BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1)

by Philip Duncan

“Where is he?”

  She pointed behind Decklan, so he turned around and walked toward a group of officers talking by the coffee pot.

  “Which one of you is Officer Smith?” Decklan asked the group of cops directly.

  “That would be me. How can I help you?” Smith replied.

  “When was the last time you spoke with Chief Jennings?” Decklan asked.

  “Two days ago, I believe,” Smith said.

  “Did he mention anything to you about taking some days off or going on vacation or anything like that?”

  “No sir, we just spoke about one of the games that was on TV the night before. That was it,” Smith replied.

  Decklan could tell he wasn’t going to get any answers here, so he decided to go to Parker’s house and see if he was there.

  ***

  He pulled up to the front of the house and parked his truck in the same spot as before he left for Russia in front of the yard. He wasn’t sure what he was getting ready to walk into, so he grabbed his 9mm out of his glove compartment and made sure one was in the chamber. He approached the front door with caution but didn’t knock or ring the doorbell. Instead, he turned the doorknob to see if it was unlocked, and it was.

  Strange.

  Parker was the Chief of Police. He never left his front door unlocked. Not even if it was the middle of the day. Decklan slowly allowed himself inside, making sure his gun was in the firing position. If there was anything he had learned over the years, it was you never knew what could be waiting on the other side of a door. He quietly closed the door behind him and made his way farther into the house. He knew Parker’s wife didn’t work so she should be home, unless she was in town running errands. He headed for the door that led into their garage to check if they were home. Only one car, hers. He headed for the kitchen to see if she was there, but it was empty. He felt like he was right back inside Vladimir’s house again the way he was tactically moving from room to room, not knowing what to expect. The entire main floor was empty, so he headed for the second floor of their two-story house. It didn’t have a basement like Decklan’s did. They didn’t have the money to afford a mansion on the beach…well, maybe now they did, with the two-million-dollar bribe Parker took.

  The first room he checked was the master. They didn’t have kids so if anyone were upstairs that is where they would most likely be. The door was cracked so he could get a slight visual of the inside before entering. The only thing he could make was a tall shadow slowly dancing back and forth on the wall. He pushed the door open, completely unprepared for what he was about to see.

  Holy shit!

  CHAPTER 22

  He walked over to the bedside table, where he found a folded note with his name written on the outside. It was clear to him before he opened it that it was a suicide note. What else could it be, considering Parker’s wife was hanging from the ceiling fan.

  Dear Decklan,

  If you are reading this then I’m dead and Parker is gone. I’m so sorry what happened to your family. I loved Marie like a sister, and I loved your two precious children like they were my own. We never had any children so I can’t imagine the pain you must be feeling to have lost them so suddenly. Parker confessed everything to me and tried to convince me to leave with him. I promise I had no idea of his involvement or else I would have come to you. No one deserves to go through what you are going through and my heart is broken that my husband, your brother, had a hand in it. I hope you can forgive me for my ignorance and one day find peace and happiness again. I can’t be certain where Parker is going, but I do hope you find him. I love my husband very much, but I would never be able to forgive him or look at him the same again. I will tell your family you love them! Goodbye!

  Love,

  Emma

  Decklan wasn’t sure what to think but his heart did go out to Emma. Too many people had died, and all that blood was on Parker’s hands. He folded the note back and put it in his pocket as he turned to leave.

  He called the police to inform them that there was an apparent suicide at the residence, but he didn’t mention that Parker was on the run. He didn’t want to risk the police getting involved and getting to him before he could. Plus, with everything that had happened, Decklan couldn’t be sure that there weren’t other cops in on it too. If that were the case then he would eventually pay them a visit, but right now he needed to find Parker.

  He drove away from the house and back home. He didn’t know where Parker would run off to and hide like the coward that he so clearly was. Decklan racked his brain for anything that could potentially be a good place to start. He was pulling back into his driveway when something clicked.

  Holy shit! I know where he’s going. Camp Alkulana.

  He quickly put his truck in reverse and headed back out on the road. He headed north, wanting to get there as fast as he could. He knew his brother had a head start, but he wasn’t sure how long. Although he wasn’t one hundred percent sure, something in his gut was telling him there was no other place he would go. However, if he was right, Parker would probably suspect Decklan figuring it out, which could only mean one thing…he was going to be ready for his arrival.

  Several hours had passed and he was over halfway there. The path was almost a straight shot up, so the drive seemed quick, but he still had a few hours to kill. Decklan seemed to find himself in this similar situation a lot lately. Alone, traveling somewhere away from home, with time to think and reflect. Everything Decklan had been through in his life made living inside his own head difficult most days, but that had increased dramatically over the past month. He had lost his entire family, a friend on a similar mission, his sister-in-law, and now he was probably going to have to kill his little brother. This was a lot to bear, and most men would crack under this pressure, but Decklan was wired differently, and he would stop at nothing to get the job done.

  A few more hours had passed, and he was now driving through the beautiful mountains of Virginia, which meant he was getting close. If he was only thirty minutes away, then that meant Parker was already there and probably holed up in one of the cabins spread across the miles of property.

  Camp Alkulana was a place they both spent most of their summers when they were kids. Their mom was the camp nurse and they made friends with a lot of the camp counselors and kids. They both enjoyed being outdoors and running around getting into trouble, like most boys. From what Decklan could remember, he only had happy memories here. It had been a time before his and Parker’s relationship had started to turn for the worse. Now, it was going to be the place where they were going to talk about the murder of his family and chances were only one of them was leaving that place alive.

  Decklan turned into the camp entrance for the first time in twenty years. He slowly drove his truck down the gravel drive. Camp Alkulana didn’t have a lot of money so having a paved entrance was never in consideration. Decklan remembered there had always been a tradition when someone was coming to camp for the first time that year that they would honk their horn as they drove in, letting everyone know of their arrival. This was another good memory, but this was not something he was about to do in this situation.

  As he approached the end of the gravel drive, he could see Parker's car.

  I knew it.

  Looking past Parker’s car, he could see the dining hall that was also the kitchen and craft area. It was a large wooden building, like all of the buildings here. Decklan could smell the biscuits and gravy and freshly cooked bacon. Unfortunately, this was all in his memory, since it was wintertime, and no one was here, much less cooking. It was funny how a memory could bring back such strong and vivid senses from so long ago.

  He pulled his truck into the parking lot about twenty feet down from where Parker’s car was. He got out of the truck and could hear the the ice-cold mountain water that ran directly through the middle of camp. He grabbed his rifle from the back seat, made sure his 9mm was in his holster and loaded, and began working hi
s way into camp. There were dozens of buildings to work through and there was no way of knowing which one Parker would be in. He was fairly sure that Parker wouldn’t want to kill him, but he also didn’t know what kind of mental state he was in. He was going to be anxious, paranoid, and feeling guilty, which could potentially make him very unpredictable and dangerous. Decklan wanted to be ready for anything.

  As he reached the top of the small gravel hill, he stood in front of the dining hall and looked around. It had been so many years since he had been here, but everything still looked the same. Never in a million years would he have guessed the next time he came back, it would be for this. Still looking around at all of the familiar sights, he smelled something in the air.

  Fire?

  There was only one campfire here, so he made his way down the concrete steps, past the kitchen and across the bridge that connected the two sides. Decklan noticed the bridge looked new.

  Looks like another flood took it out again.

  On the other side, he made his way to the right. The campfire was only fifty or so yards away from the bridge, so the flame was easy to spot. The closer he got the easier it was to see that the fire had been going for quite some time, at least a few hours.

  Where the hell are you, Parker?!

  Only a few feet away now, he spotted something on the ground. He reached down to pick it up. It was a partially burned note. Must be Parker’s. It was impossible to tell what the whole thing said, but he could make out a few words.

  I’m so sorry, Deck.

  This indicated to Decklan that his little brother was feeling remorse and guilt for his actions and probably knew he was coming. Could it be another suicide note? He wasn’t sure but he did know one thing. He needed to find him fast, before it was too late.

  He tossed the note back into the fire to finish the job. He looked around, trying to figure out where Parker would go. Something clicked again. Another memory. He turned around and faced the trail opening that led up a steep hill and deep into the Virginia mountains. He remembered the two of them playing in the woods for hours as kids. The same woods he would now enter to continue the hunt for his little brother.

  The hill was steep enough that Decklan had to toss his rifle over his back to allow himself the use of both hands. The initial hill was probably two hundred yards long and the climb was slow and hard. Once at the top, the ground leveled back out and the only things he could see were trees. It made for a fun game of hide and seek, but not so much for tracking someone down. He pulled out his 9mm and started making his way deeper into the woods. He was on high alert and every little noise shot his heart rate up that much higher than it already was. He started to hear some rustling of leaves about fifteen yards in front of him, but the dense landscape made it hard to get a good visual. He slowly worked his way toward the noise, trying his best to keep quiet. Then, without warning, a deer shot off like a rocket.

  “Son of a bitch!” Decklan said out loud, as his heart pounded against his chest.

  He took a few seconds to take some deep breaths and try to bring his heart rate back down and regain his focus before continuing. Several more minutes passed by and still no sign of Parker. He knew it wouldn’t be easy and he probably wouldn’t just happen upon him standing out in the open, but he also knew the farther he went, the more dangerous it got. He came to a clearing in the trees and found himself looking out into the vast, open mountains. It was a stunningly beautiful view, and one couldn’t help but to take in the true beauty of nature. Up here in the mountains, it seemed that the rest of the world didn’t exist. It was secluded, peaceful, and rewarding in a way that only Mother Nature could provide.

  Decklan wished he could just stay in that spot and completely break away from reality. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option right now. He still had a mission to finish, so he turned back into the woods and kept going. After what seemed like hours, when it was only minutes, he came to another clearing. Only this time he wasn’t at the top of a hill looking into the mountains. Instead, he was at a riverbank. He paused for a moment as he watched the water flow down the mountain, separating the two sides, and wondered if Parker would have crossed the river. He knew it would make him harder to track, but he would have to risk getting into the ice-cold water and being miserable once he reached the other side. Plus, once nightfall came, the temperature would drop and only make things worse.

  Decklan knew he needed to decide because every second he wasted was only allowing Parker to get that much farther ahead. Plus, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Parker had even come this direction. Everything up to this point had been done on gut instinct, but luckily for him, it usually paid off. He decided that he needed to make the cold swim across. The water wasn’t so powerful that it would sweep him downstream, but it wasn’t completely still either. Getting across would require some effort and he was worried he wouldn’t be able to do with his rifle. He took the rifle off and set it on the riverbank. He re-holstered his pistol and made his way across the river. Once he was out, he did his best to shake off any water that could be shaken off; the rest would just have to freeze to his body. Cold water didn't bother him much anymore since he had to spend a lot of time in it when he was in the forces.

  He took his pistol back out and made his way into the new side of the mountain. This side was similar to the other, with lots of trees and little visibility. However, for a reason unknown to Decklan, it seemed quieter on this side. Even as a kid who spent hours playing in these woods, he had never been to this side. He knew if he ever tried crossing the river without an adult around, his mother would have worn his ass out. She was protective, like most mothers, and he and his brother feared her as kids even though they often tested her patience. Decklan noticed something else, too, that he hadn’t been paying attention to until just now. It was getting darker by the minute. He looked down at his watch, 15:45, which was military time for 3:45pm. This meant he didn’t have long before it was going to be pitch black. There was one thing he learned about the mountains as a kid, and that was the woods become a very different place at night. Soon, Parker wouldn’t be the only thing he had to worry about out here. He had a decision to make, keep going or turn back for camp.

  CHAPTER 23

  Decklan decided to keep going, and he figured he had two hours, tops, before he would need to turn back. He didn't have the necessary equipment to survive out here during the night, so the stakes just got higher. With his clothes now soaked from the mountain stream, it would only get worse as the temperature continued to drop into the night. He needed to get the job done quickly.

  Suddenly, something hit him. He had a feeling, a gut feeling, that he was getting closer. He could Parker’s presence somewhere close. The journey was about to finish, but the confrontation was about to begin. Still unsure of the mental state of his brother, he proceeded with caution. This situation could go a number of ways, so he had to prepare for all possible scenarios. He kept his gun at the ready, willing to take the necessary actions. He walked a few more minutes before coming to a third clearing. This time it wasn't a vast opening looking into the Virginia mountains or a riverbank next to a cold stream. This time, it was a flat open area, completely void of trees. It looked as if somebody had cut out a hole in the middle of the woods, and he noticed something off in the distance. A single figure.

  Parker!

  He lowered his gun as he approached his little brother. He didn't want to risk shooting his brother before he had the chance to ask him the tough questions.

  “I was wondering how long it would take you to find me,” Parker said, with his head down and eyes closed.

  There were two stumps in the middle of this open field. Parker was on one so Decklan sat on the other one, directly across from his little brother. Decklan laid his gun down on the ground next to his feet so they could have a civil conversation and looked directly at Parker.

  “Why’d you do it, Parker? They were your family too,” Decklan sa
id.

  Parker shook his head as if he were ashamed of what he had done. “I know, but I didn't have a choice,” he replied.

  “Bullshit!” Decklan snapped. “You always have a choice. You're just a coward!”

  “They had Emma, Deck. They were at my house and they were going to hurt Emma,” Parker pleaded.

  “Why didn’t you come to me? I would have been able to help. I’ve dealt with assholes like that my whole life.”

  “They told me if I so much as hinted to you that something was wrong, they would kill Emma and then me, and then your family. It was my only option.”

  Decklan continued to glare at Parker, refusing to feel any sympathy for him. How could he? It was because of him that his family was dead. He was the only person who could have kept it from happening, but he chose money and safety in exchange for three innocent lives.

  “She’s dead now anyway,” Decklan said.

  Parker finally opened his eyes and looked up for the first time. “What? How do you know?”

  “I went by your house looking for you, but instead I found her hanging from the ceiling fan in your bedroom.”

  Parkers face turned white as a ghost. “I can’t believe they killed her after we had a deal,” he said.

  Decklan shook his head slowly. “No, they didn’t. She took her own life.”

  “She would never do that! You’re lying!” Parker said, while tears rolled down his pale face.

  Decklan reached into his pocket. “Here, she left this note,” he said as he handed it to his little brother.

  He sat there and watched as Parker had to read the last words his wife would ever write. He would have to live with the fact that she took her own life because of him. Because of what he did to his own flesh and blood. As he read the note, his breathing became heavy and uncontrolled. He was reading his worst nightmare. The same nightmare that Decklan had been living for the past month.