hours, Zack cried. This time the tears were from relief. This time, Christie wouldn’t win. He intended to bring Jacob and Erica home.

  That evening, as he replayed the day’s events while getting ready for bed, he remembered McFatty. Erica would kill him if something happened to her cat. He figured it was about time to go home anyway. Dane had been pretty tolerant of the invasion of his space.

  Zack sought out his brother to let him know he intended
to head home. He found him in the study sipping a glass of whiskey and staring into the dancing flames of the fireplace. A shudder rippled through him. He wasn’t sure he could look at fire now and not be reminded of Christie’s pyromaniac ways and all the damage she’d done in the name of love.

  “You okay?” Dane asked without looking up.

  He perched on the edge of a leather armchair. “I’m not sure. I’m better knowing they might be alive. Still, the uncertainty is driving me insane.”

  “Yeah, well don’t be throwing the ‘I’ word around so readily,” Dane snorted without amusement.

  “I hear ya. Dane? I wanted to thank you for the last few days.”

  Sad blue eyes met Zack’s own. “You don’t have to thank me. Not for having your back.”

  “I do. And apologize, as well. I’ve been a bit of an animal recently. You’ve never said a negative word. Thank you,” he said gruffly.

  “You’re my brother, and I love you.” It was all that needed to be said. They both absorbed the impact of the words. They would do anything for one another.

  “I’m going to head home tonight.”

  “Why not wait until morning?”

  “McFatty.”

  Dane laughed as he always did when he heard the name of Erica’s ornery cat. “Do you suppose he’s mean because of the name?”

  “He’s mean because cats are assholes,” Zack told him.

  A chuckle was his response.

  “But I’m sure the name didn’t help.”

  “You don’t have to rush off. I actually picked up a feeder and one of those water fountain things so he should be good until morning.”

  “What about the litter?”

  “She set up one of those automatic scoopers. Those things are awesome.”

  Zack toyed with the idea of having a few drinks with his brother, but gave into the feeling which had been nagging him all day. “I can’t explain it without sounding lame. It’s just something is telling me I should get home asap.”

  Dane rose to his feet and set his glass on an end table. “Let’s go.”