Burden Of Blood

by Wenona Hulsey

  Luke pulled her away with a firm tug on her arm from behind. For a split second her anger bubbled up inside and she thought of hitting Luke for interrupting. This is my fight and I’m going to finish it. The thought tried to escape her mouth but almost simultaneously, her mind told her this wasn’t helping anything and Luke was trying to keep her from going to jail. After all, a cop hitting another cop has the same end result of any fight-jail time.

  “Come on, Nicole, let the man do his job, okay? We need all the help we can get to find James.” Luke spoke to her as he led her to her car. “Just sit down for a few and cool off.” Lowering his voice, he continued. “I don’t like the slimy S.O.B. any more than you do but he does have connections that will help us. Now you can’t be sure his theory is wrong so let him organize a search party.” He looked at her, anticipating another fight, but she only crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the car.

  “I just can’t stand the man talking like he knows my dad, but you’re right,” she pursed her lips trying to suppress the anger. “I shouldn’t keep him from helping even if I think this is a complete waste of time.”

  “Maybe you should go back to your dad’s house and wait. You seem a little on edge.” He searched her face, his eyes squinted and brows pinched together. After a moment, he ran his hand across his forehead with a sigh. “I’ll come by there in a bit to fill you in on anything else we find.”

  Nicole nodded as she turned to get into her car. Luke reached out and gently laid his hands on her shoulders, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “You’re not alone, Nicole. I can help you with all of this if you will just trust me.” He gave a small squeeze to her shoulders then walked away to rejoin the other officers. Nicole stood where she was, letting his words sink in. Does he know about my ability? Did he see what was happening when I was mad a few minutes ago? Fear started to ripple throughout her body with each new thought that passed. She could not let anyone else know about her secret. It was just too dangerous, especially now that it seemed to be evolving daily into something she didn’t understand.

  “Nicole, are you okay?” Kat was standing beside her, taking in the emotions flashing across her friend’s face. Kat put a comforting hand on her arm and gave her a tender smile.

  Nicole blinked a few times, trying to pull herself out of her own mind and back into focus. She nodded her head then opened her door. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to get out of here. Let’s go, okay?” She glanced in the rear view mirror as they drove off. Luke was in deep conversation with the two other men as they walked around James’ abandoned truck. What do I do now? she pondered.

  Chapter 7

  Nicole pulled the Chevelle beside the pumps at the Chevron. She really did love driving this car but it was a gas guzzler. She had burnt a half a tank already and at over three dollars a gallon for gas, she would be broke in no time. Now she understood why her dad kept this puppy tucked away.

  Nicole got out to pump the gas as Kat went inside mumbling something about a bathroom break. Nicole started the pump then leaned back against the car. She glanced over to the bench where the usual old gossips sat. Jim was there along with her dad’s friend, Wallace and Gale, Wallace’s wife. They were in deep conversation among themselves seemingly unaware Nicole was around. Nicole couldn’t make out what was being said but, from the looks on their faces when they finally noticed her, she was sure it was about her dad’s disappearance.

  Wallace flashed her a weak smile then waved her over to the group. Wallace had always been a good man in her eyes. He had helped out with repairs around her parent’s home many times, always glad to lend a hand to her dad. As a child, she remembered that he always brought her candy when he came to visit. It was always the same, a giant Hershey bar with almonds, her favorite. Unlike now, he used to be a slim built man who was full of energy. He never turned her down when she begged for a quick game of hide and seek. The man on the bench was still full of kindness only a bit more round and somewhat less energetic.

  “Any news on your dad yet?” asked Wallace.

  “Not really. We found his truck a few hours ago but there wasn’t any sign of him.”

  “I saw James yesterday. He stopped in to fuel up. He chatted for a bit with me before he left. He told me he was headed to meet up with Wallace for a little fishing.” He paused seeming to debate on how to phrase what he was about to say next. His eyes were sad and the lines of worry made deep furrows on his aged face. “I saw a strange guy watching us as we talked.” He gave a small, nervous chuckle. “Well, I guess I have a tendency to think anyone who is not from our town is strange. At least that’s what Luke tells me but this guy was watching your dad like he was sizing him up. It was the same guy who was asking questions about you a few weeks ago.

  Nicole twisted her face, unsure if she had heard the old guy correctly. “Asking about me?”

  “Yep,” he nodded, “I told Luke about it but he didn’t say much.” Jim shrugged. “But I'm sure it was the same guy and I watched him leave out behind your dad yesterday.”

  “Do you remember what the man looked like, Jim?” Nicole asked feeling a twinge of hope begin to build inside of her.

  “Sure do, I can even tell you what he was driving...”Jim smiled a proud, toothless grin at her, then winked. “and give you a tag number.” He added with a twinkle in his eyes. The man was good at one thing-people watching. Today he was proving how great he was at it. He gave Nicole a description of the man and his SUV, then wrote down the tag number.

  Nicole flipped open her cell phone and dialed Luke. The three rings sounding off felt like a lifetime of waiting.

  “Hello.”

  “Luke, Jim’s got some information for us that might help. We need to have a tag number traced fast. Can you meet me at the police department?”

  “On my way.”

  Nicole closed her phone with a snap then turn to face Kat who was walking out of the gas station. “Gotta go Kat, hop in.” She said jogging toward the Chevelle.

  “I knew we wouldn’t make it home. I’m glad I made use of the pit stop.” She tossed two Pepsis and a big bag of barbequed potato chips in the car as she jumped in. Nicole started the car and drove towards the police department.

  “So what’s up?” Kat asked as she opened up the bag of chips.

  “Old Jim finally made himself useful. Dad stopped by the gas station yesterday and Jim noticed a guy watching him. He gave me a good description and, get this, he had a tag number too. Can you believe it?”

  “That’s great!” Kat beamed a hope filled smile. “So what’s next?”

  “We’re going to trace the tag number. Luke is going to meet us at the police department to help. Then it’s all up to what the tag number gives us.” At that moment Nicole was glad she had become a cop. If she had enough information she could follow the small trail to her dad. I’ve got this.

  Nicole pulled around the court house to the side that housed the police department. They hurried inside to where the dispatcher, Linda Bell, sat behind a desk. She was a small, round woman with short, brown hair streaked with gray.

  “Good to see you, Officer Keenan and you too, Kat.” She smiled softly as she turned her rickety office chair around to face them. “Sorry to hear about your dad Nicole. Anything good come from finding his truck?”

  “We are working on something right now that might help. You want to run a tag number for us?” Nicole asked even though she knew she didn’t have to. Linda loved to be part of the action, as long as it was the safe part of it. That’s why she worked as dispatcher in the Winston County Police Department. She knew every little piece of news that floated through the office. Linda was like a walking file cabinet of information about this town. She could tell you who had been hauled into jail for the past twenty years. The woman loved her job.

  Eagerly, Linda took the tag information and began clicking away on her keyboard. Nicole and Kat hovered over her shoulders, watching as the system searched number after number. After
a few minutes of gut wrenching anticipation, a driver’s license picture and an address popped up on the screen. Nicole’s heart jumped in her chest when she looked at the photo.

  “That guy doesn’t fit the description Jim gave us. He must’ve gotten the tag number wrong.” Nicole could feel the ray of hope fizzle out as she thought about how her only lead was a senile old man. She wanted to scream as she started to pace the small cubical.

  Linda continued to scan over the information mumbling as she went down the screen. “Ah, here.” She pointed to a line of text. “The car belongs to a rental place down in Birmingham. It’s called Lucky’s Car Rentals. Here, let me write down the address for you while you go call this number.” She gave Nicole a post-it note with the phone number to the rental place written on it. Nicole and Kat walked to the first phone they found and dialed the number.

  “Lucky’s Car Rental, Lenny speaking. How may I help you?” The man’s gruff voice rippled across the phone. Immediately Nicole could tell this wasn’t a top of the line car rental place. Something in the man’s voice had her extra senses on high alert. Being careful not to give away her status as a police officer, she came up with a story.

  “Hi…yes, my friend was in from out of state this week and I believe he rented an SUV from you. You see, he left early this morning headed back to Birmingham but forgot his cell phone at my house. I’m trying to get in touch with him but I don’t have any other number to reach him. Can you tell me if he returned the car yet?” She bit her lip as she waited for a response. Please don’t ask me for his name and please don’t have caller ID. She prayed to herself knowing that both of those things could screw her.

  “Sure thing, sweet lady, give me a second alright? I’ve got to pull the car’s file.”

  Nicole could hear the clicking of keys as Lenny worked. She was sure that at any second he was going to hang up on her or give her some line of legal bull about that being private information. Then she would be forced to play the police card and she had a feeling that was going to make things worse.

  “Says here Ronald is staying at the Marriot Hotel down by the airport. He still has the car though. It’s the only SUV we’ve got so I remember him.”

  “Oh, well, thank you very much for your time Lenny. You’ve been a big help.”

  “You’re very welcome, sweet thing. You sound like too nice of a girl to have a friend like Ronald. He doesn’t strike me as a very good guy.”

  “He’s a longtime friend of the family, but you’re right, he isn’t that great of a guy.” She paused, tempted to ask a few more questions since Lenny seemed to be the talkative type but she decided against it.

  “Thanks again for the help Lenny.” She put the phone down, then beamed a bright smile at Kat. “Ronald still has the car from the rental place and he’s staying at the Marriot Hotel, two miles from Birmingham’s International Airport.” Kat raised her hand for a much needed high five and the two women laughed.

  “What’s all the happy time about?” asked Luke as he leaned up against the doorway behind them crossing his arms over his chest.

  “We’ve got a lead and it’s pointing us to Birmingham and to Nicole’s dad.” Kat beamed.

  “No, we’ve got a lead.” Luke gestured to Nicole and himself. “This is dangerous Kat, so you can’t go with us. This is a kidnapping and it has to be handled by police.”

  Kat was hurt by his words. The draw of her mouth as well as the look in her eyes told it all. She was gearing up for a fight. Nicole reached over and hugged her friend tightly.

  “Luke’s right, I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you too.” Nicole felt the tension leak out of Kat’s body like a balloon deflating. She let go of her friend when she was sure Kat had given up on the argument.

  “You can take my truck back to James’ house to get your car and I’ll ride with Nicole to Birmingham. It’s not a good idea for us to go in a police car so we’ll take your dad’s Chevelle.”

  Nicole nodded to Luke. They exited the police department together and made their way to the cars. Luke went to his truck and got something from under the seat then returned to hand Kat the keys to his truck. Kat gave Nicole a quick hug then left.

  When Kat had pulled out of sight, Luke turned to Nicole. “I think it’s time we talk. Let’s put all our cards out on the table.” He looked her straight in the eyes, full of confidence.

  Nicole was taken aback by his words. Panic shot through her. Aww crap, now what? She thought. “Luke, now is really not the time for a heart to heart. We need to get moving. Time is running out.”

  “Oh yeah, and how do you even know we aren’t on a wild goose chase? Or is this like how you knew exactly where your dad’s truck was without me telling you?” He paused, gauging her reaction. She began shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and refused to look him in the eyes. “Nicole you’re not the only one with secrets, but you are the only one with a gift that could save your dad’s life.” He reached forward grabbing her chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

  Nicole’s heart felt like it was going to explode inside her chest. Now she knew what a deer in headlights felt like. “Luke, I don’t know what you’re getting at.” She leaned back against the Chevelle in an attempt at looking cool and confident. “You told me where Dad’s truck was at, that’s how I knew.” She glared at him, hoping to deflate his confidence so she could side step this conversation. Luke continued to stand nose to nose with her for a few seconds, then much to her relief, he took a step back in what seemed a sign of his giving up. Nicole watched him as he reached for a bag he had placed on the hood of the car. He dug, inside pulling out something familiar to her.

  “Dad’s hat…What are you getting at Luke?”

  Nicole noticed a small smirk play across Luke’s face as he held out the hat to her, then dropped it into her open hands. Instantly she was swept away. All of her senses were screaming in protest as her mind was pulled from her body. The air was so stale now. The smell of cheap soap and heavy cleaning products stung her nose. She could hear the sounds of traffic whizzing by and the muffled sounds from a television. Her eyes started to see a growing pin of light ahead. Suddenly, things made sense again, like walking out of a dark tunnel into the bright sunlight.

  She was inside a hotel room, well not she, really, but her mind, it was a bit like flying. Nicole tried to take in everything all at once. There were two double beds, one was in disarray and the other had an open suitcase laying on it. A man whom she recognized at once from Jim’s description was packing clothes into it. “Ronald.” she said, then gasped, realizing she had spoken aloud. Much to her relief he didn’t react. “Cool, I’m like a ghost.” she chuckled. “I can think of a lot of places I’d like to haunt, starting with Luke’s shower.” With an impish smile she continued her inventory of the room. A recliner sat in the corner near the window, a small dinette was a few feet over and a desk next to the wall. On the desk was an open laptop. She moved closer to see what was on the screen. “Birmingham International Airport” she read aloud, “conformation email for 5:15 pm flight: Destination Kerry International Airport…” she gasped “He has booked two tickets to Ireland! Okay, this could be very bad or very good. The very good part is that ticket number two could be for dad and that would mean he’s alive. The very bad part is we may not make it here in time.”

  Just at that moment, Nicole started to hear a moaning sound coming from the bathroom. Ronald moved to the door and opened it. “Now before you get that mouth of yours fired up, you better listen to me and listen good.” he moved inside the room so Nicole eased to the bathroom doorway. The sight she beheld started a fire burning inside of her in an instant. James was sitting on the floor slumped against the wall. His hands were tied behind his back and his ankles were bound together with large, black zip ties. There was blood on his shirt she was sure came from his split and swollen lip. James was staring up at Ronald with black eyes that refused
to stay open for more than a few seconds at a time. “Ronald must be keeping him drugged.” She mumbled through her anger-induced haze. Her vision was tinted with red as the fire grew hotter inside of her.

  “We are going to take a flight in a few hours and I can’t take you on it drugged out of your mind and tied up, so this is what’s going to happen,” Ronald knelt in front of James and took hold of his face roughly in one hand, forcing James to focus his rolling eyes on the thug’s face. “You’re going to be quiet while this shit gets out of your system, then we are going to the airport. Now if you try to draw attention to us in any way, I will kill that pretty daughter of yours. It won’t be fast either, I promise.” He stared deep into James’ eyes like he was looking for something else, moving his hand so James’ face went from side to side. “I know that girl of yours is powerful, so there’s a good chance she’s checking in on her old daddy. If you’re there sweet heart, you better get your country ass on a plane to Dublin if you want to save your daddy,” he slapped James hard across the face then pulled him close again. “And if I even think your police buddies are waiting for us at the airport, I’ll fucking gut him.”