“So, you were together in your car?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you recall the time you returned to Julie’s house?”
Katie shook her head. “No, it was in the afternoon. We weren’t watching the time.”
Charles scribbled on his notepad.
Katie continued. “We walked into the house from the front door and found a large spot of blood on the carpet.”
Charles shot his eyes up to her without moving his head. “And you didn’t stop to call the police?”
“No, we wanted to know if Joe was there. Maybe he hurt himself.” She paused as he continued writing.
“Go on.”
Katie held her hands together in her lap. “We followed the trail of blood to the kitchen. I opened the door and we found a plastic container Jules didn’t recognize being there before. I pried the lid off and–”
Jules sobbed louder, distracting Katie and Charles. In a way, Katie welcomed the diversion. She wanted to avoid questions about the Tupperware container. If she’d mentioned the note with her name and phone taped to it, Charles might suspect someone left the fingers as a message for Katie instead of Jules. At this point in time, she simply needed him to believe her story and send cops to Jules’s house to find the evidence supporting their hostage claim, which would then give them cause to visit the Jennings orchard. They would find the note at the house, but given the evidence, she strongly believed it wouldn’t stop them from heading to the orchard.
“I can still see it in my head.” Jules whimpered.
Charles leaned toward his credenza and snatched another tissue. Katie took it from him and then handed it to Jules.
“What was in the container?” he asked.
“Two fingers.” Katie swallowed.
“Two fingers?”
Katie nodded. “Naturally it surprised us. I think I dropped the container in the sink.”
“Did you notice anything unusual about the…?”
“Not odd, no. I’m not an expert, but they were wide and the nails were very short. If I had to guess, the fingers belonged to a man.”
Charles continued jotting notes on the paper. “What did you do after you dropped the container?”
“Jules and I wondered if Joe was injured in the house somewhere, so we decided to search and started in her room. What we found stunned us. Someone had torn her room up. And in the bathroom, someone gutted a dog and left it hanging from the shower faucet.”
Charles paused writing and lifted his eyes. “Gutted a dog?”
Jules held the tissue to her mouth and tried to curtain her sobbing. “I think it was my neighbor’s dog.”
“We didn’t stay there long after that. I searched the rest of the rooms and found nothing.”
“Why didn’t you call the police at that point?”
“We couldn’t stay in the house,” Katie answered with her shoulders tense and slightly lifted. “It smelled and we didn’t know if someone might come back. So, we left. Jules was extremely upset and needed somewhere to sit and rest privately for a while. I drove to a hotel and checked in under my name. We talked about coming to the police, but Jules thought you wouldn’t do anything since he hadn’t been missing long. But when we got the call–”
Charles lifted his hand. “Hold on.”
Katie took in a deep breath while Jules blew her nose into the tissue. Thus far, Katie sensed her timeline of events flowed smoothly and all the details were in the right place, except for the hotel part, but she could easily resolve that one area. She’d have Riker manipulate his mind if he wanted to confirm she’d checked into the hotel.
After Charles tapped the pad with his pen, he looked up. “You received a call?”
“Yes, I answered it for Jules because she was in the bathroom.”
He looked at Jules. “I was getting sick,” she said.
He veered his gaze to Katie. “Do you recall the number on her phone?”
“I don’t know the number, but it showed Joe’s name. However, the caller was not Joe. The caller said he had him and wanted us to meet him at the Jennings orchard at midnight. If we are late, he’ll cut off more…”
A new wave of grief overcame Jules. She cried again. “He doesn’t deserve to die.”
Katie scooted in her chair, closer to the desk. “You have to do something. Take twenty or thirty men out to the orchard. Maybe they have more than one hostage. What if they have the Jennings’ under their control too?”
“Hold on.” Charles set his pen on the tablet, then leaned back. His chair squeaked. “There is no proof Joe has been kidnapped. This could have been a prank caller.”
Katei stared into his eyes. “I asked to speak to Joe.”
“Did you?”
She swallowed. “Yes, and he didn’t sound well.”
“Are you sure it was him?”
“Yes. He gave me a message for Jules.”
“And what was it?”
Katie hesitated, knowing her statement would cause more pain for Jules. “He said, run Jules. Runaway.”
She turned to her friend and found her leaning forward with her hands over her face. How heartbreaking to know her boyfriend was in torment and he wanted to warn her so she wouldn’t suffer his fate. Katie wondered if she would have the same reaction. If Kyle had told her to run, would she have listened? Unequivocally, no. She would’ve leaped to assist him. But she had more confidence her fighting skills and more weapons to help her. Jules had neither. After Katie claimed her revenge, she’d help Jules work on those areas.
Charles swiveled slightly in his chair to face his credenza. He lifted the receiver of his phone, then pressed three buttons. Following a brief moment of silence, he said, “Juan, could you come to my office please.” He hung up the phone two seconds later.
“This isn’t a hoax, Officer Donahue. If you go to her house, you will see we are not making any of this up. We have no reason to. If Joe or anyone else is being held against their will, someone needs to help them before it’s too late.”
“This is a very serious matter,” Charles said in a calm tone. “We need to be certain of a few things before do anything.”
A light tapping at the door caught Katie’s attention. She twisted to find a tall man with black hair and tanned skin standing in the doorway.
“Did you need something?” he asked.
“Juan, can you find out how many officers are currently on duty tonight. I need to know in the next ten minutes.”
“I’m on it,” the officer said before he disappeared.
Charles lifted the receiver again, then dialed a number. “Denise, can you look up the number for the Jennings orchard, their home number, then call and see if you get an answer?” He paused. “Call me back with your results. Thank you.”
Jules wiped her nose with the balled up tissues. “If he’s there, he’ll need medical attention.”
Charles dialed another number while he held the phone to his ear. “Phil, send the nearest patrol unit to the residence of Julie Mannis.” He paused and faced Jules. “May we have permission to use force to enter your home?”
Jules nodded.
“Tell them to search the house and report the findings to me immediately,” Charles said into the receiver.
Slowly, relief blossomed within Katie. In a matter of minutes, Charles would discover they’d told the truth, well, a version he’d believe in order to send troops to the Jennings orchard.
Charles hung up the phone. “Can I get either of you something to drink while we wait?”
Jules cleared her throat, then sniffled. “I need to use the bathroom.” She rose at the same time as Charles.
He tugged out a drawer from under his desk, then removed a small white badge with the word visitor on it. “Down the hall and turn left. Keep going and you’ll see the restroom on your left.” He handed the badge to her.
Katie scooted back in her chair and relaxed as much as she could with her hands together in her lap. Reporting a ho
stage situation and waiting for results called for tension, not one to lean back and shoot the breeze. While a touch of anxiety stirred within her, she hid it well, twitching her toes every now and then inside her shoes.
Charles’s gaze stayed on Jules as she left the room, then turned swiftly to Katie. “We have therapists we can recommend if this turns out to be the real deal.”
“It’s been very difficult for her to handle. I’m going to stay with her for a while.”
He rubbed his hands together. “We have had an increase of drug activity lately. The teens are getting it from someone.”
“Will you storm the orchard?”
“If everything checks out as you say, yes.”
She fought the urge to jump up and shout with joy. “What will you do with the kidnappers?”
“We’ll bring them here and hold them in lockup in the basement. I’ll file charges, then take it to the Prosecutor. The feds may want this person or persons too.”
Katie nodded with her lips sealed. She wondered if the vampires would even make it to the station in handcuffs. If they allowed such criminal treatment, the vamps wouldn’t stay long in their cozy cells. Call it a hunch, but Katie bet everything she owned they would take the first opportunity to slip into a mind so they could get out. Vamps plus jail equaled not happening.
“I hope you get whomever is behind this. It’s tearing Jules apart. I hate to see her so upset.”
Charles glanced at his notes on the paper. “What I don’t understand is why someone would feel intimidated by Julie.” He lifted his eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but she’s a harmless woman. Why would they want to hurt her?”
He had good questions to which Katie couldn’t respond logically for him. Men typically weren’t rattled by women, especially vampires.
“I don’t know.” Sometimes the best answers were ones unexplained.
A knock at the door grabbed their attention.
“We have thirty ready and available plus fifteen of us here in the office. I can call another twenty to come in early if we need too,” Juan said, standing by the door.
“I don’t think we need to do that. We have a possible hostage situation, but I think thirty men should be enough to handle it.”
“Excuse me,” Jules said softly as she turned sideways and slipped into the office, careful not to brush against Juan’s large frame. She placed the badge on the desk, then returned to her seat without speaking another word.
Juan backed up to the door and knocked it to the wall. “Do you want me to–”
The phone made a loud beep, cutting off Juan. Charles quickly hit a button. “Go ahead.”
“It’s Denise. I called the number for the orchard and the two numbers we had for the Jennings. Voice mail picked up on all three.”
“Thank you, Denise,” Charles said.
“Should I keep trying?”
“No, don’t call them anymore. Thank you.” He tapped another button on the phone, ending the call.
Charles clasped his hands together and leaned back in his seat. “So far, we can’t reach the Jennings. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Do you want me to have the nearest patrol drive by the orchard?” Juan asked, leaning with one hand on the doorknob.
“Sure, but tell them to stay on the main road and drive normal. Tell them not to go near the houses, but stay within a mile in case we need them.”
Juan nodded, then left. His shoes tapped in the hallway as he hurried.
Charles’s phone made a double ringing sound. He touched the keypad. “Go ahead.”
“It’s Phil. I have Stan on the line. He’s with Robert and they’re at the Mannis house.”
The volume on the speakerphone seemed so loud, Katie wondered if anyone at the end of the hall could hear the Phil.
“Put him through,” Charles said as he twisted to face Jules and Katie.
“Stan, I have Charles on the line.”
“Are you outside, Stan?” Charles asked.
“Yes. Robert is checking around the house. Property is dark. No signs of activity. The vehicle is cold.”
Charles looked at the phone. “Did you notice anything about the car?”
“All the tires are slashed.”
Charles lifted his pen and jotted on the paper, underneath his other notes.
“The door is locked. I think Robert is coming around the front.”
Jules leaned her elbow on one of the armrests and covered her mouth with her hand. She looked weary with her red eyes and downcast expression.
“All windows and the patio are secured.” Katie heard a low mumble, too low for human ears.
“He said the home is secure,” Stan said. “Shall we proceed inside?”
“Yes.”
After a short break of silence, two loud smacks echoed through the phone. “We’re heading inside,” Stan said.
“Phew, man,” said the other voice Katie had heard earlier. She suspected it was Robert.
“There is a rancid smell in the home.”
“Look,” Robert said.
“We’re finding traces of blood in the home.”
Charles scribbled on the note pad. “Where?”
“In front of the door and leading…to the kitchen.”
“Check the sink,” Charles said.
Stan repeated the words.
“I found something, but this can’t be the source of the odor,” Robert said in a low voice.
Katie doubted Charles could hear the soft mumbling of his officer, but she could hear him fine. Vampire hearing had its benefits.
“Find anything?” Charles asked.
“It appears we have two fingers in a plastic container.”
Charles looked from Jules to Katie and nodded. “I need you to search the rest of the house.”
Katie heard Stan relay the information to his partner. Robert continued cursing at the awful smell. She almost chuckled, but the serious situation called for zero humor.
“We’re heading down the hall,” Stan said.
“Sir?” Katie heard Juan’s voice behind her.
Charles lifted one finger, signaling to him to hold off on whatever he had to say. Silence lasted while the men moved from one room to the next. Katie heard Richard’s soft voice as he reported his findings to Stan. So far, Katie’s plan was working out the way she had designed it.
“The rooms on the left appear undisturbed, but the master suite is a mess,” Stan said.
“Jesus!” Robert said loud enough Charles turned his attention to the phone.
“What is it?” Charles asked.
“We found the source of the odor. There is a dog hanging from the shower faucet. It appears someone split it open and the guts have fallen out.”
Jules made a gagging sound. Her skin paled as if she were about to vomit. She pressed her hand tightly over her mouth.
“Do you need to go?” Katie asked softly.
Jules shook her head.
“All right. Call a forensics team and stay there until they arrive. If you find anything else, call me.”
“Yes, sir,” Stan replied.
Charles hit button on his phone, then met Juan’s gaze.
“Officer Williams drove by the orchard. He said it was dark. He didn’t see anything suspicious.”
“I need you to call everyone we have on staff. Set up a meeting here in the next half hour to forty-five minutes. We’re working on a tip. The lives of the Jennings and Julie’s boyfriend, Joe, might be in danger. We have to go in before midnight.”
“I’m on it,” Juan said before he disappeared.
“Jules, Katie–”
“If you don’t mind, we’d like to leave. We’re staying at the Fairfield if you need us. I can call you after midnight for an update.”
“You’re welcome to stay. I have enough officers here to keep you company.”
Jules snatched her purse, then stood quickly. Although some color had returned to her, she didn’t look well. Staying in the
station wouldn’t ease her anxiety, upset stomach, or aching heart.
Katie rose. “We’ll be fine.”
“Can I get your phone numbers?” Charles asked.
Katie rambled off Jules’s digits, then explain she’d accidently destroyed her phone and hadn’t replaced it yet. After Charles finished writing, he stood and then followed Jules and Katie to the door.
“We can find our way out.” Katie paused at the door next to Charles’s office and lightly knocked on it.
Riker swung the door open. A large rush of air to prompted strands of Katie’s hair to twitch.
“I’ve been waiting.” He directed his glowing eyes to Charles. “I was not here.”
Katie decided she’d spent enough time in the police station. “Come on.” She tugged on Jules’s arm and headed down the hall.
Anxiety stirred within Katie. While she held confidence in her plan, she knew chaos would ensue at the orchard and at the station in the very near future. The lives of officers were in danger, just as Joe and the Jennings’s lives. Not to mention, she was about to seriously piss off two vampires. She hoped she saved more lives than damning them. Soon enough, she’d find out if she made a grave error.
21
“Do you think they’ll show up in time?” Jules asked from the back seat.
Riker backed out of the parking spot, his neck twisted as he gazed out the back window. He shifted his eyes to Katie. His emotionless expression and sealed lips indicated he wouldn’t respond.
Taking the cue, Katie glanced at the time illuminated on the dash. Midnight was a little more than an hour away. If they finished their meeting in a half hour, then headed for the orchard, they would save lives. But if they didn’t make it by midnight, Joe would lose more fingers, possibly his life.
“I believe they will,” Katie said, hoping it would comfort Jules and give her some peace of mind. “They believed us.”
Katie wondered if Riker’s tinkering with Charles’s mind before she’d sat down to talk with the officer had encouraged his belief. Charles had asked plenty of detailed questions and written notes. He even surprised Katie with a few questions she hadn’t considered. Yet, overall she sensed the meeting was a success. Officers had recovered evidence of foul play at Jules’s house and it was enough to pursue their tip of a hostage situation. With or without Riker’s assistance, Katie’s plan was moving forward.
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