Shadow of Smoke

by Brae Lynne

"Bloody bleeding-hearts." Stan spat in disgust. "I don't like the feel of this. It's too co-incidental."

  "An uncle pleaded his case. He took responsibility for him." Sam added.

  "Did you get his name?"

  "No, but it'll be in the report."

  "Thanks, Sam."

  Laura came into his office and placed two pieces of paper on his desk. "The name and address of Sage Brooks’ mother and her vehicle make, model number, and license number."

  "Let's put out an APB on her car and go see Mrs. Brooks," Stan said.

  "Already done, let's go."

  He smiled. Having Laura one step ahead of him was appreciated. It had been a long day and his energy level was low. He stood and grabbed his jacket.

  Twenty minutes later, they parked in front of the seniors' complex.

  "I'll introduce us and you take the lead. It might be gentler coming from a woman," Stan said.

  "Sure." Laura laughed.

  He stared at her puzzled. "What?"

  "Look at us. You're small and wiry. I'm tall, a broad-shouldered tomboy, farm girl. I think I might look a little more intimidating than you."

  "Piss off, Radcliffe." Stan croaked, good-naturedly.

  The woman who opened the front door of the bungalow was small and wiry too, with greying hair and questioning eyes.

  "Mrs. Brooks?" Stan asked.

  "Yes."

  "I'm Detective Cassidy and this is Detective Radcliffe. May we come in for a few minutes and talk with you?"

  "The elderly woman's eyes turned from questioning to puzzled.”I...I guess...please, come in."

  She led them into a cozy living room and motioned to a couch. She sat opposite them in an oversized chair. Dwarfed by the billowy cushions of the chair, she looked like a small child.

  "What can I do for you?"

  "Is Sage Brooks of 1548 Laburnum Street your daughter?" Stan asked.

  "Yes," Mrs. Brooks answered. Her body stiffened and she looked wary.

  He glanced at Laura and gave her a look that said, 'You're up'.

  "When was the last time you saw her?" Laura asked.

  "Saturday... in the afternoon. She brought me some groceries."

  "Have you seen or talked to her since?"

  "No. What's this all about?" she asked. Stan noted the fear in the elderly woman's eyes.

  "There was a fire last night at your daughter's home," Laura said, gently.

  Mrs. Brooks gasped and her hands went to her mouth.

  The female detective continued. "There's no easy way to say this, dear. The firemen found the body of a young woman in the house."

  The woman stared at Laura, then at Stan. Finally she spoke in a whisper. "Sage?"

  "We aren't sure, Mrs. Brooks. She's a young woman in her twenties, with long brown hair, brown eyes, with no birthmarks or scars, as much as we could tell."

  The woman stared hard at Laura. "As much as you could tell?"

  Laura pursed her lips and looked at Stan.

  "She was unidentifiable, Mrs. Brooks," Stan said, quietly.

  They waited in silence for the words to sink in and when they did, the poor woman collapsed back into the chair and broke into sobs. They remained silent for a few minutes and let her cry.

  Stan began again. "We believe the fire was deliberately set, and that the victim met with foul play."

  Sage's mother sat erect in her chair, pleading, "No ... not my Sage..." Suddenly, her face twisted with anger. "... and don't refer to her as 'victim'. She has a name."

  "We need to identify the victim, Ma'am, before we can say it’s your daughter." Laura clarified.

  The distraught woman looked confused. "But who else could it be? She fits her description."

  "Until we know without a doubt, we can't say one hundred percent that she's your daughter." Laura added, “Do you know the name of your daughter's dentist?"

  "Dentist? Of course...Dr. Eli Graves, Trafalgar Square, 2nd Floor."

  "Is there anyone we could call to sit with you, dear?" Laura asked. "I don't think you should be alone right now."

  The woman shrugged. "Uh...Alice, my neighbour."

  Laura left the house to talk with the neighbour and Stan continued with a few more questions.

  "Does Sage have a boyfriend or someone special in her life?"

  "No, they broke up a year ago."

  "Was it an easy break-up," he asked.

  The woman shrugged, and dabbed at her eyes with a Kleenex. "Well, they're never easy...are they? But it was mutual and they remained friends until he took a new job in another city."

  "One more thing and we'll take our leave. Could you write down your daughter's cell phone number, her place of work, and the names of her closest friends? It's imperative that we talk to these people as soon as possible.

  She rose and went to find paper and a pen. When she returned, he thanked her. "Please be assured that we are moving as fast as we can to identify the victim and the assailant."

  "How did she die?"

  "We’ll know more after the autopsy." He didn't think she needed to hear any more than that at the moment.

  Laura came into the room with the neighbour. Sage's mother broke down again. Alice went to her instantly. The two detectives excused themselves and left the house.

  They travelled in silence back to the station, absorbed with their own thoughts. Each one handled the negative side of the job in their own way. The coroner's report arrived and on review, told them nothing new. The discharge report for Edward Baines hadn't shown up as yet. They decided to call it a day and departed for home.

  Stan poured himself a scotch, took a hot shower, and headed to bed.

  Wednesday, May 12, 10:30 a.m.

  Stan was furious. He marched into Laura's office and slammed the door shut. "Why didn't you wake me?"

  "Oh, come on, you'd been going for twenty hours straight. You needed to sleep."

  "You should have called me. You know I hate slackers," he said, gruffly.

  "No one would ever call you a slacker." Laura snorted, containing a laugh. "Someone has to look out for you. You should thank me."

  Pleased, but not willing to admit it, he dismissed her words. "So what have I missed?"

  "Sage Brook's dentist is pulling her records, and Baines release report arrived. We have the uncle's name and address. He's out in Cut-off-Valley."

  "Let's go, Mom," Stan threw over his shoulder as he walked out of her office, "Bring the report with you and I'll read it in the car. You can drive."

  An hour later, they pulled up to a house that was another crime scene. They worked their way through police personnel to someone who looked in charge. Introductions were made all around.

  "So what brings two detectives out of jurisdiction here?" Detective Dan Farwell asked.

  "We're working a homicide and hoped to talk to Jonathan Baines and his nephew Edward Baines," Stan said.

  "You've found them. Not much good to you. They're both dead."

  Stan and Laura gave each other a surprised look. "What happened here, Farwell?" Laura asked.

  "I assume you know Edward Baines history. He's on a curfew. Not allowed out after 8:00 p.m. The uncle woke up two nights ago to the nephew sneaking in around one o'clock in the morning. He saw him put a garbage bag into the trash. He checked it out yesterday and found bloodied clothes. The uncle called police. Law enforcement showed up, but not before the nephew killed his uncle. The short of it is the police ended up in a situation and Baines was killed."

  "Shit...I think we may have solved our case. I'll bet you'll find Sage Brook's blood on the clothes the uncle found." Stan said.

  "We sent them to the lab for analysis,” Detective Barnes said. "Why don't you come back to the office and fill us in on your case."

  "Sounds like a plan, Stan," Laura sang to her partner.

  A few hours later, on their way back to the station, a call came on the radio.

  "This is Detective Kelso. Sage Brook’s car was pulled over twenty minutes ago.
You better get back to the station pronto."

  The partners exchanged a confused look. Stan turned on the lights and booted it through traffic as fast as he dared.

  Wednesday, May 12, 4:00 p.m.

  Stan and Laura sat in their vehicle outside Mrs. Brooks’ home waiting for another vehicle to join them. After twenty minutes of waiting, they decided to go in on their own. They stood on the steps of the seniors' bungalow on Laburnum Street and once again, Mrs. Brooks led them into the living room and motioned them to sit on the couch.

  "Mrs. Brooks, we have some information regarding the victim in your daughter's house," Stan began.

  The woman, sitting beside her neighbour, held her arms tight across her chest. Alice put a protective arm around her shoulders.

  "The body isn't your daughter's," Laura said.

  The poor woman managed to speak one word. "Wh...what?"

  A slim woman in her twenties slipped quietly into the room. "No, Mom. It isn't me."

  Mrs. Brooks stared at her daughter in disbelief and began to shake. She tried to stand, but held onto the arm of the chair for balance. Sage Brooks moved quickly to her mother's side and the two women embraced. Mother and daughter sobbed in each other's arms. Alice sat rocking back and forth on the couch, tears streaming down her cheeks. Stan cleared his throat and glanced at Laura, noting the tears in her eyes.

  Several minutes later, the detectives stood. "We waited for you, Sage. When you didn’t show, we thought we should talk to your mother anyway. She’d suffered long enough.”

  “I was right behind you but an accident held me up.” Sage said.

  “Thought it was something like that. We’re going to let you explain all of this to your mother,” Laura said.

  "We'll be in touch, Sage, to finish up any paperwork. Good day, ladies," Stan said.

  Wednesday, May 12, 4:30 p.m.

  "Honey, sit beside me on the couch. I want to hold your hand while you tell me what happened," Mrs. Brooks said. "Where were you?"

  "I went to the summer house for some peace and quiet. I needed to finish an account that was overdue. I drove up Monday after work and returned today."

  "Dear God, Sage. Why didn't you call me and tell me where you were going?" Her mother was angry and rightly so, considering what she'd been through.

  "Mother, I tried numerous times. Your line was either busy or you weren't home. Once I reached the summer house, there was no cell service. I got lost in my work and forgot to find a pay phone."

  "Oh...but I was so scared. I thought you were dead..." her mother stopped. "So who's that poor soul in your house?"

  Sage's face fell. "I feel terrible. They haven’t identified her as yet. But we’re quite sure the girl is my old professor's niece, in town for a job interview. He called to tell me she’d be in town and I told him she could stay at my house while I was gone. She picked up the key at the office. The police believe it was mistaken identity because she looked similar to me. The intruder was there for me."

  "But how do they know he was after you?"

  "They found a diary at his house. He'd seen me at the mall on Saturday and followed me home. He returned Monday. After he set fire to the house, he took her rental car. They found it abandoned not far from his house."

  "What if he comes back?" her mother said, with a quiver.

  "He won't be back, mom. He’s dead. I’ll give you all the details later."

  "Thank God for that."

  "The police called the professor and talked to her parents. They’re on their way. I’m locked out of my house until they clear it as a crime scene. And then there’s the fire.”

  “You can stay here until your house is ready.”

  “I’d like that. Thank goodness I have a few things packed from my trip to the cottage. Tomorrow I can purchase a few things.”

  “Can you afford to take some time off work? It would be nice to spend some time together,” her mother asked.

  “I’ll have to go in tomorrow morning to turn in my project. But yes, I will book off a few days. I have a feeling the press will be scrambling to talk to me and they don’t need that at my work.” Sage stood and headed to the door. “I’m going to get my suitcase out of the car. And tomorrow, we're ordering you voicemail. This whole mishap could have been avoided if I'd been able to leave a message.”

  "Yes, dear. You're so right."

  "Oh ... I never did sleep in the summer house. I went to have a shower and found a mother rat with four slimy, hairless babies in the shower stall. I left pretty quick and stayed at the Bed and Breakfast. Sam Connors got rid of them for me yesterday and set some traps.”

  Wednesday, May 12, 6:00 p.m.

  Stan and Laura finished their final paperwork and were feeling pleased with themselves. It left a bad aftertaste knowing that someone had died but at least the murderer would never inflict his pain on another victim. The loose ends had come together quickly in this case and that was always a good feeling. They had a couple of hours on their hands while they waited for the victim’s parents to arrive. Then the final task of identifying the body would begin but everything pointed to Sage’s house guest as being the victim. It was a matter of finality.

  "How about this old man taking you out for dinner? We’ll take my car."

  Laura stood and put on her coat. "Why not? Might as well get a few meals out of you before you decide to quit."

  "Who says I'm quitting, Radcliffe?" Stan demanded.

  "What happened to the burned out, old man who hated the night call outs?"

  "Don't you know not to believe everything you hear from others?"

  They left the office and headed towards the parking garage.

  "I'll remember that, next time you start whining."

  "Be nice or I'll make you pay for dinner."

  THE END

  SAMPLE

  Winter’s Captive, Book 1 of The Georgia Series

  Up like a shot, I made a dash across the open meadow. The bushes drew closer. No way would I look back. All my energy was thrust into that run. I was almost there, when my foot went into a hole, throwing me off balance. Down I went, sprawling face first onto the grass. There was no time to check for injury. This time as pushing myself up, a glance over my shoulder sent shock waves through my body. Gary had seen me. I took off running. Pains shot through my right ankle, but that was the least of my worries.

  The bushes were a welcome sight, swallowing me up as I jumped over the smaller ones and pushed my way through the hedge behind them. This wasn’t my day. The ground dipped sharply behind the row of bushes and I slid down a muddy embankment, landing thigh deep in a marshy wetland.

  It took all my strength to crawl up the side of the wet bank and push myself into a standing position--only to find myself face to face with a gun pointed right at the middle of my forehead.

  Gary’s hand shot out and grabbed me by the hair, pulling my face close to his.

  “Ow ...” I cried out between gasps to catch my breath.

  Spat hit my face as he spoke through clenched teeth. “What did I say would happen if you tried to escape? Huh?”

  He shook my head and I dared not say a word He was in control and I waited in despair for what was to come.

  Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine retailers.

  Your local bookstore can order it in, as can your library.

  SAMPLE

  Chasing Georgia, Book 2 of The Georgia Series

  “So because Colin wronged us both, you think we should band together and bond?” Georgia asked.

  “No, I don’t expect that. I wronged you too. I may have been naive but I was also ambitious. When Colin came on to me, I dismissed you and your feelings, thinking only of myself. I was a true bitch. Reading your book opened my eyes to a lot of things. It forced me to take a long look at myself.” Julie stood and stretched her aching limbs. “All that you went through—the trip to the Yukon, the kidnapping, escaping into the wilderness, lost at the cabin, childbirth alone—all that happen
ed because of me. I played a role in it, and believe me; I’ll always carry that guilt.”

  Georgia looked confused. “Then, I really don’t understand what you want from me. Is it forgiveness?”

  Julie felt pained and sat down again. “No, I owe you an apology, but words sound hollow. I’m not looking for forgiveness.”

  Exasperated, Georgia threw her arms up. “Then, what?”

  Julie noted the frustration mirrored on the other woman’s face. The moment has come. No more stalling. With a deep breath, Julie tried to steady her nerves. She knew she had to come out with it now.

  Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine retailers.

  Your local bookstore can order it in, as can your library.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  June Bourgo was born and educated in Montreal, Quebec. She and her artist/writer husband, Dennis recently left the beautiful British Columbia interior ranch lands accompanied by their two cats; Marbles, a calico diva and Picasso, a subservient tabby to move to Vancouver Island. The island sits off the western coast of British Columbia and they look forward to enjoying the smell of the salt air and the cries of the seagulls. Between them, they have three adult children, and nine grandchildren. June is looking forward to new adventures and a different view of nature to inspire her writing life.

  Her writing began with magazine articles for a single-parenting magazine, and writing historical copy. Her love of novel writing grew from there. Her debut novel, Winter’s Captive, released October 2014, is inspired loosely by her survival and lessons learned from an abusive relationship. Chasing Georgia, released October 2015 is Book 2 of the Georgia Series, continuing the journey of Georgia Charles. Currently, the author is working on A Missing Thread, Book 3 of this trilogy.