“You take the owner and his wife. I’ll take the cocky one with the attitude.”
She swallowed, wishing they could switch. “Okay.”
Tom Lester didn't trust them. Private investigators were all about the money, and he didn't doubt they were just playing some game.
“Stay calm, Tom,” she muttered, praying that the man wouldn’t do anything stupid.
“Yeah, I’ll try.”
After getting their area assignments, Julian began aimlessly wandering. He was looking for any sign that there was a struggle or trail that would lead to the area Vivian had described.
When he found two potential paths, leading in two different directions, he sent Justin down one, and they took the other. He wasn’t letting his wife wander in the woods, while a man was abducting women.
Over his dead body was that going to be happening.
She was going to have to stick closely to his side. After about ten minutes of walking, it didn't feel right to him. “This isn’t it,” he muttered.
Tori looked around. “It doesn’t look like the dream Vivian had. When she described it, she was pretty specific.”
“No, it doesn’t. Let’s head back and go help Justin check his trail. It might be the one.”
Tori followed her husband as her eyes scanned the trees. She wanted to make sure they were covered as they headed back out. There was no way she was taking a risk with either of their lives.
When they passed the location Vivian was standing, they dropped their voices low.
“What do you think?” he asked.
She shook her head as she looked around. “It looks wrong. In the dream, there was a clear path and an incline. This is all flat. We’re on the wrong side of the house.”
Tori pointed. “You cut through this way. We’re going to go the other. We need to make this look like we’re wandering through the trees on a search. The last thing we need is to walk right up to the body.”
She agreed. “If my partner asks, then I’ll tell him that I lost you.”
Julian grinned. “Close your eyes and count to ten,” he ordered.
When she did, he pulled his wife off as they started moving through the trees quickly.
Tori wanted to giggle. “Congrats, now she doesn’t have to lie.”
When Julian reached ten, he turned around and scanned. From where they were crouched, and he could still see her. There was no way in hell he was going to leave his brother’s woman alone in the woods. They lived by a code, and he planned on keeping it. “Now, we follow her back to make sure she remains safe.”
Tori kissed him on the cheek. “Good thinking, boss man.”
That he found amusing. He was well aware that he wasn’t the one in charge in the relationship.
“Yeah, well sometimes I manage to come up with a good plan all on my own.”
They watched Vivian stare around and then head back to the base camp.
Now, they hoped that Justin was having far better luck on his trail.
Justin knew that he had a tail. He didn't even have to look to see who it was. The heavy stomping through the woods gave it away. One would think that the detective would want to be a little lighter on his feet.
“You can stop hiding behind the tree, Detective Lester. I can hear you,” he stated, staring down at the trail. The victim was definitely pulled through there, and then it was covered up.
“We already had police search this area, Littlemoon,” he muttered, coming out from behind his tree. It pissed him off that he had been detected.
Justin continued walking. “Yeah, well sue me for wanting to double check the police.” Yeah, there was something there. He could see it now that he was focused on it. Justin may not be as good at tracking as his brother, but he still managed.
They all had their skills.
Then, he glanced up at the trees and tried to recall Vivian’s dream. They matched, minus the blood red leaves on the trees and ground. The incline was even the same.
This had to be it. He was on the right trail.
The detective watched him warily. This area was searched by one of the cops just the other day. Thinking back, he recalled giving Officer Jersek this area. He trusted the patrolman to do a thorough search.
“What do you see?” he called to Littlemoon. He noticed the man was looking up the incline.
“Someone was through here,” he stated, as he kept walking through the trees. Every now and then, he’d stop to touch the soil. It was obvious that whoever had been there wanted to erase his trail, but he hadn’t. There were distinct drag marks.
Justin dropped to his one knee and brushed away some leaves. Glancing up, he noticed the detective was right at his side. “Look.”
He stared at the dirt. “I don’t see shit.”
“Stop looking for the obvious and see the pattern. This trail runs uphill, but the dirt lines are running perpendicular. Someone brushed the footprints from sight and tried to throw leaves over it.”
He thought the man was crazy. What was this Indian mumbo jumbo supposed to get them?
Getting up, he continued up the hill. This was exactly what Vivian described. “Did anyone check up there in the water?”
Lester stared at him. “What water? How can you see that it’s there if you’re not up there yet?”
“Listen,” he said. The quiet surrounded them and there it was. The running water sound popped out from the background noise.
“Do you Indians have supersonic hearing too?”
Justin stared at him. “Native Americans have been living and hunting in woods like this all over the country. Maybe it’s just in our DNA.” He tried not to be offended by the way he had said ‘Indian’. Ignorance was something Justin had been fighting his entire life.
“Whatever,” he answered, following him to the top of the incline.
They both stared down into the water. It wasn’t a creek, but more like a basin with other streams running into it. The water swirled and circulated. “Did you search the water?”
“No.”
Justin moved down the incline, the soft dirt falling from beneath him as he slid. “You really should. Maybe she fell into the water.”
“Fell in during the middle of the night?” he asked, incredulously. “What was she doing out here?”
Justin shrugged. “How the hell should I know? I’m just giving you possible scenarios.”
Yeah, and protecting the woman he loved. He could already tell what the man was thinking. It was written on his face.
Before he could say anything more, he saw it.
“What was Tawny wearing the night she went missing?” he asked.
The detective pulled out the rolled up paper from his back pocket to scan it. “She was in a skirt and heels, why?”
“What color shoes?”
“They were red. Again, I’ll ask why?”
Justin pointed to a clump of shrubs. “How did your officer miss that shoe over there?”
The detective fumed. “Get your ass out of there!” He pulled out his phone and began dialing.
Justin walked up the incline and towards the base camp.
“Where the hell are you going?” growled the detective.
“You told me to get the hell out of there, so I was going to go back to the house and meet up with my brother.”
His face was all red. “Stay there. You’re prohibited from leaving this scene.”
Justin ignored him. “Yeah, I’ll be back at my truck, Detective, because I want to help. You can’t just tell me where I can stand. I didn't break any laws.”
He headed back and pulled out his phone. On the second ring, his brother answered.
“Yeah?”
“I found it. Lester is about ready to have a stroke. I’ll see you back at the house.”
Julian didn't like that the detective was already all over his brother on this one. “We’ll meet you there.”
Justin hung up the phone and sighed. This was about to get ugly fast, especially since he had
just painted a bull’s-eye across his chest.
Better him than Vivian.
Two Hours Later
They sat on the bumper of Justin’s pickup truck, as all the people around them milled about in excitement.
When the cops brought in an ambulance, there was talk of her being found. That was until the coroner showed up in his van with his assistants.
Suddenly, the mood had changed drastically.
Josh stood not far from the trees sobbing hysterically, as his co-workers tried to offer him some sort of reassurance.
Unfortunately, everyone there knew the truth. They found Tawny. As the stretcher with the black body bag was carried from the woods, the weeping boyfriend collapsed to his knees.
He was then surrounded by friends who led him away. As soon as the crowd began to disperse, the two detectives exited the trees.
The look on the lead detective’s face said it all.
Vivian’s did too.
Before they could reach them, Julian whispered to his brother. “We were at our apartment together the entire time, all three of us. We’re your alibi.”
Justin nodded. He already could tell by the fear on Vivian’s features that the shit was about to hit the fan.
“You!” Lester pointed at Justin. “How did you know she was there?”
He shrugged. “I didn't know. I just deduced. Maybe if your cops used their brains, they would have found her yesterday.”
The man lunged and Vivian put herself between them.
“You’re coming in for questioning!” he hissed, reaching for Justin’s jacket
The man shrugged. “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”
“No,” the man practically growled. “You’re coming in with us.” He grabbed Justin by the arm and tried to move him.
“Hey! Hand’s off!” Justin stated. “If someone’s going to manhandle me, I prefer it be the woman.” He jerked his head at Vivian.
“I have him, Tom. I’ll drive him in and meet you at the office.”
That seemed to mollify him. “You better have one hell of an alibi, because you just found a dead woman,” he hissed.
Justin wasn’t worried. Okay, that was a lie. He was terrified, but not for himself. Vivian’s ass was on the line on this one, and he was hell bent on being her armor.
“I haven’t been alone for the last few days. I’m not worried.”
She took his arm and led him to the car. “I’m so sorry, Justin,” Vivian whispered. “I never should have come to you three with this.”
He stared down at her as he climbed into the back of her vehicle. “It’s okay, baby. I’m not worried. We both know that I didn't kill her and dump her in the water.”
She closed the door. That wasn’t what she was worried about at all. Here they were just starting a relationship, and he was going to have to endure an interrogation for her sake. Well, she could kiss this relationship goodbye.
Getting into the car, she buckled her seatbelt.
“I’m going to tell them I was with Julian and Tori the last two nights and stayed at their place. You’re in the clear.”
She stared back at him. “Justin…”
He waited.
“Never mind,” she whispered, as she tried to regain her composure. “Delete my number out of your phone and all the texts. If he finds it there, the truth will come out.”
He pulled it out of his pocket and cleared everything. “Vivian, are you going to run from us?” he asked, as she drove.
How could she answer that?
“Vivian?”
She stared ahead as all the happiness in her life drained away. When she told him they belonged together, she never imagined that one of the rough patches would be him being accused of murder, because of her.
Somehow, she doubted that it would be her who was going to run. After this, could she blame the man for wanting to get as far away as possible from her?
Precognitive her ass.
Vivian never saw this one coming.
Julian watched his brother being driven away. He knew that he had to do something, and fast. Pulling out his phone, he stared at his wife.
“I need to make a phone call,” he said, walking away. They had one shot at this, and he needed a little backup from higher up the food chain.
“Okay,” she stated. Tori watched the tension build in his body and knew that Julian was worried.
Kane and Christina appeared at her side.
“Is he going to be okay?”
Tori wasn’t quite sure which brother they were referring to at that moment. “They’ll both be fine. We’re Justin’s alibi. If you’re asked, he was with us all the time.”
They both nodded, since they knew they couldn’t bring up Vivian’s name.
“So, she was right with this dream too,” stated Kane.
“It’s creepy,” Christina stated.
Tori didn't answer. She wasn’t sure what to think of it all. For now, it was getting her family in hot water, and that made it weigh on the shitty side of the scale.
When Julian turned around, he was talking to someone and his face said it all.
He was desperate to protect his brother.
At all costs.
Chapter Thirteen
Friday Afternoon
There was a whole lot of tension going on in the interrogation room. At first, the detectives made him sit. For the first hour, he played games on his phone and answered texts from his brother.
What else was he supposed to do?
Then, when the detectives arrived, the real stress began.
Justin was feeling bad for Vivian. From the look on her face, he could tell she was punishing herself for the entire thing. It scared him shitless, that she was probably going to walk away from him over all this.
Already, he could read her mind. Vivian was blaming herself for them having to carry her secret on his shoulders.
Every time she looked at him, he offered her a reassuring look. This was nothing. They had bigger problems yet to come.
“How did you know, Mr. Littlemoon?” Lester asked.
He shrugged. “I told you. I didn't know. I found that path and followed it. At the top of the hill, going over the side was the most logical direction to follow.”
“That area wasn’t where you were placed to search. Why did you head there?”
Again, he shrugged. “I searched my square. It was flat and open. When I finished, I opted to look around. I wandered onto that path and kept going.”
“Where were you two nights ago?”
He paused to make it look like he was thinking. “What time?”
The man gave him a frame to fill in with details.
“Well, we worked at the office, and it was too late to head home, so I stayed there.”
“You slept in the office?” There was doubt present in his voice.
“No, my brother and sister-in-law have an apartment upstairs. We went up there.”
“Then the next day?”
He gave him all the details. “I worked. We’re trying to find Melissa Lagerfeld.”
“Maybe you killed her too.”
“Are you asking or accusing, Detective? Because, you haven’t read me my rights, and I haven’t been given my phone call or lawyer.”
That shut him up.
“You followed that path a little too well.”
Justin stared at him. “You aren’t asking questions, so I guess I’ll leave.”
“Fine, make it a question.”
“We find lost things for a living. My brother’s a tracker, and we don’t quit until we get answers.”
Vivian said nothing.
“If I were you, I’d be talking to the cop that had that quadrant. He sucks at his job.” Justin knew that he shouldn’t taunt him, but the man was an idiot.
Lester slammed his hands on the table and Vivian jumped, but not Justin. He stayed calm and cool. “You’re funny for a smart mouthed Indian.”
Justin leaned forward. “If you th
ink you’re going to scare me or anger me into saying something to implicate myself, you’re wrong. I served four tours as a Marine, and you’re about as scary as a Sunday school teacher. I’ve been shot at and had bombs go off around me. Hitting a table isn’t going to cut it. So, find a new technique.”
Lester lost his cool.
He leaned across the table and grabbed the man by the shirt. Vivian placed her hand on his wrists to make sure that he didn't strike Justin.
Just then, the door opened. Standing there was a man in a uniform. “You’re free to go, Mr. Littlemoon. I apologize that this took so long.”
Detective Lester released him and rolled his neck. From the look on his face, everyone there could tell he wasn’t thrilled to have him go.
“Thank you,” Justin said, fixing his shirt. “You need to get your detective some meds. He’s too strung out.” He nodded at Vivian on his way out of the office.
“Sir! Why did you let him leave?” Detective Lester questioned his boss.
Commissioner Anders shook his head. “He’s off the hook. You need to find someone else to point the finger at now.”
“How do you know? He went right to the site where the body was found.”
The man came in and closed the door. “I just got a call from a director of the FBI. She confirmed that they contract out to that private investigation agency all the time, and vouched for them. That man has higher clearance than half the people that work at FBI West. You need to back off of them.”
Vivian was relieved at this stroke of luck. “Yes, sir. We’ll do that immediately, Commissioner Anders.”
“My gut tells me,” he began and was cut off by his boss.
“Let me make myself clear, Detective Lester. I do not want this town overrun by Feds with a grudge. If the Littlemoons can call up a director of the FBI, we aren’t going to screw with them. I’m more than willing to trust that she’s vouching for him. You brought him in and the Feds were on the phone in less than ten minutes. Be smart here and look elsewhere.”
The man said nothing.
“Don’t provoke the Littlemoons. Am I clear?”
They both nodded.
Blood Red Rage (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 1) Page 20
