Witness Protection
Hide and seek
By Ursula Dukes
Copyright © (2014) by Ursula Dukes
All Rights Reserved
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This eBook is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
For my friends and family, thank you for your support.
Chapter One
Madison was struggling. She tossed and turned in the bed, sheets twisted around her legs and ankles. Her head thrashed against the pillow. No matter how hard she tried, she could not catch her breath. A man with no face had his hands around her neck. Cold, icy fingertips touched as they squeezed the life out of her. Her screams were garbled and throaty as she tried prying his hands from around her neck.
“Don’t fight it,” the man said. His voice was incredibly calm, so calm in fact, that it almost soothed her. The thought of giving in crossed her mind, but only for a moment.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment Miss West. Each night, I fantasized about what it would feel like to watch the life drain from your eyes and then your body. It’s what kept me going all these years.”
The air around her grew thick and dense. A heavy fog was rising up from the floor and the only sound was the rapid beating of her heart.
She could feel his hands clasping tighter around her neck with brute like strength. With each struggling breath, she could feel the arrant sense of satisfaction coming from the masked man as he squeezed tighter and tighter…
Tristan had just gotten out of the shower when he saw that she was withering around in the bed, clawing at her neck.
“Madison! Madison!” He tried shaking her awake. “Baby wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”
“No!” She screamed before her eyes flew open. She stared at Tristan, a blank expression on her face. It took her a moment to come back to reality, and when she did, she threw her arms around her husband.
He kissed her on the forehead and wiped away the tears that had fallen down her face.
“It was just a nightmare, that’s all.” He tried soothing her. “My God, look at your neck.”
Long scratches ran along the sides of her neck.
Tristan cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe I should stay home today,” he said.
“I’ll be alright,” she whispered and touched the wounds on her neck.
“It’s been a long time since you’ve had a nightmare. In fact, I can't remember the last time. You want to talk about it?”
She shook her head, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.
“I’m fine. No need for you to stay home, unless of course you want to.” She smirked and wrapped her arms around him.
“Don’t tempt me.” He kissed her long and deep.
“I’ve got to go in to Portland and serve an arrest warrant. After that, I’m all yours,” he said and finished toweling off.
“Mmmm, I like the sound of that. I can get some work done while you’re gone and maybe get a call in to Zoe. See how she is doing. I miss her.”
“Me too,” he said and glanced at a photo of Zoe that was hanging out in the hallway.
“Her first year of college and it’s almost over. I can’t wait until she gets home. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” Madison smiled at the thought.
“I can’t wait to see her either, but are you sure that you’re alright? I mean, that must have been some nightmare. You’ve never physically hurt yourself before. I’m worried.” His eyes met hers, searching.
Madison sat down at the vanity table and rubbed her forehead with the palms of her hands.
Tristan walked over, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her gently.
Being wrapped in his embrace made her feel safe and she liked that.
“I’ll be fine once I take a nice hot shower.” She reassured him.
Tristan gently pulled her to her feet to meet his searching gaze. He smelled of soap, a crisp, clean masculine scent.
Immediately her body was aware of his strength, the feel of his arms around her.
Her heartbeat sped up as she felt the warmth of his breath on her cheek.
“I love you,” he said and held her tight. “I’ll always keep you safe Madison. You know that right. You do believe me, don’t you?”
She nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. If she did, she’d break down in tears. At the moment, the nightmare held a tighter grasp than that of her husband’s.
He ran his hand along her back and kisses as light as a feather caressed the scratches on her neck.
A sudden sense of foreboding came over her and she moved closer into his embrace.
“I love you,” she said.
His hand dropped from her back as the shrill ringing of his cell phone interrupted their moment. It was time for him to go to work.
“I love you too and I am going to show you just how much when I get back,” he said with a teasing grin.
“Don’t worry,” he said and kissed her on the forehead.
“Everything is going to be alright, want to walk me to my car?”
“Of course.”
Madison reached for his hand and didn’t let go until he was behind the wheel.
She leaned in through the car window and kissed him one more time before waving goodbye.
Chapter Two
Several members of the Marshals Service, along with local police surrounded the outside of a brick apartment building in downtown Portland. This was the spot they believed housed fugitive Anthony Maston.
Maston was wanted for violating parole, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, three counts of sexual assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
When the signal was given, Tristan, wearing his badge on a chain around his neck, and his partner Bill, knocked on Maston’s apartment door.
After only a few seconds, Maston himself opened the door and allowed the marshal’s inside.
“Hey, how are you? Thanks for inviting us in,” Tristan said in his most friendly tone.
“We are with the U.S. Marshals; do you know why we’re here?”
When Maston nodded his head, Tristan then asked if anyone else was in the apartment.
“No, it’s just me,” Maston said and gave them permission to look around.
Once the apartment was secured, the two marshals led Maston outside to an unmarked car that was waiting to take him to jail.
The first few shots came from up high and hit their target. Tristan was shot in the leg before being able to get Maston inside the car. He shoved the man inside and got low to the ground.
His partner was lying on the ground bleeding from a head wound. As he called in the ambush and requested more backup, gunfire erupted from all sides of the street. The police
and marshals descended upon the area and began returning fire. Several of the gunmen were shot and killed. Even though more police arrived, the gunfight had not died down.
While he pulled his partner beside him, Tristan glanced inside the car and saw that Maston was gone. He quickly turned around and opened fire again. Bullets flew by him making a whizzing sound.
They needed more help. They needed S.W.A.T.
Things had clearly gotten out of hand and in between the bullets flying and screams of pain, he thought about his wife Madison and his daughter Zoe.
He knew that they would be mad as hell when they found out about the shooting. Mad as hell, but thankful that he'd come home to them safe and sound.
He climbed through the open car door and scrambled to the other side of the vehicle that faced the sidewalk. At least he was no longer out in the open. He had some cover now.
He stuck his head out from the backside of the vehicle and began firing several rounds in the direction of the shooters.
The rumbling sound of the large black S.W.A.T truck was like music to his ears, they needed all the help that they could get.
He didn’t notice that someone was slowly opening a window in the first floor apartment that stood directly behind him.
Another gunman, a lone one, stuck the muzzle of a shotgun through the small opening and fired a single shot.
United States Marshal, Tristan Calloway died instantly.
Chapter Three
One Year Later…
Zoe knocked softly on the bedroom door. When she heard Madison mumble the words, come in, she tiptoed into the room and gently closed the door behind her.
When Madison saw her, her spirits lifted. Zoe looked and spoke wiser than her years and Madison knew that losing her father had a lot to do with that.
Zoe walked over to her stepmother and gave her a warm hug.
“You sure that you won’t change your mind and come with us? A holiday abroad may be just what you need.”
Madison took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’m sure you’re probably right, but I’m in no mood to leave the house, let alone the country.”
Zoe was worried. It had been over a year since they buried her father, and the anniversary of that horrible day had just passed.
However, time seemed to stand still for Madison, she still felt cut off from everything that she thought was her life. Zoe wondered if her stepmother would ever recover.
Madison turned towards the window and as the sunlight caught her eyes, she shut them and sighed deeply.
“I bet you’re excited though,” she said and reached for Zoe’s hand.
Zoe took it willingly. “I am. Taking some time off from school was unexpected, but taking this trip with grandma and grandpa has always been a dream of mine. I have to admit though; it is a trip that I thought would include the entire family. Madison, I miss him so much.” Zoe broke down in tears and leaned on her for support.
Madison cradled Zoe in her arms and gently rocked her back and forth.
“I know you do sweetheart. Your father loved you very much. You were his reason for living and I know that he would be so very proud of you. He’d want you to take this trip with your grandparents. So I want you to go and try to have a great time and remember that your father will always be with you right here,” she said and rested a hand over her heart.
Riverbend Maximum Security Prison
Castillo was in his cell reading when LPN, John Higgins was escorted inside by a prison guard.
Higgins knew that high security risk prisoners must first be screened before going into the health clinic. It was his job to determine whether or not Castillo’s illness warranted a trip two floors down to the clinic.
Higgins greeted Castillo and asked a few medical questions while he examined him.
After a few minutes, Higgins told the guard to call for an escort down to the clinic. “Your cough seems to have gotten worse and there’s a wheezing in your chest. I think you need to come down to the clinic Mr. Castillo.”
“Whatever you say nurse,” Castillo covered his mouth with his hand and tried stifling back a cough.
When the second guard arrived, Castillo stood up and waited for them to put the shackles on his hands and feet. Higgins walked behind the small procession, and was not left alone with Castillo until they reached an exam room in the clinic.
The clinic looked almost like a dormitory or military clinic. It was sterile, but held none of the aesthetic features that a clinic in the outside world would have.
There were exam rooms, nurses bustling about and there was a small infirmary for inmates who required a longer recovery time.
It had been several months since Castillo had been in the clinic and it looked the same.
Once the guards escorted Castillo into the private exam room, they nodded at Higgins before closing the door.
“So… do you have any good book recommendations for me Mr. Castillo?” Higgins bent down and took out a nebulizer from underneath a cabinet and began setting it up.
“No,” Castillo shook his head. “Still reading that horror novel that I was telling you about, how about you?”
“Right now I happen to be reading a pretty decent book. I think it’s a series, but right now I’m on book one.”
“Oh yeah, what’s it called?”
“It’s called, My Favorite Witness. It’s a mystery, a law mystery with just a touch of romance. My wife recommended that I read it. She thinks I’m not romantic enough or something. Anyway, so far, so good. I'll tell you all about it while you take in your asthma treatment, all right? You won’t have to talk. You can just listen. Sound good?”
When Castillo shook his head, Higgins continued.
“Well it starts off with a single witness who was thought to be dead, but isn’t. He used to be in the witness protection program, but is released from it because the DA decided that after a year, it was getting too costly to keep him in the program. Besides that, there was another witness who had far more to offer up to the feds than this average citizen. Now this witness had inside information and was also put into the program.
Anyway, witness number one agreed to withdraw himself from the program. You see, this person was married to someone who was in law enforcement, so he felt pretty safe already.
“Sounds intriguing.” Castillo inhaled the fine mist into his mouth and asked Higgins to continue.
“Well, months turn into years and things are back to normal. The person has a job that he loves and his wife, although away for long periods of time because of her job, always comes home to him.
By all appearances, things seem pretty damn good. But then, something awful happens, the wife gets killed in the line of duty and that leaves the husband absolutely devastated. Besides leaving for the funeral, it took weeks, almost months before he even had the strength to leave the house.”
“That’s just awful,” Castillo feigned sincerity. “Now tell me, do they have kids?”
“Just one, a step-daughter. She was in college when her mom got killed, but took some time off during the fall semester. Her grandparents are planning on taking her on a trip overseas somewhere.”
Castillo cocked an eyebrow. “A trip?” Just the daughter and her grandparents? Why isn’t the husband going?”
Higgins shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far into the story yet. But I think it’s because he isn’t ready to leave the house yet. I think he still needs some time to grieve. After all, they were in love. I think his wife’s death hit him hard. But I can guarantee you that this is one book I will not stop reading Mr. Castillo.”
“I hope not because it sounds incredible. What luck you have, to have stumbled across such an interesting book and subject matter. I hope that by your next visit, you will have finished reading it, so that you can tell me the conclusion.
I am particularly interested in finding out what the poor husband plans on doing with no one around to keep him company. I wonder i
f he’ll go insane and try to harm himself. All of this heartache could have probably been avoided.”
“How so Mr. Castillo?”
“Well, I just mean that if the witness had kept their mouth shut, he would never have had to go into the witness protection program and if he didn’t go into the program, then he would have never met the woman who was to be his wife.” Castillo made a motion signaling Higgins to take a step closer.
“I can tell you from experience that leaving a witness behind is never a good thing,” he whispered.
“The minute my attorney told me that she wasn’t dead, I knew that the D.A. had tried to pull a fast one on me. I knew that bitch wasn’t dead." He slammed his fist down against the metal examination table.
But it's all good my friend. This plan has been three years in the making. And I need you to remember Mr. Higgins, that time is of the essence and you wouldn’t want your lovely wife Annette to have another accident, now would you?”
“No, Mr. Castillo, I would not. But I think this book will definitely have an ending that no one will see coming.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself Mr. Higgins.”
****
Witness Protection: Hide and Seek Page 1
