by Robin Mahle
“Sounds like the same vehicle,” Dwight said. “Didn’t you say Mason got a tip on the truck yesterday?”
“Yes.” He continued to press Rickey for answers. “Was it older?” Nick asked. “Come on, you have a clear view into the parking lot. You have to remember.”
Kate wondered why he was hounding the kid. It was clear Stroud was in the same truck and the kid was scared out of his mind. “It’s okay, Rickey. We think we know what it is.”
“Just answer the question.” Nick ignored Kate’s words.
“I’m trying. I swear it. Blue, that’s right. A blue Ford truck, I think it was. I remember the Ford nameplate on the grill. It was one of them extended cabs. That’s right. I remember now.”
“Thank you, Rickey.” Nick patted him on the back. “You did good.” And just like that, he appeared to be himself again.
Kate wondered what the hell just happened but worked to move past it. “You think he’ll be going to another hotel? There isn’t much of a distance between these places. I don’t understand why he’s stopping. It seems an unnecessary risk.”
“Maybe not,” Nick began. “He’s on the move, staying off the roads as much as possible, and he has a destination. Signs are lit up all over the highways and state routes flashing the Amber Alert. Driving is too dangerous. Where he’s headed, I can’t say, but he’s trying like hell to stay low and throw us off. I need to call Mason back and relay the news. This son of a bitch can’t hide from us much longer.”
ELEVEN
Colton waited for the door to open, but the commotion outside continued. Things crashing to the ground, shouts from both the man and the old woman. There seemed to be a struggle between the two of them and Colton feared the old woman was losing. Who was she to him? His mother? Aunt? Too old to be a sister. But now he feared for her life just as he feared for his own. She was screaming now. Oh God, he was going to kill her and it would be his fault. He pounded on the door with the rod and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Help! Help me!”
A great thud sounded and Colton’s shoulders dropped. That was no piece of furniture or decorator vase falling to the ground; that was a person and he knew it could only be her. The noise stopped.
Colton jumped back when the door unlocked and flew open with a furious whoosh of air. He almost dropped the rod and shard of mirror, but managed to cling on to them because they were all that stood between him and the bloodied, deranged man who stood before him.
“Look at what you made me do, you little fucker!” The man stepped aside and waved his arm at the sight of what was just beyond the door.
Colton peered out and revulsion masked his face. The old woman lay on the floor, her arms spread wide, but her legs close together. At first glance, she appeared to be mimicking the Crucifixion. Blood shrouded her face as though it had been poured over her and her silver hair was now stained red with clumps of broken flesh and brain clinging to it. Her eyes stared off into space, hollow and unmoving.
His eyes shifted back to the wild-eyed maniac who seemed ready to pounce. Now Colton knew the true horrors the man was capable of committing and realized he had to fight. He tightened his grip on the household weapons and waited.
“You did this! You killed my grandma!” The man stepped inside, lumbering toward Colton. “You should’ve kept quiet, kid.”
Colton swung the rod with his right hand while plunging the shard toward the man with his left. An elegant move that could have come straight from the likes of a great battle of swords. But this was no sword and Colton was no swordsman. He was just a kid fighting for his life.
The rod bounced off the side of the man’s head. Its plastic composition and his too-light swing wasn’t enough to do damage. The shard was his only hope, but the man pulled back and he missed his target. He tried again and this time connected, but only managed to slice away at the man’s t-shirt. Blood from Colton’s hand ran down his arm from the grip he had on the shard and while adrenaline surged with power through his lanky frame, it wasn’t enough to keep the pain at bay and he dropped the mirror.
The man stepped further inside and closed the bathroom door; a fiendish leer plastered on his blood-spattered face.
» » »
“Thanks for coming by, Agent Scarborough.” Mason led the way to her office while Nick trailed behind. “I know your team is working hard on this investigation and we very much appreciate it. This was a good find.” She held her door open and Nick walked inside.
“We’ve reached out to the State Police and asked them to assist with reviewing DOT cameras, but he’s been staying off the highways so far as we can tell. I just wish we had better news. I’ve got my people working with the deputy as well and so we’re ensuring all the authorities are on the same page.” Nick waited for Mason to sit down behind her desk before he sat across from her. “So the ME got back to you?”
“Yes.” Mason reached for her cell phone and placed it on the desk. “I got this message shortly after we talked. I’m afraid it isn’t good news, but take a listen.” She pressed play.
“Detective Mason, this is Dr. Pendergast. I have the results of the autopsy on the victim in question. I’ll email you the full report, but in short, we calculated the time of death to have occurred on April 28th, at approximately 9:30 p.m.”
Mason ended the message. “I’ll shoot you a copy of the report as soon as I receive it, but she was taken on April 23rd, and that means...”
“That means, if Stroud is sticking to his M.O., Colton has a day at best. Considering the circumstances and the fact that Stroud knows we’re on to him. He had all the time in the world with his first victim. He may feel more pressure now.”
“Exactly.” She looked at the time on her phone. “Listen, you want to grab a bite to eat? I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Sure.” While Nick didn’t have an appetite for food, he was more than ready for a drink and the idea of a fresh perspective from Detective Mason was appealing. He would have to update the Talbots and was hesitant to disappoint them once again. This meant he could stave that off for a time. He couldn’t endure the look in Jake’s and Rachel’s eyes each time he told them they were getting close and to be patient. What a crock of shit that was. He knew it and they knew it. So yeah, dinner was exactly what he needed right now.
» » »
A quiet café nestled between an Irish pub and an antiques store that had closed for the night was where they settled on as they drove through downtown Fairfax. Mason offered to drive since Nick made the trip down to see her and he didn’t argue. She pulled alongside the curb, stepping out to feed the meter.
“I could’ve gotten that,” Nick said as he approached.
“I got it. It’s no problem. If we’re longer than two hours, I’ll let you feed it. Deal?” Mason walked toward the café.
“Deal.”
The place was busy but not so much so that they’d have to wait. There was no time to wait and Nick just wanted a drink and then get the hell out of there and back to the office. Nick spotted the perfect table and when the hostess approached, he pointed toward it. “Can we sit there?”
“Of course, sir. Follow me.”
Nick pulled Mason’s chair out for her.
“Thank you.” She sat down and adjusted her seat.
The detective had a nice smile and the way she looked at him felt good. He’d noticed her stolen glances toward him more than once since their first meeting. It had been a while since a woman looked at him like that. “I hope this is okay. It’s a nice view.” Why was this beginning to feel like a date? he wondered.
“It’s perfect.”
Small conversation dominated the first ten minutes before their entrees arrived. Nick did everything he could to not discuss the case, although it clearly weighed heavily in each of their minds.
“Is there anything else I can bring you?” the waiter asked.
“This will do, thank you,” Nick replied. At her insistence, Nick had begun to refer to Detective Mason as A
ndrea and so he felt obliged to offer the same level of familiarity. “Andrea?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” She began to raise the glass of wine. “I suppose we’ll save the toasts for when we find Colton.” A small, tender smile appeared on her lips.
It was the first time Nick noticed how perfectly full they were. Just enough to make him wonder what they tasted like. Then again, he was already on his second whiskey and that might have had something to do with it. Kate was always worrying about how much he drank. But she wasn’t here right now. In fact, last he had heard, good ol’ Mike was in town and so she had someone to talk to and a warm body to lie next to. Yeah, the whiskey was kicking in all right. “So, Andrea, what do you do for fun?” He regretted the question as soon as it rolled off his tongue. Trite and absurd, all things considered.
“I’m afraid there isn’t much time for fun, and I bet you’re in the same boat.”
“I guess so. Do you have any kids?”
“No. I’m divorced but fortunately never reproduced with the likes of my ex-husband. But we won’t go into that.” She studied him for a moment. “Somehow I don’t think you’re a small-talk kind of guy, Nick. Just think of me as a co-worker. I don’t need you to sugarcoat a conversation. If you’d like to let off steam about the investigation, I understand and, honestly, would expect it.”
Nick acknowledged her candor and wasn’t surprised by it. It had been less than a week, but he’d seen her no-nonsense style first hand and it was refreshing. “Okay. I don’t feel like we’re getting close. I feel like Lyle Stroud is slipping through my fingers and I’m going to have to tell my friend that his son is dead. That I was helpless to stop him. And that’s a pretty shitty thing to have to face.” There, he’d said it. An admission he’d kept from his own team because he always felt obliged to keep up the morale. That was his job. He and he alone shouldered that responsibility and this time around, it was bone crushing.
“Yeah, it’s a shitty thing,” she began. “A position that I often find myself in and it doesn’t matter what anyone else says, the reality of telling someone they’d lost a loved one, seeing the pain in their eyes, well, that’s the worst part about this job.” She took a sip of wine.
A silence fell between them, save for the sounds of background noise from the restaurant patrons and the occasional clinking of a glass.
Nick felt that familiar loneliness creeping in. When thoughts of a woman who knew nothing of his feelings crawled through his brain, and all he wanted to do was drown them in the smoky, spicy burn of Johnny Walker Red. And if it drowned the thoughts of the boy too, then all the better. He was tired, but looking into the still-fresh eyes of the woman across from him, maybe she could be his savior, at least for tonight.
“Hey, you ready to get out of here? I’m going to have to head back to the office soon.” He glanced at his watch. “But, um, I might have a little time.”
Her eyes revealed that she understood his meaning and she raised her hand for the check.
» » »
The door of her apartment flung open as they almost tumbled inside. Nick pressed her against the wall, kissing her full lips, and now he knew they tasted like the silky, buttery wine she’d had at dinner.
She pulled back for a moment. “Wait.” She locked the deadbolt and took Nick’s hand, leading him to the couch. Unbuttoning her blouse, she exposed the perfect heart-shaped cleavage that peeked out from her satin, flesh-toned bra.
Nick kissed the top of her breasts, pushing back all other thoughts but this one. That he was about to have sex with an attractive, intelligent woman who understood exactly what this was—a release; one that they both needed.
When the moment of passion ended, Nick raised from the couch and reached for his pants that were crumpled on the floor. A few loose coins fell from his pockets and after he pulled them up, he grabbed the fallen change and shoved it back in. His holster rested on the seat of the chair kitty-cornered to the sofa. He hadn’t yet said anything as he pulled himself back together. He wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Thanks? That would make him sound like a douche. Which, maybe in this moment, he was. “I’d better be getting back to the office.”
Andrea secured her blouse again and buttoned her suit pants against her slim waist. “Sure. I’d better check in myself.”
Now he felt bad because he thought she was making that up. Maybe not, but he supposed it didn’t matter in the end. “I had a nice time.”
Andrea Mason was a big girl and knew how to wear her big girl pants. “Same here. I’ll walk you out.” She started toward the door and pulled it open while Nick was still several feet away. “I’ll be in touch if I hear anything.”
“Sounds good.” Nick gave her a gentle peck on the cheek and smiled. “I’ll see you later.”
» » »
Kate had returned home for a late dinner with Mike. He was due to catch the red-eye out of town and back to Jacksonville, so they didn’t have much time left.
“I’m sorry it’s so late.” Kate pierced a piece of steak on to her fork.
“You’ve apologized three times already since you got home. You don’t need to do that. I knew things were crazy for you right now. I’m just glad we got to spend some time together.”
“It’s just disappointing when you leave.”
“Listen, Kate, I know we haven’t talked about this lately, but have you given any more thought to what your plans are for this place?”
“You mean, the lease?” She already knew where this was going.
“Yes. Did you decide if you’re going to stay here another year?”
His eyes were full of hope and she loved that about him, but she hadn’t decided. In fact, she hadn’t thought much about it at all. Time was running out. She had one month to come to a decision. And in her world, everything could change in a month.
“I’m sorry, Mike. I haven’t had a chance to really lay it all out. I mean, I think it’s time to buy, considering my probation is almost up. No point in throwing money out the window every month.” Her pragmatism was coming through in spades and she tried hard to separate Mike’s needs from that of her own because, in the end, she wouldn’t let a man decide her fate, no matter how strong her feelings were for him. She’d grown from the woman she once was. There was no time for flights of fancy, believing in the “one.” She’d had that and it was gone now.
“So, you’ll move? You’ll buy a place of your own?” Mike looked as though he had more to say on the matter but held his tongue for her reply.
Kate looked around the house and smiled. “This place has been good for me, but I guess there isn’t much point in staying, unless Mrs. Mitchell wanted to sell, but I doubt that. It’s a good income for her; she owns it outright.”
Mike knocked back a sizable swig of beer from the half-empty bottle. “I guess what I’m getting at is I’d like to know how I fit into the equation. I know it’s only been what, five or six months? But I think you know how I feel about you. I think you feel the same.”
“Yes, I feel the same.” It was no longer a question of money for Kate. Her permanent salary would be substantially more than her probationary one and she still had Marshall’s stash, although she’d still considered buying a new car with that. Either way, it wouldn’t be as much of a financial burden on her anymore. She was free to go in whatever direction she chose. “I don’t want you to leave your job for me, Mike. I guess that’s what it really boils down to. And, I’m going to be in this field office for the foreseeable future. Are you prepared to leave behind the life you’ve built? The career you’ve built? To come here and start over?”
“Kate, I’m a small-town cop. I’m not going to make sheriff because the sheriff isn’t going anywhere—ever. I’m thirty-four, I have no kids.” He captured her gaze at these words. “Changing isn’t a problem for me. I don’t look at it as giving up anything. I look at it as gaining you—gaining a life with you.” He raised his fork again. “Besides, I could get a job with Metro Police. I may ha
ve already made a call or two.”
She tried to conceal her mild surprise. They had talked about this and so of course he would look into such things, but this caught her unawares. Kate really had no idea what she wanted or what she wanted from him. Her conflict came not from a lack of feelings for him, but from a fear of losing someone she loved again. It was capricious at best and irrational at worst. Nevertheless, that was how she felt. She simply couldn’t answer him, which spoke volumes.
“You know what, forget what I said.” Mike began to walk back his words. “You’re involved in a case right now and this isn’t the time. I get that. These aren’t decisions that can be made on the fly or in the afterglow of lovemaking. These are serious considerations for both of us and I’ll leave it at that for now.”
She sensed his frustration but didn’t want to pursue the conversation any further. “So, you all packed and ready to go? Looks like we’ll need to head out in twenty minutes or so.”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” he replied.
TWELVE
The blood ran from his hands beneath the running water and into the sink, creating a crimson veined pool that slowly drained away. He gazed into the mirror and a pale face glistening with sweat and blood spatters stared back at him. His chest still heaved from both the thrill and the physical exertion, leaving him with a euphoria that would carry him through the grueling tasks ahead.
The death of Lyle’s grandmother was to be expected, however, he hadn’t wanted it to be so soon. He knew the moment he arrived at her home that it would mean her life. But she was the only relative he knew they wouldn’t find. His father’s mother, she had been abandoned by her husband while he remarried another who helped raise his father. Stroud had spent time with her over the summers while he was growing up but hadn’t seen her in more than ten years.
